This publication provides an up-to-date assessment of the political and economic issues and is valuable reading for anyone wishing to understand contemporary Spain and Portugal. Following decades of relative isolation under authoritarian regimes, the success of the processes of democratic transition in both countries paved the way for full membership in the European Community in 1986. Drawing on research by established scholars, Spain and Portugal in the European Union offers an original series of analyses of the development of Iberian politics, sociology and economics since the accession to the European Union.
This book examines the involvement of Portugal in the European integration process since the country signed the Accession Treaty in 1985. The volume elicits how Portugal has grasped opportunities and challenges emanating from its participation in the institutional, regulatory and political frameworks of the European Union (EU), as these have become more intricate as well as intrusive. It scrutinizes the adjustments and transformations that have taken place in Portuguese society, politics and economics as well as in the country’s international relations, as engendered by its increasing enmeshment in the Community-building dynamics. It is divided into three main parts: • Part I focuses on the major changes within the domestic arena, notably on the political, economic and social fronts; • Part II addresses the adjustments that the Portuguese leadership had to make in order to secure the country's participation in key common policies and strategies; • Part III is centred on foreign policy and assesses and discusses the impact upon Portugal’s international relations. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of European politics, EU studies, comparative politics and those with a strong interest in Portugal.
Driven primarily by political concerns to secure democracy, Portugal's accession to the EU in 1986 also served as a catalyst for dynamic economic development following a complex process of democratization and the decolonization of Europe's last empire. This book analyses how the European Union has helped shape the political process in Portugal on key institutions, elites, and its citizen's attitudes.
Focusing upon the 15 years during which Spain and Portugal have been members of the European Union, this collection of essays addresses issues related to the anniversary which took place in 2001.
Dit boek beschrijft de toename van migratie uit Oost-europese landen in de periode van 2004-2007, na toetreding tot de EU. Het bevat nieuwe empirische 'casestudies' van migratiepatronen, zowel gebaseerd op veldwerk als op de analyse van bestaande statistieken.
The European Union (EU) is a political and economic partnership that represents a unique form of cooperation among sovereign countries. The EU is the latest stage in a process of integration begun after World War II, initially by six Western European countries, to foster interdependence and make another war in Europe unthinkable. The EU currently consists of 28 member states, including most of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and has helped to promote peace, stability, and economic prosperity throughout the European continent. The EU has been built through a series of binding treaties. Over the years, EU member states have sought to harmonize laws and adopt common policies on an increasing number of economic, social, and political issues. EU member states share a customs union; a single market in which capital, goods, services, and people move freely; a common trade policy; and a common agricultural policy. Nineteen EU member states use a common currency (the euro), and 22 member states participate in the Schengen area of free movement in which internal border controls have been eliminated. In addition, the EU has been developing a Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), which includes a Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP), and pursuing cooperation in the area of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) to forge common internal security measures. Member states work together through several EU institutions to set policy and to promote their collective interests. In recent years, however, the EU has faced a number of internal and external crises. Most notably, in a June 2016 public referendum, voters in the United Kingdom (UK) backed leaving the EU. The pending British exit from the EU (dubbed "Brexit") comes amid multiple other challenges, including the rise of populist and to some extent anti-EU political parties, concerns about democratic backsliding in some member states (including Poland and Hungary), ongoing pressures related to migration, a heightened terrorism threat, and a resurgent Russia. The United States has supported the European integration project since its inception in the 1950s as a means to prevent another catastrophic conflict on the European continent and foster democratic allies and strong trading partners. Today, the United States and the EU have a dynamic political partnership and share a huge trade and investment relationship. Despite periodic tensions in U.S.-EU relations over the years, U.S. and EU policymakers alike have viewed the partnership as serving both sides' overall strategic and economic interests. EU leaders are anxious about the Trump Administration's commitment to the EU project, the transatlantic partnership, and an open international trading system-especially amid the Administration's imposition of tariffs on EU steel and aluminum products since 2018 and the prospects of future auto tariffs. In July 2018, President Trump reportedly called the EU a "foe" on trade but the Administration subsequently sought to de-escalate U.S.-EU tensions and signaled its intention to launch new U.S.-EU trade negotiations. Concerns also linger in Brussels about the implications of the Trump Administration's "America First" foreign policy and its positions on a range of international issues, including Russia, Iran, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, climate change, and the role of multilateral institutions. This report serves as a primer on the EU. Despite the UK's vote to leave the EU, the UK remains a full member of the bloc until it officially exits the EU (which is scheduled to occur by October 31, 2019, but may be further delayed). As such, this report largely addresses the EU and its institutions as they currently exist. It also briefly describes U.S.-EU political and economic relations that may be of interest.
