scholarly journals Cuba – EU: the difficult way to cooperation

2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (7) ◽  
pp. 155-165
Author(s):  
Nikolay Kalashnikov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Economic Cooperation ◽  
Petroleum Products ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Main Obstacle ◽  
Bilateral Relations ◽  
Common Position ◽  
The Eu

The article explores the development of relations between Cuba and the European countries during the postsoviet period. Having lost the access to the markets of the USSR and the European socialist countries, Cuba objectively was interested in finding new partners both for the replacement of the sources of industrial goods delivery and for exporting its own products. European countries seemed to be an adequate substitution of Russia (except petroleum products delivery). The article highlights how the economic interests of the EU to enter the capacious Cuban market contradicted principals of democracy and human rights. That was the reason for freezing periodically the progress in the economic links. The main obstacle for the bilateral economic cooperation was the EU Common Position, approved in 1996. The cancellation of the EU Common Position, together with developing of bilateral relations of individual countries enables the EU to become a strategic economic partner of Сuba. The analysis of the bilateral partnership provides better understanding how Cuban leaders act on the international scene.

scholarly journals Cuba – EU: the difficult way to cooperation

2020 ◽  
pp. 173-183
Author(s):  
Nikolay Kalashnikov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Economic Cooperation ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Main Obstacle ◽  
Bilateral Relations ◽  
Common Position ◽  
The Eu

The article analyzes the development of relations between Cuba and European countries during past soviet period. The main characteristic of this process was its unevenness. Having lost the markets of the USSR and European socialist countries Cuba objectively was interested in finding new partners both for replacement of the sources of industrial goods delivery and for exporting its own products. European countries seemed to be adequate substitution of Russia (except petroleum deliveries). The article describes how the economic interests of the EU to enter the capacious Cuban market contradicted with principals of democracy and human rights. That was the reason of freezing periodically the progress in the economic links. The problem was partly resolved when the decisions taken for political reasons did not apply to “EU-Cuba” relations. The main obstacle for the bilateral economic cooperation was the EU’ Common Position, approved in 1996 which didn’t permit for both sides to subscribe the agreement of cooperation. The cancellation of the EU’ Common Position, together with developing of bilateral relations of individual countries with Cuba gives the EU possibilities to become a strategic economic partner of the Island. The analysis of the development EU – Cuba partnership helps to understand better how Cuban leaders act on the international scene.

scholarly journals Possibilities and limits of the Implementation of the Policy of EU in Central Asia

2016 ◽  
pp. 27-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Gusev
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Eu Policy ◽  
Bilateral Relations ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Central Asian Countries ◽  
The Eu

In this paper the author considers policy of the European Union in the Central Asia. The author analyzes an updated EU strategy for the Central Asia and emphasizes its pragmatism, based on individual economic interests of the Central Asian countries in promoting bilateral relations. In the offered paper is also considered the evolution of the EU policy in the Central Asia.

scholarly journals Emergence and Development of the Foreign Political Dimension of the EU: PreMaastricht Period

2017 ◽  
pp. 6-16
Author(s):  
Victoria Ruda
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
European Community ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
European Countries ◽  
The Political ◽  
The West ◽  
Common Position ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Eu ◽  
West European

Almost from the very outset the development of the common foreign policy and establishing the common defense have been the main aims of the European Community, but the real cooperation in these fields turned out to be quite complex and run into certain obstacles. As part of the European Community, the member states realize the necessity to comply with the common policy in order to become a full-fledged member on the political arena, but this does not take their fears to lose their national sovereignty and to give up some political advantages acquired through either the geographical position or the economic or political and military peculiarities. This explains to a certain extent the complexity of the consensus in searching process between the West European countries in the sphere of the common foreign and security policy. The integration process in Europe was concentrated on the economic cooperation in the first place. Later on the leaders of the West European countries recognized the readiness of the European countries to take a common position on the political and economic aspects of the security and the importance of the foreign policy cooperation in regard to the economic one was for the first time officially admitted. The development of the foreign policy pillar in the pre-Maastricht period clearly distinguished the sphere of competencies of the EU and NATO. The signing of the Single European Act allowed the EU country members to occupy the common position and coordinate their foreign policy. All this allowed the cooperation in the political sphere, which was evolving in two directions: first, conducting the coordinated foreign policy and secondly, ensuring the common security policy with a prospect of establishing the common defense as its separate pillar.

