Suchergebnisse

"Am 1. Januar 2008 übernahm Slowenien als erster neuer EU-Mitgliedstaat die Ratspräsidentschaft der Europäischen Union. Am 13./14. März 2008 musste das Land nun erstmals seine Fähigkeiten als Vorsitzender des Gipfeltreffens der EU-Staats- und Regierungschefs unter Beweis stellen. Spektakuläre Initiativen waren aus Ljubljana jedoch nicht unbedingt zu erwarten, das Land konzentriert sich seit der Übernahme des EU-Vorsitzes vielmehr eher darauf, die laufende Agenda der Union möglichst reibungslos abzuarbeiten. Auch aus einem anderen Grund sollten politisch heikle Vorstöße oder öffentlich ausgetragene Kontroversen möglichst vermieden werden: Seit der Unterzeichnung des Vertrags von Lissabon am 13. Dezember 2007 verfolgt die EU einen auffallend ruhigen und ergebnisorientierten Kurs, um den laufenden Ratifikationsprozess zum neuen Vertragswerk und insbesondere das im Juni dazu anstehende Referendum in Irland möglichst nicht zu stören. Die Ergebnisse des EU-Frühjahrsgipfels umfassen folgende Punkte: Festlegung des neuen Programmzyklus der Lissabon-Strategie 2008-2010; Klimawandel und Energie; Stabilität der Finanzmärkte; die 'Union für den Mittelmeerraum'." (Autorenreferat)

Given the centrality of corporations in distribution of income and wealth studies, discursive constructions of corporate taxation are essential to understanding the production of inequality. The focus of this study is an interview with Apple's Chief Executive Tim Cook on the Irish state broadcaster, Raidió Teilifís Éireann's (RTÉ) flagship news programme, Morning Ireland, following the ruling by the European Commission (EC) on the corporation tax arrangements between Apple Inc. and Ireland. Drawing on a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) approach, a frame analysis is provided. The significance and extent of the EC's ruling has potential implications for corporation taxation policy, within and beyond the European Union (EU), which provides a timely reflection in the Brexit era and in the context of rising economic nationalism generally. Thus, the discursive construction of this ruling in the media is of importance in understanding how inequality is produced and reproduced, and journalism's role therein.

Over the last decade, much controversy has surrounded the usage of genetically modified organism (GMO) technology in commercial agriculture. More specifically, it is feared that GMOs may introduce new allergens into the food chain or contribute to antibiotic resistance. At the current time, the European Union (EU) adopts a zero tolerance policy toward "non-approved" GMO imports, whilst the approval process has not kept pace with the proliferation of new GMO varieties. In the EU livestock sectors, this apparent mis-match threatens to interrupt supplies of high protein feed inputs (e.g., soymeal) from countries with more relaxed regulations regarding GMOs. Employing a well known multi-region computable general equilibrium framework, this study quantitatively assesses the impact of a hypothetical EU import ban on unapproved GMO varieties of soybean and maize imports on livestock, meat and dairy sectors. The model code is heavily modified to improve the characterisation of the agricultural sectors and land usage, whilst a realistic baseline is employed to update the global database to 2008, the year the hypothetical ban is implemented. In the "worst case" scenario, there are significant competitive losses in EU livestock, meat and dairy sectors. In Spain, the negative impacts are particularly pronounced given the importance of pig production in agriculture. In contrast, all non-EU regions' trade balances improve, with notable trade gains in the USA and Brazil. To conclude, the EU must urgently find a long term strategy for GMOs if it is to reconcile political expediency with pragmatic economic concerns. ; El uso de organismos genéticamente modificados (OMGs) en los sectores agro-ganaderos ha desatado mucha polémica. En particular, se teme que puedan introducir nuevos alérgenos dentro de la cadena agroalimentaria, o subir el nivel de tolerancia hacia los antibióticos. Actualmente, la Unión Europea (UE) aplica tolerancia cero hacia las importaciones de OMGs "no-aprobados", aunque la tasa de aprobación no se mantiene en paridad con la proliferación de nuevas variantes de OMGs. En la UE, este desajuste podría interrumpir los suministros de piensos con alto contenido proteico desde los países que aceptan el uso de OMGs. En este estudio se emplea un modelo de equilibrio general computable mundial, para analizar el impacto de una prohibición hipotética de las importaciones de soja y maíz transgénicos no-aprobados sobre los sectores ganaderos con orientación cárnica y láctea. Se modifica intensamente el modelo para reflejar con más precisión el sector agrario y el uso de la tierra. Además, se emplea un "baseline" realista para actualizar la economía global hasta 2008, año en que se implanta la prohibición. En el peor escenario planteado, se dan pérdidas grandes en los sectores ganaderos, tanto de carne como de leche, en la UE, mientras en España el impacto es peor debido a la importancia del sector de porcino. En contraste, terceros países experimentan ganancias en sus balanzas comerciales, especialmente EEUU y Brasil. En conclusión, la UE debe adoptar una estrategia sobre los OMGs para reconciliar las amenazas económicas potenciales sobre los sectores ganaderos con las preocupaciones sanitarias.

This report presents some of the key findings of a research project, funded by the British Library Research and Innovation Centre, which investigated the provision of European Union information in UK public libraries. The project focused, in particular, on the implementation of the Public Information Relay (PIR) - a European Commission initiative designed to bring European Union information closer to the British public through the existing public library network. This chapter presents findings from a survey of 117 public library authorities in the PIR network, and a survey of 372 users of the public libraries in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Moray.

