Nathaniel Copsey's ESRC grant has been awarded for research focusing on the capacity of Member States to exercise power and influence in the EU by uploading their national policy preferences to the EU agenda. This project looks at the case of Poland and its eastern policy.
Poland is the largest of the Member States that joined the European Union in the enlargements of 2004 and 2007. With half the total population and economic weight of the accession countries, in some respects the eastern enlargement of the EU was a ‘Polish enlargement’. The expansion of the Union from a predominantly west European club of 15 Member States to a pan-European Union of 27 diverse Member States was expected to have a major impact on the governance, politics, policies and overall agenda of the EU – a core aim of CEELBAS is to investigate these changes. As the largest of the new Member States, much of the pressure for change was expected to come from Poland.
In consequence, the time is ripe for an in-depth consideration of the European aspect of Poland’s foreign policy, with a particular emphasis on Poland’s impact on the making of EU policy towards its eastern neighbours – identified as a major priority on the Polish government’s EU agenda.
Find out more.
Main University navigation links
