Electoral responses to the increased contestation over European integration. The European Elections of 2019 and beyond

2021 ◽  
pp. 146511652110362
Author(s):  
Wouter van der Brug ◽  
Katjana Gattermann ◽  
Claes H. de Vreese

This special issue focuses on the consequences of the heightened conflict between member states and increased politicization of European affairs for electoral politics in the European Union. In this introduction we begin by outlining three important developments that fuelled the politicization: (a) the common currency; (b) the increased pushback on the EU’s open border policies; and (c) the inability of the EU to prevent democratic backsliding in some countries. We then discuss their consequences for EU elections, particularly campaigns, public opinion on Europe and voter behaviour, which are investigated against the backdrop of the 2019 European Parliament elections in the individual articles in this special issue. This introduction provides a contextual framework for these contributions and reflects upon some of its main findings.

2016 ◽  
Vol 66 (s1) ◽  
pp. 49-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leon Podkaminer

It is argued that European integration has not fulfilled its chief economic promises. Output growth has been increasingly weak and unstable. Productivity growth has been following a decreasing trend. Income inequalities, both within and between the EU member states, have been rising. This sorry state of affairs is likely to continue — and likely to precipitate further exits, or eventually, the dissolution of the Union. However, this outcome is not unavoidable. A better integration in the EU is possible, at least in theory. Also, the negative consequences implicit in the existence of the common currency could be neutralised. However, the basic paradigms of the economic policies to be followed in the EU would have to be radically changed. First, the unconditional fiscal consolidation provisions still in force would have to be repelled. Second, “beggar-thy-neighbour” (or mercantilist) wage policies would have to be “outlawed”.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 370-380
Author(s):  
Leon Podkaminer

In this paper it is argued that European integration has not fulfilled its chief economic promises. Output growth has been increasingly weak and unstable. Productivity growth has been following a decreasing trend. This sorry state of affairs is likely to continue. However, this outcome is not unavoidable. Moreover, the negative consequences implicit in the current architecture of the common currency could be neutralised. For this to happen, the basic paradigms of the economic policies to be followed in the European Union would have to be radically changed. First, the unconditional fiscal consolidation provisions still in force would have to be repelled. Second, ‘beggar-thy-neighbour’ (or mercantilist) wage policies would have to be ‘outlawed’.


Author(s):  
Iryna Butyrska

The author proves that the successful stability of independent Slovenia contributed to a number of factors, existing since its being incorporated in the SFRY. The factor, uniting the state has become the common goal – the aspiration to join the EU. The process of the European integration contributed to the modernization of a number of spheres, in particular social, cultural and economic ones. The global financial and economic crisis has revealed the turmoil in the economy of the state and its leadership was forced to gradually reduce a significant part of social privileges for the population. This caused the tension in the society and reduced the level of the national unity, having a negative impact on people’s wellbeing. However, since 2014, the Prime Minister M. Cherar has been trying to restore people’s trust in the state. The situation is getting better; indicators of trust in government are increasing, which also points to state capacity and political regime stability in Slovenia. Keywords: Slovenia, state stability, social sphere, government


2018 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 01011
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Dobrowolski ◽  
Grzegorz Pawłowski

The aim of the conducted research is to verify III hypotheses. Hypothesis I: changes in GDP and its components should demonstrate higher dynamics in the euro zone countries than in countries using national currencies, taking into account differences in their level of economic development. Hypothesis II: in countries that joined the euro zone during the period under examination, the analyzed indicators should demonstrate higher dynamics after the adoption of the common currency. Hypothesis III: the index of final consumption expenditure of general government should demonstrate lower dynamics in the euro zone countries and a decline in dynamics after the adoption of the euro in the countries that have done so during the period considered. Statistical material was analyzed. Data on GDP dynamics, investments, final consumption expenditure of households and non-profit institutions serving households (later referred to as: "final consumption expenditure"), final consumption expenditure of general government, export and import were used. The research methods used were: the method of analysis and logical construction and a statistical one. The hypotheses tested were only partially confirmed.


