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The Republic of Ireland was the first country in the eurozone to adopt a neoliberal infused ‘austerity budget’, and the ill-judged state bailing out of a number of reckless banks and associated financial institutions is costing billions of euros. In late 2010, as the crisis deepened, the International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank provided a ‘bailout’ package that resulted in further punitive public spending cuts and the eradication of national sovereignty. This paper maintains that the present crisis is more than a mere economic crisis, but can be viewed as a series of interlinked ‘conjunctures’. Tracing the connection between the historical and the contemporary, the first part of the discussion will explore six thematic components relating to the structuring of the Irish state. These are identified as: a ‘class rule state’; an ‘authoritarian state’; a ‘confining state’; a ‘censoring state’; a ‘discriminatory state’; and a ‘state within the state’. These six dimensions provide a contextual underpinning for the second part of the paper, which focuses on the crisis in child welfare and child protection services and dwells on the shambolic performance of the Health Service Executive (HSE), deficits in the ‘care’ system and the HSE failure to furnish reliable data on the deaths of children in contact with social workers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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]

This paper argues that corporate governance, and executive and employee compensation in particular, was a key driver behind the decline in the quality of the ratings issued by credit rating agencies (CRAs), which in turn contributed to the financial crisis. It argues that the most common explanations for the failure of CRAs, including conflict of interest, inadequate models and insufficient staff, were themselves driven by the incentives provided to decision-makers. In support of its argument, it draws on a number of recent inquiries and reports on the causes of the crisis. It then critically analyses the European Regulation on CRAs, paying particular attention to its reliance on corporate governance structures to deal with conflicts of interest. It emphasises that US-based CRAs already had equivalent structures in place before the crisis, but that they did not prevent the decline in ratings quality. Indeed, they put in place the remuneration schemes which this paper argues drove the decline in quality. It concludes with some suggestions as to other ways in which CRA failure might be prevented in future and how the Regulation might be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the possible implications of leading contemporary theories of political philosophy for some of the main questions that the political institutions of the European Union will have to decide on concerning the future of European contract law. Thus, it explores what a utilitarian, liberal-egalitarian, libertarian, communitarian, deliberative/citizenship idea of European contract law might look like. The primary aim of the paper is to demonstrate the relevance of social justice theories to some of the main issues concerning the future of European contract and, conversely, to indicate the relevance of (European) contract law to political philosophy. A second, more practical aim is to provide the stakeholders (including legal academics) and politicians that are currently called upon, by the European Commission's Green Paper, to submit their views on ''policy options for progress towards a European Contract Law for consumers and businesses'' with an idea of what a position in terms of an articulate and comprehensive political theory might look like. An important question is whether it is possible and desirable to explain and justify one's concept of European contract law and its future exclusively in terms of one single of these five political ideas of European contract law. The tentative answer in this paper is that a pluralist or composite idea of European contract law is more attractive than a monist one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to reveal the institutional interests of the Council of Ministers, the European Parliament and the Commission in the comitology system. This is done by an investigation of the 2006 comitology reform, which introduced the regulatory procedure with scrutiny. This reform was the result of developments in four areas: the Lamfalussy reform in the area of financial regulation; the controversial use of comitology in the area of GMOs, food safety and the environment; the failed Constitutional Treaty; and the amending of the 1999 comitology decision. The analysis shows that the reform was the result of a two-dimensional constitutional struggle. The first dimension concerns the relative supervisory position of the two legislative actors, the Council and the European Parliament. The second dimension concerns the relationship between the legislative and the executive branch of the EU system. In theoretical terms, the analysis demonstrates an example of T.M. Moe's 'politics of structural choice'. The paper ends by drawing lessons for the negotiations on the new comitology system following the Lisbon Treaty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The word 'governance' has become an increasingly central policy motif in the European Union and elsewhere yet its meanings are ambiguous and often poorly understood. This article examines the genealogy of that concept focusing in particular on the European Commission's claim to have developed a new, more open and progressive model of 'European governance'. The paper is set out in four steps. The first analyses the European Commission's claims for 'governance' as a concept integral to its new vision for Europe. The second interrogates some of the conflicting definitions and meanings inherent in the term and examines the highly selective paradigm of governance that has been developed in official Commission discourse. The third addresses two specific areas where the Commission's governance model has been applied: the Green paper on The Future of Parliamentary Democracy and the Open Method of Coordination. The fourth turns to analyse these findings using critical social theory. I conclude that far from laying the grounds for a more inclusive, participatory and democratic political order, the Commission's model to governance represents a form of neoliberal governmentality that is actually undermining democratic government and promoting a politics of exclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In several respects, the EU represents both a novel system of quasi-supranational governance and a novel form of political community or polity. But it is also a fragile construction for