EUU, Alm.del - 2012-13 - Bilag 262: Fællesbrev til Kommissionsformanden vedr. monitorering af grundlæggende værdier i EU

Dear Mr President,Human rights, democracy and the rule of law are at the heart of our Europeanidentity. Our common values more than anything else are the glue which bindsour nations together. At the same time they fundamentally shape Europe’simage and soft power around the world.The credibility of the European project depends on us living up to the standardswe have given ourselves. This is especially so at a time when Europe is deeplyshaken by a crisis of confidence which has ensued from the financial turmoil inthe eurozone. The erosion of confidence that has taken place extends farbeyond financial and economic policy. For many it has cast doubt on the futureof the European project itself. Our response must therefore also go beyond theongoing efforts to overcome the debt crisis.

At this critical stage in European history, it is crucially important that thefundamental values enshrined in the European treaties be vigorously protected.The EU must be extremely watchful whenever they are put at risk anywherewithin its borders. And it must be able to react swiftly and effectively to ensurecompliance with its most basic principles. We propose addressing this issue asa priority and believe that the Commission has a key role to play here.The EU should place greater emphasis on promoting a culture of respect for therule of law in Member States. In its recent Annual Growth Survey for 2013 theCommission identifies the quality, independence and efficiency of judicialsystems as a means of reducing costs for businesses and increasing theattractiveness of countries for foreign investment. Further ways to promote therule of law within the framework of the European semester should be explored.While it is right to highlight the economic benefits of the rule of law, itssignificance obviously goes far beyond that.As you very rightly stated in your State of the Union Address, there are limits toour institutional arrangements when it comes to ensuring compliance. Neitherthe procedures enshrined in the Treaties nor the EU fundamental rights charterprovide for sufficiently targeted instruments. We therefore believe that a newand more effective mechanism to safeguard fundamental values in MemberStates is needed.Such a mechanism should be swift and independent of political expediency. Wepropose that the Commission as the guardian of the Treaties should have astronger role here. It should be allowed to address deficits in a given country atan early stage and – if sufficiently supported by Member States – require thecountry in question to remedy the situation.A variety of options could then be explored to foster compliance, includingintroducing a structured political dialogue, bringing the issue to the Council at anearly stage, or concluding binding agreements between the Commission andthe relevant Member State. As a last resort, the suspension of EU fundingshould be possible.We wish to stress that the objective of this mechanism would be to strengthenfundamental values while fully respecting national constitutional traditions. Itwould be non-discriminatory and applicable to all Member States in the sameway. We believe that once in place it could help secure public support for furtherenlargement.