Search

The mantra of 'take back control' has become a staple of eurosceptics across the European Union. At the centre of the slogan's message is a call to arms against the (perceived) challenge that EU membership represents for national sovereignty. In this paper, we theorize that supranational decisions taken by the European Court of Justice can increase 'polity scepticism' – increased opposition to the EU and decreased satisfaction with national democracy – by cueing citizens regarding the effects of EU integration on the perception of diluted sovereignty. Empirically, we leverage quasi-experimental evidence to support our theory, establishing that ECJ rulings have a significant causal effect on euroscepticism and dissatisfaction with democracy. The implications of our findings suggest that EU institutions seeking to ensure compliance with the rule of law and EU norms should proceed with caution. Interventionist action may backfire by increasing scrutiny of the EU's legitimacy and undermining polity support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 17 January 2023, the Court of Justice delivered its judgment in the Spain v Commission (Kosovo) case, ruling that despite the EU's non-recognition of Kosovo as a State, Kosovo may participate as a third country in an EU agency under the obligations laid down in Article 35(2) of the BEREC Regulation. The judgment is significant because it clarifies Kosovo's relations with the EU and, more specifically, the ability of Kosovo as a third country to participate in EU agencies. This article analyses the Court of Justice of the European Union judgments in Spain v Commission (Kosovo) and discusses the impact on the future accession of Kosovo to the EU. The paper argues that while these judgments have a positive effect on the consideration of Kosovo as a 'third country' in joining EU bodies and agencies, non-recognition of Kosovo as an independent State by five EU Member States is an obstacle to advancing further its prospects of European integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current productivity slowdown has stimulated research on the causes of growth. We investigate here the proximate determinants of long‐term growth in Spain. Over the last 170 years, output per hour worked raised nearly 24‐fold dominating gross domestic product (GDP) growth, while hours worked per person shrank by one‐fourth and population trebled. Half of labour productivity growth resulted from capital deepening, one‐third from total factor productivity (TFP) and labour quality contributed the rest. In phases of acceleration (the 1920s and 1954–1985), TFP was labour productivity's main driver complemented by capital deepening. Since Spain's accession to the European Union (1985), labour productivity has sharply decelerated as capital deepening slowed down and TFP stagnated. Up to the Global Financial Crisis (2008) GDP growth mainly resulted from an increase in hours worked per person and, to a less extent, from sluggish labour productivity coming mostly from weak capital deepening. Institutional constraints help explain the labour productivity slowdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Applied Linguistics is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)