it remains a community still in the making with an ambiguous sense of identity and within which powerful forces are at work. This paper has three main aims: first, to stress the shifting nature of Europe's geographical frontiers and assess whether cultural frontiers have remained more stable throughout time. In particular, it examines the main criteria, which have traditionally been employed when having to decide who should be included and excluded from Europe. A different question concerns the requirements for EU membership and the monopoly of the adjective 'European' by the EU, which somehow has become to be identified with Europe. Second, to explore the prospects for the emergence of a European identity. Here, I argue that European identity stands as a 'non-emotional identity' in sharp contrast with traditional forms of national identity associated with intense nationalist feelings. Third, through the analysis of the most recent Eurobarometer (annual survey of EU's public opinion) to examine the views of Europeans regarding the EU at a time of a major global economic crisis. To conclude, the paper explores the main challenges to be faced by a still incipient European identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper maps and compares vocational education and training cost-sharing mechanisms and regulatory instruments across the 12 newer EU Member States (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia). It establishes which mechanisms and instruments are more successful and identifies shortcomings in their governance. Extensively using qualitative (literature review, surveys of VET experts) methods, the paper reviews and evaluates the developments of cost-sharing schemes in the newer EU Member States and provides recommendations to improve VET cost-sharing policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With this paper we depict a typology of regions, capturing the diversity of regional innovation systems (RISs) across the EU-25. Following the RIS literature, we select twenty-one variables related to the ability of a region to generate and absorb knowledge, and its capacity to transform research and development into innovation and economic growth. On the basis of the results of principal components and cluster analyses, we identify seven types of RIS where the 186 regions group together according to their sectoral specialisation, technological and economic capacity, and performance. By allowing us to identify similar and more advanced regions, the paper facilitates comparisons and benchmarking between similar regions, thus enabling more accurate policy learning. For each group a number of policy recommendations are suggested, contingent on their local specific characteristics. In short, the contribution of this paper is twofold. Firstly, it provides the first RIS typology for the EU-25 regions completed using a large number of variables. Secondly, the conclusions obtained from the analysis may be used to lead policy makers' actions in the field of regional innovation policy in the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the LEADER+ programme and on the work carried out supporting rural communities in EU countries under the LEADER+ programme. This is a programme that supports development in particularly vulnerable rural regions of the European countries that are members of the EU. It supports creative and innovative projects that can contribute to long-term and sustainable development in these regions. In this paper, we will focus on three specific areas: networking, facilitation of groups, and information and communication technologies. Some case studies are shortly described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper advances our empirical and theoretical understanding of migrant assimilation. It does so by focusing on a very particular group of individuals who appear more likely than other migrant types to “go native.” We call these individuals “mixed nationality relationship migrants” ( i.e., migrants who have committed to a life outside their home country because of the presence of a foreign partner). The paper argues that the transnational family milieus that emerge from this form of international migration are critical to the assimilation process. Empirical material from 11 in-depth interviews with female migrants in Britain (Sheffield) and France (Paris) supports our argument. We also suggest that such “extreme” assimilation is more likely within a regional migratory system – like the EU – where the “identity frontiers” crossed in the formation of a transnational family are relatively shallow. [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]

The paper is devoted to the analysis of the new insolvency procedure introduced in the EU law by the EU Regulation no. 1346/2000 of 29 May 2000 and its application in the EU member states. At the same time, our Bankrutpcy Procedure Law of 2004/2005 is analysed in the light of the EU Regulation, in particular with regard to the procedure of restructuring of an insolvent company. On the basis of the rules of our Bankruptcy Procedure Law, we have estimated that the provisions concerning restructuring of the bankruptcy debtor are closest to that what is understood in the EU under legal syntagma of the insolvency procedure. The convergence is found in the fact that the common objective in the field of restructuring both in the EU insolvency law and our bankruptcy procedure is to safeguard the legal personality of the bankruptcy debtor so that the debtor is recovered in economic terms by way of taking legal measures i.e. that it gets out from the insolvency condition with a view to cover in full the creditors' receivables. However, there are also some differences The objective of the EU Regulation on insolvency is that all creditors, including claims by employees, are put in an equal position. Unlike that, the creditors are classified in our law by categories, so that the category of creditors, whose claims should be fully settled in accordance with the restructuring plan, does not vote on the restructuring plan, but it is rather deemed that the restructuring plan has been adopted for such class. Then, pursuant 4o the new EU guidelines, a special fund for payment of wages must be set up for workers from the bankruptcy assets. Our law does not have anything similar in that sense, except if we do not take into consideration the provision of the Bankruptcy Procedure Law providing that during the implementation of the adopted restructuring plan the rights of employees shall be enforced in compliance with the rules regulating employment (save if not otherwise provided for under this law). