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The rule of law in Europe is under increasing pressure. In several countries, press freedom, civil society, and access to justice are facing growing restrictions.
This is highlighted in a new report by the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI), which takes stock of the state of the rule of law across Europe.
Today, 26 EU Member States have a national human rights institution, such as Danish Institute for Human Rights, tasked with promoting and protecting human rights in law and practice.
One in four of the EU’s National Human Rights institutions reports having been discredited, threatened, or attacked this year.
“At the EU level, I am particularly concerned about the mounting attacks on human rights and, specifically, on the institutions created to promote and safeguard them. This is an alarming trend,” says Louise Holck, Director of the Danish Institute for Human Rights and Chair of ENNHRI.
While several national institutions face growing constraints, the human rights convention and court are also increasingly challenged. Some countries question the legitimacy of both the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights, while others fail to comply with their rulings altogether.
The National Human Rights Institutions also report negative trends in the enabling environment for civil society and human rights defenders.
NHRIs reveal key developments and challenges impacting rule of law across the European Union
For the sixth consecutive year, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) in the European Union (EU) have provided insights into their national rule of law landscapes. Overall, these show negative trends in areas such as the enabling space for NHRIs, civil society space and human rights defenders, access to justice, and media freedom. Despite the concerning picture, NHRIs continue working to counter these challenges and some progress is evident. Building on this, they recommend how policymakers can strengthen the rule of law across the EU.
Progress and challenges regarding the establishment, independence and effectiveness of NHRIs
Following the Swedish NHRI’s accreditation in 2024, there are now 20 EU countries with an internationally recognised A-status NHRI. Further positive developments include progress in establishing an NHRI in the Czech Republic, where a law was adopted expanding the Ombudsman mandate with an NHRI mandate.
At the same time, NHRIs across the EU still face increasing challenges. These include insufficient resources and the lack of follow-up by state authorities to NHRIs’ recommendations. This applies even where state authorities are legally obliged to do so. Alarmingly, one in four ENNHRI members reported a rise in intimidation, threats, and attacks against NHRIs.
Recommendations
To address the identified challenges, ENNHRI calls on:
- EU Member States to ensure adequate funding for NHRIs, protect them from threats, and provide meaningful follow-up to their recommendations;
- The European Commission to adopt an EU-wide Recommendation on NHRIs to support addressing the structural challenges that NHRIs face across the EU.
Shrinking civic space and difficulties for human rights defenders
NHRIs underline a further deterioration in the space for civil society organisations (CSOs) and human rights defenders (HRDs). Issues include restrictions on the freedom of peaceful assembly, with intimidation, harassment and violence occurring before, during or after protests.
Furthermore, NHRIs report barriers in accessing funding, information, and law- and policymaking processes. Stigmatisation, criminalisation of the work of rights defenders, and strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) are also on the rise. These particularly impact groups such as environmental defenders, women HRDs, and LGBTQI defenders.
Despite these negative trends, NHRIs continue to support CSOs and HRDs in various ways. This includes through monitoring, reporting, complaint handling, legal assistance, and dedicated advocacy.
Recommendations
To tackle the aforementioned issues, ENNHRI calls on:
- EU Member States to ensure access to funding, establish dedicated protection mechanisms for HRDs, and guarantee freedom of assembly and association.
- The European Commission to prioritise the protection of CSOs and HRDs through its annual Rule of Law Report and its recommendations, as well as the upcoming Civil Society Strategy. This should include ensuring sustained EU funding for civil society and the establishment of an EU protection mechanism for human rights defenders.
Justice delayed and denied: challenges to justice systems and implementing European Courts’ judgments
Major challenges to justice systems persist. These include serious delays in court proceedings, widespread threats to judicial independence, and obstacles to accessing legal aid. The latter particularly affects asylum seekers and migrants, women, and transgender persons. NHRIs also note the insufficient implementation of the judgments of European Courts. In some cases, this stems from a lack of political will and, worryingly, governments questioning the legitimacy of the European Courts.
NHRIs undertake numerous actions to address these challenges. They include raising awareness on the societal importance of implementing judgments, offering legal assistance or complaints handling for individuals, and providing independent reports on the follow-up to national and regional judgments.
Recommendations
To address the identified challenges, ENNHRI calls on:
- EU Member States to prioritise investing in and strengthening independence of the judiciary and ensure access to legal aid.
- EU Member States to implement European Courts’ judgments in a timely manner, in cooperation with NHRIs and civil society through dedicated institutional and procedural frameworks.
- The European Commission to issue country-specific recommendations in its annual Rule of Law Reports in case of persistent non-execution of the European Courts’ judgments, and to initiate infringement proceedings and other enforcement measures in cases of non-compliance with judgments from the Court of Justice of the EU.
Media freedom under pressure
Freedom of the media continues to face serious threats. Among these are limited access to public interest information and harassment, threats and attacks against journalists and media outlets – including the use of SLAPPs. Disinformation, sometimes spread by public authorities, is also undermining trust in independent media.
NHRIs contribute to safeguarding media freedom in different ways. They monitor the media environment, provide recommendations on draft laws, and support implementation of relevant European Courts’ judgments. Some NHRIs are also designated as national focal points under the EU anti-SLAPP framework to counter attempts to silence pluralistic public debate and protect journalists and other rights defenders.
Recommendations
To tackle the challenges to media freedom identified in the report, ENNHRI urges:
- EU Member States to improve access to information, protecting journalists, combating disinformation, and supporting independent media regulatory bodies.
- The European Commission to monitor and follow up on the implementation of the EU anti-SLAPP Directive and the EU Media Freedom Act by the EU Member States.
Current and upcoming reports and more information
Use ENNHRI’s dedicated online tool to explore the latest EU report. Discover the trends across various thematic areas in more detail and individual country reports.
