scholarly journals The EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility: A Next Phase in EU Socioeconomic Governance?

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-185
Author(s):  
Sonja Bekker
Keyword(s):  
Financial Support ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
National Level ◽  
National Parliaments ◽  
Analytical Frameworks ◽  
Country Specific ◽  
The Eu

The European Semester (Semester) was implemented a decade ago. Ample research has addressed the Semester’s development, including some major changes in processes and content (Verdun & Zeitlin, 2018). The Covid-19 crisis seems to mark the next stage in the evolution of the Semester. It connects the Semester with the wider Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and links its country-specific recommendations to conditional financial support. Thus, the next stage of the Semester suggests a stronger and more deliberate interlinkage of different EU tools that jointly guide national socioeconomic policies. It should support both national public investment and reforms while focusing on meeting the EU priority of moving towards a climate-neutral, digitalized, and resilient Europe (De la Porte & Dagnis Jensen, 2021). This article addresses the question of what room the new-style Semester gives to the involvement of national-level actors, such as national parliaments. Therefore, it expands existing analytical frameworks in order to assess the RRF in connection to the Semester, focusing on the degree of obligation, enforcement, and centralisation. Jointly, this outlines the room the RRF gives to the participation of national actors in the Semester. The article concludes that although the national parliaments are not mentioned in the Regulation establishing the RRF, they could claim a role both in developing national plans for accessing financial support as well as in amending and approving reforms.

Sejm i Senat wobec wyzwań Unii Europejskiej

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 103-114
Author(s):  
Ilona Grądzka
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
National Level ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
International Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
National Parliaments ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Eu

The article’s goal is to present the consequences of Polish membership in the European Union (EU) for the functioning of the Polish Sejm and Senate at the national and international level. Polish accession to the European Union resulted in changes to the scope of competences of certain organs of the Republic of Poland. This was related to the transfer of specific state competences to an international organization and it applied, in particular, to the Polish Parliament (the Sejm and Senate) which has lost its primary role as legislator of laws applicable in Poland. In order to avoid the marginalization of national parliaments in the EU decision-making process, appropriate legal measures have been introduced at the national and international level. Additionally, after the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force, national parliaments have received new competences which allowed them to exist on the forum of the European Union. The article puts forward the thesis that the Polish Sejm and Senate have lost their position as main legislative bodies at the national level but, at the same time, they have acquired a new European function which can neither be qualified as traditionally understood legislative nor controlling functions.

scholarly journals Accountability in EU Economic Governance: European Commissioners in Polish Parliament

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 155-162
Author(s):  
Tomasz P. Woźniakowski
Keyword(s):  
Annual Cycle ◽  
National Level ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Policy Impact ◽  
Economic Governance ◽  
National Parliament ◽  
Eu Economic Governance ◽  
Country Specific ◽  
The Eu

This article analyses the interactions between the members of the Polish parliament with the European commissioners in the context of the European Semester, the annual cycle of economic coordination. The Commission drafts crucial documents in this process which assess the implementation of the Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs): the Annual (Sustainable) Growth Survey and the Country Reports. The goal of this article is to assess how the Commission is held to account by a national parliament and how this affects the level of implementation of CSRs. The findings suggest that the Commission is accountable to this national parliament, even if the form of accountability taken is rather innovative and its policy impact limited, at both the EU (the CSRs tend to be immune to Members of [national] Parliament’s contestation) and the national level, as the implementation of CSRs seems to be independent of the level of their scrutiny.

The Role of National Parliaments in the European Union

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dieter Grimm
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
National Level ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
The European Union ◽  
National Parliaments ◽  
Member States ◽  
Legislative Authority ◽  
Legitimacy Crisis ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines the role of national parliaments in the European Union. It first considers the general trend towards de-parliamentarization in the EU before describing the European situation by distinguishing three separate phases, in which the national parliaments have different functions: the transfer of sovereign rights from the Member States to the EU, the exercise of those transferred rights by the EU, and the implementation of European decisions by the Member States. The chapter then explores the question of whether the European Parliament is capable of compensating at the European level for the erosion of legislative authority at the national level. Finally, it discusses the proposal that the European Parliament be vested with the powers typically possessed by national parliaments as a solution to the EU’s legitimacy crisis and argues that full parliamentarization is not the answer.

