Credit inclusion and the home credit market in post-communist member states of the European Union

The article investigates the current tasks and system of European Union’s institutions in the area of social policy. It is noted that the importance of enhancing social integration at the present stage of European Union development has been steadily increasing, since it is necessary to ensure a high level of employment and social protection, as well as a good education and quality of health, thus overcoming poverty and inequality. It has been established that the emergence of new threats to society, in particular such as international terrorism, uncontrolled and illegal migration, etc. are social in their nature. The aforementioned requires substantial changes in the European Union social policy in order not to collapse under the scope of undertaken obligations. The author identifies the crucial task of European Union and its Member-States, among which are: preservation of the achievements of past years, ensuring social rights and, at the same time, dynamic economic development in the present. Specifically, these tasks determine the European Union’s social agenda, and they can be resolved only with the appropriate coordination of the efforts between European Union institutions and its Member-States. To implement the tasks of the European Union social policy, an extensive system of institutions has been established. Basically, such institutions are divided into two major groups – those that are based on treaties and those that are established by secondary law. The first includes such institutions as the European Council, the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the Court of Justice, the Economic and Social Committee. The second group includes supporting institutions, since they were founded for activities on specific social issues. These are agencies, committees and foundations that are accountable to the European Commission or the Council of the European Union. The distribution of powers in the social sphere between European Union institutions allows the author to conclude that at the present moment Union has sufficiently developed social infrastructure. The absence of a single body concerned with social issues at the pan- European level obliges all European Union institutions to deal with social issues, as well as participate in shaping a unified social space.

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Social Policy and European Union Politics

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1054 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Mary Daly

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Social Policy ◽

Trade Unions ◽

The Political ◽

The European Union ◽

Member States ◽

Policy Model ◽

The Social ◽

Democratic Parties ◽

The Eu

Social policy has a particular character and set of associated politics in the European Union (EU) context. There is a double contestation involved: the extent of the EU’s agency in the field and the type of social policy model pursued. The former is contested because social policy is typically and traditionally a matter of national competence and the latter because the social policy model is crucial to economic and market development. Hence, social policy has both functional and political significance, and EU engagement risks member states’ capacity to control the social fate of their citizens and the associated resources, authority, and power that come with this capacity. The political contestations are at their core territorially and/or social class based; the former crystalizes how wide and extensive the EU authority should be in social policy and the latter a left/right continuum in regard to how redistributive and socially interventionist EU social policy should be. Both are the subject of a complicated politics at EU level. First, there is a diverse set of agents involved, not just member states and the “political” EU institutions (Parliament and Council) but the Commission is also an important “interested” actor. This renders institutional politics and jockeying for power typical features of social policymaking in the EU. Second, one has to break down the monolith of the EU institutions and recognize that within and among them are actors or units that favor a more left or right position on social policy. Third, actors’ positions do not necessarily align on the two types of contestation (apart perhaps from the social nongovernmental organizations and to a lesser extent employers and business interests). Some actors who favor an extensive role for social policy in general are skeptical about the role of the EU in this regard (e.g., trade unions, some social democratic parties) while others (some sectors of the Commission) wish for a more expansive EU remit in social policy but also support a version of social policy pinned tightly to market and economic functions. In this kind of context, the strongest and most consistent political thrust is toward a type of EU social policy that is most clearly oriented to enabling the Union’s economic and market-related objectives. Given this and the institutional set-up, the default position in EU social policy is for a market-making social policy orientation on the one hand and a circumscribed role for the EU in social policy on the other.

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The Slow Road to the Social Investment Perspective in the European Union

Canadian Journal of European and Russian Studies ◽

10.22215/cjers.v10i1.2495 ◽

2016 ◽

Author(s):

Shannon Dinan

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Social Policy ◽

Social Inclusion ◽

Social Protection ◽

Social Dimension ◽

The European Union ◽

Social Investment ◽

Research Experience ◽

Member States ◽

The Social

The European Union has no unilateral legislative capacity in the area of social policy. However, the European Commission does play the role of guide by providing a discursive framework and targets for its 28 Member States to meet. Since the late 1990’s, the EU’s ideas on social policy have moved away from the traditional social protection model towards promoting social inclusion, labour activation and investing in children. These new policies represent the social investment perspective, which advocates preparing the population for a knowledge-based economy to increase economic growth and job creation and to break the intergenerational transmission of poverty. The EU began the gradual incorporation of the social investment perspective to its social dimension with the adoption of ten-year strategies. Since 2000, it has continued to set goals and benchmarks as well as offer a forum for Member States to coordinate their social initiatives. Drawing on a series of interviews conducted during a research experience in Brussels as well as official documents, this paper is a descriptive analysis of the recent modifications to the EU’s social dimension. It focuses on the changes created by the Europe 2020 Strategy and the Social Investment Package. By tracing the genesis and evolution of these initiatives, the author identifies four obstacles to social investment in the European Union's social dimension. Full text available at: https://doi.org/10.22215/rera.v10i1.263

