Article 7 is a mechanism of the Lisbon Treaty that ensures "all EU countries respect the common values of the EU." It was envisaged as a way to mitigate and prevent member states from backsliding on European values and the rule law, with a nod to the bloc's youngest democracies. Although the measure came into force in the 1999 Treaty of Amsterdam, it hadn't been triggered until recently. In December 2017, the European Commission launched Article 7 against Poland over its controversial judicial reforms, followed by the European Parliament who voted to launch the sanctions proceedings against Hungary this September....
