Addressing the EU's East-West Brain Drain: Why a Tax Solution would be in Vain

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-85
Author(s):  
József Golovics
Keyword(s):  
Brain Drain ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
Integration Theory ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
Welfare Losses ◽  
Accession Countries ◽  
Development Levels ◽  
The Eu

In the 1970s Jagdish Bhagwati proposed the introduction of a brain drain tax to compensate less developed countries for the welfare losses they suffered as a result of outward skilled migration, but the proposal was never implemented. In light of tensions in Europe caused by the mobility of highly-skilled labour from ‘East’ to ‘West’ following the 2004 EU enlargement, this paper re-examines the feasibility of such a proposal within the Union. The disparity between levels of income and economic development in (some of) the ‘new’ and ‘old’ member states, combined with the specific European institutional environment to trigger a brain drain from the accession countries to the EU-15. Mindful of the values and specificities of the EU, I address the question of whether Bhagwati's brain drain tax could provide a solution to this problem in the European context. Combining empirical research with EU integration theory, I argue that it cannot: implementation would face obstacles even in the limited context of the EU because of the lack of appropriate supranational competences; moreover, the tax – as a compensation mechanism - could not reduce the major differences in development levels, which is the underlying cause of the problem. Nonetheless, addressing this question illuminates broader issues of the politics of enlargement and the inequities of the current EU, in spite of the benefits it has brought to its 2004 and 2007 entrants.

The Environmental Challenges of EU Enlargement

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-68
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Čavoški
Keyword(s):  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Policy Area ◽  
Institutional Economic ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
Weakest Link ◽  
Accession Countries ◽  
The Eu

Although the implementation of the acquis is a crucial element of the EU integration process, it is recognised as its ‘weakest link’. The implementation deficit is especially apparent with the EU environmental acquis, both in the existing member states and the accession countries. Most recently, following the accession of Croatia, the EU faces prospective enlargement to other Western Balkans countries. The author argues that there are specific problems in implementing the environmental acquis in accession countries and that the case of Serbia, or other countries of the Western Balkans, is not particularly unique. The case study used to support this argument is the implementation of the waste acquis in Serbia as it represents a highly demanding and costly policy area for national authorities and the country faces extensive legal, institutional, economic and financial challenges in implementing the environmental acquis.

German Policy towards EU Enlargement

2015 ◽  
pp. 18-22
Author(s):  
F. Basov
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Eastern Partnership ◽  
Western Balkan Region ◽  
Balkan Region ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Eu

This article is dedicated to the German policy towards the EU enlargement. Its history as well as the current German policy towards prospective enlargements are analyzed in this paper. The article offers party-political and sociological analysis of Germany`s attitude towards the EU enlargement, also the reasons for it are determined. FRG supported all of the European Community and European Union enlargements. This line is being continued, but nowadays only step to step approach is being supported. Germany‘s motives to the EU enlargement are based on the liberal concept of the common security. The main goals of this policy are the including of European countries into the Western community of developed countries (the EU), the extension of the stability and security area. The economic integration is also very important for Germany. The key priority of the EU enlargement is the Western Balkan region (the so called “Europeanisation” of Western Balkans). This process is being supported by political elites of the region and by the European Union itself. It is recognized, that the Europeanisation of Western Balkans was used as a sample for the Eastern Partnership Program. Without consideration of the Russian factor, though, this strategy towards the post-Soviet countries has many weaknesses. But the EU-membership for the Eastern Partnership members is not excluded.

Pricing and Reimbursement Policies in New EU Accession Countries

2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 249-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rossen Kazakov
Keyword(s):  
Coming Out ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
Accession Countries ◽  
Containment Measures ◽  
Strategy Planning ◽  
Pricing And Reimbursement ◽  
Price Comparisons ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
The Eu

This paper aims to provide an informative and analytical view on healthcare policies on pricing and reimbursement in new accession countries, their reflection by the new national drugs legislations, and pricing and reimbursement policies, constraints and opportunities for the EU generic medicines producers. It is driven by the belief that having a greater understanding will help the pricing and reimbursement strategy planning process, and will enhance companies' performance while achieving greater awareness of the influence of the health policy factors in the region. A major stress is put on the process of change and the need for reformation of the healthcare policies on pricing and reimbursement, coming out of the EU enlargement process and legislation harmonisation. A snapshot is given of current pricing and reimbursement models together with a look at the Central and Eastern Europe drugs markets recent figures. Cost containment measures like economic evaluation of drugs, cross-countries price comparisons and parallel trade, and the slide from a branded to unbranded generics market are highlighted as the major factors that generic companies should take into account in the near future.

