Liberties Rule of Law Report 2022 - Country & Trend Reports on Democratic Records by Civil Society Organisations Across the European Union

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Violet

Liberties Rule of Law Report 2022 is the third annual EU-wide assessment of rule of law conditions, drafted by Liberties and national member and partner organisations as a shadow report to the European Commission’s annual rule of law audit. It documents major developments in 17 EU countries regarding justice-system functioning, anti-corruption frameworks, media freedom and journalist safety, checks and balances, civic space and human-rights defenders, alongside systemic human-rights violations undermining rule of law. Findings highlight growing authoritarianism, worsening abuses in Hungary and Poland, and persistent stagnation elsewhere.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages436

Reading Time18 h 19 min

AccessFree to download

Executive summary

A unique reporting exercise

Authoritarianism grows, while elsewhere problems stagnate

Key findings

Country reports

LIBERTIES RULE OF LAW REPORT 2022 Country & Trend Reports on Democratic Records by Civil Society Organisations Across the European Union LIBERTIES RULE OF LAW REPORT 2022 LIBERTIES RULE OF LAW REPORT 2022 Table of contents Executive summary 4 About this report 10 Rule of law: what it is and why & how it needs to be monitored 12 It is about our rights and well-being 12 Keeping governments on their toes 13 Using the annual EU rule of law audit to its full potential 14 Overview of trends and key recommendations 17 EU democracies in 2021: little progress, widespread stagnation and deepening authoritarianism 17 Delivering justice: the good, the bad and the lazy 21 No real progress on corruption 26 Media and journalists under increasing pressure 28 Checking the executive: a precarious balance 33 Civic space and rights defenders under attack 36 Systemic human rights violations and impunity continue to undermine the rule of law framework 40 Fostering a national rule of law culture: civil society in the lead 43 Country reports 45 BELGIUM 46 BULGARIA 79 CROATIA 104 CZECH REPUBLIC 141 ESTONIA 148 FRANCE 177 GERMANY 186 HUNGARY 193 IRELAND 231 ITALY 270 NETHERLANDS 297 POLAND 317 ROMANIA 337 SLOVAKIA 356 SLOVENIA 367 SPAIN 397 SWEDEN 415 Contact 436 LIBERTIES RULE OF LAW REPORT 2022 Executive summary A unique reporting exercise The Liberties Rule of Law Report 2022 is the third annual report on the state of rule of law in the European Union (EU) published by the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties)– the most in-depth reporting exercise to date on the rule of law in the EU by an NGO network. The report, jointly drafted by Liberties and its national member and partner organisations, is a ‘shadow report’ to the European Commission’s annual rule of law audit, aimed at providing the Commission with reliable information and analysis from the ground to use in its annual audit, besides offering an independent analysis of the state of the rule of law in its own right. The report lays out the most striking developments concerning the rule of law and democracy in 2021 in 17 countries across the EU. More than 30 civil society organisations from across the EU contributed to the research, which looked into a wide range of areas includingthe functioning of justice systems, the anticorruption framework, media freedom, pluralism and safety of journalists, checks and balances, civic space and human rights defenders and systemic human rights violations affecting the rule of law environment. Besides pulling together all the individual country reports drafted by member and partner organisations, the report includes an overview of general trends on the rule of law in the EU compiled by Liberties. It also formulates detailed recommendations addressed to both national government and the EU institutions on how to address the shortcomings identified in each of the areas covered, and suggests a series of improvements the European Commission could make to enhance the usefulness and impact of its annual rule of law monitoring exercise. Authoritarianism grows, while elsewhere problems stagnate We find few signs of progress. Most governments allowed existing problems to stagnate, while some already problematic regimes continued to build or entrench an authoritarian state. Steps towards the creation of an authoritarian state worsened in Hungary and Poland. These governments refused to relent in their attempts to capture and control the justice system, civil society and media, and to scapegoat and curtail the rights of women and minority groups including LGBTQI+ people and migrants. Rather, their attacks became even more blatant and were accompanied by an escalation of the rule of law row with the EU. At the sametime, Slovenia continued down the same path to authoritarianism we reported last year, with the government increasing pressure on the LIBERTIES R

FAQs

What is the Liberties Rule of Law Report 2022?

It is Liberties’ third annual report assessing the state of rule of law in the EU. It is drafted with national member and partner organisations and functions as a shadow report to the European Commission’s annual rule of law audit.

Which areas does the report examine across EU countries?

It covers justice-system functioning, anti-corruption frameworks, media freedom and safety of journalists, checks and balances, civic space and human-rights defenders, and systemic human-rights violations affecting the rule-of-law environment.

What do the 2022 findings indicate about progress and authoritarianism in the EU?

The report finds few signs of progress overall. It notes steps toward an authoritarian state worsening in Hungary and Poland and continued pressure on the prosecution system, independent media, and civil society in Slovenia.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Violet