On a Reformed Stability and Growth Pact

In March 2005, the Council of Economics and Finance Ministers (Ecofin) presented its own suggestions for a possible Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) reform in a Report to the European Council. The Council Report divides its proposals into three parts, namely improving governance, strengthening the preventive arm and improving the implementation of the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP). The present paper contains a critical analysis of the ideas contained in the Report, accompanied by comparisons of the suggestions with earlier proposals for reform in the literature and the Commission Communication of September 2004.

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*Professor of European Financial Economics and Jean Monnet Professor of European Financial and Monetary Integration, CentER, Tilburg University, The Netherlands; Research Fellow, CEPR, London, UK; Member of the Panel of Experts of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament to which the article was first presented as a Briefing Paper in May 2005.     

European Transport Policy in a Broader Perspective

On 12 July 2007 the European Parliament passed, with an overwhelming majority, a resolution on the Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament of 22 June 2006 entitled “Keep Europe moving – Sustainable mobility for our continent – Mid-term review of the European Commission's 2001 Transport White Paper”.1 This article outlines the main positions of the European Parliament in relation to the focal points of the Commission's position concerning present and future European transport policy.     

Commission proposals on budgetary and financial reform

In a speech to the European Parliament on 18th February 1987 the Commission President Delors publicly announced the Commission’s proposals for a fundamental reorganization of the system of financing the Community and of Community budgetary policy.1 What is the background of these proposals? How can they be assessed?     

Some thoughts on the European Communities’ Budget

The Budget of the European Communities has recently moved from the political periphery to the centre of the stage. The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers could not agree on the 1980 Budget, the main issue being its domination by the expenditures on agriculture. Moreover, a financial crisis is to be expected for 1981 or 1982 as the Community’s financial “own Resources” will no longer be sufficient. Finally there is the still unsolved problem of the unequal way in which the costs and benefits of the Community Budget are distributed among the Member States. Christopher Tugendhat, Budget Commissioner of the European Communities, comments on these questions.     

The European Commission's Green Paper on European Contract Law

In July 2001 the European Commission published a Communication to the Council and the European Parliament, its so-called "Green Paper" on European Contract Law (COM (2001) 398). This document seeks feedback on the options sketched by the Commission for future European Community action in the contract law field.The present note, which incorporates as an Appendix the text of the Green Paper itself, is designed to explain the background to the Commission's intervention (the first section, pp. 339–350 below), to provide a brief commentary on the content of the Green Paper (the second section, pp. 350–356) and then to assess the constitutional implications of a proposed advance towards a European Contract Law (the third section, pp. 356–371). It is argued that the debate about the creation of a European contract law is properly seen not merely as a matter of cultural feasibility and of commercial desirability, but that in addition assessment of the EC's potential contribution is heavily conditioned by increasing constitutional anxieties about the EC's legitimate role in the field of market regulation. The Green Paper avoids explicit treatment of the constitutional dimension of European contract law, yet, it is argued in this note, this is in fact unavoidable in the wake of the European Court's seminal judgment of October 2000 in the so-called "Tobacco Advertising" case in which it for the first time invalidated a measure of harmonisation of laws on the basis that an insufficient connection with the process of market-building had been shown by the European Community's legislature. This demands that the constitutional validity of legislative proposals in the field of contract law be examined with care, for the EC, an entity created by an international Treaty, has been endowed with no general competence as lawmaker in this or any other field, even though past legislative practice may have tended to obscure this constitutionally fundamental principle.     

Medium-term financial planning: An answer to community budget crises?

In June 1988 the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission concluded an “Interinstitutional Agreement on Budgetary Discipline and Improvement of the Budgetary Procedure”. A key element of the agreement is a commitment to medium-term financial planning for the Community for the period up to 1992. Can this agreement put the Community budgetary procedure on a new footing and ensure that the decisions taken at the Brussels summit on agricultural reform and budgetary discipline can be implemented?     

The Witches' Brew

Satellite broadcasting has been front-page news in the UK recently; thus this article is timely. Regrettably, the British Government's proposals could not be included; however, the main purpose here is to look at satellite broadcasting from the viewpoint of possible pan-European controls. As such, if this article puts the new British proposals into the context of a European framework it will have served its purpose well. To set the scene an attempt is made to outline the issues and problems which must be considered, and a summary of the main proposals for launching and operating satellites is given. The main thesis considers the powers and possible activities of the European institutions—the European Community and Council of Europe—with regard to controls of advertising on satellite broadcasting in Europe.     

