Suchergebnisse

This paper analyses the perception of the new member states of the EU (the 2004 and 2007 entrants) by the old member states' representatives. The text utilizes an updated version of image theory and it is based on 24 interviews with diplomats from permanent representations of the old member states in Brussels. It argues that the mutual perception between the EU member states has an impact on coalition building and thus also on the decision-making process of the EU. Although the newcomers are perceived positively in general terms, there are several differences between them in terms of their activities and behaviour at the EU level as well as in the cultural area. The paper therefore divides the newcomers into groups according to the image that is ascribed to them (the four general images are those of a close ally, a passive ally, a distant ally, and a detached ally). Adapted from the source document.

This paper analyzes a change of attitude among the Visegrad Group (Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary) towards energy security, as a result of the 2009 gas crisis. On the one hand, the crisis fully unveiled the challenges these countries face in regard to energy security; on the other hand, it provided an important impulse for cooperation among them. This contribution studies the development of this cooperation in the periods before and after the crisis, when the first concrete steps toward increasing energy security were undertaken by the V4 countries (most importantly, the planned North-South energy corridor). It also examines the role of the EU, which supports infrastructural projects in central Europe. The paper argues that the crisis has had a positive influence on the increase of cooperation in energy security, which was previously, despite its challenging nature, largely neglected by the governments of V4 countries. The crisis thus served as a catalyst for cooperation, and paradoxically has had a positive influence on the increase of energy security in the region. Adapted from the source document.