The Constitutional Structures of the National Political Economy: Barrier to or Precondition for European Integration?

The Court of Justice of the European Union is increasingly dedicated to the pursuit of economic efficiency. As this article will demonstrate, this has led to diagonal conflict between European legal pronouncements on the free movement of labour within a services regime and national jurisprudence on democratically-legitimated public procurement policies within distinct state aids regimes. Where once the CJEU treated public procurement as a distinctive part of the EU’s state aids regime, or one which might be reconciled with redistributive ethical and social concerns maintained at national level, the application of the EU services regime to procurement has placed this traditional understanding in doubt. This re-alignment, however, as well as the supranational-national conflict that it has created, reflects both the deeper mismatch both between European economic and national social competences, as well as friction between national and European conceptions of constitutional legitimacy. Such tensions must be overcome in order to secure continuing legal integration within Europe.     

Labour mobility in the EU: Dynamics,patterns and policies

The continued economic crisis has become a major test for the labour markets of individual member states. Labour mobility within the European Union has the potential to help to reduce labour market pressures and ease economic imbalances. However, a long-term loss of working age population can be detrimental to sending countries. This Forum explores mobility patterns within the European Union and analyses the labour market and welfare effects of labour mobility via case studies of the UK, Poland, Germany and Spain. It also examines a number of its aspects that have important political and institutional relevance for the European Union and its future.     

Editorial

American multinationals have $177 billion of direct investment in Europe. As the 1992 European unification draws near, companies are adjusting their strategic sights to treat the European Community as a single marketing entity. But how unique is Europe? This 28 MNE‐228 subsidiary study shows US European product mixes to be similar to those used in other parts of the world. Also, within Europe variations in product mixes are mainly industry‐determined.     

Economic Policy within a European Monetary Union

A European Monetary Union (EMU) and the complete transfer of the responsibility for monetary policy to a European central bank are no longer utopian ideas, but a politically highly relevant possibility. The question how economic policy goals can be achieved within such a monetary union is therefore gaining in importance.     

The Stockholm Manifesto. Creating a safe environment for children in Europe

The European Child Safety Alliance is an initiative of the European Consumer Safety Association with a network of child injury prevention organizations within 25 Member States in Europe. The Alliance, launched in 2001, focuses on strategies that assist in the reduction of injury related deaths and disability amongst children 0 to 18 years of age in the European Union Members States. The Alliance work is done in partnership with stakeholders from various disciplines involved in child injury prevention in order to promote a coordinated and consistent approach across Europe.     

“ERTMS”打造高效欧洲铁路系统——欧洲铁路交通管理系统详解

本文是一篇译文，原文来自于ERTMS的网站。这篇译文介绍了欧洲铁路交通管理系统（ERTMS）特点、开发史和优点。作者认为，ERTMS旨在替代欧洲内部不同国家的铁路控制和指挥系统。ERTMS的应用将能够创造出一个无缝衔接的欧洲铁路系统，并使欧洲铁路系统的竞争力得以提高。     

Will continuing liberalisation in the EC lead to instability in the EMS?

The liberalisation of capital movements and the creation of a market without internal frontiers within the European Community have far-reaching consequences for the European Monetary System. Sr. Wolfgang Schröder analyses the opportunities and risks associated with these developments.     

How does the Community wish to revitalise its railways?

In recent years the European Community (EC) has increased its rail transport activities. Current European policy is aimed at revitalising the railway sector, the intermodal market shares of which have strongly declined within the last decades, especially in the area of freight services. What measures has the Community taken to achieve its goal? How can its policy be characterised? Are EC actions really suited to improving the performance of European railways? Finally, by engaging in rail transport, do supranational actors take general regulatory reform principles into consideration?     

