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The paper deals with the idea that EU has to reformate as a result of the latest challenges, including the Brexit. A possible effect and opportunity from this can be a stronger position for the EU Balkan Member States. The analysis in the paper takes into consideration all Balkan economies, including candidate countries in order to obtain a general approach for the region. This approach is new because it puts together member and candidate members from a region, in the context of re-evaluating the EU, and leads to the idea of finding a regional leader able to generate regional progress and to support the region's interests in the European Institutions. The analysis covers five representative economic indicators (GDP growth rate, gross fixed capital formation, unemployment rate, inflation rate and general government gross debt) and is realized on three levels: a comparative analyses, a cluster analysis, and a cumulative analysis as well. Moreover, regression is used in order to point out the economic disparities across the region. The main conclusion of the analysis is that the great regional economic disparities can be decrease using common regional policies. Moreover, the analysis identifies a regional economic leader able to coordinate common initiatives at least on short and medium terms. The analysis and the conclusions in the paper are supported by the latest official statistic data, pertinent tables and diagrams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we empirically study the relation between public debt and economic growth. We analyze how the public debt to GDP ratio at a certain point in time is cor- related with the GDP growth rate in the following period, where we consider a one-year time span, a three-year time interval and a five-years interval. Using panel data comprising seven developed countries from 1970-2012, we estimate a pooled regression model and a random effects model. We find some evidence for a significantly negative relation between debt and growth. Further, for most specifications this relationship does not seem to be characterized by non-linearities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Regional Science Policy & Practice is the property of Wiley-Blackwell 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.)

