Exclusive: Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy and Slovakia actively pursue regressive policies, watchdog finds
Governments in five EU member states are “consistently and intentionally” eroding the rule of law, Europe’s leading civil liberties group has warned, while democratic standards are deteriorating in six more, including historically strong democracies.
Drawing on evidence from more than 40 NGOs in 22 countries, the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) described the governments of Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy and Slovakia as “dismantlers” that were actively weakening the rule of law.
The group’s 2026 report, released on Monday, said the rule of law had regressed in all areas – justice, anti-corruption, media freedom and civil society checks and balances – in Slovakia under the populist, authoritarian, pro-Moscow government of Robert Fico.
They should be put on a list and if they do not fix XYZ in x years they will lose access to the EU and Schengen money etc. All they have is cheap labor and the other countries do not need them, au contraire. They can fix their shit and reapply to join.