scholarly journals Going Nordic in European Administrative Networks?

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 65-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reini Schrama ◽  
Dorte Sindbjerg Martinsen ◽  
Ellen Mastenbroek
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Internal Market ◽  
European Economic Area ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Differentiated Integration ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
Nordic Cooperation ◽  
The Eu

The integration and policymaking of the European Union (EU) are claimed to challenge Nordic cooperation as a separate ‘common order.’ Increasing interdependencies in the EU have forced all EU member states to collaborate and share sovereignty in an increasing number of policy areas. This article studies the coexistence of Nordic cooperation and European integration by taking a network approach. It analyses the extent to which Nordic members of European Administrative Networks ‘go Nordic’ to solve problems or exchange advice, information and best practices. Based on unique survey data on interactions related to the implementation of EU policies in Social Policy, Health and the Internal Market by national governmental organisations across the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA), we use social network analysis to test for distinguishable patterns of Nordic cooperation. We find evidence to suggest that Nordic cooperation in the EU and EEA is best characterised by differentiated integration. The Nordic states tend to form a separate community for problem-solving and exchanging best practices, advice and information in Health and Social policy networks, but less so in SOLVIT, a network related to the Internal Market.

scholarly journals Enhanced Cooperation, EMU Reforms and Their Implications for Differentiation in the European Union

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-106
Author(s):  
Tomasz Kubin
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Maastricht Treaty ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The Future ◽  
Differentiated Integration ◽  
Treaty Of Amsterdam ◽  
The Eu

Abstract Initially, before the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty, differences in integration between members of the European Communities (EC; later the European Union) were relatively few and usually temporary in nature. The Schengen Agreement, the Maastricht Treaty and the Treaty of Amsterdam, and the possibility of establishing enhanced cooperation meant that the problem was becoming more and more important in the functioning of the EU—both in theory and in practice. The objective of the paper is to show that for several years, along with the stagnation in the deepening of integration between all the EU Member States, differentiation of integration in the EU is progressing very rapidly. The progressing differentiation in the EU is a consequence of mainly two processes: the development of enhanced cooperation and reforms in the eurozone, which are strengthened by the widening of the EU. The article covers the issue of the categorization of differentiation of European Union integration, which constitutes the theoretical framework for further considerations. Specified processes which contribute to increasing the differentiation of the EU are discussed, showing the development of enhanced cooperation in the EU and presenting the reforms of the eurozone. The article concludes with the identification and the consequences of differentiated integration, both those that have already occurred and those that may occur in the future.

scholarly journals European Union & its Contribution to the Development of Society and Nation

2019 ◽  
pp. 42-69
Author(s):  
Masum Billah
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Monetary Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
Economic Union ◽  
Common Policies ◽  
Full Force ◽  
The Eu

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. It has an area of 4,475,757 km2 (1,728,099 sq mi) and an estimated population of about 513 million. The EU has developed an internal single market through a standardized system of laws that apply in all member states in those matters, and only those matters, where members have agreed to act as one. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the internal market, enact legislation in justice and home affairs and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development. For travel within the Schengen Area, passport controls have been abolished. A monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002 and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency.

scholarly journals Party Positions on Differentiated European Integration in the Nordic Countries: Growing Together, Growing Apart?

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 89-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Leruth ◽  
Jarle Trondal ◽  
Stefan Gänzle
Keyword(s):  
European Integration ◽  
Inner Core ◽  
Nordic Countries ◽  
European Economic Area ◽  
Party Positions ◽  
Differentiated Integration ◽  
Nordic Cooperation ◽  
Domestic Level ◽  
Common Vision ◽  
The Eu

The Nordic countries constitute an interesting laboratory for the study of differentiated European Integration. Even though Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden share some historical, cultural, socio-economic and political characteristics, all those countries have ultimately opted for a different kind of relationship with the EU. Whereas Finland, a member of the Eurozone since its inception in 1999, has been considered to be part of the Union’s ‘inner core’ for quite some time, Iceland and Norway, in contrast, have opted to remain outside the EU albeit closely associated via the European Economic Area Agreement. The variation of relationships has also been reflected in Nordic parties’ positioning vis-à-vis European integration in general and differentiation of European integration in particular. Broadly speaking, party families can be distinguished along traditional (e.g., agrarian, Christian democratic, conservative, and social democratic) and modern (e.g., socialist left, green, and populist radical right) ideological orientations. Although political parties belonging to both the traditional and modern Nordic party families have adopted different stances on European differentiated integration, we would assume—against the backdrop of Nordic cooperation—higher levels of transnational cooperation in European matters. Consequently, this article examines the similarities and differences between parties belonging to the same ideological family, and the extent of transnational party cooperation in the Nordic countries. Drawing on a series of interviews conducted with party representatives as well as on official party documents, this article shows that although institutionalized party cooperation mostly reflects divisions between party families, such institutionalization does not include a common vision for European integration. We conclude that the low level of partisan Nordic integration is primarily caused by domestic-level factors, such as intra-party divisions, government participation and public opinion.

