Thèses sur le sujet « Public contracts – European Union countries »

Defence date: 28 May 2007
Examining board: Prof. Christian Joerges, European University Institute, Florence ; Prof. Jacques Ziller, European University Institute, Florence ; Prof. Horatia Muir Watt, Université Paris I ; Prof. Christoph Schmid, ZERP Bremen
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no abstract available

Defence date: 21 November 2022
Examining 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.

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.

The focus of this thesis is on the vertical Europeanisation of the online public debate and more specifically on the EU's online public communication strategy, i.e. the top-down process of the unmediated, direct, online communication between the EU and the general public. The empirical data has been collected in four stages, namely public communication policy-making; public communication policy implementation online; online public communication policy impact on key Internet audiences; and interviews with key senior Commission officials. The review of the EU public communication documents has shown that the Commission has unambiguously committed to facilitate direct communication with the EU public as part of the process of building the EU citizens' trust towards its institutions and in addressing the issues of transparency and democratic legitimation of the EU's decision-making process, while the Internet is seen as a key tool in facilitating direct communication. However, after monitoring three of the EU's official websites for a year and analyzing the views of 221 Internet users on the EU's Information and Communication strategy online, it has become evident that the Commission has not yet fulfilled these commitments. The interviews with key Commission officials have revealed that behind this gap between policy and online implementation lie: a) an institutional culture which conflicts with the aims of the Commission's public communication strategy; and b) constant institutional restructuring in the last six years. Very recently the Commission has begun to address some of the shortfalls in the online implementation of its public communication strategy, yet there is no indication that the results of the online debate regarding the EU's future will be incorporated in the decision-making process, while further study is required in the future in order to assess any change in the institutional culture in relation to its public communication strategy.

A culture of accommodation and tolerance is a necessary part of establishing and preserving a functional multi-national and multi-ethnic European Union. Civil society organizations and their associated social capital have been shown to foster civic capacity and achievement of public policy goals. However, social capital that is based on group identity can also contribute to a sense of intolerance towards out-groups, undermining the stated tolerance objectives of the social pillar of the European Union. States with a strong presence alongside civil society are expected to be curb the development of the exclusionary bonding form of social capital in favor of bridging social capital which will improve progress toward policy goals. This study tests the link between government capacity, social capital and tolerance using data from the 1990-2009 waves of the World Values Survey and European Values Study. Using path analysis and multi-level models of the relationships between political capacity, social capital and intolerance, the model establishes that government capacity enhances bridging social capital and which increases social tolerance. The study fills a gap in understanding how government capacity and policy can result in improved social capital even with greater diversity. A proposed relationship between political capacity and bonding forms of social capital was not supported.

The lack of studies relating to the ethical needs and values of public relations professionals in the European Union indicated the need for a research study to ascertain: 1. the experience of European Union public relations professionals in confronting and resolving ethical issues, 2. what the needs are in charting an ethical course for individual professional conduct, 3.what the needs are to guide organizations in the ethical performance of public relations, and 4. the social responsibility of public relations.Nearly all of the quantitative studies have been devoted to an examination of the views of members of American public relations associations. Numerous authors have pointed out the value of ethical standards and of a means of enforcement of the standards for professions. In spite of an ongoing professional dialogue as to the need, little progress has been made in defining sanctions against those who violate ethical principles while defining themselves as public relations counselors.This study was based on a mail survey created and distributed by Sharpe in the Fall of 1993. Three questions from the 1972 Newsom's research study were added. Threehundred and fifty-five public relations practitioner members of the International Public Relations Association within the European Union in 1995 were identified as the population for this study. A 35.2% response rate was attained after two mailings.The typical respondent was male, had been in the profession from 10 to 30 years, held an accreditation, was a specialist and identified himself as a counselor. He related that he confronted ethical issues with frequency particularly in relation to relationships with clients, the news media, and customers. The majority of the ethical issues, which would have or had transgressed the organizational policies and personal/religious principles, consisted of: misleading information, promising more than could and was delivered, supporting a program with which he disagreed in principle, withholding information, and failure to accept responsibilities. He said that he resolved the last ethical issue encountered, which involved their organization's management performance, by pointing out the ethical issue and influencing an ethical action. He placed some value on both IPRA Codes. He saw all ethical issues as ethically wrong, especially those relating to sexual harassment, the sale of unsafe products and services, discrimination, establishing different pay scales for men and women doing the same work, withholding information for gain at expense of others, and promotion and sale of products in other countries that are unacceptable in the EU that place people at risk. He viewed the public relations profession as having a leading role in improving relationships between peoples of different races within a country and between countries. He saw public opinion as an effective control over public relations performance. Finally, he would recommend the establishment and communication of the organization's ethics code and performance policies so organizational management would be recognized for public relations performance. The employment of public relations officials with professional memberships obligating them to uphold a code of ethical conduct was viewed as a criteria that organizations should establish as evidence of the organization's commitment to ethical public relations.
Department of Journalism

