European integration: West and East

The EC internal market is to be completed by the end of 1992, the creation of a European Economic Space comprising the 18 countries of the EC and EFTA is underway, and the countries of Eastern Europe, above all the USSR, are talking more and more about a “European house” from the Urals to the Atlantic. How much progress has in fact been made so far in this direction? What are the main obstacles, and what developments are to be expected in the medium term?     

Monetary co-operation in Europe

The decisions of the EC conference in Nyborg last autumn were designed to consolidate and expand monetary integration in Europe. What degree of integration have the many years of effort achieved? What are the prospects for the future of the European Monetary System?     

EC trade policy beyond 1992

The initiative to set up the single European market has aroused fears abroad, and indeed even within Europe itself, that the intention is to turn the Community into a “Fortress Europe”. Attempts to allay these fears by the Council of Ministers, the EC Commission or individuals representing them have achieved little success, and on occasion have actually tended to be counter-productive. Is “Fortress Europe” an illusion or a real danger?     

Has the EC reached the point of no return?

Even according to a report by the EC-Commission the economic divergencies between the individual EC member countries have shown an increase during the last three years¹. A protracted disintegration movement would inevitably lead to a weakening and even to the end of the free social and economic systems such as we know them in West Europe today. Has the EC already reached the point of no return?     

Future prospects for the CFA Franc Zone

The CFA Franc Zone, with 14 member countries in West and Central Africa, is now entering a phase of restructuring. This is clearly indicated by the debates now occurring in the EC, within the French government, in international organizations such as the World Bank and IMF, and in the CFA Franc Zone countries themselves. What have the benefits and drawbacks of the CFA Franc Zone been? What form might future monetary cooperation between Europe and Africa take?     

Europe 1992: Regionalism and globalism

The changes that Europe has seen in the past few years—the growing reality of a unified EC, the reforms in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, and the results of economic and political events from outside—have opened up new opportunities and created new challenges. Perhaps the most important result of “Europe '92” will be its ability to spur on a new era of innovation and entrepreneurship whose effects will be felt around the globe.     

EFTA and its relations with the EC

With its association with the EC in July 1977, EFTA will have achieved its immediate goal of bridging the economic division of Western Europe. Moreover, the influence of this small but efficient international organization — which due to its pragmatism and liberal principles fits quite well into the world trade order — has spread to the countries behind the iron curtain as well as to the international cooperation inside OECD and might go still further into an even more international economic order emerging from the North-South dialogue.     

The relationship between CMEA and EC

In early 1970 responsibility for the conclusion of trade agreements was transferred from the individual member states to the EC. Since then the EC has been recognized throughout the world as a contractual partner in its own right within this area. Only the Soviet Union and the CMEA are being difficult accepting these changes in responsibility since 1970. This means that in trade between the EC countries and the state trade countries there exists at present a situation without treaties. Where do the problems lie? What models offer themselves for overcoming this situation?     

Europe's Leading Cities – Success Factors and Policy Perspectives

In Europe, economic activity is concentrated more and more in the major urban centres. At the same time, these cities are in a competition with one another. Across Europe they are contending for investors and qualified workers and searching for the most successful path to a dynamic economic future. Which cities in Europe have made the greatest economic progress in the past? What are the factors that have made some cities more successful than others? And what action can cities take to achieve greater economic growth in the future?     

Potential economic variables and actual economic policies in Europe

Ignoring for a moment the debate on whether balanced budget rules are a sensible idea from a macroeconomic point of view, there remains a major problem with tying one’s fiscal policy to econometric estimates of potential variables: their notorious unreliability. With every one of its biannual economic forecasts, the EC provides revised estimates of structural parameters that are crucial components of its macroeconometric models and, by extension, its economic policy advice. This article shows that the EC’s econometric estimates of potential growth variables in Europe have been subject to massive revisions since the financial crisis.     

The future of cooperation between the EU and ACP countries

Something over 20 years after the first Lomé Agreement came into force, most of the ACP countries are still among the poorest in the world. Why have these countries' situations not improved despite the Agreements? Why has their share of total EC imports from developing countries fallen in spite of the tariff preferences they are granted? What conclusions ought to be drawn for future cooperation between the EC and ACP countries?     

The international competitiveness of Europe,the USA and Japan

The growing importance of Japan on the world market has brought with it changes in the international division of labour and a shift in the focus of the expansion in world trade away from the EC and the USA. What factors determine the shares of the EC, the USA and Japan in international trade? How dependent are these three economic powers on the world market? What conclusions can be drawn regarding their relative competitive strength?     

The social dimension and cohesion: Complementary or contradictory?

It is again being argued that the low labour costs and social standards in countries on the periphery of the EC—Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain—jeopardise employment in the northern EC countries and the social safety net they have constructed. A common social policy harmonising employment and social standards to safeguard the social status quo is therefore being advocated. How valid is this argument? What consequences would the implementation of such a “social action programme” have for the economies on the periphery? How are the Community’s objectives with regard to cohesion and social policy to be reconciled?     

Agriculture in Europe: New challenges ahead

The recent reform of the EC’s Common Agricultural Policy is likely to be only the beginning of the adjustments which will be necessary in the near future. Accession applications by various EFTA countries are pending. At the same time Eastern Europe desperately needs assistance from Western Europe, not only in the form of food aid but also in the form of help in establishing agricultural production and trade based on the laws of the market. The following article takes stock of the situation.     

The impact of 1992 on European integration and relations with the United States

The end of 1992 has of late become quite a significant date in Europe. By this time the so-called Single European Market is to be created. The date and the topic are producing intensive debates all over the world. The purpose of this article is to describe certain trends which go along with the process of approaching 1992 and which could have significant implications for the development of the world economy. What intentions do the Europeans have? Where do the risks and conflicts lie? What should be done in order to achieve a harmonious development in the relations between the USA and Europe?     

The mediterranean policy of the EC—The case of agriculture

The production structures of the majority of Mediterranean countries have traditionally been oriented towards the West European market. What effects will the southward enlargement of the EC have on the agricultural sector of the non-candidate Mediterranean countries? What can the EC do to alleviate the problems?     

Implications of the EC internal market for relations with Eastern Europe

The countdown to the realisation of the Single European Market at the end of 1992 is taking place parallel to drastic political and economic changes in Eastern Europe Both of these processes will affect relations between the EC and the CMEA countries The following article analyses the possible consequences.     

Integration and convergence

The date of entry of Spain and Portugal into the European Community is drawing ever nearer. What are the likely economic consequences of the integration into the EC of these Southern European countries, whose level of development is quite different from that of the other members? The experience of Greece, the first Southern European country to join the EC, can provide some valuable lessons here.     

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?