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4461. Adaptation to Climate Change in the European Union: Efficiency vs. Equity Considerations

Author:
Stine Aakre and Dirk T.G. Rübbelke
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
EU climate policy is based on GHG emissions reduction (mitigation), coupled with measures aimed at responding efficiently to the unavoidable consequences of climate change (adaptation). However, as the European Commission recently stated in its Green Paper on adaptation in Europe, there is still a need to develop an overall EU adaptation strategy. Moreover, such a strategy should take into consideration both efficiency and equity concerns. This study proposes a framework for EU adaptation policy that addresses both concerns and enables a transparent decision- making process. In the proposed scheme, universal weightings of the individual policy objectives have to be agreed upon prior to actual decision-making.
Topic:
Climate Change
Political Geography:
Europe

4462. Financial Impacts of Climate Change: An Overview of Climate Change-related Actions in the European Commission’s Development Cooperation

Author:
Arno Behrens
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
This paper analyses the variety of different external aid initiatives and financing mechanisms of the European Commission addressing climate change and development objectives, such as those stemming from the 2004 EU Action Plan on Climate Change and Development, from the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) and those under the Thematic Programme for Environment and Sustainable Management of Natural Resources (ENRTP). The paper also outlines related Commission commitments with the European Investment Bank (EIB), the World Bank and the United Nations. While the European Commission has advanced a number of new initiatives, it seems that the complexity of responsibilities in the management of the current financing instruments requires organisational restructuring, a more transparent reporting mechanism and the development of better indicators to evaluate the impacts of those initiatives. Overall it appears that the Commission is just at the beginning of taking full account of climate change in development cooperation. Its contribution is rather limited in view of the financing needs related to climate change in developing countries, and innovative financing mechanisms should be sought together with member states and the private sector.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, and International Organization
Political Geography:
Europe

4463. The challenge of measuring inflation...when business is not as usual

Author:
Cecilia Frale and Jørgen Mortensen
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
The recent surge in commodity prices and the European Central Bank's decision in June to raise interest rates to combat inflation have ignited a debate about the appropriateness of raising interest rates during a phase of weakening activity. In addition, it is relevant to examine the approaches to measuring the rate of inflation, to consider the advantages and drawbacks of these methods, and finally to throw new light on the possible influence of monetary policy on the fundamental trends in prices.
Topic:
Economics and Foreign Exchange
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

4464. The Struggle for a Civilised Wider European Order

Author:
Michael Emerson
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Europe's two crises – the Georgia-Russia war of August and the ongoing global financial and economic crisis – point to huge challenges for the organisation and policies of the European Union. The present paper concentrates on the risks that the crises represent for one of the EU's prim e objective, to achieve a civilized wider European order. At least the current episodes show that with leadership the EU can act fast in both diplomacy and finance. But the next question is how to follow through, beyond a passing moment of an effective six-month presidency of the EU. This is the subject of the present note, which advocates a comprehensive upgrading of the EU's policies in the wider European area, and contributes ideas for the revision of the European Security Strategy currently being prepared. The aim would be to strengthen EU policies towards South-East Europe, East Europe and Central Asia, and defuse the current confrontation between a normative Europe and an aggressive Russian realpolitik; better still Russia might, after reflecting on what the two crises mean for its fundamental interests, conclude that the time had come for a more genuinely cooperative understanding with the EU.
Topic:
International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Central Asia, Asia, and Georgia

4465. Tocqueville, Comparative History and Immigration in Two Democracies

Author:
Nancy L. Green
Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
French Politics, Culture Society
Institution:
Conference Group on French Politics Society
Abstract:
Tocqueville says nothing about immigrants in America. Neither “immigré(s),” “immigration” or the word “immigrant(s)” appear in De la démocratie en Amérique. This is hardly surprising, for two reasons: the word and the reality, that is, the French language and the American context. In Tocqueville's native tongue, the term is absent in the 1835 (6th) edition of the Dictionnaire de l'Académie française. The term émigration was for years the French word of choice to describe those who had changed countries. (Émigrés of course retained its more restrictive meaning, referring to those who fled the Revolution.)
Topic:
Civil Society and Migration
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and France

