《欧盟宪法条约》与欧洲一体化进程

《欧盟宪法条约》的签署标志着欧洲一体化进程一个新的里程碑。欧宪条约在法国、荷兰遭否决,暴露了当前欧盟建设中存在的一些问题,但这些问题是欧盟“成长中的烦恼”。经过反思和整顿之后,《欧盟宪法条约》将“重新复活”,并将推动欧洲一体化更加稳步和健康地发展。     

扩大的欧洲联盟

欧洲联盟的再次扩大 ,是欧洲统一历史上的一个重要里程碑 ,对世界政治和国际局势将产生巨大影响。但建立“统一欧洲”的理想面临着政治、经济、外交等诸多方面的挑战。     

European civil society

The concept of “civil society” is still the subject of thorough academic research. It emerged, in Europe, in the 18th century and implied a culture of civility which, while emphasising autonomy from established institutions, also emphasised the freedom to associate and a commitment to common good beyond particular interests. A modern definition of the concept makes civil society the sum of “Organisations which are self-governing and constitutionally independent of the State or political parties; do not involve the distribution of profits to shareholders; and benefit to a significant degree from voluntarism”. The emergence of civil society has followed different historical patterns in different EU Member States, and European State institutions have had different ways to accommodate the emergence of civil society and its aspiration to influence policy-making. From the 18th to the early 20th century, civil society associations and networks mostly emerged and operated within local of national frameworks. It is in the second half of the 20th century that the development of civil society acquired a trans-national dimension. The emergence of a truly trans-national civil society in Europe is a rather recent phenomenon which is increasingly taken into consideration in the formulation of policy by the European Union institutions. The EU foreign policy also aims at strengthening civil society in third countries (including Asia) to achieve its objectives, notably in the field of human rights and democratisation.     

变化中的欧盟

世界金融危机及其引发的经济衰退、欧洲主权债务危机使欧洲各种固有的矛盾尖锐化、公开化,欧洲一体化进程再次遭受严重冲击。然而,欧洲一体化进程是不可逆转的时代的产物,欧盟依旧是危机前的欧盟,但其内部关系还在发生严重的变化：德国将进一步主导欧盟,法德欧盟＂轴心＂的内涵正在发生变化,英国对欧盟事务的影响力大为下降,欧盟委员会等联盟机构被边缘化,中东欧国家对欧盟的期盼也在减弱。