Individual Member States Research Articles

Elephant in the Room: How to Assess the Vote-weighting System in the Council of the EU

The article emphasises the complementarity of research based on voting power theory with the analysis of the structure of blocking. Combining both methods enables a more comprehensive assessment of the vote weighting system in the Council of the EU, in particular the impact of changes in the voting system on the position of individual Member States and the power balance in this institution. I make two contributions to the existing literature. Firstly, the study develops a non-random voting model, dedicated to QMV in the Council, which abandons the assumption that each coalition of players is equally likely and takes into account the role of the European Commission as an agenda-setter. This not only allows us to exclude many coalitions that are only theoretically possible, but also to analyse the blocking structure from the perspective of different states or coalitions in the Council. Secondly, it shows that the application of blocking structure analysis provides novel insights into the Council’s voting system. Unlike the a priori voting power approach, such analysis does not focus on distribution of winning power in the Council, but on the Member States’ ability to build minimal blocking coalitions. Hence, it complements the application of mathematical indices of voting power in the assessment of the voting system in this institution.

Five decades of policymaking in the EU – background and overview of the current state of employee financial participation

Purpose Opinions drafted by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), and reports and studies by the European Parliament and 2014 and 2018 Resolutions on employee financial participation (EFP) emphasised the growing importance of EFP, particularly with respect to small and medium-sized enterprises. Against this background, the commission included the promotion of employee share ownership in its Action Plan to reform European company law and corporate governance and embarked on the 2013/14 Pilot Project. Based on the most recent data on the scope and impact of various EFP schemes in EU companies and the legal and regulatory changes in individual Member States, the aim of this article is to provide an overview of policymaking and the main trends of the dynamics of EFP over the last three decades.Design/methodology/approach We give an overview (1) of the analysis of the most recent rounds of different large-scale cross-country surveys (2015 European Working Conditions Survey, 2021 CRANET [Cranfield Network on International Human Resource Management], 2019 European Company Survey [ECS]) and (2) of the EU policy documents and legislative acts over the last three decades. We provide a tabular overview of the status quo in all 29 countries under consideration as of January 2024 to provide the reader with an Alta vista summary view of all forms of EFP practised.Findings The European Commission’s interest in EFP has grown substantially since the publication of the first PEPPER Report in 1991 and the Council Recommendation on EFP of 27 July 1992. Since then, the European Union has not only extended from 12 Members States to currently 27 but has also faced many complex and urgent challenges. Financial and other crises have endangered prosperity and cohesion on the continent and both, the financial crisis of 2008/09, and the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic 2020/21 have left their marks on “Social Europe”.Originality/value The European Commission’s interest in EFP has grown substantially since the publication of the first PEPPER (Promotion of Employee Participation in Profits and Enterprise Results) Report in 1991 and the Council Recommendation on EFP on 27 July 1992. Since then, the European Union has not only extended from 12 Members States to currently 27 but has also faced many complex and urgent challenges. Financial and other crises have endangered prosperity and cohesion on the continent and both, the financial crisis of 2008/09, and the COVID-19 pandemic 2020/21 have left their marks on “Social Europe”.

Between Scylla and Charybdis: long-term drivers of EU structural vulnerability*

This work investigates the European Union’s structural vulnerability in an increasingly polarised global economy with ever more ‘weaponised’ interdependencies. Europe’s structural vulnerability is due to different interlinked and mutually reinforcing elements, which are the legacy of a self-defeating export-led growth model and a related economic policy set-up. We define structural vulnerability along four main dimensions – demand, supply, technology and critical raw materials – and discuss its main drivers. Highlighting the key role that Germany plays in shaping the EU growth model, we argue that the vicious circle between demand repression and supply deterioration has constrained innovation and growth, particularly in the southern periphery, making Europe more fragile in the face of external shocks. While acknowledging the recent change in the EU’s industrial policy approach, we argue that inadequate coordination at the EU level and the lack of common resources leave it to the fiscal capacity of individual member states to bridge the technological gap, with the real risk of further widening the core–periphery gap and increasing the structural fragility of the Union.

