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The article focuses on the institutional architecture of the euro area. Topics include elections that took place in 2017 such as the fear in France with many wondering whether politician Marine Le Pen of the Front National could sway a sufficient number of people to defeat contenders, and the German federal election, a discussion of the White Paper on the Future of Europe that came out in March 2017 and a discussion of the May 2017 Reflection Paper on Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), despite the salience of Brexit on the European Union agenda, the institutional architecture of the euro area remains an important item.

This paper sheds new light on the policy reality of the European Energy Union on the example of the EU natural gas market. The paper argues that, as the energy union preserves the treaty‐based parallelism between the competences of the EU and the member states, the resolution of conflicts between individual preferences and shared priorities has emerged as a measure of consolidation in the EU energy domain. Which logic prevails: the common good or the consensus will? The paper applies the concept of international society to test key hypotheses related to the pluralism/solidarism nexus in the European Energy Union. The paper concludes that individual interests and collective decision‐making in the EU natural gas market are reconciled along the premises of pragmatic solidarism with demonstration effects for the regional energy system, indicative of the EU's vanguard role as a regional regulator setting the rules of energy investment and trade in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, the EU's trade policy has been centred around open(ing) markets. Why, then, has the EU recently embraced open strategic autonomy as the conceptual cornerstone of its renewed trade policy? In this article, we argue that this move away from neoliberalism has to be understood against the background of a changing global environment. The geopoliticization of trade in particular has changed the Commission's view about how to best serve European interests (and values) but also provided an opening for neo‐mercantilist and socially oriented actors to challenge Europe's embedded neoliberal compromise. Using document analysis, interviews and discourse network analysis, we show how the Commission used open strategic autonomy as a coalition magnet to mobilize support for its new doctrine of qualified openness. Our paper contributes to understanding the ideational and coalitional politics behind the recent evolution of EU trade policy as well as broader debates around European autonomy and sovereignty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyse the nature of contemporary societal conflict in Europe, conceptualizing conflict in terms of oppositional identities, represented by the archetypal extreme corner positions between which contestation takes place. By analysing key characteristics of 28,565 Europeans from seven countries in four distinct time periods, we find three archetypal corner positions. Each archetype represents an ideal‐typical configuration of values, attitudes and socio‐demographic characteristics which people identify more or less with. The first archetype (which we label Postmodern Cosmopolitan) represents an urban, higher‐educated person with cosmopolitan values and attitudes. The other two archetypes (Rural traditionalist and Urban Precariat) present images of Europe that are more nationalistic and differ in their political‐economic ideological position. Western and Eastern European countries differ markedly in the distribution of these archetypes over time. The novelty of this paper is our conceptualization and operationalization of the changing nature of societal conflict as changes in oppositional identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does Europe's transnational party system contribute to EU democracy? Existing debates on this issue have conventionally revolved around conflicting assumptions on the feasibility of supranational democracy in general, rather than examining the party system's structure as it is set up and regulated. In this paper we evaluate to what extent the transnational party system contributes to the democratic qualities of the EU by studying the regulatory framework for European political parties. We establish an analytical framework based on studies of party system governance, and focus on two specific characteristics: the contestability of the Europarty system and the extent to which it promotes citizen participation in European political parties. Our analysis demonstrates that the governance structure impedes rather than bolsters the democratic potential of Europarties, since the rules work to prevent new parties from entering the party system, and fail to provide incentives for a more active political participation of European citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2014 European elections led to a sharp rise in the electoral consensus of parties and independent parliament members perceived as eurosceptic. This paper analyzes the interconnections between distressed economies and the electoral success of hard-line eurosceptic parties. On a panel of 108 elections between 2008 and 2015, the random-effects model shows the relative effect of long- and short-term political trust, economic performance indicators, and institutional variables in determining the rise of hard-line eurosceptic parties. In contrast with previous studies, which have tended to de-emphasize the effect of economic performance in determining the success of eurosceptic forces, the results of this paper detect both a direct and a mediated effect of the economic crisis on the electoral success of hard-line eurosceptic parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radical right European contestation is analyzed mainly as claims denouncing European integration. Less focus is put on