Talk the talk, or walk the walk? Changing narratives in Europeanization research

Südosteuropa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timofey Agarin ◽  
Gözde Yilmaz
Keyword(s):  
The European Union ◽  
Eastern Enlargement ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Transformative Power ◽  
The Past ◽  
Points Of Interest ◽  
Eu Candidate Countries ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Scholarly Attention ◽  
The Eu

AbstractOver the past two decades, there has been a growing interest in Europeanization, both within and beyond the European Union (EU). The impact of Eastern enlargement in 2004 on candidate and neighbourhood countries has attracted scholarly attention, and a consensus currently exists on the success of the EU’s transformative power through the employment of a conditionality mechanism. However, the limits of EU conditionality upon candidate countries and neighbourhood Europeanization, in addition to the problems experienced by the EU itself, have brought into question whether the end of Europeanization research is in sight. Considering this, we critically evaluate the issues discussed in the scholarship on Europeanization and review several points of interest in relation to EU candidate countries in the Western Balkans as well as Turkey.

scholarly journals FDI determinants in Europe and Chinese influence

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-37
Author(s):  
Alena Dorakh
Keyword(s):  
Trade Costs ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
Vertical Fdi ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

Despite recent concerns about the increasing influence of outside investors on the European Union (EU) and Western Balkans, the developed European countries are still a dominant source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the region, confirming the benefits of EU membership. At the same time, fast-growing connectivity and lower trade costs in accession and neighboring countries determine the FDI growth from China, particularly via the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). By applying panel data over 2000-2019 for 34 countries, which form 89% of all European FDI, we first examine FDI patterns around Europe, compare the EU, NMS, and Western Balkans; verify the importance of EU membership for FDI, caused reducing trade costs and improving connectivity. Thus, the new EU member states (NMS) and Western Balkans appear both as a home country and as a pre- entry destination to the EU. Then, we calculate trade costs indices for each selected country and partners over time and find that Europe and China are closely interconnected through trade and FDI. It means that stronger ties with China can be realized for the sample countries at the cost of easing relations with the EU. Finally, incorporating trade costs indices into the FDI model; we evaluate the impact of connectivity on FDI and estimate how BRI affected FDI in Europe. Additionally, we validate that the old framework of horizontal and vertical FDI not representative well and even new complex vertical or export-oriented FDI strategies are shifting today.

scholarly journals Mirroring transitional justice. Construction and impact of European Union ICTY-conditionality

Südosteuropa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Niké Wentholt
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Restorative Justice ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
War Experiences ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThe European Union (EU) developed a state-building strategy for the aspiring member states in the Western Balkans. Demanding full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the EU made transitional justice part of the accession demands. Scholars have recently criticized the EU’s limited focus on retributive justice as opposed to restorative justice. This paper goes beyond such impact-orientated analyses by asking why the EU engaged with retributive transitional justice in the first place. The EU constructed ICTY-conditionality by mirroring its own post-Second World War experiences to the envisioned post-conflict trajectory of the Western Balkans. The EU therefore expected the court to contribute to reconciliation, democratization and the rule of law. Using Serbia as a case study, this article examines the conditionality’s context, specificities and discursive claims. Finally, it relates these findings to the agenda of a promising regional initiative prioritizing restorative justice (RECOM) and sheds new light on the impact of ICTY-conditionality on transitional justice in the Western Balkans.

Enlargement Policy and European Union Politics

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eli Gateva
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
Potential Candidate ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eastern Enlargement ◽  
Accession Process ◽  
Integration Project ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

