When in Doubt, (Re-)Turn to Domestic Politics? The (Non-)Impact of the EU on Party Politics in Poland

Abstract

If one seeks it out, one can find limited evidence of EU influences, but in general terms EU accession has had little significant direct impact on Polish party politics. Moreover, there is no obvious linear relationship between party positions on European integration and the extent to which the EU impinged upon a party and the nature of that impact, although it appears to have been greatest in those parties that were members of the large European party federations and EP groupings. In many ways, ‘Europe’ appears to have been assimilated successfully into the logic of Polish domestic party politics.