Let's consider a few realities as opposed to dreams here........
The EU Framework to strengthen the rule of law
The objective of the Framework is to prevent, through a dialogue with the Member State concerned, that an emerging systemic threat to the rule of law escalates further into a situation where the Commission would need to make use of its power of issuing a proposal to trigger the mechanisms of Article 7 TEU.
If such a threat cannot be effectively addressed by the safeguards at national level, or by the existing instruments at EU level, in particular infringement procedures, the Framework could be applied.
The Framework establishes a three-stage process: a Commission assessment, a Commission recommendation and monitoring of the Member State’s follow-up to the Commission’s recommendation. At all stages, dialogue should continue between the Commission and the Member State concerned.
If however no solution is found within the Framework, Article 7 TEU will always remain the last resort to resolve a crisis and ensure the Member State complies with EU values. Article 7 TEU provides for special mechanisms with far-reaching sanctions in case a Member State does not respect the fundamental values referred to in Article 2 TEU, including the rule of law.
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Given the above and knowledge of failure to resolve the indisputable lack of timely justice and enforcement and legal certainty issues which have compromised the rule of law in Spain during this last decade and beyond, why has this commitment to the rule of law and option to use the last resort mechanism not been evoked by the EU?
It appears as EU rhetoric and does little to inspire confidence in a system which purports to protect citizens rights, especially when some of the wrongs have already been identified by the EU Parliament’s Vice President back in 2011, no less.
It also adds insult to injury when you read that back in 2013 the EU declared this to be "The European Year of Citizens"!!
Then more recently in Feb 2015 Vice President Franz Timmermans highlighted, “So I cannot repeat it often enough: Compromising on values is compromising on the EU, weakening it and bringing it to a standstill. There can be no Europe without full respect of our common values.
This Commission is dedicated to advancing fundamental rights and the rule of law. I have been entrusted by President Juncker with a duty of special significance – and of huge significance to me –, that of steering and coordinating this work.
………My conviction and policy has always been – if current tools don’t deliver, we will have to improve them………..
But then he continued to clarify the status quo,
“And much already exists in terms of reporting mechanisms and information sources on compliance with fundamental values and the rule of law in Member States. Numerous actors – including Union institutions and agencies, in particular the Fundamental Rights Agency which carries out excellent work, but also the Council of Europe and its Venice Commission, as well as many NGOs – all perform regular monitoring activities and make important assessments. Efforts to make this information more accessible and easier to use must certainly be encouraged.
Well all I can say in this regard is that there are major omissions in the current monitoring systems for failures to adhere to the rule of law in terms of timely justice and legal certainty issues that have arisen in Spain to have been missed, and to rely upon the member state for accurate provision of these details is naive in the extreme.
The Bank Guarantee issues (www.bankguaranteesinspain.com) and failure to gain timely justice and the issue of legal certainty have been reported to the EU Parliamentarians time and again during this last decade, so they cannot claim ignorance of the facts.
This message was last edited by ads on 16/04/2016.