Democracy at a Crossroads: Europe’s Role in Defending Its Values
by Miguel Teles
Although persistent issues spark across the globe, Europe remains the standout continent, performing highly when compared to other regions on the IDEA report for democracy. Nevertheless, the 2023 report points out that democratic visions are weakening around the world, with a vast majority of countries suffering from democratic decline, especially when pertaining to rule of law and freedom of expression. In Europe, some of the more stalwart democracies such as Austria, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, also register declines on democratic ‘performance’, so to speak, with non-EU European countries such as Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, facing the lower end of this statistic. Unsurprisingly, Hungary leads the European Union ranking with the poorest democratic performance. Hungarian democratic performance is even outranked by some non-EU countries, namely Georgia, Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro. This data brings to light the consequences of more than a decade of Fidesz rule for the country’s issues, with Viktor Orban’s party having won the election in 2010 with a two-third majority of seats in the parliament, meaning they had the power for conducting undisputed changes to the constitution. In the following years, the public has watched the complete centralisation of political power, the introduction of laws which are incompatible with EU rules, and broad EU values, which culminated in Orban’s 2014 “Illiberal democracy” speech.
The democratic system is based on the will of the people, which explains that despite recent policies, Orban was democratically elected by their will. Regardless of the manner in which he was elected, countries such as Hungary signed EU treaties in prior years, and in doing so they vouch to respect the fundamental values of the Union. This means that any breaches of such respect should result in repercussions for any State which is violating, meaning that the EU has the responsibility of holding said States accountable for any breaches. Citizens of the Member States count on the EU to uphold the democratic standards in their countries and in the Union as a whole and hence rely on the EU to make use the tools that it has at its disposal to enforce its own rules, the very same rules which all 27 Member States agreed with when joining the Union. In the past, the EU has made use of concessions with Hungary, essentially using EU funds as a bargaining chip, as if using the blocked funds to “buy” the state’s vote on the Council, setting a bad precedent to the politicians who want to subvert the fundamental values of the Union.
Georgia, on the other hand, faces significant pressure from Russian influence and internal political instability, despite its aspirations to join the EU and align with European democratic standards. The EU’s continuous support has been crucial in encouraging democratic reforms and maintaining a pathway toward further integration. Situations across continue to escalate, with even Serbia engulfed by protests earlier this week, stemming from the roof of a train station falling on and killing 15 people. This protest was triggered by this situation but escalated for several reasons to more than 200 cities all over the country, even leading to the resignation of their Prime Minister. The protesters, which are led by students demanding less corruption and more upholding of their democratic system and a much more transparent government, continue to take effect until accountability is provided and justice restored. Serbia has been a candidate country to join the EU since 2012, but the current political landscape hardly helps their accession process, with the President of the country, Aleksandar Vučić, explicitly accusing the students of leading an attempted revolution. On another note, in Belarus, the situation has proven more complex under the authoritarian rule of Alexander Lukashenko. The country has witnessed brutal oppression towards opposition, manipulated elections, and systematic human rights violations. Moreover, in Belarus due to the oppressive character of the regime, we have not had the opportunity to witness EU membership protests like in Georgia. Nevertheless, there is a common hope shared by the European family that Belarus people will eventually join the Union.
We must be aware that the EU’s influence extends beyond its borders. Its promotion of democracy and human rights has inspired reforms in neighbouring countries and served as a counterbalance to authoritarian regimes. The weakening of the EU would not only destabilise its Member States, but also diminish its capacity to promote democratic governance worldwide. The EU must not give up on these countries. In a world increasingly characterised by geopolitical tension and power struggles, the preservation of democracy cannot be taken for granted. The European project, despite its imperfections, remains a vital force in defending democratic values. A fragmented Europe risks leaving democracies isolated, vulnerable to the allure of authoritarian alternatives. In times where democracy is, indeed, under pressure to safeguard democracy, Europe must remain united, committed to its foundational principles, and resilient against the forces that seek to divide it.
