Research
Research Projects
Europe – External Relations
Governance in the Enlarged Europe
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Areas of Research
The Center for EU Enlargement Studies at Central European
University initiates and coordinates research on issues connected with
the enlargement of European integration. It is focusing on consequences
of the last round of EU enlargement (2004 and 2007) as well as on the
next possible waves of extending the integration process. Research is
to expand in two directions: integration effects in new member states,
in countries targeted by EU enlargement policy and neighborhood policy,
on the one hand, and the impact of enlargement in the EU including both
member states and various institutions of the EU on the other hand.
Timeframe of the analyses is rather limited: the period
of 2000 – 2020 is in focus. At the same time, the geographical scope
is large comprising the ‘big Europe’ and its neighborhood: the EU-25,
the Western-Balkans, Russia, Ukraine and the other CIS countries and
the Mediterranean Basin. The main objective is initiating and advising
political discussions.
Research activities are organized along the following main axes:
1. The effects of the last (2004) enlargement
1.1. ‘Beyond Accession’ What has
changed in the new member states? This topic comprises the various effects
of integration in the new Central and East European member states: macroeconomic
phenomena (investment, employment, state budget, preconditions of accession
to the Euro-zone, etc.), market conditions, entrepreneurial climate,
labor market, sociological consequences, political life (development
of democracy, human and minority rights, etc.).
1.2. ‘Beyond Homogeneity’ What
has changed in the (enlarged) internal market of the EU? Is the smooth
functioning of the single market of goods really assured? What are the
economic and political obstacles to the liberalization of the market
of services (problems of the ‘Bolkestein directive’)? What
are the lessons of the postponed and gradual opening of the labor market
of the ‘EU15’ towards the new member states? Does the ‘Polish
plumber’ represent a real threat? What are the motives behind
the ‘relocalization’ of capital inside and outside the EU?
This topic includes the comparative analysis of price, wage and tax
levels across the enlarged EU.
1.3. ‘Beyond Solidarity’
What are the economic and political motives behind the difficult birth
of the 2007-13 financial perspective? What are the – real and
supposed – interests of the ‘net contributing’ and
‘net recipient’ member states? Can all the contributions
to and financing from the EU budget be identified with one or another
member state? How could the ‘redistributive’ character of
the EU budget be transformed towards a ‘community model’?
What decision making principles would be in harmony with various and
disproportionate EU budgetary positions of the individual member states?
1.4. ‘Beyond Maastricht:’
What are the lessons of the first years of the functioning of the euro-zone?
What are the preconditions of its further extension? Are the ‘Maastricht
criteria’ still appropriate and applicable to the founding members
of the euro-zone? Do they fit the specific closing-up model of the economies
of the new member states? Is the ‘competition model’ of
enlarging the EMU the best way of selecting the countries acceding the
euro-zone? What would be the effects of differentiated entry dates on
the integration of the Visegrad or the Baltic States with each other
and the ‘EU15’?
2. Preparing the next enlargements
2.1 Preparatory Actions in the Candidate
Countries. Conformity with the ‘Copenhagen criteria,’
taking over and implementing the acquis communautaire.’ Lessons
of the accession negotiations of Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia. Specificities
of the entry of Turkey into the EU. The stabilization and association
process in the candidate countries of the Western Balkans: Macedonia,
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro.
2.2 The impacts of enlargement on the neighborhood
policy of the EU. The eastern and south-eastern continental
dimension of the EU has created new challenges to the neighborhood policy:
most of the neighbors of the neighbors of yesterday became candidates.
But the real and self-named candidates remain neighbors for several
years to come. Russia and Ukraine are two big and direct neighbors of
the EU that deserve specific approaches. Apart from the above mentioned
East European and North Caucasian neighbors, the Central Asian CIS countries
have a double attachment to the integrated center of Europe: through
Russia on the one hand, and Turkey on the other hand. Enlargement has
an impact on relations with traditional EU neighbors, too: the South
and East Mediterranean (the ‘Barcelona process’) and the
‘EFTA enclave’ (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland).
2.3 Enlargement without Accession.
As a political, economic and spiritual center of Europe, the EU is transmitting
and imposing its norms and values on its large neighborhood. However,
the traditional ‘European’ norms are in conflict with emerging
anti-modernization and (national and religious) fundamentalist ideologies.