Enlargement has always been an essential part of the European integration. Each enlargement round has left its mark on the integration project. However, it was the expansion of the European Union (EU) with the 10 Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs), Cyprus, and Malta, unprecedented in scope and scale, which presented the EU with an opportunity to develop a multifaceted set of instruments and transformed enlargement into one of the EU’s most successful policies. The numerous challenges of the accession process, along with the immensity of the historical mission to unify Europe, lent speed to the emergence of the study of EU enlargement as a key research area. The early studies investigated the puzzle of the EU’s decision to enlarge with the CEECs, and the costs and benefits of the Eastern expansion. However, the questions about the impact of EU enlargement policy inspired a new research agenda. Studies of the influence of the EU on candidate and potential candidate countries have not only widened the research focus of Europeanization studies (beyond the member states of the Union), but also stimulated and shaped the debates on the scope and effectiveness of EU conditionality. Most of the analytical frameworks developed in the context of the Eastern enlargement have favored rational institutionalist approaches highlighting a credible membership perspective as the key explanatory variable. However, studies analyzing the impact of enlargement policy on the Western Balkan countries and Turkey have shed light on some of the limitations of the rationalist approaches and sought to identify new explanatory factors. After the completion of the fifth enlargement with the accession of Bulgaria and Romania in 2007, the research shifted to analyzing the continuity and change of EU enlargement policy and its impact on the candidate and potential candidate countries. There is also a growing number of studies examining the sustainability of the impact of EU conditionality after accession by looking into new members’ compliance with EU rules. The impact of EU enlargement policy on the development of European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and comparative evaluations of the Union’s performance across the two policy frameworks have also shaped and expanded the debate on the mechanisms and effectiveness of the EU’s influence. The impact of the Eastern enlargement on EU institutions and policymaking is another area of research that has emerged over the last decade. In less than two decades, the study of EU enlargement policy has produced a rich and diverse body of literature that has shaped the broader research agendas on Europeanization, implementation, and compliance and EU policymaking. Comprehensive theoretical and empirical studies have allowed us to develop a detailed understanding of the impact of the EU on the political and economic transformations in Central and Eastern Europe. The ongoing accession process provides more opportunities to study the evolving nature of EU enlargement policy, its impact on candidate countries, the development of EU policies, and the advancement of the integration project.

The Eastern Enlargement of the European Union: Challenges to Democracy?1

Human Affairs ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Darina Malová ◽  
Branislav Dolný
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Government Accountability ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Eastern Enlargement ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Division Of Powers ◽  
Policy Alternatives ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

The Eastern Enlargement of the European Union: Challenges to Democracy?Recent scholarship assesses the impact of the European Union's conditionality on democracy in Central and Eastern Europe in a contradictory way. On one hand, the EU is perceived as a key agent of successful democratic consolidation and on other hand, the return of nationalist and populist politics in new member states has been explored in the context of the negative consequences of the hasty accession that undermined government accountability and constrained public debate over policy alternatives. This article explains this puzzle of the ambiguous effects of the EU's politics of conditionality, which promoted institutions stabilizing the horizontal division of powers, rule of law, human and minority rights protection, but which neglected norms and rules of participatory and/or popular democracy.

scholarly journals Limits of the EU’s transformative power and the Western Balkans

2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-49
Author(s):  
Maja Kovacevic
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Global Strategy ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Transformative Power ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
The Eu

The European Union (EU) is a unique player in the Western Balkans, where it has employed a wide array of foreign policy instruments since the 1990s such as diplomacy, trade, financial assistance, civilian missions, military missions, and enlargement, which is the EU?s most successful foreign policy tool. The region is an inspiring case for studying the EU?s transformative power. The undeniable success of the EU?s Enlargement Policy in influencing transitions of Central and Eastern Europe countries has inspired research of the Europeanization, or the EU?s transformative power in relation to candidate countries, and its impact on their political and economic reforms during the accession process. Since then, the EU?s global transformative power has been in crisis. The European Neighbourhood Policy was reviewed in 2015, aiming not any more towards the transformation of neighbouring states, but rather at fostering their resilience. Similarly, the 2016 Global Strategy for the European Union?s Foreign and Security Policy set the principled pragmatism as a guideline. Moreover, the EU?s transformative power towards member states is questioned after two initiatives to trigger Article 7 TEU procedures against Poland and Hungary. What about the Europeanization of the Western Balkans? Despite the fact that the EU has been the main driver of change, the Europeanization of this post-conflict region has been slow. According to Freedom House, after substantial progress from 2004 to 2010, the Western Balkans has declined six years in a row, and its average Democracy Score in 2016 is the same as it was in 2004. With the exception of Albania, the scores of all countries are declining, not improving. The EU?s security-democratisation dilemma strongly affects its transformative power in the Western Balkans. By prioritising effective government rather than democratic governance, the EU has helped stabilise non-democratic and corrupt regimes rather than transforming them, legitimising Balkan "stabilitocrats".

