The changing pattern of European country groups: Economic, financial, and health indicators, 2000–2015

2021 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 609-626

Abstract This study compares the European country groups using economic, financial and health indicators in 2000 and 2015. The “Core” European Union (EU) countries, which are the main progenitors of the deterioration processes within the EU, have changed their cluster memberships from higher-order clusters to lower-order ones. Deposits in banks (assets) to GDP (%) and inflation at consumer prices (annual %) have played a leading role in the formation of EU country groups for 2000 and 2015. The study emphasized the importance of political cohesion and financial stance to mitigate European countries’ financial risks and welfare states.

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-154
Author(s):  
Ines Kersan-Škabić

The heterogeneity of economic performances in the EU member states is one of the main reasons for the existence of a “core-periphery” relationship. The goal of this research is to examine various economic indicators to reveal possible divisions between the EU members. This issue emphasized the contribution of rich “core” countries to the imbalances in poorer “peripheral” EU members. By applying cluster methodology and considering the most recent data, two groups of countries were identified, the first comprising 11 countries that form the “centre” or the “core”, and the rest of the EU forming the “periphery”. Considering differences between these countries is necessary and justified for discussions about the future development of the EU that will involve differences between member states.


2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Hemery ◽  
Paul Meerts

AbstractThis article draws on the experience of two series of courses in negotiation and chairing, fifty in all, conducted in preparation for the UK and Finnish Presidencies of the European Union, 2005 and 2006. It outlines the concept and design of the programme, and introduces a four-part analysis of the chair's role which provided the intellectual framework for the series. It examines in detail the structure of the courses and the practical exercises which formed the core of the training. A concluding section draws together the lessons learned. The article would be helpful specifically to those preparing officials for the Presidency of the EU, but also for multilateral negotiations more generally, as well as to those interested in the theory and practice of chairing.


Author(s):  
Jacek Zieliński

The necessity of the single migration- and terrorism-related legal policy development within the European Union is undisputed. It may turn out, however, that measures taken would not bring any improvement unless the priorities within such values as equality, respect for diversity, free movement of persons, solidarity and citizens’ security are previously established, sometimes – with a new content. The Author takes the position that the values considered now to be the core of the EU existence and its key achievement can underpin its disintegration. The escalation of migration stimulates centrifugal destructive movements reflected in the increasing impact of the renationalisation philosophy of thinking about Europe on the Community solidarity, fossilisation of social moods and expectations, growing popularity of right-wing parties. All these, in consequence, foster the fossilisation and restrictiveness of law. It is related in part to the fear of globalisation and in part to the excessive regulations at the macro level, therefore to the breach of self-identification security that is getting more and more apparent nowadays. From that perspective, the separation of the contradictions that have arisen between the basic EU values as regards providing single legal policy in the migration area seems to be cognitively valuable. Another issue is to answer the question how this wave of refugees has escalated and whose interest is currently in the destabilisation of Europe. The question is all the more important that the refugees are not heading towards other culturally closer Islamic countries or the USA but the pillar-states of the EU. Vienotas ar migrāciju un terorismu saistītas tiesiskās politikas nepieciešamība Eiropas Savienībā ir neapstrīdama. Tomēr var izrādīties, ka veiktie pasākumi neradīs nekādu uzlabojumu, ja vien kā prioritātes netiks izvirzītas tādas vērtības kā vienlīdzība, cieņa pret dažādību, personu brīva pārvietošanās, solidaritāte un iedzīvotāju drošība, kas jau ir paredzētas, dažreiz – ar jaunu saturu. Autors pauž nostāju, ka vērtības, kas šobrīd ir ES pastāvēšanas kodols un tās galvenais sasniegums, var veicināt tās sabrukumu. Migrācijas eskalācija stimulē destruktīvas centrbēdzes kustības, kas atspoguļojas pieaugošā ietekmē uz renacionalizācijas filozofiju, domājot par Eiropas Kopienas solidaritāti, sociālo noskaņu un vēlmju fosilizāciju, labējo partiju pieaugošo popularitāti. Tas viss var veicināt likuma fosilizāciju un modifikāciju, turklāt tas daļēji ir saistīts ar bailēm no globalizācijas un ar pārmērīgajiem noteikumiem makrolīmenī, līdz ar to pārkāpjot pašidentifikācijas drošību. No šī viedokļa raugoties, pretrunu, kas radušās starp galvenajām ES pamatvērtībām un attiecībā uz vienotu tiesisku politiku migrācijas jomā, nodalīšana ir neapstrīdami nepieciešama. Vēl viens jautājums, kas prasa atbildi, ir: kādēļ šis bēgļu vilnis ir eskalējies un kā interesēs pašlaik notiek destabilizācija Eiropā? Un kāpēc bēgļi nedodas uz citām kultūras ziņā tuvākām islāma valstīm vai ASV, bet gan tieši uz Eiropu?


