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Home Affairs is one of the most controversial policy fields both within nation states and the European Union. Moreover, the NSA affair has led to an increasing awareness of internal security based on information and communication technology (ICT). On the one hand, it sensitizes for questions of European security with regards to foreign surveillance. On the other hand, it underlines the salient conflict between interests of ensuring internal security with means of information technology as well as interests of individual freedom and privacy. Questions arising from these issues are how and in which way European parties considered them in their party manifestos for the elections to the European Parliament in 2014 and to what extent the NSA affair might have changed the parties' stances. Based on these concerns, the differences of party manifestos in Germany and the United Kingdom are analysed in this paper. Referring to examples of U.S. and European surveillance activities, it is revealed in how far the public debate is integrated in the European party manifestos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Swiss Journal of Sociology / Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Soziologie is the property of Sciendo 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 Arctic is becoming increasingly important in terms of energy, security and climate issues on a global scale. Following the coastal states of the Arctic Ocean, which have presented Arctic strategies in recent years, the European Union has started developing an Arctic policy. While more or less consistent guiding principles have been established via several papers and communications, these have been backed up with concrete instructions and practical action to a diverging and an overall rather low degree. As a non-coastal state, the European Union will have to rely on its membership in relevant international and regional organisations, instruments such as the Northern Dimension and cooperation with member and partner states, also in the future. [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]

Copyright of Journal for Sociology of Education & Socialization / Zeitschrift für Soziologie der Erziehung & Sozialisation 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.)

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.

This article analyses the relevance of a regional approach to explain electricity market integration in the EU. It describes obstacles to market integration and argues that 'regional integration' has helped to overcome these obstacles and is a guiding principle of EU Energy Policy with regard to creating the Single European Electricity Market. The paper identifies a strategic shift in EU energy policy towards the promotion of regional electricity markets. Overall, the analysis reveals that both formal EU policy instruments and initiatives triggered by informal sectoral governance networks stimulate regional integration. [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]

The current economic and financial crisis can be seen as a considerable challenge for the European Monetary Union. The European Central Bank (ECB), the European institutions and the member states tried to prevent the European economies from sliding into a depression by undertaking monetary as well as fiscal policy actions. The aim of the paper is to analyse the sensitivity and absorbability of the EU with respect to exogenous shocks, in doing so, monetary policy as well as fiscal policy tools are presented and evaluated. Hereby is referred to the reactions of the ECB in comparison to those of the FED as well as the investigation of the impulses of fiscal policy actions undertaken by the EU on its member states. In line with the analysis, weaknesses, mainly in the area of fiscal policy, are identified and possible threats are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]