The European Union Enlargement in the Western Balkans

2022 ◽  
pp. 39-66
Author(s):  
Evita Dionysiou
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
Significant Degree ◽  
Individual Member ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Member States ◽  
European Union Enlargement ◽  
The Eu

This chapter offers an analysis of the Western Balkans' thorny path towards joining the European Union (EU). The aim is to identify the key hurdles in the European enlargement in the Western Balkans as well as to suggest ways to deal with these hurdles. The chapter begins with a historical overview and proceeds to a discussion of the most persistent hurdles that still derail the EU enlargement process. After offering recommendations on how to overcome these roadblocks, the chapter provides an outlook. Looking ahead, there is still hope that the European dream of the Western Balkans will eventually turn into reality. The final outcome will be determined to a significant degree by the commitment of the candidate countries, the EU as a whole, but also the future position of the 27 member states. Although the new enlargement methodology can be seen as a step forward, individual member states can still hijack the enlargement process. This might prove to be the Achilles' heel of the entire EU enlargement project.

The Member States of the European Union

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Member State ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
Individual Member ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
State Relations ◽  
The Eu

The Member States of the European Union combines a study of individual member states with an examination of the broader process of Europeanization. Examining both sides of this crucial relationship, this text provides a useful guide to EU member state relations. This second edition has been updated to take in the latest round of EU enlargement and includes chapters on eight member states from different geographical regions and dates of accession. These are followed by seven thematic chapters on the Europeanization of structures, actors, and processes within the EU 27.

scholarly journals SOLIDARITY CHECK IN TIMES OF COVID-19. ANALYSIS OF THE EU APPROACH TOWARDS ITS CLOSEST NEIGHBOURS WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS ON MONTENEGRO

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Đurić ◽  
Bojana Lalatović
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Complex Structure ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Member States ◽  
Balkan Countries ◽  
The Eu

Solidarity as one of the cornerstone values of the European Union has been once again seated on the red chair and intensively discussed within the European Union and broader. After the economic recession and migrant crisis that marked the last two decades, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has once again harshly tested the fundamental objectives and values of the European Union and the responsiveness and effectiveness of its governance system on many fronts. In April, 2020 several EU Member States were among the worst affected countries worldwide and this situation soon became similar in their closest neighbourhood. It put a huge pressure on the EU to act faster, while at the same time placing this sui generis community to the test that led to revealing its strengths and weaknesses. As it happened in the previous crises, the Union launched policies and various programmes that were meant to lessen the burden of the Member States and aspiring countries caused by the crises. The objectives of the mentioned soft law instruments that the EU adopted during the COVID-19 crisis has been not only to show that EU law is equipped to react to health and economic crises rapidly but to deliver its support in terms of solidarity to its Member States and its closest neighbours facing the unprecedented health and economic crisis. This article will explore the value and implication of the solidarity principle in times of Covid-19 in its various manifestations. A special focus will be on the financial and material aspects of the EU instruments created to combat the negative consequences of the pandemic and their further impact on shaping the solidarity principle within the EU system. While examining the character and types of these mechanisms a special focus will be placed on those available to Western Balkan countries, whereas Montenegro as the “fast runner” in the EU integration process will be taken as a case study for the purpose of more detailed analyses. One of the major conclusions of the paper will be that although the speed of the EU reactions due to highly complex structure of decision making was not always satisfying for all the actors concerned, the EU once again has shown that it is reliable and that it treats the Western Balkan countries as privileged partners all for the sake of ending pandemic and launching the socio-economic recovery of the Western Balkans. Analytical and comparative methods will be dominantly relied upon throughout the paper. This will allow the authors to draw the main conclusions of the paper and assess the degree of solidarity as well as the effectiveness of the existing EU instruments that are available to Montenegro and aimed at diminishing negative consequences of the crisis.

German Policy towards EU Enlargement

2015 ◽  
pp. 18-22
Author(s):  
F. Basov
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Eastern Partnership ◽  
Western Balkan Region ◽  
Balkan Region ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Eu

This article is dedicated to the German policy towards the EU enlargement. Its history as well as the current German policy towards prospective enlargements are analyzed in this paper. The article offers party-political and sociological analysis of Germany`s attitude towards the EU enlargement, also the reasons for it are determined. FRG supported all of the European Community and European Union enlargements. This line is being continued, but nowadays only step to step approach is being supported. Germany‘s motives to the EU enlargement are based on the liberal concept of the common security. The main goals of this policy are the including of European countries into the Western community of developed countries (the EU), the extension of the stability and security area. The economic integration is also very important for Germany. The key priority of the EU enlargement is the Western Balkan region (the so called “Europeanisation” of Western Balkans). This process is being supported by political elites of the region and by the European Union itself. It is recognized, that the Europeanisation of Western Balkans was used as a sample for the Eastern Partnership Program. Without consideration of the Russian factor, though, this strategy towards the post-Soviet countries has many weaknesses. But the EU-membership for the Eastern Partnership members is not excluded.