This paper concentrates on the economic climate of EU countries in the context of integration and globalisation. The aim of this study is to analyse the (comparative) economic climate in the Baltic and other leading EU countries. The main emphasis is on the economies of the three Baltic states. The strategic goals of the EU and of Latvia are discussed as well as are the development challenges and models for Latvia. The research methodology utilised is based on macro-economic theory. This paper provides information about various different indexes and the main results and conclusions reflect the overall situation in EU countries but especially in Latvia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the extent of euro area policy convergence during the third stage of EMU. The policy convergence hypothesis from international political economy posits that euro zone national economies should become more similar over time in terms of economic growth, employment and inflation outcomes as a result of using a common currency and taking the same regional monetary policy. Yet the descriptive data show little evidence of euro area policy convergence post-1999. One possible explanation for the lack of macroeconomic convergence within the euro zone is advanced (fiscal policy divergence), and the implications of policy divergence for the long-term viability of EMU are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper re-investigates public debt sustainability in the case of five European Union (EU) countries, i.e. Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, under bailout programmes or under fiscal consolidation measures, spanning the period 1980-2014. The empirical analysis makes use of methodologies in non-linear unit root testing and the results provide robust evidence in favour of public debt sustainability only for two countries, Ireland and Portugal. These findings suggest that the current austerity programmes implemented by these economies, especially the Greek government, is expected to trigger upward debt spirals, contributing to further fiscal unsustainability. Growth oriented policies should be the primary ingredient of a different programme for these countries to fiscally and economically survive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability-oriented tax-based own resources would do more than just help to close the existing sustainability gaps in EU taxation.Member States primarily consider their individual net positions, i.e. the difference between their payments into the EU budget and the transfers they receive out of it, when determining the benefits derived from the EU (budget). Much less attention is paid to indirect benefits from EU membership and expenditures, which generally exceed Member States' contributions to the EU budget considerably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the Maltese labour market within the context of the Europeanisation process. It explains the EU's labour market policies and presents studies in the field. The main focus is the case study of Malta, which evaluates formal and informal structures of the economy and uses the dynamics of the interaction of ideas, interests and institutions to analyse whether and how Europeanisation of the Maltese labour market has occurred. The findings indicate that different changes have occurred in the legislative framework, language and values about work, but resistance and continuity are evident in other areas such as flexicurity, undeclared work and a high level of female labour market inactivity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Arctic is becoming increasingly important in terms of energy, security and climate issues on a global scale. Following the coastal states of the Arctic Ocean, which have presented Arctic strategies in recent years, the European Union has started developing an Arctic policy. While more or less consistent guiding principles have been established via several papers and communications, these have been backed up with concrete instructions and practical action to a diverging and an overall rather low degree. As a non-coastal state, the European Union will have to rely on its membership in relevant international and regional organisations, instruments such as the Northern Dimension and cooperation with member and partner states, also in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the analysis of the convergence indicators relative to fiscal area in the EU; subsequent to a description of the main peculiarities of the convergence criteria, the reseach develops a critical analysis on a comparative perspective of the actual values of fiscal convergence indicators registered in EU countries compared with the reference values of the indicators, with emphasis on the differences between emerging and developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper was to understand in which direction policies change in periods of crisis. Do they lead to the hardening of norms or the introduction of softer rules governing public policies? Based on the study of policy change in two periods of economic governance-the 2003-2005 Stability and Growth Pact crisis, and the 2009-2013 economic governance crisis, this article explains why the policy change in the first case led to softer governance mechanisms, while during the second crisis, soft governance mechanisms were transformed into hard law. In applying the multiple streams framework to study these policy changes, we argue that the wider the window of opportunity and the more coherent the coalition of policy entrepreneurs, the higher the possibility for these actors to push in favour of legally constraining norms. Hence, it is not solely the power or capacity of one policy entrepreneur, in this case-the German government-that leads to hardening of soft law, but the coherence of the coalition the policy entrepreneur is able to build. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European crisis has many causes. Worse, the different causes are mutually reinforcing. National economies lost competitiveness within the single currency, governments and households lived beyond their means, banks and other financial firms moved capital across borders and then called it back home again in a fit of panic. Europe is suffering as a consequence. European policy-making is suffering as well. With so many ‘causes’, politicians are dividing their attention across different and at times competing remedies. Europe appears to be ‘muddling through’ rather than acting decisively as a result. This paper argues that European policymakers should focus their attention on financial causal mechanisms. Although there is some truth to claims about lost competitiveness and excessive borrowing, a close focus on financial markets promises to offer the greatest leverage over the largest number of national economies. A close focus on finance also offers a clear choice between competing policy agendas: Europe's politicians must choose either to accept a renationalization of finance or they must embrace reforms necessary to stabilize international financial market integration. Only once that choice is made, and the necessary policy agendas are put in place, should politicians again turn their focus to issues of second-order (if still significant) importance related to market structural reform, fiscal consolidation, or asset market regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an alternative interpretation of the euro crisis to the dominant sovereign debt narrative. I argue that at the core of the euro crisis is a balance of payments disequilibrium—only this time the balance of payments crisis is taking place within a common currency. The frame of reference—sovereign debt crisis or balance of payments crisis—makes a significant difference not only for determining the causes of the euro crisis but also for the adequacy of policy measures to address the crisis. The sovereign