Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Legislative power – European Union countries'
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DAVITER, Falk. "The power of initiative : framing legislative policy conflicts in the European Union." Doctoral thesis, European University Institute, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/7044.
Full textExamining Board: Prof. Adrienne Héritier, (European University Institute/SPS/RSCAS) ; Prof. Stefano Bartolini, (European University Institute/RSCAS) ; Prof. Ellen M. Immergut, (Humboldt University Berlin) ; Prof. Claudio Radaelli, (University of Exeter)
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
This thesis asks how the framing of policy issues in EU legislative politics influences the way issues are processed, how it affects which interests play a role during policy drafting and deliberation, and what type of political conflicts and coalitions emerge as a result. Focusing in particular on the European Commission’s role in EU policy-making, this thesis goes on to investigate how actors in EU politics define and redefine the issues at stake according to their shifting policy agendas and in doing so attempt to shore up support and marginalise political opposition. Drawing on the empirical investigation of two decades of EU biotechnology policy-making, the thesis finds that the framing of policy issues systematically affects how the complex and fragmented EU political decision-making process involves or excludes different sets of actors and interests from the diverse political constituencies of the Union. It argues that the Commission’s role in structuring the EU policy space can at times be substantial. Yet the longitudinal perspective adopted in this study also reveals how the structuring and restructuring of the biotechnology policy space led to the increasing politicisation of the EU decision-making process. Eventually, the empirical investigation concludes, the Commission was unable to control the political dynamics set off by the reframing of the policy choices, and the resulting revision of the EU biotechnology policy framework ran counter to the Commission’s original policy objectives. This study thus provides fresh insights into the dynamics of policy-level politicisation and its effects on political conflict and competition in the EU. The framing perspective allows students of EU politics to trace how political agents and institutions interact to shape and at times exploit the complexities of EU policy-making in pursuit of their often conflicting agendas. Finally, the findings suggest that the key to conceptualising the scope of Commission agency in terms of systematic policy dynamics lies in exploring the interlocking effects of policy framing and EU politicisation in the political construction of interests at the supranational level.
Zhu, Feng. "EU energy policy after the Treaty of Lisbon : breakthroughs, interfaces and opportunity." Thesis, University of Macau, 2012. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b2580185.
Full textPAOLINI, Giulia. "The legitimacy deficit of the European Union and the role of national parliaments." Doctoral thesis, European University Institute, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/10445.
Full textExamining Board: Prof. Morten Kelstrup, (University of Copenhagen) ; Prof. Peter Mair, (European University Institute) ; Prof. Gianfranco Pasquino, (University of Bologna) ; Prof. Philippe C. Schmitter, (EUI Professional Fellow)
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
no abstract available
Gu, Hong Fei. "Analysis of creating a new type of great power relations between China and the European Union." Thesis, University of Macau, 2015. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b3335207.
Full textPetronzio, Edward. "Talking trade over wine assessing the role of trade associations, bureacratic agencies and legislative bodies in the United States-European Union and Canada-European Union wine trade disputes /." Oxford, Ohio : Miami University, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=miami1192736566.
Full textMacdonald, Anna Maria. "Green Normative Power? Relations between New Zealand and the European Union on Environment." Thesis, University of Canterbury. National Centre for Research on Europe, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/3161.
Full textYan, Ya Xue. "Interests & interdependency in Sino-EU renewable energy cooperation." Thesis, University of Macau, 2012. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b2595814.
Full textSchilcher, Daniela, and n/a. "Supranational governance of tourism : aid, trade and power relations between the European Union and the South Pacific island states." University of Otago. Department of Tourism, 2007. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20080508.150955.
Full textBaranava, Tatiana. "EUROPEAN UNION - BELARUS: A FRIENDLIER, WARMER RELATIONSHIP ? THE CASE OF THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP." Thesis, Malmö högskola, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-23956.
Full textEickhoff, Jens-Peter. "Das Funktionsrecht des Europäischen Parlaments /." Frankfurt am Main ; Berlin ; Bern ; Wien [u.a.] : Lang, 2008. http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&doc_number=016752744&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA.
Full textDeerness-Plesner, Gina Eleanor Mary. "The Final Frontier? New Zealand engagement with the European Union in the field of research, science and technology." Thesis, University of Canterbury. National Centre for Research on Europe, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/2697.
Full textHilmes, Christian. "Die Europäische Union als Partei völkerrechtlicher Verträge : zugleich ein vergleichender Blick auf die primärrechtlichen Bestimmungen über das auswärtige Unionshandeln nach Nizza 2001 und Rom 2004 /." Baden-Baden : Nomos, 2006. http://bvbr.bib-bvb.de:8991/F?func=service&doc_library=BVB01&doc_number=015476686&line_number=0001&func_code=DB_RECORDS&service_type=MEDIA.
Full textKereselidze, Nino. "Foreign policy of the European Union towards the South Caucasus in 1992-2014." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/6824.
Full textZhang, Xiaotong. "The EU's trade relations with China, 1975-2008: a linkage power at work ?" Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/210151.
Full textA Linkage Power at Work?