For ethnic minorities in Europe separated by state borders—such as Basques in France and Spain or Hungarians who reside in Slovakia and Romania—the European Union has offered the hope of reconnection or at least of rendering the divisions less obstructive. Conationals on different sides of European borders may look forward to increased political engagement, including new norms to support the sharing of sovereignty, enhanced international cooperation, more porous borders, and invigorated protections for minority rights. Under the pan-European umbrella, it has been claimed that those belonging to divided nations would no longer have to depend solely on the goodwill of the governments of their states to have their collective rights respected. Yet for many divided nations, the promise of the European Union and other pan-European institutions remains unfulfilled. Divided Nations and European Integration examines the impact of the expansion of European institutions and the ways the EU acts as a confederal association of member states, rather than a fully multinational federation of peoples. A wide range of detailed case studies consider national communities long within the borders of the European Union, such as the Irish and Basques; communities that have more recently joined, such as the Croats and Hungarians; and communities that are not yet members but are on its borders or in its "near abroad," such as the Albanians, Serbs, and Kurds. This authoritative volume provides cautionary but valuable insights to students of European institutions, nations and nationalism, regional integration, conflict resolution, and minority rights. Contributors: Tozun Bahcheli, Zoe Bray, Alexandra Channer, Zsuzsa Csergő, Marsaili Fraser, James M. Goldgeier, Michael Keating, Tristan James Mabry, John McGarry, Margaret Moore, Sid Noel, Brendan O'Leary, David Romano, Etain Tannam, Stefan Wolff.
Praise for the 1st Edition?This is a rich and timely volume full of novel glimpses into areas of perennial policy concern ... as well as a host of less familiar concerns.... The extremely readable efforts to make sense of policy conundrums means the book may be used quite profitably in the classroom, and the very fact that all member states are covered testifies to the project?s considerable comparative breadth.??William M. Downs, The Journal of PoliticsThoroughly updated, this new edition of The European Union and the Member States explores the complex relationship between the EU and each of its now 25 members.The country chapters follow a common format, considering: How and in what areas does EU policy affect, and how is it affected by, the member states? What mechanisms do the member states use to implement EU policy? What is each state?s compliance record?Covering the full range of issues?from economic, social, and environmental, to security, to home and justice affairs?the authors offer an insightful discussion of the interplay of EU initiatives with strong, existing national policies and traditions.Eleanor E. Zeff is associate professor of political science at Drake University. Ellen B. Pirro is president of Pirro International Research.Contents: Introduction?the Editors. Policymaking and Politics in the New European Union?J. McCormick. Early Union Members. Germany?C. Lankowski. Italy?M. Giuliani and S. Piattoni. Belgium and Luxembourg?K. Anderson. France?C. Deubner. The Second Wave. The UK?N. Nugent and J. Mather. Ireland?R.B. Finnegan. Denmark?E. Einhorn. The Mediterranean Round. Greece?N. Zahariadis. Spain and Portugal?S. Royo. The 1995 Enlargement. Austria?G. Faulkner. Sweden?J. Eliasson. Finland?T. Raunio. The 2004 Enlargement. Poland?A. Gruszczak. Hungary?D. Ellison. Malta and Cyprus?R. Pace. Slovenia and Slovakia?J. Occhipinti. The Czech Republic?S. Fisher. The Baltic States?S. Stoltenberg. Conclusion. Conclusion?the Editors.
This volume of the latest research in European migration embraces a continent-wide outlook on migration processes and accounts particularly from Southern and Eastern European perspectives. This is accomplished by analyzing the long-term transition that countries undergo from net emigration to net immigration, as well as developments in their migrant inflows, integration, and policy. The mix of authors—representing several academic centers across Europe yet pursuing a common vision of European migration past, present, and future—utilize new empirical evidence, specially designed and collected.
