On Friday 12 October 2018, Professor Aleks SZCZERBIAK of the University of Sussex, delivered a high-level lecture on "Will there be Eurosceptic Backlash in Eastern Europe?". After reviewing the high levels of support for EU entry and continued membership in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and explaining the consequent difficulties in articulating a Eurosceptic discourse, he argued that the situation has been changed significantly by the fall-out of the migration and refugee crisis.
Professor SZCZERBIAK made the case that the "civilizational choice" for Europe, which hitherto had been so obvious, is now undermined by demands made by Western European member states on Central and Eastern European countries that they take in refugees and migrants, irrespective of their own decisions. In response to questions he sought to explain the positions taken by the current Hungarian and Polish governments. The event was organized by the European Civilization Chair at Natolin and chaired by Professor Richard BUTTERWICK-PAWLIKOWSKI.