The rule of law is one of the core values of the European Union – without it, the Common Market would cease to function. However, the principle has been all but eviscerated in the Member States of Hungary and Poland, where it has fallen under assault by their governments. In the face of this challenge, the European Union has attempted to use several tools to protect one of its most hallowed principles, with varying degrees of success. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of some of these tools in the context of the recent struggle between Brussels on the one hand and Budapest and Warsaw on the other. Namely, it explores the impact of Article 7 sanctions, infringement proceedings, and the new tool of rule of law conditionality. It concludes that while Article 7 sanctions have been a disappointing failure and infringement proceedings a mixed bag, rule of law conditionality has been the most effective tool thus far, though it too has important shortfalls. Consequently, this paper urges that to defend the rule of law in Member States both now and in the future, the European Union must innovate to create new tools and enhance existing ones so it can more effectively rein in attacks on this essential principle.