narratives suggesting how a supposed 'truly European' political process should be and work. This paper explores how radical right actors use such counter‐European claims within their competition strategies. Computer‐assisted qualitative analysis of communication by Front National, Alternative for Germany and Fidesz during the humanitarian crisis debate 2015–16 demonstrates that radical right counter‐Europeanism constitutes a nuanced tactical resource deployed to normalize nativist supply in the name of Europe. Unlike Eurorejectionist FN, Fidesz and AfD redefined Europe in nativist terms, attempting to draw legitimacy from association with European identity and cooperation. Concurrently, both actors justified Euronativism not only as antithetical to current EU values and political principles, but mainly as their more fundamental practice juxtaposed against 'not (truly) European elites', effectively 'hijacking' Europe from within. The findings deepen our understanding of radical right Europe‐contesting competition strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many integration theories predict that heightened integration in Europe will give rise to a European identity. As integration advances, so does the scholarly debate on identity. This article endeavours to contribute to the debate by investigating the relationship between European integration and European identity longitudinally in 14 countries over 21 years from 1992 to 2012. Using Eurobarometer and EU Index data, this relationship is found to be exponential with current integration levels predicting the imminent emergence of a European identity. In order to better understand whose identities are impacted or formed most by integration, the paper then turns to three intervening concepts: (1) cognitive mobilization, (2) optimism, and (3) support of the EU. All of these amplify the effect of integration on identity with the noteworthy exception of optimism. Finally, the article evaluates the implications of these findings for neofunctionalism and the literature on European identity more broadly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differences in Member States' economic development and national social protection systems can translate into significant differences in the substantive social rights of EU migrant citizens. The substantive rights of economically inactive EU migrant citizens are dependent on the 'export' of social rights from their country of origin to the Member State of destination, in particular during the initial phase of their residence in a new Member State as a jobseeker or a pensioner. This paper demonstrates that EU citizens' social rights are substantively stratified, not only by economic status, but also according to the Member State of origin and destination. Stratified social rights, it is argued, generate unequal opportunities to free movement and eo ipso challenge the very concept of EU citizenship. The paper concludes with a proposal for a European Minimum Income Scheme to at least partially overcome the shortcomings of existing EU citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the impact of wage growth divergence on business cycle co-movement in the context of currency unions. While the theoretical literature on optimum currency areas highlights the equilibrating effect of divergent wage growth after asymmetric exogenous demand shocks via the external demand channel, recent literature on euro area imbalances emphasizes its dis-equilibrating effect as a source of asymmetric domestic demand shocks, and therefore suggests a negative link to business cycle co-movement. Our empirical results reveal that the latter effect has been clearly dominating in the euro area: Wage growth differentials across countries - while of minor importance for non-euro area EU countries with sovereign currencies - significantly reduce business cycle co-movement within the monetary union and thus increase the cost of the common monetary policy. The large magnitude of the effect calls for enhanced co-ordination efforts of wage policies in the euro area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How to ‘bring Europe closer to the people’ has long been a preoccupation of the policy-maker at the EU level and has recently been restated as a goal of the member governments in the Treaty of Nice. Currently, the Commission is addressing this issue through the White Paper on European Governance. Here, it is argued that the focus on ‘governance’ as a strategy for inclusion was ill founded and underestimated the likely conflict with existing ‘governance’ regimes at the domestic level. Moreover, the pursuit of ‘heroic’ Europeanism with a concomitant emergence of a sense of ‘Europeanness’ or a European ‘identity’ as advocated in the Commission's work programme for the White Paper on European Governance was misguided. Drawing on empirical research into the activities of women's organizations in Greece, Ireland and the UK, it is argued that the extent to which EU level action may. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Europe is currently embroiled in three ongoing and interacting crises concerning the eurozone, refugees and Brexit. After briefly describing each crisis, I turn to the ways in which they intersect and the role of institutions in solving the crises. There are two central themes in the paper. The first is that the three crises intersect and feed on one another. The second is that, while institutions can often help, they are not panaceas. Existing scholarship on the EU often implies that the EU operates far from its institutional frontier and that substantial improvements in welfare are just around the corner if only we ‘get our institutions right’. But institutional fixes do not exist for all problems. I argue that there is a large space for institutional improvement in the eurozone crisis, less regarding refugees, and still less for Brexit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, differences in