The Rule of Law Crisis in Poland and "Normative Power EU" Thesis: Challenges and Implications

Abstract

Against the backdrop of the "normative power Europe" (Manners, 2002) thesis, this paper investigates the rule of law crisis in Poland and its implications on private companies' performance and investment decisions. The rule of law plays a crucial role in companies' investment activity, while at the same time is also a central category in the EU's legal and political edifice. These two problems are rarely analysed together as inter-linked realities, which, in fact, they are. The central question of this paper is how the rule of law's deterioration in Poland influences the private investment level in the country's economy and what it might mean for the further political integration of the EU. Among the theories applied were those linked to the institutional approach, i.e., new institutional economics, while among the methods themselves, it was qualitative methods which were used over quantitative methods. It is argued that the political and legal crisis, which has placed Poland in an adversarial position towards the EU, may result in a long-term deterioration of the investment climate in Poland. It may also induce political instability and legal disintegration in the EU.