Polen and Hungary: in comparison?

The new order under the leadership of the Party Law and Order in Poland causes a headache in Brussels in 2016. Hungary serves for an analogue comparison basis when the press describes the situation that is developing in Poland on the political scene. A country of that size has of course much bigger importance than a tiny little land, such as Hungary. Even though one should have the same importance considering that the EU is a so called democratic institution with 28 member states with the same (?) importance and relevance. So it hs been stated.

Poland behaves now in away that is not sympathetic to many countries within the EU, and within Poland,  where many people protest on the streets against the new political situation; some new laws, such as the media law. That - and many other things - are compared to the liberal path that Hungary's leader, Victor Orbán has taken; particularly as Mr. Kaczynski has already stated (in 2011 after a lost election) that he wanted to see 'Budapest in Warsaw' . The parties of Mr. Orbán and Mr. Kaczynski have since won their respective elections, and the leaders have also met several times since the latest elections at the autumn of 2015 in Poland. One might take that during those meetings, notes have been compared...

The EU has now a difficult task; how to tread further. Hungary has gone through a baptism of fire for their naughty behaviour: not fully adjusting to the expectations of the EU. Poland is of course  a much larger country, than Hungary. Neverttheless, both countries are linked to the other EU-countries. Economically, politically and in many other ways. Poland probably has a greater importance on all of these areas and to upset the balance on those might have consequenses that the EU does not really want. What would Germany, the leading state within the EU, if Poland insists to continue to be unruly? Mr. Kaczynxki does not seem to be intimidated - just as Hungary continued to follow its chosen path a couple of years ago when the EU tried to frighten off Mr. Orbán from seeing through the government's plans for Hungary, so does Poland now. 

The internal policies of the above states are seen in the respective country just as such: internal matters. This has been the opinion of mr. Orbán in Hungary, when he pursued the policy of his government, and it seems to be the opinion in Polan, as stated by the PM, Ms. Beata Szydlo. Some opinion has been heared (e.g. from the Swedish representative in Brussels) to do something against Poland: suggesting the use of punishments. The question is: can punishments be productive? They are probably counter-productive instead. 

The EU has now started to investigate Poland: what is happening, what is acceptable, what is not and what to do with the unruly pupil? What if other countries follow in the path that Poland and Hungary have chosen?  How uneasy should the EU feel?  

So the next question is: if individualistic countries want to have the freedom to choose their own policies and apply those: at what extent can the EU adjust to those individualistic measures? Or is it too much to expect?

A lot to think about...