EU Mission: Europe abides by the rule of law

Media freedom and pluralism are essential to protect democracy. An independent media reports on corruption and human rights violations and holds governments accountable. However, independent media are increasingly coming under pressure from funding cuts and the direct influence of illiberal governments or powerful private actors. This threatens their existence and their ability to maintain their functions as watchdogs of democracy.

Download the PDF to read about how to democratize the media.

The media landscape is changing rapidly. Quality media outlets are struggling as free online and free print news and lower advertisement income threaten their finances. Most can remain competitive only with state financial subsidies. If a given state turns illiberal, however, it can cut funding, ruining independent media or compelling it to sell out to powerful private actors. The media then can no longer fulfil their role reporting on, for example, government scandals. This undermines democracy.

Download the PDF to read about how to democratize media funding.

Independent media stand and fall with their journalists. If anti-democratic actors manage to intimidate journalists and threaten their financial security or even their physical integrity, journalists face an impossible choice. Intimidatory actions such as lawsuits and online threats are becoming more common across the EU Member States and put journalists under pressure to stop reporting. The assassinations of investigative journalists Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta and Ján Kuciak alongside his fiancée Martina Kušnírová in Slovakia show how far criminal actors tied to corrupt politicians are willing to go when trying to shut down critical voices in the media.

Download the PDF to read about how to help journalists under threat.

Across the European Union, there is a social imbalance as regards who receives legal aid and who can afford legal advice. Those with higher formal education and financial means are not only more likely to know their rights but also to be able to enforce them with the help of lawyers.

Download the PDF to read about how law clinics can make a difference.

Strategic litigation makes it possible to achieve far-reaching social changes, for better or worse. In the past, trade unions and NGOs have brought about important changes in the European and/or national legal order via the European Court of Justice, especially in preliminary ruling proceedings. However, to date funding for strategic litigation has been very li mited. As a result, many cases that end up in court are brought by well funded conservative complainants, thereby perpetuating social imbalance and promoting illiberal ideas.

Download the PDF to read about funding for fundamental rights lawsuits.

The processes of EU legislation are too complicated for most citizens to understand. Too many citizens feel out of touch and disempowered, and this may turn into distrust and resentment towards the EU. European democracies need to address this problem and grow stronger from it.

Download the PDF to read about European citizens' panels.

Some Member States no longer operate under the rule of law. The Polish and Hungarian governments, for instance, have already undermined the independence of their judiciaries and civil rights. The EU has tried to put pressure on these countries to reverse their policies with sanctions and by withholding EU funds. Such instruments are not effective enough, however. We need to reinforce these instruments and make them more effective, but also to find new ways to protect the rule of law in Europe.

Download the PDF to read about reforming the rule of law instruments.

Some civil society organisations (CSOs) are not getting the funding they need. The purpose of the EU’s Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme (CERV) is to provide funding for CSOs that work to protect the EU's core values but are under direct pressure from illiberal organisations. However, the programme has three main drawbacks:
– Applying requires a huge administrative effort. Small NGOs with few resources often cannot keep operating on a daily basis while also writing a 60-page application in bureaucratic jargon.
– The guidelines are very restrictive, particularly when it comes to personnel and travel costs. CSOs need more flexibility in how they use their funds, so they do not have to worry about their electricity bills every month.
– The rates for co-funding are far too high. Applicants themselves have to provide at least 10 per cent of the funding they require, a hurdle many CSOs cannot get over.

Download the PDF to read about how to make EU funding easier for civil society organisations.

If Europeans are to be able to exercise their rights, information about them must be made more readily available. Although individual EU institutions put important information on their websites, finding it requires considerable effort. However, not everyone knows that such help is available at all or has the knowledge required to make good use of it.

Download the PDF to read about the legal aid website.

All Member States, as well as all EU accession candidates have ombudsmen. They operate mainly at national and regional level, albeit with varying degrees of authority. These ombudsmen perform EU-level tasks, especially concerning citizens' complaints against national transposition of EU law. They thus have an extremely important role in ensuring compliance with the rule of law and upholding EU law. However, they often lack their own European law departments.

Download the PDF to read about enabling citizens to make legal complaints.