The relation law-politics is very complex and imbalanced at the European level. The latest European legal acts show how the executive powers, that is, the Commission and the European Council, systematically override the legislative prerogatives on many issues: there is a gap between the procedures of the treaties and their concretization in the current context. The main challenge, given the complex political situation, is to define a 'new' legislative pathway that is efficient and legitimate and that, simultaneously, is already mirrored in the historical function of the legislative branch at both national and European levels. This is possible only with a precise democratic standard in mind and, specifically, with a clear definition of the different hierarchical weights between the executive and the legislative branches. My proposal is structured as follows: a) given the importance of having a well-defined standard, the first step is to give an overview of the current European political debate and to define this standard through a critical analysis of the different conceptions of legitimacy at the European level; b) to assess this standard both in terms of the political response to the Covid-19 crisis and the legislative dynamics of 'rule of law conditionality' crisis.