debt crisis narrative has missed the interrelated nature of the macroeconomic imbalances within the eurozone. Despite the expectation of many observers at the time of the creation of the euro that the common currency would distribute the burden of adjustment more evenly across its member countries, the reverse is actually true. Compared to the European Monetary Union's predecessor regime, the European Monetary System (EMS), deficit countries are saddled with even higher adjustment costs in the common currency than before. In particular, they no longer have the tool of a nominal exchange rate change to address balance of payments disequilibria. This situation allows surplus countries—most importantly Germany—to exercise leverage over the key bargaining issues at stake in solving the eurozone crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early 1990s, when the break-up of the soviet bloc spread to the Balkans, dominant neoliberal economic wisdom recommended swift privatization of public assets, deregulation, and dismantling of the social safety net. Building upon the research of one of neoliberalism's leading architects, this paper examines why enacting neoliberal economic and social policies in Bosnia and Herzegovina have led to outcomes contrary to those predicted by traditional neoliberal theory. We conclude by offering five policy recommendations that should, when enacted, reduce market distortions and yield significant economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtually non-existent five years ago, Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) into Europe has surged spectacularly in recent years in an international context of declining FDI globally. While the stock of Chinese FDI in Europe is still minuscule, the flows show the rapidly growing interest of Chinese companies in being present in Europe, both through greenfield investment and through mergers and acquisitions. This surge of Chinese FDI occurred concomitantly to the explosion of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and the general economic downturn in many countries of the European Union (EU). This paper asks whether the European crisis contributed to the surge of Chinese FDI in Europe. In particular, did this surge occur as a result of an explicit strategy formulated by governments in EU Member States in order to dig their countries out of the crisis? The main argument is that the crisis has provided Chinese investors with two types of bargains: economic bargains due to depressed prices and a greater number of assets for sale, and political bargains due to the lessened political resistance to deals that may have been objectionable in flusher times. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The current economic crisis has become a global phenomenon. However, the path to the economic crisis, its materialization and persistence are also country-specific and can only be studied by considering a country's past economic development, existing institutional environment, and the economic policies it has implemented. This paper explores the case of Slovenia as a European Union (EU) and Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) member that has no influence on monetary and exchange rate policies and can therefore only use incomes and prices and partly fiscal policy tools to shape its economic policy. The authors' objective is to demonstrate that for a small economy, which is part of the EU and the EMU, incomes and prices policies are crucial for overcoming its economic crisis. The authors highlight the need to rediscover the role and importance of both incomes and prices policy as advocated by post Keynesian economics. They believe the case of Slovenia can be useful for several other economies with characteristics similar to those of Slovenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to compare the financial performance of the banking sector in some ex- Yu countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia for period from 2005 to 2010. The banking sector of these countries experienced reforms after the separation from the Yugoslavia. The financial performance of banks is studied on the basis of some selected financial variables and ratios that are either obtained from different sources either calculated by author. During this period the banks become privatized and there is increase in the presence of the foreign owners on the Balkans. This is mostly descriptive research that explains and provides some insights about situation in banking of the selected countries. Financial performance in this study is measured by selected indicators, such as return on asset (ROA), return on equity (ROE), capital adequacy ratio (CAR), share of non-performing loans (NPL), participation of deposits, assets and loans in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. Data show that banking system of these countries suffers from problems in the banking sector, largely influenced by its huge debt to IMF, political situation, financial crisis, internal situation and other political factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ten European countries with economies in transition and two market economies are negotiating full membership with the European Union. This paper considers the economic dimension of the forthcoming enlargement of the European Union, especially on the characteristics of the economies in transition and on the economic implications of the enlargement for European Union agriculture. The transition of the central and eastern European countries from a centrally planned to a market economy, although already in progress for a decade, is far from complete. Uneven macroeconomic developments in the various countries can be attributed to some extent to their individual situation at the start of the transformation. However, they also reflect the varying extent to which institutional reform programs have been implemented in these countries. (JEL F15, O52, E63, Q18) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic and financial crisis opened a window of opportunity to place the Single Market back on top of the European agenda as part of a two-tiered crisis response, which also included reinforced financial supervision and economic co-ordination. We argue that the Commission acted as a 'purposeful opportunist' in both tiers; but whereas in economic governance issues there was breakthrough change in the Commission's achievements and competences, in the Single Market realm policy change was fairly modest. Using process tracing analysis our goal is to explain why the Commission did not succeed in furthering a genuine Single Market reform. Our findings suggest that the Commission's entrepreneurship was constrained by the limited salience of Single Market issues in the crisis context and by the lack of actual political commitment from the other relevant stakeholders. Thus, our research highlights the limits of the Commission's opportunistic behaviour in less advantageous circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper studies the fiscal policies implemented in the European Union countries since the beginning of the current crisis. With this aim in mind we have analyzed separately the expansionary fiscal policies implemented at the first stage of the crisis and the fiscal consolidation policies that became widespread at the beginning of the current decade. Studying the content of the national fiscal policies (discretionary measures versus built-in stabilizers, revenue- based versus expenditure-based fiscal policies, the relationship existing between the size of the fiscal impulses-adjustments and the composition of these measures) shows the significant differences between the fiscal policies implemented in the European Union countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Economics / Ekonomija is the property of Rifin d.o.o. 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.)

