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The Rome Report, published in 1972, drew attention on the contradiction between unlimited growth and consumption in relation to the limited resources of the earth. The report had a powerful impact on the concept of economic development, it contributed to the relocation of the concept of needs within the limits of the thinking that unidirectional development which produces only to assure economic growth in the long run should not affect life on earth. The paper presents the evolution of the concept of sustainable development, which militates for the continuous improvement of quality of life, taking into account the rational and efficient use of resources, how it managed to become, in a relatively short period, the concern of the entire world and why it becomes the principle that lays at the basis of all policies. The paper analyses the relationship between the strategy of sustainable development of EU and the Lisbon Agenda. It also shows that although EU established that sustainable development is the principle on which all European policies are based, and practically competition dominates the political agenda, in fact, the two strategies reinforce each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper seeks to contribute to the study of the link between financial intermediation and economic growth in the context of the European Union and particularly in the context of the integration of new member-states. Design/methodology/approach - Panel fixed and dynamic Arellano-Bond estimates (with balanced panels) were used to explain and compare the influence of financial intermediation with the real per-capita GDP growth in two sub-sets of EU countries: the first one takes into account the availability of quarterly data and comprises 11 "old" EU countries, excluding Luxembourg, Denmark, Ireland and Sweden, for the period between Q2 1980 and Q4 1998; the second panel includes 24 EU countries (excluding only Luxembourg) for the period between Q2 1999 and Q4 2002. The existing empirical evidence was enhanced by introducing some financial variables to explain the real per-capita GDP growth, namely, the real domestic credit growth, the real foreign liabilities growth, the real growth of the sum of the bonds and money market instruments, in addition to two ratios: bank assets/bank liabilities and domestic credit/bank deposits. Findings - The results obtained confirm the importance of these variables to th~ real per-capita GDP growth and allow one to draw conclusions on some differences in the behaviour and the level of -integration of the two groups of EU countries. There is a relatively more homogeneous behaviour in the first panel, while the results for the second panel indicate that, in spite of the relative heterogeneity and the differences in their historical evolution, all the countries have had to adapt rapidly to the increasing competition and to the new EU market conditions. Originality/value - The paper confirms the influence of financial systems on output growth, as well as the efforts of financial institutions to adapt to the new conditions of the European and global markets in spite of all the differences in the historical evolution and initial conditions among EU member-states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) contribute to improve the competitiveness of the international markets within the European Union, EU, and strengthen the economic and social development of its countries. The aim of this paper is to analyze the infrastructure policy promoted by the EU. To that end, we describe and assess both the planning process of the TEN-T, and the financial instruments implemented by the EU to foster them. In the last decades some steps have been conducted to improve the EU infrastructure policy. However, these measures have not been sufficient to ensure the development of such infrastructures. In order to solve this problem, in the future, the EU should play a greater role in developing cross-border infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops multi-dimensional analyses of socio-spatial relations. Building on previous research, we identify some tensions associated with different dimensions of socio-spatiality and introduce the theme of compossible and, more importantly, incompossible socio-spatial configurations. Two short studies are deployed to highlight the socio-spatial implications of the principle that not everything that is possible is compossible. The first shows the power of thinking varieties of capitalism compossibly (via the concept of variegated capitalism) and then examines the successive strategies adopted by the European Communities and European Union to address the significance of changing patterns of variegation for approaches to European integration, spatial strategies, and economic and social policies. The second case discusses some related problems for state spatial projects, starting in the 1980s with spatial planning, promotion of a Europe of the Regions and/or of Europe and the regions, and then turns to examine city-regional development strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]