European Union Eastern Enlargement Research Articles

Is there an East–West divide on democracy in the European Union? Evidence from democratic backsliding and attitudes towards rule of law interventions

ABSTRACT Perceptions of an East–West divide in the European Union (EU) with regard to democracy have led to re-evaluations of EU eastern enlargement as a policy failure and militate against further enlargement. This article examines the accuracy of narratives of an intra-EU East–West divide on democracy, in which the western member states outperform the eastern members, and in which the former support, and the latter oppose, rule of law (RoL) interventions by the EU in member states engaged in democratic backsliding. The article considers two aspects of a potential democracy divide: the quality of democracy and attitudes towards RoL interventions. It draws on several quantitative indicators for a more comprehensive assessment of intra-EU democracy divides and uses set-theory to identify different in- and out-groups that demarcate such intra-EU divides. Although different indicators and different conceptions of set-membership reveal to varying extents East–West patterns, none fit with a clear regional divide. It is more fruitful to conceive of these differences as a continuum, with (currently) a small group of (western) member states at one end and a small group of (eastern) members at the other, and most member states in distinctive sub-groups in-between.

Emigrant external voting in Central-Eastern Europe after EU enlargement

The European Union's Eastern Enlargement of 2004–2007 triggered a large wave of migration. While the influence of Central-Eastern European (CEE) migrants on Western European politics has been studied, the impact of outward migration and political remittances “sent” by expatriates remain unexplored, despite the salience of democratic backsliding and populist politics in the region. We ask how external voting among migrants differs from electoral results in homelands over time, drawing on an original dataset gathering voting results among migrants from six CEE countries in fifteen Western European host countries. Using models estimated with Bayesian ordinary least squares regression, we test three hypotheses: two related to the disparity of diaspora votes from homeland party systems over time; and one to the ideological leanings of diasporas. We observe a growing discrepancy and note that diaspora votes follow the ideological fluctuations in the country of origin but distort it, with CEE migrants voting for more liberal and more economically right-wing parties than voters ‘at home’.

Economic impact of the EU Eastern enlargement on New Member States revisited: The role of economic institutions

Abstract The paper analyses the economic implications of the accession of New Member States (NMS) to the European Union (EU) in 2004 and 2007. The estimation effects of integration with the EU were carried out as a comparative case study using the synthetic control method (SCM) proposed by Abadie and Gardeazabal. Compared to previous studies analysing the effects of accession to the EU (Campos, Coricelli and Moretti), we check for the importance of the quality of economic institutions for the matching process of the analysed economies with their comparators. The results of the econometric analysis show a positive impact on the country performance 6 years and 12 years after accession to the EU. The gains from accession are large but not universal. For 5 of the 10 analysed countries the difference in levels of per capita gross domestic product (GDP) against the counterfactual is at least 30%.

European Union enlargement: material interests, community norms and anomie

1 Introduction Part I Theory Test: Eastern and Southern European Union Enlargements 2 Theoretical Perspectives on European Union Enlargement 3 European Union Eastern Enlargement 4 European Community Southern Enlargements Part II Theory Building: Anomie and Diffuse Decision Contexts 5 The European Union's Liberal Identity and its Constitutive Norms 6 German Unification, Maastricht and the Prospect of a Wider Europe 7 Solving the Double Enlargement Puzzle: Opportunities and Constraints in Diffuse Decision Contexts 8 Conclusions

EU Eastern Enlargement :Economic Effects on New Members 2000~2012

The European Union (EU) has a splendid record concerning enlargement. Judging by the increasing number of EU member countries, enlargement has been the most successful EU policy ever. The economic side of its eastern enlargement is, however, a hybrid bag of effects for the EU`s eastern countries because membership in the EU is not a tide that lifts all boats. This article, as a statistical primer, provides consistent data for the period 2000~2012. Majority of data is from Eurostat, where the data on eastern EU member countries are scattered around in various parts of Eurostat database. In the effort to present the data in a consolidated and straightfoward way to reveal the real economic effects on enlargement on the new EU member countries, we took the task to cherry-pick the relevant data. It shows that economic growth, expansion of trade, and increase in foreign direct investment to the east of the EU are obvious gains for the new eastern EU countries. That said, it entails costs. The size of domestic and foreign debts have been accelerated to finance their successes. Our concern is that this debt burden stands a chance of suffocating the newly acquired economic vigour especially at a time when one is anxious about the future of the eurozone and the EU.

Eastern Enlargement Ten Years On: Transcending the East–West Divide?