Ein kritischer Blick auf die aktuellen Reformvorschläge der EU-Kommission

The European Commission recently proposed a Roadmap for deepening EMU. Establishing a European Monetary Fund (EMF) and support mechanisms for structural reforms are reasonable suggestions. However, the integration of the EMF in the Union’s framework must not endanger the conditionality principle. Moreover, creating a sizeable stabilisation function within the EU budget poses technical problems and would set questionable priorities. Furthermore, a European Finance Minister is simply not needed with the proposed design.     

The impact of 1992 on product liability in Europe

MNCs with plans for marketing within the EC after 1992 may want to prepare now for developments stemming from a directive calling for a tough stand on product liability within the European Community.     

Mean reversion of inflation rates in seven Eastern European countries: An application of a fourier quantile unit root test

This paper applies recently developed Fourier quantile unit root test to investigate time-series property of inflation in seven Eastern European countries. This method combines the quantile unit root test with smooth unknown multiple breaks through Fourier function, and has good size and power when the data follows heavy tailed distribution. Our results show that the inflation rates are stationary within each quantile for Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Lithuania, while the other four countries contain a unit root within some quantiles. We also find the speed of inflation adjustment towards to its long-run equilibrium for each country is asymmetric. Our results have important policy implications for monetary authorities in these Eastern European countries.     

From Grand Policy to Targeted Destruction: Consumers as Victims of EU Satellite Television Policy

In July 1997 the European Commission proposed a "Directive on the Legal protection of Service based on, or consisting of Conditional Access" (to various electronic systems).This paper considers the proposed Directive within the context of the European Union's failure to develop and maintain a coherent policy relating to satellite television broadcasts direct to the individual's home (DTH) within the nascent Single European Market (SEM), and the consequences of that policy failure for "ordinary" consumers who are highly unlikely to have a full understanding of the complex technical, legal and economic environment in which they are making their purchase(s).The paper illustrates how the failure to develop a SEM in DTH resulted in a fragmented market in which the frustrated demand for DTH programmes stimulated the growth of a quasi-legal or illegal markets in goods and services. Faced with legislative failure, companies have increasingly attempted to protect their perceived economic interests through an increasingly sophisticated "techno-war" in which ethical considerations relating to consumers found in the "normal market" appear to have been largely abandoned.The proposed Directive may be viewed as an attempt by interested elements of capital to harness European law to resolve a problem created by their own failure to fully observe European law. The proposed Directive is an indication of the failure to control the broadcasting environment by other means, and the paper gives consideration to the ethics of this development.Whilst the paper's prime is on DTH within the United Kingdom, consideration is also given to the wider EU (for consistency and simplicity the term EU is used throughout this paper).Because of the commercial relationships involved, and the questionable legality of some behaviour, it is not possible to identify all sources precisely. Much of the information has been gathered from formal and informal discussions and investigation, and information has frequently been provided on the clear understanding that the precise source cannot be identified.     

The Competitiveness of European Financial Markets

The countries that together make up the euro area are undergoing a process of far-reaching change, with established national financial markets merging into one new European market accompanied by deregulation, cross-border consolidation, and increased competition within the euro area. These developments will help to increase longterm economic growth and will have a strong bearing on the international competitiveness of the European financial sector, leading to innovation and modernisation. This paper presents the underlying rationale of financial integration and increased competitiveness of European financial markets and provides a snapshot of where financial integration has been successful and where work is ongoing. It also notes important historical experiences of U.S. financial integration. It concludes by highlighting the role and recent activities of the European Central Bank and the Eurosystem in promoting and enhancing further financial integration. JEL Classification F15, G15     

A MODEL FOR LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT IN A POST‐SOVIET CENTRAL ASIAN TRANSITIONAL ECONOMY

The research presented explores the logistics management of European and North American manufacturing companies operating in the unique environment of the post‐Soviet Central Asian transitional economy of Kazakhstan. Combining three alternating phases of quantitative and qualitative analysis, the research identifies the challenges logistics managers face in their efforts to distribute their companies' products into and within Kazakhstan. Then, using cross‐case analysis on a series of eleven case studies of European and North American manufacturing companies operating in Kazakhstan, the article concludes with a grounded theoretical model of logistics management for European and North American companies in Kazakhstan. The model highlights the unexpectedly divergent paths taken by companies from two different industry categories.     

