Search

This paper reviews the incidence of precedent-based practices in the Court of Justice of the European Union's (CJEU) case law on family reunification immigration. Particular attention is paid to the use of fundamental rights considerations, and the extent to which they guide the Court's judicial deliberations in this sovereignty-sensitive area of law. Our review of de facto 'precedents', and the extent to which they interact with fundamental rights-related concerns enables us to take stock of the long-term development of the Court's judicial authority. This longitudinal exercise also enables us to transcend the traditional dichotomy of 'the CJEU vis-à-vis the member states' that typically characterizes academic discussions on the role of the Court in processes of EU integration. The paper first considers the relevance of reviewing precedent in the context of the EU legal order. Next, we provide a novel dataset of the CJEU's jurisprudence in the area of family reunification immigration, as it evolved from 1974 up until today. We deal with the methodological implications of studying 'precedent' by presenting a model which numerically structures the incidence of precedent-based patterns. This numerical information allows us to organize our data for a subsequent qualitative in-depth analysis of those precedent-based patterns with the strongest discursive influence on the overall evolution of the case law. Our analysis demonstrates that fundamental rights-based arguments exerted a strong influence on the ideational course of the Court's jurisprudence in this area, albeit in a non-linear manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how the cooperation of European institutions (the EU, the Council of Europe, and the OSCE) in democracy promotion affects the success of European conditionality on party financing in the East European Neighbourhood. It examines the two major European-level factors, the determinacy of requirements and the rewards, based on the Ukrainian, Moldovan and Georgian case studies and a cross-case comparative analysis before and during Action Plans' period. The paper shows that there exists a European-level influence on party financing changes in line with the European standards set by the Venice Commission. Also, the cooperation of European institutions in democracy promotion contributes to the success of the common European leverage in the field of party financing. Although the EU lacks a specific party financing conditionality in Action Plans, the reference to the standards set by the Council of Europe and the OSCE increases indirectly the determinacy of its requirements and offers domestic elites a clearer picture of its demands. At the same time, the EU's merit in the joint European influence on party financing lies in its increased leverage on aspiring European members, even in the case of low credibility of EU membership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay takes stock of the literature on how European Union policies are being put into practice by the member states. It first provides an overview of the historical evolution of the field. After a relatively late start in the mid 1980s, the field has meanwhile developed into one of the growth industries within EU research. The paper identifies three different waves of EU implementation scholarship. The first wave considered implementation primarily a problem of institutional efficiency. In the second wave, the degree of compatibility between European demands and domestic policy legacies took centre stage. However, many second-wave scholars complemented the basic "misfit" argument with a set of additional explanatory factors to account for deviant cases. In the third wave, some researchers began to stress the role of domestic politics, while others re-discovered the importance of administrative capabilities. As an attempt to synthesise some of the partial explanations presented by earlier research, one group of scholars pointed to the existence of culturally-shaped country clusters, each with its own typical style of complying with EU legislation. After this historical overview, the paper summarises the most important theoretical, empirical and methodological lessons to be drawn from existing studies, and it discusses promising avenues for future research. First, most scholars seem to agree on the basic set of factors that may have an impact on transposition processes. The main task to be accomplished by future research is to establish under which conditions which configurations of factors prevail. While we already know that there are country-specific patterns, the importance of sector-specific patterns will need to be explored further. Second, greater research efforts will have to be devoted to the neglected area of enforcement and application. In theoretical terms, going back to the insights of traditional domestic implementation research seems to be most promising for this type of studies. Third, the paper cautions against the poor quality of the data employed by the growing number of quantitative compliance studies. Unless the problems with the data can be solved, scholars are well advised to rely on comparative case studies, at least in addition to statistical analyses. To increase the number of cases to be covered by qualitative research, the paper makes the case for crafting collaborative qualitative research projects as a viable alternative to quantitative research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we estimate the impact of agricultural subsidies granted under the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on bank loans extended to farms. According to our theoretical analysis, subsidies may either stimulate or crowd out bank loans depending on the timing of subsidies, severity of credit constraint, type of subsidies and bank loans, and the relative cost of internal and external financing. In empirical analysis we use the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) farm level panel data for the period 1995-2007. We employ the fixed effects and generalised method of moment (GMM) models. The estimated results suggest that (i) big farms tend to use subsidies to increase long-term loans, whereas small farms tend to use subsidies to obtain short-term loans; (ii) subsidies tend to crowd out short-term loans for big farms and long-term loans for small farms; (iii) when controlling for the endogeneity, the crowding out effect becomes smaller, but the positive causal effect of subsidies on bank loans remains significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the puzzle of why Portugal has consistently supported the EU's fifth enlargement. We argue that standard explanations, based on welfare maximisation, geopolitics, or rhetorical action, cannot persuasively account for this policy choice. Instead, we advance an alternative explanation - subsequently referred to as 'identity endorsement - that is based on a logic of appropriateness where behaviour is shaped by aspects of similarity and congruence, and where the development of Portuguese identity has constituted what has been perceived as appropriate in the context of Eastern enlargement. We argue that EC/EU membership has provided