EU enlargement and governance of the Common Agricultural Policy

The requirements for the implementation, administration and control of the application of the current CAP are much higher than they were 15 years ago. The governance problems caused in the present EU by today’s higher regulation density are already severe. The new member countries are even less well equipped than the present ones to deal with these problems. What political consequences should be drawn?     

The chances for a thorough reform of the common agricultural policy

That the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Community is in need of reform is by now commonly accepted. But all moves for a reform on the political level have been postponed until after the French elections in the spring, a fact which highlights the political problems. Is there a real chance of a thorough reform of the CAP?     

EU-Investitionsförderung für kleine und mittlere Unternehmen in Südeuropa: empfehlenswert?

The president of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, has repeatedly pointed out that small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face major constraints to access to credit and that removing these constraints could contribute to reducing unemployment. According to press reports, the new president of the EU Commission and even the European Central Bank are also considering low-cost loans for national banks if they provide credit for SMEs. It is argued theoretically and empirically that single-firm investment support does not address the causes of high unemployment and, due to the difficulty in monitoring, could result in great inefficiencies.     

The income efficiency of government expenditure on agricultural policy

Farming worldwide and national agricultural policies are in a profound crisis. Farmers everywhere are complaining about inadequate incomes. A large proportion of farms are threatened on both sides of the Atlantic, in the EC no less than in the USA. This situation has coincided with a period of intense state intervention in agriculture. Spending on agriculture has risen steeply both in the EC and in the USA. The question arises how much of this farm spending benefits farmers.     

Studiengebühren: Ein Weg aus der Bildungskrise?

Das Urteil des Bundesverfassungsgerichts vom Januar 2005 hat die Tür zu Studiengebühren geöffnet. Damit ist eine notwendige Bedingung für eine fundamentale Hochschulreform erfüllt. Welche verteilungs– und bildungspolitischen Folgen hat die derzeitige Hochschulfinanzierung? Wie sind demgegenüber Studiengebühren zu bewerten? Wie ließe sich der Wettbewerb zwischen den Hochschulen verbessern?Prof. Dr. Charles B. Blankart, 62, lehrt Öffentliche Finanzen an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Er ist Mitglied des Wissenschaftlichen Beirats beim Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Arbeit und Mitglied des Wissenschaftlichen Arbeitskreises für Regulierungsfragen bei der Regulierungsbehörde für Telekommunikation und Post (WAR); Gerrit B. Koester, 31, Dipl.-Volkswirt, Dipl.-Pol., ist wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Institut für öffentliche Finanzen der Humboldt-Universität; und Sascha G. Wolf, 29, Dipl.-Volkswirt, ist Mitarbeiter an demselben Institut sowie bei der Stiftung Marktwirtschaft.     

The CAP in disarray: EU commission proposes basic direct payments to EU farmers

Direct payments were originally justified as a mechanism to compensate farmers for the income loss incurred due to reduced intervention prices. However, this rationale is not valid any more, and a new justification for basic income support by granting basic decoupled direct payments has been proposed by the EU Commission. The following paper identifies a number of problems related to this proposal.