ISLAMABAD
\nThe European Union\u2019s latest democracy health check showed there was no significant deterioration across the 27-nation bloc in areas like media and court freedoms or efforts to tackle corruption over the last year, a top official said on Wednesday.
\nThe assessment came as the EU executive released its latest rule of law report, which includes tips for democratic improvements across EU member states.
\nLast year\u2019s snapshot highlighted serious concerns about the rule of law in Poland and Hungary. Both governments lost access to billions of euros in EU aid over related disputes.
\n\u201cThis rule of law report shows that there is no radical worsening or backsliding in any member state,\u201d said EU Commissioner for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova.
\n\u201cI will never be satisfied, in general, because there are a lot of things to be improved,\u201d she continued.
\nShe noted some improvements to the independence of the judiciary in Hungary, as Budapest sought to unlock access to EU grants.
\nBut the report still called on the nation to make improvements in areas including the independence of media and prosecutions of high-level corruption.
\nOn Poland, the report said there had been no progress towards 2022 recommendations including ensuring the independence of state prosecutions and fair procedures in awarding media licenses.
\nSpain, which holds a national election on July 23, was also among the countries warned over the state of its judiciary.
\nThe report reiterated \u201cserious concerns\u201d over the lack of the renewal of the Council of the Judiciary, the country\u2019s top body of judges.
\nIt did not mention days of rioting across France, triggered by police shooting of teenager of North African descent, and contained little reference to the use of excessive force by police in the country.
\nJourova said it was up to courts in France to judge every situation separately.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD The European Union\u2019s latest democracy health check showed there was no significant deterioration across the 27-nation bloc in areas like media and court freedoms or efforts to tackle corruption over the last year, a top official said on Wednesday. The assessment came as the EU executive released its latest rule of law report, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341604,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-341586","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n