BLOG | The Use of Article 7 as a Protection Tool for the Rule of Law and European Values

With Hungary taking over the EU presidency in July 2024, many are questioning the EU's ability to promote its values in its member states. Indeed, the EU is about to hand over its presidency to a state that has been criticised for its actions that threaten the rule of law and is subject to the procedure set out in Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), writes Maxime Painot in his blog.

The first component of Article 7 TEU is what is commonly referred to as preventive action. It can be triggered by a proposal from the Member States, the European Parliament (EP) or the European Commission (EC). The Council can then decide on the existence of a clear risk of a substantial breach of the values set out in Article 2 TEU. The use of this preventive aspect is intended to enable action to be taken beforehand, to avoid actual violations of the rule of law and to avoid a politically delicate balance of power if the procedure were to continue through to the adoption of sanctions).

Read the whole blog here