Health, federalism and the European Union: lessons from comparative federalism about the European Union

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott L. Greer
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Social Policy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Regulatory State ◽  
Large Scale Analysis ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
Comparative Federalism ◽  
The Eu

Abstract Bringing together the results of a large-scale review of European Union (EU) policies affecting health and a large-scale analysis of social policy and federalism, this paper uses comparative federalism to identify the scope and tensions of EU health policy at the end of the Juncker Commission. Viewing health care and public health policy through the lens of comparative federalism highlights some serious structural flaws in EU health policy. The regulatory state form in which the EU has evolved makes it difficult for the EU to formulate a health policy that actually focuses on health. Of the three faces of EU health policy, which are health policy, internal market policy and fiscal governance, health policy is legally, politically and financially the weakest. A comparison of the EU to other federations suggests that this creates basic weaknesses in the EU's design: its key powers are regulatory and its redistribution minimal. No federal welfare state so clearly pools risks at a low level while making markets so forcefully or creating rights whose costs are born by other levels of government. This structure, understandable in light of the EU's history and development, limits its health and social policy initiatives and might not be stable over the long term.

Has the European Union created a healthy food environment for its citizens? Application of the Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI)

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
S K Djojosoeparto ◽  
C B M Kamphuis ◽  
S Vandevijvere ◽  
C Murrin ◽  
I Stanley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Dietary Intake ◽  
Food Environment ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Food Environments ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Economic Inequalities

Abstract Background European Union (EU) Member states' food environments are shaped by both national and EU policies. To date however, studies assessing food environment policies developed and set by the EU are scarce. The aim of this study was to assess the strength of EU policies to improve food environments as well as to assess the extent these policies could lead to a decrease or widening of socio-economic inequalities in dietary intake. Methods We compiled evidence on the EU policies for each of the Food-EPI 47 indicators. A European panel of independent, non-government experts (N = 30) specialized in nutrition, obesity or chronic diseases, using the Food-EPI evidence, rated the strength of EU policies to improve food environments during an online survey in February-March 2020. The experts also rated to which extent policies could lead to a decrease or widening of socio-economic inequalities in dietary intake. In addition, experts formulated actions to improve EU food environment policies, which were prioritized during a follow-up online survey. Results The overview of EU-level policies resulted in a 79-pages document, describing policies (or the lack thereof) for each of the 47 Food-EPI indicators. This document has been verified for completeness and accuracy by EU governmental officials. The evidence document shows that the EU has mainly binding legislation on the food labelling whereas policies on the other Food-EPI domains are mostly voluntary. Results from the online survey and the formulated prioritized actions will be presented during the conference. The results will reflect the experts' ratings supported by documented evidence and will provide meaningful guidance to EU officials and public health advocates in their efforts to improve the food environment policies set by the EU.

Bariery w przepływie pracowników na rynku wewnętrznym – stary problem w nowych odsłonach

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (4 (1)) ◽  
pp. 39-54
Author(s):  
Robert Grzeszczak
Keyword(s):  
Equal Treatment ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Labour Law ◽  
Member States ◽  
Political Criticism ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
The Will ◽  
Free Movement Of Persons ◽  
The Eu

The issue of re-nationalization (disintegration and fragmentation) of integration process is manifested by the will of some of the Member States to verify their relations with the European Union. In the age of an economic crisis of the EU and in relation to the large migration of the population, there has emerged strong social and political criticism, on the European level, of the integration process, with some Member States even consideringtheir withdrawal from the EU. In those States, demands forextending the Member States’ competences in the field of some EU policies are becoming more and more popular. The legal effects of the above-mentioned processes are visible in the free movements of the internal market, mainly within the free movement of persons. Therefore, there are problems, such as increased social dumping process, the need to retain the output of the European labour law, the issue of the so-called social tourism, erosion of the meaning of the EU citizenship and the principle of equal treatment.

