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The Office of International IDEA to the European Union to participate in a discussion on the crisis of the Rule of Law in the EU

February 16, 2017 • By Andrew Bradley

The Institute for European Studies (IEE), in collaboration with the Centre d'Étude de la Vie Politique (CEVIPOL), of the Université libre de Bruxelles will host a discussion on the crisis of the rule of law in Brussels, Belgium on Monday, 20 February 2017.  Andrew Bradley of the Office of International IDEA to the European Union will chair the policy panel during the second half of the discussion.

At a time when internal and external threats challenge the values of democracy in consolidated and new democracies, there is not a more opportune moment for the European Union (EU) to re-invent itself and show global leadership. Global leadership also comes along with the development and application of solid mechanisms and frameworks to guarantee EU fundamental values, including democracy and the rule of law, in Member States. 

To date, the EU has used the 2014 Framework to strengthen the rule of law[1] for breaches of democracy and the rule of law in Member States. This mechanism is designed to prevent the need for the EU to use the Article 7 procedure of the Lisbon Treaty, which is intended for a serious breach of EU’s values, and could lead to the suspension of a Member State’s voting rights. However, it is frequently asked whether the mechanism is adequate, and above all, applied in a consistent and innovative manner.  

For the IEE and CEVIPOL, the rule of law, which is at the center of the European construction, “provokes both consensus and heated debates. Recent judicial reforms in EU Member States have illustrated the challenges that the rule of law represents to the EU project. Examining the rule of law and the pressures to this core value are the motivation for the academic and policy panels on the subject,            ‘A pivotal European value under stress: The rule of law crises and their impact on EU’s political integration’. This conversation between academics and policy makers will seek to shed more light on the tensions generated by the EU’s attempt to govern the rule of law, but also to examine the structure of conflict over the rule of law, sovereignty, legitimacy and power at the EU and domestic levels.”[2]

The discussion panels will focus on the following two over-arching questions:

  • “The EU’s new mode of governance in dealing with rule of law crises in Poland and Hungary”; and
  • “The rule of law as a common value”.

This academic panel, moderated by Ramona Coman, Director of the IEE, will consist of:

  • Laurent Pech (Middlesex University London)
  • Agnes Batory (Central European University)
  • Dimitry Kochenov (University of Groningen)

The policy panel, chaired by Andrew Bradley, Director of the Office of International Institute for Democracy Assistance to the European Union, will host:

  • Sergio Bartole – Member of the Venice Commission, Council of Europe, Professor in Constitutional Law
  • Emmanuel Crabit – Head of Unit Justice Policy and Rule of Law, DG JUST, European Commission

 

Please see link below for more details of the discussion and attendance registration formalities:

http://iee-ulb.eu/en/events/2017/02/a-pivotal-european-value-under-stress-the-rule-of-law-crises-and-their-impact-on-eu-s-political-integration

 

 

[2]  Extract from event notification at http://iee-ulb.eu/en/events/2017/02/a-pivotal-european-value-under-stress-the-rule-of-law-crises-and-their-impact-on-eu-s-political-integration

 

About the authors

Former staff member - Andrew Bradley
Director of the Office of International IDEA to the European Union
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