Report released by the European Commission on 06/12/2022 – accessible here.
The 2023 Rule of Law Report, including its 27 country chapters, examines developments across all Member States, both positive and negative, in four key areas for the rule of law: the justice system, the anti-corruption framework, media pluralism and freedom, and other institutional issues related to checks and balances. The country chapters, which rely on a qualitative assessment carried out by the Commission, analyse new developments since the previous Report and the follow-up to the challenges and developments identified in the 2022 edition.
The fourth edition of the report builds on the important step taken in last year’s report where specific recommendations for all Member States had been included for the first time. The analysis also contains a qualitative assessment of the progress made by the Member States towards implementing the 2022 recommendations. The 2023 recommendations either build on last year’s recommendations, where they were not fully implemented, or address new challenges. The recommendations aim to further assist the Member States in their efforts to take forward ongoing reforms and help them identify where improvements are needed.
The Commission has prepared this report based on continued dialogue with the Member States, while fully preserving political responsibility for its assessment and the recommendations issued. The next edition will follow-up on the developments and will continue to assess the implementation of the recommendations.
The challenges identified by the previous Rule of Law Reports have provided inspiration for several recent EU initiatives over the past year, including the proposal for a European Media Freedom Act and the Anti-Corruption Package.