The European Union in the annual United Nations General Assembly Debates

ABSTRACT We examine foreign policy preference convergence and cohesion among EU states, as revealed in the annual United Nations General Debate (UNGD). Of interest is whether the institutional adaptations following the Lisbon Treaty led to convergence towards the official EU position and more cohesion in speeches delivered by EU states. We argue that the UNGD is a distinct context where EU states feel compelled to differentiate themselves compared to other areas where EU coordination efforts are extensive. We explore EU convergence and cohesion based on all EUGD UNGD speeches between 1990 and 2019. We primarily apply text-as-data techniques to extract states’ positions on well-established foreign policy dimensions. We use wordscores and text similarity measures, comparing our analysis to ideal point estimates based on UNGA voting and co-sponsorship data. We find that EU states use the UNGD as a venue to articulate their own, differentiated positions as individual UN member states.

Identifying opportunities for blue economy exports in caribbean small states

ABSTRACT The blue economy balances oceanic economic activity with sustainable development. It includes harvesting and extractive industries, such as fishing, resource generation (energy and water), trade and health. Existing literature has linked the blue economy to positive economic growth when its potential is maximised. Despite the importance of the subject, there are few studies on the economic benefits and opportunities that Small States can derive from the blue economy. This paper uses the case of the CARICOM region, whose combined exclusive economic zones is 4.5 times larger than the land area. This study analysed the potential economic benefits of the blue economy in CARICOM by investigating the comparative advantages of blue exports in ocean goods traded for the region and the individual member states. The results suggest that CARICOM countries have a comparative advantage in their traditional industries and opportunities to exploit many other blue industries.

EFFICIENCY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION EXPENDITURE OF THE GENERAL GOVERNMENTS IN EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER STATES IN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN WASTE MANAGEMENT

Aim: Pursuing sustainable development justifies incurring expenditure in the field of environmental protection because the state’s active fiscal policy is an essential determinant of achieving sustainable development goals. The distribution of public funds should depend on the efficiency of their use. The purpose of the research procedure is (1) to analyze the structure of environmental protection expenditure of the general government in the European Union and the individual member states; (2) to assess the efficiency of environmental protection expenditure of the general government in the implementation of sustainable development goals in waste management. Methods: The study uses linear regression with regression confidence bounds. The indicator chosen to assess the efficiency of expenditure was the Recycling rate of municipal waste (SDG_11_60). Results: The structure of environmental protection expenditure of the general government in most member states in 2012–2021 was stable, which may result from the adopted national environmental policies or internal conditions of a given country. Waste management expenditure dominates the structure of environmental protection expenditure of the general government in many countries. The analysis of the efficiency of environmental protection expenditure of the general government in waste management confirmed its efficiency in a significant number of states. Conclusions: The research procedure indicated that positive relations between general spending on the environment and achieving sustainable goals can be confirmed. Unfortunately, there is a problem with data consistency of various indicators measuring sustainable goals. Therefore, extending such research to a multiple factor case, for example, can be difficult.

Informal groups in EU foreign policy: a social network analysis

ABSTRACT After decades of increasing integration and institutional development in EU foreign policy, the persistence of informal groups calls into question the understanding of European integration as a straight progressive line from informal to formal cooperation. Nonetheless, to date there is no systematic empirical knowledge of informal groups in EEC/EU foreign policy. To address this knowledge gap, the article offers an exploratory study. By means of social network analysis, it maps the frequency and types of informal groups in EEC/EU foreign policy in regard to Kosovo, Libya and Syria in three different phases of EEC/EU foreign policy integration. The article’s findings show that the frequency of informal groups has remained fairly stable across the three phases of EEC/EU integration considered. At the same time, informal groups have generally been relatively small, like-minded, and dominated by individual member states. Overall, these results suggest that by accommodating member states’ interests, especially those of powerful states and of states for which certain foreign policy issues are particularly salient, informal groups have provided the cooperation needed for the coherent functioning of the EEC/EU foreign policy system. While doing so, they have consolidated as socially meaningful patterns among member states’ representatives.

Evolving waste management: The impact of environmental technology, taxes, and carbon emissions on incineration in EU countries

Amid the urgent global imperatives concerning climate change and resource preservation, our research delves into the critical domains of waste management and environmental sustainability within the European Union (EU), collecting data from 1990 to 2022. The Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) results reveal a resounding commitment among EU member states to diminish their reliance on incineration, which is evident through adopting green technologies and environmentally conscious taxation policies, aligning with the European Union's sustainability objectives. However, this transition presents the intricate task of harmonizing industrial emissions management with efficient waste disposal. Tailoring waste management strategies to accommodate diverse consumption patterns and unique circumstances within individual member states becomes imperative. Cointegrating regressions highlighted the long-run relationship among the selected variables, while Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) and Panel-Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) estimates roughly confirmed MMQR results. ML analyses, conducted through two ensemble methods (Gradient Boosting, GB, and Extreme Gradient Boosting, XGBoost) shed light on the relative importance of the predictors: in particular, environmental taxation, consumption-based emissions, and production-based emissions greatly contribute to determining the variation of combustible renewables and waste. This study recommends that EU countries establish monitoring mechanisms to advance waste management and environmental sustainability through green technology adoption, enhance environmental taxation policies, and accelerate the renewable energy transition.

