The impact of the Central and Eastern European EU member states on the EU’s foreign policy, 2004 to 2013

Hellmeyer, Monika (2014) The impact of the Central and Eastern European EU member states on the EU’s foreign policy, 2004 to 2013. PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

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Abstract

Prior to the EU’s Eastern enlargement in 2004 there was much academic speculation about its repercussions for EU foreign policy. Although scholars agreed that the eight newcomers from Central and Eastern Europe would have an impact on the EU’s foreign policy, it remained unclear how and to what extent they would do so. This thesis identifies and evaluates the impact of the CEECs on the substance of EU foreign policy in three areas including development cooperation, neighbourhood policy and energy security. It analyses why the CEECs have sometimes succeeded in having an impact and at other times not. It differentiates between three categories of the CEECs' impact (defensive, divisive and innovative) as well as three aspects of policy substance (regional coverage, policy objectives and principles and policy instruments). The CEECs' impact varies along the three areas and the different stages of the policymaking process. In long-standing traditional areas such as development cooperation, it has been largely defensive and limited to soft law instruments while in regional or emerging areas such as neighbourhood policy and energy security the CEECs’ impact has been higher as well as innovative and/or divisive. To analyse why the CEECs' impact varies from case to case, the thesis draws on insights from the literature on EU (foreign) policy-making and on small states in EU foreign policy. Three sources of impact (material, institutional and ideational) are systematically applied to selected in-depth case studies in each of the three EU foreign policy areas. The thesis concludes that ideational and/or institutional factors are crucial for member states’ impact at the agenda setting stage whereas at the decision-making stage material sources of impact prevail. In order to have impact at the decision-making stage the CEECs need the support of at least two large 'old' EU member states.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Additional Information:	© 2014 Monika Hellmeyer
Library of Congress subject classification:	J Political Science > JZ International relations
Sets:	Departments > International Relations
Supervisor:	Smith, Karen E.
URI:	http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/3144

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