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The topicality of the neighborhood Europeanization through ENP is undoubtful, particularly due to the fact that the Republic of Moldova has taken a claimable European integration direction and is striving to fulfill the requirements stipulated in the EU-Moldova Association Agreement. The paper aims to provide an overview of both the theoretical aspects by defining and explaining the concept of Europeanization and the background of ENP and how these concepts are practically realized in the attempt to achieve the Europeanization of the Republic of Moldova and understand what bottlenecks should be tackled in order to make a better use of this policy in its pursuit of the European goal. A special attention is allocated to the assessment of the citizen perceptions about EU in general and EU-Moldova relations in particular, common beliefs that have been created among citizens with reference to the EU and the role of the EU as a key player in the Eastern Neighbourhood in general and Europeanisation of the Republic of Moldova. A survey was applied on 173 respondents. Results show that in general Moldovan citizens have a positive belief about the EU, are aware about the EU financial support Moldova received so far and consider EU as a reliable partner from which Moldova has a lot to learn in terms of democracy, law supremacy, human rights and economic development.

In the light of domestic coordination processes in federal states, this article deals with the interplay of domestic governmental and non-governmental actors in the development of a German position for negotiations in the EU youth policy field. The qualitative single-case study is embedded in the evaluation of the German implementation of the EU Youth Strategy (2010-2018). It focusses on the roles, mutual perceptions, conflicts, and resulting action strategies of the different actors involved in the domestic coordination processes. In doing so, the article adds to the debate on Europeanisation and domestic coordination processes in federalist states by facilitating an understanding of the extent to which differing framework conditions of a specific policy field at the domestic and EU-Level can influence domestic policy coordination and its bottom-up processes. The analysis reveals a discrepancy between the intentions of the actors to work together based on a multi-level governance approach, and a reality in which the Federal Ministry assumes a gatekeeper function. The problems following this discrepancy can be explained on the one hand by different perceptions and expectations the actors have towards the coordination process and on the other hand by a lack of a youth policy culture of debate. The article shows how these problems lead to different action strategies by the domestic actors and the use of different pathways to bring their interests to the EU level. Simultaneously, the findings show that these different strategies of action can successfully lead to a stronger German position, provided these pathways are used in a coordinated manner. The analysis shows that a domestic coordination process involving both governmental and non-governmental actors from different levels working together on an equal footing by using a multi-level governance approach, can only function in federal policy cooperation processes when the actors focus on content-related discussions rather than formal forms of cooperation.

Some of the challenges that the study of Unamuno’s work presents is its prolixity and the enormous variety of themes that it brings together. Besides, as for the essay part, in its publication the tendency has been to disseminate it in different journals, both national and international. This has led to some texts being forgotten for decades, outside of the Complete Works, and, finally, not taken into account in the different studies on Unamuno’s work. In this paper, we rescue a forgotten text, «Más sobre la europeización», and we study it along with its precedent, «Sobre la europeización», analyzing the common points with Del sentimiento trágico de la vida. With this textual study, we present the need to complete Unamuno’s Complete Works to guarantee a more precise approach to his work, not only from a genetic perspective, but also from a comparative one.

