Suchergebnisse

This new text introduces the history, evolution and contemporary state of one of the European Union's most important, expensive and controversial policies. It examines the role that cohesion policy plays in European integration, as well as in economic development across regions, and analyzes the key debates and issues at stake.

This book examines the impact of EU membership on the foreign policies of the 12 new member states that joined the EU in 2004 and 2007.Among scholars of European politics there is a general consensus that membership in the European Union changes the countries that join. Yet considerable debate remains over what exactly changes, to what extent, how or why these changes happen, and why some countries, policies, and institutions change more than others. Expert contributors examine the impact of EU integration and membership, with chapters on the 12 new EU entrants since 2004: Poland, Cz

This article examines the relaunch of European defense cooperation since2016 from the perspective of neoclassical realism, a theoretical approach tothe study of foreign policy which explores how domestic political andideational factors shape national foreign policy responses to internationalsystemic pressures. It argues that while Europe's changing geostrategic andsecurity environment has created incentives for increased defensecooperation, explaining the form and content of this cooperation requiresunderstanding the preferences of key European states, especially Franceand Germany. The article focuses on two new forms of European defensecooperation: PESCO and the E21, the former inside the EU institutionalframework and the latter outside of it. The article argues that theseinitiatives are explained by the contrast between French and Germanpreferences on defense cooperation, which in turn reflect their divergentnational security priorities but also their different strategic cultures,including their differing perspectives on European integration.

What explains national variation in the implementation of EU Cohesion Policy, in particular when it comes to the role of regions in Structural Funds management? This is an important question because, as some scholars have claimed, Cohesion Policy has the potential to empower regions and promote regionalization in Europe. Particularly in the new CEE member states, where relations between central and subnational authorities often remain unsettled or in a state of flux, the ability of regional authorities to exercise a substantial role in Cohesion Policy implementation could significantly impact intergovernmental relations and the balance of power between the central state and regions. This article examines this question in the case of one CEE member state, the Czech Republic, where the role of regions in Structural Funds management has been a particularly contentious issue over the course of three programming periods beginning in 2004. The article argues that the standard explanation in the literature for variation in Cohesion Policy implementation—national constitutional arrangements and governmental traditions—cannot explain the change of implementation systems in the Czech Republic because these remained constant over the three programming periods under investigation. Instead, the Czech case suggests the primary importance of regional administrative capacity and performance as a factor affecting Cohesion Policy implementation, while domestic politics and EU-level influences play important though secondary roles.