The enlargement of the EU eastwards will incontestably stand as one of the top priorities of the European Commission as well as the European Parliament in their upcoming legislative term. Czechia and Poland are often considered enthusiastic stakeholders vis-à-vis this project, especially in the case of Ukraine. The roles that Prague and Warsaw may play in this context might become decisive but not necessarily in positive connotations.
Superficially attractive governmental proclamations regarding the accession of candidates, which are motivated by the effort to encircle the territory by allies in the Polish case and by the general anti-Russian sentiment in the Czech one may encounter serious issues in terms of the divergence between the governmental rhetorics and the public opinion.
Relations between the current Czech government with its opposition are marked by the inexisting consensus within the foreign policy strategy. Such a situation jeopardizes the consciousness of the positive attitude toward candidate states and might even cause its total cessation when the new government is formed. Although Polish society supports the enlargement more intensely, bilateral disagreements originated in economic rivalry and historical wrongs between Kyiv and Warsaw represent the opportunity for populist politicians to step up the tension.
The authors of the analysis present the comparison of the Czech and Polish attitudes, which tend to be mutually complementary in terms of assisting the Eastern European countries (PL) and the Western Balkans states (CZ). On the other hand, they insist on a divergent and particularly volatile level of willingness and readiness of both the societies and political representatives to take action in favour of the candidates.
Download report: Impact of the Future Enlargement(s) on Czechia, Poland and Central Europe
The project was supported by the Czech-Polish Forum of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.
The publication was supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.
