Uppsatsen har undersökt huruvida Europaparlamentet under sin historia gjort mer än explicit uttryckt i fördragen vid tillsättandet av Europeiska kommissionen. Sex sådana förfaranden har identifierats. En utförligare analys av dessa förfaranden har sedan visat att även om de inte explicit fått stöd, så kan stöd ändå härledas från fördragen i tre av sex fall. I de resterande tre fallen (som saknar fördragsstöd, inte ens härlett sådant) kan det dock inte bevisas med säkerhet att makt utövats. Slutsatsen blir därför att Europaparlamentet aldrig tillskansat sig makt på ett fördragsvidrigt sätt. Vidare har legitimiteten i Europaparlamentets maktutövning vid dessa förfaranden har också undersökts med hjälp av kriterier utarbetade av David Beetham. Denna legitimitetsanalys kom fram till att Europaparlamentets roll vid kommissionstillsättningarna gällande tre förfaranden var helt legitim, och vid tre förfaranden delvis legitimt.

<p>EU:s utvidgning 2004 var den största enskilda utvidgningen i unionens historia då tio nya medlemsländer inkorporerades i den Europeiska unionen. Enligt artikel 49 i fördraget om Europeiska unionen kan varje europeisk stat som respekterar EU:s grundläggande demokratiska principer ansöka om medlemskap i unionen. Detta anlägger en viktig principiell fråga som är av stor vikt för utvidgningspolitiken. Tillhör Turkiet Europa? Denna typ av fråga framförs ofta i samband med utvidgningen av EU. Turkiet står på tur för medlemskap i unionen inom en snar framtid, men anses fortfarande vara ett kontroversiellt land då många bedömare inte anser att Turkiet ligger i Europa.</p><p>Mitt syfte har varit att studera politiska dokument författade av Europeiska kommissionen, avseende Turkiet som ansökarland. En textanalys med starka influenser av kritisk diskursanalys har använts som metod för att analysera den bild av Turkiet som framkommer i texterna. Därigenom har jag undersökt de olika diskurser som framkommer i dokumenten och således granskat EU:s syn på Turkiet som ansökarland.</p><p>Medlemskap i unionen uppnås genom att uppfylla Köpenhamnskriterierna, det vill säga det politiska kriteriet, det ekonomiska kriteriet och det administrativa kriteriet. Mitt fokus i uppsatsen har legat på det politiska kriteriet av integrationsprocessen då det anses vara det största hindret för ett Turkiskt medlemskap. Även andra integrationsaspekter på medlemskapet har undersökts då Turkiet beskrivs som en komplex stat, med stora olikheter jämförelsevis med staterna från tidigare utvidgningar. Exempel på integrationsfrågor som behandlas i uppsatsen är ; Det fjärde informella kriteriet, jordbruk och regionalstöd samt Cypernkonflikten.</p>

EU:s utvidgning 2004 var den största enskilda utvidgningen i unionens historia då tio nya medlemsländer inkorporerades i den Europeiska unionen. Enligt artikel 49 i fördraget om Europeiska unionen kan varje europeisk stat som respekterar EU:s grundläggande demokratiska principer ansöka om medlemskap i unionen. Detta anlägger en viktig principiell fråga som är av stor vikt för utvidgningspolitiken. Tillhör Turkiet Europa? Denna typ av fråga framförs ofta i samband med utvidgningen av EU. Turkiet står på tur för medlemskap i unionen inom en snar framtid, men anses fortfarande vara ett kontroversiellt land då många bedömare inte anser att Turkiet ligger i Europa. Mitt syfte har varit att studera politiska dokument författade av Europeiska kommissionen, avseende Turkiet som ansökarland. En textanalys med starka influenser av kritisk diskursanalys har använts som metod för att analysera den bild av Turkiet som framkommer i texterna. Därigenom har jag undersökt de olika diskurser som framkommer i dokumenten och således granskat EU:s syn på Turkiet som ansökarland. Medlemskap i unionen uppnås genom att uppfylla Köpenhamnskriterierna, det vill säga det politiska kriteriet, det ekonomiska kriteriet och det administrativa kriteriet. Mitt fokus i uppsatsen har legat på det politiska kriteriet av integrationsprocessen då det anses vara det största hindret för ett Turkiskt medlemskap. Även andra integrationsaspekter på medlemskapet har undersökts då Turkiet beskrivs som en komplex stat, med stora olikheter jämförelsevis med staterna från tidigare utvidgningar. Exempel på integrationsfrågor som behandlas i uppsatsen är ; Det fjärde informella kriteriet, jordbruk och regionalstöd samt Cypernkonflikten.

Diss. Umeå : Umeå universitet, 2006.

Diss. Uppsala : Uppsala universitet, 2006.

