The European values and the European Parliament : The enforcement of article 2 TEU and the promotion of the rule of law, democracy, and respect for fundamental rights.

Abstract

The debate surrounding the compliance with the European values stated in article 2 TEU, and especially the rule of law, has been ongoing for a few years and has intensified with the rising of populism and so-called illiberal democracy in Central and Eastern Europe. The European Union is struggling to counter this threat coming from its Member States, and the European institutions have created and are still creating tools to enforce compliance with art. 2 TEU. Because of its limited competences, the European Parliament is not the main actor in this matter. Nevertheless, being the representative of the EU citizens and their interests, it has a symbolic important role to fulfill when it comes to the protection of the values of the EU, which violations directly affect the Union citizens. This thesis aims at exploring what this role is, what the European Parliament has done so far to enforce and promote the values of article 2 TEU, and whether its role could be strengthened in the future. To do so, I will first focus on the existing instruments at the EU level, to then look into the activity of the European Parliament in this field.