Suchergebnisse

An introduction to a special issue that examines the ramifications of political shifts toward Center-Left administrations in asylum politics of seven European Union (EU) countries. First, the Single European Act (1985) is reviewed, showing how it abolished border controls within the EU during a period of increasing numbers of asylum seekers due to southeast European regional conflicts. Next, the pattern of asylum seekers from 1988 to 1999 is presented, demonstrating an increase from 1988 to 1992, a decline from 1992 to 1997, & an increase in 1998 with additional increases expected for 1999 with the Kosovo crisis. While individual nation-states are still principally responsible for asylum politics, several attempts to harmonize politics within the EU are reviewed to demonstrate broad convergence among countries. Initiatives toward harmonization include the Schenegan Agreement 1985, the Dublin Convention 1990, the Draft Convention on the Crossing of External Borders 1991, several EU resolutions, & the Treaty of Amsterdam. Finally, each paper in the special issue is briefly described, & common themes are identified. T. Noland

Examines the European Union's (EU) role in Southeastern Europe's stabilization and integration process, 1991-99; covers regional cooperation and aid programs, stabilization pact, bilateral vs. intra-regional integration, radical integration scenarios, Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), reconstruction, and outlook.

Addresses Europeanization & ecological modernization, using the case study of Finnish agriculture & analyzing the assumption that there has been a general transition toward the policies of ecological modernization by examining changes in institutional arrangements, discourses, & policy practices since the 1970s. Qualitative analysis of documents & 1996/97 semistructured interviews with policymakers yield somewhat contradictory findings on Finnish agri-environmental policy. On one hand, especially in the policy discourses, there are signs of transition consistent with the ecological modernization theory. On the other, from the institutional & practice-oriented perspective, the evidence suggests only some minor changes, even stability in agrienvironmental regulation. The Finnish response to European Union regulation has been problematic from the viewpoint of agrienvironmental policy: the transition period of Finnish agriculture due to the entrance into the European market has retarded, at least temporarily, the policy process of ecological modernization that began to emerge in the late 1980s. 2 Tables, 68 References. Adapted from the source document.