Academic literature on the topic 'Local government – European Union countries'
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Journal articles on the topic "Local government – European Union countries"
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Parszewski, Kazimierz. "CONTEMPORARY LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN POLAND AND THE EUROPEAN UNION." sj-economics scientific journal 8 (June 30, 2011): 183–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.58246/sjeconomics.v8i.488.
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This work presents modern local governments in Poland and selected European countries. This paper shows the local power structure, organizations and their competences as well as tasks and Government control. There are also indicated values of local democracy of the European Charter of local self government and legal problems of territorial self – government in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Austria and Belgium.
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Mathenjwa, Mbuzeni. "THE ROLE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN STRENGTHENING DEMOCRACY." Journal of Law, Society and Development 3, no. 1 (September 12, 2016): 115–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.25159/2520-9515/1091.
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The place and role of local government within the structure of government in Africa has attracted much public interest. Prior to and after independence, African countries used local government as the administrative units of central governments without their having any legal status, to the extent that local authorities were under the strict control of central governments. The autonomy of local government is pivotal in the democratisation of a country. The United Nations, European Union and African Union have adopted treaties to promote the recognition and protection of local government in the state parties’ constitutions. Accordingly, this article explains the status of local government in Africa and its impact on strengthening democracy in African states.
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Halásková, Martina, and Renata Halásková. "Evaluation Structure of Local Public Expenditures in the European Union Countries." Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis 66, no. 3 (2018): 755–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.11118/actaun201866030755.
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The public sector plays a significant role in securing public needs in a number of countries. The paper aims to evaluate the local public sector by the structure of local public expenditures, emphasizing similarities and differences in EU countries. Attention is paid to the evaluation of local public expenditures by eight functions (general public services, public order and safety, economic affairs, housing and community amenities, recreation and culture, social protection, health, education) in years 2005 and 2015. Local public expenditures by function in the EU are evaluated in connection to lower government levels and fiscal decentralization of expenditures. The evaluation shows that no countries demonstrate similarity of local public expenditures by function, which is associated also with an identical size of fiscal decentralization of expenditures and the number of lower government levels. By contrast, both similarities and differences were proved with respect to the evaluated local public expenditures by the application of multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. The results have shown that Scandinavian countries represent the most marked differences in the structure of local public expenditures, in comparison to Malta and Cyprus in terms of local public expenditures on social protection, health and education.
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Franek, Sławomir. "Konsekwencje kryzysu COVID-19 dla finansów jednostek samorządu terytorialnego w krajach UE." Optimum. Economic Studies, no. 3(109) (2022): 55–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.15290/oes.2022.03.109.05.
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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the consequences of the pandemic crisis for the financial situation of the local government subsector in individual European Union countries. Research method – The research is based on comparative analysis of the dynamics and structure of such budget figures as budget revenue (including transfers), expenditure (including COFOG classification), budget balance and debt. The comparisons covered the local government subsector in the 27 countries of the European Union for the years 2019–2021. The source of data for analysis is the Eurostat database. Results – The research indicates that local government finances in the EU countries did not suffer significantly because of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which, however, was essentially due to the fact that the main source of funding for additional tasks and covering tax revenue shortfalls were transfers from the government subsector. At the same time, there was a change in the structure of local government spending in most EU countries by increasing the share of spending on health care, social protection and economic affairs and decreasing the share of spending on recreation, culture and religion, housing and community amenities and education. Originality/value/implications/recommendations – The originality of the presented approach is due to the comprehensive presentation of the consequences of the pandemic crisis for local government budget parameters for 2020–2021 in all the European Union countries.
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Штефаніта, Анастасія Володимир. "TRANSITIONAL MECHANISMS OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT IN THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION." Public management 29, no. 1 (May 24, 2022): 141–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.32689/2617-2224-2022-1(29)-20.
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The article aims to analyse the local autonomy in three groups of Member States of the European Union in transitional perspective. The examples of the Member States with experience and administrative tradition could inspire for concrete measures in strengthening local autonomy. At the same time, the states from the ex-socialist space represent a model in overcoming communist regimes and building the local layer and free organisation of the local public administration. In the same context, the particular development path of the Baltic countries become relevant. The experience of different categories of European countries highlights concrete lessons learned or valuable experience that can be treated as good examples for other countries in the region. The local autonomy development process in each country is influenced by certain factors, both internally and externally. For a comprehensive view in research elaboration were applied several scientific methods. The juridicallegal perspective of the topic was ensured due to exploring of legislative, normative and methodological materials regulating local autonomy and local public administration in the analysed countries. Comparative method was useful in terms of analysing the same countries of a certain European groups, but also between different groups. The bibliographic analysis supposed studying foreign scientific literature and the domestic sources. The actuality of the research topic relates to the importance of the local autonomy in the context of local development and the increasing significance of the local public administration. The European models and the lessons learned from their experience are absolutely relevant in the context of the transition systems in the region such as Eastern Partnership countries. In conclusion, the simplicity of the local administrative system in terms of one layer of local administration, allows for a transparent and direct implementation of functional autonomy, as is the case of the Baltic countries. For ex-socialist states concrete reforms and fast measures had worked efficiently. The European countries with administrative tradition apply a hybrid style of local autonomy, regionalisation becoming an increasingly widespread practice.
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Kukovič, Simona, Miro Haček, and Alan Bukovnik. "The Issue of Local Autonomy in the Slovenian Local Government System." Lex localis - Journal of Local Self-Government 14, no. 3 (July 31, 2016): 303–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.4335/14.3.303-320(2016).
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The paper analyses the autonomy of Slovenian municipalities toward the central government. Slovenia is one of the very few countries in the European Union with a one-tier local government system, and while levels of local democracy have been on the rise for the last two decades, relations between the state on the one side and local units (municipalities) on the other has slowly deteriorated, especially over questions of municipal competencies, central oversight and the local financing of local communities. While Slovenia ratified the European Charter on Local Government in 1996, the charter was never fully implemented, as the subsidiarity principle was never fully implemented by the state. The paper will analyse the issue of local autonomy with special emphasis on the three mentioned topics, using primary and secondary sources as well as empirical data from several opinion polls conducted among stakeholders from national and local authorities.
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Wyszkowska, Dorota. "Revenue Autonomy of Local Self-Government – Poland Against the Background of Selected European Union Countries." Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska, sectio H, Oeconomia 51, no. 5 (January 12, 2018): 371. http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/h.2017.51.5.371.
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Melnychuk, Vasyl. "SPECIFICS OF CONSTRUCTING MODELS OF LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT IN THE COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION." Visnyk of the Lviv University, no. 42 (2022): 278–85. http://dx.doi.org/10.30970/pps.2022.42.36.
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Slavinskaite, Neringa. "Fiscal decentralization in Central and Eastern Europe." Global Journal of Business, Economics and Management: Current Issues 7, no. 1 (April 12, 2017): 69–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.18844/gjbem.v7i1.1236.
