European Affairs Research Articles

Mass Aliyah and Jewish emigration from Russia: Dynamics and factors

(2003). Mass Aliyah and Jewish emigration from Russia: Dynamics and factors. East European Jewish Affairs: Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 71-96.

The solving of the democratic deficit

It seems to be a very simple point. Everyone agrees that the European Union must become more democratic. But how exactly to do that is a huge problem. Some say that the European Parliament (EP) already has as much power as a ‘regular’ parliament has. (Dutch secretary of state for European Affairs Atzo Nicolaï for example1 ). Still, many others think the EP has not that much power and the lack of power is not the only democratic deficit problem in the E.U. And if there existed the chance to give the EP more powers would the problem than be solved? My intention for this paper is not to loose ourselves in the endless flood of information that is available on the internet and in the libraries about all sorts of ‘democratic deficits’. That is why I will try to focus on a small part of the whole discussion about the democratic deficit and see in what different manners it is described in the literature and what it exactly means. I will try to focus mainly on the EP and on its relations with the European Commission.

Provision of Care

Provision of Care

Professional Education

Professional Education

The Story So Far: The Role of the Scottish Parliament's European Committee in the UK-EU Policy Cycle

The setting up of the Scottish Parliament's European Committee has enabled the closer scrutiny of European legislation from a distinct 'Scottish' perspective. At the outset in 1999 it was believed that such scrutiny would allow the Scottish Parliament to influence UK-EU policy, whilst improving the accountability of the Scottish Executive in relation to EU affairs. European Affairs Committees are designed primarily to improve parliamentary scrutiny and control of Executives in their EU activities. As a number of comparative studies have shown, the role of these Committees has undergone significant institutional adaptation and change (See Norton 1995; Judge 1995; Rometsch and Wessels 1996; Bergman 1997). In general, the greater specialisation provided by European Affairs Committees promotes an internal division of labour and an accumulation of expert knowledge that aids parliaments when dealing with complex European policy issues (Norton 1998; Raunio and Hix 2000). Similar reasons underpinned the Consultative Steering Group's decision to establish a separate Scottish European Committee. (The CSG was the civic, cross-party body handed the task of formulating proposals for the new parliament's standing orders and rules of procedure.) It was believed such a Committee would (a) allow more effective discussion of issues which cross-cut committee responsibilities, or which fall

Is Eastern Enlargement of the European Union a Beneficial Investment for Germany?

Journal Article Is Eastern Enlargement of the European Union a Beneficial Investment for Germany? Get access Stephen Wood Stephen Wood STEPHEN WOOD is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Department of Political Science, University of Western Australia. He has published Germany, Europe and the Persistence of Nations: Transformation, Interests and Identity 1989–1996 and various articles on German and European affairs in leading journals. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Political Science Quarterly, Volume 118, Issue 2, Summer 2003, Pages 281–306, https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1538-165X.2003.tb00395.x Published: 15 February 2013

Literature versus territory: Soviet Jewish cultural life in the 1950s

(2003). Literature versus territory: Soviet Jewish cultural life in the 1950s. East European Jewish Affairs: Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 30-48.

‘Red Devils’: The Botwin company in the Spanish civil war

(2003). ‘Red Devils’: The Botwin company in the Spanish civil war. East European Jewish Affairs: Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 83-99.

Briefing: European civil engineering market set to get bigger

Ten new countries are due to join the European Union this time next year – making a single economic market of 450 million people. ICE European affairs manager Oivind Grimsmo reviews what this means for civil engineers.

Three Roads to Europe or the Social Construction of European Affairs

The paper draws on social constructivism with regard to European politics. Even so, there are many constructivist approaches, which claim to have the greatest explanatory power, with three of these approaches being considered as especially important in recent research. Therefore, Checkel’s concept of social learning, Risse’s notion of argumentative action, and Schimmelfennig’s approach of rhetorical action are at the center of the paper. All three scientists favor a constructivist ontology. Moreover, they all depart from a common ground, the ”middle ground”, which constructivists claim to seize. This, via media, puts constructivism between reflectivism and rationalism. In the first section I elaborate on Adler’s notion of the ”middle ground.” I then outline the above mentioned three social constructivist approaches. The point, however, is to compare these approaches and to demonstrate their explanatory power as well as to show their inherent weaknesses.