This thesis examines the moderating role of trade union representation in addressing the gap in employer-provided training between permanent workers and workers with fixed-term contracts (FTCs) from a cross-country, comparative perspective. The impact of trade union representation is measured on two different levels: (1) access to trade union representation at the workplace at the individual-level (2) average trade union representation at the country-level, measured as trade union power. The statistical analyses are performed using data from the 2015 European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) and multilevel modelling. Our result suggests that, across the European countries, workers with FTCs receive less employer-paid training than permanent workers. Regarding the impact of trade union representation, statistically significant result is found only at the individual-level, where access to trade union representation increases employer-paid training regardless of employment contract. For the interaction between access to trade union representation at the individual-level and FTC, no significant relationship is found. However, the models with the cross-level interaction between trade union power and FTC indicate that employer-paid training increases for permanent workers only. Our findings suggest that trade union representation at the workplace could operate as an equalizer between permanent workers and FTC workers, while at the country-level, their lobbying effect is beneficial for permanent workers only

Defence date: 12 June 2019
Examining Board: Prof. Alexander Trechsel, University of Lucerne (Supervisor); Prof. Giovanni Sartor, European University Institute; Prof. Luigi Curini, University of Milan; Prof. Anamaria Dutceac Segesten, Lund University
A Public Sphere and a demos are intrinsic key elements of any democratic society. The literature has pointed out that social media platforms can play an important role in developing direct interactions between users and creating a sense of community. Can Twitter contribute to the emergence of a transnational networked European Public Sphere and European demos? This thesis examines the contribution of the European Political Twittersphere to this question. I divide the question into three articles. In each I use a different theoretical framework and methodological approach to two datasets of two issue publics (the Schengen agreement and the transatlantic trade partnership, TTIP) collected through the public Twitter Streaming API from August 2016 to April 2017. In the first article I explore the actor level of the networks created from the Twitter data. I investigate whether these Twitter networks constitute networked publics where non-elite actors receive attention and play an important role by the number of mentions and retweets. In the second article I explore the question of the constitution of European transnational networks. To do so, I geolocate the accounts involved in the two networks to identify the type of interactions the users establish, whether national or transnational. In the third article I analyse the content of these networks by extracting what sentiments the users express for the topics, and whether they see themselves and the topics as national or European. The three articles capture three features of the European Political Twittersphere. First, the results indicate the presence of transnational European networks. Second, built from the bottom-up where non-elite actors receive most of the attention. And third, composed of a multilingual demoi where the users see themselves and the topics as European. However, although these mapped Twitter networks contribute to some extent to transnational interaction and a sense of community, the deliberative quality of these networks is low.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2009.
Title from file title page. William Downs, committee chair ; Jelena Subotic, Charles Hankla, committee members. Description based on contents viewed Sep. 28, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-56).

In endogenous growth models, in contrast to the neoclassical growth models, government expenditure and taxation have an effect on the long run growth rate. In this thesis I examine whether the empirical evidence support the predictions of endogenous growth models or the neoclassical growth models in relation to fiscal policy. For this purpose I use panel data for fifteen European Union (EU) member and thirty-three developing countries between the years 1970 and 1999. I specifically test the following two propositions. The first proposition states that distortionary taxation decreases growth while non-distortionary taxation does not. The second, states that productive government expenditure increases growth while non-productive expenditure does not. The empirical results are quite different between European Union countries and developing countries. The results do not support endogenous growth especially for developing countries.

