Small if needed, big if necessary: small member states and the EU’s diplomatic system in Kiev

The European Council's personal, elected and mandated presidency is without a doubt one of the major innovations in the Constitution. It is also its most fought over and precarious novelty. Until the last stages of the Convention, the great majority of small Member States' representatives maintained staunch opposition against the idea. In the end, however, they all reluctantly dropped resistance in the face of the praesidium's intransigence, supported by the major Member States. With its new chairman, the European Council can be considered the great winner among the Union institutions. Apart from becoming a full European institution (Article I-18), it is getting structured leadership. Article I-21 of the Draft European Constitution states that the European President is to be elected by the European Council, by a qualified majority for a term of two and a half years, and cannot serve more than two terms. The President may not hold a national mandate. In order to understand this new function, one needs to look into its origin, powers, strengths and weaknesses.

Download Full-text

The Transposition of the Antitrust Damages Directive in the Small Member States of the EU—A Comparative Perspective

Journal of European Competition Law & Practice ◽

10.1093/jeclap/lpy048 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 496-512 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jurgita Malinauskaite ◽

Caroline Cauffman

Keyword(s):

Comparative Perspective ◽

Member States ◽

Small Member ◽

The Eu

Download Full-text

Lilliput Effect Revisited: Small States and EU Foreign Policy

European View ◽

10.1177/1781685820915375 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 80-87

Author(s):

Jean Crombois

Keyword(s):

Foreign Policy ◽

Small States ◽

Eastern European ◽

Member States ◽

Eu Foreign Policy ◽

Conflicting Interests ◽

Foreign Policy Strategies ◽

Small Member ◽

The Eu

The role of small member states in EU foreign policy is increasingly being challenged, especially in view of the reforms being proposed to make the EU more effective as an international actor. These reforms, if adopted, will require the small Central and Eastern European member states, such as Bulgaria, to rethink their old foreign-policy strategies and practices. Instead of band-wagoning and balancing conflicting interests, these small member states will have to learn to be more proactive, to build their reputations and to form alliances if they want to continue to have any influence on EU foreign policy. These issues are discussed in the light of the EU sanctions adopted against Russia in the aftermath of the Ukrainian–Russian conflict of 2014.

Download Full-text

THE FUTURE OF THE COMMON SECURITY AND DEFENCE POLICY AND SMALL MEMBER STATES

CONTEMPORARY MILITARY CHALLENGES ◽

10.33179/bsv.99.svi.11.cmc.23.3.5 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 67-77

Author(s):

JELENA JUVAN

Keyword(s):

Key Words ◽

European Council ◽

Small State ◽

Member States ◽

Defence Policy ◽

The Future ◽

The Common ◽

Small Member ◽

Common Security

Povzetek Dvaindvajset let po srečanju na vrhu v Kölnu, ki velja za zgodovinsko za SVOP, danes še vedno ne moremo govoriti o popolnoma funkcionalni in operativni SVOP. Prispevek analizira PESCO, CARD, CDP in EDF ter nekatere najpomembnejše težave evropskega obrambnega prizorišča, ki mu primanjkuje skladnosti in ostaja razdrobljeno v številnih vidikih. Države članice še vedno namenjajo veliko več finančnih sredstev za druge varnostne okvire, ki niso del EU, kot je na primer Nato. Prav tako države članice ohranjajo nacionalni fokus na področju obrambnega načrtovanja in v resnici zelo slabo izpolnjujejo dane obljube. Vprašanje je, kaj in koliko v trenutni evropski arhitekturi majhna država članica sploh lahko doseže. Prispevek osvetli vlogo majhnih držav skozi institucijo predsedovanja Evropskemu svetu. Ključne besede SVOP, Slovenija, PESCO, CARD, EDF. Abstract Twenty-two years after the EC meeting in Cologne where the CSDP came to life, we still cannot talk about a fully functional and operational CSDP. This article reflects on PESCO, CARD, the CDP and the EDF, and on some of the main issues in the European defence landscape today, which continues to be fragmented and lacks coherence in several aspects. Member States are still investing more in non-EU frameworks such as NATO, and still retain a national focus in their defence planning, showing very little discipline in meeting the commitments that they have undertaken. The question arises of what a small state can achieve in the current European architecture, if anything. The role of the small state is reflected through the Presidency of the European Council. Key words CSDP, Slovenia, PESCO, CARD, EDF.

Download Full-text