Right Goals, Wrong Tools? Civil Society Empowerment in the EU Accession Process

Civil society organizations (CSOs) have the potential to serve as important domestic agents of change. One of the European Commission’s declared aims for countries aspiring to join the European Union is the empowerment of civil society throughout the accession process. This was a lesson learned from the previous enlargement toward Central and Eastern Europe, which was dominated by executive actors and saw only patchy implementation of adopted reforms. The Commission has sought to strengthen the involvement of CSOs in political processes by building their internal capacities and fostering an enabling environment for their operation. Nonetheless, both empirical evidence and the very setup of the EU’s support suggest that the Commission struggles to move beyond a purely instrumental use of civil society empowerment. Croatia’s accession process illustrates the limitations of the Commission’s current approach. The recent addition of a more political dimension of civil society support is welcome, but further steps are needed to strengthen CSOs as active partners in the policy-making process. This paper concludes by proposing seven concrete steps that the Commission should take, from further strengthening the political dimension of civil society support and insisting on the involvement of CSOs in membership negotiating processes to supporting ongoing CSO initiatives on the ground

How Covid-19 is deepening democratic backsliding and geopolitical competition in the western Balkans

Several countries in the Western Balkans have responded to the Covid-19 outbreak with draconian measures that entail a further erosion of democracy, writes Natasha Wunsch. She argues the pandemic is shining a spotlight on the impact of geopolitical competition in the Western Balkans, where authoritarian forces are undermining the EU’s democracy promotion efforts

Democratic backsliding has not (yet) united the populist radical right in the European Parliament

The European Union is currently facing the double challenge of the rise of radical right populism and the presence of democratic backsliding in several member states. Yet despite the overlap of actors engaged in both processes, Mihail Chiru and Natasha Wunsch show that democratic backsliding has not yet served as a catalyst for populist radical right cooperation inside the European Parliament. Instead, ideological divergences and institutional fragmentation still pose an obstacle to collaboration between populist radical right parties at the European level

Supranational responses to democratic backsliding: norm contestation and discursive polarisation in the European Parliament

The European Parliament (EP) has repeatedly been criticised for its slow, insufficient response to democratic backsliding in several member states. At the same time, it is the arena where we find some of the most vigorous defences of the EU’s fundamental values and appeals to safeguard the rule of law across the Union. Leveraging an original dataset of MEP statements from plenary debates over the last two EP terms (2009–2019), this article examines the dynamics of norm contestation in the EP’s responses to democratic backsliding. We observe a discursive polarisation primarily along ideological lines, with a notable slippage among European People’s Party legislators who shift from scepticism towards EU intervention in rule of law matters to overt support. We show how Eurosceptic MEPs and those from backsliding countries seek to appeal to domestic voters by invoking negative partisanship and anti-Western resentment to discredit EU criticism. In contrast, pro-intervention MEPs situate their discourse at the supranational level and focus on defending European unity and the rule of law as shared identity. Overall, the growing contestation over the nature of fundamental values by Eurosceptics has crystallized a more vocal and differentiated engagement of Europhile MEPs in democratic backsliding debates

EU-Kandidatenstatus für Serbien: Ein Hinhalten Belgrads verzögert die Lösung der Kosovo-Frage nur weiter

Beim EU-Gipfel im Dezember hätte Serbien gern einen weiteren Schritt Richtung Beitritt getan. Doch die Mitgliedstaaten konnten sich nicht darauf einigen, dem Land den Kandidatenstatus zu verleihen. Allen voran Deutschland verweigerte die Zustimmung, um Belgrad zu größeren Zugeständnissen in der Kosovo-Frage zu bewegen. Das ist ein falsches Signal. Stattdessen sollte die EU die Reformbemühungen Serbiens durch eine Beförderung im Beitrittsprozess würdigen

