European Union Delegation Research Articles

Prospects for integration and Obstacles to democracy - EU’s role in the Albanian political crisis

Abstract More than three decades after the totalitarian regime collapse, Albania is still categorized as a hybrid democracy despite having made consistent strides toward becoming a liberal democracy. Most local political leaders have remained antagonistic towards liberal democratic principles. In 2019, relations between the European Union (EU) and Albania were at a special stage of development. After a difficult period and tensions in the EU, the European Council decided to postpone the decision to start membership talks with Albania and North Macedonia. Apart from this issue, Albania had other challenges in 2019, including institutional and political conflict, justice reform, the fight against corruption, and the consolidation of democratic structures. This article examines the intricate connections that Albanian political representatives and institutions maintain with foreign organizations and entities. It specifically highlights the role that the EU Delegation played in mediating the political and institutional crises of 2019. Although the external incentives models provide a useful foundation for understanding Albania’s Europeanization process, other factors that may be relevant and encourage the ongoing democratization and rule adoption are indicated by the country’s low membership credibility.

Prospects For Integration and Obstacles to Democracy. Eu’s Role in The Albanian Political Crises

More than three decades after the totalitarian regime collapse, Albania is still categorized as a hybrid democracy despite having made consistent strides toward becoming a liberal democracy. Most local political leaders have remained antagonistic towards liberal democratic principles. In 2019, relations between the European Union (EU) and Albania were at a special stage of development. After a difficult period and tensions in the EU, the European Council decided to postpone the decision to start membership talks with Albania and North Macedonia. Apart from this issue, Albania had other challenges in 2019, including institutional and political conflict, justice reform, the fight against corruption, and the consolidation of democratic structures. This article examines the intricate connections that Albanian political representatives and institutions maintain with foreign organizations and entities. It specifically highlights the role that the EU Delegation played in mediating the political and institutional crises of 2019. Although the external incentives models provide a useful foundation for understanding Albania's Europeanization process, other factors that may be relevant and encourage the ongoing democratization and rule adoption are indicated by the country's low membership credibility.

The EU Trust Fund for Colombia: Valuable lessons for hybrid peacebuilding

AbstractMotivationThe European Union (EU) Trust Fund has supported the implementation of the 2016 Peace Agreement in Colombia. It represents innovative funding that goes beyond the classic parameters of the so‐called “liberal peace”—that is, imposing a standard formula of guaranteeing security and public order, promoting electoral processes through a party system, and fostering economic openness and free markets.PurposeWe analyse the planning, financing, and operational mechanisms of the Trust Fund to identify those elements that encourage or constrain co‐operation for peacebuilding; elements able to integrate and complement the agendas, actors, and dynamics at international, national, and local levels.Methods and approachThe article is based on the ongoing support of the Trust Fund for over four years, including an extensive documentary review, participation in numerous events and meetings, and making more than ten field visits to the Fund's intervention areas. More than 50 interviews were conducted with ex‐combatants, local leaders, and representatives of the EU, public institutions, and civil society organizations (CSOs).FindingsThe Trust Fund has tried to build peace at local and territorial levels. It has proved an assertive and pluralistic instrument, innovating in inter‐institutional co‐ordination, political dialogue, and articulation at the local level. This has not only been visible strategically, but also technically by developing innovations with a high potential for adaptation or scaling up; for example, public access to project progress indicators, the widespread use of third‐party funding to distribute resources to the weakest or most isolated CSOs, and inclusion of the territorial approach in project design and intervention logic.The Fund has been limited, however, by a context in which peacebuilding initiatives have tended to come from central government and donors, rather than from local actors. The government (of President Duque) was reluctant to implement the entirety of its commitments to peace: the EU Delegation was equally reluctant to challenge the government over this.Policy implicationsThe experience of the EU Trust Fund in Colombia can provide valuable ideas to support peace processes elsewhere, to enrich the EU's position and approach to managing and resolving armed conflicts. New instruments, such as the “Team Europe Initiatives” or the “Neighbourhood, Development and International Co‐operation instrument – Global Europe,” focused on multi‐stakeholder co‐ordination and international partnerships, can benefit significantly from lessons learned in Colombia.

