Member states’ differential support for rule of law enforcement in the council of the EU

This article examines Member States’ support for rule of law (RoL) enforcementin the Council of the European Union (the Council). Existing studies regardingthis topic produce puzzling findings: there is a stable pro-RoL enforcementcoalition between older Member States, while the positions of the newermembers appear to be more nuanced in relation to different RoL issues andinstruments. This article seeks to elucidate the factors underlying thesedivergent positions and proposes a solution to this puzzle by introducingthe conceptualisation of Member States’ ‘differential support’ for RoLenforcement. Furthermore, it develops a theoretical framework to explainvarious factors influencing these positions. By analysing Member States’stances on five RoL instruments designed for the promotion and protectionof the RoL in the Union, this article demonstrates that the positions of newMember States on RoL enforcement are more stable than often perceived.Additionally, an in-depth qualitative analysis of Member States’ argumentsreveals that strategic calculations largely influence their positions on RoLenforcement within the Council.