EU report to show upgrades in rule of law
A European Commission report on the state of the rule of law in EU member countries will be published Wednesday.
The report, which is still being revised, apparently with the input of the member-states, is somewhat more positive for Greece than last year’s.
The annually revised report evaluates how the rule of law operates in five main areas: justice, corruption, media freedom, the independence of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the quality of the legislative process.
Kathimerini understands that, according to the latest version of the report from a few days back, Greece has achieved “significant progress” in the independence of the judiciary, “some further progress” in corruption, media freedom and NGO independence, and only “partial progress” in the legislative process.
In last year’s report, Greece had achieved “significant progress” in one area, “partial progress” in three and “no progress” in one.
The improvement in the assessment certainly satisfies the government, since the rule of law and its deficiencies in Greece were often seized by the opposition as issues with which to attack the conservative administration, especially when the case of phone hackings was raised.
Still, government officials said, the release of the report is no cause for celebration or complacency.
A team of government officials, led by Minister of State Akis Skertsos, and assisted by the ministries of Interior, Justice and Migration, the Press Secretariat and the National Transparency Authority, was in constant communication with the European authorities, submitting documentation, responding to questions and rebutting opposition allegations.
The “significant progress” in justice was mainly achieved by providing for the involvement of court plenaries in selecting the top high court officials, something long-enacted in several EU member-states. Media freedom benefitted from fewer so-called strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), aimed at preventing disclosure, and NGO independence from the creation of an NGO registry. Still, the report notes that further steps must be taken.