AbstractThis introduction summarizes the findings of nine research articles that examine the consequences of the European Union's eastern enlargement ten years on. The volume reaches three surprising conclusions: since 2004, the EU's economic effects have been more far‐reaching than its political effects; all of the new Member States (NMS) have had problems with democratic consolidation; and, despite four years of intense crisis in the eurozone, both the EU's enlargement and neighbourhood‐shaping efforts have continued. We set these economic, political and institutional developments in the context of the long‐standing east–west divide in Europe, and ask whether EU membership for post‐communist countries upends the continent's traditionally persistent divisions. Notable achievements of EU enlargement notwithstanding, the volume points to the continuing important differences between east and west and highlights the issue areas in which the EU transcends but also reinforces the centuries‐old partition.

Threat Appraisal and Authoritarianism in Context: Reactions to the European Union Enlargement in Border Regions

The present study uses European Union (EU) enlargement as the treatment in a “natural” quasi experiment to analyze the relationship of threat appraisal and authoritarianism. Theoretically it is based on the discussion about the role of contextual variables in the genesis of authoritarianism. Two contradictory perspectives are explicated: the trait model and the situationist model. To test the competing causal hypotheses panel data collected before and after the EU eastern enlargement on perceived threat, authoritarian attitudes, and xenophobia among inhabitants of the German external frontier of the EU (at Wave 1) were analyzed. The use of a cross‐lagged panel design demonstrated that the type of relationship between authoritarianism and perceived threat depended on the kind of threat (material or cultural) that was addressed.

The social construction of European solidarity: Germany and France in the EU policy towards the states of Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific (ACP) and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC)

This article compares the foreign policies of France and Germany in the 1990s towards the European Union (EU)'s special relationships with the countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) on the one hand and the Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) on the other. Whereas France advocated support for ACP interests, Germany supported those of the CEEC. We argue that French and German prioritisations cannot sufficiently be explained by rationalist, interest-based approaches (i.e. neorealism, economic liberalism and institutionalism) and offer a constructivist supplement to fill in the gaps. This approach is based on the concept of solidarity. First, we develop our theoretical concept and identify three principles of solidarity action (i.e. ties, need and effort). We then apply our concept of solidarity to show how French and German policies towards the Cotonou Agreement, concluded in 2000 with the ACP, and the EU's Eastern enlargement process were shaped by different social constructions of solidarity, resulting in strong preferential support for either the ACP (France) or the CEEC (Germany).

Enabling harmonization – Business actors and the eastern enlargement of the EU

In recent years, most enlargement research has focused on theorizing the process of eastern enlargement and analysing the incentives of both the European Union (EU) and candidate member states to initiate a gradual process of legal and policy approximation with the prospect of eventual membership. Although the bulk of the literature draws on bilateral executive negotiations between the European Commission and central governments, there is little systematic account of the role of non-actors in the process of policy approximation with EU standards during the pre-accession negotiations. In light of the enormous economic, political and administrative challenges posed by the EU's eastern enlargement, we raise the question of the extent to which eastern enlargement has provided new opportunities to private actors from the Central Eastern European region to pursue their interests in the process of aligning domestic regulatory regimes to European policies. Drawing on empirical evidence from pharmaceutical harmonization in Hungary and Poland, the article analyses the extent to which enlargement has empowered non-state actors as shapers of success or failure in the efficient and effective adoption of and adaptation to EU regulatory requirements.

A lacking legitimacy in the transposition of the EU's equal opportunity directives: The case of Romania

Synopsis The academic feminist analyses of the European Union's eastern enlargement were also focused on the process' legitimacy. This article argues for an analytical differentiation between legitimacy in reference to an external process – the European Union's enlargement – and as a marker for an internal process, at the national level, of legislative change and institutional building. Focusing on the Romanian case between 2000 and 2004, it analyzes the internal processes surrounding EU-mandated gender equality legislative and institutional reforms, and tests them for legitimacy. It concludes that that internal legitimacy was profoundly lacking and reveals a democratic deficit in Romania.

Beyond conditionality: international institutions in postcommunist Europe after enlargement

According to the dominant incentive-based explanation, European Union (EU) conditionality has been particularly effective when the EU offered a credible membership incentive and when incumbent governments did not consider the domestic costs of compliance threatening to their hold on power. However, after the EU's eastern enlargement the influence of international institutions could then be expected to decrease in three different contexts: (i) the new member states after accession; (ii) the current candidate countries; and (iii) the postcommunist countries in the European neighbourhood policy. Yet although the incentive-based explanation receives support in some issue areas, in others, external influence is more enduring than predicted. To the extent that our understanding of the power of incentives is complicated by post-enlargement findings, there are new avenues for research into the full range of mechanisms that international institutions have at their disposal for influencing target states.

