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European Attitudes in Eastern European Countries After the Economic Crisis

Author(s): Fabio Serricchio / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This paper analyses the determinants of people’s support for the European institutions, mainly focusing on the impact of European identity, after the economic crisis in Eastern European countries and in a moment in which – after a profound uncertainty for its immediate future – there is a new feeling toward the European integration. Previous research on the support for the European institutions, before the economic and financial crisis which had hit Europe since 2008, has found that people’s evaluations followed mainly an instrumental logic – support being contingent on a perception of personal/national benefit accruing for EU membership – with an additional role played by European identification. This contribution expands the analysis after the beginning of the economic crisis, so to assess whether the former has affected the structure of such support, and deepens the analysis of the impact of EU identity on European Institutional confidence. Using a recent Eurobarometer survey (88.3, Autumn 2017), the paper shows that European identity plays a crucial role in explaining European support also after the crisis.

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Which European Union for the 21st century? Assessing Reform Options

Author(s): Vihar Georgiev / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

A plethora of reforms was proposed in the last years to solidify European integration and address existential challenges within the EU. Some claim that more integration is the answer, whilst others insist that the European Union needs more of ‘variable geometry’. Current key reform proposals and suggested approaches are examined from three perspectives – efficiency, adequacy, and legitimacy. The three perspectives are used to deliver a holistic and comprehensive analysis of the proposals within a theoretical framework of institutional sustainability. Using these perspectives, the paper is going to illustrate how proposed reforms appear to be logically inconsistent and/or strategically misaligned. The paper proposes an outline of key reform issues to guide further the EU-wide debate.

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The New Approach of the European Union in Accession Negotiations – the Focus on Chapters 23 “Judiciary and Fundamental Rights” and 24 – “Justice, Freedom and Security”

Author(s): Aleksandar Andrija Pejović / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The so-called New Approach to negotiations was introduced in 2012. It was a new mechanism in dealing with one of the policies of the European Union that had already undergone a substantial change. It focuses on the rule of law and the two chapters 23 and 24 as the central chapters of the negotiations putting them as the balance indicator against all other chapters of the acquis. This new tool was sought after by a number of Member States, but also by those in the European Commission that wanted to show that the Enlargement Policy is functional and delivering results as well as to protect its own credibility. Since 2012 the New Approach has been implemented on Montenegro and Serbia and is yet to be seen how it will be applied once the other candidates open their accession talks.

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Геополитически предизвикателства пред Западните Балкани

Author(s): Sonia Hinkova / Language(s): Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

The report analyses the nature and the dynamics of the spatial interests and policies of important factors in the contemporary international relations (EU, USA, Russia, Turkey and China) through which their spheres of influence in the Western Balkans are outlined. The paper presents the tools and approaches (strategic, economic, political and cultural/religious) through which those countries protect their geopolitical interests in the region and in the six Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro).

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From Macedonia to Northern Macedonia: How (not) to Solve the Macedonian Name Dispute

Author(s): Zhidas Daskalovski / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

In the early 1990’s Greece blocked the international recognition of the Republic of Macedonia under that name and is currently blocking accession of this country to NATO and EU demanding name changes which the government of Skopje refuses to adopt. The Macedonia name dispute is a clash over historical narratives and the right to claim origins of the Macedonian ethnic group and nation today and in the ancient past. For Greece, the key element is winning the argument over the legitimacy of ancient Macedon as a Greek state and not having the name Macedonia used by its northern neighbour. For the Republic, the intricacies of the ancient history are only instrumental to the recognition of the country under its constitutional name and the unblocking of the Euro-Atlantic integration. An Agreement between the governments of the two countries has been reached to “solve” the dispute. In the agreement Macedonia gives up on the name Macedonia and leaves ancient history of Macedon as a Greek patrimony. A political solution was reached with the Macedonian government essentially giving up its position in the dispute for the Euro-Atlantic integration. EU conditionality has worked in the case of Macedonia although the internal stability might have been endangered for a long period as a result.

