Date: 23rd-24th May 2013

Host: Centre for Russian, Central and East European Studies, University of Glasgow, UK

Call for Papers Deadline: HAS NOW CLOSED

Online Registration: OPENING SOON

Information for Participants: COMING SOON

Programme: COMING SOON

Keynote Speaker: Professor Ivo Samson, Director Slovak Institute for Defence and Security Studies, Fellow at the Research Center of the Slovak Foreign Policy Association

Information:

The Assessing Accession: CEE in the EU collaborative research network is pleased to announced that its 2013 Research Symposium will take place at the University of Glasgow on the 23^rd and 24^th May.

The symposium will be supported by the CRCEES (Centre for Russian, Central and East European Studies) and will run in parallel with the CRCEES Annual Research Forum.  There will be dual streams to this year’s Assessing Accession symposium reflecting two of the network study groups on ‘Energy’ and ‘Foreign Policies’. The symposium will include a range of panels that examine key study group research priorities highlighted below.

Energy: 

Since the enlargement of the EU to Central and Eastern Europe, a range of obstacles and challenges to the successful implementation an EU energy policy have arisen or become more prevalent. This includes (1) managing the completion the expanded liberalised internal energy market by 2014, (2) establishing a functional and integrated energy infrastructure, (3) ensuring competent regulation of the energy sector in CEE with regard to competition and state aid, and (4) responding to mounting external pressures including dependency on Russian oil and gas supplies.  The EU is currently developing a coordinated approach to these challenges, but it will take time and effort by not only EU institutions, but also its member states and corporate entities.

We welcome original research and conceptual papers relating to:

• CEE states and the liberalisation of the EU’s internal energy market
• CEE and the EU’s ‘energy infrastructure package’
• CEE and security of supply

Foreign Policies:

With respect to the issue of foreign policy, the enlargement of the EU to Central and Eastern Europe has opened up a whole new range of dynamics, perspectives and opportunities, both for the foreign policies of the CEECs and for the foreign policy of the EU. Indeed, the accession of the CEECs to the EU has had extensive implications for foreign policy in the EU, the exact contours of which are still developing. The impact is being felt not just at the institutional level, but it also has a distinct ideological reach, for instance, in the realm of democracy assistance. Moreover, the 2004/2007 enlargement has presented the EU with a new geopolitical reality in its eastern backyard, which several CEECs have shown to be particularly keen to deal with.

We welcome original research or conceptual papers relating to the

• The impact of Eastern enlargement on the EU’s foreign policy
• The impact of EU accession on individual  foreign policies of the CEECs
• The role and involvement of the CEECs in the EU’s foreign policy, in particular their role in the EU’s policy towards the EU’s Eastern neighbourhood

Special Focus:

We are also keen to encourage papers which link EU external action and energy issues. This may include studies relating to the EU’s engagement with ‘strategic partners’ in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia through regional cooperation initiatives such as:

• the Black Sea Synergy,
• the Eastern Partnership,
• the Central Asia Strategy
• the EU-Russia Energy Dialogue/EU-Russia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and its replacement  the New EU-Russia Agreement

More information on the study groups can be found at:

http://assessingaccession.eu/study-group-foreign-policies/

http://assessingaccession.eu/study-group-energy/

Some limited funding will be available to support travel and accommodation for selected paper givers.

For more information on either study group or the symposium please contact:

Dr Eamonn Butler (Energy) Dr Fabienne Bossuyt (Foreign Policies).

Full details about the CRCEES Research Forum, including arrangements for the Assessing Accession Symposium (registration, accommodation and travel details) will be made available on the CRCEES and Assessing Accession website shortly.

Registration will be opened shortly

The symposium is funded, organised and hosted by the Centre for Russian, Central and East European Studies (CRCEES) at the University of Glasgow, Scotland.

For more information about the Centre for Russian, Central and East European Studies, please contact: Dr Clare McManus    (clare.mcmanus[at]glasgow.ac.uk)

Abstract: Poland is an increasingly effective contributor to the EU’s energy security strategy and the internal energy market. This paper considers how this new member state has responded to and attempted to shape EU energy security policy development since accession in 2004. Through a conceptual lens of Europeanisation uploading, Poland’s post-accession role will be assessed by reference to the available opportunities and mechanisms to participate in EU decision-making and shape policy. This will be examined within the context of the main issues that have dominated the EU’s recent energy agenda: 1) EU dependency on gas imports is increasing, exacerbated by EU enlargement, as new member states are disproportionately dependent on Russian gas; 2) the objective of developing and financing infrastructure projects that contribute to the internal energy market and combat gas supply disruptions (after those in 2006 and 2009), and; 3) geopolitical and economic relations with Russia and the potential security risk given that Russian foreign policy is explicitly based on exploitation of energy resources and bilateral agreements with member states rather than with the EU.

