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President Tusk visits Cyprus to discuss how EU can help to reach a settlement to end the division of the island of Cyprus. The agenda includes regional issues, cooperation and the management of the migration crisis.

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Dorota Dakowska and Robert Harmsen

Why are Central and Eastern European countries said to be particularly exposed to European and international organizations? How did the Bologna Process become a central reference in many domestic reform projects in the region?  This special issue of the European Journal of Higher Education (Volume 5, Issue 1, 2015) aims to refine our understanding of higher education (HE) transformations in a post-authoritarian context. It further contributes to debates on Europeanization and policy transfer in the field.

 

This special issue brings together an international and interdisciplinary team of contributors.  Particular attention is focused on the different actors, who appropriate international norms in the cause of domestic reform, or conversely develop strategies of resistance.  The range of national and thematic case studies included, spanning both EU member states and the wider post-Soviet area, allows for the drawing of a comparatively broad-based portrait of both the ‘uses’ and the ‘users’ of international norms in domestic debates. 

 

Central and Eastern European countries may adopt different positions facing European HE policies. Some of them eagerly adopt European policy prescriptions, while others prefer a more selective approach. In any case, the Bologna Process and the European Higher Education Area are noticed, debated or even integrated in domestic political games. This being said, Europe is neither the only nor necessarily the main external reference in these countries. The interplay between the different external factors and actors is also highlighted in this issue.

 

Background

The special issue derives from an international research collaboration, launched with a conference organised at the University of Luxembourg in November 2010 and continued with a two-year research and training project funded by the Interdisciplinary Centre for Studies and Research on Germany (CIERA): ‘Rebuilding Academia: The Transformations of Central-East European Universities since 1989’ (2011-2013). The current issue derives from a workshop held in Strasbourg in 2013 (‘Bologna and Beyond: Experts, Entrepreneurs, Users and the Internationalisation of Higher Education Institutions’). Further collaborative work was made possible owing to the funding secured through the Strasbourg School of European Studies ‘Excellence project’ and the University of Luxembourg’s ‘Global-Uni’ project (2013-16).

 

Inside the Central European Academic Laboratory

In the introductory article Dorota Dakowska and Robert Harmsen deal with higher education (HE) transformations in Central and Eastern Europe in the context of democratization and globalization. The authors briefly survey the wider canvas of reform since 1989, probing the extent to which the countries of the region may be treated as a distinctive or a cohesive group. Diverging experiences with communism, international organizations and the European Union are highlighted, while attention is also focused on the differing degrees of marketization exhibited by academic systems across the countries of region. Notwithstanding their differences, the latter emerge as distinctive ‘laboratories of reform’, privileged sites for understanding the interplay of external and domestic influences in the reshaping of the HE sector. The introduction then turns to understanding the domestic mediation of the processes of Europeanization and internationalization, identifying a series of key factors broadly discussed in terms of structures, norms and actors.

 

In the first article that follows, Michael Dobbins analyses developments in Polish public higher education (HE) based on historical institutionalism and organizational isomorphism. The author argues that Polish public HE has been characterized by fragmentary state-driven attempts to inject more competition into the system and altogether relative policy inertia, despite an internal and external environment which is highly conducive to policy change and in particular marketization.

 

The second contribution, by Ligia Deca, focuses on the uses of international norms in the Romanian higher education reforms. By focusing on three phases of policy change, the author observes when, why and by whom the international influences were strategically used in Romanian public discourse on higher education reform. She draws a balance sheet across the two decades of higher education reforms in Romania to provide insights into wider problematics of reform, Europeanization and internationalization in a context of transition and peripherality.

 

In the third article, Liudvika Leisyte, Rimantas Zelvys and Lina Zenkieneexplore the implementation of selected Bologna action lines in Lithuanian higher education institutions (HEIs) from an organizational perspective. Although the Bologna process is likely to be normatively accepted by institutions in the context of high uncertainty, a phenomenon of national re-contextualization can be observed depending on the type of HEIs and the competitive horizons of academic disciplines.

 

In the fourth contribution Renáta Králiková sheds light on the domestic translation of international models basing on the Romanian and Lithuanian case of university governing boards. First, she stresses the importance of path dependent logics that go back to the transition period in the early 1990s. Second, she confirms that actors’ perceptions of institutions influence policy translation.

 

The fifth article written by Olga Gille-Belova, deals with the case of Belarus, which challenges the limits of the European Higher Education Area as the country is the only one that had at the time of writing not been accepted to join the Bologna Process. The contribution examines the strategic uses of the Bologna Process. The initial refusal of the Belarusian application reveals a complex interplay between the increasing importance of ‘technical’ criteria inside the EHEA and EU external policy considerations.

 

In her concluding comments Martina Vukasovic identifies a number of transversal themes and highlights the interplay between international, European and domestic influences on national policy changes. She then sketches a research agenda, outlines a theoretical framework and suggests topics for further research.

 

 

Dorota Dakowska is Professor of Political Science at the University of Lyon 2. She has published on EU Eastern Enlargement, German and European political foundations and the Europeanization of Polish Higher Education. Her current research project deals with the international dimension of academic reforms in Central and Eastern Europe.

 

Robert Harmsen is Professor of Political Science at the University of Luxembourg, where he directs the Master in European Governance. He has published extensively in the areas of European Politics and Public Policy, and is an editor of the Brill/Rodopi European Studies series.  His publications include Debating Europe (Nomos, 2011; co-edited with Joachim Schild).

