The Polish Catholic Church has become intertwined with Euroscepticism and the promotion of conservative “national values”

After a surge of support in the Presidential and General Elections last year, the right-wing national conservative Law and Justice Party now dominates Polish politics. In this post, Simona Guerra explores the government’s relationship with the Polish Church and its role in fuelling religious Euroscepticism and supporting draconian abortion laws. She writes that the close alliance shows there are mutual benefits and the Catholic Church does not easily give up its spiritual, moral and social authority

What Euroscepticism looks like in Central and Eastern Europe

In the rest of the EU, Euroscepticism is driven by particular complaints and resentments - some of which are shared by British Eurosceptics, and others (such as unhappiness at the Greek bailout) which are local. Simona Guerra (University of Leicester) reports on a recent conference in Bratislava, which looks at the forms Euroscepticism has taken among Latvians, Slovakians, Germans and Austrians since the economic crisis

Euroscepticism has taken hold across the EU - but it has many different roots

Euroscepticism - defined as outright or defined opposition to the European project - is becoming a mainstream, contested phenomenon, writes Simona Guerra. The EU has been challenged by the Greek referendum in July 2015, the refugee crisis and Brexit. Euroscepticism is no longer the exclusive province of 'peripheral' parties like Ukip or the fringes of society. How did a previously sidelined set of views come to the forefront of public discourse

Keep your distance: on the relationship between European integration and religion

The European continent has a history of religious entanglement and change, while its recent past has been in large part defined by the experience of European integration. But how do the two interact? Simona Guerra argues that EU integration can become a turning point for religiosity, and widen the gap between that part of the society moving towards more secularism and anti-secular and conservative groups

The untold story of twelve women who helped shape the early European integration process

Women are largely absent from accounts of the early European integration process. Yet as Simona Guerra explains, there were a number of women who played an important role in setting the trajectory of the integration project during this period. Drawing on new research, she outlines the contributions made by the first twelve women appointed as representatives in the Common Assembly and the European Parliament in the 1950s and 1960s

Democratic backsliding, Poland’s election and Covid- 19: what needs to be considered?

Poland is still planning to hold its presidential election on 10 May, despite the Covid-19 outbreak. Fernando Casal Bértoa and Simona Guerra write that the decision to go ahead with the election raises some important issues in relation to public safety and democratic standards

Frequent Occurrence of Aplasia Cutis Congenita in Bullous Dermolysis of the Newborn.

Bullous dermolysis of the newborn (BDN) is a subtype of dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa characterized by rapid improvement in skin fragility within the first months of life, associated with typical immunofluorescence and ultrastructural features. Inheritance can be autosomal dominant or recessive. We report here 4 cases of BDN, 2 of which presented with aplasia cutis congenita of the lower extremities. All patients improved rapidly and blister formation ceased by the third month of life in 3 cases. In these patients only residual milia, nail dystrophies and atrophic scarring at sites of aplasia cutis were visible by one year. Family history indicated dominant inheritance in 2 cases, confirmed by identification of COL7A1 mutation. Molecular analysis also revealed recessive inheritance in the 2 sporadic cases. A literature search identified several patients with BDN born with skin defects localized to the lower extremities. In conclusion, these findings indicate that aplasia cutis congenita is not an infrequent manifestation of BDN