EU Candidate Countries Research Articles

Europeanisation of foreign policy and candidate countries : a comparative study of greek and turkish cases

This paper analyses the processes of Europeanisation of foreign policy in EU member and candidate countries and focuses on their comparison through the Greek and Turkish examples. It firstly presents a theoretical framework on the concept of Europeanisation with respect to the foreign policy realm in the EU. The paper, secondly, differentiates between the Europeanisation processes of foreign policy in EU member and candidate countries, and argues that these two processes can be compared by analysing Greek and Turkish foreign policies towards each other since 1999, when Turkey was declared as a candidate country to the EU. The Turkish and Greek cases are, thus, taken as mirror examples of the Europeanisation processes in EU member and candidate country foreign policies. The paper concludes the result of such a comparison is that these processes in member and candidate countries bear more similarities than differences.

Corporate Social Responsibility in Romania: From Theory to Practice

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is considered as an appropriate tool for enhanced competitiveness of Romanian and foreign-capital companies in the domestic market, but also as a means to improve community responsibility and availability of the locally operating Multinational Corporations and for all large, medium-sized and small enterprises with public or private (Romanian or foreign) capital. As CSR is a new and challenging concept for a post-command economy, a learning process was initiated and fostered by various actors. The paper offers comments on the perception of CSR by local managers and academia as well as considerations on how to implement CSR in the specific business environment of an EU candidate country.

Quality assurance for the diagnostics of viral diseases to enhance the emergency preparedness in Europe.

The threat posed by emerging and re-emerging communicable diseases and, more recently, by the intentional release of infectious agents in a susceptible population, has been receiving considerable attention at the national and international levels. Public health efforts to strengthen disease detection, surveillance and control have been intensified. However, clinicians and clinical microbiology laboratories play an important role in the early detection of disease, the identification of the putative agent, and notification of the appropriate authorities. To be effective in this role, laboratories must be specially prepared to handle viral agents safely, and need, among other things, the appropriate rapid and sensitive diagnostic tests. In 1998 the European Network for Diagnostics of "Imported" Viral Diseases (ENIVD) was established. ENIVD presently comprises, as permanent members, 44 expert laboratories in 21 European Union (EU) member states and 4 non-EU countries and is one of the networks on infectious diseases funded by the European Commission. ENIVD fulfils many of the important tasks required for the surveillance and control of imported, rare and emerging viral infections such as the exchange of expertise and the organisation of external quality assurance (EQA) programmes, both of which are needed to improve diagnostics. Here, we summarise the data generated by recent EQA activities focussed on the diagnostics of infections with hantavirus, dengue virus, filovirus, Lassa virus, orthopox virus and the SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV). These were carried out between 1999 and 2004 and involved 93 laboratories from 41 countries, including laboratories from additional countries outside of Europe. Particularly the EU-candidate countries and Eastern neighbouring countries will be invited to join the network in the near future. A public website is available at http://www.enivd.de.

Formal and Informal Labour Markets: Challenges and Policy in the Central and Eastern European New EU Members and Candidate Countries

The paper aims at comparing the formal and informal labour markets in the Central and Eastern European new EU Member States and candidate countries of the European Union. First, the current situation of the labour market is described, focusing on the recent developments since the breaking up of the East. Then the policy design of these labour markets is depicted and its effects on formal and informal labour markets. The most important challenges for employment policy as well as the effects of enlargement on the labour markets are analysed. The paper ends with a short summary. (JEL J21, J23, H26, H11, O17, O57)

Building Democracy After Conflict: The “Helsinki Moment” in Southeastern Europe

Abstract: After the accession of ten new member states in 2004, the European Union seeks to expand its sphere of stability and prosperity toward the southeast, from Croatia all the way to Turkey. While democratic consolidation and economic development is already underway in Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey, other countries of the region appear to be falling behind. Although the European Union has declared that all these countries share “a common European destination,” the various strategies being pursued to bring them to that destination differ profoundly. Three models may be discerned: traditional capacity-building; authoritarian state-building (in the two European protectorates of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo); and member-state building (in the official EU candidate countries of Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Turkey).