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Promoting policy consistency and continuity in the EU through the trio: Alcohol-related harm on the council presidency agenda

Journal of European Social Policy ◽

10.1177/0958928718807404 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 29 (4) ◽

pp. 515-528

Author(s):

Trygve Ugland

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Social Policy ◽

Policy Issue ◽

The European Union ◽

Close Relationship ◽

Key Factor ◽

Council Presidency ◽

Alcohol Related Harm ◽

Related Harm ◽

The Eu

To what extent has the new trio group presidency model that was implemented in 2007 contributed to improved policy consistency and continuity in the European Union (EU)? This article addresses this question by comparing the role alcohol, as a health and social policy issue, has played on the agenda of individual national and trio Council presidencies since the EU Alcohol Strategy was adopted in 2006. Based on systematic analyses of 21 national and 7 trio Council presidency work programmes in the period between 2007 and 2017, the article concludes that the new trio presidency model has led to improved policy consistency and continuity through its promotion of the wider EU agenda, thus contributing to strengthen the image of the Council as a ‘club’. The close relationship between the European Commission and the trio presidencies in the preparation of the joint trio work programmes is here a key factor.

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The Slow Road to the Social Investment Perspective in the European Union

Review of European and Russian Affairs ◽

10.22215/rera.v10i1.263 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Shannon Dinan

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Social Policy ◽

Social Inclusion ◽

Social Protection ◽

Social Dimension ◽

The European Union ◽

Social Investment ◽

Research Experience ◽

Member States ◽

The Social

The European Union has no unilateral legislative capacity in the area of social policy. However, the European Commission does play the role of guide by providing a discursive framework and targets for its 28 Member States to meet. Since the late 1990’s, the EU’s ideas on social policy have moved away from the traditional social protection model towards promoting social inclusion, labour activation and investing in children. These new policies represent the social investment perspective, which advocates preparing the population for a knowledge-based economy to increase economic growth and job creation and to break the intergenerational transmission of poverty. The EU began the gradual incorporation of the social investment perspective to its social dimension with the adoption of ten-year strategies. Since 2000, it has continued to set goals and benchmarks as well as offer a forum for Member States to coordinate their social initiatives. Drawing on a series of interviews conducted during a research experience in Brussels as well as official documents, this paper is a descriptive analysis of the recent modifications to the EU’s social dimension. It focuses on the changes created by the Europe 2020 Strategy and the Social Investment Package. By tracing the genesis and evolution of these initiatives, the author identifies four obstacles to social investment in the European Union's social dimension.

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Do increasing prices affect food deprivation in the European Union?

Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research ◽

10.5424/sjar/2018161-11254 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. e0103 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sol García-Germán ◽

Isabel Bardají ◽

Alberto Garrido

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Food Deprivation ◽

Low Income ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Food Prices ◽

Income Quintile ◽

The European Union ◽

Member States ◽

Eu Member States ◽

Averaged Models

The rise of prices of agricultural commodities in global markets during 2007-2012 was followed by increased consumer food prices around the world. More expensive food may have an impact on consumer food access and thus on their welfare, not only in developing countries but also amongst the most vulnerable in developed countries. Using a longitudinal database from the Statistics on Income and Living Conditions and population-averaged models, we tested whether increasing food prices had an impact on household food deprivation in 26 European Union (EU) member states. Results revealed a significant relationship between food deprivation and the consumer food price index and disposable income. Households in the lowest income quintile in the member states recently acceded to the EU were the most vulnerable to food deprivation. Results also showed that low-income households in densely populated areas were more vulnerable to food deprivation. This should be taken into account when evaluating food assistance programmes that focus on the segments of the population most at risk of food deprivation.

