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The second challenging period (after the «eurosclerosis» of the 70-th) in the history of European integration has been going on for eight years. Measures taken by the EU institutions prevented the disintegration of the euro area, but the crisis is not over. We distinguish its four main consequences for the integration: 1) growing federalization of the euro zone, 2) a switch from multi-speed to a two- or three-tier integration model, 3) economization of decision-making process in the euro area, and 4) clearer demarcation of borders within the EU and with its neighbours. The rotation in the ECB Governing Council that may start in 2015, is likely to consolidate the leadership of the "hard core" countries in the decisionmaking process. Further communitarization of the economic part of the EMU makes it more difficult for newcomers to join the euro area and practically closes this window of opportunity for the Great Britain. The crisis revealed the objective limits of EU enlargement, the accession of Turkey became hardly realistic, as well as the start of accession negotiations with Ukraine. The return to a sustainable development of the EU countries requires deep modernization of the European economy and society. However, the ways of this modernization has not been determined yet. It is clear that further accumulation of wealth and growing consumption cannot be a solution. The headline targets and indicators of the "Europe 2020" strategy will be implemented only partially. Modernization process will be hampered by the lack of funding for basic science, which occurred due to the end of the "cold war", as well as social factors whose role in the economic progress had been previously underestimated. Upgrading the EU integration strategy will be possible after the elections to the European Parliament and the appointment of the new Commission in 2014.

Executive Summary Energy consumption is a major cause of carbon dioxide emission, and also largely determines the uncontrolled emissions of many other pollutants. In consequence, energy scenarios are key inputs to the projection of pollution emission, and the formulation of strategies to reduce pollution and achieve environmental objectives. Alternative energy strategies including behavioral change, demand management, energy efficiency, and low carbon fuels are explored in this report. In addition to abating greenhouse gas emissions, these strategies can facilitate cheaper and greater abatement of other atmospheric pollutants as compared to higher carbon scenarios. In general, achieving a given air pollution emission target costs less in a low carbon scenario than in a high carbon scenario. This work is aimed at producing policies that exploit the positive synergy between strategies to limit global warming, and strategies for reaching other environmental objectives such as reduced acidification and improved air quality. Low carbon energy scenarios can improve energy security by reducing the consumption if finite fuels and reducing import requirements. The given objective was to produce scenarios in which the total emission of carbon dioxide from the twenty-five countries of the European Union is reduced by at least 30% over the period 1990 to 2020. To this end scenarios have been produced for each of the twenty-five EU countries taking into account recent historical data and assumed economic and population growths taken from other studies, and selections of policies measures. The scenarios show that, as compared to 1990, CO2 reductions of more than 30% are feasible by 2020, and that larger reductions are possible, especially in the longer term as technologies with long lifetimes such as power stations, are replaced. Data from the energy scenarios were input to the GAINS (Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies) model of IIASA (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis), and the reductions in air pollution and the costs of air pollution control were there calculated. Apart from emission control, the policy options lead to a reduction in the import of finite fossil and fissile fuels into the EU and so they enhance supply security in a world with increasing competition for these dwindling resources. The policies required to implement the technical changes to demand and energy systems assumed have not been explored here. ; Svensk sammanfattning Produktion och konsumtion av energi är viktiga källor till utsläpp av koldioxid och andra luftföroreningar. Därför är energiscenarier viktiga vid upprättandet av strategier för att minska luftföroreningars miljöpåverkan. I denna rapport behandlas alternativa energistrategier för EU 25 som inkluderar livsstilsförändringar, efterfrågestyrning, energieffektivisering och användandet av bränslen med låg kolhalt. Jämfört med att enbart titta på varje förorening eller växthusgas för sig kan samordnade strategier leda till större utsläppsminskningar till en lägre kostnad. Syftet med denna rapport är att visa på de positiva synergier som finns mellan begränsningar av växthuseffekten och strategier för att uppnå andra miljömål såsom minskad försurning och förbättrad luftkvalitet. Alternativa energiscenarier som ger minskningar av koldioxidutsläppen på mer än 30 % över EU fram till år 2020 jämfört med 1990, har tagits fram och effekterna på andra luftföroreningar och kostnader studerats med hjälp av den så kallade GAINS modellen.

The 2015 Paris Agreement and the accompanying Paris Decision recognise the importance of climate actions by non-state actors, such as businesses, civil society organisa¬tions, cities, regions and cooperative initiatives, to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) and to adapt to climate change as necessary complements to governmental commitments. Prominent international platforms, such as the Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action (NAZCA) by the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Climate Initiatives Platform ad¬min-istered by the United Nations Environmental Pro¬gramme/Technical University of Denmark (UNEP/DTU) Part¬ner¬ship, have greatly improved the visibility of such actions. Within this dynamic field of non-state climate action, non-state actors based in the European Union (EU) can be considered global leaders. Actions led by EU-based actors represent most initiatives registered with UNFCCC's NAZCA platform. Moreover, individual member states have played leading roles in the Global Climate Action Agenda (also known as the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action). A recent study by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the German Develop¬ment Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwick¬lungs¬politk (DIE) moreover finds that actions led by EU-based non-state actors are performing well compared with the global average (EESC, 2018). However, the implementation of non-state actions is not evenly distributed. In absolute terms, existing initiatives in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) are underrepresented. Moreover, few actions led by EU-based non-state actors are recorded in international platforms in areas such as forestry, transport and construction (EESC, 2018). The need for more, and more effective, non-state actions is evident given the fact that current EU climate policies are inconsistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement. According to the Climate Action Tracker, the EU's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) is insufficient; if all govern¬ments had targets similar to the EU, global warming could exceed 2°C and possibly even 3°C. Non-state actors could make important additional mitiga¬tion and adaptation contributions, both directly, for example, through new installations, as well as indirectly, for example, by encouraging behavioural change. Moreover, they could inspire governments and the EU to be more ambi¬tious. However, currently non-state actions are not easy to track. Despite a strong focus on climate mitigation, most actions led by EU-based actors do not set clear GHG reduction targets. In addition, many relevant actions remain unrecorded. This paper explores what is necessary to accelerate non-state actions and enhance their effectiveness in the EU and as a solution suggests that a light-touch framework be implemented to stimulate bottom-up climate actions. This framework should respond to the needs and challenges experienced by a range of stakeholders while building on existing efforts. Moreover, a well-designed framework could help address the imbalances identified in this study.