(Summary)
The central aim of this thesis is to improve our understanding of the EU’s power, in particular in its external trade relations/negotiations. Our hypothesis is that the EU is a distinctive kind of linkage power, defined as an actor relying on linkage as a crucial modus operandi in its external relations. We explored how, to what extent and in which distinctive ways the EU is such a linkage power.
Our analysis was based on three logically interrelated concepts – power resources, linkage and linkage power. Linkage refers to a leveraging strategy, with an aim of packaging relevant power resources, so as to increase leverage in bargaining, or more generally attain a policy objective. I identified seven types of linkages that the EU used: political-economic issue linkage, economic-economic issue linkage, conditionality, contextual linkage, linkage with a third party, cognitive linkage and synergistic linkage. Linkage can hardly work without proper power resources. The latter, as Dahl (1970) defined, refers to all the resources-opportunities, acts, objects etc – that an actor can exploit in order to affect the behaviour of another. So, linkage is a bridge between power resources and impacts – meaning affecting or changing the behaviour of another party. By putting linkage and power together, we created a new term – “linkage power”, referring to a power based on linkages. The EU, the US, China or any other power can all be such labelled, though these actors may diverge in power resources, linkage strategies and the variables affecting linkage effectiveness. When applying such an analytical framework to the EU, we gave particular attention to the implications of the EU’s sui generis nature on its linkage power.
Our case study is the EU’s trade relations with China (1975-2008), which were punctuated by two critical historical junctures – the Tian’anmen Square Incident in 1989 and the EU-China Textile Crisis in 2005. In 1975, The EEC’s successful strategy by linking political issues (Europe-China balancing the Soviet Union and recognising China’s sovereignty over Taiwan) with economic issues (signing the EEC-China Trade Agreement) played a crucial role in securing the establishment of diplomatic relations between the EEC and China. Different types of linkages were then applied to the EEC’s negotiations with Beijing on the 1978 Trade Agreement and the 1979 textile agreement, which effectively prompted the Chinese side to agree to the EU’s terms.
Immediately after the 1989 Tian’anmen Square Incident, the EC imposed economic sanctions with an aim of coercing China to accept Western world’s human rights conditions. This linkage did not last long or pay off due to divergent political and economic interests among the Member States and the EC’s institutional handicaps (foreign policy competence was largely in the hands of Member States, collective foreign policy action was non-binding), and soon de-linked.
Having realised that confrontational approach did not work well, the EC/EU and its Member States started to change their China policies in 1993-95. The period of 1993-2004 witnessed the EC/EU’s power through partnership. The strategic partnership was seen as a complex of different pairs of issue linkages, ranging from political-strategic issues to economic and human rights issues. The partnership, once established, had fostered new linkages and consolidated old ones. China’s WTO accession was seen as a once-in-a-century opportunity for the EU to exercise linkage through conditionality, so as to extract market access concessions from the Chinese side. Moreover, by linking with China could the European Commission garnered international support for advancing the Galileo project within the Union and ward off some of the US pressure in 2003.
The Year 2005 was singled out since an unprecedented trade row on textiles broke out, confronting the EU against China’s export prowess resulting from globalisation and China’s WTO accession. Linkages were used as a predominant strategy to help the EU to persuade and press the Chinese side firstly accept voluntary export restrictions and then share the burden of allowing the blocked textiles in European ports to be released. In 2006-08, the trade deficit problem emerged, coupled with a series political spats between Europe (France and Germany) and Beijing on the Tibet issue. As the EU-China honeymoon was over, the Commission toughened its approach towards China. Although linkage was again used to redress the trade deficit, its effects were not satisfactory, as the EU power resources were eroded.
Our conclusions are (1) linkage is a crucial modus operandi in the EU’s internal bargain and its external relations with China; (2) Linkage was generally effective vis-à-vis China, but with variations, either over time or across different linkage types; (3) The EU is a sui generis linkage power, resulting from its institutional characteristics and heterogeneity of interests among the Commission and Member States. We find that the EU’s increased institutionalisation (both regional and bilateral) and competences generally facilitated its use of linkage strategies. The EU’s sui generis structure and its internal interest divergences have mixed implications on its linkage effectiveness. On one hand, the EU’s linkage power was weakened accordingly. But on the other, the Commission could tactically make use of some Member State government’s row with Beijing and advance its own economic agenda (such as the EU-China High-level Economic and Trade Dialogue, HED). Moreover, our research also confirmed Andrew Moravcsik’s argument that issue linkage is more easily made within an issue-area than across issue-areas. But we differ from him on the reason behind that. We find that this was largely attributable to the EU’s pillar structure and competence divisions.
The theoretical contributions include: (1) Linkage power provides a distinctive prism to look into the EU’s concrete strategies in internal bargains, and external commercial negotiations. Linkage serves as a crucial strategy for the EU to handle its relations with a far-abroad country like China, including establishing diplomatic relations, negotiating trade deals, forging strategic partnerships and holding high-level dialogue. (2) Giving some insights to the EU’s actorness. We find that the EU, though institutionally not a unitary actor, was somehow able to present its power to the extent like a sovereign state on some occasions using linkage strategies. (3) Contributing to the understanding of the EU’s means to spread its governance model. We find that the EU’s norm-setting goals have often been achieved through non-normative ways – such as interest exchange and trade-off, and other deliberate ways of persuasion and even coercion, mainly based on linkage. (4) Shedding light on the interactions between the Commission and the Member State governments and on the Commission’s autonomy in external trade relations.
