European Parliament: Corona emergency should not harm democracy | NOW

A number of EU member states are taking measures against the coronavirus that are at the expense of democracy and freedom, such as restricting the right to demonstrate and the freedom of movement of citizens, says the European Parliament. The measures must therefore have a good constitutional basis, and where possible they must be ended, MEPs said in a resolution adopted on Friday.

Although the measures regularly help, writes parliament, they should not be at the expense of European core values. “The measures must be necessary, proportional and temporary in nature if they affect democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights,” write the parliamentarians.

In some cases the European Parliament sees a risk of abuse of power. For example, the emergency powers must not be misused to pass legislation that does not relate to the corona virus. Demonstrations against controversial measures should also not be banned for the sake of fighting the virus.

As examples, the European Parliament cites the situation in Bulgaria, where an electoral law will be amended in corona time, and Poland, where the abolition of the right to abortion is currently being debated.

Poland has banned protesters from gathering to counter the risk of further spread of the corona virus. Despite this, tens of thousands of Poles took to the streets to demonstrate against the abortion law.

‘The rule of law is a basic condition for tackling the pandemic’

“The rule of law is not an obstacle to an effective approach to a pandemic, it is a basic condition to tackle it in an inclusive, democratic and proportional way”, says the Limburg CDA MEP Jeroen Lenaers.

“It is precisely in times of crisis that people and therefore also those in power show their true nature. So we as the EU must make it very clear that the rule of law cannot be changed.”

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