Protecting EU shared values: How the European Parliament is responding to citizens' expectations

Briefing 27-04-2022

This is the fourth briefing within a series exploring citizens' expectations and recommendations in the context of the Conference on the Future of Europe, and presenting the European Parliament's response. The briefing focuses on citizens' proposals relating to EU common values, especially the rule of law. Citizens have placed EU values, including democracy, the rule of law and the protection of human rights, at the core of a common European identity, and discussed ways to enhance and protect these values. They have highlighted the need to deepen people's awareness and understanding of these values, and encourage dialogue on them. They believe that democratic culture and respect for fundamental rights and the rule of law should be strengthened, and that Member States' performance should be monitored closely against the benchmark of EU values. They have called for the procedure under Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) to be made more effective, and for the General Conditionality Regulation to be applied without delay. Parliament's resolutions and input to the legislative process leading to the adoption of the General Conditionality Regulation are largely in tune with citizens' sentiments. Parliament has called repeatedly for the establishment of a comprehensive EU pact on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights. In its feedback to the Commission's annual rule of law reports, Parliament has called for more country-specific recommendations with a clear blueprint for action. Parliament has been very critical of the Commission for unnecessarily delaying the application of the General Conditionality Regulation. It has also firmly upheld the primacy of EU law: the cornerstone of the rule of law in the EU and the key prerequisite for EU integration.