4466. Assesment of the Finnish-Russian Border: The Case of Vaalimaa Border Crossing Point

Author:
Vadim Kononenko and Jussi Laine
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
The “Friendly EU Border” project, as a part of which the present report has been prepared, commences from the assumptions that external EU borders represent an important aspect of the EU's policies in the field of security and of Justice and Home Affairs. Finland, a country with a long external border with Russia, has been a member of the EU since 1995. Thus, Finland's experience is pertinent for other EU Member States that joined the Union in 2004 and 2007, most of which share their external borders with third countries outside the EU. The EU membership has certainly affected the operations of the Finnish border control, but – perhaps even more notably – the Finnish border control expertise has had a crucial influence on the way border control has been developed on European scale.
Topic:
Sovereignty
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Finland, and Asia

4467. Albania matkalla Natoon ja Euroopan unioniin - Vapauden ja velvollisuuksien vaikea yhtälö

Author:
Tanja Tamminen
Publication Date:
04-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
Naton huippukokouksessa Bukarestissa 2.-4. huhtikuuta 2008 Albania kutsuttiin aloi t tamaan jäsenyys-neuvottelut sotilasliiton kanssa. Monessa suhteessa Länsi-Balkanin kehityksessä hännillä ollut Albania siirtyykin nyt kärkikaartiin. Albanian Nato-jäsenyys on selkeä viesti esimerkiksi parlamenttivaaleihin valmistuvalle Serbialle: Belgradista käsin takapajuisena nähty Albania on nyt siirtynyt selkeästi naapurimaidensa edelle euro-atlanttisessa integraatiossa. Tämän toivotaan herättävän serbialaisäänestäjät valitsemaan EU-tien tulevissa vaaleissa. Naapureiden positiivisella esimerkillä onkin Balkanilla usein tehokkaampi uudistusvoima kuin Brysselin tai Washingtonin julkilausumilla. Albanian rooli on 1990-luvulta ollut rakentava alueellisissa kysymyksissä. Se ei ole vaarantanut mah-dollisuuksiaan Nato-tai EU-jäsenyyteen liian kansallismielisellä Kosovo-politiikalla – se on päinvastoin antanut kaiken tukensa länsiliittoutuman politiikalle Balkanilla. EU on jälleen vahvistanut Länsi-Balkanin jäsenyysnäkymiä poliittisella retoriikalla niin komission tuoreessa Länsi-Balkanin tiedonannossa kuin ulkoministerien EU-Länsi-Balkan ministerikokouk-sen julkilausumassa. Tästä huolimatta Albanian EU-jäsenyyteen on vielä pitkä matka. Maan on ensin toimeenpantava EU:n kanssa solmimansa vakaus-ja assosiaatiosopimus. EU-lähentymisen hitautta kompensoidakseen unioni väläyttelee alueelle viisumivapauden mahdollisuutta. Albania on yhä heikko valtio: se kärsii raastavista sisäpoliittista ristiriidoista ja poliittisen johdon epäkyp-syydestä. EU-jäsenyys on liian kaukainen tavoite velvoittaakseen maan johdon todellisiin uudistuksiin. Monet poliitikot ajattelevat vain lyhyen tähtäimen etuja – vaalimenestystä tai taloudellista voittoa. Kommunistidiktatuurin taakka näkyy yhä yhteiskunnan kehityksessä mutta myös käytännössä muun muassa raskaan teollisuuden saastuttamina alueina tai vaarallisina vanhenevina asevarastoina.
Political Geography:
Europe, Balkans, and Albania

