The European Phoenix 2.0

2021 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-174
Author(s):  
Lars P. Feld ◽  
Ekkehard A. Köhler

In this article we analyze the economic and political challenges that the European Union and its member states have to face regardless of the COVID-19 pandemic: We differentiate between the medium and long-term challenges of demographic, digital and climate change and the general need to further develop the institutions of the European Union.

Author(s):  
Carlota Rigotti ◽  
Júlia Zomignani Barboza

Abstract The return of foreign fighters and their families to the European Union has mostly been considered a security threat by member States, which consequently adopt repressive measures aimed at providing an immediate, short-term response to this perceived threat. In addition to this strong-arm approach, reintegration strategies have also been used to prevent returnees from falling back into terrorism and to break down barriers of hostility between citizens in the long term. Amidst these different strategies, this paper seeks to identify which methods are most desirable for handling returnees.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-61
Author(s):  
William Sulisyo ◽  
Hendhia ◽  
Ivonne ◽  
Ellica ◽  
Andhika Raflie ◽  
...  

European Union is a political and economic union of 27 member states. Britain is one of the leading members of the EU. The UK decided to leave the European Union. The EU struggled with the project that was being worked on called Climate Diplomacy. EU and its member states are part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The EU has built a significant and potentially a leading position in global governance on climate. Brexit is only one factor that could change the dynamics of its role. In this case, The EU has a negative impact as well as positive impacts due to Brexit. It turns out that the negative implications are more dominant than positive effects. European Union will lose the financial contribution made by the UK to the EU budget.   Keywords: European Union, UK, Brexit, Climate Diplomacy.


Author(s):  
Melita Carević

This paper aims to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the implementation of the European Green Deal and to which extent have the European Union’s green growth and sustainable development goals been incorporated into its COVID-19 Recovery Strategy. The European Union’s Green Deal, a ‘generation defining’ growth strategy, which lays down the strategic pathway of the European Union’s economic development for the upcoming two decades, has been faced with a major challenge shortly after its adoption in December 2019. However, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which has continuously been putting all European Union member states to a harsh challenge during the past year, climate change and the green transition have been at the top of the political agenda in the European Union and have managed to occupy the attention of the mainstream politics and European Union citizens. Furthermore, the unprecedented levels of public financing which have been mobilised due to the pandemic have provided an opportunity for speeding up the green transition, without which the achievement of the Green Deal’s main aims and the fulfilment of the European Union’s obligations under the Paris Agreement would likely be put in question. In order to analyse how the has the COVID-19 pandemic influenced the implementation of the Green Deal, the paper first examines how the member states and the European Union institutions initially reacted to the idea of pursuing the implementation of the Green Deal simultaneously with economic recovery. This is accomplished through an analysis of statements given by the European Union and member state officials and the adopted measures and legislative proposals. The paper then focuses on publicly available data on legislative delays in regard to the implementation of the Green Deal which took place due to the pandemic and concludes that no significant postponements occurred. It subsequently turns to examine which measures have been adopted at the European Union level that link the economic recovery and the green transition. In this regard, special attention is paid to the Recovery and Resilience Facility and its measures aimed at ensuring that member states pursue climate change and environmental objectives in their recovery plans. Given the size of the public investments which will take place in the following years, the paper emphasises the importance of stringent environmental standards in order to ensure that they contribute to the green transition and avoid a fossil fuel lock-in.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 536-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Janik ◽  
Marek Szafraniec

Abstract The transition from the linear model to the circular economy (CE) model is not an easy task and it requires constant monitoring of the achieved effects. Taking this fact into consideration, in January 2018 the European Union (EU) set 10 indicators to monitor and evaluate the main elements of the circular economy in the EU and its Member States. The list of indicators is short and it is based on the use of current available data. The monitoring results are intended to constitute the basis for setting new priorities towards the long-term goal of the circular economy. In case of companies there is still no framework for monitoring the effects of circular economy at micro level. In practice, various indicators for circularity assessment at micro level are available, but each of the indicators evaluates the complexity of circular economy to different extent. For this reason, there is a need to create a framework for monitoring the circular economy at company level, which would also be based on information already collected by the companies for the preparation of various environmental reports. Therefore, this article presents the results of review 66 environmental statements, which are prepared and updated annually by organizations participating in the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) system in Poland. On this basis, it was determined what circular economy information are already collected and reported by the companies and which information can be included in the framework of circular economy monitoring at company level in the future.