Late Payments in Accession Countries: Causes and International Comparison

In developed countries in everyday business, payment delays often present a problem. Payment delays have already been a matter of discussion in Slovenia for several years. Irrespective of some positive movements in the past years, the state of payment discipline in Slovenia is not at a satisfactory level. In this area, Slovenia could be classified among the less successful countries when compared to other countries in Europe. Our paper determines factors behind this fact. The findings are important not only for Slovenia, but also for other EU candidate countries faced with similar problems of transition. The paper has led to the following conclusions. Firstly, the more indebted companies have longer payment delays. Secondly, the longer the contractual payment period, the shorter the payment delay. Longer payment periods are mostly received by larger companies. And thirdly, the longer the payment delays on the side of companies? buyers, the higher the incidence of late payments by the company. We can therefore conclude, based on our research, that payment delays in Slovenia depend mostly on risks involved with doing business with firms in financial distress, in particular with small businesses.

Development of forest stands condition and its monitoring in the Czech Republic

In 1986, the UN ECE established the International Cooperative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests (hereinafter ICP Forests) to respond on the growing concern about forest damage caused since the beginning of eighties by air pollution load. Pan-European grid of the (ICP Forests) monitoring plots represents one of the most important systems of forest ecosystems assessing and checking. The Czech Republic is unfortunately well known due to this problem and so the country joined ICP Forest Programme since the very beginning. The paper presents general information on Czech forest stand condition that gained through various methods in the past as well as in the frame of ICP Forests. The participation in the International Cooperative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests (ICP Forests) represents a contribution of the EU candidate country to the fulfillment of the Reg. (EEC) No. 3528/86. However it seems that effects and importance of air pollution are decreasing, a lot of new stress situations exists and there is a need for continuing the programme.

Specification of the Notions of National and Own Production As a Broadcasting Policy Concern in New Member States

Because the European Union's (EU) Television Without Frontiers Directive (TWF; 1989) refers only to the notion of European production, broadcasters, especially in small countries with small audiovisual markets and restricted language areas, become aware that the mechanism of protection of national broadcasting space is closely related to the understanding and definition of the notions of national and own production and respective broadcasting practices. This article reveals and discusses some outcomes of a questionnaire-based survey made in Fall 2003 for European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (Shein & Rajaleid, 2003) concerning the problems of implementation of EU media policy standards and TWF Directive requirements into broadcasting practices in new EU member states, candidate, and transition countries. In cultural terms the states in question although abiding the common rules seemed to be concerned that the strive for Europeanization of TV programming tends to some extent to weaken their broadcasting sector's ability and options to protect countries' national remits, their language, and cultural identity. Respondents pointed out that European cultural concerns should be more flexibly justified with options for national broadcasting sectors to build on their cultural concerns. It leads us to the problem of coherence of the positions in construction of European and national TV-broadcasting space and consistency of so called big and small pictures of common cultural needs. This article examines 3 main approaches to the notion of national production-the producer-based, cultural or language-based, and content-based approach from the viewpoints of definition, implementation, and influence on national programming structures. Controversies of the management and operational implications of these positions and their influence on maintaining and strengthening of cultural commons in broadcasting performance will be also mirrored in this regard.

Toward a political economy of culture: capitalism and communication in the twenty-first century

Part 1 Part I Taking Stock of the Political Economy of Communication and Culture Chapter 2 1 Toward a Political Economy of Culture Chapter 3 2 Rise of the Westminster School Chapter 4 3 Making a Molehill out of a Mountain: Sad State of the Political Economy in U.S. Media Studies Part 5 Part II Capitalism, Communication, and the Public Sphere Chapter 6 4 The Marketplace of Ideas: A History of the Concept Chapter 7 5 Capitalism and Communication: A New Era of Society or the Accentuation of Long-Term Tendencies? Chapter 8 6 Kugai: Lost Public Sphere in Japanese History Chapter 9 7 Truth Commissions, Nation Building, and International Human Rights: South African Experience and the Politics of Human Rights Post-9/11 Part 10 Part III Political Economy of Film and Broadcasting Chapter 11 8 Show Me the Money: Challenging Hollywood Economics Chapter 12 9 Fight for Proportionality in Broadcasting Chapter 13 10 Broadcasting and the Market: Case of Public Television Chapter 14 11 Living with Monsters: Can Broadcasting Regulation Make a Difference? Part 15 Part IV New Media, the Information Society, and Other Obscure Objects Chapter 16 12 Capitalism's Chernobyl? From Ground Zero to Cyberspace and Back Again Chapter 17 13 New Media and the Forces of Capitalism Chapter 18 14 Dismantling the Digital Divide: Rethinking the Dynamics of Participation and Exclusion Chapter 19 15 Building the Information Society in EU Candidate Countries: A Long Way to Go Chapter 20 16 Romanticism in Business Culture: Internet, the 1900s, and the Origins of Irrational Exuberance Chapter 21 17 Impact of the Internet on the Existing Media Part 22 Part IV Extending the Boundaries of Political Economy Chapter 23 18 Audiences on Demand Chapter 24 19 Feminist Theory and the Political Economy of Communication

