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2662. The EU's Promotion of External Democracy: In search of the plot
- Author:
- Anne Wetzel and Jan Orbie
- Publication Date:
- 08-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- While the EU has recently upgraded its external democracy promotion policies through a set of initiatives such as the “Partnership for Democracy and Shared Prosperity with the Southern Mediterranean”, the proposal for a “European Endowment of Democracy”, and the “Strategic Framework and Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy”, there is one challenge that it has not yet addressed: what exactly does it aim to support?
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Civil Society, Democratization, Economics, and Sociology
- Political Geography:
- Europe
2663. A European Deposit Insurance and Resolution Fund - An Update
- Author:
- Daniel Gros and Dirk Schoenmaker
- Publication Date:
- 09-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- Cross-border banking is currently not stable in Europe. Cross-border banks need a European safety net. Moreover, a truly integrated European level banking system may help to break the diabolical loop between the solvency of the domestic banking system and the fiscal standing of the national sovereign.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- Europe
2664. Public and Private Regulation: Mapping the Labyrinth
- Author:
- Andrea Renda and Fabrizio Cafaggi
- Publication Date:
- 10-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- Private governance is currently being evoked as a viable solution to many public policy goals. However, in some circumstances it has shown to produce more harm than good, and even disastrous consequences as in the case of the financial crisis that is raging in most advanced economies. Although the current track record of private regulatory schemes is mixed, policy guidance documents around the world still require that policy-makers give priority to self-and co-regulation, with little or no additional guidance being given to policymakers to devise when, and under what circumstances, these solutions can prove viable from a public policy perspective. With an array of examples from several policy fields, this paper approaches regulation as a public-private collaborative form and attempts to identify possible policy tools to be applied by public policy-makers to efficiently and effectively approach private governance as a solution, rather than a problem. We propose a six-step theoretical framework and argue that IA techniques should: i) define an integrated framework including both the possibility that private regulation can be used as an alternative or as a complement to public legislation; ii) involve private parties in public IAs in order to define the best strategy or strategies that would ensure achievement of the regulatory objectives; and iii) contemplate the deployment of indicators related to governance and activities of the regulators and their ability to coordinate and solve disputes with other regulators.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Europe
2665. Shale Gas and the EU Internal Gas Market: Beyond the Hype and Hysteria
- Author:
- Jonas Teusch
- Publication Date:
- 09-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper analyses the interplay between shale gas and the EU internal gas market. Drawing on data presented in the 2012 International Energy Agency's report on unconventional gas and additional scenario analyses performed by the Joint Research Centre, the paper is based on the assumption that shale gas will not fundamentally change the EU's dependence on foreign gas supplies. It argues that attention should be shifted away from hyping shale gas to completing the internal gas market. Two main reasons are given for this. First, the internal gas market is needed to enable shale gas development in countries where there is political support for shale gas extraction. And second, a well-functioning internal gas market would, arguably, contribute much more to Europe's security of supply than domestic shale gas exploitation. This has important implications for the shale gas industry. As it is hard to see how subsidies or exemptions from environmental legislation could be justified, shale gas development in Europe will only go ahead if it proves to be both economically and environmentally viable. It is thus up to the energy industry to demonstrate that this is the case.
- Topic:
- Security, Economics, Energy Policy, Environment, Natural Resources, and Famine
- Political Geography:
- Europe
2666. What Germany should fear most is its own fear: An analysis of Target2 and current account imbalances
- Author:
- Paul De Grauwe and Yuemei Ji
- Publication Date:
- 09-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper analyzes two claims that have been made about the Target2 payment system. The first one is that this system has been used to support unsustainable current account deficits of Southern European countries. The second one is that the large accumulation of Target2 claims by the Bundesbank represents an unacceptable risk for Germany if the eurozone were to break up. We argue that these claims are unfounded. They also lead to unnecessary fears in Germany that make a solution of the eurozone crisis more difficult. Ultimately, this fear increases the risk of a break-up of the eurozone. Or to paraphrase Franklin Roosevelt, what Germany should fear most is simply its own fear.
- Topic:
- Economics, Regional Cooperation, Monetary Policy, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Germany
2667. The Informal Europeanization of EU Member State Immigration Policies
- Author:
- Silvia Cavasola
- Publication Date:
- 09-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- For years the EU has been fostering a common policy to integrate immigrants. Yet, whether its efforts have progressively created something like a homogeneous European model of integration remains an open question. An analysis of the approach to immigrant integration in the EU member states that receive the largest immigration flows, as well as of EU initiatives to promote greater policy harmonization among its member states, shows that partial convergence in national integration strategies is linked more to interstate emulation and parallel path development than to proactive EU legislation on the matter. This trend can be referred to as a process of “informal Europeanization”.
- Topic:
- Development, Human Welfare, Migration, Labor Issues, and Immigration
- Political Geography:
- Europe
2668. Developments in and Obstacles to the US Pivot to Asia: What Alternatives for Europe?
- Author:
- Alessandro Riccardo Ungaro
- Publication Date:
- 09-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- The new US strategic guidance released in January 2012 represents a hallmark of US President Barack Obama's foreign policy and forms integral part of the so-called “Pivot to Asia”. However, rather than a radical departure from the past, the strategic guidance represents an evolution and extension of US foreign policy towards the region, envisaging the reallocation of American military assets from Europe to the Asia-Pacific. The implementation of the guidance strategy is a long-term and complex process: several challenges, tensions and frictions between the US and regional actors may hamper the implementation of the policy and will require a delicate balancing act in which China will play a key role. On the European side, the US shift should be seen as an opportunity to review the European Security Strategy and elaborate its own strategy towards Asia.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, and International Security
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, America, Europe, Israel, and Asia
2669. The Future of the European Convention on Human Rights after the Brighton Conference
- Author:
- Antonio Bultrini
- Publication Date:
- 09-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- It is widely recognized that the European Convention on Human Rights has led to the most advanced human rights protection system to date - and represents an important benchmark for several other international bodies. The individual right of application to the European Court, which unlike other human rights treaties is compulsory for State parties, is a unique feature and pillar of the system. However, the European Court is presently overwhelmed by an abnormal caseload: about 150,000 applications are currently pending in Strasbourg. Recent reforms have increased the Court’s efficiency. Yet the British Government has just tried to promote a new reform of the system. This attempt was not entirely disinterested and has led to an unprecedented mobilization by international civil society. The British move has nonetheless triggered a debate on the real challenges facing the European system.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, Human Welfare, International Law, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe
2670. Engaging African diasporas for peace: cornerstones for an emerging EU agenda
- Author:
- Judith Vorrath
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- European Union Institute for Security Studies
- Abstract:
- Over the last decade, researchers and policy-makers have paid increasing attention to diasporas. They have focused on diasporas not merely as a challenge, but as a source of largely untapped potential. Their transnational nature and peculiar position as non-state actors linking host and home countries has been identified as an important basis for engagement. Diaspora groups from sub-Saharan Africa in Europe, which according to a 2008 Council of Europe parliamentary report on immigration are roughly estimated to comprise between 3.5 and 8 million people, are not only a relevant force, but often come from homelands that have experienced or are still facing armed conflict. Against this background, this Occasional Paper addresses the question of what contribution diaspora communities can make to promoting peace in their homelands and how the European Union can engage with African diasporas in the field of peace and security.
- Topic:
- Development, Globalization, Migration, Diaspora, and Immigration
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Europe