Portuguese political elites with a renewed collective identity, in which a choice for membership has been equated with a choice for democracy, stability and openness. Portuguese support for Eastern enlargement has consistently been based on these concepts that originated from Portugal's own period of accession negotiations. By fully supporting Eastern enlargement, Portugal could act together with the 'European core', and Portugal itself would become more 'core', i.e. more European. For Portuguese political elites, supporting Eastern enlargement thus constituted an act of 'identity endorsement', i.e. the confirmation, (re-)production and reinforcement of existing identity constructions. We tentatively suggest that the notion of identity endorsement may also shed light on other empirical puzzles related to European integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we estimate the impact of agricultural subsidies granted under the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) on bank loans extended to farms. According to our theoretical analysis, subsidies may either stimulate or crowd out bank loans depending on the timing of subsidies, severity of credit constraint, type of subsidies and bank loans, and the relative cost of internal and external financing. In empirical analysis we use the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) farm level panel data for the period 1995-2007. We employ the fixed effects and generalised method of moment (GMM) models. The estimated results suggest that (i) big farms tend to use subsidies to increase long-term loans, whereas small farms tend to use subsidies to obtain short-term loans; (ii) subsidies tend to crowd out short-term loans for big farms and long-term loans for small farms; (iii) when controlling for the endogeneity, the crowding out effect becomes smaller, but the positive causal effect of subsidies on bank loans remains significant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article explores whether the first Trio Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the European Union (EU), composed of Germany, Portugal and Slovenia, lived up to the goal of ensuring greater continuity and sustainability in managing the Council?s work. Focusing on the Trio?s performance in promoting the principle of Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) in EU global action, the article explores patterns of cooperation established by the first Trio alongside the traditional roles of the rotating presidency, as the manager, provider of political initiative, broker, and representative of the Council and member states. The contribution demonstrates the emergence of a distinctive cooperation pattern among Germany, Portugal, and Slovenia, which we refer to as „Trio effects?. While such effects were established in all presidency functions with the exception of EU external representation, the Trio effects in exerting management functions contributed most in having more continuity in the promotion of the PCD. Taking into account the particular institutional and procedural context in which the Trio operated, the contribution draws lessons for the role of the Trio in the post-Lisbon external action system. Along with the review of official policy documents and secondary sources, this contribution draws on 40 anonymous semi-structured expert interviews, which were conducted by both authors between 2007 and 2009 in Brussels, Berlin, Lisbon and Ljubljana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deliberative democracy is increasingly discussed in relation to the transnational sphere in terms of promoting democratic mechanisms of representation and participation. The establishment of the European Integration Forum (EIF) represents an effort to apply deliberation to the field of integration policies at the EU level. The EIF combines an original structure consisting of civil society actors and EU institutions, on the one hand, and national and European organisations, on the other. In this article, the institutional and discursive dimensions of the EIF are discussed. The institutional dimension refers to the benefits of the deliberative model for inclusive policy making and it is argued that it is particularly useful for incorporating immigrant voices in consultative processes. The discursive dimension relates to the articulation of a common European discourse on integration within the already existing EU framework. Discourses of contestation emanating from civil society are constrained especially in relation to the identification of a sole target group of integration policies, namely third-country nationals. The deliberative approach of the EIF is efficient in its institutionalisation through the inclusion of multiple civil society actors, but its discursive potential in terms of reflecting a heterogeneity of viewpoints and the capacity for generating contestation are reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the distribution of European Union (EU) Structural Funds across EU regions. We draw from literature on the political economy of national intergovernmental grants and on the two-tiered bargaining process in the EU. Bargaining on the distribution of Structural Funds takes place on the level between regions and their respective national governments, but is influenced by bargaining that occurs on the intergovernmental level. We test our claims with a data set containing the distribution of Objective-1 and Objective-2 funds across EU regions, as well as economic, institutional and electoral variables. Adjusting for selection bias, we find that the official allocation criteria are not sufficient determinants for explaining the distribution of regional transfers. For Objective-2 they even bear the opposite sign. As for the political variable 'federalist regions' we find that Objective-1 regions receive significantly more funds, whereas 'stronger electoral competition' significantly increases funding of Objective-2 regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Who speaks for Europe is a major question in European integration, yet few systematic attempts have been made to study when the Presidency or the High Representative represents the European Union. This article uses two most-similar cases of conflict resolution with significant EU involvement to argue that the size of the Presidency matters. Large member states have more diplomatic resources and political experience. They were therefore less inclined to rely on the High Representative and his/her staff. The High Representative, on the other hand, had greater difficulties to compete with large member states for media attention and for third party recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a multi-value Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) of the adoption and sustainability of minority protection rules in new four member states of the European Union (EU), including Poland, Romania and Estonia, in pre- and post-accession phases. The QCA examines minority protection related-issues such as language use, citizenship and education to find which conditions are adopted by minority protection and non-discrimination measures. The results of the analysis are given.

