Suchergebnisse

The construction of a monetary union with a single currency in Europe raises serious concerns for those who understand the democratic process as one in which social groups compete on different ideological programs. This is because it increasingly constrains national governments of different partisan hues to follow similar fiscal & monetary policies. Recent empirical studies indicate that these concerns might be somewhat misplaced since there is evidence that partisan convergence on macroeconomic policy predates these institutional developments. One problem with these studies, though, is that they fail to include the electoral system as a constraint on partisan behavior. Since electoral systems generate centripetal & centrifugal tendencies, we should expect to find strong evidence for partisan differences only where electoral rules encourage dispersion. We test this argument using data on fiscal policy from European Union countries between 1981 & 1992. We find that there is still no systematic evidence for partisan differences. Given this, it is hard to see how EMU can add to the democratic deficit in the European Union. 1 Table, 3 Figures, 72 References. [Copyright 2002 Sage Publications Ltd.]

Defence date: 22 November 2001 ; Examining Board: Richard Breen, EUI (supervisor) ; Prof. Gerald Schneider, University of Konstanz (co-supervisor) ; Prof. Jan Zielonka, EUI ; Prof. Roy Ginsberg, Skidmore College ; First made available online on 25 April 2018 ; This project was formally initiated in September 1997, two and a half months after the Treaty of Amsterdam had been agreed by the EU Heads o f State and Government. The Treaty marked a turning point o f the institutional basis o f European foreign policy. Title V o f the Treaty on European Union was amended, introducing Common Strategies, a new post as High Representative for the CFSP, a Policy Planning and Early Warning Unit, incorporating the Petersberg tasks into the Treaty, opening up for a common defence, the integration o f the Western European Union into the EU, constructive abstention and on some issues also qualified majority voting. Crucial political progress has also taken place in the course o f the last decade or two regarding the creation o f the Common European Security and Defence Policy, the EU's unity o f voice in most international organisations, the increasing use o f economic sanctions, and the rapprochement o f Member State positions in the question of the Middle East Peace Process. The gradual progress o f European foreign policy however stands in sharp contrast with the general perception o f the actual capabilities o f European foreign policy since the beginning of the European Political Cooperation in 1970. The disaster evolving for the European Union's foreign policy ambitions in the Western Balkans throughout the 1990s and the institutional unanimity voting system are only two o f many more illustrations o f this contrasting paralysis. The image o f European foreign policy viewed by this project was thus initially one reflecting the paradox o f simultaneous presence o f progress and paralysis of European foreign policy, cutting across variables and time. Following this image was always the audio o f voices discussing the degree to which EU, Europeans, the West, and the leaders o f our time have been able to learn any lessons from their past failures (or in theory also successes). Not many events were allowed to pass, without hearing the choir o f voices claiming what we have or should have learned from Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya, or any other crisis or conflict intervention. Characteristically, these learning claims were formulated in an implicit way and against a seemingly dubious background, assuming everyone to be perfectly aware o f the theoretical or practical justifications for the ability of actors to learn in international relations. As the concept o f learning continued to re-emerge in this relatively vaguely defined manner, the idea thus came to dedicate this project to examine whether learning may explain the image o f the dichotomy o f progress and paralysis o f European foreign policy, what the conditions are for learning to take place, and which lessons may be learned from the past regarding European foreign policy in international relations in theory and in practice.

The euro area remains in a state of flux and appears to be unsustainable in its present form. The outcome of the crisis may be unknown for years and a judgement on the project's success or failure may be out of reach for decades.In the meantime, analysts, portfolio managers and traders will still have daily, weekly, quarterly and annual benchmarks. They will have to analyze economic developments in the euro area and their impacts on financial assets. The objective of this book is to provide a framework for that analysis that is comprehensible to most financial market participants.The book begins with a focus on coincident and leading economic indicators for the euro area. The following section looks at euro-area institutions. The next chapter focuses on the euro crisis. It attempts to provide an explanation of its origins and a glimpse of the potential outcomes. In addition, the tools needed to analyze the crisis as it evolves are presented. The last sections provide information unique to the economies of Germany, France, the U.K., Switzerland, Sweden and Norway.

M.A.EUR.LEGAL STUDIES ; The aim of this dissertation is to explore the continuum in the development of external competence in the EU vis-à-vis human rights obligations. The connection between the two is not altogether immediate but this work considers the conditions within which implied external competence were developed in light of the present legal and political frameworks. The work also observes, from a thorough examination of the case-law, the activist role played by the CJEU during and after AERT, and the emerging implications for the future of external relations in the EU. The three chapters of the dissertation represent a segment in the development of the EU legal order and explore the overarching question of how human rights and their protection has become an integral part of the European Union and how it can be reconciled with external relations law. This study reflects on the conditions that can enable an increased adherence to the inclusion of human rights in international agreements and considers the limits of those provisions that legitimise the protection of human rights in the EU. All the while, aware that the balance of power between the EU and the Members States must be maintained. In this sense, the examination of the development of implied external competence aligns itself with the reinforcement of a strong external relations law based on consistency and coherence in action and in law, one that is complementary with legal developments and respectful of national autonomy. ; N/A

Since the conclusion of the 1985 trade and cooperation agreement between the European Community and China, a new political dynamic has been set in motion between two emerging entities: industrializing China and integrating Europe. It is reflected in, among others, European Commission policy strategy papers and, probably more importantly, in numerous sectoral dialogues and agreements. Europe has become China's largest export destination. For the E.U., China has become its second largest trading partner and its most important source of imports.

