scholarly journals The strategic narration of future identity during times of crises: evidence from the European Commission

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pauline Heinrichs
Keyword(s):  
European Commission ◽  
Political Agency ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Contentious Issue ◽  
Identity Narratives ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Autobiographical Narrative

What kind of Europe the EU seeks to be, how it perceives itself and how it seeks to enact this Europe is a highly contentious issue and has powerful political stakes attached to its construction and realisation. This paper is specifically interested in how crises can constitute a compounded and expanded space for agency of political actors to forge identity narratives of the future. This paper draws on speeches by EC officials from 16 July 2019 to 7 July 2020, while coding along four analytical markers for crises as identified by Filip Ejdus (2020, p. 2, italics in original): “existence, finitude, relations and autobiography”. This article finds that while actors seek to create space for political agency by writing a moment of existential (external) crises to the EU’s project, they appear less equipped to use this moment politically. In this way, they co-construct a space potentially open to political creativity, but fail to fill this space with political creativity as to the future of the autobiographical narrative.

The Future Perspectives on the ‘Convergence Criteria’ of the EU

2007 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-192
Author(s):  
Gieyoung Lim ◽  
Zie-eun Yang
Keyword(s):  
European Commission ◽  
Future Prospect ◽  
Convergence Criteria ◽  
Future Perspectives ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Eu

Should the same convergence criteria be applied to the countries that are relatively poorer in the region, or will the Commission try to revise the rules by request of the French and German governments? Due to the larger economies' economic under-performance in recent years, even the European Commission are taking account of the revision of some of the criteria. Are there any other possibilities except for the revision of the criteria? In this paper, we focus on the future prospect of the convergence criteria and suggest the possible scenarios for those questions.

scholarly journals Finance Capitalism and Democracy: The Case of the Financial Transactions Tax

2020 ◽  
pp. 125-134
Author(s):  
Stephan Schulmeister
Keyword(s):  
European Commission ◽  
Financial Instability ◽  
Financial Transaction ◽  
The Future ◽  
Pros And Cons ◽  
Transaction Taxes ◽  
Financial Transactions ◽  
Finance Capitalism ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThis chapter analyses the pros and cons of financial transaction taxes (FTT) as mechanisms to mitigate financial instability and the proposal of the European Commission to implement an FTT in the EU in September 2011 until its suspension, as well as the prospects for it to be adopted in the future.

Further EU integration will be uneven and incremental

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
European Integration ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Member States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Eu

Significance The celebration came just days before the United Kingdom is set to begin the withdrawal process. Precisely what path the EU will take over the next decade remains uncertain and the European Commission has kicked off a process of dialogue on various scenarios for its future. Impacts Debates about the future of the EU will occur simultaneously with Brexit negotiations and be coloured by them. EU leaders will be keen to continue to demonstrate their commitment to press forward with European integration despite Brexit. Brexit will not lead to an unravelling of the EU and thus far has served to enhance support for the Union in other member states. Yet Brexit will not lead to any sudden deepening of integration.

scholarly journals National approaches of EU Member States in concluding bilateral social security agreements with third countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 148-161
Author(s):  
Bernard Spiegel
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Member States ◽  
Bilateral Agreements ◽  
Common Features ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Exchange Of Information ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Security Agreements

For EU Member States like Austria, the EU Regulations on the coordination of social security schemes are the focus of academic and political attention. They deal with many cases and are usually very complex. They are supervised by the European Commission and the CJEU. Compared to these EU rules, bilateral agreements with third countries are treated as step-children. They do not get the academic and political attention they deserve, taking into account their importance in practice. They have common features compared to the EU rules, but there are also remarkable differences in the texts and their interpretation. The differences sometimes lead to practical problems of application and interpretation in the EU Member States. Based on Austrian experiences, all these aspects are elaborated in this article. Enhanced cooperation and exchange of information between the EU Member States in the future could help to improve the negotiating position of these countries and also guarantee greater esteem for the bilateral agreements.

European Governance and Civic Participation: Beyond Elitist Citizenship?

