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[Podcast] Civil Society, EU Accountability, and the Rule of Law

byИнститут за европска политика

How does the European Commission actually measure the health of a democracy? In our latest podcast episode, we sit down with Carolin Johnson, Head of Policy at the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD), to pull back the curtain on the EU’s Rule of Law report.

As the Rule of Law report expands to include Western Balkan enlargement countries, the stakes for local civil society organizations (CSOs) have never been higher. Carolin shares how EPD unites dozens of media and civil society voices into a powerful, collective stance in Brussels. We dive into why the European Commission often separates fundamental rights from rule of law realities, whether EU consultations are only a “check-the-box” exercise, and how local activists can scale up their data to force real governmental accountability.



The podcast was recorded as part of the project Bridging the gap: Aligning national rule of law realities in North Macedonia and BiH, implemented by EPI and Transparency International Bosna i Hercegovina, with funding from Progres Institute and Kalevi Sorsa Foundation’s Think Tank Grant Program 2026.

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