scholarly journals REAL CONVERGENCE OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA TOWARDS THE EUROPEAN UNION

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-58
Author(s):  
Hasan Mahmutović ◽  
◽  
Alem Merdić ◽  

The entire process of Bosnia and Herzegovina's path to European integration so far, is mostly limited to the problems of achieving political consensus, neglecting the essence and purpose of the integration process, which is primarily reflected in achieving the real convergence of Bosnia and Herzegovina towards the EU. The absence of real convergence, and adequate preparation in terms of competitiveness of the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the EU membership, can cause negative effects of integration.Considering that there has not yet been written any paper that questions the lack of real convergence, primarily GDP p.c., and that a complete analysis of economic criteria is reduced to the Progress Reports of Bosnia and Herzegovina towards the EU, which summarize the fulfillment of the economic criteria of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the EU membership without concrete suggestions for improvement, this paper analyzes the real convergence of Bosnia and Herzegovina towards the European Union, observed through the income level p.c., prices and productivity of the labor force.The analysis showed that there is a sigma convergence of Bosnia and Herzegovina towards the EU in the movement of GDP p.c., which is reflected in the reduction of the coefficient of variation of the observed parameter in the period from 2000 to 2015 from 89.8% to 85.3%, which is a decrease in the coefficient of variation for 4 , 5 p.p. for 16 years.In the observed period there was an increase in the absolute GDP p.c. gap, which means that Bosnia and Herzegovina must increase the rate of economic growth in the coming period, in order to stop the relative decrease in the standard of living in relation to the EU.In addition, the analysis of sigma convergence has shown that there are sigma divergent trends in the movement of productivity and price level of Bosnia and Herzegovina in relation to productivity and price level at the EU level.It is expected that the price level in Bosnia and Herzegovina will increase in the coming period as a result of the activation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement and a higher degree of trade integration with the EU.

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 169-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muamer Hirkić

In a recent survey conducted by the Directorate for European Integration in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it appears that 43.6% of respondents believe that there is an alternative to the European Union (EU) membership. The survey was conducted by using the Computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) method, on a sample that is representative for the entire country. Therefore, this article will explore the possibility of pursuing foreign policy that is geared towards several geopolitical centres and implications for the country. Primarily, this refers to alternative development models offered by international actors such as China, Russia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Although the EU often emphasises commitment to the Western Balkan region, both internal and external processes are becoming heavily politicised. In this regard, the author will also attempt to examine some of these processes and the main stakeholders (both in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union), who could stall the future European integration.


2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aleksander Lust

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.


Author(s):  
Federico Fabbrini

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.


Public Law ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 355-396
Author(s):  
Mark Elliott ◽  
Robert Thomas

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 188-209
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Ross ◽  
Aditi Bhatia

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).


Author(s):  
Ireneusz Paweł Karolewski ◽  
Maciej Wilga

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.


2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (17) ◽  
pp. 135-145
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Sojka

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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-255
Author(s):  
Ivana Stojanović

AbstractApplication of The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union implies the existence of a single market (without customs duties on mutual trade), the community’s priority in meeting the needs for agricultural products (protection against imports) and the existence of financial solidarity (joint financing). Joining the European Union for new member states implies the termination of the implementation of the existing national agricultural policy and the the beginning of the implementation of the CAP. Although membership in the European Union implies many advantages, the period after joining this community can be quite economically unstable for some countries. One of the most significant problems is an increase in agricultural product prices and a rise in the general price level (inflation). The above can be confirmed by a simple empirical analysis of the economic indicators of the countries that joined the EU together in the period from 2004 until 2007.


AGROFOR ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Łukasz AMBROZIAK

The aim of the paper is to compare the competitive positions of Poland and of sixcountries of the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia) in their trade in agri-food products with theEuropean Union (EU) in 2010–2015. To this end, the synthetic tradecompetitiveness index (CI) was created, being the arithmetic average of twonormalised indices of the competitive position, i.e. the trade coverage index (TC)and the Balassa revealed comparative advantages index (RCA). The study is basedon the trade data from the WITS – World Integrated Trade Solution database(Comtrade, HS – Harmonised System 2002), expressed in USD. Agri-foodproducts are understood as products classified in chapters 01–24 of the HarmonisedCommodity Description and Coding System (HS). The research results show thatonly in trade of 5 product groups no country from the Western Balkans competedwith Poland in the EU market. In other product groups which were competitive inPolish exports Poland competed in the EU market with some of the WesternBalkan countries.


2020 ◽  
pp. 96-107

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.


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