Differentiation has evolved into a systematic feature of European integration. Still, EU member states have been eager to maintain unity and not let differentiated integration (DI) be reflected in... Show moreDifferentiation has evolved into a systematic feature of European integration. Still, EU member states have been eager to maintain unity and not let differentiated integration (DI) be reflected in institutions and processes of EU governance. The sovereign debt crisis was a turning point, triggering an unprecedented reinforcement of euro area specific institutions and policies. So far, few contributions have studied the institutional implications of DI in the EU. This dissertation examines whether and, if so, how and with what implications DI has been institutionalised in EMU governance. It analyses the organisational inclusiveness of crisis management structures, the evolution of the Eurogroup and Eurogroup Working Group, procedural norms and elite ideas. The findings suggest that the distinction between euro area insiders and outsiders has become embedded in how member state representatives perceive political reality, determine mutual role expectations and organise governance processes. While this institutionalisation of DI in EMU was facilitated by particular circumstances of the sovereign debt crisis, its implications are evident in EMU governance and reform processes until today. The dissertation makes theoretical and empirical contributions to account for DI in institutional and political developments in EMU and, thus, aims to enrich institutionalist debates in EU studies. Show less
This article analyses the United Kingdom’s (UK) ‘trade continuity programme’. The promise that, once outside the European Union (EU), the UK would strike new, lucrative trade deals continues to be... Show moreThis article analyses the United Kingdom’s (UK) ‘trade continuity programme’. The promise that, once outside the European Union (EU), the UK would strike new, lucrative trade deals continues to be an important part of the Brexiteers’ narrative. What the UK was compelled to do first, however, was to conclude ‘roll-over’ agreements to replace the trade agreements already made by the EU. This article posits that, contrary to expectations, the UK’s continuity programme should be regarded as a success – for both the UK and the EU. In most cases, the UK managed to replicate to a very large extent the terms originally granted to the EU, despite being a smaller market and despite challenging circumstances. From the EU’s perspective, the UK’s continuity programme can be regarded as a case of successful norm internalization and export. This first chapter of post-Brexit UK trade policy shows that even a country that has left the EU still legally commits itself and its partners to the EU’s norms and values. Hence, the EU should welcome the UK’s imitation as a shared normative basis to expand cooperation with its former member state in a challenging geopolitical environment. Show less
crucial to identify important factors in the EU legislative decision-making process that may impact its speed. This understanding can assist decision-makers in identifying the root causes of... Show morecrucial to identify important factors in the EU legislative decision-making process that may impact its speed. This understanding can assist decision-makers in identifying the root causes of legislative stagnation and devising strategies to mitigate them, thereby culminating in the creation of policies that hold democratic legitimacy to effectively tackle the dilemma faced by the EU. Stakeholder involvement in EU decision-making processes has become a critical aspect for the EU, particularly for the European Commission, to enhance democratic legitimacy and internal power. However, reconciling divergent stakeholder opinions poses a challenge for EU decision-makers. Based on four empirical studies, this dissertation examines why it is necessary to consider stakeholder opinions and member-states preferences, as well as how they interact to influence decision-making outcomes. By utilizing quantitative analyses and qualitative case studies, this dissertation underlines how negative stakeholder opinions influence the positions adopted by member states within the Council, thereby increasing the transaction costs of bargaining among member states by prolonging the legislative process and consequently leads to efficiency losses. The findings shed light on the difficult task of resolving the democratic deficit in EU legislative politics and the implications for balancing the democratic legitimacy and political efficiency of EU policymaking systems. Show less
There has been much recent debate over whether the European Union is or should be a ‘militant democratic’ actor in order to respond to democratic backsliding in EU member states. This article... Show moreThere has been much recent debate over whether the European Union is or should be a ‘militant democratic’ actor in order to respond to democratic backsliding in EU member states. This article argues that the EU is a militant democracy in a specific and limited sense, but that this may be normatively undesirable from a democratic perspective. I first develop a definition of militant democracy that focuses on the militant democratic paradox. I argue that the strongest justifications for militant democracy require that two conditions are met: an ‘existential threat condition’ and a ‘necessity condition’. Next, I analyse four ways in which the European Union has been said to be empowered to act in a militant democratic fashion to combat democratic backsliding in EU member states. I show how some, though not all, of these warrant the label ‘militant democracy’. Moving from the descriptive to the normative analysis, I then consider whether the necessity condition can ever be met since there is always the possibility of non-militant responses through forms of EU disintegration. If we accept this argument, EU actors should prioritize robust non-militant measures where possible while pro-democratic member states should disassociate from frankly autocratic member states where non-militant measures fail. Show less
