Suchergebnisse

Since the last financial crisis, much work has been undertaken to strengthen the ability to respond to distress in the EU financial system. However, reforms enacted since the Single Resolution Mechanism was created in July 2014 as part of the Banking Union initiated in 2012 mainly focused on non-performing loans, and the third pillar of the Banking Union, namely a European Deposit Insurance Scheme, has not been completed. Against this backdrop, this book focuses on the reasons why the EU banking system continues to remain fragile. In particular, high stocks of non-performing loans in some countries, the Level 3 assets evaluation and high exposure of many banks to the debts of their own governments are among the major concerns. Secondly, the book discusses the completion of the public safety net for banks, including deposit insurance, which remains primarily at the national level. This creates scope for contagion from banking sector fragility to national sovereign debt distress. Of interest to banking researchers, academics and students, this book combines rigorous analysis of the regulatory framework and empirical investigation on EU banking system data to prove that market discipline and risk sharing should be viewed as complementary pillars of the Euro-area financial architecture rather than as substitutes, requiring a reformed institutional framework.

La salida del Reino Unido de la Unión Europea supone un cambio muy significativo de las relaciones internacionales en el ámbito europeo con relevancia mundial. El artículo se centra en intentar analizar algunos de los efectos inmediatos que la salida británica de la Unión Europea supone para la misma, a partir de la fractura del statu quo existente, contradictoria con la tradicional política exterior británica. Para ello analiza el concepto de statu quo, y asumiendo su sentido como equilibrio de poder, se ponen ejemplos de cómo ha sido el eje rector de la política británica desde el siglo XVIII, interrumpida con el Brexit. Finalmente se analizan las consecuencias en el statu quo europeo de la salida de Reino Unido de la Unión y los posibles resultados que tal reconfiguración produce, fundamentalmente el incremento de poder de Alemania. A partir de aquí se plantea el posible incremento de la influencia rusa en el área europea, tomando como referencia el proyecto de gasoducto Nord Stream, y el perjuicio general para la influencia americana en Europa ; The departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union represents a very significant change in international relations at the European level with global relevance. The article focuses on trying to analyze some of the immediate effects that the British exit from the European Union supposes for the same, from the fracture of the existing status quo, contradictory with the traditional British foreign policy. To do this, he analyzes the concept of the status quo, and assuming its meaning as a balance of power, examples are given of how it has been the guiding axis of British politics since the 18th century, interrupted with Brexit. Finally, the consequences on the European status quo of the United Kingdom's departure from the Union and the possible results that such reconfiguration produces, fundamentally the increase in power of Germany, are analyzed. From here, the possible increase in Russian influence in the European area is proposed, taking the Nord Stream gas pipeline project as a reference, and the general damage to American influence in Europe

This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. Turkey's involvement in the Gulf War in 1991 paved the way for the country's acceptance into the European Union. This book traces that process and in the first part looks at Turkey's foreign policy in the 1990s, considering the ability of the country to withstand the repercussions of the fall of communism. It focuses on Turkey's achievement in halting and minimising the effects of the temporary devaluation in its strategic importance that resulted from the waning of the Cold War and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the skilful way in which Turkey avoided becoming embroiled in the ethnic upheavals in Central Asia, the Balkans and the Middle East, and the development of a continued policy of closer integration into the European and western worlds.Internal politics are the focus of the second part of the book, addressing the curbing of the Kurdish revolt, the economic gains made, and the strengthening of civil society. Nachmani goes on to analyse the prospects for Turkey in the twenty-first century, in the light of the possible integration into Europe, which may leave the country's leadership free to deal effectively with domestic issues.This book will make crucial reading for anyone studying Turkish politics, or indeed European or European Union politics

Представлен анализ международных договоров Европейского Союза и судебной практики Европейского суда справедливости по вопросам прямого налогообложения. Затрагиваются вопросы позитивной и негативной интеграции в области налогообложения на территории Европейского Союза. Отмечается, что право Европейского Союза обладает прямым действием. ; The article is devoted to analysis of EU international treaties and of European Court of Justice case law in the area of direct taxation. Questions of positive and negative integration, common market and tax harmonization are analyzed. The direct effect of EU law is brought into light.

