scholarly journals Sovereignty in the Era of Globalism: EU Energy Regulation in the Shadow of Sovereignty?

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-166
Author(s):  
Melinda Perecsényi
Keyword(s):  
Energy Policy ◽  
Energy Regulation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Energy Union ◽  
Eu Energy Policy ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Near Future

In our globalised world the phenomenon of Babylonian confusion can be observed in relation to the concept of sovereignty, and the boundaries of national, European, and international law are becoming increasingly blurred. In the following, I will seek an answer to the question how the term of sovereignty is rewritten, and the scope of its interpretation expanded in our globalised and Europeanised surroundings. In this context, I will present firstly some major international and Hungarian approaches to the definition of sovereignty in modern times. Secondly, I will examine how the sovereignty of the Member States has developed in the European Union, highlighting to what extent can we talk about a sovereign energy policy of the Member States in the light of shared competences adopted in the field of energy policy. Thirdly, I will scrutinise how EU energy policy can change in the near future, and what kind of a role Member States can play in this process. As there is still no universally accepted definition of sovereignty, the role of science is essential in the conceptualisation of the term. The Treaty of Lisbon has brought a supranational turn also in the field of energy, but Member States still have a relatively wide leeway to create their own regulatory framework that takes into account their national and regional characteristics. Environmental considerations in recent years have led to the initiation of a single energy market and the creation of the European energy union that is expected to become more intense in the near future. Therefore, it is crucial for Member States, both at a national and a regional level, to be actively involved in the establishment and formulation of community law in order to be able to represent their interest effectively.

scholarly journals Determinants of the EU Citizens’ Attitudes towards the European Energy Union Priorities

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (17) ◽  
pp. 5237
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Janik ◽  
Adam Ryszko ◽  
Marek Szafraniec
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Green Energy ◽  
Energy Prices ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Energy Union ◽  
Citizens Attitudes ◽  
The Eu

The European Union has adopted very ambitious climate and energy goals for the coming years. The key prerequisite to successfully achieve these goals seems to be extensive support and adequate commitment of the member states and their citizens to the implementation of the clean energy transition and climate neutrality measures. Therefore, this study presents a comprehensive analysis aiming to identify the factors determining the EU citizens’ attitudes towards the European Energy Union priorities. The analysis was based on representative data obtained from residents of twenty-seven EU countries using a Eurobarometer survey. The collected data were subjected to a comparative analysis and binary logistic regression. The research results demonstrated that the support for specific energy policy priorities varies significantly depending on different perceptions of the EU citizens and was affected by a number of demographic variables. It was indicated that perceiving the environment, climate and energy as the most important issues from the perspective of an individual, a country and the EU significantly affects attitudes towards energy policy priorities. However, this mostly concerned the awareness of the importance of these issues at the EU level. Individuals who supported a common energy policy among the EU member states were more likely to point to green energy priorities, whereas guaranteeing low energy prices for companies and consumers seemed less important for them. It was remarkable that the reduction of energy consumption was indicated as an energy policy priority by respondents expecting both more and less decision-making at the European level in the field of environmental protection. People with a right-wing orientation were the most likely to support the competitiveness of the EU’s industry, while individuals with a leftist ideology showed the strongest tendency to opt for environmental protection. Furthermore, gender, occupation and the place and country of residence emerged as very important determinants of attitudes towards the European Energy Union priorities, whereas age and the educational level were predictors in very few cases only.

EU Energy Plan faces two-year uphill battle

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Policy ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Market Regulation ◽  
Member States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Energy Union ◽  
Long Line ◽  
Eu Energy Policy ◽  
Energy Diplomacy ◽  
The Eu

Significance The proposals are the latest in a long line of attempts to establish a more integrated approach to energy policy within the EU and greater coordination of energy diplomacy with the rest of the world. The latest scheme, conceived against the background of deteriorating relations with Russia and amid fears for the bloc's energy security, originated in calls from former Polish Prime Minister (now President of the European Council) Donald Tusk for the EU to act collectively to boost its indigenous energy resources and negotiate collectively with energy exporters. Impacts The Energy Union could help to enhance EU energy policy and diplomacy but stops well short of centralising energy policy decisions. It is unclear how far member states will be willing to delegate responsibilities in areas such as market regulation and energy diplomacy. It is uncertain how far the Commission will be prepared to use enforcement powers where member states fail to meet existing commitments.

scholarly journals Following, Challenging, or Shaping: Can Third Countries Influence EU Energy Policy?

