Judy Asks: Is Poland's democracy in danger?

Poland’s democracy is in danger. So is the place it should rightly occupy in the European Union, and the world.

On a recent trip to Warsaw, several experts told me that the so-called Lex Tusk had been the worst thing coming out of this government so far. This was surprising. With the government’s muzzle law, its ongoing conflict with Brussels, and the capturing of the judiciary, the bar was in hell. All around Europe, Polish citizens fear for their rights: their right to a fair trial; their right to choose who to love and what to do with their bodies; and now their right to speak freely without fear of being prosecuted; and, chiefly, their right to participate in free and democratic elections.

Brussels and Washington should stand up to protect our fellow European citizens. There should be no place in Europe and the West for autocracies, especially at a time when we are quite literally fighting one. We missed a chance to listen to Poland when we should have. Let us not make the same mistake again, and this time, pay close attention to what Poles are telling us, loud and clear.

Camino Mortera-Martinez is head of the Brussels office at the Centre for European Reform.

Full article here.