EU Institutions in the Crosshairs: Rule of Law or Power Play?

Abstract

The acceleration of the power dynamics between the institutions of the European Union is a phenomenon that is still developing and will become even more significant in the next few years. Part of this can be linked to the debate on the rule of law between the EU institutions and the Member States, which has now become a political product, in which the institutions and Member States concerned are involved with varying degrees of intensity, and of which Hungary and Poland in particular have become the main targets. In the context of the forthcoming Hungarian EU Presidency, this trend may become of particular importance, and it is therefore crucial to analyse and interpret the evolution of the power dynamics between the EU institutions. An essential part of this analysis is a recent trend that may bring a transformation of the way rule of law is regarded: the emergence of rule of law control concerning the activities of the EU institutions is becoming more and more intense, with increasing focus on the conformity of institutional acts with the EU Treaties and on the fulfilment of legal obligations by the EU institutions themselves. From a political point of view, the phenomenon has so far been largely peripheral, with the main messages of the ‘mainstream’ – or at least those who consider themselves as such – parties not being critical of the institutions, although these political groups, which are part of the mainstream European public life, are themselves not exempt from rule of law monitoring either.