Europarties in the neighbourhood: how transnational party politics bind Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans to the EU

Abstract

Transnational European party federations -'Europarties' -are an overlooked actor of EU external relations despite their strong footprint outside the EU. This article discusses the activities of Europarties as networks of EU external relations closely aligned with the interests and values of EU foreign policy, but conditioned by their character as transnational partisan actors with distinct priorities defined by ideological affinity and political commitments to partner parties. Empirically, the article investigates the activities of the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) in Georgia and North Macedonia, demonstrating how Europarties can act as amplifiers of EU influence in Eastern Europe and Western Balkans, but also how their partisan interests often come into tension with EU priorities. The findings carry implications for the theory and practice of EU relations with its neighbourhood at a time when prospects for further enlargement appear significantly weakened.

Anchoring or Undermining Democracy: The European People's Party and Democratic Backsliding in Serbia

“…These considerations have been even more prominent in the light of intensified competition among transnational parties, both in terms of securing votes and extending influence beyond the Union. Weakened by poor electoral performance in 2019, the EPP had no incentives to excessively criticise its Western Balkan allies while rational considerations drove the party to strengthen its ties with them (Chryssogelos 2017, 2021; Fonck 2018). This was evident in the EPP's approach to the SNS that emerged as its primary regional partner.…”

“…This article draws attention to a neglected aspect of this phenomenon – the role of European transnational party federations in democratic backsliding outside the EU. Interested in extending influence abroad, European party associations have forged close links with their local counterparts and become significant actors of the Union in the region (Chryssogelos 2021; Fonck 2018; Stojić 2015). The paper, therefore, seeks to examine how European transnational parties have approached the issue of democratic deterioration in their interaction with local affiliates.…”

Strategic leadership in the EU multilevel parliamentary field: the EPP Group’s Erasmus Programme

“…Paradoxically, much research on political parties at EU level has concentrated on Europarties (e.g. Chryssogelos 2021 ; Poguntke et al 2007 ). The literature on their affiliated EP groups in contrast remains scarce.…”

European integration and political party logos: A ‘visual Europeanization’?

“…By doing this, we focus on the role of those political forces that are most committed to European integration and should have stronger incentives to modify their logos in accordance with European visual logics of appropriateness. This enables us to investigate the intensity of visual Europeanization depending not only on the countries where individual parties are based but also on the ideological family to which parties belong (Chryssogelos, 2021).…”