At its 593rd plenary session, held on 22 and 23 January 2025, the European Economic and Social Committee adopted the following opinion, available in all language versions. (The links to the different language versions will work as soon as the opinion is translated).
SOC/797 - Evaluation of the European Commission's annual reports on the rule of law in the European Union
The EESC denounces the deterioration of human rights, the rule of law, and democracy, and calls for further improvements of the Commission's Annual Rule of Law Reports. Among others, it recommends that the Commission ensures meaningful involvement of civil society in both the preparation and follow-up stages of the report at the national level, and expands the Report’s section on CSOs. The Commission's assessment should be based on objective benchmarks and transparent dialogue with CSOs and the Commission needs to develop more precise and measurable country-specific recommendations with clear benchmarks, indicators and deadlines.
Yours sincerely,
Cinzia Del Rio
President of the Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship (SOC)
