Rule of Law and the 2022 Czech Presidency: Strengthening Resiliency and Avoiding Conflicts

Abstract

The insertion of “resiliency of democratic institutions” into the five key priorities of the 2022 Czech presidency indicates a political commitment to focus on the rule of law agenda. The following text aspires to map the practice of the Czech presidency in the domain of democratic institutions and rule of law and explain the reasons behind its (in)ability to deliver the expected outcomes. Firstly, the article analyses the specifics of the EU regulatory framework for the rule of law, and the impact of the Czech internal political situation after the 2021 parliamentary elections on the presidency’s performance. Secondly, the text covers four key policy issues that required the presidency’s attention in the second half of 2022: the evaluation of the judicial systems of member states, the formation of new EU rules for media freedom and the fight against disinformation, the amendment of the EP election process, and the judicial response to the crimes committed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.