On 31 January 2020 the United Kingdom (UK) left the European Union (EU). In the European Parliament (EP), Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) cried together and folded flags. It marked the... Show moreOn 31 January 2020 the United Kingdom (UK) left the European Union (EU). In the European Parliament (EP), Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) cried together and folded flags. It marked the end of an era. At the end of that year, after much agony, the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) was signed on 24 December 2020 and the ratification was completed in April 2021. The TCA allows both entities tariff-free, quota-free access to markets for goods. Services are not part of the TCA. Part of the agreement are also fishing rights as well as cooperation in the area of security (e.g., in the area of information sharing security related to matters of internal security), but no mention of security and defence collaboration. There are still many unresolved issues. Some of these issues involve fishing matters (Reuters, 2021). But collaboration in security and defence matters is also crucial as demonstrated by the need to deal with the war in Ukraine that erupted following the Russian invasion on 24 February. Show less
This chapter charts the position of the European Union (EU) in the global political economy (GPE), identifies key dimensions of change and development, and evaluates the EU’s impact on the... Show moreThis chapter charts the position of the European Union (EU) in the global political economy (GPE), identifies key dimensions of change and development, and evaluates the EU’s impact on the operation of the contemporary GPE. It does so by outlining key ideas in international political economy (IPE), by relating these to the growth of the EU, and by assessing the EU’s role in the GPE in three areas: European integration itself, the EU’s engagement in the GPE, and the EU’s claims to be a major economic power. The final part of the chapter brings these together an examination of global economic governance—in particular, the EU’s role in the financial, multilateral state system with its principles of global governance, and pays some attention to recent crises (such as the Covid-19 pandemic) and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Show less
The study of why and when governments are caught out by strategic surprise has been a major occupation of intelligence studies, international relations, public administration and crisis management... Show moreThe study of why and when governments are caught out by strategic surprise has been a major occupation of intelligence studies, international relations, public administration and crisis management studies. Still little is known, however, about the structural vulnerabilities to such surprises in international organisations such as the European Union (EU). EU institutions themselves have not undertaken rigorous investigations or public inquiries of recent strategic surprises, instead relying on internal review processes. In order to understand the most common underlying problems causing surprise in the EU context, this paper adapts and tests insights from the strategic surprise literature. It elaborates a theoretical framework with five hypotheses about why the leadership of EU institutions has been prone to being caught by surprises in foreign affairs: limitations in collection capacity, institutional fragmentation of policymaking, organisational culture, member state politicisation, and cognitive biases arising from collective ideas and norms. These hypotheses are tested using a post-mortem approach investigating two significant strategic surprises: the start and spread of the Arab uprisings of 2010/11 and Ukraine–Russia crisis of 2013/14. Show less
There is no clear view on how accountability is organised in the context of transgovernmental networks. In literature there is predominant view that accountability is threatened by the existence of... Show moreThere is no clear view on how accountability is organised in the context of transgovernmental networks. In literature there is predominant view that accountability is threatened by the existence of transgovernmental networks. This dissertation takes a micro-level approach by focusing on participants of transgovernmental networks, to understand the dynamics of accountability in this setting. This dissertation makes use of theory building and testing. A theoretical model links the function and governance style of a transgovernmental network to the type of accountability that can be expected. Four distinct empirical cases show that there is a link between the level of formalisation of a governance style and the extent of control. Moreover, this research shows that the function of a transgovernmental network is indicative for the source of control. Show less
The dissertation studies harmful tax competition in the East African Community (EAC). With a focus on Rwanda, it mainly refers to the EU and OECD standards. The objective of the study was to... Show moreThe dissertation studies harmful tax competition in the East African Community (EAC). With a focus on Rwanda, it mainly refers to the EU and OECD standards. The objective of the study was to investigate Rwanda’s tax competition practices, in order to determine whether Rwanda is within the parameters of internationally accepted practices. The main orientation was not to draw a new distinction between acceptable versus unacceptable tax practices. Rather, it was to apply the criteria already developed and accepted at the international level to the particular case of Rwanda. The main materials used are: the EAC Treaty, the draft EAC Code of Conduct against harmful tax competition, the 1997 EU Code of Conduct on business taxation, the 1998 OECD Report on harmful tax competition, the COCG assessment reports, the OECD Progress reports, the Rwandan income tax law of 2018 and the investment law of 2021. This dissertation shows the possibility of applying EU and OECD standards by non- OECD and EU countries, particularly developing countries, to create tax systems that are free of harmful tax competition. However, it also shows that OECD and EU standards are not sufficient to eradicate all harmful tax practices, both in developed and developing countries. Show less
