Suchergebnisse

The European Union is facing multiple challenges. Departing from mainstream theory, this article adopts a fresh approach to understanding integration. It does so by taking two theoretical steps. The first introduces the structure–agency debate in order to make explicit the relationship between macro-structures, the institutional arrangements at European Union level and agency. The second proposes that the state of integration should be understood as the outcome of contestation between competing hegemonic projects that derive from underlying social processes and that find their primary expression in domestic politics. These two steps facilitate an analysis of the key areas of contestation in the contemporary European Union, illustrated by an exploration of the current crisis in the European Union, and open up the development of an alternative, critical, theory of integration.

Presented by Eusepi (public finance, U. of Rome 'La Sapienza', Italy) and Schneider (economics and public finance, Johannes Kepler U. of Linz, Austria) nine papers, accompanied by critical commentary, address a variety of current issues in institutional European fiscal and monetary issues

The fact of postwar European integration is only half of an extraordinary story. The six founding countries were unique from their neighbors and from their own histories. After 1945, the Six recast their nationalisms not only to discard extremism, but also to adopt Europeanism -- an emotive drive to create unprecedented institutions of European unity. At the intersection of their Europeanized nationalisms and their interests, the Six founded the European Economic Community, the core of today's European Union (EU). The early Community answered security and economic concerns. But the place and timing of its postwar founding point to the third and crucial force, emotive solidarity. Only the Six transformed very strong national solidarity communities to include medium-strength European solidarity as an essential, broad, and deep national characteristic. Vanke explains and interprets the turning points in this process. And he undertakes a broad four-country comparison of political leaders, parliamentarians, newspaper columnists, and public opinion, to demonstrate the startlingly similar expressions of a "European family" between the Dutch, West Germans, and even the French, in sharp contrast to the British. Ironically, the transformed nationalisms themselves sustained Europeanism, not to displace nationalism but to reshape it. So concerned to integrate their countries, leaders in the Six tried several formulas until they found what worked, long after their neighbors rested satisfied with looser international organizations. From 1947 through the present, the founding Six nations have polled much more in favor of European union than have their neighbors. And Europeanism is so integral a part of their nationalisms, so sacralized and unassailable, that EU membership is overwhelmingly beyond reproach. Vanke's book tells why and how this came to be

Renewable energy sources (RESs) are able to reduce the European Union (EU)'s dependence on foreign energy imports, also meeting sustainable objectives to tackle climate change and to enhance economic opportunities. Energy management requires a quantitative analysis and the European Commission follows the performance of each Member State (MS) in order to define the corrective measures towards 2020 targets. Starting from historical data reported in the Eurostat database and through a mathematical model, this work proposes future trajectories towards 2020 of the share of energy from renewables (REs) in terms of gross final energy consumption (GFEC). Furthermore, a quantitative analysis based on two indices—(i) the share of REs in GFEC, and (ii) gross final renewable energy consumption (GFREC) per capita—permits a comparison among 28 MSs. The share of REs in GFEC in EU 28 varies from 19.4% to 21.8% in future trajectories towards 2020. Sweden and Finland occupy the top part of the ranking, while six MSs (Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom) are not able to reach the 2020 targets.

Abstract
Summary
This paper aims at showing how the concepts of national sovereignty and national identity are challenged by the digital revolution. In the age of modernism, both concepts were defined as a condition for society's loyalty to the political framework, but this long-established format changed with the new technologic developments. The digital revolution requires a postmodern – heterogeneous and fluid – idea of identity, as well as a post-modern idea of sovereignty, which is non-territorial, neither hierarchical. Therefore, the postmodern idea of sovereignty and the concept of identity are significant for the development of the concepts of digital sovereignty and European digital identity.

Con este artículo se trata de informar del recorrido histórico que ha tenido la dimensión europea, explicando en qué consisten los programas europeos, cómo se han creado, pasando a concretar dichos programas diseñados por el Parlamento Europeo: Iniciativas Sectoriales (Comenius, Erasmus, Leonardo Da Vinci, Grunding), Programa Transversal y Programa Jean Monet. También se realiza una reflexión de cómo las razones económicas, políticas y culturales (para formar ciudadanos europeos se ha de fomentar el conocimiento mutuo, la colaboración y el intercambio entre diferentes sectores) han ido fortaleciendo la dimensión europea de la educación. ; The aim of this article is to inform the European dimension of the historic journey, explaining the European programs, how they have been created, and implementing the programs designed by the European Parliament: Sectoral Initiatives (Comenius, Erasmus, Leonardo Da Vinci, Grunding), Transversal Program and Jean Monet Program. There is also a reflection on how economic, political and cultural reasons (in order to train European citizens to foster mutual knowledge, collaboration and exchange between different sectors) have strengthened the European dimension of education.

This paper examines economic and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development influence on recently increasing Internet purchases by individuals for European Union member states. After a growing trend for Internet purchases in EU27 was noticed, all possible regression analysis was applied using nine independent variables in 2011. Finally, two linear regression models were studied in detail. Conducted simple linear regression analysis confirmed the research hypothesis that the Internet purchases in analyzed EU countries is positively correlated with statistically significant variable Gross Domestic Product per capita (GDPpc). Also, analyzed multiple linear regression model with four regressors, showing ICT development level, indicates that ICT development is crucial for explaining the Internet purchases by individuals, confirming the research hypothesis.

The confidence that Informed Citizenry and their Economic Elites have in the European Union were assessed. Survey data, from the 2009 Eurobarometer 72.4 with a sample size of 8,499 citizens, from 27 European nations, were supplemented with interviews with two professionals knowledgeable about EU politics and content analyses of current events, such as the EU debt crisis, the rise in terrorist attacks, the British Referendum, and the immigration crisis. Although both citizens and elites were confident about the EU's future, voices of informed citizenry shaped the confidence in the EU more than economic elites. These findings substantiated the Systemic Coupling theoretical model more than the Power Elite model and contributed to the empirical literature on citizens' trust in the EU and transnational political systems. Additional cross-temporal examination of citizens' confidence in the EU and the roles of new media are warranted.

Este trabajo es una reflexión sobre los grandes desafíos de la UE en Derechos humanos. Se parte del papel histórico de Europa en los derechos humanos. Proponemos algunas medidas que se podrían adoptar para recuperar esa función. Asimismo, se identifican los principales problemas y las posibles soluciones. Por ejemplo, mantener la utopía de la modernidad, fortalecer la Unión social, ir contra el populismo y el nacionalismo, apoyar la sostenibilidad y la agenda 2030, entre otros ; This work is a reflection of the great challenges of the European Unión in the field of human rights. We start from the historical role of Europe in human rights. We propose some measures to recover that role. In the same way we identify the main problems and possible solutions. Among other, maintain the utopia of modernity, strengthen the social union, fight against populismo and nationalism, help soustainibility and 2030 Agenda

The paper derives a normative model for partial fiscal equalisation based on a number of axioms and makes special allowance for the existence of a specific fiscal need in the jurisdictions. A simple version of this idealised equalisation scheme relates net contributions to the equalisation funds to deviations of a jurisdiction's gross income from average gross income and a jurisdiction's specific needs from average specific needs. The theoretical model is then empirically tested for the case of the European Union using data from 1986-97. It is found that most restrictions of the model appear to hold, in particular, relatively richer countries contribute more and those with greater fiscal needs, approximated by the importance of the agricultural sector, pay less. However, in the EU, an adjustment of net payments to changes in the actual importance of the specific fiscal need for a country is lacking.