2 textos de apoio para o debate do dia 23 de Maio

Nationalism and centre formation in an enlarged Europe
Madalena Meyer Resende
Working Paper n.º 15, IPRI – UNL
In http://www.ipri.pt/publicacoes/working_paper/pdf/WP_MR_171006.pdf

Abstract

In line with recent studies, this paper argues that a party’s attitude towards the European Union (EU) derives from its main ideological goal, which is primarily of a domestic character. The EU is evaluated on whether it contributes to achieve the party’s main objective in domestic terms. For example, social democrats evaluate integration on its impact on the redistributive economic regime, nationalists on the impact on the sovereignty of the national political community. The paper then investigates how enlargement changed the composition of the centre of European party systems and argues that the decline of Christian democracy and the rise of nationalism after enlargement makes opposition to political supranationalism a characteristic of the centre-right, while in the centre-left social democrats, from East and West, have adopted a pro-European attitude.



Speech by Peter Mandelson, EU Trade Commissioner, Conference in Bologna: The future relationship between Russia and the European Union: Which kind of opportunities for the Italian economy?, (SPEECH/07/242), 20 April 2007.

In http://www.delrus.cec.eu.int/en/news_896.htm

Abstract

In this speech to a conference in Bologna, Italy, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson argues that the EU-Russia relationship contains a "level of misunderstanding or even mistrust we have not seen since the end of the Cold War".
Citing Europe’s role in debates about political culture in Russia, its engagement with countries of the former Soviet Union, Russia’s WTO accession and energy issues Mandelson warns: "unless we comprehend our different perceptions of what has happened since the end of the Soviet Union we risk getting the EU-Russia relationship badly wrong".
Mandelson calls on European Member States to show greater unity in dealing with Russia. Mandelson will say that the incoherence of European policy towards Russia over much of the past decade has been "frankly alarming...no other country reveals our differences as does Russia".