Rule of Law in the EU: citizens agreeing that core EU values are protected 2021

The values of liberal democracy, the rule of law, and respect for the fundamental rights of citizens are central to the project of the European Union. For a country to become a member of the union, they must demonstrate that they have safeguarded these values at home over a certain period of time. Nevertheless, there is a sharp divide between member states where citizens believe these rights are actually respected in practice and those where they don't.

Many countries who joined the EU in the Eastern enlargement accession rounds of 2004, 2007, and 2013 perform particularly poorly, with Bulgaria, Slovenia, Latvia, Croatia and Slovakia having a majority of citizens reporting that these EU values are not protected in their home countries. Southern European states such as Greece, Cyprus, and Malta also perform poorly in this area. As with many indicators of good governance, the Nordic member states of Sweden, Denmark, and Finland come towards the top of the list, along with Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Ireland.