Europeanization and the Romanian Party System. European Political Families and Their Impact on Parties (I)
Mihai CARADAICĂ and Codrin CĂULEA
Abstract: The primary objective of this paper is to analyze the transformation of the Romanian party system under the influence of the European context since January 1st 2007, the date Romania entered the EU. To achieve this objective in analyzing Romanian parties we will use two sets of variables: ideological and political practice. Doing this research, we observed the fact that Romanian parties added to their agenda the entire European political dimension and also they try to actively promote the extension of this phenomenon beyond its actual boundaries. From the perspective of political practice there are some difficulties in the coordination between European and national policy, more specifically a bad match between the European goals and the goals of Romanian political parties. In conclusion we can say that a slight transformation of the Romanian party system towards Europeanization exists, but the process is a difficult one.
Keywords: Europeanization, European political groups, political party families, Romanian political parties, political practice
National Construction and European Integration
Bianca CONE
Abstract: The process through which the state accedes the European Union implies an important internal conversion of the state. This necessary change for an harmonized integration between the international structure and the state has led to a fiery debate regarding what will be the state’s role in the new context and of his sovereignty. On one hand there are voices that affirm state will lose its tasks and its sovereignty along with the integration and an the other hand, others that say the state becomes stronger enjoying an extra protection from the EU in the international market.
Keywords: state construction, European integration, state, liberal intergovernmentalism
The Security and Defence Policy of Romania between Atlantism and Europeanism
Andrei DINU
Abstract: This paper attempts to make a brief assessment of Romania’s parallel processes of integration within NATO and EU-ESDP using as a compass the competitive/complementary dynamic between Europeanism and atlanticism, as well as Romania’s manifest preferences regarding national security and defence. The first part will track the evolution of the accession processes, of the initiatives and reforms put into place on Romania’s behalf in order to comply with euro-Atlantic standards. Next, the NATO-ESDP relationship will be viewed from a conflictive perspective, holding a central focus on the internal crisis generated by the Iraq war. Romania’s options will be explained with the help of two concepts from the Theory of International Relations, the Security Dilemma and Bandwagoning, while at the same time the events and processes that occurred from 2003 to the present day will be closely analyzed. Romania’s involvement in the Iraq war and the political fruit derived from it shall constitute the topics of the final chapter.
Keywords: Europeanism, Atlanticism, Security Dilemma, Bandwagoning, Iraq
The Romanian Practice in Promoting Acquis on Environmental Policies
Diana FRENŢESCU
Abstract: The repercussions of European integration on national policymaking have increasingly drawn scholarly attention, yet, the determinants of national adaptation to the European Union are still poorly understood. This article takes issue with requirements and objectives which characterize environmental policy of the Community acquis. My research focuses on the challenging subject of environmental policy adoption by Romanian authorities after accession to EU. The paper proposes that environmental policies in Romania are the result of the internal and external pressures and also that they represent just the accordance with Community acquis.
Keywords: environmental policy, Community acquis, European Union, internal and external pressure
Europeanization and the Romanian Party System. European Political Families and Their Impact on Parties (II)
Minodora IGESCU, Otilia IONESCU and Roxana MACOVEI
Abstract: This paper focuses on the concept of “Europeanization” and tries to analyze the impact that the European political parties have on Romanian parties. First of all, we will describe the role of the political parties; we will make the necessary distinction between Europeanization and European integration and finally we will analyze the European political families, linking their impact on the Romanian parties with the impact on parties in Central and Eastern Europe. This analysis aims to sustain the fact that the transformation of parties in Romania is a result, a consequence of the country’s European integration and its effect, Europeanization. Moreover, another goal is to analyze the role of the European political families in electoral strategies and political positioning.
Keywords: Europeanization, European integration, European political families, stability, strategy
EU Youth Policies and Their Implementation in Romania
Ana-Maria GHIMIŞ and Ionela-Alina MOGOŞ
Abstract: The present paper work aims to describe the relatively recent policies adopted in the European Union, the Youth Policies, from 2001 until now. Although they have not a particular relevance in the EU’s budget nor are they part of Hoffman’s high politics, their importance has grown with each new youth policy adopted. This paper represents a brief review of the most relevant of these policies, the influence they had on the development of Member States and also the way in which they are implemented in Romania.
Keywords: youth policies, European Union, White Paper on Youth, active citizenship for young
