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Polazeći od pozitivnog iskustva uključivanja osnovnih načela Kopenhaških pristupnih kriterijuma (1993) na postkomunističku političku i ekonomsku demokratizaciju u prostoru srednje-istočne i baltičke Evrope, Ijan Maners je odredio ‘evropsku normativnu moć’ kao sposobnost Evropske unije da širi svoj međunarodni uticaj putem normi, pre nego putem političke moći svojih država-članica. Autor navodi da je, od početka ispoljavanja zamora za proširenjem sredinom 2000-ih, relevantnost evropske normativne moći u opadanju, te da je realpolitika ponovo postala osnovni faktor odlučivanja u spoljnoj politici Evropske unije. U nedostatku jasnih izgleda za pristupanje Evropskoj uniji, brojne političke inicijative vezane za stabilnost i bezbednost Zapadnog Balkana (ZB) ostale su bez većih rezultata. Autor zaključuje da je naglo ‘uvećanje’ procesa proširenja nakon ruske invazije na Ukrajinu (i to na zemlje koje su u manjoj meri nego ZB ispunjavale norme i standarde članstva u EU) dodatno potkopalo evropsku normativnu moć u korist (slabe) političke moći i realpolitike u odnosu s tim zemljama. takav pristup nema dobru perspektivu da obezbedi regionalnu stabilnost, efikasno promoviše mir i demokratiju, niti pruži mapu puta ka članstvu u EU.

This study examines the impact of EU membership on tourism in Croatia, one of the most important economic sectors in the country. Using the counterfactual synthetic control method, the causal effect of EU membership on overnight tourists in Croatia in the period from 2013 to 2021 is estimated. The results suggest there is a large, positive, and long-term effect of the EU joining on overnight visitors in Croatia, with European tourists being the main contributors to tourism growth. In the period before COVID-19, the maximum discrepancy between the observed number of tourists and the synthetic value was achieved in 2017, with Croatia receiving an additional 3 million visitors, or 23 percent more than the value of the synthetic. Although these results are context-specific, the resemblance of Croatia to some EU candidate countries provides insights into possible tourism outcomes of integration in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Russian invasion at the beginning of 2022 forced many Ukrainians to find refuge in safer places. Using unique survey data collected in the early days of the war, this research note turns to Ukrainian refugees’ opinions in two host countries: Germany and Poland. We are interested in how this – otherwise hard-to-reach und so far understudied – group of people evaluated their country’s potential European Union (EU) accession at that very specific moment in time, whether there existed differences in perceptions between the interviewees in the two countries, and what the predictors might have been. Overall, our findings indicate that the Ukrainian refugees interviewed generally supported Ukraine's accession to the EU, with no significant differences observed between the two host countries. Furthermore, both utilitarian and identity-driven factors played minor roles in shaping support for a future EU membership. These insights are not only valuable for academic research but also hold relevance for political stakeholders at both national and EU level.

In this article, the Association Agreements of Greece, which signed the first association agreement with the European Economic Community (EEC), and then Türkiye, which signed a similar agreement, were compared. It has been argued for a long time that the Athens and Ankara Agreements concluded by the EEC at that time were alike agreements, and that the Ankara Agreement was even “inspired” by the Athens Agreement. This article tries to reveal that although the aims and purposes of these Agreements are similar, they diverge considerably when examined closely both in spirit and wording. It is understood that the protection shown and the political support given to Greece played an important role in the major difference in their functioning and speed. The argument of the article is that the Athens Agreement was prepared from the very beginning by the EEC to bring Greece to full membership as quickly as possible. Indeed, thanks to this agreement, Greece entered the customs union with the EEC in 1968 and became a full member of the Union in 1981. The Ankara Agreement with Türkiye, on the other hand, appears to be a derivative agreement very close to the Athens Agreement at first glance, but it is an agreement with different important clauses and a “deliberately” weakened regulative power. As a result, the Ankara Agreement, which is still in force and forms the legal basis of the relations of Türkiye with the EU, neither at the time it was signed nor today has the proper content to carry Türkiye into full membership. It is not meaningful in this context to expect equal results from legal texts that differ in this way. This paper attempts to prove this assertion.