states' refugee protection contributions have been attributed to the variation in countries' structural pull-factors such as their geographic location. However, policy choices, such as Germany's decision to open its borders for Syrian refugees in 2015, can also have a significant impact on the number of arrivals and constitute a puzzle that traditional approaches struggle to explain. This paper demonstrates that viewing refugee burden-sharing through the lens of public goods theory can provide significant insights about refugee protection dynamics in the EU, in particular in the context of a sudden mass influx of migrants that threatens internal security. By highlighting how free-riding and burden-shifting dynamics can undermine the provision of collective goods during a refugee crisis, a public goods approach can advance our understanding of why countries sometimes accept disproportionate responsibilities for forced migrants and how the effectiveness of EU refugee burden-sharing instruments can, and should, be strengthened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how the refugee crisis has affected attitudes towards the EU, as well as attitudes towards national institutions. By combining different waves of individual survey data, official records of asylum applications and a content analysis of the media, we examine the effect of the numbers of asylum applications and the amount of media coverage thereof on citizens' attitudes towards the EU and national politics. Our findings demonstrate that the number of asylum applications in the EU and the media attention this generates primarily affect euroscepticism, while the number of asylum applications into each individual Member State first and foremost affects attitudes towards national institutions. Our results contribute to the literature on democratic accountability, by demonstrating that, even in a complex multi-level governance structure, citizens differentiate between levels of government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Initial literature on the 'European refugee crisis' discerned intergovernmental tendencies in its management. This paper examines whether neofunctionalism may be able to explain a major case of 'European refugee crisis' policy-making, the negotiations on the European Border and Coast Guard regulation. We argue, somewhat counterintuitively, that the theory considerably furthers our respective understanding. The crisis acted as a catalyst exposing the weaknesses of a system that pitted a supranational Schengen against a largely intergovernmental external border regime, notwithstanding a developing Frontex. These dysfunctionalities have been widely fostered by both national and supranational decision-makers shrinking from the significant economic, political and sunk costs of Schengen disintegration, thus ruling out the possibility for spillback. Additionally, further integration was substantially nurtured by supranational agency, 'socialized' national civil servants, transnational NGOs and European business associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper it is proposed to study in a detailed manner the pattern of interaction among a group of actors involved in implementing a policy instrument — the European Social Fund (ESF). We start from the premise that there is an identifiable set of actors involved in this policy segment whose participation is based on the nature of the policy instrument and the general policy area it serves. During the 1970s, implementation research provided many insights into the variables that affect the manner in which policies and policy instruments are operationalized. Factors such as communication, information, control, adequacy of resources, the nature of the policy instrument, bureaucratic structure, the existence of feedback mechanisms all affect the implementation of policies. A thorough analysis of all aspects of the process of implementation is not envisaged in this paper as we are primarily interested in the linkages between the different policymaking levels and will, thus, concentrate on communication, Control and the use of evaluation as a feedback mechanism. How do multiple levels of management shape policy outcomes and influence the manner in which policy is implemented? Implementation is viewed as a process of interaction between the setting of goals and actions geared to achieving them. We are mindful that in practice it is difficult to indicate where policy formulation stops and implementation begins. During the implementation phase a policy decision must be spelled out in operational detail and resources allocated among programmes. This clearly involves the implementing actors in further policy formation activities. The discretionary element in any policy implementation process may be substantial as goals must be spelled out and the initial decisions may require resteering to make them more effective. The paper is divided into three parts. Part I gives a brief outline of the policy instrument — the European Social Fund (ESF). Part III... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines political party mobilization on European Union issues during national election campaigns. We consider which actors talk about the EU, specifically which parties and which actors within parties, as well as how these actors talk about the EU, specifically the types of EU issues addressed as well as their framing. We argue that issue-based strategies and government participation may provide important reasons why parties only mobilize selectively on EU issues. We test our expectations using data from party press releases in Austrian general election campaigns in 2008 and 2013. We find that selective mobilization is most prevalent in terms of content, thus in how parties talk about the EU. This article provides new evidence on the extent of party political contestation over EU issues and shows how strategic incentives limit the ways in which they are incorporated into national politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Since David Marquand coined his famous phrase ‘democratic deficit’ to describe the functioning of the European Community, the debate has raged about the extent and content of this deficit. However, little attention has been paid to the ambiguous nature of democracy both at the national and supranational levels. This paper argues that dissatisfaction with democracy has to do, at least for a substantial part, with the creeping expansion of constitutionalism and the parallel decline of popular impact on government. This phenomenon is often felt at the national plane and feeds outbursts of populism. But it is even more acute at the European level, which combines weak popular input with the most sophisticated and developed forms of constitutionalism. This imbalance should be redressed both at a national level as well as in the EU, as a nascent polity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces a series of articles on economics and politics in Europe.

While the politics of immigration in destination countries has been a prominent topic of research in comparative political science in Europe, the same does not apply to emigration and to the perspective of peripherical EU countries. This is true even though the flows of people moving from east to west and from south to north pose potentially significant challenges to 'sending countries' in Europe. This article sets up a research agenda aimed at contributing to redress this imbalance. It highlights the need to explore more systematically themes such as (1) the impact of emigration on the political behaviour of both those who stay and those who leave and (2) and how emigration is framed and politicized by relevant societal actors. Ultimately, it draws attention to the fact that a lot of the questions that have been asked about 'entry' (immigration) need to be asked about 'exit' too (emigration). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guruswamy et al (1983) pointed out that, at the time their paper was written, much of the interpretation of the Directive remained unclear. Since that time a further three 'daughter' Directives have been agreed and another dealing with a further four substances is currently under discussion. This article analyses the situation in the light of the experience of the last three years. It throws new light on the reason for the disagreement between the United Kingdom and the other Member States and suggests ways and means by which the resolution of this situation, which all agree to be desirable, could be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interest in the part played by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in regional and general economic development is now a well-established phenomenon in the countries of the European Community (Baroin and Frachebaud, 1983; Cross, 1981; Hunt, 1979; Keeblc and Wever, forthcoming). Numerous national studies of subjects such as the rate of SME formation, their survival prospects and their post-foundation growth trajectories are now available, and there is also increasing interest in relationships between financial institutions, government policies and SME development (Department of Employment, 1982; Mason and Harrison, forthcoming; National Economic and Social Council, 1984; Ruane and John, 1984; Wilson, 1979). What is less widely appreciated is that, while research and official intervention have primarily concentrated on individual countries, there has also been international action to promote SME development through the provision of financial services. The prime mover internationally has been the Luxembourg-based European Investment bank (EIB) which — since well before SME development became a fashionable national goal — had employed its 'global loan' scheme to finance SMEs in Community problem regions. This paper focuses on four facets of this academically neglected regional policy: on its emergence; on changing attitudes that have led to its current prominence in the EIB's regional strategy; on factors influencing the international allocation of finance; and on the fundamental issue of the policy's impact on employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is the objective of this article to give some kind of assessment of the European Council's work over the last decade. Why was it created? How far has it fulfilled its general objectives? How well has it performed its functions? What has been its impact? These are some of the questions which this article aims to address. One cautionary note must be recorded: this is not intended to be a descriptive paper outlining the European Council's composition, operation and achievements. Rather, it aims to look at the performance of summitry From a more 'abstract' perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to summarise the measures that have been introduced by the industrial countries, to measure roughly how much trade, particularly in Europe, is now affected by controls, to examine the reasons behind the controls, in particular whether they have been for the usual motive of protection: responding to pressure groups, particularly in the recession, or for more fundamental reasons, and to suggest what implications both the actual changes and the motives behind them have for the future of trade, in particular for the structure of trade by the European countries. The high initial level of controls makes it clear that it is wrong to discuss trade under the assumption that it is normally subject only to the remaining relatively minor tariff barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a paper which explores relationships between legislative harmonization at the regional level and political conditions at the national level within the European Communities. Attempts made to glean insights into domestic political conditions that either facilitate or hinder international steps toward regional integration; The four parts of the study.

