MEU Programme Projects

The Aspect of Culture in the Social Inclusion of Ethnic Minorities

This project proposes to evaluate the cultural policies introduced in National Action Plans (NAPs) on Social Inclusion under the European Union’s Open Method of Co-ordination (OMC) by six member states (Estonia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Sweden) in terms of their impact on promoting social inclusion of ethnic minorities, including Roma/Sinti groups. The specific added value of this evaluation will be the piloting of a set of Common Inter-Cultural Indicators (CICIs) feasible for cost-effectiveness analyses and benchmarking within the EU. 

The project is financially supported by European Union’s Social Protection and Social Integration Policy (Contract No. VS/2005/0686)

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Cyprus Settlement Initiative Project (completed)

The aim of the ECMI Cyprus Settlement Initiative was to assist the authorities of Northern Cyprus in understanding the ramifications of adopting the so-called Annan Plan for Cyprus prior to becoming a member of the EU. The Plan was proposed by the United Nations’ Secretary General, Kofi Annan and formed the basis for the resumed negotiations in February and March 2004. The project targeted members of the Northern Cypriot negotiation team, high-level policy and decision-makers in Northern Cyprus as well as opinion forming groups and individuals. The rationale for the project was a perceived need in the Northern Cypriot leadership and authorities for support in understanding the ramifications of adopting the Annan Plan.

The project was financially supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York
 
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In the Pipeline….

 
The New European Union and National Minority ‘Regions’: Mobilizing for Third Level Politics?

A policy-oriented project aimed at exploring the ramifications that the making of national minority regions, including fictive national minority ‘regions’, will have on the territorial cohesion of the EU. The political mobilization of national minorities constituted on the basis of long-term ties to and strong self-identification with territories of historic regions pose new challenges to EU25 multi-level integration. Whether self-governing and recognized EU15 national minorities vying for greater co-governance powers or ‘new’ EU25 national minorities mobilizing to access EU funds, national minorities appear a new force in the multi-layered governance scheme proposed for the enlarged EU of the 21^st century. Even national minorities of rediscovered identity seem to mobilize to gain more political influence. The pull towards Brussels may be caused by lack of political access or power through existing political systems and dissatisfaction with central government performances. With the specific purpose of delineating how selected national minority ‘regions’ draw on history and identity to mobilize socially and consolidate politically with a view to influence the decision-making process in EU25, this project aims to broaden our knowledge and understanding of the impact of long-term national minority historical processes on sub-state integration in the EU. To this end the project intends to conduct multi-disciplinary research to elucidate emerging mechanisms of political mobilization used by national minorities in historic regions; expose and explain initiatives and cross cutting themes in select national minority ‘regions’ with regard to sub-state integration as well as compare these and put them in contact with existing sub-state politics towards the EU.

Project cycle: 24 months
Estimated cost: €360,000
Funding: seeking
Contact: info@ecmi-eu.org

National Minority Parties in the EU

A research project seeking to support the mission to elucidate cross-cutting issues aimed at consolidating existing research on ethnic minority parties and expand this into new areas of exploration. In functioning democracies, majority-minority relations are nurtured in various ways, local government representation, minority councils and contact committees and through political parties either along ideological lines or identity lines, such as ethnopolitical parties. When political parties are functioning they can formulate views on relevant issues that offer citizens a range of reasonable options, discuss these competing views/options in an informed way, and integrate them into their overall political platforms. These fora contribute to the formulating of political demands, holding governments accountable, providing a forum for exchange of views, informing the public; in short, they are a necessary precondition of constructive majority-minority relations. Coalitions of ethnopolitical parties already exist across Europe, and the European Parliament is home to a number of these alliances. There may also be models of political participation outside as well as within the existing party structures that pertain to minority politics. This research project therefore seeks to delineate the role of political parties in the EU, both minority parties and more general parties. It will seek to elucidate what works and does not work in terms of minority parties, coalition strategies, minority caucuses within larger parties, etc. It is envisaged that a thorough exploration of the extent to which and how ethnopolitical parties play a role in EU politics would provide a set of terms of reference for subsequent action-oriented projects in support of creating healthy political environments for ethnic and national minorities seeking more stable political platforms.

Project cycle: 24 months
Estimated cost: €200,000
Funding: seeking
Contact: info@ecmi-eu.org