Issue No. 26

2018 Issue No. 26 /June

Table of Contents

1.Krzysztof CEBUL: IMAGES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE DEBATE HELD IN THE POLISH PARLIAMENT ON THE INFORMATION OF THE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS ON THE TASKS OF FOREIGN POLICY OF POLAND IN 2017

Abstract

 Abstract:

This paper is an analysis of speeches delivered by the Members of Parliament in the Sejm of the Republic of Poland during the discussion which took place on 9th February 2017 regarding the information from the Minister of Foreign Affairs about the tasks of the Polish foreign policy in 2017. The aim of the analysis focusing on parliamentary discourse was to reconstruct the images (visions) of the European Union created by the representatives of the main political powers in Poland. The analysis confirms that since 2007 there have evolved two separate images of the European Union in the Polish parliamentary discourse (EU as an area of rivalry/confrontation vs EU as a conciliatory Union), hence there have also been two different propositions of how Poland should participate in the integration process.

  • Keywords: parliamentary discourse, political divisions, integration process, full sovereignty, dependent sovereignty.
  • DOI:10.24193/OJMNE.2018.26.01
 

2. Adrian-Gabriel CORPĂDEAN: WHAT MACEDONIA? SOME CONSIDERATIONS ON THE CURRENT PERCEPTIONS OF THE NAME DISPUTE AMID FYROM’S EU INTEGRATION BID

Abstract

Abstract:

Part of an ampler study dedicated to the European integration prospects of the West Balkans, this study attempts to connect the perceptions of the Macedonian name dispute to the progress of the country in matters of its sinuous accession bid. A brief historical insight into the matter enables one to comprehend the complexity and unusually strong feelings surrounding this unique hurdle in the process of EU enlargement, with inflammatory actions on both sides of the dispute, namely Skopje and Athens, and with protracted efforts of international mediators. While the antiquisation policy pursued by FYROM, which has been a (albeit not the only) bone of contention in the conflict appears to be diminishing, it remains to be seen to what extent perceptions from inside and the vicinity of the interested parties still favour the integration bid and endow it with genuine chances of accomplishment before the feebly-enshrined date of 2025. The study examines the latest developments in the name dispute, with the positions of FYROM, Greek and EU decision-makers, as well as some statistical data underlining the perceptions of affected citizens. Set against the background of the difficulties the candidate country is facing apart from the aforementioned obstacle and the progress made in compliance with the acquis, we bring forth some of the recently-emerged scenarios that are likely to unblock the Macedonian file and, along with it, appease some of the scepticism surrounding the West Balkans’ integration bid.

 

3. Dorin-Mircea DOBRA: THE “MEDIUM-TERM” HAS PASSED FOR THREE OF THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP COUNTRIES. HOW DOES THE NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY REACT?

Abstract

Abstract:

Since the adoption of the European Neighbourhood Policy, criticism has been directed to the lack of policy instruments correlated with the objectives of the countries concerned. Following the evolution of relations between the EU and the six Eastern Partnership countries, three of the latter are proposing an EU accession project in the future. The EU has configured the evolution of these partnerships through Summits dedicated to the Eastern Partnership. At the request of Ukraine, Georgia and the Republic of Moldavia, the EU is owed with clarifications and options on the prospects for European accession for the three. The summit this year could offer such an opportunity if the EU were not caught up in so many dilemmas about its own future.

  • Keywords: EU enlargement, Eastern Partnership, European Neighbourhood Policy, Eastern European countries, Euro-fatigue
  • DOI:10.24193/OJMNE.2018.26.03
 

4. Antonela GYÖNGY: ASPECTS OF EUROPE´S NORMATIVE POWER IN THE CONTEXT OF ROMANIA´S TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE

Abstract

Abstract:

This paper aims to provide an insight into the European Union constructing its role as a normative power in relation to Central and Eastern European countries. Special attention is drawn to a specific scenario, namely Romania´s attempts to initiate the transitional justice process. Thereby, it is shown that transitional justice has become increasingly relevant within the EU, and that it has recently evolved into an independent European field of action within the democratization policy. This leads to the question of previous manifestations and impacts of Europe´s normative power role in relation to Central and Eastern European countries, more specifically to Romania´s transitional justice measures. Although a more indirect approach has been followed, the diffusion of Europe´s norms within communicative platforms and even normative pressure were identified in relation to truth seeking attempts and reconciliation with the communist past.

