Exporting Europeanisation to the Wider Europe: the Twinning Excercise and Administrative Reform in the Candidate Countries and Beyond

This article looks at the EU's efforts to assist administrative reform in Eastern Europe, with particular attention to the twinning exercise, conceptually linked to Europeanization. The article argues that much of the debate on Europeanization has focused predominantly on the way in which existing member states are being transformed as a result of their participation in EU structures. Yet the political importance attached to EU membership by the accession applicants, as well as EU's determination to ensure compliance with the acquis communautaire prior to entry, indicates that Europeanization is not only confined to existing EU member states, but can be exported outside the geographical borders of the EU. Against this background the article argues that extending the scope of the Europeanization thesis beyond existing members can not only help us understand better the process of transformation in Eastern Europe and the ongoing accession negotiations, but can also contribute towards the refinement of the term's rather blurred conceptual content.

Europeanization, Conditionality and Domestic Change: The Twinning Exercise and Administrative Reform in Romania

A key requirement of the countries of central and eastern Europe (CEECs) that wish to join the EU is that they develop the administrative capacity to implement effectively the acquis communautaire. The 'twinning' programme is designed to assist in this process. Drawing on experiences in Romania, and linking these to debates on Europeanization, this article argues that the success of twinning to date is related to the design of the programme, institutional fluidity and politicization within central administration, the individual agency and the reform commitment of those hosting twinning projects.

Hillsborough: The Truth

Hillsborough: The Truth was first published in 1999 to universal acclaim. Established as the definitive, unique account of the disaster, in which 96 men, women and children died, hundreds were injured and thousands traumatised, it details the appalling treatment endured by the bereaved and survivors in the immediate aftermath and the inhumanity of the identification process. It reveals the inadequacies of the police investigations, official inquiries and inquests, uncovering the systematic review and alteration of South Yorkshire police statements conducted with the approval of police investigators and Lord Justice Taylor’s inquiry. It examines in depth the subsequent private prosecution and trial of two senior police officers in 2000. Using verbatim accounts, Scraton's detailed analysis demonstrates the inadequacy of legal processes and the remarkable breadth of judicial discretion, undermining and inhibiting such cases.

Powerful, disturbing and harrowing, Hillsborough: The Truth exposes the institutional complacency that made a tragedy on this scale inevitable. It shows the law’s failure to provide appropriate means of access, disclosure and redress for those facing the consequences of institutional neglect and personal negligence. And it tells how ordinary people suffer when those in authority sacrifice truth and accountability to protect their reputations. In this new edition Scraton reflects critically on two decades of policy and legal reform including crowd safety and inquest procedure and on the continuing struggles of the bereaved and survivors who have campaigned relentlessly for truth, acknowledgment and justice.