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The Unifying Aspects of Cultures

SECTION:

Austria, the Czech Republic and the EU. A Bilateral Relationship in the Realm of European Integration

Chair of the section/Suggestions, Abstracts, Papers to:
Email: Bernhard Schneider, Eleonore Lappin (Vienna)

The relationship between Austria and the Czech Republic is burdened by the confrontations over the "Beneš-Decrees" and "Temelin." Solutions are expected not only from bilateral negotiations, but also mainly from the entry of the Czech Republic into the EU. This will bring about either an adaptation of Czech positions to the standards of the Union (from the Austrian point of view) or a European legitimization of its own positions (from the Czech point of view).

Along with their specific relevance, both controversies serve as exemplary examples of past, actual and probably future tensions within the European Community. On the one hand, they are historically based, mostly nationalistically argued conflicts, on the other hand, they illustrate the discrepancy between the right of national self-determination and, depending on the circumstances, its negative - ecologically as well as socially - consequences, which could not be contained within national borders.

How will the course of this conflict be influenced by the "Eastern expansion?" What social positions, what political and legislative measures will be carried out in national or "European" terms in the future? This section will be devoted to the examination of these and other questions related to the complex law-politics-society.

THE UNIFYING ASPECTS OF CULTURES