EU public diplomacy in the United States: socio-political challenges & EU delegation agency

ABSTRACT The European Union (EU) relies substantially on public diplomacy (PD) activities to sustain its international reputation, with the EU delegation in Washington playing a central role in the United States (US) context. The EU’s PD in the US is of particular significance, and a quite complex undertaking given structural as well as agent-based challenges. How have socio-political structural changes and the EU delegation’s agency influenced EU PD in the US? Based on interviews with EU PD practitioners in the US as well as policy documents, this article evidences structural constraints such as changing institutional configurations in the US and EU, political polarization and misinformation. In terms of the delegation’s agency, the use of local intermediaries and digital PD is examined, highlighting the multiplicity of objectives, as well as the outreach strategies used to approach audiences. Finally, it critically discusses the EU’s PD impact in the face of increasingly complex objectives and challenges to measure its impact. Overall, it suggests that while the EU delegation has aimed to adapt to the political and communicative environment it operates in, its (over)reliance on digital PD in order to engage a diverse and increasingly polarized public may compromise the effectiveness of its activities

The EU Delegation Sarajevo as an Organisational Proxy of the EU’s Administrative Co-governance

Summary This article argues that by using the European Union Delegation (EUD) in Sarajevo as an organisational proxy, the EU creates tools allowing it to participate in the enhancement of external administrative co-governance in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Inspired by the organisation theory approach, this article conceives of the EUD Sarajevo as a hybrid organisation. Such organisations are defined as a product of a combination of two sovereign organisations pursuing a common interest. They recombine multiple institutional logics, stimulate institutional change and spark innovative practices. The conceptualisation of the EUD Sarajevo as a hybrid organisation offers analytical insight for understanding the EU’s role in the society of states and allows us to theorise more concretely about the impact that a non-state actor has on the transformation of the institutions of diplomacy and sovereignty, which are foundational institutions of the international system of states.

Mapping of groundwater potential zones in the drought-prone areas of south Madagascar using geospatial techniques

The southern regions of Madagascar have the country’s lowest water supply coverage and are highly vulnerable to drought. Access to potable drinking water is a major challenge for the local population. Chronic droughts lead to annual emergency appeals to save the lives of acute malnourished children. UNICEF’s response consisting in providing potable drinking water through the drilling of boreholes has been challenged by the complex hydrogeology, the low yield of boreholes and high-level salinity of water, the lack of reliable groundwater data and the weak capacity of the drilling sector. These constraints result in a high rate of drilling failure. To improve drilling success and provide more potable drinking water to local communities, it is vital to undertake reliable groundwater investigation.UNICEF Madagascar and the European Union delegation in Madagascar collaborated on the use of satellite imagery to improve sector knowledge and access to safe and clean water for local communities in southern Madagascar. The methodology relies on produce thematic layers of groundwater potential areas. Later, these thematic layers were overlaid with ground-based hydrogeological data to map the groundwater potential zones (GWP) and identify the most suitable sites for borehole siting and drilling. Findings of this study are very encouraging, and the integrated approach used has proven its applicability in mapping groundwater potential areas in the eight drought-affected areas of south Madagascar. The groundwater potential zone map is being used by UNICEF and partners to plan water supply projects and identify the best sites for positioning new boreholes and reduce the likelihood of drilling failure. Additionally, the project developed a database of groundwater resources, which will improve knowledge of the regional hydrogeological context and strengthen the capacity of the water sector. Lessons learnt from this study show that an integration of the groundwater potential zone map with demographics and water demand information will help identifying priority areas for detailed studies. Moreover, a capacity building activity is required for knowledge/technology transfer to the Ministry of Energy, Water and Hydrocarbons (MEEH), allowing the possibility of scaling-up this integrated approach to the rest of Madagascar. Finally, strengthening the capacity of the MEEH and refining this approach as suggested above will certainly help in the pursuit to improve equitable access to safe and clean water for households located in the drought-affected areas of southern Madagascar, allowing them to be more resilient to the effects of climate change.

The Death Penalty: Arguments For and Against

In October 2014, Ambassador and Head of the European Union Delegation to Zambia and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Mr. Gilles Hervio, authored an article entitled “Against the Death Penalty,” which was featured in various news media outlets, including Zambia Weekly. In the article, Mr. Hervio urged Zambians and the Zambian government to seriously consider the prospect of providing for the abolition of the death penalty in their country’s new Republican constitution. The “death penalty” or “capital punishment” is a contentious issue worldwide. By definition, it is the lawful infliction of death by government authorities as a form of punishment for very serious crimes, such as murder, espionage, treason, economic sabotage, large-scale drug trafficking, aggravated robbery, and other serious felonies. Over the years, there have been calls and a sustained and resolute effort by opponents of capital punishment to rid the world of such punishment because, according to Mr. Hervio (2014), it “represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity.” This article is an attempt at making a contribution to the topical issue of capital punishment. The remainder of the article is, therefore, devoted to a survey of the following themes: (a) murder versus other crimes; (b) the arguments for and against the death penalty; (c) guidance on the subject of capital punishment from several religious denominations; (d) the issue of prison escapes; and (e) a few observations regarding the death penalty. The article also provides a summing up at the end.