Mainstreaming Human Rights in EuroMed Bilateral Relations

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Ippolito
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
European Neighbourhood Policy ◽  
Melting Pot ◽  
Bilateral Relations ◽  
And Performance ◽  
New Generation ◽  
The Eu

This article, focusing on the bilateral dimension of the EuroMed relations related to migration conceptualises the existence of a human rights (HR) mainstreaming duty in EU external policies and attempts to examine the related problems of the application and performance of such a duty based on the analysis of the human rights clauses included in the Association Agreements (AAs) within the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) framework, in combination with the mechanism of the “non-affection clause” for formal and informal Readmission Agreements concluded at both the EU (EURAs) and national levels. Just as Pot Luck, Emile Zola’s most acerbic satire, examines the contradictions that pervade bourgeois life to reveal a multitude of betrayals and depict a veritable ‘melting pot’ of moral and sexual degeneracy, so this article will pinpoint a similar ‘Victorian’ hypocrisy underlying the HR mainstreaming conception in EuroMed relations and its implementation through the tool of conditionality. Finally, the work will explore the positive goals of exporting the new conception of an HR mainstreaming duty elaborated for trade agreements into the new generation of AAs and EURAs.

EU enlargement policy and human rights

2020 ◽  
pp. 345-364
Author(s):  
Beáta Huszka ◽  
Zsolt Körtvélyesi
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
New Members ◽  
Actual Performance ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Eu

The enlargement policy of the European Union (EU) aims at integrating new members following an accession path. EU conditionality policy is a delicate balancing exercise between keeping the partner countries on the accession path and upholding fundamental values. Enlargement countries are now concentrated, with the exception of Turkey, in the Western Balkans. A key challenge is that the current leaderships in many of these states are shifting their countries increasingly in an authoritarian direction. The EU now faces a situation of establishing illiberal regimes in the region and so far seems to lack the willingness and the tools to engage and counter this. The chapter finds that human rights conditionality seems to allow for less-than-honest domestic compliance, where the EU’s requests are (mis)used to boost the power of domestic leadership. The stated principles of the EU can clash with the state’s actual performance for various reasons, including the prioritization of more direct economic interests or security goals. Conditionality tends to remain shallow as it is built on conditions that are easy to implement and measure but remain largely formal (for example, setting up an institution, adopting legislation). In the case of the Western Balkans, our research findings indicate that the enlargement process can result in favouring strong leaders who can deliver, even if the same ‘strength’ puts human rights compliance at risk. The greatest danger is that EU integration can end up legitimising the violation of human rights by the authorities.

scholarly journals Беларусь – Венгрия: паттерн взаимодействия в условиях ассиметричных объединений

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 139-154
Author(s):  
Olga Lazorkina
Keyword(s):  
Decisive Role ◽  
Active Phase ◽  
Economic Cooperation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Dialogue ◽  
Eastern Partnership ◽  
Bilateral Relations ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Regional Associations ◽  
The Eu

Belarus – Hungary: pattern of interaction in the conditions of asymmetric associations The article focuses on bilateral relations between the Republic of Belarus and Hungary in the context of their membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and the European Union. The author made an attempt to define the model of bilateral cooperation between states limited in their actions by membership in regional associations. The features of the development of political dialogue, which was formed under the influence of the national vision and approaches of the EU as a whole, are analyzed. Special attention is paid to the regional format of relations within the Visegrad Group, CEI and the „Eastern Partnership” initiative. The analysis current state of trade and economic cooperation between Belarus and Hungary is made. The author identifies the strengths and weaknesses of relations, and outlines perspective spheres of cooperation. The active phase of relations between Belarus and Hungary began in the 2000-s, when the parties finally decided on the vectors of their foreign policy. The launch of the „Eastern Partnership” initiative has played a decisive role in the development of political dialogue and economic cooperation on an ongoing basis. Bilateral relations between Belarus and Hungary are an example for building a model of interaction that is not burdened by a common historical past and based on pragmatism. The fairly active political dialogue between the two countries is based on an economic component. In parallel, the parties actively declare the primacy of national interests over collective ones – the EU and the EAEU. At the same time, the analysis indicates, membership in regional associations significantly limits the possibilities of their implementation in practice. This especially affects the trade and economic sphere of interaction. These factors determine the cyclical nature of relations between Belarus and Hungary. Thus, the bilateral format of cooperation within the framework of asymmetric associations is a sufficiently effective mechanism for the development of a full-fledged dialogue. At the same time, it is important to understand that the political component is secondary to the economic one. This approach allows the parties not to overestimate expectations and to develop mutually beneficial, equal relationships based on pragmatism and real opportunities.