  • Keywords: normative power, transitional justice, Romania, European Union, reconciliation with the communist past
  • DOI:10.24193/OJMNE.2018.26.04

5. Bartosz JANKOWSKI: CHANGES IN THE EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENT POLICY AFTER 2020. CONCLUSIONS FOR THE VISEGRÁD GROUP

Abstract

Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the changes that will take place in the development policy of the European Union after 2020 from the perspective of the Visegrád Group states. The article begins from a short description of the systems of development cooperation among the four states of the Visegrád Group. The analysed elements are i.a.: evolution of engagement of V4 states in development cooperation and assumptions of their assistance programmes, particularly the assisted sectors and countries. Through the above, the author indicates that the V4 states have a similar historical experience of their cooperation with developing countries and their development programmes have similar characteristics (for example, the assistance level, supported sectors and countries) and problems, i.a. in execution of their international obligations. As a result, the V4 states are not in the centre of the debate on development assistance. The next part of the article analyses the conditions of development policies, indicating both changes in the international environment of the European Union, such as the increasing differentiation among the developing countries, growth of the position of BRIC countries or adoption of the new development agenda, and also the changes that have occurred within the European Union itself, including i.a.: institutional changes and Brexit. The above constitutes the basis for the analysis of potential changes in the development policy of the European Union after 2020. The paper ends with an analysis of the challenges faced by the V4 states on their way to effective participation in international development cooperation.

  • Keywords: development assistance, Visegrád Group, V4, European Union, sustainable development goals
  • DOI:10.24193/OJMNE.2018.26.05
 

 6. Beata PISKORSKA: THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP – A CHALLENGE FOR THE EU’S SOFT POWER IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Abstract

Abstract

The main problem analysed by the article is one of the key issues of theory and practice in European studies, the impact of the European Union on its surroundings, mainly eastern neighbours in order to change it in accordance with its own preferences. The analysis has been made based on the specifics of the nature of the European Union, which exploits the resources of soft power understood as the system of values, cultural identity and political activities undertaken towards the Eastern Partnership states. It is an idea launched in May 2009 on the basis of the European Neighbourhood Policy and essentially replicated the main weakness of the ENP, offering too little incentive and support to the partners. Therefore, the main aim will be the analysis of the main assumptions, goals and instruments of the EaP as the principal tool of the European Union’s soft power toward the region. Simultaneously, a controversial issue of soft power effectiveness of the European Union has been discussed – identified as its soft power in the activities involving the eastern neighbourhood in the post-Soviet region.

 7. Bartosz M. RYDLIŃSKI: VIKTOR ORBÁN – FIRST AMONG ILLIBERALS? HUNGARIAN AND POLISH STEPS TOWARDS POPULIST DEMOCRACY

Abstract

 Abstract:

The main aim of the article is to examine a new phenomenon which we witness in Central Europe, namely the illiberal shift. The significant victory of Viktor Orbán in 2010 has determined a new era not only in Hungarian but also in European politics. Basic rules and principles of liberal democracy in Hungary have been deeply weakened. The attack on the separation of powers, the rights of the opposition, independence of public institutions are only few examples of the current illiberal matrix used by Fidesz’s government in Hungary, but also Law and Justice in Poland. Importantly, this paper analyses the correlation between the transition process of the early 1990s and the current conservative and declarative anti-neoliberal revolution in the region. Readers of this article could also discover some links with even more illiberal political practices applied by the countries of the former Soviet bloc.

 

8. Hasan SALIU: MULTIPLE TARGET AUDIENCES, CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF PRISTINA-BELGRADE DIALOGUE

Abstract

Abstract:

Political actors often use media to convey messages of self-praise to the public. In such cases, they give the media only the information representing their positive side. When the developments in society pose increasing public interest as was the case with the last agreement between Pristina and Belgrade which is treated in this paper, the parties pay more attention to presenting themselves as winners against each other, rather than being concerned with informing the public about the real content of the international agreement. The findings of the paper show that a message giver, which could be either the Serbian party or the Albanian party of Kosovo, has at the same time four groups of message receivers: the country’s opposition, its electorate, the opposing parties and the international mediation party. Considering that their message is addressed to those four different types of public, the findings show that the givers of the message do not hesitate to massage the message in order to impact the four different groups of public, and use media only as a transmission channel of their public relation strategies.

  • Keywords: media; communication actors; political communication; political message; information management.
  • DOI:10.24193/OJMNE.2018.26.08
 

9. Anna SKOLIMOWSKA: THE FUTURE OF THE NORMATIVE POWER EUROPE CONCEPT FROM THE VISEGRAD GROUP’S PERSPECTIVE

Abstract
Abstract: The European Union (EU) is becoming an independent actor of International Relations. Its external activities are diverse: ranging from economic relations (mainly through the Common Commercial Policy or association agreements) to the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). Also, the geographical scope of its presence is wide – from the nearest neighborhood in the European continent to the countries of Africa, Far East or South America. For this reason, in the academic as well as in the public discourse, questions are posed on the EU’s role in international relations. One of the leading concepts is an idea of the European Union as a normative power (Normative Power Europe, NPE). This article will analyze the status quo and future of the NPE concept among Visegrad countries expressed in the discourse of their political elites in: Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It is assumed that the changing nature of the international reality in recent years, i.e. the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the migration crisis undermined the dominant narration about the EU in International Relations as a Normative Power and led to new forms of expression of its international identity. Political discourse in the new member states of the EU will be analyzed in searching for an answer to the question: what is the perception of the NPE in the selected Central European countries?   
  • Keywords:Normative Power Europe concept, Common Foreign and Security Policy, global strategy in foreign relations, Visegrad countries
  • DOI:10.24193/OJMNE.2018.26.09
 