While the populist equivalents to the likes of Marine Le Pen's Front National or Geert Wilder's Dutch party are much less center-stage in the German elections, the outcome and thus the impact on the EU is still uncertain. However, all the probable coalitions will not overhaul the current German stance on European politics. But proposals to change the governance of the EU Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) are on the agenda of all parties, of course with very different emphasis.

"The subject of this book is the complex and controversial issues of the implementation of the EU's grand strategies, with a particular interest in the developmental success of the newest members of the European Union, the former post-socialist societies. The European Union implementation deficit has become proverbial failure, a phenomenon that is the subject of intense interest by researchers and is a concern for policymakers. While the impact of Europe 2020 has yet to be researched in greater detail, existing work is revealing substantial differences in implementation among the Member States, especially along the divisions between North and West on one hand and East and South on the other. Using the Cultural Political Economy as the theoretical background, the central focus of our interest is the study of possibilities and limitations of strategic steering of the economic development in the context of a comprehensive societal development, such as the Europe 2020 intention of achieving 'smart, inclusive and sustainable growth.'"

This article analyses the state of democracy in the European Union (EU) using gender lens on the Treaty of Lisbon and three of the main European crises in the first decade since its entry into force (2009-2019): the economic crisis (2008-2014); Brexit (2017–2020) and the democratic decline and triggering of Article 7 TEU against Poland and Hungary (2017 and 2018 respectively). By drawing on feminist democracy theory, it shows the interdependent connections of democracy and gender equality in the analysed European crises. It examines the two dimensions of the double democratic deficit through gender lens –the underrepresentation of women and gender sensitivity– in the adoption and provisions of the Treaty of Lisbon and European decision-making and responses to the crises. It argues that the gender-blind European responses to the crises of the first decade of the Treaty of Lisbon have contributed –among other factors– to the deterioration of the EU's democratic structures and procedures, and have also, in turn, contributed to restraining progress on gender equality and exacerbating gender inequality across different member states. Given Ursula Von der Leyen's declared plans for a "new push for European democracy", and the new EU crisis emerged by the Covid-19 virus pandemic, the article points to some key gender aspects that might be worth considering for the future of the European democratic project.

