'Assessing Accession: Central & Eastern Europe in the EU' is a new networking initiative that aims to bring together researchers, academics, students and practitioners with a specific interest in developing a broader understanding of how the EU's political institutions and policy-making structures have impacted on, and been impacted by, the EU's new Central and East European member states.

The academic networking initiative, established by the University of Glasgow's Department of Central and East European Studies, reflects the fact that the time is now right to begin to substantially evaluate the 2004 eastern enlargement of the EU in terms of the place and role of CEECs within the EU and vice versa.

The initiative has recently launched a website, which is designed to be an online hub for the Assessing Accession network. It provides details of research activities, projects, workshops and conferences. In addition the Assessing Accession Research Database provides details of individuals working on research related to the ongoing integration of the Central and East European countries within the EU since 2004. Recently launched the website will be updated and expanded over the coming months as new resources and information is added.

If you would like to become involved with Assessing Accession, including adding your details to the Research Database, perhaps publishing a working paper, joining a Study Group, or attending a workshop, then further details are available from http://assessingaccession.eu.

First Annual Assessing Accession Research Symposium

  • Central & Eastern Europe in the EU – Silent Partners?
    06-07 June 2008, University of Glasgow.     [Event]

CRCEES and the Department of Central & East European Studies will host the 1st Annual Assessing Accession Research Symposium.

The symposium will take the format of a roundtable-style workshop and will focus primarily on evaluating whether the EU's Central & East European member states have successfully managed to integrate themselves into the EU's political structures or whether they should be viewed as 'silent partners' in a project still dominated by the old guard.

Day one of the symposium will provide participants an opportunity to introduce their research within the context of two roundtable discussions which will debate the impact of the 2004 accession states on the EU's political institutions and policy process.

Day two will consist of an open discussion session where participants will have the opportunity to discuss the direction of Assessing Accession as a networking and research initiative.

Specific interest will be paid to the development of a permanent study group and possible working partnerships.

Assessing Accession is supported by CRCEES and the Adam Smith Research Foundation through its Seedcorn Funding Initative.

Second Annual Assessing Accession Research Symposium

  • Central & Eastern Europe in the EU – Power and Representation
    11 May 2009, Széchenyi István University, Gyõr, Hungary.     [Event] (External link)

CRCEES, the Department of Central & East European Studies at the University of Glasgow, in association with Széchenyi István University, are please to announce the 2nd Annual Assessing Accession Research Symposium.

The 2009 Symposium will take place in Hungary at Széchenyi István University in Gyõr, Hungary.

This one day symposium is intended to provide a forum for scholars to identify some of the broad strategies CEE member-states use to influence policy making within the EU. In particular, there will be a specific focus on how CEE countries and their respective governments and private actors (e.g. unions, employers, and civil society organisations) organise and manage their position within the EU institutional frameworks. In other words, how have the past five years represented a continuation of integration, from a 'bottom-up' perspective, in terms of different CEE agents seeking to integrate and become effective actors in various EU institutional environments?

The symposium will include a keynote address, small-group workshops and a roundtable discussion. For the smallgroup workshops individual papers which focus on the [EU] institutional capacities of governments and private actors from the CEE region are invited. Therefore, papers should reflect (although are not restricted to) the following:

  • EU institutions (Council/Council Presidencies, Commission and Parliament) and how CEE member-states and state agents (national, regional or municipal level) work towards influencing policy;
  • CEE private actors and their use of specific mechanisms (e.g. lobbying) to influence EU policy making;
  • CEE party involvement at European-level party federations.

Please note that papers should focus on the representation of CEE interests within EU institutions and where possible should utilise discussion of specific policy areas in which CEE member-states are active (i.e. CFSP, ENP, external relations with Russia and human rights etc.) as case studies.

Please note that the deadline for Paper Proposals is 15th January 2009.

For further details on the Symposium please visit the Assessing Accession Website (external link) or contact the symposium organisers by email at gyor2009@assessingaccession.eu

First published: 13 January 2009

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