Why the 'Militarising' of the European Union is strengthening the concept of a 'Civilian power Europe'

CFSP/ESDP; NATO; power analysis

Greek parliamentarians and Greek foreign policy (2004-2014)

The Europeanisation of Greek foreign policy was announced in the 1990s as a ‘success story’. However, it has led to a vivid debate over whether this has really occurred or if it only amounted to ‘superficial Europeanisation’. More recent research, that also takes into consideration the impact of the current financial and economic crises, tends to confirm the latter approach. However, there is very little research on ‘deep Europeanisation’, for instance on its ‘crossloading’ dimension. This is particularly so over the international role of Greek parliamentarians. It also represents a gap in the growing academic study of ‘parliamentary diplomacy’, and that on International Parliamentary Institutions, including on the European Parliament. This paper is a pilot study that presents preliminary findings from the Hellenic Parliament (in Greek, the Vouli ton Ellenon, in short the Vouli), from Greek members of the European Parliament (MEPs), and from a parliamentary network, the World Hellenic Inter-Parliamentary Association. Its objective is to call for the need for more research on this subject

The Catalan Parliament and the Mediterranean : a preliminary assessment

This study consists of four parts. It begins with an overview of the Spanish political system and how Catalonia fits into it, with an emphasis on Spain's foreign policy decision-making process (section 1). The following sections cover Catalonia and the Mediterranean (section 2), before concentrating on the Catalan Parliament (section 3). This study then concludes with a summary of the main findings and a set of guidelines for possible future research.Aquest estudi consta de quatre parts. S'inicia amb una visió general del sistema polític espanyol i com encaixa a Catalunya que, amb un èmfasi en la política exterior d'Espanya presa de decisions. En les seccions següents es refereixen a Catalunya i la Mediterrània, abans de concentrar al Parlament català. Aquest estudi conclou amb una resum de les principals conclusions i una sèrie de directrius per a la investigació futura possible

The CFSP/ESDP, Parliamentary Accountability, and the 'Future of Europe' Convention debate

This paper examines the importance that the current Convention on the Future of Europe is giving (or not) to the question of democratic accountability in European foreign and defence policy. As all European Union (EU) member states are parliamentary democracies1, and as there is a European Parliament (EP) which also covers CFSP (Common Foreign and Security Policy) and ESDP (European Security and Defence Policy2) matters, I will concentrate on parliamentary accountability rather than democratic accountability more widely defined. Where appropriate, I will also refer to the work of other transnational parliamentary bodies such as the North Atlantic Assembly or NAA (NATO's Parliamentary Assembly) or the Western European Union (WEU) Parliamentary Assembly3. The article will consist of three sections. First, I will briefly put the question under study within its wider context (section 1). Then, I will examine the current level of parliamentary accountability in CFSP and defence matters (section 2). Finally, I will consider the current Convention debate and assess how much attention is being given to the question of accountability in foreign and defence policies (section 3). This study basically argues that, once again, there is very little interest in an issue that should be considered as vital for the future democratic development of a European foreign and defence policy. It is important to note however that this paper does not cover the wider debate about how to democratise and make the EU more transparent and closer to its citizens. It concentrates on its Second Pillar because its claim is that very little if any attention is being given to this questionEn aquest treball s'analitza la importància que l'actual Convenció sobre l'Futur d'Europa està donant (o no) a la qüestió de la responsabilitat democràtica en la política exterior i de defensa. Com tots els de la Unió Europea (UE), els Estats membres són democracies parlamentàries, i com no és un Parlament Europeu (PE), que també cobreix la PESC (Política Exterior i de Seguretat) i la PESD (Política Europea de Seguretat i Defensa). Em concentraré en la legislatura, la rendició de comptes en lloc de la responsabilitat democràtica més àmpliament definit. Si s'escau, també es referirà a la tasca d'altres òrgans parlamentaris transnacionals com l'Assemblea Parlamentària de l'OTAN o l'UEO. L'article constarà de tres seccions. En primer lloc, plantejar breument la qüestió dins del seu context més ampli . A continuació, examinaré el nivell actual de la responsabilitat parlamentària en la PESC i els assumptes de defensa. Finalment, vaig a considerar el debat actual Conveni i avaluar fins a quin punt s'està prestant atenció a la qüestió de la rendició de comptes en les polítiques exteriors i de defensa. Aquest estudi sosté, bàsicament, que, un cop més, hi ha molt poc interès en un tema que ha de ser considerat com vital per al futur desenvolupament democràtic d'una política exterior i de defensa. És important tenir en compte però, que aquest article no s'aplica a un debat més ampli sobre com democratitzar i fer que la UE sigui més transparent i més propera als ciutadans. Es concentra en el seu segon pilar, ja que la seva pretensió és que molt poca o cap atenció se li està donant a aquesta pregunt

