scholarly journals The EU and Japan in the Process of Building Creative/Progressive Cultural Relations

Author(s):  
Bożena Gierat-Bieroń ◽  

The EU is promoting cultural relations with Asian countries. While building interpersonal and institutional connections, the EU pays special attention to Japan. The image of the EU and its mutual relations with Japan are generally recognised as predominantly good and trustworthy. This paper will examine the process of building creative/progressive cultural relations between the EU and Japan based on two hypotheses; fi rst: despite the fact that the EU tried to develop cultural relations within Japan, the embassies of the EU Member States are far more active in cultural programs than the EU Delegation; and secondly: the reception of the EU as a historic and cultural project is rather fragmented (as opposed to being holistic) in Japan. The aim of this research is to analyse, compare, and evaluate both the effort and achievements made by the EU and Japan in the process of building creative cultural relations. The research will demonstrate an analytical approach in the political sciences discipline.

Author(s):  
Andrii Martynov

The politics of the European Union are different from other organizations and states due to the unique nature of the EU. The common institutions mix the intergovernmental and supranational aspects of the EU. The EU treaties declare the EU to be based on representative democracy and direct elections take place to the European Parliament. The Parliament, together with the European Council, works for the legislative arm of the EU. The Council is composed of national governments thus representing the intergovernmental nature of the European Union. The central theme of this research is the influence of the European Union Political system the Results of May 2019 European Parliament Election. The EU supranational legislature plays an important role as a producer of legal norms in the process of European integration and parliamentary scrutiny of the activities of the EU executive. The European Parliament, as a representative institution of the European Union, helps to overcome the stereotypical notions of a “Brussels bureaucracy” that limits the sovereignty of EU member states. The European Parliament is a political field of interaction between European optimists and European skeptics. The new composition of the European Parliament presents political forces focused on a different vision of the strategy and tactics of the European integration process. European federalists in the “European People’s Party” and “European Socialists and Democrats” consider the strategic prospect of creating a confederate “United States of Europe”. The Brexit withdrawal from the EU could help the federalists win over European skeptics. Critics of the supranational project of European integration do not have a majority in the new composition of the European Parliament. But they are widely represented in many national parliaments of EU Member States. The conflicting interaction between European liberals and far-right populists is the political backdrop for much debate in the European Parliament. The result of this process is the medium term development vector of the European Union.


2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-236
Author(s):  
Przemysław Żurawski vel Grajewski

Josep Borrell’s visit to Moscow was a substantial political failure of the EU’s diplomacy still it was not an accident neither a surprise. The EU’ policy towards Russia has been based on illusions and the European wishful thinking since the very beginning of the mutual relations that started in 1991-1993. The Borrell’s visit to Moscow rather showed the nature of the Russian attitude towards the EU than produced it. Russia prefers to act within the “great powers concerto” i.e. to deal with both - the leading EU member states (Germany, France) and the non-EU great powers (UK, USA) and not with the EU institutions and representatives who are not respected neither treated seriously in Moscow. There is a deep division within the EU between the Eastern flank member states whose perception of Russian threat is strong and well founded and the western and southern countries the political interests and priorities are focused on other problems. Russian capacity to corrupt the numerous prominent members of the European political class makes the EU policy vis a vis Russia even less coherent and realistic. The article shows the history of the EU-Russia relations in the last 30 years and proves the fiasco of the Borrell’s visit to Moscow was not just an accident still a logical consequence of the ill based EU policy towards Russia.


2021 ◽  
Vol 3(164) ◽  
pp. 167-198
Author(s):  
Przemysław Żurawski vel Grajewski

The article deals with the latest turn in the conflict over the status of Fidesz in the Christian political family in the European Union (EPP). It includes a presentation of the political scene of the European Parliament after the 2019 elections and Brexit and the play of interests between the factions operating on it, the national parties within them and the EU Member States. The EU political scene has been divided into the camp of continuation of the current model of European integration, the camp of reform – contesting the direction of integration but not the integration itself, and the camp of destruction, wanting the disintegration of the EU. The effects of a possible exit of Fidesz from the EPP were analysed in terms of their impact on the balance of power between the above-mentioned camps, between political families and their factions in the EP, as well as in terms of the interests of national parties and EU Member States. The conclusion is a forecast of a low probability of Fidesz’s removal from the EPP by the end of 2020.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 25-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra Bendel

This article examines the current debate on the allocation of refugees, based on the principle of “shared responsibility and solidarity among the EU Member States”. Arguing that the Dublin system has failed, I discuss alternative proposals, adopting both the perspective of the Member States and the view of the applicants themselves. Whereas most research has centred on the opportunities and risks of these instruments, on their efficiency or cost-benefit-relation, I ask for the political enforceability of the possible alternatives in the light of changed power relations in the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council. I shall argue that particularly the current perception of the German government might represent a window of opportunity for a policy change.