EU enlargement policy and human rights

2020 ◽  
pp. 345-364
Author(s):  
Beáta Huszka ◽  
Zsolt Körtvélyesi
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
New Members ◽  
Actual Performance ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Eu

The enlargement policy of the European Union (EU) aims at integrating new members following an accession path. EU conditionality policy is a delicate balancing exercise between keeping the partner countries on the accession path and upholding fundamental values. Enlargement countries are now concentrated, with the exception of Turkey, in the Western Balkans. A key challenge is that the current leaderships in many of these states are shifting their countries increasingly in an authoritarian direction. The EU now faces a situation of establishing illiberal regimes in the region and so far seems to lack the willingness and the tools to engage and counter this. The chapter finds that human rights conditionality seems to allow for less-than-honest domestic compliance, where the EU’s requests are (mis)used to boost the power of domestic leadership. The stated principles of the EU can clash with the state’s actual performance for various reasons, including the prioritization of more direct economic interests or security goals. Conditionality tends to remain shallow as it is built on conditions that are easy to implement and measure but remain largely formal (for example, setting up an institution, adopting legislation). In the case of the Western Balkans, our research findings indicate that the enlargement process can result in favouring strong leaders who can deliver, even if the same ‘strength’ puts human rights compliance at risk. The greatest danger is that EU integration can end up legitimising the violation of human rights by the authorities.

scholarly journals Transfer investment on education on a free cost basis: some evidence from Portugal, Spain, Greece and Italy

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (93) ◽  
pp. 777-803
Author(s):  
Luisa Cerdeira ◽  
Belmiro Cabrito ◽  
Maria Lourdes Machado-Taylor ◽  
Tomás Patrocínio
Keyword(s):  
Social Mobility ◽  
Brain Drain ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Highly Qualified ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Primary Schooling ◽  
The Public ◽  
Education Degree ◽  
Socio Economic Impact ◽  
The Eu

Abstract For decades, education has been viewed as an instrument for social mobility and also as a tool for economic growth and social development. Over the recent years, we have witnessed an output movement of highly qualified graduates, from peripheral southern Europe to the more developed countries of the EU and OECD. In this article, we analyse the reality of four countries: Portugal, Spain, Greece and Italy. In order to examine the socio-economic impact of this brain drain, it will be introduced an estimation using OECD statistics (2014) of the public and private costs to educate a student from primary schooling through a higher education degree. In spite of the differences among these countries’ experiences, there is no doubt that these countries “offered” high qualified workers for free or at a zero cost basis to the “importing” countries.

scholarly journals BRITAIN’S POLICIES TOWARDS THE EU: INTEGRATION OR FOREIGN POLICY THEORIES?

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chu Thanh Van
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Integration Theory ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The World ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

Together with Brexit has come not only the official spliting of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) but also the question whether scholars and diplomatic officials should approach the relationship between the two partners of the UK and the EU from Integration Theory or Theory of Foreign Policy? This article investigates the effects of both the viewpoints on the practice of certain diplomatic jobs by the UK’s goverments towards the EU from 1972 to 2016 and the research works by scholars in the world on this relationship.

scholarly journals Integrationists, Critical Europeanists and Pessimist Europeanists: Attitudinal mindsets on the EU among German students

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Céline Teney ◽  
Juan Deininger ◽  
Josefine Zurheide
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
Integration Project ◽  
Open Question ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
The Eu ◽  
The Way

We investigate the mindsets on the EU of students enrolled in a German university. We conducted an online survey among students of a German university (N=730) and asked them closed questions on the EU enlargement, the allocation of authority at the EU level, the way democracy works at the EU level and an open question on their wish for the future of the EU. We then ran a latent class analysis of the recoded answer categories from the open question and of our set of closed questions. Our three-class solution highlights variation in support of the EU among students. Indeed, while the vast majority of the respondents show highly supportive attitudes toward the EU, we can distinguish between “Integrationists” (in favour of pursuing the EU integration project; 68% of the sample), “Critical Europeanists” (supportive of the EU but dissatisfied with the way democracy works at the EU level; 20,50% of the sample) and “Pessimist Europeanists” (supportive of the EU but afraid of the implosion of the EU; 11% of the sample). A further analysis of the narratives provided by members of each class to the open question enables us to shed light on variation within each latent class. In particular, we find variation (1) in the dimensions and policies the EU should further integrate according to the Europeanists, (2) in the types of EU institutions to be further democratised and strategies to improve the democratisation of the EU regime according to the Critical Europeanists and (3) in strategies the EU should follow to avoid its implosion according to the Pessimist Europeanists. Our study highlights the importance of the use of non-standardised measures and mixed-methods data collection for grasping citizens´ mindset on the EU in its multidimensionality and complexity.

