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2202. European Food Safety Regulation and the Developing Countries: Regulatory problems and possibilities
- Author:
- Morten Broberg
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- Many developing countries are highly dependent upon exports of agricultural products, and for many of these countries the European Community is the primary export market. Increasingly, however, the developing country exporters are met with stringent food safety law requirements that constitute a virtual barrier to entering the European Community market. Indeed, food safety requirements have been ranked as one of the foremost factors affecting exports of agricultural and food products from developing countries. This working paper identifies those food safety law requirements that cause the most problems for developing countries exporters of food products and it points to possible ways of overcoming them.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Markets, Food, European Union, Regulation, Exports, and Food Safety
- Political Geography:
- Europe
2203. The Recent Flow of Asylum-Seekers from Georgia to Poland
- Author:
- Jenny Thomsen
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
- Abstract:
- Over the past months Poland has witnessed an exceptionally large number of Georgian citizens applying for asylum. From April to November 2009, approximately 4,000 Georgian citizens have crossed the Polish border with the aim of applying for asylum. This number is astonishing in comparison with previous years when only approximately 400 applications were received in the entire period between 2000 and 2008.2 In parallel, there has recently been an increase of asylum-seekers from Georgia in other European Union countries, with about 2,000 applications in Germany and 2,000 in the Baltic States, Greece, Switzerland, Italy and Austria together. Some of these people initially arrived in Poland and have thereafter disappeared from the asylum camps while their asylum application was still in process. Given that Georgia’s total population is about four and a half million inhabitants this number is extraordinarily high. The number of Georgian asylum-seekers in Poland has now even exceeded the number of persons from Chechnya seeking asylum. Out of the approximately 4,000 Georgian citizens applying for asylum between April and November, about 60% were persons aged 18-34. Children up to 13 years old constituted roughly a fifth of the asylum-seekers and people aged 35-64 made up about the same number. Males represented nearly two thirds and particularly young males between 18-34 were overrepresented, constituting around 40%. The flow of Georgian citizens to Poland peaked in July and August with 1,038 respectively 1,371 Georgian asylum-seekers. In September, the number had decreased to 317, in October to 205 and in November further to 143. The large majority of the asylum-seekers from Georgia (about 90%) are reported to be Yezidi-Kurds, generally poorly educated and sometimes even illiterate. The remaining part is reportedly ethnic Georgians, Armenians and Azeris.
- Topic:
- Minorities, European Union, Ethnicity, Discrimination, and Asylum
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Poland, and Georgia
2204. Turkey's Strategy in the Changing World
- Author:
- Atilla Sandikli
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- BILGESAM (Wise Men Center for Strategic Studies)
- Abstract:
- At the last quarter of 20th century, Cold War ended and technological advances in general with significant progresses in communication in particular have generated the phenomenon of globalization. The developments in financial markets and in real economy not only spread through geographical boundaries of nation states but also influence economic, technologic, and socio-cultural spheres decisively. National and international spaces as well as local and global domains are increasingly intertwined. Further beyond the interdependencies among states there are emerging new fields of cooperation and of common interests between societies. Democratic values and awareness on human rights are becoming universally shared norms as their applications expand conspicuously. Pluralist democratic regimes that respect human rights and that achieve a just income distribution provide better welfare systems for their publics. These regimes, in the long term, contribute stability and peace at domestic, regional and international levels. Accordingly, geopolitical weight of the states maintaining such regimes increases.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Regional Cooperation, Science and Technology, European Union, Democracy, and Strategic Planning
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, Turkey, Middle East, and United States of America
2205. Fiscal Policy in the European Monetary Union
- Author:
- Betty C. Daniel
- Publication Date:
- 12-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- Abstract:
- A country entering the EMU surrenders its monetary policy, and its debt becomes denominated in terms of a currency over which it has no direct control. A countryís promise to uphold the Öscal limits in the Maastricht Treaty and the Stability and Growth Pact is implicitly a promise not to allow its Öscal stance to deteriorate to a position in which it places pressure on the central bank to forgo its price level target to Önance Öscal deÖcits. Violation of these limits has raised questions about potential Öscal encroachment on the monetary authorityís freedom to determine the price level. We specify a simple model of Öscal policy in which the Öscal authority faces an upper bound on the size of its primary surplus. Policy is determined by a Öscal rule, speciÖed as an error correction model, in which the primary surplus responds to debt and a target variable. We show that for the monetary authority to have the freedom to control price, the primary surplus must respond strongly enough to lagged debt. Using panel techniques that allow for unit roots and for heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence across countries, we estimate the coe¢ cients of the error correction model for the primary surplus in a panel of ten EMU countries over the period 1970-2006. The group mean estimate for the coe¢ cient on lagged debt is consistent with the hypothesis that the monetary authority can control the price level in the EMU, independent of Öscal ináuence.
- Topic:
- European Union, Fiscal Policy, and European Monetary Union
- Political Geography:
- Europe
2206. Competition Law and Policy in the European Union
- Author:
- Michael Wise
- Publication Date:
- 10-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Abstract:
- Competition policy played a central role in the development of the EU and its institutions. The European Commission, supported by the European courts, developed the framework for competition policy in Europe. This framework has been built since the Treaty of Rome in 1957 on a foundation of promoting market opening while strengthening the institutions of the European Community. The competition policy of the European Community is now in transition toward a basis in market-centered economic considerations, as well as on application through the now-extensive network of nationallevel authorities. The “modernisation” reforms of the enforcement process became effective in May 2004, along with changes in the control of mergers, and the Commission has been considering revisions to its policies about other topics, notably abuse of dominance and state aid. As the Member States adapt their substantive rules to those of the Community, the roles of the European Commission, the national competition agencies and the courts are changing. Co-ordination of enforcement among many agencies in the European Community, particularly concerning applications for leniency as part of cartel investigations, is increasingly important. The Commission moved to strengthen its capacity for economic analysis and to correct weaknesses in its decision process that had been revealed in critical court decisions. The challenge to this system, well adapted for administrative application, is to produce results that are convincing to the courts while maintaining policy consistency in a system of decentralised enforcement.