International knowledge and innovation networks for European integration, cohesion, and enlargement*

Nowadays, it is widely accepted that knowledge and learning are the core of competitiveness, international division of labour and agglomeration and exclusion phenomena. Yet we are still in need of a better understanding of the processes which allow access by individual regions both to codified knowledge and RTD networks as well as tacit knowledge and know‐how at the international/interregional level. This paper will discuss possible approaches to analyse the mechanisms which operate at the international/interregional level and lead to higher forms of integration of industrial and service firms, not only in a commercial or financial perspective but also in knowledge and innovation networks. It will point to a need to develop policy strategies in support of institutions that create and transfer knowledge on a European scale and outline open questions for the creation of the necessary institutional background for the creation and the support of knowledge and innovation networks at this level and for the conditions of its transferability to Objective 1 regions and the EU new member states and candidate countries.

Eastern European Attitudes to Integration with Western Europe

AbstractThis article examines attitudes to membership of the EU and Nato amongst countries in central and eastern Europe. Sample survey data are obtained from the Eurobarometer surveys of transition and EU candidate countries. The empirical results suggest that support for membership increases with socio‐economic variables such as in come and education, reflecting self‐interest. But attitudinal variables are also important and, in particular, confidence in the free market economy impacts positively on support for membership. Support for EU membership is not a mirror image of that for Nato, with the differences appearing to revolve around self‐interest.

The Influence of Pre-Accession Status on Euroscepticism in EU Candidate Countries

Abstract Despite some analytical efforts to bring together member and prospective member states into a single model of Euroscepticism (elaborated on by Taggart and Szczerbiak 2001), I argue that to a great extent Euroscepticism in candidate countries governs with its own logic. I contend that the distinction is due to the rather objective context of the status of candidate countries. Within this context, I observe several significant situational aspects that are broadly relevant to all candidate countries in different pre‐accession periods. The discussion of these situations gives us an understanding of the specific form of Euroscepticism in EU candidate countries. It should be mentioned that these situational aspects refer to the entire national discourse regarding membership, yet individual political actors might also internalise them.

Cyp‐Rus investment flows to central and Eastern Europe ‐ Russia's direct and indirect investments via Cyprus to Cee

Abstract This paper deals with Russian investments to ten Eastern European EU candidate countries. Eastern European countries are an important destination for Russian OFDI, and the share of Russia in many CEEC's inward FDI stock is substantial. Russian investments to these countries are mostly connected to the internationalisation of Russian energy sector. Russian oil and gas giants have been actively investing to almost all eastern EU candidate countries. However, OFDI constitutes only a small part of Russian capital abroad, as it covers merely 10 % of the Russian capital flight. Cyprus has been an important landing place for Russian capital flight and is currently the biggest direct investor to Russian economy. Also the investment flow from (or via) Cyprus to other Eastern European countries is relatively big. Significant share of these Cypriot investments are considered to be of Russian origin. This paper tries to anticipate the effects of the legislative changes, due to Cyprus's EU accession in 2004, ...

CYP-RUS INVESTMENT FLOWS TO CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE ‐ RUSSIA'S DIRECT AND INDIRECT INVESTMENTS VIA CYPRUS TO CEE

This paper deals with Russian investments to ten Eastern European EU candidate countries. Eastern European countries are an important destination for Russian OFDI, and the share of Russia in many CEEC's inward FDI stock is substantial. Russian investments to these countries are mostly connected to the internationalisation of Russian energy sector. Russian oil and gas giants have been actively investing to almost all eastern EU candidate countries. However, OFDI constitutes only a small part of Russian capital abroad, as it covers merely 10 % of the Russian capital flight. Cyprus has been an important landing place for Russian capital flight and is currently the biggest direct investor to Russian economy. Also the investment flow from (or via) Cyprus to other Eastern European countries is relatively big. Significant share of these Cypriot investments are considered to be of Russian origin. This paper tries to anticipate the effects of the legislative changes, due to Cyprus's EU accession in 2004, on the role of Cypriot offshore sector as a landing place for Russian capital.