Changing Trends of the European Development Cooperation with Pakistan: Challenges and Opportunities

A partnership plan for the Horizon 2020 programme was finalised between the European Union (EU) delegation and Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) visiting Pakistan in November 2017. Aimed at promoting a more binding single market for research, innovation and knowledge, the Horizon 2020 is basically a financial instrument. It is a flagship initiative to secure Europe’s global competitiveness by steering economic growth and to help generate more opportunities for employment. The programme also anchors on a unanimous keystone for cooperation by both the European leaders and members of the European Parliament. Pakistan and the EU have always celebrated cordial political, economic and trade relations. As one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners and the biggest market for the Pakistani exports, the EU-Pakistan trade reached €10.49 billion in 2015.[1] Since January 2014, Pakistan has also benefitted from the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) and its exports to the EU are encouraged even further. However, with the shifting political paradigms in the post-Brexit period and the rise of the right-wing nationalist/populist syndrome, Brussels is changing. Amidst rising economic crisis and growing terrorism, solutions look dim or problems would at least take time to faint. The future shape and character of the EU are in question. The EU’s insistence to help Pakistan with its aim of supporting on its path towards inclusive and sustainable growth needs revamping. Pakistan’s five major priority areas of governance, local development, economic growth and trade, humanitarian assistance and regional cooperation are significantly dependent upon the support of the EU.

Social Housing for Women Heads of Household in Congo Brazzaville

The results of the 1974, 1984 and 2007 general population censuses show a remarkable growth of women and girls compared to men and boys. Among the population are many single women, divorced and widowed, who are heads of their own households. The chronic urban housing crisis in Congo and the lack of a functional principle for the development of collective social housing only surprise Congo’s decision-makers and development partners. However, how can vulnerable female-headed households be housed in order to permanently eradicate gender inequality and repair the damage caused to women? This article reviews the status of women and the current urban housing situation from four perspectives, including: household type and size, housing content and surface area per member. Based on a literature review of population survey data, the study proposes three main types of social housing for female-headed households, with areas ranging from 25 m2 to 90 m2. Thus each household member benefits from between 8.50 m2 and 12 m2. The European Union delegation to the Republic of Congo, the creation by the Government of the Congolese Housing Bank (BCH) and the Sino Congolese Bank for Africa (BSCA) are a major asset in the fight against poverty and the improvement of people’s living conditions.

Success factors and criteria in the management of international development projects

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the results of a survey that aims to explore and identify the European Union (EU) Development Cooperation project success factors and criteria and explain the relationship between the critical success factors (CSFs) and project success as perceived by the project managers and team members of the organizations participated in the survey. Design/methodology/approach – The research followed interpretive research philosophy, abductive approach, survey as a strategy, a cross-sectional time horizon and questionnaire as data collection instrument. It also employed exploratory design to identify CSFs and explanatory design to explain relationships between success factors and project success. Both primary and secondary data were used to gather data. Unstructured interviews were conducted with the project team members of EU delegation to Ethiopia, government organizations and NGOs while the secondary sources of data included extensive review of literature. Findings – Using principal component analysis the study identified a specific set of four CSFs for projects funded by EU: intellectual capital, sound project case, key manpower competency and effective stakeholder engagement. Moreover, the descriptive statistics of the survey highlighted five critical success variables: clear policy of donors and recipient government, strong local ownership of project, effective consultation during planning, high motivation and interest, and compatible rules and procedures. The study ranked relevance, impact, effectiveness, sustainability, and efficiency according to their level of importance by the participants of the survey. Research limitations/implications – The research is temporally, spatially, and contextually delimited to EU funded projects from the period 2010 to 2014 that are completed and still ongoing. Moreover, the current study focusses only on aid projects funded by EU in Ethiopia which might limit its generalizability into ID projects in developing countries funded by bodies other than EU such as World bank, United Nations and its different bodies, African Union, Japanese government to mention some. Social implications – The current study has clearly identified intellectual capital which covers social capital as the most important success factor for projects funded by EU in Ethiopia. Accordingly, the study underscored the importance of securing continuous support from all stakeholders and holding effective consultations of stakeholders during planning, implementation and closing phases of EU funded projects. Originality/value – The study identified new CSFs specific to projects funded by EU and the incompatibility in the perceived importance of project success criteria among different stakeholders implicating differences in the priority they set.

