Deconstructing the Neoliberal Character of the European Union: A Major Source of Leftist Dissent Over the EU in Turkish Civil Society

AbstractDrawing on thirty face-to-face interviews with Indian business, civil society, media and political elites during the period from September 2011 to April 2012, this article seeks to examine the perceptions of Indian elites of the European Union as a normative power. It discusses the evolution of the concept of normative power and the evolution of the EU’s normative identity. It clearly outlines the expansion of the varied roles played by the EU in the course of assuming responsibilities in the capacity of civilian, ethical and normative power of Europe both within its borders and abroad. The article seeks to highlight the diverse external perceptions about the normative power of EU by focusing upon the elite opinion from India. The article captures the changing mood of the elites about the effectiveness of the normative power of the EU with the intensification of the eurozone crisis. It argues that the normative disconnect in worldviews, mindsets and practical agendas between India and the European Union has made it difficult to transform shared values into coordinated policies.

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A MODEL OF USING IPA FUNDS FOR PROJECT REALIZATION IN PRE-ACCESSION COUNTRIES: THE CASE OF SERBIA

Ekonomika ◽

10.15388/ekon.2010.0.987 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 89 (2) ◽

pp. 28-43

Author(s):

Mirjana Kranjac ◽

Rado Maksimović ◽

Uroš Sikimić

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Civil Society ◽

Foreign Aid ◽

Questionnaire Survey ◽

Transition Process ◽

The European Union ◽

Accession Countries ◽

Project Phases ◽

Project Realization ◽

The Eu

During the process of enlargement, the European Union established a mechanism to develop institutions and to support transition process in the EU, through financial help, for potential candidates and candidate countries. This foreign aid is operating throughout different EU funds. The instrument for the pre-accession assistance (IPA) has replaced all other financial funds for the budget period 2007–2013. The aim of this article is to give suggestions for a more efficient use of IPA funds. The article presents a case of Serbia by showing the empirical results from a questionnaire survey of 108 organizations evaluating a range of issues. A model of IPA funds’ use has been created. Risk points have been determined and divided into three groups: informing of potential beneficiaries, their education, and assistance in the realization of all project phases. Improvement could be achieved through the implementation of a new idea for setting up “project centres” which would support the process. Thus, civil society would be involved into the monitoring system.

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Harmonising Accessibility in the EU Single Market: Challenges for Making the European Accessibility Act Work

Review of European and Comparative Law ◽

10.31743/recl.9465 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 43 (4) ◽

pp. 83-102

Author(s):

Anna Katarzyna Drabarz

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Civil Society ◽

Legal Systems ◽

The European Union ◽

Member States ◽

Persons With Disabilities ◽

The Common ◽

The Right ◽

Common Understanding ◽

The Eu

In the last decade, accessibility has become a buzzword not only among actors of the civil society advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities but also among the legislators in the European Union. The EU has adopted a series of binding regulations aiming at approximating the common understanding of accessibility and Member States’ approach to operationalising the right. Being part of EU harmonised law, the European Accessibility Act has already been considered a milestone in the process. The choice of an approach / approaches will decide about a success of its transposition into Member States legal systems.

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CETA and Preserving Digital Society

The Journal of Intelligence Conflict and Warfare ◽

10.21810/jicw.v2i2.1067 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 5

Author(s):

CASIS

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Civil Society ◽

Trade Agreement ◽

The European Union ◽

International Council ◽

Digital Society ◽

European Economic ◽

Canadian Association ◽

Intelligence Studies ◽

The Eu

On July 26th, 2019, the Canadian Association for Security and Intelligence Studies (CASIS) Vancouver, and the Vancouver Branch of the Canadian International Council (CIC) hosted the delegates of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) of the European Union (EU). The purpose of the event was to discuss the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the EU and Canada in the context of preserving digital civil society.

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Enhancing Civilisational Dialogue between Malaysia and the European Union

ICR Journal ◽

10.52282/icr.v2i1.690 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 186-189

Author(s):

Christoph Marcinkowski

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Civil Society ◽

European Commission ◽

Business Community ◽

The European Union ◽

Preferential Treatment ◽

Trade Surplus ◽

Eu Member States ◽

Important Trading Partner ◽

The Eu

Cooperation between the European Union (EU) and Malaysia started with the 1980 European Commission-ASEAN Agreement which has made it possible for Malaysia to benefit from a number of ASEAN and Asia-wide cooperation programmes. The EU Delegation to Malaysia was opened in 2003 and since then dialogue, policy interaction and cooperation with both federal and state authorities, the Malaysian and EU business community as well as the civil society has increased progressively. Moreover, Malaysia is also the EU’s second most important trading partner in ASEAN. No bilateral preferential trade arrangements exist between Malaysia and the EU, but under the new Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), in force since January 2006, the share of Malaysia’s merchandise exports to the EU eligible for preferential treatment rose from 16 per cent to 81 per cent. Over 70 per cent of Malaysia’s exports to the EU now enter duty-free. Malaysia records a trade surplus with most EU Member States.