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The paper analyses the level of fiscal decentralization (FD) in selected countries of European Union for 2014 year. The empirical analysis was based on the method of multicriteria decision-making. Method of Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) was used as framework for the analysis. In order to evaluate the different level of fiscal decentralization, the same analysis was applied to subsets of countries categorized into two groups - Central and Eastern Countries. The empirical results show that developed countries of European Union has higher degree of fiscal decentralization than countries of Eastern andCentral Europe. These results show that local government of developed countries (such like Sweden or Denmark) has more power for financial solutions then developing countries (Estonia o rPoland). Fiscal decentralization index in Lithuaniais the lowest among 14 countries of European Union. Originality of this article that was used new fiscal decentralization index, which consists of 26 indicators.
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Siket, Judit. "Prevailing tendencies in local self-governance: Scope of local public affairs and territorial trends in Europe." Bratislava Law Review 1, no. 1 (October 1, 2017): 105–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.46282/blr.2017.1.1.64.
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Focusing on the content of local autonomy, congruent trends could be identified in European countries. Fundamental values of local self-governance prevailing in Europe are included in the European Charter of Local Self-Government. Having regard to the constitutional principle of separation of powers, Charter takes into consideration local self-governments as part of the executive power. Even though the basic principles specify the political and institutional framework of territorial and local administration, the intergovernmental relations also show changing nature. The public administration systems of the Member States of the European Union do not fall within the scope of the EU law, nevertheless, should be analyzed to what extent these processes are in#uenced by Europeanization progress and what other factors may occur. Remarkable territorial and competence-theory changes were implemented in some States recently, like the Big Society concept in the United Kingdom and the territorial reforms in France.
Dissertations / Theses on the topic "Local government – European Union countries"
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IBANEZ, GARZARAN Zyab Luis. "Access to non-vulnerable part-time employment in the Netherlands, Spain and the UK, with special reference to the school and local government sectors." Doctoral thesis, European University Institute, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/12002.
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Defence date: 14 December 2007Examining board: Professor Colin Crouch, University of Warwick (EUI Supervisor); Professor Ramón Ramos Torre, Universidad Complutense; Professor Martin Rhodes, University of Denver; Professor Jelle Visser, Universiteit van Amsterdam
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
A large part of the literature on part-time employment stresses that this form of employment contract is the result of employers’ strategies and female employees who need to reconcile work and family life. However, the growth in the number of employees sharing employment and other paid or unpaid interests expands the range and significance of working-time issues. This dissertation claims that where regulation and implementation of working-time transitions are favourable to part-time employment, part-time is likely to expand to more diverse categories of workers than those for whom it was originally intended ( i.e. mothers with caring responsibilities). The research follows a case-oriented comparative approach that draws on documentary information and a total of 48 in-depth interviews with actors’ representatives at three levels: national, sector (education and local government) and organizational, in the UK, the Netherlands and Spain. Initiated in different moments in time, the regulation of working-time transitions appears to follow a similar staged path in the three countries, although the wider institutional context affecting part-time and the active support of main actors varies for each country, especially at the organizational level. In the Dutch case, part-time regulation started off as a mechanism to enable the employment of women with caring responsibilities and, from there, it evolved towards a wider understanding of workingtime flexibility, extending the right to work part-time to other categories of employees. Given the pioneering role of the Netherlands in this area, it could be argued that both the UK and Spain have been following the Dutch example although with different degrees of success. In the Netherlands, after two decades of active support to part-time, there is still a big gender gap among part-timers, and in many sectors and occupations employees face difficulties to change their working hours; still, the general trend seems to be that access to part-time is becoming easier at more sector and occupational levels, in a context where organizations, already facing short full-time working weeks and high percentages of part-time, have been learning to decouple business hours from the different duration of the employees’ shifts. The need to design clear-cut coordination mechanisms that guarantee the steadiness of the service and the 'standardisation' of handing-over procedures, have helped to accept a variety of working-time arrangements. This capacity to dissociate organisations’ operative time from employees’ working hours is also present in British and Spanish 24-hour services, what has favoured exceptional good part-time jobs. However, the political efforts to promote part-time in Spain and the UK are confronted with serious obstacles, their segmented labour forces among them. The long-hours culture in both Spain and the UK, together with the high proportion of temporary contracts in the Spanish case, are the most visible signs of the structural difficulties these two countries face to achieve working-time flexi-curity. In the three countries, there are no clear links between long hours and productivity levels, and the processess that lead to more transparent assessments of work performance seem to facilitate working-time flexibility beyond standard full-time employment contracts. Certainly, different commitments and compromises need to be achieved between conflicting demands and interests about how employees use their own time, but this thesis argues that part-time may help to soften the conflicts between the specialization and hierarchy requirements of the social division of labour and individuals’ time-use autonomy.
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Infantino, Federica. "Bordering Europe abroad : Schengen visa policy implementation in Morocco and transnational policy-making from below." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/209200.
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The constitution of the European visa regime has deservingly received much scholarly attention. It has been analyzed as part of the policy toolkit that displaces migration control away from the edges of the territory of Europe. Nevertheless, the street-level implementation of this European policy in national consulates remains understudied. This dissertation sheds ethnographic light on Schengen visa policy implementation that is conceptualized as bordering policy. By delivering Schengen visas, state and nonstate organizations achieve the filtering work of borders; this dissertation therefore investigates the day-to-day bordering of Europe abroad and using a comparative approach and focusing on from the theoretical perspective of street-level policy implementation. The analysis builds on a comparative case study: it focuses on the visa sections of the consulates of two old immigration countries, Belgium and France, and one new immigration country, Italy, which implement visa policy in a same third country, i.e. Morocco. This study highlights cross-national differences of visa policy day-to-day implementation that are due to shifting historical backgrounds, national sense-making of visa policy, and distinct organizational conditions. However, the comparative research design and the inductive epistemological approach deployed have revealed processes of transfer at the implementation level, which result in transnational policy-making from below. Informal interactions between actors constitute a ‘community of practice’ based on the desire to share local and practical knowledge rather than expert knowledge in order to address problems linked to day-to-day implementation.La construction d’un régime européen de visas représente un domaine de recherche important. Ceci a été analysé comme un des instruments politiques qui déplacent le contrôle migratoire au delà des limites du territoire européen. Cependant, la mise en œuvre dans les consulats nationaux reste très peu étudiée. Cette thèse analyse la mise en œuvre de la politique du visa Schengen conceptualisée comme politique des frontières. Par la délivrance du visa Schengen, organisations étatiques et non-étatiques réalisent le travail de filtrage des frontières. Cette thèse investigue la construction quotidienne de la frontière européenne à l’étranger en privilégiant la perspective théorique de la mise en œuvre des politiques publiques. L’analyse s’appuie sur un cas d’étude comparé. Elle se concentre sur les services visas des consulats de deux anciens pays d’immigration, la France et la Belgique, et un nouveau pays d’immigration, l’Italie, qui mettent en œuvre la politique du visa dans un même État tiers :le Maroc. Cette étude met en évidence des différences nationales importantes qui sont dues aux différents passés historiques, à l’attribution d’un sens national à la politique du visa, aux conditions organisationnelles distinctes. Toutefois, la méthodologie comparative et l’approche épistémologique inductive choisis ont permis de mettre en exergue des processus de transferts au niveau de la mise en œuvre qui constituent l’action publique transnationale par le bas. Les interactions informelles entre les acteurs constituent une ‘communauté de pratiques’ basé sur le désir de partager un savoir pratique et local qui sert à adresser des problèmes liés à la mise en œuvre au quotidien.
Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished
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KARAGIANNIS, Yannis. "Preference heterogeneity and equilibrium institutions: The case of European competition policy." Doctoral thesis, European University Institute, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/15460.
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Defence date: 21 December 2007Examining board: Prof. Adrienne Héritier (EUI)(Supervisor) ; Prof. Christian Joerges (EUI, Law Department) ; Prof. Jacint Jordana (Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona) ; Prof. Hussein Kassim (Birkbeck College, University of London)
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One characteristic of European competition policy is its complex governance structure. On the one hand, the European competition regulator has always enjoyed a high degree of formal autonomy from national governments. On the other hand, that regulator has always been embedded in a multi-task and collegial organisation that mirrors intergovernmental politics. Although the literature has often disapprovingly noted this complexity, it has not been explained. Part I elaborates on the theoretical lens for understanding the governance structures of EC competition policy. Despite the prominence of principal-agent models, transaction cost economics seems to offer a more promising venue. The assumption that Member States maximise their total expected gains and postpone excessive bargaining costs leads to the following hypothesis: the greater the preference heterogeneity (homogeneity) between Member States, the higher (lower) the asset-specific investments involved, hence the higher (lower) the risk of post-contractual hold-ups, and hence the more (less) integrated the governance structures created to sustain future transactions. Alternatively, this logic leads to a deterministic hypothesis about the sufficiency of preference heterogeneities for the production of complex governance structures. Part II examines this deterministic hypothesis. Using various sources, and conducting both within- and comparative case- studies, it analyses three important cases: the negotiations of the Treaty of Paris (1951), of the Treaty of Rome (1957), and of the two implementing Council Regulations (1962 and 2003). The evidence shows that (a) the relevant actors do reason in terms of transaction cost-economising, and (b) in the presence of preference heterogeneity, actors create complex governance structures. Nevertheless, it is also found that (c) the transaction cost-economising logic is not as compelling as it may be in private market settings, as bargaining costs are not systematically postponed to the post-contractual stage, and (d) the transaction costs between Member States are not the only relevant costs.
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Prosser, Christopher. "Rethinking representation and European integration." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:1f596c7e-bfb9-43ff-b3e8-2de716f234ec.
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In representative democracy the chain of political legitimacy runs from voters to governments through votes cast at elections. In order for representation to occur, political parties must offer distinct policy platforms that citizens consider in their vote choices. This thesis examines whether citizens are adequately represented within the European Union. It finds that although representation on left-right issues occurs, it does not occur for European integration preferences. Over the course its history, European integration has changed from being primarily an economic issue to a social issue. This separation from the primary axis of political competition has increased the need for representation on EU issues directly. Political parties have polarised over European integration providing increased choice, but voters have not engaged with the issue. Examining how voters process party signals about policy positions shows that very few are affected by signals on the EU. Accounting for voters' cognitive biases suggests that the influence of EU issues in European Parliament elections has been overestimated and is non-existent in most member-states. As direct democracy might offer an alternative to inadequate representation this thesis examines why referendums have been held on the EU but finds that they are largely driven by governments' desire to contain the threat of EU issues at national elections, further undermining representation. However, as a result of institutional differences between national and European Parliament elections rather than the emergence of the EU as an electoral issue, the size of party systems at European Parliament elections has grown considerably over successive elections in many member-states, a change that has fed into national party systems. Although representation on EU issues is inadequate, the expansion of European party systems and the redrawing of the lines of political competition offers some hope that representation on EU issues might improve in the future.
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Li, Xin. "European identity, a case study." Thesis, University of Macau, 2009. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b2555548.
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Harvey, Matthew. "Constituting a Commonwealth for Europe and beyond." Monash University, Faculty of Law, 2003. http://arrow.monash.edu.au/hdl/1959.1/5642.
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Carey, Sean D. (Sean Damien). "A Political and Macroeconomic Explanation of Public Support for European Integration." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1997. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc278919/.
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This study develops a model of macroeconomic and political determinants of public support for European integration. The research is conducted on pooled cross-sectional time-series data from five European Union member states between 1978 and 1994. The method used in this analysis is a Generalized Least Squares - Autoregressive Moving Average approach. The factors hypothesized to determine a macroeconomic explanation of public support for integration are inflation, unemployment, and economic growth. The effect of the major economic reform in the 1980s, the Single European Act, is hypothesized to act as a positive permanent intervention. The other determinants of public support are the temporary interventions of European Parliament elections and the permanent intervention of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. These are hypothesized to exert a negative effect. In a fully specified model all variables except economic growth and European Parliament elections demonstrate statistical significance at the 0.10 level or better.
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FERNANDES, Daniel. "Governments, public opinion, and social policy : change in Western Europe." Doctoral thesis, European University Institute, 2022. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/75046.
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Defence date: 21 November 2022Examining Board: Prof. Ellen Immergut (EUI, Supervisor); Prof. Anton Hemerijck (EUI); Prof. Christoffer Green-Pedersen (Aarhus University); Prof. Evelyne Hübscher (Central European University)
This dissertation investigates how public opinion and government partisanship affect social policy. It brings an innovative perspective that links the idea of democratic representation to debates about the welfare state. The general claim made here is that social policy is a function of public and government preferences. This claim hinges on two critical premises. The first relates to the general mechanisms that underlie government representation. Politicians have electoral incentives to align their actions with what citizens want. They may respond to public opinion indirectly by updating their party agendas, which can serve as the basis for social policy decisions in case they get elected. They may also respond directly by introducing welfare reforms that react to shifts in public opinion during their mandates. The second premise concerns how citizens and politicians structure their preferences over welfare. These preferences fall alongside two dimensions. First, general attitudes about how much should the state intervene in the economy to reduce inequality and promote economic well-being (how much policy). Second, the specific preferences about which social programmes should get better funding (what kind of policy). The empirical analysis is split into three empirical chapters. Each explores different aspects of government representation in Western European welfare states. The first empirical chapter (Chapter 4) asks how governments shape social policy when facing severe pressures to decrease spending. It argues that governments strategically reduce spending on programmes that offer less visible and indirect benefits, as they are less likely to trigger an electoral backlash. The experience of the Great Recession is consistent with this claim. Countries that faced the most challenging financial constraints cut down social investment and services. Except for Greece, they all preserved consumption schemes. The second empirical chapter (Chapter 5) explores how public opinion affects government spending priorities in different welfare programmes. It expects government responsiveness to depend on public mood for more or less government activity and the most salient social issues at the time. Empirical evidence from old-age, healthcare and education issue-policy areas supports these claims. Higher policy mood and issue saliency is positively associated with increasing spending efforts. Public opinion does not appear to affect unemployment policies. vii The third empirical chapter (Chapter 6) examines how party preferences affect spending priorities in unemployment programmes. It claims that preferences on economic intervention in the economy and welfare recalibration affect different components of unemployment policy. Evidence from the past 20 years bodes well with these expectations. The generosity of compensatory schemes depends on economic preferences. The left invests more than the right. The funding of active labour-market policies depends on both preference dimensions. Among conventional parties, their funding follows the same patterns as compensatory schemes. Among recalibration parties, parties across the economic spectrum present comparable spending patterns.
