Overcoming the crisis of democratic values in the European Union

Overcoming the crisis of democratic values in the European Union

Colección: Plural

Pages: 806

ISBN: 9788410817944

From the back cover

Some years ago, the free world began to speak of rule of law backsliding to describe a series of surprising, isolated developments that challenged the principles we had taken for granted in recent decades, such as the separation of powers, the protection

and balances, etc. But the rise of populism and nationalism, the global pandemic, and the outbreak of new wars have deepened the problem. Today, backsliding is far too mild a term. It has steadily given way to more forceful yet accurate terms, such as rule of law crisis, erosion, decline, deterioration, degradation, or even decay. We may even speak of a disintegration of the rule of law –an alarming process which is spreading rapidly and undermining democratic political systems across or it will cease to be.

That is why, in October 2024, a group of distinguished scholars and policymakers from across Europe gathered at Universidad Cardenal Herrera-CEU in Valencia, Spain, for the international congress “Overcoming the Crisis of Democratic Values in the EU.” They analyzed the discouraging reality and explored possible solutions to the problem.

The main outcome of this congress is this book, which is divided into two volumes. Volume I contains the contributions made by the guest speakers, and volume II includes a selection of the presentations made at the two panels of the congress. These volumes are an essential reading for anyone seeking to understand not only how the rule of law crisis emerged in the EU, but, above all, how it might be overcome.

Table of Contents

Índice

Introduction … 13

Part I: Foundations, Values, and Institutional Responses

Quo Vadis Europe? The Decline of the Rule of Law in the EU: Who, Why, How, What? … 29
Susana Sanz Caballero

The EU Fundamental Values: As Important as Difficult to Protect … 71
Antonio Bar Cendón

The European Commission’s Conceptualisation of the Rule of Law: Between Complexity and Necessity … 123
Belén Becerril Atienza

Mistaking Supremacy for the Rule of Law in Difficult Times: On Some EU’s Urgent Values Problems … 165
Dimitry Kochenov

Do the Fundamental Values of the European Union Align with Those of the Council of Europe? … 185
Anna Puigderrajols Triadó
Jan Wouters

The EU’s Reaction to Rule of Law Breaches by Hungary: From Article 7 TEU to Funding Conditionality … 231
Clara Portela
Adam Holesch
Ruth Ferrero Turrión

Crisis and Protection of Our Social Democratic Values in the European Union … 259
Luis Jimena Quesada

Part II: National and Specific Challenges to the Rule of Law

Independence of the Judiciary and the Rule of Law in the Light of the ECHR … 289
Paulo Pinto de Albuquerque

Three Common Mistakes Regarding Disinformation (and Four Ways Out) … 309
Leopoldo García Ruiz

Between Scylla and Charybdis? The Constitutional Court of Romania: Facing the Populist Trends in Recent Years … 335
Dragoș Călin

Rule of Law in Italy in the Light of Justice Reform: The Separation of the Judiciary Between Judges and Prosecutors … 373
Alessandro Azzaroli
Valentina Colcelli

On “the Best European Standards”. The Draft Law of 2 July 2024 and the Reform of the Spanish Council for the Judiciary According to LO 3/2024, of 2 August … 409
Manuel Martínez Sospedra

Media Pluralism and Media Freedom in Spain … 455
Jaume Suau
Juan Pablo Capilla
Miguel F. Santos Silva
Elena Yeste Piquer

The Rule of Law in Spain … 491
Elisa de la Nuez

VOLUME II

Part I: Judicial Institutions and the Rule of Law in Europe

Making European Judges … 541
Davor Petrić

Judicial Independence in the European Union: Persisting Issues and Future Prospects in Light of the Case Law of the Court of Justice of the EU … 569
Almudena del Castillo Santamaría

Constitutional Courts and Their Role in the Rule of Law: Possibilities for Improvement in the European Legal Space … 605
Juan Gálvez Galisteo

Part II: Political, Social, and Technological Challenges

Eurosceptic, Radical Populist Parties and 2024 European Parliament Election Results: The Cases of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Poland … 637
Carlos González-Tormo

The European Social Union: A Chance for Democratic Solidarity … 675
Peter Ehret

The Council of Europe and the Catalan Radical Democratic Principle … 703
Helena Torroja

New Pact on Asylum: Limiting Rights Under the Rule of Law … 733
Nuria Hernández-García

The Double-Edged Sword of New Technologies in Combating and Facilitating Corruption in the European Union … 765
Marta Pérez-Gabaldón