Award date: 18 November 2020
Supervisor : Professor Deirdre Curtin (European University Insitute)
This thesis explores the way the development of the European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR) has been funded and assess whether the funding strategy adopted complies with established principles of financial accountability. Starting from a notion of financial accountability as a duty to report expenditure in a measurable, transparent and coherent way, relevant budget lines contributing to the development of the system will be singled out in order to assess whether they have been implemented in accordance with those criteria. While the funding strategy initially relied on a multi-level system of financial governance involving the EU, the Member States and the executive agency Frontex, EUROSUR funds were then channelled into three main funding streams belonging to different policy areas of the EU: research and development, border management and humanitarian aid to developing countries. An integrated analysis of these financial instruments shows that the overall EUROSUR funding policy infringes principles to be respected to give account of expenditure, because of original accountability gaps affecting the launch of the EUROSUR project. Nevertheless, this deficit has been reduced over time. Chances are that in the next multiannual financial framework, running for the period 2021-2027 compliance will be improved in the field of external border management, with a more efficient use of available resources.

This thesis examined the role of supranational organisations (SOs) in the governance of tourism in a North-South context. Focusing on the issue area of development cooperation, this thesis investigated the question of how and why SOs got involved in tourism in developing countries, and more specifically, in small island developing states. Such involvement may occur either directly through aid funded projects or indirectly through international trade regimes that impact on tourism in the aid recipient countries. The thesis adopted a case study approach focussing on the European Union�s (EU�s) involvement in the governance of tourism in South Pacific island states. Grounded in a history of colonialism, the EU has been involved in the �development� of the South Pacific for more than three decades, which allowed to track changes in development philosophy over time. Focusing on the concept of power, the case was assessed in a multi-scalar manner, analysing the EU�s involvement from the global down to the local level. Never before has an entire multilevel polity been assessed in one coherent case study, incorporating actors situated at all levels and ranging from supranational organisations to national governments, businesses, communities, and individuals. The methods employed in this thesis included interviews, participant observation, document analysis (policy documents and newspapers), and subsequently critical discourse analysis. The latter served to highlight the so-called �third face of power� (Lukes 1974), which is closely related to the concept of ideological hegemony. Interviews were conducted in Fiji and Samoa with officials of the South Pacific Delegations of the EU, officials of tourism authorities, NGOs, tourism operators and community members. Elite interviews in Brussels were conducted with officials of the European Commission and the European Parliament. Under all scales and �faces� of power the EU was found to be the dominant actor, while the issue of self-interest appeared to play a key role. At a macro-level, the EU clearly dominated in most overt decision-making situations during negotiations on aid and trade agreements. As concerned the inclusion of tourism in the agreements, the relative importance of the sector was clearly dependent on the European Commission�s prevailing attitude on �tourism and development� at any point in time. At a meso- and micro-level, the EU�s influence was less obvious yet nonetheless existent, for example through funding rules and the use of European consultants. Indirect influence also occurred at the national level. In particular the substitution of a preferential trade regime with a free trade agreement (the Economic Partnership Agreements), which is currently being negotiated between the EU and the Pacific Islands, is likely to have a significant impact on the economic importance of tourism, as well as public policy in the South Pacific. In a mini case study of Samoa, it was found that the resulting changes in tourism policy would have a significant impact �on the ground�, in particular with regard to rates of local ownership and control. Overall, power relations were found to be highly unequal and self-determination and empowerment have largely not been achieved. However, more research is needed to examine the ability to generalise the findings to other geographic regions or other types of SOs. The key contribution of this thesis in the theoretical realm constitutes its bridging of agency and structure within multi-level governance, which may be conceived as a �third way� to either dependency theory-influenced studies (global/structure) or community approaches (local/agency).

The European Union is now facing with the enormous enlargement processes, which comprise thirteen new countries. Different from the European Union member states, these candidate countries are suffering significant socio-economic problems and have to face with the need for adjustment of their regional policies, administrations and institutions. In this process, the EU is intervening actively into the development of the Central and Eastern European Countries&rsquo
regional policies and institutional structures. While twelve of these countries (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia) will be definitely the member states until the year of 2007, Turkey is not currently negotiating her membership and is highly backward status in comparison with the other candidate countries. In this context, the thesis study is composed of four main parts: 1. the changing system of the European Union regional policy, 2. the realized applications of the candidate countries in the field of regional policy after the year 1989, 3. the developments of the candidate countries&rsquo
institutional structures on regional policy, and 4. the position of Turkish regional policy and institutional structure. Basically, the thesis investigates how the European Union is following a similar system for the candidate countries in the field of regional policy and institutional structure and tries to provide significant outputs in Turkish case.

