Now playing Next Serbia Serbia: 71 arrested as anti-Vučić protesters try to storm parliament Protests began against renewed lockdown restrictions but have mushroomed into an expression of wider frustration with the hard-line rule of President Aleksandar Vučić. 11/07/2020
Now playing Next Europe News Analysis: New EU tools to prevent backsliding on the rule of law So far, the EU's response to assaults on the rule of law was based on infringement procedures, European Court of Justice rulings, and - in the case of Hungary and Poland - the so-called Article 7 process. But now, the EU is introducing new tools. 23/06/2020
Now playing Next Hungary As Hungary ends controversial emergency powers, critics are suspicious As Hungary ends its controversial "state of danger," critics remain suspicious about the powers Viktor Orbán’s government has gained from the coronavirus crisis. 16/06/2020
Now playing Next Hungary Euroviews. Csaba Molnár: Orbán demanding an apology over the return of emergency powers is a cruel joke ǀ View For us, who trust institutions rather than “good emperors,” Orbán’s Enabling Act remains unconstitutional, even if it was ultimately revoked. And so, instead of applauding his greatness, we remember the words of the Trojans: “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts!” 29/05/2020
Now playing Next Hungary Euroviews. Don’t be fooled by its sudden compliance. Hungary is helping to unravel the EU’s legal order ǀ View The Hungarian government’s decision to comply with the Luxembourg court’s judgement makes perfect sense in the illiberal calculus of strategically resetting the terms of EU membership. 28/05/2020
Now playing Next Poland MEPs call for 'decisive action' over rule of law in Poland Brussels has long voiced concerns over the threats to judicial independence in Poland but the European Council has not taken any formal action to suspend the country's voting rights. 26/05/2020
Now playing Next Germany Euroviews. Germany’s Constitutional Court has gone nuclear. What happens next will shape the EU’s future ǀ View The BVerfG has blown up more than 60 years of loyal dialogue with Luxembourg and has profoundly eroded the authority of the EU’s highest jurisdiction. This comes at a particularly sensitive time. 15/05/2020
Now playing Next Hungary Hungary: 'Critics silenced' in social media arrests as EU mulls powers The EU calls for emergency powers to be eased along with lockdowns, amid concern at a spate of arrests in Hungary over social media posts. 14/05/2020
Now playing Next Hungary Euroviews. The EU needs to stop funding Viktor Orbán’s emergency rule ǀ View If experiences of a decade of dialogue on the rule of law are any indication, Orbán is unlikely to be halted by diplomatic reminders about good practice during a pandemic. 07/04/2020
Now playing Next World News Euroviews. Michal Šimečka: Inability to solve the EU’s rule of law crisis will lead to disintegration ǀ View If the EU wants to survive as a meaningful organisation delivering for all of its citizens, it will have to step up its response to the ongoing rule of law crisis. 16/03/2020
Now playing Next Europe News Hungarian Fidesz Party suspension upheld by EPP The decision to uphold the suspension of Hungarian PM Viktor Orban's Fidesz Party from the EPP political group was made behind closed doors yesterday. 04/02/2020
Now playing Next Spain Euroviews. Oriol Junqueras’ trial shows the healthy functioning of Spanish law and democracy ǀ View Legitimate debate is completely different from destructive propaganda, the gratuitous bashing of the Spanish judiciary or the propagation of conspiracy theories. Let’s discuss everything, including legal or constitutional changes. But in the meantime, we democrats must abide by the law as it is. 14/01/2020
Now playing Next World News Euroviews. Von der Leyen’s new Commission should strengthen scrutiny over rule of law abuses ǀ View Protecting Europe from its autocratic side will be one of the new Commission’s main challenges. During the last decade, we’ve seen multiple examples of EU leaders undermining the checks and balances to preserve human rights and the rule of law against executive overreach. 23/12/2019
Now playing Next Poland Euroviews. Time is fast running out for judicial independence in PiS-ruled Poland ǀ View The new proposed bill tries to put a definitive end to the activities of an abundant number of Polish judges to uphold the rule of law. The attack against judicial independence, then, takes a further step forward. 17/12/2019
Now playing Next Europe News The Brief: Brexit book wins 13th European Book Prize A novel about Brexit's impact on society in the UK took home the European Book Prize. 05/12/2019
Now playing Next Hungary Euroviews. In response to Judit Varga: Some facts about the rule of law she should know ǀ View The rule of law, as opposed to what the minister Judit Varga writes, is not one of the current “buzzwords” but a constitutional foundation for our civilization, the operation of the state and our daily life. 04/12/2019
Now playing Next Hungary Euroviews. Responding to Judit Varga: Separating facts from propaganda about the rule of law ǀ View Normally, we do not respond to statements from ministers or other representatives of the Orbán regime. Exceptionally, in this instance, we thought it important to counter the misinformation Minister Judit Varga is deliberately spreading. 25/11/2019
Now playing Next Hungary Euroviews. What happened in the Hungarian media could happen in your country too ǀ View Over the past nine years, public affairs have gradually become the private affairs of people with power, and every relevant law, regulation and practice echoes this shift in perspective. Government officials and politicians treat journalists asking them questions as if we were invading their privacy 21/11/2019
Now playing Next Hungary Euroviews. Klára Dobrev: Rule of law is part of being in the EU. It’s time for dialogue, Viktor Orbán ǀ View The Hungarian government appears not to accept that the rule of law can be a criterion to judge member states. Interestingly, until very recently, they always claimed that Hungary fully adhered to those principles, and that the rule of law worked perfectly in the country. 21/11/2019
Now playing Next Poland Euroviews. Polish judges are showing their courage amid a crackdown on an independent judiciary ǀ View “I feel like an entire machinery is against me,” Judge Monika Frąckowiak told me when I met her last month in the town of Poznań. “I will continue doing what I’m doing but I fear others might be silenced.” 19/11/2019