Familiarity Breeds Contempt

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksander Lust
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Economic Reform ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The West ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
Economic Expectations ◽  
The Eu

In referenda held in 2003, over 90% of Lithuanians supported joining the European Union (EU), while only two-thirds of Estonians did. Why? This article shows that Lithuanians and Estonians had different economic expectations about the EU. Most Lithuanians hoped that EU membership would help Lithuania overcome its economic backwardness and isolation. By contrast, many Estonians worried that the accession would reinforce Estonia's underdevelopment and dependency on the West. I argue that these expectations reflected the two countries' strategies of economic reform. Lithuania sold state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to their managers and continued to trade heavily with Russia, which slowed down the modernization of its economy. Estonia sold SOEs to foreigners and reoriented its trade rapidly from Russia to the West, which hurt its traditional sectors (particularly agriculture) and infrastructure.

Hungary and the European Union

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Csehi
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Soviet Bloc ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Missed Opportunities ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
Hungarian Experience ◽  
Economic Expectations ◽  
The One ◽  
The Eu

Hungary became a member of the European Union (EU) alongside nine other, mainly East-Central European (ECE) countries in 2004. Although Hungary was one of the leading candidates from the former Soviet bloc to join the EU after the transition in 1989–1990, this positive view and the advantage that the country enjoyed seemed to gradually disappear by the mid-2000s. Hungarian experience with the EU is quite ambivalent. Economically speaking, on the one hand there is a slow but steady convergence to the EU average, which is largely due to the net beneficiary status of the country within the Community, and employment levels have increased considerably. On the other hand, the Country-Specific Recommendations (CSRs) point to shortcomings related to competitiveness, and labor productivity, which indicate some missed opportunities. Similarly, although budgetary deficit and public debt have been under control lately, sustainability concerns still remain. Additionally, even though the country’s prospects to join the common currency area are quite promising, political willingness is still lacking to make a lasting commitment to the Euro. While the socio-economic expectations of EU membership before accession were quite high and rather unrealistic, although economic growth decreased the level of overall poverty, socioeconomic inequalities have increased lately because of government policies. As far as politics is concerned, even the consensus of the political elite to support liberal democracy as a political system and further integration of the EU as a policy strategy have been questioned by the main governing party lately. Instead, a more Eurosceptic tone and an incremental democratic decline characterizes everyday politics, which has led to recurring criticism within the Community, and the eventual triggering of an Article 7 Procedure.

The EU during Brexit

2020 ◽  
pp. 9-34
Author(s):  
Federico Fabbrini
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Military Cooperation ◽  
Member States ◽  
Decision To Leave ◽  
Policy Initiatives ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

This chapter analyses the European Union during Brexit, explaining how the EU institutions and Member States reacted to the UK’s decision to leave the EU. It outlines how they went about this in the course of the withdrawal negotiations. The EU institutions and Member States managed to adopt a very united stance vis-à-vis a withdrawing state, establishing effective institutional mechanisms and succeeding in imposing their strategic preferences in the negotiations with the UK. Nevertheless, the EU was also absorbed during Brexit by internal preparations to face both the scenario of a ‘hard Brexit’—the UK leaving the EU with no deal—and of a ‘no Brexit’—with the UK subsequently delaying exit and extending its EU membership. Finally, during Brexit the EU increasingly started working as a union of 27 Member States—the EU27—which in this format opened a debate on the future of Europe and developed new policy initiatives, especially in the field of defence and military cooperation.

9. The European Union and Brexit

Public Law ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 355-396
Author(s):  
Mark Elliott ◽  
Robert Thomas
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
Parliamentary Sovereignty ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

This chapter focuses on the constitutional implications of the UK’s membership of the European Union and the constitutional implications of its exit from the EU (or ‘Brexit’). The chapter examines how EU law was accommodated within the UK legal system during the period of the UK’s membership of the EU, and in particular considers the consequences of the primacy of EU law for the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty. The chapter also considers the extent to which lessons learned about the UK constitution as a result of EU membership will remain relevant now that the UK has left the EU.