Defence date: 15 October 2007
Examining Board: Prof. Jacques Ziller, Relatore (IUE) ; Prof. Giuliano Amato, (IUE) ; Prof. M.P. Chiti, (Università di Firenze) ; Prof. Giacinto della Cananea, (Università di Napoli Federico II)
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
no abstract available

Cette recherche doctorale part de l’hypothèse générale selon laquelle la méthode communautaire classique serait concurrencée dans les faits par de nouveaux instruments juridiques qui, loin de constituer des initiatives isolées, participent d’un modèle alternatif de gouvernance communautaire qui la transforme en profondeur.

Afin d’identifier les caractéristiques, les contours et les nouvelles formes de normativités de ce modèle alternatif, cette recherche a adopté une approche pragmatique de l’étude droit et étudie empiriquement et systématiquement six politiques publiques européennes :la stratégie européenne pour l’emploi (SEE) et la Méthode Ouverte de Coordination (MOC), le programme européen REACH; la politique européenne de l’eau; la politique comptable européenne; la politique de régulation des services financiers; et la lutte contre le réchauffement climatique et le marché européen du carbone. Ces politiques publiques sont étudiées au moyen d’une approche par les instruments d’action publique qui s’inspire de la démarche et des recherches effectuées par Michel Foucault sur la « gouvernementalité ».

Cette analyse nous aura permis de démontrer que la transformation de la méthode communautaire classique se constate à au moins trois niveaux. Au niveau des acteurs, on assiste à un renforcement de la place des acteurs privés et de la société civile dans les politiques publiques étudiées. La transformation de l’action publique européenne réside également dans l’utilisation abondante de nouveaux instruments d’action publique - plus techniques que politiques et plus incitatifs que contraignants (du type benchmarking) - qui impliquent systématiquement une collaboration entre acteurs publics et privés à différents niveaux du processus décisionnel (coproduction normative). Enfin le mode de sanction est devenu une « contrainte par l’image » reposant sur la figure du « mauvais élève de la classe » véhiculée principalement par des publications de classements basées sur une classification des bonnes pratiques. Corrélativement, cette transformation se constate également dans les phases d’élaboration, d’exécution et de contrôle du droit de l’Union européenne.

Une fois les caractéristiques et les contours de ce modèle alternatif dessinés sur base des politiques publiques étudiées, cette recherche s’est ensuite tournée vers une présentation des discours (politiques et juridiques) et écoles de pensées (Law and Economics / New Public Management / Démocratie délibérative / Expérimentalisme démocratique) permettant de justifier son existence et, par là, de fonder sa légitimité. Enfin, si ce nouveau modèle peut prétendre à une certaine légitimité ou nécessité et s’il n’apparaît pas envisageable de revenir en arrière, sa non-concordance avec le traité est problématique. En effet, ce modèle pose une série de questions relatives au manque de contrôle sur l’activité des institutions de l’Union et à la sauvegarde de l’ordre juridique constitutionnel européen. Plus précisément, l’étude de la question de la protection juridictionnelle effective et du respect du principe de l’équilibre des pouvoirs permet d’identifier un certains nombre d’écueils et de proposer des suggestions d’amélioration pragmatique du modèle décisionnel européen au regard des nouveaux instruments juridiques de la gouvernance européenne.

The starting point of my doctoral research is that the Classic Community Method, as described in the Lisbon Treaty, does not enable one to understand the manner in which law is currently produced in the European Union. I claim that the Community Method is in fact challenged and transformed by new legal instruments that, far from being isolated initiatives, are part of an alternative model of governance.

My research adopts a programmatic approach as to identify the features, contours and new forms of normativity of this alternative model. It studies empirically and systematically six European public policies through “an approach by instruments” inspired in the writings of Michel Foucault on "governmentality”.

This analysis shows that the transformation of the Classic Community method occurs at least at three levels. First, there is a strengthening of the role of private actors and civil society in policy making. Second, the transformation of European public action also lies in the abundant use of new policy instruments - rather technical and political incentives than binding rules (benchmarking) - that involve a systematic collaboration between public and private actors at different levels of decision-making (co-regulation). Third, control and sanctions rely greatly on a “constrained by image” system based primarily on publications of rankings and classifications of good practices.

