scholarly journals Subnational transnational networking and the continuing process of local-level Europeanization

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Huggins
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Local Level ◽  
European Level ◽  
Northern France ◽  
Transnational Networking ◽  
Local Strategy ◽  
South East England ◽  
Empirical Analyses

One of the features of local-level Europeanization has been the emergence of transnational networking (TN) undertaken by subnational authorities (SNAs). This activity, which received much attention during the 1990s, enables SNAs to take advantage of the opportunities created by European integration. However, empirical analyses of TN are lacking, despite European integration and the wider context SNAs find themselves within evolving. Consequently, little remains understood about how SNAs engage in TN and how they are affected by Europeanization pressures. Using the case of TN undertaken by SNAs in South East England and Northern France, this article finds that Europeanization has created more opportunities for SNAs to engage at the European level. SNAs have, in turn, taken advantage of these opportunities, leading to increased participation in TN. However, SNAs’ approaches to TN are not uniform. Engagement remains marked by differentiation as local-level factors, such as local strategy and political objectives, affect how SNAs participate in TN. This differentiation is likely to become increasingly marked as SNAs respond to contemporary challenges, such as budgetary pressures and, in the case of South East England, Brexit.

Participation of Cities in the EU Integration Processes

2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-102
Author(s):  
E. Dovbysh
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Local Level ◽  
National Development ◽  
European Level ◽  
Cohesion Policy ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Europe 2020 ◽  
European Neighborhood Policy ◽  
Supranational Institutions ◽  
The Eu

Local authorities have to deal with a large part of practical work in promotion of the European integration project. Today, cities together with other actors are involved in the EU political process. This involvement leads to modification and enrichment of the European political space and increases the viability of supranational institutions. Cities extend the range of available channels for representation of citizens’ interests. Participation of cities in the decision-making improves the quality of these decisions and the legitimacy of supranational institutions, which is especially important in the context of the debate on the democratic deficit in the EU. Cities and other subnational actors can be active at the pan-European level and national levels. They use different "access points" at the European level, such as the Committee of the Regions, the European associations of cities, representations of local authorities in Brussels. The role of cities is especially evident in the Europe 2020, Cohesion Policy and the European Neighborhood Policy. European cities are involved in the elaboration of national reform programs. Cities and their associations can offer their assessments and visions of development to the Commission. Participating in the elaboration of national reform programs cities get a chance to influence the agenda of national development. This can indirectly affect the implementation of the Europe 2020 and dynamics of the European integration process as a whole. The participation of subnational actors – regions and municipalities – is important for realization of the Cohesion Policy objectives. Cities are particularly relevant for this policy, because they can become a ground for social conflicts and unrest. New tools, such as JESSICA and Integrated Territorial Investment, pay significant attention to local level politics in Europe. The European Neighborhood Policy has an important local dimension. There are such city-oriented programs as COMUS, The Covenant of Mayors, CIUDAD and projects of cross-border coordination. Examples show that cooperation between cities is successful, if it is based on the mutual interest in solving common problems. The Treaty of Lisbon has opened new opportunities to cities' participation. European institutions are now obliged to consult with the Committee of Regions on the issues that have a strong effect at the local and regional level. However, the involvement of cities into integration practices of the EU is still limited. This is due to both, the fundamental problem of the EU organizational design, and the lack of effective channels for representing urban interests at the European level.

The politics of European integration: A European labour movement in the making?

2002 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 39-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Taylor ◽  
Andy Mathers
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
National Level ◽  
European Level ◽  
Member States ◽  
Labour Movement ◽  
The Social ◽  
National Boundaries

This paper explores the logical and historical determinants of European integration and reflects on the potential and dangers this presents for labour movement renewal. Through the principle of ‘subsidiarity’ a regulatory gap has been established between political mobilisation at the national level and neo-liberal regulation at the European level. The historical determination of this form is traced through an exploration of the social struggles against neo-liberalism that have developed within member states and transnational mobilizations that bridge this regulatory gap by linking resistance across national boundaries.

The Media Agenda: The Marginalization and Domestication of Europe

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrin Voltmer ◽  
Christiane Eilders
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
European Integration ◽  
General Public ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
European Level ◽  
National Politics ◽  
Media Agenda ◽  
National Quality ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Eu

This chapter investigates whether the assumption that the media contribute to the communication deficit of the EU is reflected in the empirical pattern of political coverage. In particular, it explores the extent to which German media take a Europeanized perspective on political affairs and whether or not they promote the politics of European integration. The study is based on a content analysis of the editorials of German national quality newspapers covering the period between 1994 and 1998. The findings show that the media under study devote only a very small portion of their attention to European issues, thus marginalizing Europe to an extent that is not warranted by the significance of the European level of governance. If the media do focus on European issues, they predominantly address them in terms of national politics, which is interpreted as a ‘domestication’ of Europe in public discourse. At the same time, the media unanimously support the idea of European integration. This pattern of communicating Europe reflects the élite consensus on European matters in Germany and may have contributed to the alienation of the general public from European politics.

