EU's Values Under Threat: Reform Needed for Enlargement
The European Union (EU) faces challenges in maintaining its values-based identity as several member states and candidate countries exhibit democratic backsliding. To preserve its credibility and cohesion, the EU must reform its internal mechanisms and adopt a phased, conditional approach to accession.
Hungary and Poland have demonstrated erosion of democracy through legislative changes weakening judicial independence, media freedom, and minority rights. Despite EU criticism and legal procedures, these nations have avoided serious sanctions, posing risks to the EU's integrity.
Serbia mirrors Hungary's patterns, consolidating authoritarian control while satisfying EU benchmarks. This highlights the need for a phased compliance model and independent monitoring body for EU enlargement. The EU must enforce its values consistently and transparently to preserve its credibility and cohesion.
Hungary's shift from a reformist democracy to an entrenched illiberal state illustrates the EU's limited influence once a state joins. EU enlargement without strong enforcement of democratic standards threatens the Union's integrity. The EU lacks tools to enforce democratic standards once membership is granted, risking internal cohesion.
To restore credibility, the EU should reform Article 7, create a rule-of-law index, and adopt a tiered response system for enforcement. This will ensure that enlargement is transformative, not merely symbolic, and that democratic resilience is the price of entry to the EU.