Educational practices are instrumental in the transfer of European values beyond EU borders. Our aim is to problematize Europeanisation through education in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries by studying the promotion of EU studies in higher education projects funded by the Erasmus + programme. The paper discusses the educational dimension of Europeanisation in EaP countries from three interrelated perspectives - social constructivism, the Foucauldian concept of governmentality and a post-structuralist reading of centrality and marginality. We specifically focus on a series of international projects developed by the University of Tartu (Estonia) in partnership with other EU-based and non-EU universities from the EaP. We used qualitative data from reports of 4 EU-funded cooperation projects and also students' views obtained in 2 focus groups that explored how the EU is taught and discussed. In the end, the added value of the article is that it offers a critical view on teaching the EU in the Eastern neighborhood, focusing on nuanced local perspectives on the challenges of Europeanisation through education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores whether the lead candidates process for the European Commission's Presidency (Spitzenkandidat) increases the Europeanisation of national public spheres to a certain extent. National public spheres are likely to be Europeanised when simultaneous discussions of the same topics take place across member states and under the same criteria of relevance. Focusing on the media-related public sphere, the research employs quantitative content analysis and qualitative frame analysis in the German, Luxembourgish, French, Belgian, Spanish, Italian, Greek, and British press for the 2014 and 2019 European elections. While in 2014, the salience of the Spitzenkandidat process was relevantly high, despite certain country- and media-specific variations, in 2019, the press coverage dropped off by almost half. At the same time, most of the selected newspapers reported on the issue using the same criteria of relevance, namely, similar frames and meaning structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past 25 years have seen an unprecedented Europeanisation of the structures and governance in football across the continent. A European (and global) transfer market for players and managers has become the norm and a pan-European league system has been established that regularly exposes supporters to transnational competitions and players from all over Europe. At the same time, manifold typologies of football fans have been established, distinguishing groups of fans based on, for example, fan intensity, fan behaviour or their attitudes towards different actors in the field. The attitudes towards Europe and the self-identification of these fans within Europeanised football have not played a role in any of these typologies so far. This paper steps into that void and develops a typology of football fans in (Western) Europe that takes their attitudes towards Europeanisation as a point of departure. Based on data from an online survey among fans of first league clubs in England, France, Austria and Germany, two dimensions are identified as key categories: the intensity of fandom, and fans' attitudes towards Europeanisation – which here manifests as a divide between the national/local belonging versus appreciating diversity and transnational spaces/developments or more succinctly, a divide between cosmopolitanism and communitarianism. Our analysis uncovers the existence of four types of fans: occasional cosmopolitans, occasional communitarians, frequent cosmopolitans and frequent communitarians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Mülkiye Dergisi is the property of Mulkiye Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An environmental frontrunner in the Central and Eastern European regions since the late 1990s, Hungary followed a gradual but steady approximation progress to the EU environmental legislation. Previous research established an important role of the participation of economic and societal stakeholders in the decision-making and implementation process based on EU environmental legislation in Hungary. With the victory of the FIDESZ party in the parliamentary elections of 2010, the new government started to change the 'rules of the game' by nationalising infrastructures and weakening market access to foreign stakeholders. Focusing on the water and waste management sectors, the article analyzes the stages that brought Hungary to the recent governments' policy changes. We argue that these changes have departed from the environmental policy practices established during the EU accession process and represent a challenge and a potential backsliding in the implementation of the EU environmental legislation in Hungary. Such changes in policy policies need to be seen in the context of the recent transformation of the political order and of the state–market relations in Hungary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines the interacting role of processes of state transformation – namely, devolution and Europeanisation – in the development of Scottish nationalism. It draws on the concept of 'member statehood', examining how relationships within nation states have been transformed by the European dynamic. Superficially, Scotland seems to contradict central aspects of this theory: the main citizen mobilising response to Brexit has been in Scotland and aimed precisely at restoring a notional Scottish popular sovereignty by re- joining the EU. However, an analysis of Scottish political development reveals a more complex picture putting state transformation theories in a more sympathetic light. Scottish independence emerges as a complex, contradictory response to post-neoliberalism and the crisis of member-statehood. While Europeanism has proved a useful tool for competing forces in Scotland, it has been refracted through problems of a 'democratic deficit' and claims for the 'restoration' of sovereignty appealing to disenchanted voters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anti-gender actors in East-Central Europe (ECE) too claim that gender is an ideological colonization. In this article, in contrasting these accusations with actually existing power relations of the global and European gender architecture, I discuss whether they are – at least to some extent – based on social realities. Neither anti-gender campaigns nor the rise of illiberal forces are ECE phenomena per se and should not be treated as such. However, the relevance of the geopolitical embeddedness of gender equality policies, of gender studies and of feminist and LGBT politics needs to be analysed thoroughly in order to better understand the right-wing discourse. This paper offers a theoretical explanation, based on existing empirical studies and critical theoretical literature. Focussing on the four Visegrád countries, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, it attempts to demonstrate the specific drivers of the anti-gender mobilization in this region and argues that anti-gender discourse is a right-wing language of resistance against existing material and symbolic East-West inequalities in Europe.

