It is very important that the border town of Simyatichi remains neat and beautiful, - says its Mayor Pyotr Sinyakovich. After all, the settlement is located very close to the border of Belarus. And it is he who makes the first impression of the EU on those who come from a neighboring country.

The tourists meet foreigners with neat kindergartens and brilliant sports centers thanks to the money from the EU, which the region received after Poland's accession in 2004. Thanks to the money of Polish guest workers in Belgium, many modern, attractive houses appeared in the city.

But despite all this, the conservative nationalist "Right and Justice" party won 38% of voters in the city in 2015. A similar indicator across Poland enabled PiS to form a majority in the parliament. After the party began dismantling the Polish institutions, frightening Polish liberals and irritating the EU.

This is written today by The Economist. The publication recalls that after the victory of Emmanuel Macron in the first round of the presidential elections in France, Europe breathed out with relief. But such cities as the Polish Simyatici, experience a certain tension. Frankly pro-European Macron is likely to defeat radical Marin Le Pen in the second round on May 7. But despite the fact that the threat of populist nationalism fades away in France, in the east of Europe it remains a daily truth.

The most fierce battle against the illiberal approaches of the EU member states is, of course, not in Poland, but in Hungary. There, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been testing the patience of the union for several years already. This week, the European Commission chastised the Hungarian government for a law that makes it impossible for the Central European University, founded in 1991 by billionaire George Soros. Also, Brussels is nervous because of the rude treatment of Budapest with refugees, because it violates EU laws.

However, Orban even talks with Europe. This week he argued with the European Parliament because of the law on higher education. But his Polish colleague Jaroslaw Kaczynski rarely meets with other leaders. He does not occupy any public office, but as chairman of the PiS party he controls the government. The publication writes that in March Kaczynski ordered the Prime Minister of Poland Beate Shidlo to block the re-election of his personal enemy, Donald Tusk, as President of the European Council. It was a humiliating defeat, because all 27 EU leaders inclusive with Orban supported Tusk.

This episode was one of many signs of a growing diplomatic gap between Poland and the EU. Someone in Brussels wants to deprive Poland of the right to vote in the union. This may never happen, but now governments for the first time agreed to discuss Polish "sins". Poland pushed Germany and France away from itself. Common interests with Britain questioned Brexit. Even the Czech Republic and Slovakia prefer a rapprochement with Germany than an alliance with Kaczynski and Orban in the framework of the "Visegrad Group".

Lately there have been signs that the current authorities in Warsaw are trying to minimize their diplomatic excesses. It is possible that this may be due to the fact that the "Civil Platform" Tusk in the ratings begins to step on the heels of "PiS". But Warsaw's internal agenda is more aggressive than ever. Kaczynski wants to subordinate the judges to the parliament, weaken the regional authorities, "polonize" the Polish media, owned by German investors, reformat the school system and clear the diplomatic service.

This behavior challenges the EU, which wants to be something more than a trading club. Optimists expect that voters will simply remove Kaczynski from power in elections in 2019. But even so, his successor will have to spend years to restore the Polish institutions. It is also unlikely to quickly overcome the consequences of the cultural war of PiS against its opponents, whom the party calls traitors. And recently religious fanatics picketed a liberal newspaper in order to "expel demonic influence from it". The Polish analytical center Batory Foundation concluded that the commitment of the Poles to the EU may disappear due to the belief that the union is moving in the wrong direction. The Polish pensioner Elzbieta with Simyatichi told the publication that the Polish government "obeys God". And she does not understand why the EU is opposed to this.

The victory of Macron in France can strengthen the EU's resolve because of the strengthening of Franco-German cooperation, which often moved him forward. The new energy can revitalize the further integration of the countries of the eurozone, among which neither Hungary, nor Poland. In particular, this closer union can spread to the defense and refugee problem. Meanwhile, Brussels, along with France, is already promoting rules that will reduce the benefits for Westerners from Eastern Europe in the West.

All this can lead to an intensification of the division into the "core" and "periphery" of Europe. Thus, Polish isolation can grow into an even greater inferiority. Germany will not want to push the Poles back. But Macron may be less patient. And the whims of illiberal Eastern Europeans can make other Western European leaders take sides in the dispute. Poland will not leave the EU. But some in the EU are more willing to leave it far behind.

Recall, in the second round of the presidential elections in France, which will be held on May 7, left the leader of the movement "Forward!" Emmanuel Macron and the head of the "National Front" Marin Le Pen.