The WTO – a driving force for the liberalisation of public services in the EU?

2008 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Werner Raza
Keyword(s):  
Public Services ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Level ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
National Regulation ◽  
Legislative Action ◽  
Lock In ◽  
The Eu

Liberalisation of public services can be implemented not only through autonomous legislative action by individual countries, but also as a consequence of obligations arising from membership of supranational or international organisations. This article analyses how the process of the commodification of services at the level of the WTO, i.e. via the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), interacts with the politics of trade and services liberalisation in the European Union. Thus, we highlight the specific role of services negotiations in the WTO for the political dynamics of liberalising public services in the EU. Our conclusions highlight three specific functions of the GATS agreement: first, it serves as an institutional mechanism to ‘lock-in’ liberalisations achieved at a national or European level, secondly, it exercises a disciplinary effect on national regulation, and, thirdly, it provides an additional platform for the application of forum-shifting in the politics of international trade.

Providing for European-Level Diplomacy after Lisbon: The Case of the European External Action Service

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Duke
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
External Action ◽  
Lisbon Treaty ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Level ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Member States ◽  
External Relations ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThe Lisbon Treaty may well be on ice, may perhaps even be moribund, but there remain compelling reasons to think through the identified shortcomings of the European Union in external relations. Many of the innovations in the area of external relations that are contained in the treaty are dependent upon ratification by the EU's member states, but some are not; the European External Action Service (EEAS) falls into the latter category. Although the actual implementation of the EEAS will face formidable hurdles, as has been outlined in this contribution, the exercise of thinking through these challenges is essential if the EU and its members are to begin grappling with many of the issues examined in this special issue — ranging from the role of national diplomats in today's world to the successful pursuit of structural diplomacy and the effectiveness of the EU in multilateral organizations.

Funding the eu–Morocco ‘Mobility Partnership’: Of Implementation and Competences

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-301
Author(s):  
Leonhard den Hertog
Keyword(s):  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Policy Discourse ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Legal Literature ◽  
Political Struggles ◽  
And Migration ◽  
The Eu

This article explores the role of funding under the ‘Mobility Partnership’ (mp) concluded between the European Union (eu), various Member States and Morocco. As most academic literature and policy discourse assumes a link between funding and policy implementation, this article enquires into how funding can help us understand implementation and the priorities set therein, and what alternative understandings of funding we could develop. By presenting evidence from the eu-Morocco mp, it is argued that looking at eu funding obscures rather than clarifies the priorities pursued in the cooperation on borders, asylum and migration. Drawing from the political sociology of public finances and from legal literature, this article understands funding as embedded in institutional, legal and political struggles over competences, and highlights the symbolic nature of funding.

scholarly journals The Role of Political Leadership in Macedonia in Function of EU Integration

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 98
Author(s):  
Mirvan Xhemaili
Keyword(s):  
Transition Period ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
The Road ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
On The Road ◽  
The Eu

The dissolution of the former Yugoslavia was associated by destructive interethnic conflicts, by local and regional wars. Macedonia is also closely related to Europe politically and economically. The paper analyzes the role of political leadership on the road to EU integration. The research is one of many efforts that have been undertaken lately on the European Union development, its enlargement policy and the integration of Macedonia in EU. Specifically, this type of research is very important for the Macedonia, having in mind that the country has experienced the worst and the longest transition after the Cold War. The aim of the paper is to identify the main difficulties and challenges that make this process less successful. Macedonia started this journey in 2001 by signing the PSA/MSA. Right after its independence the country has faced many internal and external challenges. The country id undergoing a 25 years’ transition period of democratization and consolidation. The road to EU Integration has made the country undergo many reforms in many fields. The country views the process of integration as a strategic objective. The EU union has shown its interest to include the aspiring countries from the Western Balkans in its family. There is a high percentage of citizens for this process. The political leadership has not been responsible for the reforms in the country that have been addressed by EU. The political leadership uses the EU membership as a rhetoric in political campaign rather than doing more for the process, the paper analyzes the rhetoric and the reality by different methodologies. Political leaders should do more for the EU Integration and consider themselves as the only responsible party.

Paths into Irregularity: The Legal and Political Construction of Irregular Migration

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franck Düvell
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Side Effects ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Irregular Migration ◽  
Member States ◽  
Policy Failure ◽  
Politics And Law ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThis article empirically analyses the political and legal construction of irregular migration across selected member states of the European Union. First, it considers how policies lay the preconditions for irregular migration. Second, it explores the role of politics and law in generating irregular migration. Thus, it carves out diverse and divergent practices across the EU and argues that these are related to divergent legal and political cultures among the member states. This reveals that regulations that are meant to prevent unwanted migration often have unintended side-effects and instead encourage irregular migration which is conceptualised as a policy gap and policy failure. The conclusion drawn from this is that some irregular migration can be avoided and that there is scope for accordingly reforming national laws.

scholarly journals The Role and Importance of Economic Cooperation of the Visegrad Group Countries in the European Union Since 2015

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 183-205
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Jasiecki
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Economic Cooperation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Potential ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Communist Countries ◽  
Visegrad Group ◽  
Distinguishing Features ◽  
The Eu

The aim of the article is to describe the genesis, role, significance, conditions and effects of economic cooperation of the Visegrad Group countries in the European Union, with particular emphasis on their development after 2015. It presents the distinguishing features and specifi city of the Group’s cooperation before accession to NATO and the EU in the context of the situation of Central Europe and other European post-communist countries, as well as the most important aspects of the political and economic potential of the V4 countries against the background of the EU and selected member states. Various aspects of their economic cooperation in the region are discussed, as well as the structural limitations of the role of the Visegrad Group countries in the EU and related controversy. The final part contains conclusions relating to the Group’s activities with regard to the main axes of political and economic divisions in the EU, with particular emphasis placed on economic dimensions.