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raluca Buturoiu

<p>The European Union is dominated by permanent change and diversity so that public opinion regarding different EU-related issues follows a similar trend. Within this continually changing context, there are two important interconnected things to be considered: first, public opinion towards the EU represents the core of political and academic debates over the present and future of the European integration. Second, the favorable attitudes and opinions towards the EU have increasingly changed into disapproving or sceptic attitudes in the last years. Although there are studies on Eurosceptic attitudes and their causes in almost all EU member states, only a few of them offer a clear overview of this issue. The present paper addresses four questions: What is actually Euroscepticism?; What are the faces of Euroscepticism in the EU as a whole?; How prominent are Eurosceptic attitudes in Romania?; Where do we go from here? The aim of this paper is to examine the theoretical foundations of Euroscepticism and to provide insightful information to be used in future studies.</p>


Author(s):  
Iryna Tykhonenko

The article focuses on one of the current areas of European Union cooperation within the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, namely with the Kingdom of Morocco. The official Rabat has both a historical basis for cooperation with the EU (colonial past) and an established dialogue with the European Union from associate membership to the acquisition of a special partnership status in 2008. The purpose of Morocco’s special status in the EU is to: strengthen dialogue and cooperation in the field of politics and security; gradual integration of Morocco into the EU internal market through approximation of legislation and regulations. The main directions and areas of multilateral cooperation between Morocco and the EU are highlighted especially Rabat ties with leading European powers (notably France and Spain) as implementation of bilateral level and at the level of integration with EU as political body. It is revealed that the acquisition of a special status in cooperation with the EU aims to deepen cooperation not only in the economic, security and energy spheres, but also the human dimension of bilateral relations, which affects human rights and cultural and humanitarian level of relations. In particular, the topical agenda for bilateral Moroccan-European relations is migration issues, the problem of Western Sahara, which complicate dialogue somewhat. The leading role in Morocco’s relations with EU Member States is played by dialogue within the Francophonie, as well as interpersonal contacts in the fields of culture, education and science. These contacts are closely maintained between Morocco, France and Spain, and implemented the EU’s values policy mentioned in the Association Agreement. It is revealed that cultural cooperation plays a positive role in the fight against religious extremism and civil society building.


