The Council and Dissensus over Liberal Democracy

Abstract

This chapter analyses the role of the Council in the EU’s dissensus over liberal democracy, specifically the struggle with the erosion of democracy and the rule of law in certain member states. The chapter highlights that the Council holds a crucial position in key procedures available to the EU to protect democracy and the rule of law, but the Council has often failed to make use of these procedures. The chapter then discusses studies on governmental preferences on the enforcement of democratic and rule of law norms as well as the operation of intergovernmental negotiations. This reveals variation in governmental preferences and a close balance between groups favouring and moderately opposing enforcement decisions. In negotiations on enforcement decisions, the EU’s backsliding governments often find themselves isolated in their strong opposition and in a weak bargaining position. To avoid being outvoted and sanctioned, they depend on the Council’s commitment to norms of consensus and mutual accommodation. Finally, the chapter highlights that backsliding governments have strained the limits of these norms in recent years and have faced stronger EU efforts to rein them in. The rise of the radical right, on one hand, and political pressure to protect democracy, on the other, are crucial determinants of the Council’s future actions in the domain of democratic backsliding and the rule of law.