The impact of European integration on party politics has elicited a growing research interest. A sociological approach, focused on power relations and the redistribution of political resources by actors referring to ‘Europe’ has recently opened new research perspectives. This article considers to what extent the use of the reference to European integration has enabled conservative and radical Polish political parties on the right – such as the Law and Justice (PiS) and the League of Polish Families (LPR) – to modulate their position in relationship with other parties. The uses of European references will be analysed both in the transnational and the domestic political field, in order to discuss whether – and under what conditions – the critical reference to European integration may appear as a resource that enables the strengthening of the radical party leaders’ discourse and visibility on the eve and in the aftermath of accession. The article argues that taking into account the domestic context, the relations between the political parties and the temporal dimension are necessary preconditions of a valid demonstration.