⁍ The European Commission’s first report on shortcomings in the rule of law comes as the bloc is making access to EU money conditional on respecting democratic checks and balances.

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⁍ Poland and Hungary are at odds with the EU over undercutting democracy through putting courts, media, NGOs and academics under more state control.

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⁍ Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Slovakia were also criticised for shortcomings in ensuring their courts’ independence.

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– “The European Union was created also as an antidote to … authoritarian tendencies,” says the EU’s top democracy official. But that’s not exactly what’s happening in Poland and Hungary. The European Commission issued a report Wednesday criticizing both countries for failing to live up to EU standards in regard to the rule of law, reports Reuters. The report singled out Poland’s reforms to the justice system since 2015 as a “major source of controversy,” while in Hungary, “the direction of change has given rise to serious concern” about judicial independence. The report also noted challenges to media independence and fighting corruption, saying the pandemic served as a “stress test” of democratic resilience of the 27 EU states. Poland and Hungary are at odds with the EU over undercutting democracy through putting courts, media, NGOs, and academics under more state control. “The European Union was created also as an antidote to … authoritarian tendencies,” says Commissioner Vera Jourova. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called for Jourova to be dismissed after she said his vision of ‘illiberal democracy’ was in fact spearheading an ‘ailing democracy’ in Hungary. The Commission snubbed him. Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, and Slovakia were also criticized for shortcomings in ensuring their courts’ independence. The report decried corruption scandals in Bulgaria, Slovakia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Malta. It said some governments’ coronavirus emergency measures went too far in restraining the media and civil society.