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The article discusses a European Commission position paper published in February 2007 on scientific information in the digital age. The paper calls for better access to online scientific information in digital form and preservation of research results for future generations. The European Union supports the Open Access initiative and has budgeted € 25 million for research into the maintenance of digital contents.

On 1 January 1994 - almost 30 years ago - the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA) entered into force. Its purpose is to create a homogeneous and dynamic economic area between the Member States of the European Union (EU) and the members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. Today, the EEA Agreement is still the most far-reaching and institutionalised agreement between the EU and non-member states and can therefore be seen as a benchmark for a privileged partnership with the EU. This paper describes how the institutional rules of the EEA and the level of integration of the EEA/EFTA states have changed over time. It shows that developments towards both more integration and more differentiation can be observed in the EEA. It thus addresses various institutional challenges in the relationship between the EU and associated states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent political science research has shown the increasing differentiation of the European Union (EU) and it has worked out the associated opportunities and risks for effective and legitimate politics in the EU. This raises the question to what extent politicians in the member states pay attention to differentiated integration. Based on an analysis of official government documents and parliamentary minutes from 25 member states, this article shows that this form of integration was rarely politicized in national politics between 2004 and 2020. In national parliaments, it was mainly discussed around EU-treaty changes (around 2008), the euro crisis (around 2012) or during the debate on the future of Europe (around 2017). The final part of the paper shows that differentiated integration is discussed more frequently and more positively in French politics than in German politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Pädagogik is the property of Julius Beltz GmbH & Co. KG Beltz Juventa 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.)