Download PDF: CRCEES WP2012/02

Feedback: We encourage Assessing Accession members or anyone who downloads one of our working papers to consider sending comments to the authors and editors of this working papers series. Your comments will provide useful feedback to the authors.

Email your comments to our editors at wpsfeedback[at]assessingaccession.eu. Be sure to include your own details (name, reason for downloading the paper, institutional affiliation). Your comments will be checked by the editors and passed on to the authors.

The UACES Collaborative Research Networks, Assessing Accession – Central and Eastern Europe in the EU and EU-Russia (Energy Study Group) jointly held a 1 day specialist workshop at the University of Glasgow on Friday 2nd March 2012. The workshop was entitled “Central and East European energy strategies: creating a sustainable energy future within the EU” and focused on the fact that EU and non-EU states from the Baltic to the Black Sea are currently working towards establishing a fully integrated regional energy market spanning central and southeastern Europe. It is believed that this will allow for greater security of supply through increased interdependency, improved infrastructure and enhanced competition, among other things. However, this can only be successful if undertaken within the context of the wider European/EU strategy on energy. Challenges to this process are varied and progress is slow, yet the requirement and desire for this region to achieve a sustainable energy future remains strong.

This workshop had presentations from 11 individuals examining a wide range of issues affecting the central and east European energy market and its current and future development within a wider EU context, including its relationship with Russia as a major supplier of energy to the region. The workshop opened with a panel examining the place of Russia in the energy market with Scott N. Romaniuk (University of Aberdeen) providing a discussion of ‘crisis’ within the CEE energy security. Giedrius Česnakas (Vytautas Magus University, Lithuania) and Jack Sharples (University of Glasgow) then followed this up with two papers examining the relationship between Russia’s energy export strategies with the western CIS and central European states. Finally Marc Ozawa (University of Cambridge) closed the panel with a discussion around trust between Europe and Russia within natural gas partnerships. The issue of trust was one that was to thread throughout papers across the day.  The second panel dealt primarily with alternative and renewable energy sources. Papers were presented by Alvin Almendrala Camba (UCL) on Estonian oil shale and Polish coal and shale gas and Konstantinos Delaportas (UCL) spoke about the growing relevance of wind power and its place in the CEE energy mix. Finally Anatole Boute (University of Aberdeen) raised the question of Russia as a potential renewable energy supplier to the EU, a suggestion that encouraged much debate between the participants. The third and final panel of the day dealt with energy strategies in the CEE region. Tomas Maltby (University of Manchester) and Aleksandra Lis (CEU) both examined the place of Poland as an energy actor with Maltby examining Poland’s role within a fully integrated region and EU energy market, while Lis looked at the issue of carbon capture and storage in Poland – a topic that has proven particularly controversial across the EU in general. Finally Karoliina Rausepp (University of Aberdeen) and Evan Thomas (Charles University) looked at the Baltic States and the region’s move away from the insecurity of being an energy island to one that is highly interconnected and thus secure within the wider EU.

The event was supported by UACES (CRN initiative) and CRCEES (Centre for Russian, Central and East European Studies) at the University of Glasgow. A selection of papers will be available to download as work in progress papers from the Assessing Accession website shortly. Please visit http://assessingaccession.eu for more details.

Tartu, Estonia
Centre for EU-Russia Studies (CEURUS), EuroCollege, University of Tartu

14-15 June 2012

PROGRAMME
See the full programme as PDF

14 June 2012

Venue: Juhan Peegli Auditorium, Lossi street 36

9:00 – 9:30           Registration, coffee

9:00 – 10:30         Opening

Panelists: Michail Beis (EU Fundamental Rights Agency), Clare McManus (Glasgow University) and Aidan McGarry (University of Brighton)

10:30 – 11:00        Coffee

11:00 – 12:30        Session I

Panel 1: Language policy in the era of integration (see Panel 1 paper abstracts)
Chair: Ada-Charlotte Regelmann (University of Glasgow)

Raivo Vetik (Tallinn University), Positions and dispositions in the Russian-language school reform in Estonia

Ewelina Tylec (Central European University), Right to minority language. Linguistic rights of the Polish national minority in Lithuania

Jaroslav Mihálik & Juraj Marušiak (University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius), The Dynamics of Slovak – Hungarian Minority Relations – the national populism over the civil society

Panel 2: Romanis: status, recognition and education (see Panel 2 paper abstracts)
Chair: Raluca Bianca Roman (University College London/University of Helsinki)

Aidan McGarry (University of Brighton) & Timofey Agarin (Queens University of Belfast), Political participation of Roma in Europe: differentiating the politics of presence and influence

Elena Marushiakova & Vesselin Popov (Bulgarian Academy of Science), The Roma movement in the Baltic States and CIS: past, present and future

