BRUSSELS – The European Commission has published the 5th annual Rule of Law Report, examining key developments in all Member States and, for the first time, four candidate countries from the Western Balkans – Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia. The reports cover four main areas: justice system, anti-corruption framework, media pluralism and media freedom and checks and balances.
Since 2020, the European Commission has been publishing the Rule of Law Report as a part of the annual Rule of Law Cycle. The inclusion of four enlargement countries is the main novelty of the 2024 Rule of Law Report. The four countries were included due to their most advanced status in negotiations, to put them on equal footing with Member States early on.
The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen was the first to announce that the EC would publish the reports on the rule of law in the candidate countries as well in her “State of the Union” address last September.
Among the problems detected by the Reports on Western Balkan countries, with some variation, are the persisting political influence on the judiciary, lack of independence of media regulators, unsafe environment for journalists and constraints on national parliaments, as well as lack of follow-up to the recommendations of independent institutions.
Albania and Montenegro received more positive assessments when it comes to the track record in fighting corruption, while the assessment of the track record in North Macedonia and Serbia was more negative.
Justice system: Political influence remains an issue in most of the countries
The Report on Albania notes that the country has been implementing a substantial judicial reform since 2016, but that there are still shortcomings in the appointments of non-magistrate members of the judicial councils. Appointments of magistrates are negatively affected by limited transparency and issues regarding evaluations.
The Report states that there are still concerns about attempted interference and pressure on the judicial system by public officials or politicians. The shortage of human and financial resources negatively affects the quality of justice.
In Montenegro, the Report found that recent delays in high-level judicial appointments had had an impact on the judicial system, however, by now only a new President of the Supreme Court remains to be appointed. The promotion and enforcement of ethics and professional standards among judges and prosecutors remains a challenge, as does the effectiveness of the judiciary and efficiency of justice.
The Report on North Macedonia finds that the independence of the judiciary, as well as the Judicial Council, and the institutional capacity to protect it against undue influence remain a serious concern. Appointment decisions for public prosecutors and judges have been criticised.
Among the positive developments, the Report mentions the measure to improve transparency and adoption of the codes of ethics for both prosecutors and judges. However, it is also assessed that there are limited financial and human resources.
In Serbia, the implementation of the constitutional reform to strengthen judicial independence is ongoing and a number of vacancies remain to be filled. However, the Report assesses that political pressure on the judiciary remains high. Serbia still lacks a comprehensive court management system, while the efficiency shows a positive trend for civil, commercial, and criminal cases, but not for administrative cases and constitutional complaints.
Anti-corruption framework: Mixed findings on track records
The Report on Albania assesses that there are encouraging initial results of the Special Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK) and that the number of persons prosecuted has been increasing over the past three years. Nevertheless, the recent amnesty law raises concerns. Overall, however, corruption is prevalent in many areas, including during electoral campaigns. Coordination between the institutions remains weak.
Montenegro has seen a significant improvement its the performance of the Special Prosecution Office, although its human resources are insufficient to cope with its workload. The Report assesses that the track record of investigations and prosecutions in cases of high-level corruption is stable, but the lack of trials and final decisions contributes to a perception of impunity.
In North Macedonia, recent amendments to the Criminal Code weakened the legal framework, negatively affecting the prosecution of high-level corruption. Resource constraints and a lack of cooperation between national authorities hamper the establishment of a robust track-record and the high risk of corruption remains prevalent in many areas. The Report notes that the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption has continued efforts to fulfil its mandate despite limited resources.
Serbia still needs to improve the implementation of the legal framework for the fight against corruption and establish robust track record on high-level corruption cases. The Prosecutor’s Office for Organised Crime remains understaffed and there is the risk of politically motivated interference. Public procurement is a high-risk corruption area, in particular, as regards several exemptions from the Law on public procurement.
Today, the @EU_Commission published its annual #RuleOfLaw Report including #Albania, #Montenegro, #NorthMacedonia & #Serbia for the first time.
Fundamental values & the Rule of Law remain cornerstones of the #EUEnlargement process.
Learn more ⤵️#WesternBalkans
— EU Neighbourhood & Enlargement (@eu_near) July 24, 2024
Media freedom: Lack of independence of regulatory authorities and public broadcasters, safety of journalists remains a concern
In Albania, concerns have been raised in relation to the independence of the audio-visual regulatory authority and the public broadcaster. The Report assesses that limited regulation on transparency of media ownership and high concentration negatively affect media independence. Journalists continue to face verbal and physical attacks, smear campaigns and strategic lawsuits.
The Report on Montenegro focuses on the newly adopted media legislative package which introduces improvements on transparency of media ownership and grants new powers to the Agency for Audiovisual Media Services.
It is noted that the appointment of the Director-General of the public broadcaster has been challenged in court. The Report assesses that authorities generally provide effective responses to new cases of violence against journalists, but there was no follow-up of emblematic past cases.
In North Macedonia, the independence of the Agency for Audio and Audiovisual Media Services and the Council of Media Ethics needs to be strengthened. Challenges also remain regarding the transparency of media ownership and state-funded advertising. Legislative measures have enhanced the legal safeguards for the protection of journalists, yet threats and acts of violence against journalists have been noted.
The Report on Serbia states that the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media fails to fully exercise its mandate to safeguard media pluralism and professional standards and that there are concerns about its independence, as well as issues of editorial autonomy and pluralism of public service media.
The measures for addressing transparency in ownership and state advertising in Serbia have yet to be fully implemented. The safety of journalists is a source of concern as is the growing pressure by abusive lawsuits.
Checks and balances: Polarization and lack of autonomy constraints parliaments
In Albania, deep political polarization had a negative impact on the parliamentary work, the Report assesses. The Constitutional Court is effective in upholding institutional checks and balances, though Parliament has failed to comply with some of its rulings. The environment for civil society organisations is challenging, and there are also obstacles to the effective work of Ombudsperson and the Commissioner against Discrimination.
In Montenegro, despite an established framework for inclusive legislative processes, challenges remain concerning inadequate public consultations. There is a lack of systematic follow-up to the recommendations of the Ombudsperson’s Office.
The Report on North Macedonia finds that, similarly to Albania, political polarisation in the Parliament has caused delays in its work. Like in Montenegro, the recommendations of the Ombudsperson’s Office are not followed up. Civil society organisations operate in an overall enabling environment, but challenges remain to ensure sustainable engagement in policymaking, the Report states.
In Serbia, Parliament’s ability to ensure the exercise of necessary checks and balances is constrained by issues of effectiveness, autonomy, and transparency. The recommendations of the independent institutions are not followed up by the authorities. The Report finds that, although several elements of the legal framework are in place, civil society organisations lack an enabling environment for their operations.