The study highlighted similar downward trends in the U.K. (0.78, down 0.01), the U.S. (0.68, down 0.028), Russia (0.41, down 0.049), and Ukraine (0.48, down 0.007).
Russia experienced the most significant overall decline from 2024 to 2025 of any nation analyzed, while the considerable decrease in the rule of law in the U.S. positioned it between Slovenia and Portugal in a ranking of EU, EFTA, and North American countries.
On the other hand, Denmark was the EU’s leading rule-of-law performer (0.90) within the EU and EFTA, followed by Norway, Finland, and Sweden.
The study found a weakening in the implementation of government regulations across the EU. “Notably, improper influence on government regulations worsened in 63% of EU countries, and delays in administrative proceedings increased in 70% of EU countries,” the researchers noted.
They also discovered that three out of four EU countries experienced declines in civil and criminal justice, with civil justice becoming less free of discrimination and criminal systems less impartial. In more than half of EU countries, the courts were increasingly influenced improperly by the government.
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