The One-Share-One-Vote Controversy in the EU

Sugar is one of the most important elements in human nutrition. The Common Market Organisation for sugar has been a subject of considerable debate since its establishment in 1968. The European agricultural market has been criticized for its heavy regulations and subsidization. The sugar market is one of the most regulated ones; however, this will change radically in 2017 when the current system of production quotas will end. The current EU sugar market changed is structure during the last several decades. The significant number of companies left the market and EU internal sugar market became more concentrated. The aim of this paper is presentation characteristics of sugar market with respect to the supposed market failure – reduction in competition. The analysis also identifies the main drivers and determinants of the EU especially quota sugar market. In relation to paper’s aim the following results are important. The present conditions of the European sugar market have led to market failure when nearly 75 % (10 million tonnes) of the quota is controlled by five multinational companies only. These multinational alliances (especially German and French one) are also taking control over the production capacities of their subsidiaries. In most countries, this causes serious problems as the given quota is controlled by one or two producers only. This is a significant indicator of market imperfection. The quota system cannot overcome the problem of production quotas on the one hand and the demand on the other; furthermore, it also leads to economic inefficiency. The current EU sugar market is under the control of only Sudzucker, Nordzucker, Pfeifer and Langen, Tereos and ABF.

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Sustainability in the European Union: Analyzing the Discourse of the European Green Deal

Journal of Risk and Financial Management ◽

10.3390/jrfm14020080 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 80

Author(s):

Eva Eckert ◽

Oleksandra Kovalevska

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

European Commission ◽

Critical Discourse Analysis ◽

Political Institutions ◽

Main Question ◽

The European Union ◽

International Media ◽

Institutional Power ◽

The One ◽

The Eu

In the European Union, the concern for sustainability has been legitimized by its politically and ecologically motivated discourse disseminated through recent policies of the European Commission and the local as well as international media. In the article, we question the very meaning of sustainability and examine the European Green Deal, the major political document issued by the EC in 2019. The main question pursued in the study is whether expectations verbalized in the Green Deal’s plans, programs, strategies, and developments hold up to the scrutiny of critical discourse analysis. We compare the Green Deal’s treatment of sustainability to how sustainability is presented in environmental and social science scholarship and point out that research, on the one hand, and the politically motivated discourse, on the other, do not correlate and often actually contradict each other. We conclude that sustainability discourse and its keywords, lexicon, and phraseology have become a channel through which political institutions in the EU such as the European Commission sideline crucial environmental issues and endorse their own presence. The Green Deal discourse shapes political and institutional power of the Commission and the EU.

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The impact of COVID-19 on households´ income in the EU

The Journal of Economic Inequality ◽

10.1007/s10888-021-09485-8 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Vanda Almeida ◽

Salvador Barrios ◽

Michael Christl ◽

Silvia De Poli ◽

Alberto Tumino ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fiscal Policy ◽

Disposable Income ◽

Income Loss ◽

Eu Member States ◽

Policy Interventions ◽

Discretionary Fiscal Policy ◽

Policy Measures ◽

The One ◽

The Impact ◽

The Eu

AbstractThis analysis makes use of economic forecasts for 2020 issued by the European Commission in Autumn 2019 and Spring 2020, and of a counterfactual under a no-policy change assumption, to analyse the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on EU households´ income. Additionally, our analysis assesses the cushioning effect of discretionary fiscal policy measures taken by the EU Member States. We find that the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to affect significantly households’ disposable income in the EU, with lower income households being more severely hit. However, our results show that due to policy intervention, the impact of the crisis is expected to be similar to the one experienced during the 2008–2009 financial crisis. In detail, our results indicate that discretionary fiscal policy measures will play a significant cushioning role, reducing the size of the income loss (from −9.3% to −4.3% for the average equivalised disposable income), its regressivity and mitigating the poverty impact of the pandemic. We conclude that policy interventions are therefore instrumental in cushioning against the impact of the crisis on inequality and poverty.

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ESMA as a Residual Lawmaker: The Political Economy and Constitutionality of ESMA’s Product Intervention Measures on Complex Financial Products

European Business Organization Law Review ◽

10.1007/s40804-021-00218-y ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Pablo Iglesias-Rodríguez

Keyword(s):

