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1462. EU Pressure Insufficient to Gain U.S. Visa Waiver for Poles
- Author:
- Marek Wasinski
- Publication Date:
- 04-2016
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Polish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- In a communication of 12 April, the European Commission assessed the potential political and economic consequences of suspending visa exemption for U.S. citizens. Lacking pressure from individual EU Member States, the Commission discouraged such a move and gave the EU Council and European Parliament three months to take an official position. It seems almost certain that the measure of applying pressure on a non-EU country will not be used to help Poland and four other Member States obtain visa-free travel to the United States or other countries with a similar restriction. However, if current trends continue, Poland should join the U.S. Visa Waiver Programme in five years.
- Topic:
- Economics, Politics, European Union, and Citizenship
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
1463. How ASEAN’s Transformation Can Play Out Well for Europe
- Author:
- Damian Wnukowski
- Publication Date:
- 02-2016
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Polish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- The transformation of ASEAN into an economic community is a significant step in the organisation’s integration process. The project, formally launched at the beginning of 2016, aims at creation of a single market of more than 620 million people, loosens the flow of goods, services and investment, which should underpin regional economic growth and catch the attention of foreign businesses. However, obstacles to economic cooperation remain, such as limitations on the movement of labour or capital, which shows that the integration process is not yet complete. The EU, which can benefit from a well-functioning market in this region, should share its own experience to support the ASEAN integration process.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, Politics, and Labor Issues
- Political Geography:
- Europe
1464. Ukraine: A Migration Corridor with Half-Closed Doors
- Author:
- Piotr Kościński
- Publication Date:
- 01-2016
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Polish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- At a time when many European countries are strengthening border protection (including building walls), migrants will seek new avenues to Europe. In this context and of particular importance will be the policy of the authorities of Ukraine, which currently, and despite the still unstable situation in the country (war in the east and economic problems) could become the country of choice for migrants. Another problem for Kyiv may be internal migration. Both forms increase the risk of migration to EU countries such as Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Romania, which are neighbours of Ukraine. In this situation, additional EU assistance to the authorities in Kyiv will be necessary.
- Topic:
- Economics, Migration, Politics, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Ukraine
1465. An “Atomized Caliphate” in Europe
- Author:
- Armen Oganesyan
- Publication Date:
- 02-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- A Part of The Western World, Europe, however, has been very selective about alien cultures and civilizations; not a “melting pot” american style, it is paying dearly for this function imposed on it. The disagreements on the migration issues in the european corridors of power threaten the cohesion of the european Unity. Frau Merkel who demonstrated a no mean determination to meet a new wave of migrants within maximal openness and tolerance had already accepted the failure of multiculturalism. This means that Berlin has no answer to the question about how to cope with the migrants who have arrived in thousands and millions to Europe to stay.
- Topic:
- Migration, Treaties and Agreements, Refugee Issues, and Multiculturalism
- Political Geography:
- Europe
1466. Empowered or Disempowered? The Role of National Parliaments during the Reform of European Economic Governance.
- Author:
- Aleksandra Maatsch
- Publication Date:
- 01-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies
- Abstract:
- This paper investigates how the intergovernmental reform process of European economic governance affected national parliaments’ oversight of this policy area. Which parliaments became disempowered and which managed to secure their formal powers – and why? The dependent variable of the study is operationalized as the presence or absence of “emergency legislation” allowing governments to accelerate the legislative process and minimize the risk of a default by constraining national parliaments’ powers. The paper examines how national parliaments in all eurozone states were involved in approving the following measures: the EFSF (establishment and increase of budgetary capacity), the ESM, and the Fiscal Compact. The findings demonstrate that whereas northern European parliaments’ powers were secured (or in some cases even fostered), southern European parliaments were disempowered due to the following factors: (i) domestic constitutional set-up permitting emergency legislation, (ii) national supreme or constitutional courts’ consent to extensive application of emergency legislation, and (iii) international economic and political pressure on governments to prevent default of the legislative process. Due to significant power asymmetries, national parliaments remained de jure but not de facto equal in the exercise of their control powers at the EU level. As a consequence, both the disempowerment of particular parliaments and the asymmetry of powers among them has had a negative effect on the legitimacy of European economic governance.
- Topic:
- Politics, Governance, Law, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Europe
1467. Afghanistan’s Age of Transformation
- Author:
- Hamdullah Mohib
- Publication Date:
- 04-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Ambassadors Review
- Abstract:
- The Afghanistan of today would surprise most outsiders, even those who closely follow developments in the country. We are often wrongly branded as a failing state with a struggling government whose young people are fleeing en masse for Europe and whose military has lost control of the security situation. While anecdotal evidence can always be found to lend isolated support to such claims, this sweeping characterization offers a distorted picture of reality.
- Topic:
- Security, Fragile/Failed State, Governance, and Military Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Europe
1468. The United States and the European Union: Essential Partners in a Turbulent World
- Author:
- Anthony Luzzatto Gardner
- Publication Date:
- 04-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Ambassadors Review
- Abstract:
- Four years ago the European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize for the “over six decades [in which it has] contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy, and human rights in Europe.” How quickly the mood has changed. While it has become fashionable to charge that the European Union is on the verge of collapse in the face of dire current challenges, rumors of the European Union’s demise would appear premature. The successes achieved in 2015, as well as the potential future areas of good news, are frequently underappreciated. The United States is firmly committed to investing in its relationship with the European Union. This is a partnership that delivers, as it will bring dividends to both the United States and the European Union for the long term.
- Topic:
- Peacekeeping, Democracy, Europe, and Europe Union
- Political Geography:
- Europe, United States of America, and European Union
1469. Europe and Israel: A Complex Relationship
- Author:
- Giorgio Gomel
- Publication Date:
- 05-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- There is some degree of ambivalence, mistrust, and even hostility between Europe and Israel. Europeans see Israel on a path of permanent occupation of Palestinian territories. Israel sees the European posture as unbalanced and biased against Israel. Economic and institutional linkages are strong. A further strengthening of relations is however difficult unless a peaceful settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is reached. For the EU resolving the conflict is a matter of both interests and values. The engagement of the EU can take different forms, in the realm of sticks one may point to legislation concerning the labelling of products from Israeli settlements in the occupied territories and carrots such as the EU offer of a special privileged partnership with Israel. For the Israeli public a clearer perception of the costs of non-peace and the benefits from a resolution of the conflict could help unblock the stalemate and remove the deceptive illusion that the status quo is sustainable.
- Topic:
- Politics, Geopolitics, Israel, and Europe Union
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Israel
1470. Migration In Europe Bridging the Solidarity Gap
- Author:
- Pierre Vimont and Pierre Vimont
- Publication Date:
- 09-2016
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- Painfully and hesitatingly, the EU has managed to stem its migration crisis, regaining control of its borders and ensuring a dramatic drop in the flow of migrants. Yet, the migration issue is not going away, and the political debate around it persists. Europeans need to work together in a field where in the past they have been eager to act on their own; and they must define an integrated policy based on a genuine sense of solidarity.
- Topic:
- Migration
- Political Geography:
- Europe and European Union