How to save European Democracy?

Report from the Our Rule of Law Academy, 22.05.2023

The end result of the Academy, a report encompassing all of the policy proposals, is now available!

Highlights from the report includes a proposal to make public the hearings in the Council of Ministers about article 7 TEU (the article that allows an unanimous Council to suspend voting rights etc of Member States who gravely infringes the Treaty obligations). This would allow citizens and civil society to keep accountable ministers who shield autocratizing Member States from political repercussions. Another highlight is the proposal to replicate the conditionality currently endorsed under the Recovery and Resilience Facility Regulation in the Common Provisions Regulation in view of the next Multiannual Financial Framework. A third proposal concerns establishing a system of sanctions so Europarties and/or political groups lose part of their funding from the European Parliament when their members undermine democratic values to disincentivize Europarties from housing autocratizing national parties.

Enjoy and feel free to spread around!

What is the Our Rule of Law (Academy)?

The Our Rule of Law (ORoL) is a cross-border, for-students-by-students grassroots initiative using education to counter the rule of law backsliding in Europe. Since its founding, the project has expanded to a pan-European initiative, with a network of hundreds of engaged students all across Europe, and more than 50 professionals and experts on democracy and the rule of law. The aim is to create opportunities for students to learn about democratic backsliding in Europe from leading experts in the field and create a platform for students to take part in defending the rule of law in Europe.

The Our Rule of Law Academy is an academic mentorship program for the future generation of the rule of law defenders. Between January and March 2023, 45 Bachelor students from 25 countries conducted research on and developed policy proposals in 11 different areas of European Law under the supervision of 22 rule of law experts. The project culminated in a two-day event in Brussels, from the 16 to the 17th of March, where the students pitched their ideas to policymakers, academics, and other professionals working on the rule of law. The participants also heard from inspiring speakers such as European Court of Human Rights President Síofra O’Leary, European Commissioners Věra Jourová, European Commissioner Didier Reynders, Michał Wawrykiewicz (#WolneSądy), Daniel Freund (MEP), Former Advocate-General Eleanor Sharpston and many more.