scholarly journals Features of EU Involvement in the Negotiation Process on the Transnistrian Settlement (1994–2005)

2021 ◽  
Vol 103 (3) ◽  
pp. 106-116
Author(s):  
Nina Shevchuk ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Conflict ◽  
Negotiation Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The West ◽  
Historical Material ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Economic Tools ◽  
Official Status ◽  
The Eu

The theme of the article is the EU participation in the transnistrian settlement with an emphasis on its observer status in the 5+2 format. It covers the period from the beginning of the negotiation process in 1994 until the EU gained observer status in 2005. Based on historical material, the author shows how the EU was gradually involved in the Transnistrian settlement process and how European mediation evolved, using political and economic tools more actively than the methods of traditional diplomacy. The author identified factors that affect the EU's interaction with the parties to the conflict and including – Russia. At the same time, the author focused on the tools used by the European Union in the conflict region even before its official involvement in the negotiations, including the introduction of sanctions against the leadership of Transnistria. The article also explores the essence of the institution of observer on the example of the EU participation in the negotiations in the "5+2" format. It is shown that the external participants in the negotiations on the Transnistrian settlement are equal, despite the difference in their official status. The Europeanization of the Transnistrian settlement failed to energies the negotiation process and increase its productivity, but it allowed the European Union to test new mediation tools, optimize approaches to the settlement of a modern international conflict, and strengthen its position in the conflict region, which remains a zone of geopolitical competition between Russia and the West.

Austrian Veto against European Union Membership Negotiations with Turkey

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-122
Author(s):  
Ewa Kaczan-Winiarska
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Negotiation Process ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Strategic Partner ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
European Standards ◽  
The Eu

The Austrian government is extremely sceptical about the accession negotiations which are conducted by the European Commission on behalf of the European Union with Turkey and calls for the negotiation process to end. Serious reservations of Vienna have been raised by the current political situation in Turkey under the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as by the standards of democracy in Turkey, which differ greatly from European standards. Serious deficiencies in rule of law, freedom of speech and independence of the judiciary, confirmed in the latest European Commission report on Turkey, do not justify, from Vienna’s point of view, the continuation of talks with Ankara on EU membership. In fact, Austria’s scepticism about the European perspective for Turkey has a longer tradition. This was marked previously in 2005 when the accession negotiations began. Until now, Austria’s position has not had enough clout within the European arena. Pragmatic cooperation with Turkey as a strategic partner of the EU, both in the context of the migration crisis and security policy, proved to be a key factor. The question is whether Austria, which took over the EU presidency from 1.7.2018, will be able to more strongly accentuate its reservations about Turkey and even build an alliance of Member States strong enough to block Turkey’s accession process.

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.

Turkey and Europe: The Role of Migration

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 394-399
Author(s):  
Pieter Emmer
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Full Member ◽  
Turkish Immigrants ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Eu

In spite of the fact that negotiations have been going on for years, the chances that Turkey will eventually become a full member of the European Union are slim. At present, a political majority among the EU-member states headed by Germany seems to oppose Turkey entering the EU. In the Netherlands, however, most political parties are still in favour of Turkey's membership. That difference coincides with the difference in the position of Turkish immigrants in German and Dutch societies.

scholarly journals Key milestones of the negotiating process on the accession of Croatia to the EU in 2007 – 2008

2018 ◽  
pp. 8-27
Author(s):  
Serhii Horopakha
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Negotiation Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Major Step ◽  
Consolidation Process ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Key Events ◽  
The Eu

On 1st July 2013, the Republic of Croatia officially became the 28th member of the European Union. This event marked the fulfillment of a foreign policy goal, along with joining NATO in 2009, as a major step forward in the country’s long-term consolidation process. The article therefore analyzes the key events of the Croatia – EU relations in 2007-2008, which moved this Balkan country closer to implementing its Euro-integration course. Particular attention is paid to the peculiarities of the pre-accession negotiations with the European Union, as well as to internal and foreign policy factors that had a direct impact on the Euro-integration dialogue between Croatia and the European Union. In this context, emphasis is placed on problem issues that slowed down the dynamics of the negotiation process to a certain extent, in particular the unilateral application by Croatia of the Ecological and Fisheries Protection Zone, and measures taken by the Croatian authorities to settle them. Significant achievements of Croatia in the negotiation process with the European Union are highlighted, in particular, progress of the country in meeting the European Union criteria as well as a date determination the of pre-accession negotiations completion as an important political sign of the European Union readiness to accept a new member in future.

