Recent elections in the Netherlands and France have shown that the citizens’ desire of a strong European Union has not dissolved. Nevertheless, the EU stands at crossroads and has to re-define itself, especially when looking at the Member States to the East.
Poland’s relationship with the EU has deteriorated since the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party came into power. The first ever “rule-of-law procedure” undertaken by the European Commission against Poland, points to a bigger problem: the rise of illiberal democracy in some countries of the EU. In which direction is Poland heading and what are the chances to stop the democratic slide?