Special economic zones have long been argued to promote social and economic “development” and, more recently, to “activate” and integrate refugees. In this paper, we critically examine a supposedly prime example of the nexus between “development” and “refugee integration”: the Jordan Compact, a bilateral agreement between Jordan and the European Union adopted in 2016. In the article, we draw on world-systems approaches, on the one hand, while emphasising the necessity of their spatial-theoretical updating, on the other hand. By presenting the empirical example of the garment industry’s global production networks and the working and living conditions in the Jordanian special economic zones, we highlight that uneven development glocally constituted the multi-scalar socio-spatial fragmentation of labour and the reproduction of conditions, constitutive of neoliberal globalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper looks at the challenges Brexit poses for EU studies as well as European politics. It discusses the exit of the UK from the European Union as a 'wicked problem' and the Brexit negotiations as tightly coupled 'multi-level games'. By bringing together the two theories the article is offering a new perspective on the complexity of the issues and negotiations on the one hand and the disorder that has been typical for the whole Brexit process on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design and adoption of common social policy is conditional. Limited competencies, institutional and organizational heterogeneity among member states, and ideological-programmatic majorities in the institutions of the European Union (EU) have led to far fewer new legal instruments in recent decades. One of the key challenges is the unanimity requirement in the Council, enshrined in the Treaties in areas of great member state sovereignty. In 2019 the Commission proposed to allow a transition to qualified majority voting. This paper discusses what the transition entails in legal and procedural terms and highlights three key advantages it holds. To this aim it provides an overview of the policy areas and instruments that the Commission would like to transfer to qualified majority voting. It outlines how the potential that majority voting offers for EU social policy could be exploited better with more ambitious initiatives and discusses differentiated integration as an alternative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply shaken the European Union (EU) and exacerbated existing problems. How can the EU gain more autonomy in an ever-changing world order, especially when it comes to international supply chains and health security? To what extent can EU member states reconcile their aspiration to build European sovereignty with their efforts to forge multilateralism? What does European resilience mean and what specific actions does the EU need to take in order to strengthen it? How can the EU's green goals be achieved in times of the COVID-19 pandemic? In this paper, the authors examine the crisis year 2020 in order to present approaches and solutions to tackle these challenges from the perspective of Germany as well as the Nordic and Baltic states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) through the lense of European Union law. It does so by posing four major questions: does the fact that 24 of 28 Member States of the EU ratified the FCNM have any legal implications for the European Union itself? Secondly, turning to the national level, does it make a difference for the implementation of the FCNM whether or not a state that has ratified the FCNM is also a member to the European Union? Thirdly, returning to the European Union itself, can and should the EU accede to the FCNM? Or are there, finally, any means beside ratification that would allow the European Union to implement the objectives and obligations as enshrined in the FCNM? These four questions are analysed in detail before the paper concludes on the potential role of the European Union in managing diversity and protecting (persons belonging to) minorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper looks at the European Union's involvement in the Western Balkans and points out some of the imminent problems when dealing with a region with disputed territorial issues and trying to support reform processes in countries with divided societies. Although the Western Balkans and the South Caucasus can hardly be compared with each other, at least when it comes to the engagement of the EU, it can be assumed that similar strategies will be pursued and policy instruments deployed. Therefore, it is useful to identify some lessons taken from the Western Balkans that are applicable for the South Caucasus. The paper deals 1) with the controversies on Kosovo's independence and the problems of the EU to deal with its consequences, and 2) with the EU's efforts to support the constitutional and police reform processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to illustrate the challenges the EU faces when it has to deal with a "divided" country. In the second part, the paper looks at the EU's engagement in the South Caucasus, where the EU might play a similar role in the future as it does in the Balkans. The investigations demonstrate that European foreign policy has often lacked consistent strategies towards the Western Balkans, which prevented the EU from achieving "satisfactory" outcomes in its neighbourhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper discusses various attempts of forming coalitions to support undocumented migrants in the European Union. The author refers theoretically to the widespread assumption in NGO and social movement studies that transnational advocay networks (Keck & Sikkink) enable 'weak interests' to be better heard; further it deals with the question of alliances between NGOs and business organizations, a strategy which gained importance in some policy fields such as labour rights and environmentalism. However, the empirical evidences of the author show that it is difficult to build alliances in the field of undocumented migration, both among NGOs and between NGOs and business actors. Among others, one reason is the rather narrow common denominator on such a controversial issue and the political opportunity structure at the level of the European Union; another reason lies in diverging political cultures of business and pro-migrant NGOs. The paper pleas for a stronger recognition of 'weak actors' such as self-organizations of migrants and antiracist groups. These forces open up new perspectives on the issue of social tights for undocumented migrants which have been underestimated up to now. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the European policy pursued by the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Having won a two-thirds majority in the 2010 elections, the new Orbán government went on to make its mark in the European Union. This was all the easier as, in the first half of 2011, Hungary held the rotating presidency of the European Union. Hungary conducted a fairly successful presidency, but the whole affair was overshadowed by the disputes on the Hungarian media law and the new Constitution. After the EU presidency the government mostly focused on the negotiations about the EU budget for 2014-2020 and the continuation of the enlargement policy - with some success. The third part of the article focuses on Viktor Orbán's perception of the EU in the light of his public speeches and interviews, and shows that there are at least three different discourses which the Hungarian Prime Minister applies in regard to the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on current legislative procedures, which will frame European Cohesion Policy from 2014 to 2020, by analyzing the cleavages between the European Parliament, the Commission and the member states. It points out that five major conflicts dominate the debate on the strategic conception of the regional development policy. In particular, the questions of the appropriate budget, its spending and future budgetary commitments by the introduction of ex post and macroeconomic conditionalities represent key notions within the negotiation process. The paper points out that Cohesion Policy serves as a legitimacy resource for all involved negotiation partners. Hence, it is unlikely that future support programs will abandon the "watering can approach" of European Cohesion Policy, which has been subject to much allegation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack of legitimacy of the European Union has been discussed by both, legal and political scientists. In order to solve this problem, most scientists suggest that input-orientated legitimacy should be increased by, for example, strengthening the position of the European Parliament within the institutional structure of the European Union. This paper, however, examines the role of subnational administrations as guarantors of legitimacy of European policies. Considering these policies, output-orientated legitimacy is measured by efficiency and effectiveness. To what extent the subnational administrations are able to meet these requirements will be documented by examining European Cohesion Policy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper offers a socio-technical analysis of the current situation in the Bulgarian power industry, assessing its capacity for introducing radical changes in inherited technological, organizational, financial and economic patterns. This situation is defined as maintaining a (difficult) balance between existing path-dependencies and the necessity to respond to the challenges stemming from adopted EU regulations, technological innovations and the changing constellation of forces between business groups in the sector and related political lobbies. This process is exemplified by a detailed account of the remarkable growth of photovoltaic and wind power production in the country since 2007. On the one hand, the pressure from the EU regulations during the pro-accession process and after joining the EU presupposes the adoption of a new separate law for renewable energy sources (RES) from 2007, respectively new subdelagated legislation to guarantee feed-in tariffs, obligatory access to transmission and distribution networks as well as long-term contracts to purchase renewable energy. On the other hand, the instrumentalization of the RES-sector through accession of speculative interest and shady capitals is possible. The chaos in the sector after 2008, with an amount of registered RES volumes several times higher than the capacity of the network, shows only one of the cleavages - is there a chance that it becomes a "normal" business or will it go on with profit margins near to the speculative ones? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In October 2012, U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, jointly visited Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to demonstrate their united vision of the country's Euro-Atlantic integration. Although the cooperation between the EU and the U.S. in the Balkan state can generally be considered as good, some disagreements between the Transatlantic partners remain, particularly with regards to the closure of the Office of the High Representative (OHR). The paper reflects these controversial issues as well as the current attempts to support constitutional reform in Bosnia. Being a highly sensitive topic, close transatlantic cooperation on the issue seems indispensable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Studii de Ştiintă şi Cultură is the property of Studii de Stiinta si Cultura 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.)