Mentre l'immigrazione è diventata una competenza dell'Unione Europea con l'adozione del trattato di Amsterdam, nessun mandato per le politiche d'integrazione dei migranti è stato conferito all'Unione prima del 2010. Nonostante ciò, negli anni 2000 è emersa nell'agenda politica dell'UE una politica di integrazione che ha prodotto, di conseguenza, un insieme coerente di strumenti di soft law. Una politica basata sulla soft law, però, solleva una serie di domande. Esiste una vera e propria politica europea d'integrazione o si può solo parlare di politiche d'integrazione a livello europeo? La soft law può essere un motore di Europeizzazione? Questa tesi si propone di studiare ciò che potrebbe essere, a tutti gli effetti, un processo originale di Europeizzazione. Esplora il meccanismo sottostante alla genesi di questa politica a livello europeo e considera il suo impatto sui conseguenti output, prestando particolare attenzione al Fondo Europeo per l'Integrazione, lo strumento di politica pubblica più rilevante in merito, analizzato durante l'intero policy cycle. Le evidenze empiriche sono tratte dall'applicazione di diversi metodi, sia qualitativi sia quantitativi, che spaziano dal process tracing alle regressioni time-series cross-section. Dopo aver dipinto il quadro sulla costruzione progressiva della politica europea d'immigrazione e sui fallimenti dei tentativi rispetto all'integrazione dei miganti, proseguo dimostrando come gli stati membri siano stati riluttanti a cedere la loro competenza in materia, malgrado il bisogno crescente di una politica comune. E' grazie alla concomitanza di tre condizioni che il quadro europeo in materia d'integrazione ha assunto i suoi primi tratti. Innanzitutto, a renderlo possibile, è stata la necessità di procedere con strumenti politici di soft law. In seguito, l'avvento di tre Presidenze del Consiglio con preferenze simili in un arco di tempo relativamente breve ha posto e ancorato la issue sull'agenda europea. In terza istanza, la Commissione europea si è dimostrata in grado di sviluppare una politica all'interno dei margini di accettazione del Consiglio. Parallelamente, la Commissione ha dimostrato di essere anche in grado di ritagliarsi un ruolo in materia attraverso la creazione di opportunità di finanziamento che sarebbero diventate in seguito il Fondo Europeo per l'Integrazione, primo strumento sistematico di questa politica. Tuttavia, con l'assenza di una solida competenza in materia a livello europeo e con la permanenza del voto all'unanimità su questi temi nel Consiglio, l'adozione di un fondo che avrebbe implementato in maniera consistente un'interpretazione europea dell'integrazione era ben poco probabile. Così la contrattazione tra stati membri finì per creare, invece, un fondo con obiettivi vagamente definiti e provvedimenti procedurali flessibili, garantendo in tal modo il controllo degli stati membri sulla spesa del fondo. Ciò non poteva non lasciare traccia sull'implementazione stessa del fondo. Analizzando la fase di programmazione della spesa del fondo da parte degli stati membri (una fase che somiglia alla trasposizione delle direttive), si rivela che l'implementazione ha seguito logiche nazionali con una prevalenza delle preferenze dei governi, moderate in un certo modo dall'opinione pubblica e dalle organizzazioni della società civile. Il fondo, così come progettato, si dimostrò incapace di attirare le preferenze degli stati membri verso quelle stabilite a livello europeo. Analizzando poi l'uso effettivo delle somme disponibili (una fase che assomiglia a quella dell'applicazione delle direttive), l'implementazione attiene più alla capacità degli stati membri d'implementare che alle loro preferenze, con una parte rilevante del fondo rimasta intoccata, limitandone ulteriormente l'effetto sulle politiche nazionali. In base ai dati raccolti ed esaminati in questa ricerca, appare difficile sostenere l'esistenza di una politica europea d'integrazione. Esiste un insieme consistente e coerente di strumenti politici relativi all'integrazione, ma non si può ancora parlare di una vera e propria politica europea d'integrazione. La politica, così come definita a livello europeo, non ha avuto tutto sommato un grande effetto sulle politiche nazionali, se non quello di rinforzarle, sostanziandole con fondi europei. Se si pensa all'Europeizzazione come a un processo, allora forse esiste un processo di Europeizzazione in corso. Ma l'integrazione, a tutt'oggi, non risulta ancora europeizzata. ; Whereas immigration became an EU competence with the adoption of the treaty of Amsterdam, no mandate was conferred upon the Union on policies for the integration of migrants until 2010. Yet, an integration policy emerged on the EU agenda and gave rise to a consistent ensemble of soft law instruments adopted over the 2000s. A policy based on soft law however raises a series of questions as to its actual implementation and effects. Is there a sound EU integration policy or should we talk of an EU policy on integration? Can soft law be the motor of Europeanisation? This dissertation looks into what may be an original process of Europeanisation. I explore the mechanism governing the genesis of a policy at EU level and consider its impact on subsequent outputs. I place particular emphasis on the European Integration Fund, its most significant instrument, which I study throughout the policy cycle. Empirical evidence is drawn from the use of different methods ranging from process tracing to time-series cross-section regressions. I start my research brushing the picture of the gradual construction of an immigration policy at EU level and the failures of the attempts to touch upon integration. I show that member states were eager to keep a firm grip on their integration policy despite the growing need of a common policy. It is thanks to the coincidence of three conditions that the first strokes of an EU integration policy were given. Firstly, the necessary soft nature of any EU output considerably eased their adoption. Then, the occurrence of three Presidencies of the Council with rather similar preferences within a relatively short time span placed and anchored integration on the EU agenda. Finally, the Commission proved capable of developing a policy within the margins of acceptability of the Council. In parallel, the Commission also proved capable of carving out a role for itself in integration, notably through the creation of funding opportunities that would eventually give rise to the European Integration Fund (EIF), the first systematic EU instrument in this field. However, with the absence of a sound competence at EU level and the permanence of unanimity voting in the Council on these matters, the adoption of a fund at EU level that would consistently enforce a European view of integration was unlikely. Instead, member states' bargains ended up with a fund featuring vaguely defined objectives and flexible procedural provisions guaranteeing member states' grips on the spending of the fund. This was likely to affect implementation at national level. Looking at the programming phase (a phase in a way similar to transposition of Directives), the fund appeared to be implemented following national logics with a pre-eminence of Governments' preferences, moderated to some extent by public opinion and civil society organisations. The fund as designed proved incapable to drag member states preferences towards the EU's. Looking at the actual engagement of the sums available (that could be approximated to the application of Directives), implementation becomes more a matter of capacity than preference with a significant share of the fund remaining unused, thereby further limiting the effect of the instrument on national policies. From the evidence gathered and processed, I conclude that there is no EU integration policy. There is a consistent set of policy instruments that together form a policy relating to integration but talking of an EU integration policy is hardly sustainable. Altogether, the EU policy has had little effects on member states' integration policies; if not that of reinforcing national approaches to integration, substantiating them with EU funding. If one understands Europeanisation as a process, then there may be Europeanisation under way. But integration as of yet is not Europeanised.

