Illiberal Democracies, the Visegrad Group and Future Prospects for the EU

The last few months have witnessed a growing divide between the central European states and the Germany-Brussels tandem. The refugee crisis has sparked bitter reactions among the governments of Hungary and Poland regarding Germany’s and the European Commission’s proposals to jointly tackle the crisis. In addition, the October elections in Poland gave the absolute majority to the Eurosceptic Law and Justice Party (PiS), who has joined up with Hungary’s Viktor Orbán to establish an alliance of “illiberal democracies”. 

The growing divide between the Visegrad Group (the so-called V4, formed by the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) and the EU also happens at a time when the EU faces several threats of disintegration, including the effects of the Eurocrisis and the Brexit referendum. This group of countries continues to benefit from the EU’s contribution to their societies and economies (either in the form of structural or cohesion funds), yet their distance from the core of the Union keeps growing. 

This workshop will be aimed at exploring the causes of this growing divide, the genealogy of the so-called East-West crisis in the EU, the politics of V4 countries –in particular Hungary and Poland- and the EU’s response to the political reforms initiated by Orbán and the PiS. To what extent is the fracture between East and West Europe here to stay? Is it only a matter of time until these countries elect more EU-friendly governments? What degree of internal opposition do they face? Is the alliance of the V4 strong enough to counterbalance Germany’s leadership? What are the consequences of Poland and Germany’s growing distance? What are the prospects for the resolution of EU crisis, particularly the refugee crisis?