This paper has been written from the standpoint of a student of political science (with an evident international bias). It has in no way been concerned with the question whether a European union would, or would not, bring prosperity to its populations, or whether it would be a good thing or not for Britain to join it. As a student I have sought an answer to two questions: What kind of political construction was a European union likely to be, and what would be its temper—for if, as I think, function determines structure, this also means that structure must affect practice. And therefore, in the second place, what would be its relevancy to the prospects for a general international system? Admittedly, to try to examine the 'European' idea thus is like trying to hold a line on a political rainbow with its many fleeting hues—a rainbow with one horizon among those who are clear that they were not seeking 'a new fatherland' and wanted Europe united that it may work the better for international union, and the opposite horizon falling in Dr. Hallstein's camp. For Dr. Hallstein is no less clear that they were after 'awakening a new European patriotism'; and that— while the old nations may be left to dream their national dreams (and after dismissing any idea of supplanting the national with the supranational as 'another illusion')—that 'perhaps it is true that only States can act politically. Then let us create the European State—or is Europe finally to abdicate?' If the aim is political union, a 'United States of Europe', Dr. Hallstein's picture, with all its tactical tergiversations, is clearly nearer the mark. Both lines of inquiry have led to the same point, that by its nature and tendency a political union must be nationalistic; and that as such it must impede, and may defeat, the great historic quest for a general system of peace and development. Under the pressures of a planned and radical social transformation it is bound to shape... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is beyond the scope of this paper to traverse all the reasons why the EEC proposals have not so far been seriously considered in the GATT or elsewhere. One important reason, however, is that although general objectives have been suggested, neither the French nor the EEC have yet attempted to elaborate in detail exactly what would be the content of an international agreement for any of the main products concerned. Until this is done it seems unlikely that any significant progress can be made towards establishing a reasonably clear basis of negotiation in the GATT about the terms on which trade in agricultural products is to be carried on. Even a demonstration, as a result of detailed study, that commodity agreements of the kind broadly outlined by the EEC are unlikely to be more satisfactory than the present position, would help to clear away much of the existing uncertainty. In this article I shall therefore attempt to continue the discussion by showing how the EEC ideas might be applied to trade in butter, long recognized as perhaps the most 'difficult' of all the temperate foodstuffs as regards liberalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite being one of the world's major internationally traded services, tourism remains neglected within debates on European integration and growth models. We highlight the rise of tourism‐led growth in southern Europe and argue that the process of European integration has been a double‐edged sword, simultaneously incentivizing and forcing southern European economies to reap their comparative advantage in tourism. While European integration has created the preconditions for the expansion of intra‐European tourism, monetary integration pre‐empts macroeconomic management. Since the eurozone crisis, internal devaluation and fiscal austerity have suppressed the domestic growth drivers, inducing these governments towards an export‐led growth strategy. We document the emergence of unprecedented tourism‐related current account surpluses in southern Europe, driven strongly by tourism imports from the EMU core countries and the UK. Thus, while different export‐led growth strategies now coexist in the EMU, southern Europe's excessive reliance on international tourism for growth comes with severe pitfalls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic and financial crisis opened a window of opportunity to place the Single Market back on top of the European agenda as part of a two-tiered crisis response, which also included reinforced financial supervision and economic co-ordination. We argue that the Commission acted as a 'purposeful opportunist' in both tiers; but whereas in economic governance issues there was breakthrough change in the Commission's achievements and competences, in the Single Market realm policy change was