My plenary speech on the EU Commission’s 2024 Rule of Law report
The Rule of Law Reports, launched under the previous legislature, have become a vital tool for democratic oversight.
Year after year,it highlights persistent deficiencies—attacks on judicial independence, pressure on the media, and the weakening of civil society.
These warning signs are systematically repeated in each edition, yet real sanctions remain elusive.
In our Member States, some governments continue to test how far they can go, crossing red lines without facing meaningful consequences.
What begins as an isolated breach spreads from one Member State to two, then three.
Among the most alarming trends are the attempts to silence civil society, the systematic attacks on women’s rights and on the rights of minorities, particularly LGBTIQ Citizens, whose dignity and freedoms are increasingly undermined by hostile rhetoric and discriminatory laws.
Let’s not forget that Hate Speech often ends in Hate Crime!
When the Union tolerates these transgressions, it betrays its founding values.
It is time to act. The Commission and we all must move from observation to enforcement.
