This book demonstrates the importance of the credibility and the costs of accession conditionality for the adoption of EU rules in Central and Eastern Europe.
The accession of ten new members to the European Union on May 1st 2004 was among the most significant developments in the history of European integration. Based upon studies conducted by the European Forecasting Network, this 2006 book analysed key aspects of the impact of this enlargement with reference to eight of the ten new Member States, namely the Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs). It demonstrated that the enlargement had the potential to create profound consequences for both the new Member States and the pre-accession members of the Union, given the unparalleled magnitude of the enlargement, the fact that the CEECs had levels of prosperity and economic development well below the Union average, and their history of participation in centrally planned regimes. The contributions examined regional policy, the debate about accession to the EMU, the macroeconomic trajectories of the Central and Eastern European economies and their likely development.
Since the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008, the EU has been in almost permanent crisis mode. It is witnessing new dimensions of internal differentiation among its member states, and the migration crisis has shown that the Central and Eastern European countries (CEEs) in particular are slowly but certainly transforming themselves from predominantly passive policy-takers towards becoming more active players in the process of shaping the EU’s governance agenda. This edited volume offers the first comprehensive and critical insight into how the CEEs position themselves in the EU’s changing internal and external environment, their stance towards the European integration process under current crisis conditions, and what political and economic strategies they prioritize.
As The European Union Opens Negotiations On Membership With Five Of The Ten post-communist states who have applied, this book looks at some of the challenges presented by Eastern enlargement - not only to existing member states and European institutions, but also to the Central and Eastern European countries themselves.; The approach is interdisciplinary, and brings together contributions from academic specialists on security and international relations; European institutions; the economics of european integration; and the domestic politics of Central and Eastern Europe.; The book has been structured to provide a clear and comprehensive introduction to the topic for students taking a range of courses, including European integration, the politics of post-communist democracies, and Europe's post-Cold war order.; At the same time. it will be accessible to more general readers with an interest in European Union affairs, while presenting research to specialists in the area.
The role of the European Union (EU) in Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) and its 'near abroad' has attracted much scholarly attention over the past few years. Notwithstanding the successes of the EU's eastwards enlargement, the 'transformative power' of the EU in the region has often been called into question, both in terms of its depth and longevity. This book addresses a number of key questions: What determines EU performance in post-communist Europe? What are the conditions that influence it? How does the projection of EU power differ between its enlargement policy and the European Neighbourhood policy? To answer these questions this volume brings together a wide range of case studies, based on different approaches and methods, but with a single analytical focus on 'performance'. The book's coverage and focus will be of interest to academics, practitioners and students interested in the EU, CEECs, pre- and post-enlargement studies and more widely to those interested in the international relations and the governance of wider Eastern Europe. The chapters of this book were originally published as a special issue of East European Politics.
The idea for this volume came from the enigma that some Central and Eastern European (CEE) European Union (EU) member states have been keen to join the Eurozone while others have shown persistent reluctance. Moreover, the attitudes towards joining have seemingly not correlated with either the level of economic development or the time spent as part of the EU, nor with any other rational reason such as the level of integration into the EU real economy, or the level of trust in the EU on the part of the public. Therefore, at first sight, the answer to the question ‘why in, why out?’ remains rather unclear. The attractiveness of the currency union has nevertheless not disappeared for the CEE countries. Despite the Eurozone crisis of 2010–13, it was during that time that the Baltic states introduced the euro. Then, after a few years of inactivity, Croatia and Bulgaria successfully applied for membership of the exchange rate mechanism in July 2020, amid the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. At the same time, the three Visegrad countries still using their national currencies – Poland, Czechia and Hungary – no longer have a target date to join the monetary union. This volume aims to discuss these issues from horizontal aspects and through country studies, with contributions from expert authors from, or closely related to, the CEE region.
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.
This book provides an up-to-date assessment of the main processes and dilemmas of regional development and regional policy in the newer European Union Member States in Central and Eastern Europe and neighbouring countries. It highlights the difficulties of balancing the demands within the new Member States for rapid regional growth and development with, firstly, the demands of the European Union overall that restructuring and development should conform to the aims and principles of EU common policies; and, secondly, with budgetary constraints. The book covers a wide range of issues, including global and national challenges to regional convergence and cohesion; regional dynamics, city networks and border issues; the effectiveness of policy responses at national and European levels, including an assessment of policy experiences from outside the new Member States; and likely future developments.
Across Europe there is a rapidly changing context for undertaking regional development. In the 20th century, development of the former planned economies (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia), was defined by these countries differences, rather than their common ideological roots. These disparities altered over time and were marked by changing social structures. However, the ranking of regions has remained the same as core areas have strengthened their positions while the structural obstacles to the modernisation of peripheral areas have remained due to a lack of coherent regional policy. This book examines the specific regional development paths of Central and Eastern European countries and evaluates the effects of the determining factors of this process. Through analysis of the system of objectives, instruments and institutions used in different eras, and case studies of Hungary, East Germany and Germany, development models are established and compared with Western European patterns. The book summarises the experiences of Central and Eastern European regional cooperation and examines the basic nature of the cohesion problems of the Carpathian Basin trans-national macro region. It confirms by comparative historical analyses that the transformation was indeed unique. This book will make a welcome addition to the literature for students and academics interested in the broader picture of Central and Eastern European politics, future integration within the European Union and the history of regional development processes.