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"It's a cacophony. It's ridiculous". This is how an EU diplomat described the flow of EU statements following the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas. The divergent reactions reveal the existence of institutional tensions about the Union's external representation, which undermine the coherence and credibility of the EU's external action. The war between Israel and Hamas concerns issues of foreign and security policy. Whether one likes it or not, this is an area where the Commission has a more limited role – also with respect to external representation. A certain restraint or, at the very least, closer coordination with the Member States and the European External Action Service could have been expected.

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Pervasive use of ethnic and religious stereotypes by law enforcement across Europe is harming efforts to combat crime and terrorism, according to this report released by the Open Society Justice Initiative. Ethnic profiling occurs most often in police decisions about who to stop, question, search, and, at times, arrest. Yet there is no evidence that ethnic profiling actually prevents terrorism or lowers crime rates. Throughout Europe, minorities and immigrant communities have reported discriminatory treatment by the police. From massive data mining operations to intimidating identity checks, ethnic profiling is often more of a public relations stunt than a real response to crime. The report, Ethnic Profiling in the European Union: Pervasive, Ineffective, and Discriminatory, details widespread profiling in France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, and other EU member states.--Publisher description

Der Autor schildert Entstehung und Entwicklung des Nationalismus in Europa sowie dessen ideologische Grundlagen und Wurzeln. Am Beispiel des tschechischen Nationalismus zeigt er die Schwierigkeiten der Nationalisten und die Grenzen des Nationalismus. Das Phänomen des Nationalismus äußert sich seit dem 2. Weltkrieg in Ost- und Westeuropa grundsätzlich verschieden. Im Westen können sich nationalistische Bestrebungen viel besser entfalten, werden aber durch die pluralistische Gesellschafrsstruktur teilweise absorbiert. Im Osten werden sie durch die kommunistischen Regimes, mit Ausnahme Jugoslawiens, wegen des Interessenkonflikts zwischen Nationalismus und Kommunismus unterdrückt. (BIOst-Rsg)

The planned broadening of the common internal market into an economic and monetary union as proposed in the Delors Plan means a significant qualitative leap in the process of European integration, which should ultimately lead to political union in Europe. Is this objective realistic? In what ways could it be achieved?

The constitutional treaty of the EU failed. Why so? Does this failure indicate the end of European integration & the beginning of re-nationalization of European politics? This contribution argues that the failure of the constitutional treaty is due to a process of politicization of the EU. As a result, political processes beyond the nation state are judged increasingly not just on the basis of their effectiveness, but also in terms of the criteria for good political order, such as fairness & legitimacy. The respective governments of the EU member states, however, publicly still take an instrumental approach to the EU. This is doomed to failure & thus the future of the European project is open. Either politics adapts to the new evaluation criteria for European integration or a partial re-nationalization of European politics is indeed likely. References. Adapted from the source document.

This article addresses the question of legitimacy, both in a general theoretical perspective and more specifically in relation to policy making in the European Union. It is argued that Jürgen Habermas' recent theories of discursive will formation provide a useful frame work for understanding the current problems of legitimacy in European policy making. The main proposition is the central connection between communication and legitimacy, and it is argued that improving the communicative character of policy making should be a central aspect of the democratization efforts in Western Europe.

The international monitoring of public finances in EMU member states is an essential element of the Stability and Growth Pact. Part of evaluating government budgets involves determining the sustainability of the envisaged consolidation measures. The academic and political debate on this topic emphasises various criteria which suggest persistent consolidation efforts. The academic literature stresses the contribution which government consumption and transfer payments make to reducing the deficit. The literature . also indicates a significant reversal in previous trends which had been responsible for expanding the deficit. In its Convergence Report of 1998 and in background studies, the European Commission cited the reduction of primary expenditure as a criterion of sustainability. Although various criteria have been mentioned in the debate, it is important to note that the empirical support for these criteria is based largely on the same data and methods, which are subject to certain shortcomings . ; Die internationale Überwachung der Entwicklung öffentlicher Finanzen in den Mitgliedstaaten der EWWU ist wesentlicher Bestandteil des Stabilitäts-und Wachstumspaktes. Teil der Bewertung der Staatshaushalte ist es, die Dauerhaftigkeit der angestrebten Konsolidierungsmaßnabmen zu beurteilen. Die wissenschaftliche und politische Diskussion zu diesem Thema betont verschiedene Kriterien, die auf anhaltende Konsolidierungsbemübungen hinweisen. In der wissenschaftlichen Literatur wird zum einen der Beitrag des Regierungskonsums und der Transferleistungen zur Verringerung des Defizits hervorgehoben. Darüber hinaus verweist die Literatur darauf, daß die Umkehrung vorheriger Trends, die für die Ausweitung des Defizits verantwortlich waren, von Bedeutung ist. Die Europäische Kommission hat in ihrem Konvergenzbericht von 1998 und in Hintergrundstudien die Reduzierung der primären Ausgaben als Nachhaltigkeitskriterium genannt. Obwohl verschiedene Kriterien in der Diskussion genannt werden, ist festzustellen, daß die empirische Fundierung dieser Kriterien weitgehend auf denselben Daten und Methoden beruhen, mit denen sich aber gewisse Nachteile verbinden .

The European Union's discourse as a security actor evolved after 2003 most spectacularly in its spatial dimension, determined by both internal developments of the EU and external ones of the security environment. As a security actor consecrated in the first decade of the years 2000 by means of the European Security and Defense Policy and as a pacifying force on the European continent through the process of enlargement, the EU gradually aimed further and further, in order to stabilise states and regions, to promote a comprehensive concept of security and to protect its citizens, according to the dicton that "the first line of defense starts abroad". Hence the continuous expansion of the geographical scope of both the EU's representation as a security actor and of its actions This paper aims at exploring the discursive construction of the EU's security identity, with a special focus on the geographical boundaries of the EU's self-representation as an international security actor.

This report describes a British Library funded research project which investigated the provision of European information in public libraries in the United Kingdom, and in particular the implementation of the Public Information Relay - a European Commission initiative designed to bring EU information closer to the British public through the existing public library network. The key elements of the project included: a questionnaire-based survey of all public library authorities participating in the PIR (response rate: 117 out of 154, i.e. 76%), which examined past and present levels of European information provision, the manner in which the PIR service was being implemented, and any potential problems and solutions; a series of 8 case study visits to a representative sample of PIR members; and a survey of the European information needs of over 370 users in Aberdeen City, Glasgow City and Moray District Libraries. In addition, the project team organised a seminar, which was held at the Representation of the European Commission in London on 25th June 1996, and was attended by some 47 delegates from UK public library authorities and other interested parties, including the Society of Chief Librarians in England and Wales, the Scottish Library and Information Council, and the Library and Information Commission. The purpose of this event was to allow feedback and qualitative response from practitioners on the results of the project to date. The report discusses the background to the PIR and the literature to date, as well as the project's methodology and major findings. The project found that libraries were making very positive efforts to develop their European information services, but that there were concerns about the future development and resourcing of membership of the Relay. While the support of the European Commission was seen as valuable by respondents, the majority of libraries served a wider community of need than was envisaged by the remit of the PIR, in particular being heavily used for educational and ...