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 152-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Hofmann ◽  
Torbjørg Jevnaker ◽  
Philipp Thaler
Keyword(s):  
Energy Policy ◽  
European Economic Area ◽  
Energy Regulation ◽  
Structural Power ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Energy Governance ◽  
Eu Energy Policy ◽  
Energy Community ◽  
Energy Relations

Can non-EU member states influence the EU’s energy policy? The Europeanization of energy policy in third countries is often described as a one-directional process in which these countries essentially adopt the EU <em>energy acquis</em>. Our article questions this dominant view by exploring whether and how third countries can influence the formulation and implementation of EU energy policy. We argue that relative differences in third country influence depend on their access to relevant venues and actors of EU policy-making as well as their structural power resources. We develop a typology linking these two factors to the outsider, follower, challenger, or shaper roles that third countries assume in EU energy governance. We empirically probe our argument in three case studies representing different models of EU–third country cooperation. Our cases include a group of nine Southeast and East European countries (Energy Community), Switzerland (bilateral arrangements), and Norway (European Economic Area). The analysis shows that it is access and structural power which together define the extent to which third countries are able to influence the formulation of EU energy policy and customize its implementation to their domestic needs. We find that while the Energy Community members are followers in EU energy governance, Switzerland and Norway are shapers. Strikingly, the influence of these two non-EU members may occasionally even surpass that of smaller EU member states. This highlights that third countries are not merely downloading EU energy regulation but sometimes also succeed in uploading their own preferences. Our contribution has implications for the post-Brexit EU–UK energy relations and qualifies claims about EU regulatory hegemony in the wider region.

scholarly journals Forming the European Union Common External Energy Policy: Key Events and Results

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 39-48
Author(s):  
O. Yudina
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Energy Policy ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
The European Union ◽  
External Energy ◽  
Member States ◽  
Energy Union ◽  
Energy Community ◽  
The Eu

Received 08.05.2020. Energy has always been of particular importance to the European Union. Meanwhile, up to the beginning of the 21st century, this area had been in exclusive competence of member states, with timid attempts of the European Commission (EC) to receive part of the powers in the energy sphere. The article is devoted to the issues of the EU common external energy policy development that was accompanied by a dichotomy of interests between the member-states, which hardly like the idea of the energy sector communitarisation, and the European Commission, which has been the main driver of supranationalisation of the energy sphere for a long period of time. The author characterizes the main achievements towards the EU common external energy policy, including the law regarding the export of energy to neighboring non-member countries through various organizations, such as the Energy Community, the Eastern Partnership, MEDREG, and launching of the European Energy Union (EEU) in 2015. Special attention is paid to external factors that facilitated the enhancement of the European Commission’s role in the energy sphere. The new era for the EU common external energy policy started in 2015 with the EEU and energy security as one of its priority, partly due to the gas crises and political tension between the European Union and Russia. It is noted that the EEU has facilitated the adoption of some EC’s legal proposals that could not be adopted for a long time, such as the mechanism of consultations on new intergovernmental contracts. In general, the creation of the Energy Union should certainly be seen as strengthening the supranational energy competences of the European Commission. It is concluded that the European Commission has made a significant progress towards a common external energy policy, strongly supported by the public opinion that the European Union should speak one voice with third countries. Despite the lack of legally supported competencies in energy for the EC, it gained authority in different directions of the EU energy policy development. Under these circumstances, the common energy market that has led to energy interdependent of the member states, forces them to cooperate at a supranational level. The author argues that third countries should clearly understand the dynamic and processes of communitarisation of the energy sphere and adopt their cooperation with the European Union based on this knowledge.

scholarly journals Inequalities in the European Union—A Partial Order Analysis of the Main Indicators

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6278
Author(s):  
Lars Carlsen ◽  
Rainer Bruggemann
Keyword(s):  
Indicator System ◽  
Partial Ordering ◽  
Disposable Income ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Educational Aspect ◽  
The Eu

The inequality within the 27 European member states has been studied. Six indicators proclaimed by Eurostat to be the main indicators charactere the countries: (i) the relative median at-risk-of-poverty gap, (ii) the income distribution, (iii) the income share of the bottom 40% of the population, (iv) the purchasing power adjusted GDP per capita, (v) the adjusted gross disposable income of households per capita and (vi) the asylum applications by state of procedure. The resulting multi-indicator system was analyzed applying partial ordering methodology, i.e., including all indicators simultaneously without any pretreatment. The degree of inequality was studied for the years 2010, 2015 and 2019. The EU member states were partially ordered and ranked. For all three years Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Austria, and Finland are found to be highly ranked, i.e., having rather low inequality. Bulgaria and Romania are, on the other hand, for all three years ranked low, with the highest degree of inequality. Excluding the asylum indicator, the risk-poverty-gap and the adjusted gross disposable income were found as the most important indicators. If, however, the asylum application is included, this indicator turns out as the most important for the mutual ranking of the countries. A set of additional indicators was studied disclosing the educational aspect as of major importance to achieve equality. Special partial ordering tools were applied to study the role of the single indicators, e.g., in relation to elucidate the incomparability of some countries to all other countries within the union.

scholarly journals The Role of Spatio-Temporal Information to Govern the COVID-19 Pandemic: A European Perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 166
Author(s):  
Hartmut Müller ◽  
Marije Louwsma
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
National Level ◽  
Temporal Information ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Heavy Burden ◽  
Spatio Temporal

