A declaration on the rule of law in the European Union

• Published date: 01 January 2021
• Date: 01 January 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/eulj.12419

EPILOGUE: IN SOLIDARITY WE STAND

A declaration on the rule of law in the European

Union

Helsinki Rule of Law Forum

*

Since the Second World War, Europe has witnessed the benefits of a rule-based order. Peace, prosperity, and pro-

gress have grown out of a shared commitment to the rule of law, both between individuals and states. As of late,

these unprecedented achievements are increasingly under threat, as the basics of the rule of law, including the need

for an independent judiciary, are questioned both at the heart of Europe and in countries beyond our borders. Time

is of the essence. If backsliding on the rule of law occurs faster than corrective action, the passage of time will inevi-

tably erode the rule-based order. We, the signatories of this declaration, urgently call on all leaders, in Member

States and the EU Institutions, to uncompromisingly safeguard the rule of law in Europe. Our reasons are as follows:

1. The EU is built upon the rule of law. As the foundation of European integration, the rule of law reflects a specific

vision for establishing a union among the peoples of Europe. This vision is intrinsically connected to the EU's

values, listed in its founding treaty and drawn from the historic inheritance of Europe. These values include –

besides the rule of law –respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, and respect for human rights,

including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. Without the rule of law, these values are illusory. They are

observed in a society in which pluralism, tolerance, justice and equality prevail. The rule of law is more than legal-

ity; it transcends the letter of the law. It is indissociable from the Union's values.

2. In joining the EU, the Member States have bound themselves, voluntarily and following their own constitutional

requirements, to respect the key principles of liberal constitutional democracy. These principles informed the

drafting of the original Treaties and have been reaffirmed upon each accession. In the course of membership, the

Member States are obligated to continue respecting these structural principles, which underpin the Union's legal

order and are articulated in the Treaty as founding values. These principles cannot flourish in the EU if they are

not observed at the national level. In fact, the interdependence between the political and legal orders of the

Union and its constituent members is such that breaches in Member States will inevitably put into question the

EU's compliance with them, both internally and towards the wider world.

3. In the EU, as everywhere, liberal democracy, human rights, and the rule of law are interconnected at their root.

There can be no real democracy without the guarantees of free and fair elections, individual liberty, and active

civil society; there can be no effective protection of individual rights, or of democracy, without independent

courts, and there can be no rule of law without the democratic legitimacy of government and substantive funda-

mental rights. Under the EU Treaties, the rule of law's concept of the rule of law is premised on the respect of lib-

eral democracy: freedom, consent of the governed, and equality before the law. Its antitheses, for which there is

no room in the EU, are authoritarianism, the rule of the few, and arbitrary use of power. The principles of the rule

of law are well known and enshrined in the EU's legal order, developed over seven decades by the Court of

*https://www2.helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/helsinki-rule-of-law-forum.

DOI: 10.1111/eulj.12419

306 © 2022 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Eur Law J. 2021;27:306–307.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/eulj