Ana Pantea (Romanian Academy of Science – Iasi), Recognition and exclusion of otherness. The case of the Roma from Eastern Europe

12:30 – 14:00 Lunch

14:00 – 15:30 Session II

Panel 3: Diversity policies and multiculturalism in a wider Europe (see Panel 3 paper abstracts)
Chair: Timofey Agarin (Queens University of Belfast)

Ada-Charlotte Regelmann (University of Glasgow), After multiculturalism? The future of social integration in heterogeneous societies

Irina Lonean (Universite Libre de Bruxelles/University of Bucharest), Minorities related discourse and policies of the state. Re-shaping the Romanian national state after accession to the EU

Zoltan Kantor (Research Institute for Hungarian Communities Abroad), Kin-state politics in Hungary after 2010

Tawhida Ahmet (University of Reading), The EU, diversity and minority rights: reflections post-Lisbon

Panel 4: EU conditionality in the Balkans (see Panel 4 paper abstracts)
Chair: Tom Hashimoto (University of Tartu)

Stefano Braghiroli (University of Oslo) & Irena Fiket (University of Siena), Pro bono membership? Assessing the impact of EU-sponsored legislation on minority rights in the Balkans

Leonas Tolvaišis (Vytautas Magnus University), Kosovo Serb enclaves and EU integration of the Western Balkans: legal, political and social aspects

Bilge Yabanci (University of Bath), Reluctant ‘minorities’: Kosovo Serbs and Turkish Cypriots between EU norms and titular state policies

Lauren Tognela, Macedonia, interethnic relations, and EU integration

15:30 – 16:00 Coffee break

16:00 – 17:30 Session III

Panel 5: Mobility and spatial behaviour (see Panel 5 paper abstracts)
Chair: Clare McManus (Glasgow University)

Jakub Isanski (Adam Mickiewicz University), Networks and migrants’ communities. Case of Polish migration after 2004

Siiri Silm & Rein Ahas (University of Tartu), Differences in spatial behaviour between Estonians and Russians: case study on the residents of Tallinn

Daiva Tereščenko (Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education), Reciprocal interest: East European migration patterns and higher education policy in Lithuania after 2004

Chris Moreh (Northumbria University), European mobility and the question of new minorities: the case of Romanians in Spain

Panel 6: Representation of Romani communities (see Panel 6 paper abstracts)
Chair: Aidan McGarry (University of Brighton)

Raluca Bianca Roman (University College London/University of Helsinki), Questioning ethnic solidarity and the concept of Roma ‘nation’: Finnish Roma elite on Romanian Roma migrants in Finland

Michail Beis (EU Fundamental rigths Agency), FRA Pilot Survey Findings: The situation of Roma in the European Union

Sofiya Zahova (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences), The Roma discourse in the EU integration strategies of Western Balkans states: the case of Montenegro

17.30-18.00 – Specialist Guest Paper

The Rocky Road to Human and Minority Rights: Theory and Practice in Central Europe and Russia – Benedikt Harzl, Sergiu Constantin and Alice Engl (Institute for Minority Rights of the European Academy Bozen/Bolzano)

19:00 Reception

15 June 2012

Venue: Juhan Peegli Auditorium, Lossi street 36

10:00 – 11:30 Session IV

Panel 7: Minority and evolution of nation state in the CEE (see Panel 7 paper abstracts)
Chair: Eamonn Butler (University of Glasgow)

Noelle Peach (McGill University), The political participation of the Russian diaspora in post-Soviet states

Istvan-Gergö Szekely (Romanian Institute for Research on National Minorities) & Tibor Toro (Sapienta Hungarian University of Transylvania), Kin-state policies and minority party politics: the Hungarian minority party scene in Romania, Serbia and Slovakia

Nuri Ali Tahir (University of Trieste), Comparative evaluation of minority rights in Bulgaria and Greece in the process of European integration

Panel 8: Ethnicity as a resource (see Panel 8 paper abstracts)
Chair: Eva-Clarita Pettai (University of Tartu)

Abel Polese (Tallinn University), Odessa … Ukraine: who is the minority? Between ‘imagined’ policies and realities

Magdalena Dembinska (University of Montreal), Silesian identity: nation-building in transnational and identity fluctuating contexts

Monika Frejute-Rakauskiene (Lithuanian Social Research Centre
Institute for Ethnic Studies), European, regional and local identities of Russians in Lithuania and Latvia: the comparative aspect

11:30 – 12:00 Coffee break with light snacks

12:00 – 13:00 Closing session and keynote speech:

George Schöpflin, MEP for Hungary and formerly Jean Monnet Professor of Politics, University College London

Conference will take place at the premises of Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tartu.

Address: Lossi street 36.

TARTU EVENTS MAP

TARTU UNIVERSITY MAP

The keynote addresses and parallel panels will be located on the first floor at Juhan Peegel Auditorium (room 215 and room 214).