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'Communicating Europe': The Role of Organised Civil Society

Journal of Contemporary European Research ◽

10.30950/jcer.v4i1.83 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 18-31

Author(s):

Elizabeth Monaghan

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Civil Society ◽

Empirical Research ◽

Communication Strategy ◽

Democratic Legitimacy ◽

The European Union ◽

Interest Representation ◽

Long Line ◽

The Eu

The European Commission’s new ‘communication strategy’ has been presented as a radically new way of bridging the gap between the citizens of the member states and the European Union (EU) institutions. However it should also be seen as the latest in a long line of attempts to solve the problems of democratic legitimacy from which the EU is said to suffer. The rhetoric of the strategy is infused with highly commendable objectives and desirable principles stating how effective communication can help the EU connect more closely with citizens, and calling upon all relevant stakeholders – specifically civil society – to contribute to this project. Democratic theories of civil society provide support for the idea that civil society can play a linkage role between citizens and political structures. But empirical research on processes of interest representation in the EU casts doubt on whether organisations purporting to represent various strands within European civil society are able and willing to help bring citizens and the EU closer together. Turning the empirical focus to the organisations themselves it becomes apparent that simply invoking civil society involvement in ‘communicating Europe’ is not a sufficient guarantee of success. Instead, the nature of the communication activities, the characteristics of the organisations in question, and the issue of funding all have implications for the role of civil society in communicating Europe.

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Europeanisation, Sovereignty and Contested States: The EU in northern Cyprus and Palestine

The British Journal of Politics and International Relations ◽

10.1177/1369148117727534 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 19 (4) ◽

pp. 755-771 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Dimitris Bouris ◽

George Kyris

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Civil Society ◽

Comparative Study ◽

State Building ◽

The European Union ◽

Turkish Republic ◽

Northern Cyprus ◽

International Engagement ◽

Control Limits ◽

The Eu

Combining the literature on sovereignty and Europeanisation, this article investigates the engagement and impact of the European Union (EU) on contested states (states lacking recognition) through a comparative study of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and Palestine. We find that characteristics of contested statehood mediate EU engagement and impact: the lack of international recognition limits EU’s engagement but encourages development promotion, international integration and assistance of local civil society. Lack of territorial control limits engagement, but ineffective government offers opportunities for development promotion and state-building. As such, and in addition to offering a rich empirical account of two prominent contested states, the article contributes to the discussion of international engagement by developing an innovative conceptual framework for understanding EU’s impact on contested states—a topic neglected within a literature dominated by conventional statehood or conflict resolution themes but very important given extensive international engagement in contested states—and related conflicts.

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Civil Society Organizations’ Participation in the EU and Its Challenges for Democratic Representation

Politics and Governance ◽

10.17645/pag.v4i4.782 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 27-39 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Nicolle Zeegers

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Civil Society ◽

Policy Making ◽

Civil Society Organizations ◽

System Level ◽

The European Union ◽

Central Question ◽

Member States ◽

Democratic Representation ◽

The Eu

Online consultations and the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) are tools that have been put into place by the European Union (EU) in order to increase the participation of citizens and Civil Society Organizations (CSO) in its politics and policy making. The current CSO representation at the system level of the EU is claimed to be biased in favor of the interests of economic producers and CSOs coming from old member states. The central question of this article is whether these tools help make participation more representative of the diversity of societal groups within the EU. The concept of ‘actor representativeness’ as well as ‘discourse representativeness’ will be applied in order to answer this question.

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The institutionalisation of populist political discourse and conservative uncivil society in the European Union

Nordicom Review ◽

10.2478/nor-2021-0010 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 42 (s1) ◽

pp. 119-133

Author(s):

Carlo Ruzza

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Civil Society ◽

Political Discourse ◽

Frame Analysis ◽

Public Deliberation ◽

Political Environment ◽

The European Union ◽

Political Climate ◽

Level I ◽

The Eu

AbstractThis article analyses the ideational features of conservative civil society groups at EU level and compares them to progressive groups. Through a frame analysis of the textual materials of these two types of organisations, I examine their reactions to the success of populist formations in several European member states and at EU level. I argue that the long-established EU ethos of fostering progressive civil society is undergoing a redefinition, which impacts their strategies. I posit that in a changing political climate, EU institutions are less interested in some of the contributions progressive civil society offers, such as its contributions to public deliberation, governance, and the legitimacy of the EU. Progressive civil society reacts to the threat of a loss of standing and attempts to retain its historical centrality, legitimacy, and access. In contrast, conservative civil society groups seek to establish themselves in a political environment previously off-limits to them.

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Civil Society under the Treaty of Lisbon: Relationship between National Public Benefit Organizations and European Union Policy?

Nonprofit Policy Forum ◽

10.2202/2154-3348.1026 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Lia C.R.M. Versteegh

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Civil Society ◽

Governance Structure ◽

Civil Society Organizations ◽

The European Union ◽

Member States ◽

Treaty Of Lisbon ◽

Public Benefit ◽

Eu Member States ◽

The Eu

The active involvement of European citizens became a new form of democracy in the Treaty of Lisbon of 2009 by the introduction of a whole new chapter dedicated to this purpose. There is an article that obligates the Commission to give serious consideration to the demands of one million citizens from a significant number of Member States. The treaty also provides for a better role of NGOs such as foundations and associations. However, there are uncertainties concerning the definition and the nature of the concept of civil society of which NGOs may be regarded as typical. The European Union gives as leading principle of civil society the concept of voluntariness. Currently, the legal typology of NGOs in the European Union is determined by national laws of the Member State. The present forms of NGOs show great differences regarding formal requirements. There is a variety of legal forms available in EU Member States for public benefit organizations as typical civil society organizations. In the concept of European Union governance there are different concepts about which role civil society could or ought to play in Europes governance structure. One of these concepts is that the European Union cooperates with the national civil society institutions through partnership agreements. However, the European Union provides no indication of ways to measure whether an organization can be considered as a public benefit organization. Also, the supervising competences in the EU Member States are different. As a result of these the participatory democracy in the EU does not reflect the power of Europes civil society.

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