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Exchanging Ideas on Europe 2007
Common Values - External Policies
UACES 37th Annual Conference and 12th Research Conference

Research Session 6

UACES reserves the right at all times to make changes to the programme where necessary.

Session 1 | Session 2 | Session 3 | Session 4 | Session 5 | Session 6 | Session 7 | Main Programme

Wednesday, 5 September 2007 (09:00-10:30)

The panels listed in the table below are followed by the abstracts for each of the papers.

Ananiadis, Blanca (Arcadia Center for Hellenic Mediterranean Studies and Research)

Values, Institutions, Ideologies or Strategies? Assessing Explanations of the ‘Social Europe’ Dimension of EU Politics

The paper aims to provide a reading of the conclusions regarding ‘social Europe’ stemming from select theories of international relations and European integration. Starting with a brief description of the ‘social Europe’ dimension of the Constitutional project, it assesses the interrelationship between the governance of social policy and that of other policy areas.
When ‘integration theory’ meets ‘welfare regimes’ analyses, the conclusions regarding the historical alliance between federalist and functionalist politics of European integration seem inadequate. Historical institutionalism attempted to offer a new angle, centered on comparative political economy and developing the path dependence/unintended consequences perspectives. Even after the eruption of a ‘third wave’ (Rosamond: 2000; Wiener & Diez: 2004), the old controversies that had chosen neo-realism as a target would not die out. It is thus surprising that the welfare literature has largely ignored these political trenches, a concern with differences and path dependent compromises defining the realm of the possible, usually defined on national terms. Despite their professed institutionalist starting point, welfare analyses have, for the most, taken for granted that a) EU institutions are the site of settlements and b) social policy/affairs are largely a matter for states’ deliverance. Hence, it is not surprising that European social welfare options, such as those in the draft constitution, have followed that logic.

Andreev, Svetlozar (Centro de Estudios Politicos y Constitucionales, Spain, andreev[a]eui.eu)

Europeanization from Below: Civil Society Monitoring the Progress of Bulgaria’s Preparedness for EU Accession

One of the major concerns of Western policy makers and EU officials during the pre-2004 enlargement period was the transposing of the Acquis Communautaire in the acceding member states from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Despite the considerable number of new laws adopted and implemented by those countries during the pre-accession phase, there are still many policy areas which require a serious effort on the part of the CEE legislators and administrators in order to catch-up with the overall standards operating in the rest of the EU.
The paper examines how civil society monitors the progress achieved by Bulgaria’s institutions in meeting the criteria for EU membership. The main focus is on the modes of civic and special interest groups’ participation in trying to influence the adoption of EU-inspired legislation and its transposition domestically. The regulation of TV broadcasts, the management of the Structural Funds, and implementation of specific measures in the field of Justice and Home Affairs (i.e. against human trafficking, corruption and money laundering) are the three cases of policy subfields, which are analysed in terms of application of European laws and regulations. Both national and international organisations are investigated, while special attention is paid to multilevel aspects of governance and participation.
Four recent reports of major civil society organisations operating in Bulgaria are analysed: the Open Society Institute’s Report on Implementation of Commitments in the Areas of Serious Concern of Bulgaria’s Preparation for Membership in the EU, the European Journalism Centre Special Report on Bulgaria, UNDP’ s Assessment of the capacity of non-governmental organizations and businesses to participate in the absorption of the EU Structural and Cohesion Funds, the Centre for the Study of Democracy Crime Trends in Bulgaria 2000-2005. First, a thorough analysis of the relevant texts and recommendations in the report is conducted, and they are juxtaposed with the recommendations made by the European Commission in the Regular Annual Report on the Accession of Bulgaria in the EU. Second, interviews are conducted with the people who wrote the reports. This is done in order to determine (a) what motivated their interest in the subject, (b) what was the perceived impact – both overall and specific of publishing the reports, and (c) whether this was a onetime act or these organizations plan to monitor Europeanization in the selected subfields after Bulgaria’s accession to the EU in early 2007 or 2008. Third, interviews are carried out with public administrators and legislators who read the reports, with representatives of the European Commission in Bulgaria, as well as with representatives of the so-called Civil Society Council in Sofia, which includes a wide variety of domestic and international civic and special interest groups. This is done, in view of assessing the impact of the reports and BG’s preparedness in the selected policy fields. Finally, conclusions are drawn regarding the effectiveness of publishing such reports and the process of monitoring the work of BG’s legislature and the executive in adopting and implementing EU-related measures.