10. Filip TERESZKIEWICZ: VISEGRAD EUROSCEPTICISM: DISCURSIVE NODAL POINTS IN EUROSCEPTIC DISCOURSES SURROUNDING EXTERNAL ACTIONS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Abstract

Abstract:

Increasing support for Eurosceptic parties and movements can be observed in the European Union’s (EU) member states since 2009, when the economic crisis heavily affected the continent. This process has happened also within Central and Eastern European countries, especially in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary (collectively referred to as the Visegrad Group countries, or V4 for short). The goal of this paper is an analysis of far-right Eurosceptic politicians and their attitudes towards EU external actions. Using the Thomas Diez concept of discursive nodal points (DNPs) and examining European Parliament (EP) debates, literature about V4 Euroscepticism and media reports, this paper attempts to give answers about their attitudes to aspects of EU external actions. First, the notion of Euroscepticism is examined and the main difficulties with the definition are briefly discussed. Then, the methodology of this research and the concept of DNPs are laid out. The following section pays attention to V4 Eurosceptic politicians’ (V4E) attitudes towards five areas of EU external actions: EU-Russia relations, EU defence policy, environmental policy, development assistance policy, and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) issue. In the conclusion, the author summarises that V4 Eurosceptics are divided in their positions towards EU external actions. Paradoxically, they are linked not in the being in opposition towards the EU, but rather in having pro-Russian attitudes and being against any EU activity that would violate Kremlin’s interests.

11. Monika TROJANOWSKA-STRZĘBOSZEWSKA: THE IMPACT OF THE MIGRATION CRISIS ON THE PROCESS OF SHAPING GOALS AND INSTRUMENTS OF THE EU IMMIGRATION POLICY.

Abstract

Abstract:

The aim of the article is the reconstruction of the nature of the EU immigration policy that emerges from the EU’s activities in the migration crisis, undertaken from 2015 till 2017. The analysis is focused on the legislative and political measures adopted by the EU according to the European Agenda on Migration, which was presented in May 2015. The implementation of this political agenda was de facto the EU’s response to the unprecedented inflow of asylum seekers and economic migrants to Europe. The article underlines that security is a factor which fundamentally determines the EU’s immigration policy from its very beginning, but after 2015 the security-oriented aspects of the EU’s immigration policy was furthered strengthened. The EU’s intervention in the migration crisis, giving priority to security-driven concern, was focused on meeting a ‘secure borders’ demand, understood as increasing the level of their closing (as opposed to opening) and impenetrability. As a result, the EU’s response to the migration crisis has been very narrow, fragmented and insufficient in the short-term, as well as in the long-term activities.

 

  VARIA

12. Diana Mariana POPA: LIFE SATISFACTION OF EAST EUROPEAN MIGRANTS IN THREE CLUSTERED EUROPEAN DESTINATIONS

Abstract

Abstract:

This paper looks at the declared levels of happiness and life satisfaction of migrants from three East European countries: Bulgaria, Poland and Romania. The Inglehart–Welzel cultural map is used for grouping the main destination countries for East European (EE) migrants into three clusters: the Protestant cluster, the English-speaking cluster and the Catholic cluster. The well-being of East European migrants is compared between the three clusters and with that of natives using data from the first 7 waves of the European Social Survey. The article contains the following findings: both as a group and as distinct groups from the three countries of origin, EE migrants are most satisfied with life in the Protestant cluster and the least happy in the Catholic cluster; democratic structures are a key element for the life satisfaction of East European migrants.

 

13. Eskja VERO, Edi PUKA: THE EFFECTIVENESS OF CRITICAL THINKING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the role of the university as an educational institution to encourage young people to express critical thinking. Critical thinking should become part of the teaching process so that students engage more in analyzing social problems that exist in society. Often, we see young people in audiences who discuss, interpret different social problems and do so based on personal judgment or personal experience and not on the basis of facts or arguments. At this point, there is a need for students to develop critical thinking skills as a necessity to understand and identify phenomena occurring in social reality. The focus of the paper is on the question: How much does the European University of Tirana enable the student to think critically? What are some of the basic skills you need to teach students to develop critical thinking and how much is critical thinking part of the curriculum? What are some skills that one needs to teach students for developing critical thinking and how much is the space of expressing critical thinking part of the curriculum? If critical thinking were to become more integrated in the teaching process, this would help students engage more in understanding knowledge, identifying social problems, and problem-solving abilities. The document focuses on the university as the main institution that should foster the power of critical thinking in students.

 

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