Rule of law in the EU: deepening crisis and lack of progress

The Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) has published its seventh annual report on the state of the rule of law in the European Union, based on contributions from 40 civil society organisations across 22 countries. The report finds that the rule of law in the EU is deteriorating or stagnating across several key areas, including the judiciary, anti-corruption efforts, media freedom, and oversight mechanisms. The Peace Institute contributed the country report for Slovenia.

Although the institutional framework for the rule of law in Slovenia remains relatively stable, key challenges persist without visible improvement. In this regard, the report highlights in particular:

• lengthy and often non-transparent judicial proceedings, affecting the efficiency of the judiciary,
• insufficient human and systemic capacities within the judicial system,
• limited results in the prevention and prosecution of corruption, particularly in terms of effective implementation,
• vulnerabilities in the media environment, including pressures and institutional instability,
• weaknesses in oversight mechanisms, limiting effective accountability of public authorities.

At the same time, Slovenia has for several years received similar recommendations from the European Commission, yet these have not translated into systemic reforms or measurable improvements. According to Liberties, such recurring stagnation is characteristic of a broader European pattern, where countries formally maintain institutional standards but fail to address structural deficiencies.

The full Rule of Law Report 2026 is available here.