When the Return of the Nation-State Undermines the Rule of Law: Poland, the EU, and Article 7 TEU

This chapter presents a critical perspective on the EU’s ambition, legal framework, and practice regarding the protection of the rule of law in the member states. Over the past four years, the Polish judiciary has undergone a significant transformation. The changes enacted have been described both as a necessary process of lustration and a serious breach of the rule of law—all depending on one’s own perspective. In what arguably has been the most serious threat to the rule of law in the history of the EU, the European Commission and the Council struggle to cooperate effectively. The chapter seeks to analyse the causes of the Council’s paralysis as well as the Commission’s actions and eventually explain where the necessary changes need to be introduced in order to make the EU’s protection of the rule of law more effective.