Prosperity In Europe Research Articles

The Other Spaces of Europe: Seeing European Geopolitics Through the Disturbing Eye of Foucault's Heterotopias

Despite the fact that Europe and the EU are two different concepts, they increasingly seem confused within EU policy discourse. By means of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) the EU drafts a desired future of a peaceful and prosperous Europe with recognisable imaginative symbolic and cultural characteristics. In the ENP documents the EU imagines its neighbouring countries as possible European space of influence, yet to be Europeanised. This rather Eurocentric belief that neighbouring states can be ‘Europeanised’ through the idea of conditionality and socialisation but without the prospective of becoming EU member has provoked an appeal for a different and more critical geopolitical perspective. This article takes Michel Foucault's concept of heterotopias as inspiration for an alternative geopolitical view on Europe. Foucault's concept of heterotopic spaces provides a critical framework that is capable of countering the geo-political imaginations of a universal Europe. Foucault has used the idea of a mirror as metaphor for the contradictions between the image and reality. In this context heterotopias are considered places that disturb the utopian image by means of complexity, contradiction and diversity. This article is in search of heterotopic spaces of resistance, that I have titled ‘The Other Spaces of Europe’. They are other spaces and seemingly resist the utopian projections of a common European neighbourhood. The drafts and ideas of the ENP gain new light against the background of these places of resistance that each in their own distinctiveness represents a certain impossibility of a final version of Europe.

How to Renew Transatlantic Relations in the 21st Century

The EU and the US, mainly through NATO, have been successful in securing peace and prosperity in Europe during the Cold War and in promoting peace beyond Europe after 1990. With the emergence of new powers and the rise of multipolarity, however, it is no longer apparent that transatlantic relations are indispensable and ways must be found to make sure that the relationship remains relevant. The EU and the US currently relate poorly to each other and as a result do not obtain the best possible outcome from their combined resources. Two elements are key to improving transatlantic relations: an inclusive policy towards Turkey (in the strategic interests of both the EU and the US); and more permanent and workable structures suited to the realities of the 21st century.

Creating order out of chaos: Does the new market landscape created by the banking crisis strengthen the case for SEPA?

The global banking crisis has diverted attention from the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). So, is SEPA still relevant? The original SEPA vision of building a prosperous Europe, based on efficiency and competition is more valid than ever. The turmoil within financial services has created an uneven playing field, and there are winners and losers throughout European banking. Banks that invested early in SEPA have moved ahead and gained competitive advantage; late starters have fallen behind in SEPA readiness. But the arrival of SEPA provides the opportunity for all banks to rethink their business models; it offers a new dawn for the role that payments can play in European banking. On the face of it, the move to SEPA has been slow and uptake modest. But the legal framework is in place, and infrastructures have been built, though many remain underused. A detailed look at progress to date, however, suggests that the SEPA processing market is more advanced than many people realise. In this regard, payments processing is pre-empting the arrival of SEPA. What is urgently needed is an end date to force the pace. The worst-case scen­ario is a prolonged period of expensive dual running where both SEPA and legacy payment instruments must be supported. The implementation of SEPA is not a panacea for all Europe’s banking ills, but it does present an opportunity for banks to do things differently. SEPA has the potential to transform all aspects of the European payments infrastructure, including its speed, se­curity and service. Banks can adopt a fresh approach that includes new business models, partnerships and marketing channels.

Let's give Europe a vision

The current economic crisis has wrought havoc on Europe. However, the crisis has also given the leaders of Europe an opportunity to re-evaluate European society and the process of European integration. The time is at hand for Europe to create a new strategic outlook for the future. The Europe 2020 strategy could provide the impetus to create a more prosperous Europe that helps citizens and makes them more dynamic in the new world order.

Integration: An Ever-Closer Challenge

This article argues for closer integration to be a key part of the EU's migration policy. It accepts that migration is necessary for a prosperous Europe and looks at the role of the EU and how best to integrate immigrants. Countries' experiences and the need for better aligned policies among member states are examined. The European Commission's role in sharing experiences and best practices is considered, as well as the need for the many stakeholders involved to work together. Integration is a complex and delicate process, and ultimately the EU must be bolder in its promotion of integration if it is to benefit from migration. CEPS Working Documents are intended to give an indication of work in progress within CEPS research programmes and to stimulate reactions from other experts in the field. Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed are attributable only to the author in a personal capacity and not to any institution with which he is associated.

Autores católicos clericales y la cristalización de la memoria histórica de la 1ª GM en el discurso particularista libanés, 1918-1922

For those clerical Lebanese writers bound to the West by French and Latin, the slaughter of World War I showed that both pro-Catholic and secularist ideologies had failed to maintain peace and prosperity in Europe. The clericists felt they were tied to the fate of the European states the secularism of which they hated by binding themselves aesthetically to the Latin languages. They also felt the need of a protector against some Muslims after Turkish hostility in Mount Lebanon destroyed the old ideology of Ottoman multisectarian developmental tendency.

