Wilson Center Experts
Arista Maria Cirtautas
European Studies
Related Content for this Expert
265. The European Union's Eastern Enlargement: State-Building or Empire-Building?
Jul 07, 2011November 2002- Scholarly debates on the nature of the European Union typically revolve around the question of the degree to which state sovereignty is being impaired (or transcended) by the process of integration. Realists and intergovernmentalists, such as Alan Milward and Andrew Moravcsik, argue that integration serves the interests of the member states and, hence, consolidates the nation-state by enabling positive domestic results that could not be achieved without multilateral cooperation. Others, more supranationally-inclined, like Joseph Weiler, maintain that what may begin as an issue of specific "pooling" of sovereignty can take on a life of its own, as new structures of governance are created that ultimately supercede and curtail national authorities. Not surprisingly, these divergent views of integration posit continuous tensions and conflicts between national governments and supranational institutions over the contested question of where ultimate sovereignty and decision-making authority should reside. In the context of the EU's eastern enlargement, however, such tensions appear to have fallen largely by the wayside. Both the Brussels bureaucracy and the national governments are in agreement that preserving the gains of integration to date – regardless of whether these accrue mainly to the benefit of the nation state or the supranational entity – entails a concentrated effort of EU-assisted ‘institution-building' in the East European candidate countries. more
Symposium: Evaluating the Effects of EU Accession: Lessons for Southeast Europe
June 09, 2009 // 1:00pm — 5:00pm
The countries of Central and East Europe have been profoundly affected by the EU accession process. Indeed, no single state or international institution has had as great an impact on domestic change as the EU has had in postcommunist Europe. Eight countries from the region have now been EU members for five years, and further enlargement to the Western Balkans is a shared goal of the United States and the EU. As this process continues, it is important to assess the impact EU accession and membership has made on these countries' politics, markets, societies, and international relations. more
Webcast
Symposium: Evaluating the Effects of EU Accession: Lessons for Southeast Europe
June 09, 2009 // 1:00pm — 5:00pm
The countries of Central and East Europe have been profoundly affected by the EU accession process. Indeed, no single state or international institution has had as great an impact on domestic change as the EU has had in postcommunist Europe. Eight countries from the region have now been EU members for five years, and further enlargement to the Western Balkans is a shared goal of the United States and the EU. As this process continues, it is important to assess the impact EU accession and membership has made on these countries' politics, markets, societies, and international relations.
265. The European Union's Eastern Enlargement: State-Building or Empire-Building?
Jul 07, 2011November 2002- Scholarly debates on the nature of the European Union typically revolve around the question of the degree to which state sovereignty is being impaired (or transcended) by the process of integration. Realists and intergovernmentalists, such as Alan Milward and Andrew Moravcsik, argue that integration serves the interests of the member states and, hence, consolidates the nation-state by enabling positive domestic results that could not be achieved without multilateral cooperation. Others, more supranationally-inclined, like Joseph Weiler, maintain that what may begin as an issue of specific "pooling" of sovereignty can take on a life of its own, as new structures of governance are created that ultimately supercede and curtail national authorities. Not surprisingly, these divergent views of integration posit continuous tensions and conflicts between national governments and supranational institutions over the contested question of where ultimate sovereignty and decision-making authority should reside. In the context of the EU's eastern enlargement, however, such tensions appear to have fallen largely by the wayside. Both the Brussels bureaucracy and the national governments are in agreement that preserving the gains of integration to date – regardless of whether these accrue mainly to the benefit of the nation state or the supranational entity – entails a concentrated effort of EU-assisted ‘institution-building' in the East European candidate countries.