Round and Round the Roundabout: Czech Roma and the Vicious Circle of Asylum-seeking

2003 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mit'a Castle-Kanĕrová
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
Secondary Importance ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Eu

This article follows earlier discussions about the current status of Romani refugees and migrants within Europe and the role of human rights in the process of accession of Central European states to the European Union (EU), in the Cambridge Review of International Affairs, Volume 13, Number 2. Romani migration opens up central issues of democratisation in Eastern Europe and of the role played by the EU in shaping that process. Human rights appear to have been accorded secondary importance and were replaced by the political doctrines of accession as efforts to manage and control migration, particularly of so-called undesirable migrants, such as the Roma, have reached a hiatus. The argument offered here is that discrimination of the Roma has been defined as no more than a social problem so that governments, both East and West, can proceed with the political agenda of enlargement. To demonstrate this point, the article reviews some Czech governmental documentation related to the treatment of Roma and places it within the context of the debate around accession within the broader framework of EU harmonisation of immigration policies.

scholarly journals The Political/Civil Role of Religion: What Narrative is Appropiate for the EU?

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 266-281
Author(s):  
Walter Rothholz
Keyword(s):  
Civil Religion ◽  
Structural Similarity ◽  
The Other ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Secular Society ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Eu

Abstract This article introduces an empirical comprehension of secularization – disavowing Max Weber’s grasp – which is based on the premise that a structural similarity of symbols leads to their transmogrification. The structure of society remains the same in a secular society as well, in that consciousness is still affected by the same experiences. Following a brief remark on liberalism as privatizer of all highest goods, one of the consequences of secularization is exemplified. The European Union is such a liberal foundation whose self-understanding has found itself at a loss of political approval. Based on a political economy, namely on the benefit of some is the detriment of the other, the EU has overlooked that a society always shares a civil religion to which it is not possible to give up: Renouncing the sacred always denotes a profound political crisis. And a political crisis will always generate a new civil religion, of fundamental reactionary nature, and, therefore, incurring the inevitable form of an ideology.

Intergovernmental Conference: Three Case Studies of EC/EU Institution Building

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Běla Plechanovová
Keyword(s):  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Institution Building ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Revision Procedure ◽  
Amsterdam Treaty ◽  
Single European Act ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Eu

Intergovernmental conference (IGC) within the European integration context is a vehicle for institutional change. Based on the majority decision in the Council, the representatives of member states’ governments convene to debate proposals for amendments to the founding treaties of the European Union (EU) and make decisions on the agreed changes, which are then subject to the ratification process in the member countries according to their constitutional requirements. This procedure was used for almost all treaty revisions until the Treaty of Lisbon in 2007 changed the rules. An ordinary revision procedure was introduced that assumes a role for the Convention to draft changes to the treaties, while keeping the IGC as a next step in the process. A simplified revision procedure was introduced for making adjustments to the internal policies and actions of the EU according to the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, thus replacing the IGC by a unanimous decision of the European Council. The Merger Treaty of 1965, the Single European Act in 1986, and the Amsterdam Treaty in 1997 represent distinct steps in shaping the perception of the role of the IGC as an institution in the political process within the European Communities and the EU.

The European Union and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie

2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 385-413
Author(s):  
Barbara De Cock
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Cultural Diversity ◽  
International Cooperation ◽  
Future Scenarios ◽  
The European Union ◽  
International Organisations ◽  
International Language ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
The Eu

The EU and the OIF have both developed to become international organisations that combine economic, geopolitical and cultural-linguistic policies. This article deals with the fascinating interface of such policies. The main focus resides on the discourse by which both organisations construct their linguistic and cultural diversity concept and on how they deal with language rights. The role of other divides in the debate on linguistic and cultural diversity in international cooperation is investigated. Furthermore, the analysis includes future scenarios and integrates the frequently used arguments in on-going Belgian public debates on French as an international language and in European debates on French as the legal language for the EU.

Las funciones del interregionalismo en la relación UE-CAN

Oikos ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (29) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Olga María Cerqueira Torres
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Present Article ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
Political Rationality ◽  
Article Analysis ◽  
Andean Community ◽  
The Eu

RESUMENEn el presente artículo el análisis se ha centrado en determinar cuáles de las funciones del interregionalismo, sistematizadas en los trabajos de Jürgen Rüland, han sido desarrolladas en la relación Unión Europea-Comunidad Andina de Naciones, ya que ello ha permitido evidenciar si el estado del proceso de integración de la CAN ha condicionado la racionalidad política del comportamiento de la Unión Europea hacia la región andina (civil power o soft imperialism); esto posibilitará establecer la viabilidad de la firma del Acuerdo de Asociación Unión Europea-Comunidad Andina de Naciones.Palabras clave: Unión Europea, Comunidad Andina, interregionalismo, funciones, acuerdo de asociación. Interregionalism functions in the EU-ANDEAN community relationsABSTRACTIn the present article analysis has focused on which functions of interregionalism, systematized by Jürgen Rüland, have been developed in the European Union-Andean Community birregional relation, that allowed demonstrate if the state of the integration process in the Andean Community has conditioned the political rationality of the European Union towards the Andean region (civil power or soft imperialism); with all these elements will be possible to establish the viability of the Association Agreement signature between the European Union and the Andean Community.Keywords: European Union, Andean Community, interregionalism, functions, association agreement.

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