Achieving Sustainable Growth: Will New Europe Fly or Crawl in the 21st Century Global Knowledge Economy?

The goal of this paper is to identify factors that will be crucially important for maintaining long-term sustainable growth in three dimensions: economic growth, social cohesion and environmental sustainability. We document how Central and East European countries score in all three aspects in comparison with the peer group of countries. While a sizeable progress has taken place in all three dimensions, the future prospects will depend crucially on institutional and knowledge infrastructure. Institutional environment in CEE-4 is generally conducive to sustainable economic growth, there are independent monetary institutions, economies are as open and deregulated as in EU-15 member states. However, there is still a substantial gap with the EU-15 with regard to the legal system and property rights. Both the old Europe and the new Europe have much bigger governments than NIEs or the U.S. We argue that old Europe can sustain its standard of living only when it remains of the world innovation frontier. This can be achieved only when Europe's intellectual capital is properly developed. We document that while the old Europe scores well in many measures of intellectual capital, China and NIEs are rapidly closing the gap, or even leapfrogged Europe in some aspects. We present a broad range of indicators showing that the new Europe has very low ability to generate innovations and will not be able to develop intellectual capital unless a dramatic shift in structural policies takes place. Based on our research we formulate policy recommendations. We call on authorities to abolish the destructive creation of the Lisbon agenda, with many contradictory ideas floated and a lost sense of strategic direction. A new long-term vision, of strong and prosperous Europe in 2050 has to be developed. There will be no success in the 21st century without courage or luck. Those who do not wish to make their future prosperity a hostage of pure luck need to show courage to change their policies towards developing proper innovation capacity. It is high time to act!

Self-purification capacity and management of Baltic coastal ecosystems

It is expected that the Baltic region becomes a major centre of economic growth and prosperity in Europe already during this decade (Anon. 2000). Therefore, an Agenda 21 for the Baltic region (Baltic 21) was developed to ensure a sustainable development. Especially the coastal ecosystems are subject to increasing anthropogenic pressure e.g. eutrophication, traffic, harbours, tourism or offshore wind parks. Eutrophication remains the main ecological problem in the Baltic Sea and has serious negative social and economical consequences. Inner and outer coastal waters play an important role as buffers and filters for the Baltic proper. Consequently, the utilization and preservation of their self-purification capacity is of great importance.Combined results of our own coastal research and of the international workshop ‘Baltic coastal ecosystems: structure, function and coastal zone management’ (Rostock University, November 2001) are presented here. Conclusions for an improved integrated coastal zone management of Baltic coastal ecosystems will be presented.

The Euro after Two Years

Ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure and an honour for me to be speaking here, in London, at the invitation of the Journal of Common Market Studies, in front of such a distinguished audience. I am particularly happy to express my views on the already successful existence of the euro and monetary union, and the conditions and prospects for their further success. On 1 January 1999, a unique event in the history of Europe occurred. The euro was born and the irreversible nature of this change has convinced an increasing number of economic players that the success of the euro is necessary for Europe. It is a keystone of the European single market, which will ensure prosperity in Europe for the benefit of the rest of the world. I would like to draw your attention to why the euro and monetary union have been successful from the outset, and to the conditions and prospects for building on this success.

Réunir l'Europe

Reuniting Europe, by Aleksander Kwasniewski Having joined NATO in 1999, Poland is currently negotiating the conditions of its membership of the European Union. This development was unthink-able ten years ago. However, the divisions between the western and eastern parts of the continent are still visible. Western Europeans should show a more flexible attitude towards the Eastern European candidates because those countries belong — as they themselves do ― to a common cultural and spiritual area. They are participating in their own way in European unifica tion through their own unification initiatives (CEFTA). However, the return of the old demons (Balkans) as well as the combination of euroscepticism in the West and the frustration that would be caused in the East by overly delayed integration, are all threats to European plans. However that may be, all the Central and Eastern European countries must be involved in the process and be regarded more as authentic partners in building European prosperity than as mere candidates.

Appetite of the wolf: German foreign assistance for central and eastern Europe

In this article we examine German foreign aid for central and eastern Europe in order to determine which foreign policy course Germany is likely to pursue. We outline the dominant debates over German foreign policy, review German aid programmes to eastern Europe, define the patterns evident within these policies and then analyse their key characteristics in relation to these on‐going debates. In our conclusion we then compare the predictions from the dominant positions to the evidence we present about Germany's foreign aid programme to determine which scenario seems most likely. We suggest that Germany has accommodated its own policies to the institutions of supranational organisation and the interests of its members. Insofar as Germany heeds the advice of its EU partners, articulates its vision of a stable and prosperous Europe, and leads its more reluctant peers and populace in this direction, central and eastern Europe has little to fear from a normalised Federal Republic.

