The Nordic Countries and the European Union. Still the other European community?

In European policy-making, the Nordic countries are often viewed as a relatively coherent bloc; in international and European affairs the Nordic position has traditionally been conditioned on being different from and better than Europe.

This book offers a coherent, original and systematic comparative analysis of the relationship between the Nordic countries and the European Union over the past two decades. It looks at the historical frame, institutions and policy areas, addressing both traditional EU areas such as agriculture and more nascent areas affecting the domestic and foreign policies of the Nordic countries. In doing so, it examines how the Nordic approach to European policy-making has developed and explains why the Nordic countries are similar in some respects while differing in others when engaging with EU institutions. In highlighting the similarities and differences between the Nordic countries it explores what lessons – positive and negative – may be drawn from this approach for the Nordic countries and other small states.

This book will be of interest to scholars, students and practitioners engaged with the Nordic Countries, EU politics and policy-making, European politics and comparative politics.

Contents:
+ List of illustrations
+ List of contributors
+ Preface - Anders Wivel, Caroline Howard Grøn and Peter Nedergaard
1. Still the ‘Other’ European Community? The Nordic Countries and the European Union - Anders Wivel, Caroline Howard Grøn and Peter Nedergaard
2. Bridging Interdependency? Nordic ‘Yes, But…’ Integration from a Historical Perspective - Lee Miles
3. The Outsiders: Norway and Iceland - Baldur Thorhallson
4. Nordic Cooperation in the EU Council: Does the Institutional Embeddedness Matter? - Ilze Rûse
5. The Nordic Countries and the European Commission - Caroline Howard Grøn
6. The Nordic Countries and the European Parliament - Mads Dagnis Jensen
7. The Nordic Parliaments and the EU - Ian Cooper
8. The Common Agricultural Policy: Comparing Danish and Swedish Governmental Positions - Peter Nedergaard and Mads Dagnis Jensen
9. Market integration in Europe and the Nordic Countries: The ambivalent path dependency - Peter Nedergaard and Mads Dagnis Jensen
10. The European Union and the Nordic models of welfare: path dependency or policy harmonisation? - Mikko Kuisma and Mikael Nygård
11. EMU: Joining or not – does it matter? - Sixten Korkman
12. Through the EU’s front- and backdoors: The selective Danish and Norwegian approaches in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice - Rebecca Adler-Nissen
13. In the Shadow of History? Explaining the (Lack of) Europeanisation of Nordic Security and Defence Policies - Anders Wivel and Martin Marcussen
14. The Nordic Labour Market(s) and the European Union - Carsten Strøby Jensen
15. Mr. Svensson Goes to Brussels: Concluding on the Nordic Countries and the European Union - Anders Wivel, Caroline Howard Grøn and Peter Nedergaard Bibliography