Optionen zur Verankerung von Solidarität in einer erweiterten EU

Europas gemeinsame Währung und die bevorstehende Erweiterung haben die EU Mitgliedstaaten veranlasst, im Bereich der Sozial- und Beschäftigungspolitik intensiver miteinander zu kooperieren. Diese Kooperation ist aber primär auf gegenseitiges Lernen ausgerichtet, während der größte Teil der EU-Ausgaben in die Agrar- und Strukturpolitik fließt. Will die Union die Erweiterung und Währungsunion meistern und obendrein die Erhaltung des europäischen Gesellschaftsmodells mit einer Verbesserung der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit verbinden, dann ist zu überlegen, welche Politiken dazu notwendig sind und wie die heutigen Ausgabenpolitiken damit besser verknüpft werden können. Das Papier diskutiert Optionen zur Gestaltung von differenzierter Integration und Konvergenz in der EU bzw. zwischen den Mitgliedstaaten

Assessing democracy, market economy and political management: the Bertelsmann Transformation Index and Southeastern Europe

"Indicator-based governance assessments support the precise description of differences and similarities among countries. But they also simplify a much more complex empirical reality by focusing on its quantifiable aspects and by aggregating its different components and interrelations into abstract numbers. To initiate a reflective debate about the utility of such indicators, this paper presents a new indicator project that links numerical ratings and rankings with comparative studies, the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI). The BTI is a global ranking that examines the political management of societal change in 119 countries on the way to a market-based democracy. The paper explains why such an assessment may be useful for Southeastern Europe, a region situated between the legacies of war-ridden authoritarian regimes and the future of membership in the European Union. We argue that EU accession and international agreements on questions of contested statehood are important for Southeastern Europe but should not distract attention from the quality of democracy and market economy in each country of the region. We then discuss the conceptualization of democracy, market economy and governance in order to derive criteria and questions for the BTI. The BTI's methodology of measurement and aggregation is explained in detail. These sections show that the BTI differs from other indices by focusing on the management performance of political actors, by using broader, more demanding concepts of democracy and market economy and by relying mostly on self-collected empirical evidence. In contrast to numerical ratings on the one hand or purely qualitative comparisons of countries on the other hand, the BTI allows readers to simultaneously compare countries and to familiarize themselves with the state of affairs in individual countries. Run by non-governmental organizations, the BTI does not depend on political mandating or the consensus requirements of international organizations. The BTI and similar assessments may initiate public discourses on better governance and encourage governments to engage in peer review mechanisms and evidence-based policy making." (author's abstract

The European Union and interethnic power-sharing arrangements in accession countries

Der Verfasser setzt sich mit der Frage auseinander, welchen Einfluss die EU auf die Nationalitätenpolitik der Beitrittskandidaten ausübt. Er zeigt, welchen Beitrag die EU zur politischen Partizipation ethnischer Minderheiten in diesen Ländern geleistet hat. Die Minderheitenpolitik der EU verfolgt einen sicherheitspolitischen Ansatz, der die einvernehmliche Regelung von Konflikten gegenüber der Durchsetzung universeller Normen bevorzugt. Dies wird anhand von Beispielen aus Bulgarien, Rumänien und der Slowakei illustriert. Partnerschaftliche Beteiligung an der Macht ist, so die These des Verfassers, eher mit freiheitlich-demokratischen Prinzipien vereinbar als territoriale Autonomieregelungen dies sind. Die einer solchen Minderheitenpolitik zugrunde liegenden Ideen und Normen könnten sich in einer erweiterten EU durchsetzen, wenn auch weiterhin prinzipielle Hindernisse einer Vergemeinschaftung der Minderheitenpolitik entgegen stehen werden. (ICEÜbers)'The article focuses on the impact exerted by the EU on domestic interethnic politics in accession countries. It argues that the EU has contributed to the emergence of power-sharing arrangements in accession countries, since its minority protection policy has been guided by a security approach that prioritizes the consensual settlement of disputes over the enforcement of universalist norms. The article analyzes the minority protection policy of the EU and highlights elements of consociational power-sharing observable in Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia. On this basis, it is claimed that consociational power-sharing arrangements are more compatible with liberal democratic principles than territorial autonomy arrangements. Ideas and norms supporting these arrangements could thus permeate into the minority protection policy of an enlarged EU, although the principal obstacles to communitarizing minority rights will persist.' (author's abstract