scholarly journals Exploring Race Hate Crime Reporting in Wales Following Brexit

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gareth Cuerden ◽  
Colin Rogers
Keyword(s):  
Hate Crime ◽  
Hate Crimes ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Fundamental Idea ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Political Decisions ◽  
The Eu ◽  
The Way

 Most countries consist of many diverse races and cultures, based on historical political decisions, wars or economic changes. Throughout Europe over the past decades the policy of free movement for work as part of the EU agreements has encouraged this activity. Indeed this has been a fundamental idea behind the European Union ever since its inception. However, what can the consequences be for those individuals who, encouraged by such policies, find themselves located in a country which has decided to no longer be part of that system? In particular what impact does this decision appear to have on the way those considered to be “racially different” are treated by others? This article explores the impact the recent decision by Great Britain took to leave the EU (so called Brexit) and its impact upon the number of racially recorded hate crimes in Wales. Using examples from terrorist incidents in Europe, along with the Brexit result, as examples, it provides clear evidence that when certain incidents occur in wider society, there is an impact upon the way in which so called non-indigenous people are treated, which results in an increase in criminality. These results will have resonance for other countries with a mixed population, as well as having implications for those agencies involved in the protection and safety of all inhabitants in their country.

European Union Enlargement Policy

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eli Gateva
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
Potential Candidate ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eastern Enlargement ◽  
Accession Process ◽  
Integration Project ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

Enlargement has always been an essential part of the European integration. Each enlargement round has left its mark on the integration project. However, it was the expansion of the European Union (EU) with the 10 Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs), Cyprus and Malta, unprecedented in scope and scale, which presented the Union with an opportunity to develop a multifaceted set of instruments and transformed enlargement into one of EU’s most successful policies. The numerous challenges of the accession process, along with the enormity of the historical mission to unify Europe, lent speed to the emergence of the study of EU enlargement as a key research area. The early studies investigated the puzzle of the EU’s decision to enlarge with the CEECs, and the costs and benefits of the Eastern expansion. However, the questions about the impact of EU enlargement policy inspired a new research agenda. Studies of the influence of the EU on candidate and potential candidate countries have not only widened the research focus of Europeanization studies (beyond the member states of the Union), but also stimulated and shaped the debates on the scope and effectiveness of EU conditionality. Most of the analytical frameworks developed in the context of the Eastern enlargement have favored rational institutionalist approaches highlighting a credible membership perspective as the key explanatory variable. However, studies analyzing the impact of enlargement policy on the Western Balkan countries and Turkey have shed light on some of the limitations of the rationalist approaches and sought to identify new explanatory factors. After the completion of the fifth enlargement with the accession of Bulgaria and Romania in 2007, the research shifted to analyzing the continuity and change of EU enlargement policy and its impact on the candidate and potential candidate countries. There is also a growing number of studies examining the sustainability of the impact of EU conditionality after accession by looking into new members’ compliance with EU rules. The impact of EU enlargement policy on the development of European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and comparative evaluations of the Union’s performance across the two policy frameworks have also shaped and expanded the debate on the mechanisms and effectiveness of the EU’s influence. The impact of the Eastern enlargement on EU institutions and policy making is another area of research that has emerged over the last decade. In less than two decades the study of EU enlargement policy has produced a rich and diverse body of literature that has shaped the broader research agendas on Europeanization, implementation, and compliance and EU policy making. Comprehensive theoretical and empirical studies have allowed us to develop a detailed understanding of the impact of the EU on the political and economic transformations in Central and Eastern Europe. The ongoing accession process provides more opportunities to study the evolving nature of EU enlargement policy, its impact on candidate countries, the development of EU policies, and the advancement of the integration project.

scholarly journals The EU Stabilisation and Association Agreement for the Western Balkans: Between Challenges and Opportunities

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (81) ◽  
pp. 51-68
Author(s):  
Gazmend Qorraj ◽  
Gezim Jusufi
Keyword(s):  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Technical Standards ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Quality Of Products ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Local Firms