Political Economy ◽

Investor Protection ◽

The Political ◽

Regulatory Arbitrage ◽

Financial Products ◽

Intervention Measures ◽

Binary Options ◽

The One ◽

National Competent Authorities ◽

The Eu

AbstractThis article proposes that product intervention constitutes a form of residual lawmaking by ESMA that allows it to tackle aspects of investor protection not addressed by EU incomplete financial laws. Whilst product intervention may bring about certain advantages and may contribute to mitigating regulatory arbitrage problems, it constitutes a highly intrusive regulatory mechanism that raises important questions concerning: (a) ESMA’s rationale and motivations for its use; (b) its compliance with the EU constitutional framework; and (c) its adequacy for the regulation of complex financial products. This article addresses these questions through an analysis of the rationale and consequences of ESMA’s product intervention measures on binary options and contracts for differences of May 2018–July 2019, and of recent reforms of ESMA’s powers. It offers three main contributions to the existing literature. First, it contributes to the literature on administrative discretion and agencies’ rulemaking through an analysis of the political economy of ESMA’s deployment of product intervention powers and, also, of what this reveals about the relationships between ESMA and the EU Institutions, on the one side, and ESMA and National Competent Authorities, on the other. Second, it contributes to the literature on the constitutionality of EU agencies through an examination of the compliance of ESMA’s product intervention measures with EU constitutional law and requirements. Third, it examines whether product intervention constitutes an adequate mechanism to address problems pertaining to investor protection in complex financial products markets and, in doing so, it contributes to the scholarly discussion on complex financial products’ regulation.

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The Making of a President: The European Parliament and the Confirmation of Jacques Santer as President of the Commission

Government and Opposition ◽

10.1111/j.1477-7053.1996.tb00149.x ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 62-76 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Simon Hix ◽

Christopher Lord

Keyword(s):

European Parliament ◽

The Other ◽

The European Union ◽

Political Debate ◽

European Elections ◽

Shared Meanings ◽

Single European Act ◽

The One ◽

Council Of Ministers ◽

The Eu

THE SINGLE EUROPEAN ACT AND THE MAASTRICHT TREATY attempted to balance two principles of representation in their redesign of the institutional structures of the European Union: the one, based on the indirect representation of publics through nationally elected governments in the European Council and Council of Ministers; the other, based on the direct representation of publics through a more powerful European Parliament. There is much to be said for this balance, for neither of the two principles can, on its own, be an adequate solution at this stage in the development of the EU. The Council suffers from a non-transparent style of decision-making and is, in the view of many, closer to oligarchic than to democratic politics. On the other hand, the claims of the European Parliament to represent public sentiments on European integration are limited by low voter participation, the second-order nature of European elections and the still Protean nature of what we might call a transnational European demos. The EU lacks a single public arena of political debate, communications and shared meanings; of partisan aggregation and political entrepreneurship; and of high and even acceptance, across issues and member states, that it is European and not national majority views which should count in collective rule-making.

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Territoriality Beyond the State: The EU’s Territorial Claims and the Search for Their Legitimacy

German Law Journal ◽

10.1017/glj.2021.24 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 650-672

Author(s):

Josef Weinzierl

Keyword(s):

The State ◽

Political Community ◽

The Other ◽

Main Question ◽

Eu Law ◽

European Level ◽

Territorial Claims ◽

The One ◽

The Individual ◽

The Eu

AbstractQuite a few recent ECJ judgments touch on various elements of territorial rule. Thereby, they raise the profile of the main question this Article asks: Which territorial claims does the EU make? To provide an answer, the present Article discusses and categorizes the individual elements of territoriality in the EU’s architecture. The influence of EU law on national territorial rule on the one hand and the emergence of territorial governance elements at the European level on the other provide the main pillars of the inquiry. Once combined, these features not only help to improve our understanding of the EU’s distinctly supranational conception of territoriality. What is more, the discussion raises several important legitimacy questions. As a consequence, the Article calls for the development of a theoretical model to evaluate and justify territoriality in a political community beyond the state.

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Eliminating ‘Aesthetics’ from Copyright Law: The Aftermath of Cofemel

GRUR International ◽

10.1093/grurint/ikab113 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Koray Güven

Keyword(s):

Copyright Protection ◽

Copyright Law ◽

The European Union ◽

Court Of Justice ◽

Applied Art ◽

Copyright Laws ◽

The One ◽

Works Of Applied Art ◽

Functionality Doctrine ◽

The Eu

Abstract The recent Cofemel judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union extended the European Union’s (EU) originality criterion (i.e. the author’s own intellectual creation) to the realm of works of applied art. The Court excluded ‘aesthetically significant visual effect’ as a condition of copyright protection. It was condemned as subjective and incompatible with the EU originality criterion. The decision may signal a shift in several national copyright laws, under which requirements relating to ‘aesthetics’ are laid down as a condition to acquire protection. This article will demonstrate that the ‘aesthetics criterion’, as it emerged historically and has been employed in national copyright laws, is associated with a different meaning than it conveys at first glance. The aesthetics criterion designates the elbow room remaining to the author after functional constraints have been taken into account, and thus represents a form of the functionality doctrine in the domain of copyright law. However, to some extent it also excludes – though not uniformly – commonplace designs from the scope of copyright protection. Against this background, this article suggests that the aesthetics criterion can arguably be reconciled with the EU originality criterion. The aesthetics criterion represents a balance struck between the need for copyright protection in the field of applied arts, on the one hand, and competition, on the other. In order not to upset this careful balance, a robust application of the EU originality criterion is advocated, precluding protection not only to functionality, but also to commonplace creations.

