This work deals with the Europeanization of party programs in new member states. Two parties are examined over the period of three consecutive elections. A detailed introduction to the research field of Europeanization is given. In the second part the Hypothesis are tested. As countries are Poland and Czech Republic chosen. For Poland the Platforma Obywatelska will be examined. The Czech party is the KDU - CSL. This work tries to prove that Europeanization is increasing over time, that different policy areas are Europeanized and European integration has gained more importance the longer the EU membership of the country is. Keywords: EU; Europeanization; Platforma Obywatelska; KDU - CSL; EU influence

The diploma thesis "The French-Czech relations after the French EU Presidency (2009- 2013)" examines the relations between France and the Czech Republic during five years after the French presidency of the European Union in the second half of 2008, which was replaced by the Czech Presidency in the first half of 2009. It is evident that bilateral relations between Member States are influenced by their membership in the EU. The aim of this work is to find out whether we can observe a similar process in the opposite direction, that is, whether bilateral cooperation between France and the Czech Republic contributes to the Europeanisation of relations in the fields of foreign policy, defense and security, justice and home affairs, transport, environment, trade and economic relations, culture, science and education. The work is divided into two main parts. After a theoretical and methodological introduction, the first one treats the evolution of the French-Czech relations in the 20th and 21st century, the largest part of the work is the analysis of key areas derived from the text of Strategic Partnership established in 2008. In the final chapter, the author tries to generalize the Europeanisation of bilateral relations between these two EU Member States with regard to the importance of bilateral and...

Micro-regions have gained an increasing awareness of their potential in global politics, an illogical development that have yet to be explained. In this study, we hypothesize that there is a trend where regions attempt to lobby EU-policy, and explore the role of regions, and their channels to Brussels: how they look today, and how they have changed over time. In this exploration, we conducted a comparative case study where the Swedish regions’ channels to Brussels were compared over time by a theoretical framework built on new regionalism ideas. To collect data, we interviewed representation office officials, and supported this data with a content analysis. We then compared our results to a similar study from 2007.We found that the representation offices today lobby as a daily activity, and that monitoring is often emphasized to be pro-active in policy influencing. Money is still experienced as the prime logic for regional representation in Brussels, but possibilities for financial gain may incentive regional interest to contribute to the EU policy framework. The representation offices favor the European Commission as a channel, but this depends on where in the process the office enters, while informal networks are given an increased value for several reasons.

This thesis makes a contribution to the vast field of International Relations research conducted on Russia and its neighbors. Following constructivist scholarship focusing particularly on national interests, state identities, and the concept of ‘us and them’, the research shines light on how Russia has positioned itself in regards to the Europeanization process of neighboring Georgia. The thesis is additionally founded on understandings of European integration theories as well as information on the empirical case of complicated relationships Russia has with Georgia but also with the European Union. The steps of Georgia’s Europeanization process (2006-2014) are used as a pin point to define a time limit for the study and to analyze how shifts in a state’s surroundings can affect its identity presentation and national interests. The study is conducted as a qualitative content analysis utilizing public statements issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Russian Federation.

This paper emphasizes a social constructivist theoretical viewpoint when looking to analyze the EEZ dispute in the Eastern Mediterranean between Turkey and Greece. The recent authoritarian shift taken by Turkey, moving away from EU and international law values under the regime of President Erdogan has caused an aggravation of the chronically present tensions with its EU neighbour and NATO ally. The growing chasm away from democracy internally reflected in the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean, especially in light of the recent gas discoveries and elections on both sides, destabilizing the region majorly. Through Discourse Analysis (DA), the EU response to these orally-inflamed Greek-Turkish tensions regarding their overlapping EEZ claims in this specific geopolitical context is examined, taking into account the ideational, identity, and normative factors that are largely at play. In this way, an exploration is made concluding that EU collective identity and its mechanisms are perceiving themselves as threatened, based on the extent and potency of their reaction in terms of political rhetoric and institutional documents delineating the parameters of its collective identity and shaping EU foreign policy so far toward Turkey’s EEZ denial in the Eastern Mediterranean, in the time frame January 2019- February 2023.