Autengruber, Christian (Andrássy University, Hungary, christian.autengruber[a]boschalumni.de)

Joint paper with Tina Olteanu

How Serious is the EU About Democracy? Democratic Standards and Requirements during EU Accession Preparations with Bulgaria and Romania

After the accession round in May 2004 with ten new EU-member states, it has been obvious that the European Union is very willing to demand democracy and the rule of law, combined with human rights and minority protection from potential new members. Following these requirements laid out in the Copenhagen criteria, the questions have to be raised “Which standards the EU has established in detail” and “How they influenced the accession procedure of Bulgaria and Romania.” bearing in mind that another enlargement round is in sight.
Following analysis of the monitoring reports of the EU commission for Bulgaria and Romania, it becomes clear that a very fragmented pattern of democratic standards has been employed during the accession process: (1) Essential aspects of democracy, e.g. the political participation of citizens or the protection of state arbitrariness do not receive enough thoughtfulness or no attention at all by the EU. (2) An aggravating fact, is that severe democratic problems that are even listed in the monitoring reports do not have effects on the accession process. This is due to the fact that the political criteria of Copenhagen are considered to be fulfilled since 1998. (3) For further accession procedures it has to be made clear that the requirements in regard to democratic standards as well as the consequences of the violation of these standards have to be revised.

Bossuyt, Fabienne (Aston Univeristy, bossuyfj[a]aston.ac.uk)

An Economic Giant, Political Dwarf and Military Worm? Introducing the Concept of ‘Transnational Power Over’ in Studies of (the EU’s) Power in IR

This paper challenges the common depiction of the European Union (EU) as an economic giant, political dwarf and military worm. It argues that this depiction fails to acknowledge the EU’s structural power and the more subtle ways in which the Union exerts power in the international realm.
Building on Susan Strange’s theory of the United States (U.S.) as a ‘transnational empire’ and Stephan Keukeleire’s concept of ‘structural foreign policy’, the paper seeks to demonstrate that EU is more powerful than is still commonly thought. To account for the more subtle and indirect manners in which the EU exerts power on the global stage, the paper presents a new conceptual understanding of power, adapted to the present-day realities of globalisation, interdependence and post-Cold War order, notably ‘transnational power over’ (TNPO). Combining insights from Steven Lukes’s work on power with reflections from Susan Strange and other scholars of international political economy (IPE), the concept of TNPO captures the degree to which international actors are institutionally, materially and/or ideationally subordinate to or dependent on a dominant actor, making it difficult for them to resist its initiatives or turn down its offers.
The paper concludes by presenting a conceptual framework based on the notion of TNPO. The framework demonstrates how a dominant actor such as the EU can rely on its TNPO to negotiate favourable agreements, which in turn strengthen its TNPO.

Carmel, Emma (University of Bath, e.k.carmel[a]bath.ac.uk)

Governing Immigration and Social Policy in the European Union: Between Ambivalence and Ambiguity

This paper evaluates EU governance on (im)migration, policies for different ‘groups’ of immigrants and their interaction with EU social policy governance. It is argued that the EU’s governance of different forms of (im)migration is characterized by ambivalence and ambiguity, even for similar ‘groups’ of migrants. Features of this governance include: the territorial exclusion of some groups of immigrants; the containment of the free movement of some EU citizens within the EU; the protection of some (im)migrant groups from discrimination while inscribing such discrimination in the EU’s categorisation of (im)migrants; special programmes for the protection of immigrant women and children; the utilitarian recruitment of ‘favoured’ categories of migrant, while their presence within the EU is subject to temporal, social, political and economic management. It is further argued that these ambivalences and ambiguities can be explained in terms of their origins in apparently contradictory policy logics, particularly those of criminal justice policies, labour market policies, foreign and development policies and the pursuit of gender equality. Finally, it is argued that policies for immigrants’ welfare are primarily articulated through the social inclusion OMC and the European Employment Strategy. Yet these compound the exclusionary and managed treatment of (im)migrants while simultaneously define (im)migrant welfare in such limited compensatory terms as to continue to render social policy logics in the EU a handmaiden to the ‘high’ politics of market- and nation-making.

