BUILDING MEMBER STATES: HOW THE EU PROMOTES POLITICAL CHANGE IN ITS NEW MEMBERS, ACCESSION CANDIDATES, AND EASTERN NEIGHBORS

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Schimmelfennig ◽  
Thomas Winzen

Differentiated integration is a durable feature of the European Union and a major alternative for its future development and reform. This book provides a comprehensive conceptual, theoretical and empirical analysis of differentiation in European integration. It explains differentiation in EU treaties and legislation in general and offers specific accounts of differentiation in the recent enlargements of the EU, the Euro crisis, the Brexit negotiations and the integration of non-member states. Differentiated integration is a legal instrument that European governments use regularly to overcome integration deadlock in EU treaty negotiations and legislation. Instrumental differentiation adjusts integration to the heterogeneity of economic preferences and capacities, particularly in the context of enlargement. By contrast, constitutional differentiation accommodates concerns about national self-determination. Whereas instrumental differentiation mainly affects poorer (new) member states, constitutional differentiation offers wealthier and nationally oriented member states opt-outs from the integration of core state powers. The book shows that differentiated integration has facilitated the integration of new policies, new members and even non-members. It has been mainly ‘multi-speed’ and inclusive. Most differentiations end after a few years and do not discriminate against member states permanently. Yet differentiation is less suitable for reforming established policies, managing disintegration, and fostering solidarity, and the path-dependency of core state power integration may lead to permanent divides in the Union.


2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-42
Author(s):  
Matúš Mišík

Abstract This paper tries to shed some light on factors influencing the positions of the new member states of the EU on Eastern Partnership in its initial phase. It utilises an analytical approach developed by Copsey and Haughton (2009) and argues that the two most important factors affecting positioning of newcomers towards the initiative are: perceived size and geography. While the new members were especially keen to support their immediate neighbours, they were using a common policy towards these countries to increase their presence and influence in the region since the initiative helped them to deal with neighbourhood issues they were not able to solve on their own. The paper suggests an amendment to the theoretical approach and proposes an assumption explaining positioning of the member states towards the third countries that better reflect the empirical evidence than the original framework. Moreover, the research showed that Poland differed from the rest of the new EU countries, was much more active and influential and rather resembled the old members. However, due to its not very positive image (caused by its assertive approach and strong effort to play a prominent role within the EU) its influence within the EU was limited and, therefore it proposed the Eastern Partnership together with Sweden that held a much better image.


2004 ◽  
Vol 103 (671) ◽  
pp. 119-126
Author(s):  
David R. Cameron

As considerable as the challenges of enlargement for the EU are, they pale in comparison to the challenges of accession facing the new members. … Taken together, they will make it exceptionally difficult for most if not all of the governments of the new member states to govern effectively and maintain public support.


2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan F Dumka

Emphasizing Poland and its relations with Ukraine, this paper applies a Europeanization framework to examine the uploading of external relations policies by EU members. It argues that as enlargement has shortened the list of countries to which the EU has made membership commitments, normative entrapment will not be at work in its external relations, nor address the more fractious nature of EU decision-making brought on by a larger and more diverse membership. This results in strategic behaviour by EU members and more laboured decision making, which can be expected, in general, to complicate the EU's external relations. Simply put, the coalition building that is so central to EU policymaking is more difficult following the eastward enlargement. However, because the new members vote, collaborate, and build coalitions in favour of closer ties to these eastern neighbours, complications from enlargement should be far less pronounced in the eastern policy than with other ENP countries. This comes despite striking shortcomings by Poland in the administrative capacity and elite socialization that normally characterize those member states who often succeed at projecting their preferences onto EU policy. All of this means that one can expect an eastward shift in the focus of the EU's external relations, and a deepening of its differentiated approach to external relations.


2012 ◽  
Vol 48 (No. 11) ◽  
pp. 481-484
Author(s):  
R. Werner ◽  
R. Zuzák

Countries associated in the European Union pay great attention to the development of small and medium-sized enterprises. At the same time, however, the member states are concerned that following the EU enlargement strong migration flows on the part of new members are likely to occur. Therefore, it is in the interests of the member states to learn whether the citizens of candidate countries are internally motivated to run their own businesses and whether suitable conditions have been created, i. e. whether there are any factors negatively affecting the establishment of small enterprises. To this end, an extensive survey was carried out in the Czech Republic aimed at the above mentioned issues and at identifying favourable and unfavourable factors in the process of small enterprise establishment in transition economies, using the Czech Republic as an example. 


