Suchergebnisse

The aims of the article are to analyse the legal status of English after Brexit and present possible scenarios for this language in the post-Brexit Union. Firstly, the article highlights the status of languages in the EU and depicts three major categories of languages in the EU: Treaty languages, official and working languages. Secondly, the article analyses two possible scenarios for retaining the official and working status of English through notifications by Ireland and Malta. Thirdly, the paper focuses on the third scenario of introducing English as a single EU official language. Finally, the article outlines the status quo of English in the EU after UK's withdrawal from the EU. It concludes that English is likely to remain the official and working language of the EU as a result of proper notification made by either Ireland or Malta.

This article analyzes how the concept of "representativeness/representativity" has been used by the European Union institutions to structure interest intermediation. It examines how the concept emerged and has been defined, and identifies its scope of application. "Representativeness" is mostly used to refer to organizational features of the interest groups (organizational representativeness), but is occasionally used in relation to representative aspects of the overall system of interest representation (system representativeness). The focus is primarily on aspects of "descriptive representativeness" -- in particular, territorial and thematic representativeness -- rather than on "procedural representativeness" that guarantees authorization and accountability. Originally applied to the social partners only, the White Paper on European Governance proposed to extend the use of representativeness to the wider category of civil society organizations. It will be shown that the application of the concept to these organizations proves more problematic than it does to the social partners. The European Transparency Initiative subsequently abandons representativeness, but it is argued that it contains the seeds for its re-emergence. Adapted from the source document.

"Im Vergleich mit Europa hat die Wirtschaft der USA eine weitaus höhere Rate der Arbeitsplatzbeschaffung aufzuweisen. Es ist jedoch nicht unbedingt ebenso offensichtlich, daß in den Vereinigten Staaten allgemein bedeutende regionale Unterschiede in der Zunahme von Erwerbsstellen gibt. Regionen, die schnell Arbeitsplätze beschaffen, haben meist auf dieser Tradition aufgebaut und sie fortgesetzt, während das gleiche umgekehrt auf Regionen mit relativ langsamen Wachstumsraten zutrifft. In Erwiderung auf wirtschaftliche Schocks macht sich zudem das relative regionale Muster der Arbeitsplatzbeschaffung erneut geltend. Im Zusammenhang mit der fortschreitenden Bewegung in Richtung Integration von Wirtschaft und Währung, die in der europäischen Union Anfang der achtziger Jahre einsetzte, nimmt die regionale Prägung der Erfahrungen in den USA zusätzlich an Bedeutung zu, und es erhebt sich die Frage, ob die Erfahrungen der USA ein Wegweiser für das Muster des Wandels regionaler Erwerbstätigkeit darstellen, das in ganz Europa im entstehen begriffen ist." (Autorenreferat)

Russia's unlawful annexation of the Crimea, the destabilization of eastern Ukraine, and the propaganda campaign against both the Maidan movement and the 'West' have caused a deep crisis in international relations. The estrangement between Russia and the European Union has grown worse. Germany and the EU should use this as an opportunity to correct their misperceptions about the character and interests of the Putin system, readjust their policy towards Ukraine and their eastern neighbors, and define long-term strategic options for developing these countries. This would give Germany and the EU a chance to recover their credibility and capacity for action. Adapted from the source document.

This paper examines spatial disparities in terms of development within EU countries, using data for 272 regions in the current 28 member states over the period 1996-2010. The analysis carried out confirms that within-country inequality is an important component of overall inequality across European regions. Indeed, regional inequality increased in most EU countries throughout the study period. The results also underline the relevance of national development for within-country inequality, although the relationship is not linear. The advances in national GDP per capita first increase regional inequality. However, beyond a threshold level, the link turns from positive to negative and richer countries tend to experience lower levels of regional inequality. Moreover, the opening of national borders to international markets is associated with higher regional inequality in the EU countries. At the same time, countries with better quality of government have lower levels of regional inequality. These results do not depend on the specific measure used to quantify the magnitude of regional disparities within the sample countries.

