Suchergebnisse

IN THE EARLY 1960'S THE REPUBLIC OF CHINA (ROC) BECAME A FOREIGN AID DONOR. AT THAT TIME, ITS AID CONSISTED CHIEFLY OF AGRICULTURAL AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO THE NEWLY-INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES OF AFRICA, WHICH WERE DEEMED IMPORTANT TO TAIPEI'S EFFORT TO MAINTAIN ITS SEAT IN THE UNITED NATIONS. AFTER THE ROC WAS FORCED TO WITHDRAW FROM THE UNITED NATIONS IN 1971, ITS AID FOCUS SHIFTED TO LATIN AMERICA. IN THE 1980'S, THE COMBINATION OF ECONOMIC STRENGTH AND DIPLOMATIC ISOLATION INCREASINGLY PROMPTED THE ROC TO USE FOREIGN AID AS A DIPLOMATIC TOOL. THE POLITICAL MOTIVES BEHIND FOREIGN AID, THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS' DOMINATION OF FOREIGN AID DECISION MAKING, AND THE LACK OF LEGISLATIVE SUPERVISION OVER AID HAVE ALL PROVOKED CONTROVERSY IN TAIWAN. THE ROC SHOULD TRY TO ACHIEVE A BALANCE BETWEEN ECONOMIC EFFECTIVENESS AND DIPLOMATIC INTERESTS IN ITS FOREIGN AID PROGRAMS, AND IT SHOULD HAVE A MORE OPEN FOREIGN AID DECISION-MAKING PROCESS.

After the outbreak of the financial crisis in September 2008, Member States adopted a variety of policy instruments in order to protect their financial institutions and national economies. Within a mere couple of weeks after the outbreak of the crisis, it became obvious that existing EU rules were not suitable for dealing effectively with the problems facing financial markets, and single national measures could lead to excessive distortions of competition and disruption to the flow of resources between Member States. Instead of completely putting aside the existing state aid rules, the European Commission adopted special rules allowing it to act swiftly in times of financial crisis. These newly adopted measures raise questions regarding not only the integrity of the Internal Market but also the extent of the Commission control under the new system, legal certainty, the protection of competitors and the exit strategy.