What impact can the EU exercise on its neighborhood in the pre-accession
period? What are the chances of – and the limits to – the
extraterritorial application of EU law? How far will and can a candidate
country harmonize its legal order with the ‘acquis communtaire’?
How could transeuropean networks of transport, energy and telecommunication
as well as institutional networks of environment and consumer protection
etc. be further extended to the large neighborhood of the EU?
2.4 Extended Cohesion Policy.
How could cohesion policy of the EU be applicable to a larger circle
of neighboring countries? In what way could an enlarging network of
interregional and transregional relations be attached to the EU-27?
Two neighboring regions deeply embedded in the EU, namely Kaliningrad
of Russia and the Transkarpathian region of Ukraine could serve as models
for special relationship between the EU and its direct neighbors.
3. The future of the enlarging EU
3.1 Lessons of the Constitutional Treaty.
What is the message of the French and Dutch “no” to the
draft Constitution: crisis of the ‘elitist model,’ bad timing
of the European Convention, the burden that Part III. of the text imposed,
the ‘revenge of the democracy deficit,’ poor presentation,
or real and false fears from enlargement? What further steps could be
taken in order to save – and utilize – the valuable ideas
and proposals of the European Convention and the following Intergovernmental
Conference?
3.2 What policies and projects for an enlarging
Europe? Where are the limits of competencies belonging to the
member states? What should be done at the integrated European governance
level? How could the single market, the EMU, the Lisbon program, the
CAP, the Schengen zone, the TEN, etc. function better, to the benefit
of the member states and the citizens of the EU? What objectives could
an extended and revised cohesion policy follow?
3.3 Do institutions really matter?
How could the role and the influence of the main EU institutions be
better balanced? How could the decision making and legislative work
of the Ministerial Council be improved and simplified? How could a better
distribution of roles, and a closer cooperation between the European
Parliament and the national parliaments be introduced? To what extent
should member states be directly represented in the various organs and
at various levels of EU institutions? How could representative and competitive
selection of persons in the EU Commission better be harmonized with
each other? How could neighbors be included into the work of EU institutions?
What would be the chances of the Committee of the Regions and the Economic
and Social Council to have more influence on the integration process?
3.4 The future of the integration model.
Is the EU a special form of transnational governance? Is it a potential
global actor? Is it a new form of territorially bound and expressed
power? What are the chances of extending a more-of-less uniform economic
space? What is the role of non-governmental actors like trans-national
corporations, NGOs, etc? Is there a realistic final political objective
of European unification? Can power, sovereignty and identity of national
governments be balanced or framed by a supra- or transnational set of
institutions? Could any major political development be achieved from
the above aspects in the next 10-15 years?
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The CENS Network
The CENS network aims to bring together research institutes, European
Studies centers, and individual researchers from Central and Eastern
Europe in order to contribute to the debate on the future of an enlarged
European Union. Its purpose is also to provide comprehensive analyses
of the results and lessons of the previous EU enlargement [2004] on
the one hand, and exploring the potential effects of further enlargements
on the other hand.
Aims of the network are to:
- Promote debate in the CEE region on the key
issues facing the EU in relation to the ongoing enlargement process
- Provide policy advice to governments of the
region as well as decision makers of the EU on related issues
- Facilitate dialogue between academia and the
governmental sphere
Activities of the network include:
- Sharing and disseminating expertise
- Publishing and disseminating working papers
- Organizing academic events in cooperation
with members of the network
- Carrying out joint research projects
Benefits of membership:
- CENS provides for you the opportunities to
publish your research
- We organize public debates of your yet-to-be
finished research paper with the participation of experts
- We guarantee widespread dissemination of our
publications
- You will have information of and access to
events organized by CENS
- You will be a member of a network of acknowledged
experts and institutes
Member requirements:
- By becoming a member of the network, individuals
agree to draft a paper proposal and develop a working paper in a year
- Institutions will launch a joint research
project together with CENS
- Individual researchers and delegates of the
institutes are expected to participate as speakers in events organized
by CENS from time to time
Please download application form for Individual members here
Please download application form for Institutions here
Send your application form via fax to: +36-1-328-3444 or via e-mail
to cens@ceu.hu
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