“Ruled Britannia”: Metaphorical Construction of the EU as Enemy in UKIP Campaign Posters

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 188-209
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Ross ◽  
Aditi Bhatia
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Exit Strategy ◽  
The Past ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Eu

The sweeping tide of populism across the globe has given rise to isolationist sentiments that call for the closing of national borders and a return to nativist roots. This has been most evident in Britain in terms of the controversial vote to exit the European Union (EU) during the 2016 referendum (to Leave or Remain) and more recently with the lead up to a general election and mounting pressure on the government to implement an exit strategy. The most vocal proponent of the “leave” movement was the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), reframing the debate on EU membership in terms of invasion and oppression. This paper focuses on precisely this discursive construction of the EU by analyzing UKIP campaign posters through application of Bhatia’s Discourse of Illusion framework on three levels: historicity (use of the past to justify the present or predict the future), linguistic and semiotic action (subjective conceptualizations of reality made apparent through metaphorical rhetoric), and degree of social impact (emergence of delineating categories through ideological narrative).

scholarly journals Accession to the European Union and Perception of External Actors in the Western Balkans

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (83) ◽  
pp. 6-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dejan Jović
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
The West ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
The Republic ◽  
External Actors ◽  
The Eu

Abstract This paper focuses on perceptions of the European Union (EU) and external actors (such as the United States, Russia, and Turkey) in six countries of the Western Balkans (WB) and Croatia in a comparative perspective. We present data generated by public opinion polls and surveys in all countries of that region in order to illustrate growing trends of EU indifferentism in all predominately Slavic countries of the region. In addition, there is an open rejection of pro-EU policies by significant segments of public opinion in Serbia and in the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia-Herzegovina. On the contrary, there is much enthusiasm and support for the West in general and the EU in particular in predominately non-Slavic countries, Kosovo and Albania. We argue that the WB as a region defined by alleged desire of all countries to join the the EU is more of an elite concept than that shared by the general population, which remains divided over the issue of EU membership. In explaining reasons for such a gap we emphasise a role of interpretation of the recent past, especially when it comes to a role the West played in the region during the 1990s.

Poland and the European Union

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ireneusz Paweł Karolewski ◽  
Maciej Wilga
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Eastern Bloc ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
Eu Foreign Policy ◽  
Membership Application ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
Council Presidency ◽  
The Eu

Multifaceted in its character, the relationship between Poland and the European Union is now more than a quarter of a century old. After the breakdown of the Eastern bloc, Poland signed the Association Agreement with the then European Communities in December 1991, which led up to an EU membership application three years later. Not yet a member, the country had some impact on the Union in the Nice Treaty negotiations (2000–2001), as well as on the European Constitutional Convention proceedings (2001–2003). After a successful EU membership referendum in 2003, reflecting a great deal of societal support, Poland, along with nine other newcomers, became a fully-fledged member of the EU. Once within the bloc, Warsaw was at pains to develop a more coherent EU policy, as it often changed its positions between more collaborative approaches and veto threats, but also absolving a successful rotating EU Council presidency in 2011. The country collaborated with other member states in Central and Eastern Europe—in the Visegrád framework and with the older member states—through the Weimar Triangle, for example, however with sometimes mixed results. Poland has prioritized a number of issues in the EU such as the energy sector, security and defense, and the Eastern partnership, the latter focusing on the EU Eastern neighbors, including Ukraine and Belarus. In particular, during the Ukraine-Russia conflict of 2014–2015, Poland was one of most active actors in the EU foreign policy. However, since 2015 Poland has become a subject of controversy within the EU, regarding the rule of law standards that were criticized by the European Commission and Warsaw’s rejection of a relocation scheme in the EU refugee and migrant policy.

scholarly journals Demographic potential of the countries that have applied for the European Union membership

