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This paper proposes an alternative stability and growth pact among European Union (EU) governments that would underpin the introduction of a single currency and a "single market" within the EU. The alternative pact embraces a number of new aspects of integration within the EU that are based on a different monetary analysis (different from that of "new monetarism"), new objectives for economic policy (such as employment and growth), and new institutions to reduce various kinds of disparities across the EU. The paper begins by critically examining the Stability and Growth Pact, which accompanied the introduction of the euro in January 1999, but which has not received as much attention in the policy debates on the euro as some other aspects of it. This is followed by a discussion of the institutional underpinnings of the euro, with the argument made that the institutional arrangements have a number of weaknesses. An alternative pact governing monetary and fiscal policy, which contains the promotion of the objective of full employment and that requires the creation of new institutions, is proposed.

In the aftermath of the British referendum to leave the European Union and the European Commission's 'White Paper on the Future of Europe', it is not only time to take stock of the existing literature on differentiated integration, but also to rethink the perimeters of disintegration. We argue that phenomena such as Brexit embrace forms of differentiation which trigger the need for conceptualizing differentiated disintegration altogether. This article first sketches the path of the scholarly debate in a chronological way to grasp the breadth of existing literature. Second, it discusses differentiated disintegration as a potentially new area for research. Mapping several scenarios for future research, we propose that differentiated (dis)integration needs to be conceived as a negotiated, but profoundly path-dependent process, which is structurally locked-in, and deeply conditioned by pre-existing organizations and institutions of European integration.

The European Union serves as an important aspirational and geopolitical reference in the societies of post-communist Central and Eastern Europe and, thus, their pro- and anti-EU sentiments traditionally serve as a synthetic indicator of political values, attitudes, and preferences. At the same time, since at least the 1970s, the social sciences have treated generational replacement as an important factor in political change. Our goal is, therefore, to establish if generational replacement, along with intergenerational differences in attitudes, has contributed to political orientations in Polish and Ukrainian society. While the two countries share a post-communist past, Poland has been an EU member since 2004, and Ukraine strongly aspires to become a member. We therefore hypothesize about the significance of the aspirational role of the European Union. Using an extensive set of survey data, totaling more than one hundred thousand interviews from two decades between 1998 and 2017, we analyze generational change in attitudes concerning EU membership in both countries. The results support our hypothesis, in that they show distinctive patterns in the two societies. While in Poland the youngest cohort has since 2015 became less pro-European than the older Polish cohorts, in Ukraine, the youngest cohort has consistently played the role of an avant-garde in this respect. At the same time, in line with the results of previous research, the analysis elaborates on the "Euromaidan generation" phenomenon.

This article maps the challenges faced by European trade unions arising from the growth and diversification of employment in private sector services, and analyses union responses to these challenges. Focusing on recruitment, internal interest intermediation, and articulation between the central and local tiers of union activity, it shows that many unions are making considerable efforts to renew their organisational structures and policies, so as to reverse the decline in membership and strengthen their workplace presence in private sector services. Approaches include union mergers, extension of collective bargaining into new areas, development of new styles of organising, digital unions, and creation of unions for particular groups. A critical issue is how to combine the differentiation and decentralisation of unions with coordination of union objectives: union renewal is a contested process, implying difficult choices as regards target groups and internal power relations. The article suggests that although the reforms have been insufficient to turn the tide thus far, the breadth of change cautions against precipitate judgements about the demise of unionism in private sector services.

This study empirically examines the relationship between national content and individual preferences for national policy priorities related to improving family life within the European Union. Using data from the Eurobarometer survey, logistic regression models indicate that public opinion about nine potential priorities (housing, economic prospects, education, flexible work hours, childcare, tax advantages, child allowances, parental leave, and contraception) parallels and ideological subscription to traditional gender roles, the level of economic prosperity, and the degree and type of state support for families with children. We also find that women are more concerned about policies that enhance the reconciliation of work and family, while men are more concerned about policies that support their traditional breadwinner duties.