1996 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Hix ◽  
Christopher Lord

THE SINGLE EUROPEAN ACT AND THE MAASTRICHT TREATY attempted to balance two principles of representation in their redesign of the institutional structures of the European Union: the one, based on the indirect representation of publics through nationally elected governments in the European Council and Council of Ministers; the other, based on the direct representation of publics through a more powerful European Parliament. There is much to be said for this balance, for neither of the two principles can, on its own, be an adequate solution at this stage in the development of the EU. The Council suffers from a non-transparent style of decision-making and is, in the view of many, closer to oligarchic than to democratic politics. On the other hand, the claims of the European Parliament to represent public sentiments on European integration are limited by low voter participation, the second-order nature of European elections and the still Protean nature of what we might call a transnational European demos. The EU lacks a single public arena of political debate, communications and shared meanings; of partisan aggregation and political entrepreneurship; and of high and even acceptance, across issues and member states, that it is European and not national majority views which should count in collective rule-making.


Author(s):  
Maryla Bieniek-Majka ◽  
Marta Guth

The aim of this study is to determine changes in the structure of horticultural farms in EU countries in the years 2007-2017 and their incomes and determine the share of subsidies of the Common Agricultural Policy in the income of horticultural farms in studied groups. Horticultural farms from the European Union Farm Accountancy Data Network (EUFADN) of all EU countries were surveyed. A dynamic analysis of the structure of farm numbers in particular groups of economic size (ES6) was carried out, and then the average change in income and the share of subsidies in income within these groups in 2007 and 2017 were presented. As a result of the conducted research, changes in the number of horticultural farms in various groups of economic size were taken into account and the assumptions concerning the decreasing scale of fragmentation of horticultural farms were confirmed by a decrease in the number of the economically weakest groups and an increase in the number of medium and large farms. It was noted that, in the studied groups, the strongest income growths concerned farms with medium or high economic strength, which may mean that income had a significant impact on the process. Moreover, it results from the conducted research that existing institutional solutions additionally supported the tendency to reduce the scale of fragmentation of horticultural farms in the EU-12 due to the fact that the shares of subsidies were higher in groups with higher economic strength.


2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. e72661
Author(s):  
Ariadna Ripoll

This conclusion to the special issue reflects on the evolution of European integration since the early 1990s in order to better understand the contested origins of the Treaty of Lisbon and the consequences the latter have had for the EU’s political system. It considers the various contributions of the special issue and shows how the Treaty emerged in an era of shifting cleavages, disputed steps towards a more political Union and rising populism. This legacy has led to more polarisation and politicisation – a phenomenon that the Treaty of Lisbon struggles to encapsulate and conciliate with the culture of consensus and compromise inherent to its institutional structures. As a result, we observe a bias towards policy stability – and even failure – that affects the legitimacy and democratic standards of the European Union. In a context of polycrisis, the difficulty to find compromises – especially in highly normative issues – leads to the de-politicisation of the EU and reinforces the gap between EU institutions and its citizens. The COVID-19 pandemic is a window of opportunity for the EU, in which to choose between integration and disintegration; between values and inaction.


2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (10) ◽  
pp. 1349-1370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Manow ◽  
Holger Döring

Voters who participate in elections to the European Parliament (EP) apparently use these elections to punish their domestic governing parties. Many students of the EU therefore claim that the party—political composition of the Parliament should systematically differ from that of the EU Council. This study shows that opposed majorities between council and parliament may have other than simply electoral causes. The logic of domestic government formation works against the representation of more extreme and EU-skeptic parties in the Council, whereas voters in EP elections vote more often for these parties. The different locations of Council and Parliament are therefore caused by two effects: a mechanical effect—relevant for the composition of the Council—when national votes are translated into office and an electoral effect in European elections. The article discusses the implications of this finding for our understanding of the political system of the EU and of its democratic legitimacy.


2021 ◽  
pp. 69-80
Author(s):  
A.V. Chetvernina

The review is based on the publications of a series of articles in a special issue of the German Law Journal (German law journal. 2021. Vol. 22, N 3). It examines the complex of judicial and non-judicial problems that arise in the complex multi-level administrative structure of the EU. The main focus is on mechanisms of horizontal and vertical administrative cooperation, as well as new regulatory models that «generate» transnational administrative acts and mutual recognition systems, as well as multi-level inspection activities carried out to ensure compliance with EU legislation.


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