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After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Hungary, like other Central and Eastern European countries, turned its face to the West and aimed to become a member of the EU and succeeded in 2004. Hungary has not yet fully internalized the concepts of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law, even though these values have developed throughout this process. In this context, the major goal of this study is to examine Hungary's situation before the country joined the EU by using the EU's primary and other sources. In this context, 10 documents prepared by the EU Commission and the Council of Europe's European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance were subjected to qualitative content analysis. This study investigates whether Hungary's EU accession met the Copenhagen criteria. The study's main argument is that although Hungary has had not met with the EU's Copenhagen criteria, the country succussed to become an EU member. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ankara Review of European Studies (ARES) / Ankara Avrupa Çalışmaları Dergisi (AAÇD) is the property of Ankara University European Union Research Centre 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.)

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The authors offer an analysis of the economic and political development of the independent Slovak Republic on its way to the EU as well as of its positions in strategic policy fields since it became an EU member state in 2004, such as migration policy, enlargement policy, the rule of law, and security on the EU’s eastern border. Slovakia’s stance vis-à-vis the values of the EU are assessed by an analysis of government programme declarations over the last 20 years. The authors show how economic success and GDP growth has influenced Slovakia’s support for EU membership, as well as how the country has positioned itself with regard to policy development and national interests on the one hand and to achieving EU goals and policies on the other.

From its early stages, the discussion on Slovenian independence included the clear ambition to join the European Community/Union. This objective was achieved in 2004. The support of membership was very high among Slovenians and has remained so ever since. Various domestic and external factors have affected the level of public support, but the country has never questioned its belonging to the EU. In fact, as the authors show, trust in EU policymaking has often been above EU average. There were instances when Slovenia expected a higher level of support from European institutions, but among all social groups, from politicians to businesspeople to NGOs to the wider public, there was no real alternative. This, however, does not suggest that understanding of the intricate functioning of the EU is at a sufficiently high level that the small country could effectively shape EU policies.

Copyright of Akademik Hassasiyetler is the property of Huzeyfe Suleyman Arslan 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 Internasjonal Politikk is the property of Cappelen Damm Akademisk 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.)

Ever since the foundation of the European Communities during the 1950s, enlargement of these organisations has been an important goal, as well as, in some cases, a challenge to the existing legal and political paradigm. In this article we set out to present the evolution of the accession process and the particularities present in specific cases, specifically those of the countries forming what is called the Eastern Neighbourhood, in order to evaluate Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia’s likelihood of becoming a fully-fledged member of the European Union, and the probable timeline.

Doing business attracts the attention of policy makers as its economic impact. It's now widely accepted the relationship between regulations and economic performance. By making regulations, countries want to attract domestic and foreign investors to their countries to invest and to facilitate doing business. The study's goal is to investigate whether EU membership has an impact on doing business. For this purpose, the Ease of Doing Business Index data used in the analysis phase were published from the World Bank. To investigate EU membership effect on doing business, MANOVA and discriminant analysis were conducted. MANOVA results show that, only getting electricity, getting credit and resolving insolvency factors differ according to EU membership status. Furthermore, the impact of membership status on the resolving insolvency factor is the highest. After MANOVA, discriminant analysis was conducted. The correct classification rate is 87.5%. Discriminant analysis results reveal that resolving insolvency, getting credit, getting electricity, and starting a business are the most effective factors on EU membership, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) finds itself at a turning point in its development, with a focus on its path towards European Union (EU) membership. Since 2015, BiH has made significant progress by signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU, adopting the Reform Agenda for 2018-2020, and obtaining permission to export dairy products to the EU. However, questions arise about BiH's export competitiveness and readiness for EU accession. Analyzing BiH's export competitiveness compared to CEFTA (Central European Free Trade Agreement) member countries is crucial. Despite a similar per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP), BiH faces challenges in maintaining competitiveness in that market. While there is a lack of research on CEFTA beyond 2012, there are indications that member countries prioritize trade relations with the EU over intra-CEFTA trade due to their desire to join the EU. In conclusion, BiH must work on improving its export structure and diversifying production to achieve competitiveness within CEFTA and fulfill its goal of EU accession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to analyse all elements of sustainable development, especially in the context of the new enlargement policy for the Balkan countries. Basically, the analysis is based on the concept from Agenda 2030. The second concept consists of two methodologies for EU accession, where the criteria are grouped through chapters (old methodology) and clusters (new methodology). The research question in this paper is whether the new EU accession methodology is a guarantee for achieving better values of indicators of sustainable development or not. Multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA), more precisely the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP method), is used to prioritize sustainable development criteria based on the sustainable development indicators through two different concepts. The results of the analysis showed that the achievement of the SDGs according to the Agenda 2030 was established methodologically by country, while respecting the specificities of countries and their policies. Also, the results showed that the acceptance of the new methodology, that is, organizing the chapters into clusters and accordingly regrouping the indicators, showed better results. The conclusions from this article can be applied in making decisions about choosing the best approach to sustainable development for individual countries.