Gower, Jackie (King’s College London, jackie.gower[a]kcl.ac.uk)

EU-Russian Relations: Evaluating the Finnish and German Council Presidencies

Finland (July-December 2006) and Germany (January-June 2007) held the Presidency at a particularly crucial period for EU-Russian relations. Both states made strengthening the strategic partnership with Russia one of their key Presidency objectives and there was exceptionally close coordination between their foreign ministries and permanent representations. Three issues dominated the agenda: the opening of negotiations on a successor to the PCA; the need to establish more effective cooperation in the energy sector as a crucial element of the Union’s energy security strategy; and heightened tensions over the ‘frozen conflicts’ in the shared neighbourhood. The paper will focus on the agenda-management, coordination and consensus-building roles of the Presidency in negotiations within the Union to agree a common position and its leadership and representative roles in the negotiations with Russia. A sub-theme will be the interplay, and possible tension, between the national interests and positions of member states and the demands of the Presidency roles. The objective of the paper is to make a contribution to the growing body of literature on the evaluation of Council Presidencies with particular reference to external relations and to take stock of the state of EU-Russia relations as the Putin era draws to a close.

Hadfield, Amelia (University of Kent, aeah[a]kent.ac.uk)

Superpower Ambitions vs. Hyper-dependence: EU, Russian and US Energy Policy

Energy itself is not a measurable index of national power – but it can visibly indicate the degree to which national power can be used as foreign policy. The US is moving to formalise energy policy into national security policy. Russia has already displayed its ability to use energy as a form of renewed great power status and foreign policy instrument par excellence. The EU is altogether less fortunate; the absence of a Union-level energy policy has undermined the EU’s economic, political and strategic initiatives in the region and beyond. Despite the congruence between its own foreign policy objectives and the security demands inherent in ensuring Europe’s energy supply, energy does not presently feature as a foreign policy goal of the EU. As a result, the EU has been the target of Russian pipeline politics and US jeremiads. This paper examines the degree to which the US, Russia and the EU have approached the foreign policy implications of energy, investigating the degree to which each of these three actors promote political sovereignty over commercial and environmental calculations when dealing with energy.

James, Scott (University of Manchester, scott.james[a]postgrad.manchester.ac.uk)

Europeanisation as Projection: Understanding the Changing Face of EU Policy Making within the Core Executive

This paper aims to contribute towards both the theoretical and empirical application of Europeanisation to administrative change within national core executives. The paper is critical of conventional attempts to employ the ‘goodness of fit’ model in order to explain administrative change, suggesting that it is best suited to an analysis of reception rather than change aimed at enhancing the co-ordination and projection of national EU policy. The paper proposes that Europeanisation as projection operates through four distinctive modes – goodness of fit, competitive uploading, institutional fusion, and discursive strategy – which exert countervailing centripetal and centrifugal pressures for convergence on national core executives, triggering the development of divergent national strategies in order to manage them. It seeks to move beyond traditional institutionalist accounts by developing a strategic-relational network framework in order to map the changing face of EU policy co-ordination within national core executives and to explain how the structure of national EU ‘networks’ conditions the nature of policy. The value of these theoretical and analytical innovations is then demonstrated by applying them to a case study of EU policy making within the UK since 1997.

Kaliber, Alper (University of Birmingham, axk612[a]bham.ac.uk)

Reassessing Europeanisation as a Quest for a New Paradigm of Modernity: The Arduous Case of Turkey

The burgeoning literature on Europeanisation like the modernisation theory of the 1950s is guided by positivist, evolutionary and unilinear conception of change and modernisation. By revealing some drastic commonalities between these two literatures, this paper problematises the mainstream approach to Europeanisation to address its limitations in understanding domestic change and adaptation. In the literature on Europeanisation, modernisation is either imagined as the update and liberalisation of the domestic political, economic institutions and policies in order to align with the EU model or a natural corollary of this alignment. This determinist approach to modernisation and Europeanisation is far from capturing how deep domestic changes these two create in different and particularly non-Western societies and in what ways they interact with each other. I suggest that to comprehend better socio-political transformations that Europeanisation triggers, one should associate it with the project of political modernity in a wider context. To substantiate these arguments, the paper will refer to Turkey’s integration into the EU, the real merit of which can fully be captured only when it is contextualised into the country’s political modernisation enduring more than two centuries. The paper discusses the impact of Europeanisation in Turkey on its shift from state-centric and elite directed modernisation into a modernisation ‘as a self-generating societal process’.

Papoudakis, Fotini (Technological Educational Institute of Kalamata, Greece, helion[a]hol.gr)

The Issue of Modernisation in Greece and the Impact of EU Membership

The demand for modernisation of the Greek State and society is an old one and has taken various forms in the course of time. Intellectual and/or political movements appeared at times urging for reforms with view to modernising the society and the state apparatus in terms of structures and practices. The issue of modernisation has been connected to if not confused with Westernisation and Europeanisation.
The paper looks very briefly into the notions of modernisation, Europeanisation in general, before examining the genesis and evolution of the respective movements and efforts in Greece, and the impact of EU membership. In this context the issues discussed include:
- clientelism as the pertinent feature of political culture and politics in Greece and how this is interrelated with centralisation of power
- political parties and the reforming-modernising movements within
- the aspirations for modernisation attached to EU membership
- the self-reforming capacity of the Greek society
- pressures of EU policies on the national system.
Finally, there is an attempt to explain the resistance against reforms required in the context of Greece’s EU membership, focusing on decentralisation policies.