While consumers in the European Union (EU) are generally afforded a high level of protection, the law on air passenger rights, by example, draws debate over the cost of such protection. In the... Show moreWhile consumers in the European Union (EU) are generally afforded a high level of protection, the law on air passenger rights, by example, draws debate over the cost of such protection. In the absence of a clear definition of ‘extraordinary circumstances’ in Regulation (EC) 261/2004, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has not always balanced consumer interests with business realities in its many preliminary rulings on interpretation of these words. Workers joined this picture in the case of Airhelp/SAS [2021], in which the CJEU held that a lawful strike by an air carrier’s own pilot unions does not amount to ‘extraordinary circumstances’. This article explores this ruling in the light of EU air passenger rights and social dialogue objectives. Show less
The Protocol on Ireland/Northern has the questionable honour of having its dispute settlement mechanisms being activated first under the new post-Brexit agreements between the EU and UK. This... Show moreThe Protocol on Ireland/Northern has the questionable honour of having its dispute settlement mechanisms being activated first under the new post-Brexit agreements between the EU and UK. This chapter highlights the two main hallmarks of the Protocol: on the one hand, being an integral part of the Withdrawal Agreement and the post-Brexit legal framework more broadly, and, on the other, being one of the last and most enduring holdouts of EU institutions applying EU law in a part of the UK. These characteristics, coupled with the high political stakes in the context of North-South relations in Ireland and the peace process, merit close scrutiny of the Protocol’s governance and dispute settlement provisions. Based on an analysis of the relevant provisions and informed by leading theories on compliance in international law, this chapter argues that due to fundamentally different views and strategies of the EU institutions and the UK government, the design and use of the Protocol’s mechanisms have the potential to exacerbate rather than mend EU-UK relations. Show less
How do crises produce changes in specific European Union foreign policy areas, and how should we conceptualise these policy changes?This book provides a novel analytical framework that serves to... Show moreHow do crises produce changes in specific European Union foreign policy areas, and how should we conceptualise these policy changes?This book provides a novel analytical framework that serves to investigate the way in which the EU changes its foreign policy after crisis. Ikani adapts the existing theorising of foreign policy change to a single framework applicable to the EU context, providing readers with a toolbox to both explain the process of change and measure the policy change that follows. The framework is developed through an investigation of two important EU foreign policy change episodes, taking place after the Arab uprisings and the Ukraine conflict, and test- driven in three recent cases of EU foreign policy change after crisis. Show less
Interest groups are often described as transmission belts that connect the preferences of their members with public officials in policymaking processes. Through this linkage, public officials can... Show moreInterest groups are often described as transmission belts that connect the preferences of their members with public officials in policymaking processes. Through this linkage, public officials can obtain relevant information and gain legitimacy from those affected by public policies. However, this important intermediary function is not a straightforward endeavor as interest groups often struggle to reconcile their dual function of representing their members while being politically active. This dissertation unpacks interest groups mobilized at the European Union level and examines how they are organized so as to function as transmission belts. Subsequently, it analyzes the effects of this transmissive role for the level of access and influence obtained by groups in policymaking processes. The findings shed light on the difficult task of groups in balancing member involvement while being politically active and the implications for the legitimacy of our governance systems. Show less
This article develops a theoretical framework for analyzing the implications of de-Europeanisation for decision-making processes and policy outcomes in EU foreign policy. As de-Europeanisation... Show moreThis article develops a theoretical framework for analyzing the implications of de-Europeanisation for decision-making processes and policy outcomes in EU foreign policy. As de-Europeanisation progresses, EU foreign policy decision-making is less likely to fit the sociological theories of Normative Suasion, Policy Learning, Normative Entrapment, and Cooperative Bargaining and more likely to fit the intergovernmentalist theories of Logrolling and Competitive Bargaining. These same dynamics will make it more difficult for the EU to achieve unity on complex and sensitive foreign policy issues and create opportunities for foreign powers to manipulate divisions among EU member states as they seek to shape a new world order radically different from the EU’s professed commitment to effective ‘rules-based multilateralism.’ Show less