Information about several papers discussed at the conference on the Treaty of Lisbon, held from November 11-12, 2010, in Bochum, Germany, is presented. Topics include the implications of the Treaty of Lisbon for the European Common Market and the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice of the European Union, the European Sovereign Debt Crisis, and the relationship between the offices of President of the European Commission and President of the European Council.

The article examines the role the European Union has played in the Cyprus Problem since the EU accession of the Republic of Cyprus in 2004. Its main thesis is that six years of EU membership [and the accession process) are - with respect to the Cyprus Question - littered with false hopes, miscalculations and misperceptions by all main actors. The paper focuses on two aspects that have dominated the relations between the EU and Cyprus: Firstly, it reconstructs the failed attempts of powerful actors within the European Union to overcome Greek Cypriot resistance in its efforts to implement the EU pledge from 2004 to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots. Secondly, it examines the repeated attempts of the Greek Cypriots to utilise their EU membership as well as the Turkish aspirations to join the Union in order to press Ankara for concession in the Cyprus Question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the 8th of May 2010, the EU Reflection Group "Horizon 2020-2030" presented its final report "Project Europe 2030" after 17 months of deliberation. After a decade of being bound up in oneself, the report aims to prepare the EU for the tremendous challenges of the future. The work of this recent Reflection Group has hardly been noticed -- even by EU experts. Therefore, the paper starts by outlining the history of the Reflection Group before discussing the manifold problems concerning the content and method of the Group's work. Finally, a preliminary assessment of the final report, which is intended to be a wake-up call for the EU, is tried. Whether the relevant actors and the public hear the alarm bells toll, however, depends on a number of factors; therefore, the timing of the report can turn out to be an obstacle as well as an opportunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Review of International Law & Politics / Uluslararasi Hukuk ve Politika is the property of International Strategic Research Organization 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.)

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft is the property of Springer Nature 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 addresses the question if the nation-state is still an important reference point for comparative social research. For this purpose, three issues are discussed: first, the importance of the nation-state in the contemporary world; second, the adequate entity when talking about society; and, third, the adequate frame or level of analysis for comparative social research. In the second, theoretical part of the paper it is argued that the often alleged loss of importance of nation-states does not hold true when considered in more detail. As a starting point for this discussion, we distinguish between different nested levels such as the region, the nation-state, macroregions, cultural areas, communities of nations, and the world as a whole. If one looks at the relative importance of these units from several points of view, the national level remains dominant. Even within supranational organisations such as the European Union politicians often behave as national players. Five hypotheses are developed as far as the changing importance of these different levels in the process of globalisation is concerned. In the third section, four empirical examples are brought forward in order to examine our thesis of the predominant importance of the level of the nation state. The first is a two-level analysis of individual evaluations of income differences within single societies. Here, the level of the nation is grasped by structural and ideological features. Second, a three-level analysis of individual intentions to move within the European Union is carried out. Here, nations are also split into regions. The third is a cluster analysis of aggregated attitudes within subnational regions. Here, it is investigated if regions cluster into nations or into other higher-level aggregates. Fourth, the individual identification with different macro levels in Europe is investigated, going from the neighbourhood up to the continental level. All examples show that the level of the nation state is still of particular importance, proving clearly our main hypothesis. In concluding we argue that it is necessary for further research to be clear about the most relevant unit or level of analysis and to keep in mind the possible interactions between the various levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Collected Papers of the Faculty of Law in Split / Zbornik Radova Pravnog Fakulteta u Splitu is the property of Split Faculty of Law 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.)