After I present the features and contours of this alternative model, my research analyzes the political and legal discourses, as well as the schools of thought (Law and Economics / New Public Management / Deliberative Democracy / Democratic Experimentalism), that justify its existence and, therefore, its legitimacy.

Finally, my doctoral work rises the question about the lack of control over these regulatory activities and brings to light the safeguards that should be taken by the European Court of Justice to respect European Union’s Constitutional law

Doctorat en Sciences juridiques
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Si le droit connaît les médicaments et les denrées alimentaires, il ne reconnaît pas les alicaments. Or, ces dernières années ont vu l’apparition et le développement, sur le marché de l’Union européenne, de « produits-frontière » c'est-à-dire de produits se trouvant à la frontière entre les médicaments et les aliments. Confrontées à un vaste conflit de qualification causé par l’ambivalence conceptuelle des « produits-frontière », les institutions de l’Union ont, au nom de la libre circulation des marchandises ainsi que de la nécessité d’une protection accrue des consommateurs et de la santé publique, entamé, dès le début des années 2000, une large harmonisation des dispositions nationales relatives à ces produits. Considérés comme aliments, leur nature particulière nécessite cependant une approche adaptative de la part du législateur européen. Cette nouvelle approche de l’aliment par le droit, favorable à la reconnaissance d’une santé alimentaire, tant convoitée par la société contemporaine, ne résout toutefois pas l’ambiguïté quant à la place à accorder aux « produits-frontière » dans le corpus juridique de l’Union européenne.
Doctorat en Sciences juridiques
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The general focus of this thesis is on how the family, work and the welfare system are intertwined. A major determinant is the way responsibilities are shared by the state, the market and civil society in different welfare state regimes. An introductory chapter will therefore be dedicated to the development of the social dimension in the process of European integration. A first chapter will then go deeper into the comparative analysis of welfare state regimes, to comment on the provision of welfare in societies with a different mix of state, market and societal welfare roles and to assess the adequacy of existing typologies as reflections of today’s changed socio-economic, political and gender reality. Although they stand strong on their own, these first two chapters also contribute to contextualising the research subject of the remainder of the thesis: the study and comparison of the differential situation of women and men and of mothers and non-mothers on the labour markets of the EU-15 countries as well as of the role of public policies with respect to the employment penalties faced by women, particularly in the presence of young children. In our analysis, employment penalties are understood in three ways: (i) the difference in full-time equivalent employment rates between mothers and non-mothers, (ii) the wage penalty associated with motherhood, and (iii) the wage gap between part-time and full-time workers, considering men and women separately. Besides from a gender point of view, employment outcomes and public policies are thus assessed comparatively for mothers and non-mothers. Because women choose to take part in paid employment, fertility rates will depend on their possibilities to combine employment and motherhood. As a result, motherhood-induced employment penalties and the role of public policies to tackle them should be given priority attention, not just by scholars, but also by politicians and policy-makers.
Doctorat en Sciences économiques et de gestion
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Judicial activism implies a hidden politicization of the Court. The legal arguments and the methods used by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) might seem coherent. However, an inquiry into judicial activism means looking beyond the legal reasoning of the Court and trying to “connect the dots” of an alternative narrative that can explain the Court’s long-term approach to certain issues. In the case of judicial activism of the CJEU in the case-law concerning public international law, the veil for the politicization of the Court is provided by the pluralist architecture of global law. The heterarchical structure of relations among legal orders in the international arena activates the CJEU as an actor of global governance. Simultaneously, it results in the Court adopting a rather internal and defensive approach, undermining legal security.

Judicial activism of the CJEU finds its particular expressions in the case-law concerning public international law. The pro-integrationist tendency of the CJEU often raised in the literature concerning the Court’s role in the process of EU integration, translates into a substantial and an institutional dimension of judicial activism. The substantial articulation of judicial activism in the case-law concerning international law is the Court’s emphasis on the autonomy of the EU legal order. This internal perspective is adopted not only for virtuous reasons, but also in defense of definitely not universal European interests. The institutional dimension refers to the Court’s position within the EU structure of governance. The case-law concerning international law is marked by a close alignment with the European Commission and the integration of the EU goals in external relations. Moreover, the pluralist veil can cover the extent to which the Court’s decisions concerning international law are influenced by considerations completely internal to the EU.

