Commission Rule of Law Report: EC should involve the EESC to activate the Single Market dimension

Today, the European Commission published its sixth annual Rule of Law Report. The EESC President and the EESC Fundamental Rights and Rule of Law Group welcome the new Single Market dimension, which highlights rule of law issues affecting business, especially SMEs. They argue this addition strengthens the case for closer cooperation between the Commission and the EESC on the rule of law review mechanism. However, the EESC would have preferred to establish a fifth pillar on the economic dimension of the Rule of law. They also urge EU institutions to ensure that upcoming MFF negotiations better support civil society and deliver smart conditionality that addresses rule of law breaches without harming the population.

Activating the Single Market dimension

The EESC has long underlined the importance of the rule of law for Europe's social and economic actors, as it provides legal certainty and a level playing field for business, remedy for possible violations of workers' rights, and a framework for transparency and fair competition benefiting citizens.

The EESC therefore strongly supports the Commission’s inclusion of a Single Market dimension in the Rule of Law Report. At the same time, it stresses its own Treaty-based role in consulting employers' associations, trade unions, and civil society organisations. The EESC stands ready to assist the Commission with engaging civil society including social partners in the context of the Rule of Law mechanism.

The EESC encourages the Commission to:

• draw on past^[1] and recent^[2] EESC Opinions related to the economic aspects of the rule of law or related domains^[3];
• formally incorporate the country visit reports of its Fundamental Rights and Rule of Law Group^[4] into its yearly reporting cycle, as these offer a distinctive socio-economic perspective;
• Leveraging the EESC's broad network among employers’ associations and trade unions, by cooperating closely with the EESC when gathering information about rule of law violations affecting these stakeholders.^[5]

Reinforcing checks and balances by strengthening civil society and fine-tuning smart conditionality

As negotiations on the post-2027 Multiannual Financial Framework (2028-2034 MFF) approach, the EESC also reiterates the importance of increasing support to civil society actors playing a decisive role in the defense of the rule of law.

Such support should be combined with effective rule of law budget conditionality and EU budget protection.^[6] The EESC has called on the Commission to clearly link the Annual Rule of Law Report with other tools in the rule of law toolbox.^[7] The yearly report should become an activable tool, playing a crucial role in triggering mechanisms such as infringement procedures, budgetary conditionality, and Article 7 actions, especially when country-specific recommendations are ignored.

In this context, the MFF preparations should be used to advance 'smart conditionality'^[8] that holds governments accountable while safeguarding funding for final beneficiaries – local and regional authorities, social partners, CSOs, students, and others.

Oliver Röpke
President of the EESC

On behalf of the Presidency of the EESC Fundamental Rights and Rule of Law Group
Paul Soete, President
Ozlem Yildirim, Vice-President
Christian Moos, Vice-President

Background

The EESC Fundamental Rights and Rule of Law Group (FRRL group) was created in 2018 as a horizontal body within the European Economic and Social Committee. It was tasked with enhancing the contribution of organised civil society to strengthening fundamental rights, democracy and the rule of law and responding to the shrinking civic space for civil society organisations. Its work is structured around an approach that covers areas that are considered particularly important and relevant to the work of the EESC: fundamental rights of social partners, freedom of association and assembly, freedom of expression and freedom of the media, the right to non-discrimination, and the rule of law.

The EESC’s FRRL Group will hold its sixth annual conference on Tuesday 25 November 2025. The event will provide a platform for debate based on the European Commission’s sixth rule of law report, and the work done by the EESC over the past year (Opinions and FRRL Group country visits led in 2024-2025^[9]). EESC members, civil society representatives (including social partners), EU institutions and other stakeholders will discuss the main recent developments in the EU in the area of fundamental rights and the rule of law.

The European Commission published its sixth annual Rule of Law Report on 8 July 2025. The report includes an overview of trends in the EU and some candidate countries, and country-specific chapters looking at developments in each country since 2024. Since 2022, the report contains specific recommendations addressed to each country. The report examines developments in four key areas for the rule of law: justice systems, the anti-corruption framework, media pluralism and freedom, and other institutional issues linked to checks and balances. This year, to follow-up on the announcement in the Political Guidelines, a Single Market dimension from a rule of law perspective was also included in the report.