Briefing

Ten new countries are due to join the European Union this time next year – making a single economic market of 450 million people. ICE European affairs manager Oivind Grimsmo reviews what this means for civil engineers.

Cultural entrepreneurialism: on the changing relationship between the arts, culture and employment1

: In recent years, there has been a rapid rise in “atypical”, precarious forms of employment in all European Union states, and the political significance of the issue of “employment in the cultural sector” has increased noticeably. There are several reasons for this. One is the change from a post-industrial economy to a cultural economy and a forced process of economisation of societal welfare-state fields such as health, education and culture. The “marketisation” of culture and the “culturalisation” of the market means that on the one hand “high” culture is becoming increasingly commercial and, on the other, cultural content is increasingly shaping commodity production. These processes run concurrently and are part of a general trend in post-modern society. The article follows the thesis of a recently published EU study on job potential in the cultural sector [MKW Wirtschaftsforschung GmbH / Österreichische Kulturdokumentation. Internationales Archiv für Kulturanalysen et al., (2001). Exploitation and development of the job potential in the cultural sector in the age of digitalisation (Brussels: European Commission DG Employment and Social Affairs) (summary: http://www.kulturdokumentation.org/eversion/rec_proj/potential.html)] which identifies a new type of employer and/or employee—the “entrepreneurial individual” or “entrepreneurial cultural worker”—who no longer fits into previously typical patterns of full-time professions of the European welfare state system. The former “cultural worker” has been transitioning into a “cultural entrepreneur” or—as others put it—into a “sole service supplier in the professional cultural field”. According to the historian Heinz Bude's argument, western European societies find themselves in a process of “transformation into flexible, digital capitalism, away from the Keynesian welfare state to a Schumpeterian performance state and a ‘variable geometry of individual incentives’”. What is developing here is the guiding concept of the “entrepreneurial individual”, i.e. individuals who do not follow prescribed standards but who (have to) try out their own combinations and assert themselves on the market and in society. In this context, the creative cultural sector is of broader interest for new labour market concepts and strategies. In addition to the general change, new technology is leading to the emergence of new job profiles in the creative cultural sector so that the image of artists and creators is changing fundamentally. The new creative workforce is meant to be young, multiskilled, flexible, psychologically resilient, independent, single and unattached to a particular location. The article stresses the argument that these new realities of work and labour have to be recognised more extensively in up-to-date labour market strategies and cultural policy concepts. Western societies have to learn to cope better with these new general working and living conditions which affect a continuously increasing number of cultural workers/entrepreneurs—people who have to make their living from micro-entrepreneurialism. The article argues that cultural and employment policies should find innovative ways to accommodate the ambivalent efforts and needs of cultural workers/entrepreneurs (without capital). In conclusion, it will point out that the knowledge-based society has also given birth to historically new forms of employment not yet represented in the traditional canon of the political representation system (political parties, interest groups, etc.). Cultural policy-makers should take this into account in thinking about adequate social security schemes for their clientele, and labour policy-makers should be more aware of the major employment potential of the cultural sector on the one hand and, on the other, of the often precarious working and living conditions currently prevailing in it.