In my analysis I proceed in three steps that are reflected in three chapters of the thesis. There is no clear and prevalent definition of judicial activism, but instead rather multiple possibilities of approaching the concept. While the general intend of the research project is to critically reflect on the concept of judicial activism of the highest courts within a legal order, the particular focus will be on the CJEU dealing with international law. I proceed in three steps. First, I assess different understandings of the role of the judge and the concept of judicial activism in legal literature in view of ascertaining the relevance of the debate and distilling some general components of a possible definition. Secondly, I identify the factors particular for the position of the CJEU within the EU legal order and with regard to international law. The particular characteristics of the CJEU result in a limited applicability of the general definitions of judicial activism. Finally, I analyze the case-law in view of identifying examples as well as counter-examples of the particular symptoms/attributes. Because judicial activism broadens the scope of the factors guiding judicial decision-making, it enables us to better understand the contingencies in the Court´s jurisprudence.
Doctorat en Sciences juridiques
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The article provides introductory notions about the new regulatory framework of the European Union on public procurement. The author argues that this new legislation forces us to rethink how articulate it to satisfies the public interest with respect to the principles of equality, efficiency, transparency, efficiency and accountability. It also forces us to rethink the administrative organization in the light of the own principles of public law. All that with the objective to approach us to the paradigm of the right to good administration as an element of control and accountability.
El artículo brinda nociones introductorias sobre el nuevo marco regulatorio de la Unión Europea sobre contratación pública. El autor sostiene que esta nueva normativa obliga a repensar en cómo articularla a fin de que satisfaga los intereses públicos con respeto a los principios de igualdad, eficacia, transparencia, eficiencia y rendición de cuentas. Además, obliga a repensar la organización administrativa a la luz de los propios fundamentos del derecho público. Todo ello con miras a acercarse al paradigma del derecho a una buena administración como elemento del control y de rendición de cuentas.

Abstract (version française suit)

Although the EU is a privileged point of focus for political science studies, its discursive activity has not received all the attention it deserves. This corpus analysis adopts a descriptive approach, based on the Neo-Aristotelian trend in argumentation theory, by using both analytical categories of classical rhetoric and (emic or etic) categories that belong to the conceptualization of the debate entertained by its own participants. The corpus consists of public interventions by representatives of the three main EU Institutions (Commission, European Council and Parliament). The speeches were pronounced between June and December 2005. Since it is discussed every seven years, the topic of the Financial Perspectives offers the possibility of making diachronic comparisons; it also allows identifying values, projects and means of the European construction at a rhetorical level. The last six months of 2005 followed two significant events: the conflicting attitudes of European Governments regarding the Iraq war and the rejection of the Constitutional Treaty by referendums.

In the absence of any other metaphysical or natural foundation, the technocratic enterprise provides the European project with a rational and secular justification that is not always assumed as such, though, by the presidents of the Commission. The conceptual metaphors stemming from the preambles to the treaties convey the idea that European integration will be achieved by triggering a gradual process that should lead to the realization of an ultimate aim.

From a rhetorical point of view, the Financial Perspectives are in need of legitimacy. In 2005, the rhetorical invocation of dates/milestones, abundantly used by former presidents of the Commission, does not seem to work anymore. Both the requirement of unanimity in the legislative procedure and the habitus of European deliberation make it necessary to find an agreement; this consequently promotes “consensus” as a meta-communicational argument. The notion of a “consensus” runs against such theoretical (epistemological) and pragmatic objections that it proves imperious to wonder about its origin and roots. One should take into account not only scholarly conceptions of “consensus” (Habermas, the Deliberative Democracy movement), but also naïve and popular visions of it.

The EU Institutions are aware of the difficulty they meet in awakening citizens’ interest, and they have developed their Communication Policy in order to give themselves the means to overcome this obstacle. A systematic reflection on their strategy should take into account the divergent opinions of Moravscik and Hix, as well as the possibility of grounding the EU project anew on a revival of ancient homonoïa.

DISCLAIMER. The content of this thesis represents solely the views of its author and cannot in any circumstances be regarded as the official position of the European Commission.

Résumé

Quoique l’Union Européenne (UE) soit un objet de prédilection pour les politologues, son activité discursive n’a pas reçu toute l’attention méritée.

