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Learning Curve of the Conditionality of the EU's Enlargement Policy - the Role of the "Good Neighborhood Principle" in the Case of Border Disputes.
Lipská, Jana ; Šlosarčík, Ivo (advisor) ; Kasáková, Zuzana (referee)
DP JANA LIPSKÁ Abstract The thesis examines the policy of good neighborliness as one of the conditions for the accession of (Balkan) countries to the EU. As it is an unanchored concept, the thesis should focus on its development and the possibility of its enforcement as a conditionality. It is its enforceability that the EU has at least partially achieved after the enlargement to Croatia in 2013, or by modifying the conditionality in 2018, when the settlement of bilateral disputes became a condition for the admission of the new state. This paper explains this change in conditionality and what led EU officials to make it. The EU has also changed its role in these disputes. It has moved from being an active mediator to a passive position from which it primarily motivates the parties involved in the dispute to resolve it. The EU demonstrates its role as a normative power, which is what it uses conditionality for. The basic premise is that previously the EU has tried to intervene more and resolve such disputes, while at the same time it accepted states that have not resolved them. The Union has learned from this and its policy has changed to less involvement but more emphasis on resolving such disputes. This thesis recalls the fundamental turning point that led to the decision of EU leaders, which was Croatia's...
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Shaping Public Attitudes towards European Integration in the Western Balkans: Euroscepticism, Europhilia and Eurorealism in North Macedonia
Dimopoulou, Maria Paschalina ; Klípa, Ondřej (advisor) ; Styczyńska, Natasza (referee)
European Politics and Society Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Programme MA Thesis Attitudes towards European Integration in the Western Balkans: Euroscepticism and Europhilia in North Macedonia Maria Paschalina Dimopoulou Abstract The progress in the integration of EU candidate member states is determined by the level of democratization they have achieved, the level of success in the transition to market economy, the rule of law development and the ability to fulfill the conditions obligatory for member states. The attitudes towards the prospect of membership range from fervent enthusiasm to severe skepticism, depending on the length of the process, the success or lack thereof in the institutional transformation, the compatibility of the European values with traditional norms and region-specific reasons. There have been many studies focusing on the Central and East European former candidate states, while contemporary research on the Western Balkan region is rather focused on the EU's enlargement fatigue and conditionality failure. This thesis attempts to examine the role of domestic media of a candidate state in shaping the public opinion and the possible role of the political parties using the media to project their agendas on integration. The case study of North Macedonia proves the positive connection...
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The Merchant or the Vicar? The Role of Values and Interests in the Dutch EU Enlargement Policy
Lellák, Jan ; Rovná, Lenka (advisor) ; Váška, Jan (referee)
This diploma thesis examines with the Dutch attitude towards enlargement of the European Union. In Netherlands the EU enlargement is a politically sensitive issue. Dutch foreign policy is traditionally closely connected with the concept of "merchant and the vicar", reflecting both values of the society and national interests. Interestingly the attitude of the government, reflecting the public opinion, is much more conservative compared to other member states and strictly support the democratic conditionality as the core strategy of the EU to induce candidate states to comply with its human rights and democracy standards. Netherlands gives also special value to the need to give particular regards to the current absorption capacity of EU. The main purpose of the thesis is to evaluate to what extent is the official attitude of the Dutch government towards enlargement shaped by either interests or values of the society as a whole. I put the current Dutch attitude in the context of the current development in Serbia, as the most significant candidate state form the region of Western Balkans and Iceland. The thesis analyses two very similar cases: the cooperation with the ICTY in Hague and the Icesave dispute. Netherlands has long and persistently blocked the accession negotiations with Iceland and...
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