Europe’s agricultural policy facing new alternatives

“If the right decisions are not now taken, the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Community may collapse. The hour of truth has struck for agriculture.” So the Commissioner for Agriculture, Gundelach, in the spring of 1980 when appealing to the Members of the European Parliament “to support the Commission’s moderate proposals for price increases and the proposed measures for reducing the agricultural surpluses”¹. This scenario gives great topical value to findings set out in a publication, “Europe’s Agricultural Policy Facing New Alternatives”², of which we present here a summary. Its wellknown authors have tried to map out routes to a less contentious agricultural policy for the future.     

How can the Stability and Growth Pact be improved to achieve both stronger discipline and higher flexibility?

Conclusion  While we are sceptical of re-opening the debate on the SGP,²⁶ we think that its functioning can nonetheless be improved. Our main proposals concern redefining the medium-term budgetary targets, improving transparency, tackling the pro-cyclical fiscal bias in good times, moving towards non-partisan application of the rules and improving transparency in the data. This set of ideas allows the achievement of both stronger discipline and higher flexibility and can be implemented without requiring any major revision of the existing rules. These proposals do not provide a recipe for tackling the problems encountered by countries still in transition towards lower deficits in the event of a cyclical slump. Nevertheless, if implemented, they would limit the type of behaviour which is largely responsible for the current fiscal tensions. He is also a member of the Panel of Experts of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament for which this article was written as a Briefing Paper (November 2002).     

Half-time in the European Parliament—Expectations,reality, outlook

The European Parliament was set up by direct elections in June 1979. Great expectations had been placed in these direct elections with regard to the further development of the European Community. Now, half-way through the Parliament’s five-year term, a certain Euro-weariness is gaining ground. Had expectations been pitched too high? How is the work of the European Parliament so far to be assessed? What are the prospects for the future?     

THE CONSUMERS' COUNCIL BILLS 1929–1939

Three attempts were made in Parliament to create a Consumers' Council between 1929 and 1939. The proposed Council was to have powers to investigate and recommend price fixing, and although all three bills were unsuccessful, some of the issues discussed are still of contemporary interest.     

European Parliament elections in times of crisis

In May 2014, EU citizens will vote in the most important European Parliament elections to date. With the new powers allocated to it by the Lisbon Treaty, the new European Parliament will shape EU policies in many important areas and will elect the President of the Commission. However, public confi dence in the EU has fallen to historically low levels — to a great extent due to the fi nancial crisis and its aftermath — and the participation rate in European Parliament elections has dropped steadily since the fi rst call for a direct vote in 1979. This raises fundamental questions about its political and democratic legitimacy. This Forum examines the economic agendas of the main political parties vying for power and the potential outcome of the May elections, including the role that radical and anti-euro parties are likely to play in the campaign and in the next Parliament.     

Treaty Reform: Consequences for Monetary Policy

The proposed reform treaty, aimed at enhancing the efficiency and democratic legitimacy of the enlarged Union as well as its position on the global stage, has a number of important implications for monetary policy and the status of the European Central Bank. Can the reforms be expected to make euro area governance more efficient? Could they potentially jeopardise the ECB's independence and European monetary policy? Member of the Panel of Experts of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament, to which the article was first presented as a Briefing Paper for the Monetary Dialogue with the President of the European Central Bank in October 2007. The author gratefully acknowledges the helpful comments of Edin Mujagic and the excellent research assistance of Rob Nijskens.     

The EU on the 50th Anniversary of the Treaty of Rome

March 25, 2007 marks the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, the signing of which is considered to be the birth of the European Union. On this occasion the following articles discuss past and present developments in a number of important European policy fields. *Member of the Panel of Experts of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament to which the article was first presented as a Briefing Paper for the Monetary Dialogue with the President of the European Central Bank in December 2006.     

The Impact of New Technology on the Communication of Parliamentary Information

SUMMARY

This article discusses the results of an exploratory study, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, which investigated the impact of technology on the communication of parliamentary information to the general public in the United Kingdom. As Stage 1 of the project, interviews were conducted with representatives of the public information services of the UK Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly. Stage 2 consisted of interactive, electronically-assisted interviews, delivered in a roadshow environment, where members of the public were given the opportunity to explore, and provide critical feedback on, parliamentary websites.     

