In this podcast, Kersty McCourt, Senior Advocacy Advisor at Liberties EU, a membership-based human rights organisation, joined IIEA Researcher, Heather Burke to discuss the rule of law in Europe and offer a civil society perspective on the topic. Liberties EU publishes its annual Liberties Rule of Law Report, which operates as a ‘shadow report’ to the European Commission’s annual Rule of Law Report, the 2025 version of which was published on 8 July 2025.

This podcast is part of the IIEA’s Future-Proofing Europe Project which is kindly supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Michael McGrath, as Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, launched the Commission’s Rule of Law Report 2025.

The European Commission Rule of Law Reports first began in 2020, as the EU experienced a period of increasing decline in the rule of law. The Report was envisaged as an additional, preventative tool within the Commission’s Rule of Law Toolbox which could assess early warning signs of backsliding on the rule of law. Kersty McCourt argued that while the Commission’s Rule of Law Report is a useful resource, the challenge now facing the Commission is to link its assessments and recommendations with actions that are implemented quickly and robustly enough to steer Member States back towards greater respect for the Rule of Law. 

In the conversation, Kersty McCourt highlighted the particularly vulnerable position in which civil society across Europe now finds itself, where some governments, and even members of the European Parliament seek to discredit the work done by CSOs in support democracy, human rights and the rule of law. She warned that if these issues are not addressed, the EU will face a very dangerous trajectory over the next five years.

Key Trends and Takeaways identified by Kersty McCourt

• The commitment from the European Commission in its Multi-Annual Financial Framework Proposals to strengthen the link between the recommendations in its Rule of Law Report and financial support under the EU budget is welcome. However, to facilitate such conditionality, the country recommendations should be more targeted and have specific time frames.
• Decline in the rule of law in some Member States, for example Slovakia, is occurring at an unprecedented pace; the European Commission must be willing to engage quickly to temper this.
• The efforts by civil society organisations to report on rule of law issues at national level are not always reflected in the Commission’s final report. Greater transparency from the European Commission on how it decides what information to include or exclude in the rule of law report would be a welcome step.
• It is important for the Commission to look at the specific types of violations occurring in different member states. For example, the implementation of court judgments is so fundamental to the Rule of Law that this ought to raise particularly loud alarm bells, with shorter timeframes for rectification.