Carnegie Europe
1 to 10 of about 11
If the European Union does not protect its rule of law and tackle corruption, the democratic backsliding of Hungary and Poland will deal a devastating blow to Europe’s achievements since World War II.
Hungary and Poland have vetoed the next EU budget in protest of a new rule-of-law conditionality. What instruments and treaties can Europe use to circumvent Budapest and Warsaw’s hostage-taking?
Hungary and Poland are blocking an EU recovery package designed to overcome the deep economic crisis of Europe caused by the coronavirus. Only the political will of EU leaders can stop them.
The European Commission’s new report on the rule of law fails in three areas. To fight corruption and the abuse of power, the EU must use funds and sanctions strategically.
The coronavirus pandemic has revived demands for a human-centric approach to security. In Europe’s east, this means strengthening healthcare systems and building more resilient societies while managing threats such as geopolitical rivalries, conflicts in areas of limited statehood, and cyber warfare.
Neither values nor geopolitics played any role when EU leaders agreed to spend their way out of the coronavirus crisis at a marathon summit. Once again, Europe as a strategic player has been postponed.*
Europe is immersed in the world around it. But in order to strengthen the EU’s global role, the European Council will need to understand the deep connection between domestic struggles and international ambitions.
The reelection of Polish President Andrzej Duda represents an existential threat to the European Union’s legal order. After more than a decade of talk about conditionality, member states must act now.
The inconclusive first round of Poland’s presidential election showed a Polish leader and government undoing the gains of joining the European Union. The EU can take some of the blame.
Democracy and the rule of law are being undermined in Hungary and Poland. While all focus is on the coronavirus, the EU institutions and the big member states are doing little to protect core values.