The origins of the first supranational European community can be traced back to the bold and imaginative proposal drafted by Jean Monnet in early 1950. Yet his plan entered history under a different name: that of the statesman who offered his political backing -Robert Schuman. This article investigates the factors that made it possible for political leaders to accept this groundbreaking idea. Furthermore, it investigates the source of Monnet's power and influence, which helped to persuade various leaders at different times. By adopting a transnational network approach, it concludes that policy-makers' acceptance of the coal and steel plan was the result of Monnet's special method of persuasion, developed and refined over the years, and the activity of and pressure exerted by his close network of influential transatlantic friends.

No abstract

The lack of a credible membership promise and a re-invigorated Russia have transformed the environment in which the European Union (EU) seeks to bolster its external policy in Central Eastern Europe. Examining Moldova, a country with concurrent commitments to creating strong bonds with the EU and Russia, the article analyses the challenges and opportunities to 'Europeanize' the EU's Eastern neighbourhood. It shows that the effects of Europeanization do not solely depend on the incentives offered by Brussels, but significantly on the willingness of the elite and population to adopt these concepts and on external factors, such as the politics of Russia.

not available   Full text available at: https://doi.org/10.22215/rera.v3i3.187

not available   Full text available at: https://doi.org/10.22215/rera.v2i3.171