fairly modest. Using process tracing analysis our goal is to explain why the Commission did not succeed in furthering a genuine Single Market reform. Our findings suggest that the Commission's entrepreneurship was constrained by the limited salience of Single Market issues in the crisis context and by the lack of actual political commitment from the other relevant stakeholders. Thus, our research highlights the limits of the Commission's opportunistic behaviour in less advantageous circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the Juncker Commission's strategy to revitalize the legislative aspects of social Europe. Given the inherent obstacles to forging agreements in the field the Commission was required to operationalize a strategy of being a politicalising bricoleur: a bricoleur in the sense it revisited and revised existing tools with the aim of generating change and building an integration moment in social Europe; politicizing in the sense that the Commission exercised social acuity, built broad teams to mobilize for change, and deployed a distinctive discursive strategy. The analysis finds that the Commission had some success, but continued obstacles resulted in reforms being focused on revisions to relatively non‐contentious policies rather than new legislative agreements. The analysis draws attention to the creativity of Commission agency and the constraints within which it operates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the early 2000s, populist radical right parties (PRRPs) have more than doubled their electoral support in Europe. Previous research found that PRRPs impact migration policy. However, little is known about whether they also impact other fields of domestic and foreign policy. Using a cross‐country panel analysis, we test to what extent the rise of PRRPs has influenced European foreign aid spending. We find that while the rise of PRRPs has not been associated with an overall reduction in foreign aid, it has led to changes in how aid moneys are spent. PRRP strength is linked to a higher share of aid for migration‐containment objectives, and less aid for addressing climate change and for multilateral organizations. Our analysis thereby provides evidence that the 'electoral threat' of PRRPs puts mainstream parties under pressure not only with regard to migration but also in relation to the climate–development nexus and aid for multilateralism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of smart specialization (S3) as a fundamental pillar of the 2014 reform of the EU cohesion policy is a significant strategic shift in European development intervention. S3 strategies aimed at mobilizing the economic potential of each country and region of the EU by allowing a more place‐based and bottom‐up approach to development. However, despite the salience that S3 has acquired in a short period of time, there has been no European‐wide evaluation of the extent to which S3 strategies truly reflect the economic characteristics and potential of the territories where they are being implemented. This article examines the characteristics of S3 strategies across Europe – by focusing on their development axes, economic or scientific domains and policy priorities – to assess whether this is the case. The results show that S3 strategies display a proliferation of objectives, a problem that particularly affects areas with weaker quality of government. Moreover, strategies are generally loosely connected with the intrinsic conditions of each region and mostly mimic what neighbouring areas are doing. The lack of more concise and focused S3 strategies is likely to undermine the effectiveness of what is, otherwise, a very interesting and worthwhile policy experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large current account imbalances in the eurozone reflect persistent diverging trends between core and periphery countries, also fed by low interest rates and abundant capital flows brought about by the introduction of the euro. With the global financial crisis, the market sentiment has changed, and capital has left the periphery countries suffering from debt and growth problems due to their failure to bring price-wage dynamics into uniformity with those of the more disciplined countries. Germany is called upon to provide financial assistance and additional external demand; however, though the euro is at stake, Germans are recalcitrant. This article investigates the rationale of the German stance in light of the (corporatist-etatist, neo-mercantilist) German socio-economic model and the widespread concern about losing the competitiveness that Germany regained through painful reforms and changes in the last two decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article a case is made for the establishment of a Labour