Democracy in danger: Euroscepticism in Eastern Europe
This article was written by Wiktoria, a young woman from Poland currently living in France and who works to support #GiveAVote.
Europa to my
7th of May 2016, Warsaw, Poland. 1 o'clock, a crowd of people appears in front of the Constitutional Court to demonstrate, to take part in the march ‘Europa to my’ (Europe is us). I’m one of them, I believe in European values. In a society, where we witness the expansion of populism, the lack of respect for democracy, we should all unite under a flag. The EU flag, the rainbow flag (LGBT community), and the Polish flag. I’m walking with people who still bear hope in their heart, they know the UE defends the ideas of liberty and democracy from the lawless rulers.
The march is organised by KOD - the Committee on Defence of democracy. There are people from each generation: teenagers, adults, kids, seniors. The atmosphere is joyful, people are smiling, singing, holding hands. Some of them brought creative and witty posters.
Euroscepticism is spreading in Europe like a disease - how did we get here? Fake news, the sending of fake informations by the government. Poland joined the EU the 1st of May 2004, this year we will celebrate 15 years in the European Union. We, as a member state, received many grants from the EU which helped us to build necessary infrastructures for growth and development.
EU and Poland share the same values : freedom, dignity, democracy and equality. These mutual goals should bring us together.
Donald Tusk, bringing back faith in Donalds
Donald Tusk, the previous PM of Poland, is currently the President of the European Council. For me, as a Polish national, it is a great pride. He is a politician capable of listening, negotiating, and adopting a global vision of modern politics. We need people like him, who will fight for the dialogue between countries and to organise the relations between nations in Europe. Without the Union, Europe would sink into chaos. And chaos, considering the current ecological crisis, could be fatal.
Europhobia and the influence of Brexit
On the day of the Brexit referendum, British citizens probably didn't imagine the consequences of leaving the EU. Now, almost 3 years after the vote, we are in a delicate situation, in which the lack of organisation of the UK government leads to the absence of an agreement. Theresa May, on the brink of resignation, seems to not be able to handle Brexit, fruit of the understatement of Cameron and the spontaneity of the British citizens (who says Brits can't be spontaneous!). Since the idea of Brexit became a reality, many alternative ‘exits’ started popping up: Polexit, Frexit, Nexit, Dexit, or even Swexit.
This wave of contestation is not concrete, and I think the example of the UK, with its Sisyphean struggles, will not really encourage other countries to consider leaving.
Doubt is part of the human nature. Questioning the EU is fair, it is a structure that should be constantly evolving, adapting itself to our society. But why can’t EU member state establish a dialogue, discuss a way to reform the structures of the Union instead of simply leaving? Without collaboration/dialogue Europe would not have been as strong as it is nowadays.
This is my call, as a Polish and European citizen, living in France - let’s all unite, believe once again in the power of words, and let’s see the future in dark blue colours, full of gold stars.