Migration, Social Protection, and the (Re)Production of Inequalities in the European Union

2018 ◽  
pp. 134-153
Author(s):  
Thomas Faist
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Social Space ◽  
Individual Member ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Transnational Social Space ◽  
The Eu

Europe, and the European Union in particular, can be conceived as a transnational social space with a high degree of transactions across borders of member states. The question is how efforts to provide social protection for cross-border migrants in the EU reinforce existing inequalities (e.g. between regions or within households), and lead to new types of inequalities (e.g. stratification of labour markets). Social protection in the EU falls predominantly under the purview of individual member states; hence, frictions between different state-operated protection systems and social protection in small groups are particularly apparent in the case of cross-border flows of people and resources. Chapter 5 examines in detail the general social mechanisms operative in cross-border forms of social protection, in particular, exclusion, opportunity hoarding, hierarchization, and exploitation, and also more concrete mechanisms which need to be constructed bottom-up.

Politics in the European Union

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Bache ◽  
Simon Bulmer ◽  
Stephen George ◽  
Owen Parker
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Politics ◽  
Individual Member ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eurozone Crisis ◽  
Member States ◽  
Treaty Of Lisbon ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Eu

Politics in the European Union examines the theory, history, institutions, and policies of the European Union. The EU is a unique, complex, and ever-changing political entity which continues to shape both international politics and the politics of its individual member states. The text provides a clear analysis of the organization and presents a well-rounded introduction to the subject. Complete and detailed in its coverage, with a consolidated and updated history section, this text weaves together material on key contemporary concerns including the eurozone crisis and the implementation of the Treaty of Lisbon with a thorough consideration of the workings and remit of the EU.

scholarly journals Northern Cyprus as an ‘inner neighbour’: A critical analysis of European Union enlargement in Cyprus

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Casaglia
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
Negotiation Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Union Enlargement ◽  
Northern Cyprus ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Turkish Cypriot ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

This article analyses the impact of Cyprus’s accession to the European Union (EU) on the northern part of the island, and tackles the political actorness of the EU with regard to the enduring Cypriot conflict. Much literature has critically analysed the EU enlargement process, underlining its imperialistic features and its problematic nature. At the same time, scholars have highlighted the EU’s difficulties in acting as a political actor and its impact on situations of ethno-national conflict. This article brings together these critical aspects by analysing them in the peculiar context of Cyprus. It retraces the negotiation process and the Turkish Cypriots’ in/visibility throughout it, and presents research conducted following Cyprus’s accession in three different periods between 2008 and 2015. We propose an interpretation of Northern Cyprus as an ‘inner neighbour’ of the EU, because of its anomalous and liminal status, the suspended application of the acquis communautaire, the unresolved conflict and the ambiguity of the border management of the Green Line, the line of partition between north and south. All these problematic features of Northern Cyprus’s situation are examined in detail to identify the unique position of this entity within the EU. In addition to this, and supporting the importance of a bottom-up understanding of the EU’s normative and symbolic projection, the article presents the opinions of Turkish Cypriot citizens about their expectations before and after 2004, and how their ideas and imaginaries related to the EU have evolved and interacted with the process of Europeanisation.

Negotiating Turkey's Membership to the European Union. Can the Member States Do As They Please?

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christophe Hillion
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Court Of Justice ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Constitutional Order ◽  
European Union Enlargement ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
European Court ◽  
The Eu

Limits to member states' discretion in European Union enlargement negotiations – Changing the fundamentals of the EU constitutional order through the conclusion of accession treaties – The case of Turkey – Caveats, precautions and fallback strategies in the ‘Negotiating Framework for Turkey’ – Enforcing the limits to member states' discretion in European Union enlargement negotiations – The jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice before ratification and after entry into force.

scholarly journals STREAMLINING THE INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY STRUCTURES IN NATO AND THE EUROPEAN UNION

2014 ◽  
pp. 63-75
Author(s):  
DAMIR ČRNČEC ◽  
JANEZ URBANC
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Future Trends ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Member States ◽  
Extra Effort ◽  
The Future ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
The Eu