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the fast growth of consumption, the promotion of purchasing green products could be a way to minimize the environmental impact and achieve the sustainable consumption. Considering that there is a lack of studies about green purchase behavior and its determinants in all European Union countries (EU), the aim of this paper is to evaluate the main determinants of green purchase behavior by applying the Theory of Planned Behavior. Referring to Hostefe's cultural dimensions we revealed how cultural aspects contribute to purchase behavior. The results showed that there were observed big differences in terms of green purchase behavior in the EU countries and it did not depend on economic development significantly. The subjective norms and interaction of knowledge and confidence in green products significantly determined the green purchase behavior in all countries. According to the cross-culture studies, all cultural dimensions did not have significant influence on green purchase behavior. However, cultural dimensions are related to factors which directly influence green purchase behavior. Therefore, due to the process of the EU cultural convergence and economic crisis, it could have indirect impact on green purchase behavior. These findings have important implication for marketers and policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health systems in Europe were hit by the economic crisis to various degrees. Evidence from worst affected countries shows detrimental consequences for health systems and health outcomes. EU member states face an increased risk of cross-border health threats given the growing difficulties to prevent and control infectious disease outbreaks with resources limited by cuts to public spending on health. Although health systems constitute a core national competence, the crisis has triggered the extension of EU economic surveillance over this field. The related debate focuses on the added value of EU action to support health systems in coping with the crisis challenges vs. the constraints imposed by stricter EU fiscal governance on national health policymakers. This paper provides an analysis of the changes triggered by the economic crisis. The analysis focuses on the EU level, exploring the changes in the output of EU institutions and their (possible) implications for health systems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper summarises a collaborative international research project comparing the impact of the ongoing conglomerate of crises in nine EU policies. All of them saw significant crisis-induced pressures and challenges. Beyond changes in discourse, the crisis-induced pressures have, in many areas, also triggered a rather sizable amount of policy change. Considering EU competences, no single example of re-nationalisation was found, but many new EU-level tasks. The governments were of prime importance in immediate crisis management but supranational institutions and processes continue to matter. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Immigration to Europe increasingly emerges as a core security concern. In response to these growing anxieties the external border of Schengen space of free movement of people was established to limit uncontrolled immigration to the European Union. Yet, looking closely at how this border works in Lampedusa and its surrounding seawaters, one realizes the functioning of the European external border works to undermine the legitimacy of institutions on the island, de facto challenging law enforcement both on the island as well as at sea. Based on the data collected during the six-months-long fieldwork that I conducted on the island, this paper disentangles the complex machinery of the border as it structures in Lampedusa, and presents how such complex governing technology works through authorities' strategic use of local land and seawaters and their simultaneous neglect for the concerns of the population inhabiting them - representing a major source of insecurity for islanders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European crisis is the best case study for examining both the vulnerabilities of Europe's framework for economic governance and the very process of European integration itself. This statement is true for several reasons: first, because the European crisis is the most serious crisis the European Union has faced to date; second, because of the crisis, limits on the process of economic integration in Europe have been put to a real test; and third, because the main causes of the crisis are tied into the framework for economic governance that has been developed over the last few decades and therefore are connected to the very process of European unification itself. The primary aim of this paper is to demonstrate whether and to what extent the new framework for economic governance in Europe is largely a result of interstate bargaining and consequently whether national preferences continue to play an important role in the framework's general transformation. The economic crisis showed that important issues in economic policy concerning the change in economic governance and the role of the nation-state, which were ‘swept under the carpet’ in recent decades, must be resolved to make the European venture viable. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As migrant workers, EU-8 nationals enjoy a right to equal treatment with nationals in respect of their terms and conditions of employment. While some employers have tried to meet their legal obligations towards EU-8 nationals, others have denied them their employment rights under UK law. In this paper, we explore how EU-8 migrants make use of Employment Tribunals (ETs) to enforce their employment rights. How many cases do they bring before ETs, and what are they about? Are claims brought alone or with support, and if so, from whom? How are EU-8 workers treated once they are before a Tribunal and how successful are their claims? If there is evidence that EU-8 migrants are successfully bringing claims to enforce their employment rights, then fears about undercutting and exploitation of vulnerable workers are perhaps less serious than they would first appear. If they are not, then concerns about (mis)treatment are justified and prompt the further question as to how their rights could be better protected in practice, particularly given the introduction of fees for accessing ETs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article features new European food and feed publications. New publications presented include "Economic Liberalization and Agricultural Policies in the Context of Planning," by Ray Prabuddha and Chowdhury Sarthak in September 2015 issue of "Economic Affairs," and "Some Considerations on the World Agri-Food Trade and the Position of the EU-28," by Agatha Popescu in Volume 15 Issue 4 of Scientific Papers Series "Management, Economic Engineering in Agriculture and Rural Development."

