CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2011
| Author | Killmer, Caitlin Athena |
|---|---|
| Title | Europe of the Regions?: Assessing the Impact of the Committee of the Regions in Belgium |
| Summary | This thesis seeks to evaluate the effect of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) in the Belgian context. The Belgian language conflict will be focused on as a means of assessing institutional effect. As a state with strong regions and an active conflict, Belgium is a useful case study. If the institution has an effect we should see a change in the conflict and the way it is portrayed in the media; even if it still exists, the tone of articles would likely be more hopeful, and it would be portrayed in the context of the European Union, as the CoR is an EU institution. To assess the effect, I will examine scholarly articles on the subject, as well as analyze an email correspondence I had with a Belgian delegate of the CoR, and finally, I will examine newspaper articles on the topic from 3 newspapers: at the international level, the BBC, at the EU level, New Europe, which is based in Brussels, and at the regional level, Flanders News. I have found that the effect the Committee has on Belgium is largely symbolic, as suggested by previous works, and that it is quite limited even in its symbolic meaning. However, based on a rise in media interest in the subject of the language conflict, it is clear that regional issues have come to the forefront of EU politics, and this can be attributed at least in part to the Committee of the Regions. |
| Supervisor | Papkov, Irina |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2011/killmer_caitlin.pdf |
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