What happens if historical daydreams derail the vector of European integration? The latest round in the dispute between Bulgaria and North Macedonia provides an insight. This analysis discusses Bulgaria’s veto on European Union (EU) accession talks with North Macedonia, first declared in 2019, and its manifold consequences. Bulgaria tied its consent to North Macedonia’s accession to the EU with the country first capitulating to Bulgarian demands concerning its history and identity. This revived arguments from the 1960s and 1970s. Bulgaria’s demands led to a nationalist counter-reaction in North Macedonia, while at the same time complicating the work of a joint expert commission on shared history established in 2017. The author highlights the unenviable nature of the position of the Macedonian members in the commission, caught as they are between their academic ethos and the diplomatic priorities of their country. The analysis concludes with remarks on the implications for the EU of Bulgaria’s “phantom pains” over Macedonia.

The escalation of geopolitical tensions with the prospect of the European Union (EU) enlargement make connectivity a defining feature of European integration, which in turn facilitates trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) in the region. This paper uses a panel data approach for 39 countries over 2000-2020 to verify the connectivity among the economic and institutional factors affecting the FDI flows within Europe versus the European and non-European countries (focusing on China) in terms of three key issues. First, we hypothesize that the ability of countries to connect through FDI and trade on global and regional levels will affect how they might maximize the benefits of European integration. Second, we extend the existing FDI estimated models by adding our received indices to investigate the effects of connectivity on FDI inflows in Europe. Finally, we incorporate institutional factors in the empirical model and use interaction terms between the host country and integration dummy variable to capture how the effect of policy stability influenced FDI inflows across Europe. A relatively high drop in trade costs between the Western Balkans and the EU (-45%) over the period 2000-2020 indicates a high level of integration within Europe. But the decline (-35%) in trade costs between the EU and China over the same time period points to integration with non-EU partners. As a result, trade and FDI connectivity are still more global than regional.

The 2020s have got off to quite a rocky start globally, and especially for Europeans. The ongoing crises, beginning with the Covid-19 pandemic, and followed by the Russian aggression against Ukraine, rising inflation and the energy crisis, have created an atmosphere of continual instability and uncertainty for European citizens. The Western Balkans region, in the EU's immediate neighbourhood and geographically close to Ukraine, has also been affected by all these challenges. This article examines the current most pressing issues in the region and the possible outcomes of them. As the countries in the region (i.e. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo,1 North Macedonia and Serbia) are all aspiring EU members, this piece seeks to explore the possibility of addressing the current challenges and the role of the EU as a catalyst in this process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Medunarodni Problemi is the property of Institute of International Politics & Economics 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.)

Internationalisation among European political scientists is not uniform and while research emphasises variations between Western and Eastern Europe, we known less about the contrasting patterns of internationalisation among countries in Central and Eastern Europe. This contribution aims to identify if there are different patterns of internationalisation among groups of countries in the East and what factors influence diverging or converging trajectories. We look at how historical institutionalisation of the discipline, European Union membership, and levels of national funding impact internationalisation in four groups of countries, for three different profiles of international scholars. Relying on data from the 2018 ProSEPS survey among European political scientists, we find that historical legacies have a significant negative impact on levels of internationalisation for all profiles of international scholars. On the other hand, higher access to national funding and EU resources has a positive impact on internationalisation, but not as significant. We conclude that legacies matter and that Europeanisation and access to resources leads to a slow convergence in internationalisation of political scientists form Eastern and Western Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The escalation of geopolitical tensions with the prospect of the European Union (EU) enlargement make connectivity a defining feature of European integration, which in turn facilitates trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) in the region. This paper uses a panel data approach for 39 countries over 2000-2020 to verify the connectivity among the economic and institutional factors affecting the FDI flows within Europe versus the European and non-European countries (focusing on China) in terms of three key issues. First, we hypothesize that the ability of countries to connect through FDI and trade on global and regional levels will affect how they might maximize the benefits of European integration. Second, we extend the existing FDI estimated models by adding our received indices to investigate the effects of connectivity on FDI inflows in Europe. Finally, we incorporate institutional factors in the empirical model and use interaction terms between the host country and integration dummy variable to capture how the effect of policy stability influenced FDI inflows across Europe. A relatively high drop in trade costs between the Western Balkans and the EU (-45%) over the period 2000-2020 indicates a high level of integration within Europe. But the decline (-35%) in trade costs between the EU and China over the same time period points to integration with non-EU partners. As a result, trade and FDI connectivity are still more global than regional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the recent developments with respect to Georgia's application to become a member of the EU, filed in March 2022. It addresses the circumstances under which the application was filed, the conditions tabled by the EU for granting Georgia candidate status, the challenges that lie ahead and what the EU can do to help Georgia overcome them. The article argues that without strong external pressure the conditions set by the EU are not likely to be met by Georgia's ruling regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After a year from the formal UK withdrawal from the EU, there are still different opinions about the potential economic impact of Brexit. This paper gives a detailed overview of the trade profile of UK and explores the determinants of United Kingdom`s export. We apply the gravity model to estimate the aggregate benefits of EU membership or the reversed, lost (foregone) benefits from leaving the EU. We measure the influence of GDP, distance, population, the EU membership, and signed free trade agreement with the trading partners on UK’s export as a dependent variable. The analysis includes data for 70 UK trading partners in a period of 48 years (from 1973 to 2020) since Great Britain become EU member. The results show that UK’s export is directly proportional to trade partner’s GDP and inversely proportional to distance. In order to estimate the average benefit due to EU membership, we estimated subsequent equations with different time periods. The coefficient decreases and becomes negative as we shorten the time periods, proving that the average trade advantage due to EU membership diminishes over time. According to the economic theory of regional integration, it is expected that the coefficient increases due to many rounds of enlargement, especially the biggest one in 2004 as well as due to the introduction of the Euro. On the contrary, as we shorten the time periods in the analysis, we obtained increasing coefficient for the variable free trade agreements. This confirms hat trade exchange within FTA has significantly higher effect on United Kingdom’s export in comparison with trade within EU.