This article examines the developments around the application of the Twinning modality in Serbia, from 2004 to 2019, its sectoral distribution and impact, and the frequency of EU member states’ participation. Besides providing an accurate state-of-play, it attempts, for the first time in the literature, to map the influence of member states in Serbia’s EU accession process through their participation in Twinning projects. Findings show that, in the given period, more than half of the Twinning projects dealt with the justice and home affairs and agriculture policy areas. This is in line with the importance attributed to those sectors in EU and Serbian strategic documents. The article focuses on a macro-analysis of such projects in Serbia, revitalising their link with the wider Europeanisation process. More specifically, the identification of specific aspects of the Europeanisation process takes place through Radaelli’s approach. Furthermore, political and economic relations between Serbia and EU member states, which are viewed as Europeanisation facilitating factors and goals, are also discussed, e.g. through bilateral trade and the influx of Foreign Direct Investments.

By bringing together the literatures on Europeanisation and minority studies, this article illustrates the centrality of actors representing national minorities as a key to understand Europeanisation of minority politics today. Minority politics is becoming Europeanised indeed, however, not in the ways commonly expected. And although the EU repeatedly fails to develop a clear minority policy, an actor-centred approach adopted in this study helps to reveal how minority actors extend their political strategies to the European level through different channels and how they exploit various opportunities stemming from European-level politics. Jacquot and Woll's concept of 'usages of Europe' not only enables us to trace how actors multiply channels and arenas of participation, but it also helps to spot the emergence of tactics of experimentation with European-level norms and rules, contributing to an acquisition of new roles among minority actors and supporting an actorness formation among those active. As the actors engage in criticising EU institutions, they develop tactics of responsibilising which in turn affects their minority agendas and the actors themselves. In this respect, this study contributes to developing the weakly studied literature about minority agency and Europeanisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Teorija in Praksa is the property of Teorija in Praksa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

By tackling shared problems through concerted policies, the European Union (EU) is thought to have a superior output legitimacy. However, EU policies change as they are being 'customised' during the implementation process. How do such patterns of 'differentiated implementation' affect EU governance in practice? While some studies highlight the danger of 'watering down' the objectives of EU law, others emphasise the role of decentralised problem-solving. We analyse how customisation affects states' practical compliance with EU anti-discrimination, environmental, and justice and home affairs directives in 27 member states (excluding Croatia) between 2007 and 2013. The findings show that customised density (higher number of rules than prescribed by the EU directives) reduces practical compliance. Conversely, customised restrictiveness (stricter requirements than the EU directives) improves practical compliance. In contrast to earlier implementation research, we conclude that literal implementation is not the best form to ensure practical implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is about the main framework and the rationale of the special issue, which deals with Turkey's increasing ethno-religious, pragmatic and complicated involvement and activism in the Balkans since 2002, under the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi – AKP). The main focus of the Issue is how the intersectionality between domestic and foreign policy has played an important role in Turkey's recent relations with the Balkan countries and how the Europeanization process influences this relationality. The overall claim is that religion, ethnicity and kin politics as indispensable components of identity politics, have the capacity to transform Turkey's foreign policy attitudes as well as the orientations of the Balkan countries and the impact of the processes of Europeanization and de-Europeanization on the relationship between Turkey and the Balkans needs to be included into the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper focuses on powers’ dissolving effects brought by Eastern Partnership Association agreements, signed with Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, to associated states’ governance systems and practices and the development of associations’ institutions and procedures. To that end, the research utilizes the concepts of “ungovernance” and “global ungovernance” that, in the authors’ view, possess significant explanation potential in the field. The paper reviews the emergence of said concepts, which may be traced back to the mid of 1990th. It emphasizes the main features of those concepts concerning both national states and transnational institution-building projects. The dispersion of powers due to the implementation of association agreements is caused by the extension of obligations far beyond those needed to implement the DCFTA and binding the market access with progress in other fields. Such agreement’s design brings the notions of “uncertainty” and “inconsistencies” into assessing the institutional and procedural issues of its implementation. The paper also analyses the side-effects of the lack of accession perspective, which, combined with extensive obligations towards approximation to the EU legislation, creates an “impossibility of closure” effect (i.e., impossibility to reach objectives set). Such an effect happens due to unclear goals and discouragement of actors involved in the implementation because of the absence of future membership guarantees. The paper also suggests that the implementation process’s failures may result in significant institutional and procedural rearrangements within the association agreements’ frameworks to adjust the governance mode to cope with such failures.

