Why the Commission is treating Poland more harshly than Hungary in its rule of law review

In January, the European Commission announced an inquiry into whether recent Polish reforms affecting the country’s constitutional tribunal and media are consistent with the rule of law. Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska writes that the Commission’s review has been noticeably different from its previous approach in relation to Hungary, where there have been similar concerns raised over reforms carried out by Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz government. She argues that the fact that the Law and Justice party has less political allies at the European level and that the Juncker’s Commission is more assertive vis-à-vis member-states than its predecessor, may go some way toward explaining why the cases have been handled differently

The Eurozone crisis has laid the foundations for Poland to take a more central role in EU affairs

Poland became an EU member during the 2004 enlargement, but has yet to join the euro. Agata Gostyńska assesses the first ten years of Polish EU membership and the potential for the country to take a more central role in EU decision-making. She writes that Poland has made a successful transition from a ‘junior member state’ to a stronger actor on the EU stage, and that the Eurozone crisis in particular has allowed the country to take a more active role in EU developments. Nevertheless, Poland will have to confront future challenges, most notably resolving its position on the euro and dealing with the potential rebalancing of power brought about through the upcoming change to Council of the EU voting rules in November

The Brexiteers’ exit plan: legally dubious, unfeasible and likely to antagonise our neighbours

Last week Vote Leave laid out its plans for a divorce and a future relationship with the EU. It argued that if voters decided to end UK’s membership of the EU, the UK would negotiate a “friendly deal” with European partners by the next general election in 2020. But this post-referendum roadmap does not hold water, argue Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska and Adam Lazowski. It would, at best, further antagonise the European partners and, at worst, create economic and legal chaos. Here are four reasons why

The US won’t help Britain in its negotiations with the EU

The special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom cannot be taken for granted. Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska and Rem Korteweg argue, in the latest issue of the CER Insight, that in spite of its long history the famous UK-US alliance may not prove very useful during Brexit. It is all but certain that Washington will not aid London in its exit negotiations with the EU-27

European views on the UK’s renegotiation: Italy, Poland, Bulgaria and Malta

The success or failure of David Cameron’s planned renegotiation of the UK’s EU membership will depend to a large extent on how the other 27 EU member states respond to his proposals. But how do countries across the EU view the UK’s renegotiation? Building on a report published in 2014 by the German Council on Foreign Relations, EUROPP is running a series of overviews of the renegotiation from each of the EU’s member states. Compiled by the LSE’s Tim Oliver and written by authors based at universities and research institutions, the overviews will set out what discussion – if any – there has been about the renegotiation and the wider views within each country on a potential Brexit. The series begins with Italy, Poland, Bulgaria and Malta. Italy: A Brexit would create a dangerous political precedent for Italy Poland: Warsaw’s stance will remain uncertain until after the October elections Bulgaria: Brexit has been overshadowed by Ukraine, Grexit and the refugee crisis Malta: Should Brexit materialise, UK influence in Malta is likely to diminis

Preparations for a Brexit III: views from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Poland, and Portugal

If Britain votes to leave the EU it will have to negotiate its exit and a new post-withdrawal relationship with the EU, one that will have to be agreed by the remaining 27 EU member states and the European Parliament. What positions might they take in the negotiations? Over the next few weeks the LSE’s BrexitVote blog will be running a series of overviews from each member state and the European Parliament setting out what positions they might take. Written by authors based at universities and research institutions across Europe, and compiled by the LSE’s Tim Oliver, the overviews build on an introductory piece in which he set out the various negotiations the EU will undertake in the event of a British exit. This post is the third in the series and gives views from Bulgaria, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Poland and Portugal

Deliberative Democracy in the EU. Countering Populism with Participation and Debate. CEPS Paperback

Elections are the preferred way to freely transfer power from one term to the next and from one political party or coalition to another. They are an essential element of democracy. But if the process of power transfer is corrupted, democracy risks collapse. Reliance on voters, civil society organisations and neutral observers to fully exercise their freedoms as laid down in international human rights conventions is an integral part of holding democratic elections. Without free, fair and regular elections, liberal democracy is inconceivable. Elections are no guarantee that democracy will take root and hold, however. If the history of political participation in Europe over the past 800 years is anything to go by, successful attempts at gaining voice have been patchy, while leaders’ attempts to silence these voices and consolidate their own power have been almost constant (Blockmans, 2020). Recent developments in certain EU member states have again shown us that democratically elected leaders will try and use majoritarian rule to curb freedoms, overstep the constitutional limits of their powers, protect the interests of their cronies and recycle themselves through seemingly free and fair elections. In their recent book How Democracies Die, two Harvard professors of politics write: “Since the end of the Cold War, most democratic breakdowns have been caused not by generals and soldiers but by elected governments themselves” (Levitsky and Ziblatt, 2018)

Direct Democracy in the EU –The Myth of a Citizens’ Union. CEPS Paperback, November 2018

The European Union has a democracy problem. The polycrisis that has plagued the EU for years has led to a cacophony of voices calling for fundamental change to the integration project. Yet despite the shock of the Brexit referendum and the electoral upsets caused by nativist parties across the continent, few of the plans for EU reform include concrete proposals to address the perennial democratic deficit. This book looks at how the relationship between citizens, the state and EU institutions has changed in a multi-layered Union. As such, it focuses more on polity than on populism, and does not engage deeply with policy or output legitimacy. Building on the notion of increasing social, economic and political interdependence across borders, this book asks whether a sense of solidarity and European identity can be rescued from the bottom up by empowering citizens to ‘take back control’ of their Union. Direct Democracy in the EU: The Myth of a Citizens’ Union is part of the 'Towards a Citizens’ Union' project and is the product of collaboration with 20 renowned think tanks from the European Policy Institutes Network (EPIN). It is the first of three publications that will also cover the state of representative democracy in the EU and the accountability of democratic institutions

EU referendum: the beginning, not the end, of Brexiteers’ problems

On 23 June 2016, Britain voted to leave the European Union. The referendum outcome triggered resignation of Prime Minister Dav - id Cameron and his replacement by former Home Secretary There- sa May. This brief enquires into why Cameron lost the referendum battle and what the major challenges facing the new prime min- ister are. May, who supported the ‘Remain’ campaign, will have to prove that she can deliver Brexit. That will not be an easy task, with obstacles at home and abroad. Scotland and Northern Ire- land voted to remain in the EU, and their reluctance to leave the EU could complicate May’s plans. PM May will also find it difficult to win hearts in Brussels. Britain tested the patience of the EU in- stitutions with its reform demands, and Brussels will be reluctant to make things easier for the UK in Brexit talks. Member-states may be more receptive to Britain’s concerns, but the UK will prob- ably not be offered any special treatmen

BBC Radio 5 Alive debate: Central and East European attitudes to Brexit

On 12th March 2017, Jan Čulík was interviewed on BBC Radio 5 Live about Central and East European attitudes to Brexit. The other participants were Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, a Polish research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, and Stefanie Bolzen, a German journalist for Die WELT & WELT am Sonntag newspapers