Comparing political governance: Southeastern Europe in a global perspective

"The literature on the quality of democracy, market economy and political management in the new democracies of Southeastern Europe has raised three main doubts and concerns. First, democracy in Southeast Europe has turned into power struggles among elites largely isolated from a citizenry that is increasingly disaffected with democracy and susceptible to populist and radical political forces. Second, the institutions of market economy are undermined by the rise of the informal economy and widening social disparities. Third, lacking safe electoral majorities and a sufficiently realistic prospect of EU membership, liberal and Western-oriented political actors have failed to sustain democratic and economic reforms. This paper uses the findings of the Bertelsmann Transformation Index, a global ranking of democracy, market economy and political management, to discuss these hypotheses. We compare the performance profiles for Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro, analyzing the trajectories of these countries over time and in comparison with other Southeast European, East Central European and Latin American democracies. The paper shows that there is an evident public disappointment with the performance of democratic institutions, coupled with weak intermediary organizations and significant populist or nationalist voices, but this belongs to an interplay of mutually reinforcing defects that can also be observed in Latin American countries. Western Balkan countries are characterized by significant informal sectors, increasing social inequalities and fragile or insufficient electoral majorities for liberal reformers, but market reforms have so far been continued and economic performance has improved. The management performance of Albania, Bosnia, Macedonia and Serbia for all four management criteria is more than two points weaker than the average for East Central Europe including Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania. This suggests that the four problem countries from the Western Balkans not only lag behind in the development of democracy and market economy, but also lack sufficient governance capacities to catch up with East Central Europe. Developing these capacities appears to be the key to sustainable conflict settlements and to EU membership strategies for this part of Europe." (author's abstract

Zwischen europäischer und nationaler Identität - zum Diskurs über die Osterweiterung der EU

Inhalt: Einleitung; 1 Wandel der Europa-Perzeption in Mittel- und Osteuropa; 2 Nationale europäische Identitäten; 3 Varianten des Euroskeptizismus; 4 Europäische nationale Identitäten und die Kommunikation der EU; 5 Fazit

Optionen zur Verankerung von Solidarität in einer erweiterten Europäischen Union

"Europas gemeinsame Währung und die bevorstehende Erweiterung haben die EU-Mitgliedstaaten veranlasst, im Bereich der Sozial- und Beschäftigungspolitik intensiver miteinander zu kooperieren. Diese Kooperation ist aber primär auf gegenseitiges Lernen ausgerichtet, während der größte Teil der EU-Ausgaben in die Agrar- und Strukturpolitik fließt. Will die Union die Erweiterung und Währungsunion meistern und obendrein die Erhaltung des europäischen Gesellschaftsmodells mit einer Verbesserung der Wettbewerbsfähigkeit verbinden, dann ist zu überlegen, welche Politiken dazu notwendig sind und wie die heutigen Ausgabenpolitiken damit besser verknüpft werden können. Das Papier diskutiert Optionen zur Gestaltung von differenzierter Integration und Konvergenz in der EU bzw. zwischen den Mitgliedstaaten." (Autorenreferat

Residuales oder europäisches Wohlfahrtsmodell? Die EU und die sozialpolitischen Reformen in Mittel- und Osteuropa

The study discusses welfare reforms in the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) in relation with the adaptation processes of Western European welfare states on the one hand, the accession preparations of the CEEC on the other. Policy approaches and outcomes are scrutinized for labour market policy, health care, pension systems and family policy in the Czech and Slovak Republics, Hungary and Poland. The study argues that the institutional reforms currently undertaken in Central and Eastern Europe will decide on the future - European or residual - nature of the welfare states in the region. Due to the pre-accession constellation the EU is in a position to influence the path of development and there are good reasons for the EU to promote a European welfare model in the CEEC. However, the European Commission has neither formulated such a model nor contributed to its implementation during the accession preparations