European Parliament resolution of 9 June 2016 and ReNEUAL Model Rules on EU Administrative Procedure constitute two attempts to answer to the lack of transparency and protection of citizens’ rights in decision-making process before administrative bodies. Despite that, EU still has not adopted a legally binding act regulating administrative proceedings before its all authorities. The key for understanding this situation is a constitutional shape of EU institutional system with Commission as the biggest administrative power which blocks legal initiative at that field. It brightly contrasts with a long tradition of codification of administrative procedure in the vast majority of member states. Furthermore, nowadays we have to deal with a new wave of codifications. That arrives not only to countries with well-established achievements but extends on those usually reluctant to that kind of provisions. The analysis of factors which led to current state of affairs requires therefore the extensive use of comparative and historical method. However, the results of research can have a crucial importance for understanding of EU administration and may be used in future for amelioration of procedural law.

As part of former Yugoslavia and non -members of the Eastern Bloc, Slovenia and Montenegro enjoyed a special status and relationships with the European Communities (EC) before most other socialist countries. Economic and social interactions with the EC and its member states thus formed part of Slovenian and Montenegrin life even during socialism, particularly after Yugoslavia signed special agreements on trade relations with the EC in the 1970s and 1980s. In this respect, Europeanisation as ‘practical’ integration with the EC was closely linked with liberalisation processes concerning the economy, society and politics along with democratic transition processes that began in the late 1980s. When Slovenia joined the European Union (EU) in 2004 following a relatively smooth integration process, Montenegro was still holding EU candidate member status, after having officially started its accession negotiations in June 2012. The article analyses selected development and integration aspects of Slovenia and Montenegro, their relationship with the EU, together with their similarities and differences. The aim is to highlight developments in both countries and determine whether Slovenia, as an ex -Yugoslav republic and EU member since 2004, may serve as a good example for Montenegro to follow while pursuing European integration.

The end of the Cold War resulted in an unprecedented geopolitical situation in Europe, presenting a challenge to the security in the continent and the integration achieved so far. The only solution to this geopolitical problem was the integration of the post-communist Central and Eastern European countries (CEE) into the European Union (EU). The CEE countries therefore had to undergo deep societal reforms, while simultaneously pursuing a new foreign policy agenda away from the orbits of Russia. The EU was perceived as a solution to all existing problems. The results of the research conducted in Bulgaria, presented in this article, demonstrate that preparation for meeting the membership criteria which on the surface seemed to correspond to the aims of the transition, substituted the due structural reform. Thus, the EU accession instead of being an instrument for achieving sustainable long-term goals, became an end goal in itself, as if it would be an international testimony of a successful transition. The reforms carried out became a formality, were partial and superficial, and therefore reversible. As a result, the rule of law is deteriorating, and we can observe a facade democracy.

BEven though the European Union’s policy for regional development addresses higher education institutions, there is little research on the relationship between EU regional and higher education (HE) policies. To account for the role of EU regional policy instruments such as the European Territorial Cooperation programmes, i.e. Interreg, in fostering EU HE policy, this paper adopts a theoretical framework that unites assumptions of top-down and bottom-up Europeanisation. Two cooperation initiatives, located in the Greater Region and around Lake Constance, reveal the impact of Europeanisation on cross-border cooperation (CBC) among HE institutions. The data of 34 semi-structured interviews conducted with various stakeholders at the locations of the two initiatives and in Brussels demonstrates that Interreg alters actor constellations and interests in cross-border contexts. When conceived as an opportunity structure, Interreg may foster the CBC efforts of HE institutions. Given that Interreg also displays a constraint, HE institutions attempt to contribute to both EU regional and HE policy development.

The European Union (EU) has established a major role in directing policy change both internally and beyond its borders, a phenomenon known as Europeanisation. This article examines the Europeanisation of water policy in Turkey in relation to implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). Although some principles of EU water policy have been adopted in Turkey, the WFD has also been subject to significant domestic modification, prompting questions about how and why such patterns of partial implementation occur. In this respect, learning and socialisation within transnational 'instrument constituencies' (ICs) is shown to be an important explanatory factor. It follows that diffusion of EU water policy and the WFD beyond its borders may be enhanced by promoting the capacity for instrument constituency learning – or the 'cognitive environment' – in non-EU countries.