Democracy and Human Rights-Not for Gay People?: EU Eastern Enlargement and Its Impact on the Protection of the Rights of Sexual Minorities

Gays and lesbians in Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) did not have any rights under communism, where homosexuality had either been a criminal offence or, at best, the official attitude towards it could be characterised as repressive tolerance. The development of civil rights and freedoms, which started after the collapse of the communist regimes, did not immediately result in a break through in the sphere of gay rights: "[i]n the midst of the multifaceted transformation of [the CEECs], the status of gay and lesbian residents has undergone varied and dramatic changes and is still in flux." Many hopes for change in this situation were related to the process of enlargement of the European Union (EU) and were fuelled by the belief that the EU would ensure that no country turning a blind eye to the problems related to gay rights and allowing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation would be permitted to join. As it turned out, these hopes were only partly justified. The actions of the EU were timid, ill-focused, and stopped short of realising the potential for change offered by the legal context of enlargement preparation. Such developments can be explained by the limited nature of Community competences in this field, especially true at the very beginning of the enlargement process and which were certainly influenced by the questionable gay rights record of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The EU did not decouple the pre-accession human rights monitoring of the candidate countries from its own internal incompetence in the field of gay rights and the limited scope of the acquis in this area. While the situation improved slightly over the last few years preceding the enlargement, it is clear that the current adopted practice is unsustainable and that the EU should seriously consider allowing gay rights to play a more prominent role in the course of the preparation of future enlargements.

1918 barrier on the road to the membership of the European Union

The European Union (EU) and Serbia?s accession to this international organization in a relatively distant future are linked, in the eyes of the Serbian public, with numerous expectations, dilemmas, misunderstanding fears, joys and periodical manipulations. The topic is important, broad and complex, so there is a need for the basic and understandable explanations. While in Serbia this topic is one of the most important and high on the government?s agenda. In the EU and its member countries, it attracts almost no attention and is not a priority issue. Simply, the EU is concerned with much more important issues, such as its future constitutional system security, energy, globalization, unemployment, immigration, demographic problem (population ageing), monetary union, preservation of the single market and adjustment to the EU eastern enlargement of 2004 and 2007. After introduction to the advantages and problems relating to Serbia?s potential accession to the EU, the attention is turned to the issues that include geopolitical conditions for accession to the EU, legislation and functioning of the EU, as well as its budget. Effects of integration, the EU?s interest in Serbia and Serbia?s interest in the EU are presented before conclusions.

Do norms matter? The principle of solidarity and the EU's eastern enlargement

This article explores whether and how the norm of ‘solidarity' has been demonstrated in the enlargement policy of the European Union (EU) towards the ten former communist countries from Central and Eastern Europe aspiring for EU membership. According to constructivist approaches, which dominate the literature on eastern enlargement, the EU's decision to enlarge was norm-driven and is therefore better understood within a constructivist rather than a rationalist framework. However, this article argues that, while the norm of solidarity has provided some of the initial impetus for the start of the EU's eastern enlargement process, it has had a more limited impact on defining the EU's enlargement policy as regards concrete policy issues. This article aims to contribute to the current debate between rationalist and constructivist theories in European integration by arguing that there is a difference in the degree of influence of normative factors on EU policies when considering long-term — as opposed to — short-term interests. It demonstrates there are limits to the role of norms in the EU's eastern enlargement policy when the focus of analysis shifts from the EU's decision to enlarge to the level of substantive policy issues, where EU actors' short-term interests prevail.

Is Democracy Promotion Effective? Comparing Conditionality and Incentives

Many studies suggest that conditionality is a more effective democracy promotion strategy (DPS) than incentives. This paper confirms the validity of this hypothesis by demonstrating that conditional pre-accession political reforms, required from the eastern and central European applicants by the European Union, have substantially progressed from 1998, while the impact of incentives democratic aid programmes carried out by donors since l994 has proved to be either very modest or non-existent. Then it explains these unequal performances by synthesizing insights provided by the analysis of both DPS processes of implementation, interviews conducted with the European Union Eastern Enlargement negotiators and literature devoted to democratic aid programmes, international co-operation and compliance of states with international institutions norms and rules. On the whole, the study challenges the endogeneous theory of comparative politics according to which 'democracy is a domestic affair par excellence'.

