scholarly journals Variations in the quality of government within the European Union: A comparative approach of Northern and Southern public bureaucracies

2019 ◽  
pp. 37-50
Author(s):  
Giorgio Oikonomou
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The North ◽  
Governance Indicators ◽  
Mediterranean Countries ◽  
Core Components

The quality of government represents a critical parameter of modern states for delivering sound public policies for the benefit of citizens. Dimensions such as accountability, impartiality, mechanisms which cope effectively with corruption and government effectiveness stand as core components of the quality of government, whereas at the same time account for much of the variation in the quality of government across European Union (EU) countries. This paper seeks to examine the quality of government by comparing and contrasting countries of the EU with substantially different administrative characteristics and traditions. The research explores two Nordic countries, namely Denmark and Sweden, and, two Mediterranean countries, Italy and Greece. Taking stock of theoretical insights from the political and economic literature the core aim of the paper is to identify plausible explanations with regard to the variations in the quality of government across the four selected EU member-states. The research draws on quantitative data based on the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) and the European Quality of Government index (EQGI). It is argued that certain traits (legacies) of the political-administrative systems of the countries under examination can explain much of the observed, often striking, variations in the quality of government between the North and the South European bureaucracies.

scholarly journals QUALITY OF INSTITUTION AND ECONOMIC GROWTH OF THE COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AND THE WESTERN BALKANS

2019 ◽  
pp. 117
Author(s):  
Vladimir Kostić ◽  
Samir Ljajić ◽  
Slobodan Cvetanović ◽  
Vladimir Nedić
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
European Union ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Governance Indicators ◽  
The Status

The paper analyzes the intensity of the influence of the quality of institutions according to the data from the World Bank's specialized Worldwide Governance Indicators database on the growth of gross domestic product per capita of 33 countries of Europe through linear and exponential regression analysis for the period from 1996 to 2016. The observed European countries are divided into three groups: 15 European Union member states in 1995; 13 EU member states from 2004, 2007 and 2013, as well as five countries of the Western Balkans that negotiate or have the status of a candidate for EU membership, in the period from 1996 to 2016. The results of the research have shown that the quality of the institutions had a very positive impact on the economic growth of the observed countries of Europe. According to statistics, positive interdependence is the most significant among the Western Balkan countries. The conclusion is that these countries have to pay special attention to the development of institutions in the process of joining the European Union.

scholarly journals Entrepreneurial Innovation: the European Union perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Augustin Ignatov
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Business Innovation ◽  
The North ◽  
Quantitative Analyses ◽  
Entrepreneurial Innovation ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activities ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Entrepreneurship is the driving force of economic development and progress. A successful state, first of all, provides favourable conditions motivating the businesses to grow and flourish. Presently, the European Union is developing unevenly with multiple economic misbalances across the community, the West and the North being more competitive than the South and the East. The aim of the present research is to examine the framework of interdependence between the degree to which the governance quality and economic freedom in the European Union are supporting entrepreneurial activities and the performance of the community in terms of entrepreneurial innovation. The results reached through applying both qualitative and quantitative analyses show that the interdependence between entrepreneurial innovation and regulatory efficiency is strong for many of the European Union states which is determined by multiple factors including the institutional and economic ones. Also, the present paper underlines the importance of the proper regulatory framework for the efficient development of business innovation. The future research on this matter could consider in depth the impact of socio-cultural environment, its influence on the quality of governance and the impact of both upon the European entrepreneurial innovation.

scholarly journals The EU-Eastern Partnership Countries: Association Agreements and Transdisciplinarity in Studies, Training and Research

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-149
Author(s):  
Tatyana Muravska ◽  
Alexandre Berlin
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
Eastern Partnership ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Eastern Partnership Countries ◽  
European Union Studies ◽  
The Eu

Abstract The European Union (EU) signed Association Agreements on 27 June 2014 with Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine. The Association Agreement (AA) is the EU’s main instrument to bring the countries in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) closer to EU standards and norms. For the citizens of the EaP countries to benefit from these agreements, a more in-depth knowledge of the EU and the EU Member States is required to be reflected in a comparative approach to European Union studies. We examine these implications on the need to expand and adapt, the content and approach to research and teaching European Union studies, with the transdisciplinary approach becoming increasingly dominant, becoming a modern tool for research in social sciences. This contribution aims to offer insight into the implementation of transdisciplinarity in the methodology of education and research as it is determined by current increasing global challenges. This approach should serve as a means of integrating a number of main goals as part of learning, teaching and research processes: strengthening employability of young people and preparing them for citizenship. We discuss the need for modernizing European studies in the EU Member States that could serve as an example for the EU Eastern Partnership countries. We conclude that the theoretical approach to European and related studies of other disciplines and their practical implications should always be transdisciplinary in nature and benefit from direct in-situ exposure and should be fully integrated in university curricula

Does Europeanization Foster Constructive Individualization?