Change at the ECB Executive Board

In view of the future enlargement of the euro area the European Central Bank (ECB) will have to be reformed. The ECB itself has presented a reform proposal which points in the right direction, but which could be improved upon for more efficient decision-making.

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*Sylvester C. W. Eijffinger, Professor of European Financial Economics and Jean Monnet Professor of European Financial and Monetary Integration, CentER, Tilburg University, The Netherlands; Professor of European Financial Integration, RSM Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Research Fellow, CEPR, London; Member of the Panel of Experts of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament to which the article was first presented as a Briefing Paper in March 2006. Comments on an earlier version of the Briefing Paper by Prof. Hans Blommestein and Dr. Edin Mujagic are gratefully acknowledged.     

Trade Effects of the European Union's Service Directive: Contrasting ex ante Estimates with Empirical Evidence

One of the top priorities to improve the European Union's growth performance is the creation of a single market for services. The directive on services adopted by the Parliament and the Council by the end of 2006 aims at removing barriers to the free movement of service providers on the internal market. Previous studies quantified ex ante sizable effects of implementing the directive in its original form. This paper is a first attempt to evaluate ex post the trade effects induced by a directive – which excludes the country‐of‐origin principle – by performing a difference‐in‐difference‐(in‐differences) estimator on a sample of EU‐ and non‐EU countries in the period 2004 to 10. We account for non‐tariff trade barriers and the endogeneity of regional trade agreements and find that the service directive adds to a reallocation of business services trade within the EU. Accounting for the trade effect of past deregulations, the EU directive fosters a deeper integration of the new member states into the European service value‐added‐chain and promotes business service exports from third countries towards the EU significantly more than trade of country pairs in the control group. The reorientation of the EU‐15 towards the new members is in turn associated with less intense intra‐EU‐10 businesses, while business trade between EU‐15 members is not significantly affected.     

Vertical Unbundling in the EU Electricity Sector

In its September 2007 package of energy policy proposals the European Commission has expressed a clear preference for ownership unbundling as the most effective way of separating transmission from other stages of the value chain, which is regarded as necessary in order to promote infrastructure investment, fair network access and market transparency. The welfare effects of this measure are, however, still hotly debated. The following articles highlight the pros and cons of ownership unbundling. * Thanks are due to Alberto Prandini for earlier discussions on this topic and to Hieu Tran for excellent research assistance. Funding from the UK Economic and Social Research Council is gratefully acknowledged. ** The contribution of this author is on personal title and does not bind the NMa in one way or another.     

The requirements for EC merger control

The need for a uniform European system to control mergers seems ever more urgent as the advent of the European internal market draws closer. What proposals and approaches already exist for European competition law? How should they be assessed?     

Institutional consumer representation in the European Community

This contribution is concerned with the possibilities of consumer participation in the formulation of consumer policy by the European Commission. Consumer influence in other EC bodies — such as the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee — is considered in so far as they determine the extent of consumer representation at the Commission level. After reviewing the legal basis for consumer representation, special attention is given to the development and the activities of the Consumers Consultative Council and the Consumer Policy Service. Their impact on the entire consumer policy of the Community is analysed as well as the restrictions which they face. Finally, requirements for a more efficient consumer representation at the Commission level are formulated.

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Die Vertretung der Verbraucher in den Institutionen der Europäischen Gemeinschaft

Zusammenfassung Dieser Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit den Möglichkeiten der Beteiligung organisierter Verbraucher am Proze\ der Formulierung der Verbraucherpolitik der EG-Kommission. Der Einflu\ der Verbraucher auf audere Organe der Gemeinschaft — insbesondere das Europäische Parlament und den Wirtschafts- und Sozialausschu\ — wird insoweit berücksichtigt, als er auf die Handlungsmöglichkeiten der Verbraucher auf der Ebene der Kommission zurückwirkt. Nach einem Blick auf die rechtlichen Grundlagen der Verbrauchervertretung setzt sich der Beitrag vor allem mit der Entwicklung und den Leistunger des Beratenden Verbraucherrats (BVR/CCC) und der Verbraucherpolitischen Dienststelle der Kommission auseinander. Der Einflu\ beider Einrichtungen auf die Verbraucherpolitik der Gemeinschaft wird ebenso untersucht wie die Grenzen, die ihrem Handeln gezogen sind. Abschlie\end werden einige Voraussetzungen für eine wirksamere Verbrauchervertretung auf der Ebene der Kommission herausgearbeitet.