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Lai, I. Tak. "Towards the EU common migration and asylum policy : challenges or opportunities?" Thesis, University of Macau, 2010. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b2555551.
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Zhang, Lu. "Is the EU a social union? :the function of common social policy for European integration." Thesis, University of Macau, 2012. http://umaclib3.umac.mo/record=b2554777.
Full textBooks on the topic "Local government – European Union countries"
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Bataillou, Christian. L' émergence du fait régional au sein de l'union européenne: La coopération trans-frontière comme stratégie de développement. Perpignan: Presses universitaires de Perpignan, 2002.
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Stetter, Stephan. EU foreign and interior policies: Cross-pillar politics and the social construction of sovereignty. New York, NY: Routledge, 2007.
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1944-, Alemann Ulrich von, and Munch Claudia, eds. Europafähigkeit der Kommunen: Die lokale Ebene in der Europäischen Union. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2006.
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1964-, Bukowski Jeanie J., Piattoni Simona 1960-, and Smyrl Marc E. 1960-, eds. Between Europeanization and local societies: The space for territorial governance. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2003.
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1941-, Kohler-Koch Beate, and Larat Fabrice, eds. European multi-level governance: Contrasting images in national research. Cheltenham, England: Edward Elgar, 2009.
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1941-, Kohler-Koch Beate, and Larat Fabrice, eds. European multi-level governance: Contrasting images in national research. Cheltenham, England: Edward Elgar, 2009.
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Devolution in context: Regional, federal & devolved government in the member states of the European Union. London: Cavendish Pub., 2002.
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The European Union and member state territories: A new legal framework under the EU treaties. The Hague: T.M.C. Asser Press, 2012.
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1937-, Fossati Amedeo, and Panella Giorgio, eds. Fiscal federalism in the European Union. London: Routledge, 1999.
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Marján, Attila. Europe's destiny: The old lady and the bull. Washington, D.C: Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 2010.
Find full textBook chapters on the topic "Local government – European Union countries"
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Mihr, Anja. "European democracy’s Response to the BRI." In Securitization and Democracy in Eurasia, 375–92. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16659-4_26.
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AbstractIn this chapter, I will argue that the 2013 Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been neither a curse nor a blessing for democracy. Instead, China’s BRI activities in over 140 countries worldwide have triggered many global and local movements and initiatives that have led alternatively to stronger autocratisation and democratisation in some regions, such as across Eurasia. The quantity of investments under the BRI is not a determinant of whether a country democratises or autocratises.Instead, the BRI and the autocratic leadership of the Chinese government in implementing investments across Eurasia has triggered several countermeasures by the European Union (EU) and the G7. One of these is the Global Gateway Initiative (GGI) which aims to invest in infrastructure and development projects worldwide, but with the key difference that its aim is to promote democratic norms and principles of human rights at the same time. Some of the consequences of the New Cold War between democratic and autocratic political systems including the rising unrest of civil society in the face of autocratic forms of governance and anti-Chinese sentiments, these lead to civil unrest and even wars that destabilise entire regions and countries.
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Guderjan, Marius, and Tom Verhelst. "Introduction: Studying European Integration of Local Government." In Local Government in the European Union, 1–19. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74382-6_1.
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Guderjan, Marius, and Tom Verhelst. "The Formal Bottom-Up Perspective: Constitutional Status and Institutionalised Participation." In Local Government in the European Union, 123–49. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74382-6_6.
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Guderjan, Marius, and Tom Verhelst. "Closing the Cycle: The Impact of Formal and Informal Mobilisation." In Local Government in the European Union, 175–98. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74382-6_8.
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Guderjan, Marius, and Tom Verhelst. "The Internal Perspective: Awareness, Attitudes and Adaptation." In Local Government in the European Union, 67–89. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74382-6_4.
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Guderjan, Marius, and Tom Verhelst. "Conclusion: Reflections on European Integration of Local Government." In Local Government in the European Union, 199–215. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74382-6_9.
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Guderjan, Marius, and Tom Verhelst. "The Integration Cycle: Theorising European Integration of Local Government." In Local Government in the European Union, 21–43. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74382-6_2.
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Guderjan, Marius, and Tom Verhelst. "The Informal Bottom-Up Perspective: Mobilisation and Interest Representation." In Local Government in the European Union, 151–73. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74382-6_7.
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Guderjan, Marius, and Tom Verhelst. "The Horizontal Perspective: Twinning, Networks and Territorial Cooperation." In Local Government in the European Union, 91–121. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74382-6_5.
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Guderjan, Marius, and Tom Verhelst. "The Top-Down Perspective: Legislative and Policy Impact." In Local Government in the European Union, 45–66. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74382-6_3.
Full textConference papers on the topic "Local government – European Union countries"
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Stepina, Mairita, and Modrite Pelse. "European Union funding support to Latvian municipalities for degraded areas revitalization." In Research for Rural Development 2022 : annual 28th international scientific conference proceedings. Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.22616/rrd.28.2022.033.
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The formation and existence of degraded areas is one of the consequences of civilization, which has a negative impact on both the environment and economic development in the municipality. The problem of degraded areas has been faced by all countries worldwide, including Latvia, when as a result of the change of the state political system in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet system, a large number of inactive production companies appeared, resulting in a significant number of polluted / degraded areas. To solve the existing problem, local governments in Latvia use European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funding under the Operational Program ‘Growth and Employment’ 5.6.2, specific support objective ‘Revitalization of territories by regenerating degraded areas in accordance with local government integrated development programs’ (SSO 5.6.2) to ensure the sustainable development of the territory by revitalizing degraded areas. In the implementation of projects, local governments must ensure the fulfilment of the indicators planned in the projects in the following groups of indicators: the area of degraded areas has been renewed, adapted for the location of new businesses or expansion of existing businesses in order to promote employment and economic activity in local governments; new jobs created in supported areas; non-financial investments made by businesses located in the supported territory in their own intangible investments and fixed assets. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the indicators of the implemented projects in order to be able to draw conclusions about the financial aspects of the project implementation and the progress of the project implementation.
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Thompson, Trevor. "Laboratory Accreditation in Europe." In NCSL International Workshop & Symposium. NCSL International, 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.51843/wsproceedings.2012.11.
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0.1 In recent years the attitude of the European Commission (EC) and of the Governments of the European countries, toward accreditation has changed such that it is now regarded as a national authority function, to be conducted in the absence of competition. Each European Union (EU)member state appoints a sole national accreditation body operating generally only within its national borders.0.2 Under the provisions of the European co-operation for Accreditation [2] Multi Lateral Agreement (EA MLA) [3] the European accreditation bodies now cooperate to ensure that laboratories are accredited by the accreditation body of the economy in which they are established. The European accreditation bodies do not compete in Europe and the work of any laboratory is assessed by the accreditation body local to the site concerned. This underpins the MLA by demonstrating the equivalence of the work of the accreditation bodies. It further ensures the growth and development of the accreditation bodies in the newer, smaller economies of the European Union.0.3 The author will explain the background, the legislation and the measures taken to serve the needs of laboratories including the multi-national laboratory owners and their customers. He will describe the benefits and the difficulties of implementing this regime and will include a brief discussion on “legal entities” as featured in the ISO/IEC 17000 series of accreditation standards as this often crucially affects the available choices for a European accreditation applicant.
