Good Partners Make Good Relationships: The Perception of the New Member States of the EU
Abstract
This paper analyses the perception of the new member states of the EU (the 2004 and 2007 entrants) by the old member states’ representatives. The text utilizes an updated version of image theory and it is based on 24 interviews with diplomats from permanent representations of the old member states in Brussels. It argues that the mutual perception between the EU member states has an impact on coalition building and thus also on the decision-making process of the EU. Although the newcomers are perceived positively in general terms, there are several differences between them in terms of their activities and behaviour at the EU level as well as in the cultural area. The paper therefore, divides the newcomers into groups according to the image that is ascribed to them (the four general images are those of a close ally, a passive ally, a distant ally, and a detached ally).
Keywords
new member states, perception, image theory, images, allies
Author Biography
Matúš Mišík
Born in 1984, he is currently a lecturer (assistant professor) at the Department of Political Science at Comenius University in Bratislava. His research deals with the perception of the new EU member states and their influence on the shaping of EU policies. He also examines the energy policy of the Slovak Republic, the V4 region and the EU. The third area of his professional interest is that of the relationship of the Scandinavian countries, particularly Iceland, and the European Union. In 2013, he published a book titled Energy Policy in the Enlarged European Union (Institute of International Relations, Prague), and he also published articles in Comparative European Politics and the Asia Europe Journal.