Call for papers

20 years of EU Membership: taking stock of the 2004 enlargement

In 2004, ten countries from eastern and southern Europe joined the European Union and as we prepare for the 20th anniversary of this historic event, the Institute for European Studies at the University of Malta is launching a paper series which aims to take stock of the last two decades, both in terms of the countries that joined and the EU itself. 

While the remit of this paper series is quite wide, we are especially interested in three kinds of contributions: 

1. Papers assessing the impact of EU accession from the perspectives of countries that joined in 2004, either on individual countries or in a comparative setting. Are Europeanisation processes still in place, and in what areas of politics and policy making is the EU’s impact more (and/or less) evident? How does national public opinion feel about the European Union, and how has this changed over time? Are there emerging differences between older and newer members, or are such differences declining over time? 
2. Papers assessing the impact of the 2004 enlargement on the EU. What have the effects been, under a normative, political and/or economical perspective? The recent “battles” with Hungary and Poland about rule of law, the Visegrad group’s unwillingness to implement refugee quotas during the 2015 refugee crisis and the move of the European Commission against Cyprus and Malta for the citizenship by investment programmes are a few examples of tensions between the supranational level and countries which acceded in 2004. 
3. Papers focusing specifically on the Maltese membership experience and Malta’s place in the European Union. A central aim of the Institute is to contribute to knowledge on Malta and Malta’s EU experience, therefore papers dealing specifically with Malta are welcomed. 

The other aim of this paper series is to compile a body of literature on the 20th anniversary of the 2004 enlargement with the intension of issuing two publications in 2024 which gather all the contributions. One of the publications will focus on Malta and its EU experience and the other on wider issues and case studies.

Should you be interested in submitting a paper please send an abstract (maximum 300 words) and a short bio-note listing your qualifications and professional affiliation by 23 September 2022. Papers should be between 4,000 and 6,000  words long, including references and footnotes. Paper proposals and/or any additional questions should be addressed to Marta Migliorati at marta.migliorati@um.edu.mt.

Editorial Board 

Prof. Fulvio Attinà (University of Catania)

Dr Moira Catania (University of Malta)

Prof. Michelle Cini (University of Bristol)

Prof. Mark Harwood (University of Malta)

Dr Marta Migliorati (University of Malta)

Prof. Edward Moxone-Brown (University of Limerick)

Prof. Neill Nugent (Manchester Metropolitan University)

Prof. Roderick Pace (University of Malta)

Prof. Ivan Sammut (University of Malta)