Every year, the European Commission publishes a report that most Europeans have never heard of, yet which directly shapes the state of their democracies. The Annual Rule of Law Cycle establishes a dialogue process among EU institutions, member states, civil society, and other stakeholders on the effectiveness of justice systems, anti-corruption measures, media freedom, and institutional checks and balances across the region. In effect, it is democracy’s annual audit.

A Process Open to Citizens but Rarely Used by Them

For the 2025 Rule of Law Report, around 270 contributions were received from EU agencies, European networks, civil society organisations, business stakeholders, and professional associations. But despite formal openness to civic contributions, participation remains limited, uneven and restricted to highly specialised actors. Grassroots groups, local communities, and citizens facing corrupt local governments, compromised courts, and shrinking civic space are absent from the process. The 2025 Liberties Rule of Law Report, compiled by 43 rights groups from 21 EU countries, found that democratic decline persisted across the bloc. Political manipulation obstructed judicial independence and the prosecution of high-profile corruption cases, while serious gaps remained in whistleblower protection. The European Parliament links the rule of law backsliding to serious violations of fundamental rights, including misuse of pre-trial detention, incitement to hatred in political and institutional discourse, and restrictive measures targeting civil society organisations.

Stakeholders Project: Building Capacity

The Stakeholders project – Mobilising Citizens as Stakeholders in the Protection of the Rule of Law in Europe – was developed to address this gap. Co-funded by the European Union, coordinated by Repubblika (Malta), and implemented across seven European countries, it brings together partners with expertise in anti-corruption, civic education, public policy, and grassroots mobilisation, including Libera (Italy), S-Com (Belgium), FIADYS (Spain), Mafianeindanke (Germany), ACDD (Romania), Between (Portugal) and Basta! (Belgium). 

The project aims to empower civil society organisations, young people, and underrepresented communities by providing them with the practical tools they need to contribute to European decision-making processes. These contributions will be fed into a shared European process through training programmes, national civic conferences and collaborative platforms. This will lead to the formulation of a joint proposal from civil society at a transnational level, moving citizens from the role of observers to that of active protagonists in the protection of the rule of law.

Save the date: 8 June 2026

The project’s first public event, “Empowering Civil Society for the Rule of Law”, will take place online via Zoom on 8 June 2026 from 3:30 to 5:30 PM CET. The agenda is as follows:

• A project introduction by Emanuel Delia (Repubblika).
• Intervention from the European Commission.
• Presentation of the toolkit “From Good Practices to Impact: A Practical Toolkit for Engaging in the Rule of Law Process” by Valentina Zoccali (S-Com). This toolkit is designed to help organisations navigate the Rule of Law consultation process. 
• Panel discussion featuring representatives from Croatia, Romania and Belgium, as well as Civil Society Europe. National partners from Italy, Romania, Portugal, Spain, Germany and Belgium will then present their local actions.

The rule of law is not a legal abstraction. It determines whether courts are independent, whether corruption is prosecuted, whether journalists can report freely and whether citizens can hold power to account. Europe has built tools to monitor all of this. What it still lacks is enough citizens who are willing and able to use them.

Registration is mandatory: https://forms.gle/TWEjbYjqHdRSeXeS6

Event agenda: https://www.scom.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Agenda-Online-Event.docx-1.pdf 

For more information, visit: https://linktr.ee/StakeholdersProject 

Contact: valentina.zoccali@scom.eu 

Funded by the European Union