scholarly journals Subsidiarity: Bridging the gap between the ideal and reality

European View ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reinhold Lopatka
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The Political ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Dialogue ◽  
Green Card ◽  
Eu Legislation ◽  
Local Stakeholders ◽  
The Eu ◽  
The Ideal

There is no alternative to the megaproject we call the ‘European Union’. But it could be brought much closer to the citizens of Europe by putting the principles of subsidiarity into effect in more practical ways. This requires greater involvement by national, regional and local stakeholders. Subsidiarity means less Europe where EU-level action would not add value, but more Europe where we need Europe-wide efforts. The new Austrian government wants to shape the EU in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity. What can be done? How can national, regional and local authorities play a greater role in the legislative process? It would help if the member states could be given more time to examine whether new proposals for EU legislation conform to the principle of subsidiarity. This would mean extending the eight-week period that is currently allotted for carrying out these examinations. Directives should be preferred over regulations, and the use of delegated acts should be restricted. A ‘Green Card’ procedure could expand the political dialogue aimed at initiating new EU legislation. And efforts to improve EU legislation linked to subsidiarity should focus on reducing overregulation and bridging the gap between the ideal and the real.

scholarly journals Russia – EU: Dialogue without Dialogue

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-15
Author(s):  
Dmitriy Danilov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Foreign Minister ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
The Political ◽  
Diplomatic Relations ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
Political Dialogue ◽  
The Eu

The article deals with the problems of political and diplomatic relations between Russia and the European Union. The key event was the meeting of Josep Borrel as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow in February 2021. The Russian side considered it as an opportunity to outline the prospect of resuming the political dialogue interrupted by the European Union in 2014, notably in the context of the reviewing a strategy on Russia initiated by the EU. The author analyzes the differences in the approaches of European countries and institutions in the context of the ongoing aggravation of Russia – EU relations. The main result of the meeting was not its «ineffectiveness», but, on the contrary, its obvious counterproductive effect. The EU has even more consolidated its policy of deterring Russia and increasing sanctions pressure, which actually closes the prospect for systemic dialogue. In this context, the political and diplomatic conflict in connection with the mass expulsion of Russian diplomats by the Czech Republic (the «Czech case») and the narrowing of opportunities to compensate for the EU-Russia dialogue shortcomings by bilateral tracks are also considered. In conclusion, some finding are presented regarding the perspective Russian reaction.

scholarly journals “Morrer por dentro”? Os desafios do populismo e as eleições europeias de 2019

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Paulo Vila Maior
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
The Political ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Centre Of Gravity ◽  
Political Landscape ◽  
The Eu

The results of the 2019 European Parliament (EP) elections cast an unprecedented challenge for the European Union (EU). Growing popularity of right-wing and left-wing, populist and radical political parties and the rising number of members of the parliament materialise the challenge. The article explores the seismic effects of the reconfiguration of the political landscape for European integration. The rising number of populist and radical political parties’ members of the parliament might weaken the political centre of gravity in the EP. Since the EP plays an important role on the legislative process of the EU, populist and radical parties’ Euroscepticism (if not their standpoint against the EU) might pervade the EP and threaten the EU with the prospect of setback, or at least stagnation.

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.

An Ever Further Apart Union? National and European Attachments in the European Union

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracey Raney
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Active Role ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Identities ◽  
Political Identification ◽  
The Eu

This paper is about the ways that citizens perceive their place in the political world around them, through their political identities. Using a combination of comparative and quantitative methodologies, the study traces the pattern of citizens’ political identifications in the European Union and Canada between 1981 and 2003 and explains the mechanisms that shape these political identifications. The results of the paper show that in the EU and Canada identity formation is a process that involves the participation of both individuals and political institutions yet between the two, individuals play a greater role in identity construction than do political institutions. The paper argues that the main agents of political identification in the EU and Canada are citizens themselves: individuals choose their own political identifications, rather than acquiring identities that are pre-determined by historical or cultural precedence. The paper makes the case that this phenomenon is characteristic of a rise of ‘civic’ identities in the EU and Canada. In the European Union, this overarching ‘civic’ identity is in its infancy compared to Canada, yet, both reveal a new form of political identification when compared to the historical and enduring forms of cultural identities firmly entrenched in Europe. The rise of civic identities in both the EU and Canada is attributed to the active role that citizens play in their own identity constructions as they base their identifications on rational assessments of how well political institutions function, and whether their memberships in the community will benefit them, rather than on emotional factors rooted in religion or race. In the absence of strongly held emotional identifications, in the EU and Canada political institutions play a passive role in identity construction by making the community appear more entitative to its citizens. These findings offer new theoretical scope to the concept of civic communities and the political identities that underpin them. The most important finding presented in the paper is that although civic communities and identities are manufactured by institutions and political elites (politicians and bureaucrats), they require thinking citizens, not feeling ones, to be sustained.   Full text available at: https://doi.org/10.22215/rera.v2i4.179

Actions Speak Louder Than Words? The Untapped Potential of V4 Parliaments in EU Affairs