Is a European “Hidden Investment State” Emerging in Spain? The Role of Instituto de Crédito Oficial

2021 ◽  
pp. 199-223
Author(s):  
Clifton Judith ◽  
Fuentes Daniel Díaz ◽  
Clara García ◽  
Ana Lara Gómez
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Great Recession ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Financial Instruments ◽  
European Level ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
Evolving Networks ◽  
Low Levels

In the context of protracted low levels of investment following the 2008 Great Recession and, with the launch of the European Commission’s “Investment Plan for Europe,” scholars have argued a new dimension of European integration may be emerging: a “hidden investment state.” Interlocking institutions through European-level policy making, and increased and innovative loans, are interpreted as a means of setting up a multilevel infrastructure for further investment. This chapter investigates how Spain and its state-owned bank, the Instituto de Crédito Oficial (ICO), has navigated—and responded to—this changing scenario. We map evolving networks, portray ICO’s institutional trajectory, compile financial information on borrowing and loans, and categorize the financial instruments deployed, in order to assess whether ICO is becoming part of this investment state. We find that, whilst the ICO reacted vigorously to the Great Recession, since then, its activities have largely returned to pre-crisis normality. We conclude that developments around a hidden investment state in Spain are modest to date.

European Integration and an Institutional Theory of Inequality

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-40
Author(s):  
Jason Beckfield
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Institutional Theory ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Class Struggle ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
European Level ◽  
Citizenship Rights ◽  
Welfare State Development ◽  
The Welfare State

This chapter provides an overview of the book’s main themes. The book argues that European integration has reorganized class struggle to the European level, entrenching a technocratic capitalism that weakens welfare states and raises income inequality. It asks: How have the fruits of European labor been distributed? Who wins and who loses from European integration? How are citizenship rights and economic fortunes being distributed? The remainder of the chapter discusses trends in welfare-state development and income inequality; current approaches to the welfare state and income inequality; and the turn toward to technocratic capitalism that now characterizes the EU’s policy priorities.

5. Democracy and the EU

2020 ◽  
pp. 101-118
Author(s):  
Tapio Raunio
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
European Level ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Input Legitimacy ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines the relationship between European integration and democracy. The continuous transfer of policy-making powers from European Union (EU) member states to the European level has raised serious concerns about democratic legitimacy. The chapter assesses the claims that European integration undermines national democracy, and that decision-making at the EU level is not sufficiently democratic. It argues that while significant challenges remain, European integration has definitely become more democratic over the years. But there is perhaps a trade-off, with stronger input legitimacy potentially an obstacle to efficient European-level decision-making. It also underlines the multilevel nature of the EU polity and the importance of public debates about European integration.

National Political Parties and European Integration: Mapping Functional Loss

Politics ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-17
Author(s):  
Gijs Berends
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Systematic Evaluation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Level ◽  
Functional Loss

This article specifically examines the role of national political parties in the light of European integration. It introduces the functions that are normally associated with parties, which allows for a systematic evaluation of the performance of national parties in the European Union. Probing these functions that parties are reputed to implement, it arrives at the conclusion that national parties are fairly unsuccessful in fulfilling their core tasks at the European level.

scholarly journals On the (De-)Fragmentation of Statehood in Europe: Reflections on Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde's Work on European Integration

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 403-434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vlad Perju
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Vertical Integration ◽  
Common Good ◽  
European Level ◽  
Nation States ◽  
The Common ◽  
Horizontal Fragmentation ◽  
Post War ◽  
Domestic Level

It has become a standard critique of European integration that the upward transfer of sovereignty in market-related matters leads to the fragmentation of statehood between the supranational, European level and the largely incapacitated nation-states that retain jurisdiction over social and distributive policies. My article takes up this critique in the elaborate version of one of Germany's leading post-war constitutional theorists, Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, whose approach has been influential in how German constitutionalism relates to the project of European unification. In this account, vertical integration uses law to sever economics from democratic politics, fragments the concern for the common good of citizens and undermines the unity of statehood. I contrast this account to instances of horizontal fragmentation of statehood, such as those underway in member-states such as Hungary or Poland where the nation state's constitutional structures are coming undone at the hands of authoritarian populists. The European Union's role of defending the rule of law within its constitutive states seeks to restore their normative integrity and, as such, is best understood as a role of verticalde-fragmentationof political and constitutional transformations at the domestic level. The question if statehood can be established at the European level gains greater urgency and complexity in light of these developments.

scholarly journals Impact of Tourism Infrastructure on Regional Development: The Implantation of a Center Parcs Resort in Northern France

2007 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Pacaud ◽  
D. Vollet ◽  
V. Angeon
Keyword(s):  
Rural Area ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Economic Base ◽  
Predominant Role ◽  
Northern France ◽  
Model Combining ◽  
Tourism Sector ◽  
The Impact

This paper assesses the impact of the implantation of a major recreational resort (670 new direct jobs planned) on the local economy of an isolated rural area in northern France. To estimate the induced effects, an original hybrid model combining Keynesian and economic base theory was used to take into account the predominant role of the first wave of spending in the tourism sector. At the local level, this resort has the potential to create between at least 70 and 80 indirect and induced jobs, provided support is lent by synergy in local policymaking (especially in training and habitat).

scholarly journals The Competitive Solidarity of European Integration

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Hartmann
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
European Society ◽  
Critical State ◽  
Social Bonds ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
European Level ◽  
European Social Policy

The paper outlines the insights we gain by drawing on Michel Foucault’s study of governmentality in the light of the importance of Ordoliberalism as a structuring principle of European integration. It further develops this perspective by interrelating it to a critical state theoretical perspective and sociology of competition with a view to contributing to a better understanding of the role of competition in establishing social bonds. A key concept the paper develops is competitive solidarity. The second part of the paper provides a more empirical analysis of an emerging competitive solidarity at European level, highlighting the interaction between solidarity and competition in the sphere of European social policy. The analysis of this sui generis social policy provides interesting insights into the complexity of the attempt to establish European social bonds, paving the way for a European society.

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