Theoretical design of blockchain-based traceability for organic egg supply chains according to regulation (EU) 2018/848.

The use of blockchain technology to establish food traceability chains has the potential to provide transparent information of food stuffs along the entire supply chain and also aid in the documentation or even execution of official food control processes. Particularly in instances where analytical methodologies cannot provide definitive data for food control questions under study, the certificate-based approach of a traceability chain may offer a way of regulatory control for state authorities. Given the rising importance of organic produce and the high share of eggs among the organic produce in the European Union as well as the new EU regulation on organic products and labelling that came into force in 2022, we analyze here how the control of egg production type and marketing standards can be represented within a blockchain-based traceability chain such as to maximize the traceability in compliance with the current relevant EU regulations. Intended for the use by the official food control authorities, a traceability chain for organically produced eggs in the EU would need to be implemented as a permissioned blockchain, since only select entities are allowed to participate. By combining a proof of authority consensus mechanism with issuance of soulbound tokens, we effectively suggest a 'proof of soulbound authority' consensus process. The soulbound tokens are issued throughout the administrative chain from the European Commission down to the official food control authorities in individual member states that ultimately certify the control bodies for organic produce. Despite the general limitation of not providing unambiguous proof of the organic status of individual products, the concept discussed here offers advantages with respect to allocation of authority at EU level and therefore might have positive effects beyond the traceability chain.

Relationship between the type of media consumption and political trust in the European Union: Evidence from the 94th Eurobarometer 2020/2021 Survey

This article analyzes the relationship between the consumption of different types of media and political trust, while also additionally contributing to discussions in several sub-branches of agenda-setting theories. To test the hypotheses, this article runs several linear regression models at the European Union, regional, and national levels. The European Union–level analysis is based on the 94th Eurobarometer survey data of 2020/2021. It is then further complemented with some country-level comparisons. The regression models account for various socio-economic and socio-political confounding factors. The results of the analysis demonstrate that there is a significant positive relationship between press consumption and political trust. As for social media, their negative effect is visible and consistent only when they are designated as the respondent’s main source of information. Other media types do not demonstrate a visible and statistically significant effect. This article’s findings, also through the country-level comparisons, provide new research avenues not only for quantitative research as well as for comparative case studies of individual European Union Member States.

Defense Resources Implications of the Conflict in Ukraine on European Countries

Abstract The conflict in Ukraine has determined significant shifts in European defence and security paradigms. This paper focuses on the European Union (EU) has reacted to the crisis on its borders, examining the evolution of EU defence spending, procurement policies, and cooperation agreements in the wake of the conflict, analysing the impact on both individual member states and collective EU initiatives. The aim of this paper is to examine how the conflict in Ukraine influenced the European Union countries in terms of defence spending and defence policies. The objectives of the paper consist in identifying the main changes in the defence expenditures of the European Union Countries, overall and in terms of destination of expenditures and highlighting the main changes on terms of procurement policies and cooperation agreements generated by the events in Ukraine.

Double Dutch: Illumina/GRAIL, Article 22 and the General Court

This article explores the jurisdictional issues underlying the decision of the European Commission to review Illumina’s acquisition of GRAIL. It marked the first the time the Commission investigated an acquisition where the target had no activities in the EU; nor indeed any nexus to any individual Member State. The decision to review a concentration where the target had no EU revenues was premised on a re-interpretation of Article 22(1) of the EU Merger Regulation, which allows Member States to request the Commission to examine a concentration. This interpretation is intended to expand the jurisdictional reach of the regulation to capture transactions involving companies with low turnover, but high competitive potential in the internal market, in cases where neither EU nor any Member State merger control thresholds are met. The General Court upheld the Commission’s position on Article 22 jurisdiction, but the judgment is on appeal to the Court of Justice. This article argues that the Court should overturn the earlier ruling on the basis that the GC was mistaken in its approach to Article 22, in view of its history and purpose. It also considers that flaws in the conduct of the procedure which deprived the merging parties of due process warranted an annulment of the decision to open an investigation. Moreover, this article calls out the incompatibility of the Commission’s application of Article 22 in Illumina/GRAIL with international law concepts of comity, fairness and sovereignty.

