scholarly journals FDI determinants in Europe and Chinese influence

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-37
Author(s):  
Alena Dorakh
Keyword(s):  
Trade Costs ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
Vertical Fdi ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

Despite recent concerns about the increasing influence of outside investors on the European Union (EU) and Western Balkans, the developed European countries are still a dominant source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the region, confirming the benefits of EU membership. At the same time, fast-growing connectivity and lower trade costs in accession and neighboring countries determine the FDI growth from China, particularly via the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). By applying panel data over 2000-2019 for 34 countries, which form 89% of all European FDI, we first examine FDI patterns around Europe, compare the EU, NMS, and Western Balkans; verify the importance of EU membership for FDI, caused reducing trade costs and improving connectivity. Thus, the new EU member states (NMS) and Western Balkans appear both as a home country and as a pre- entry destination to the EU. Then, we calculate trade costs indices for each selected country and partners over time and find that Europe and China are closely interconnected through trade and FDI. It means that stronger ties with China can be realized for the sample countries at the cost of easing relations with the EU. Finally, incorporating trade costs indices into the FDI model; we evaluate the impact of connectivity on FDI and estimate how BRI affected FDI in Europe. Additionally, we validate that the old framework of horizontal and vertical FDI not representative well and even new complex vertical or export-oriented FDI strategies are shifting today.

scholarly journals Problems of the European union and its candidate countries’ mutual relations and flexible accession as a possible way of reviving the enlargement policy

2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-25
Author(s):  
Ivana Radic-Milosavljevic
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Potential Candidate ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
Democratic Tradition ◽  
Accession Process ◽  
Mutual Relations ◽  
The Eu

The article deals with the problem of the Western Balkans countries? accession and association process impasse. The author finds the key causes of this problem in the very nature of an asymmetric relationship between the EU and these countries with the Stabilization and Association Process laying in its core. Both sides have contributed to this problem: the EU with its overambitious approach to the region, vaguely defined and ever-changing criteria, but also the countries participating in the Process with their uncritical approach to the possible membership, unclearly defined interests and aims, slow reforms, and weak democratic tradition. For the process to be successfully continued, the author discusses the idea of its substantial remodeling towards a flexible process. In light of the frequent discussions about the possible moving of the European integration towards more differentiation, the process of flexible association or accession would enable EU membership only in selected policy areas. The policy areas would be chosen in accordance with the previously clearly defined and thoroughly analyzed interests and capabilities of the candidate and potential candidate countries. The author argues that the association/accession process should be separated as much as possible from the political conditioning in order to decrease the possibility of taking arbitrary decisions on whether the countries have advanced in the process or not. For the Western Balkan countries, this kind of less demanding process would be easier to accomplish and would allow more autonomy in choosing areas of integration and pace of accommodation. For the EU member states, it would provide a way to regain the credibility of its once most successful foreign policy activity.

The integrated assessment of RES cooperation between the EU and its neighbours

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 427-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marijke Welisch ◽  
Gustav Resch ◽  
André Ortner
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Member States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Good Resource ◽  
The Eu

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to provide estimation results for feasibility of renewable energy source (RES) deployment in Turkey, the Western Balkans and North Africa. From these results, the potential for cooperation in renewables production between the countries and the European Union (EU) is assessed and evaluated, in a mid- (2030) and long-term (up to 2040) perspective. Design/methodology/approach The authors focus on the quantitative assessments undertaken on the extent to which RES cooperation can create mutual benefits, identifying costs and benefits for both sides, but in particular with respect to RES target achievement (2020 and 2030) at EU level. The potentials for RES generation in Turkey, North Africa and the Western Balkans are calculated under different policy pathways, taking into account different levels of economic and non-economic barriers that could occur. Findings Overall, the authors found that increasing RES deployment in the three analysed regions and initiating or intensifying cooperation with EU28 Member States leads to mutual benefits. Concretely, these benefits become apparent in terms of the EU Member States importing renewable energy sources for electricity with a good resource quality and adding on to their targets for RES deployment. At the same time, substantial savings occur for the EU, in turn leading to income and investments in the cooperating regions. Originality/value The assessment underlying this paper is the first of its kind to the authors’ knowledge that opens up the geographical spread in comparison to merely assessing cooperation between Europe and the Middle East and North Africa. Furthermore, the multitude of policy parameters analysed provides detailed and robust insights concerning a broad variety of different possible scenarios.