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolai Genov
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Longitudinal Studies ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Acquis Communautaire ◽  
Member States ◽  
Governance Indicators ◽  
Governance Quality

This paper aims at explaining changes in the conditions for individualization in ten central and eastern European (cee) countries after they have joined the European Union in 2004 and 2007. The expected changes had to follow the transfer of theeu’sacquis communautaireto theceeand the accompanying Europeanization understood as upgrading of governance. Indicators used in longitudinal studies are identified in order to test the assumption. Synchronic and diachronic comparison of outcomes of studies on the topic is carried out. The results don’t support the hypothesis about relevant changes in the conditions of individualization in theceecountries due to their Europeanization. The upgrading of governance quality affects the individualization in the old and neweumember states similarly. Declining quality of the conditions for individualization appears in both groups of countries with the same frequency and intensity too.

scholarly journals The political system of European Union after European Parliament Election of 2019

2019 ◽  
pp. 15-30
Author(s):  
Andrii Martynov
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Political System ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
National Parliaments ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The Eu

The politics of the European Union are different from other organizations and states due to the unique nature of the EU. The common institutions mix the intergovernmental and supranational aspects of the EU. The EU treaties declare the EU to be based on representative democracy and direct elections take place to the European Parliament. The Parliament, together with the European Council, works for the legislative arm of the EU. The Council is composed of national governments thus representing the intergovernmental nature of the European Union. The central theme of this research is the influence of the European Union Political system the Results of May 2019 European Parliament Election. The EU supranational legislature plays an important role as a producer of legal norms in the process of European integration and parliamentary scrutiny of the activities of the EU executive. The European Parliament, as a representative institution of the European Union, helps to overcome the stereotypical notions of a “Brussels bureaucracy” that limits the sovereignty of EU member states. The European Parliament is a political field of interaction between European optimists and European skeptics. The new composition of the European Parliament presents political forces focused on a different vision of the strategy and tactics of the European integration process. European federalists in the “European People’s Party” and “European Socialists and Democrats” consider the strategic prospect of creating a confederate “United States of Europe”. The Brexit withdrawal from the EU could help the federalists win over European skeptics. Critics of the supranational project of European integration do not have a majority in the new composition of the European Parliament. But they are widely represented in many national parliaments of EU Member States. The conflicting interaction between European liberals and far-right populists is the political backdrop for much debate in the European Parliament. The result of this process is the medium term development vector of the European Union.

scholarly journals Why a multidisciplinary agenda for Southern Europe?

REGION ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. E1-E5
Author(s):  
Teresa De Noronha ◽  
Eric Vaz
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
European Countries ◽  
The Political ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Mediterranean Countries ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Economic Developments

Since the process of southern Europe's integration in the European Union, the Mediterranean region has seen a more considerable gap between central and northern European countries and its southern European counterpart. Thus, in a European context of social cohesion, it becomes necessary to better understand Southern Europe, without escaping to the so required perception of the complexity of Mediterranean culture. As a significant player along history, Southern Europe established a platform of diversity and freedom consistently, bringing peace between different historic-cultural traditions. Moreover, the southern frontier of Europe to Africa and Asia has become a crucial determinant in the current times of change where ruptures in the political systems are also defining new patterns of regional migration.  Meanwhile, the integration of Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Greece in the European Union reinforced an essential search for stability, altering to some extent the political and economic predispositions of these countries. This has been followed by somewhat rigid institutions, that remain, to a certain extent, an obstacle to sustainable development, and justify a broader assessment of the potential of policy and governance intervention. A Mediterranean region where a context of stagnation or increasing poverty and migration is leading most impoverished areas to a deleterious deprivation of human resources and capital. In such cases towards conflict, Southern European countries may represent a bridging alternative and an exemplar representation of democracy. A co-joint positive Mediterranean agenda is necessary, where migration patterns become a substantial factor in the future of all the frontier countries: Italy and Greece, Spain, and Portugal. This special issue collects recent insights in socio-economic developments in Mediterranean countries in order to further a future agenda for Southern Europe.

