Contents:1. Team’s objectives
2. Contrasting sets of expectations
3. A dialogue with the relevant literature
3.1 Legitimacy and public support
3.2 Determinants of public support
3.3. Channels of popular participation and influence
4. Some preliminary findings
4.1 Mapping support for enlargement
4.2 Deepening and widening in public opinion
5. Team’s expertise and experience
5.1 Relevant previous projects
5.2 Relevant contributions by team members
6. Bibliography – sources relevant to the team’s work
|
|
|
Leaders: M. Karasinska-Fendler
Objectives
The main objectives of this particular work package are concentrated on the European citizen as
target and actor of the European integration process. The core purpose of this work package, exploring,
and extrapolating policy development in the democratisation sphere of the European integration
process, remains the organising factor for the last year of the project outline. The existing
democratic deficit of the integration process is reflected in the varying public support for the widening
of the EU both in the EU member and candidate states, but also in the decreasing participation
rates of citizens in elections (both at national and European level) and referenda. The debate during
the second and third meetings of Work Package V led to the conclusion that a referendum as
such might not be the ideal way for ratifying new treaties. The above mentioned tendency might
become an important factor influencing the legitimacy of the approaching 2009 European parliament
elections. Thus, in the last year, the efforts of this particular work package will centre on continuing
investigation in this area. Moreover, specific attention will be given to the new post-Irish
“No” situation, which can verify the envisaged scenarios in a substantial way. Teams’ research will,
thus, include special and particular focus on: legitimacy and democratic deficit issues, Charter of
Human Rights in its current unclear legal situation, European identity and public support for European
integration in the process of widening and deepening, identified as key areas affected by the
public rejection of the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland.
During the final year the particular objective of this work package is to consolidate and conclude
the research done during the full four years project lifetime and to present the achieved scientific
results in form of the Scientific Report on the Democratic Widening and Deepening of the EU,
which will present the scientific progress made by Teams and their researchers since the beginning
of the project.
In line with the overall cross-cutting initiative of the previous year, the special research effort of Work Package V will be linked to the work of Work Package VII: “Political and Security aspects of
the EU’s External Relations”. Cooperation in a cross-cutting working group on the topic “Widening:
Enlargements/ENP/‘Soft Power’” will help understand how aspects of enlargement and neighbourhood
policy interplay with the “soft power” potential and practices of the EU. Enlargement is widely
perceived as a powerful incentive for candidate countries to transform and adjust their political,
economic, legal and social structures. The Copenhagen criteria have shown to be a powerful device
in creating a more stable and safer EU environment. The prospect of accession, combined
with positive conditionality, potentially encourages the development of democratic structures and
better governance, which on the other hand may strongly contribute to the internal and external
security of the EU. Taking into account these linkages between democratisation processes and
security aspects, a joint effort of the two work packages dealing each with one of these topics respectively
offers a promising new perspective for the fourth year. The questions of the specificity of
Eastern and Southern aspects of the European Neighbourhood Policy and conditionality effectiveness
will be particularly analysed during a special workshop devoted to the democratic dimension
of the ENP (October 2008 – month 41)
|
|
Contents:
Introduction
1. Models of the Relationship between the EC/EU, the Member States and Individuals
2. The Historical and Institutional Background
3. Protection of the Rights of Individuals
- The Member State model
- The European Citizen model
4. ‘Internal’ Status of Human Rights within the EC/EU’s Legal Order Problematised
- Does the present judicial architecture provide effective legal remedies?
- Future protection of rights – organisational questions
- A glance at the future
5. Connecting ‘Internal’ and ‘External’ Dimensions of the Charter of Fundamental Rights
Conclusions
References
|
|
Contents:1. Introduction
2. Legitimacy and Identity in the EU
2.1 Legitimacy
2.2 Legitimacy and Identity
3. Collective Identity
4. European Identity
4.1 The Controversy on European Identity
4.2 Starting Point for a European Identity
4.3 Commonalities and Demarcations
5. Conclusions and Perspectives
References
|
|
Contents:
I. A Patriotic or a Civic Europe?
- MacCormick’s Europe of Civic Nations
II. The European Constitution and the Missing Process of Recognition
III. A Multinational constitution for Europe
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