2003 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 144-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Magnette
Keyword(s):  
European Commission ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
General Level ◽  
Democratic Deficit ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
European Governance ◽  
Institutional Model ◽  
Modes Of Governance ◽  
The Eu ◽  
New Modes Of Governance

Since the end of the 1990s, ‘new modes of governance’ have been presented by academics and political actors as an answer to the EU's ‘democratic deficit’. Analysing the intellectual roots of this idea, and the concrete proposals made by those who, like the European Commission, support it, this paper argues that it is very unlikely to reach this ambitious purpose. Far from breaking with the Community method, these participatory mechanisms constitute extensions of existing practices, and are underpinned by the same élitist and functionalist philosophy. They remain limited to ‘stakeholders’ and will not improve the ‘enlighted understanding’ of ordinary citizens and the general level of participation. The paper examines the obstacles to the politicisation of the EU inherent in its institutional model, and discusses other options which might help bypass the limits of ‘governance’.

scholarly journals The future of the EU in the context of scenarios for its development by 2025

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (11) ◽  
pp. 60-70
Author(s):  
O. М. Rudik
Keyword(s):  
European Commission ◽  
Future Development ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
White Paper ◽  
Single Market ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

The article researches the scenarios for the future development of the EU by 2025 proposed by the European Commission. The white paper on the future of EU looks at how Europe will change in the next decade, from the impact of new technologies on society and jobs, to doubts about globalization, security concerns and the rise of populism. The European Commission emphasizes that the Europe’s role as a positive global force is more important today than ever. However, under the pressure of global competition the United Europe’s place in the world and its economic weight are shrinking, which is a solid foundation for preserving the unity of the Union for the sake of achieving greater. On the contrary, the most desirable scenario, as can be seen from the speech by the President of the European Commission, is to give the European Union a greater amount of power, resources and decision-making powers. As a result, cooperation between the EU-27 Member States will deepen in all areas than ever before. The White Paper outlines ve main scenarios («Carrying on», «Nothing but the single market», «Those who want more do more», «Doing less more e ciently», «Doing much more together»), each of them provides an opportunity to look at the possible state of a airs in the Union by 2025, depending on the choice that the EU will make by 2019. In the opinion of Jean-Claude Juncker, the most negative scenario of the EU development, and therefore extremely undesirable, is to bring its goals to purely economic, focusing the Union’s activities on the development of a single internal market and ensuring its uninterrupted functioning («Nothing but the single market» scenario). Based on data from the European Commission the author shows and brie y describes the key advantages and disadvantages of each of the scenarios. The common features of these scenarios are outlined: rst, they all come from the fact that the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU; secondly, none of them doubts the need to preserve the euro as common currency and the Schengen zone, thirdly, neither the scenarios refers to further EU enlargement. Since none of the proposed scenarios provides for the complete disintegration of the EU, that is, the disappearance of it as a geopolitical actor, it is concluded that in the strategic perspective all the outlined models of the EU’s future development suit Ukraine. Moreover, the steps recently proposed by the President of Ukraine and the European Parliament for deepening the economic integration of Ukraine with the EU and its association with the Schengen area also does not contradict any of the scenarios.

scholarly journals The Conclusions of the ‘Dialogue on the future of Europe: How to build a more effective and genuinely strong Union?’ Conference Organised by the Ferenc Mádl Institute of Comparative Law and the Ministry of Justice

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 211-223
Author(s):  
Julianna Sára Traser ◽  
Márta Benyusz
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Comparative Law ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
National Parliaments ◽  
Member States ◽  
International Conference ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Eu