Two future directions of research have been identified: (1) comparative studies: the EU’s linkage practices vis-à-vis the US, Russia and middle powers, or other actors’ linkage strategies vis-à-vis China; (2) post-Lisbon linkage strategies used by the EU.
Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished
Belyi, Andrei. "La dimension énergétique de la Sécurité pan-européenne et son impact sur la politique extérieure de l'Union européenne." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/211092.
Full textKuznia, Aleksandra. "Between altruism and self-interest: Beyond EU’s normative power. An analysis of EU’s engagement in sustainable ocean governance." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-23742.
Full textKelling, Ingrid. "Knowledge is power? : a market orientation approach to the global value chain analysis of aquaculture : two cases linking Southeast Asia and the EU." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/12941.
Full textAlakbarov, Gurban. "Die Energieressourcen der kaspischen Region und ihre Auswirkungen auf die Energiesicherheit der Europäischen Union." Bochum [u. a.] : Europäischer Univ.-Verl, 2008. http://www.gbv.de/dms/zbw/568950232.pdf.
Full textHaydar, Samer. "Le partenariat Euromed : contribution à l'étude du soft-power de l'Union Européenne." Thesis, Bordeaux, 2016. http://www.theses.fr/2016BORD0433/document.
Full textThis thesis studies the rather complex contribution of the Euro-Mediterraneanpartnership to the EU’s soft power. We have examined the link between the objectives,instruments, programs, agreements and effectiveness of the euro-Mediterraneanpartnership’s action. It is not a matter of evaluating the partnership as such but rather itsuse by the European Union as a soft power instrument to establish liberal democracy inthe South Mediterranean countries. The four fundamental aspects of liberal democracywere therefore examined. In the economic field, there have been economicimprovements in the southern Mediterranean countries, mainly through theimplementation of economic and institutional reforms, but the free trade areaanticipated for 2010 was not established. The regional and international integration ofthese partner countries has made some progress that remains however modest. Thepromotion of good governance is central to the political objectives of the Partnership.Focusing mainly on institutional capacity building and the independence of the judicialsystem, Euromed efforts have brought about a global but insufficient improvement ingood governance in the southern Mediterranean countries. Actions in the framework ofthe Human Rights Partnership have focused on security issues, counter-terrorism andmigration control, while human rights issues and democratization were more or lessignored. Even civil action is not sufficiently strengthened
FERNANDES, Jorge Miguel. "Power sharing in legislatures : mega seats in twenty European parliamentary democracies." Doctoral thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/29625.
Full textExamining Board: Professor Stefano Bartolini, EUI (Supervisor) Professor Mark N. Franklin, MIT/EUI Professor Kaare Strøm, University of California, San Diego (External Supervisor) Professor Shane Martin, University of Leicester.
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Recent contributions in legislative studies field have coined the term mega-seats to denote committee systems and leadership bodies. The significance of viewing the internal bodies of legislatures as mega-seats is that they are conceived as part of the democratic delegation chain. Consequently, such an approach adds a political bargaining dimension to the allocation of mega-seats. During the internal organization process of the legislature, plenary legislators become principals, who delegate power to internal bodies, mainly to enhance labor division, tackle information asymmetries, and channel party demands. This thesis examines the process of payoff distribution in legislatures, using an original dataset containing 350 parties, in 12 Western European parliamentary democracies. The analysis is carried out at the party level as well as at the legislature level. Moreover, I conduct two case studies - Portugal and the United Kingdom - to further disentangle the causal mechanisms used to explain mega-seats allocation in parliamentary democracies. The empirical analysis starts with an examination of whether the division of payoffs (i.e., mega-seats) follows a proportionality logic. The proportionality assumption is borrowed from coalition studies, which have long established that institutional payoffs are distributed in a 1:1 proportionality. Using a new index to gauge disproportionality in the allocation of legislative mega-seats, the first finding of this thesis is that mega-seats allocation in parliamentary democracies is not proportional. Subsequently, I adduce a model that explains this counterintuitive finding at the party and legislature levels. The second main finding is that a party’s degree of disproportionality is a function of its power. Parties are conceived as having a number of resources to spend on mega-seats distribution. The way they spend these resources is constrained by the existence of proportionality protection rules within an institution and incentivized by the value of the payoff. Regarding the former, I find that rules matter in protecting proportionality whilst for the latter I find that the amount of resources parties are willing to spend on a mega-seat depends on the mega-seat’s power. Finally, the third main finding is that, at the aggregate level, the overall power of the legislative branch vis-à-vis the executive branch is important in determining the degree of disproportionality. Powerful legislatures tend to be more disproportional, as executive members seek control of its internal bodies.
DOMINGUEZ, GARCIA Fernando. "Las regiones con competencias legislativas : estudio comparado de su posición constitucional en sus respectivos Estados y en la Unión Europea." Doctoral thesis, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/4612.