Author(s):  
Gentian Elezi

The European integration process of the Western Balkans has been experiencing considerable stagnation since 2010, although the regional states have been formally following the accession stages. In spite of the remarkable achievements in the 2000s in terms of stability and engagement in reforms, the European Union (EU) conditionality policy is experiencing shortcomings in terms of tangible impact. Due also to its internal problems, the EU appears to have lost its shine in influencing domestic political agendas of the Western Balkan countries as in the case of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and has gradually lost the support of citizens in the region. This has had several consequences in terms of rising authoritarian practices, slowing down EU-related reforms and compliance with the acquis, some return to nationalistic rhetoric, and openness to influences of other global actors from the East, which do not necessarily maintain good relations with the EU. The enlargement fatigue that has affected the EU since the 2008 global crisis has had repercussions inside the EU institutions and domestic politics of member states. These changes have been reflected in the Union’s approach towards accession countries, undermining the credibility of the integration process and its commitment to the Western Balkans. The weakening of credibility and predictability on this path, together with the poor state capacities that characterize the Western Balkans, have produced some regress of the democracy indicators. The EU, with its conditionality, is still a determining factor in the trajectory of the countries of the region. However, there is a need to renew the commitments undertaken on both sides in order to make sure that the European perspective, stability, and democratization in the Western Balkans are irreversible and properly supported. The European Union is still considered the only game in town, but it has to face up to the enlargement fatigue and return to its leading role as an aspirational model for the Western Balkans.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luděk Kouba ◽  
Michal Mádr ◽  
Danuše Nerudová ◽  
Petr Rozmahel

Abstract Within the context of the continuing integration process in Europe, this paper addresses the question of whether policies in the EU should head towards autonomy, coordination or harmonization. Taking the path dependence effect into account, it is the authors’ opinion that Europe has gone too far in its integration process to be able to continue with policies being fully under the competences of individual member countries. However, the habitual question still arises: does fiscal policy need to be harmonized to a level comparable to monetary policy as these two policies, necessarily, complement each other? This paper argues that it does not. There are three main arguments discussed. Firstly, the authors build on the theory of fiscal federalism. Secondly, there are significantly different regimes of welfare states and extents of social policies among European countries, which strongly determine the character of public finance. And thirdly, the tax systems across Europe are also highly divergent, with many features of continuing tax competition.


Author(s):  
Timm Bönke ◽  
Carsten Schröder

In view of rising concerns over increasing inequality in the European Union since the financial crisis, this study provides an inequality decomposition of the overall European income distribution by country. The EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions are our empirical basis. Inequality has risen moderately within the core Euro area, particularly in the last two years of the observation period (2010/11). Widening disparities between EU Member States are the driving force behind this trend, while inequalities within countries do not exhibit systematic changes. An analysis of binational distributions reveals that it is the countries hit worst by the crisis—Greece and Spain —for which the between-country disparities have changed most markedly.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrzej Klimczuk

The approach to analysing population ageing and its impacts on the economy has evolved in recent years. There is increasing interest in the development and use of products and services related to gerontechnology as well as other social innovations that may be considered as central parts of the ‘‘silver economy.’’ However, the concept of silver economy is still being formed and requires detailed research. This article proposes a typology of models of the silver economy in the European Union (EU) at the national and regional levels. This typology was created by comparing the Active Ageing Index to the typology of varieties and cultures of capitalism and typology of the welfare states. Practical recommendations for institutions of the EU and directions for further research are discussed.


Author(s):  
N. Y. Kaveshnikov

The article discusses some implications of the Brexit referendum for institutional and political development of the European Union and for relations between the EU and the UK. The most obvious consequence of the referendum is the collapse of ideology of continuous and progressing development of integration. Instead of endless, irreversible, a priori beneficial for everyone integration process, the European Union has become an organization that does not have a Messianic goal and obliged to prove its usefulness in everyday life. EU systemic crisis will inevitably lead to a profound transformation of its institutional and political structure. After the British referendum, only two options are possible. First of all, partial deconstruction of the European Union. The idea that European integration has gone too far lies in the basis of this strategy. According to this logic, the single market is the main EU achievement. Return to the basics - this is a pragmatic approach to integration, which should replace attempts to fix rotten projects (like Euro) or to achieve the unattainable (political Union). This option is hardly probable. Second option is transformation of the EU into the "core and periphery" system having the basis flexible integration. Over the past 20 years, flexibility transformed from temporary phenomenon into a permanent and formalized mechanism; its elements exist in many EU politics. Brexit would be able to accelerate significantly the formation of a cohesive core within the Eu. The core will not be homogeneous; it will include as governing structures: the German-French axis and a group of EU founding countries.


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