Slovenia Mrak, Mojmir; Rojec, Matija; Silva-Jauregui, Carlos
2004, 03-01-2004, 20040101
eBook, Book
Open access
Slovenia has been undergoing a three-fold transition: (i) from command to market economy; (ii) from regional to national economy; and (iii) from being a part of Socialist Federative Republic of ...Yugoslavia to joining the European Union. The main objective of the book is to analyze Slovenia’s three-fold transition and to contribute towards filling the obvious gap in the literature on this subject. The book provides an overview of most important developments faced by Slovenia during its more than a decade of transition and discusses main challenges that are expected in the years to come. Interdisciplinary in its character, the book focuses on socio-economic and political segments of the country’s transition, and integrates them into the existing pool of knowledge on the transition process.. The book contains 24 chapters written by various authors, many of them key policy makers from Slovenia that have been involved in the design and implementation of critical reforms, and by scholars from within Slovenia and abroad.. The chapters are grouped into three thematic parts: (i) Slovenia’s road towards political and economic independence; (ii) the Slovenian way of socio-economic transformation; and (iii) the quest for EU membership.
The article discusses main differences in the EU enlargement strategy/process between the one applied for the big-bang Eastern enlargement in 2004/2007 and the one being used for the EU accession of ...the Western Balkan countries. Within this framework, the article focuses on the key drivers that have contributed to the slowing down of the EU accession process for these countries over the last decade. Among others, these drivers include some traditional ones, such as lessons from the EU-10 enlargement and general “enlargement fatigue” in quite a number of EU member states, as well as a number of more recent ones, such as the consequences of the economic crisis, the migrant/ refugee crisis and the Brexit. The reduced appetite of the EU member states for Western Balkan enlargement has been reflected in the reshaped EU enlargement strategy that is now based on the so-called “fundamentals first” approach with the rule of law, early resolution of bilateral issues and strengthened economic governance as its key pillars. Besides, the enlargement process is run today much more on the intergovernmental basis than this was the case during the large Eastern enlargement.
The Western Balkan region needs credible European development prospects to break the cycle of enlargement and accession fatigue and to speed up regional adjustment to the EU. Post-accession EU budget ...flows can provide the necessary funding for such prospects. This article assesses the expected changes in the size and composition of EU budget flows to the Western Balkan countries after their EU accession. Our results show a sudden and substantial increase in gross and net flows, which gradually intensifies over several years before levelling off. EU budget flows are economically important relative to the size of the Western Balkan economies, and their composition is strongly biased towards development policies. We also find that Western Balkan enlargement comes at a minimal budgetary cost for the remaining EU member states. Our findings can help reduce scepticism behind the Western Balkan countries' accession fatigue and the EU's enlargement fatigue.
This article confirms the validity of the hypothesis that national interests were the driving force behind the process and outcome of negotiations for the EU's next financial perspective for 2007–13. ...The hypothesis is tested by comparing hypothetical coalitions based on quantified national interests (partial net budgetary balances) and the actual (documented) coalitions. Based on these results, the article also discusses implications of the ‘net balances problem’ for the 2008/09 EU budget review.
The article discusses main differences in the EU enlargement strategy/process between the one applied for the big-bang Eastern enlargement in 2004/2007 and the one being used for the EU accession of ...the Western Balkan countries. Within this framework, the article focuses on the key drivers that have contributed to the slowing down of the EU accession process for these countries over the last decade. Among others, these drivers include some traditional ones, such as lessons from the EU-10 enlargement and general "enlargement fatigue" in quite a number of EU member states, as well as a number of more recent ones, such as the consequences of the economic crisis, the migrant/refugee crisis and the Brexit. The reduced appetite of the EU member states for Western Balkan enlargement has been reflected in the reshaped EU enlargement strategy that is now based on the so-called "fundamentals first" approach with the rule of law, early resolution of bilateral issues and strengthened economic governance as its key pillars. Besides, the enlargement process is run today much more on the intergovernmental basis than this was the case during the large Eastern enlargement.
The 2007-13 financial perspective Rant, Vasja; Mrak, Mojmir
Journal of common market studies,
03/2010, Volume:
48, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
This article confirms the validity of the hypothesis that national interests were the driving force behind the process and outcome of negotiations for the EU's next financial perspective for 2007-13. ...The hypothesis is tested by comparing hypothetical coalitions based on quantified national interests (partial net budgetary balances) and the actual (documented) coalitions. Based on these results, the article also discusses implications of the 'net balances problem' for the 2008/09 EU budget review. Reprinted by permission of Blackwell Publishers
The main objective of the paper is to assess macroeconomic and financial absorption capacity of the EU candidate country Turkey for the use of preaccession funds in the period before the country will ...join the European Union as well as for the use of structural action funds in the period following its accession to the European Union.
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