Examines the economic situation and policy of the European Community. Sufficiency of the above-trend growth of output and employment; Possibility of budget deficits from the concerted effort to eliminate he balance of payments constraints; Monetary accommodation of the fiscal expansion to prevent the increase of interest and exchange rates.

The persistently low wage and price growth in the EMU after the Great Recession of 2009 led some economic observers to conclude that the Phillips Curve has broken down and that the ECB should therefore reconsider its infl ation target. This study makes use of the considerable cross-country and cross-time heterogeneity in terms of infl ation and capacity utilisation of EMU member states after the Great Recession to investigate whether these claims are corroborated by empirical evidence. The results point to the conclusion that the Phillips Curve is alive and well in the EMU and centred at or only slightly below the ECB's inflation target. Therefore, a readjustment of the infl ation target seems unjustified. Furthermore, as the ECB can expect inflation to return to its target, it possibly can accelerate tapering its unconventional monetary policy measures as the recovery continues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutions and the European Investment Bank are at the forefront of EU investment policy. Their role is expanding and it is now a widely-held position that an improvement in the economy will not eliminate the need for their intervention. The proposals for the 2021-2027 MFF launch more financial instruments and present 'InvestEU' as a larger more powerful version of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). However, promotional banking is often misunderstood and so is the actual size of promotional banking in Europe in which InvestEU will operate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article adapts the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) to the European Union (EU) agenda-setting process. Therefore, it defines functional equivalents of the framework's elements in the EU and clarifies which changes in the problem stream and political stream open policy windows. The article probes the usefulness of proposed adaptations by examining the rise of issues contained in the three natural gas directives passed in 1998, 2003, and 2009 on the EU's decision agenda. The findings support the MSF explanation of the first and third gas directives, but not all necessary conditions were met regarding the second gas directive process. Building on these insights, the article enriches MSF scholarship and charts a course for future research that overcomes limitations with adapting the framework to the EU policy process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the contribution of the EU towards and through NGOs and civil society groups in rebuilding the condition of peace and security in the post-war environment of the Western Balkans. Looking comparatively at the aid provided through public channels and through the NGO and civil society sector to Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslavia Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, and Kosovo, the article identifies the place given by EU institutions to non-state actors and how international donors' preferences have changed over the years. The result of the analysis is that, despite rhetoric on the importance of local ownership and of civil society actors, EU institutions comparatively deliver more aid through public channels than through NGOs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu 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.)

In the last decades a deep process of institutional reforms and economic reorganization took place in central and eastern EU countries (CEE). These changes occurred in a context of general economic integration. On the one hand, the European Union enlargement programme was launched and all CEE countries applied to become EU member between 1994 and 1996. On the other hand, the globalization of the world economy characterized this historical phase. This article explores to what extent openness to global markets mediated the impact of EU integration on the economic performance of CEE regions in different periods. The periods examined are defined by the main institutional changes that occurred on the road towards EU integration. Results show that globally open regions performed better than the others, at least in the first two periods analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu 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.)

