The European Union and the Rule of Law - Applying Different Standards?

Thursday, October 15, 2009
MC9-401
12:30 - 2:00 p.m.

SPEAKER:
Dr. Erik O. Wennerström
Senior Legal Adviser
Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Sweden

CHAIR:
David Bernstein
Senior Public Sector Specialist, ECSPE

The term "Rule of Law" can mean different things in different contexts. This is true even when it is used by the same organization. Dr. Erik O. Wennerström from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs will present how the EU has used and how it is currently using the Rule of Law concept in different policy areas. As far as the inner workings of the EU and its relationship with the Member States are concerned, the concept of Rule of Law is largely shaped by the European Court of Justice through the development of its case law. The approach to the Rule of Law in the context of the accession of new Member States has been formulated mainly by the European Commission, through the assessment mechanism it constructed in the mid-1990s, and a decade’s practice in applying it. The external relations conception of the Rule of Law has been formulated by the Commission, as regards cooperation, aid and trade, and by the Council and its Secretariat as regards other foreign policy measures. The speaker will compare how the EU uses the term "Rule of Law" in these three different situations and will identify great variations.

Due to the inconsistent application of the Rule of Law concept, some activities that may be usefully included under this umbrella are not. The speaker will give concrete examples. According to him, the area that has been neglected most is that of public administration, which as a result of the reduction of the rule of law concept is often not even considered relevant for rule of law activities.

Dr. Erik O. Wennerström is Senior Legal Adviser with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden. He has a background with the European Commission, having assisted in the screening and support of the Candidate Countries of Central and Eastern Europe 1996-2000 in the area of Justice and Home Affairs, and the Swedish Ministries for Foreign Affairs and Justice, and has been an adviser to countries seeking membership of the European Union on rule of law matters.