THE EUROPEAN UNION IN THE FOG Building Bridges between National Perspectives on the European Union Edited by Vivien Pertusot Final Report of the project “Building Bridges Between National Perspectives on the European Union” About Building Bridges Called “Building Bridges Between National Perspectives on the European Union”, the project aims to stimulate the public debate around national experts on the relationship between their Member State and the EU and on the future of the Union. This project confronts their visions with others’ from different member states, but also those of people from different horizons via workshops in Warsaw, Madrid, Paris and Brussels, which took place in 2015 gathering experts and local citizens. The project is coordinated by the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri) with three major partners: the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM), Real Instituto Elcano and EUROPEUM—European Institute for European Policy. The project has also benefited from the support of institutes in each Member State. You can find all the information and publications about the project at this address: http://www.ifri.org/en/recherche/zones-geographiques/europe/projet-building-bridges. March 2016. ISBN 978-2-36567-542-0. The opinions expressed in this report are the responsibility of the authors alone. Project coordinated by: Major partners: This project is supported by the Europe for Citizens programme of the European Union. The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. CONTENT List of contributors _____________________________________________________________________ i Acknowledgments ____________________________________________________________________ iii Introduction _________________________________________________________________________ 1 by Vivien Pertusot Austria: Two Sides of the Same Coin ____________________________________________________ 9 by Lola Raich Belgium: A Discreet and Pragmatic Europhile Approach __________________________________ 17 by Sophie Heine Bulgaria: The Specter of a Two Speed Europe ___________________________________________ 25 by Antoinette Primatarova Croatia: An Expanding Learning Curve ________________________________________________ 33 by Senada Šelo Šabić and Sonja Borić Cyprus: A Divided Island Coping With the Financial Crisis _______________________________ 41 by Yiannos Ioannou Czech Republic: In Favour of Deeper Integration Without Being Aware of It _________________ 49 by Vladimr Bartovic Denmark: A Pragmatic Euroscepticism _________________________________________________ 57 by Maja Kluger Rasmussen and Caterina Sørensen Estonia: Despite Difficulties, Support Remains High _____________________________________ 65 by Oliver Ait Finland: In Search of An Effective and Equitable European Union __________________________ 73 by Tuomas Iso-Markku France: Disenchantement in Slow Motion _______________________________________________ 81 by Dominique David Germany: Being European in A Renationalising Europe __________________________________ 89 by Julie Hamann Greece: Perspectives of Adjustment, Prospects for Reform ________________________________ 97 by Eleni Panagiotarea Hungary: Not Such A Black Sheep Within the EU _______________________________________ 105 by Márton Ugrosdy Ireland: Bridging the Gap From The Western Periphery of the Union ______________________ 113 by Marie Cross Italy: Wavering Between Europhilia and Euroscepticism _________________________________ 121 by Eleonora Poli Latvia: Supporting the Right Cause and Deepening the EMU _____________________________ 129 by Kārlis Bukovskis Lithuania: A Case of Confidence in the European Project ________________________________ 135 by Gediminas Vitkus Luxembourg: Being Determines (European) Consciousness ______________________________ 143 by Guido Lessing Malta: No Bridges is “A Bridge Too Far”_______________________________________________ 151 by Roderick Pace Netherlands: Hoping For Balance and Convergence _____________________________________ 159 by Adriaan Schout Poland: All Shades of EU Enthusiasm _________________________________________________ 169 by Marta Stormowska and Nathan Dufour Portugal: Waiting for Better in the Adversity ___________________________________________ 177 by Sandra Fernandes and Isabel Estrada Carvalhais Romania: Soul Search, National and European Identity and Politics in A Time of Trouble ____ 185 by Mihai Sebe Slovakia: Country of Many Paradoxes _________________________________________________ 193 by Ana Benje Slovenia: Learning of (Self-)Governance in the Conditions of Europeanisation ______________ 201 by Ana Bojinović Fenko Sweden: Mind Rather Than Heart in EU Politics ________________________________________ 211 by Aras Lindh United Kingdom: Still the Odd Man Out? ______________________________________________ 219 by Louise Borjes and Anand Menon CONTRIBUTORS Oliver Ait is a Researcher at the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute. Vladimir Bartovic is the Director of EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy. Ana Benje is a doctoral student of Political Sciences at the Comenius University in Bratislava and a Fellow at eLabEurope in Spain. Ana Bojinović Fenko is an Associate Professor, coordinator of European Studies program at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences, and a Senior Researcher at Centre of International Relations, Ljubljana. Sonja Borić is a trainee at the Institute for Development and International Relations in Zagreb. Louise Borjes currently works at the Institute for Government in London. Kārlis Bukovskis is the Deputy Director and a researcher at the Latvian Institute of International Affairs (LIIA), and a guest lecturer at several universities in Latvia. Isabel E. Carvalhais is a Professor at the University of Minho (Portugal) and a researcher at the university’s Research Centre in Political Science (CICP). Marie Cross is a Senior Fellow and member of the Board at the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin. Dominique David is an Advisor to the Executive Chairman of the Institut français des relations internationales (Ifri) and co-editor in chief of Politique étrangère. Nathan Dufour was an analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) until February 2016. Sandra Fernandes is a Professor at the University of Minho (Portugal) and a researcher at the university’s Research Centre in Political Science (CICP). Julie Hamann is a Program officer in the Franco-German relations program of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). Sophie Heine is a a Senior Research Fellow for the European affairs program at Egmont Institute in Brussels and a Research Associate of the Centre for International Studies at Oxford University. i Yiannos Ioannou is a Research Associate at the Cyprus Center for European and International Relations, University of Nicosia. Tuomas Iso-Markku is a Research Fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA). Maja Kluger Rasmussen is a Senior Researcher at the Danish think tank ’Think Tank Europa’. Guido Lessing is a scientific collaborator at the Centre d’études et de recherches européennes Robert Schuman in Luxembourg. Aras Lindh is an Analyst at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI). Anand Menon is a Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King’s College London and the Director of the UK in a Changing Europe Initiative. Roderick Pace is the Director of the Institute for European Studies and Jean Monnet Chair at the University of Malta. Eleni Panagiotarea a Research Fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) and an Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation Scholar. Vivien Pertusot is Head of Brussels office for the French Institute of International Relations and coordinator of the project. Eleonora Poli is a Researcher at the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) in Roma. Antoinette Primatarova is Programme Director at the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia and lecturer at the Diplomatic Institute of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Lola Raich is a Lecturer at the Political Sciences Department, University of Vienna, and Affiliated Researcher at the Austrian Institute for International Affairs. Adriaan Schout is Coordinator of EU affairs at the Dutch Institute of International Affairs (‘Clingendael’). Mihai Sebe is an expert in Romanian and European Politics at the European Institute of Romania. Senada Šelo Šabić is a Research Associate at the Institute for Development and International Relations in Zagreb and teaches at the University of Zagreb. Catharina Sørensen is Head of Research at the Danish think tank ‘Think Tank Europa’. Marta Stormowska is a student Polish National School of the Public Administration (KSAP) and was formely an analyst at the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM). Marton Ugrosdy is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade in Budapest. Gediminas Vitkus is Head and Professor of European Studies department of the Institute of International Relations and Political at the Vilnius University. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project was ambitious from its outset and could not have been successful without the support of many people. This project would have never seen the light of day without the constant support of Dominique