The institutional model of political party in Central and Eastern Europe as a factor of their Europeanization

The Central and Eastern European party systems are more fragile and fragmented than the Western ones. The party competition in still more open than in the West and the profile of the parties is less crystallized. Therefore, the impact of the integration process on the parties is widely expected to be larger than in the West. The focus of political parties on the issue of national sovereignty, and the fact that the prestige conferred by the association with Western political structures can be a larger electoral asset than in the West, may also strengthen the impact of the EU. However, many scholars find that EU accession has slight direct impact on political parties and party system in Central European Countries. European integration have little influence on the mechanics and the format of party systems. The party systems built itself on the national dynamics influenced by post-communist legacy, by the transition, by the capacity of political parties to build themselves as modern and efficient organisation and to answer to the demands and hopes of the population. European integration’s impact on the party system was light. The aim of the paper is to indicate that this fact is due to the institutional model of political party in Central Europe which is a brake of the proces of their Europeanization.