1,721,182 research outputs found
Differentiated Integration in the EU - From the inside looking out. CEPS Paperbacks. January 2014
Full text linkFlexibility might be convenient when it comes to accommodating member states’ differing socio-economic and political interests in an expanding EU. Yet, opt-outs, enhanced cooperation and cooperation between member states outside the EU’s legal framework are calling into question the boundaries of this constitutional, institutional and legal differentiation in an EU that is founded on common principles, with a specific legal order and common institutions
EEAS 2.0: A legal commentary on Council Decision 2010/427/EU establishing the organisation and functioning of the European External Action Service. CEPS Paperbacks. February 2013
Full text linkThis short and user-friendly legal commentary on the 2010 Council Decision establishing the organisation and functioning of the EEAS is the first of its kind. It is intended to inform those involved in the review process and to serve as a reference document for practitioners and analysts dealing with the EEAS. Rather than an elaborate doctrinal piece, this legal commentary is a textual and contextual analysis of each article that takes account of i) other relevant legal provisions (primary, secondary, international); ii) the process leading to the adoption of the 2010 Council Decision; iii) the preamble of the Council Decision and iv) insofar as it is possible at this stage, early implementation. Wherever relevant, cross-references to other provisions of the Council Decision have been made so as to tie in the different commentaries and ensure overall consistency
EEAS 2.0: Recommendations for the amendment of Council Decision 2010/427/EU on the European External Action Service. CEPS Special Report No. 78, 13 November 2013
Full text linkThis Special Report offers recommendations for the amendment of the Council Decision 2010/427/EU
establishing the organisation and functioning of the European External Action Service. Its purpose is
to contribute, in practical legal terms, to the ongoing review of the Decision in 2013, as well as to the
possible discussion on its revision that may take place in 2014. In particular, it sheds light on possible
adjustments in the application of the Decision ‘à droit constant’, but also suggests potential alteration
of its formulation
The influence of international organisations on the EU and its legal order:Between autonomy and dependence
Full text linkThe concluding chapter of this book recapitulates the conceptual frameworks, theoretical underpinnings and empirical evidence of the intense legal interactions between the EU and a representative body of international institutions. The result is testimony to the coming of age of the European Union as a polity. The editors adopt the argument that the Court of Justice’s recently displayed attitude towards the reception of international law in the EU legal order forms an impediment to meeting the EU’s constitutional duties in its relations with the wider world, most notably full respect for international law, whether this emanates from international organisations with legal personality or less institutionalised international regimes. If the Court is serious about its own claim that the Union constitutes an entity with distinct constitutional features, it should be prepared to translate this into a policy of deference towards external norms. Whereas the consequence of such a modern, liberal approach would amount to less “autonomy” for the EU and its legal order under international law, the European Union, as such, would become a more mature actor on the global stage and—in the mid to longer term—offer its Member States, citizens, natural and legal persons the opportunity to reap more benefits from its “openness” to the world
Direct Democracy in the EU –The Myth of a Citizens’ Union. CEPS Paperback, November 2018
Full text linkThe European Union has a democracy problem. The polycrisis that has plagued the EU for years has led to a cacophony of voices calling for fundamental change to the integration project. Yet despite the shock of the Brexit referendum and the electoral upsets caused by nativist parties across the continent, few of the plans for EU reform include concrete proposals to address the perennial democratic deficit.
This book looks at how the relationship between citizens, the state and EU institutions has changed in a multi-layered Union. As such, it focuses more on polity than on populism, and does not engage deeply with policy or output legitimacy. Building on the notion of increasing social, economic and political interdependence across borders, this book asks whether a sense of solidarity and European identity can be rescued from the bottom up by empowering citizens to ‘take back control’ of their Union.
Direct Democracy in the EU: The Myth of a Citizens’ Union is part of the 'Towards a Citizens’ Union' project and is the product of collaboration with 20 renowned think tanks from the European Policy Institutes Network (EPIN). It is the first of three publications that will also cover the state of representative democracy in the EU and the accountability of democratic institutions
What Comes After the Last Chance Commission? CEPS Policy Priorities for 2019-2024
Full text linkWhen the current European Commission began its mandate on 1 November 2014 under President Jean-Claude Juncker, it did so in highly inauspicious political circumstances. The EU was still suffering one of the most severe financial and economic crises since World War II; unemployment had hit unprecedentedly high levels; intergovernmental emergency measures burdened the Union’s democratic quality; and the trust in European institutions of a politics-fatigued electorate had hit an all-time low.
President-elect Juncker published ‘political guidelines’ to mark ‘a new start for Europe’.1 This ‘agenda for jobs, growth, fairness and democratic change’
served to limit legislative action to ten policy fields (see Box 1) and restructure
the internal set-up of the College to enable the so-called ‘last-chance Commission’ to turn the corner.2 The revised structure was supposed to channel the Commission’s attention towards ‘big-ticket’ items – easing off on regulation of eco-friendly light bulbs
and water-saving shower heads.
But political circumstances deteriorated and blew the Commission off course. There was an unexpectedly high influx of people seeking refuge on the European continent; severe instability in Europe’s direct neighbourhood; terrorist attacks on home soil; and a rise of populist forces across Europe. The ‘poly-crisis’
revealed deep divisions and incompatible preferences for problemsolving strategies among member states, which undermined the unity of the EU and triggered a far-reaching debate on the future direction of the bloc
Deliberative Democracy in the EU. Countering Populism with Participation and Debate. CEPS Paperback
Full text linkElections are the preferred way to freely transfer power from one
term to the next and from one political party or coalition to another.
They are an essential element of democracy. But if the process of
power transfer is corrupted, democracy risks collapse. Reliance on
voters, civil society organisations and neutral observers to fully
exercise their freedoms as laid down in international human rights
conventions is an integral part of holding democratic elections.
Without free, fair and regular elections, liberal democracy is
inconceivable.
Elections are no guarantee that democracy will take root and
hold, however. If the history of political participation in Europe over
the past 800 years is anything to go by, successful attempts at gaining
voice have been patchy, while leaders’ attempts to silence these
voices and consolidate their own power have been almost constant
(Blockmans, 2020).
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Recent developments in certain EU member states have again
shown us that democratically elected leaders will try and use
majoritarian rule to curb freedoms, overstep the constitutional limits
of their powers, protect the interests of their cronies and recycle
themselves through seemingly free and fair elections. In their recent
book How Democracies Die, two Harvard professors of politics write:
“Since the end of the Cold War, most democratic breakdowns have
been caused not by generals and soldiers but by elected governments
themselves” (Levitsky and Ziblatt, 2018)
EU-Iran Relations after the Nuclear Deal.
Full text linkThe signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action between Iran and global powers in July 2015 was a major turning point in the emerging strategic landscape of the Middle East. The ‘nuclear deal’ led to the lifting by the EU and the US of nuclear-related sanctions, and is now operational. Other sanctions remain in place, however.
Nevertheless, unhindered by US competition, European trade delegations have entered into a latter-day gold rush, led by the promise of the biggest untapped market in the world. As such, the EU has both an opportunity and a responsibility to help Iran reintegrate properly into the international system. But, in the face of an opaque clerical regime that relies on internal repression and military business conglomerates, Europe stands to lose if it continues to pursue its uncalculated and uncoordinated approach towards the Islamic Republic.
This report offers recommendations to guide the EU towards a comprehensive EU strategy for relations with Iran. It maintains that there is no other option but to keep universal values and the rule of law at the core of the emerging bilateral relationship. In fact, the protection of the economic rights of European traders and investors allows the EU to push for wider reforms and the normalisation of relations
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