The Role of National Parliaments in Governing the European Union

2015 ◽  
pp. 52-62
Author(s):  
M. Strezhneva
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
National Level ◽  
Governance Structure ◽  
Lisbon Treaty ◽  
The European Union ◽  
National Parliaments ◽  
Subsidiarity Principle ◽  
The Eu

Institutional structures and decision-making processes, which have been established in the European Union, fall beyond the scope of national rules for the functioning of parliamentary government. National parliaments of the EU member states have not succeeded in acquiring solid positions in the multilevel constellation within the Union. Yet nowadays they are assigned an important mission in their efforts to overcome, alongside the European Parliament (EP), the growing democratic deficit at both the European and national levels. The article is meant to assess the potential of national parliaments in capitalizing on the Lisbon Treaty provisions and on new forms of their engagement with supranational institutions (the European Council, the European Commission and the EP in particular), aimed at enhancing their legitimizing influence. General paradigm for the analysis is determined by the multilevel governance concept (MLG). It allows for a picture of European decision-making, which is shared by actors placed at different levels of the governance structure. National parliaments are supposed to be provided with multiple access points to the political process in the European Union as well. But the MLG vision doesn't contradict the fact that the key role within the EU belongs to those who occupy the highest executive power positions at the national level. Three directions for the national parliaments to intensify their involvement are put into spotlight: parliamentary control over national executives; control of compliance with the subsidiarity principle in European legislative proposals and supranational decisions; political dialogue with the European Commission and interparliamentary cooperation. The analysis proves that conditions are ripe for more active stance of national parliaments in the EU affairs. The “system of early warning” of the subsidiarity principle violations, provided for in the Lisbon Treaty, seems most promising. But national parliaments themselves will still have to demonstrate more persistence when using new instruments. Acknowledgment. The article has been supported by a grant of the Russian Foundation for Humanities (RFH). Project № 14-07-00050.

scholarly journals Steven Blockmans and Sophia Russack (eds.): Representative Democracy in the EU: Recovering Legitimacy.

2021 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-137
Author(s):  
Vanessa Horler
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
National Level ◽  
Representative Democracy ◽  
Parliamentary Democracy ◽  
National Parliaments ◽  
Member States ◽  
The World ◽  
National Governments ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Eu

Representative democracy is beset by a crisis of legitimacy across the world, but in Europe this crisis is compounded by the inadequacy of national governments to address citizens’ frustrations and to achieve transnational unity on common issues. How representative are national parliaments in their decision-making on EU matters? This volume investigates the relationship between the democratic institutions of the member states and those of the EU. With a focus on polity rather than policy, it looks at voting and decision-shaping mechanisms in selected member states, in particular the ‘Europeanisation’ of representative democracy at national level. It also assesses the state of parliamentary democracy at the EU level. Expert analysts share their insights into the changing nature of our political eco-systems and the (dis)connections within and between them.

scholarly journals ЕХРЕRIENCE OF EUROPEAN COUNTRIES IN INVESTING IN CULTURE AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION FOR UKRAINE

2021 ◽  
pp. 13-22
Author(s):  
Olena Kopyl
Keyword(s):  
Financial Support ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Private Investment ◽  
The State ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Common Mechanism ◽  
Cultural Services ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Cultural Sphere ◽  
The Eu

Increasing the investment attractiveness of the cultural sphere of Ukraine is possible only with the introduction of modern tools and mechanisms to attract resources that have become widespread in the world and have proven their effectiveness. The model of public financing of culture is formed in each country on the basis of a choice of methods, forms and mechanisms of financial policy. Its formation is greatly influenced by such factors as traditional national cultural preferences, as well as the development of philanthropy, sponsorship and philanthropy. The system of financing culture and art is determined by the degree of centralization of public administration and the nature of intergovernmental relations. In unitary states, the central budget continues to play a major role. The main types of financial support for culture and art in different countries by attracting state investment (budget funding) are direct funding, general and targeted transfers, joint participation of different levels of government, support through independent intermediaries, public-private partnership. The experience of financial support for the cultural sphere in the EU countries indicates that countries are trying to pay considerable attention to the development of this sphere. The most common mechanism for attracting investment and increasing funding for culture in the EU is a reduced VAT rate on the consumption of a cultural product or service. Despite the significant number of tools used by European countries to attract investment in culture and increase the investment attractiveness of culture, we should not forget about public investment. Public and private investment are complementary. Public investment, in turn, guarantees the priority of the sphere for the state, consolidates the development of confidence in the public good of culture, ensuring the stability of the development of the cultural sphere. In the proposed model of multi-channel financing, the main investors can be the state at the expense of state and local budgets, private partners (businesses, enterprises, etc.) and directly the population (those who consume cultural services and products). The proposed model of multi-channel financing combines best practices and tools to attract financial resources in the field of culture, which have become widespread in the European Union. It should also be noted that based on the analysis, it can be argued that the introduction of a project approach to finance culture and create competitive markets for cultural services can serve as a basis for organizational and economic mechanism to increase investment attractiveness of culture in Ukraine.

