Young Meijers Committee 2025
In 2025, the Meijers Committee’s Rule of Law Project took a new direction with the creation of the Young Meijers Committee (YMC): a group of motivated young people with a desire to defend the rule of law. The Meijers Committee founded the YMC as a response to the growing threats to democracy and the rule of law in the European Union. This initiative aimed to equip motivated students and young professionals with essential skills, knowledge and practical experience, empowering them to challenge the current trajectory of the EU and develop solutions for pressing rule of law challenges.
This year-long training program entailed interactive workshops, hands-on legal experience, and direct engagement with EU decision-makers, they will develop the skills and expertise needed to critically assess the EU’s current trajectory and propose tangible solutions to rule of law challenges.
Starting off with the opening ceremony, participants met the Meijers Committee and its members, and learned about the Rule of Law Project. The event featured discussions on pressing EU rule of law concerns, followed by an interactive game where participants explored the arguments used by Member States—both to advocate for stronger legal protections and to justify backsliding.
The Young Meijers Committee members also attended four workshops, orchestrated by our Meijers Committee members. The first of these, taking place in March 2025, was led by Prof. dr. Jasper Krommendijk and Prof. Kees Groenendijk. It took the YMC Members through the main elements of the legislative process in the EU and how it can be used by NGOs and citizens to support the Rule of Law. Additionally, this workshop shared the history of the Meijers Committee with its latest new affiliates, and how it is equipped to defend the rule of law.
In May, Dr. Alice Dejean de la Bâtie and Dr. Tom Theuns took the Young Meijers Committee through the role of civil society in protecting the Rule of Law. This workshop artfully explained the European rule of law dynamics and actionable strategies for civil actors to confront threats. Further into the YMC trajectory, Prof. Jannemieke Ouwerkerk elicited further comprehension of rule of law mechanisms by giving a workshop on protecting the rule of law across borders. With its focus on the European Arrest Warrant and national courts, the workshop drew out complex and pressing issues regarding mutual cooperation in the context of rule of law decline. In one final workshop, on fire-walling national constitutions, participants explored how the constitutions of EU member states have been pressurised in recent years, and what steps have been taken to restore the integrity of the constitution.
Alongside these workshops, YMC members developed a final research comment per subcommittee. The Privacy and Non-discrimination group of the Young Meijers Committee created a report which asks: how could the AI Act be strengthened to address discriminatory profiling risks more effectively, in light of lessons learnt from the GDPR and other relevant EU instruments? The Criminal Law group responded to the addition of hate crimes to the list of crimes regulated at EU level. They suggested close alignment with the ECtHR’s case law. The Migration and Asylum law group developed a report on the EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum, analysing these emerging changes through the lens of three core rights: the prohibition of refoulement, the right to asylum and the right to an effective remedy.
We are very grateful to our first cohort of the Young Meijers Committee for their enthusiasm, dedication and input. We wish them all success going forwards in defending the rule of law.
Click here to download the Criminal Law subcommittee’s project, here for the Privacy and Non-discrimination subcommittee’s project and here for the migration and Asylum subcommittee.
