Suchergebnisse

'In der Ratifikationsphase zum Vertrag über eine Verfassung für Europa wird die Frage diskutiert, ob und unter welchen Rahmenbedingungen die Methode des Konvents erfolgreich war, worin die Vorteile des Konvents gegenüber den Regierungskonferenzen bestehen und für welche Bereiche zukünftiger Vertragsrevisionen sich diese Methode empfiehlt. Wesentlich für den Erfolg des Konvents war seine Zusammensetzung und die daraus resultierenden Interessenkonstellationen und Verhandlungsverfahren. Erst in seiner letzten Redaktionsphase wurde der sach- und konsensorientierte Beratungsstil des Konvents eingeschränkt. Ursächlich hierfür war die Verdichtung der verbleibenden Reformfragen auf institutionelle Machtfragen und die zunehmende Mobilisierung nationaler Veto-Potentiale gegenüber dem Konvent. Die Entwicklung hin zum klassischen Muster der Regierungskonferenz war unvermeidbar, weil institutionelle Reformen zwangsläufig die Machtbalance zwischen den EU-Organen und zwischen den Staaten verändern. Das Verdienst des eher gemeinschaftlich orientierten, auf die Überzeugungskraft der Argumente setzenden Konvents lag vor allem darin, die Konsenskorridore für die Regierungskonferenz markiert zu haben. Die Analyse der Erfolgsbedingungen des Konventsmodells und der spezifischen, im Verfassungsvertrag normierten Felder für Vertragsänderungsverfahren lässt folgende Bereiche für zukünftige Konventsprozesse geeignet erscheinen: die Reform bzw. Aktualisierung der Kompetenzordnung der EU; die Reform und Vereinfachung des institutionellen und verfahrensrelevanten Rechtssystems der EU; die Reform und eventuelle Integration des Euratom-Vertrages in den Korpus des EU-Vertrags einschließlich der Begründung einer konsistenten Ressourcenpolitik der EU; der Modus zur Inkraftsetzung von Vertragsrevisionen.' (Autorenreferat)

WHEREAS OTHER SUB-NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS HAVE HAD TO CONSTRUCT RESPONSES TO THE CHALLENGES OF EUREOPAN INTEGRATION IN REACTION TO ONGOING DEVELOPMENTS IN THE INTEGRATION PROCESS, THE AUSTRIAN LANDER NEGOTIATED CHANNELS OF EUROPEAN POLICY INPUT BEFORE AUSTRIAN ACCESSION TO THE UNION. THIS ARTICLE SETS OUT WHAT THEY ACHIEVED. THEY HAVE SECURED EXTENSIVE RIGHTS OF INPUT, ALONG WITH A STRONG BASE IN BRUSSELS, BOTH LARGELY MODELED ON THE EXAMPLE SET BY THE GERMAN LANDER. IT IS CLEAR THAT THE AUSTRIAN LANDER HAVE SETTLED ON A SELECTIVELY FOCUSED MOBILIZATION OF THEIR RIGHTS.

337 Relationship of international law and municipal law — Conduct of foreign relations — Treaty-making power — France — French Constitution — Article 54 — Constitutional review of exercise of treaty-making power — Treaty on European Union, 1992 ("Maastricht Treaty") — Compatibility with French ConstitutionTreaties — Conclusion and operation — Constitutional limitations — Accession of France to Treaty on European Union, 1992 — Extension of powers of European Community — Compatibility with French Constitution — Whether special constitutional amendments required prior to ratification — Obligation for Member States to allow nationals of one Member State resident in another Member State to participate in municipal elections — Obligations for Member States inherent in operation of common monetary and exchange rate policy — Obligations for Member States inherent in operation of common visa policy for nationals of third States crossing the Community's external borders — Whether compliance with these obligations constituting limitation of national sovereignty — Scope of permissible transfer of sovereignty to European Community institutions under French ConstitutionInternational organizations — European Community — Institutions — European Parliament — Legal nature — Whether forming part of institutional orders of Member States — Whether participating in exercise of national sovereignty — Extension of right to vote in elections for European Parliament to nationals of a Member State resident in another Member State — Whether subject to national constitutional reviewHuman rights — Procedure for enforcement — European Community — Scope of protection of human rights within the Community — Treaty on European Union, Article F(2) — European Convention on Human Rights, 1950 — Significance for the European Community — Importance of case law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities in securing respect for fundamental rights — General principles of Community law — Constitutional traditions common to Member StatesHuman rights — Procedure for enforcement — Rights under French Constitution — Rights under Treaty on European Union, Article F(2) — Complementary roles of Court of Justice of European Communities and national courts in securing respect for fundamental rights — Whether adequately guaranteeing rights and freedoms of citizens under French Constitution338 Aliens — Acquisition of citizenship — European Community — Establishment of citizenship of European Union — Effect on nationals of one Member State resident in another Member State — Entitlement of such persons to vote in municipal elections — Entitlement of such persons to vote in elections to European ParliamentAliens — Right of entry — European Community — Extension of powers under Treaty on European Union — Provisions for operation of common visa policy for nationals of third States crossing the Community's external bordersEconomics, trade and finance — European Community — Economic and monetary union — Treaty on European Union, 1992 — Provisions for operation of common monetary and exchange rate policy — The law of France