Preface—Monetary and Exchange Rate Strategies for the European Union's Eastern Enlargement

Preface—Monetary and Exchange Rate Strategies for the European Union's Eastern Enlargement

The European Union and the Cyprus conflict: modern conflict, postmodern union

Introduction - Cyprus and the EU as a political and theoretical problem, Thomas Diez. Part one - The context - institutions and strategic visions: Looming shadows - the European Union 's eastern enlargement and Cyprus, Lykke Friis Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean region - security considerations, the Cyprus imperative and the European Union option, Yannis A. Stivachtis Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean, seen from Turkey, Isil Kazan. Part two - Problematising modernity: The Cyprus state(s) in situ - cross-ethnic contact and the discourse of recognition, Costas M. Constantinou & Yiannis Papadakis Self-determination, violence, modernity - the case of the Turkish Cypriots, Necati Polat The multiple dimensions of international peacemaking - UN and EU involvement in the Cyprus conflict, Oliver P. Richmond. Part three - A catalyst to postmodernity?: Last exit to paradise? The EU, the Cyprus conflict and the problematic catalytic effect, Thomas Diez Democratisation in Turkey, EU enlargement and the regional dynamics of the Cyprus conflict - past lessons and future prospects, Fiona B. Adamson The social and economic impact of EU membership on northern Cyprus, Fatma G ven-Lisaniler & Leopoldo Rodriguez Cyprus and the European Union - an opening, Thomas Diez.

The Regional Impact of EU Eastern Enlargement: A View from Germany

Based on a relational concept of regional analysis this contribution emphasizes that European Union (EU) Eastern enlargement will primarily lead to a restructuring or intensification of interregional economic relations. However, it rejects the widespread view that at first the border regions at the present EU Eastern boundary would be affected by Eastern enlargement. This view relies on the problematic assumption that the regions' transnational relations are subject to a logic of geographical nearness. The most important nodes of transnational economic relations in an enlarged EU are not the border regions, but certain regional development centres in the interior of the European economic space. Thus the regional impact of EU Eastern enlargement should be differentiated with regard to different types of regions: Particular advantages come towards the structurally strong regions in the interior of the present EU as well as the accession countries, whereas the structurally weak regions at the present EU Eastern boundary can gain advantages from Eastern enlargement only to the extent that they manage to overcome their endogenous blockades concerning cross-border economic cooperation and a positive attitude of the regions' population towards European integration.

EU enlargement from the Polish perspective

The article presents the issue of Poland's integration with the European Union (EU) in a historical perspective and highlights the current problems of combining the parallel processes of transformation (political, economic and social) and integration with the EU. The example of the Polish ancestors of the European movement are mentioned as well as the struggle to regain a place in the united Europe, from which Poland was cut off as a result of the Yalta Agreement. It is stressed that there is no alternative to economic integration with the EU - as the deep trade diversion after 1989 has shown. The eastern enlargement of the EU will create a large zone of economic stability in Europe, from which western business has already been benefiting, as data on foreign direct investment (FDI) and Poland's huge balance of trade deficit with the EU show. The free (with some exceptions) movement of goods between parties resulting from the Europe Agreement has helped to create new jobs in the EU (especially in Germany, the main trading partner). The strategic goal of security was attained by joining NATO in spring 1999, transatlantic integration being the strongest guarantee of European security as the Yugoslav crisis has shown. EU membership is a much more demanding task than association. It requires a candidate country, still in the process of transition, taking on board the whole body of the acquis communautaire. On the EU side, it will mean transfers from the EU budget of the maximum amounts limited to 4 per cent of the beneficiary's GDP, as Agenda 2000 envisages. The transfers depend on new trends in common policies. The article stresses that approximation of legislation is difficult as the EU acquis is itself in the process of constant change ('a moving target in the fog', as one British author put it). There is a risk that too rapid implementation may lead to losing the momentum of the Polish economy's dynamic growth in a time of growing global interdependence. The greatest obstacles on the EU side may be those of a financial nature. The article stresses that, while the costs of enlargement are public (borne by the EU budget), the benefits are private as they are gained by the businesses already in the region. The EU's eastern enlargement is a difficult task owing to large disparities (in terms of GDP per capita, legislation, infrastructure). The greatest danger, however, may be that the issue has slipped down the agenda of EU priorities with the new political coalitions in power. The spirit of Jean Monnet is missing in Europe.