The fall of the Communist government gave rise not only to changes in the political, economic, and social realm of Poland but also came to exert an impact on the country’s religious character. Statistical data, especially that collected over the last five years, indicate changes in the religious character of Polish society. This is manifested in a decreasing number of individuals attending Sunday Mass and an increasing number of individuals receiving Holy Communion. Other developments noted in recent years include changes in the number of baptisms and seminarians studying to become priests. The opening of national borders and new limits on government control over Roman Catholic Church activity as well as the actions of other denominations created an atmosphere conducive to a reconnection with like‑minded individuals abroad. International religious meetings became an option with foreign religious denominations now faced with an opportunity to perform missionary work in Poland. Poland’s decision to pursue membership in the European Union (EU) stirred up a heated social debate. The Roman Catholic Church was in favor of joining the EU, however, some individuals in both institutional and lay circles had some reservations regarding that decision. Sekularizace a sakralizace. Nová polarizace religiózní krajiny v Polsku v kontextu globalizace a evropské integrace

By signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European Union on April 29, 2008, Serbia committed itself to harmonize its legislation with the aquis communautaire of the European Union. Perception of the basic characteristics of the European Union legal system and its understanding is important in the context of harmonization, i.e. in the context of the measures for the establishment of a common and internal market, as well as of a pre-accession strategy of a third country for the accession to this organization. Therefore, a candidate country is expected to create a favourable legal environment for the operation of local economic entities in the internal market. In order to succeed in that, it needs to harmonize its legislation with the acquis communautaire gradually, and first of all, it is necessary to be well familiar and have full understanding of the EU regulations which are expected to be transposed by a candidate country.