scholarly journals New EU Enlargement Strategy Towards the Western Balkans and Its Impact on Rule of Law

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 37-58
Author(s):  
Marina Matić Bošković ◽  
Jelena Kostić
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
New Approach ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Balkan Countries ◽  
Accession Countries ◽  
Enlargement Strategy ◽  
The Eu

The rule of law is incorporated in the EU Founding Treaties and case-law of the Court of Justice of the EU and was included as a key requirement already in 1993 Copenhagen accession criteria. The EU enlargement is not only territorial increase, but also transposition of EU acquis to third countries. Since 1993, the monitoring mechanism of the rule of law reform in the EU accession countries was enhanced, including two specific negotiation chapters, Chapter 23 – judiciary and fundamental rights and Chapter 24 – justice, freedom and security. Over the last two decades, the EU was struggling to develop an adequate mechanism in this area, from mechanism for coordination and verification, to action plans for Chapter 23, to more specific tools like perception and experience surveys of the judiciary and functional reviews. Due to the challenges to measure progress and track record in the rule of law, in February 2020 the European Commission presented the new approach to EU Enlargement that aims to push reforms forward. The intention is to make the accession negotiations more credible, predictable and dynamic and criteria for assessing reforms in the accession countries will be based on the clearer criteria and more concise EU requirements. The article examines how EU enlargement policies influenced the rule of law reforms in Western Balkan countries over the years and what could be expected from the new approach. The research hypothesis is based on the correlation between Enlargement strategy towards the Western Balkans and its impact on rule of law in countries of the mentioned region. The methodological approach applied in the assessment is based on analysis of Enlargement strategy and other EU and national documents, as well as results of the work of judicial institutions in order to provide insight into the bottlenecks of the state rule of law in Western Balkan countries and enable identification of recommendations for improvement. The authors concluded that the new methodology would improve the measurability of the achieved results in the rule of law area, however, the approach might slow down the accession process of Serbia and Montenegro as a frontrunners in the process.

scholarly journals EU coordination of social security from the point of view of EU integration theory

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oxana Golynker
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Negotiation Process ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Integration Theory ◽  
Social Security Systems ◽  
Security Systems ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

This article comprises a study of the negotiation of the Commission’s proposal for amending Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems and Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 in the context of EU integration theories. This analysis is used to argue that the current integration stage in the coordination of social security is a complex phenomenon which displays elements of intergovernmentalism, neo-functionalism and post-functionalism. The negotiation process highlights the disagreements between the key players which may have important consequences for the future of EU regulation in the area of coordination of social security. The article concludes that the signs of intergovernmentalism are prevalent, as evident in the attention the Commission has given to the concerns of the Member States, the negotiating position of the Council, and the vote of the European Parliament which failed to approve the proposal at the first reading. This prevalence has led to a pause in the reform of the coordination regulations and may eventually lead to compromises that will weaken the progress of integration in the future. At the same time, the article argues that the theory of post-functionalism is important in explaining the phenomenon of Brexit with regard to the UK’s position in the negotiation of the Commission’s proposal and its future relevance for UK and EU citizens affected by the UK’s departure from the EU. The article concludes that disintegration along the lines of post-functionalism should not prevent the reintegration of the UK into the EU coordination of social security schemes, but may reinforce the prevalence of intergovernmentalism.

Integration, Democracy, and Legitimacy

2021 ◽  
pp. 12-45
Author(s):  
Paul Craig
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Integration Theory ◽  
Democratic Deficit ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Significant Measure ◽  
The Eu

The first half of the chapter addresses the rich literature concerning the rationale for EU integration. The objective is to render accessible to lawyers, scholarship from international relations and political science that has explored the dynamic of EU integration. It is also designed to reveal the implications of particular theories for EU democracy. The focus in the second half of the chapter shifts to democracy itself, and analysis of the burgeoning literature concerned with the nature of EU democracy, the extent to which the EU suffers from a democratic deficit, and the ways in which it can be alleviated. There is a significant measure of agreement as to the problematic features within the EU from a democratic perspective. The scholarly divergence turns on differences as to the importance of different factors in assessing EU democracy, which leads to differences of view on aspects of the democratic deficit critique. The discussion will draw on insights from integration theory where relevant to the inquiry.

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