Suchergebnisse

The evolution of e-business or the uptake of e-business practices has become popular to depict as a process involving transitions toward increasing use of ICT coupled to organizational change and sophistication which can impact business performance. This process should not be interpreted as a generic or deterministic process of adaptation that can be replicated across institutional contexts. Instead, there are many 'environmental' elements, ranging from policy frameworks, supporting public administrations, competitiveness/collaboration frameworks, levels and quality of education, entrepreneurial culture and ICT infrastructure, among others), that condition the evolution of e-business. The main policy directions derived from the analysis of EU and EU countries experience in eBusiness development are presented in the paper. The developed framework for e-business support policy parameterizes on following key areas - Business environment, Skills upgrading, Network infrastructure, Trust infrastructure, Digital products and information services, Intangible investments and assets, Information, Government on-line.

The recent EU Commission proposal for promoting the supply of power from renewable energy sources was originally based on a pan-European, harmonised tradable green certificate (TGC) scheme. We Suggest, on the basis of a multi-disciplinary analysis, that a pan-EU TGC system is not the way forward for Europe. It is vital that the Commission (and the majority of Member States) avoids implementation of such policy designs put forward by a coalition of vested interests. They should instead look at, and act upon, the available evidence from those countries that have experimented with TGCs (e.g. Flanders, UK and Sweden) and design policies that stand a better chance of meeting the criteria of effectiveness, efficiency and equity. In particular, the policies must enable EU to meet the immense innovation/industrialisation challenge by inducing the development of a capital goods industry that can, eventually, diffuse a broad range of technologies that use renewable energy sources. Only then we can acquire an ability to implement an industrial revolution in the energy system in a way that broadly meets the criteria of effectiveness and dynamic efficiency. ; Original Publication:Staffan Jacobsson, Anna Bergek, Dominique Finon, Volkmar Lauber, Catherine Mitchell, David Toke and Aviel Verbruggen , EU renewable energy support policy: Faith or facts?, 2009, ENERGY POLICY, (37), 6, 2143-2146.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2009.02.043Copyright: Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam.http://www.elsevier.com/

The sugar industry is a major provider of jobs and income for sugar-exporting countries in Africa. The lower sugar prices that were caused by the recent liberalisation of the EU sugar market may not only jeopardise economic development in those countries, but the reforms also create difficulties for sugar-importing countries in Africa that seek to develop their sugar industries. The article analyses the effects of EU sugar market reforms on three African countries – Nigeria, South Africa and Mozambique – and provides insights into the balancing of the EU sugar policy's intended effects against their adverse effects on European trade and development policy.

Published online: 15 February 2011 ; Recent security developments in East Asia have raised questions about peace and stability in a part of the world accounting for over a quarter of EU global trade. This Policy Brief assesses the changing power relations in East Asia and highlights potential implications of the region's security flashpoints for the EU.

European Union Antitrust Laws have been successfully applied to anti-competitive behaviour, which can take place abroad, but have an effect within the EU. Under Antitrust Laws, not only abuse of dominant position practices but also mergers that restrain competition are regarded as illegal and subject to severe remedies. This paper accesses both Microsoft-WMP and Volvo-Scania cases in the light of the EU Competition Policy and identifies the circumstances involved, final decisions made as well as the suggested remedies and the consequences from the consumers' perspective. The issues considered are per se controversial and these are clear examples of the long path to go through, in order to make the competition law regime uniformly applicable in all member states. The lack of international consensus on competition law and enforcement requires huge efforts in co-operation between countries and organisations, because in combination with economic liberalisation, nations have come to recognise competition as a powerful instrument for stimulating innovation and economic growth. This paper focus on the past, i.e., already assessed anticompetitive cases; the present - the current EU Competition Policy rules - and finally on the future of Antitrust jurisdiction, in which part I will briefly describe the major actual concerns in the long course towards a common and homogeneously valid system of International Competition Policy. ; N/A

Contents: Euro-Atlantic Community and the South Caucasus: How to Face Russia in the Region? (Nasimi Aghayev) (6-13); Turkish Foreign Policy:
From "Surrounded by Enemies" to "Zero Problems" (Ekrem Eddy Güzeldere) (14-19); EU-Russia relations after the Gas-conflict: What lessons we have learned (Stefan Meister) (20-23); EU Membership ambitions: What alternative approaches exist and how is the European foreign policy perceived in Ukraine? (Kateryna Malyhina) (24-28); Final Conclusion and Policy Recommendations (Sebastian Schäffer, Dominik Tolksdorf)(29-31).

An analysis of the changing aims, concepts, & methods of regional policy in post-WWII Hungary. Different phases of regional policy express the transition of the economic management system of the country from the centralized planning directives toward a decentralized mixed economy. In the 1950s, there was no regional policy; in the 1960s, it aimed at industrial decentralization; & in the 1970s, regional leveling of living conditions became the central target. In the 1980s, regional policy contributes to managing regional tensions resulting from the structural & technological changes of economy. Local (Ur & Ru) councils, as well as groups of citizens & individuals, play important roles in initiating & executing regional policy. 2 Photographs. AA

Council Directive 2003/48/EC has been very significant for the European society, due to various reasons. One of them is certainly the fact that the Directive has been a major political break-through in the development of the Communities and the EU. Merely one decade ago the idea of abandoning the concept of banking secrecy was completely unthinkable, whereas today there is at least a vision of information circulation, for the purpose of combating tax avoidance. Additionally, the Directive has established a system of coordination between tax authorities of the Member States. The importance of the Directive as well as of the matter it regulates is clearly demonstrated by the EU efforts made in order to introduce the application of this Directive in other jurisdictions. However, it would be much more difficult from the political point of view to achieve that goal. Despite its significance, the Directive still has many limitations and loopholes which make possible for individual investors to circumvent its application. Some of the difficulties have been listed in one of the sections. Finally, the possible solutions in order to remove the limitations are not so difficult to find. However, the implementation of those solutions depends at a high level on the political will not only of the EU but also of other jurisdictions, relevant for the achievement of the desired effects of the Directive. The time will have to show how successful prospect negotiations are going to be in overcoming the differences between EU and its significant political partners.

A sustainable EU Immigration Policy aims to contribute to a vibrant European society through more effectively and selectively managed immigration from outside the EU, more attention to integration of immigrants, more rooting out of discrimination, more asylum centres close to areas of conflict, and more attention to education and training in areas where refugees have settled. Immigration from outside the EU is often opposed, mainly because of sluggish integration combined with tensions in actual and perceived values between immigrants and native populations. These divisions affect not only the first generation of immigrants, but also those that follow. We propose a sustainable, win-win policy fostering the benefits of immigration and in line with the preferences of EU citizens holding not only positive but also more sceptical views on immigration while relying on adherence to human rights. The proposed policy is directed towards more effectively and selectively managed immigration based on the employability potential of the immigrant, combined with more attention to integration and stricter measures to fight discrimination. We also acknowledge the need for a robust policy framework to cope with asylum and abrupt large-scale waves of refugees wanting to enter the EU, resulting from conflicts, natural catastrophes, and other sudden or violent events. We propose screening schemes for refugee camps surrounding countries they have fled to determine migrants' refugee status, channelling them either as economic migrants, selected on their employability, or through a humanitarian scheme that respects the EU's multilateral and bilateral commitments. Such a humanitarian scheme would be embedded into education-cooperation policies, to provide better opportunities to qualify for admission and substantially greater support for refugees.