This paper discusses the extent to which Cyprus' Commonwealth membership has remained relevant following the country's accession to the EU in 2004. It is argued that, despite the predominant role of Cyprus' EU membership, the importance of the Commonwealth for the promotion of the country's political agenda and international co-operation has not diminished. There has been a steady Cypriot participation at high-level Commonwealth meetings post-EU accession. However, the importance of the Commonwealth to the everyday life of Cypriot citizens remains marginal, especially when compared to EU membership. The decision of the UK to exit the Union could precipitate an increased interest on the part of Cyprus in its Commonwealth membership, that could , eventually, even act as a bridge that might help establish a partnership cooperation mechanism between the EU and the Commonwealth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article evaluates public perceptions of the European Union (EU) in Montenegro and Serbia as the front running EU membership candidates. It uses a multidisciplinary approach, which comprises a comparative survey data analysis method, the Image Theory and a mind-mapping approach of EU perceptions analysis to study the EU-Western Balkans relations. Public perceptions of the EU in the Western Balkans are (re)created and juxtaposed against perceptions of other external actors, notably Russia and China. This has led to the EU's 'power of attraction' being diminished in the Western Balkans. Rival perceptions of China and Russia as 'less demanding' partners than the EU, and the slowing down of EU's enlargement agenda have also contributed to this trend. In order to maximize its own security and counter the growing geopolitical influence by China and Russia in the Western Balkans, the EU would benefit from a more comprehensive study of its own representation and public perceptions in candidate states. By doing so, the EU could improve the knowledge about its soft power, which can in turn increase the effectiveness of its foreign policy programmes globally and democracy promotion in the neighbourhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2020 5(1), 255-277 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. Fundamental values and the Treaties of Lisbon. - II.1. Which values, and which status or role? - II.2. The EU's limited competences to act upon, and enforce, its values. - II.3. How common and deep are the Union's values? - III. Compliance with Art. 2 TEU at the stage of accession. - IV. Enforcement of Art. 2 TEU during membership of the Union. - IV.1. The use and non-use of Art. 7 TEU. - IV.2. The Commission's Rule of Law Framework. - IV.3. The Court of Justice's increasing role. - V. Concluding remarks. | (Abstract) The Article offers a critical assessment of Art. 2 TEU, from its genesis to its implementation so far. It examines the enforcement of the Union's foundational values both in the accession stage and during EU membership. Two main weaknesses related to Art. 2 TEU are highlighted in connection with the theme of this Special Section. First, there is an asymmetry between the nature of Art. 2 TEU's values, which are foundational for the whole EU project and architecture, and the limited competences conferred upon the Union to legislate with regard to these values and to enforce their respect. Second, the EU and the Commission in particular have followed a legalistic-technocratic assessment of compliance with rule of law principles rather than endorsing a broader view of Art. 2 that combines all of its values. Under such broader view, other values like democracy, justice and solidarity could be given the same rank as the rule of law, at the time of the accession process and once membership is acquired. It is submitted that this would help the Union to connect more strongly with the citizens of the acceding countries and to reconnect with those of the Member States.

The objectives of the paper are to provide a picture with the main characteristics and the dynamics of the cereals' market from Romania in the last decades, before and after Romanian EU accession. This image and the personal comments are presented in the direct connection with the actual context of high level of competitiveness at regional level, EU level and international level. Generally, the cereals' market has had a dynamic evolution at international level, also regional level. Romania is part of the Black Sea Region, also EU member, two important cereals players in the world. Romania has the major Eastern port of the EU on the Black Sea coast, Constanta, which is the main door for EU cereal trade to East. This is the reasons why we analyse the evolution of the cereals' market from Romania before and after EU accession and we want to emphasize the transformations of the Romanian market during this period. The applied methodology contains a statistical analysis based on areas, yields and production indicators, also the trade flows. It is analysed long series of data provided by the Romanian National Institute of Statistics, Romanian Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, also FAO and Eurostat where they were useful. Besides these, we use results of qualitative analysis based on interviews and opinion of experts in the field, information, declarations and comments published in press, by officials from administration or business. The results of the analysis emphasis the present state of the Romanian market, the evolution in the last decades, also the main constraints for a better evolution of the cereals' market in Romania, the improvements and the main challenges for the future.

The topic of this paper is the assessment of the Serbian economy through the prism of life standard and the quality of life of the population in general, which we consider to be the most important criterion. In order to get the most realistic picture, this research was carried out with the aim of comparing the economy of Serbia with neighbouring countries. They all form two groups: EU members and the candidates, where the quality of life of the population is compared in order to determine the differences between them. Two statistic methods were used in the analysis - Student's T-test and Single-factor Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). They show that the period which was taken for the analysis, reveals a significant statistic disagreement between Serbia on one part, and Romania and Albania on the other part, regarding the Human Development Index which measures the quality of life of one country per capita. It was also found that such a difference does not exist between a group of member states and groups of candidate countries for EU accession. This angle of observation of the national economy and exact approach are not common in our modern practice and can be useful as a basis for continuous improvement of the economic system and economic policy. One should look up to more successful comparative economies and re-examine the proclaimed economic benefits of EU membership.

This introduction to the special issue Brexit and Academia sketches some of the key challenges for academia that emerged from Brexit. Based on a brief overview of the current state of the withdrawal and the trade agreements, we reflect upon the consequences of Brexit on transnational research, academic mobility, and research funding. We discuss the role and function of Euroscepticism for understanding the United Kingdom's slow but constant move towards exiting the Union. We further outline the key function of Euroscepticism for explaining the formation of an imagined community of 'Brexiteers' in fostering the rise of an 'island mentality.' The introduction closes by considering potentially productive effects of a crisis such as Brexit, which has opened up new areas for research across various disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]