Citizenship, Democratic Participation, and Legitimate Governance in Europe

Citizenship, Democratic Participation, and Legitimate Governance in Europe Nanette A. Neuwahl (bio) If one is to judge from the lack of enthusiasm for national and European elections, one could be forgiven for thinking that many Europeans have given up interest in the way they are governed. Yet, there is reason to believe that the contrary is true, since society itself is changing. This is not just since the inauguration, on 28 February 2002, of the European Convention on the future of Europe. Conceptions of democracy, citizenship and governance are in flux, and Europe is a laboratory in which this can be observed. Europe has moved a very long way from where it came from. It was transformed from a continent of strife into a continent of peace and prosperity. The experience with the European Communities has shown that only peace and common action could strengthen Europe. At first the six founding Members created the European Coal and Steel Community, in which resources in particularly sensitive sectors were pooled. Cooperation in other sectors followed, for instance, in relation to agricultural policy and commerce, a common market developed for goods, services, work, and capital. In 1999 agreement was reached between the 15 member states on a single currency, which now circulates in a market of 300 million citizens. The progression was slow but steady. At first, there was only economic and technical cooperation. But for some twenty years now the European Parliament has been directly elected. And over the past decade we have seen the development of a political Union in which there has been collaboration in the fields of social policy, employment, asylum, immigration, police matters, justice, foreign policy and even defense. In 1993 the European Economic Community was rebaptised the European Community and the concept of "citizenship" appeared in the founding treaties to underline that Europe has passed beyond the stage of economic integration. Tiny bits of political integration were introduced. This was in part the result of a "spill-over effect." It had become clear that it was not really possible to create a single market for goods and persons without coordinating security measures, environmental policy and other aspects of public policy, nor to proceed without putting the individual at the heart of the ever closer integration process. The concept of EU citizenship creates enormous expectations in the minds of the people, some of whom use it to lobby for better social protection or a greater say in European affairs. In one conception, however, the notion of European citizenship addresses only nationals who live in a Member State other than their own, and it cannot be invoked against one's own state. The introduction of the notion of citizenship was half-hearted, because there was no agreement as to what it should mean in a context other than a nation-state. The provisions of the Treaty were the result of compromise, and it was essentially left to the European institutions to give them a more concrete content. The generally accepted view of European lawyers is therefore that EU citizenship has essentially the content which the Union's institutions choose to give to it, and that if they cannot implement it because a difference of opinion, the Member States should remedy this by amending the Treaty. The influence of the European Court of Justice should not be overrated. Since the founding treaties are being amended ever more frequently, the Court is less likely to play a leading role in establishing the content of such important concepts as they may entail. Progress is therefore slow. The European civil society which could help to give meaning to the term does not really exist, and the European Parliament has no right of initiative. If citizenship in the traditional sense (inherited from the days of the French revolution) means power of political participation by a European electorate, then it is mostly absent. That a greater amount of participatory democracy is needed in the European institutions has long been recognised, especially by the European Parliament. It is recognised too by some of the Member States, who deem that it would be irresponsible to give more powers to the EU institutions or even to let them...

A Turn-of-the-Century Honeymoon?

The American press of the mid-nineties was not kind to France and the French. A surprising number of anti-French articles, some of them very disparaging and truly offensive, were published in major dailies and magazines (the Washington Post, the New York Times, Time, Newsweek, etc.) between 1993 and 1997.1 The most abusive piece may have been an article in the Washingtonian: “Sacre Bleu! What Would Washington Be Like If the French Ran It? As Insufferable as the French Themselves” (July 1997, pp. 39-42). Its author, David Brooks, covers European affairs for the Wall Street Journal, giving one a sense of how biased this newspaper’s coverage of France can be.

National Parliamentary Scrutiny Over EU Issues

This article compares national parliamentary scrutiny over European Union matters in two countries with coalition governments, Germany and the Netherlands, based on interviews with members of parliament serving on their European Affairs Committee. While acknowledging that legal powers and institutional structures are important when evaluating parliamentary-government relations, the examination focuses on the goals and methods of party groups when overseeing government. In Germany, the goal of the governing coalition parties is to protect the government, whereas in the Netherlands they scrutinize the government's position in order to be sure the compromise in the cabinet sufficiently protects the party's interests. Although the Dutch governing parties normally support the government, a `floating coalition' occasionally emerges with ruling parties working with parts of the opposition to amend a proposal toward their own preferences. The study concludes that it is not only the legal powers and institutional structures that determine parliamentary scrutiny in a given member state, but also party interactions.

