scholarly journals A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE EU INTEGRATION PROCESS OF ALBANIA AND KOSOVO

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zerina Causevic ◽  

Having their populations add up to over 80% of Albanian ethnicity, Kosovo and Albania can be conceptualized as being closely intertwined namely when it comes to their foreign policies. This article will primarily focus on the foreign policies of Albania and Kosovo through the lens of their major foreign policy goals and their connections with the European Union. The path of the contemporary existence of Albania and Kosovo has been marked by various events such as the dissolution of Kosovo from Serbia. Their primary efforts include building and maintaining a democratic society that would enable the two countries to gradually flourish and establish closer ties with neighboring countries as well as Europe and the EU if successful. This research provides a comparison of the two foreign policies through a lateral method by also focusing on one of the three levels of analysis, the individual, state, and system. Within the individual level emphasis is laid on crucial individuals such as Rama, Pacolli, Cakaj, and Meta. This level of analysis and the outline of influential decisionmakers statements and actions can confirm the idea that the two countries of Kosovo and Albania can survive only in case of successful cooperation amongst each other as well as through Euro Atlantic integration namely with the European Union.

This encyclopedia offers the most comprehensive and up-to-date resource on the European integration process. Under the editorial directorship of Finn Laursen and associate editors Derek Beach, Roberto Domínguez, Sung-Hoon Park, Sophie Vanhoonacker, and Amy Verdun, the publication brings together peer-reviewed contributions by leading researchers on the European Union as a global actor. Topics include the basic treaties, institutions and policies of the European Union and the previous European Communities, the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Economic Community, and the European Atomic Energy Community. It also includes articles on the various conceptual frameworks and theories that have been developed by political scientists to guide research into the integration process and the policy- and decision-making processes with a focus on the roles of the different institutions, the European Council, the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Court of Justice of the EU. Additionally, the publication includes articles on the member states as well as external relations and foreign policies of the EU. As a result, the Oxford Encyclopedia of European Union Politics is a vital resource for students, scholars, and policymakers.


Author(s):  
Gosia Klatt ◽  
Marcella Milana

This paper considers the changing modes of governance of education policy in the European Union (EU) and Australia through a lens of ‘soft governance’. It considers the increased use of ‘policy instruments’ such as benchmarking, targets, monitoring, data-generation in policy-making in recent decades. It considers the roles these policy instruments play in coordinating education policy in the EU and Australia as well as their intended and unintended consequences. It shows that in the EU, these instruments played a role in strengthening the coordination through the links between individuals and programs, and networking, which is seen as resulting in enhanced creativity in policy solutions, development of new norms and new means for achieving policy goals. While in Australia it seems that the role of these instruments is focused on consolidating the role of the Commonwealth’s oversight and control over what constitutionally is a responsibility of States which adds to several policy tensions already existing in the federal coordination of education.


Author(s):  
Angelo Marletta

The European Union (EU), as unprecedented institutional and polity project, is responsible for the fulfilment of a set of policy goals that go beyond the mere sum of the interests of its Member States. The establishment of an ‘area of freedom, security and justice without internal frontiers, in which the free movement of persons is ensured in conjunction with appropriate measures with respect to . . . the prevention and combating of crime’ is probably one of the most demanding goals of the integration process, whose fulfilment requires commitment to coherent action on several levels: vertically, between the EU and the Member States, through incorporating the implementation of the Treaty objectives in the development of their respective criminal policies, and horizontally, between the Member States themselves, by developing mutual trust.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 121-134
Author(s):  
Marta Miedzińska

The foundations and the operating framework of the institutions of the European Union and its Member States are determined by legal acts established at the EU level. The legal bases at the EU level contain key standards in the scope of protection of the financial interests of the European Union and are the main determinants for the individual EU countries when their legal institutions create legal bases at the national level. The aim of this article is to present the main legal basis for the protection of the financial interests of the European Union at the EU level, which will help to examine the impact of these provisions on detecting irregularities and fraud in the EU.


2000 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 847-875 ◽  
Author(s):  
József Böröcz

A series of diplomatic exchanges has recently unfolded between the Hungarian government and the Commission of the European Union. The stakes are historic for the Hungarian side. Hungary formally applied for full membership in the European Union on March 31, 1994, the first country to announce such intentions among the successor states of the former Soviet bloc. Two years later, the Commission sent a lengthy questionnaire about the “state of the applicant” to all—by then, ten—central and east European applicant states. The Hungarian side filed its comprehensive response three months after the receipt of the questionnaire. The Commission waited until all responses were in and acknowledged the Hungarian answer in a document, issued another year later, whose purpose was to determine whether to recommend that the EU Council should start negotiations with the individual candidate countries about full membership.