The new Inter-Parliamentary Conference on the CFSP/CSDP. Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series Vol. 14 No. 12, July 2014

The objectives of the 2009 Lisbon Treaty (LT) include ways to improve the democratic and international images of the European Union (EU). The focus of the literature has so far focused on the overall treaty impact and on the EU´s international role. This paper considers instead its impact on the question of the democratic accountability of the EU´s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), including its Common Security and Defence Policy dimension (CSDP). This paper consists of three parts: (1) The first part describes the changes the LT has made for the European Parliament (EP) in terms of its external relations. (2) The second part presents the many deficits that the EU suffers from in its foreign, security and defence policies. (3) The third part offers a preliminary analysis of the recently created Inter-Parliamentary Conference (IPC) on CFSP/CSDP, which in addition to MEPs (EP members) includes parliamentarians from the national EU parliaments. The paper concludes that although the IPC is a positive development in trying to bridge those existing democratic gaps, it remains only a step in the right direction due to the existence of many such deficits in the foreign, security and defence policies of the EU and of its member states

Chipre: un momento crucial

La expectativa de la adhesión de Chipre a la Unión Europea ofrece una oportunidad única para resolver el futuro de la isla tras treinta años de división. La invasión turca de 1974 dividió a la entonces República de Chipre en dos zonas, una en la parte sur, grecochipriota y remanente de la República independizada del Reino Unido en 1960, y otra en la parte norte, turcochipriota y no reconocida internacionalmente (salvo por Turquía) denominada República Turca del Norte de Chipre. Tras pedir la Republica de Chipre, en 1990, su adhesión a la Unión Europea, ésta última se vio forzada a enfrentarse al problema de la partición. En este artículo se analizan las posiciones de los principales protagonistas del problema chipriota (las dos “Chipres”, Grecia, Turquía y el Reino Unido), las oportunidades de encontrar una solución antes de la adhesión de la isla a la UE y los posibles escenarios futuros que resulten de este momento crucial en la historia de Chipre

The Euro-Mediterranean parliamentary assembly, 2004 – 2008 : assessing the first years of the parliamentary dimension of the Barcelona process

Parliamentarization is an under‐studied dimension of Euro‐Mediterranean relations. A preliminary assessment of the Euro‐Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly shows that the parliamentary process is not unique to the Mediterranean. The origins, aims, and objectives of the EMPA are presented, as are its structure and functions during its first four years of existence. Despite many weaknesses and limitations, the EMPA can play an important role in Euro‐Mediterranean relations, but in order for it to do so, both its structures and functions need to be strengthened.peer-reviewe

Assessing the impact of the EMPA’s parliamentary diplomacy in International conflicts : contribution or obstacle?

This chapter is an updated version of Stelios Stavridis and Roderick Pace, «The EMPA and parliamentary diplomacy in the Mediterranean: a preliminary assessment», in Stelios Stavridis, Natividad Fernandez Sola (eds.), Factores politicos y de segundad en el area euromediterranea, Prensas Universitarias de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, 2009, pp. 125-148. An earlier draft was also presented as a paper entitled, Una evaluaci6n de la diplomacia parlamentana de la APEM en los conflictos internacionales del Mediterraneo, to the JORNADA de la Cittedra Jean Monnet del Profesor Garz6n Clariana: Asamblea Euromediterranea en el marco de la Presidencia Espanola (Barcelona, 16 April 2010).This chapter analyzes Euro-Mediterranean relations from the perspective of their parliamentary angle, and in particular from the role that the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly plays in the numerous international conflicts that exist in the region. The chapter's main objective is to present an assessment by concentrating on three such examples: the Middle East, Cyprus and the Western Sahara. The conclusion is that so far there has been to a large extent an unproductive near-obsession with the Palestinian issue, whereas on the contrary, there is no interest whatsoever in the other two conflicts. The reasons for this are many but the main one can be summarized as follows: the external effects of the latter two conflicts can more or less be contained. Those of the Middle East cannot. It is argued that such a poor record is not only due to the intrinsic difficulties of the conflicts involved, but also reflects badly on the real and potential role that parliamentary diplomacy can and should play in conflict resolution.peer-reviewe

The EMPA and parliamentary diplomacy in the Mediterranean : a preliminary assessment

The literature on Euro-Mediterranean relations is extensive, but most analysts agree that even in its current phase the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership/EMP, also known as the Barcelona Process has fallen short of its admittedly ambitious objectives as set out in the Catalan capital in November 1995. This pessimistic assessment is confirmed by several studies published on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the EMP, whose official celebration was marred by a boycott by numerous Arab leaders.peer-reviewe