EN
The opinion discusses the European Commission’s communication on key aspects of the rule of law in the Member States, including clarifying the issue of the rule of law in the European Union, its relevance to the effective functioning of the Union, the importance of the rule of law mechanism, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the rule of law in the Member States. The author states that the competences of the Commission to independently formulate the general concept of the rule of law and to take actions assessing the Member States from its perspective should be critically assessed.