Strengthening Europe’s rule of law defences: New tools for early warning and strategic litigation

As democratic erosion and rule of law challenges continue to emerge across the EU, the need for timely and coordinated responses has become increasingly urgent. The RED-SPINEL project brings together researchers and practitioners to bridge the gap between academic analysis and hands-on tools for defending fundamental rights. Its latest outputs – the Practitioners’ Handbook on Early Warning Mechanisms for Civil Society Organisations and the Training Resources for European Legal Practitioners on the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights – offer complementary approaches to strengthening Europe’s democratic resilience.

How can we detect and respond to systemic violations of fundamental rights before they escalate into full-scale rule of law crises?

This new Handbook, prepared in the framework of the RED-SPINEL project, supported by Horizon Europe programme explores early warning mechanisms as tools for protecting fundamental rights beyond traditional litigation.

The Handbook explores early warning mechanisms at two interconnected levels: the EU level, and the national level, with four country studies from Belgium, Hungary, the Netherlands, and Poland. These case studies illustrate how different domestic systems work to identify and address fundamental rights challenges and how EU-level mechanisms can complement them when national safeguards are weakened.

At the EU level, the Handbook provides a structured overview of existing early warning instruments, including:

• Monitoring and assessment tools such as the Rule of Law Report, European Semester, and EU Justice Scoreboard;
• Independent oversight bodies like the European Ombudsman, Fundamental Rights Agency, and the European Parliament’s LIBE Committee;
• Political and legal enforcement mechanisms including Article 7 TEU, infringement procedures, and conditionality and financial tools

By bridging research and practice, the Handbook aims to strengthen Europe’s capacity to detect, signal, and respond to threats to democracy, rule of law, and human rights.

Download the Handbook here.

How can European lawyers use the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights more effectively to defend rights and uphold the rule of law?

This new Training Resources document, prepared under the RED-SPINEL project, supported by Horizon Europe programme, is designed to help legal practitioners strengthen their capacity to engage with the Charter in both national and European litigation.

It combines theoretical and practical insights to show how the Charter can be strategically mobilized to achieve systemic change through litigation.The document explains what strategic litigation is, outlines the legal avenues available at the EU and national levels, and identifies key factors influencing its success, such as admissibility, expertise, and procedural choice. It further clarifies how and when the Charter applies, how compliance is assessed, and which litigation pathways can be used to bring Charter-based arguments before national courts and the Court of Justice of the European Union.

A major part of the Training Resources focuses on the thematic use of the Charter in four key areas:

• Rule of law
• Climate
• Media freedom
• Equality

The Annex complements these chapters with case law databases from both CJEU and national courts, providing concrete examples, entry points, and key judgments relevant to each thematic area. Together, they offer a practical resource for legal professionals seeking to use the Charter as a powerful tool for rights protection and democratic resilience.

Download the Handbook here.