Criminal Records in an Era of Globalization: Identifying Problems and Conceptualizing Solutions within the European Union

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 425-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Plachta
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Complex Problem ◽  
Criminal Record ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Criminal Records ◽  
Step Method ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Criminal Convictions

AbstractThe article discusses an idea of improvement of the quality of information exchanges between EU Member States, in particular on criminal convictions. The European Union has addressed this complex problem using a step-by-step method. Beginning with a relatively simple and uncontroversial measures–both in terms of their contents, proposed solutions, and legal format–the European Commission and the Council of the European Union have been moving forward by stepping up their efforts and adopting more sophisticated measures. The decisions, framework decisions, proposals and white papers are discussed against the background of international treaty instruments for the exchange of criminal records. The author presents the main solutions proposed in the study on the feasibility of the establishing of the European Criminal Record. The author concludes by stating that the prospects for establishing a genuine European criminal record, for a moment, are rather bleak.

scholarly journals Cooperation between Russia and Italy within the framework of EU programs in scientific sphere in the first quarter of the XXI century

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Marina Rakhmanovna Shaidaeva
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Nonprofit Sector ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
The Political ◽  
Technical Cooperation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Current Stage ◽  
The Eu

This article discusses the key vectors of humanitarian cooperation between Russia and the European Union in the area of science in the first quarter of the XXI century. Italy as the EU member-state with high scientific capacity manifests as a direct subject for the analysis of peculiarities of this cooperation. The selected chronology is substantiated by the fact that most intensive cooperation between Russia and EU in humanitarian sphere falls on that period. Determination of the key vectors of cooperation between Russia and Italy in the XXI century allows tracing the dynamics of Russia-EU relations in the indicated field at the current stage. The scientific novelty is defined by the absence of research dedicated to international cooperation of Russia and Italy. The following conclusions are formulated: 1) since 2012 there is observed a certain decline in the intensity of scientific and technical cooperation between Russia and EU due to political contradictions that aggravated after 2014; 2) at the same time, the foundation formed in the previous decades allowed transferring the scientific and technical cooperation from the political level into the practical, namely to the sphere of direct interaction between the Russian scholars from the EU member-states (including Italian); 3) a crucial role was played by the nonprofit sector and large enterprises that are interested in the advancement of innovations; 4) therefore, namely the contacts between universities, research centers, innovation organizations, and scholars may become the foundation for the development of comprehensive cooperation between Russia and the European Union. The obtained experience demonstrates that many crucial steps in this direction have already been taken.

scholarly journals “POPULIST FOREIGN POLICY”: BARRIERS TO CONCEPTUALIZATION AND TYPOLOGIZATION

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-356
Author(s):  
S.A. Shein
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Domestic Politics ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Limited Ability ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
The Eu

The “populist wave” in the EU member states is no longer a phenomenon isolated in domestic politics. It has a projection on the sphere of foreign policy of national states and the European Union. The article aims to “shed light” on the barriers arising on the way of conceptualizing and typologizing the foreign policy orientations of populist actors, relying on an ideological approach to populism. The study revealed that the main constraints for the conceptualization and typologization of populists' foreign policy are the fragmented nature of populism as an ideology, the limited ability to translate their attitudes into the political course, and gradual mainstreamization after coming to power.

scholarly journals FISCAL INSTITUTIONS IN THE PROCESS OF TRANSFORMATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 148-156
Author(s):  
Oleksiy PLOTNIKOV ◽  
◽  
Olena BORZENKO ◽  
Tamara PANFILOVA ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Fiscal Institutions ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The Core ◽  
Destructive Processes ◽  
The Eu

Transformation processes of the fiscal sphere of the EU concerning the development of fiscal institutions in the context of the system-forming component of both integration and disintegration processes are considered. The EU fiscal institutions play an important role in shaping the core, not only from the economic side, but also from the political one. It is thanks to the fiscal institutions that the materialization of the political influence on the EU member states and the feedback is carried out. The transformational processes of the fiscal sphere are related to: expenditure policies (volume optimization and streamlining of the structure and increase of the efficiency of spending public resources), income generation (adjusting the taxation system, increasing the efficiency of administering tax payments, reducing the shadow economy, improving the conditions of lending to the real sector, improving the state support of small and medium business) and financing the public administration sector (reducing the deficit of the state social funds, limiting the volume and forming the optimal structure of government borrowing), etc. The essence of the main functions of the EU fiscal institutions (generating, distributing and controlling) as the core-forming elements of its architecture in the constructive and destructive directions of development is determined. The current state of development of transformational processes in the European Union in two main directions – constructive and destructive – is described. The constructive direction implies further enlargement of the European Union with the use of appropriate procedures. Destructive direction involves the exit of countries from the European Union and the restoration of all attributes of a country that is not part of these or other associations. It is formulated that fiscal institutions in the destructive direction of development will play a suppressive role. Moreover, the higher level of integration was achieved by this country, the more restrictive the role of fiscal institutions will be in the case of destructive processes. For Ukraine, the emphasis on fiscal institutions in their respective capacities may be useful for further deepening of cooperation with the European Union and adjusting already implemented steps.

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