BackgroundIn the last decade, the attention for health literacy has increased in the European Union. This is due to three main reasons. First, reviews have shown that inadequate health literacy is associated with worse health outcomes, higher health care use and expenditure. Second, in all European countries the population is aging and the number of chronically ill people is rising. Improving health literacy in this group can offer greater opportunities to take an active part in society, be independent and improve quality of life. Third, since most research on health literacy has been conducted outside Europe and relatively little is known about the development of health literacy interventions and its effects on outcome measures in European countries. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the evidence on the effectiveness of health literacy interventions in the European Union published between 1995 and 2018.MethodsSearches have been performed in Medline, PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane library, PsychINFO, ERIC, Web of Science and SCOPUS for publications on health literacy intervention studies in European Union countries. Studies were included if the research was conducted in one or more Member States of the European Union, the publication described an intervention study, the intervention was aimed at health literacy, the publication described an outcome measure related to health literacy and the publication was written in English, French or German.ResultsA total of 23 studies were included. Three types of interventions were identified; aimed at improving health literacy, tailored to different health literacy levels and aimed at improving health outcomes in general that differentiated in effects for people with different health literacy levels. Most interventions identified in the review focus on the functional level of health literacy or numeracy. The strength of evidence from the European health literacy intervention studies was low and there was a huge heterogeneity in study design, measurement ...

The financial support by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (ACTRIS-2, grant agreement no. 654109) is gratefully acknowledged. The background of LIRIC algorithm and software was developed under the ACTRIS Research Infrastructure project, grant agreement no. 262254, within the European Union Seventh Framework Programme, which financial support is gratefully acknowledged.r I. Binietoglou received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under the grant agreement no. 289923 - ITARS. ; This paper presents a detailed description of LIRIC (LIdar-Radiometer Inversion Code) algorithm for simultaneous processing of coincident lidar and radiometric (sun photometric) observations for the retrieval of the aerosol concentration vertical profiles. As the lidar/radiometric input data we use measurements from European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET) lidars and collocated sun-photometers of Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET). The LIRIC data processing provides sequential inversion of the combined lidar and radiometric data. The algorithm starts with the estimations of column-integrated aerosol parameters from radiometric measurements followed by the retrieval of height dependent concentrations of fine and coarse aerosols from lidar signals using integrated column characteristics of aerosol layer as a priori constraints. The use of polarized lidar observations allows us to discriminate between spherical and non-spherical particles of the coarse aerosol mode. The LIRIC software package was implemented and tested at a number of EARLINET stations. Intercomparison of the LIRIC-based aerosol retrievals was performed for the observations by seven EARLINET lidars in Leipzig, Germany on 25 May 2009. We found close agreement between the aerosol parameters derived from different lidars that supports high robustness of the LIRIC algorithm. The sensitivity of the retrieval results to the possible reduction of the available observation data is also discussed. ; European Union (EU) 654109 ; ACTRIS Research Infrastructure project within the European Union 262254 ; European Union (EU) 289923 - ITARS