2021 ◽  
pp. 088832542110127
Author(s):  
Karolina Borońska-Hryniewiecka ◽  
Jan Grinc
Keyword(s):  
Early Warning System ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Veto Players ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Dialogue ◽  
Eu Policy ◽  
Green Card ◽  
Policy Ideas ◽  
Policy Making Process ◽  
The Eu

This article offers the first ever comparative analysis of the involvement of V4 parliaments in the sphere of European Union (EU) affairs. Its underlying research objective is to determine what conditions V4’s parliamentary participation in various EU-oriented activities such as domestic scrutiny of the government’s EU policy, the political dialogue with the Commission, the Early Warning System for subsidiarity control, and the green card initiative. Based on the actual scrutiny output, parliamentary minutes, and data from questionnaires, we address the questions: (1) To what extent domestic legislatures act as autonomous as opposed to government-supporting actors in these arenas? (2) Do they mostly act as EU veto players, or try to contribute constructively to the EU policy-making process by bringing alternative policy ideas? (3) What are their motivations for engaging in direct dialogue with EU institutions in addition to domestic scrutiny? and (4) How MPs envisage their own EU-oriented roles? While the article reveals that V4 parliaments mostly act as gatekeepers in the sphere of EU affairs, it also casts a new light on the previous literature findings related to the EU-oriented performance of the Czech and Polish lower chambers. We conclude that, generally, V4 parliaments refrain from fully exploiting their relatively strong formal prerogatives in EU affairs—a fact that can be partly explained by the composition of their ruling majorities.

scholarly journals Has the Action for Failure to Act in the European Union Lost its Purpose?

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inga Daukšienė ◽  
Arvydas Budnikas
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Judicial Review ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Case Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Legislation ◽  
Court Of Justice ◽  
Legal Remedy ◽  
The Eu

ABSTRACT This article analyzes the purpose of the action for failure to act under article 265 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The statements are derived from the analysis of scientific literature, relevant legislation, practice of the European Union Court of Justice (CJEU) and the European Union General Court (EUGC). Useful information has also been obtained from the opinions of general advocates of the CJEU. The article of TFEU 265, which governs the action for failure to act, is very abstract. For this reason, a whole procedure under the article 265 TFEU was developed by the EU courts. The original purpose of the action for failure to act was to constitute whether European Union (EU) institution properly fulfilled its obligations under the EU legislation. However, in the course of case-law, a mere EU institution’s express refusal to fulfill its duties became sufficient to constitute that the EU institution acted and therefore action for failure to act became devoid of purpose. This article analyzes whether the action for failure to act has lost its purpose and become an ineffective legal remedy in the system of judicial review in the EU. Additionally, the action for failure to act is compared to similar national actions.

scholarly journals The EU after Brexit: Key Geopolitical and Geo-Economic Challenges

2020 ◽  
pp. 30-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petr YAKOVLEV
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
European Council ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Union History ◽  
The Eu

The decision on Britain’s secession from the European Union, taken by the British Parliament and agreed by London and Brussels, divided the Union history into “before” and “after”. Not only will the remaining member states have to “digest” the political, commercial, economic and mental consequences of parting with one of the largest partners. They will also have to create a substantially new algorithm for the functioning of United Europe. On this path, the EU is confronted with many geopolitical and geo-economic challenges, which should be answered by the new leaders of the European Commission, European Council, and European Parliament.

scholarly journals Electoral and Mechanical Causes of Divided Government in the European Union

2007 ◽  
Vol 41 (10) ◽  
pp. 1349-1370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Manow ◽  
Holger Döring
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political System ◽  
Mechanical Effect ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
Divided Government ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Government Formation ◽  
European Elections ◽  
The Eu

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.

The EU’s Stealthy Hegemony and Ambiguous Neighbors

2021 ◽  
Vol 120 (824) ◽  
pp. 112-117
Author(s):  
Alexander Clarkson
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
European Integration ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Control ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

European integration based on a supranational form of pooled sovereignty has taken on increasingly state-like qualities. With every move toward absorbing additional members, the European Union system has expanded its geographic reach. The state-like power of the EU is apparent in the impact its integration processes have had in societies just outside its borders. Its growing influence is most notable in misfit border territories, from Kaliningrad to Transnistria, and from Cyprus to Northern Ireland, that are tenuously under the political control of neighboring geopolitical powers.

Legislating and Adjudicating

2020 ◽  
pp. 173-192
Author(s):  
Eleanor Sharpston
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
United Kingdom ◽  
Good Reason ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Legislative Process ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
European Union Legislation ◽  
Final Text ◽  
The Eu

The chapter examines the role played by the Court of Justice of the European Union (the CJEU) in ruling authoritatively on the meaning of European Union legislation. The EU legislative process differs from the parliamentary process in the United Kingdom for good reason. Within the European Union, there are many different traditions of how such drafting should be done; whilst, at EU level, multinationalism and multilingualism have a significant impact on what emerges as the final text. The chapter explains the difficulties encountered and gives illustrations from the Court’s case-law of instances where the Court has either decided not to take steps that might be construed as ‘legislating’ or, conversely, has gone to the limits of ‘constructive re-interpretation’. The chapter concludes by asking how far the Court should ‘bend’ a legislative text.

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