Embracing Free Trade: The EU's Economic Partnership with Algeria

In recent years the European Union (EU) has concluded a new generation of agreements with its Mediterranean partners as part of a new initiative known as the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. The following paper takes the example of Algeria and examines the likely impact of the progressive formation of a bilateral free trade area on the participating economies.     

Cross-border trade and contract awards The intellectual myopia at the heart of the EU procurement rules

As part of the Single Market initiative the European Commission has put in place rules to encourage greater transparency about public contracting in the EU member states. Although the new rules are well intentioned, this article argues that the rules, which came into force after 1992, may be based on a false logic concerning the benefits to consumers of neo-liberal market principles. In essence it is argued that the new rules will not have the impact on cross-border contract awards that the framers of the public procurement Directives intended. This argument is supported by an analysis of EU contract awards in 1993.     

Tariff Preferences,WTO Negotiations and the LDCs: The Case of the ‘Everything But Arms’ Initiative

By assessing the impact of the recently adopted ‘Everything But Arms’ (EBA) initiative of the EU on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and by showing how further multilateral trade liberalisations erode the EBA preferences and impact the LDCs, this paper attempts to uncover the LDCs’ difficult positions in the WTO trade negotiations. Due to its limited product coverage and previous preferences granted by the EU, welfare impacts of the EBA on the LDCs are shown to be small and the bulk of these gains are associated with the ‘sensitive’ products that are subject to gradual liberalisations. Moreover, these small gains are likely to disappear if the EU conducts trade policy reforms in fulfilling its WTO obligations, resulting in an actually worse‐off situation for the LDCs. Extending the analysis to a multilateral trade liberalisation scenario reinforces the above results that the LDCs may well lose due to preference erosion and higher world market prices. It concludes that other development assistance measures from developed countries should be made available to the LDCs to ease their dependency on trade preferences and to foster their supply capacities. The LDCs themselves should attempt to integrate the duty and quota‐free market access status contained in the EBA into a binding WTO agreement to secure a stable trading environment. But more importantly, in order to solve the difficulties at the root these countries should actively engage in reforming their own trade policies.     

Die Umsetzung der EU-Richtlinie über Wohnimmobilienkredite

The Directive 2014/17/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 February 2014 on credit agreements for consumers relating to residential immovable property (Mortgage Credit Directive) was complemented by new regulations regarding the assessment of customers’ creditworthiness through the Act Implementing the Mortgage Credit Directive and Amending Accounting Rules (Gesetz zur Umsetzung der Wohnimmobilienkreditrichtlinie und zur Änderung handelsrechtlicher Vorschriften) of 11 March 2016 in the law of obligations (Section 505a ff. Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB) and the regulatory law (Section 18a Kreditwesengesetz). Firstly, the dangers of the ‘extraordinary’ monetary policy of the ECB to the real estate market and a possible connectivity regarding the regulatory initiative are indicated. The contribution describes the purpose of the Directive, compares the new principles of creditworthiness assessment with the previous practice and analyses the consequences for banks and potential borrowers. It closes with a critical assessment of the EU wide regulation in this field and specifies approaches concerning a different German implementation in accordance with the Directive.     

Global agricultural trade liberalization: Is Sub-Saharan Africa a gainer or loser?

This paper analyzes the potential impact of agricultural trade liberalization on Sub-Saharan Africa. We used the Agricultural Trade and Policy Simulation Model to estimate the potential effects of agricultural trade liberalization, mainly in the US and EU, on the world-market prices of agricultural commodities. We then used the estimated price changes to assess the impact of these reforms on net-food importers as well as other Sub-Saharan African countries that enjoy preferential trade agreements with the EU and US. The results indicate that the world market prices of all commodities imported by Sub-Saharan Africa are expected to rise while the prices of the key export commodities of the region would either decline or remain unchanged. Given that the prices of major food commodities are expected to rise, net-food-importing countries will experience increasing import bill, thus leading to welfare loss. Major Sub-Saharan Africa sugar exporters who are beneficiaries of preferential agreements such as the EU sugar protocol and US AGOA initiative will become losers as preferences erode due to global liberalization. Thus, the region is expected to generally become a net loser from the current WTO reform modalities.     

中国对欧盟农产品出口增长的影响因素分析

加入世贸组织以来,我国农产品对欧盟的出口增长速度明显加快。本文运用恒定市场份额模型,重点探讨了我国农产品对欧盟出口的特点及出口增长的影响因素。研究表明,我国农产品对欧盟出口的增长,部分来自于欧盟对世界农产品进口需求的增加,部分是由于我国近年农产品的出口竞争力明显增强引致的,此外我国出口商品的构成效应也做出了积极的贡献。为了扩大对欧盟出口,中国需要进一步调整出口商品结构,提高农产品的出口竞争力。     

中国航空业应对欧盟“碳贸易壁垒”的对策建议

2011年3月8日,欧盟正式通过将航空产业纳入其碳排放交易体系的决议。从2012年1月1日开始,欧盟将实行超过排放限额的各国航空公司需要缴纳碳排放边境调节税的规定。由此,发达国家的碳贸易壁垒已经渗透到国际服务贸易领域。文章从欧盟对各国航空业征收碳费问题入手,研究边境碳税调节措施的运行机制和政策效果,分析了欧盟的碳交易体系与世界贸易组织相关规则的一致性,提出中国航空业应对欧盟碳贸易壁垒的对策建议。     

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.     

