We are pleased to present the nineteenth issue of 4liberty.eu Review, titled “20 Years in the EU: CEE and Its Path to Progress”. This time, our primary focus is on celebrating 20 years of several CEE states joining the European Union in the 2004 accession.
During the past 20 years, the perception of the EU in these countries has shifted many times, creating an ever-changing curve of approval and disapproval that is heavily influenced by governments and the messages they are conveying about the EU.
Croatia has been on quite a journey – from the initiation of its European Union accession process in 2000, to its 10th anniversary celebration as a full EU member in 2023. The accession process involved overcoming historical challenges, such as transitioning from socialism, defending against aggression, and addressing issues related to war crimes and reconciliation.
Examining the past 20 years of the European Union is no easy feat, nor is evaluating the success of the recent members. Two decades is not enough, but it is sufficiently long to give a good overview of where the EU stands today and what lessons can be drawn from the integration process.
Most people may believe that we tend to learn from past mistakes. On the other hand, some may prefer to subscribe to the approach of ‘let the bygones be bygones’ (or, in Latin terms, quod periit, periit), and focus on looking toward the future. However, when the past catches up with us, we must pay close attention to it and figure out what we want our next steps to be.
In this episode, we talk about a wider context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the lessons learnt from Hitler’s victories and miscalculations of WW2, the role of the transatlantic alliance in the conflict, and the global implications of the war.
After thirty years of independence, today Estonia has a very high government integrity, full respect and guarantee of property rights, a fair tax burden and government spending, high trade investment, and considerable financial freedom. Not bad for a country that has been under State Socialism for almost half a century.
Hungary is loth to leave its past behind, with radicals reemerging annually to celebrate the historic bloodshed of WW2. Athough the news was awash with the marching boots of neo-Nazis in Hungary, there is another story behind the black uniforms parading through the streets of Budapest.
Paweł Kukiz can be considered as a typical product of “post-politics”, one of many types in the gallery of populists. Somewhere between Beppe Grillo, Thierry Baudet, Vladimir Zelensky, and Joseph Estrada. He is the symptom of the times we live in.
Promotion of democracy, human rights, market economy, and rule of law was extremely important, but it had really brought much more diffused results than anticipated. Structurally, the EU is very well suited to play one of the leading roles.