The European Central Bank (ECB) has received a lot of criticism for its too little, too late performance to ease market pressures during the economic crisis. At the same time, the ECB and the Federal Reserve (Fed) have managed the new economic realities that have emerged in the international context differently. Despite the criticisms, the European Central Bank is the European Union institution that has assumed more control due to the new model of economic governance of the EU. Why did the Federal Reserve act so nimbly and quickly to calm the markets, while the ECB was so cautious in managing monetary policy? The aim of this paper is to perform a comparative analysis of the management of interest rates and other monetary policy measures undertaken by the Central Bank and the Federal Reserve during the economic crisis, as well as to understand the changes in the context of the ECB and the emergence of its authority within the European Union's economic governance model since 2011. Thus, in order to carry out a scrupulous exposition, we will also limit the time frame of this study to the 2007-2014 period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses the politicisation of European tax governance in mass media. Although taxation is commonly assumed to remain a national prerogative, European institutions have extended their reach far into national tax regimes. Whether this expansion of EU authority towards one of the core functions of the nation state is accompanied by politicisation is the question to be addressed in this article. To analyse the causal nexus between growing EU authority – measured in terms of formal authority and tax legislation – and the politicisation of EU tax governance, the paper compares public debates in Germany, Ireland and Switzerland over a time period of 30 years between 1981 and 2011. Based on a newspaper content analysis, the empirical results demonstrate that EU tax governance is increasingly politicised in all three countries. Varying levels and content of politicisation across time and space are explained by national economic and socio-cultural conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Theoretical debate about the effects of politicisation on the democratic legitimacy of the European Union has tended to focus on the potential of conflict between European political parties or member state governments. At the same time, empirical sociological studies demonstrate that controversy about Europe continues to unfold primarily within national public spheres. There is as yet no genuine Europe-wide party system or public debate. This reveals a gap between the normative theoretical assessment of EU politicisation and empirical sociological analysis of this phenomenon. To reconcile this discrepancy, this paper develops three actually-existing trajectories of politicisation: the remote conflict, the international conflict and the domestic conflict. Each trajectory carries unique challenges and opportunities to the democratic legitimacy of the Union. It is argued that the domestic conflict trajectory is most promising from a normative democratic perspective. Paradoxically, this does not necessarily imply a renationalisation of the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this paper is to investigate, from a generational perspective, the effect of human capital on individual earnings and earnings differences in Germany, France and Italy, three developed countries in Western Europe with similarconservativewelfare regimes but with important differences in their education systems. Income inequalitiesbetweenandwithineducation levels are explored using a two-stage probit model with quantile regressions in the second stage. More precisely, drawing upon 2005 EU-SILC data, returns on schooling and experience are estimated separately for employees and self-employed full-time workers by means of Mincerian earnings equations with sample selection; the sample selection correction accounts for the potential individual self-selection into the two labour force types. Although some determinants appear to be relatively similar across countries, state-specific differentials are drawn in light of the institutional features of each national context. The study reveals how each dimension of human capital differently affects individuals’ earnings and earnings inequality and, most of all, how their impacts differ along the conditional earnings distribution and across countries. In the comparative perspective, the country's leading position in terms of the highest rewards on education also depends on which earnings distribution (employee vs. self-employed) is analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There has been increasing investigation of the national and ethnic identification of minority populations in Western societies and how far they raise questions about the success or failure of multicultural societies. Much of the political and academic discussion has, however, been premised on two assumptions. First, that ethnic minority and national identification are mutually exclusive, and, second, that national identification forms an overarching majority identity that represents consensus values. In this paper, using a large-scale nationally representative UK survey with a varied set of identity questions, and drawing on an extension of Berry's acculturation framework, we empirically test these two assumptions. We find that, among minorities, strong British national and minority identities often coincide and are not on an opposing axis. We also find that adherence to a British national identity shows cleavages within the white majority population. We further identify variation in these patterns by generation and political orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Finland's security is integrally linked with its immediate surroundings, Europe, and global development. Given that Finland considers Russia to be one of the main challenges to its security, cross-border security cooperation with it is limited. Over the years the Finnish border authorities have, nevertheless, developed effective joint working practices with their Russian counterparts which provide a unique communication