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Европейската перспектива на Западните Балкани: приносът на София

Author(s): Antoniy Galabov / Language(s): Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

Sofia will continue to be the largest and the fastest growing city on a regional scale in the upcoming decades which will have an increasingly significant impact on the western and part of the southern Bulgarian border areas. The existing expertise and the growing economic potential of Sofia play a decisive role in the realization of the goals of the European cohesion policies and the improvement of the quality of life for the local communities, including in the border regions.

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The EU Western Balkan Strategy: Enlargement Perspective or Unrealistic Expectations

Author(s): Hristina Runcheva-Tasev / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The much-awaited Western Balkans Strategy entitled “A credible enlargement perspective for and enhanced EU engagement with the Western Balkans” comes eighteen years after the introduction of the Stabilisation and Association Process for this region. The Strategy aims to provide a credible enlargement perspective for the Western Balkans besides the fact that still the candidate countries are far from membership. The paper gives critical explication of what “credibility of enlargement” actually means in practice and if there is a realistic perspective for membership of the candidate countries of the Western Balkans by the projected year 2025. There is a disagreement among the EU foreign ministers over the projected year of integration, but the front-runners according to the Commission's assessment are Serbia and Montenegro, while Albania, Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia could join later. The Strategy does not leave a lot of space for optimism because it detects the key issues that have to be targeted, such as poor rule of law performance, organized crime and corruption at all levels of government and administration, etc. Besides that, it emphasizes on the non-functioning market economy among “Western Balkan Six”. And last but not least is the key issue of adopting binding solutions for bilateral disputes prior to their accession, which means that the Greek-Macedonian name dispute should be solved before the accession, without offering involvement of any EU Member States. The Strategy fails to address the idea of grouping countries of the Western Balkans as a whole and offering a package for membership, but instead, it favors individual accession of countries. Besides the good opportunity for the Balkans, the Strategy does not spread much optimism for the region.

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„It Is Not Only The Economy, Stupid“ – The Importance of National and European Identity for the Future of Europe

Author(s): Eckart D. Stratenschulte / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The European Union has always been a political project, using the economy as instrument to reach the political goals. Therefore, a European identity is of utmost importance for the success of the European integration process. European identity is not the contrary of a national identity but the result of the combination of national identities. The French philosopher François Jullien recommends replacing identity differentiation, which is always exclusive as well as inclusive, with the concept of distance. According to this concept, differences in cultures are certainly taken into account, but they are not used for exclusion, but to construct a greater common whole.

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Миграцията като лакмус: Общата европейска система за убежище и бъдещето на ЕС

Author(s): Ildiko Otova / Language(s): Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

This paper presents the recent and emerging challenges to the Common European Asylum System. The author pays special attention to the circumstances related to the wave of people seeking protection and asylum in 2015 and presents the genesis of the European asylum system dating back in the ‘70s. the article discusses institutional issues as well as vulnerabilities of the Common European Asylum System. The research concludes that although being an attempt for joint solidarity efforts, the Common European Asylum System was dominated by the national interests and, in some cases, might have led to accelerating populist trends.

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Between Promise and Delivery – Fundamental Rights in the EU

Author(s): Jovan Andonovski / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This year we are marking the eleventh year of the establishment of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights. Since there is too much wrong out there, marking is the proper term instead of celebrating the anniversary. Human and fundamental rights are on the pedestal of the European Union and we have to admit that a lot has been done. However, facing the future, still needs to be done. The aim of this article is to indicate the current state of play and to propose ideas for the future role of the FRA (Fundamental Rights Agency), consistency in application of the Charter of fundamental rights of the EU, as well as commitment and communication of the importance of the human rights and freedoms. The specific goal of this article is to bring closer the fundamental rights framework in principle and fundamental rights outcomes in practice.

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Европейският енергиен съюз като фактор за укрепване на Европейския съюз

Author(s): Svetla Boneva / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The aim of this report is to present the essence, the main dimensions and the issues accompanying the formation of the European Energy Union. To achieve this goal, the following research tasks have been performed: the main goals of the Energy Union and the measures set by the European Union for achieving these goals have been systematized and analysed; a summary and analysis of major scientific publications on the topic is presented; the research methodology based on the content analysis is defined in concrete terms; the results of the research and discussion on them are presented. The main thesis defended in the paper considers the importance of the issue in the context of the contemporary aspirations for the decarbonisation of the European economy. The European Energy Union sets specific goals and new mechanisms for managing European energy, climate and environmental policies. The Energy Union foresees closer coordination of the actions under these policies at both EU and member states level which would lead to greater synergies of the efforts and convergence of the achievements in the energy field for the whole European territory. The establishment of the European Energy Union would be conditional upon reaching a new level of energy partnership across the EU where the competition would give way to cooperation. This is how the formation of the Energy Union would lead to strengthening of the EU.