Full textExamining board: Mercè Barceló i Serramalera, Directora externa (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) ; Bruno de Witte (Instituto Universitario Europeo de Florencia) ; Luciano Vandelli (Università degli Studi di Bologna) ; Jacques Ziller, Driector (Instituto Universitario Europeo de Florencia)
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digitised archive of EUI PhD theses completed between 2013 and 2017
DALY, Angela. "Mind the gap : private power, online information flows and EU law." Doctoral thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/35407.
Full textExamining Board: Professor Giorgio Monti, European University Institute (EUI Supervisor); Professor Giovanni Sartor, European University Institute; Professor Lilian Edwards, University of Strathclyde; Professor Chris Marsden, University of Sussex.
This thesis examines how European Union law and regulation address concentrations of private economic power which impede free information flows on the Internet to the detriment of Internet users' autonomy. In particular, competition law, sector specific regulation (if it exists), data protection and human rights law are considered and assessed to the extent they can tackle such concentrations of power for the benefit of users. Illustrative case studies - of Internet provision, search, mobile devices and app stores, and the cloud – are chosen to demonstrate the gaps that exist in current EU law and regulation when applied to concentrations of private power online. It is argued that these gaps exist due, in part, to current overarching trends guiding the regulation of economic power, namely neoliberalism, by which only the situation of market failures can invite ex ante rules, buoyed by the lobbying of regulators and legislators by those in possession of such economic power to achieve outcomes which favour their businesses. Given this systemic, and extra-legal, nature of the reasons as to why the gaps exist, some 'quick fixes' from outside the system are proposed at the end of each case study, namely the potential for applying regulation and/or applying 'self-help' solutions, which are mainly technical measures using peer-to-peer design.
PAPAIOANNOU, Anna. "The discretionary power of the Commission of the European Communities in the field of state aids : aspects of the application of articles 92-94 EC." Doctoral thesis, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/4742.
Full textGOUCHA, SOARES Antonio. "A preempcao no direito comunitario : aplicacao da doutrina da preempcao desenvolvida pela United States Supreme Court a reparticao de competencias no ordenamento comunitario." Doctoral thesis, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/4789.
Full textExamining board: Prof. Ignacio Borrajo Iniesta ; Prof. Luis María Díez-Picazo (orientador) ; Prof. Maria Eduarda Gonçalves ; Prof. Federico Mancini ; Prof. Armando Marques Guedes
First made available online 2 July 2015.
BONAFÉ, MARTÍNEZ Ernesto. "Towards a European energy policy : resources and constraints in EU law." Doctoral thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/14979.
Full textExamining Board: Prof. Jacques Ziller, University of Pavia (EUI Supervisor); Prof. Pippo Ranci, Catholic University of Milan; Prof. Leigh Hancher, University of Tilburg; Mr. Jorge Vasconcelos, MIT/Portugal Programme, Lisbon University
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The European Union (EU) has set the objective to achieve a secure, sustainable and competitive energy. The development of a European energy policy is constantly emphasised in the declarations of EU political leaders. This thesis provides an assessment of the legal feasibility of an EU energy policy in the areas of industrial restructuring, institutional reform and security of supply. The first chapter looks into the Endesa saga, which offers a paradigmatic case concerning the tensions between energy champions and energy markets. Successive national and ‘foreign’ takeover bids for Endesa are examined at national and EU level by different authorities according to different legal regimes, which show the ambivalent contribution of the merger control to the development of an energy policy. The persistence of monopolistic structures despite energy liberalisation requires the reinforcement of the role of regulatory authorities, as analysed in chapter two. However, one cannot expect that national regulatory authorities and the newly created European Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators enjoy the same powers and level of independence as their integration within Member States and the EU operates on the basis of different legal and institutional principles. Chapter three addresses security of energy supply, which is in principle a responsibility of the Member States (which often used it as a pretext to promote national champions), but it has also a European dimension in terms of external dependence and solidarity. The absence of a specific legal basis on energy in the treaties has not prevented the EU from dealing with security of supply by having recourse to legal bases in the fields of environmental policy, crisis management and trans-European networks. A more coherent approach to energy policy is expected with the new legal basis on energy in the Lisbon Treaty. Beyond future developments, this thesis measures the integrity of the commitment repeatedly expressed by European Heads of Governments and States to build up a European energy policy.
HAGHIGHI, Sanam Salem. "Energy security. The external legal relations of the European Union with energy producing countries." Doctoral thesis, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/6359.
Full textExamining board: Prof. Bruno de Witte (Supervisor, European University Institute) ; Prof. Marise Cremona (European University Institute) ; Prof. Giacomo Luciani, part time professor, EUI ; Prof. Thomas Wälde, University of Dundee
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This dissertation offers the first comprehensive assessment of the various internal and external measures undertaken by the European Union to guarantee security of oil and gas supply. It sets out and analyzes in a coherent and thorough manner those aspects of EU external policy that are relevant in establishing a framework for guaranteeing energy security for the Union. What makes the book unique is that it is the first of its kind to bridge the gap between EU energy and EU external policy. The dissertation discusses EU policy towards the major oil and gas producing countries of Russia, the Mediterranean and the Persian Gulf at the bilateral as well as regional and multilateral level. It brings together not only the dimensions of trade and investment but also other important aspects of external policy, namely development and foreign policy. The author argues that the EU's energy security cannot be achieved through adopting a purely internal approach to energy issues, but that it is necessary to adopt a holistic approach to external policy, covering efficient economic relations as well as development co-operation and foreign policies towards energy producing countries. The dissertation will be a valuable resource for students of EU law, WTO law or international energy law, as well as scholars and practitioners dealing with energy issues.
