Lithuania In European Politics

Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Eastern Europe, grade: 1,0, University of Applied Sciences Bremen (Institute of International Relations and Political Sience), course: Governments and Politics in Lithuania, 69 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Environmental policy in Lithuania emerged after regaining independence in the beginning of the 1990s. The young democracy had to build up a completely new legal system and institutions. At the same time this policy field has already matured on the EU-level as well as in its member states. This paper focuses on the adaptation of Lithuanian environmental policy to the requirements of the EU and employs the concept of Europeanisation to explain changes. Europeanisation, as the term is used in this paper, is concerned with the consequences of European integration for the member and applicant states and politics within them. It is found that especially through the accession process it was easy to 'export' EU rules and principles - firstly, because the pressure to adopt EU legislation was high and secondly, because local elites were ready to take EU templates. After an introduction to the topic the second chapter presents an overview over EU environmental policy, whereas the third chapter focuses on Lithuanian environmental policy and the adaptations through the EU accession process. Chapter four then employs the concept of Europeanisation to explain the impact of EU environmental policy on Lithuanian domestic policy-making and its institutions.

Lithuanian economic, political and social development should be assessed from a historical perspective because Lithuania regained its independence in 1990 when the Soviet Union collapsed. Lithuania: Political, Economic and Social Issues opens with an analysis of the three stages of political, economic and social development in the period of Lithuanian independence.Next, the authors discuss the implementation of a very important human right, the prohibition of torture. In recent years, the European Court of Human Rights has recognized that the prohibition of torture and inhuman treatment also has a procedural dimension. In the case of Kraulaidis v. Lithuania, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the official investigation into a traffic accident, which left the applicant permanently disabled, was so insufficient as to amount to a violation of Article 3 ECHR.Railway transportation plays an important role in the socioeconomic development of the greater number of all 195 independent countries in the world in general, and in Lithuania in particular. As such, one assessment aims to examine the situational analysis of the rail transport sector in Lithuania during the periods of Russian tsarist oppression (18591915), Soviet occupation (19441990) economic transition (19901995), economy growth (19962007) and integration into today's European transport network (2010now).Next, the authors aim to identify the role played by childhood and adolescent experiences in the formation of pro-violence attitudes and on self-assessed violent behavior in early adulthood. Recent statistical information about crime and criminal justice issues in the European Union indicates that over the past decade, violent crime rates have decreased in Lithuania.In the final chapter, beginning with the notion that state broadcasters are entitled to basic human rights, including the right to free speech, the authors demonstrate how the goals of protecting journalistic human rights and freedoms and securing quality standards in journalism can be reconciled within the framework provided by the European Convention on Human Rights.

This book traces the development of the political institutions, electoral systems, parties, civil society, economic and social policies and foreign affairs of the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania over the last quarter century.

Baltic-Russian relations have been complicated and tense since the collapse of the USSR and the restoration of Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian independence. Although Baltic accession to the European Union (EU) has created a new international context for interstate relations in the region, enlargement did not bring about the much hoped for improvement in Baltic-Russian relations. This case-study-rich volume examines links between identity, memory politics and foreign policy. It analyzes and explains developments in Baltic-Russian relations after both NATO and EU enlargement, focusing on the incompatibility of Baltic and Russian post-Soviet national identity constructions and the manifestations of this underlying antagonism in bilateral relations and on the broader European and international arena. Built on the constructivist perspective in international relations, this volume provides a coherent and illuminating account of the dynamics of Baltic-Russian relations after NATO and EU enlargement. Combining policy-relevant analysis with theoretical insights, it will meet the needs of academics and students of foreign policy, EU external relations and international relations more generally.

The book is the first systematic and comparative effort to capture political culture in the Baltic countries, including political orientation and support for democracy. Revolving around public opinion data from the 1990s and onwards, including two recent surveys commissioned by the authors, the book takes stock of the political climate prevailing in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania a quarter of a century after reclaiming independence and fifteen years after becoming members of NATO and the EU. These three countries share the same geopolitical fate and many contemporary challenges, and yet each has been marked by their own transitions and struggles between nation building and European integration, Western and post-Soviet orientations, and past experience and future aspirations.

Since the end of the Cold War there has been an increased interest in the Baltics. The Baltic States brings together three titles, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, to provide a comprehensive and analytical guide integrating history, political science, economic development and contemporary events into one account. Since gaining their independence, each country has developed at its own pace with its own agenda and facing its own obstacles. The authors examine the tensions accompanying a post-communist return to Europe after the long years of separation and how each country has responded to the demands of becoming a modern European state. Estonia was the first of the former Soviet republics to enter membership negotiations with the European Union in 1988 and is a potential candidate for the next round of EU expansion in 2004. Lithuania and Latvia have also expressed their desire for future membership of NATO and the EU.