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DRAFT REPORT (2025/2239(INI))

On the Commission’s 2025 Rule of Law report

LIBE-PR-779664

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs · Rapporteur: Konstantinos Arvanitis

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This draft report responds to the Commission's 2025 Rule of Law report. It calls on member states to strengthen judicial independence, fight corruption, protect journalists and civil society, and uphold fundamental rights, and asks the Commission to improve its reporting process.

Committee position. The rapporteur proposes a resolution that broadly supports the Commission's report but calls for stronger actions on fundamental rights, anti-corruption, and reporting improvements, without naming specific member states.

Key points

  1. Calls on member states to ensure independent judicial systems, access to free legal aid, and prompt implementation of CJEU and ECtHR rulings, suggesting a monitoring unit for such rulings.
  2. Urges member states to strengthen anti-corruption measures, including transparent EU fund management, codes of conduct, asset declarations, and protection for whistleblowers and journalists.
  3. Condemns surveillance of journalists and media ownership concentration; calls for implementation of anti-SLAPP rules and protection of media professionals.
  4. Condemns attacks on civic space and calls for a safe environment for civil society, including adequate funding and protection for human rights defenders.
  5. Urges action on LGBTIQ+ rights, including a binding EU ban on conversion practices, and condemns discriminatory measures and hate speech.
  6. Calls for fundamental rights of migrants and asylum seekers to be upheld, and for action against gender-based violence, including adding it to EU crimes.
  7. Concerned about EU funds facilitating rights violations; proposes earmarking funds for independent monitoring and insists on coherent assessment of funding conditions.
  8. Welcomes making nearly half of future EU funds conditional on rule of law compliance; stresses single market dimension should complement fundamental rights.
  9. Calls for rule of law to be central in enlargement and for concrete recommendations to accession countries.
  10. Asks the Commission to improve transparency, involve independent experts, and issue more operational recommendations with clear timelines and follow-up.
  11. Calls for expanding the report's scope to all Article 2 TEU values and for EU institutions to be assessed; urges Council to make its rule of law dialogue more transparent.

Who is affected

  • Member states: must implement judicial, anti-corruption, media, and civil society measures.
  • EU institutions (Commission, Council): must improve reporting, transparency, and their own rule of law compliance.
  • Journalists and media: protection from surveillance and SLAPPs, and media pluralism.
  • Civil society organisations and human rights defenders: safer environment and funding.
  • LGBTIQ+ people, migrants, and minorities: rights protection and non-discrimination.

Figures and deadlines

  • Nearly half of funds in the 2028-2034 multiannual financial framework to be conditional on rule of law compliance.

Legal basis: Articles 2, 3(1), 3(3), 4(3), 5, 6, 7, 11, 19 and 49 TEU