Understanding Structural Divergence in European Manufacturing

The heterogeneity among European manufacturing systems has widened in the last 15 years under the competitive pressure of new industrial powers within and outside the EU boundaries and as a result of the 2008 global recession. This paper describes this transformation, in terms of the sectoral composition and the geographical concentration of industrial activities. It also analyses how cross-country differences in export performance, in the dynamics of domestic demand and in the exposure to low-cost import competition have contributed to the divergence in fortunes in European manufacturing.     

Adequacy versus equivalency: Financial data protection and the U.S.–EU divide

In 1995, the European Union passed Directive 95/46/EC, which set the legal framework for European Union citizens to own the rights to their personal data. However, American law bestows ownership to the holder of the data, not the individual, and officials feared the European Union initiative might disrupt data sharing among United States and European Union affiliates. Thus, they negotiated the 2000 Safe Harbor Agreement to allow companies to voluntarily submit to yearly certifications that fulfilled European Union demands, but kept U.S. businesses in control of their data; nevertheless, the Agreement does not include financial and banking services. Instead, the United States argued that the privacy protections within the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act adequately fulfilled European Union guidelines. The European Union disagreed and financial data sharing has operated under a moratorium for the past decade. However, the 2008 financial crisis has governments and clients clamouring for more data transparency to determine risk in the financial system. These global efforts, the European Union's recent push to strengthen the Directive, and the Dodd-Frank Act have pushed data sharing to the policy forefront. This article asserts that transatlantic data sharing will ultimately have to accommodate the privacy cultures in both the United States and the European Union, but firms must be prepared to cope with demands on their data by establishing government relations offices, standardizing information systems, enhancing education for compliance officers, and improving business school curricula.     

European Competition vs. Global Competitiveness Transferring EU Rules on State Aid and Public Procurement Beyond Europe

As long as state aid outside the EU is unregulated, the European Commission faces a dilemma: either European firms will be disadvantaged in global competition by strict EU rules, or the Commission will come under pressure to relax the rules, thereby running the risk that fair competition within the EU will be undermined. As a consequence, the Commission attempts to promote EU rules on state aid and public procurement beyond EU borders — in non-member countries as well as at the WTO level. This article analyses the Commission’s channels of regulatory transfer and the factors accounting for its varying success. Bilateral cooperation provides many opportunities to spread European state aid rules, but decentralised enforcement at the national level remains ultimately deficient. Moreover, the transfer of European rules to the multilateral WTO depends heavily on the EU’s ability to reach prior consensus with its most powerful partner and rival, the US government.     

The European company: Can it be realized?

Cross-border acquisitions via takeover bid are possible, but cross-border asset mergers within the EC are not. This article explores the proposed European Company as the means to cross-border mergers.     

Negotiating in the European Union: Comparing Perceptions of Eu Negotiators in Small Member States

Negotiation is one of the major tasks of the 15 member states comprising the European Union (EU). However, not much is known about the behavior and perceptions of those negotiating on behalf of these member states. On the basis of the responses to a survey of EU diplomats and civil servants of the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, and Portugal, an attempt has been made to develop a profile of "the" European Union Negotiator. The EU negotiator is less outspoken and more likely to compromise than an "ideal" profile of the diplomatic negotiator. While negotiators from these member states share important behavioral and attitudinal proclivities, they also differ in many significant ways. This healthy diversity of negotiating approaches is likely to be nurtured by the cooperative and synergistic atmosphere within the European Union.     

Issues of European monetary integration

In recent years significant progress has been made towards European monetary integration. Widespread agreement as to the role of monetary policy has been established and there were no realignments of exchange rates within the European Monetary System between March 1983 and July 1985. This was the longest period without realignment in the EMS and contrasted sharply with the six realignments observed in the four years previously. What are the prospects for the further strengthening of the EMS? How can the present system be developed further?