Exclusive Safeguards and Technology Transfer: Subcontracting Agreements in Eastern Europe's Car Component Industry

We study the rationale for the use of exclusivity to protect transfer of technology in subcontracting agreements. The legal possibility arises through the EU Notice on Subcontracting. Empirically, the link between exclusive agreements and technology transfer among firms in the automotive supply industry in EU candidate countries is surprisingly weak, although with exclusive-supply or exclusive-buying clauses in subcontracting agreements upstream transfer of technology is more likely. Exclusive agreements are often reciprocal, and are typically passed on. Downstream firms are more likely to face and use vertical restraints. Technology trickles upstream: Multinational final assemblers transfer more technology than lower-tier suppliers.

The influence of pre‐accession status on Euroscepticism in EU candidate countries1

Despite some analytical efforts to bring together member and prospective member states into a single model of Euroscepticism (elaborated on by Taggart and Szczerbiak 2001), I argue that to a great extent Euroscepticism in candidate countries governs with its own logic. I contend that the distinction is due to the rather objective context of the status of candidate countries. Within this context, I observe several significant situational aspects that are broadly relevant to all candidate countries in different pre‐accession periods. The discussion of these situations gives us an understanding of the specific form of Euroscepticism in EU candidate countries. It should be mentioned that these situational aspects refer to the entire national discourse regarding membership, yet individual political actors might also internalise them.

Exchange Rate Regimes and Macroeconomic Stability in Central and Eastern Europe

This paper explores the impact of the exchange rate regime on inflation and output in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) EU candidate countries. The panel estimations for the between 1994 and 2002 show that de facto measures of exchange rate stability have a better explanatory power than the de jure measures in the inflation and growth equations. For the whole observation the estimations reveal a significant impact of exchange rate stability on low inflation as well as a highly significant positive impact of exchange stability on real growth. When sub-dividing the into a high-inflation (1994-1997) and a low-inflation period (1998-2002) and when removing outliers from the sample, the evidence in favour of a positive association between exchange rate stability and inflation gets weaker. The association of exchange rate stability with higher real growth remains quite robust. Thus our findings can be interpreted to mean that membership of the CEE countries in the European Monetary Union would have a positive impact on these countries' growth rates.

Labour Market Flexibility and Employment Protection Regulation in the Baltic States

There is increasing pressure for the flexibility of labour markets both in current EU member states and candidate countries. The paper aims to estimate the strictness of employment protection regulation, one of the most relevant aspects of labour market flexibility, and the degree of its actual enforcement, for the Baltic States. For the studies on CEE labour markets the novelty in our approach is that we use information from the applicable legislation as well as on the coverage of labour legislation and the practice of law enforcement. The analysis shows that, though overall EPL strictness is close to the average of EU countries, individual and collective dismissals are relatively heavily and temporary forms of employment relatively weakly regulated. Still, the effective flexibility is increased by larger share of less protected workers and problems with law enforcement, which may be the reason why employers’ estimates on the flexibility differ somewhat from the flexibility of formal legislation. The employment protection legislation seems not to have influenced the level of unemployment in the sample of CEE countries. However, it is possible that labour markets of Baltic States will become more rigid if the law enforcement improves, with possible adverse effects on labour market performance.

European Integration, Productivity Growth and Real Convergence

This paper derives a stochastic endogenous growth model that investigates the impact of European Union integration on convergence and productivity growth. We deviate from the general strand of literature by not only deriving a theoretical model for the effects of integration on the rate of economic growth, but also by using more appropriate estimation techniques. The outcome of a series of panel and structural break tests examining the accession process of five recent members to the Union generally show improved rates of productivity growth and convergence to EU standards. We then draw from the experience of these recent members to derive implications for the first-round EU candidate countries. Subsequent tests on the first-round candidate countries find a high level of heterogeneity in growth rates, and a fast-paced convergence to EU standards.

Host-country Absorption of Technology: Evidence from Automotive Supply Networks in Eastern Europe

This paper provides an analysis of technology transfer in automotive supply networks in six EU candidate countries with important vehicle (component) industries. We survey more than 400 firms, representing roughly half of the automotive supply industry. In addition, we have in-depth information from 39 case studies. We address the generation, the origin, and the quality of technology transfer. In terms of generation, we look at the determinants of who receives technology along the value chain, and who passes it on. In terms of origin, we compare local and foreign-owned firms and those with mixed ownership. We also compare differences across the countries. In terms of quality, we discuss the change-inducing effects of technology as perceived by recipient firms. Our results confirm the salience of networks and the key role of MNCs for the generation and diffusion of technology. We also find that diffusion of technology happens within the countries so that host countries absorb more technology than is immediately apparent and commonly believed.