Hungary's EU Integration: Institution-Building in the Central Government

In: Südost-Europa: journal of politics and society, Band 56, Heft 2, S. 222-247

Abstract

The article examines the vps and downs of Hungary's accession to the European Union. It considers Europeanization as a process parallel to EU accession, and uses key terms accordingly. Hungary's development in the 1990s is thus described as "anticipatory Europeanization", the more concrete EU perspective taken up in 1998 as "adaptive Europeanization", the years between 1998 and 2002 are labeled as "derailed Europeanization", and the years after the actual EU accession as "post-accession crisis". Much of this analysis focuses on the central government, but also includes developments on the sub-national, i.e. meso- and micro-levels of Hungarian public administration. The conclusion offers an outlook for the imminent future, as Hungary prepares for assuming the EU presidency in 2011. Adapted from the source document.