{"id":5064,"date":"2021-11-30T11:29:22","date_gmt":"2021-11-30T11:29:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/brussels-news-events\/?p=5064"},"modified":"2021-11-30T13:27:54","modified_gmt":"2021-11-30T13:27:54","slug":"dr-albena-azmanova-co-authors-report-commissioned-by-mep-clare-daly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/brussels-news-events\/2021\/11\/30\/dr-albena-azmanova-co-authors-report-commissioned-by-mep-clare-daly\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr Albena Azmanova co-authors report on the rule of law commissioned by the European Parliament"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the 8th of November the Parliament released Binding the Guardian<\/em>, a study commissioned by MEP Clare Daly, which provides a critical analysis of the European Commission\u2019s annual rule of law reports (2020 & 2021).<\/p>\n

See press release below.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Binding the Guardian \u2013 study commissioned by MEP Clare Daly<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Binding the Guardian, a study commissioned by MEP Clare Daly and written by an award winning academic Albena Azmanova, investigates the European Commission\u2019s annual rule of law reports (2020 & 2021). The study questions the Commission\u2019s willingness to protect the rule of law, with reference to its reports on France, Spain and Bulgaria. It investigates the Commission\u2019s failure to properly address France\u2019s increasing use of fast-tracked security laws and discriminatory legislation against Muslim civil society organisations, the assault on political freedoms in Spain, and how it turned a blind eye to the close links between the Bulgarian state and the oligarchic mafia.<\/p>\n

Ultimately it finds that the Commission does not fulfil its duties as \u2018Guardian of the Treaties\u2019 with these reports as it \u201cfails to give justification for the selectivity of information it has included, is prone to the use of obscure language that condones inherent threats to the rule of law and systemic institutional deficiencies, and is swayed by political bias.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though these yearly country Rule of Law reports are not binding, the study finds that \u201cwhen mishandled, this seemingly innocuous policy tool can do serious damage.\u201d The European Commission would be on stronger grounds with regards to the rule of law in Poland and Hungary had it pushed for governments to safeguarded it in all member-states.<\/p>\n

The authors argue that the country reports must be brought in line with the rule of law and sets down a series of recommendations to this end. As well as changes to the methodology and presentation of the country-specific reports, they make the case for the creation of a citizen-centered rule of law platform on which citizens share experiences of rule of law breaches and call the Commission to account for the way it monitors the rule of law.<\/p>\n

Clare Daly, Irish Member of the European Parliament in The Left group, said of the findings: \u201cThe Rule of Law has become a catchphrase in EU institutions, but instead of being a basis for ensuring that all citizens live in a just society that protects their fundamental rights, it is underutilised, or used selectively as an occasional stick to beat those outside the European mainstream. This partisan and inconsistent application of what should be a universal system robs citizens of a valuable tool for a better life. This study is a call to action, for citizens to claim it as their own\u201d.<\/p>\n

The study involved collaboration with national journalists, NGOs, thinktanks and eminent rule of law scholars, including Professors Laurent Pech and Kalypso Nicola\u00efdis \u2013 who provided personal accounts of rule of law deficiencies and their views on the Commission\u2019s response.<\/p>\n

You will also find attached a pamphlet extracted from the study\u2019s chapter on Bulgaria (also under embargo) which we are launching in Sofia on 5th of November. The pamphlet is available in English and Bulgarian. Please get in touch for more information on this.<\/p>\n

For more information on either of these documents, please contact Bethany:
\nbethanyhoward@hotmail.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Background<\/strong><\/p>\n

A November 2017 Open Letter to European Commission President Juncker and European Council President Tusk initiated by Barbara Spinelli, Albena Azmanova<\/a>, Etienne Balibar, Kalypso Nicola\u00efdis and others cautioned again the growing tendency of using the rule of law as a tool of political oppression, noting that the European Commission itself has fallen short of its responsibilities for safeguarding the rule of law in the EU. In a co-authored article Nicola\u00efdis and Azmanova (2020) argued that \u2018The EU itself has complied with these principles erratically and selectively, thus violating the spirit of the rule of law. This has been evident in several instances\u2014from lack of concern with the Silvio Berlusconi media monopoly in Italy to France\u2019s semi-permanent state of emergency\u2026 Often, the EU is content with narrowly reducing the remit of the rule of law to a simple matter of legality\u2014ignoring routine violations of core values, such as the right to peaceful assembly, freedom of speech or even the right to liberty and life itself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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