3. France: Genuine Europeanization or Monnet for Nothing?

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Rozenberg
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The European Union ◽  
National Narratives ◽  
French Politics ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
Institutional System ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines France’s paradoxical relationship with the European Union by focusing on the heterogeneity of adaptation to the EU. While public policy and legislation are becoming increasingly Europeanized, the EU has a limited impact on political life and the domestic institutional system. As a result of this mixed situation, the national narratives for supporting French membership of the EU suffer from progressive erosion and Euroscepticism subtly gaining ground. The chapter first considers patterns in France’s EU membership before discussing the impact of EU membership on public opinion and political parties. It then looks at the Europeanization of French politics and the impact of EU membership on French institutions as well as public policy. The chapter argues that France has changed by joining the EU, contrary to what a large body of recent work suggests.

scholarly journals Mirroring transitional justice. Construction and impact of European Union ICTY-conditionality

Südosteuropa ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Niké Wentholt
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Restorative Justice ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
International Criminal Tribunal ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
War Experiences ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThe European Union (EU) developed a state-building strategy for the aspiring member states in the Western Balkans. Demanding full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), the EU made transitional justice part of the accession demands. Scholars have recently criticized the EU’s limited focus on retributive justice as opposed to restorative justice. This paper goes beyond such impact-orientated analyses by asking why the EU engaged with retributive transitional justice in the first place. The EU constructed ICTY-conditionality by mirroring its own post-Second World War experiences to the envisioned post-conflict trajectory of the Western Balkans. The EU therefore expected the court to contribute to reconciliation, democratization and the rule of law. Using Serbia as a case study, this article examines the conditionality’s context, specificities and discursive claims. Finally, it relates these findings to the agenda of a promising regional initiative prioritizing restorative justice (RECOM) and sheds new light on the impact of ICTY-conditionality on transitional justice in the Western Balkans.

scholarly journals Demographic potential of the countries that have applied for the European Union membership

2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (17) ◽  
pp. 135-145
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Sojka
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Union Membership ◽  
Infant Mortality Rate ◽  
High Fertility ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
High Fertility Rate ◽  
Demographic Potential ◽  
The Eu

Demographic potential of the countries that have applied for the European Union membership The purpose of the article is to analyse the demographic potential of the countries that have applied for the European Union membership against the background of the EU member states. The study involves eight candidate states: Croatia, Iceland, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Turkey, i.e. the countries that have been approved by the European Commission as official candidates for the EU membership, as well as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, i.e. the potential candidates. Albania and Serbia applied officially for the EU membership in 2009. Favourable population age structure and relatively high fertility rate that occur in these countries determine a significant demographic potential they can bring to the EU after their accession. Decrease in infant mortality rate and extension of life expectancy illustrate positive changes that have been taking place in these countries for the last several years.

The Impossible Transplant of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme: The Challenge of Energy Market Regulation

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anatole Boute
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Emissions Trading ◽  
Energy Market ◽  
Market Regulation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Emissions Trading Scheme ◽  
Trading Scheme ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

AbstractFollowing the European Union (EU) experience, an increasing number of countries are establishing an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). The EU ETS often serves as a ‘model’ despite fundamental differences in the receiving environment. In the EU liberalized energy markets, carbon prices are intended to raise the cost of carbon-intensive energy and thereby stimulate cleaner alternatives. In contrast, many emerging economies continue to regulate energy investments and prices, which may insulate consumers and producers from the impact of an ETS. To avoid this risk, energy economists advocate EU-style energy market reforms as a prerequisite to the introduction of the ETS concept abroad. By focusing on the cases of China, Kazakhstan, and Russia, this article highlights the limits on the exportation of the EU liberalization model and argues that, instead of energy reform, the ETS must be reconceptualized as a mechanism that integrates the regulated energy market paradigm in emerging economies.

scholarly journals The Limited Role of the European Union in the Management and Governance of the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 482-506
Author(s):  
Joelle Grogan
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Stress Test ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
States Of Emergency ◽  
National Governments ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

Abstract Building on two global Symposia hosted by the Verfassungsblog and convened by the author, the 2020 “COVID-19 and States of Emergency” and the 2021 “Power and the COVID-19 Pandemic”, in addition to the findings of the Democracy Reporting International ‘Rule of Law Stress Test’ which surveyed EU Member States’ responses to the pandemic, this article investigates the impact of the pandemic on governance and legal systems within the EU, and evaluates the actions taken by EU institutions and national governments in response to the health crisis against the standards of the rule of law.