channel, even in the present geopolitical climate. The present paper address the Finnish-Russia security cooperation, and its lack, within a wider European frame and pits the practical experiences against ongoing theoretical discussion on security and threat perceptions. It argues that despite the more multifaceted understandings of borders and the EUropeanised rhetoric, the Finnish-Russian border is still very much a classic state border guarded by two states from their respective perspectives. In the Finnish-Russian case the content of cooperation has more to do with border management than with more coherent border security, as the former is build on a more common ground than the latter. Increased cooperation and Russian convergence with EU models of border security and management would certainly be of benefit, but Russia's willingness to cooperate seems half-hearted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shock of refugee crisis from the fall of 2015 and terrorism in European Union space has called again into question the topic of European borders. In the present paper we intend to show that the process of the European integration has been marked by the division within the EU especially after the last enlargement eastward (2004/2007) took forms of fragmentation. Initally, the financial and economic crisis has produced new forms of division which have fragmentation aspects designed to create new European borders in the area of EU, but related to the internal process harmonization. Secondly, the Ukranian crisis, due the implications on external security of European Union, will multiply the fragmentation, but in this case being disputed the national security of the states located on the eastern borders of the EU. Finally, the refugee crisis has led to a real psychosis of security not only at the external borders of the European Union but also at the internal borders reaching national security sensitivities of Member States, hence there is danger that the EU may close between hard borders and postpone the European project for decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The south and southeast region of Europe is significantly prone to water erosion. In parts of the region, erosion has reached a stage of irreversibility and in some places erosion has practically ceased because there is no soil left. In the recent period several models and approaches in a GIS environment were developed using available database for erosion factors on the European level on which data about water erosion in Western Balkan countries is missing. Scientists in the Western Balkan countries faced with the erosion problem for years, developed own models or prepared various erosion risk maps using national databases. The aim of this study is to compare results of water erosion intensity in the Western Balkan countries using models on wider level (European maps) and national researches. The basic methodological approach in this paper is an analysis of secondary data, using the method of "content analysis" of various data sources. Inductive and deductive qualitative analyses were used and finally the method of "comparative analysis" is applied, too. Through the analysis of national researches it was estimated that erosion intensity in the WB countries is 656 m³/ha (similar to 6.56 t/ha) and the total amount of annual produced erosive material is 373.8·106 m³. The most erosive countries in Europe are Albania and Montenegro where mean annual intensity of erosion is > 10 t/ha. Macedonia together with Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Romania is in the second group of countries, where erosion intensity is 5-10 t/ha. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until very recently, European employers and political leaders denied the need for any coordination in industrial relations at EU level. In 2011, however, the European Parliament and the Council adopted a new European economic governance regime that makes EU member states' labor policies subject to multilateral surveillance procedures. This paper analyzes this ‘silent revolution’ from above and assesses organized labor's responses to this challenge. It shows that the EU's new governance regime does not follow the classical model of a federal state, but rather the governance structures of multinational corporations that control their local subsidiaries through the use of whipsawing tactics and coercive comparisons. European trade unions' and social movements' difficulties in politicizing European economic governance are thus best explained by the ability of the new supranational EU regime to nationalize social conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The validation of learning outcomes in non-formal and informal contexts represents an essential component of the current transformations of the European model of education and training. Romania's status as a member of the European Union and the North - Atlantic Alliance requires aligning to the value system of these organizations, including in the field of military education. Military personnel, through the activities in which it engages, trains and develops knowledge, skills and abilities in non-formal and informal contexts, which are not subject to validation. The paper presents the main strategic guidelines and proposals on the recognition of nonformal and informal learning in the defence sector in order to correlate the policies of the Ministry of National Defence with the national and euro Atlantic ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate on migration-related border controls has greatly expanded during the past decade. Special attention has been given to processes of contestation and of rights-claims enacted by migrants, drawing greatly on Isin’s work on acts of citizenship and Rancière’s articulation of the ‘uncounted’ and the political. Within this broad debate little attention has been devoted to the acts of common people in contesting current border management and especially in refusing the policing and the bordering of theirownterritory. By focusing on the Lampedusa borderland, this paper will explore and interrogate the verbal protests made by the people of Lampedusa in response to the drowning of some 366 African migrants on 3 October 2013. The protests were mostly against current border patrolling and its politics of (non-)life, which prioritise border protection against (migrants’) life protection. The call to protectingallhuman life, equally worthy of being protected, transformed these protests into political acts. Using and extending the work of Rancière, I explore the extent to which the people of Lampedusa have highlighted a ‘wrong’ and enacted ‘dissensus’ by contesting the (natural) securitised order of EU border management. