Rule of Law in the EU: scores in select rule of law indicators by member state 2022

The rule of law refers to a key principle of liberal democracy - that governments and states are bound by clear and transparent rules, that they respect legal procedures and the rights of citizens, and that there are independent institutions which can check the power of the government. The rule of law is in fact one of the key things which binds the European Union member states together, apart from the single market and Euro currency area, as members are required to uphold the values of liberal democracy in order to remain within the bloc.

In recent years, these values have increasingly come under threat from illiberal and populist politicians who seek to prioritize the sovereignty of their national governments. These politicians and parties, such as Viktor Orban's Fidesz in Hungary and Law & Justice (PiS) in Poland, have come into regular conflict with the European Commission since the 2010s, with independent observers citing attacks on freedom of the press, reforms which make the judiciary less independent, and the lack of protection for minorities as some of the key issues.

Across a wide range of rule of law indicators, Hungary ranks the lowest in the EU. Only on issues of order and security does the Central European country rank above most other states in the union, which is likely due to the Hungarian state's strong enforcement of national laws and legislation. A number of South-Eastern member states make up most of the rest of the bottom of the list, with Bulgaria, Croatia, and Greece performing poorly across the range of indicators.

The Nordic member states of Denmark, Finland, and Sweden rank as the countries which most enforce the rule of law within the European Union.