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Political aspects of security of the European Union Member States

10.31338/1641-2478pe.3.20.6 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 97-105

Author(s):

Aleksandra Kusztykiewicz-Fedurek

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Negative Impact ◽

The European Union ◽

Member States ◽

Eu Member States ◽

Political Security ◽

New Institutions ◽

The Stability ◽

Key Aspects ◽

The Eu

Political security is very often considered through the prism of individual states. In the scholar literature in-depth analyses of this kind of security are rarely encountered in the context of international entities that these countries integrate. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to key aspects of political security in the European Union (EU) Member States. The EU as a supranational organisation, gathering Member States first, ensures the stability of the EU as a whole, and secondly, it ensures that Member States respect common values and principles. Additionally, the EU institutions focus on ensuring the proper functioning of the Eurozone (also called officially “euro area” in EU regulations). Actions that may have a negative impact on the level of the EU’s political security include the boycott of establishing new institutions conducive to the peaceful coexistence and development of states. These threats seem to have a significant impact on the situation in the EU in the face of the proposed (and not accepted by Member States not belonging to the Eurogroup) Eurozone reforms concerning, inter alia, appointment of the Minister of Economy and Finance and the creation of a new institution - the European Monetary Fund.

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Development of Scenarios for Health and Long-Term Care Expenditure in the European Union Member States

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.2027429 ◽

2007 ◽

Author(s):

Centre for European Policy Studies

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Union Member ◽

Long Term Care ◽

The European Union ◽

Term Care ◽

Member States ◽

European Union Member States

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Foreign Affairs Federalism in the European Union

The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Foreign Relations Law ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190653330.013.19 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 331-351

Author(s):

Robert Schütze

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

International Law ◽

Legal Order ◽

Foreign Affairs ◽

The European Union ◽

Member States ◽

European Court ◽

Treaty Of Rome ◽

Formed Part ◽

Mixed Agreements

The European Union was born as an international organization. The 1957 Treaty of Rome formed part of international law, although the European Court of Justice was eager to emphasize that the Union constitutes “a new legal order” of international law. With time, this new legal order has indeed evolved into a true “federation of States.” Yet how would the foreign affairs powers of this new supranational entity be divided? Would the European Union gradually replace the member states, or would it preserve their distinct and diverse foreign affairs voices? In the past sixty years, the Union has indeed significantly sharpened its foreign affairs powers. While still based on the idea that it has no plenary power, the Union’s external competences have expanded dramatically, and today it is hard to identify a nucleus of exclusive foreign affairs powers reserved for the member states. And in contrast to a classic international law perspective, the Union’s member states only enjoy limited treaty-making powers under European law. Their foreign affairs powers are limited by the exclusive powers of the Union, and they may be preempted through European legislation. There are, however, moments when both the Union and its states enjoy overlapping foreign affairs powers. For these situations, the Union legal order has devised a number of cooperative mechanisms to safeguard a degree of “unity” in the external actions of the Union. Mixed agreements constitute an international mechanism that brings the Union and the member states to the same negotiating table. The second constitutional device is internal to the Union legal order: the duty of cooperation.

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Review by Constitutional Courts of the Obligation of National Courts of Last Instance to Refer a Preliminary Question to the Court of Justice of the EU

German Law Journal ◽

10.1017/s2071832200021301 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 16 (6) ◽

pp. 1663-1700 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Clelia Lacchi

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Eu Law ◽

The European Union ◽

Constitutional Courts ◽

Member States ◽

Constitutional Review ◽

National Courts ◽

Court Of Justice ◽

Judicial Remedy ◽

The Eu

The Constitutional Courts of a number of Member States exert a constitutional review on the obligation of national courts of last instance to make a reference for a preliminary ruling to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).Pursuant to Article 267(3) TFEU, national courts of last instance, namely courts or tribunals against whose decisions there is no judicial remedy under national law, are required to refer to the CJEU for a preliminary question related to the interpretation of the Treaties or the validity and interpretation of acts of European Union (EU) institutions. The CJEU specified the exceptions to this obligation inCILFIT. Indeed, national courts of last instance have a crucial role according to the devolution to national judges of the task of ensuring, in collaboration with the CJEU, the full application of EU law in all Member States and the judicial protection of individuals’ rights under EU law. With preliminary references as the keystone of the EU judicial system, the cooperation of national judges with the CJEU forms part of the EU constitutional structure in accordance with Article 19(1) TEU.

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