This article concludes the presentations made at and the main lessons drawn from the international conference held on 21 September 2020, within the framework of the pan-European dialogue on the future of Europe, co-organised by the Ferenc Mádl Institute and the Ministry of Justice. It also presents the EU context and background of the debate, the role of the EU institutions, and the evolution of their position. The event was attended by representatives of the EU, Hungarian politicians, and representatives from academia and civil society. With this event, Hungary officially launched a series of conferences on the future of Europe. The presentations in these conferences reflected the crises facing the Union, including the institutional challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the effectiveness of the EU and its Member States' responses to them. The speakers considered the involvement of and consultation with citizens important to the process. In the context of disputes over competences between the EU and the Member States, some speakers drew attention to the spillover effect, and others called for the strengthening of the supervisory role of constitutional courts and the need for more effective involvement of national parliaments in subsidiarity control, with regard to the sovereignty of the Member States and the primacy of EU law. Critical remarks were made on the limited nature of civil society representation at the EU level. The article reflects on the main events on thinking about the future of Europe over the last four years, including the main initiatives and positions expressed by the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Heads of State and Government, citizens' consultations, and institutional competition in relation to the thematic and organisational issues of the EU-level conference. Whereas the European Commission and European Parliament, which has an ambitious position and has already proposed concrete solutions to organisational and governance issues, were the first to formulate their vision, the position of the Council, representing the Member States, will not be established until June 2020. Thus, no joint declaration on part of the institutions has been adopted thus far and no conference has been hosted, either. In view of all this, the organisation of the international conference by the Ferenc Mádl Institute of Comparative Law and the Ministry of Justice can be considered timely and proactive.

scholarly journals Differentiated integration contingent on objective ability: a federalist critique

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Samo Bardutzky
Keyword(s):  
Financial Crisis ◽  
European Commission ◽  
White Paper ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
The Future ◽  
Differentiated Integration ◽  
Daniel Elazar ◽  
The Eu

Abstract This article is inspired by the 2017 discussions on the future of Europe (in particular some of the ideas debated in the White Paper on the Future of Europe, published by the European Commission) and the events that took place in the crises and post-crises period (aftermath of the financial crisis, ongoing refugee crisis and the Brexit shock). It is particularly interested in the scenario of differentiated integration. In this regard, it observes how in the aftermath of the crises, there was a shift in the rationale of differentiated integration with objective (in)ability of the states taking a prominent role. It presents a federalist critique of this development, drawing on the work of Daniel Elazar, discussing the concepts of non-centralization, federal process and federal covenant in the context of the 2017 discussions in the EU.

scholarly journals The lost Spitzenkandidaten and the future of European democracy

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 731-735 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Dawson
Keyword(s):  
European Commission ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
European Democracy ◽  
The Future ◽  
Commission President ◽  
The Eu

This editorial critically examines the decision of EU leaders not to follow the ‘Spitzenkandidaten’ procedure when recently nominating the new President of the European Commission. It does so by situating that decision in a consociational model of democracy, that seeks to share political authority rather than link it directly to electoral processes. As the editorial argues, this model leaves the EU exposed to elitist critique and sits uneasily with certain aspects of Article 17(7) TEU. The review and renewal of the Spitzenkandidaten system promised by the incoming Commission President is thus sorely needed.

Concurrent trade defense investigations in the EU, the EU's new anti-subsidy practice against China, and the future of both

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 527-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
EDWIN VERMULST ◽  
BRIAN GATTA
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Commission ◽  
The United States ◽  
Key Points ◽  
The Future ◽  
Countervailing Duties ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Impact ◽  
The Eu ◽  
The Way

AbstractThe EU's decision to follow in the footsteps of the United States by breaking with its past practice of not applying countervailing duties against Chinese subsidies has left many wondering whether its first imposition of such duties on Coated Fine Paper from China was a watershed moment in EU trade defense history or merely an aberration, and if the former, just how profound of an impact these cases might have in the future. The article examines the key considerations which can aid one in determining the probability of the EU making an anti-subsidy practice against China routine, as well as the extent to which that practice could have a substantial practical impact on duty rates. This examination entails a look at the EU's historical use of the anti-subsidy instrument as a subordinate complement to the anti-dumping instrument, the impact of the EU's adoption of the ‘lesser duty rule’ on concurrent investigations, the way in which the expiration of a key provision in China's Protocol of Accession to the WTO will increase the desirability of the anti-subsidy instrument, as well as a look at how the European Commission might have fallen foul of the SCM Agreement with regard to a few key points.

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