Progressive economic integration: making the magic work again

, Most debates in the European Union are about money, yet its true mission is the promotion of peace and prosperity in Europe. In these terms, Eastern enlargement is the most important initiative since the Treaty of Rome. Quite simply, enlargement is a key pillar in the European post-Cold War architecture. It is essential for European peace and prosperity in the 21st century. Unfortunately, it will also be the EU’s most difficult enlargement for incumbents and entrants alike. Difficult for incumbents because the Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) are so economically different from the incumbent nations. This necessitates politically difficult reforms in the EU. Difficult for the entrants because the necessary transformations of their economies and governments are massive and politically painful. To face these difficulties, two pre-accession strategies are needed, one for the EU and one for the CEECs. So far, only the CEECs admit that they need pre-accession strategies. The White Paper released at last year’s EU Cannes Summit clarifies an important component of the CEECs’ pre-accession strategy. While it contained no new policy initiatives, it provided a detailed prioritizing of Single Market legislation and the enhancement of technical and financial assistance to the CEECs. Both aspects help by boosting the predictability and credibility of the CEECs’ transformations and the EU’s evaluation of these reforms. 2. The EU’s missing strategy

John maynard keynes revisited

Barely a year after the end of World War I, John Maynard Keynes, then a little‐known economist, was already warning that peace and prosperity in Europe could well depend on economic cooperation.

Civil aviation in the area of the European civil aviation conference: possible developments

Abstract The development of European civil aviation shows a swing from pure nationalism towards more co‐operation, increasingly institutionalized with the growing unification and prosperity of Europe. But this co‐operation is obstructed by the characteristics of today's civil aviation. Likewise the European Economic Community has been blocking co‐operation in the 22 countries of the European Civil Aviation Conference. The difficulties facing European scheduled air services emphasize the need to re‐model European civil aviation. The creation of an air transport system in Europe should agree with the general regulations of the EEC treaty. A system regardless of national frontiers would fit EEC law and should benefit the consumer, as a more efficient network should lead to lower tariffs, if IATA price‐fixing can be abolished. Such a system would probably cause substantial problems for those airlines that profit most from today's system.

Beyond the Cold War Chessboard

The problem in judging M. Servan-Schreiber's message is that he reaches some sound conclusions on the basis of dubious premises, from which he derives recommendations which could be disastrous.There may be some satisfaction in seeing a Frenchman concerned with le défi, russe instead of le défi américain, but his interpretation of one is as crude as was his interpretation of the other. The shock of revelation that there are common interests of the Atlantic countries in economic as well as strategic matters is understandably more startling to a Frenchman than to others. It was all set out in 1949 in Article 2 of the North Atlantic Treaty and was restated eloquently in 1973 by Mr. Kissinger. But last spring European leaders were included to see the latter as a self-interested plea from a weak United States to a prosperous Europe. The North American countries were reminded that their role in Europe was simply to defend it on request.

America's Interest in the Rehabilitation of Europe

suggestion, has accomplished nothing so far, excepting a postponement of ultimate rehabilitation. The bitterness that has been uncovered and the increased thought of how to procure separate advantages will retard confidence rather than promote it. The United States by its wise determination not to participate leaves us in the strongest possible position to step in at the opportune moment and blast the way for other nations to follow in the recovery to the world of the Russian domain, and to place it once more among the world's assets, instead of, as it now exists, a liability of the gravest character, menacing not only the peace and prosperity of Europe, but also a civilization that has required centuries of bloody wars and continued effort to develop. Briefly summarizing the subject from the point of view of an American estion, has accomplished nothing ar, excepting a postponement of i ate rehabil tation. The bitterness manufacturer or businessman, who not only loves his own country, but has a confidence in and an affection for the peoples of other nations, I firmly believe that American prosperity deeply depends upon the rehabilitation of Europe. I believe that Europe as a customer is morally sound and is ntitled to our fullest confidence, and that the ultimate solution of the problem will be the creation of new engineering enterprises upon the basis of permitting sufficient time for payment to elapse, in order that the enterprise itself will produce the excess wealth necessary to repay its original cost. Europe will then not only be rehabilitated, but will be enriched, and the United States herself will prosper as she has never prospered before. It is America's opportunity; it is America's duty,-we should respond to the call, anufactu e or bu inessman, who not ly loves his own country, but has a nfidence i and an affection for the eoples of other nations, I firmly lieve that American osperity deeply epends upon the rehab litation of rope. I b lieve hat Europe as a stomer is morally sound and is titled t our fullest co fide ce, and