The Lion & The Ringmaster: Croatia's Accession to the European Union
July 1, 2013 marked Croatia's official induction into the European Union. For Croatia this was the culmination of a long negotiation process filled with concessions and challenges. This situation inspired the question of how Croatia's alliance with the EU has affected the state? In order to analyze this relationship the aspects of Croatian identity and sovereignty were explored, in addition to the EU's principles and problems regarding member and candidate states. The evidence found within this investigation came from a number of literary sources ranging from the academic to official government documents. Furthermore, nine interviews were conducted within Croatia, which explored how the EU's influence has affected the Croatian state. Through this research it was conclusively found that Croatia's alliance with the EU creates problems and exasperates existing issues within the country. Furthermore, this situation showcases a pattern of discrimination within the EU that benefits Western European EU states at the expense of its Central and Eastern counterparts. As a result, the recommendations would be to promote awareness of the double standards and discriminations occurring within the EU, which victimize Central and Eastern European states, so that these countries may be able to preserve their identity and sovereignty.
EUROPEAN INTEGRATION & SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE: PROSPECTS & CHALLENGES FOR THE WESTERN BALKANS
Recent enlargement of the EU beyond its traditional Western confines has made it a broad and heterogeneous institution. In the case of the Western Balkan states, the EU has an unprecedented opportunity to change the geopolitical context of Europe by offering them full membership. The policy of enlargement can serve as a tool whereby the Union is able to enhance its presence in the international arena and effectively promote its foreign policy. However, there have recently been signs of backtracking on the EU’s part. The paper will present the case for full absorption of the Western Balkan region in the Union in the near future so that not only the Balkan states but also the EU itself may benefit from stability and prosperity in the post-Cold War era.
European Neighbourhood Policy: Strategy or Placebo?
The EU now faces an existential dilemma in the apparent choice to be made between over-extending the enlargement process to the point of destroying its own governability, versus denying one of its founding values to be open to all European democracies and possibly generating negative effects from the exclusion of countries in its neighbourhood. The newly emerging European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) seeks a way out of the dilemma. This policy seems to pass through a familiar three-stage process for major EU initiatives: first the important idea enters political discourse, second the EU institutions take modest initial actions that are not up to the task and third, the EU accepts the need for credible action at a level commensurate with the challenge. The ENP has passed rapidly from the first to the second stage, with potential to move to the third stage, without it yet being clear whether the institutions will now go on to sufficiently develop their proposals. This issue presents itself as one of the most precise and significant challenges facing the new Commission presided by Mr Barroso. The new member states represent the EU’s newest resource, which could greatly contribute to a successful ENP.