After the Global Financial Crisis the frequency of reported losses of companies has increased significantly in countries of the European Union. Moreover, the financial leverage of companies have increased and even exceeded 100% in several countries. The reason of this development is negative equity that companies find themselves to report. At first sight negative equities are caused by accumulated losses from prior periods. However, there are some other reasons that can result in increasing negative equities in companies. They remain adequate as long as a company is able to pay its bills. Nevertheless, a company with negative equity is exposed to risks. This paper investigates whether the corporate negative equity is a sign of the future failure of a company. We examine non-financial manufactured companies from selected countries of the European Union within the period 2005-2012 from database Amadeus (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Germany). By the means of comparison between negative and positive equities we applied descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis. We find that in all surveyed countries the size positively influences the equity of companies. Other factors as profitability and growth opportunities do not influence the corporate equity. In addition the binary logistic regression analysis has been conducted based on the evidence from Czech companies. Our results indicate that negative equities are not a sign of bankruptcy or insolvency of a company. But the low profitability or low business activities (that are predictors of bankruptcy) might lead to negative equities in the balance sheet.

Explores the response of European trade unions to the 1990s steel crisis; view that union response has been highly traditional and unsuited to the new challenges; Western Europe, chiefly.

The article analyses the development of Denmark's European policy during the last decade on the basis of two theoretical approaches, Goldmann's change theory and Putnam's two-level analysis. During the period analysed, Danish policies towards European Union changed dramatically, mainly due to adaptation to external change, but learning experiences and changing policy-making setups also played a role. At the same time the formulation of Denmark's European policy was an almost paradigmatic example of the decision-makers' problems with playing simultaneously external and internal integration games and of defining `win-sets', i.e. solutions which are compatible with both their external and domestic environments.

Emrullah Uslu is a doctoral candidate at the Middle East Center, University of Utah. He has worked as a policy analyst for the Turkish National Police.

Discursive identities/identity discourses and political power / Richard Mole -- A discourse theory of ethnic identity / Don Ellis -- The tale-end of history : literary form, historiography and the (post)-national imagination in Denmark / C. Claire Thomson -- "Doing Europe" : the discursive construction of European identities / Ruth Wodak -- Shifting discourses : banal nationalism and cultural intimacy in Greek television news and everyday life / Mirca Madianou -- The power of metaphor : consent, dissent and revolution / Erik Ringmar -- Post-liberal anxieties and discourses of peoplehood in Europe : nationalism, xenophobia and racism / Gerard Delanty and Peter Millward -- Talking security? The discourse of European identity in the Baltic states / Richard Mole -- It's about time-is Europe old or new? / Jan Ifversen -- Narratives of security : strategy and identity in the European context / Felix Ciut -- Conclusion : revisiting discourse, identity and "Europe" / Richard Mole and Felix Ciut

Studying Elite Cohesion in Six European Democracies5 Inter-Sectoral Cohesion in Political Communication; Measures of Inter-Sectoral Cohesion; Inter-Sectoral Cohesion from North to South; Principles, Patterns and Stances of Inter-Sectoral Elite Cohesion; Summary: Cohesion between Media and Political Elites; 6 Intra-Sectoral Cohesion of Media and Political Elites; Measures of Intra-Sectoral Cohesion; Attitudinal Congruence on the Sectoral Level; Patterns of Intra-Sectoral Cohesion; Role Specialization; Summary: Intra-Sectoral Cohesion; 7 Elite Cohesion as an Explanatory Factor. - The first comprehensive analysis of the political communication elite - high-ranking journalists, editors, politicians and their communication advisors - that shapes the content and form of political messages, news, debate and decisions in modern democracies

In this paper, the introduction of direct-democratic decision-making in all EU decisions is considered when it is feasible without prohibitively increasing decision-making costs. We start with the contractarian argument that each constitution is a contract joining the citizens of a state and requires as such the explicit agreement of (a majority of) citizens. Thus, the future European Constitution as well as future changes of it should be decided by the European citizens. After a discussion of the pros and cons of direct democracy, the ability of direct democracy to help creating a European demos is discussed. Consequently, we propose a mandatory (required and binding) referendum on total and partial revisions of the European Constitution. In addition, we propose a constitutional initiative, a statutory and a general initiative as well as a fiscal referendum for financially important projects.

In this paper, the introduction of direct-democratic decision-making in all EU decisions is considered when it is feasible without prohibitively increasing decision-making costs. We start with the contractarian argument that each constitution is a contract joining the citizens of a state and requires as such the explicit agreement of (a majority of) citizens. Thus, the future European Constitution as well as future changes of it should be decided by the European citizens. After a discussion of the pros and cons of direct democracy, the ability of direct democracy to help creating a European demos is discussed. Consequently, we propose a mandatory (required and binding) referendum on total and partial revisions of the European Constitution. In addition, we propose a constitutional initiative, a statutory and a general initiative as well as a fiscal referendum for financially important projects.