Wie geht es mit dem Brexit weiter?

The UK’s 2016 EU referendum may account for great income losses in the UK. Gabriel Felbermayr et al. use a “new” quantitative trade model to assess various Brexit scenarios. The results broadly show that all EU member states lose, and the relative losses in the UK are about five times those of the average remaining EU country. These findings have important implications for the EU’s negotiation strategy. The outcome depends largely on the decisions about trade relations. Michael Hüther thinks that the UK is heading for an extremely hard Brexit and that it already shows. Therefore, the UK government should work out a consistent industrial policy and make up its mind about its preferences on its future economic relationship with its neighbours. In light of the currently very close and mutually welfare-enhancing business relations between the EU27 and the UK, one of the central tasks and challenges of the Brexit negotiations is undoubtedly the creation of a new supportive post-supranational legal framework governing these economic transactions in the future. Andreas Grimmel argues that the EU’s crises are largely the result of a certain mode of integration that is based on actors’ interests rather than on a comprehensive constitutional framework.     

The New Generation of Structural and Investment Funds–More Than Financial Transfers?

The European Structural and Investment Funds make up more than 40% of the EU budget and are thereby the EU’s most important financial support to growth, employment, investment and structural change. The funds are programmed for (overlapping) seven-year periods, and all programmes for the new 2014-2020 period were adopted by the end of 2015. What can the EU and its taxpayers expect from this new generation of programmes? How do they fit into the EU’s efforts to strengthen its economic governance and performance, and what role do they play in the Juncker Commission’s “Investment Plan for Europe”?     

The Impact of EU Norms and Policies on Consumer Protection Enforcement in Serbia

Pursuant to its 2008 Stabilization and Association Agreement governing the process of EU integration, Serbia is obliged to align its consumer protection standards (including those related to enforcement) with those of the EU. This article considers the overall approach to enforcement of consumer law in Serbia, focussing in particular on the extent to which EU enforcement principles have been successfully exported to Serbia and whether the goals of EU consumer policy have been achieved. It argues that the incorporation of EU norms has brought fundamental changes to Serbian enforcement mechanisms at a formal level, such as in relation to mediation processes as well as the introduction of injunctions for the protection of collective consumer interests. In practice, however, the impact of this incorporation is quite limited. A number of factors that restrict the practical effectiveness of the mediation processes and injunctions required by EU law are explored in the article, including weak sanctions, excessive reliance on poorly resourced consumer organizations, absence of a business culture of compliance or a sophisticated and determined consumer protection enforcement culture sufficiently grounded in expertise, as well as an overarching political, legislative, and institutional instability. These factors also undermine the general aim of EU policy to achieve effective consumer protection enforcement in the Serbian context.     

Withdrawal legitimised? On the proposal by the constitutional Convention for the right of secession from the EU

Summary  All in all it can be stated that since the heterogeneity of the EU will increase considerably due to its enlargement and at the same time the trend towards centralisation and redistribution will be strengthened, secession and opting out will become important as constitutional arrangements for the EU. They are an instrument against stronger centralisation and redistribution mechnanisms. They make a contribution to the operationality of the subsidiarity principle. They form a counterweight to the domination of minorities by majority decisions. At the same time they facilitate the mechanisms for the endogenous determination of the optimal size of the EU and for the increasing of the efficiency of the EU institutions in the sense of federalism theory. Globalisation increasingly requires and enforces liberal institutions of integration. Every country should therefore have the choice of terminating its participation in a Community policy or even its membership of a club in a regulated fashion. Thus, the European Convention has made a trail-blazing proposal with the constitutional right of secession from the EU.     

欧盟商品市场一体化的影响因素研究:基于边界效应的视角

本文选用2000-2005年欧盟成员国之间以及欧盟成员国与外部主要贸易伙伴国之间的双边出口贸易额等数据,使用面板数据方法,基于边界效应的视角,分别探讨了欧盟25国和欧盟15国的商品市场一体化影响因素。结果表明:欧盟这样的区域贸易协定对其成员国具有正面影响。地理临近性和文化联系鼓励紧密的贸易伙伴,距离、税率和人口对双边贸易存在负面影响,这与以往的研究结果相同。非关税壁垒成为重要边界可部分解释欧盟25国的内部边界效应高于欧盟15国的研究结果。     

中国输欧不锈钢餐厨具退运通报调查及应对措施研究

基于对不锈钢餐厨具遭遇欧盟退运通报的调查统计以及对欧盟及其成员国发布的食品接触不锈钢技术法规的比较分析,研究我国目前不锈钢餐厨具面临的贸易形势及其应对措施;通过比较欧盟技术法规,对意大利迁移量限量提出质疑;分析新型铁素体的性能特征,提出通过采用新材料制备不锈钢餐厨具打破欧盟技术壁垒的可行性。     

EU Trade Regulation for Baby Food: Protecting Health or Trade?

