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241. Do the European Union's bilateral investment treaties matter?

Author:
Selen Sarisoy Guerin
Publication Date:
07-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Several policy-relevant issues regarding the EU's bilateral investment treaties (BITS) are addressed in this paper. First and foremost, we explore the question of whether EU's BITs have a significantly positive impact on outflows or not. Second, we ask the question which member states and which BIT partners have had a significant experience after the implementation of the BIT. In our sample we find that both OECD BITs and EU BITs have a statistically significant and positive impact on FDI outflows. This result is robust to the inclusion of variables such as privatisation proceeds that control for the level of economic reform, the level of trade linkages, the level of democratic freedom and a measure of risk of expropriation among other standard controls. We control for endogeneity in our estimations by using the fixed-effects estimator as our preferred estimator on a large panel dataset. We also test the strict exogeneity of our results by using a method suggested by Baier and Bergstrand (2007) and we find no feedback effect in our sample.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe

242. The financial crisis and citizen trust in the European Central Bank

Author:
Daniel Gros and Felix Roth
Publication Date:
07-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Trust in the ECB, as measured by the standard Eurobarometer (and other) surveys has fallen to an unprecedented low – especially in the larger euro area countries. The authors find that up to the start of the recession in 2008, trust in the ECB was little affected by business cycle variables such as growth and inflation. This changed radically with the recession, with trust in the ECB becoming correlated quite closely with growth. However, even the recovery of growth in 2009 was not sufficient to restore trust in the ECB to previous levels. This finding implies that European citizens seem to have placed a heavy share of the blame on the European Central Bank for the real economic downturn caused by the financial crisis.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
Europe

243. The Baffling Short-sightedness in the EU-Turkey-Cyprus Triangle

Author:
Nathalie Tocci
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
Diehard believers in Turkey's European future had, for a brief moment, hung their hopes on the European Parliament (EP) as the key to unlocking the poisonous stalemate in Turkey's ailing accession process. The glimmer of light had come with the Lisbon Treaty, which could have been used to unblock the stalemate over the Direct Trade Regulation (DTR) between the EU and northern Cyprus by granting a voice to the EP on the matter. Breaking the stalemate would not have magically removed all obstacles to Turkey's protracted accession process. But it would have breathed new life and instilled a dose of much-needed optimism in the troubled relations between Turkey and the Union. Alas, that opportunity has been lost and, with it, the short-term hope of a rosier future for Cyprus, Turkey and the EU as a whole.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Trade and Finance, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, Lisbon, and Cyprus

244. The State of Play of the Union for the Mediterranean in the Euro-Med Context

Author:
Roberto Aliboni
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
The author examines problems related with the political identity of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), its relations with the EMP's Euro- Mediterranean "acquis" and the functioning of its institutions. While the UfM has been designed to give new momentum to the EU's cooperation with Mediterranean countries, results have hardly met ambitions so far. There is a lot the EU can do to increase the UfM profile: revise its institutional settings; create a parallel, but connected, multilateral dimension in the framework of the European Neighbourhood Policy; quickly implement large-scale regional projects; expand cooperation to agriculture; and scale back the ambition that the UfM can promote political solidarity in the short- to mediumterm.
Topic:
International Relations, Agriculture, International Trade and Finance, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe

245. Balancing Diversity and Efficiency in the EU's Language Regime: E Pluribus Tres for the EU Patent?

Author:
Stephanie Locatelli
Publication Date:
08-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
Recently, the European Commission has breathed new life into the decade-long attempt to create a patent that would protect inventors throughout the European Union with a proposal making English, French, and German the sole languages of the EU patent. This would reduce the cost of patenting, thereby stimulating research and development within the EU. But the EU-wide patent has reached an impasse as member states struggle with the question of which languages should be used. Italy in particular has opposed the exclusion of Italian, raising more general questions about the language regime in the European Union. Are diversity and efficiency mutually exclusive, or is there a formula that can satisfy both criteria? It appears, in the end, that the Commission's proposal is the most effective way of cutting costs while at the same time preserving the multilingual character of the EU. For Italy, however, the question of trilingualism in the patent system has become a kind of litmus test of its rank within the EU.
Topic:
International Trade and Finance, Treaties and Agreements, and Intellectual Property/Copyright
Political Geography:
Europe, France, and Germany