Just like every other organisation, NATO and the EU are more or less constantly changing and organisationally adapting to new challenges and related new priorities and tasks. The intelligence and security structures of both organisations are no exception and although radical or major organisational changes, mainly due to the consensus mode, are not very frequent and require more time, minor changes and adjustments occur constantly. In recent years, the field of intelligence and security in both organisations has not witnessed any major organisational changes. Nevertheless, especially within NATO, the intelligence structure has significantly increased in quality due to the extra effort to include, in addition to military and defence, civil intelligence and security structures of Member States to play a more active role in the exchange of intelligence with the Alliance. Similarly, although less obviously, a similar trend took place in the context of the intelligence and security structures within the EU. In parallel with the termination of operations in Afghanistan, with a slow stabilisation of the situation in the Western Balkans, and mainly as a result of the new/old challenges posed by the situation in relation to Ukraine, there is no doubt that the intelligence and security structures of both organisations, especially NATO, will be further modified and upgraded over the coming years. The aim of this paper is thus, in addition to outlining the current organisation of the intelligence and security structures in both organisations, to indicate the future trends in the field of intelligence and security. Kot vsaka organizacija se tudi zveza Nato in EU bolj ali manj stalno spreminjata ter organizacijsko prilagajata novim izzivom in posledično novim prednostim ter nalogam. Obveščevalno-varnostni deli obeh organizacij niso izjema in čeprav radikalne oziroma večje organizacijske spremembe, predvsem zaradi konsenzualnega načina delovanja, niso zelo pogoste ter zahtevajo več časa, se manjše spremembe nenehno dogajajo. V zadnjem času se sicer na obveščevalno-varnostnem področju v obeh organizacijah niso zgodile večje organizacijske spremembe, kljub temu pa se je predvsem znotraj Nata struktura na obveščevalnem področju pomembno kvalitativno dopolnila. Dopolnitev se je zgodila zato, da se k bolj aktivni vlogi pri izmenjavi obveščevalnih podatkov z zavezništvom (še močneje kot v preteklosti) vključijo poleg vojaških oziroma obrambnih tudi civilne obveščevalno-varnostne strukture držav članic. Podoben, čeprav manj očiten, trend je potekal tudi v okviru obveščevalno-varnostnih struktur EU. Vzporedno z zaključevanjem operacij v Afganistanu, s počasnim stabiliziranjem razmer na Zahodnem Balkanu, predvsem pa kot posledica novih/starih izzivov, ki jih povzročajo razmere v povezavi z Ukrajino, postane jasno, da se bo obveščevalno-varnostna struktura v obeh organizacijah, zlasti pa v Natu, v naslednjih letih dodatno spreminjala in izpopolnjevala. Cilj prispevka je poleg prikaza trenutne organiziranosti obveščevalno-varnostne strukture v obeh organizacijah napovedati prihodnje usmeritve na obveščevalno-varnostnem področju.

THE PROBLEM OF THE EU INTEGRATION OF THE BALKAN COUNTRIES AND THE EU ENLARGEMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE VALUE MODEL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

2021 ◽  
pp. 176-193
Author(s):  
Svetlana Knyazeva
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
Individual Member ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Balkan Countries ◽  
The Eu

The article examines a wide range of the problems associated with the boundless enlargement of the European Union which makes it possible to place the Balkans in the context of general European development. To become a member of the EU is the important goal of the post-socialist countries of the Balkans/South-Eastern Europe. Bulgaria, Romania, and the post-Yugoslavian states of Slovenia and Croatia became full members of the EU. Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania are still at different stages of integration into the European community. This accession is the logical completion of the processes of social, political, economic and legal transformation of the Balkan countries, in which they themselves and the European Union as a whole and its individual member states are interested for reasons of geopolitics and geoeconomics. However, the accession to Europe (or the return to Europe) of the Balkan states with their authoritarian and socialist past includes not only the reform of the economic, political and legal systems, but also a change in value orientations. While in the states of the so-called «founding fathers» of the EU a Western European corporate civic identity is being formed, in the countries of the former Eastern Europe and the Balkan region, ethnic identity remains remains largely in the mainstream of public consciousness. The author examines axiological, ideological and psychological aspects of the accession of post-socialist countries to the EU, and also analyzes specific foreign policy problems associated with this process and the role of regional international organizations in the «europeanization» of the Balkans and in the settlement of ethnic and interstate conflicts in the region that still remain acute. Negative tendencies, first of all - the strengthening of populist sentiments and the coming to power of politicians reflecting these sentiments, pose challenges and threats not only to the European Union, but also to Russia.

Analysis of the Dutch Crisis Response System in the Context of the Common European Union Resilience

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-64
Author(s):  
Chris van Duuren ◽  
Tomasz Zwęgliński
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
System Development ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Individual Member ◽  
Civil Protection ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Future Challenges ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Eu

The increasing integrity of the European Union member states is more and more regarding the security and civil protection aspects. On the other hand the priority in responsibility for the safety and security is still in the domain of the sovereign states. It means that the individual states of the EU are responsible for designing and managing their own security and civil protection systems. However, the integration processes within the EU trigger a significant need for an increase of common understanding of the individual member states’ philosophies, approaches and systems utilized in the domain of security and civil protection. Only then if we understand how the others work, we are able to assist them in a crisis or disaster. Therefore, it is highly important to share and understand each other’s systems between member states. The article presents the Dutch approach to national risk assessment as well as organizational aspects of internal security system applied in the Netherlands. It also suggest the future challenges which are at the near horizon of the system development.

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