This article analyses preferences for European economic governance in the European sovereign debt crisis. We assess citizens' opinions on increased intergovernmental co-operation and supranational governance in the economic sphere. We argue that current efforts to tackle the euro crisis do not benefit the typical ‘winners of European integration’. Moreover, European economic governance constitutes an even greater perceived threat to national identity, especially in the member states that fare well economically. Hypotheses are tested using multilevel analysis of Eurobarometer survey wave EB 75.3 (2011). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article describes the EU's impact on economic performance in the new Member States since the advent of membership. It first deals with the EU's role in promoting the economic boom that marked the region up to 2007, emphasizing the role of the single market and of the EU in anchoring and encouraging economic policy liberalization. The second section investigates the EU role in buffering the bust that occurred after 2007, looking at structural fund spending and financial sector instruments to enhance liquidity. I argue the EU had a (mostly unintentional) pro-cyclical effect that fuelled the boom and contributed to setting up the region for a very hard fall during the bust. I also show the EU efforts to buffer the hard times were far quicker in the area of structural fund spending compared to very slow and limited innovation in liquidity provision, especially for non-eurozone states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Teorija in Praksa is the property of Teorija in Praksa 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.)

We analyse the impact on the euro area economy of the ECB's non-standard monetary policy measures by studying the effect of the expansion of intermediation of interbank transactions across the central bank balance sheet. We exploit data drawn from the aggregated Monetary and Financial Institutions (MFI) balance sheet, which allow us to construct a measure of the 'policy shock' represented by the ECB's increasing role as a financial intermediary. We find small but significant effects on both loans and real economic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

That article discusses geopolitical consequences should a failure of the Euro currency and European Union occur. It comments on the impact of a collapse on democracy, the global economy, and world politics, particularly considering economic effects on the U.S., China, and the Middle East. Other topics include possible causes that could trigger the collapse of European integration, the economic conditions of Europe in the period 1929-1932, and the central importance of Germany and the rise of anti-Germanism.

The article focuses on the impact of the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 on the economy of European Union (EU) countries and also discusses the legislation and economic policies which were enacted to control and manage the EU financial sector. It mentions that the EU faced severe consequences of the financial crisis and discusses proposals made under the European Economic Recovery Plan which was implemented for financial risk management.

An article is presented that reports on economic conditions in Europe and the European Union (EU) in 2009. The article discusses internal market legislation in the EU in terms of economic decline and the 2008-2009 global financial crisis as related to areas including government bailouts, credit, and banking. The financial instability and recession are being addressed in the European market through innovation and government reinforcement. Information is provided on trade flows, legislative regulations, and investment management, as well as on the European Commission and European Parliament.

Much of the literature on international institutions argues that membership regularizes expectations about members' future behavior. Using the accession of the postcommunist countries as a test case, this article argues that the EU can send strong signals to financial markets about the trajectory of a particular country. Examining spreads on sovereign debt from 1990 to 2006, this article shows that closing negotiation chapters on domestic economic policy—in other words, receiving a seal of approval from Brussels that previously existing policy reform is acceptable to the wider EU—substantially decreases perceptions of default risk in those countries. That decrease operates independently from policy reform that the country has taken and is also distinct from selection processes (modeled here with new variables, including UNESCO World Heritage sites and domestic movie production, that proxy for cultural factors). Thus, this particular international organization has played an important role in coordinating market sentiment on members, conferring confidence that policy reform alone could not accomplish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years the EU has been witnessing a growing tension between the logic of ‘closure’, which underpins national welfare systems, and the logic of ‘opening’, which guides the integration process, especially in the economic sphere. Are there ways of mitigating such tension, in order to avoid negative consequences in terms of performance and legitimacy? The article outlines a strategy of institutional reconciliation between the two logics, based on a more explicit and effective ‘nesting’ of the nation-based welfare state within the overall spatial architecture of the Union. While recognizing the important role played by free movement and competition rules, this nesting strategy entails the strengthening of an EU ‘social space’, capable of safeguarding the closure preconditions for multi-level social sharing arrangements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the newly acceded central and east European EU countries are among the main beneficiaries of EU Cohesion Policy. The main objective of this policy is to improve the long-term growth and employment prospects of the supported regions, and thereby to support convergence towards higher levels of per capita income. In the short run, however, EU Cohesion Policy may at times amplify macroeconomic challenges for supported countries. In periods of a downturn of the economy it can have a stabilising impact. During periods of unsustainably fast economic growth, however, its short-term demand effects may contribute to internal and/or external macroeconomic imbalances. Economic policymakers should thus ensure that EU Cohesion Policy enhances long-term productivity, while avoiding, in times of overheating, an increased risk of unsustainable developments as a result of the additional demand stimulus from EU Cohesion Policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Should Europe imitate the U.S. economic model? This European economist answers with a definitive no. The idea of Europe is alive and well, but it requires serious public investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses occupational health and safety policies in England in regards to its membership in the European Union (EU). The article begins by giving a brief history of workplace health and safety in England, then continues on to explain how England has been taking on the European Commission's (EC) directives regarding health and safety, and discusses different issues related to employment, such as age and gender.