Die Festnahme von Ratko Mladić: Der EU-Beitritt Serbiens rückt näher

Mit der Festnahme des seit fünfzehn Jahren flüchtigen Generals Ratko Mladić hat Serbien eine entscheidende Voraussetzung für die angestrebte EU-Mitgliedschaft erfüllt. Mladić werden Genozid, Kriegsverbrechen und Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit während des Bosnien-Kriegs zur Last gelegt. Voraussichtlich in einer Woche wird ihm in Den Haag der Prozess gemacht. Trotz dieses wichtigen Schrittes muss Serbien bis zum EU-Beitritt noch weitere Hürden nehmen

Overcoming the enlargement deadlock: An action plan for the incoming EU Leadership

EU enlargement policy appears to have reached a deadlock. Following years of stagnation and relative neglect, the European Commission’s attempts in 2018 to reinvigorate the EU’s engagement with the Western Balkans and to provide a credible enlargement perspective to the region have been thwarted by a lack of commitment on the part of (some) EU member states. The October 2019 European Council decision to once again postpone the opening of accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia is but the latest in a long series of delays in the enlargement process over the past years. This latest stunt has left the region reeling, with local leaders alternately endorsing a rapprochement with Russia and China or calling for snap elections to confirm their countries’ European path. The new BiEPAG brief which was presented during the policy event in European Policy Centre on November 14, offers recommendations on: Overcoming the enlargement deadlock: An action plan for the incoming EU Leadershi

Overcoming the enlargement deadlock: An action plan for the incoming EU Leadership

EU enlargement policy appears to have reached a deadlock. Following years of stagnation and relative neglect, the European Commission’s attempts in 2018 to reinvigorate the EU’s engagement with the Western Balkans and to provide a credible enlargement perspective to the region have been thwarted by a lack of commitment on the part of (some) EU member states.The October 2019 European Council decision to once again postpone the opening of accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia is but the latest in a long series of delays in the enlargement process over the past years. This latest stunt has left the region reeling, with local leaders alternately endorsing a rapprochement with Russia and China or calling for snap elections to confirm their countries’ European path.The new BiEPAG brief which was presented during the policy event in European Policy Centre on November 14, offers recommendations on:Overcoming the enlargement deadlock: An action plan for the incoming EU Leadershi

Keine Entwarnung nach der Europawahl: der Einfluss EU-skeptischer Kräfte geht über das Europäische Parlament hinaus

In der Europawahl konnten EU-skeptische Kräfte noch einmal zulegen. Zwar wird es ihnen aufgrund ihrer mangelnden Kooperationsbereitschaft untereinander kaum gelingen, die Gesetzgebung im Europäischen Parlament maßgeblich zu beeinflussen. Doch nimmt ihr Einfluss in der EU zu. Sie stellen in einigen Mitgliedstaaten die Regierung, wirken im Europäischen Rat und werden Kommissare stellen. Gemäßigte Parteien sollten deshalb mehr Gestaltungswillen wagen und EU-Skeptiker in der inhaltlichen Diskussion stellen

Westbalkan: EU-Erweiterung in der Krise

"Die globale Wirtschafts- und Finanzkrise hat schwerwiegende Auswirkungen auf die ökonomische und politische Lage in ganz Europa. Die Länder des Westlichen Balkans leiden jedoch doppelt unter der aktuellen Situation: Die Krise verstärkt nicht nur die Erweiterungsmüdigkeit der EU-Mitglieder, sie gefährdet auch die über lange Jahre positive wirtschaftliche Entwicklung der Volkswirtschaften Südosteuropas. Der EU-Beitritt der Region rückt so in noch weitere Ferne. Dabei sollte die EU den Westlichen Balkan gerade jetzt stützen, um einer Destabilisierung der Region entgegen zu wirken. Eine gezielte Vergabe von vorhandenen EU-Mitteln sowie die Ausarbeitung einer Strategie in Anlehnung an »Europa 2020« könnte zur wirtschaftlichen Konsolidierung der Region beitragen. Diese sollte durch die Beschleunigung der kroatischen Beitrittsverhandlungen und die Gewährung des Kandidatenstatus an die übrigen Länder politisch flankiert werden." [Autorenreferat