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Copyright of Revista Española de Derecho Internacional is the property of Asociacion Espanola de Profesores de Derecho Internacional y Relaciones Internacionales (AEPDIRI) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The focal point of this paper is a specific element in the domain of asylum policies, the Safe Country of Origin (SCO) policy. This asylum policy became integrated into the European Union's (EU) hard law in 2005 with the adoptation of Directive 2005/85/EC or Asylum Procedures Directive (APD). The SCO policy envisions a list of countries considered 'safe' and allows for asylum applications from those countries to be rendered 'unfounded'. The SCO list materialised as an effort to devise a more expeditious asylum procedure by fast-tracking the process for a distinctive group of claimants. Until the present day, reaching consensus on the definition of 'safe' and the content of a common EU SCO list has proven impossible. The purpose of this paper is to theorise and explain the absence of a pan-EU SCO list. As a dominant theory of regional integration (Hoffmann 1966, 1995; Milward 2000), Liberal intergovernmentalism (LI) will provide a complementary analytical framework offering insight into the process of making a supranational SCO list in order to underline the interactions between both Member States (MS) and the EU. This investigation will also discern a constellation of factors responsible for the current impasse. The paper argues that no consensus on a common EU SCO list was reached as MS arrived at the negotiation table with dissimilar migratory pressures, combined with the heterogenous procedural application of SCO in their respective national legislatures. What motivated states to push for negotiations on this policy was a desire to attract support for a restrictive and deterring asylum tool by incorporating it into EU hard law, allowing for almost immediate rejection of applicants from 'safe' countries and therefore reducing the pressure on asylum determination systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the role of interest mobilization in strengthening or weakening congruence between elected representatives and citizens on EU policy issues. It argues that the relationship between public opinion, interest groups and elected politicians can be theorized as a selective transmission process. We expect interest groups to strengthen congruence between citizens and elected representatives who share their ideological views. To test our hypotheses we conducted a content analysis of statements made in eight European news outlets on a sample of 13 policy issues and combined this with Eurobarometer polls. Our results indicate that elected representatives from leftist parties are more congruent with left‐wing voters when civil society mobilizes, while the prevalence of corporate lobby groups strengthens congruence between rightist politicians and their constituents. These findings contribute to our understanding of the role of interest groups in political representation and democratic governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Anuario Español de Derecho Internacional Privado is the property of Iprolex SL and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article combines Multiple Stream Framework and stage model to analyse developments in the European Union regulation of pesticides. In so doing the purpose of this article is threefold: first, it contributes to the theoretical literature by providing an argument in support of the merits of integration of approaches. Second, it provides a refinement of the Multiple Stream Approach by extending it from the original agenda setting stage to the entire policy process. Third, it explains policy changes in a crucial but under-researched area of EU regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Studies in Law & Economics / Studia Prawno-Ekonomiczne is the property of Lodz Scientific Society / Lodzkie Towarzystwo Naukowe and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article provides empirical evidence on ex ante and ex post indicators of regulatory quality and the relationship between those indicators and market performance in liberalised EU-15 network industries. It finds a low level of regulatory independence and competence, a high level of cross-country variations in regulatory quality, and widespread absence of correlation between ex ante regulatory quality and ex post performance indicators. On the basis of these findings, it suggests that the design of national regulatory agencies (NRAs) in Europe is not optimal and may be conducive to regulatory ineffectiveness or outright regulatory failure. Nevertheless, the existence and strengthening of EU-level regulators could enable EU member states to reduce the risk of regulatory failure by encouraging coordination and adoption of best practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article addresses the question of how successful the European natural gas reforms of 1998, 2003, and 2009 have been in terms of increasing competition in the sector. We argue that regulatory provisions are policy output variables, which as such do not affect competition directly. However, successful reforms can have an impact on the market structure, which might lead to increased competition and price reductions. Thus, it is pivotal to differentiate between policy output and outcome variables. Therefore, we first conduct a cross-sectional analysis of the regulatory impact on the market structure. Second, we apply error-correction models to test whether changes in the market structure affected the price development. Our findings suggest that the market reforms were successful in terms of liberalizing the sector, whereas the market structure did not affect the natural gas prices. Thus, we see a “successful failure” of the European natural gas market reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]