The author proves that the successful stability of independent Slovenia contributed to a number of factors, existing since its being incorporated in the SFRY. The factor, uniting the state has become the common goal – the aspiration to join the EU. The process of the European integration contributed to the modernization of a number of spheres, in particular social, cultural and economic ones. The global financial and economic crisis has revealed the turmoil in the economy of the state and its leadership was forced to gradually reduce a significant part of social privileges for the population. This caused the tension in the society and reduced the level of the national unity, having a negative impact on people's wellbeing.
However, since 2014, the Prime Minister M. Cherar has been trying to restore people's trust in the state. The situation is getting better; indicators of trust in government are increasing, which also points to state capacity and political regime stability in Slovenia.
Keywords: Slovenia, state stability, social sphere, government

Trade policy is a classic field for the study of private influence on policy-making. Firms and industries can gain clear advantages by protecting their markets from foreign competition or by gaining access to other countries. A large portion of the literature on international political economy therefore explains policy choices with reference to the demands of constituent interests (see Frieden and Martin 2002). For anybody interested in business lobbying, trade policy would seem to be the most appropriate place to start. And yet, comparing trade policy lobbying in the U.S. and the EU leaves many observers surprised. Aggressive business lobbying on trade issues is much less common in Brussels than it is in Washington, D.C. (e.g. Coen 1999; cf. Woll 2006). Shaffer (2003: 6) underlines that U.S. firms and trade associations are very proactive in business-government relations on trade policy. This "bottom-up" approach contrasts with the "top down" EU approach where public authority, in particular the European Commission, plays the predominant entrepreneurial role (.).

Trade policy is a classic field for the study of private influence on policy-making. Firms and industries can gain clear advantages by protecting their markets from foreign competition or by gaining access to other countries. A large portion of the literature on international political economy therefore explains policy choices with reference to the demands of constituent interests (see Frieden and Martin 2002). For anybody interested in business lobbying, trade policy would seem to be the most appropriate place to start. And yet, comparing trade policy lobbying in the U.S. and the EU leaves many observers surprised. Aggressive business lobbying on trade issues is much less common in Brussels than it is in Washington, D.C. (e.g. Coen 1999; cf. Woll 2006). Shaffer (2003: 6) underlines that U.S. firms and trade associations are very proactive in business-government relations on trade policy. This "bottom-up" approach contrasts with the "top down" EU approach where public authority, in particular the European Commission, plays the predominant entrepreneurial role (.).

Background More than 120 000 people are diagnosed annually with bladder cancer in the 28 countries of the European Union (EU). With >40 000 people dying of it each year, it is the sixth leading cause of cancer. However, to date, no systematic cost-of-illness study has assessed the economic impact of bladder cancer in the EU. Objective To estimate the annual economic costs of bladder cancer in the EU for 2012. Design, setting, and participants Country-specific cancer cost data were estimated using aggregate data on morbidity, mortality, and health care resource use, obtained from numerous international and national sources. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis Health care costs were estimated from expenditures on primary, outpatient, emergency, and inpatient care, as well as medications. Costs of unpaid care and lost earnings due to morbidity and early death were estimated. Results and limitations Bladder cancer cost the EU €4.9 billion in 2012, with health care accounting for €2.9 billion (59%) and representing 5% of total health care cancer costs. Bladder cancer accounted for 3% of all cancer costs in the EU (€143 billion) in 2012 and represented an annual health care cost of €57 per 10 EU citizens, with costs varying >10 times between the country with the lowest cost, Bulgaria (€8 for every 10 citizens), and highest cost, Luxembourg (€93). Productivity losses and informal care represented 23% and 18% of bladder cancer costs, respectively. The quality and availability of comparable cancer-related data across the EU need further improvement. Conclusions Our results add to essential public health and policy intelligence for delivering affordable bladder cancer care systems and prioritising the allocation of public research funds. Patient summary We looked at the economic costs of bladder cancer across the European Union (EU). We found bladder cancer to cost €4.9 billion in 2012, with health care accounting for €2.9 billion. Our study provides data that can be used to inform affordable cancer care ...

Abstract. The Mediterranean remains a crucial area for the EU. Among other things, it is the Union's gateway to the crucial oil of the Gulf states, therefore political stability in the region is vital. This paper looks at EU attempts to forge a relationship with the Mediterranean through particularly the ENP. It concludes with the realisation that it reamins a 'region under construction', and offers some insights gained from an analysis of successful interregionalism offered by the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) process, and highlights some common as well as diverging features between these two forms of cooperation.