July 10 - July 20, 2010 - Prague, Czech Republic
The European Summer School 2003
Module A: Enlargement
Class I: Enlargement: "The Big Bang"
The session will focus on the comparison of current "Big Bang enlargement" with the previous waves. It will treat specific concerns and problems of countries that acceded to the EU previously and will also comment on the position of some countries that for some reason did not opt for EU membership or where the EU refused to embark on negotiations (Morocco, Turkey). The participants will also discuss the finalit d'elargissement of the EU.
Issues/questions to be addressed:
- Was the Big Bang enlargement a courageous political choice rather than legal and administrative exercise?
- How does the current enlargement compare to the previous waves in terms of certain geographic, political, economic and demographic indicators?
- Why did Norway and Switzerland opt for staying outside the EU structures and policies?
- Is there any plan/vision for further waves of enlargement? What about the Balkans, Ukraine, perhaps Russia?
- Will the EU be ready to start accession negotiations with Turkey in 2004/2005?
Class II: Enlargement: From Copenhagen to Copenhagen
The lecture and subsequent workshop will deal in detail with technicalities of the accession process, starting with setting the accession criteria (Copenhagen criteria) and analysing the Association Agreement, screening, accession negotiations, regular reports and the conclusion of the Accession Treaty. The ratification process (referenda/parliaments) in the member states and the candidate countries will also be discussed. The workshop will also tackle the most sensitive issues in the negotiations on both sides, e.g. free movement of persons, capital, agriculture, transport etc. demonstrated on the case of the Czech Republic.
Questions to be addressed:
- Why and how were the accession criteria set?
- Did the Commission manage to produce a quality and just assessment of the candidates?
- Were the negotiations talks between equals? Or was it an EU dictate?
- What kind of deal did the candidates get in Copenhagen II?
- Are the referenda a suitable way of approving the accession treaties?
Class III: Enlargement: Expectations, Concerns and Reality
The session will deal with the perception of the impacts of enlargement on both the current member states and the newcomers. The participants will analyse the support of EU membership in candidate countries as well as the support for enlargement in the member states and try to identify the main patterns (both in terms of expectations and concerns). The attitudes of different segments of population will be assessed as well. The positions of political elites of the major EU players will also be analysed. Finally, the participants will identify the expected political and economic impacts of enlargement on both the newcomers and current member states.
Issues to be addressed:
- What do the expectations and concerns relating to the enlargement stem from?
- To what extent are they based on reality and to what extent on populist arguments?
- What are the reasons for support/non support of accession of particular countries?
- Why are some of the newcomers more euro-sceptic than others?
Class IV: Enlargement: Future of farmers, regions, labour migrants and immigrants in the enlarged EU
Here we will focus on the future of key policies in the EU-25, including Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Regional and Structural Policy, Labour Market, the Schengen acquis etc. We will try to analyse how the accession of the new members will influence the shaping of these policies in post- May-2004 Europe, with a particular regard to Czech case. Attention will also be paid to the budgetary deal on the enlargement and likely further development of EU budgetary rules.
Points to be addressed:
- Will the current CAP survive enlargement?
- Will the newcomers be able to use available structural funds?
- Will all Polish workers move to Frankfurt?
- Will the eastern EU border be well protected?
- What about the new budget? Will the Brits insist on new members subsidising their rebate?
Module B: Convention
Class I: Convention: Method, Questions and Issues
The seminar will deal with the method of the Convention as compared to the previously used method of Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC). It will give the participants an insight into the composition and work of the Convention, its structure, working methods and its internal politics. It will also give an outline of the main problems/issues addressed by the Convention. The seminar will be conducted and facilitated by Ms Lenka Rovná Head of the Department of European Studies, Charles University, and Czech Government Alternate Member of the Convention.
Points to be addressed:
- Why is Convention so special?
- Laeken Declaration and mandate of the Convention
- The comparison of run-up-to Nice IGC and the Convention
- Representation in the Convention - member states and candidates on equal footing?
- Convention - dictatorship of the Presidium?
- Smaller vs. larger member states
- "Constitutionalization" of the European Union - a logical and necessary step in European integration?
- Draft Constitutional Treaty - shifting the EU more towards inter-governmentalism or federalism?
Class II: Convention: External Relations, Defence, Justice and Home Affairs
The seminar will focus on crucial policies discussed by the Convention - Common Foreign and Security Policy, Defence Policy and Justice and Home Affairs. It will try to address the question why this policy is so sensitive in the European context, especially in relation to the recent Iraq crisis. It will assess the efforts of the Convention to make this policy more efficient and coherent. Special attention will be paid to the relation of foreign policy to EU external relations in a broader sense. The issue of internal security co-operation (justice and home affairs) and some initiatives tabled (European public prosecutor) will be discussed as well.
Points to be addressed:
- External representation: will the European Foreign Minister make any difference?
- Can the European Council chair ensure that "Union is effectively represented in a wider world"?
- Did the Convention succeed in achieving a framework for a genuine European foreign policy?
- Implications of the outcomes of the Convention on security and defence for transatlantic relations and EU-NATO relationship
- Will there be a push for foreign and defence policy hardcore?
- Justice and Home Affairs - framework for the area of freedom, security and justice?
Class III: Convention: Institutions
This class will tackle the difficult issue of institutional balance between the main EU institutions as suggested by the Convention. It will discuss the different alternatives of the reform of the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament. Apart from that, it will deal with some of the other outcomes of key working groups like those on legal personality, simplification of treaties, procedures and instruments, merging of the Three pillars of the Union or the incorporation of the EU Charter of Human Rights.
Issues to be addressed:
- Presidency of the Council
- Separation of legislative and executive tasks of the Council
- Who is going to be the genuine future EU executive?
- Accountability of the institutions
- European Parliament - equal legislator to the Council?
- Will the Commission be more politicised?
- Legal personality - will the EU eventually replace the member states in the key international organisations like the UN?
- Simplification - ever more complicated?
- EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and relation with the European Convention on Human Rights
Class IV: Convention: Czech perspective
This session will focus particularly on the Czech standpoints towards the different issues discussed by the Convention. It will compare the Czech approaches with those of other countries, especially in the so called V4 (Visegrad) group as well as different attitudes of the three Czech Conventioneers representing the three main political parties.
Simulation
A simulation game on the negotiation making process in the Council of the EU. Individual partitipants will represent the interest of the member state which they are going to represent (including the "secret" instruction of their government). The "cards" of the game are going to be set in a manner that no single state can arrange everything it wants - the crucial are the coalition-making ability of the partitipant to ally with the states with the same or similar interests and/or to "trade off" some compromises on the former side for support in other (more crucial) questions.