Franco-German Summit an Opportunity to Defend Rights

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On July 13, French president Emmanuel Macron will host his first meeting of the French-German Council of Ministers, together with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Both have vowed to revive Europe. As a presidential candidate, Macron pledged to defend EU values and support sanctions against EU states that defy them.

Meanwhile, there is no doubt that the EU founding principles – respect for human rights and the rule of law – are being challenged within the union by radical right populist governments.

If Macron and Merkel are serious in their ambition, defending human rights values should be at the heart of their vision of the European project.

That should start with addressing the backslide in the rule of law in countries like Hungary and Poland.

In Poland, the Law and Justice party government has hollowed out the Constitutional Tribunal and increased executive influence over the courts, undermining the rule of law. Last month, the government limited access to the morning-after pill – a blow to women’s rights. And it is blocking asylum seekers entering its territory, forcing them back to unsafe Belarus, in defiance of orders by the European Court of Human Rights.

In Hungary, Viktor Orban’s government has intensified attacks on critical voices, adopting laws aimed at shutting down the Central European University and delegitimizing the work of nongovernmental groups receiving foreign funding. The government-funded aggressive posters’ campaign against billionaire and philanthropist George Soros is Orban’s latest move to vilify not only him, but also the country’s main civil society groups.

Macron and Merkel should make it clear to Viktor Orban and Law and Justice party leader Jarosław Kaczyński that respect for rule of law and democratic institutions is not negotiable in Europe.

Both Merkel and Macron are standing up against populist movements which made clear their hostility to human rights. They have now an opportunity to show that reviving the EU goes hand in hand with promoting the values of democracy and human rights.