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Lina, Al Eassa. "FOSTERING RESILIENCE IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE 2015 EUROPEAN NEIGHBORHOOD POLICY REVIEW׃ EVIDENCE FROM JORDAN." In NORDSCI International Conference. SAIMA Consult Ltd, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.32008/nordsci2020/b2/v3/13.
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Resilience has become a priority for the EU in its 2015 European Neighborhood Policy review (ENP), It refers to building state and societal resilience of the Union as a whole, its members and the EU׳s neighbors including Jordan, a strategic southern partner of the EU. In this regard, the EU Building resilience in Jordan in response for crises as the Syrian refugee crisis seems workable but the EU needs to foster it. Thus, this paper’s question is How can the EU foster resilience after it has become a priority in its 2015 (ENP) review in case of Jordan? While many scholars like David Chandler argues that the EU could foster resilience in its neighboring countries by making it a local self-governing project and not an external imposed project where the EU has the mission of monitoring and assessment, in this paper, based on document analysis from official websites for the EU and Jordan including their official bilateral and multilateral agreements and textual analysis of the current literature on building resilience I argue that fostering resilience requires both presenting resilience as a self-governing project with a greater engagement of the Jordanian government, local community and its civil society, at the same time , it needs a better mechanism for the EU in monitoring and assessment, and more importantly helping Jordan to establish the best institutional design that could foster state and societal resilience in Jordan.
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Brković, Radoje. "ORGANIZATOR VOLONTERSKE USLUGE." In XV Majsko savetovanje: Sloboda pružanja usluga i pravna sigurnost. University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Law, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.46793/xvmajsko.437b.
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The question of the organization of volunteering plays a particularly important role, since the quality of the volunteer service provided and its realization depends directly on the method of organizing volunteer work. When it comes to the organization of volunteering, it is expected that the state bodies, as well as the organs of local self-governments, take active participation in this. This provides active support and encouragement of volunteer work by the state and state authorities, in accordance with the contemporary tendencies of revival and revitalization of volunteer work. Although volunteer work is primarily related to the activity of humanitarian work and work with particularly vulnerable categories of population, the tendency is that volunteering as a form of engaging people, different age and education structures is actualized in all areas of social life, as is the case with countries in the region, as well as Member States of the European Union.
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Grecu, Mihai. "Challenges and opportunities in open scientific data policy development in the Republic of Moldova." In Open Science in the Republic of Moldova National Scientific Conference, 2nd edition. Information Society Development Institute, Republic of Moldova, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.57066/sdrm22.04.
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Open science initiatives are a global phenomenon. If in developed countries research and innovation enjoy significant support from governments, business and the entire society, and open science has become an important component in the landscape of scientific research, developing countries, such as the Republic of Moldova, have a situation a little more special regarding open access to scientific information, the use of new technologies and tools in the sharing and dissemination of knowledge, in the broad participation and collaboration between social partners in the act of research and innovation. New achievements in the field of information and communication technology offer developing countries great opportunities to increase their research capabilities and participate in the development of world science. There are, however, certain specific barriers that still prevent the free circulation of scientific information, the broad collaboration of actors in the field of research. Ensuring open access to research data is a big challenge for the scientific community in the Republic of Moldova. In order to respond to this challenge, it is necessary to develop and implement some policies and some normative acts that contribute to the consolidation of efforts in order to identify and capitalize on the opportunities offered by new technologies, good practices and European and international experience, the establishment of some sustainable mechanisms regarding management and reuse of research data. The paper addresses the issue of open scientific data in the Republic of Moldova emphasizing the need to develop policies that take into account local realities but also the opportunities for international collaboration and, first of all, those related to the status of a candidate country for joining the Union European.
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FERUNI, Nerajda. "MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS OF HAPPINESS: CASE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES." In Happiness And Contemporary Society : Conference Proceedings Volume. SPOLOM, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.31108/7.2021.23.
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The aim of this paper is to test empirically the relationship between life satisfaction, another term used for happiness, and macroeconomic indicators such as GDP per capita, which is a proxy for economic growth, unemployment, inflation, income distribution and government expenditure in the European Union countries during the period of 2005-2017. The chosen variables are some of the most significant determinants of economic growth as well. Using the Fixed Effects model, which falls under the Panel Generalized Least Square method, the empirical results are in accordance with the literature review and suggest that unemployment and inflation have negative significant impacts on life satisfaction. Additionally, higher government expenditures and a higher level of economic growth lead to a higher level of life satisfaction in the EU countries, while unfair income distribution leads to a lower level of life satisfaction. Keywords: life satisfaction, macroeconomic indicators, economic growth, EU
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Baigonushova, Damira, Junus Ganiev, and Mairam Baigonusheva. "Government Support of the Agricultural Sector in the EAEU Countries." In International Conference on Eurasian Economies. Eurasian Economists Association, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.36880/c11.02291.
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As it is known, in 2010, a customs union with three participants, Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan, was formed on the territory of the former Soviet Union. In 2015, the union moved to another stage, the economic union. In 2015, Kyrgyzstan became a full member of this union and is currently trying to adapt to new economic conditions. In particular, the Agricultural Policy Department of the Eurasian Economic Commission is currently actively working on the development and implementation of common agricultural policy. Kyrgyzstan, despite the limited territory for agricultural production, is an agricultural country and has a comparative advantage in this sector. Therefore, the country should take an active role in the development of a common agricultural policy and create favorable conditions for the development of the own agrarian sector and use advantages. The purpose of this work is to analyze the developed plans and policies of the Agricultural Policy Department of the Eurasian Economic Commission, as well as conduct a comparative analysis with the common agricultural policy of the European Union, and at the end to make proposals.
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Balashov, Dmytro. "KYIV AS A CITY BRAND IN INTERNATIONAL INDICES AND RANKINGS: COINCIDENCE OR INEFFECTIVE LOCAL GOVERNMENT?" In Relevant Issues of the Development of Science in Central and Eastern European Countries. Publishing House “Baltija Publishing”, 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.30525/978-9934-588-11-2_64.
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Tashevska, Biljana, Marija Trpkova – Nestorovska, and Suzana Makreshanska – Mladenovska. "IS THERE A DOMINANCE OF SOCIAL PROTECTION EXPENDITURE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION?" In Economic and Business Trends Shaping the Future. Ss Cyril and Methodius University, Faculty of Economics-Skopje, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.47063/ebtsf.2020.0003.
