Carnegie Europe: Judy Asks - Does the EU Have the Right Policy for Hungary and Poland?

Our director Vladimír Bartovic contributed with his answer to the Carnegie Europe series 'Judy Asks,' where he responded to the question whether the EU has the right policy for Hungary and Poland.

No. Unfortunately, the EU is not properly equipped to deal with violations of democratic standards by member states. For candidate countries, there are many ways to push them to stick to EU values, but once they become members, the union’s leverage is much weaker. If Hungary and Poland applied for membership today, they would not be able to join the EU.

It is politically risky to take action against member states, and the European Commission will do so only if it believes such action will be successful. It is more probable that the commission will choose to start infringement procedures in certain justified cases but will not propose the suspension of states’ voting rights under Article 7 of the Treaty on European Union. But calls for such a nuclear option can be expected from the European Parliament, which has the ambition to show political bravery and does not have to worry about a possible counterattack from the member states concerned.

The most powerful instruments to influence Hungary and Poland are in the hands of other European leaders. Their intensive and concentrated pressure can reverse the deterioration of democracy—or at least stop its further decline—in these two countries. The EU should also provide much more support to civil society, which has proved to be the strongest voice against the crackdown on democracy.

Read the whole article on Carnegie Europe's website here.