14. Interest Groups and the European Union

2019 ◽  
pp. 201-218
Author(s):  
Rainer Eising
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Interest Groups ◽  
Interest Group ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Group System ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Group Structures ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines the role of interest groups in European Union (EU) politics. It also considers the way in which the EU institutions influence interest group structures and activities. The chapter begins with an overview of the relationship between the EU institutions and interest groups and examines the steps taken thus far to regulate that relationship. It then looks at the evolution and the structure of the interest group system, focusing in particular on two salient aspects: the difference between national and EU organizations; and the difference between specific and diffuse interests.

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.

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 EU COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY AND AGRICULTURAL POLICY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA)

AGROFOR ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vesna Mrdalj ◽  
Gordana Rokvić ◽  
Petra Nikić Nauth
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Agricultural Policy ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Common Agricultural Policy ◽  
Institutional Development ◽  
Negotiation Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Accession Negotiation ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Eu

One of the most challenging issues for the countries that are in the process ofaccession to the European Union is the reform of agriculture, precisely agriculturalpolicy and its compliance with the Common Agricultural Policy of the EuropeanUnion (CAP). The strategic orientation of the Republic of Srpska and Bosnia andHerzegovina is a full EU member status, which is defined with signatory to theStabilization and Accession Agreement in 2008 and confirmed with Applicationfor membership in the European Union, submitted in February 2016. Consideringthe upcoming accession negotiation process, the reformation of agricultural sectoris necessary in all areas of development: production, policy and legal frameworkand institutional development. Until 2015 Republic Srpska made and adopted twokey strategic documents that determine the directions, objectives and measures fordeveloping of agriculture and rural areas. Recently the Republic of Srpska adopteda new strategic plan for the development of agriculture and rural areas for theperiod 2016- 2020. Considering that agriculture budget represents a first indicatorof the countries sector priorities, objective of this paper is to provide analysis ofagricultural policy through the agricultural budget of the Republic of Srpska and itscompliance with Common Agricultural Policy of the EU. Comparative analysis isrelated to the period 2006 – 2014 using EU methodology for the classification ofagricultural measures (pillars and axis). Research results show that the structure ofmeasures and scope of budgetary support, defined within agricultural policy of theRepublic of Srpska is not compatible with Common Agricultural Policy of the EU.

scholarly journals COMMENCEMENT OF NEGOTIATIONS AND A SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED PRESENCE OF THE EU AS THE BASIS OF STABLE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

2018 ◽  
pp. 147-166
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
Socioeconomic Development ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
Negotiation Process ◽  
Gdp Per Capita ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Slow Tempo ◽  
The Eu

It is important for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also for the European Union, that the negotiation process begins as soon as possible. Real changes in the legal, administrative and political sense commence only with fulfilment of benchmarks for opening and closing of chapters. The negotiation process is also important for learning and progressing in the understanding of European policies which help to strengthen state institutions, democracy and openness to grow and result with stronger economic growth due to an increased level of trust and safety. It is important for the European Union that the country at the very heart of Europe, which belongs to Europe not only geographically, but also historicallyand in terms of tradition and culture becomes a part of it as soon as possible and also in terms of the standards it applies. In this paper we give an overview of recommendations that the European Commission has provided to Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2002, and it is precisely from the recommendations which are being repeated each year that the most important challenges which Bosnia and Herzegovina needs to solve are still visible. Rule of law, respecting human rights and rights of minorities, as well as the constitutionality of the three nations, in addition to a fast and efficient judicial system and the public sector as a whole are the key elements for fulfilling political, legal and administrative criteria. In terms of GDP per capita in PPS, B&H has been converging during the last ten years, however with a very slow tempo. Thereby in 2005 GDP per capita in PPS amounted to 24 % in relation to EU28, whereas during the last four years it amounted to 29%. At the moment B&H is significantly lagging behind even the least developed Member States and convergence towards the EU average is necessary because on the current level B&H could not equally participate in the EU Single Market, and accession would create more obstacles than advantages. The EU is expected to take a more active approach in solving the challenges of economic convergence of B&H, therefore in this paper is provided and overview of the priorities of the new EU Enlargement Strategy in which support to socioeconomic development is pointed out as one of the initiatives.

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