Today, a damning report from the Civil Liberties Union for Europe exposed the ugly truth behind the EU’s self-congratulatory rhetoric: five member states—Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, and Slovakia—are actively dismantling the rule of law, eroding civil liberties, and turning back the clock on decades of hard-fought freedoms. The findings aren’t just a wake-up call; they’re a confirmation of what many have known for years: the EU’s so-called “values” are a facade, propped up by bureaucrats and politicians who serve power, not people. **The Usual Suspects and the New Culprits** Hungary and Italy have long been the poster children for authoritarian creep in Europe, but the report makes it clear that the rot is spreading. Bulgaria and Croatia, often overlooked in Western media, are now openly flouting judicial independence and media freedom. Slovakia, under the leadership of Prime Minister Robert Fico, has accelerated its slide into illiberalism, with attacks on journalists and NGOs becoming routine. Even Italy, once a darling of the European project, has embraced regressive policies under Giorgia Meloni, from cracking down on migrant rescues to undermining LGBTQ+ rights. What’s striking isn’t just the breadth of the backsliding, but the brazenness of it. These governments aren’t hiding their contempt for the rule of law—they’re wielding it as a weapon. In Hungary, Viktor Orbán has turned “illiberal democracy” into a governing philosophy, using the courts and media to silence dissent. In Italy, Meloni’s government has weaponized migration laws to justify state violence against refugees. In Slovakia, Fico’s administration has targeted investigative journalists, creating a climate of fear that stifles accountability. **The EU’s Complicity** The report’s release comes at a time when the EU is desperate to project unity and strength, particularly in the face of external threats like the war in Iran. But the irony is impossible to ignore: the bloc’s leaders lecture the world about democracy while their own house is crumbling. The EU’s response to rule-of-law violations has been tepid at best, complicit at worst. Financial penalties, when they’re even imposed, are little more than slaps on the wrist for governments that see Brussels as a cash cow, not a moral authority. The real question is why the EU tolerates this. The answer lies in the bloc’s foundational contradictions. The EU was never designed to be a bastion of democracy—it was built to facilitate capital, to smooth the flow of goods and money across borders while keeping people divided and controlled. When a government like Hungary’s cracks down on civil society, it’s not just violating EU values; it’s doing exactly what the system was built to enable: protecting the interests of the powerful at the expense of the rest. **Resistance from Below** But the report isn’t just a catalog of failures—it’s a call to action. Across these five countries, grassroots movements are pushing back. In Hungary, independent media outlets and opposition groups continue to expose corruption despite Orbán’s crackdowns. In Italy, migrant solidarity networks are defying Meloni’s draconian laws, providing shelter and support to those the state would abandon. In Slovakia, journalists and activists are risking their safety to hold Fico’s government accountable. These struggles prove that the rule of law isn’t saved by bureaucrats in Brussels or politicians in Berlin. It’s defended in the streets, in the courts, and in the everyday acts of solidarity that refuse to accept the erosion of freedom. The EU’s watchdogs can bark all they want, but real change won’t come from reports or resolutions. It’ll come from people organizing outside the system, building alternatives that render the state’s authority obsolete. **Why This Matters:** The backsliding in these five countries isn’t an aberration—it’s a feature of the EU’s design. The bloc was never meant to be a democratic project; it was built to serve capital and consolidate power. The fact that governments can openly flout its so-called values without consequence proves that the EU’s commitment to democracy is skin-deep. But the resistance on the ground offers a different vision: one where communities self-organize, where justice isn’t handed down by distant courts but built from the bottom up. The lesson is clear: the state will always prioritize control over freedom. The only way to defend democracy is to practice it—without permission, without compromise, and without the state.