The EPPO Draft Regulation Passes the First Subsidiarity Test: An Analysis and Interpretation of the European Commission's Hasty Approach to National Parliaments’ Subsidiarity Arguments

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 1247-1270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Wieczorek
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
Public Prosecutor ◽  
National Parliaments ◽  
Decision To Leave ◽  
The Past ◽  
European Public ◽  
Early Warning Mechanism ◽  
Draft Regulation ◽  
Input Legitimacy ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThis contribution discusses National Parliaments’ subsidiarity objections raised in the context of the Early Warning Mechanism (EWM) to the European Public Prosecutor Office proposal, and the European Commission response to them. It argues that National Parliaments raised important points, on how does subsidiarity apply respectively, when the wording of the Treaty grants the Council theoptionto act, as opposed to an obligation to act; on how to assess the inefficiency of the national level; on how does subsidiarity apply in a geographically fragmented context, and on the legitimacy for the EU to regulate non cross-border behaviors. It criticizes the Commission's hasty dismissal of all National Parliaments’ objections, and its decision to leave the proposal's text untouched. It further argues that the Commission's interpreted the EWM as an arena where to test the political feasibility of the proposal, as it had occurred in the past, rather than as a proper subsidiarity policing mechanism. It finally provides some observation on how this interpretation of the EWM has negative implications to terms of subsidiarity policing, of understanding the substance of the principle, and of input legitimacy.

Modernisation of Higher Education – Willful Action or Wishful Thinking? The Case of Bulgaria

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-17
Author(s):  
Elena Blagoeva
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
National Level ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

The impact of the last global economic crisis (2008) on the European economy put a strain on higher education (HE), yet it also pushed the sector towards intensive reforms and improvements. This paper focuses on the “Strategy for the Development of Higher Education in the Republic of Bulgaria 2014-2020”. With a case study methodology, we explore the strategic endeavours of the Bulgarian government to comply with the European directions and to secure sustainable growth for the HE sector. Our research question is ‘How capable is the Bulgarian HE Strategy to overcome the economic and systemic restraints of Bulgarian higher education?’. Because the development of strategies for HE within the EU is highly contextual, a single qualitative case study was chosen as the research approach. HE institutions are not ivory towers, but subjects to a variety of external and internal forces. Within the EU, this is obviated by the fact that Universities obtain their funds from institutions such as governments, students and their families, donors, as well as EU-level programmes. Therefore, to explore how these pressures interact to affect strategic action on national level, the case method is well suited as it enabled us to study the phenomena thoroughly and deeply. The paper suggests the actions proposed within the Strategy have the potential to overcome the delay, the regional isolation and the negative impact of the economic crisis on the country. Nevertheless, the key elements on which the success or failure of this Strategy hinges are the control mechanisms and the approach to implementation. Shortcomings in these two aspects of strategic actions in HE seem to mark the difference between gaining long-term benefits and merely saving face in front of international institutions.

European experience in transition to circular economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 598-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.V. Ratner
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
National Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
European Experience ◽  
General Scientific ◽  
The Eu

Subject. The article considers the concept of circular economy, which has originated relatively recently in the academic literature, and is now increasingly recognized in many countries at the national level. In the European Union, the transition to circular economy is viewed as an opportunity to improve competitiveness of the European Union, protect businesses from resource shortages and fluctuating prices for raw materials and supplies, and a way to increase employment and innovation. Objectives. The aim of the study is to analyze the incentives developed by the European Commission for moving to circular economy, and to assess their effectiveness on the basis of statistical analysis. Methods. I employ general scientific methods of research. Results. The analysis of the EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy enabled to conclude that the results of the recent research in circular economy barriers, eco-innovation, technology and infrastructure were successfully integrated into the framework of this document. Understanding the root causes holding back the circular economy development and the balanced combination of economic and administrative incentives strengthened the Action Plan, and it contributed to the circular economy development in the EU. Conclusions. The measures to stimulate the development of the circular economy proposed in the European Action Plan can be viewed as a prototype for designing similar strategies in other countries, including Russia. Meanwhile, a more detailed analysis of barriers to the circular economy at the level of individual countries and regions is needed.

scholarly journals The legal street: a scarcity approach to urban open space in mobility transitions

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett J. M. Petzer ◽  
Anna J. Wieczorek ◽  
Geert P. J. Verbong
Keyword(s):  
Urban Space ◽  
Open Space ◽  
National Level ◽  
Urban Mobility ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Urban Open Space ◽  
Space Allocation ◽  
Zero Sum ◽  
Lock In ◽  
The Eu

AbstractAn urban mobility transition requires a transition in space allocation, since most mobility modes are dependent on urban open space for circulation and the storage of vehicles. Despite increasing attention to space and spatiality in transitions research, the finite, physical aspects of urban space, and the means by which it is allocated, have not been adequately acknowledged as an influence on mobility transitions. A conceptual framework is introduced to support comparison between cities in terms of the processes by which open space is (re-)distributed between car and bicycle circulatory and regulatory space. This framework distinguishes between regulatory allocation mechanisms and the appropriation practices of actors. Application to cases in Amsterdam, Brussels and Birmingham reveal unique relationships created by the zero-sum nature of urban open space between the dominant automobility mode and subordinate cycling mode. These relationships open up a new approach to forms of lock-in that work in favour of particular mobility modes within the relatively obdurate urban built environment. Empirically, allocation mechanisms that routinise the production of car space at national level within the EU are shown to be far more prevalent than those for bicycle space, highlighting the constraints faced by radical city-level policies aimed at space reallocation.

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