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European welfare states, with their comprehensive and generous welfare model, create the largest part of general government expenditures in the European Union member countries. Given the rising trend of social expenditure and the long-run challenges coming from population ageing, this paper addresses the issue of social dominance, a situation in which, particularly when facing limited fiscal space, social expenditure could crowd-out other productive public expenditures, thus undermining growth potentials and possibly threatening fiscal sustainability. Using a panel regression analysis, the aim of the paper is to test whether social protection expenditure has crowded-out expenditures on other purposes in the European Union in the period 1995-2018. The results provide some evidence of crowding-out of infrastructure spending and education spending. Additionally, deficit financing and rising government debt have a significant adverse effect on spending on infrastructure, education and core public services, confirming that they are more prone to cutbacks in times of deteriorating public finance. These findings, along with the long-run fiscal pressure from the ‘greying population’ and the high political costs of welfare reforms suggest significant future risks of social dominance.
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BANU, Constantin, Lile RAMONA, Tiberiu IANCU, Mihaela MOATĂR, Dora ORBOI, Carolina ȘTEFAN, and Sorin STANCIU. "COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE ROMANIAN AND THE MAIN EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES’ NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEMS." In Rural Development 2015. Aleksandras Stulginskis University, 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.15544/rd.2015.039.
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In the European Union, forests and other wooded areas cover a total of 177.8 million hectares, which represents approximately 40% of the EU total area and an area similar to that used for agricultural purposes (183.9 million hectares). Germany, Spain, France, Finland and Sweden make up over three-fifths of the area covered by forests in the EU. Our paper shows the distribution of forested areas in the EU and their importance in comparison with the agricultural area of each Member State. In 2014, the EU represents about 12 % of global timber volume harvested timber from forests and woodlands on its surfaces rising to 392.9 million m3. Forestry, logging and related services covering timber production and extraction and harvesting of forest products that grow in the wild. In addition to industrial round wood, forests produce firewood, too. In some regions, non-timber forest products are also an important source of local income. In the research approach, we considered necessary and appropriate to perform a comparative analysis of the situation of Romanian forest similar to that of the main European Union countries, to identify measures that some of them have tried, and even managed to increase a rational exploitation of afforested areas forest resources. The results conducted to a comparative analysis of the National Forest and the main EU countries’ Systems, to identify possible starting points for grounding new sustainable development strategies, given their similar experience.
Reports on the topic "Local government – European Union countries"
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Bourrier, Mathilde, Michael Deml, and Farnaz Mahdavian. Comparative report of the COVID-19 Pandemic Responses in Norway, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. University of Stavanger, November 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.31265/usps.254.
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The purpose of this report is to compare the risk communication strategies and public health mitigation measures implemented by Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom (UK) in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic based on publicly available documents. The report compares the country responses both in relation to one another and to the recommendations and guidance of the World Health Organization where available. The comparative report is an output of Work Package 1 from the research project PAN-FIGHT (Fighting pandemics with enhanced risk communication: Messages, compliance and vulnerability during the COVID-19 outbreak), which is financially supported by the Norwegian Research Council's extraordinary programme for corona research. PAN-FIGHT adopts a comparative approach which follows a “most different systems” variation as a logic of comparison guiding the research (Przeworski & Teune, 1970). The countries in this study include two EU member States (Sweden, Germany), one which was engaged in an exit process from the EU membership (the UK), and two non-European Union states, but both members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA): Norway and Switzerland. Furthermore, Germany and Switzerland govern by the Continental European Federal administrative model, with a relatively weak central bureaucracy and strong subnational, decentralised institutions. Norway and Sweden adhere to the Scandinavian model—a unitary but fairly decentralised system with power bestowed to the local authorities. The United Kingdom applies the Anglo-Saxon model, characterized by New Public Management (NPM) and decentralised managerial practices (Einhorn & Logue, 2003; Kuhlmann & Wollmann, 2014; Petridou et al., 2019). In total, PAN-FIGHT is comprised of 5 Work Packages (WPs), which are research-, recommendation-, and practice-oriented. The WPs seek to respond to the following research questions and accomplish the following: WP1: What are the characteristics of governmental and public health authorities’ risk communication strategies in five European countries, both in comparison to each other and in relation to the official strategies proposed by WHO? WP2: To what extent and how does the general public’s understanding, induced by national risk communication, vary across five countries, in relation to factors such as social capital, age, gender, socio-economic status and household composition? WP3: Based on data generated in WP1 and WP2, what is the significance of being male or female in terms of individual susceptibility to risk communication and subsequent vulnerability during the COVID-19 outbreak? WP4: Based on insight and knowledge generated in WPs 1 and 2, what recommendations can we offer national and local governments and health institutions on enhancing their risk communication strategies to curb pandemic outbreaks? WP5: Enhance health risk communication strategies across five European countries based upon the knowledge and recommendations generated by WPs 1-4. Pre-pandemic preparedness characteristics All five countries had pandemic plans developed prior to 2020, which generally were specific to influenza pandemics but not to coronaviruses. All plans had been updated following the H1N1 pandemic (2009-2010). During the SARS (2003) and MERS (2012) outbreaks, both of which are coronaviruses, all five countries experienced few cases, with notably smaller impacts than the H1N1 epidemic (2009-2010). The UK had conducted several exercises (Exercise Cygnet in 2016, Exercise Cygnus in 2016, and Exercise Iris in 2018) to check their preparedness plans; the reports from these exercises concluded that there were gaps in preparedness for epidemic outbreaks. Germany also simulated an influenza pandemic exercise in 2007 called LÜKEX 07, to train cross-state and cross-department crisis management (Bundesanstalt Technisches Hilfswerk, 2007). In 2017 within the context of the G20, Germany ran a health emergency simulation exercise with WHO and World Bank representatives to prepare for potential future pandemics (Federal Ministry of Health et al., 2017). Prior to COVID-19, only the UK had expert groups, notably the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), that was tasked with providing advice during emergencies. It had been used in previous emergency events (not exclusively limited to health). In contrast, none of the other countries had a similar expert advisory group in place prior to the pandemic. COVID-19 waves in 2020 All five countries experienced two waves of infection in 2020. The first wave occurred during the first half of the year and peaked after March 2020. The second wave arrived during the final quarter. Norway consistently had the lowest number of SARS-CoV-2 infections per million. Germany’s counts were neither the lowest nor the highest. Sweden, Switzerland and the UK alternated in having the highest numbers per million throughout 2020. Implementation of measures to control the spread of infection In Germany, Switzerland and the UK, health policy is the responsibility of regional states, (Länders, cantons and nations, respectively). However, there was a strong initial centralized response in all five countries to mitigate the spread of infection. Later on, country responses varied in the degree to which they were centralized or decentralized. Risk communication In all countries, a large variety of communication channels were used (press briefings, websites, social media, interviews). Digital communication channels were used extensively. Artificial intelligence was used, for example chatbots and decision support systems. Dashboards were used to provide access to and communicate data.
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Morsy, Ahmed. Towards a renewed local social and political covenant in Libya, Syria and Yemen. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, December 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.55163/ofgn2229.