Market Modernization Fund aiming at stimulating national labour market reforms, via rewarding effective policy effort and alleviating political economic constraints. It also is argued that the Labour Market Modernization Fund should take the place and, at least, the dowry of the European Globalization Adjustment Fund, the economics of which is weak and its politics questionable, hence making its relevance doubtful and poorly providing for meaningful adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enlargement of the European Union in May 2004 was followed by an increase in migration from the poorest of the central and eastern European New Member States (NMS) to other Member States. We consider the macroeconomic impacts of these migration flows across Europe, highlighting impacts in receiving and sending countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The massive financial instability of 2007–08 was, in the main, the result of lax monetary policy. Regulation compounded this error by allowing and encouraging excessive leverage and maturity transformation by banks. Innovation did contribute to reckless credit expansion and investments, but without lax money and excessive leverage, reckless bets on asset price increases would not have been possible. Therefore, a repeat of this instability could be avoided by correcting these two policy faults. There is no need for intrusive rules constraining non-bank intermediaries and financial innovation. The main message is: keep it simple. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policies in support of democratic transition aim to reconfigure the dominant norm set in previously authoritarian states and societies. The EU's commitment to such policies is well-established. This article discusses what the EU does when it offers democratic support, using the example of Mercosur. The evidence presented here suggests that EU policy in Mercosur is premised on assumptions of a positive identity relationship with local governing elites. In fact, however, it is not clear that democracy is understood in the same way in Mercosur as in the EU. As a result, policies resonate less than expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lisbon Strategy supports reform of Member States' tax-benefit systems while the ‘fiscal philosophy’ of the EMU postulates that governments should allow only automatic stabilizers, built into tax-benefit systems, to smooth aggregate income. We ask whether these two pillars of EU economic governance are compatible. By exploring how structural reforms affect fiscal stabilization, we complement a political economy literature that asks whether fiscal consolidation fosters or hinders structural reforms. Using EUROMOD, a tax-benefit model for the EU-15, we identify the connections between specific tax and benefit reforms and the size of the stabilizers. We conclude that Lisbon-type reforms may worsen the stabilizing capacity of tax-benefit systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU's newly launched European neighbourhood policy (ENP) is a fascinating case study in organizational management theory of how the Commission strategically adapted enlargement policies to expand its foreign policy domain. From the use of action plans, regular reports and negotiations to the larger conceptualization and use of socialization and conditionality, the development of the policy shows significant mechanical borrowing from the enlargement strategies. Given the lack of the membership carrot, the question is whether such adaptation from enlargement can promote political reforms in the ENP countries, which are generally poor, often autocratic and, in some cases, embroiled in domestic conflicts. This article traces the development of the policy and assesses prospects for human rights and democracy reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use a structural vector autoregression model to identify and compare demand and supply shocks between euro area countries and central and eastern European countries (CEECs). The shocks and the shock adjustment dynamics of these countries are also compared to western European EU countries that have not yet adopted the euro. Focusing on the period 1993-2001, we find that there are still considerable differences in the shocks and in the adjustment process to shocks between the euro area and the CEECs. However, there are indications that the differences between several individual CEECs and the euro area have declined recently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information in chronological order the different economic and political issues that affected the European Union in 2002. Launch of the euro notes and coins; Summit on the liberalization of the energy sector; Action program to reform the common fisheries policy.

