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The improvement of Hungarian competitiveness is determined by its linkages to the concerning European developments and strategies. The first part of the study - starting from the competitiveness concept of the Scientific School - contains definitions and issues that will be used in the analysis. The European Union as an integration of national economies brings into the competitiveness analyses numerous new, additional elements that do not emerge on member-state level. The study introduces a model in order to describe and valuate the competitiveness of the EU considering the above-mentioned additional elements. Important feature of the model is the analysis of the single European market: this points to the issue that improving the competitiveness of a member state in itself is not sufficient, the coordinated development of regions and member states is required. The polarisation, the lack of a single strategy can impede the improvement of competitiveness even if certain parts achieve success. Strategy for a better European competitiveness must include advantages emerging from the competition of regions and member states, but also possibilities offered by the effective coordination of member states of the European single market. The second part of the study points to some important practical issues concerning competitiveness of the European Union, and on this base some conclusions regarding methodology and economic policy will be drawn as well.

International audience ; Due to economic globalization, tax havens allow owners to place their capital, even virtually, in financial centers that are particularly undemanding in terms of taxation and control over the origin of the funds thus placed. A distinction must be made between tax havens "stricto sensu", regulatory havens, judicial havens and offshore financial centers (OFC). The United Kingdom has the greatest weight in the world, ahead of Switzerland, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands, Singapore and the United States. There is even a certain specialization of "tax havens". Until 2010, the United Kingdom or Switzerland were highly recommended by banks, but today investments in Europe are increasingly risky for Europeans themselves. At the initiative of France, a tax of 3% of the turnover (and not the profits) generated by the exploitation of digital activities has been proposed on these companies. However, tax havens" are still very present in the world of financial markets. Most multinational companies use tax havens to optimize their profits. Democracy is clearly in danger.

International audience ; Due to economic globalization, tax havens allow owners to place their capital, even virtually, in financial centers that are particularly undemanding in terms of taxation and control over the origin of the funds thus placed. A distinction must be made between tax havens "stricto sensu", regulatory havens, judicial havens and offshore financial centers (OFC). The United Kingdom has the greatest weight in the world, ahead of Switzerland, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands, Singapore and the United States. There is even a certain specialization of "tax havens". Until 2010, the United Kingdom or Switzerland were highly recommended by banks, but today investments in Europe are increasingly risky for Europeans themselves. At the initiative of France, a tax of 3% of the turnover (and not the profits) generated by the exploitation of digital activities has been proposed on these companies. However, tax havens" are still very present in the world of financial markets. Most multinational companies use tax havens to optimize their profits. Democracy is clearly in danger.

International audience ; Due to economic globalization, tax havens allow owners to place their capital, even virtually, in financial centers that are particularly undemanding in terms of taxation and control over the origin of the funds thus placed. A distinction must be made between tax havens "stricto sensu", regulatory havens, judicial havens and offshore financial centers (OFC). The United Kingdom has the greatest weight in the world, ahead of Switzerland, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, the Cayman Islands, Singapore and the United States. There is even a certain specialization of "tax havens". Until 2010, the United Kingdom or Switzerland were highly recommended by banks, but today investments in Europe are increasingly risky for Europeans themselves. At the initiative of France, a tax of 3% of the turnover (and not the profits) generated by the exploitation of digital activities has been proposed on these companies. However, tax havens" are still very present in the world of financial markets. Most multinational companies use tax havens to optimize their profits. Democracy is clearly in danger.

The adoption of the euro in 1999 by 11 member states of the European Union created a single currency area second in economic size only to the United States. The euro zone's monetary policy is now set by the European Central Bank (ECB) and its Governing Council rather than by individual national central banks. This CESifo volume examines issues that have arisen in the first years of ECB monetary policy and analyzes the effect that current ECB policy strategy and structures may have in the future. After a detailed description and assessment of ECB monetary policy making that focuses on such issues as price stability and the predictability of policy decisions, the book turns to two important issues faced by European central bankers: the transparency and credibility of decision making and the ECB's decentralized structure. After showing that transparency in decision making enhances credibility, the book discusses the ECB's efforts at openness, its political independence as guaranteed by law, and its ultimate accountability. The book then considers the effects of the decentralized ECB structure, focusing on business cycle synchronization, inflation differentials, and differences in monetary policy transmission in light of the enlargement of the monetary union. The book also discusses options for ECB institutional reforms, including centralization, vote weighting, and cross-border regional banks.

Evaluates extent of success of the Sept. 30, 1998 successor agreement to the Lomé Convention, the EU's trade and aid agreement with developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. Argues that multilateralism, particularly World Trade Organization (WTO) compliance, has undermined Lomé and could damage regional solidarity among developing countries.

This book contributes to a better understanding of relations between social and political change, and the importance of institutional factors in shaping the political elites of European democracies. It helps to substantiate theoretical debates in the social and political sciences on issues such as historical institutionalism and path dependency.

Informal Governance in the European Union, Christiansen, Thomas and
Simona Piattoni, eds., Celtenham (UK) and Northampton, MA (USA): Edward
Elgar, 2003, pp. viii, 274.The nature of governance in the European Union (EU), the production of
authoritative decisions through a plurality of actors and institutional
arrangements, has been at the centre of recent scholarly debates. While at
first sight many of its institutions resemble their national counterparts
the EU seems to have established a system of governance sui
generis with modes of decision-making that reflect the distinct
institutional distribution of power and the complex multi-level game of
accommodating interests in the regional, national and European arena.
Thomas Christiansen and Simona Piattoni have focused on one critical
aspect of this evolving mode of decision-making, namely, the role of
informal governance. It is defined as the operation of networks and actors
pursuing common goals through regular, though not codified and not
publicly sanctioned exchanges in the institutional context of the EU.

eGovernment is not just a government service on the Internet. The strategic nature of the service relies on the objective of simplifying communication between all parties of the society: government, citizens and business. The use of ICTs can help to connect all three parties and facilitate processes and activities that support their connectivity. Therefore, eGovernment encourages good governance. However, with the nature of ICTs constantly changing, the subsequent economic and societal impact in Europe is diversified. Continued technological progress has led to a societal acceptance of the new technologies, amount to a step-change in what ICT can achieve. Rapid technological developments have altered the level of government engagement within the society. Our point of interest, European societies, has demonstrated diversified levels of government and citizen engagement. For some EU countries' citizens, interaction with the government through online facilities is not a novelty. However, to achieve the same level of efficiency and flexibility for all the EU member-countries is going to be challenging. The experience from the eGovernment services in the European Union shows that the willingness to decentralize procedures and mainly responsibility, and upgrade the role of electronic means, can strengthen governance. Our case study from Europe 2020 will showcase the dynamic shift of political direction towards flexible public services. The diversity of eGovernment implications in the European Union remains exceptionally interesting. This article is going to examine the political issues related to governance in the European Union, from the perspective of democratic governance. Additionally, it will observe how far the European countries have been successful in implementing the EU's action plan. The article tries to identify the current status and the progression achieved so far in EU, with regards to the eGovernment area. Specific reference is being made to the open government approach, attempting to identify the level of political creativity originated in the Europe 2020 Initiative. The article argues that there are diverse speeds and levels of policy adaptation within the EU. DOI:10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n2s2p173