The rule of law in Italy: the EU is the stick. Finger pointed, in particular, on corruption, conflict of interest, independence of the judiciary and information. The references are contained in the report of the EU Commission on the situation of the rule of law and under examination by the House in the European Union Policies Commission, an overview divided into 4 sections, within which the European Commission deems the degree of upholding the principle of the rule of law: judicial system; anti-corruption framework; media pluralism and freedom; institutional issues relating to the balance of powers.
Within the overview of the European Commission, the references to our country are precise.
1) In terms of the judicial system, the European Commission notes the solidity of the legislative framework to safeguard the independence of the judiciary, but at the same time underlines a series of statistical surveys from which one would emerge low perception of the level of independence of the judiciary between citizens and businesses. In this context, account is taken of the emergence of specific problems that have arisen in the Superior Council of the Judiciary following serious allegations relating to the appointment of high-level prosecutors, arising from the criminal investigation of the Perugia prosecutor's office.
A series of data relating to the duration of proceedings, which in the civil and commercial sector remain, in comparison with the other Member States, among the least virtuous in the EU. Even the administrative justice and criminal justice sectors, while showing improvements in 2019, rank below the European average in terms of performance.
2) In the chapter on anti-corruption policies, while the European Commission considers the legal and institutional framework of our country to be substantially functional, it does not fail to recall some international indices of perception of corruption which classify Italy ranks 15th in the EU and 51st worldwide. Another criticality indicated by the European Commission is the fragmentary nature of the rules on conflict of interest, with particular regard to the non-transferability and incompatibility regime applicable to elected public officials, considered to be disorganized and lacking a complete application system.
3) The section concerning freedom of expression and information in Italy opens with the observation that the constitutional and legislative datum establishes a solid framework aimed at guaranteeing media pluralism in our country. However, according to the Commission, there are still concerns about the political independence of the Italian media, expected that despite the notification of about 15 years ago by the Venice Commission (consultative body of the Council of Europe) effective provisions on the conflict of interest prevention.
What to do for greater enforcement of the rule of law? The rapporteur for the document of the European Commission, Marina Berlinghieri (PD) makes a premise: "Full respect for the rule of law is a medal that no member country can claim, as it is an objective that must always be sought and pursued and which cannot never be taken for granted." Having said this, he suggests a possible “preventive mechanism, similar to the so-called «preventive arm» of the Stability and Growth Pact adopted to assess the sustainability of the public finances of the various countries within the framework of the European Semester procedure; a mechanism, therefore, which through constant dialogue with the European Commission and a path of accompaniment, keeps the member countries within the framework of respect for the founding values of the European Union”.
