Marko Lovec

Politics of the Schengen/Dublin System: The Case of the European Migrant and Refugee Crisis

The Schengen/Dublin system requiring the first EU member state of entry to take full responsibility for migrants and applicants for asylum has placed an asymmetrical burden on EU border states, resulting in an emphasis being placed on the fight against illegal migration and the reduction of protections for refugees. The system has been explained in terms of intergovernmental decision-making and the dominance of security discourse which enabled member states to block the sharing of burdens. This chapter argues against this approach, grounded in mid-range theory, and finds that the regulatory framework is not due to a particular institutional-discursive setting as such but rather due to deeper causes such as the absence of community policies in areas relevant to migrations and asylum. Research into the interaction between issues, positions, decision-making rules and rhetoric applied on the EU level during the European migrant and refugee crisis of 2015 demonstrates that (a) the sharing of burdens as such was in fact not a disputed issue, (b) that there is broad support for the existing policy among member states and (c) that departure from a veto setting triggered nationalist security rhetoric that deepened the crisis suggesting the role of causes at a deeper level.

Critical Realist Approach Towards Explaining CAP Reforms

This chapter reflects on the limitations and contradictions of mainstream approaches from the perspective of various theories of science. It argues that, while mainstream approaches to explaining CAP reforms are hindered by the rationalist assumption of knowledge of things characterizing a ‘positivist’ theory of science, the ideational alternative has been hindered by assuming the constitutive role of ideas, thus neglecting the possible materiality of social structures. As an alternative, a critical realist approach is proposed; this is both critical of the knowledge of things and takes into account the possible role of real material factors. In the second part of the chapter, a ‘critical realist’ explanation of CAP reforms is developed, based on critical social theory and post-Marxist critical political economy approaches. The chapter concludes by elaborating the design of the research.

Existing Approaches Towards Explaining and Understanding CAP Reforms

This chapter presents the existing approaches towards explaining and understanding CAP reforms. Firstly, rational and public choice theories based explanations of CAP as an agricultural supports policy are elaborated. Secondly, it is argued that explanation of the international dimension of CAP has been developed within Liberal intergovernmental theory. Thirdly, changes in policy contexts explaining CAP reforms (changes in external trade, budgetary costs and the policy paradigm) and changes in institutions engaged in representation and decision-making (changes in the policy network, path dependency, changes in decision-making procedures and agency quality) are identified. Finally, ideational approaches reflecting on CAP reform from the perspective of the changing ideas of things are identified: liberal constructivism and critical discourse analysis.

Accommodating CAP to New Trade and Budget Context

This chapter explains the reforms CAP underwent during the 1990s. The first part of the chapter is focused on the 1992 ‘MacSharry’ reform, which reduced price and production supports in the main commodity groups and introduced ‘compensatory’ payments to farmers. Particular attention is paid to the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture of 1994, which introduced a new world trade regime in agriculture. The second part of the chapter is focused on the 1999 ‘Agenda 2000’ reform, which further replaced price supports with compensatory payments. Apart from the need to accommodate further the ongoing changes in the world trade context/regime, Agenda 2000 coincided with the planned Eastern enlargement and the negotiations on the new multiyear Community budget for the period 2000–2006.

From Introduction of CAP to CAP Crisis

This chapter begins by presenting the results of empirical research of the early CAP introduced by the EEC in the 1960s. Implications of price and production supports for different groups of farmers and production factor owners in agriculture and for individual member states are explained. Specific attention is paid to the decision-making procedures relevant to CAP and their implications for individual interest groups. The second part of the chapter is focused on the CAP crisis which emerged in the 1980s. Price and production supports resulted in overproduction, meaning that a growing amount of budget expenditures were needed in order to sustain support levels. In addition, change in macroeconomic and trade policies affecting global production and trade are observed.

Towards New CAP Objectives

The focus of this chapter is on the three major reforms CAP has undergone from the beginning of the 2000s. The first part of the chapter analyses the ‘Fischler reform’ of 2003, which ‘decoupled’ support from production, meaning that farmers were no longer required to produce. The reform took place in the context of the Doha Development Round (DDR) of trade negotiations, post-enlargement financing agreement and the introduction of new policy objectives such as environmental concerns and rural development. The reform also took place in the context of changed EU decision-making institutions relevant to CAP. The second part of the chapter focuses on the 2008 ‘Health Check’ reform, being an extension of the 2003 reform. The third part of the chapter analyses the 2013 reform defining CAP until 2020, which introduced area-based supports conditional on new environmental actions.

Summary and Conclusion: Beyond ‘New Wine in Old Bottles’

In conclusion, the results of the research are summarized. Rationalist, ideational and critical realist approaches are considered not simply as alternative explanations, but also as alternative approaches to science. By being based on broader meta-theoretical assumptions, the critical realist approach enables reflection on and endorsement of existing research and progress towards a deeper level of explanation. Furthermore, realist assumptions of the nature of the object of inquiry are considered essential for the introduction of relevant explanations and for bringing about real policy change in terms of CAP reform, as well as in terms of change in other related policies.

Introduction: Change and Controversy of the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy

During the last thirty years, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union (EU) has undergone substantial reforms. It is argued that the theoretical approaches used to explain and understand CAP reforms face certain empirical contradictions and limitations. The author posits that these can be explained by reductionist, rationalist and idealist assumptions with regard to the object of research applied by mainstream approaches. As an alternative, an approach which is critical of the knowledge of things and takes into account the role of real material factors is proposed.