246. The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA): Towards a New Era for Caribbean Trade

Author:
Diana Thorburn, John Rapley, Damien King, and Collette Campbell
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) signed in 2008 signalled a new era of trade relations between the European Union (EU) and the Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM). Caribbean exporters previously had greater duty-free access to the EU market than European exporters enjoyed in the Caribbean, along with quotas that enabled them to avoid price competition with rivals from outside the Lomé ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) bloc.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, and Caribbean

247. Safety of Navigation in the Straits of Malacca

Author:
Mansoureh Arshad and Mohd Arshad
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Maritime Institute of Malaysia
Abstract:
Well-recognized as a critical waterway in the world, the Straits of Malacca has seen a tremendous increase in traffic movements as ship operators seek the shortest route to destinations between Europe and the Far East. In 2009 alone there were over 76,000 ship movements in the Straits not including the 30,000 crisscrossing between the littoral states. These huge numbers require constant monitoring and management as any incident would have tremendous impact not only on international traffic and its economic implications to shipper states, but also to the lifelines of the communities straddling this key waterway.
Topic:
International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, and Maritime Commerce
Political Geography:
Europe and Israel

248. The limitations of European Union reports on arms exports: the case of Central Asia

Author:
Mark Bromley and Paul Holtom
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Abstract:
All European Union (EU) member states are required to submit information on arms export licences and arms exports for inclusion in the EU annual reports on arms exports. The example of Central Asia— Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan—shows that the data in these EU annual reports has only a limited utility for monitoring exports of arms and military equipment. The specific case of Uzbekistan, which was subject to an EU arms embargo between 2005 and 2009, shows that certain transfers of apparent concern have been reported but not investigated, while other transfers have not appeared in the annual reports.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, International Trade and Finance, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Europe, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan

249. Restoring Investor Confidence in European Capital Markets

Author:
Diego Valiante
Publication Date:
02-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Investors have a longer memory than the sell‐side of the market. To regain their trust, intensive work needs to be done in the coming years. The new European Commissioner of the Internal Market, Michel Barnier, will play a pivotal role here. In the area of capital markets, he will need the support of a determined European Parliament, a strong commitment from the Council and Member States, as well as active contributions from the CESR/ESMA , other Level 3 Committees/Authorities and national supervisors. We believe that participants in capital markets share the same goal: to make them as efficient and effective as possible. The ability to collect savings and allocate them to investment, and to allow all participants to defray risk, is at the heart of any successful modern economy. This requires effective regulation that not only mandates common standards, but also promotes accountability, responsibility and transparency, while at the same time encouraging innovation. Effective regulation must not impose undue costs, if markets are to remain efficient and effective. However, we should be conscious that the crisis has been so deep that there is a collective need to go back to the basic principles of financial regulation and supervision.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Financial Crisis
Political Geography:
Europe

250. Information Sharing and Cross-Border Entry in European Banking

Author:
Caterina Giannetti, Nicola Jentzsch, and Giancarlo Spagnolo
Publication Date:
02-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Asymmetries can severely limit the cross-border border expansion of banks, if entering banks can only obtain incomplete information about potential new clients. Such asymmetries are reduced by credit registers, which distribute financial data on bank clients. Asymmetrically distributed information and adversely selected pools of borrowers constitute severe barriers for foreign banks when they enter new markets. In many instances, these problems force banks to either form 'alliances with incumbents' or simply enter through mergers and acquisitions (M). Yet such entry modes do not automatically lead to intensified competition as they may leave the number of competitors unchanged. Thus, institutions that reduce information asymmetries in credit markets (thereby encouraging entry through branches) may be very important if the objective is strengthening competition in addition to market integration. Recently, these institutions – credit registers – have received greater attention among academics and policy-makers in Europe, although there is still a remarkable lack of understanding of their empirical impact on banking.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Monetary Policy
Political Geography:
Europe