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What Kind of Ireland?

The Oxford Handbook of Irish Politics ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198823834.013.42 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. xviii-20

Author(s):

Niamh Hardiman ◽

David M. Farrell ◽

Eoin Carolan ◽

John Coakley ◽

Aidan Regan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Political Institutions ◽

Public Discourse ◽

The European Union ◽

Eu Member States ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Original Contribution ◽

Electoral Mobilization ◽

The One ◽

The Eu

Modern Ireland is a relatively wealthy and politically stable democracy, but it bears the deep marks of its route to this point. This introductory chapter draws together some key themes that run through this volume and profiles the core contributions of each of its chapters. The overall story is one of contradictory influences. The political institutions of the state, notwithstanding much innovation over time, retain a bias toward a remarkably strong executive. The long-standing weaknesses of social democratic electoral mobilization both reflect and reinforce a conservative and market-oriented tilt in policy priorities. The ideas that animate public discourse show a creative but sometimes problematic tension between republican and communitarian ideals on the one hand, and liberal ideas and values on the other. Ireland has assumed a confident role on the world stage and especially within the European Union (EU), but relations with its nearest neighbour, the United Kingdom, can often be problematic, not least because of the complexity of the politics of Northern Ireland. And while on many measures Ireland is among the wealthiest of the EU member states, this is not the lived reality for a great many of its citizens, and the nuances of why this is so need to be carefully assessed. Overall, this introductory chapter offers an overview of the whole Handbook while also making an original contribution in its own right.

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Effects of Serbian accession to the European Union

Panoeconomicus ◽

10.2298/pan1203355h ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 59 (3) ◽

pp. 355-367 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Mario Holzner ◽

Valentina Ivanic

Keyword(s):

Trade Liberalization ◽

Consumer Surplus ◽

The European Union ◽

Policy Changes ◽

Eu Accession ◽

Consumer Prices ◽

The World ◽

Producer Surplus ◽

The One ◽

The Eu

In this article, the global simulation model (GSIM) of Joseph F. Francois and Keith H. Hall (2009) for analyzing global, regional, and unilateral trade policy changes was applied to Serbia. This was to measure the effects of full trade liberalization with the EU after Serbian accession to the EU. As anticipated, most of the changes in welfare after full liberalization of trade between Serbia and EU can be expected in sectors where Serbia has specialized; protection against imports from the EU is strong. However, losses could also occur in sectors that currently face strong protection against the rest of the world and this protection is lost after EU accession. Trade liberalization will lead to a substantial loss of tariff revenues. Reduced consumer prices might, on the one hand increase consumer surplus but on the other hand decrease producer surplus and output in certain industries.

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The European Union's policy on human rights and Chinese sovereignism: The case of Xinjiang

Medjunarodni problemi ◽

10.2298/medjp2101058t ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 73 (1) ◽

pp. 58-86

Author(s):

Dragan Trailovic

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Individual Case ◽

The Other ◽

Individual Member ◽

The European Union ◽

Member States ◽

The One ◽

Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region ◽

Rights Issues ◽

The Eu

The article explores the European Union's approach to human rights issues in China through the processes of bilateral and multilateral dialogue on human rights between the EU and the People's Republic of China, on the one hand. On the other hand, the paper deals with the analysis of the EU's human rights policy in the specific case of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, which is examined through normative and political activities of the EU, its institutions and individual member states. Besides, the paper examines China's response to the European Union's human rights approaches, in general, but also when it comes to the specific case of UAR Xinjiang. ?his is done through a review of China's discourse and behaviour within the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue framework, but also at the UN level and within the framework of bilateral relations with individual member states. The paper aims to show whether and how the characteristics of the EU's general approach to human rights in China are reflected in the individual case of Xinjiang. Particular attention shall be given to the differentiation of member states in terms of their approach to human rights issues in China, which is conditioned by the discrepancy between their political values, normative interests and ideational factors, on the one hand, and material factors and economic interests, on the other. Also, the paper aims to show the important features of the different views of the European Union and the Chinese state on the very role of Human Rights Dialogue, as well as their different understandings of the concept of human rights itself. The study concluded that the characteristics of the Union's general approach to human rights in China, as well as the different perceptions of human rights issues between China and the EU, were manifested in the same way in the case of UAR Xinjiang.

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