Institute for International Relations

Research Project

IMO is member of the EU-CONSENT Research Consortium which operates as a Network of Excellence for joint research and teaching that addresses questions of the mutual reinforcing effects of the deepening and widening of the EU It involves 48 institutional partners, including 25 universities, as well as approximately 200 researchers and about 80 Ph.D. candidates from 22 EU member states and three candidate countries: Bulgaria, Croatia and Turkey.

The project's IMO team members are Nevenka Čučković (team leader), Ana-Maria Boromisa, Višnja Samardžija, Mladen Staničić, and Igor Vidačak.

The EU-CONSENT research project is supported by the European Union’s 6th Framework Programme for the period 2005-2009. It will address questions of mutual reinforcing effects of deepening and widening by developing and working with three sets of expectations for analysing the past and developing an innovative framework for the future integration beyond Western Europe. Within such a conceptual framework 25 interdisciplinary teams (from the fields of economics, political science, and law) will test lessons from the past in view of their academic and political validity for discussing visions and integration scenarios for the future.

The common framework will include integrating activities (such as conferences, workshops, activities in plena and in teams), common research (EU-27 Watch and WEB-CONSENT), teaching activities (a PhD Centre of Excellence, virtual study units and traditional courses) and dissemination activities (public events and common publications).

The results of the project will flow into common databases such as the E-Library, a multilingual glossary on the EU deepening and widening, bibliographies and core curricula, which will all be made available on WEB-CONSENT.

Electronic Publication

EU-27 Watch is an electronic publication of the EU-CONSENT project, aiming to give a full comparative picture of debates on European integration and current developments in European politics in each of the member and candadate countries.

EU-27 Watch No. 8 / March 2009 presents a comparative overview of debates on important issues in European politics and economics based on the national surveys in 27 member states and two candidate countries (Croatia and Turkey). Topics in this issue include discussions on: the future of the EU after the Irish 'No'; renewal of transatlantic relations after election of President Obama and its top priorities; financial crisis and challenges of global governance; evaluation of the results of the French Presidency; prospects for ENP and enlargement after 'Georgia' and other current issues and discourses in the member states.

Issue no. 6/March 2008 brings opinions from the national surveys in 27 member states and two candidate countries on several issues such as: the future of Europe at the end of the Portuguese Presidency and after signing the new reform treaty; Western Balkans and Enlargement agenda; the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and Russia; ongoing consultation on the budget review and other current issues of high salience in the member states.

Issue no. 5/September 2007 brings reflections from the national surveys in member states and two candidate countries on some of the key questions and challenges of the present EU such as: is the deadlock over European constitution overcome; is the EU back on the track and does the EU future looks somewhat brighter after the June EU summit? Topics discussed include: the future of Europe at the end of German Presidency; climate change and EU's energy policy; security culture in member states and its implications for EU foreign and security policy; unemployment, labor markets and future of welfare states in the EU.

Issue no. 4/January 2007 sheds light on key issues and challenges of European integration. The enlarged EU of 27 members is in a process of reshaping its constitutional and political order and at the same time of expanding its membership and taking on new obligations in international politics. Topics discussed include: expectations from the German presidency; elements for the Berlin declaration; scenarios for future negotiations of the Constitutional Treaty; absorption capacity; European energy policy; immigration policy; the Lebanon conflict; and Russia and the European neighbourhood policy.

Issue no. 3/July 2006 brings an overview of the most recent national debates in the 25 EU member states and 3 candidate countries (Croatia, Romania, Turkey) on the constitutional treaty; the costs and benefits of the EU membership for new member states; the leadership in the EU; discourses of interest in the other EU or neighbouring countries; the Lisbon process and its challenges; developments in the Western Balkans and enlargement of the EU; the Middle East and the energy policy of the EU; and some upcoming issues at national levels.

Topics discussed in issue no. 2/January 2006 include current debates on the constitutional treaty and period of reflection, the future of EU enlargement, the financial framework 2007/13, the Lisbon Agenda, the EU’s role in the world, upcoming issues at the national level and views on the EU's future priorities.

Download

Issue no. 8 / March 2009, (PDF, 2.7 MB)
Issue no. 7 / September 2008, (PDF, 2.1 MB)
Issue no. 6 / March 2008, (PDF, 3.1 MB)
Issue no. 5 / September 2007, (PDF, 2.8 MB)
Issue no. 4 / January 2007, (PDF, 2.5 MB)
Issue no. 3 / July 2006, (PDF, 2.0 MB)
Issue no. 2 / January 2006, (PDF, 2.4 MB)
Issue no. 1 / December 2004, (PDF, 1.3 MB)