La thèse offre une analyse de corpus effectuée sur base d’une grille de lecture incluant des catégories rhétoriques étiques et émiques. Elle adopte une approche descriptive puisée dans le versant néo-aristotélicien de l’étude de l’argumentation. Le corpus a été constitué d’interventions publiques tenues par les représentants des trois principales Institutions Européennes (Commission, Conseil Européen, Parlement Européen) entre juin et décembre 2005. Le sujet des Perspectives Financières, débattu à intervalles réguliers, permet des comparaisons diachroniques ;il permet aussi de contraster les valeurs, les projets et les moyens de la construction européenne. La conjoncture des six derniers mois de 2005 présente la particularité supplémentaire que le projet de Traité Constitutionnel venait d’être rejeté et que les gouvernements européens s’étaient auparavant divisés sur l’intervention en Irak.

En l’absence d’un fondement métaphysique ou naturel, l’entreprise technocratique fournit au projet politique européen une justification rationnelle et laïcisée, même si elle n’est pas assumée explicitement en tant que telle par tous les présidents de la Commission. Les métaphores conceptuelles mobilisées dans les préambules des traités traduisent le fait que l’unification européenne devrait s’accomplir à la fois par l’entremise de réalisations progressives et à travers la poursuite d’un objectif lointain.

Sur le plan rhétorique, les Perspectives Financières sont en manque d’une légitimité emblématique. La clause des rendez-vous, des étapes cruciales, abondamment utilisée dans le passé par les présidents de la Commission, cesse de fonctionner en 2005. La nécessité d’un accord, issue tant de la lettre de la procédure législative par unanimité que de la coutume des délibérations, est devenue matière à un argument méta-communicationnel qui en est arrivé à englober toute circonstance susceptible de faciliter le « consensus ». Cette dernière notion soulève des réticences théoriques (épistémologiques) et pragmatiques qui imposent de s’interroger sur son origine. La problématisation que nous avons opérée tient compte non seulement des conceptions savantes du « consensus » (Habermas, courant de la Démocratie Délibérative), mais aussi de ses variantes populaires ou vulgarisées.

Les Institutions Européennes sont conscientes de la difficulté qu’il y a à motiver l’intérêt citoyen, et elles ont voulu, à travers leur Politique de Communication, se donner les moyens de dépasser cet obstacle. La thèse mène, à ce propos, une réflexion plus générale qui tient compte des avis opposés de Moravcsik et Hix, et d’une éventuelle refondation dans l’homonoïa de la rhétorique classique.

DISCLAIMER. Le contenu de cette thèse représente le point de vue de son seul auteur et ne peut en aucune circonstance être considéré comme la position officielle de la Commission Européenne.

Doctorat en Langues et lettres
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L'étude de l'encadrement juridique : du développement des biocarburants démontre une tendance contemporaine, celle de la diffusion des instruments normatifs publics et privés pour régir les impacts environnementaux et sociaux potentiels des produits échangés au plan international. Une « gouvernance multi-niveaux » s'observe à deux niveaux : celui des insuffisances des outils de droit public pour assurer un développement durable des biocarburants et celui de l'émergence des outils de droit privé au soutien de leur « durabilité ». En raison de la rareté des instruments spécifiques , et des limites, tant des instruments généraux de droit international public, que du traitement limité des biocarburants par le « modèle » du droit de l'Union européenne à cause de sa portée fragile au regard du droit de l'Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC), nous soutenons que les outils de droit privé peuvent effectivement contribuer à la protection de l'environnement et au respect des droits de l'Homme dans ce domaine. La thèse démontre que les normes privées internationales et les contrats du commerce international des biocarburants représentent un véritable levier pour la construction d'un « droit transnational » en mesure de promouvoir le développement durable de ces produits. Certes, les limites inhérentes à un droit construit à partir de la seule volonté des acteurs privés sont réelles. Néanmoins, le recours à ces initiatives normatives privées peut contribuer à surmonter certaines insuffisances des initiatives normatives publiques. La pertinence de la normalisation internationale privée appliquée aux biocarburants durables dans le droit de l'OMC pour l'harmonisation internationale des « critères de durabilité », et l'apport de la contractualisation pour consolider l’engagement « socio-environnementalement responsable » des entreprises participant aux chaînes globales d'approvisionnement, sont notamment mis en évidence
The study of the legal framework for the development of biofuels demonstrates the contemporary trend of using public and private normative instruments to regulate the potential environmental and social impacts of products traded internationally. A "multi-level governance” can be observed from two levels: first from the inadequacies of public law tools to assure the sustainable development of biofuels and, secondly from the emergence of the private law tools to promote its "sustainability". Due to the scarcity of specific tools and limits in existing instruments of public international law, and due to the limits in the way the European Union "model" law treats this issue as well as to its questionable legality with the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules we consequently argue that private law tools may actually provide stronger regulation and bring real contribution to increase environmental protection and human rights respect in the biofuel sector. The thesis demonstrates that international private standards and international commercial contracts represent a real lever for the construction of a "transnational law" capable of promoting the sustainable development of biofuels. Certainly, there are limitations inherent to a law built from the will of private actors. However, the use of these private normative initiatives can help overcome shortcomings existing in the public law tools. The relevance of private international standardization for the international harmonization of biofuel's sustainability norms according WTO laws and the contribution of contractual commitments to consolidate the "corporate social­environmental responsibility" engagement of companies participating in the international biofuel supply chains are particularly herein highlighted