DE, ALMEIDA Lucila. "Integration through self-standing European private law : insights from the internal point of view to harmonization in energy market." Doctoral thesis, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/46666.
Full textExamining Board: Prof. Hans-W. Micklitz, European University Institute (EUI Supervisor); Prof. Stefan Grundmann, European University Institute; Prof. Daniela Caruso, Boston University; Prof. Kim Talus, University of Helsinki and University of Eastern Finland
This thesis analyses the impact of the European Integration Project on private law. While the impact of EU law on private law throughout negative integration created European Private Meta-law, and throughout positive integration evolved to European Private law, this thesis claims that EU law has recently moved a step further in regulated markets by creating selfstanding European Private law. Self-standing European Private law is a normative system of rules at supranational level in which its semantically rigid legal norms suggests the intrusion of EU law into the private order of contractual parties with minor divergences within and among national legal systems. This analytical model explains the legal phenomenon of intrusion and substitution, which is different than the phenomenon of divergence, what has so far been the main focus of legal scholars in comparative private law and approaches to Harmonization. To define and identify self-standing European private law, this thesis proposes a systematic understanding of EU law from what H.L.A. Hart conceptualizes as the Internal Point of View. It contextualizes the private law dimension of EU energy law through a discussion of primary and secondary rules and, most importantly, the linguistic framework of analytic philosophy. In so doing, this thesis claims the constitutive element of self-standing European Private law takes shapes when EU law, through governance modes of lawmaking and enforcement at the EU level, creates a set of mandatory rules applied to private relationships, of which the semantic texture of its language leaves minor space for divergent interpretation and implementation by legal official and market actors. To prove the emergence of a self-standing European Private Law, EU energy Law is the blueprint to test the claim. The thesis pursues a socio-legal investigation on how the private law dimension of EU energy law has changed over three decades of market integration and affected two key market transactions in energy markets: transmission service contracts in electricity, and natural gas supply contracts.
GOMEZ, Luis Alfonso. "A rhapsody of European regions : legal variations on a theme of power ; an institutional analysis of regions in the Community structure." Doctoral thesis, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/5551.
Full textCROON, Johanna. "Reconceptualizing European equality law : a comparative institutional analysis." Doctoral thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/28033.
Full textExamining Board: Professor Miguel Maduro, European University Institute (Supervisor) Professor Mattias Kumm, European University Institute Professor Neil Komesar, University of Wisconsin Professor Christoph Möllers, Humboldt Universität, Berlin.
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The thesis seeks to widen our understanding of the general principle of equality within European Union law. In its approach it is theoretically ambitious yet grounded in case law analysis. After an introduction into the origins of the notion of equality, the thesis sets out to deconstruct the adjudication by the European Court of Justice as well as by selected Member State courts on some of the most pressing issues of European equality law via the means of comparative institutional analysis. More specifically, it examines the diversity of applied standards of testing by the European Court of Justice, its handling of reverse discrimination and its dealing with affirmative action. Moreover, it looks at the Austrian and German case law on reverse discrimination. Through this exercise, the thesis illustrates that the judges are in their decisions both guided by reaching a 'fair' outcome to the cases and by reflections on their ability to rule on egalitarian issues. The work describes in detail how institutional considerations inform judicial decisions in matters of equality. Building on the finding that institutional thinking influences judicial decision making, the thesis continues to ask whether this practice is desirable. Its concluding chapter argues for an adaptation of the existing equality doctrine in European Union law in order to provide judges, practitioners and academics with tools to merge institutional considerations along with legalist interpretation of equality guarantees in an open and comprehensible manner.
NOWAK, Bartlomiej. "Electricity and gas market liberalization in the EU as a part of the Internal Energy Market strategy: a cross-country study - and a lesson for Poland." Doctoral thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/12013.
Full textExamining board: Wladyslaw Czaplinski (Polish Academy of Science, Warsaw); Leigh Hancher (Tilburg University); Heike Schweitzer (EUI); Jacques Ziller (Supervisor, EUI)
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In many EU countries, the infrastructure for supplying electricity and gas (electricity networks, gas pipelines, and storage facilities) are still properties of the so-called vertically integrated undertakings (VIU) responsible for the extraction or generation, supply, and transmission and distribution of the energy. While competition can be promoted in the generation/production and supply side of the vertical integration, transmission and distribution segments remain natural monopolies that hinder market mechanisms. Vertical integration simply raises the possibility for incumbents to favor their own divisions and to block new entrants. As a result, the Electricity and Gas Directives of the European Commission proposed several measures to foster competition in politically delicate structures of the electricity and gas markets. These measures involve non-discriminatory third party access to the gas and electricity infrastructure, independent regulation of the natural monopolies and the unbundling of the VIU. Unfortunately, my research shows that there are still many obstacles to fulfilling the potential of the internal market in electricity and gas. What is more since substantial delays have occurred in implementing the Directives, it is difficult to clearly evaluate what the final effect will be; nevertheless, it is possible to argue that the steps already taken are insufficient to create functional market.