IG ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 169-185
Author(s):  
Daniel Klein ◽  
Christopher Ludwig ◽  
Christoph Spengel

In March 2018, the European Commission introduced two Directive proposals to target tax challenges in the era of digitalization. The first Directive proposal suggests to introduce a digital services tax of 3 percent on gross revenues from digital services as an interim measure. The second one proposes as a long-term solution to extend the permanent establishment concept to create a virtual permanent establishment if a corporation has a “significant digital presence” in a country. So far, a lack of consensus among the member states of the European Union has made successful legislation on the European level unlikely. Despite the absence of an intra-community agreement, several member states have implemented the Directive proposal of a digital services tax with various adaptions unilaterally. These actions contradict the efforts to develop agreeable tax reforms on a multilateral level. The article at hand critically evaluates the current European reform proposals.


2018 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kriszta Kovács ◽  
Kim Lane Scheppele

When the European Union was founded, it was assumed that all Member States admitted as consolidated democracies would maintain their constitutional commitments. In recent years, Hungary and Poland have challenged this premise as elected autocratic governments in those countries have captured independent institutions and threatened long-term democracy. The judiciaries of these countries have been hard hit. In this paper, we trace what has happened to the judiciaries in Hungary and Poland, showing how first the constitutional courts and then the ordinary judiciary have been brought under the control of political forces so that there is no longer a separation of law and politics.We also explore why the European Union has so far not been able to stop this process. In the end, the European judiciary, particularly the Court of Justice, is attempting a rescue of national judiciaries, but the results are so far unclear.


2020 ◽  
pp. 144-175
Author(s):  
Pavlos Eleftheriadis

Accountability is the most fundamental principle of the European Union. By offering practical assurance that agreements will be enforced, that the Union’s institutions will not go beyond their enumerated powers and the division of competences will be respected by all, the Union’s legal framework makes long-term multilateral cooperation possible. However, the European Union does not follow the pattern of accountability through the separation of powers in the way of a federal state. The distinction between the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary does not work in the same way because of the role played by the member states. Many important decisions are made by the states’ institutions, not the Union’s institutions. The institutional architecture of the European Union is thus unfamiliar. It is impossible to compare it to that of a constitution. The European Union is divided between the institutions of the EU and the institutions of the member states. The fragmentation of accountability in the European Union among the EU’s institutions and the various member states (in various combinations, e.g. the members of the Eurozone) is a principled position. It does not mean that the relations between the states and the Union are unregulated or merely transactional.


Author(s):  
Irina Leskova ◽  
Galina Osadchaya ◽  
Tatʹyana Yudina

The dialogue between Russia and the European Union is a relationship between two major geopolitical actors, which has never been unambiguous and simple in history, although it is due to the proximity of the geographical location and mutual interest in long-term cooperation. The EU’s cultural policy is quite pragmatic, in comparison with the significance of the factors of the economic space and the presence of the Euro zone, culture is not considered by Europeans as a binding factor in the development of the two countries. In order to enter the common European economic market, States are forced to apply for participation in cultural programs and grants funded by the EU. The article emphasizes the idea that any attempts to block the development of national cultures will inevitably lead to conflicts. Only through culture is it possible to achieve true self-expression of each nation and dialogue among civilizations. The concept of «strategic culture» is considered as a tool of analysis and a way of knowledge, and identity and national character as a predisposition to a certain type of policy. As part of the study of strategic culture, the analysis of national ideology is of great practical interest. At the governmental level, Russia and the European Union follow the course of a long-term strategic partnership, primarily in the fields of culture, education, science, and the humanitarian sphere. Large-scale challenges and the ongoing systemic transformation of the European Union add politicization and uncertainty to Russian-European relations. At the same time, cultural, scientific and humanitarian ties are seen as promising, and the Russian-European dialogue in the field of culture will promote and stimulate the expansion of Russia’s cooperation with both EU member States and the EEU member States. The article examines the cultural policy and cultural diplomacy of the European Union. It is proved that full-fledged cooperation between Russia and the European Union is possible only within the framework of a common humanitarian space – a value-ideological communication environment determined by equal and mutual respect of the participants and the nature of the relationship between the ideologies of independent international actors, excluding unilateral ideological expansion of any of the parties.


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