Poland's Challenge to the EU

Poland's judicial reforms have put it on a collision course with the EU over human rights and the rule of law. Can the Polish crisis be resolved? Can the EU adapt to accommodate its more awkward members or should it take a hard line? Or might Poland even leave the EU with a 'Polexit'? These are the issues discussed by Gideon Rachman, chief foreign affairs commentator of the Financial Times, with Catherine de Vries, professor of political science at Bocconi specialising in the EU, in the new episode of The Rachman Review podcast.

"It's really an ongoing issue of a lot of reforms to politicised judiciary, where the Polish government has been on a collision course with Brussels. This is really about the core values of the EU that are enshrined in the treaties. Democracy, human rights, rule of law, and they all go together," says De Vries. "My own interpretation is that it's very much about domestic politics in Poland. So my hunch would be that ultimately we're going to see some kind of muddling through - that basically we're going to see a little bit of a toning down of some of the language. I think ultimately the Polish government has to take back some of its rhetoric and some of its reforms in order to meet the demands of the EU side."

Listen to the podcast here: www.ft.com/content/271210cc-2a2e-4480-a446-6cbe41595601