Trust and European Integration – a Comparison between Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.

Czech- Bulgarian Joint Research Project (PPP project), together with Institute for the Research of Societies and Knowledge, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, 2011 - 2013.

Czech Coordinator: PhDr. Zdenka Mansfeldova, CSc; Bulgarian Coordinator: Dr. Dobrinka Kostova.

The governance of European Union societies and specifically the representation, cohesion and integration are high on European agenda. Governance identifies the responsibility attribution between national and supranational levels in the EU. Nowadays the scope and nature of the political dynamics within EU countries, focusing on the difference between old and new EU members, on the emergency of openly anti European parties in some countries, on the society reactions caused by the economic downturn and the willingness of some EU governments to reform the so called European Social Model requires understanding and assessment of the consequences of these processes for the European integration. In this regard trust seen as a valuable asset, which develops in the relation between institutions and people, contributes to determine the level and nature of European Union cohesion. In this project the issues of trust and integration will be central set of theoretical interest to be analysed by the team members.