Decoding 'Democratic Recession' in Europe

Italy's government has profoundly undermined the rule of law with changes to the judiciary and showed "heavy intolerance to media criticism", in an emblematic example of Europe's deepening "democratic recession", a coalition of civil liberties groups has said.

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A report by the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) said Italy was one of five "dismantlers" - along with Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovakia - that "intentionally undermine the rule of law in nearly all aspects".

In Hungary, long classified as an "electoral autocracy", researchers detected "significant regression" in the rule of law in 2024. Pressure on non-governmental groups and media intensified after the launch of Hungary's sovereignty protection office, which has broad powers to investigate Hungarians active in public life.

"Europe's democratic recession has deepened in 2024," Liberties said in a statement. The report, shared with the Guardian before publication, highlighted judicial systems subject to political manipulation, weak law enforcement against corruption, overuse of fast-track legislative procedures, harassment of journalists and growing restrictions on peaceful protests.

"Without decisive action, the EU risks further democratic erosion," the report - compiled by 43 human rights organisations in 21 EU member states - concluded.

Liberties began the annual exercise in 2019 to shadow the European Commission's rule of law reports, which are meant to serve as a democratic health check on EU member states. The NGO's six reports showed "the alarming persistence of rule of law violations throughout the European Union," said Viktor Kazai, senior rule of law expert at Liberties.