Abstract With the Convention on the Future of the European Union (EU) now in progress, it is opportune to examine the processes and forces currently shaping the EU's constitutional development and impacting on governmental arrangements. For some time, debate on the constitutionalization of the EU has focused on whether the EU needs a constitution and, if so, what kind of constitution. It is argued that analysis of these core issues cannot be conducted in isolation from the processes and forces currently shaping the EU, chief among which are micro-regionalization, Europeanization and globalization. Moreover, a comprehensive understanding of the nature and degree of interaction between these processes and forces is required to inform theory and guide constitutional practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we argue that an analysis of the conflict around the nature and limits of European integration that arose between Catholic and Protestant Christian Democrats in the post‐war era can shed new light on the expansionary dynamics that gradually came to characterize the project of European integration. Catholic Christian Democrats framed the unification of Europe as a relatively exclusionary cultural‐civilizational endeavour, while Protestant Christian Democrats favoured a more inclusive conception of Europe that prioritised free trade over cultural homogeneity. Focusing specifically on Germany, we suggest that the eventual resolution of the intra‐party struggle between the two camps in the early 1970s was a crucial enabler for including more and more countries into the European project. For it was only thereafter that Catholic Christian Democrats began supporting the expansion of European integration beyond the core Europe of the original Six, with geopolitical concerns gradually crowding out cultural ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European integration has led to considerable reflection about the trajectory of industrial relations in Europe. In the event, rather than the ‘two extremes of social union versus a completely deregulated free–for–all’, a multi–level system is emerging which is simultaneously prompting both convergent and divergent developments, reflecting the different intensity of pressures for change at sector and company levels. For the foreseeable future, complexity, uncertainty and instability look set to be the defining characteristics, with policy–makers and practitioners seeking to influence directions to their own advantage. Especially uncertain is the impact of enlargement, bearing in mind the accession states’ very different industrial relations systems and levels of economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the theory of monetary policy when the monetary authority faces asymmetries in the countries constituting the monetary union. Background on the monetary policy regime in Europe; Overview of the two-country model and the model under asymmetric shocks; Graphical interpretation of the results; Conclusion.

Analyzes the operational aspects of the implementation of fiscal policy in Europe's Economic and Monetary Union, or the Stability and Growth Pact. Discussion on fiscal discipline as a precondition for fiscal flexibility; Factors influencing the setting of fiscal targets; Structural balance and long-run sustainability of public finances; Conclusions.

Focuses on the trend in the European Union (EU) documentation in 1999. Provisions by the EU institutions and agencies of high-quality resources on the World Wide Web; Governance and institutional developments; Availability of information in the long-term capacity.

This article has two objectives: the construction of enterprise‐level estimates of absorptive capacity to allow comparison of absorptive capacity levels across Europe and the analysis of whether the effects of absorptive capacity on R&D and innovation vary across countries. The dataset is the Community Innovation Survey, which provides information on the innovation activities of enterprises in Europe. The estimates of absorptive capacity are generated using a structural equation model that considers absorptive capacity to be a latent variable that predicts the use of information sources and cooperation partners for innovation activities. The effects of absorptive capacity are estimated econometrically using probit models. The results show that absorptive capacity levels vary substantially across European countries, with western European enterprises (particularly those in Germany) generally having higher absorptive capacity than eastern European enterprises (especially Romanian enterprises). The effects of absorptive capacity on R&D and innovation are uniformly positive but also demonstrate substantial heterogeneity across countries. This has important implications for policy as it suggests that not only should government aim to enhance absorptive capacity levels but it should also attempt to enhance the value of external knowledge available for enterprises to exploit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This article evaluates the degree of income protection that the tax‐benefit system provides to atypical workers in the event of unemployment. Our approach relies on simulating transitions from employment to unemployment for the entire workforce in EU member states to compare household financial circumstances before and after the transition. Our results show that coverage rates of unemployment insurance are low among atypical workers, who are also more exposed to the risk of poverty than standard employees, both while in work and in unemployment. Low work intensity employees are characterized by having high net replacement rates. However, this is due to the major role played by the market incomes of other household members. Finally, we show that in countries where self‐employed workers are not eligible for unemployment insurance benefits, extending the eligibility to this group of workers would increase their replacement rates and make them less likely to fall into poverty in the event of unemployment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Europe and Asia find themselves increasingly connected. Why then do we find limited knowledge mobility in the study of Europe throughout Asia? What factors drive this immobility? This article takes account of the existing literature and complements it by offering a more global picture of European Studies in Asia. Throughout, we assume a decidedly political perspective. The study of Europe, we claim, is not only an academic affair, but subject to a politics of (im‐)mobility driven by state and non‐state funders and influenced by local as well as domestic diplomatic, trade‐related, and strategic factors. The article aims at contributing to our understanding of how Europe is studied in Asia and highlights the importance of non‐educational factors for future debates about knowledge mobility and the possibility of a global science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]