Europe and the Loss of Sovereignty

2007 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konrad Schiemann
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
The State ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Sovereign State ◽  
And Control

AbstractThe concept of sovereignty plays too large a part in contemporary discussion. No nation is sovereign in the sense that it is free to do what it wants within its own borders and not subject to influences from outside. It is not self evident either that political systems have to be hierarchically organized or that there should be one final arbiter of law for all decisions. There are advantages in having different centres of power for decisions affecting differing matters. There is a case for the co-existence of overlapping power centres and for sharing in decision-making and being prepared to live with a decision which does not in itself reflect the wishes of your State. There are advantages in being part of a larger conglomerate. The State can then have some influence and control over what goes on outside its boundaries. There is no reason why that conglomerate should itself be a large sovereign State. The European Union offers the hope of transcending the sovereign State rather than simply replicating it in some new superstate. It may prove to be a model and an inspiration.

Multilevel Citizenship

2017 ◽  
pp. 643-668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Willem Maas
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Sovereign State ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Regional Authorities

Federal citizenship is one of several kinds of divided and overlapping sovereignties, in which two or more distinct polities coexist on the same territory. Multilevel citizenship requires a sense of political peoplehood (even if this identity is weaker than the peoplehood promoted by nation-states, as in most subnational and supranational identities) coupled with a means of involving citizens in decision-making. Citizenship today is usually conceived as a unitary relationship between individuals and a sovereign state, a conception that can be traced back to Westphalia even though local citizenships dominated in most countries until relatively recently. Contemporary developments at supranational, subnational, and transnational levels mean that citizenship is returning to the historical norm of a patchwork of different statuses operating simultaneously. This is evident in the rise of supranational citizenship in the European Union, Unasur, and elsewhere, devolution to regional authorities, and the reemergence of cities as key venues of citizenship.

The Union Budget

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Crowe
Keyword(s):  
Public Finance ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Legal Order ◽  
Traditional Model ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Community Law ◽  
European Policies ◽  
And Control

The budget of the European Union is, in many respects, an innovative transnational public finance experiment. The transition to a system of own resources in the 1970s marked an attempt to push beyond the traditional model for financing international organizations (through ‘national contributions’ from the budgets of the participating states) to establish an autonomous European budgetary order that would complement the ‘new legal order’ of Community law. Expectations may not have been fully realized in that regard, but today’s Union does enjoy a level of budgetary autonomy far exceeding that accorded to other treaty-based organizations. On the expenditure side, over 94 per cent of the budget is invested in common European policies, and it performs transnational redistributive functions in certain policy sectors. Moreover, the institutional framework for the establishment and control of the budget includes particular features, such as a strong parliamentary dimension to decision-making on expenditure and an independent Court of Auditors, that are more characteristic of the budgetary system of a state.

scholarly journals Artificial Intelligence Research and Its Contributions to the European Union’s Political Governance: Comparative Study between Member States

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 207
Author(s):  
João Reis ◽  
Paula Santo ◽  
Nuno Melão
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
The Political ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Political Decision Making

In the last six decades, many advances have been made in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Bearing in mind that AI technologies are influencing societies and political systems differently, it can be useful to understand what are the common issues between similar states in the European Union and how these political systems can collaborate with each other, seeking synergies, finding opportunities and saving costs. Therefore, we carried out an exploratory research among similar states of the European Union, in terms of scientific research in areas of AI technologies, namely: Portugal, Greece, Austria, Belgium and Sweden. A key finding of this research is that intelligent decision support systems (IDSS) are essential for the political decision-making process, since politics normally deals with complex and multifaceted decisions, which involve trade-offs between different stakeholders. As public health is becoming increasingly relevant in the field of the European Union, the IDSSs can provide relevant contributions, as it may allow sharing critical information and assist in the political decision-making process, especially in response to crisis situations.

Russia - European Union: The continuation ofthe sanctions standoff

2017 ◽  
pp. 114-127
Author(s):  
M. Klinova ◽  
E. Sidorova
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Economic Sanctions ◽  
Current Data ◽  
The State ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Year 2013

The article deals with economic sanctions and their impact on the state and prospects of the neighboring partner economies - the European Union (EU) and Russia. It provides comparisons of current data with that of the year 2013 (before sanctions) to demonstrate the impact of sanctions on both sides. Despite the fact that Russia remains the EU’s key partner, it came out of the first three partners of the EU. The current economic recession is caused by different reasons, not only by sanctions. Both the EU and Russia have internal problems, which the sanctions confrontation only exacerbates. The article emphasizes the need for a speedy restoration of cooperation.