4468. The sustainability of Russia's resurgence

Author:
Mikko Patokallio
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
In recent years, Russia's resurgence has been driven by favourable conditions rather than solid foundations. Despite the favourable conditions, Russia's resurgence has only achieved mixed results. Buoyed by economic growth, Russia has become wealthy, assertive and confident; but the country has also alienated and provoked its neighbours and the West. Sustaining these conditions is unlikely due to problems resulting from Russia's internal structural weaknesses and assertive foreign policy. Without change, these problems are likely to worsen. Energy exports – the cornerstone of Russia's resurgence – are set to decline. The end of this boom threatens Russia's domestic stability and ability to tackle other long-term threats as external resistance to Russia hardens.
Topic:
Economics and Energy Policy
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Asia

4469. From Hegemony to New Geopolitical Competition: Assessing Russia's Strategic Footprint In Central Asia

Author:
Igor Torbakov
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
Russia's conduct in the post-Soviet space in general and its policies toward Central Asia in particular should be seen within the context of Russia's post-imperial readjustment. The notion of the sphere of “privileged interests” currently advanced by the Kremlin is a clear indication that Russia's search for a new modus operandi with its ex-Soviet neighbours is a painful and, essentially, an open-ended process. Moscow views Central Asia as an area of great strategic importance as it presents both considerable opportunities (due to the region's rich energy resources) and serious threats (stemming from the region's inherent instability and its proximity to volatile Afghanistan). Russia's key interests in Central Asia appear to be preservation of the region's stability, strengthening control over the region's energy resources, and balancing other major actors that are increasing their presence in the region – the United States and China. The effectiveness of the Kremlin's policies in Central Asia seems to be constrained by the nature of Russia's current socio-political system whose key features are authoritarianism and rent-seeking. The latter prompts Moscow to act as a conservative rather than reformist force in the region. Russia's goal of maintaining strategic pre-eminence in Central Asia underpinned by Moscow's significantly increased economic and political clout may ultimately not be realized. The odds are that, given the rise of China, Russia may prove to be a weaker competitor. The European Union's strategic interests increasingly compel the bloc to engage the Central Asian nations, particularly in the spheres of energy and security. Eventually, Russia's wariness of China's growing economic and political clout might prompt Moscow to seek deeper cooperation with Brussels in Central Asia.
Topic:
International Political Economy and Oil
Political Geography:
Russia, China, Europe, Asia, and Moscow

4470. Special Report No. 215: Whither Peace Operations?

Author:
Donald C. F. Daniel
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Much progress has been achieved over the last decade and a half in the development and use of peace operations as a tool to quell conflicts, but there are limits to how much more progress can be expected. The number of troop contributors and troops deployed to peace operations has recently reached unprecedented highs, but the bulk of troops came from a limited number of states. The relationship between the United Nations and non-UN peacekeepers seems for the most part complementary. Nonetheless, the rise in non-UN peace operations has probably led to the United Nations becoming too dependent on too small a base of lesser-developed states. The characteristics of most troop contributors (e.g., type of governance, national quality of life, ground-force size) correlate with their level of contribution, but even politically willing nations with the “right” characteristics can likely deploy only a small percentage of their troops to operations at any one time. While Europe and Africa have achieved the most progress in developing institutional capacities, each continent confronts problems of interinstitutional relations and resource shortages. Russia's hegemonic role in Eurasia and the United States' historical legacy in Latin America have hindered development of comprehensive institutional capacities for peace operations in each region. East Asia may slowly be moving beyond ideational strictures that crippled efforts to develop regional capacities. Institutional progress is not expected in South Asia and the Middle East, and states of each region should not be expected to send military units to intraregional operations. Nearly all South Asian countries, however, will be major players in UN operations. A few exceptions aside, Mideast states will remain bit players on the world scene. Demand for easy or moderately challenging operations will generally be met, but the hazardous missions most apt to occur will be called for by states possessing the wherewithal to take them on and bring others along.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, International Cooperation, Peace Studies, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Africa, Russia, United States, Europe, South Asia, Eurasia, Middle East, East Asia, and Latin America