THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. Reforming Europe in a time of war

55 The Rule of Law Situation in the European Union Francisco Fonseca Morillo 1 Introduction 1 “The rule of law is fundamental to a stable, resilient, fair and democratic political, economic and social environ- ment across the EU. It is essential to a well-functioning Single Market and to the Union as a whole. It is also a re- flection of Europeans’ aspirations and values, enshrined in Article 2 of the Treaty. (…) A vibrant, forward-looking EU transitioning to a greener, more digital and more so- cially just society needs to continue being built on firm foundations.The Russian invasion of Ukraine is a remind- er of the pressure on our cherished EU values. Protecting our citizens and their rights needs a determined and con- sistent defence of the rule of law across the EU”. This conclusion, expressed in the European Com- mission’s third annual report on the Rule of Law in the European Union, sums up perfectly the central role that respect for the values of Article 2 of the Treaty on Euro- pean Union (TEU) plays in the EU’s political, legal and economic landscape 2 , an importance that is likewise con- firmed by European citizens themselves, 82% of who said so in the last Eurobarometer on these matters 3 . And within these values, respect for the concept of the rule of law, which has been embodied in nation states 1  Tenured professor of Public International Law at the University of Valladolid and Director of the Institute of European Studies at the Uva. 2  Communication from the Commission on the rule of law situation in the European Union of 13.07.2022. COM(2022) 500 final, p. 32. 3  Eurobarometer 508 on values and identities of EU citizens (2021). through time not always in a uniform manner and with particular characteristics, has on an EU level an identity of its own common to all the Member States, based on three fundamental ideas: the principle of legality; effec- tive judicial protection; and the guarantees enshrined in legal certainty. The collective defence of the rule of law in the EU forms part of the Union’s central agenda and is crucial for citizens and businesses, committing all public powers to adjusting their action to the rule of law and individuals to obtaining an effective remedy from impartial and in- dependent tribunals regarding their rights and legitimate interests, to which end regulations and legal acts must conform to the requirements of generality, predictability and prohibition of acting arbitrarily 4 . The rule of law in the EU is our specific way of strug- gling for law, paraphrasing Von Ihering, at a time when democracy and its values are being subjected to process- es of erosion resulting from nationalisms and populisms that are finding growing electoral support. Faced with this situation, we cannot renounce the law in favour of peace, because it is “contrary to the very essence of law; if (…) it should prevail, law itself would be destroyed since it preaches fleeing before injustice, while law only exists by resisting it” 5 . 4  Martín Rodríguez, Pablo: El Estado de Derecho en la Unión Europea. Madrid 2021, p. 25. 5  Von Ihering, Rudolf: La lucha por el derecho. Buenos Aires 2018, p. 24.