Suchergebnisse

The European Union (EU) and ASEAN have over the years come to appreciate each other as important and reliable partners sharing the same basic outlook on global politics and economics. Gradually a mechanism for consultation has been built up and it seems to work well despite some problems. Nevertheless it is puzzling why the relationship has not moved from a consultative one to a more substantive one. One reason may be that trade and investment flow smoothly without a formalized framework. This is, however, not a convincing reason. It is more likely that the EU and ASEAN have never really fully understood each other, what their respective objectives are and how they work. In 2006 the EU finally opened the door to negotiations for a free trade agreement with ASEAN, something, which had been on the ASEAN wish list for a number for years. Hopefully this will pave the way for a relationship not only rich in declarations and good intentions, but also of substantial character. (Contemp Southeast Asia/GIGA)

The international community recognized the terrorism as one of the main modern threats to humanity. The European Union, however, still has not formed an integrated general model of interaction between the national agencies in the fight against terrorism. There is only some level of cooperation and coordination among them. By using the conventions as the main legal instrument in the fight against terrorism at the global level the international community simply reacts to the emergence of new forms and terrorist targets. Despite the fact that the conventions cover important areas of the fight against terrorism the proposals on concluding a comprehensive convention are far from realization. The negotiations on a common approach, identifying and assessing terrorism at the global level are in an impasse. The article treats different aspects of combatting terrorism and the European Union actions in this direction.

This article provides a comparative framework for understanding processes of decentralized law enforcement in the European Union (EU). In particular, the analysis proposes how decentralized EU law enforcement mechanisms can increase opportunities for participation of citizens & firms, but only if they possess domestic courts access & sufficient resources to use it. The article undertakes a systematic analysis of noncompliance with EU environmental law to examine this dynamic. The findings reveal a major paradox for the enforcement of EU law: the empowerment of the already powerful. This paradox has major implications for the potential of expanding judicial power in the EU & at the international level to bring more democracy to international politics. Tables, Figures, References. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright 2006.]

How do European Union (EU) member states decide whether soft or hard law instruments better serve their interests? We address this question in the context of financial supervision. In the past years, financial supervision has changed dramatically from soft co-ordination (2009) to a banking union based on hard law (2012/13). This article draws on insights from the hard/ soft law distinction, the informal governance literature and personal interviews to analyze what factors precipitated change, which actors were central to it and how it occurred. Our main argument is that member states' power, perceptions of uncertainty, distributive conflict, as well as the interests of the domestic banking industry, have shaped the choice of soft or hard law instruments in financial supervision. Our analysis suggests that we need to theorize more rigorously about the sources of member state preferences over formal and informal co-ordination mechanisms in the EU. Adapted from the source document.

Williams reviews 'East Central European Politics Today' by Keith Crawford.

This article analyses, assesses and explains the imperatives which have affected the European Union's (EU) audiovisual policy instruments, with particular emphasis on the Television without Frontiers (TWF) Directive, cross-media ownership regulations and the regulatory frameworks concerning converging communication services. It considers the factors which have led to competition policy becoming more important in the era of convergence and globalization. Finally, it considers whether these regulatory responses and policy interpretations illustrate the extent to which the Commission has been able (or not) to balance the increasingly conflicting imperatives of economic competitiveness with the core values of cultural identity.

AbstractThe EU, as is commonly held, is a different form of political rule: a polity based on rationality and functional interests, not emotional appeals. Without reference to the narrative of the nation or the state, the question emerges as to whether the European Union needs or has myths? If it does, what are they and how successful have they been? The aim of this article – indeed of the special issue – is to explore the role of political myth in creating normative and cognitive foundations for governing in the EU and to examine whether these are applicable to the case of the European Union.

The latest European Union's (EU) guiding policies are encouraging big businesses and state-owned organisations to disclose their environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. Many European member states have transposed the EU's directive 2014/95/EU on non-financial reporting. This directive has presented a significant step forward toward the as its "comply or explain" approach has encouraged organisations to disclose a true and fair view on their organisations' financial and ESG capitals. Hence, this paper makes specific reference to some of the corporations' best practices as it identifies areas for improvement in corporate governance issues. It explains how three major European banks are following the recommendations of their national regulatory institution, as they have reviewed the roles and responsibilities of the corporate boards and management. In many cases, they have anticipated the regulatory, legal, contractual, social and market-driven obligations. This contribution contends that there are significant implications for financial services corporations who intend following the right path toward responsible corporate governance and ethical behaviours. ; peer-reviewed

AbstractIn light of important political events that go beyond the nation state (e.g., migration, climate change, and the coronavirus pandemic), domestic politicians are increasingly pressured to scrutinize and speak out on European policy-making. This creates a potential trade-off between allocating effort to domestic and supranational affairs, respectively. We examine how citizens perceive legislator involvement in European Union (EU) politics with a pre-registered conjoint experiment in Germany. Our results show that Members of Parliament (MPs) are not disadvantaged when allocating effort to European affairs as compared to local and national affairs. In addition, voters tend to prefer MPs who engage in EU policy reform over those who do not. As demand for legislator involvement in European politics is on the rise, we provide empirical evidence that MPs can fulfill this demand without being disadvantaged by the electorate.

The author explores the operational capability of the European defense policy in the last 3 years. From the creation and adoption of the European Security Strategy, the European Union has made several specific steps in the development of the European Security and Defense Policy. Despite the disagreements with the United States about Iraq and the internal divisions in the "New and Old Europe" EU has shown the ability to set new military and civilian goals, make a small, but effective battle group concept for crisis management and conflict prevention as well as the European Defense Agency. The author also describes the main operations and missions of EU in the world, ranging from the Balkans and Africa to the Middle East and Eastern Asia. Finally, the paper analyses the Constitution for Europe and the articles concerning ESDP.