Until the 1990s, Albania was a country led by a dictatorial regime, one of the most centralized and isolated among the communist countries and one of the last countries to start a deep-seated transformation in order to achieve radical democratization and new reforms. Considering its history, Albania started its transformation from the poorest economic condition, reaching its status of emerging country candidate to be part of European Community. Yet this fact has created division among the Albanian population and also among the other European countries. In fact the rising problem is: should Albania join the EU? I think that Albania should not even if some people believe that it should be part of this community because it could grow economically, there would be more foreign investments and economic supports by other countries and corruption has also decreased. However, there are others cons for which Albania should not join the EU. In fact, Albania is not economically prepared to face this change, because of high level of corruption and organized crime and, Albania should meet economic and juridical conditions. People think that Albania should join the EU because by now in the country corruption and bribery has decreased and this is an important point accomplished in order to be part of this community. Yet, even if Albania has stated to use an anti- corruption policy since 2009 under Berisha’s government, it has not already accomplished the standard required by European Commission. In fact, as the “Corruption in Albania” by Aiste Skardziute (2010) reports, Albania’s progress is stopped by the highest percentage of corruption and it also expresses that the World Bank for the control of briberies has placed Albania in the 50 percenti... ... middle of paper ... ...d by unemployment and it is at low levels of competiveness in business environment. Before joining the EU, Albania needs to create a strong fiscal environment, reducing the high level of unemployment and public debt. To conclude, I think Albania should not join the EU because it has not achieved some standards required by the Union and also because it still presents some problems that it has to deal with. In fact, what stop the entry of Albania in the EU are the economic unpreparedness, the persistent presence of corruption and organized crime and the last one, if Albania joins the EU, it has to meet economic and juridical conditions established by European commission, partly losing its fiscal and political independence. Albania has to solve some problems and to generally improve its economic, juridical and social conditions, before starting to be part in the EU.
Since joining the EU, countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have been reported to have reverted to illiberal policies. This essay addresses this topic by examining broad trends in the region, firstly defining ‘illiberal policies’ and why these might occur once EU conditionalities have weakened post-accession. It then analyses the extent to which there is evidence of ‘backsliding’, if this is present amongst voters and politicians, and whether it can be explained by weakening EU conditionalities. It shows that there is evidence of reversion to illiberal policies, albeit with limitations, particularly concerning voters. It finds that EU conditionalities are only a weak explanation of the trend.
In 1997, Eurozone rules of Stability Growth Pact has outlined Budgetary Discipline to reduce moral hazard and free riding problem. It required all nations in Eurozone to limit its annual deficit and maintain a stable economic growth. Specially, there isn’t bailout permitted. However, some countries never met the debt rules since the very beginning, while others gradually broke the rules, with incentives to take advantages on the alliances and achieve its own development.【一】8
The Greek economy has seen a large collapse following the recent worldwide recession. The European Union has expressed concerns for the impact that Greece’s economic collapse will negatively affect other member nations. Greece and the European Union are working to reduce the Greek deficit and to contain the economic crisis to Greece.
The European Union (EU), since the initial foundation in 1952 as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and throughout periods of development, has been considered one of the most advanced forms of regional integration. It, based on numerous treaties and resolutions, has strived to promote values such as peace, cooperation or democracy, and in 2012 was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for having “contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe” (Nobel Media AB, 2012). Despite its struggle for promoting democracy, the EU itself has long experienced scholarly criticisms that it suffers the democratic deficit, from which its democratic legitimacy is undermined by observable problems in political accountability and participation. As the importance of legitimacy in a democratically representative institution is hardly debatable, the criticism of whether and why the EU lacks democracy has been given a considerable gravity in academia.
... face many problems, the European labor market was affected by this crisis as well, and there were many other problems that were faced during this hard period. The EU’s plans for the future are to minimize the job losses and prevent unemployment, improve job creation, and to recover the economy in a full and stable way. In order for them to make this happen and in order for them to improve and develop the flexibility of the labor market and in order to raise the labor supply, they made some cuts in the income taxes, improved the access to non-standard forms of work, redirected the active labor market policies, and similar activities like these were made. But even though the EU crisis has influenced the European labor market and has created many problems and struggles with unemployment, in the past couple of years they managed to increase the unemployment rate by 2%.
These are very exciting times for our country, we are now part of the largest economic community the world has ever seen, opening the doors of opportunity for us, the Irish citizens, everywhere we look. Ireland's membership of the EU is seen by most to be of great benefit to the country as it will solidify the foundations of our economy as well as increase the awareness of Ireland as an investment opportunity for multi national companies; however, some will argue that the change would be detrimental to our nation in the long run.
In turning from evaluating whether or not Turkey is Western to whether or not it could be considered as an eventual candidate for EU membership, it is necessary to consider an altogether different set of concerns. Opposition to Turkish admission from other EU member states is not inconsiderable, with large majorities of much of the EU’s electorate opposed to Turkish membership. However, what must be asked is whether or not Turkish membership is a reasonable goal.
