During the last decade, it has become apparent that the European Union (EU) Commission is failing to halt rule of law decline in Poland and Hungary. However, has the Commission learnt from its experience in handling rule of law decline in these countries? This article suggests that not only has the EU Commission failed to learn the importance of swift action in the face of burgeoning rule of law crises but has actively ignored similar systemic issues altogether in Lithuania, a country that has historically been an exemplary Member State. This article will analyse the status of the rule of law and judicial independence in Lithuania in light of the EU Commission’s first two Rule of Law Reports published in September 2020 and July 2021. These reports were designed to act as a preventative measure to protect the rule of law in each Member State through documenting and raising awareness for rule of law developments in the Union. Lithuania has largely slipped under the radar of constitutional democracy scholars; however, in the past two years, Lithuania has endured a series of attacks on judicial independence and suffered an attempted siege of its national broadcaster. There has been an intense deadlock recently over the election of Constitutional Court justices, which has raised concerns over the executive’s persistent attempts to politicise Lithuania’s highest court. Worryingly the recent Rule of Law Reports, published by the EU Commission, fail to reflect the severity of these recent developments. The reports’ silence on these issues leads this article to conclude that the EU Commission is turning a blind eye to Lithuania’s precarious rule of law situation by failing to truthfully document significant negative developments around the rule of law. By doing so, the Commission not only exacerbates rule of law issues domestically but also undermines the fight against rule of law backsliding in the Union.

在过去十年中，很明显，欧盟 (EU) 委员会未能阻止波兰和匈牙利的法治衰落。然而，委员会是否从其处理这些国家法治下滑的经验中吸取了教训？这篇文章表明，欧盟委员会不仅没有认识到在迅速发展的法治危机面前迅速采取行动的重要性，而且在立陶宛这个历来堪称模范成员国的国家，完全无视了类似的系统性问题。本文将结合欧盟委员会于 2020 年 9 月和 2021 年 7 月发布的前两份法治报告，分析立陶宛的法治和司法独立状况。这些报告旨在通过记录和提高对欧盟法治发展的认识，作为保护每个成员国法治的预防措施。立陶宛在很大程度上没有受到宪政民主学者的关注。然而，在过去的两年里，立陶宛遭受了一系列对司法独立的攻击，并遭受了对其国家广播公司的企图围攻。最近在宪法法院法官的选举中出现了严重的僵局，这引发了人们对行政部门持续试图将立陶宛最高法院政治化的担忧。令人担忧的是，欧盟委员会最近发布的法治报告未能反映这些近期事态发展的严重性。报告对这些问题的沉默导致本文得出结论，欧盟委员会未能如实记录围绕法治的重大负面发展，对立陶宛岌岌可危的法治状况视而不见。通过这样做，委员会不仅加剧了国内的法治问题，而且破坏了打击欧盟法治倒退的斗争。