The Covid-19 pandemic put a heavy burden on member states in the European Union. To govern the pandemic, having access to reliable geo-information is key for monitoring the spatial distribution of the outbreak over time. This study aims to analyze the role of spatio-temporal information in governing the pandemic in the European Union and its member states. The European Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) system and selected national dashboards from member states were assessed to analyze which spatio-temporal information was used, how the information was visualized and whether this changed over the course of the pandemic. Initially, member states focused on their own jurisdiction by creating national dashboards to monitor the pandemic. Information between member states was not aligned. Producing reliable data and timeliness reporting was problematic, just like selecting indictors to monitor the spatial distribution and intensity of the outbreak. Over the course of the pandemic, with more knowledge about the virus and its characteristics, interventions of member states to govern the outbreak were better aligned at the European level. However, further integration and alignment of public health data, statistical data and spatio-temporal data could provide even better information for governments and actors involved in managing the outbreak, both at national and supra-national level. The Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE) initiative and the NUTS system provide a framework to guide future integration and extension of existing systems.

Recent Research on the Archaeology of War and Violence

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew K. Scherer
Keyword(s):  
State Formation ◽  
Online Publication ◽  
General Trend ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
The Past ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Consequences Of Violence

The mid-1990s through the first decade of the new millennium marked an increase in publications pertaining to war and violence in the ancient past. This review considers how scholars of the past decade have responded to that work. The emerging consensus is that war and violence were endemic to all societies studied by archaeologists, and yet the frequency, intensity, causes, and consequences of violence were highly variable for reasons that defy simplistic explanation. The general trend has been toward archaeologies of war and violence that focus on understanding the nuances of particular places and historical moments. Nevertheless, archaeologists continue to grapple with grand narratives of war, such as the proposition that violence has decreased from ancient to modern times and the role of war and violence in state formation and collapse. Recent research also draws attention to a more expansive definition of violence. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Anthropology, Volume 50 is October 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

scholarly journals The Development of Whistleblowing Laws in the United States and Europe (de lege ferenda remarks)

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-155
Author(s):  
Łucja Kobroń-Gąsiorowska
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Work Process ◽  
Free Markets ◽  
Member States ◽  
Communist Countries ◽  
Established Democracies

Corruption, harassment in a workplace, practices contrary to the correct work process, and many others are irregularities that can arise in any enterprise. This is a problem that affects established democracies and free markets and post-communist countries that are transitioning to democracy and market economies. While the causes of irregularities vary, the tools often suggested tackling them include that do not necessarily encourage potential whistleblowers to report them, whether inside or outside the organization. This article discusses the role of whistleblowing as a whistle­blowing tool. Describes the law and whistleblowing in a comparative context, focusing on the United States and the European Union. The article then concludes with recommendations for strengthening whistleblowing in Europe, where reporting irregularities is just beginning, and the level of protection differs between the Member States.

scholarly journals Durable Relationship and Family Members “by Analogy” in the European Union

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 175
Author(s):  
Tanel Feldman ◽  
Marco Mazzeschi
Keyword(s):  
Member State ◽  
Family Member ◽  
Family Members ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Registered Partnership ◽  
The Family ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Union Citizen ◽  
The Eu

Rights of residence derived from a durable relationship with an EU citizen, are left to a relatively wide discretion of the Member States. Pursuant to Article 2.2 (b) Directive 2004/38/EC (&ldquo;Directive&rdquo;), &ldquo;the partner with whom the Union citizen has contracted a registered partnership, on the basis of the legislation of a Member State, if the legislation of the host Member State treats registered partnerships as equivalent to marriage and in accordance with the conditions laid down in the relevant legislation of the host Member State&rdquo; qualifies as family member. Provided that they have a durable relationship (duly attested) with an EU citizen, pursuant to Article 3.2(b), unregistered partners are as well beneficiaries of the Directive. The durable relationship was expressly excluded from the scope of Article 2(2)(b): &ldquo;Unlike the amended proposal, it does not cover de facto durable relationships&rdquo; (EU Commission, Document 52003SC1293). Article 3 (2)(a) covers &ldquo;other family members&rdquo; (no restrictions as to the degree of relatedness) if material support is provided by the EU citizen or by his partner or where serious health grounds strictly require the personal care of the family member by the Union citizen. Pursuant to Article 3.2, &ldquo;other family members&rdquo; and unregistered partners can attest a durable relationship, must be facilitated entry and residence, in accordance to the host Member State&rsquo;s national legislation. In the light of Preamble 6 Directive, the situation of the persons who are not included in the definition of family members, must be considered &ldquo;in order to maintain the unity of the family in a broader sense&rdquo;. The questions discussed in this paper are the following: (i) are Member States genuinely considering the concept of durable relationship in view of maintaining the unity of the family in a broader sense? and (ii) how to overcome legal uncertainty and which criteria, both at EU and at international level, can be taken into account in order to assess whether a durable relationship is genuine and should be granted the rights set forth by the Directive?

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