ZENNARO, Sara. "Comparing legislatures : institutional constraints and legislative efficiency in EU national parliaments." Doctoral thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/5440.
Full textExamining board: Prof. Stefano Bartolini, Università di Bologna and former EUI, Supervisor ; Prof. Jean Blondel, EUI, Professional Fellow ; Prof. Giuseppe Ieraci, Università di Trieste, Co-supervisor ; Prof. Philippe Schmitter, EUI, Professional Fellow
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digitised archive of EUI PhD theses completed between 2013 and 2017
DAWSON, Mark. "New governance and the proceduralisation of European law : the case of the open method of coordination." Doctoral thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/12702.
Full textExamining Board: Profs. Christian Joerges (Supervisor, former EUI and University of Bremen); Hans-W. Micklitz (EUI); John Paterson (External Co-Supervisor, University of Aberdeen); David M. Trubek (University of Wisconsin, Madison)
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
This thesis is devoted to analysing the emerging relationship in the European Union between 'new governance' - epitomised by the development of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) - and law. While some scholars have seen the project of new governance as a purely political or functional enterprise - a mechanism of 'soft law' - the thesis will argue against such a view through an empirical analysis of a particular OMC process - the OMC for social inclusion and social protection (the OMC SPSI). While on the one hand, the OMC SPSI has achieved considerable success in creating a new social policy vocabulary in Europe, the very description of the OMC as an instrument of 'soft law' has handed considerable power to frame key policy decisions to national and European executives, while depriving Parliaments and local authorities from their normal rights of scrutiny. The OMC SPSI illustrates why - far from invoking a merely 'technical' or procedural set of questions - 'new governance' is deeply implicated in debates over the future of the European welfare state. The indicators and recommendations of the method are not seen by its participants as neutral descriptors, but rather invoke competing views of the very ends of social policy in Europe. The description of new governance as soft and heterarhical does not therefore dilute its key legitimacy challenges, but makes them ever more pressing. In response, the thesis will argue for a 'constitutionalisation' of new governance. This constitutionalisation, the thesis will argue, should not be aimed at a legal 'juridification' of OMC procedures, or at re-enforcing their participatory potential, but rather at creating opportunities for political contestation and scrutiny in procedures too long the preserve of a small and mutually re-enforcing circle of executive actors. A 'republican' constitutionalisation of the OMC - one able to politicise the norms and indicators through which national social policy is being evaluated - may allow 'new governance' a last opportunity to refute accusations of executive dominance and technocratic paternalism that threaten to undermine its 'procedural' potential.
YORDANOVA, Nikoleta. "Legislative organisation of the European parliament : the role of committees." Doctoral thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/14514.
Full textAwarded the François Mény Prize for the Best Comparative Study of Political Institutions, 2011
Examining Board: David Farrell (UCD), Mark Franklin (EUI), Adrienne Héritier (EUI/RSCAS) (Supervisor), Simon Hix (LSE)
Awarded the European Union Studies Association (EUSA) Prize for Best Dissertation in EU studies: the thesis marks a substantial contribution not only to the literature on parliaments in general and the European Parliament in particular, but also to the understanding of the democratic deficit in Europe and how it might be tackled.
First made available online: 27 August 2021
The European Parliament (EP) now acts as an equal co-legislator with the Council of Ministers in adopting many policies that affect 500 million European citizens on a daily basis. However, the parliamentary legislative organisation is under-researched despite its profound consequences for EU policies and policy-making. Addressing this gap, this thesis studies the internal setup and legislative impact of the EP committees. Drawing on congressional literature, I confront distributive, informational and partisan theoretical approaches to answer the research questions of this project, namely whether and why the EP committees and their legislative output are dominated by preference-outlying legislators with special interests, experts serving the informational needs of the plenary, or loyal members of the working majority party group (coalition). Statistical analyses of committee assignments, allocation of legislative tasks, and adoption of committee reports in plenary are conducted using data on the 6th European Parliament (2004-2009). They are complemented with evidence from semi-structured interviews. The results show that legislators’ special interests and expertise account for the formally regulated assignment to committees depending on the predominant character of their legislative output (distributive or regulatory). In contrast, party group affiliation and loyalty shape the allocation of important legislative tasks in committees, owing to the informal allocation process. Furthermore, committee reports are more successful on the floor if drafted by rapporteurs from the working majority party group - perhaps a natural consequence of the EP open amendment rule. Thus, the parliamentary legislative output is ultimately controlled by the working majority party group and not committees. The congressional rationales fail to account for committees’ legislative influence when an informal early agreement is reached with the Council of Ministers. This occurs increasingly often, rendering decision-making in committees largely obsolete. The observed regularities are used to advance the literature on legislative organisation by identifying conditions under which each of the main congressional rationales can explain committee setup and influence, namely: 1) the policy areas a committee covers; 2) the parliamentary rules regulating committee-party and committee-plenary relationships; and 3) the balance of power and mode of negotiation between the legislative chambers. More substantively, the EP committees are not conducive for pursuing particularistic policies. Instead, they promote left-right party politics. This has important implications for EU legislative politics, interest representation, legitimacy, and more generally the EU democratic deficit.