The process of building the identity of the European union in the world is constantly ongoing. The common foreign and security policy of the union conveys the purpose of the external actions of the EU, led by the foreign policy chief. Hence, the role that the union is ascribed by the foreign policy chief is of great interest to foreign policy analysis. The purpose of the study is to investigate the differences in role conception of the EU between two EU foreign policy chiefs: Catherine Ashton and Federica Mogherini. The study applies Holsti’s theory of national role conception, which was developed to suit leaders of countries. The study is an exploratory, comparative case study applying qualitative content analysis on official speeches. The quotes expressing different role conceptions were sorted into different role categories, followed by a comparison within each role category between the foreign policy chiefs. The result of the study indicates Ashton standing out by perceiving EU’s role to be an active actor in neighbourhood of the union, as well as the importance of economic aspects in EU’s external role. Mogherini is distinctive by emphasizing the importance of the EU ensuring the security of the union. The signification of this study’s result is proving Holsti’s theory being applicable beyond countries - this time on the EU. Demonstrating differences in role conception of the two foreign policy chiefs, also shows that the role that the union is ascribed by the foreign policy chief differs depending on who is holding the position in question. One out of many hypotheses that can be formulated in order to explain the demonstrated differences in role conception, is the leader’s background in countries with differing views of the EU. To test this hypothesis as well as formulating others, further research is welcome.

Ukraine is a state that has been characterized by authoritarian trends for a long time. This is due to political division. The political regime in Ukraine has consequently been influenced by pro-Russian and pro-European actors. A minority of Ukrainan population has a desire to join Russia, while the majority of the Ukrainan population wants to join the EU. Therefore, this study will examine the influence of the European Neighborhood Policy on Ukraine’s democratic development between the period of 2009 - 2020. By using the theoretical framework of Daniel Silanders thesis “Democracy From the Outside-In? The Conceptualization and Significance of Democracy Promotion” this study has implemented the six democracy-promoting aspects - actors, interets, methods, channels, relations and impact of the ENP in Ukraine. The main result of this study shows that the European Neighborhood Policy has left a major impact in Ukraine with the different instruments that the EU has provided. For instance, the Association Agreement (AA) and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA). However, Russia’s involvement tends to slow down the democratization process in Ukraine, the geopolitical interests of the EU tend to consider cooperation and the lack of down-top strategies has prevented the civil society from becoming involved in the development of democracy.

The purpose of this paper is to answer how/if Swedish school literature in social studies have changed their content and presentation of the European Union since before the Swedish entrance in the union 1995; and if that change has followed the discourse regarding the European Union in Sweden. Earlier studies have shown how Sweden’s stance on European Union changed since its creation after the second world war and how the entrance of the European Union in curriculum affected the school system in Sweden. However, no study has been made to see if the literature which is used in Swedish schools has changed in its presentation and content of the European union since the entrance 1995. Few studies have also focused if the literature follows the discourse and attitudes that Sweden have had regarding the European union during these years. The study has been done by analyzing 6 different social studies books form different years starting in 1986 and ending 2017. What the study shows is that a clear change in the socials studies literature about the European union has happened since 1986 and that the change follows three clear stages, resistance stage, approachment stage, collaboration stage, and is affected by the discourse which runs in Sweden.

The European Union (EU) began as a prevention of future wars. Thereafter the work of the EU has been further integrated, partly linked with ongoing crises in order to follow common goals for the Union. The EU is a central actor affecting freedom and the future of the inhabitants within the member states, and therefore its development needs to be researched. This essay looks at the development of health politics within the EU. Has the pandemic crisis of Covid-19 fostered further integration of health politics within the EU (a political area that has historically been handled by the member states themselves)? This essay assesses the degree of integration and centralization of health politics, based on qualitative research on the conclusions of the European Council during the end of 2019 and 2020. The results of this research indicate further integration of health politics based on its conclusion documents of the European Council during the Covid-19 pandemic. Since I argue that the European Council is a central institution for the EU’s overall development and direction this results indicates a further integration in health politics during the pandemic. However the result needs to be supplemented by research of other institutions such as the Commission and the Council of the European Union (the council of ministers) in order to have wider implications on the overall integration within the European Union.

This thesis is a comparative study examining the goals and tasks for the Swedish upper secondary school and the influence from the European Union’s strategic work with a common education policy. To determine if there is any Europeanization the question has been raised how the strategic work from the European Union has influenced the Swedish law of education and the curriculum for the upper secondary school. As a theoretical framework, the theory of Europeanization is used to examine if there is any change in before and after the membership. The main conclusions are that there is some degree of a Europeanization of the Swedish upper secondary regarding digital competence and entrepreneurship however not as much in the social and civic competences where democracy has been a central part in Swedish education since the 1950s. The changes in the curriculum are not exclusively by the influence of the European Union. the globalisation and a change towards service society is also a key factor. When it comes to a european dimension in the education, the amount found does not reflect the expectations, compared to the ambitions set down by the European Union. What has been concluded is, even if there is a larger trend in globalisation and societal change, the European Union is a part of this inclination and has therefore influenced the upper secondary school system to a degree.