Abstract The role of the European Union (EU) trade liberalisation with the four Western Balkan countres — namely Kosovo, Montenegro, Albania, and Macedonia — is overestimated, as major benefits could be expected mainly from institutional reforms rather than trade creation and economic perspective due to low economic development and a lack of comparative advantages in these countries1. The core issue to be addressed in this article is whether these firms can exploit the opportunities arising from the EU integration process. The aim of this article is to confirm the hypothesis that the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) and trade agreements in the Western Balkans are not sufficient pre-conditions for successful performance and increase of exports by local firms; the main focus should be on the internal performance of firms. The paper analyses and compares the data collected by surveys conducted with local firms in Kosovo in order to measure the impact of the SAA. Finally, the article suggests that in the short and medium run the SAA could support and improve the quality of products, technical standards, and firm competitiveness as a pre-condition for better access to the EU market in the long run.

scholarly journals Variation in Dual Citizenship Policies in the Countries of the EU

2005 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 697-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Morjé Howard
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Full Membership ◽  
Dual Citizenship ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
The Past ◽  
National Differences ◽  
New Eu Members ◽  
Scholarly Attention ◽  
The Eu

While the concept of citizenship has received considerable scholarly attention in recent years, few studies focus on the increasingly prevalent reality of dual citizenship, or full membership – with its respective rights, privileges, and obligations – in two different countries. The main objective of this article is to conceptualize, measure, and classify variation in dual citizenship in the countries of the European Union. I start by recounting the historical opposition to dual citizenship and by describing its emergence in recent decades. I then develop a “Citizenship Policy Index” that accounts for some of the intricacies associated with citizenship policies in general and dual citizenship policies in particular. I go on to apply these measures to the fifteen “older” EU countries in both the 1980s and the contemporary period – thus allowing for an analysis of the changes that have taken place over the past two decades – while also briefly examining the current policies of the ten new EU members. Overall, the findings point to surprisingly resilient national differences that stand out in contrast to the EU's institutional “harmonization” in so many other areas.

scholarly journals THE IMPACT OF TRADE LIBERALIZATION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA’S EXPORT TO EUROPEAN UNION

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haris Omerika ◽  
Mehmedalija Hadžović
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Foreign Trade ◽  
Trade Liberalization ◽  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

One of the basic and strategic goals of post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina is a full membership in the European Union. During 1992-1995, Bosnia and Herzegovina has passed through one of the most difficult periods in its’ history. The war has completely devastated the economical structure and the aftermaths were visible in the following years. As a new paradigm, the European Union appears. The European Union has helped the Western Balkans countries to overcome national tensions and offered them a new perspective; new regional and european integrations should be a new, historical chance for them. In the light of this, the focus of this paper is the impact of trade liberalization between the European Union and Bosnia and Herzegovina on the export from Bosnia and Herzegovina to European Union. The above mentioned impact has been observed in the period of eleven years. The total export amount of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2015 was 4,6 billion euros, while the amount of the import was 8,1 billion euros, which makes nearly 60% in favor of import. Traditionally, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s most important foreign trade partner is the European Union where Bosnia and Herzegovina has a deficit in foreign trade. The portion of export to EU during 2015 was 71,79% while the portion of import was 60,85%. The coverage of import over export was 66,89%. In the period of 2005-2015, most of the products have been placed to markets in Croatia, Germany, Italy, and Serbia, which is not the EU member. The process of trade liberalization in 2015 has resulted in surplus of trade with certain EU countries; Austria, Luxembourg and Estonia while the decrease in trade has been recorded with Germany, Slovenia and Czech Republic. Regarding the export, Bosnia and Herzegovina mailny places products which have labour-intensive character. In the econometrics analysis, extented gravitational models of trade have been placed. Besides the abovementioned, the following econometrical techinques have been used: panel data models (PD), fixed effecs models (RE) and panel corrected standard errors (PCSE). In addition, Hausman test has been applied. According to the analysis that has been carried out, the following has been concluded; InGDPi, InGDPj and InDISTij variables are statistically important on the level of 5% in the period of gradual liberalization. The SSP1 an EK variables are not siginificant.In the other moder, in the period of complete liberalization InGDPi, InGDPj and SSP2 variables have a significant impact on a dependent variable on a level of 5%. InDISTij and EK variables have a significant impact on a level od 5% as well. The above mentioned result confirm the research hypothesis; trade liberalization has a significant impact on the export of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the EU. The basic limit of this research can be a relatively short observation period, caused by the fact that the data of merchandise trade between Bosnia and Herzegovina and EU countries until 2005 are not accessible.

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