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The EU as a global rule of law promoter: the consistency and effectiveness challenges

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Abstract

This paper aims to examine the consistency and effectiveness of the EU as a global promoter of values by focusing on the rule of law, one of the key values on which the EU is based and which is also supposed to guide EU’s external action. The paper first offers the diagnosis that the EU has failed to properly address a number of key issues: (i) what the EU seeks to promote under the heading ‘rule of law’, (ii) how it measures and monitors a country’s adherence to this principle and (iii) the disconnect between its external and internal policies and instruments. To address these issues, four key recommendations are made: (i) the adoption of a guidance note, (ii) the development of a transversal measurement and monitoring instrument, (iii) the adoption of a rule of law checklist and (iv) the revision of the role of EU Fundamental Rights Agency, with the view of transforming it into a ‘Copenhagen Commission’ with new powers and a broader geographical remit.

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Notes

  1. ‘The Rule of Law is a priceless asset of our country and a foundation of our Constitution’, Guardian et al. v. AB and CD [2014] EWCA Crim 1861, para. 10.

  2. Six countries currently benefit from the status of candidate countries: Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey, Albania, Macedonia, and Iceland. Accession negotiations have been suspended with Iceland and have yet to start as regards Albania and Macedonia. Bosnia and Kosovo have also been offered the prospect of EU membership and are currently referred to as potential candidate countries.

  3. Both countries joined the EU on 1 January 2007. CVM progress reports are available at http://ec.europa.eu/cvm .

  4. The EU ‘pledge registration form’ can be found on the UN Rule of Law website and repository: www.unrol.org.

  5. The 2nd edition of the EU Justice Scoreboard is available at http://ec.europa.eu/justice/effective-justice/scoreboard/index_en.htm.

  6. The EU anti-corruption report covers all 28 EU Member States and is available at http://ec.europa.eu/anti-corruption-report.

  7. See e.g. the list of interim benchmarks regarding the independence of the judiciary imposed on Montenegro: Conference on Accession to the EU, EU Common Position – Chapter 23: Judiciary and Fundamental Rights, AD 17/13, CONF-ME 13, Brussels, 12 December 2013, pp. 19–20.

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Acknowledgments

The author is grateful for the valuable comments on earlier drafts received from Dimitry Kochenov, Matthieu Burnay and Kolja Raube.

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  1. Middlesex University London, London, UK

    Laurent Pech

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  1. Laurent Pech
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Correspondence to Laurent Pech.

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Professor of European Law and Jean Monnet Chair of EU Public Law at Middlesex University London.

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Pech, L. The EU as a global rule of law promoter: the consistency and effectiveness challenges. Asia Eur J 14, 7–24 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10308-015-0432-z

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