The Impact of the Dispute over the Rule of Law in Poland on the Status of Normative Power Europe

The central claim of the paper is that the European Union, understood through the concept of Normative Power Europe, is a sui generis global actor that will not be successful in achieving its international goals unless it upholds its foundational values at home. Internal disputes among Member States over fundamental and core values weaken the organisation’s international standing, which may lead to the risk of the European Union losing its comparative strength that differentiates it from other global powers and that gives it a unique place in international politics. This is particularly important in the times of constant change in global politics and new security, political and economic challenges, such as the role of China, democratic backsliding in the Global South countries and the Russian aggression against Ukraine. All these call for a strong and effective European Union, which, we argue, will not be possible, unless the organisation is able to keep internal disputes at check by ensuring compliance with the values it is based on. Based the case study of Poland, the paper demonstrates that it may be difficult, if not impossible, for the European Union to effectively uphold the respect for its fundamental norms, principles and standards among its members. This in turn will impede the Normative Power Europe status.

Wpływ sporu o przestrzeganie przez Polskę zasady praworządności na status Unii Europejskiej jako potęgi normatywnej

Celem artykułu jest potwierdzenie postawionej tezy, zgodnie z którą Unia Europejska, rozumiana poprzez koncepcję potęgi normatywnej (ang. Normative Power Europe) jest aktorem globalnym o charakterze sui generis, którego sukces zależny jest od zdolności do utrzymania swojej potęgi normatywnej poprzez stanie na straży podstawowych zasad, na których projekt Unii został oparty. Wewnętrzne spory pomiędzy państwami członkowskimi a Unią dotyczące fundamentalnych i podstawowych wartości osłabiają międzynarodową pozycję organizacji, co może prowadzić do ryzyka utraty przez nią charakterystyki, która odróżnia ją od innych globalnych mocarstw i zapewnia jej wyjątkowe miejsce w polityce międzynarodowej. Jest to szczególnie niebezpieczne w kontekście bieżących globalnych wyzwań w zakresie bezpieczeństwa, polityki i gospodarki, takich jak: rola Chin, tendencje de-demokratyzacyjne w państwach Globalnego Południa czy rosyjska agresja przeciw Ukrainie. Wyzwania te wymagają silnej i skutecznej Unii Europejskiej, co, jak argumentujemy, nie będzie możliwe, jeśli organizacja nie będzie w stanie efektywnie reagować na ich naruszanie przez państwa członkowskie. Poprzez studium przypadku Polski pokazujemy, że Unia nie ma mechanizmów i narzędzi pozwalających skutecznie strzec poszanowania jej podstawowych norm, zasad i standardów. To z kolei utrudnia i będzie utrudniać osiągnięcie przez Europę statusu mocarstwa normatywnego.

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