Rethinking Europe's Future. By David P. Calleo. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001. 381p. $24.95. From the Nation State to Europe?: Essays in Honor of Jack Hayward. Edited by Anand Menon and Vincent Wright. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. 261p. $65.00 cloth, $24.95 paper.

Rethinking Europe's Future and From the Nation State to Europe? belong to two different genres of European studies. From the Nation State to Europe? is a collection of academic essays about the transformation of the nation-state in the European Union's context and its implications for social scientific theoretical concepts. Rethinking Europe's Future is by contrast aimed at politicians and policymakers. Its major objective is to discourage policies designed to push Europe and NATO to expand eastward, perhaps to embrace Russia, and instead to encourage Western Europe to assert itself as a major independent, even if not fully united, force in the world. Despite this disciplinary difference, however, the two books complement each other well. The former is about the present state of affairs in Europe; the latter concerns the future and, for that purpose, a good deal of the past. Both involve excellent scholarship and thoughtful arguments, though organizationally they share some weaknesses. They should prove interesting to any student of European affairs.

Reform of the Bundeswehr: Defense Policy Choices for the Next German Administration

The events of September 11, 2001 have put the ambitions of NATO countries to restructure and transform their armed forces in a totally different light. When it came to Europe's military support in Operation Enduring Freedom, only the United Kingdom seemed worthy enough for America to accompany them to assist the U.S. in high-intensity warfare. Germany, especially, as a powerhouse in European affairs will have to dramatically reshape its defense posture in light of the ongoing Bundeswehr transformation. It plays a key-role whether Europe will comply to U.S. demands and be able to assume greater responsibilities in the security field.

Guidelines for the use of EEG methodology in the diagnosis of epilepsy

The Commission of European Affairs of the International League Against Epilepsy published `Appropriate Standards for Epilepsy Care Across Europe' which contained recommendations for the use of electroencephalography (EEG) in the diagnosis of epilepsy (Brodie et al. Epilepsia 1997; 38:1245). The need for a more specific basic document of EEG methodology was recognized and the Subcommission on European Affairs was asked to produce more detailed guidelines to be used across Europe recognizing the range of practices in EEG laboratories. There are many general guidelines published on EEG methodology but this document focuses on the diagnosis of epilepsy. Details from previously published guidelines are included in references and in an appendix. These guidelines are not meant to be used as minimal standards but recommendations that can be applied to all EEG laboratories despite variations in equipment.

Opposition to the European Union in the UK: The Dilemma of Public Opinion and Party Management

The Main Aim Of This Article Is To Understand Some Of The processes at work in the management of European policy formation by political parties in the UK. More specifically, it attempts to apply and extend the model proposed by Aspinwall of institutional constraints on that policy management. Whereas Aspinwall limits the application of his model to parliamentary coalitions and effective power, we push the model further by describing and analysing its interaction with other features of the political landscape, most notably the generally low level of interest in European affairs on the part of the British public.

Ireland's Foreign Relations in 2001

Ireland was centre stage in 2001, chairing the UN Security Council after the events of 11 September. In Ireland sympathy and support for America was tinged with concerns over America's response to the attacks and its tough stance in international affairs. The day-to-day business of foreign affairs continued to be conducted by the minister for foreign affairs and his department, with an expansion of Ireland's diplomatic network to a number of EU accession states. The Oireachtas and the European and Foreign Affairs joint committees debated current international issues and considered amendments to the constitution arising from the Nice Treaty and the International Criminal Court. Periodic media and public attention focused on the issues of the Sellafield mixed oxide fuel (MOX) plant and refugees. The rejection of the Nice Treaty prompted much soul-searching in the government, with the taoiseach explaining to Ireland's European partners that this was not a vote against enlargement. In contrast, Ireland was praised for its handling of UN Security Council business after holding the chair of the Council in October. Northern Ireland remained at the top of the government's agenda, with high-level diplomacy on the part of the taoiseach and the British prime minister in an effort to implement the Good Friday Agreement.