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322. Much Ado about Nothing? On the European Union's fight against corruption in developing countries under Aticles 9(3) and 97 of the Cotonou Agreement
- Author:
- Morten Broberg
- Publication Date:
- 11-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- The Cotonou Agreement is the European Union's most important legal measure in the field of development assistance covering 79 developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP countries). It empowers the European Union to sanction 'serious cases of corruption' where this corruption is related to economic and sectoral policies and programmes to which the European Union is a significant financial partner. During the negotiations leading to the adoption of the Cotonou Agreement the ACP countries strongly objected to the inclusion of the possibility of sanctioning corruption. In practice the European Union has only sanctioned one single case of corruption under the provision, however. Whereas this does not necessarily mean that the sanctioning clause is without an impact, the fact that sanctions have been imposed in only one situation is a strong indication that its impact is rather limited. It is suggested that more effective means of preventing corruption are considered.
- Topic:
- Corruption, Development, Humanitarian Aid, Treaties and Agreements, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Europe, and Caribbean
323. Europe's Electricity Supply Security: Strengthening the Chain
- Author:
- Michele Benini
- Publication Date:
- 11-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- Efficient development of electricity transmission infrastructure is crucial to achieving EU targets for a secure, competitive and sustainable electricity supply. However, many uncertainties, such as future load demand, generation supply, electricity prices and increasing time requirements for the realisation of transmission infrastructures in member states, increase the risk that these targets will not be reached. Given the forecasted increase of distributed generation and the introduction of demand response techniques to control load, new decentralised network architectures must be defined to guarantee the system's efficient use and stability. Each link in the chain of electricity security of supply is crucial, from generation to transmission to distribution to demand.
- Topic:
- Security, Development, and Energy Policy
- Political Geography:
- Europe
324. The Legal Significance of Global Development Partnerships: European Development Cooperation and its Contribution to the International Law of Development
- Author:
- Markus Kaltenborn
- Publication Date:
- 12-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Goettingen Journal of International Law
- Institution:
- The Goettingen Journal of International Law
- Abstract:
- The global development partnerships of the European Union are embedded in a legal context which provides several constraints for stakeholders in Brussels. This legal framework consists both of the rules and principles of public international law and of the 'supranational' law of the European Union. After a short survey of the activities of the European Union referring to North-South relations, some of the prevailing legal problems of the Union's development policy as well as its contribution to the international law of development are discussed in this Article.
- Topic:
- Development
- Political Geography:
- Europe
325. Europe in Yemen: Still Much to Do
- Author:
- Lorenzo Piras
- Publication Date:
- 08-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic Studies (CSS)
- Abstract:
- The international community is helping Yemen by providing support in many different areas, most notably in the governance sector and in the fight against poverty and hunger. The European Union, acting through the European Commission, is one of the main donors to Yemen, and the individual Member States are actively engaged in the country, both backing the government’s development and social plans and carrying out some autonomous projects. This article will examine the state of the art European intervention in Yemen, with regard to both EC-funded development programmes and, in a broader perspective, to the strategic goals of Brussels in the country. The weaknesses of the European action in Yemen and the criticism it drew, especially from other Middle Eastern countries, will then be anazlyzed. Lastly, this piece will try to highlight how and with which objectives European efforts should be structured in order to stabilize Yemen effectively
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Development, Political stability, and Development Aid
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Middle East, and Yemen
326. Bunton: Colonial Land Policies in Palestine, 1917–1936
- Author:
- Michael R. Fischbach
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Palestine Studies
- Institution:
- Institute for Palestine Studies
- Abstract:
- Bunton: Colonial Land Policies in Palestine, 1917-1936 Reviewed by Michael R. Fischbach Journal of Palestine Studies, Vol. 38, no. 9 (Winter 2009), p. 96 Recent Books Colonial Land Policies in Palestine, 1917-1936, by Martin Bunton. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Oxford Historical Monographs. x + 204 pages. Select Bibliography top. 214. Index top. 217. $110.00 cloth.
- Topic:
- Development and Government
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Arabia
327. European Food Safety Regulation and the Developing Countries: Regulatory problems and possibilities
- Author:
- Morten Broberg
- Publication Date:
- 06-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- This paper examines the European Community's food safety regime in order to identify those legal measures that cause the most problems for developing countries' exporters of food products and to point to possible solutions. It is shown that barriers ma y arise due to an array of requirements, some of which may appear to be rather minor legal amendments, such as changing a sampling plan. There is no easy solution to this problem, but three specific measures are proposed: Firstly, improved harmonisation of food safety measures in the industrialised countries. Secondly, when proposing new food safety measures the European Commission should identify the proposal's likely consequences on developing countries – and should explain how alternative measures will affect both food safety and the developing countries. And lastly, the European Community should strengthen its provision of development assistance to enable the developing countries to comply with the food safety standards.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Development, International Trade and Finance, Third World, and Food
- Political Geography:
- Europe
328. Reshaping Civil Society in Morocco: Boundary Setting, Integration and Consolidation
- Author:
- Bohdana Dimitrovova
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- This paper looks at the dynamics affecting the development of civil society in Morocco within the context of the European Neighbourhood Policy. It explores cooperation mechanisms in three domains of civil society endeavour – women's rights, human rights and socio-economic rights. In each area, the paper examines the kinds of mechanisms and opportunities emerging for the promotion of civil society, and which forms of action and stances taken by civil society have been encouraged (or otherwise). The paper contends that the development of civil society has triggered different responses by the state and international community. While civil and political rights have preoccupied domestic and international actors, socio-economic rights have long been absent from their agendas. Yet it is argued here that shifting responsibility for issues in the socio-economic domain to civil society is highly problematic under the current circumstances of state building, and poses risks of further ruptures in Moroccan society.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Development, Human Rights, and Islam
- Political Geography:
- Europe, North Africa, and Morocco
329. The multiple paradoxes of the agriculture issue in Central Asia
- Author:
- Sébastien Peyrouse
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- Agriculture constitutes one of the main sectors in the economies of Central Asia: cotton production and export, mainly in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, and to a lesser extent in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan; a booming grain sector in Kazakhstan; and a long tradition of vegetable cultivation throughout the region. The agrarian question is a sensitive one since the population is still predominantly rural in four of the five republics (all except Kazakhstan) and because food safety is not ensured in the two poorest states (Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan). Land reform would be a priority for the growth of investment, increased productivity, and, consequently, the reduction of rural unemployment and poverty. However, pressed by the choice of cotton versus self-sufficiency in food production, the Central Asian states remain hesitant. They must also manage many structural problems, including high levels of corruption in the agrarian administrative organs, the opacity of decisionmaking structures for the export of production, quasi-slavery in some impoverished rural areas, child labour, and serious environmental problems related to the overuse of the soil.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Development, and Economics
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan
330. Trading Away Access to Medicines: How the European Union's trade agenda has taken a wrong turn
- Publication Date:
- 10-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Access to medicines poses a critical challenge in developing countries, largely because prices are high, and new or adapted medicines and vaccines to address diseases of the developing world are lacking. More than 5 million people in low and middle income countries still lack access to the anti-retroviral medicines needed to treat HIV and AIDS. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have unleashed a new epidemic of suffering across the developing world. Pandemics are a serious threat in rich and poor countries alike, but while rich countries can stockpile medicines, these are often unaffordable for poor countries. Most people in developing countries pay for medicines out-of-pocket, so even a slight price increase can mean that life-saving medicines are unaffordable.
- Topic:
- Development, Health, and Third World
- Political Geography:
- Europe