The state of democracy in the European Union in scenarios: federation, empire and Europe à la carte

2016 ◽  
pp. 90-108
Author(s):  
Marta Witkowska
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Reference Point ◽  
The State ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Scenario Development ◽  
Normative Approach ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Eu ◽  
A La Carte

The aim of the article is to present possible scenarios on maintaining democracy in the EU, while assuming different hypothetical directions in which it could develop as a federation, empire and Europe à la carte. Selected mechanisms, norms and values of the EU system that are crucial for the functioning of democracy in the European Union are the subject of this research. The abovementioned objective of scenario development is achieved through distinguishing the notions of policy, politics and polity in the research. In the analysis of the state of democracy in the European Union both the process (politics) and the normative approach (policy) have been adopted. The characterised norms, structures, values and democratic procedures in force in the EU will become a reference point for the projected scenarios. The projection refers to a situation when the existing polity transforms into a federation, empire or Europe à la carte. The article is to serve as a projection and is a part of a wider discussion on the future of the basis on which the European Union is build.

The Law & Politics of Brexit: Volume II

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Comprehensive Analysis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Trade Relations ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Financial Settlement ◽  
The Eu

This book provides the first comprehensive analysis of the withdrawal agreement concluded between the United Kingdom and the European Union to create the legal framework for Brexit. Building on a prior volume, it overviews the process of Brexit negotiations that took place between the UK and the EU from 2017 to 2019. It also examines the key provisions of the Brexit deal, including the protection of citizens’ rights, the Irish border, and the financial settlement. Moreover, the book assesses the governance provisions on transition, decision-making and adjudication, and the prospects for future EU–UK trade relations. Finally, it reflects on the longer-term challenges that the implementation of the 2016 Brexit referendum poses for the UK territorial system, for British–Irish relations, as well as for the future of the EU beyond Brexit.

Communicable and Other Infectious Diseases

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus Frischhut
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
European Union ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Ethical Perspective ◽  
Health Measures ◽  
Environment Agency ◽  
And Control

This chapter discusses the most important features of EU law on infectious diseases. Communicable diseases not only cross borders, they also often require measures that cross different areas of policy because of different vectors for disease transmission. The relevant EU law cannot be attributed to one sectoral policy only, and thus various EU agencies participate in protecting public health. The key agency is the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Other important agencies include the European Environment Agency; European Food Safety Authority; and the Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency. However, while integration at the EU level has facilitated protection of the public's health, it also has created potential conflicts among the different objectives of the European Union. The internal market promotes the free movement of products, but public health measures can require restrictions of trade. Other conflicts can arise if protective public health measures conflict with individual human rights. The chapter then considers risk assessment and the different tools of risk management used in dealing with the challenges of infectious diseases. It also turns to the external and ethical perspective and the role the European Union takes in global health.

scholarly journals Assessing the Level of Renewable Energy Development in the European Union Member States. A 10-Year Perspective

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 3765
Author(s):  
Jarosław Brodny ◽  
Magdalena Tutak ◽  
Peter Bindzár
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Development ◽  
The State ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Current State ◽  
Renewable Energy Development ◽  
European Union Countries

The global economic development is, to a great extent, dependent on access to large amounts of cheap energy sources. The growing social awareness of ecology and the enormous damage to the Earth’s ecosystem due to the production of energy from conventional sources have forced fundamental changes in the energy sector. Renewable energy is considered to be an opportunity for such changes. The current state of the art allows such changes to be made without restricting economic development. Therefore, activities related to the energy transition are being taken all over the world. The European Union has definitely managed to achieve the most tangible effects in this regard. This article presents the findings of the research aimed at presenting the current state of renewable energy in the European Union and analyzing the changes reported in this sector in the last decade. The research was carried out using a selected set of 11 indicators characterizing renewable energy in individual countries. These indicators were selected on the basis of literature review and own studies of the state of renewable energy and its development prospects. Based on these indicators, changes in the energy structure of individual European Union countries between 2008–2018 were determined. The study is divided into two main stages. The principal components analysis (PCA) was used for the first analysis. In turn, the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) was adopted to assess the level of renewable energy development in the European Union countries. Both these methods and the extended statistical analysis were applied to determine the state of renewable energy development in the European Union countries in the studied period and to divide the Member States into classes with different levels of development. The results of the study showed that the EU countries are characterized by significant differences in the development of RES during the period in question. The unquestionable leaders in this respect are Sweden, Austria, Finland, and Latvia. Based on the findings, it is possible to evaluate the effects of activities related to renewable energy development and to prepare assumptions for future activities. Additionally, both the research and its findings broaden the knowledge of the directions of renewable energy development in individual European Union countries. This is particularly important in the context of changes related to the need to reduce harmful substance emissions and the implementation of the European Green Deal idea.

scholarly journals Analysis of the State of the Accident Rate in the Construction Industry in European Union Countries

2015 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 19-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Hoła ◽  
M. Szóstak
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Statistical Data ◽  
The State ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Accident Rate ◽  
Analysis And Evaluation ◽  
European Union Countries

The article presents an analysis and evaluation of the accident rate in selected European Union countries. On the basis of available statistical data, the analysis of accidents in various sectors of the European Union economy was carried out. Afterwards, a ranking of countries regarding accidents in the construction industry was developed. For the selected representative countries, analysis of changes in the indicators which characterize the accident rate during the period between 2008 and 2012 was carried out. Conclusions resulting from the conducted research were formulated.

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