Part of many empires and republics in the past, Montenegro declared independence from former Yugoslavia to become a sovereign state on 3 June 2006. Montenegro classifies as a developed country on the Human Development Index and is a member of the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and a founding member of the Union for the Mediterranean. It is an official candidate for membership in the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). There are many languages, faiths, and ethnicities within the borders of Montenegro, providing a potential backdrop for ethnic clashes similar to those of the Yugoslav Wars. However, ethical ideals of humanity and gallantry bond all Montenegrins, uniting the country.
Relations between Turkey and European integration institutions began with Turkey’s application for associate membership in the European Economic Community(EEC) in 1959. Turkey applied for full membership in the EEC in 1987 but did not gain candidate status until 1999. Since 1999, relations between Turkey and the European Union (EU) have gained momentum, and Turkey’s EU accession negotiations began in 2005. Since that time, discussions about the implications of Turkey’s prospective EU membership have become more serious and extensive in both Turkey and the EU.the potential advantages and drawbacks of Turkey’s EU membership for both Turkey and the EU. It considers economic, social, political, and security factors. When the enlargement process of the EU is considered,Turkey and the future of EU-Turkey relations are often discussed. As Heinz Kramer, head of the EU External Affairs research unit at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik in Berlin, has observed, Turkey and the EU share a decades-old common history of the contractual-based relations since the late 1950s which finally led to the start of accession negotiations at the beginning of October 2005.Turkey’s relations with European integration institutions started with the Ankara Agreement signed in September 1963. Since that time, there have been ups and downs in the relationship. Since the start of Turkey’s EU accession negotiations at the beginning of October 2005, relations have gained a new momentum and ambiguity has begun to disappear.
“From time to time it is worth reminding ourselves why twenty-seven European nation states have come together voluntarily to form the partnership that is the European Union.” 1
Now in its fortieth year in membership of the EU, it is important that we understand why Ireland joined the EEC. In this essay I will examine the reasons as to why Ireland joined the EEC and what were the benefits for Ireland in EEC membership. Ireland had applied to the EEC in 1961 but was unsuccessful. In 1961 the Taoiseach Sean Lemass wanted again to join the EEC. He put the plans in motion for Ireland to join; in 1962 in Brussels at a Member of the Governments meeting he gave the following statement,
The enlargement of the European Union (EU) in 2004 and 2007 has been termed as the largest single expansion of the EU with a total of 12 new member states – bringing the number of members to 27 – and more than 77 million citizens joining the Commission (Murphy 2006, Neueder 2003, Ross 2011). A majority of the new member states in this enlargement are from the eastern part of the continent and were countries that had just emerged from communist economies (EC 2009, Ross 2011), although overall, the enlargement also saw new member states from very different economic, social and political compared to that of the old member states (EC 2009, Ross 2011). This enlargement was also a historical significance in European history, for it saw the reunification of Europe since the Cold War in a world of increasing globalization (EC 2009, Mulle et al. 2013, Ross 2011). For that, overall, this enlargement is considered by many to have been a great success for the EU and its citizens but it is not without its problems and challenges (EC 2009, Mulle et al. 2013, Ross 2011). This essay will thus examine the impact of the 2004/2007 enlargements from two perspectives: firstly, the impact of the enlargements on the EU as a whole, and thereafter, how the enlargements have affected the new member states that were acceded during the 2004/2007 periods. Included in the essay will be the extent of their integration into the EU and how being a part of the Commission has contributed to their development as nation states. Following that, this essay will then evaluate the overall success of the enlargement process and whether the EU or the new member states have both benefited from the accessions or whether the enlargement has only proven advantageous to one th...
An analysis of the Albanian economy in the past, current, and future demonstrates how an economic structure fluctuates with the type of government present at the time. Albania, a newly found member of the European Union, is a midst its battle to stabilize its vigorous economy that has had trouble since before the 1940’s. An explanation of this instability can be found looking through Albania’s history, government structure, currency and exchange rates, imports and exports including natural wealth, national education, unemployment rates, and the country’s overall integration on a global scale.
Gaining membership to the European Union (EU) has been a frustrating process for Turkey. The Near East nation began its campaign for EU membership nearly 30 years ago under the EU’s predecessor, the European Economic Community. In 2005, 18 years after beginning the application process, Turkey was finally invited to enter accession negotiations. The protracted delay was a result of unfavorable economic conditions in Turkey as well as Turkey’s tumultuous relationships with EU members Greece and Cyprus. Yet, the question remains: why hasn’t Turkey been granted membership to the EU?
The link between internationalization, governance and democracy is a central problem for politics as well as for political science. Even if clear evidence on the nature of this link is not yet available, the literature seems to support the view that internationalization both undermines the capacity for governance and puts into question traditional forms of democracy.