CARATELLI, Irene. "The Political impact of the EU's international trade : EU trade power, policy and influence." Doctoral thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/13296.
Full textExamining Board: Marise Cremona (EUI, Law Department); Christopher Hill (University of Cambridge); Erik Jones (Johns Hopkins, Bologna); Pascal Vennesson (EUI/RSCAS, Supervisor)
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
The aim of the PhD Thesis is to ascertain whether the EU is able to exert a political influence through its international trade agreements. Since the Union has always been considered as an economic giant and a political dwarf at the global level, the objective is to evaluate whether the EU external trade may be considered as a useful tool to address the gap between its economic and political relevance. If the EU is effectively able to wiled a political influence through trade also beyond the neighbourhood area, where it uses the membership card chip, the EU might have a greater global role. The conceptual analysis of the Thesis is based on the distinction between the EU trade Power (i.e. Resources, Institutions and Values), EU trade Policy activity and its final Influence in order to disentangle the 'levers' from the 'leverage' exercised by the EU through its external trade policy. The potential for political influence of the EU ultimately relies on the ability to change the norms, beliefs, rules and regulations in EU partner countries, during and after the trade negotiations. The empirical side of the research focuses on two bilateral agreements: the EU-Mexico Partnership Agreement (2000), and the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the EU and South Korea (2009). Despite the strong differences between the case studies (in terms of their geographic location, production and export patterns, timing of the negotiations, etc.), Mexico and South Korea share four basic similarities: i) neither is an EU neighbouring country (i.e. the EU cannot use the membership card); ii) both are strongly dependant and receive their primary influence in economic, political and security terms from the United States; iii) both have strongly endorsed neoliberal and free market principles; and finally iv) each of them might be a potential gateway for the EU in its macro-region. Furthermore, Mexico and South Korea share also a more specific strategic value for the EU in three main respects. First, in both cases the rationale for EU to conclude the agreements was the same: economic and defensive vis-à-vis US previous trade agreements (the NAFTA and the US-South-Korea FTA). Second, the basic objectives of the EU in both countries tend to correspond to a great extent: the achievement of the commercial parity treatment of EU for its exporters vis-à-vis US’ exporters. Third, the overall political influence of the EU in the countries might thus be not only limited, but also fairly comparable. The theoretical structure and the empirical work highlight interesting indications. First, in terms of Power, neither the EU trade power, nor the conclusion of trade agreements is sufficient for the EU to exert, by default, a political influence in the countries considered. Second, in terms of Policy, during Peter Mandelson’s tenure as EC Trade Commissioner, the Union downsized the normative and political ambition of its external trade action in respect to the past, focusing on the achievement of commercial-parity objectives vis-à-vis other major global actors (i.e. a defensive trade strategy in relation to that of the US). Finally, in terms of Influence, both cases indicate that the EU has still a limited capacity to exert a political influence via its trade policy in nonneighbouring countries. Four main reasons help to explain this: 1) Internal institutional constraints within the EU; 2) The bilateral level of trade negotiation; 3) The weakness of EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy and of its Common Security and Defence Policy; 4) The defensive rather than proactive global projection of the EU. The Thesis concludes that although the EU foreign economic policy can be a means to address the capability-expectations gap that affects the EU as an international actor, there is still ample scope to improve the EU political influence through trade in countries beyond the neighbourhood area in economic, political and/or normative terms.
WILLUMSEN, David Munck. "Preferences, parties and pragmatic fidelity : party unity in European legislatures." Doctoral thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/29633.
Full textExamining Board: Professor Adrienne Héritier, EUI (Supervisor); Professor Stefanie Bailer, ETH Zürich (External Supervisor); Professor Mark Franklin, EUI & MIT; Professor Simon Hix, London School of Economics and Political Science.
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
Voting unity in parliamentary parties is an inescapable phenomenon in parliamentary democracies. Knowing only which party a legislator belongs to and how the majority of that party voted allows for the identification, with extremely high levels of accuracy, how said legislator actually voted. However, most explanations of why this is the case rests of unsustainable assumptions about the effects of institutions and electoral systems on the behaviour of parliamentarians. Further, most work ignores the most basic explanation of why legislators vote the way they do: Their policy preferences. Without first explaining the role they play in legislative behaviour, little else can be explained with confidence. This work first theorises and develops measures of how parliamentarians’ policy preferences lead to incentives for them to vote against their party’s line in floor votes, and then applies them to a series of diverse institutional setups, showing that while parliamentarians’ preferences may explain significant parts of parliamentary party voting unity, it is also clear that they cannot, except in rare circumstances, explain all of it. Having shown that preferences cannot explain unity, this work then argues that by analysing MPs’ attitudes to party unity, we can understand why MPs choose to vote contrary to what their preferences alone would predict. Applying this logic to parliaments at either extreme of the spectrum of parliamentary institutionalisation, it is shown that there is little evidence that legislators are compelled to act in ways they do not want. Rather, what is found is that they recognise the value of party voting unity and can overcome the temptation to free-ride on their co-partisans. Finally, analysing floor votes in the European Parliament, it is shown that what explains defection are the long-term rather than short-term goals of parliamentarians, complementing the previous findings.