This paper explores the effect of European Union (EU) food safety regulations on EU imports of baby food. Pesticides and contaminants contribute to various health problems. Children are more vulnerable to the dangers of pesticides and contaminants because as soon as they start eating solids, they consume a limited number of food items, most of which are fruits and vegetables. To protect the health of the most vulnerable part of the population, the EU regulations stipulate that no more than 0.01 mg/kg of any single pesticide residue is permitted in baby food. In this respect, the EU differs from most of its trading partners, the majority of which do not differentiate food safety regulations according to the age of the consumer. The purpose of this paper is to compare the EU regulations on maximum residue limits of pesticides to those of its major competitors through a severity index. This index is then introduced into a gravity equation to assess the impact on EU imports of baby food. We find that the EU regulation had a negative impact on the volume of trade but a positive one on the probability of setting up new trade relationships.     

欧盟非关税壁垒措施分析

欧盟是世界上经济最发达的地区之一 ,多年来一直是中国重要的贸易伙伴。但近年来为了保护本地区内部市场 ,欧盟采取了一系列的贸易保护措施 ,尤其是非关税壁垒措施更是大量的使用。这些措施的实行在一定程度上对我国商品对欧盟的出口产生了诸多不利的影响。文章就欧盟非关税壁垒措施包含的内容以及欧盟出台的相应政策进行了详细的分析 ,并对中国与欧盟近期贸易前景进行了预测。     

中欧贸易隐含碳及政策启示——基于投入产出模型的实证研究

虽然欧盟一直是节能减排的积极倡导者和实践者,但如果欧盟各国通过减少国内生产,增加从中国的进口而实现其减排目标,则其承诺将是毫无意义的。采用投入产出法对中欧贸易隐含碳进行结构分解分析,结果表明:1995—2010年,中国对欧盟净出口隐含碳占到中国总排放量的3.07%～8.41%;技术效应和结构效应都有利于减少碳排放,但是它们却不足以抵消规模效应所导致的碳排放增加。因此,欧盟应对中国的部分碳排放负责,中国则需加大低碳技术的应用,改善生产结构和贸易结构。     

The New Political Economy of EU State Aid Policy

Despite its importance and singularity, the EU’s state aid policy has attracted less scholarly attention than other elements of EU competition policy. Introducing the themes addressed by the special issue, this article briefly reviews the development of EU policy and highlights why the control of state aid matters. The Commission’s response to the current economic crisis notably in banking and the car industry is a key concern, but the interests of the special issue go far beyond. They include: the role of the European Commission in the development of EU policy, the politics of state aid, and a clash between models of capitalism. The special issue also examines the impact of EU policy. It investigates how EU state aid decisions affect not only industrial policy at the national level (and therefore at the EU level), but the welfare state and territorial relations within federal member states, the external implications of EU action and the strategies pursued by the Commission to limit any potential disadvantage to European firms, and the conflict between the EU’s expanding legal order and national.     

State Aid Policy, Territoriality and Federalism: EU Scrutiny and Control of Regional Aid and the Supranationalisation of Subnational Autonomy in Federal Member States

Whilst its impact on national industrial policy has attracted considerable attention in the scholarly literature, the implications of EU state aid policy on regional development policy and its effects on territorial relations inside EU member states have been largely neglected. Drawing on the experience of Bavaria, Flanders and Upper Austria, this article shows how EU action has imposed increasingly wide reaching and detailed constraints on subnational authorities, undermining and eroding their capacity to define and implement regional policy. It thereby also challenges the widely held presumption in the EU literature, as for example by proponents of multi-level governance, that European integration works invariably to empower and strengthen regions in Europe. To the contrary, the case studies show that the autonomy of subnational states in EU member countries with federal systems has been eroded as they have been forced to abandon traditional policies and practices. More generally, the article invites reconsideration of the relationship between European integration and subnational authorities.     

欧共体合并控制改革探析

2001年至2004年间,欧盟对合并控制制度进行了影响深远的改革.改革的导火线是欧盟委员会发表的<绿皮书>和欧洲初审法院连续撤销欧盟委员会的三项禁止企业合并的决定;改革的根本原因在于合并控制制度本身存在的问题.作为改革的成果,2004年欧盟委员会颁布了新的<合并条例>、<横向合并审查指南>和<合并调查最佳实践指南>三部法律条文,重组了执法部门竞争总司.欧盟合并控制制度改革的经验,可为我国合并控制立法借鉴.