The following article deals with the formation and perspectives of the concept of Greater Europe from Lisbon to Vladivostok, and the difficulties in the way of its realization. The author speaks about close historical and cultural ties connecting Russia and Europe, outward and mental resemblance of the peoples of Europe, including Russians.For the first time the theory of Greater Europe was considered in the works of geopoliticians of the beginning and the middle of the twentieth century. It is reflected in the plans to form a pan-European union, drawn by Charles De Gaulle and Michail Gorbachev. Analyzing the statements of modern Russian and European politicians one may come to the conclusion that both parties are mutually interested in the realization of the concept of Greater Europe. However, according to actual evidence, neither Russia, nor the European Union takes any decisive steps in getting closer. The article focuses on serious contradictions between Russia and the European Union on the basic principles underlying Greater Europe. The opposing views refer to the problems of equality in the sphere of strategic partnership, the energy dialogue and the construction of the post-Soviet territory. The author lays stress on the phenomenon of «integrations collision». The article also deals with the destabilizing role of the USA and some European states which actively promote the initiative of the «Eastern partnership». The Ukrainian crisis has become a major strength test in the relations between Russia and the European Union, which resulted in a vast credibility gap, the «war of sanctions», the disruption of business and political ties. Notwithstanding the complexity of the situation, calls for tightening up the connections between the European and Eurasian integration projects are becoming louder. This gives us hope that both parties will not only be able to keep historical ties, but also take steps in creating a common area from Lisbon to Vladivostok.

Working and communicating with and across nations and nationalities makes cultural differences a permanent part of everyday reality in multinational organisations like the European Commission. It has been frequently argued that nationality forms an important basis for forming networks in and around the European Union (EU) institutions due to the ease of establishing communication and connection resulting from sharing a culture. In the case of Commission officials, there are two competing forces that could potentially shape their networks: their nationality (via their cultural identity) and supranationality (via their organisational belonging). As an individual, Commission officials might prefer to form their networks with officials who are culturally similar to them since this eases communication and cooperation. The supranational values and the multinational setting of the Commission, however, might make such a preference impossible or inappropriate to put into practice. This is the overall puzzle underlying this research on the networking patterns of Commission officials. This book addresses the research questions, 'Do Commission officials have national networks? Why or why not?' It takes a systematic approach to investigating networks, beginning with the deconstruction of the concept itself. Theoretically and methodologically, this study takes a multidisciplinary angle by borrowing from and relying on theories and tools of public administration, political science, organisational sociology and anthropology. Empirical material constitutes the heart of this thesis, consisting of 82 interviews with Commission officials in four Directorates-General and five months of participant observation in the Commission. The data is analysed by combining qualitative and quantitative methods. The empirical evidence shows that same nationality contacts are the exception rather than the rule for task-related purposes. There are also no significant differences between nationalities in terms of 'sticking to each other'. The only exception is the case of large member state officials, an occurrence which is explained by the officials to be a sheer effect of numbers of officials each member state has. Officials do not contact fellow nationals just because they come from the same country. Nor do Commission officials allow cultural convenience to determine whom they will turn to. Commission officials are specialised in specific files which in some cases require very specific technical or scientific expertise. This is a world where the dividing lines are not drawn by country maps but by functional maps, the content of which are shaped by the needs and concerns of the policy sector officials belong to, given by the Directorate-General they are working in. Commission officials have gone beyond the myth of nationality through their international backgrounds and their experience in a multinational working environment.

Jean Monet Network EU-China: Comparative experiences and contributions to global governance in the fields of climate change, trade and competition. Co-funded by Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

Jean Monet Network EU-China: Comparative experiences and contributions to global governance in the fields of climate change, trade and competition. Co-funded by Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.