Slovenia and the European Union

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Bojinović Fenko ◽  
Marjan Svetličič
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Western Balkans ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
Time Space ◽  
Main Challenge ◽  
The Eu

Despite having fought for their bare survival against hostile foreigners, after finally reaching their independence and international recognition in 1991/92, paradoxically, even before fully assuming statehood Slovenians were eager to engage in yet another international integration—the European Union. This historical and societal wager, rather than merely political elites’ driven perspective, dominates as the prevailing reason for pursuing EU membership; thus security assurance to a small geopolitically transit state, economic benefits of a larger common market in conditions of economic globalization, and cultural proximity of Slovenian to European society explain Slovenian general identity-related elements favoring membership in the EU. There is also a more immediate time-space related explanatory factor for this, namely, the collapsing of the socialist Yugoslavia starting by the end 1980s and a view of assuring the democratic political life and market-lead economy via integration with Western European countries rather than South Slavic nations or following other alternative scenarios like full liberalization with all partners’ strategy. Authors critically evaluate where and why during the effort of becoming an EU member state and performing excellently as one during the first four years, the state fell short of capability-building and/or seizing the opportunities of EU membership. As the latter has been most brutally exposed via the effects of the 2008–2014 economic and financial crisis, of key importance for Slovenians currently stands a self-reflection of its development strategy, enhancing competitiveness, and the state’s role within the European family of nations. The main challenge is how to overcome the small state hindrances and more effectively formulate and project national interest to the EU level; with that in mind, the central questions for Slovenians remain assurance of social security to citizens, upgrading economic union to face more effectively global challenges and inter-state solidarity, refreshing enlargement policy for the remaining Western Balkans non-member states and ensuring Slovenian participation in the group of core states leading the European integration.

scholarly journals Economic-Engineering Modelling of the Buildings Sector to Study the Transition towards Deep Decarbonisation in the EU

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (14) ◽  
pp. 2745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fotiou ◽  
Vita ◽  
Capros
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Electric Heating ◽  
Heat Pumps ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Mathematical Framework ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Cost ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

The paper presents a newly developed economic-engineering model of the buildings sector and its implementation for all the European Union (EU) Member States (MS), designed to study in detail ambitious energy efficiency strategies and policies, in the context of deep decarbonisation in the long term. The model has been used to support the impact assessment study that accompanied the European Commission’s communication “A Clear Planet for All”, in November 2018. The model covers all EU countries with a fine resolution of building types, and represents agent decision-making in a complex and dynamic economic-engineering mathematical framework. Emphasis is given to behaviours driving the energy renovation of buildings and the ensuing choice of equipment for heating and cooling. The model represents several market and non-market policies that can influence energy decisions in buildings and promote deep energy renovation. Moreover, the paper presents key applications for supporting policies targeting ambitious reduction of energy consumption and carbon emissions in buildings across Europe. The results illustrate that the achievement of ambitious energy-efficiency targets in the long-term heavily depends on pursuing a fast and extensive renovation of existing buildings, at annual rates between 1.21% and 1.77% for the residential sector and between 0.92% to 1.35% for the services sector. In both cases, the renovation rates are far higher past trends. Strong policies aimed at removing non-market barriers are deemed necessary. Electrification constitutes a reasonable choice for deeply renovated buildings and, as a result, almost 50% of households chooses electric heating over gas heating in the long term. However, heat pumps need to exploit further their learning potential to be economical and implementable for the various climatic conditions in Europe. The results also show that the cost impacts are modest even if renovation and decarbonisation in buildings develop ambitiously in the EU. The reduced energy bills due to energy savings can almost offset the increasing capital expenditures. Fundraising difficulties and the cost of capital are, however, of concern.

scholarly journals Personality’s cross-national impact across EU attitude dimensions

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 205316802097281
Author(s):  
K. Amber Curtis ◽  
Julie Hassing Nielsen
Keyword(s):  
Big Five ◽  
Theoretical Development ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
Original Survey ◽  
Eu Support ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Cross National

Studies increasingly suggest that personal predispositions affect political attitudes, including those towards the European Union (EU). Yet little is known about the extent to which personality effects on EU support generalize across European countries or attitude domains. We use original survey data from five EU member states (Denmark, Germany, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) to investigate how the Big Five (B5) traits affect four different facets of public opinion toward the EU (support for further EU unification, views on EU membership, trust in EU institutions and support for using the euro). While we find that each of the B5 matters in at least one place, we find little consistency in personality’s effects across countries. Neither does any pattern emerge across most dimensions of EU support. Our results underscore the importance of isolating the contextual factors that might condition personality’s impact. They further call for greater theoretical development regarding why and how only certain national environments appear to lend themselves to personality effects. At a minimum, they suggest scholars should be wary of drawing conclusions about the B5’s impact from single cases.

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