SCHUTZE, Robert. "From dual to cooperative federalism : the changing structure of the legislative function in the European Union." Doctoral thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/4783.
Full textExamining board: Prof. Gráinne de Búrca (Supervisor, European University Institute) ; Prof. Neil Walker (European University Institute) ; Prof. Stephen Weatherhill (Oxford University) ; Prof. Marise Cremona (University of London)
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digitised archive of EUI PhD theses completed between 2013 and 2017
What is the federal philosophy inspiring the structure of European law? The federal principle stands for constitutional arrangements that find "unity in diversity". The two most influential manifestations of the federal principle emerged under the names of "dual" and "cooperative" federalism in the constitutional history of the United States of America. Dual federalism is based on the idea that the federal government and the State governments are co-equals and each is legislating in a separate sphere. Cooperative federalism, on the other hand, stands for the thought that both governments legislate in the same sphere. They are hierarchically arranged and complement each other in solving a social problem. Can the European Union be understood in federal terms? The book's General Part introduces three constitutional traditions of the federal idea. Following the American tradition, the European Union is defined as a Federation of States as it stands on the "middle ground" between international and national law. But what federal philosophy has the European Union followed? The Special Part of the dissertation investigates the structure of European law. Three arguments are advanced to show the evolution of the European legal order from dual to cooperative federalism. The first looks at the decline of constitutional exclusivity on the part of the Member States and the European Union. For almost all objects of government, the Union and its States operate in a universe of shared powers. The second argument analyzes the decline of legislative exclusivity. European and national legislation - increasingly - complement each other to solve a social problem. The third argument describes the "constitutionalisation" of cooperative federalism in the form of the principle of subsidiarity and the idea of complementary competences. A final Chapter is dedicated to Europe's foreign affairs federalism. It analyzes, whether the external sphere must be regarded as subject to different constitutional or federal principles. The dissertation concludes that cooperative federalism will benefit both levels of government - the Union and the Member States - as the constitutional mechanism of uniform European standards complemented by diverse national standards best expresses the federal idea of "unity in diversity".
BROCKA, Zuzanna. "Dissertation on vertical aspects of power-sharing in the European Union and in the canditate countries." Doctoral thesis, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/5577.
Full textBALLI, Volker. "Power and Gestalt of political concepts : a study of the emergence, nature and self-understanding of the Europe Union Polity." Doctoral thesis, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/11973.
Full textExamining Board: Prof. Peter Wagner, University of Trento and formerly EUI (Supervisor); Prof. Richard Bellamy, University College London; Prof. Claus Offe, Hertie School of Governance, Berlin; Prof. Neil Walker, University of Edinburgh and formerly EUI
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
This thesis proposes a new way of addressing two central questions in the study of the European Union: What is the nature of the European Union as a political entity and how does it emerge? The point of departure is the, by now widely accepted, conceptualisation of the EU as a polity and the extensive discussions, not least in normative and prescriptive terms, that this process implied. Judging that many of the debates have reached dead-ends, the thesis proposes a novel way of conceptualising the concept ‘polity’ in its application to the European Union. It argues that the European Union polity should be understood as a configuration of agreements to collectively address common problems. The thesis then offers an analysis of three such fields of agreed upon common activities over the period 1992 to 2005 which are constitutive of the European Union polity and construct its boundedness: ‘Enlargement to the East’; ‘Immigration policy’; and ‘Europe as an actor in the world.’ Under scrutiny includes: the context in which these policies emerged; the normative ideas through which the problems at stake were identified; and the agreed-upon mechanisms for addressing common problems. To understand the emergence and nature of these common activities, the thesis proposes a concept-centred approach. It argues that concepts are constitutive for the European Union polity. The concepts constitute the agreements to address problems in common and thus ‘form’ the European Union polity. Thereby, the thesis shows the ways in which five key concepts - human rights, democracy, diversity, prosperity and security - are effective (‘their power’ or ‘efficacy’) and which Gestalt (‘meaning’) they take on in these specific problem-ridden situations. Particular attention is paid to the relationship and, specifically, tensions between the different normative concepts as well as the compromises that they form and the re-configuration of the respective policy fields they bring about. The thesis concludes that these findings should be interpreted as a self-understanding of the European Union. This self-understanding encompasses the commitment to a set of ideas, the decision to take action in certain political domains and, not least, the selfidentification as a political actor and entity. Thus, focusing on the power and Gestalt of concepts without falling into an abstract idealism, the thesis combines an approach of a historical sociology, cultural sociology and the history of concepts with key concerns of European Union studies.
WILKINSON, Michael Anthony. "A theoretical inquiry into the idea of Postnational constitutionalism : the basic norm the demos and the constituent power in context." Doctoral thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/4824.
Full textExamining board: Prof. Neil Walker (supervisor) ; Prof. Christian Joerges ; Prof. Neil MacCormick ; Dr. Hans Lindahl
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digitised archive of EUI PhD theses completed between 2013 and 2017