Public support for the project of European unification and the EU's influence in the world depend primarily on Europe's economic success. Europe is one of the richest regions in the world and this wealth appeals above all to its poorer neighbors. At the same time, Europe has also been one of the poorest-performing regions in terms of growth, which limits its ability both to exert influence overseas and to satisfy its citizens, particularly because unemployment and inequality have increased in the course of the integration process. Six years after the adoption of the Lisbon Strategy, then, the German council presidency faces the challenge of boosting Europe's economic dynamism. The EU's economic and social policy must resolutely pursue growth opportunities. It must therefore put an end to its strategy of cost and income reduction, driven by a senseless logic of competitiveness, in favor of a continuous increase in internal demand. The Lisbon Strategy - which in the meantime we can say has already failed - also pursues this logic and relies extensively on such supply-side goals as higher employment rates. In contrast, the EU needs a coordinated economic policy in which monetary policy is not exclusively directed towards stability, and with more public investment in innovative industries and a continuing expansion of consumption. In the case of Europe-wide imbalances between savings and investment, public investment should also be credit financed. The European social model strives towards a balance which must be protected from extreme and senseless competition. That applies both internally, through appropriate regulation of the internal market, and also externally, through corresponding initiatives in international trade, currency, social, and monetary policy. Europe's prosperity will be ensured by energetic support of up-and-coming industries. That means that the EU budget requires not so much the preservation of declining industries and regions as modernization. For example, there should be more investment in research and development and in education. At the same time, security of supply will be enhanced by a consistent strategy of energy saving and use of renewable energy. Long-term unprofitable branches and enterprises in sectors such as agriculture or textiles and clothing can be wound down in a controlled and socially responsible way. Various reforms and the pressure towards ever more open markets have improved the supply-side. Higher productivity, rising profits and the pressure on workers to accept worse working conditions must be accompanied by firm support for demand if the economy is not to end up in stagnation and impoverishment. Europe needs a coordinated monetary, fiscal and incomes policy which, particularly in the new, poorer member states, tolerates higher inflation rates and real appreciation in order to accelerate their catch-up processes and to improve consumption opportunities instead of taking inflation rates as an excuse to deny them euro entry. While the EU strongly opposes subsidizing enterprises on social or regional-policy grounds it allows member states to subsidize their enterprises in real terms through low taxes and wages. This tax competition can be countered, as a first step, by harmonizing the rules defining the tax base. Wage competition must be combated through regulations on the minimum wage which ensure every worker an income which is fair in relation to where they actually work and permits a decent standard of living. One-sided market integration penalizes social arrangements which favor more leisure time and public goods, and at the same time propagates income differentials, resulting in weaker mass purchasing power and subsequent underemployment. Growth and prosperity in Europe require supply-side productivity increases which are to be expected above all from specialization in the enlarged market and public provision of education and research.… [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addresses the issue of the funding of the Objective 1 program in Wales. Background to how the European Regional Development Fund money is accounted for in the United Kingdom; Discussion on the Rechar dispute; Examination of the Barnett formula and its implications for the funding of Objective 1 in Wales.