Public opinion and EU accession - basic in political rhetoric (original) (raw)
Related papers
Between a rock and a hard place: Public opinion and integration in the Western Balkans
BiEPAG Policy Brief, 2020
Citizens of countries in the Western Balkans are still, overall, positive about the prospects of their countries joining the European Union. However, the path to EU membership is a long one and at the moment the people in the Balkans are caught between a rock and a hard place. The EU accession process seems endless and current member states are doing little to improve that; indeed some appear to be putting further obstacles in the way. Moreover, the de-politicisation of the accession process is having unintended consequences in that it does not allow voters to properly hold their elected representatives to account. This is the rock.The hard place is made up of the governments, politicians and institutions in the Balkan countries, which are the focal point of people’s dissatisfaction. Publics are sceptical about their governments’ commitment to European integration and this undermines the value of democracy.To move beyond the rock and the hard place, the European Commission must speed up the implementation of the revised enlargement methodology, with more meaningful incentives to continue reform. Western Balkans countries should be invited to contribute to the upcoming exercise in imagining the Future of Europe. The European Union should also reinforce current support for citizens and civil society to hold their governments to account and end the epidemic of state capture in the region.
East European Politics, 2015
This article examines the effects of the EU accession process on the representation of interests in R. Macedonia. Based on interview data from several types of interest groups, we conclude that the EU accession process has contributed towards the greater inclusion of highly Europeanized sectors of civil society in national decision-making. However, these developments are not so substantial as to justify the conclusion that interest groups have become systematically involved in national politics as a result of EU pressure. Our findings also confirm several modes of participation of interest groups in EU-level interest representation, although with limited scope and effects.
The Legitimacy of new Regionalism in the European Integration Process, eds. Polgar Istvan, Mircea Brie, Supplement of the Annals University of Oradea. International Relations and European Studies , 2023
As regards its position during the Cold War, the Yugoslav Federation under Tito refused to be part of either of the two rival power blocks, adopting a policy of non-alignment. Following the Yugoslav wars and the disintegration of the federation, the Serbian leadership and the citizens apparently have chosen a pro-European path, becoming a member of the Council of Europe and also applying for EU membership. However, within this paper we argue that despite Serbia applying for EU membership and gaining official candidate country status, in the past two decades its foreign policy towards the EU has been rather oscillating, an oscillation that is visible in the official public opinion polls as well. Applying the rational actor/choice model to its foreign policy, we arrive to the conclusion that especially from an economic perspective is more advantageous for Serbian decision-makers and its citizens to collaborate with the EU than with the alternative proposed by the Russian Federation, and in the long run to gain full membership. On the other hand, with regard to language, history, culture, tradition and religion the affinity towards Russia is unquestionable. Furthermore, we have identified various clashes in the EU-Serbia nexus, where the position of the latter was rather critical if not contradictory to that of the Community, such as the constant policy of conditioning, the problem of Christianity and of traditional family values, the Kosovo question, the 2015 migration/refugee crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic and the current war in Ukraine. Accordingly, this study has set as its main objective to examine and to understand the oscillations in Serbia’s relationship with the EU, mainly through the lens of the citizens, by undertaking an in-depth quantitative assessment of public opinion polls from the past two decades. It is being argued that despite its official candidate country status and geographic proximity, Serbian citizens see their relationship with the EU mainly in transactional terms, their stance being characterised by a passive alignment to the values and direction set by the European Community, rather than an active engagement. The same attitude could be detected at the level of the vast majority of the Serbian political elite as well, who despite implementing sound reforms for honouring the conditionality set by the Union in the 35 negotiation chapters, refused to vote the sanctions imposed by the EU on Russia.
Common and frequently used statement, which has strongly coloured the narrative on new European democracies’ accession in the European Union (hereinafter: the EU), is that Europeanization and democratization are actually one and identical process. For the purpose of this document and having in mind that demarcation of both terms is (and should be) subject of academic debates, it is sufficient to acknowledge that these terms have vague and multifold meaning. However, clarifying origins of this statement and context in which it has been given meaning should provide sufficient and solid introduction to the debate wherein complex dynamics of transition towards market societies, democratization and EU accession of new democracies are intersected.
Lithuanian public opinion and the EU membership
The Romanian Journal for Baltic and Nordic Studies, 2010
During the early 1990s, following the restoration of independence, Lithuania reoriented in terms of foreign policy towards West. One of the state’s main foreign policy goals became the accession to the EU and NATO. Acknowledging that the ‘opinion of the people’ is a crucial factor in today’s democracy as it is important and necessary for politicians to know and take into consideration the ‘public opinion’, that is the opinion of the people they represent, this paper brings into attention the public support for the political pro-West project. The paper is structured in two main parts. The first one presents in short the politicians’ discourse regarding Lithuania’s accession to the EU and its general ‘returning to Europe’, in the general context of the state’s new foreign policy, while the second part presents the results of different public opinion surveys regarding the same issue. Comparing these two sides, in the end, the paper provides the answer that the Lithuanian people backed ...
THE RISING EUROSCEPTICISM IN THE WESTERN BALKAN EUROPEAN CANDIDATE COUNTRIES
The aim of the research is to analyze euroscepticism in the Balkan European Candidate Countries (Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia). We want to both provide data sets over the feeling of belonging of these populations toward the European Union, and investigate the principal causes and elements of the phenomenon among them (political parties strategies, length of the negotiations, harmonization concerns, and some specific regional issues).
Turning EU into me and you: The politicization of EU representations in Macedonia
Političke perspektive, 2019
eu is discursive field where multiple meanings are created, negotiated and contested. research has shown that it has interpretive power often used as an instrument of political confrontation. Such is the case, this study argues, with the two largest Macedonian parties-the Social democrats and vMro-dPMnewho in a pursuit of changing or maintaining power have produced an eu discourse fitting to their own political agendas. In a situation of a prolonged political crisis, and a significant eu involvement in it, the two parties have turned their eu discourse into an instrument of positive presentation of the self and a negative presentation of the other. the general goal of the study is to analyze the specific discursive strategies in the party programs and media statements of the two parties and their leaders.
An ally to the people: EU membership conditionality and Albanians’ attitudes toward EU membership
European Societies, 2019
EU membership conditionality has been conceptualized as a dialogue between the EU and power elites of countries that aspire to join the Union. Research that inquire into the association between support for EU membership and conditions that the EU imposes on countries that aspire to join the Union remains scarce. Relying on data from a simple random sample of cellphone random digit dialing collected in summer 2015 in Albania, we found that people's view of EU membership conditionality as helping country's democratization firmly predicts support for their country's EU membership. Such a relationship outweighs respondents' concerns of EU conditions encroachment upon country's sovereignty as well as their prioritizing of economic development, even though they might expect economic benefits from country's EU membership. Our findings suggest people's concerns over country's democratization to be the primary force behind their support for EU membership.
2016
This paper examines less discussed aspects of Euroscepticism in Eastern Europe as a component of the institutional history of the 2004 EU enlargement. A focus on public support for European integration allows us to evaluate the consequences of the EU’s enlargement policy from the perspective of democratic legitimacy, as public attitudes demonstrate how institutions live up to the expectations of the citizens in a democratic setting. It also allows us to relate the legislative history of the eastward enlargement to its social impact and domestic political implications. The paper posits Euroscepticism as an unexpected outcome of the legal-institutional implementation of the EU enlargement policy. It argues that while East-European Euroscepticism defies clear categorisation as it fails to demonstrate consistent longitudinal trends not consistent across its performance evaluation, identity, and democratic legitimacy dimensions, it is indicative of the disconnect between the adjustment...