In or out of Europe? What prospects for Ukraine?
Abstract The paper outlines the ambitions of, and economic and political reasons for, Ukraine to join the European Union (EU). Differences in interest and support for EU membership compared to other new EU members are discussed, including divisions among the population and elites, and the economic consequences of the enlargement for Ukraine. Public and elite in the EU are shown to be divided and lacking in support for further enlargement to include Ukraine (and Turkey). Alternatives to full membership of the EU are discussed. The European Neighbourhood Policy is considered to be the only viable alternative. This has political disadvantages, but some compensations. These include the possibilities for an independent trading policy with Russia and other parties. It has the advantage of allowing readjustment to market conditions to take place more slowly, ensuring political stability. Policy implications are that Ukraine should aim to be within Europe as part of the ENP, rather striving for EU membership which is unlikely to be conceded by the EU.
Ukraine in the European Union's Partnership Policy: A Case of Institutionalized Ambiguity
Abstract The relations between the European Union (EU) and Ukraine have been predominantly explained in the light of the European Neighbourhood Policy that ascribes a central role to political conditionality. This analytical approach, however, overlooks the fact that since the 1990s, the EU has been developing a partnership policy that needs to be taken into consideration. This partnership policy was enshrined in the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and the EU Common Strategy towards Ukraine in 1999, and with the advent of the twenty-first century came to incorporate differentiated elements, notably the growing politico-diplomatic alignment within the realm of Common Foreign and Security Policy and a tangible participation in Common Security and Defence Policy missions. While these features have ascribed the country a distinctive status, neither of the parties has hitherto engaged in formalizing a strategic partnership. Against this backdrop, this article attempts to explain this somewhat paradoxical situation by teasing out and discussing the evolution of the cooperation between the EU and Ukraine which is informed by a complex institutional and legal design. It argues that two decades of bilateral relationship have engendered an ambiguous partnership, given the necessity felt by the EU to give the upper hand to an intergovernmentally driven ‘Russia-first policy’, while accommodating Kiev's ambitions to become a EU full-fledged member.
Cultural constraints on the delivery of HIV/AIDS prevention in Ireland.
HIV appeared in Ireland following an opiate epidemic in the early 1980s. Initially, however, the gay community mounted the only response to the spread of the virus while the implementation of early actions by the government was hampered by the constructions of the disease within Irish society. This paper considers the influence of the religious hierarchy in both the development of AIDS policy and in the shaping of public perceptions of the disease and those affected. A qualitative methodology is used to examine the role of such cultural constraints in an evaluation of the social context within which the prevention of HIV infection occurs. Three key issues pertinent to the policy context in Ireland are explored in depth. These are the role of the Catholic Church, the influences on health education programmes, particularly information giving, and the development of services and other interventions. These findings are discussed within the social and political contexts in which health policy is formulated.