2012 ◽  
Vol 110 (2) ◽  
pp. 527-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Sosik

Humor is a phenomenon that can simultaneously coexist at the individual, dyadic, and group levels, making its measurement and conceptualization complex. In a recent field study, Romero and Arendt (2011) examined relationships between four humor styles (i.e., affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, self-defeating) and four outcomes (i.e., stress, satisfaction with co-workers, team cooperation, organizational commitment), however, the latter was apparently measured as a self-report at the individual level of analysis. Their interesting results indicated different humor styles can have either positive or negative effects on these outcome variables. However, if their operational definition—and hence their conceptualization—of humor is based on self-report by the initiator, it may be problematic to use it at the dyadic and group levels because it potentially mixes levels of analysis and may cause misalignment between data and theory. Cautions and implications for future research are discussed.


Author(s):  
Luísa Verdelho Alves

On December 13, 2007, the Member States of the European Union (EU) signed in Lisbon a treaty amending the founding Treaties of the EU. After a troubled ratification process, due to the adverse outcome of a national referendum in Ireland, the Lisbon Treaty finally entered into force on December 1, 2009, defining a new trajectory for the EU integration process. The present article addresses the possible implications of the recent EU treaty reform to the accession of Turkey to the EU. To that end, I propose an analysis of the modifications introduced in the institutional framework of the Union and I inquire whether the legal change at this level is capable of influencing the attitude of the current Member States concerning the accession of Turkey to the EU.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-191
Author(s):  
Christopher Walsch

Abstract This article explores whether a new east‑west divide exists in the enlarged European Union by analysing national discourses on European integration in the Visegrad Four (V4) states. Two V4 foreign policy legacies form the basis of analysis: the “Return to Europe” discourse and the discourses around the reconstruction of the historical self. The article gives evidence that the V4 countries share sovereignty in external policies and thus have a distinct European orientation. V4 national‑conservative governments hold sovereigntist positions, however, in policy areas that they consider falling exclusively within the realm of the member state. Comparison with Western European member states gives evidence that the post-1945 paradigm changes were more profound than those of post-1989 ones of Eastern Europe. This historic legacy can explain the more integrationist orientations in Western Europe. The article concludes that behaviour of the individual V4 state seems to be of greater importance for each member than collective V4 group action. Finally, the article gives an outlook on ways in which solidarity between the Western and Eastern halves of the EU can be exercised in an ideologically diverging Union.


The United Nations Security Council reflects a setup of the past rather than the reality of the present world order. There has been a clamour for the induction of new countries as permanent members into the council to render it truly universal. But would the expansion of the permanent members naturally lead to the democratization of the most important international organization?India has been one of the claimants for permanent membership. Even though India’s demand is legitimate, it must first seek and secure its place at the global high table and should play a role in helping shape the global order.The European Union tries to lead and influence the international politics by its example and intends to replicate its success at the global level. Just like India, the EU is a votary of ‘multilateralism’ and it stands for the UN, and insists on the need for international laws, agreements, rules and institutions. India is part of EU’s global security strategy and is considered as one among the ‘key’ strategic partners. EU can thus be the perfect and reliable partner for India to achieve its foreign and strategic policy goals. India should join hands with the EU to formulate new global democratic laws and norms, thereby becoming a norm setter on its own right.


Author(s):  
Dionysios Stivas

Currently, the European Union (EU) is dealing with an unprecedented refugee crisis which has been blamed for bringing the process of the EU integration to an impasse. By applying theories of European (dis)integration, this paper assesses the extent to which the current refugee crisis constitutes an impediment to the future of the European Union. This paper’s analysis is constructed around two hypotheses: (1) the refugee crisis triggered Brexit and the failure of the EU’s relocation scheme, symptoms of the EU’s disintegration; (2) the refugee crisis has a dual potential: to simultaneously promote the deeper integration and the disintegration of the EU. To test these hypotheses, this paper examines if and how the refugee crisis is related to Brexit and whether the rebellious reaction of certain EU member states to the implementation of the EU relocation scheme is a sign of reversal in the process of EU integration.


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