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The construction of EU security actorness has been accompanied by a narrative on security nexuses (internal-external, security-development, civilian-military, public-private) associated with the so-called 'comprehensive approach'. The end of the Cold War enabled the explicitness of EU security actorness. The post 9/11 facilitated the reinforcement of previous trends (transnational threats, externalisation of 'internal security', interpillarisation) and the introduction of innovative tendencies (comprehensive approach, internalization of the Common Security and Defence Policy, interconnection of security nexuses). This paper focuses on the internal-external security nexus declared by the EU in the post-Cold War, and reflects about the rationale and effects of the European narrative and practices on the configuration of a post-Westphalian security actor. Based on the analysis of three expressions of the nexus, it is argued that the latter reflects a securitising move of the European actor explained by the convergence of opportunity (redefinition of security, prioritization of transnational threats in a globalized world, soft power enhancement in the post-Cold War), capacity (legal, organic and operational in the field of security, after the entry into force of the Treaty on European Union), and (ambition to have a) presence. The holistic approach underlying the logic of the nexuses is the result of a co-constitutive adequacy: appropriation of policies and instruments of a multifunctional actor for security purposes (security of the EU and of European citizens); securitization of issues in order to promote the policies and the actor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper documents the failure of the EU's current merger control architecture to address the misallocation problem and proposes changes to the architecture which would virtually eliminate this major concern. This will streamline the working of the architecture by removing the need for correctives to either prevent misallocation or reassign cases that have been misallocated. Moreover, and just as importantly, the resolution of this problem will improve the application of the principle of subsidiarity in merger cases and bring to an end the multiple notification issue, thereby strengthening the operation of the one-stop shop approach. The changes to the architecture and how they interact to virtually end the misallocation problem and thereby bring about the aforementioned benefits are revealed. More specifically, it demonstrates how the use of the three or more Member state notification rule and the distinct market test, the retention of the existing two Community Dimension tests and the two-thirds rule, as well as the shared competence of the Competition Directorate and Member state regulators to apply EU merger law, albeit intentionally in different situations, reinforce each other to resolve the stated problem. Moreover, this limited sharing of the right to apply EU merger law-currently the EU Commission has the exclusive right-allied with other forms of envisaged cooperation between the regulators is not just simply a reinterpretation of the Commission's most appropriate authority goal but also the possible beginnings of a more cooperative architecture, relative to the current architecture of separate jurisdictional zones, aimed at improving the efficacy and efficiency of merger control within the Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In January 2011, the European Union established three European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) for the financial sector: the European Banking Authority (EBA, in London), the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA, in Frankfurt) and the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA, in Paris). So far, the ESAs have played less a supervisory role than a regulatory role. They have focused on technical measures specifying in more detail the often abstract legislation adopted by the European Parliament and the Council. These measures may be binding technical standards or non-binding guidelines or recommendations. They are of great importance, to both financial and non-financial industry. Currently, the European Commission is reviewing the regulations governing the three ESAs and will bring forward its proposals for amendments in early 2015. This paper entails 12 recommendations to policymakers for improving the ESAs' work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) policy for healthcare requires the establishment of a system of European Reference Networks, union-wide information databases, and registries for rare diseases (RDs) based on shared criteria. In pursuing its goals, the 'Building Consensus and Synergies for the EU Registration of RD Patients in Europe' (EPIRARE) project convened a meeting with experts of the competent health authorities to discuss the role of national institutional RD patient registries in supporting EU patient registration and the room for international cooperation. With this aim, this paper comparatively analyses the current situation of national institutional RD registries in the EU. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to propose an alternative approach for outlining policy responses to stimulate the automotive industry. The scientific community has developed and employed the Delphi method to collect and convey perspectives and impressions, and also define a number of financially viable proposals. The panel of experts takes the view that traditional industrial policy measures denote limited effects to stimulate car demand, in a context of a macro-economic downturn. By contrast, the panel also believe incentives for car demand are important for environmental purposes, for safety and for the diversification of energy sources. The policy measures proposed are fundamental from the viewpoint of overturning path dependencies in the automotive industry which impede the diffusion of alternative vehicles, with respect to business models and consumer attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European public procurement system has a major role in ensuring the efficient spending of the public money and in promoting economic competitiveness. The legislative bases of the system are represented by harmonized European regulations, which aim to facilitate the application of the principles and freedoms enshrined in the EU Treaties. This paper presents the main aspects of the reform of the European public procurement system, aiming to make the procedures for awarding public contracts more transparent and open to all European companies and to streamline public spending for the procurement of goods, services and works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent and historic high-impact events have demonstrated the flood risks faced by exposed coastal areas. These risks will increase due to climate change and economic development. This requires a re-evaluation of coastal disaster risk reduction DRR strategies and prevention, mitigation and preparedness PMP measures. To this end, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction formulated the Hyogo Framework for Action, and the EU has issued the Floods Directive. By their nature, neither is specific about the methods to be used to assess coastal risks, particularly those risks resulting from dune and structure overtopping, the non-stationarity of surge and flash flood events, and coastal morphodynamic response. This paper describes a set of open-source and open-access methods, tools and management approaches to fill this gap. A Coastal Risk Assessment Framework will assess coastal risk at a regional scale. Thus critical hotspots can be identified for which an impact-oriented Early Warning System/Decision Support System is developed. This can be applied in dual mode: as a forecast and warning system and as an ex-ante planning tool to evaluate the vulnerability. The tools are demonstrated on case study sites on a range of EU coasts with diverse geomorphic settings, land use, forcing, hazard types and socio-economic, cultural and environmental characteristics. Specific DRR plans will be developed for all sites. A management guide of PMP measures and management approaches is to be developed. The toolkit will benefit forecasting and civil protection agencies, coastal managers, local government, community members, NGOs, the general public and scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significant increase of entrepreneurship education (EE) is a trend in Europe. Entrepreneurship education is supposed to promote general and specific entrepreneurial abilities and improve academic performance. This paper evaluates whether EE influences academic performance, measured by Grade Point Average. The main indicator used for EE is the Company Program (CP), a program taught in upper-secondary school in 40 European countries. The data derive from surveys conducted in Norway in 2008 (1,400 pupils) and 2011 (1,100 post-graduates). Results from econometric analyses show that there is no difference in the GPA between participants in CP and other forms of EE and non-participants. This indicates that EE is neither good, nor bad as a teaching method for improvement of academic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Nowadays public policies are insufficiently ambitious in order to reverse the environmental damage generated by man. Most of the literature that analyses policy changes tends to explain the incentives but do not give clear explanations about the limitation factors. We develop in this paper a reflection on policy change from the notion of transaction costs. Following a review of the three main approaches --sustainable development, ecological modernization and democratization-- we expose ten theses on the role of transaction costs in the policy change from the case of the Common Fisheries Policy of the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the development of back-to-work support for non-employed sick and disabled people of working age in two European welfare states. Most countries have sought to improve the quantity and quality of such support in order to match the increased expectations of claimants to actively seek work. However, few studies have sought to examine the extent to which they have been able to do this and see the provision of support in a static way, whereas there is good reason to believe it is a highly changeable process, with the quality and quantity of support varying over time and place, according to a range of factors. A significant part of the period in which this has been a policy aim has been characterised by economic crisis and subsequent austerity, conditions which existing theory and evidence suggest could pose a challenge to improving such support. Thus, drawing on findings from a broader study of the development of active labour market policy for sick and disabled people, a cross-nationally comparative analysis of these developments in the UK and Denmark is pursued, looking at the extent the welfare settlement between welfare authorities and sick and disabled claimants has been reconfigured in recent years and at the extent to which this can be attributed to recession and austerity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper we study the evolution of the informational efficiency in its weak form for seventeen European sovereign bonds time series. We aim to assess the impact of two specific economic situations in the hypothetical random behavior of these time series: the establishment of a common currency and a wide and deep financial crisis. In order to evaluate the informational efficiency we use permutation quantifiers derived from information theory. Specifically, time series are ranked according to two metrics that measure the intrinsic structure of their correlations: permutation entropyand permutation statistical complexity. These measures provide the rectangular coordinates of the complexity-entropy causality plane; the planar location of the time series in this representation space reveals the degree of informational efficiency. According to our results, the currency union contributed to homogenize the stochastic characteristics of the time series and produced synchronization in the random behavior of them. Additionally, the 2008 financial crisis uncovered differences within the apparently homogeneous European sovereign markets and revealed country-specific characteristics that were partially hidden during the monetary union heyday. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Who do citizens blame for the recent European economic crisis? In this paper, we test theories about blame attribution with respect to the economic crisis. We argue that blame for the crisis is partially conditioned by partisan bias and framings of the crisis as being related to globalization. We test the argument with new survey data and a survey experiment from Spain. In the experiment, respondents receive different framings of the economic crisis which are endorsed by different political parties and non-partisan organizations. We obtain the following findings: (i) blame for who is responsible for the economic crisis is greatly affected by partisanship; (ii) making globalization as a cause of the crisis salient exonerates the government of blame, but only for co-partisans of the government; and (iii) citizens are willing to blame other globalization-related factors for the crisis, in particular, European governments and blame the domestic government less. The results expand our understanding of public opinion dynamics during major economic recessions and also suggest conditions under which 'scapegoating' globalization can occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of the empowerment of the European Parliament over the years is due to its special role in providing a bridge connecting the public’s policy preferences on the one hand, and the legislative behaviour of elected officials on the other. As the only popularly elected EU institution, successive treaty reforms increased the EP’s political power. These reforms were accompanied by an explicit desire to see citizens’ involvement in EU politics increase and, in turn, provide support and legitimacy to the European integration project. This paper models MEPs’ track records on various political issues, and assesses the extent to which their output is in line with the positions their party campaigned on and the policy preferences expressed in public opinion. The findings suggest that there are discrete patterns of representation, where some parties are more inclined toward greater congruence with their selectorate and manifesto than others. Furthermore, the degree of congruence varies across policy issues and is shaped, to a large extent, by institutional arrangements and political context. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

According to the European Commission's 'Europe 2020' strategy, the early school leaving (ESL) rate in European Union (EU) Member States must be reduced to a maximum of 10 per cent by 2020. This paper proposes a nonlinear distribution method based on dynamic targets for reducing the percentage of early school leavers. The aim of this method is to provide policymakers with alternatives in terms of transferring the EU-wide headline target to individual national targets. Weighting was based on four indicators: ESL rate, unemployment rate, expenditure on education as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP), and expenditure on schools per student. As a result, nine possible scenarios for ESL reduction have been constructed for each of the EU Member States in three groups: the whole EU up to June 2013 (EU27), EU Member States which joined before 30 April 2004 (EU15) and EU Member States which joined after 30 April 2004 (EU12). This method allows the European policy to be translated into specific national targets that would converge in the aggregate goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ireland was the only EU member state to hold a referendum to ratify the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union (otherwise known as the Fiscal Compact Treaty) on 31 May 2012. It was passed by 60.3% to 39.7%. This briefing paper argues that the referendum debate is of wider interest to EU scholars as both sides articulated diverging policies for how Europe should respond to the financial crisis, in a possible precursor to future debates across the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper multilevel approach to the issue of road safety level on the road network of European regions, classified as NUTS 2 in statistical databases of the European Union, has been presented. Following the pattern of many publications on road safety it has been assumed that the risk calculated as the number of death casualties in road accidents per 100,000 inhabitants of a given region has Poisson distribution. Therefore, generalized Poisson model has been assumed in the modelling process. Multilevel stochastic analysis was performed for the studied factor. Then a model was created that took into account the impact of different characteristics available on different level of aggregation, which may be helpful in the actions aimed at improvement of road safety in respective regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the nexus between political instability and economic growth in 10 CEE countries in transition in the period 1990-2009. Our results support the contention that political instability defined as a propensity for government change had a negative impact on growth. On the other hand, there was no causality in the opposite direction. A sensitivity analysis based on the application of a few hundred different variants of the initial econometric model confirmed the abovementioned findings only in the case where major government changes were applied to the definition of political instability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]