Suchergebnisse

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.

IT IS NOT EASY TO CHARACTERIZE THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU) AS A political system. The main comprehensive approaches have at least partly failed, and we have to admit that the EU is neither completely neo-functional, nor intergovernmental, nor pre-federal. We may call it sui generis, but this does not carry us very far.On the other hand, we continue to apply in our analyses of the EU notions which originated in classical national democratic systems. This is true not only for the structures – above all the institutions – but for the processes as well. To add to our dilemma, recent studies on policy-making show us that the EU is far less homogeneous than one might imagine and that there are substantial differences from one policy area to another. But even if the EU is mainly a negotiating system, an authority which is clearly responsible for its outcomes should nevertheless exist. In a classical parliamentary system the government and the parliamentary majority fulfil this function. The minority may mainly oppose the majority and press for alternative solutions, or it may use its influence for reaching a compromise; it is generally agreed that a structured opposition is a constituent part of a democratic political system.

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.

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.

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.

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

Examines the development and the role of human rights in the European Union, arguing that human rights have become an important component of the foreign policy of the European Union. This book analyses the EU's policy on minorities, as a particular example of human rights