❓WHO REALLY GOVERNS EUROPE — THE PEOPLE OR THE JUDGES? 🇪🇺 French legal expert Nicolas Bauer, from the European Centre for Law and Justice ( @ECLJ_Official ), delivered a sharp critique of the state of European democracy during our conference at the European Parliament. “Democracy is no longer a system of government, but a system of values.” According to Bauer, the traditional idea of government of the people, by the people, for the people is being replaced by a system in which certain values can be imposed even against the will of the majority. But who defines those values? Increasingly, he argues, unelected judges. He points to the European Court of Human Rights, which invokes principles such as tolerance, pluralism, and open-mindedness to justify restrictions on fundamental freedoms. Bauer also highlighted the ECLJ's investigations into approximately 120 cases of potential conflicts of interest at the European Court of Human Rights, involving judges with previous ties to NGOs connected to cases they adjudicated. He raised similar concerns about UN human rights experts whose reports, according to ECLJ findings, have sometimes been financed almost entirely by private foundations, including Open Society Foundations and the Ford Foundation. He also criticized France's media regulator for its actions against CNews, interpreting them as an attempt to restrict criticism of government and EU policies. Bauer drew parallels between recent legislative changes in Hungary and the French court ruling barring Marine Le Pen from running in the 2027 presidential election, arguing that the rule of law can itself be weaponized against democracy. His central argument is simple: “You apply certain principles to us. We examine whether you yourselves apply those same principles.” And that brings us back to the fundamental question: If the people elect their representatives, but unelected institutions determine the limits of political decisions, who really governs?