Acknowledgements
Contents
About the Author
Abbreviations
List of Figures
List of Tables
Chapter 1: The Gradual Establishment of an EU Rule of Law Policy in Times of Dissensus
1.1 Introduction
1.2 The Assault on Judicial Institutions on the Agenda of the EU
1.3 More than an Assault: A Clash of Liberal and Anti-liberal Ideas
1.4 Irreconcilable Conceptions of Power, Authority, and Sovereignty
1.5 The EU’s Rule of Law Policy and Tools
1.6 The Politics of the Rule of Law in Times of Dissensus
1.7 Who Shapes the EU’s Rule of Law Policy, and How?
The Rule of Law Policy in the Shadow of the New Intergovermentalism
The Rule of Law Policy and the New Supranationalism
The Rule of Law and the New Parliamentarism
Change Over Time and Dynamic Institutional Relationships
1.8 Structure of the Book
Data and Methodology
References
Chapter 2: The Core Dimensions of the Rule of Law: From Consensus to Dissensus
2.1 Introduction
2.2 The Rule of Law, a Multi-dimensional Concept Rooted in Different Traditions
Control and Checks and Balances
Consent: Who Decides Who Decides?
Thin and Substantive Understandings
2.3 The Rule of Law in the Constitutions of the EU Member States
2.4 The Value of the Rule of Law and Independent Courts
2.5 Principled Consensus: Global Commitment and the Rise of a Paradigm
2.6 An Analytical Grid: Consensus, Dissensus, and Contestation Over the Rule of Law
Dissensus
Experienced-Based Contestation
2.7 Conclusion
References
Chapter 3: From the Constitutionalisation of Values to the Question of Enforcement
3.1 Introduction
3.2 From a Community Shape by Law to a Community of Rights and Values
3.3 The Legitimacy Gaps of Article 7 TEU: From Discursive Consensus over Values to Institutional Divides
3.4 From the Copenhagen Declaration to the Copenhagen Criteria: The Establishment of a Rule of Law Governance
3.5 Conclusions
References
Chapter 4: The Commission’s Rule of Law Soft Tools: Towards the Establishment of a Monitoring Regime?
4.1 Introduction
4.2 The Commission: A Constrained Policy Entrepreneur?
4.3 Anchoring Justice Systems Reforms in EU’s Economic Governance: The Justice Scoreboard and the European Semester
Agency Seeking: The Expert Power of the Commission in Assessing the Efficiency, Quality, and Independence of Justice Systems
Agenda-Setting Through Soft Tools: The European Semester
Constructing Consensus over Justice Reforms in the European Semester
An Instance of Dissensus: The Political Use of the Semester to Safeguard the Rule of Law in Poland
4.4 Strengthening the Commission’s Procedural Authority: The Rule of Law Framework
Contested Legality
The Formalisation of the Pre-Article 7 TEU Procedure
In the Middle of Dissensus: The Commission’s Dialogue with Poland or the Meeting of Law, Politics, and Technocracy
4.5 Conclusions
References
Chapter 5: The European Parliament: How Coalition Formation and Internal Group Dynamics Shape EU’s Rule of Law Policy?
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Consensus, Contestation, and Dissensus. Explaining Legislative Politics Through MEPs Behaviour
5.3 Coalition Patterns of Dissensus and Contestation in Triggering Rule of Law Policy Tools
Triggering Article 7 TEU Against Hungary: The EPP’s Strategic and Discursive Coalition with the “Untidy” Right
The EPP’s Support for the Bulgarian GERB
The Slow Detachment of the S&D from Their Romanian Members: Discursive Coalitions in Reverse
The EPP-S&D Clash over the Rule of Law in Malta
Less Contestation and Dissensus: A Grand Coalition Against PiS
Renew’s Limited Support to Its Czech ANO 2011 Member
5.4 Reaching Consensus. Working to Establish an EU Mechanism for Democracy, the Rule of Law, and Fundamental Rights
From the Establishment of a Copenhagen Commission to the EU Mechanism on Democracy, the Rule of Law, and Fundamental Rights
Polarised Views on the Rule of Law Governance
The EU Mechanism on Democracy, the Rule of Law, and Fundamental Rights
5.5 Conclusion
References
Chapter 6: The Rule of Law Debate in the Council: Weak Consensus and Impossible Deliberation and Persuasion in Times of Dissensus and Contestation
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Member States’ Coalitions on the EU’s Rule of Law Policy
6.3 The Annual Rule of Law Dialogue in the Council: A Belgo-German Initiative
6.4 Article 7 TEU Hearings in the Council: A Clear Expression of the East-West Divide?
Article 7 TEU Hearings with Poland
Confrontational Article 7 TEU Hearings with Hungary
Two Different Styles and Irreconcilable Positions
6.5 Conclusion
References
Chapter 7: The European Council’s Role in Day-to-Day Decision-Making: Increasing the EU’s Authority Through a General Regime of Conditionality (Regulation 2020/2092)?
7.1 Introduction
7.2 A Political Proposal Initiated by a Political Commission: Towards Another Article 7 TEU?
Mainstreaming Conditionality to Bolster the EU’s Authority: A Divisive Idea “dans l’air du temps” in European Capitals
The Commission’s Initial Ambitions
Towards a Definition of Rule of Law Rooted in Intellectual Traditions and CJEU Case Law
A Supranational Decision-Making Framework for a General Regime of Conditionality
7.3 The Major Shift: The Political Ambitions of the Commission Tempered by the Council Legal Service
7.4 From Legal Reluctance in the Council to Consensus in the EP
In Search of a Role for the EP, Experts, and National Parliaments
Safeguarding the Interests of Beneficiaries: Only Legitimate Interests However
7.5 From Technical Issues to Political Guidance from the European Council
Compromises on Technical Issues Under the Romanian Presidency
The July 2020 European Council: Agreement or Not on the Rule of Law Conditionality?
The German Proposal: How to Reconcile Irreconcilable Positions?
7.6 The Final Game: Who Gets What and How?
What Was Non-negotiable
What the EP Wanted and What It Obtained
What the Commission Wanted
The Leaders Take All Again: The Controversial Conclusions of the December 2020 European Council
The Commission’s Adoption of Guidelines: Obedient or Independent?
7.7 Conclusion
References
Chapter 8: When Civil Society Engages with the EU’s Rule of Law Policy-Making: Towards a More Substantive Understanding?
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Civil Society and the Rule of Law: Engaging with the Commission in European Consultations
The 2013 Consultation: Les Assises de la Justice
Calling on the EU for a Comprehensive Human Rights Policy
2019 Consultation on the Rule of Law
The Question of Definition: What Is the Rule of Law Anyway?
The Rule of Law Substance: Rights and Social Welfare
Control: Contrasting Views over the Rule of Law Governance Beyond Supranational Versus Intergovernmental Designs
Legality at the Core of Dissensus
8.3 European Citizens’ Initiatives: Participatory Tools to Give Meaning to Rights?
Wake up Europe: The 2015 ECI on Democratic Backsliding in Hungary
The 2019 ECI for the Respect for the Rule of Law Within the European Union
An Unsuccessful ECI, a Failure?
8.4 Conclusion
References
Chapter 9: Ten Years on, What Then Is the Outcome? Consensus, Dissensus and Contestation over the Rule of Law
9.1 Introduction
9.2 A Twofold Foundational Conflict
9.3 Contesters, Dissenters, and Consenters: What Are They Fighting for?
9.4 Who Governs?
9.5 From Soft to Hard Policy Tools and from Governance to More Integration in Core State Powers
References
Index