Defending Democracy, Upholding Values

The European Union grapples with a democracy and rule of law crisis in a growing number of Member States, notably in Hungary, Slovakia, Italy and Greece, and until recently also in Poland, threatening the very foundation of the European Union.

With illiberal and Eurosceptic governments taking power across Europe, our Group has been at the forefront of initiatives to tackle the ongoing crisis, ensure compliance with European values and assemble a broad coalition to counter autocratic tendencies.

In the face of the growing threats against democracy and the independence of the judiciary in several Member States, Renew Europe proposes concrete measures that would enable the Union to have a stronger, coordinated EU response to counter these attacks.

Key elements of our 10-point action plan include the extension of the Rule of Law Conditionality Mechanism to cover all EU funding programmes and the introduction of 'smart conditionality', which will allow EU funds to bypass governments that undermine the rule of law and instead support communities and civil society organisations working to uphold European values.

It also proposes the creation of a single EU mechanism for democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights to ensure coordinated annual monitoring across Member States with links to concrete EU action. It further proposes to extend the mandate and funding of the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) to fight corruption, and to create a new fund to restore the rule of law and support civil society initiatives.

“If we fail to protect the rule of law, we fail to safeguard the very foundation on which the EU was built.”

Moritz Körner MEP (FDP, Germany)

Since the beginning of the mandate, we have been instrumental in pressuring the Commission to take a stronger stance against Member States deviating from the principles laid out in the Treaties, to actively defend European values, avoiding short-term compromises for long-term stability. The rule-of-law conditionality on EU funds as proposed by our Group is a strong a leverage tool to pressure autocratizing national elites, and get a grip on the political realities of the rule of law crisis. But it's only strong if we rigorously use it and don't let in to blackmail holding EU decision making hostage.

Besides tackling Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party, we also acting as watchdog for emerging challenges in Slovakia and Greece. Our Group is committed to addressing the rule of law crisis on a broader scale, knowing well that a collective response is crucial for maintaining the integrity of the European project. Our aim is to foster a united front within the European Parliament to counter the threats posed by illiberal tendencies in Member States and ensure their adherence to fundamental European values.