Human Rights and the Rule of Law

A few months before the next European elections, the pressure on decision-makers to reach an agreement on the new migration and asylum package is high. The new Berlin Perspectives provides an assessment of how the new rules should be implemented.

While the European Commission is the ‘Guardian of the Treaties’, there is also potential for stronger protection of the EU’s fundamental values by its member states. Germany should increase its cooperation with like-minded member states to defend democracy and the rule of law.

Democracy and the rule of law have been eroding in Hungary since 2010. In view of Hungary's tendencies towards autocratization, the policy paper contains recommendations on how the German government should respond bilaterally, multilaterally, and at the EU level.

Hungary's dismantling of the rule of law is not only presenting the EU with ever new problems. The German government, too, is challenged to react more strongly to Hungary's autocratization under the impression of the “Zeitenwende”.

The conflict over the rule of law has not only revealed cracks in the European foundation. It also shows how determined the "rule breakers" were to avoid the consequences of their actions, even sabotaging the EU's decision-making processes.

The current conflict over the rule of law is increasingly straining relations between Hungary and the EU. The conflict is becoming increasingly problematic for German stakeholders, too. Hungary is blocking important EU decisions and increasing the pressure on German companies.

The new budget conditionality mechanism opens pathways to effectively curbing democratic backsliding in the EU. Making use of its proclaimed "Zeitenwende", Germany should use its leverage and take a more pro-active approach – as in the case of Poland – to defend the rule of law.