The Swedish Presidency
This article reviews the performance of the Swedish government whilst holding the European Union Council Presidency for six months during 2009, and thus has the opportunity to 'lead' the European Union. The article is published in the JCMS Annual Review, the Yearbook/special issue of the Journal of Common Market Studies (JCMS): the world's leading academic peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the study of European integration and the European Union, and the official journal of the University Association of European Contemporary Studies (UACES), Europe's largest academic organization of EU scholars and practitioners
Nordic-Baltic Interaction in European Union Negotiations: Taking Advantage of Institutionalized Cooperation
Given the long tradition of regional cooperation around the Baltic Sea, one could expect the Nordic-Baltic European Union (EU) members (these countries are known as the NB6; they are Sweden, Demark, Finland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania) to pool power in exerting influence in the EU. By drawing on the empirical evidence from the case studies on the Baltic Sea Strategy, the Stockholm Programme, and the EU climate negotiations, the author explains the mechanisms through which the members of the institutionalized coalition of NB6 interact in pre-negotiation stage in the EU Council, thus enhancing their bargaining power. However, we cannot speak of a permanent regional “bloc” in the EU because of member states’ interest differences.
The European Union: A Joker or Just an Ordinary Playing Card for Slovenian Political Parties?
Since independence in 1991 and until full membership in 2004, the EU played only a side role in party politics in Slovenia. However, the situation has remained very similar in the first four years of full EU membership as EU issues do not directly influence inter-party competition. Such issues have in fact held particular salience for national politics, but little salience for party politics. In addition, the EU arena has not exerted a significant impact on parties' internal organizational changes. The influence of the EU on a party and politics relates mainly to two factors: the governmental position of a party and its representation in the European parliament.