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Foreign Policy Positioning of the Western Balkan Countries in the Context of the EU Enlargement Strategy by 2025

Author(s): Dragan Đukanović,Marjan Gjurovski / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Taking into account the European Union's strategic commitment to accelerate the accession of the Western Balkan countries for membership by 2025, as formulated by the Special Strategy (since February 6th, 2018), this will necessitate a significant change in the foreign policy of this group of countries. While Albania and Montenegro have managed to fully harmonize their foreign policy with the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, this does not fully refer to the rest of the Western Balkans countries. Namely, Serbia and Macedonia as candidate countries and Bosnia and Herzegovina have failed to achieve a full harmonization of their foreign policy with the European Union in the preceding years and especially after 2014. This especially refers to Serbia, which, besides Montenegro, is perceived in the context of the mentioned strategy as a country that will gain full membership of the European Union by 2025. However, due to the strengthened influence of the Russia and China, it did not adequately harmonize its activities regarding Chapter 31 (the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union). This is all in the shadow of the end of the process of normalizing relations between Serbia and Kosovo, which is a crucial condition for accelerating this process. A similar situation is with Macedonia, which, thanks to the previous government (VMRO-DPMNE), distanced itself considerably from the EU and NATO membership. To a certain extent, the same conclusion can be drawn when it comes to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where there is an evident disagreement among the most important political actors regarding the foreign policy activity and the positioning of the country. On the other hand, according to the EU Enlargement Strategy by 2025, further progress in the context of Kosovo’s membership may be achieved only with the consent of all Member States, including those that have not recognized Kosovo's independence.

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Unchanged and Unanswered Challenges Ahead of Stormy Period

Author(s): András Inotai / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This paper focuses on key external and internal challenges the European integration is facing. Three factors have to get particular attention, which are likely to influence the EU’s developments in the next and most probably crucial period of the integration. Accelerated globalisation with increasingly contradictory developments and, more importantly, accompanied by highly controversial and dangerous national reactions (policy measures) does not exclude serious conflicts and collisions in the next period. Even the best informed and experienced strategic analysts, policy makers and decision-takers are unlikely to be prepared to successfully face the „triad” of challenges: complexity, interdependence and interdisciplinarity. In other words, global and European developments reveal a highly complex structure, the understanding and answering of which requires in-depth professional knowledge and socio-psychological empathy. Due to the rapidly increasing interdependence, substantially accelerated after the global crisis of 2008 and involving not only trade but almost all areas of economic activities (services, capital flows, monetary system) each „national” decision generates regional and/or global consequences, with repercussion on the decision-makers. Finally, the impact of political decisions does not remain within the direct political framework, but has economic, social, institutional, regional, psychological consequences as well.

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National Interests in the EU Eastern Enlargement – Key Lapse in the Academic Literature

Author(s): Mirela Veleva-Eftimova / Language(s): Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

In February this year, the European Commission presented a Strategy for reliable perspective of enlargement and enhanced engagement of the EU to the countries of the Western Balkans. In this way, the European Commission (EC) formalized the inclusion of the topic of enlargement in the Union's agenda, which was not foreseen at the beginning of its mandate. From the content of the strategy, it becomes clear that for some of the countries from the Western Balkans, the progress on the path to EU membership depends not only on the implementation of the pre-accession conditionality, but also by the emergence of favorable circumstances. Kosovo has the opportunity ... to accelerate its progress on the way to the EU, when objective circumstances are present. This formulation was the logical result of the resistance on the part of EU countries which do not recognize Kosovo’s independence and therefore the inclusion of the country in the perspective of enlargement. The unequivocal refusal of Greece to agree to the name of Macedonia, which for a long time predetermines the impossibility of opening membership talks with Skopje, illustrates the fact that the emergence of favorable circumstances is of critical importance for the European prospect not only of Kosovo. In both cases, the positions of the EU Member States in question are determined by the specific national interests. In short, the European perspective of the countries of the Western Balkans highly depends on the national perspectives of the EU countries, both regarding the degree of prioritization on the agenda of the Union, as well as the formulation and implementation of the specific strategic approach.