Accommodation

Paper givers will be sent details of their accommodation separately. All non paper-givers are required to book their own accommodation. Please note that there might be scarcity of the available accommodation for summer holiday period therefore we would recommend you to book your hotel well in advance.  You can find the list of available accommodations in Tartu HERE.

Travel to and from Tartu

You can reach Tartu through local airport hubs of Tallinn, Riga or Helsinki.

From Tallinn:

1) Take a bus (2.5h, cost 10€). The bus to Tartu departs every full hour from the airport terminal.

2) Take connecting flight Tallinn-­‐Tartu with Estonian Air. Please see the flight schedule and prices here:  www.estonian‐air.com

From Riga:

1)      Take a bus from Riga bus station (4h). There are several bus companies operating,  please consult the following websites: http://www.luxexpress.ee/en  or   www.ecolines.net

From Helsinki:

1)      Take  connecting flight Helsinki-­‐Tartu with Flybe.  Please see the flight schedule and prices here: www.flybe.com

From Tartu airport to hotel:

Those of you who travel to Tartu by air, please keep in mind that there is no regular taxi service offered at the airport. You can reach the hotel by the following ways:

1) While arranging your booking with the hotel, ask them to arrange you taxi to meet you at the arrival time at the airport.

2) Use airport shuttle service Tartaline. Booking and more information can be found here: http://www.tartaline.ee/_eng

This new network examines the place of Romani and Traveller Minorities in Europe. It is coordinated by:

Romanis in Europe sees itself as an interdisciplinary network initiative that brings together scholars, researchers and practitioners sharing a specific interest in limitations of present European policies aiming at Roma integration. The specific interest of the network lies with the evaluative research with the focus on policies targeting Roma communities, allowing their geographic mobility and determining their relationship with the national and the European institutions. We believe this research is important for several reasons.  

The issue of Romanis’ exclusion was brought to attention of the wider European public with the 2010 expulsions of the EU citizens from France, the events that are yet to change the ways in which we perceive and analyse the issues of European integration, cross-border migration and minority rights protection. Across Europe, Romanis are the largest minority group. Traditional policies of group protection, cultural diversity and minority inclusion have failed to redress social deprivation and exclusion of Romanis and were largely unsuccessful in changing the perceptions of the dominant societies about Romani communities. With no kin-state of their own and lacking opportunities for mobilising political or economic resources, Romanis remain poorly organised, disempowered and largely marginal communities living in parallel to dominant societies.

For more details about the network including how you can join it please visit its website or facebook page.

[SINGLEEVENT single_event_id="assessing-accession-2012-research-symposium-university-of-tartu-estonia-1-4"]

Abstract: Bulgaria’s integration to the EU has been an ambiguous experience. The high expectations of EU membership have been marked by numerous domestic challenges. This paper explores the application of the principle of partnership in Bulgaria in programming the EU funds for 2007-2013 as a litmus test for the extent of compliance with EU requirements. It displays evidence that there is a serious adaptational misfit and left-overs of the previous institutional establishment that limit the EU leverage in this field and challenge the programming, management and implementation process.

Download PDF: CRCEES WP2012/01

Feedback: We encourage Assessing Accession members or anyone who downloads one of our working papers to consider sending comments to the authors and editors of this working papers series. Your comments will provide useful feedback to the authors.

Email your comments to our editors at wpsfeedback[at]assessingaccession.eu. Be sure to include your own details (name, reason for downloading the paper, institutional affiliation). Your comments will be checked by the editors and passed on to the authors.

Assessing Accession researchers contribute to the teaching that makes up key components of the IMRCEES programme. Students on this Erasmus Mundus recognised programme will also benefit from access to a wide variety of seminars, guest lectures, workshops and conferences supported by the Assessing Accession network. Students will also have the opportunity to join the network and contribute to its activities. 

Up to 9 Category A and 7 Category B student scholarships were available for 2013 entry.

Applications for self-funding students for September 2013 entry to the Erasmus Mundus International Masters in Russian, Central and East European Studies (2 years, double degree) have now closed by applications for entry in 2014 will open shortly. Please visit http://www.glasgow.ac.uk/erasmusmundus/imrcees for details of when the competition opens.

Students study at the University of Glasgow (UK) in Year 1 and at one of the following double degree partner institutions in Year 2:

• Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary
• The Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
• The University of Tartu, Estonia
• The University of Turku, Finland
• The Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research, Almaty, the Republic of Kazakhstan

See: http://www.glasgow.ac.uk/erasmusmundus/imrcees for full details of the programme.

See: http://www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate/erasmusmundus/programme/scholarshipandfees/#d.en.207902 for application details

Other masters programmes at the University of Glasgow to which students may apply are:

• MSc in Russian, Central and East European Studies (1 year)
• MRes in Russian, Central and East European Studies (1 year)