Defending Democracy and the Rule of law in the Era of Post-Enlargement

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Abstract

This contribution critically analyses the four limbs of the EU's defence mechanism upholding the rule of law within the Union. The first being the individual post accession rule of law mechanism, introduced by the Commission in 2006 for the two new member states Bulgaria and Rumania. The second, and arguably most powerful limb, involves the EU Court of Justice conducting a judicial review of a member state's rule of law situation, which is of far greater concern for reviewed members than the so-called "nuclear"last-resort option of Art. 7 teu 's sanction mechanism (fourth limb) that is politically difficult to enact. With a view to the politically fraught Art. 7 teu, the Commission introduced a new "early warning"rule of law framework in 2014 which pre-emptively enables exploring dialogue-based solutions to rule-of law issues as they emerge (third limb).
Translated title of the contributionDie Verteidigung von Demokratie und Rechtstaatlichkeit nach der EU Erweiterung
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)409 - 431
Number of pages23
JournalReview of Central and East European Law
Volume45
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2020

Keywords

  • democracy
  • Central European Law
  • East European Law

Fields of Science and Technology Classification 2012

  • 505 Law

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