"Between EU eligibility requirements, competitive politics and national traditions: Re-creating regions in the accession countries of Central and Eastern Europe"

Brusis, Martin. (2001) "Between EU eligibility requirements, competitive politics and national traditions: Re-creating regions in the accession countries of Central and Eastern Europe" . In European Union Studies Association (EUSA) > Biennial Conference > 2001 (7th), May 31-June 2, 2001, pages 30, Madison, Wisconsin.

Abstract

Contrary to the current EU member states which became part of the EU system and its cohesion policy with more consolidated national administrative traditions, the CEECs are faced with the challenge of reconstructing their regional levels after decades of state socialist centralism and politicized bureaucracy, and as a “missing link” between central and local governments that were transformed at the outset of democratic transition. While their situation appears to be constitutionally more “open,” the interests and capabilities of the EU to provide policy guidance are greater than in the case of its incumbent member states or previous enlargements. The paper seeks to assess how and to what extent the pre-accession regime of the EU, the interests of competing domestic political actors and the national administrative traditions have shaped the new regional-level administrations in the accession countries. While the empirical focus of the paper is on Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, general conclusions will be drawn with respect to the Europeanization debate.