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During the term of 2010 we received a Minor Field Study scholarship from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), which allowed us to do a two-month study in Tirana, Albania. The study examined one of Europe’s most common tools when it comes to assisting candidate countries, potential candidate countries, and neighbouring countries of the European Union: Twinning. The idea of Twinning is that the beneficiary country gets assistance from EU member state institutions in order to develop its own institutions, in terms of standards of quality and safety. We have observed a Twinning project structured in the form of a consortium between the Swedish Tax Agency and the French Tax Agency assisting the Albanian General Tax Directorate (GTD) in Tirana. The study highlights the relationship between the four different actors involved in the ongoing project (EU, Sweden, France and Albania) and Twinning as a working method. More specifically we investigated (A) the transition from an old to a new system and if any difficulties emerged in the process, (B) what necessary factors are needed for a successful Twinning project, and (C) how the actors’ different backgrounds affect the project. The result we gained from the field study shows that the transition towards a new system progresses well as long as the project follows the main principles of Twinning: partnership and cooperation. These two principles allow the Albanian GTD to direct the project and decide the direction of their Europeanization process. Twinning generates many positive aspects e.g. institutional understanding and friendship, and it brings the cooperating nations closer to each other. The difficulties that have emerged have been technical or when one of the actors has not followed the structure of the project. These difficulties are natural in the beginning of any project since structures and relations take time to establish. Three main qualities affect the outcome of this Twinning project: experience, flexibility and communication. Actors involved in the project have to be experienced, in form of personal as well as institutional experience. Besides, they have to be flexible since the project follows the development of society where unpredicted needs can emerge. Most importantly, communication has to be free from friction between the actors in order to maintain the partnership principle of Twinning. Our analysis shows that the outcomes of this Twinning project are mutually shaped between the actors involved. Therefore, the emphasis should be on personal abilities to mutually create a working structure that follows the principles of Twinning.

The region of Central Europe, and particularly the countries that form the Visegrad group, has seen a rise in anti-EU sentiment and EuroskepticismEuroscepticism[B1] . The Czech Republic is considered one of the most suitable examples of this phenomenon across Europe. However, this state is not status quo. During the times of various global crises, the level of Euroscepticism fluctuates. Due to this reason, the thesis analyzes two crises, which are This thesis focuses on a particular case of the Czech Republic, where two distinct crises—the immigration inflow in 2015 and the Russian invasion in 2022, and their divergent public reactions. The Czech society was more anti-EU oriented during the migration crisis, whereas later when Russia invaded Ukraine, they felt closer to the European Union. I approach this phenomenon from the media perspective and its public media discourse by researching existing literature, analyzing media content, and collecting questionnaires filled out by experts. The media are two online most-read news platforms Novinky and iDnes, which also both existed before the first crisis. The interrogated professionals are working for the European Union in the Czech environment, so they are very well-orientated in the Czech media talking about the European Union.  Results from all three sources —led to divergent public reactions, with the former feeling more Euroskeptic and the latter feeling closer to the European Union. This peculiarity was examined through the eyes of two online news media and the EU officials employed in the Czech setting. The findings indicate that the public media discourse is diversely Europeanized throughout different crises, or in other words, influenced by the European environment and membership in the EU. Thiswhich results in the European institutions being blamed or praisedexalted for coming up with solutions. The European Union officials in questionnaires respondents complement this statement by claiming that these stories are having an impact on Czech society. This observation implies that the reaction to external crises is based on various factors such as the government's position, common enemy, fear of the unknown, or more readable negative news.  For these reasons, the Czech future attitude towards the European Union is unpredictable. At the same time, the thesis highlights several observations important for regional development, which are similar discourses in cities of different sizes, more optimistic attitudes with a higher number of news, and the danger of simplifying opinion groups into anti-European and pro-European only. There is a significant impact that this observed connection will have on the future development of the region.

The thesis analyses the evolution of the common European immigration and asylum policy and its similarities or dissimilarities in comparison with the Spanish national immigration and asylum policy. This comparison has been made by using the theoretical base of Europeanization. This concept means bringing the European dimension down to the level of national states. I have come to the conclusion that the EU has an influence mainly on the external part of immigration policy which means above all the protection of the borders of Schengen area. On the other hand, there are areas such as granting permanent residence to the immigrants varies significantly in the EU member states. The process of europeanization does not have a clear and unified influence on domestic immigration and asylum and other domestic policies.

La stratégie européenne pour l’emploi, adoptée en 1997, organise une coordination des politiquesnationales de l’emploi autour d’objectifs communs. La méthode initiale reposait sur l’apprentissagemutuel et la pression par les pairs. Elle a récemment évolué vers une forme de gouvernance pluscontraignante.Cette thèse porte sur les usages de cette stratégie en Wallonie. Elle décrit les effets procédurauxet cognitifs de la SEE et analyse les comportements et stratégies des acteurs. Enfin, elle met enévidence les changements effectifs des politiques de l’emploi qui peuvent être associés à cettestratégie. / The European Employment Strategy has been adopted in 1997. It organizes a coordination ofnational employment policies around common European objectives. The initial method was basedon mutual learning and peer pressure but it has recently moved towards a more binding form ofgovernance.This thesis focuses on the uses of this strategy in Wallonia. It describes the procedural andcognitive effects of the EES and analyzes the strategies of the social and political actors involved inemployment policies. Finally, it highlights the effective changes in employment policies that can beassociated with this strategy.