Hungarian Conservative

According to the new Rule of Law Report released by the European Commission on 24 July, Italy, Hungary, and Slovakia performed poorly regarding the continued decline in democratic standards threatening the effective prosecution of corruption, the independence of the judicial system, and the safety of journalists.

For the fourth consecutive year, the European Commission has published its annual report on the rule of law, which comes with few surprises. In addition to Hungary, Brussels is now concerned about the rule of law in Slovakia and Italy, which is unsurprising given that both Member States have governments prioritizing national interests. Poland, on the other hand, has fallen off the EU’s ‘bad guy’ list since Brussels’ favourite, Donald Tusk, came to power. This year’s report leads to a single conclusion: the Commission views the rule of law as a tool for political and financial blackmail.