The article explores the transposition of European Union (EU) gender equality legislation on workplace in Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, and Slovenia across the pre-accession and post-accession period. It examines the enforcement powers of the national bodies that aim to promote the enforcement of legislation on gender quality. It discusses the use of crisp-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (csQCA) to explain the compliance outcomes in the four countries.

The article examines the potential impact of the changes in European Union (EU) influence on compliance with the enforcement of EU equality policy in Hungary in the post-accession period. It cites social learning and financial assistance as the contributing factors of law enforcement problems with regard to norm resonance, administrative capacity and civil society involvement. It suggests the importance of looking beyond these factors to see the impact of the EU on Hungarian equality policy.

The article presents a study on post-accession compliance with European Union (EU) law in Bulgaria and Romania, the only new member states of the EU that are given the right to monitor reforms following accession by the European Commission. The study finds that the countries have performed well in transposing EU law. It shows the failure of Bulgaria to convince the Commission of its willingness to meet the standards set by the EU. Also examined is the enforcement of EU law in these countries.

The article discusses how administrative coordination of the European Union (EU) affairs relates to the compliance with EU law. It explains how the post-accession of EU law is affected by political salience and administrative capacity. It cites an empirical study that shows the relationship between the transposition success of new member states and their EU coordination systems. It also examines the implementation of EU law.

The article explains the transposition behavior of 12 new member states of the European Union during the post-accession stage including . It discusses the descriptive analysis performed by the author which reveals explanatory variables that relate to transposition failures including bureaucratic capacity, the performance of the country in terms of pre-accession policy alignment and the extent of trade with the EU. It examines the enforcement of equality law in EU.

The article discusses various reports published within the issue including one by Christoph Knill and Jale Tosun on the transposition behavior of the new member states of the European Union (EU), one by Antoaneta Dimitrova and Dimiter Toshkov on the effect of administrative capacity and political salience on post-accession transposition of EU law and one by Florian Trauner on post-accession compliance in Bulgaria and Romania and EU law enforcement.

The article explores the importance of knowing the functionality of Social Protection Committee (SPC) to understand the potentials of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) in Europe. It evaluates the perceptions of committee members to restore abstract categories based on how they assess their working practices. It offers information on the establishment of SPC and its priorities. It also looks at factors that affect social policy issues.