2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (17) ◽  
pp. 135-145
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Sojka
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Infant Mortality Rate ◽  
High Fertility ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
High Fertility Rate ◽  
Demographic Potential ◽  
The Eu

Demographic potential of the countries that have applied for the European Union membership The purpose of the article is to analyse the demographic potential of the countries that have applied for the European Union membership against the background of the EU member states. The study involves eight candidate states: Croatia, Iceland, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Turkey, i.e. the countries that have been approved by the European Commission as official candidates for the EU membership, as well as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, i.e. the potential candidates. Albania and Serbia applied officially for the EU membership in 2009. Favourable population age structure and relatively high fertility rate that occur in these countries determine a significant demographic potential they can bring to the EU after their accession. Decrease in infant mortality rate and extension of life expectancy illustrate positive changes that have been taking place in these countries for the last several years.

scholarly journals THE MOLDOVAN BANK FRAUD (2012-2015). A process tracing analysis of the Moldovan $1 billion money laundering

2020 ◽  
pp. 96-107
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Money Laundering ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Banking System ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Eu

In the 2012-2015 period, $1 billion have been stolen from three Moldovan banks, which is the equivalent of 12% of the country’s GDP. The highly fraudulent environment in the RM allowed for the successful application of fraudulent schemes for three years, without it being seized and frozen. This paper seeks to decipher the schemes that were applied as well as argue how the integration into the European Union would have lowered the corruption and thereby prevent the fraud from happening. Even though several scholars discussed the bank fraud and how it affected the relationship between Moldova and the EU, they do not address how the steps of integration into the European Union could gradually regulate the level of corruption in the RM and subsequently eliminate the possible methods of committing the bank fraud. Through a comparative analysis of Romania and the Republic of Moldova, I aim to demonstrate that the difference between the level of corruption and the stability of the banking system in these two countries is due to EU membership. Further, through secondary analysis of qualitative data, and semi-constructed interviews, I conclude that, in theory, my argument holds – the instruments the EU applies on the candidate countries would not have allowed the fraudulent schemes to be put into action. However, the EU failed to apply the conditionality concept on Romania and thus, it is possible that the money laundering in the RM could have happened even if it had been a member of the EU.

scholarly journals Remarks on the migration crisis as a challenge to the European Union in the twenty-first century

2019 ◽  
pp. 153-158
Author(s):  
Andrzej Sakson
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
First Century ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The West ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
Migration Crisis ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Eu

Among the many crises tormenting the Old Continent, the course and consequences of the migration crisis that began in 2015 are particularly noteworthy. There following issues should be highlighted: – the migration crisis manifests the internal weakness of the EU, since it has not been predicted, effectively neutralized nor managed properly; – the migration crisis has produced a division inside the EU; – the migration crisis has led to internal political and social crises in many EU countries; – the migration crisis has produced far-reaching outcomes (such as increased populism and xenophobia, division of Europe into the East and the West).

scholarly journals REGIONAL EXPANSION, IDENTITY CRISIS AND THE PARADOX OF HUMAN RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fajar Muhammad Nugraha
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Identity Crisis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Territorial Expansion ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
A Value ◽  
The Eu

The EU is very concerned with the implementation of Human Rights, so it has become the basic value and the main terms in its membership1. The EU's desire toexpand the territorial prompts efforts to discipline the implementation of Human Rights is intensified in order to increase the number of members. However, individual identity, how one defines itself as a nation, and freedom of expression are also major points in Human Rights. This is clearly a major obstacle that unknowingly appears in the territorial expansion efforts being undertaken by the European Union. The most obvious and most recent example is the occurrence of Brexit through the EU referendum in June 2016 which resulted in the United Kingdom having to quit the EU membership. This is a major blow to the EU, because in the course of territorial expansion, the EU would have to lose one of its larger member states. This paper discusses the paradox of the virtue of Human Rights as a value that is upheld within the EU and the freedom of individuals and nations in defining themselves, as well as an identity crisis which is beginning to undermine the comfort of life in society.

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