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This SIPRI Insights Paper examines the domestic and external factors at play in Libya, Syria and Yemen and their impact on negotiating post-war peaceful settlements and shaping prospective social contracts.The paper’s argument is two-fold. Firstly, policymaking must move beyond a static approach to understanding these conflicts. Despite apparent stalemates, the three countries should be approached as ever-evolving simmering conflicts. Secondly, policymakers have to move below the national level in order to achieve various forms of localized social peace. Given the nature of these conflicts and the varied sub-national segmentation, the analysis concludes that community-level social and political covenants may offer a first building block towards nationwide social contracts and sustainable conflict resolution.The role of external actors, particularly the European Union (EU), is critical in paving the way for these local-level dialogues and negotiations in Libya, Syria and Yemen. In short, external powers, including the EU, should adopt policies that push for long-term resolution to achieve post-conflict stabilization rather than the opportunistic taking of sides.
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Rezaie, Shogofa, Fedra Vanhuyse, Karin André, and Maryna Henrysson. Governing the circular economy: how urban policymakers can accelerate the agenda. Stockholm Environment Institute, September 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.51414/sei2022.027.
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We believe the climate crisis will be resolved in cities. Today, while cities occupy only 2% of the Earth's surface, 57% of the world's population lives in cities, and by 2050, it will jump to 68% (UN, 2018). Currently, cities consume over 75% of natural resources, accumulate 50% of the global waste and emit up to 80% of greenhouse gases (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017). Cities generate 70% of the global gross domestic product and are significant drivers of economic growth (UN-Habitat III, 2016). At the same time, cities sit on the frontline of natural disasters such as floods, storms and droughts (De Sherbinin et al., 2007; Major et al., 2011; Rockström et al., 2021). One of the sustainability pathways to reduce the environmental consequences of the current extract-make-dispose model (or the "linear economy") is a circular economy (CE) model. A CE is defined as "an economic system that is based on business models which replace the 'end-of-life' concept with reducing, alternatively reusing, recycling and recovering materials in production/distribution and consumption processes" (Kirchherr et al., 2017, p. 224). By redesigning production processes and thereby extending the lifespan of goods and materials, researchers suggest that CE approaches reduce waste and increase employment and resource security while sustaining business competitiveness (Korhonen et al., 2018; Niskanen et al., 2020; Stahel, 2012; Winans et al., 2017). Organizations such as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Circle Economy help steer businesses toward CE strategies. The CE is also a political priority in countries and municipalities globally. For instance, the CE Action Plan, launched by the European Commission in 2015 and reconfirmed in 2020, is a central pillar of the European Green Deal (European Commission, 2015, 2020). Additionally, more governments are implementing national CE strategies in China (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2018), Colombia (Government of the Republic of Colombia, 2019), Finland (Sitra, 2016), Sweden (Government Offices of Sweden, 2020) and the US (Metabolic, 2018, 2019), to name a few. Meanwhile, more cities worldwide are adopting CE models to achieve more resource-efficient urban management systems, thereby advancing their environmental ambitions (Petit-Boix & Leipold, 2018; Turcu & Gillie, 2020; Vanhuyse, Haddaway, et al., 2021). Cities with CE ambitions include, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Paris, Toronto, Peterborough (England) and Umeå (Sweden) (OECD, 2020a). In Europe, over 60 cities signed the European Circular Cities Declaration (2020) to harmonize the transition towards a CE in the region. In this policy brief, we provide insights into common challenges local governments face in implementing their CE plans and suggest recommendations for overcoming these. It aims to answer the question: How can the CE agenda be governed in cities? It is based on the results of the Urban Circularity Assessment Framework (UCAF) project, building on findings from 25 interviews, focus group discussions and workshops held with different stakeholder groups in Umeå, as well as research on Stockholm's urban circularity potential, including findings from 11 expert interviews (Rezaie, 2021). Our findings were complemented by the Circular Economy Lab project (Rezaie et al., 2022) and experiences from working with municipal governments in Sweden, Belgium, France and the UK, on CE and environmental and social sustainability.
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Kira, Beatriz, Rutendo Tavengerwei, and Valary Mumbo. Points à examiner à l'approche des négociations de Phase II de la ZLECAf: enjeux de la politique commerciale numérique dans quatre pays d'Afrique subsaharienne. Digital Pathways at Oxford, March 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.35489/bsg-dp-wp_2022/01.
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Realities such as the COVID-19 pandemic have expedited the move to online operations, highlighting the undeniable fact that the world is continuing to go digital. This emphasises the need for policymakers to regulate in a manner that allows them to harness digital trade benefits while also avoiding associated risk. However, given that digital trade remains unco-ordinated globally, with countries adopting different approaches to policy issues, national regulatory divergence on the matter continues, placing limits on the benefits that countries can obtain from digital trade. Given these disparities, ahead of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Phase II Negotiations, African countries have been considering the best way to harmonise regulations on issues related to digital trade. To do this effectively, AfCFTA members need to identify where divergencies exist in their domestic regulatory systems. This will allow AfCFTA members to determine where harmonisation is possible, as well as what is needed to achieve such harmonisation. This report analyses the domestic regulations and policies of four focus countries – South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Senegal – comparing their regulatory approaches to five policy issues: i) regulation of online transactions; ii) cross-border data flows, data localisation, and personal data protection; iii) access to source code and technology transfer; iv) intermediary liability; and v) customs duties on electronic transmissions. The study highlights where divergencies exist in adopted approaches, indicating the need for the four countries – and AfCFTA members in general – to carefully consider the implications of the divergences, and determine where it is possible and beneficial to harmonise approaches. This was intended to encourage AfCFTA member states to take ownership of these issues and reflect on the reforms needed. As seen in Table 1 below, the study shows that the four countries diverge on most of the five policy issues. There are differences in how all four countries regulate online transactions – that is, e-signatures and online consumer protection. Nigeria was the only country out of the four to recognise all types of e-signatures as legally equivalent. Kenya and Senegal only recognise specific e-signatures, which are either issued or validated by a recognised institution, while South Africa adopts a mixed approach, where it recognises all e-signatures as legally valid, but provides higher evidentiary weight to certain types of e-signatures. Only South Africa and Senegal have specific regulations relating to online consumer protection, while Nigeria and Kenya do not have any clear rules. With regards to cross border data flows, data localisation, and personal data protection, the study shows that all four focus countries have regulations that consist of elements borrowed from the European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In particular, this was regarding the need for the data subject's consent, and also the adequacy requirement. Interestingly, the study also shows that South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria also adopt data localisation measures, although at different levels of strictness. South Africa’s data localisation laws are mostly imposed on data that is considered critical – which is then required to be processed within South African borders – while Nigeria requires all data to be processed and stored locally, using local servers. Kenya imposes data localisation measures that are mostly linked to its priority for data privacy. Out of the four focus countries, Senegal is the only country that does not impose any data localisation laws. Although the study shows that all four countries share a position on customs duties on electronic transmissions, it is also interesting to note that none of the four countries currently have domestic regulations or policies on the subject. The report concludes by highlighting that, as the AfCFTA Phase II Negotiations aim to arrive at harmonisation and to improve intra-African trade and international trade, AfCFTA members should reflect on their national policies and domestic regulations to determine where harmonisation is needed, and whether AfCFTA is the right platform for achieving this efficiently.
