Suchergebnisse

According to the Court of Justice of the European Union, the legal structure of the European Union: 'is based on the fundamental premiss that each Member State shares with all the other Member States, and recognises that they share with it, a set of common values on which the EU is founded, as stated in Article 2 TEU.' Fundamental rights, the rule of law and democracy occupy a central place among these common values. The Court holds that this premiss 'implies and justifies the existence of mutual trust between the Member States.' However, for several years, the European Union has been suffering from a crisis of values. This crisis stems from the undermining of the values on which the European Union is supposedly based. Yet, references to mutual trust between Member States has never been more prevalent in the official discourse. Like the adage 'there is never so much talk about water as in the desert,' is the rise in popularity of mutual trust symptomatic of the climate of mistrust between the Member States? This book centres around this question, raised by the success of the principle of mutual trust at a time when the context betrays fundamental divisions between the Member States regarding the meaning of European integration and the values on which it is based. To answer this question, the first part of the book seeks to clear the ground and to offer a cross-cutting definition of the principle of mutual trust in EU law, which applies both to internal market law and to the law of the area of freedom, security and justice. In this respect, the presumptive mechanism seems to offer the best description of the principle studied. The second part of the book analyses the apparently consubstantial link between this principle and the founding values of the EU. In that regard, it appears that the common set of values has an ambivalent relationship with the principle of mutual trust, being both its normative basis and its imperfect limit. The book closes with a third part analysing the essential role played by the principle of mutual trust in EU law at the intersection of the imperatives of unity, diversity and equality which drive European integration. Given the threats currently faced by the founding values of the EU, it argues in favour of moving mutual trust from the rank of postulate to that of method

The discontent with the European Union expressed in the referenda over the Maastricht Treaty in the beginning of the 1990s and more recently enunciated through the French and Dutch rejection of the European Constitutional Treaty has widely been perceived as being a consequence of the Union"s legitimacy deficit. There might be different reasons for this deficit. Whereas some argue that it is rooted in a lack of Humean legitimacy, i.e. a lack of utilitarian problem-solving capacity (output legitimacy), others hold that it is a consequence of the lack of Lockean legitimacy or popular consent or approval of the Union, i.e. a lack of democratic legitimacy (input legitimacy). It is the aim of this book to introduce a democratic model that bridges these two sources of legitimacy and which, bearing in mind the unique institutional, legal and societal qualities of the European Union, could provide a solid basis of legitimacy of the European Union in general and the European Constitutional Treaty in particular. Dr. Tor-Inge Harbo holds a Norwegian law degree and a MA in European Studies. His PhD thesis was written under the supervision of Professor Dr. iur. Ulrich K. Preuss at the Free University of Berlin, Otto Suhr Institute of Political Studies, Department Legal Bases of Politics. He is currently working as a lecturer and researcher at the Faculty of Law, University of Oslo

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 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.

1. Cyprus : from an economic miracle to a systemic collapse and its aftermath / Andreas Theophanous -- 2. The Estonian economy : structure, performance and prospects / Tarmo Kalvet -- 3. Iceland and the challenge of European integration : is European Union membership feasible / Hilmar or Hilmarsson -- 4. Latvia after European Union accession : weathering the storm? / Aleksandrs Cepilovs and Lauma Muizniece -- 5. The Lithuanian economy as a European Union member state : structure, performance and prospects / Algidras Miskinis and Ausyte Rasteniene -- 6. The economy of Luxembour / Serge Allegrazza -- 7. The Macedonian economy and the European Union / Igor Velickovski, Marjan Petreski and Branimir Jovanovic -- 8. The Maltese economy : structure, performance and European Union membership / Lino Briguglio -- 9. Montenegro : a small economy on the road to European Union membership / Milorad Katnic and Tijana Stankovic -- 10. The Slovenian economy : the road to European Union accession, the crisis and beyond / Mojmir Mrak.

After the end of World War II leaders of the West European countries had realised the necessity to create new security frameworks, thus making the security of the continent the concern of the Europeans themselves. However, immediately after it had been formed the North Atlantic Alliance, as a trans-Atlantic defence shield against the danger from the "communist East", became the central security component in Europe. Just after the end of the Cold War and disappearance of the "danger from the East" the European leaders initiated the process of creation of the new European defence system. The system would be designed in such a way not to jeopardise the position of the NATO, improving at the same time the security and stability in the continent. In the first part of the article the author considers the course of European integration in the second half of the last century that proceeded through creation of institutions preceding the establishment of the European Union. During the period of creation of this specific form of action performed by the European states at the internal and international levels, the deficiency of integration in the military field was notable. In that regard, the author stresses the role of the Western European Union as an alliance for collective defence of West European countries. The second part of the paper discusses the shaping of the EU security component through the provisions on the Common Foreign and Security Policy, which are included in the EU agreements. The Maastricht Treaty defined the Common Foreign and Security Policy as an instrument to reach agreement by member states in the defence field. The Amsterdam Treaty confirmed the role of this mechanism expanding the authorities resulting from it. The Treaty of Nice supplements the existing mechanism by a new military and political structure that should help implement the decisions made by the European Union institutions in the military field. In the third part of the article, the author presents the facts concerning the establishment and internal organisation of the Eurocorps. The creation of this military formation took place in early 1990s and was initiated by the two states of "the old Europe" - Germany and France. The authors also emphasises that the establishment of this formation is the first step towards creation of the armed forces in Europe. The fourth part of the paper treats the Rapid Reaction Force that was established by the Helsinki Agreement (1999). It became operative in early 2003 and its basic aim is to prevent the outbreak of crises in the region and to improve stability in Europe. In spite of the opinions that the establishment of such a force is the skeleton for creation of the European armed forces, the author thinks that, at least in the near future, they will not be a rival to the NATO. In his opinion, their possible military missions will be carried out only when the alliance takes no interest in being engaged in them.

This volume provides a novel explanation of rising Euroscepticism and right-wing populism in Western Europe. The changing political and cultural environment of recent decades is generating an ongoing realignment of voters structured by authoritarianism, which is a psychological disposition towards the maintenance of social cohesion and order at the expense of individual autonomy and diversity. High authoritarians find the values and demographic changes of the past several decades a threat to social cohesion, which has created an opportunity for PRR parties to gain their support by campaigning against these perceived threats to national community posed by immigration, values change, and European integration. The result is a worldview evolution in which party conflict is shaped by the rival preferences of high and low authoritarians.