Food waste and the EU target: effects on the agrifood systems’ sustainability

ABSTRACT The reduction of food losses and waste is part of the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals (target 12.3) and, consequently, is one of the EU’s political priority in the field of circular economy. In this framework, the target 12.3 of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development stated, by 2030, a not quantified reduction in post-harvest losses and a halving of food waste at the retail and consumers levels; while the EU Commission has recently set the target, by 2030, of reducing by 10% food losses occurred at the stage of processing and manufacturing and by 30% food waste occurred at the stage of retail and consumption. Food losses and waste should primarily be considered an expression of inefficiency of agricultural production processes determining several environmental, social and economic impacts. The quantification of food losses and waste is still an unsolved problem so much so that, in EU; currently available data are only related to the period 2020–2021 and, in many cases, are based on estimates and are not uniform in individual Member States. This makes reliable predictions of results achievable by the European Union particularly difficult. The aim of this paper is to analyze whether the plan of losses and waste reduction established by the EU Commission is able to both ensure the achievement of 2030 Agenda target 12.3 and to make a contribution to improving the sustainability of agri-food systems. In doing so, in addition to Eurostat data on losses and waste, the EU-Commission projections and the latest results of recent studies on environmental, social and economic impact of food losses and waste in EU were used, including indicators on hidden costs of agrifood systems developed by FAO. What observed shows that the EU-Commission reduction plan, if implemented, should result in a reduction of losses and waste inadequate for complying with the recommendation given by the target 12.3. Furthermore, the EU-Commission’s decision not to provide for losses reduction at the agricultural stage should significantly limit environmental benefits, given that much of the negative environmental impacts (GHG, land and water use, etc.) are ascribable to this stage as are, according to FAO estimates, hidden environmental costs. Besides limiting environmental benefits, the EU-Commission reduction plan, focusing only on the food losses and waste reduction in the final stage of supply food chain, could lead to negative social and economic impacts caused by a decline in the demand, which will reduce supply, jobs losses and GDP reduction. The conclusion on this, is that the reduction of food losses and waste is an issue that cannot be addressed separated but needs to be included in a wider program of integrated and complementary measures as a whole clearly aimed at realizing forms of circular economy.

No place to hide: The public attribution of responsibility for policy failures of international organisations

Abstract Who is held responsible when international organisations (IOs) fall short of public expectations? Scholarship on IO blame avoidance assumes that member states can hide behind IOs. As clarity of responsibility is assumed to be lacking in IOs, public responsibility attributions (PRA) will usually target the IO rather than individual member states. We argue, by contrast, that even in complex IOs such as the European Union (EU), clarity of responsibility is not always lacking. Therefore, whether the IO in general or individual member states become the main target of public blame attributions depends on the type of IO policy failure. In cases of failures to act and failures to comply, the responsibility of individual member states is comparatively easy to identify, and they thus become the main blame target. Only in cases of failures to perform clarity of responsibility is lacking, and the IO will become the main target of public blame attributions. To assess the plausibility of this‘failure hypothesis’, we study public blame attributions in two cases of EU foreign policy failures and two cases of EU environmental policy failures.

Artificial Intelligence, data protection and medical device regulations: squaring the circle with a historical perspective in Europe

PurposeThis manuscript presents a parallel among important EU legal frameworks, such as the Medical Device Regulations and General Data Protection Regulation and economic-historical challenges faced by European citizens. This parallel offers a prospective for understanding the direction taken by policymakers for forthcoming regulations, such as the European Health Data Space and the AI-Act.MethodThe paper describes key commonalities and differences among those regulations, which may help scholars working with AI in medicine, navigating this articulated legal framework.ResultsThe European Union journey started with the European Coal and Steel Community, enforced after the WWII for nurturing European physical reconstruction and as a mean for peacekeeping: without coil it was not possible to transform steel, and with shared control of steel it was not possible for individual member states to build war weapons.ConclusionsIn this century, modern coal are data and modern steel is the AI, which is a crucial enabler for European economy growth and competitiveness, and, potentially, a powerful war weapon. Ensuring a fair data-sharing and correct use of AI is crucial for sustainable development, peace, and democracy in Europe and beyond.