The article examines the efficacy of the European Employment Strategy (EES) to function as an intra-governmental coordinative instrument and its impact on labor market policy initiatives and intra-governmental relations. It presents case studies that evaluate the data gathered in the EU, Belgium, Spain, and Sweden on the influence of soft law on intra-governmental relations. It discusses the significance of Open Method of Coordination (OMC) in creating multilevel governance structures.

The article examines the potential impact of the changes in European Union (EU) policy-making processes and the application of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) on the normative and cognitive foundations of childcare policy. It explores the European Employment Strategy (EES) mechanisms that aim to influence the foundations of reconciliation of work and family life policies in EU member states. Moreover, it defines policy learning.

The article analyzes the Open Method of Coordination on health care (OMC/HC) to find the relatedness of equity and solidarity with optimization and the effect of neoliberalism on health care in Euorpe. It cites negative effects of a neoliberal reframing including legitimacy in European Union (EU) governance, the reduction in space for oppositional formations and limited citizenship. It concludes that the OMC/HC is unable to buttress health care systems against neoliberalism.

The article discusses the potential role of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) in preventing or promoting welfare state retrenchment in the European Union (EU). It explains how the OMC operates by reexamining the argument of OMC optimists and pessimists on whether OMC can influence on the national level and whether it can strengthen EU social policy. It examines the social expenditure and welfare state performance within the EU-15.

The article assesses the impact of European policies coordination on German industrial relations at national level and the possible consequences for supranational economic governability. It evaluates the effect of the modes of governance of the European Union (EU) economic policy on wage bargaining systems. It examines European labor market policies and factors that have brought changes and developments in industrial relations.

The article explores the emergence and limitations of new modes of governance adopted in European Union (EU) employment and social policy since the beginning of nineties. It elaborates new innovations in EU policy-making including the Maastricht Treaty, the European Employment Strategy and the Open Method of Coordination. It argues that a double voluntarism in EU social dialogue and employment policy favors soft over hard law.

The article discusses the significance of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) in depicting the transformation of European Union (EU) law. It assesses the functionality of OMC in Social Protection and Social Inclusion (OMC SPSI) to address the lack of examples of the application of core tenets of transformation to the practice of EU governance. It discusses a thesis that examines the transformation of EU law through interview data from the evaluation of the OMC SPSI by the European Commission.

The article examines the learning potential of Open Method of Coordination (OMC) in the European Union (EU). It notes the three types of learning which include learning by own experience, learning from others and learning with others. It discusses the employment policy and methodological problems involved in the study of policy learning in the context of the OMC. It explores the significance of European Employment Strategy (EES) instruments in determining the forms of learning.

The article offers information on Open Minded Coordination (OMC) in Europe. It notes that OMC, a soft law introduced at the Lisbon Summit in Portugal in March 2000, aims at achieving greater convergence towards the European Union's (EU) goals. It investigates three issues constituting OMC's shortcomings including its state of being underconceptualized, overdetermined and depoliticized. It emphasizes OMC' contributions to different sectors.

The article focuses on the mobilisation of government officials who possess a high level of expertise to the interest of advance leaders in European Union (EU) policy-making. It explores the importance of a high level of expertise because it access to relevant decision-making fora. It highlights the importance of looking the coalition partners to benefit from the good contacts with experts from European Union institutions.

The article reports on the role of the European Council in the development of political guidelines. It notes the higher success rate for the Parliament if the position of the European Parliament (EP) is strengthened in the treaties to the Presidency. It highlights the importance of committee sessions for public accountability as the Members of the European Parliaments (MEPs) are receiving explanations due to the small scale and the format of the debates.

The article examines the visibility of the Energy Community of Southeast Europe in terms of the European Union's (EU) external energy policy and the neo-functionalist ideas of the European Commission officials. It explores the significance of EU's external strategy to formulate a favourable climate for investments in energy production. It highlights the focus of the neo-functionalist idea which is for communication and interaction of technical fields of integration.

The article focuses on the language rights and the Community law in the European Union (EU) states. It states that multilingualism is one of the defining characteristics of Europe and it should remain in the constantly evolving model of the country's political structure. It explores the status of languages in the EU, the recognition of linguistic diversity, and the arguments on language rights as general principles of Community law.