Adaptation of Eastern Europe to the EU’s Acquis Communautaire: Poland and Hungary in 2004–2021

Abstract

This article features the special position that Poland and Hungary demonstrate towards the national government institutions and civil rights. The research objective was to describe the internal transformation and adaptation processes of Hungarian and Polish societies to the European concept of acquis communautaire, as well as the tensions between these two countries and the older EU members. This special position can be explained by the growing sentiments of national pride and identity. The social and economic achievements that happened aſter the 1990s allowed these states to increase the quality of life, and their citizens are not willing to give up on their identity to accommodate the demands of the European Union. For instance, people of Poland and Hungary saw a certain threat to their identity in the pressure from Brussels to welcome migrants from the Middle East, whom they could not accept on the mental and religious levels. Another threat was the Brussels’ pursuit to make Poland and Hungary accept sexual minorities in a very short timeframe, despite the fact that this process took Western Europe several centuries. Considering that the church had a very negative attitude to both issues, certain political parties managed to seize the power. They suppressed the freedom of speech, denied the independence of the judicial power, and challenged Brussels.