The impact of the EU10 countries on EU policy-making – Book launch

Strategic issues for the EU10 countries. main positions and implications for EU policy-making

Book launch with the Institute of World Economics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

The main objective of the two-year research programme conducted by FEPS with the support of the Institute of World Economics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences was to analyse the attitudes of the ten Central and Eastern European member states (EU10) in the formulation of some of the most topical issues under discussion in the European Union. The book launch displays the results of this research. The countries in focus are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. The study attempts to identify the key EU-related priorities of these countries, their abilities to influence European Union policies alone or jointly and to look at the impact they make on the processes of European integration. The key issues discussed are the management of the eurozone crisis, the multiannual financial framework for 2014-2020, the reform of common agricultural policy and of cohesion policy after 2013, energy policy, external relations, enlargement and neighbourhood policy. The report concludes that – due to diverse interests, positions and challenges – the EU10 does not behave as a single lobby group which can also be seen as avoiding unwanted cleavages within the Union. At the same time, many policy areas can be detected where they have a similar approach (e.g. in the field of energy security, enlargement, neighbourhood policy or cohesion policy financing and reforms) allowing them to make an impact on European integration.

For further information, please, contact Judit Tánczos, FEPS Policy advisor at judit.tanczosfeps-europe.eu