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Jones, Emily, Beatriz Kira, Anna Sands, and Danilo B. Garrido Alves. The UK and Digital Trade: Which way forward? Blavatnik School of Government, February 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.35489/bsg-wp-2021/038.
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The internet and digital technologies are upending global trade. Industries and supply chains are being transformed, and the movement of data across borders is now central to the operation of the global economy. Provisions in trade agreements address many aspects of the digital economy – from cross-border data flows, to the protection of citizens’ personal data, and the regulation of the internet and new technologies like artificial intelligence and algorithmic decision-making. The UK government has identified digital trade as a priority in its Global Britain strategy and one of the main sources of economic growth to recover from the pandemic. It wants the UK to play a leading role in setting the international standards and regulations that govern the global digital economy. The regulation of digital trade is a fast-evolving and contentious issue, and the US, European Union (EU), and China have adopted different approaches. Now that the UK has left the EU, it will need to navigate across multiple and often conflicting digital realms. The UK needs to decide which policy objectives it will prioritise, how to regulate the digital economy domestically, and how best to achieve its priorities when negotiating international trade agreements. There is an urgent need to develop a robust, evidence-based approach to the UK’s digital trade strategy that takes into account the perspectives of businesses, workers, and citizens, as well as the approaches of other countries in the global economy. This working paper aims to inform UK policy debates by assessing the state of play in digital trade globally. The authors present a detailed analysis of five policy areas that are central to discussions on digital trade for the UK: cross-border data flows and privacy; internet access and content regulation; intellectual property and innovation; e-commerce (including trade facilitation and consumer protection); and taxation (customs duties on e-commerce and digital services taxes). In each of these areas the authors compare and contrast the approaches taken by the US, EU and China, discuss the public policy implications, and examine the choices facing the UK.
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Payment Systems Report - June of 2021. Banco de la República, February 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.32468/rept-sist-pag.eng.2021.
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Banco de la República provides a comprehensive overview of Colombia’s finan¬cial infrastructure in its Payment Systems Report, which is an important product of the work it does to oversee that infrastructure. The figures published in this edition of the report are for the year 2020, a pandemic period in which the con¬tainment measures designed and adopted to alleviate the strain on the health system led to a sharp reduction in economic activity and consumption in Colom¬bia, as was the case in most countries. At the start of the pandemic, the Board of Directors of Banco de la República adopted decisions that were necessary to supply the market with ample liquid¬ity in pesos and US dollars to guarantee market stability, protect the payment system and preserve the supply of credit. The pronounced growth in mone¬tary aggregates reflected an increased preference for liquidity, which Banco de la República addressed at the right time. These decisions were implemented through operations that were cleared and settled via the financial infrastructure. The second section of this report, following the introduction, offers an analysis of how the various financial infrastructures in Colombia have evolved and per¬formed. One of the highlights is the large-value payment system (CUD), which registered more momentum in 2020 than during the previous year, mainly be¬cause of an increase in average daily remunerated deposits made with Banco de la República by the General Directorate of Public Credit and the National Treasury (DGCPTN), as well as more activity in the sell/buy-back market with sovereign debt. Consequently, with more activity in the CUD, the Central Securi¬ties Depository (DCV) experienced an added impetus sparked by an increase in the money market for bonds and securities placed on the primary market by the national government. The value of operations cleared and settled through the Colombian Central Counterparty (CRCC) continues to grow, propelled largely by peso/dollar non-deliverable forward (NDF) contracts. With respect to the CRCC, it is important to note this clearing house has been in charge of managing risks and clearing and settling operations in the peso/dollar spot market since the end of last year, following its merger with the Foreign Exchange Clearing House of Colombia (CCDC). Since the final quarter of 2020, the CRCC has also been re¬sponsible for clearing and settlement in the equities market, which was former¬ly done by the Colombian Stock Exchange (BVC). The third section of this report provides an all-inclusive view of payments in the market for goods and services; namely, transactions carried out by members of the public and non-financial institutions. During the pandemic, inter- and intra-bank electronic funds transfers, which originate mostly with companies, increased in both the number and value of transactions with respect to 2019. However, debit and credit card payments, which are made largely by private citizens, declined compared to 2019. The incidence of payment by check contin¬ue to drop, exhibiting quite a pronounced downward trend during the past last year. To supplement to the information on electronic funds transfers, section three includes a segment (Box 4) characterizing the population with savings and checking accounts, based on data from a survey by Banco de la República con-cerning the perception of the use of payment instruments in 2019. There also is segment (Box 2) on the growth in transactions with a mobile wallet provided by a company specialized in electronic deposits and payments (Sedpe). It shows the number of users and the value of their transactions have increased since the wallet was introduced in late 2017, particularly during the pandemic. In addition, there is a diagnosis of the effects of the pandemic on the payment patterns of the population, based on data related to the use of cash in circu¬lation, payments with electronic instruments, and consumption and consumer confidence. The conclusion is that the collapse in the consumer confidence in¬dex and the drop in private consumption led to changes in the public’s pay¬ment patterns. Credit and debit card purchases were down, while payments for goods and services through electronic funds transfers increased. These findings, coupled with the considerable increase in cash in circulation, might indicate a possible precautionary cash hoarding by individuals and more use of cash as a payment instrument. There is also a segment (in Focus 3) on the major changes introduced in regulations on the retail-value payment system in Colombia, as provided for in Decree 1692 of December 2020. The fourth section of this report refers to the important innovations and tech¬nological changes that have occurred in the retail-value payment system. Four themes are highlighted in this respect. The first is a key point in building the financial infrastructure for instant payments. It involves of the design and im¬plementation of overlay schemes, a technological development that allows the various participants in the payment chain to communicate openly. The result is a high degree of interoperability among the different payment service providers. The second topic explores developments in the international debate on central bank digital currency (CBDC). The purpose is to understand how it could impact the retail-value payment system and the use of cash if it were to be issued. The third topic is related to new forms of payment initiation, such as QR codes, bio¬metrics or near field communication (NFC) technology. These seemingly small changes can have a major impact on the user’s experience with the retail-value payment system. The fourth theme is the growth in payments via mobile tele¬phone and the internet. The report ends in section five with a review of two papers on applied research done at Banco de la República in 2020. The first analyzes the extent of the CRCC’s capital, acknowledging the relevant role this infrastructure has acquired in pro¬viding clearing and settlement services for various financial markets in Colom¬bia. The capital requirements defined for central counterparties in some jurisdic¬tions are explored, and the risks to be hedged are identified from the standpoint of the service these type of institutions offer to the market and those associated with their corporate activity. The CRCC’s capital levels are analyzed in light of what has been observed in the European Union’s regulations, and the conclusion is that the CRCC has a scheme of security rings very similar to those applied internationally and the extent of its capital exceeds what is stipulated in Colombian regulations, being sufficient to hedge other risks. The second study presents an algorithm used to identify and quantify the liquidity sources that CUD’s participants use under normal conditions to meet their daily obligations in the local financial market. This algorithm can be used as a tool to monitor intraday liquidity. Leonardo Villar Gómez Governor