Schmidt-Felzmann, Anke  (University of Glasgow, a.schmidt-felzmann.1[a]research.gla.ac.uk)

All for One? The EU’s Common Foreign Policy towards Russia

The paper will examine the EU’s external policy towards the Russian Federation. Despite the numerous efforts that have been undertaken over the past decade or so to develop an effective EU common policy towards Russia and in spite of the various initiatives that have since been launched in an attempt to conceive a new strategy for the EU’s relations with Russia, differing politico-strategic interests among EU member states and EU institutions have compromised the possibility of realising this ambition. With the EU enlargements in 2004 and 2007, membership has increased to 27 countries and the EU has yet to come to grips with the substantive changes (geographic, systemic, internal/institutional) that these enlargements have brought about. The addition of 12 new member states within a relatively short period of time has had a considerable impact on the speed and efficiency of the EU’s decision-making system and practitioners have claimed that Russia is increasingly exploiting the differences among member states and EU institutions, seeking to influence EU policies from the outside. This paper aims to examine and explain how the addition of the new member states has affected EU-Russia cooperation and to explore the prospects of the EU-Russia relationship.

Sonntag, Albrecht (Ecole Superieures des Sciences Commerciales d’Angers, France, albrecht.sonntag[a]essca.fr)

Not Open to Negotiation: European Social Models as Symbols of National Identity

This paper argues that the perceived absence of any clearly identified European Social Model and the constitutional asymmetry (Scharpf 2002) of the European Union represent one the major keys for understanding the decline of popular support for the integration process.
Starting from the semantic deconstruction of the term "European Social Model" (Jepsen & Sorrano, 2005), the paper examines the extent to which national social models have become, by the beginning of the 21st century, so deeply embedded in the postwar narrative of each member state (especially in the old EU-15), that they are felt to be political symbols which express core values and stand for the perceived way of life of the collectivities they represent (SOFRES, 2002). They are therefore no longer perceived to be negotiable. At the same time, the integration process is increasingly considered as hostile outside threat to this emblematic symbol of national singularity. Enlargement has only reinforced the public visibility of the "constitutional asymmetry" of the Europea Union (Scharpf, 2002), under which regulating, market-correcting measures are clearly subordinate to deregulating, market-enhancing measures of negative integration (Chapon, 2004). Moreover, enlargement and, to a certain extent, the constitutional treaty, has put the existing national models even more into competition between one another, feeding the perception of threat. As a result, large parts of the populations concerned cling to their specific model in cognitive dissonance: even knowing that it neither performs as well as it used to nor is sustainable in the long run, they feel the need to defend it at all costs. In this context, the persistent use of the very term "European Social Model" by politicians and media alike in order to describe or anticipate a community of values can only sound like a hollow, if not sarcastic, phrase in the ears of many citizens.

Wunderlich, Jens-Uwe (Aston University, j.u.wunderlich[a]aston.ac.uk)

Recognising Regions in a Global Context: The European and Southeast Asian Experiences compared

This paper aims to contribute to the wider debate on regionalism, more specifically comparative regionalism, by analysing the concept region as an intermediate layer between the national and the global level. In the contemporary era of globalisation, the global level has received a great deal of scholarly attention. At the same time, the nation-state, the traditional focus of analysis of international relations, has proved to be extremely resilient. However, states, increasingly explore ways of mutual cooperation. And this is done more often on a regional level rather than the global one. Thus, it is perhaps a bit surprising that the concept region remains so ill-defined in much of the literature.
In a first step the paper briefly reviews the literature on recognising regions before outlining an eclectic framework of regionalism bringing together new avenues in theorising regionalism from European studies and international relations. The regional definition pays particular attention to socio-cultural and ideational aspects of region-building.
In a second step the paper engages in a comparison of the European and Southeast Asian experiences as regions. The paper, therefore, contributes to the discussion surrounding the debates on European and East Asian identities. It side-steps several methodological problems inherent in the conceptualisation of entities such as the EU and ASEAN at the international level, contributes to the debate surrounding the regional level in international relations scholarship and in the evolving framework of global multilevel governance and brings the EU back as a comparator to new regionalism scholarship.

Last modified: Friday, 31 August 2007
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