2003 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-24
Author(s):  
Sofija Siriski

The successful conclusion of accession negotiations at the Copenhagen summit on December 13th 2002 means that ten countries will join the European Union in its biggest-ever enlargement. After eastward enlargement, the EU will contain 25 members and nearly half a billion people. The accession treaty will be signed at a special EU summit in Athens on April 16th, 2003. After that, the candidates and member-states will have about a year to ratify the treaty and to joint EU as planned on May 1st, 2004. This enlargement is quite an extraordinary challenge for all the parties involved. For the European Union, it is maybe the most ambitious endeavour in the whole history. The accession of ten new members makes it essential for the EU to reform its institutions, decision-making processes, as well as its policies for agriculture and regional aid. Meanwhile the successive challenge to European Common Foreign and Security Policy have highlighted its weaknesses. Newly formed Convention on the future of Europe is struggling with many fundamental questions and proposed a new constitutional treaty, which described the new European identity. The Convention makes several proposals to reshape Europe's institutions, according to several basic principles: the institution should become more effective - meaning that they have to be able to take decisions more speedily; EU institution tend to be cut off form national political systems and the national parliaments scold therefore become involved in the institutional workings of the EU; it is important to preserve the balance between the institutions dominated governments and the "Community" institutions; the structures of the institutions should be simplified. With just five months before the conclusion of the proceedings, and in parallel to the difficult exercise of drafting the new Constitutional treaty, a major effort is necessary to ensure that the various alternatives are explored, and that a final package can be agreed by a considerable majority of the member states.


2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Sirkeci

Doğu ve güney komşuları üzerinde gelen göç akınlarının ve üye ülkeler arasındaki göçlerin artışıyla Avrupa Birliği (AB) en büyük krizlerinden birini yaşamaktadır. Avrupa’daki en ana tartışma konuları arasında Avrupa’ya göçü ve AB içindeki göçü sınırlamak ve üye ülkeler arasında mülteci kotası ve külfet paylaşımına yapılan itirazlar yer aldı. Bu krizde Türkiye anahtar ülke olarak ortaya çıktı ve ülkedeki büyük Suriyeli mülteci nüfusu ve bu nüfusun Avrupa’ya gitmesini engellemesi karşılığında vaat edilen milyarlarca Avro nedeniyle tartışmaların odağında yer aldı. Suriye krizi 4,8 milyon mülteci yarattı ve 2016 yılı sonu itibariyle bunların 2,8 milyonu Türkiye’de ikamet etmekteydi. Suriyeli mültecilere karşı cömert tavrıyla Türkiye güvenli bir ülke olarak tescil edilmiş oldu. Bu, hikayenin daha karanlık bir başka yüzünü gölgelemektedir. Çünkü aynı ülkenin vatandaşları 1980 askeri darbesinden bu yana milyonu aşkın sığınma başvurusu yaptılar. Ülkenin bugünkü şartları ve yeni veriler, Türkiye’den AB’ye yönelen daha çok mülteci akını olacağını gösteriyor. ABSTRACT IN ENGLISHTurkey’s refugees, Syrians and refugees from Turkey: a country of insecurityThe European Union (EU) has faced one of its biggest crises with the rise of population inflows through its Eastern and Southern neighbours as well as movements within the Union. In 2016, the main debate that dominated Europe was on restricting migration within and into the EU along with concerns and objections to the refugee quota systems and the sharing of the burden among member states. Turkey emerged as a ‘gate keeper’ in this crisis and has since been at the centre of debates because of the large Syrian refugee population in the country and billions of Euros it was promised to prevent refugees travelling to Europe. The Syrian crisis produced over 4.8 million refugees with over 2.8 million were based in Turkey by the end of 2016. Turkey with its generous support for Syrian refugees has been confirmed as a ‘country of security’. This shadows the darker side of affairs as the very same country has also produced millions of asylum seekers since the 1980 military coup. Current circumstances and fresh evidence indicate that there will be more EU bound refugees coming through and from Turkey. 


Author(s):  
Irina PILVERE ◽  
Aleksejs NIPERS ◽  
Bartosz MICKIEWICZ

Europe 2020 Strategy highlights bioeconomy as a key element for smart and green growth in Europe. Bioeconomy in this case includes agriculture, forestry, fisheries, food and pulp and paper production, parts of chemical, biotechnological and energy industries and plays an important role in the EU’s economy. The growth of key industries of bioeconomy – agriculture and forestry – highly depends on an efficient and productive use of land as a production resource. The overall aim of this paper is to evaluate opportunities for development of the main sectors of bioeconomy (agriculture and forestry) in the EU based on the available resources of land. To achieve this aim, several methods were used – monographic, analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction, statistical analysis methods. The findings show that it is possible to improve the use of land in the EU Member States. If all the Member States reached the average EU level, agricultural products worth EUR 77 bln would be annually additionally produced, which is 19 % more than in 2014, and an extra 5 billion m3 volume of forest growing stock would be gained, which is 20 % more than in 2010.


2006 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-43
Author(s):  
Sándor Richter

The order and modalities of cross-member state redistribution as well as the net financial position of the member states are one of the most widely discussed aspects of European integration. The paper addresses selected issues in the current debate on the EU budget for the period 2007 to 2013 and introduces four scenarios. The first is identical to the European Commission's proposal; the second is based on reducing the budget to 1% of the EU's GNI, as proposed by the six net-payer countries, while maintaining the expenditure structure of the Commission's proposal. The next two scenarios represent radical reforms: one of them also features a '1% EU GNI'; however, the expenditures for providing 'EU-wide value-added' are left unchanged and it is envisaged that the requisite cuts will be made in the expenditures earmarked for cohesion. The other reform scenario is different from the former one in that the cohesion-related expenditures are left unchanged and the expenditures for providing 'EU-wide value-added' are reduced. After the comparison of the various scenarios, the allocation of transfers to the new member states in terms of the conditions prevailing in the different scenarios is analysed.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document