News & Events

Minorities and the EU Eastern Enlargement: Past, Present and Future Experiences

Date:   14th-15th June 2012
Host:    Centre for EU-Russia Studies/Euro College, University of Tartu, Estonia
Call for Papers Deadline:    HAS NOW CLOSED
Online Registration:    NOW OPEN – registration will close 12th June 2012
Information for Participants:   CLICK HERE
Programme:   CLICK HERE
 
Keynote Speaker: Professor George Schöpflin, MEP for Hungary and formerly Jean Monnet Professor of Politics, University College London
 
The issue of minorities and minority rights in the context of EU eastern enlargement is a well studied and documented topic. But it is also one that continues to offer great scope for ongoing and new research tying into broad institutional, policy and social developments within Europe. In the past, attention has been predominately placed on minority rights in the framework of the EU’s external dimension, however, following the expansion of the EU in 2004/2007 as well as the ongoing EU enlargement agenda, the internal dynamics of minority affairs have come to the foreground. The inclusion of references to minorities in the Lisbon Treaty, the foundation of the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency, the migration of large minority groups such as the Roma, ongoing debates over minority language use, education and other aspects of social and cultural inclusion, are only some of the issues that inform minority and minority rights affairs within the EU at local, regional, state and EU-wide levels. At the same time, the external dimension of minority affairs continues to play an active role in formulating EU attitudes and policy towards states not only in its own neighbourhood but globally. However, the effectiveness of the EU to act as a guarantor of minority, and fundamental rights in general, has come under increasing pressure due to the recent collapse in EU economic status and its failure to adequately deal with minority issues within its own borders. This poses many questions for the EU’s rights based agenda and highlights that related issues such as minorities and minority rights are likely to remain problematic for the EU and its member states well into the future.

This year’s Assessing Accession Research Symposium seeks to address many of the past, present and future experiences of minorities (national, ethnic, linguistic etc) and the states within which they reside, as well as the development of policy and other approaches to deal with minority questions at the national and supranational level in the years following the EU’s eastern enlargement.

Papers to be presented at the symposium focus on a range of issues including:

• Roma Affairs
• Russian Communities in the Baltic States
• Kin-national or nation state policies
• Institutional matters (e.g. FRA, European Parliament, Commission)
• Migration and experiences of CEE communities in Western Europe
• Minority issues in EU Neighbourhood Policy
• Minority language policies

 Abstracts of the proposed papers should not exceed 250 words and are expected by 9th March 2012. Please submit the abstracts to the following address: tartu2012@assessingaccession.eu
 
The Committee will notify applicants with its decision in April 2012. The selected presenters will be requested to present their full papers not later than 4 June 2012.     

Accommodation costs for selected presenters will be covered by symposium organisers. Presenters are requested to cover their travel costs and any other costs (visa) that may occur. Presenters are expected to register for the conference when online registration opens in April 2012.The sympoisum is also open to non-paper givers, however please not that support to attend the sympoisum will only be available to paper givers. Non-paper givers are encouraged to seek support for costs to attend from their own institutions.

Full details about the conference including information about travel to Tartu and accommodation will be made available on this website very shortly. Please check back for details.

ONLINE REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN
 
The symposium is promoted by Assessing Accession: Central and Eastern Europe in the EU in conjunction with the ‘EU-Russia’ and ‘Romanis in Europe‘ UACES sponsored collaborative research networks.

The symposium is organised and hosted by the Centre for EU-Russia Studies (CEURUS) and EuroCollege at the University of Tartu in Estonia.

The symposium is funded by the Centre for Russian, Central and East European Studies (CRCEES), University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES) and the Centre for EU-Russia Studies (CEURUS)

• University of Tartu Coordinator: Ms Kristina Kallas (kristina.kallas@ut.ee)
• EU-Russia representative: Dr Tom Hashimoto
• Romanis in Europe representative: Dr Timofey Agarin
• Assessing Accession representative: Dr Eamonn Butler

For more information about the Centre for EU-Russia Studies at Tartu, please contact: Dr Piret Ehin piret.ehin@ut.ee.

For more information about the Centre for Russian, Central and East European Studies, please contact: Dr Clare McManus    clare.mcmanus@glasgow.ac.uk
 
For more information on UACES please visit the website http://www.uaces.org

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First published: 19 March 2012