China is the second-biggest trading partner of the European Union, and the EU is the biggest trading partner of China. Hence, China adds EU have a close relationship. In this sense, it is vital to... Show moreChina is the second-biggest trading partner of the European Union, and the EU is the biggest trading partner of China. Hence, China adds EU have a close relationship. In this sense, it is vital to find the media perception of the EU and the political ideology behind their relationship. However, most of the existed studies explore China-EU relationship through their trade information, while ignore the role of Chinese media frame of EU. This study believe that China’s official media frame offer a strong evidence to understand China-EU relation- ship. This article aims to examine China’s official media perception of the EU by systematically examine the previous study. This study finds that Chinese media frame EU as an economic and political partner in a positive way but try to avoid mentioning the contradiction and friction, the selective negative is-sues are mainly for propaganda and conform to Chinese government atti- tude. Hence, this study discusses that Chinese official media follow the narra- tive of the Chinese government and reflect the EU-China relationship from the Chinese government perspective. Show less
This article introduces a special issue that investigates the interplay between domestic socio-political orders and changing external influences – of the EU, Russia, Turkey and other external... Show moreThis article introduces a special issue that investigates the interplay between domestic socio-political orders and changing external influences – of the EU, Russia, Turkey and other external actors in the region. In this introduction, we lay the conceptual framework and propose theoretical mechanisms linking state capacity and the actions of external actors to the likelihood of transformations from limited to open access orders. Previewing the findings, we note a fundamental asymmetry: while external actors have many levers to undermine the establishment of an open access order, they are more limited in how they can support reforms towards liberal democracy and free-market economy. Show less
The main purpose of this book is twofold. First, it takes stock of integration theories and of more recent approaches to European integration. A wide range of theoretical perspectives were... Show moreThe main purpose of this book is twofold. First, it takes stock of integration theories and of more recent approaches to European integration. A wide range of theoretical perspectives were scrutinized to achieve this goal. The chapters in this book seek to define the “crisis” (or a sister concept) from different conceptual angles, discuss the added-value of at least one theory or concept in the analysis of European integration, and apply these concepts to the crisis the EU has faced in the last decade. Second, while individual chapters discuss a wide range of crises or different phases of the same crisis, the underlying purpose of the book is to understand whether the past decade is an exception for the EU, and in what ways the successive waves of crises point to a more profound crisis of the integration process. The main contribution of the volume, besides its attempt to revisit the theorization of European integration, lies in its questioning of the changing dynamics of the integration process and, in this way, in its attempt to grasp the nexus between “crisis” and the EU’s integration process. The main point here was to understand whether the different crises since 2009 have triggered a more profound crisis in the process of European political integration, or if inherent problems related to the functioning of the EU have driven these various crises by aggravating their impact on the integration process. Show less
In ECE countries, democratisation and Europeanisation seemed to exist in a mutually reinforcing relationship and both concepts provided the main analytical lenses for studying these states. In the... Show moreIn ECE countries, democratisation and Europeanisation seemed to exist in a mutually reinforcing relationship and both concepts provided the main analytical lenses for studying these states. In the light of recent illiberal and anti-EU politics, two different concepts have started to receive increasing scholarly attention, namely the concepts of de-Europeanisation and autocratisation. Their exact meaning, however, remains unclear and the causal link between these specific processes and the rule of law has largely remained understudied. Against this backdrop, this chapter first summarises the state-of-the-art research on autocratisation and de-Europeanisation, and then examines the interaction and causal link between these two phenomena in times of declining democracies in Europe and rule of law problems. Show less
Wijk, R.P.J. van; Dijck, J.T.J.M. van; Timmers, M.; Veen, E. van; Citerio, G.; Lingsma, H.F.; ... ; CENTER-TB1 Investigators 2020
Purpose: Enrolling traumatic brain injury (731) patients with an inability to provide informed consent in research is challenging. Alternatives to patient consent are not sufficiently embedded in... Show morePurpose: Enrolling traumatic brain injury (731) patients with an inability to provide informed consent in research is challenging. Alternatives to patient consent are not sufficiently embedded in European and national legislation, which allows procedural variation and bias. We aimed to quantify variations in informed consent policy and practice.Methods: Variation was explored in the CENTER-TBI study. Policies were reported by using a questionnaire and national legislation. Data on used informed consent procedures were available for 4498 patients from 57 centres across 17 European countries.Results: Variation in the use of informed consent procedures was found between and within EU member states. Proxy informed consent (N = 1377;64%) was the most frequently used type of consent in the ICU, followed by patient informed consent (N 426;20%) and deferred consent (N 334;16%). Deferred consent was only actively used in 15 centres (26%), although it was considered valid in 47 centres (82%).Conclusions: Alternatives to patient consent are essential for TBI research. While there seems to be concordance amongst national legislations, there is regional variability in institutional practices with respect to the use of different informed consent procedures. Variation could be caused by several reasons, including inconsistencies in clear legislation or knowledge of such legislation amongst researchers. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier Inc. Show less