The European Movement International organised an event to discuss developments after the election victory of the Law and Justice Party in Poland. We touched upon a number of issues, inlcuding: What should the European response be to efforts by the Polish government to control the media, the Constitutional Tribunal and the civil service? Are we witnessing the “Orbanisation” of Poland? Is democracy under siege and respect for the rule of law in retreat? What do these advancements mean for the EU Single Market?

This was the first public Brussels event following MEPs debate on rule of law issues with the Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydło, which took place on 19 January at the European Parliament in Strasburg. We talked about Poland with the stakeholders directly involved on the Polish ground trying to answer the question, is there “Much Ado about Nothing” or is it the end of democracy in Europe as we know it?

The discussion, moderated by Petros Fassoulas, Secretary General of the European Movement International, featured:

• Marcin Święcicki, Member of the Polish Parliament (Civic Platform), President of the European Movement in Poland;
• Prof. Zdzisław Krasnodębski (ECR), Member of the European Parliament;
• Annabelle Chapman, Warsaw-based Journalist writing for The Economist and POLITICO Europe;
• Ivonne Julitta Bollow, Head of Eastern Europe & International Affairs, Corporate Public Policy Division, METRO GROUP.

Check out the photos from the conference on our Flickr and Marcin Święcicki’s interview explaining the situation in Poland, which followed our event.

We need to talk about Poland_EVENT AGENDA

This event was organised with the kind support of METRO GROUP.

Read our briefing “Poland in the spotlight”.

Take a look at the event report here.