Suchergebnisse

Over the past twenty years, the scientific community and politicians in consolidated democracies have been regularly alarmed by political and electoral participation, portrayed as undergoing a brutal and linear decline. Each election is now scrutinized in terms not only of its results but also of its level of electoral turnout. This paper deals with two important issues—the reality of changes in electoral turnout in Europe and the impact of the institutional constraint of compulsory voting in voter turnout levels—through an analysis of 402 elections held in thirty-five States from 1944 until December, the 31st 2009. We do ob- serve a contemporary erosion of voter turnout but at this stage voters are not so impossible to find as some claim they are. Furthermore, the assumption that interest in, and the importance of, compulsory voting as an institutional constraint encouraging voter turnout is confirmed. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/published

It was announced in the press on February 9, 1950 that the Althing at Reykjavik had passed by 35 votes to 8 the government motion for the adherence of Iceland to the Council of Europe. Iceland thus became the thirteenth member of the Council.

The departure of the French Socialists from the government early in 1950, even though they returned in a few months, marked the end of a stage of postwar history in Europe. For the first time since liberation France was governed by a coalition in which the Socialists were no longer represented. At the same time the Socialists were in the opposition in Belgiumand Western Germany as well and limited to little influence upon the Italian and Swiss governments. Austria, Great Britain, and Scandinavia were the only countries in which the Socialists are strongly represented in their governments. Roughly speaking then, Europe is divided into three zones according to the degree of power of democratic socialism: Eastern Europe—bordered on the West by a line running from Trieste to Lübeck—where the democratic Socialist parties have been absorbed by the Communist parties; Northwestern Europe—Great Britain and the Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark)—under predominant Socialist influence; and the rest of Continental Europe where the the Socialists are a more or less powerful opposition group. Spain and Portugal in the South and Greece and Turkey in the Southeast are left outside ofthe scope of our study owing to the peculiar and non-democratic structure of these countries.

Drawing on new research material from ten European countries, Asylum Determination in Europe: Ethnographic Perspectives brings together a range of detailed accounts of the legal and bureaucratic processes by which asylum claims are decided.The book includes a legal overview of European asylum determination procedures, followed by sections on the diverse actors involved, the means by which they communicate, and the ways in which they make life and death decisions on a daily basis. It offers a contextually rich account that moves beyond doctrinal law to uncover the gaps and variances between formal policy and legislation, and law as actually practiced. The contributors employ a variety of disciplinary perspectives – sociological, anthropological, geographical and linguistic – but are united in their use of an ethnographic methodological approach. Through this lens, the book captures the confusion, improvisation, inconsistency, complexity and emotional turmoil inherent to the process of claiming asylum in Europe.

On November 3, 1949 the second session of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe opened in Paris under the chairmanship of Gustav Rasmussen, Danish minister for foreign affairs. The work of this session consisted mainly in examining and approving or disapproving the recommendations of the Consultative Assembly which had met at Strasbourg in August and September 1949. In particular the Committee considered whether or not the Statute of the Council of Europe should be amended as suggested by the Assembly, as a step in increasing its influence and freedom within the Council. Although it was decided not to allow changes in the Statute for the time being, as it had just been approved by national parliaments and had only just come into force, the Committee was, however, "concerned to insure that the wishes of the Assembly shall in practice be met to the greatest possible extent."

Discusses the issue of the United States maintaining secret detention facilities in Eastern Europe and elsewhere in connection with the war on terror. Human Rights Watch asserts without equivocation that these US-operated facilities exist. The decision by the Council of Europe to investigate these allegations is outlined.

This is a follow-up report of PEPPER report on the financial participation in Europe organised by Professor Erik Poutsma ( Nijmegen School of Management, Netherland). Le cas français est inclu dans "PRACTICES OF FINANCIAL PARTICIPATION IN EUROPE: Features of Best Practices" DOI:10.13140/RG.2.2.30425.11361 ; France has a pattern that consists of more state regulated (mandatory) broad based deferred profit-sharing with the aim of enhancement of employee savings and wider distribution of wealth and wage flexibility. Financial participation systems are also used for income and employment policies. The corporate governance system of France provide for a limited scope of employee share ownership due to more concentration of capital and the substance of closely held family firms. The system in France has mainly promoted company profit sharing and the build-up of considerable, though very unevenly distributed, employee savings. Even though the government has offered incentives several times since the 1970s, ESO has developed relatively slowly, and the tax system has not done anything to discourage this trend. If ESO appears to be developing at a faster pace these days, it is only because of privatization procedures and stock market developments. But will the current downswing in the stock market and the impending decrease of privatizations slow down the ESO trend? And won't payroll restraints (due mostly to the reduction in work hours) encourage the use of company performance-related bonuses as a supplement to wages? In these conditions, employee saving schemes appear to be the most strategic component of the financial participation system. This is probably why it is central to the 2001 Fabius Act. By creating co-operative business savings schemes (PEI) for the small companies that are excluded from mandatory profit sharing schemes, the law aims to extend the possibility for building employee savings with preferential taxation treatment to all employees except civil servants. And by establishing PPESV schemes, it promotes long-term savings that employees can use to build their personal assets. ESO is only one approach to this saving strategy. The law aims to give ESO a role by incentivizing a minimum 3% ESO holding in company capital and employee involvement in company management. If the system continues to develop, it could energize social dynamics. But it could also remain just another component of company social and payroll policy.

Relations between China and Europe have traveled a fluctuant course since 1949. To a significant extent, China's relations with both Eastern and Western Europe have been a function of its broader pattern of relations with the Soviet Union and the United States. Yet, in both cases, independent factors have served to sustain and strain ties. This article examines the course and dynamics of these relationships over the past four decades. Sino-European relations today are businesslike yet fragile—a fragility that the receding Cold War, the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, and the West European common market of 1992 will all serve to intensify.

On August 3, 1949 Luxembourg, Norway and Italy deposited their instruments of ratification, bringing the total number of ratifications to the seven necessary to bring the Statute of the Council of Europe into force. The United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden and Ireland had already ratified the statute.