Democracy in East Central Europe before and after EU Integration

Partner: Center for EU Enlargement Studies
Event date: Oct 06, 2015
Deadline for registering: Oct 05, 2015
Venue: Central European University, 1051 Budapest, Nador u. 9, Popper Room, 8.30 a.m., Hungary
Category: Roundtable

8.30 – 9.00 Registration

9.00 – 9.30 Opening remarks

Péter Balázs, Director of CENS

Tamás Szűcs, Head of European Union Representation in Hungary

9.30 – 12.00 Roundtable discussion

The EU accession of post-communist countries in 2004 and 2007 represented a unique challenge not only for the countries in question but also for the EU. These post-communist states were required to reform politically and economically, while in some cases working on the consolidation of their identities as newly formed nation states. Pre-accession conditionality of the EU and the mechanisms of integration effectively pushed for reforms in many sectors, but amidst the lack of comprehensive conditionality after accession, setbacks have occurred. This roundtable aims to uncover the most significant setbacks in post-communist EU member states and initiate discussion on the areas where increased monitoring could be necessary and beneficial. This debate is as much about transformations in post-communist countries as about the European Union’s approach to newly integrated member states.

Post-accession conditionality - monitoring without punishment?

Eli Gateva, Queen Mary University of London, UK

Commentator: András Szalai, Center for EU Enlargement Studies (CENS), Hungary

Foreign policy of post-communist countries after the EU enlargement: From post-accession fatigue to exporting the democratic transition

Luciana Ghica, Faculty of Political Science and Director, Centre for International Cooperation and Development Studies, University of Bucharest, Romania

Commentator: Zsuzsanna Végh, Center for EU Enlargement Studies (CENS), Hungary

Compliance with EU law in Central and Eastern Europe before and after Enlargement

Dimiter Toshkov, Institute of Public Administration, Leiden University, the Netherlands

Commentator: Hana Semanic, Center for EU Enlargement Studies (CENS), Hungary

(De)consolidating democratic political culture in East Central Europe after EU integration

Bogdan Radu, Center for EU Enlargement Studies (CENS), Hungary

Commentator: Annamária Kiss, Center for EU Enlargement Studies (CENS), Hungary

12.00 – 12.30 Concluding remarks

Bogdan Radu, Center for EU Enlargement Studies (CENS), Hungary

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Keywords: EU, Europe