The newly released report by the pan-European human rights organisation The Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) sheds light on the most significant violations related to justice, corruption, media freedom, journalist safety, civil society, and human rights within the European Union. The comprehensive report was compiled with contributions from 43 human rights organisations across 21 countries. The chapter on Estonia was prepared by the Estonian Human Rights Centre.

Liberties’ Rule of Law Report reveals that Europe’s democratic decline deepened in 2024. Countries once considered strongholds of democracy are showing signs of a shift toward authoritarian tendencies, and the European Union’s minimal use of its rule of law tools has not significantly improved the situation. According to organisations within the network, three main trends are currently eroding democracy in Europe:

• Checks and balances weakened by emergency, fast-track legislative procedures
• Justice systems under growing political pressure through smears, under-finance
•  Climate, pro-Palestine protests widely restricted, intimidated by excessive police force

According to Egert Rünne, Director of the Estonian Human Rights Centre, the concerning results of the report highlight the growing need to actively support human rights. “It is alarming to witness the regression of democratic processes in countries we are used to seeing as symbols of the free world,” he said. “I feel great pride that Estonia has, in a relatively short time, become a country where everyone’s human rights matter. It is up to us alone to ensure that this progress continues.”

The sixth edition of the report, published since 2019 and nearly 1,000 pages long, highlights the most striking violations within the European Union in 2024. It is the most in-depth ‘shadow report’ on the state of the rule of law to date by an independent civil liberties network.

Key Country-cohort Insights 

• “The Weakest Link”: In Hungary, already the worst performer for years, significant regression was detected across the board including renewed campaigns by the “hybrid regime” against judicial independence, civil society organisations, public participation and media freedom.
• “Dismantlers”: Governments of Italy, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Slovakia systematically, intentionally undermine the rule of law in nearly all aspects.
• “Sliders”: Role-model democracies like Belgium, France, Germany, or Sweden demonstrated isolated but still troubling decline in a few dimensions risking lower standards will be followed by more.
• “Stagnators”: Greece, Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands, and Spain stagnate or made only minimal progress in their rule of law indicators.
• “Hard Workers”: Estonia and the Czech Republic show signs of genuine and systemic efforts of improvement highlighting the successful role of civil society in achieving positive change.
• “The Cautionary Tale”: Poland, where the new government has attempted to restore judicial independence and media pluralism without major progress, illustrates that addressing the compromised independence of institutions is an extremely challenging and fragile endeavor.

Key Insights on Dimensions

• The justice system still suffers from political manipulation, insufficient resources, and barriers to legal aid, which undermines its independence, quality and efficiency.
• In the realm of anti-corruption, there is a persistent lack of transparency, weak law enforcement, and inadequate protection of whistleblowers, leading to eroded trust in governmental integrity.
• Media freedom remains under threat, as political influence compromises the independence of regulatory bodies and concentrated ownership stifles pluralism, with journalists facing increasing harassment and legal challenges.
• Checks and balances are further weakened by the overuse of fast-track legislative processes, political interference in independent authorities, and compromised integrity of the electoral system, which erode the democratic and legal control over the government.
• Civic space continues to shrink, with widespread smear campaigns emboldening governments to adopt restrictive laws in particular on the right to peaceful protest and freedom of association.
• Human rights are under increasing pressure, with stricter migration policies, inadequate protections for vulnerable groups, and rising discrimination and hate speech impacting minorities across the region.

Read the full report

Read the chapter on Estonia