The post Europeanisation, Internationalisation and Higher Education Reforms in Central and Eastern Europe appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

Plenary sessions : Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, gave his first State of the Union speech in plenary on Wednesday morning, focusing on migration and the situation in Greece. MEPs also supported a emergency scheme for relocating asylum seekers from Italy and Greece to other member states and welcomed the Commission's new proposals for dealing with the growing influx of refugees. They also approved a ban on cloning farm animals and a stricter ban on seal products.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, gave his first State of the Union speech in plenary on Wednesday morning, focusing on migration and the situation in Greece. MEPs also supported a emergency scheme for relocating asylum seekers from Italy and Greece to other member states and welcomed the Commission's new proposals for dealing with the growing influx of refugees. They also approved a ban on cloning farm animals and a stricter ban on seal products.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Juncker urged additional eurozone reform in his "state of the union" address in Strasbourg

When Jean-Claude Juncker this week told a packed European Parliament he intends to forge a eurozone system for guaranteeing bank deposits, the European Commission president’s intention was to send a firm message of determination to strengthen the single currency’s foundations.

But just days after Juncker’s “state of the union” address, his attempt to sow hopeful seeds has hit stony ground in Berlin, where the plan was taken more as a declaration of war.

Germany’s fightback begins when finance ministers gather in Luxembourg on Friday, and is set out in a “non paper” obtained by the FT. Our story on the document in the FT’s dead-tree edition is here, but for those who want a bit more detail, we’ve posted it here, too.

Unlike the series of emergency gatherings on Greece this summer, the weekend “informal” meeting of eurozone finance ministers was intended to be a calmer, and above all shorter, stocktaking of the health of the common currency.

Now, however, Germany has decided to use it as an opportunity to put down clear red lines in an attempt to redirect the eurozone reform discussion, which gained momentum following the mess of the July Greek bailout deal on what Berlin believes is an unacceptable course.

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Free trade in raw materials is of great importance for the EU. China remains the EU’s main supplier of critical raw materials and thus concentrates on the most recent evidence on its export restrictions. Despite recent WTO rulings, China is still implementing a wide range of trade distorting measures in the form of export licensing or through the introduction of a resource tax. While we can trace certain welfare benefits for the Chinese domestic market following the introduction of export restrictions, we can clearly relate increasing illegal trade outflow from China to its restrictive trade policies. While the use of the WTO provides one of the most straightforward mediums to offset trade distortions, more effective measures include the addition of explicit clauses on critical raw materials in bilateral trade agreements and a strong regulatory framework in the member states prohibiting imports of conflict or illegal raw materials.
Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

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Donald TUSK, President of the European Council, visits Turkey to discuss how to prevent and fight illegal migration while protecting those in need and preventing further loss of life.

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The nominations for Parliament´s 2015 Sakharov Prize were announced on Thursday 10 September. The prize is awarded every year to honour exceptional individuals who combat intolerance, fanaticism and oppression.The nominations will be formally presented on Monday 28 September during a joint meeting of the foreign affairs and development committees and the human rights subcommittee. The winner will be announced in October.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Development
Subcommittee on Human Rights

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The nominations for Parliament´s 2015 Sakharov Prize were announced on Thursday 10 September. The prize is awarded every year to honour exceptional individuals who combat intolerance, fanaticism and oppression.The nominations will be formally presented on Monday 28 September during a joint meeting of the foreign affairs and development committees and the human rights subcommittee. The winner will be announced in October.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Development
Subcommittee on Human Rights

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

The nominations for Parliament´s 2015 Sakharov Prize were announced on Thursday 10 September. The prize is awarded every year to honour exceptional individuals who combat intolerance, fanaticism and oppression.The nominations will be formally presented on Monday 28 September during a joint meeting of the foreign affairs and development committees and the human rights subcommittee. The winner will be announced in October.
Committee on Foreign Affairs
Committee on Development
Subcommittee on Human Rights

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : New migration management proposals, including relocating 120,000 asylum seekers within the EU - on top of the May proposal to relocate 40,000 - a permanent distribution mechanism for the future, a list of safe countries of origin to ensure faster returns of those whose asylum request is rejected, and legal migration channels to the EU, were outlined by the Commission and debated in Parliament this morning. MEPs urged member states to act and praised EU citizens for warmly welcoming refugees.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : New migration management proposals, including relocating 120,000 asylum seekers within the EU - on top of the May proposal to relocate 40,000 - a permanent distribution mechanism for the future, a list of safe countries of origin to ensure faster returns of those whose asylum request is rejected, and legal migration channels to the EU, were outlined by the Commission and debated in Parliament this morning. MEPs urged member states to act and praised EU citizens for warmly welcoming refugees.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : King Felipe VI of Spain will address the European Parliament in a solemn session during the next Strasbourg plenary, the Conference of Presidents has confirmed today.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : King Felipe VI of Spain will address the European Parliament in a solemn session during the next Strasbourg plenary, the Conference of Presidents has confirmed today.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : Parliament called on Thursday for a fresh EU approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The EU must fulfil its responsibilities as an influential player and take a bold and comprehensive peace initiative for the region, MEPs said, regretting the lack of a comprehensive and coherent vision of the EU's engagement in the Middle East Peace Process, despite its ambitions there.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP

Plenary sessions : Welcoming the European Commission's new proposals to deal with the unprecedented influx of migrants and refugees, MEPs declared themselves ready to work on draft laws to set up a solid migration and asylum policy for the future in a resolution voted on Thursday.

Source : © European Union, 2015 - EP