Is the fragility of democracy in certain Central and Eastern European Member States a test for Europe?

Infringements of the principles of the rule of law and of democratic values observed in certain new EU Member States are causing a wave of concern amongst European institutions as well as among the public opinion. What is Europe doing to address this situation? A series of governance tools are at its disposal; the EU must use them with both discernment and firmness, in order to avoid any rise in euroscepticism. The question is all the more relevant with the approach of the May 2014 European elections.

ESO: Background Information: The European Union and Consolidating Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe http://www.europeansources.info/record/the-european-union-and-consolidating-democracy-in-central-and-eastern-europe/

ESO: Background Information: EU Democracy Promotion in the Eastern Neighbourhood: One Template, Multiple Approaches http://www.europeansources.info/record/eu-democracy-promotion-in-the-eastern-neighbourhood-one-template-multiple-approaches/

ESO: Background Information: The European Union's new democracies. Politics of the accession states. http://www.europeansources.info/record/the-european-unions-new-democracies-politics-of-the-accession-states/

ESO: Background Information: Democratization and the European Union. Comparing Central and Eastern European Post-Communist Countries http://www.europeansources.info/record/democratization-and-the-european-union-comparing-central-and-eastern-european-post-communist-countries/

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