EU at a Crossroads: Umland on the Challenges of European Solidarity.

The EU's Task - Maintaining Unity

The European Union faces a complex task - to maintain unity and common values on which the bloc is based. Slovakia's and Hungary's positions are a test of the strength of European solidarity and the ability to withstand internal and external challenges.

Slovakia has come under scrutiny due to growing anti-Western sentiments and political actions of its leadership that raise questions among partners. The situation is complicated by the recent visit of the Prime Minister of Slovakia to Vladimir Putin, which has prompted criticism and concern.

Anti-Western trends are spreading in many countries and are directed against democracy, notes analyst Andreas Umland from the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies.

'These anti-Western trends, which are present in many countries around the world, not just Europe, are somehow related to the fate of Putin's regime. And therefore, the war that Ukraine is waging is also a defense of Western democracies against these anti-democratic forces,' emphasized the analyst.

Slovakia and Hungary, which deviate from democratic principles, challenge the EU's ability to maintain unity. Umland noted that the structure of the European Union does not anticipate such confrontation and lacks effective tools to resolve the situation.

'If Slovakia or Hungary were only candidates now, they would likely not become members of the European Union. And now the EU faces the problem that these countries are already members of the union, and there are no tools to adjust their foreign policy course or even to exclude them from the European Union, or they are very difficult to apply,' Umland noted.