Written in response to the Bush Administration?s aggressive rhetoric previous to and during the Iraq War, this book addresses the key issues relating to Precautionary Principles on defense policies regarding pre-emptive war. Policymakers in the West seem prone to use these tactics when they feel there is certainly an outside threat to national security, and even when the threat is miniscule, after 9/11 American leaders in particular seem to err on the side of caution. Knowing the difference between a certain threat, a risky pre-emptive attack, and uncertainty could have informed public debate.
In Luxembourgish legislation the term "international protection" includes both refugee status and subsidiary protection status. Integration of beneficiaries of international protection into the Luxembourgish labour market might appear quite unproblematic at first glance. From a legal point of view, the access is indeed very much open to both beneficiaries of international protection as well as beneficiaries of subsidiary protection. As from 2006 onwards, the legislator proceeded with an approximation of both statuses, providing the same rights to both types of beneficiaries of international protection. As soon as the applicants are granted international protection they are authorised to engage in employed or self-employed activities under the same conditions as Luxembourgish nationals, with the exceptionof civil servant jobs. This is also true for most of the support measures that aim to advance or enhance the access to employment, whether on the level of education, vocational training, language learning, recognition of diploma, counselling, social aid or access to housing. In each of those areas, the beneficiaries of international may in principle benefit from equivalent access as provided to other migrants, third-countrynationals or Luxembourgish nationals. Yet, the reality on the ground seldom matches the aims of the legislative framework. Effective access to the labour market remains a significant challenge for beneficiaries of international protection in order to fully integrate in Luxembourgish society. The linguistic regime as well as the high demands in terms of language requirements constitute a first major hurdle, both at the level of education/vocational training and the labour market. Rather than being able to immediately access the regular education system, respectively the labour market, refugees must first engage in a learning process sometimes coupled with administrative procedures (i.e. recognition of diplomas) that may significantly slow down the integration process. The transition period that begins once the applicant is granted international protection status appears to be particularly challenging. Indeed, several measures from which the applicants for international protection benefited during the procedure will no longer be available once they are granted the status. Thus, social aid, including housing, provided to international protection seekers will no longer be applicable to refugees. Even though national authorities have implemented several specific targeted measures in order to facilitate the transition period (i.e. progressive financial contribution to accommodation costs), it remains a phase of instability and uncertainty for the refugees and their families. This also stresses the need for employment-related support measures, which in Luxembourg are implemented in a more general integration framework. Thus, most of the support measures that exist for beneficiaries of international protection are not tailored to them in particular, but they are also open to other types of migrants or foreigners living in Luxembourg.
After the Lisbon Treaty has entered into force, the process of concluding treaties between the EU and third countries or international organizations has sustained significant changes. The most important procedural novelty is the establishment of the ordinary procedure that covers almost all agreements the EU concludes with third parties. Under the Lisbon Treaty, this procedure involves a number of stages: negotiations, signing the agreement, and decision to conclude the agreement. For agreements whose subject matter exclusively or predominantly falls into the domain of common foreign and security policy, there are several derogations from the uniform rules of the ordinary procedure. The same provision of the founding treaty regulates the procedures for amending and suspending the agreement in force, as well as the judicial control procedure of those agreements that are yet to be concluded. The ordinary procedure does not cover two subject-specific proceedings pertaining to relatively narrow areas of EU action. More specifically, they refer to the conclusion of agreements in the area of common trade policy and agreements on the exchange rate of the Euro against the currencies of non-member states. The exclusion of trade agreements is probably the result of the differences that still exist in the division of competencies between the Member States and the EU regarding trade in the area of some services. On the other hand, the enactment of a special procedure for agreements on the Euro exchange rate in relation to the national currency rates of third countries stems from the need to ensure the Union's unique position in this field. On the institutional level, the most important actors in the process of concluding EU agreements are the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament. The Council has retained the central role in all types of treaty procedures, and it decides on essential issues related to the course and outcome of the process. The Commission has retained the major role in initiating and negotiating the agreements, but it is no longer the exclusive initiator and negotiator in the agreement process. Namely, depending on the subject of the treaty, new entrants in that role are the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and the European Central Bank. The European Parliament has strengthened its position in the procedure for concluding EU agreements and can, therefore, be considered the largest 'net' winner of the Lisbon Treaty reform. This is partly due to its new role in the course of negotiations, which implies the right to be immediately and fully informed about all stages of the proceedings, but to a much greater extent it refers to the powers that this body has in the final stage preceding the conclusion of the agreement. Finally, the EU Court of Justice has an important role in this process; its task is to control the compliance of the EU agreements with the founding treaties prior to their conclusion.
In der Nachfolge einer ersten Bestandsaufnahme der wirtschaftlichen Lage Georgiens vom Dezember 1991, stattete ein IMF-Team Tiflis im März 1992 einen Fachbesuch ab. Die Gespräche - Grundlage für den vorliegenden Bericht - konzentrierten sich auf die aktuelle wirtschaftliche Lage, auf die Haltung der Regierung zur Wirtschafts- und Reformpolitik und auf die Identifizierung von möglichen Reformmaßnahmen, bei denen der IMF kooperieren könnte. Am 10. März 1992 stellte die georgische Regierung den Mitgliedsantrag beim IMF und der Weltbankgruppe. Die IMF-Mission überprüfte ebenfalls die bisher von der Regierung unternommenen Schritte hinsichtlich der IMF-Mitgliedschaft und ammelte Daten zur Festlegung der georgischen Ziehungsrechte, die - nachdem Georgien am 5. Mai 1992 IMF-Mitglied geworden
Am 9. Januar 1992 stellte die armenische Regierung den formellen Antrag zur Mitgliedschaft im IMF und in der Weltbankgruppe. Im Januar besuchte daraufhin ein IMF-Expertenteam die Hauptstadt Armeniens Eriwan. Das Team überprüfte die bereits vorgenommenen gesetzgeberischen und sonstigen Maßnahmen, die zur Mitgliedschaft im IMF berechtigen sowie den Armenien zustehenden Teil von Hilfsmaßnahmen im Falle einer Berücksichtigung. Für den vorliegenden Bericht wurden die notwendigen ökonomischen Daten gesammelt und das makroökonomische Reformprogramm mit den zuständigen Behörden diskutiert. Ebenfalls wurden prioritäre Bereiche für Interventions- und Reformmaßnahmen der Regierung in Zusammenarbeit mit dem IMF identifiziert.