This analysis undertakes a preliminary conceptual assessment of the international agency of the European Union (EU) and China in Central Asia. The contention is that the strategies advanced by both Brussels and Beijing in the region reflect not only their desire to introduce a framework of predictability allowing them to make feasible calculations about future intentions, but also the increasing 'fragmegration' of international life. The contention is that the external agency of the EU and China attests to the normative power of their foreign policies. However, the values and norms of the international agency of Brussels and Beijing reflect their distinct experiences and suggest their clashing interests. The article concludes with a brief appraisal of the prospective trends in EU-China interactions in Central Asia.

This book provides a thorough exploration of the history of the European Union, tracing its development from inception to recent times. It is the first book of its kind to contextualize the history of the EU within the wider frames of European and global history. The volume also breaks new ground by successfully highlighting the roles individuals, member states, transnational actors and European institutions played in both advancing and slowing down European integration in the EU. With chapters from leading academics in the UK, the US and across Europe who draw on sources in a variety of languages, the book presents a balanced and comprehensive account of this sometimes controversial Union. It is made up of three main parts which in turn cover: · A narrative survey of the EU, · A historical analysis of the key institutions and policies, · Critical themes and vital geographical spaces. The book also contains a historiographical essay which handily charts the literature in the field, as well as 50 illuminating images, a range of maps, text boxes and primary source extracts, a bibliography and a useful glossary.

Die EU ist weltweit in zahlreiche zivile und militärische Missionen involviert. Zumindest seitdem die Grundrechte-Charta der EU (GRC) Rechtsverbindlichkeit erlangt hat, stellt sich die Frage, wer insbesondere bei militärischen Operationen für die Einhaltung von Menschenrechten verantwortlich ist und wie diese Verantwortlichkeit durchgesetzt werden kann. Diese äußerst komplexe Fragestellung, die sowohl völkerrechtliche als auch unionsrechtliche Aspekte betrifft, wird in allen ihren Verästelungen erörtert: die Grundrechtsbindung der EU und ihrer Mitgliedstaaten im Rahmen der GASP (Art. 51 GRC), die extraterritoriale Anwendbarkeit der GRC, das Problem der 'Mehrfachbindung' (GRC, EMRK und nationale Verfassungen), die rechtliche Durchsetzbarkeit des Grundrechtsschutzes. Die gewonnen Erkenntnisse werden überdies einem Praxistest unterzogen, indem sie auf einen Sachverhalt, der sich während der Atalanta-Operation (Bekämpfung der Piraten vor dem Horn von Afrika) ereignete, angewendet werden

The introduction of the European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) in the Lisbon Treaty has given the European Union (EU) its strongest element of transnational participatory democracy to date. One million EU citizens from at least seven different member states can now request legislative proposals from the European Commission. This article discusses the ECI from a small-states perspective, assessing its impact on the role of small-state citizens in the union. The theoretical argument draws both on the international relations literature on small states and on James Bohman's work on transnational democracy, suggesting that the ECI is a particularly fruitful tool that gives EU citizens an institutional incentive for initiating deliberation on perceived injustices. The empirical argument presents the findings of a quantitative analysis of the organizers of the first sixteen initiatives, suggesting that the ECI is indeed a tool used by citizens from the union's smaller states. However, the analysis also shows that state size can and should be conceptualized not merely in terms of traditional indicators such as most importantly population size, but also in terms of constructivist notions of perceptual size.

As the largest and most strategically important country in Central-Eastern Europe, Poland's transformation from socialism to capitalism has brought with it immense political changes. Poland was the first Eastern European country to return to capitalism, with its shock-therapy economic reforms replicated throughout the region. Here Gavin Rae analyses the changes to the country since 1989 in their historical and geo-political framework. He looks at both how the absorption of Poland into the international capitalist system has transformed the country and how this process is contributing to developments globally. This book considers the importance of the development of European Union expansion and at its expected results within Poland and an enlarged EU

This volume is the fourth instalment of the 'Report on the state of the European Union' series. Its shows that if the EU does not want to be ruled by crisis any longer, it must invest in sustainability, political, economic, social and environmental. Europe must turn this elusive and ever-threatening 'crisis' into a chosen and meaningful transition.

Well-functioning financial markets and banking institutions are usually considered to be a condition favourable to economic growth. The importance of bank efficiency and bank market concentration has also been the object of discussion, with the general belief that while they are of particular relevance in the context of the European Union, there is no consensus on their specific roles. This paper aims to study the effects on economic growth of the efficiency of the banking institutions, measured through Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), and also of the concentration of the bank markets, measured by the percentage share of the total assets held by the three largest banking institutions (C3) and the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI). Considering a panel of all 27 EU countries for the time period between 1996 and 2008, the study analyses the influence of these bank and market conditions not only on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but also on its components: the final consumption expenditure, the gross fixed capital formation, the export of goods and services and the import of goods and services. The main findings point to the generally positive influence of bank cost efficiency on economic growth. More precisely, this influence is statistically significant for GDP and particularly with respect to the gross fixed capital formation. With regard to the bank market concentration, a generally negative influence is revealed, not only on GDP, but also on its components and is statistically more significant for the gross fixed capital formation, as well as for the export and import of goods and services.