2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-524
Author(s):  
Jürgen Gerhards ◽  
Clara Dilger

Abstract European law requires member states of the European Union (EU) to accept refugees. It also allows them to return refugees to their countries of origin if the reason for asylum no longer exists. Both the reception and return of refugees has become a widely debated and controversial issue in many member states of the EU. Based on a survey conducted in 13 EU member states, we analysed whether citizens support the return of refugees when the cause for their displacement has become obsolete and how differences in attitudes toward the return of refugees can be explained. A clear majority of Europeans (70%) support the return of refugees. This is also the case for those who believe that their country should accept refugees in the first place. These results mean that existing law—the acceptance of refugees in need and the return when the cause becomes obsolete—is being supported by a majority of Europeans. However, there are considerable differences in approval rates among the countries. The results of multivariate analysis show that ideational factors—both on the micro and the macro level—influence attitudes toward the return of refugees, whereas structural factors, recurring to economic interest, do not contribute substantially to the explanation of attitudes toward the return. The political implications of these findings are discussed in the last section of the article.


Author(s):  
S.A. Shein

The “populist wave” in the EU member states is no longer a phenomenon isolated in domestic politics. It has a projection on the sphere of foreign policy of national states and the European Union. The article aims to “shed light” on the barriers arising on the way of conceptualizing and typologizing the foreign policy orientations of populist actors, relying on an ideological approach to populism. The study revealed that the main constraints for the conceptualization and typologization of populists' foreign policy are the fragmented nature of populism as an ideology, the limited ability to translate their attitudes into the political course, and gradual mainstreamization after coming to power.


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 736-769
Author(s):  
Kevin Fredy Hinterberger

A key challenge in migration governance at the EU level has been that of ‘combatting’ irregular immigration. Perhaps one of the most pressing structural problems regarding the EU’s return policy is the enforcement deficit in returning irregularly staying migrants. Even though Member States must issue a return decision according to the Return Directive, only 40% of such decisions are enforced. Despite all of the political and legal efforts made, the EU is not making any significant progress in enforcing the rules laid down in the Return Directive. This contribution explores a different legal approach that is already used rather extensively in national legislation of EU Member States, which targets irregular residence through a differentiated system of granting residence permits, that is, regularizations. Hence, this paper argues for an EU Regularization Directive, which could contribute to a reduction in the number of irregularly staying migrants. Through such a Directive, which would complement the existing EU return policy, a more effective ‘combatting’ of irregular immigration at the EU level could be achieved.


Author(s):  
R. Alonzi

The article delves into the influence of the migration phenomenon on the complex process of the European political Identity-building process. The main research question is: why do migration processes erode the identity of the European Union? Or: what type of European identity is the result of these migratory processes?Firstly, the author defines the difference between European identity and identity of European Union. The character of the latter, being the result of a negotiation process between its members on the shared values to be adopted and the meanings that the Union must assume for its citizens, can be only political. The approaches suggested, sometimes even indirectly, by studies conducted on the matter allow us to deduce that the dynamics of migration processes negatively affect the creation of the political identity of the European Union. Instead, they reinforce its apolitical character. On the one hand, there is not a shared vision between the EU Member States of rules and frameworks to manage migration phenomenon. While there is no agreement between the EU Member States on how to manage migration, the integration policies adopted by the various States are being transformed into policies of disintegration of national identities, without any advantage for the evolution of supranationality. Multiculturalism and pluralism, cosmopolitan citizenship, are variables that run counter to the basic principles of the legitimacy of European power, namely European citizenship, European cultural universalism, the idea of the collective and the particular identity of Europeans.The author concludes that it is, therefore, “metapolitical” values, rather than the structure of the Union itself, that undermines the foundations of European political identity. It is in this context that the disidentitary potential of migratory phenomena finds the conditions for its full accomplishment. It is no coincidence that the metapolitical value that current liberal thought cannot do without is “politically correct”. The “political correctness” is a privileged dimension, which helps European elites interpret the problem of migration in a political sense, and this is reflected in the monolithic nature of the applied narrative, with which they interpret the phenomenon of migration.


2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-25
Author(s):  
Ivana Radic-Milosavljevic

The article deals with the problem of the Western Balkans countries? accession and association process impasse. The author finds the key causes of this problem in the very nature of an asymmetric relationship between the EU and these countries with the Stabilization and Association Process laying in its core. Both sides have contributed to this problem: the EU with its overambitious approach to the region, vaguely defined and ever-changing criteria, but also the countries participating in the Process with their uncritical approach to the possible membership, unclearly defined interests and aims, slow reforms, and weak democratic tradition. For the process to be successfully continued, the author discusses the idea of its substantial remodeling towards a flexible process. In light of the frequent discussions about the possible moving of the European integration towards more differentiation, the process of flexible association or accession would enable EU membership only in selected policy areas. The policy areas would be chosen in accordance with the previously clearly defined and thoroughly analyzed interests and capabilities of the candidate and potential candidate countries. The author argues that the association/accession process should be separated as much as possible from the political conditioning in order to decrease the possibility of taking arbitrary decisions on whether the countries have advanced in the process or not. For the Western Balkan countries, this kind of less demanding process would be easier to accomplish and would allow more autonomy in choosing areas of integration and pace of accommodation. For the EU member states, it would provide a way to regain the credibility of its once most successful foreign policy activity.


Author(s):  
Vyacheslav Petrishchev

The article deals with the ethno-cultural aspects of globalization on the example of European countries, members of the European Union. The influence of the ethno-cultural factor on political, economic and cultural relations within the EU member-states, between the EU member-states and relations with immigrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East is shown. The forecast for the further development of the European Union as a major factor of globalization is given.


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