EU still shy of 'nuclear option' on values

Rule of law is one of the fundamental values on which the European Union is founded.

But the European Commission - the “guardian of the EU Treaties” - has struggled to protect it in situations where a systemic threat was detected in a member state.

In January, the EU executive launched a unique investigation into the rule of law in Poland, using for the first time a mechanism set up in 2014 and known as the rule-of-law framework.

On Wednesday (1 June), the college of comm...