Political aspects of security of the European Union Member States

2020 ◽  
pp. 97-105
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Kusztykiewicz-Fedurek
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Political Security ◽  
New Institutions ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
The Eu

Political security is very often considered through the prism of individual states. In the scholar literature in-depth analyses of this kind of security are rarely encountered in the context of international entities that these countries integrate. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to key aspects of political security in the European Union (EU) Member States. The EU as a supranational organisation, gathering Member States first, ensures the stability of the EU as a whole, and secondly, it ensures that Member States respect common values and principles. Additionally, the EU institutions focus on ensuring the proper functioning of the Eurozone (also called officially “euro area” in EU regulations). Actions that may have a negative impact on the level of the EU’s political security include the boycott of establishing new institutions conducive to the peaceful coexistence and development of states. These threats seem to have a significant impact on the situation in the EU in the face of the proposed (and not accepted by Member States not belonging to the Eurogroup) Eurozone reforms concerning, inter alia, appointment of the Minister of Economy and Finance and the creation of a new institution - the European Monetary Fund.

Integracja w dezintegracji i dezintegracja w integracji: determinanty mechanizmów integracyjnych w Unii Europejskiej

2018 ◽  
pp. 10-37
Author(s):  
Barbara Curyło
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Modus Operandi ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Differentiated Integration ◽  
Integration Mechanisms ◽  
Strategic Issue ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Eu

In the discussion on the future of the EU, the topic of differentiated integration has become a strategic issue, with different variants beginning to appear as modus operandi of the European Union, which has become a subject of controversy among Member States. Significantly, the debate on differentiated integration began to be accompanied by reflections on disintegration. This article attempts to define disintegration on the assumption that it should be defined through the prism of integration, and that such a defining process can not be limited to concluding a one-way contrast between disintegration versus integration and vice versa. This is due to the assumption that the European Union is a dichotomous construct in which integration and disintegration mutually exclude and complement each other. This dichotomy is most evident in the definition of integration and disintegration through the prism of Europeanisation top-down and bottom-up processes that generate, reveal, visualize, stimulate integration mechanisms what allows to diagnose their determinants.

The Southern Gas Corridor infrastructure project – implications for the energy security of the European Union

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 79-99
Author(s):  
Justyna Misiągiewicz
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Energy Security ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Caspian Region ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Energy Field ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Infrastructure Project ◽  
The Eu

Nowadays, energy security is a growing concern in state foreignpolicy. Interdependency in the energy field is a very important dimensionof contemporary relations between states and transnational corporations.Energy security is becoming a key issue for the European Union (EU). TheUnion is one of the world’s fastest-growing energy markets and the biggestimporter of energy resources. For the foreseeable future, Europe’s energydependence will probably increase. Facing a shortage of energy, Europe isdependent on imports and the EU member states need to diversify their energysupplies. The Caspian region contains some of the largest undevelopedoil and gas reserves in the world. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, thenewly independent Caspian states became open to foreign investment. Thegrowing energy needs have given the EU a strong interest in developing tieswith energy-producing states in the Caspian region to build the necessarypipeline infrastructure. In this analysis, the pipeline infrastructure that exists orwill be built in the near future will be presented. The analysis will concentrateon routes transporting gas from the Caspian region and the most importantproblems and solutions in designing the midstream energy system in the region.The key aim of the article is to analyse the Southern Gas Corridor (SGC)infrastructure project, which will inevitably contribute to the EU’s energy securityinterest.

Ever Looser Union?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Schimmelfennig ◽  
Thomas Winzen
Keyword(s):  
Self Determination ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Core State ◽  
Member States ◽  
New Members ◽  
Treaty Negotiations ◽  
Differentiated Integration ◽  
Economic Preferences ◽  
New Policies ◽  
The Eu

Differentiated integration is a durable feature of the European Union and a major alternative for its future development and reform. This book provides a comprehensive conceptual, theoretical and empirical analysis of differentiation in European integration. It explains differentiation in EU treaties and legislation in general and offers specific accounts of differentiation in the recent enlargements of the EU, the Euro crisis, the Brexit negotiations and the integration of non-member states. Differentiated integration is a legal instrument that European governments use regularly to overcome integration deadlock in EU treaty negotiations and legislation. Instrumental differentiation adjusts integration to the heterogeneity of economic preferences and capacities, particularly in the context of enlargement. By contrast, constitutional differentiation accommodates concerns about national self-determination. Whereas instrumental differentiation mainly affects poorer (new) member states, constitutional differentiation offers wealthier and nationally oriented member states opt-outs from the integration of core state powers. The book shows that differentiated integration has facilitated the integration of new policies, new members and even non-members. It has been mainly ‘multi-speed’ and inclusive. Most differentiations end after a few years and do not discriminate against member states permanently. Yet differentiation is less suitable for reforming established policies, managing disintegration, and fostering solidarity, and the path-dependency of core state power integration may lead to permanent divides in the Union.

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