The tasks and responsibilities of the institutions, which are specified by the EU treaties, have been subject to scholarly debate. With the changes that are occurring in the EU political system, an emphasis is placed on the question of how much the principle of subsidiarity can advance the practice of integration in terms of the decision-making capacity of the institutions. A particular attention is paid to the question of whether principle can have major positive effects by helping to shape the institutions within which democracy can operate. This paper explores the possible impact of the principle on the EU institutions.

'Nach seiner Wahl wird der neue russische Präsident Putin wichtige innen- und wirtschaftspolitische Richtungsentscheidungen treuen müssen, die auch das Verhältnis zur Europäischen Union beeinflussen werden. Aller Voraussicht nach wird das Rußland Putins weder eine Demokratie europäischen Typs sein noch ein repressiver Autoritarismus, sondern eher eine gelenkte oder 'manipulierte' Demokratie. Diese Variante würde zwar keine wirkliche Partnerschaft EU - Rußland im Sinne eines Grundkonsenses über Werte und Prinzipien bei der Gestaltung von Staat und Gesellschaft zulassen, wohl aber eine umfassende pragmatische und berechenbare Kooperation möglich machen. Tatsächlich zeichnet sieh bei großen Teilen der russischen Eliten eine Tendenz ab, gerade zu EU-Europa besonders enge Beziehungen zu pflegen und der europäischen Richtung Vorrang vor, allen anderen 'strategischen Partnerschaften' einzuräumen. Die vorliegende Untersuchung befaßt sich mit den neuesten Moskauer Tendenzen und ihren Motiven auf den Feldern Politik, Sicherheitspolitik und Wirtschaft. Dabei stützt sie sich auf zentrale -russische Dokumente wie die 'Mittelfristige Strategie' Rußlands gegenüber der EU, auf Positionsbeschreibungen hochrangiger Politiker sowie auf einschlägige jüngste Buch- und Zeitschriftenpublikationen aus Moskau.' (Textauszug)

International organizations (IOs) have moved increasingly in recent years to adopt cross-cutting mandates that require the "mainstreaming" of particular issues, such as gender equality or environmental protection, across all IO policies. Successful IO performance with respect to such mandates, we hypothesize, is determined in large part by the use of hard or soft institutional measures to shape the incentives of sectoral officials whose cooperation is required for successful implementation. We test this hypothesis with respect to two such mandates—gender mainstreaming and environmental policy integration—in a single international organization, the European Union, demonstrating a strong causal link between the use of hard incentives and IO performance in these and related mandates.

This paper provides a critical and historical perspective on the use of the language of 'development cooperation' in characterizations of post-colonial relations between the West and Africa. Using the example of the post-colonial debates over cultural and economic restitution between Congo and its former colonizer Belgium, this paper narrates the historical process by which the post-colonial relations between the two countries became defined as 'development cooperation', and the implications of that process. The paper shows that since its political independence in 1960 until the late 1980s, the language in which Congo/Zaire described its 'cooperation' with its former Belgian colonizer was one that emphasised restitution, while Belgium insisted on a language of 'development cooperation' (ontwikkelingssamenwerking). The paper argues that the prevalence of the use of the development cooperation language today not only obscures the historical process behind its ascent; it also masks inequalities that are deeply characteristic of the post-colonial relations between the two countries.

This book discusses how democracy becomes the key element in the linkage between the EU and its member states, using France and Belgium as examples. The contributors focus on democratic aspects of the key EU institutions.