The rule of law is a legally binding constitutional principle which is recognised as one of the founding principles inherent to all constitutional systems of the Member States of the EU and the Council of Europe. To strengthen the rule of law in the EU, the European Commission put forward a new EU framework in March 2014. The contributions to the 8th Network Europe Conference discuss the concept, the legal basis and current challenges of the rule of law principle in Europe as well as the efficiency of the new EU instruments to enforce it.