- Topic:
- European Union, Legal Theory, Decentralization, and Strategic Competition
- Political Geography:
- Europe
2207. Airbus and Boeing: Strengths and Limitations of Strong States
- Author:
- John G. Francis and Alex F. Pevzner
- Publication Date:
- 01-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Political Science Quarterly
- Institution:
- Academy of Political Science
- Abstract:
- JOHN G. FRANCIS and ALEX F. PEVZNER focus on the rise of Airbus in the global aviation market over the past three decades to near parity with Boeing. They argue that the fortunes of Airbus cannot be understood without recognizing that historically, the manufacture of large commercial aircraft has been shaped by the industrial policies of strong states. The European consortium that produced Airbus was able to work as a strong state, anticipating the deepening economic integration of the European Union.
- Topic:
- Economics, Industrial Policy, European Union, and Aviation
- Political Geography:
- Europe
2208. Seeking Kant in the EU’s Relations with Turkey
- Author:
- Ali Murat Özdemir, Hakan Altinay, Jean-François Leguil-Bayart, Senem Aydın Düzgit, and Şeyla Benhabib
- Publication Date:
- 12-2006
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
- Abstract:
- We believe European Union membership is in the interests of Turkey, the EU, and the global community. We are deeply concerned at the way the European Union is failing to respect the principles of equal treatment in its relations with Turkey. We do not argue that Turkey is ready for EU membership; and we recognise that Turkey has a lot to do, primarily regarding democratic governance, to make itself ready for membership. However, we also believe that increasingly discriminatory practices towards Turkey violate the Enlightenment principles upon which Europe itself is founded and endanger the formation of a Europe governed by Kantian ideals. This perspective necessitates identifying key events that gave rise to this concern during the period after the 1997 Luxembourg Summit. The main aim of this report is to examine the extent to which the EU has adhered to its official statements on fairness and equal treatment and whether or not the assertion that the EU has breached Kantian ideals is valid. The focus of this report will be two-fold. The first focus will be on the 'double standards' evident in the EU's policies towards Turkey, which we will point out by comparing the EU's treatment of Turkey with its treatment of other candidate countries. It is now widely accepted that there is a clear double standard in the way in which the EU deals with candidate-nations and member states, especially in areas such as human rights and the protection of minorities; the report will be on instances in which the EU has not kept key promises with Turkey or 'systematically distorted' communication has been abound in discussions over the issue. We believe that such an endeavour is imperative to see the way in which the EU today is deviating from the Kantian ideal of achieving a Europe without dividing lines, where 'you do as you would be done by.'
- Topic:
- Treaties and Agreements, Governance, European Union, Democracy, Regional Integration, and Immanuel Kant
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Turkey, Middle East, and Mediterranean
2209. The ‘Europeanisation’ of National Foreign, Security and Defence Policy
- Author:
- Plamen Pantev
- Publication Date:
- 11-2005
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Institute for Security and International Studies (ISIS)
- Abstract:
- This Research Report focuses on the issue of the interpretation of the meaning of the term ‘Europeanisation’. It is followed by a discussion of two constraining factors of Europeanising the foreign, security and defence policy. Lastly, it deals with the interrelationship of ‘security’ and ‘regional integration’ – an issue that is generally disregarded by analysts and politicians, but that can lead to a methodological miss-match, creating obstacles to the course of a less contradictory Europeanisation of the foreign, security and defence policy of the EU.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, European Union, and Europeanization
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Eastern Europe
2210. The Lisbon Strategy and Ethnic Minorities: Rights and Economic Growth.
- Author:
- Tove H. Malloy
- Publication Date:
- 04-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
- Abstract:
- The fact that member states’ approach to social inclusion is weak, whether rightsbased or growth-motivated is perhaps not surprising. Ethnic minorities are often considered second-class citizens, especially if they do not hold legal citizenship. Indeed, in some member states ethnic minorities are denied citizenship. But even in those member states where members of ethnic minorities do obtain citizenship, second-class status is often the norm. This is, of course, a reason why the rights-based approach is important. But it continues to be based on the assumption that social exclusion of ethnic minorities is but an economic burden to society, as if eliminating social exclusion would balance the books and jump-start the economy. It does not take into account that social exclusion is a drawback to economic growth because it is seen as a static phenomenon rather than an investment opportunity. EU policy makers would gain by recognizing that ethnic minorities constitute an untapped asset to society, a dynamic force that is amenable, adjustable, and willing. There is no reason to believe that members of ethnic minorities have less energy than the rest of us. To tap into this energy, the rights-based approach alone will not do. It must go hand in hand with investment policies towards economic growth. If EU policy makers were to see ethnic minorities as a vital investment component in the quest for economic growth, perhaps the recovery of the Lisbon Strategy might speed up.
- Topic:
- Minorities, European Union, Ethnicity, Diversity, and Inclusion
- Political Geography:
- Europe