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Политиката на разширяване на Европейския съюз в контекста на „Европа на различните скорости“

Author(s): Emilia Georgieva / Language(s): Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

The report examines the history and future of the enlargement of the European Union in the context of the "multi-speed Europe" idea. The experience gained during the previous enlargements of the EU (including its Eurozone) is summarized as a main point of reference, especially after the enlargement with the countries from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and Southeast Europe (SEE) as it was found that not all of them "participate in the same levels of integration". The European Union is very much expected to face the same problem in the next accession of new countries from the Western Balkans region, especially given the fact that they significantly differ in their political and socio-economic development; the speed at which they progress; the desire to overcome the legacy of the past and finally resolve their disputes.

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The “Multi-Speed Europe“ – a Reality, Solution and to Discontent of Some – a Necessity

Author(s): Dorin-Mircea Dobra / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The 1990s are the years that bring about a possible differentiated integration. The new waves of EU membership put European decision-makers in the position of thinking about future integration efforts. Those who can do more and want this will not be able to wait for those who still have to solve nuances of social and economic references. The multi-speed Europe already exists but the domains will multiply, besides the “Euro zone” and “Schengen”. “The multi-speed Europe” represents a necessity of evolution, it can even represent a solution to European problems, although it may also deepen existing discrepancies.

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Бъдещето на европейската езикова политика в контекста на Брекзит

Author(s): Dimitar Pehlivanov / Language(s): Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

Brexit will not have a direct and immediate impact on European language policy - the power, the influence and the momentum of the English language, which had began long before this process, are too strong, fueled by powerful factors both inside and outside Europe, to anticipate a rapid change. The EU will be in the paradoxical position of having a leading official language that is not an official one in any of the member states. The process of imposing a new European Lingua Franca is rather long, and no language currently has the capacity to take the place of English, and further to that the influence of a language is evolving according to rules which cannot always be legally regulated. However, the UK's inability to influence the use of English will accelerate the already initiated development of its specific variant, called Euro-English.

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Комуникиране на Българското председателство на Съвета на Европейския съюз

Author(s): Gergana Radoykova / Language(s): Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

Bulgaria has concluded its first Presidency of the Council of the European Union. It is quite logical for politicians and analysts to being their attempts to summarize and evaluate the presidency as each group brings a different nuance to the vision and interpretation of this key for our country period. There is another view, however, which is in fact the most important in the whole picture - how citizens perceive the processes that are taking place, what is their assessment of the many events hosted by our country.

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Civil Society and the Preparation for the Presidency of the Council of the EU in Romania. The “EU-RO 2019” Forum

Author(s): Miruna Andreea Balosin / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Employers’ organizations, trade unions, academic and professional organizations, as well as other civil society formats or associations of local authorities can play an active role in the process of preparing and implementing the EU Council Presidency. In this context, strengthening the dialogue and cooperation between the government and the non-governmental environment holds particular importance. Romania is trying to find the best method to reach the European topics of interest. The use of a Forum, to verify those topics of interest, represents a new challenge for the Romanian Government that still dreams of a method that can bring together, under the same roof, all the above-mentioned actors and express their views regarding not only the national, but also the European issues.

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Behavioral Insights in EU Policy Making – Innovation in Government

Author(s): Ljubinka Andonovska / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This paper aims at analyzing the application of behavioral insights to the policy of a supranational regulating body and the way in which the opportunities, challenges and approaches are similar or different in terms of the interpretation in individual governments around the world. Dual process theory is examined in respect to its usefulness in informing policy and an analysis is made regarding policy areas where it might exhibit most effectiveness. Examples are presented of behavioral insights principles and instruments built in specific policy and regulatory documents. Finally, concerns are raised in relation to the libertarian paternalism approach, transparency and ethics of the policy initiatives informed by behavioral insights.

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