During 2024, the newscycle mirrored democracy’s decline and the increasing political legitimacy of far-right parties and policies. For those of us witnessing this unravelling, our feeling of helplessness is understandable. Instead of listening to the public, those in power increasingly act in their own interests and play by their own rules.
There are structures designed to prevent this, from journalists investigating politicians who abuse their power, independent courts upholding the legal protections and NGOs like Liberties, who monitor whether politicians respect fundamental rights. But these systems, which collectively create a framework of democratic accountability known as the ‘rule of law’, are being weakened, neglected, or outright dismantled.
Liberties’ sixth annual rule of law report assesses how well governments respected the rule of law by documenting their efforts across six thematic areas, and reviewing the implementation of the European Commission’s recommendations from the prior year. The most comprehensive 'shadow report' by an independent civil liberties network, our 2025 report is compiled by 43 rights groups from 21 EU countries.
Critical rule of law buffers pulled apart
Our 2025 report found that the rule of law issues and democratic decline documented in the past years persisted.
- Justice: In several countries, political manipulation obstructed judicial independence, and across the bloc, justice systems are underperforming due to a lack of resources.
- Anti-corruption: Trust in government is marred by low prosecution of high-profile corruption cases, gaps in whistleblower protection, and inadequate enforcement of lobbying rules.
- Media freedom: This area showed the most regression. Public service media was subject to continued interferences with its independence and performance, while transparency in media ownership and market pluralism remain low.
- Checks and balances: The misuse of fast-track legislation continued in almost all countries, National Human Rights Institutions are withering at the vine due to political interference and underfunding, and election integrity undermined following disenfranchised groups and manipulated political material.
- Civic Space: Governments used smear campaigns and verbal attacks to delegitimise the work of NGOs and justify funding restrictions, and the right to protest was curtailed through excessive use of force by police and steps to formalise restrictions through changes in the law
- Human rights: The rise of right-wing fueled hostility towards migrants reverberated across the political spectrum resulting in stricter migration policies that endanger the rights of migrants and asylum seekers. Instances of discrimination and hate speech towards ethnic minorities and the LGBTQIA+ community also rose.
Democratic ‘role models’ exhibit anti-democratic tendencies
As well as providing a parallel process to the Commission’s reporting cycle, Liberties’ rule of law report is designed to identify EU-wide trends and function as an early warning alarm system for at-risk countries. To illustrate the overarching direction democracy in Europe is going, we looked at five directions countries are headed.
In the first (and slimmest) group is Estonia and the Czech Republic, who made targeted efforts to improve the rule of law. Poland can also be considered here given the initiative shown by the new government to restore democratic standards, in particular judicial independence and media pluralism. Yet, the lack of tangible progress demonstrates the challenges of rebuilding rule of law institutions once they have been hollowed out.
Next we looked at countries showing degrees of decline, stagnation or growth, but whose overall performance was consistent. This includes countries with a generally strong rule of law record, such as Ireland and the Netherlands, which largely uphold the rule of law but have at-risk areas. Then there were middle performers like Spain, and weaker democracies like Greece and Malta.
Thirdly, we grouped countries traditionally considered democratic role models, but whose recent decline in performance is troubling. This includes Belgium, Germany and Sweden, with France giving particular cause for concern following their decline in four out of six categories. This trend is particularly worrying, as their bad example emboldens countries like Hungary and Slovakia, whose governments intentionally dismantle rule of law safeguards.
Italy, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovakia were grouped together given their deliberate and systemic efforts to weaken the rule of law in all areas. This included widespread smear campaigns and multiple laws, policies and funding restrictions that seriously undermine the rule of law.
And finally, Hungary belongs in a category all on its own, where democratic standards have degraded to such a degree that it would not gain access to the EU today. The Hungarian government continues to implement laws challenged by the European Commission, engages in multiple campaigns against human rights organisations and undermines the EU from within.
Bold EU leadership needed in face of turbulent geopolitical
This year’s report arrives when tectonic shifts in geopolitics compound internal difficulties as doubts mount over the U.S. as a reliable ally and multiple conflicts continue on our doorstep - posing difficult questions for the future of European security. Europe’s strength and resilience lie in its power as a unified alliance, however, Euroskeptic and ultra-nationalist far-right parties threaten cooperation.
The exigency for strong EU-level leadership is greater than ever. Restoring public trust in EU institutions, fostering effective collaboration between Member States and ensuring respect for EU values relies on a robust rule of law.
Despite the overall downward trajectory, there are shoots of hope. Our report reveals that the buffer provided by civil society, free media, judicial bodies and independent courts is slowing down the pace of erosion. And while it is an upward battle, Poland shows a change in government can kickstart rule of law rehabilitation.
Our report urges the EU to reinforce this critical barrier against authoritarianism by improving its rule of law monitoring and enforcement activities and linking them to other rule of law tools, particularly legal proceedings and the EU funding conditionality mechanisms.
Trend Analyses
Shrinking Civic Space: How Attacks on Human Right Defenders Undermine the Rule of Law
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
Press Release: Decline of Democracy Deepens, EU Tools Toothless: Report
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
