ENROL-ELTE Workshop 2025: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Democratic Backsliding in the EU
ENROL-ELTE Workshop 2025: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Democratic Backsliding in the EU
The Institute of Philosophy at ELTE Eötvös Loránd University hosted this interdisciplinary workshop on democratic backsliding in the EU, in collaboration with the ENROL project at the University of Oslo, ARENA Centre for European Studies, on April 24-25, 2025. The workshop brought together researchers from philosophy, political science, and law, along with civil society representatives. It aimed to foster dialogue and future research collaborations between the ENROL team and scholars and civil society rooted in Hungary.
In addition to presentations based on pre-circulated academic papers, two sessions focused on knowledge transfer between civil society and academia, identifying knowledge gaps and strategies to address backsliding in the EU.
Program and Schedule
Day 1, April 24, 2025
13:30 – 14:00 Registration
14:00 – 14:15 Workshop welcome
14:15 – 15:45 Panel 1: RULE OF LAW AND THREATS TO IT
Chair Attila Mráz (ELTE)
Comments: Christophe Hillion (ENROL, UiO), Zoltán Miklósi (CEU)
László Detre (Karsai Dániel Law Office, HUN-REN CSS Institute for Legal Studies, University of Cologne): Making Individual Rule of Law Claims EU law?
Petra Bárd (CEU DI & Radboud University): Judicial Independence Under Siege: How to Restore and Protect the Rule of Law in Europe
Alida Rita Steigler (ENROL, UiO): Coherence and Consistency in the EU’s Rule of Law Definition and Defence
15:45 – 16:15 Coffee break
16:15 – 17:30: Panel 2: DEMOCRATIC BACKSLIDING AND ITS OPPOSITION
Chair: Antoinette Scherz (Stockholm University & ENROL, UiO)
Comments: Attila Mráz (ELTE) and Zsolt Enyedi (CEU)
Zoltán Miklósi (CEU): Democratic Restoration and the Dilemma of Procedural Transgressions
Michael Blauberger (University of Salzburg) and Arndt Wonka (University of Bremen):
Debating EU Actions against Democratic Backsliding in Hungary: Shifting Government and Opposition Frames
Day 2, April 25, 2025
10:00 – 10:30 Coffee break
10:30 – 12:00 Panel 3: LOGIC AND IMPACT OF ENFORCEMENT
Chair: Christophe Hillion (ENROL, UiO)
Comments: Pál Sonnevend (ELTE) and Arndt Wonka (University of Bremen)
Vlagyiszlav Makszimov (ENROL, UiO), Øyvind Stiansen (ENROL, UiO) and Daniel Naurin (ENROL, UiO): The Impact of EU Enforcement Actions on Domestic Media Debates on Judicial Independence in Hungary
Kriszta Kovács (ELTE University & WZB): National Identity Claims and the Rule of Law: How Can the Two be Reconciled in the EU?
Samuel Shannon (ENROL, UiO): Private Actions as a Meta-Remedy in EU National Courts
12:00 – 13:00: Lunch break
13:00 – 13:45 Knowledge transfer: CIVIL SOCIETY TO ACADEMIA: WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES ON THE GROUND?
Chair: Vlagyiszlav Makszimov (ENROL, UiO)
Dalma Dojcsák (HCLU), Márta Pardavi (HHC), Erik Uszkiewicz (Hungarian Europe Society)
13:45 – 14:00: Coffee break
14:00 – 14:45 Knowledge transfer: ACADEMIA TO CIVIL SOCIETY: WHAT ARE WE MISSING?
Chair: Vlagyiszlav Makszimov (ENROL, UiO)
Dalma Dojcsák (HCLU), Márta Pardavi (HHC), Erik Uszkiewicz (Hungarian Europe Society)
14:45 – 15:00 Coffee break
15:00 – 16:15 Panel: 4: VOTING RIGHTS AND LEGITIMACY
Chair: Tommaso Pavone (Toronto University & ENROL, UiO)
Comments: Fabio Wolkenstein (University of Vienna) and Daniel Naurin (ENROL, UiO)
János Mécs (ELTE): Democratic Backsliding and the Manipulation of Electoral Law in Hungary
– A Constitutional Law Perspective
Attila Mráz (ELTE): The Asymmetrical Political Ethics of the European Parliament: Responding to Undemocratically Elected Representatives from Backslid(ing) EU Member States
16:15 – 16:45 Coffee break
16:45 – 18:15 Panel 5: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
Chair: Daniel Naurin (ENROL, UiO)
Comments: Petra Bárd (CEU DI & Radboud University) and Øyvind Stiansen (ENROL, UiO)
Tommaso Pavone (University of Toronto & ENROL, UiO): The Memory Engine: Do Voters Learn from Past Democratic Backsliding Episodes?
Christophe Hillion (ENROL, UiO), Tommaso Pavone (University of Toronto & ENROL, UiO) and Antoinette Scherz (Stockholm University & ENROL, UiO):
Democratic Frontsliding in the European Union: Political, Normative and Legal Paths Forward
Fabio Wolkenstein (University of Vienna): Remedying the Anti-Liberal Capture of Constitutional Courts