Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs
The Chairman
IPOL-COM-LIBE D (2021) 23662
To the Chairperson(s) of the committee(s) concerned
Honourable Chairperson,
Since 2016, the European Parliament has called for a comprehensive and preventive mechanism in the
field of Rule of Law, via an EU mechanism on Democracy, the Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights (EU
DRF Pact).
This position was reinforced by the Parliament resolution of 7 October 2020 on the establishment of an EU
mechanism on Democracy, the Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights, that called for a wide-ranging
mechanism, to be governed by an interinstitutional agreement between the Parliament, the Council and the
Commission. This resolution foresees an Annual Monitoring Cycle on Union Values, covering all aspects
of Article 2 TEU and in this context, it recognises the indispensable role of national parliaments and calls
on them to hold public debates and adopt positions on the outcome of the rule of law monitoring cycles.
The resolution also provides for the organisation of annual interparliamentary debates on the findings of
the Annual Report.
In July 2021, the Commission published its second annual Rule of Law Report that presents the state of
play of the situation in Member States as regards the rule of law. Further engagement of national
parliaments to develop and promote awareness on rule of law challenges is also raised in this
Communication.
Against this background, and considering the importance of this issue, the LIBE Committee would like to
invite Members of national parliaments to an inter-parliamentary committee meeting on “The
situation of the Rule of Law in the EU”.”
The meeting is scheduled on
Thursday, 9 December 2021,
from 9.00 to 12.00,
in the European Parliament premises in Brussels.
The interparliamentary committee meeting will be dedicated to an assessment of the second Commission’s
rule of law report
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in the context of the Democracy, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights (DRF) mechanism
and in the light of the Parliament’s resolution of 24 June 2021 on the Commission’s 2020 Rule of Law
Report and would serve as input into the ongoing work on the second monitoring report within LIBE. It is
also a follow up of the interparliamentary meeting organised in November last year on the first annual rule
of law report of the Commission.
In view of the above, this meeting would provide the occasion for in-depth exchange of views on the rule of
law situation in the EU and on the role of national parliaments in the context of the EU efforts to protect and
enforce the Union values. The participation of the Commission and Council Presidency should also be
envisaged to bring the inter-institutional perspective into the discussions, in line with our institution’s
approach for an EU mechanism on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights.
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COM(2021)700.
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