It was expected that the increasing coverage of EU affairs in national public spheres would lead to a greater sense of European belonging. The Internet was expected to foster this process. However, these expectations do not square with the current political climate of identity politics and the revitalisation of nationalism. How can this incongruence between theory and reality be understood? An intervening variable has added an unpredictability to the mix: information disorder. It is our view that this theory needs revising to include other intervening variables such as social media and information disorder. In this article, we argue that the current dynamic of Europeanised political communication is likely to compromise the civic and vertical components of EU-identity.

EU transformative power is put into question and constantly challenged by the political actions of leaders in the Western Balkans. Although the political elites in this region have internalised a pro-European discourse, they are still guided and governed by authoritarian logic and practices colliding with the EU’s governing model. The paper analyses precisely this relationship between the EU and internal politics, namely, the transformative power/powerlessness of the EU towards the aspiring countries for membership in a single dimension; namely, justice. The paper reviews the reforms developed and the effects they have produced in the justice system in a calculation relation: costs and benefits. In this logic, this paper analyses costs and benefits of the internal elites of the Western Balkans, representing a classic oxymoron. On the one hand, pro-EU discourse is superficially used and, on the other, substantive actions are far from the EU’s governing model. The central argument emphasises that the reform process in the region has turned into a repetitive system of itself and destined to fail right from the beginning. So, we see a loss in reforms and plunging into a vicious circle, whereby each time elements increase and intensify but deteriorate one another, inevitably leading to the deterioration of the situation and producing multidimensional corruption.

The aim of the study is to offer an image of Spanish science and education in the works of Czech travellers of the nineteenth and early twentieth century, especially Ota Pinkas, Jaroslav Guth, Václav Kybal, Josef Müldner, Jan Rambousek, Karel Čapek, but also others. The study focuses on those characteristics of Spanish intellectual environment which Czech travellers (and others) perceived as ‘specifically Spanish’. We examine the issue of Spanish ‘otherness’, Arab knowledge and its influence on Spanish culture, Spanish mysticism, irrationalism, alleged fanaticism, and the so-called ‘abulia’ and their relation to the nature of scientific knowledge. In the context of discussions on Europeanisation of Spain and controversy about the existence of a Spanish science in the Renaissance, we also examine Czech descriptions of the Spanish Golden Age and reflections on the need of Europeanisation of Spanish knowledge. Although in some respects, the views of Czech intellectuals coincided with contemporary opinions regarding the nature of the ‘Spanish spirit’, they neither questioned nor denied the importance or even the very existence of Spanish Renaissance science. Instead, they tended to present them, from a historical perspective, as unique and worthy of attention.

The article analyses the dynamics of Europeanisation revolving around the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) in Latvia. Whereas the document has not yet been made a part of EU acquis communautaire, the EU has committed to applying the norms enshrined in the Convention by any means, not least through the EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025. The discussion on the repercussions of the implementation of the Istanbul Convention in Latvia’s legislation has occupied a noteworthy place in the discussions of the national parliament of Latvia (Saeima) since 2016. The article first uses critical frame analysis and defines the most important issue frames, document frames and metaframes that are employed by different political parties/politicians and Ministries/Ministers when talking about the Istanbul Convention to promote or refuse the ratification of the document. The article shows how the camps for and against the ratification draw on different and often opposing issues, documents, and meta-frames to substantiate their arguments. Next the article applies two models of Europeanisation: the external incentives model and the social learning model. The article concludes that the social learning model is better positioned to explain the non-ratification of the Convention, mostly due to exclusive national identity and the lack of resonance of the Convention in Latvia. Whereas some liberal-centre political parties are framing the ratification of the Istanbul Convention as aligned with Latvia’s commitment to European values, the framing by national-conservative players which argues that the Istanbul Convention is not in line with Christian values, has borne more fruit.

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The Roma community has a very long and interesting history in connection with the European space. For hundreds of years they have walked through different countries, having shared their cultural values in each country they stayed. Some have managed to include some of their values into their own cultural traditions, others had a more conservative way of living and did not consider the Roma people as one of their own. In order to resolve some of these issues, the European institutions have offered the Roma community and its people a new identity, one that comes with certain privileges that will surely help them develop. By offering them the status of European minority, the people of Roma origin enter a new form of living, based on common values that are shared through every state in the European context, described as the Europeanisation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Synergies Roumanie is the property of GERFLINT (Groupe d'Etudes et de Recherches pour le Francais Langue Internationale) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Croatian & Comparative Public Administration is the property of Institut za Javnu Upravu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)