A matter of balance: the European Union as a mediator in Yemen

The mediation efforts of the European Union (EU) Delegation in Yemen started with the uprising in 2011 which led to the conclusion of the National Dialogue Conference in 2014. This article examines the EU's understanding of mediation vis-à-vis its practice. The case of Yemen lends itself to trace EU mediation capabilities from the implementation of the “Concept on Strengthening Mediation and Dialogue Capacities” to a more systematic approach because the Mediation Support Team (MST) of the European External Action Service took office in 2011. Building on an analytical framework of mediation as a tool of EU foreign policy, this article demonstrates how EU mediation presents itself along a political and a technical dimension. The collaboration of the MST and the EU Delegation personnel in Yemen fostered an increase in mediation awareness. However, it could not develop its full potential as the UN Special Advisor sidelined the EU and other members of the Group of Ten Ambassadors through his proactive approach. Despite those difficulties of standing up to established actors in the field, this study argues that EU mediation is about balancing its political and technical dimension. For now, the political seems to outweigh the craft of mediation in the case of Yemen.

Infrastructural projects implementations challenges in Ghana

The lack of efficient systems in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies to analyze and report on both Government and donor funded infrastructural projects has hampered the rate of infrastructural project implementation in the country. To make matters worse, the challenge of MDAs having to deal with different reporting rules, multi DP procurement processes and lending conditions have been overwhelming, eating up scarce administrative resources that could be put to better use. This study sought to investigate the role of administrative, leadership, and project management competencies in infrastructural project implementation challenges in Ghana. It provides appropriate recommendations to relevant stakeholders, such as the government, Private Sector, development partners, and relevant NGOs. The research covered six key sectors, namely: the Ministries of Finance and Economic Planning; Roads and Highways; Local Government and Rural Development; Energy; Transport; and Water Resources; Sanitation, Works and Housing. It engaged six key development partners (both bi lateral and multilateral agencies) namely the World Bank; Chinese Republic, African Development Bank; German Development Agency (KfW); the French Development Agency, and the European Union Delegation. The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MoFEP) was the main fulcrum of this study.

NOAA and EUMETSAT agree to continued cooperation

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) have agreed to continue their long‐term cooperation on satellite‐based weather monitoring. NOAA acting administrator Kathryn Sullivan and EUMETSAT director general Alain Ratier signed the agreement at a ceremony at the European Union Delegation in Washington, D. C., on 27 August.

Keeping the Agents Leashed: The EU’s External Economic Governance in the G20

The functioning of the external economic governance of the European Union (EU) hinges on the functioning of the internal economic governance structure to ensure cohesion between the EU’s external voice and its internal actions. Consequently the debate has focused almost in its entirety on the internal aspect of economic governance reform. This article, swimming against this current of economic governance analyses, examines the EU’s external economic governance in the G20 during the Great Recession using a principal–agent framework. More specifically, it argues that although the terms of delegation in the G20 are incomplete and open to the agents’ interpretation, two important sources of agency control limit the discretion of the EU delegation. The system of multiple agents with its inherent inter-institutional rivalry and the presence of the G20/EU members ultimately increase the control of the collective principal at the cost of presenting a unified EU position. At the same time the current design of the EU’s external economic governance has fuelled tensions between the EU and underrepresented developing countries. Along similar lines, looking at the possibilities of interest representation, the terms of delegation, with an unequal collective principal, are biased towards large and powerful EU/G20 member states. On the basis of probit analyses it is argued that these states are likely to oppose the increased delegation that would enable the establishment of an external economic governance.

Enhancing Civilisational Dialogue between Malaysia and the European Union

Cooperation between the European Union (EU) and Malaysia started with the 1980 European Commission-ASEAN Agreement which has made it possible for Malaysia to benefit from a number of ASEAN and Asia-wide cooperation programmes. The EU Delegation to Malaysia was opened in 2003 and since then dialogue, policy interaction and cooperation with both federal and state authorities, the Malaysian and EU business community as well as the civil society has increased progressively. Moreover, Malaysia is also the EU’s second most important trading partner in ASEAN. No bilateral preferential trade arrangements exist between Malaysia and the EU, but under the new Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), in force since January 2006, the share of Malaysia’s merchandise exports to the EU eligible for preferential treatment rose from 16 per cent to 81 per cent. Over 70 per cent of Malaysia’s exports to the EU now enter duty-free. Malaysia records a trade surplus with most EU Member States.