If you want democracy, strong checks and balances are non-negotiable. The distribution of power between branches of government ensures that no one can go rogue and take control of the whole apparatus. Each branch holds the others accountable, overseeing that the agreed rules are respected and legislation is drafted in the public interest.

It’s also true that many governments have special levers they can pull to act decisively in an emergency. Whether in wartime or when a global pandemic strikes, in times of crisis these pathways can be critical for good governance. However, it’s just as important that they aren’t abused.

In its sixth edition, Liberties and 43 organisations came together to produce a comprehensive review of how the rule of law fared across the EU in 2024. Covering the status of the justice system, anti-corruption, media freedom, checks and balances, civic space, and human rights across 21 EU Member States, the Liberties Rule of Law Report 2025 serves as a ‘shadow report’ informing the European Commission’s annual rule of law audit.

When it came to checks and balances, our research revealed a worrying trend — across the EU, Member States both neglected to protect and actively stifled the accountability mechanisms needed for strong democracies.

Legislatures abuse fast-track procedures, cut out public consultations

In several EU Member States, legislatures used special fast-track legislative procedures to push through bills, often without the proper legal justifications.

In Croatia, the legislature used emergency procedures to adopt 25 out of 59 newly introduced laws without clear reason or justification. In Slovakia, almost 60% of government-sponsored laws were adopted through fast-track legislative procedures. This is not just abnormal — the current coalition employed these special procedures even more frequently than its predecessor did during the COVID-19 pandemic and did so for significant legislation.

In a similar attempt to evade potential opposition, governments shortened or eliminated consultation periods. Working in tandem with fast-track procedures, this tactic blocks important perspectives as bills are developed.

While Romania, Ireland, Sweden, and Estonia, employed fast-track procedures to avoid public consultations altogether, others restricted public engagement through tactics that made input more difficult. In countries like Greece, Slovakia, and Germany, governments held short and abrupt consultation periods that constrained the input of CSOs. And in Hungary, consultations held often excluded key stakeholders, namely, the political opposition.

When governments do this, they cut out critical debate and ignore the opinions of those with reasonable criticism of proposed bills. The overuse of fast-track procedures is not more efficient — it’s a power grab, and it means the legislation produced is not thoroughly considered or representative of the will of the people.

Governments politically compromise, starve independent authorities of resources

Independent institutions such as National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) and Ombudspersons are crucial to ensure independent oversight and monitoring — and a central pillar of the system of checks and balances.

Some countries simply lack essential oversight bodies — the Czech Republic and Italy still do not have an NHRI, and Bulgaria does not have an Ombudsperson. Yet, in many more cases, states found ways to weaken or compromise existing institutions. In Slovakia, Romania, Germany, Greece, Malta, and Sweden those in power did not merely fail to act but consciously corrupted independent authorities by politically interfering in the selection of their heads. Moreover, Ireland, Germany, Lithuania, Malta, France, and Hungary limited their ability to function effectively by curtailing their financial resources, restricting their access to information, and denying them enforcement powers.

Politicians often try to limit independent bodies so they can impose restrictive laws more easily. It is critical that these bodies function fully, so governments are held accountable for delivering what we want.

Governments pass restrictive voting laws, manipulate election campaigns

Recent election monitoring from both Liberties and partner organisations indicated that increasingly more countries undermined the integrity of their elections through undemocratic electoral laws and unfair campaign manipulation.

Countries like Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovenia unfairly restricted the voting rights of disabled people. Estonia, Malta, and the Netherlands took steps to deny migrants and dual citizens these rights, too. The quality of electoral campaigns themselves was also warped, particularly as social media became a more prominent factor. Microtargeting tools in the Netherlands, Greece, and Hungary, as well as asymmetrical social media coverage in Romania and the Czech Republic, created unfair competition and allowed unchecked disinformation to spread.

Free and fair elections with balanced coverage of candidates are crucial to building strong democracies. Voters are entitled to comprehensive and truthful information so that they can make informed decisions.

Why this matters

Put simply, all of these tactics together produce worse democratic representation and legislation. Democracy is about negotiation, persuasion, and compromise. Politicians should have to debate policy decisions thoroughly, prove the benefits of their proposals, embrace accountability, and run honest and fair campaigns. If their ideas cannot survive that scrutiny, they are probably not in the public’s best interest. We’ve got the rules and the institutions we need to tackle our biggest problems together — we just need to stop self-interested politicians from breaking them so they can enrich themselves and stay in power.

To that end, the EU should leverage its authority to ensure that states uphold the democratic values that unite us. Government by and for the people must be the standard, not just an ideal.

Dive in deeper & download the full Rule Of Law Report 2025 report here.

Trend Analyses

• EU Overview: Democratic Race to The Bottom But Some Shoots of Hope
• Closing Civic Space: How Attacks on Human Right Defenders Undermine the Rule of Law
• Caged In: How The Growing Politicisation of Public Service Media and The Repression of Journalists Threaten Media Freedom in Europe
• The Cost of Corruption: How Weak Oversight Enables Wrongdoing in Europe
• States Shun Human Rights Law, Further Marginalise the Vulnerable

Reads & Resources

• Download the full Liberties Rule of Law Report 2025
• Op-ed: The EU Should Reinforce Democracy's Guardrails Before it's Too Late
• Previous annual rule of law reports: 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020