The Exclusion of Roma and European Citizenship

2021 ◽  
Vol 120 (824) ◽  
pp. 100-104
Author(s):  
Julija Sardelić
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Ethnic Minority ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Mass Migration ◽  
European Citizenship ◽  
Eastern European Countries ◽  
The Eu

Some 10-15 million members of the Roma minority live in Europe; an estimated 6 million are citizens of the European Union. It was not until the 1990s that European Union institutions began treating Roma as an ethnic minority deserving of human rights protections. Concerns about mass migration of Roma from Eastern European countries where they face severe discrimination was one of the reasons the EU included protections for Roma among the conditions that candidate countries had to meet to qualify for consideration in its most recent rounds of enlargement. Those EU efforts have overlooked similar discrimination and neglect in western member states.

The human rights encounter between the EU and its Southern Mediterranean Partners

2020 ◽  
pp. 244-264
Author(s):  
T Jeremy Gunn ◽  
Alvaro Lagresa
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Essential Elements ◽  
Double Standards ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
Bilateral Relations ◽  
Security Relations ◽  
Southern Mediterranean ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Eu

In 2004, the European Commission adopted its ‘European Neighbourhood Policy’ (ENP) to guide relations with the states on its periphery, including its ten ‘Southern Partners’ (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria (suspended in 2011), and Tunisia). The ENP promoted the Southern Partners as a ‘ring of friends’, each of which would develop bilateral relations with the EU under the common ENP framework. The ENP and the bilateral Euromed Association Agreements (EMAAs) emphasise the linkage of democracy, human rights, rule of law, trade, economic development, and security relations. Historical European interference in the region, however, in particular the colonial rule of several European countries, has left an enduring taint of hypocrisy and double standards. As of today, none of the ten states, with the arguable and qualified exception of Israel, has developed a representative democracy. Respect for human rights and the rule of law remains a challenge in the region. At the same time, the EU frequently prioritises its ‘hard interests’ in trade and security over its ‘soft values’ of promoting human rights. It is recommended that the EU adhere to its official policies rather than employ mere human rights rhetoric, and to require its Southern Partners to effectively implement their EMAAs (presumably through the ‘essential-elements clauses’). The EU is capable of using its vast and disproportionate economic influence to implement its ‘more for more’ policy: the more the Southern Partners comply with the EMAAs, the better will be economic relations with the EU.

The Constitution

2020 ◽  
pp. 7-27
Author(s):  
Jens Peter Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
European Countries ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Constitutional Courts ◽  
Constitutional State ◽  
The Times ◽  
The Eu

The Constitutional Act of Denmark from 1953 provides the framework for democracy and the constitutional state. Denmark is a monarchy; however, the Queen’s role is mostly ceremonial. Compared to the constitutions of other nations, the Danish Constitution is brief, containing simple guidelines for the interaction between government and Parliament. These rules have allowed ample room for parliamentary life to evolve with the times. The few rules about the legislative process include a number of minority guaranties, for example, with respect to referendums. Such referendums have played a significant role in the transfer of power to the EU. The courts rule in all cases, both criminal and civil, as well as cases involving the legality of administrative decisions and cases concerning the constitutionality of legislation. Denmark does not have special administrative or constitutional courts. The Danish constitutional catalogue of rights is less comprehensive than in many European countries, with rules based on the original Constitutional Act of 1849. These have only been minimally expanded since. In praxis, constitutional rights are supplemented by the European Convention on Human Rights whose provisions are implemented legislatively. The Constitutional Act is difficult to amend, and there are currently no imminent amendments.

Second Brexit phase could see greater EU-27 splits

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Interests ◽  
Content Type ◽  
National Economic ◽  
Common Position ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Eu

Significance National economic interests will start coming to the fore as a debate begins on the nature of the future EU-UK relationship. Impacts Continued UK attempts to influence Brexit talks through bilateral channels are likely to frustrate the EU-27 and could damage goodwill. Germany and France will cooperate closely on Brexit policy to try to ensure other countries stick to a common position. Discussions on the EU’s next seven-year budget (2021-27) could increase divisions among the 27, but blame will also be placed on Brexit.

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