1.The EUI Law Department and the Europeanisation of Law: An Introduction -- Francis Snyder -- PART I. JURIDIFICATION OF POLITICS -- 2. Integration Through Law Revisited: Some Thoughts on the Juridification of the European Political Process -- Renaud Dehousse -- 3. Should Public Prosecution Be Independent? -- Luis María Díez-Picazo -- PART II. CHANGES IN THE STRUCTURE OF GOVERNANCE -- 4. The Science of Private Law and the Nation-State -- Christian Joerges -- 5. The Role of Institutional Principles in the Judicial Development of the European Union Legal Order -- Bruno de Witte -- 6. European Media Law: A Perspective on the Challenge of Multimedia -- Karl-Heinz Ladeur -- 7. Legal Pluralism as an Evolutionary Achievement of Community Law -- Massimo La Torre -- PART III.PARTIAL CONVERGENCE OF NATIONAL LEGAL SYSTEMS -- 8. The Protection of Public Interests and Regulation of Economic Activities -- Giuliano Amato -- 9. The Convergence of the Administrative Laws of the EU Member States -- Jürgen Schwarze -- 10. Some Basic Elements of Legal Phenomenology -- Patrick Nerhot -- 11. Trade Union Rights in EU Law -- Brian Bercusson -- PART IV. UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES -- 12. Why Should Europe Be a Democracy: The Corruption of Political Culture and the Principle of Toleration -- J.H.H. Weiler -- 13. Simplification of European Law -- Roland Bieber and Celsa Amarelle -- 14. Legal Irritants: Good Faith in British Law or How Unifying Law Ends Up in New Divergences -- Gunther Teubner -- 15. Global or Re-nationalised? Past and Future of European Labour Law -- Silvana Sciarra -- 16. Globalisation and Europeanisation as Friends and Rivals: European Union Law in Global Economic Networks -- Francis Snyder

Increasing the use of renewable energy sources is one of the strategic objectives of the European Union. In this regard, it seems necessary to answer the question: which of the member countries are the most effective in its implementation? Therefore, the main goal was to distinguish groups of European Union countries, including the Visegrad Group, differing in the use of renewable energy sources in transport, electricity, heating and cooling (based on cluster analysis). All members of the EU were determinedly selected for research on 1 February 2020 (27 countries). The research period embraced the years 2009–2019. The sources of materials were the literature on the topic and data from Eurostat. Descriptive, tabular, graphical methods and cluster analysis were used in the presentation and analysis of materials. In 2019 wind and hydro power accounted for two-thirds of the total electricity generated from renewable sources. In 2019, renewable energy sources made up 34% of gross electricity consumption in the EU-27. Wind and hydro power accounted for two-thirds of the total electricity generated from renewable sources (35% each). Moreover, it was determined that there were 5 clusters that differed in their use of renewable energy sources. The highest average renewable energy consumption in transport, heating and cooling in 2019 was characterized by a cluster consisting of Sweden and Finland. In contrast, the highest average renewable energy consumption in electricity was characterized by a cluster consisting of countries such as: Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Latvia and Portugal. Finally, in a group that included countries such as Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands and the entire VG (Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia and Poland), renewable energy consumption rates (in transport, electricity, heating and cooling) were lower than the EU average (27 countries).

The papers in this collection, written by a cross-regional group of experts, provide insights into the causes of declining levels of citizen participation and other distinct forms of civic activism in Europe and explore a range of factors contributing to apathy and eventually disengagement from vital political processes and institutions. At the same time, this volume examines informal or unconventional types of civic engagement and political participation corresponding to the rapid advances in culture, technology and social networking. The volume is divided into three interrelated parts: Part I consists of critical essays in the form of theoretical approaches to analysing weakening political participation and citizen estrangement; Part II is dedicated to an exploration of the role and deployment of technologically advanced media, such as the internet, as determinants of changing patterns of political participationist behaviour. Finally, Part III presents findings of empirical research on the issue of political participation. Combining theoretical and empirical perspectives, the book contributes towards a better understanding of the disquieting trend of voter apathy and disenchantment with politics in the context of the ongoing process of European integration, and offers a variety of analytical tools for decoding both the emergence of alternative conceptualizations of citizenship and other forms of meaningful civic and political engagement.