The prudential regulatory response for investment firms in the European Union, has been closely linked with the prudential regulatory response for banks. These close links between the supervisory regimes of investment firms and banks raise the question as to why this has been done. Did the European legislators see a similarity in the risks posed by investment firms and banks which would warrant a similar supervisory approach? And if so, what would these similarities be? This study analysed this premise of similarity between banks and investment firms. The first sections of this study contain an analysis of what an investment firm is and how the specifics of an investment firm's business model differ from that of a bank. The most significant difference, from a regulatory point of view, between investment firms and banks concerns the permissions regarding the handling of client money. A bank can take deposits from its clients and use those deposits to funds its own activities. An investment firm, when holding client money, must "safeguard the rights of clients and prevent the use of client funds for its own account". To better understand what an investment firm is this study discusses the various investment services and activities an investment firm can perform and the subsequent (prudential) risk to which these investment services and activities will expose the investment firm. What this study found is that the prudential risk for an investment firm can be assessed using a risk framework, consisting of 'operational risks' and 'financial risks'. The second section of this study discusses the international efforts to harmonize the regulatory response for investment firms and the choices made by the European legislator when establishing the regulatory response in the European Union. What is remarkable, is that the European Union is the only jurisdiction in the world that has applied the prudential supervisory approach of the Basel Capital Accords also to investment firms. The Basel Capital Accords provide standards for large internationally active banks, but the European legislators have chosen a wider application of the standards, including application for investment firms. The third section of this study addresses the new prudential requirements regime for investment firms in the European Union. This study will analyse the new regime specifically designed for investment firms, included in the Investment Firm Regulation (IFR) and the Investment Firm Directive (IFD). Although this regime is a good step forward in designing regulation more tailored to the specifics of investment firms, this study finds that the new rules still contains numerous shortcomings, particularly in the field of financial risk. Another aspect of the new IFR/IFD regime is a new categorization of investment firms. The European legislator concluded that some investment firms might pose a systemic risk, and that the CRD 2013 and CRR regimes are still a more appropriate framework for the regulation of these systemic investment firms. The European legislators seem to base their analysis of the systemic relevance of an investment firm only on the type of activities it can conduct and, partially, on the size of these activities. The systemic relevance of an investment firm cannot be based solely on the conduct of certain activities and the size of those activities. Based on the analysis in this study, the new prudential regime for investment firms in the European Union can be further improved upon. The new regime as adopted by the European legislators is already a significant improvement, but its shortcomings should be addressed to better align the applicable rules and requirements with the actual risk profile of an investment firm.

A review essay on books by (1) Mark Bell, Anti-Discrimination Law and the European Union (Oxford, UK: Oxford U Press, 2002); (2) Grainne de Burca & J. H. H. Weiler (Eds), The European Court of Justice (Oxford, UK: Oxford U Press, 2001); & (3) Lisa Conant, Justice Contained: Law and Politics in the European Union (Ithaca, NY: Cornell U Press, 2002). 15 References.

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Unrecorded alcohol, that is, alcohol not reflected in official statistics of the country where it is consumed, contributes markedly to overall consumption of alcohol. However, empirical data on unrecorded alcohol consumption are scarce, especially in high-income countries. This study measures the contribution of unrecorded alcohol in 7 member states of the European Union. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Two categories of unrecorded consumption were assessed in general population surveys (reducing alcohol related harm Standardized European Alcohol Survey; <i>n</i> = 11,224): home-made alcohol and cross-border shopping. Country-specific logistic regressions were used to link respondent characteristics to odds of acquisition of unrecorded alcohol. Total <i>per capita</i> alcohol consumption was estimated under different assumptions of calculating unrecorded alcohol consumption. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Individuals with higher drinking levels were more likely to acquire unrecorded alcohol in all 7 countries. In some countries, male sex and more affluent social class were also positively linked to acquisition of unrecorded alcohol. There was a substantial contribution of unrecorded alcohol to overall consumption in 5 out of 7 member states (Croatia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Portugal), but not in Poland or Spain. In Greece, up to two-thirds of all alcohol consumed was estimated to be unrecorded.<b><i> Conclusion:</i></b> Unrecorded alcohol contributes to overall consumption even in high-income countries, and thus needs to be monitored. In monitoring, as many categories of unrecorded alcohol as possible should be clearly defined (e.g., surrogate alcohol) and included in future surveys.

In the article is analyzed European Union crisis diplomacy with Iran, which finally brought to the final settlements. Beside the nuclear issues, in EU and Iran relations are visible other issues, as such as: human rights, security, energy and trade. In the 90's and 2000's EU proposed the formula critical and comprehensive dialogue. Now after nuclear settlement, crisis diplomacy with Iran is essential, due to the problems and challenges related with internal Iranian politics and its regional policy.