EurActiv France: The idea of ​​a yellow card to defend the rule of law is making its way

Our Martin Michelot was quoted in an article for EurActiv France regarding his latest policy paper on the state of the rule of law in the Visegrad countries.

The notion of the rule of law is very difficult to define, and therefore very difficult to apply.

The solution could be that the European Court of Justice could take up the abuse of the rule of law in Poland. This is a real means of pressure that would break the deadlock of Article 7.

[Conditioning the payment of Structural Funds to the respect of the rule of law] is a tempting idea, as Poland is the largest beneficiary of the European Structural Funds. And Hungary is the largest beneficiary in ratio of its gross domestic product, since 3% of its GDP comes from the structural funds.

In practice, the EU is struggling to manage a decline in the rule of law after accession, because the corrective mechanisms are not adapted.

You can read the whole article (in French) on EurActiv France. Also, you can download the whole policy paper titled Visegrad Countries: How can Europe repair breaches of the rule of law? here.

Martin Michelot
Senior Associate Research Fellow

Expertise: NATO and transatlantic security, European foreign policy and defense, French politics, elections and society, Visegrad Four and Central Europe, EU institutional issues