The European Union's executive on Wednesday chided Poland and Hungary for democratic deficiencies that have been accerbated by measures taken or left unaddressed by the current governments.
While the EU Commission's annual rule of law report noted a smattering of improvements in the two nations, it also underscored many remaining shortcomings that highlight the standoff between the Brussels-based EU institutions and the two east European nations. It constitutes one of the fundamental problems within the 27-nation bloc that has always sought to be a beacon of Western political liberalism in a world where autocracies sway ever more power.