Trends, main economic determinants of the e-mobility in the EU: Additional evidence and verification

The adoption of e-mobility in the countries of the European Union shows significant differences in terms of dynamics of electric car sales and in terms of differences in the share of electric cars in the total fleet of passenger cars in individual Member states. Despite the common European policy of transition to less emission-intensive car drives, the economic performance of countries, as well as other determinants, turn out to be the key drivers of differences in the sales and shares of electric cars on the car fleet within individual countries. In light of these findings, the paper contributes to the existing discussion and knowledge with additional recent findings and how intensive main consensual factors cause differences in the recent electric cars market shares in the EU countries.

On Migration As A Significant Challenge For The European Union

European society is currently facing several important challenges. One of the most significant is the challenge of mass illegal migration, which encompasses security, political, economic, social, societal, legislative and many other aspects. Migration thus represents a very complex problem, the solution of which is by no means not simple. It requires the adoption of a number of comprehensive, mutually synergistic measures and steps, both at the level of the European Union as a whole and at the level of individual Member States. That is also why the author deals with the issue of mass illegal migration to the EU in the article. The author´s interdisciplinary research primarily draws on official information and data published by competent European and other institutions, while using relevant scientific methods aimed at showing that migration represents a very complex and multifaceted phenomenon and, in recent years, one of the greatest challenges for the European Union.

Recent Changes in Hungarian Criminal Legislation to Address Irregular Migration

The last two decades have seen a dramatic increase in international migration, with Europe experiencing a significant influx of individuals from developing countries, especially the Near-East. This phenomenon has led to a spike in irregular migration into the European Union, reaching peak levels in the past four years, profoundly affecting both the EU and its individual member states. Hungary, facing a considerable influx of migrants in 2015, took a decisive political step by adopting specific criminal measures aimed at mitigating this irregular migration. This move resulted in notable modifications to the Hungarian legal framework, especially concerning criminal law and procedures. The Hungarian Criminal Code was expanded to include three novel offenses: the destruction of the border fence, illegal crossing of the border fence, and interference with the construction of the border fence. Furthermore, the general part of the Criminal Code underwent revisions to thoroughly address the issue of irregular migration. This study seeks to explore the adjustments made to Hungarian criminal law in response to irregular migration, focusing on the introduction of new legal definitions and examining criminal statistics from 2015 to 2017. It is important to note that the analysis is based solely on official criminal data from 2015 to 2017, as figures for 2018 were not available at the time due to ongoing consolidation by the Unified Hungarian Criminal Statistics of Investigation Authorities and Prosecution.

Recent Changes in Hungarian Criminal Legislation to Address Irregular Migration

The last two decades have seen a dramatic increase in international migration, with Europe experiencing a significant influx of individuals from developing countries, especially the Near-East. This phenomenon has led to a spike in irregular migration into the European Union, reaching peak levels in the past four years, profoundly affecting both the EU and its individual member states. Hungary, facing a considerable influx of migrants in 2015, took a decisive political step by adopting specific criminal measures aimed at mitigating this irregular migration. This move resulted in notable modifications to the Hungarian legal framework, especially concerning criminal law and procedures. The Hungarian Criminal Code was expanded to include three novel offenses: the destruction of the border fence, illegal crossing of the border fence, and interference with the construction of the border fence. Furthermore, the general part of the Criminal Code underwent revisions to thoroughly address the issue of irregular migration. This study seeks to explore the adjustments made to Hungarian criminal law in response to irregular migration, focusing on the introduction of new legal definitions and examining criminal statistics from 2015 to 2017. It is important to note that the analysis is based solely on official criminal data from 2015 to 2017, as figures for 2018 were not available at the time due to ongoing consolidation by the Unified Hungarian Criminal Statistics of Investigation Authorities and Prosecution.

Secession from and secession within the European Union: Toward a holistic theory of secession

Abstract After presenting some convergent tendencies and eclectic approaches to moral theories of secession in light of some practical applications of these theories, the article outlines the constitutional landscape on the regulation of secession and analyzes the legal right to withdraw from the European Union, arguing that this right to secede from the Union helps to justify a right to secede from EU member states. Through the exploration of several arguments that may distinguish between these rights of exit, the article contends that their regulation and qualification should not be substantially different from one another. Taking a holistic approach, the article defends a qualified right to secede from the European Union as a whole and from its individual member states.