Cette thèse constitue une analyse de contenu des critiques contre l'Union européenne exprimées par plusieurs acteurs politiques et sociaux de gauche en France et en Allemagne, au cours des débats sur le projet de Constitution européenne. Elle s'intéresse plus particulièrement aux idéologies sous-jacentes à ces critiques. Pour comprendre le sens de ces arguments, les comparer entre eux et les classer, certains idéaux-types ont été élaborés sur quatre dimensions (politique, socio-économique, identitaire et stratégique). Cette recherche a permis de combler une lacune importante dans l'analyse des acteurs dits "eurosceptiques", à savoir, l'étude des idéologies animant ces courants. L'essentiel de la littérature se concentre en effet surtout sur l'explication de l'euroscepticisme et, lorsqu'elle aborde leur idéologie, c'est pour construire des taxinomies excessivement globales. La thèse explore aussi en conclusion certaines pistes d'explications de ces résistances à l'UE en essayant d'aller au-delà des visions stratégiques, culturalistes et institutionnalistes, dominantes dans ce domaine, et en insistant davantage sur les dimensions idéelles et structurelles.

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This doctoral dissertation analyses the content of the critiques made by some left-wing social and political actors in France and Germany against the current EU. The study focuses on the debates that surrounded the project of European Constitution and more specifically on the more general ideologies underlying these arguments. In order to understand, compare and classify these critiques, idealtypes have been elaborated on four dimensions (socio-economic, political, identity-related and strategic). This research fills a gap in the literature analysing so-called "eurosceptic" actors by concentrating on the ideas conveyed by these currents. Indeed, most of this literature mostly tries to explain this phenomenon. And when it addresses the issue of ideology, it is only to build too far-reaching categories. The conclusion also aims at exploring possible explanations of theses resistances to the EU beyond the traditional theories, based on strategic agency, culturalism and institutionalism, and insisting more on the role of ideas and material structures.

Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales
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This work addresses to what extent businesses in the United States and the European Union have a moral obligation to participate in social integration processes in areas where they operate with the use of migrant laborers. It begins with the presupposition that a common framework as to what constitutes ethical behavior in business is needed and beneficial. It argues that the very industry that creates a need for migrant labor ought to also be involved in merging this labor successfully into the existing community and specifies that a discourse on business ethics and migration is gravely needed. This must be one that considers how businesses can become more engaged in resolving the social issues that arise both for the migrants and for the local community in which the businesses operate. The purpose would be to fill a social and humanitarian need that government alone cannot. More importantly, it will be to exercise beneficence and display responsible and sincere corporate citizenship. It is claimed that businesses that fail to encourage and participate in integration processes display a moral flaw. Cosmopolitan business ethics are proposed as a way to look at ethical business conduct and it is claimed that businesses that act as cosmopolitan citizens are morally praiseworthy.

La recherche menée dans cette thèse traite du discours de l'Union européenne sur l'espace judiciaire européen entre 1996 et 1999. En convoquant l'analyse du discours et la lexicométrie dans un cadre théorique de la sémantique argumentative, elle analyse le sens des mots autour de l'expression « espace de liberté, de sécurité et de justice ». L'objectif est de définir comment s'élabore la réappropriation de valeurs universelles au profit du discours et de l'identité européenne véhiculée par les procédés argumentatifs utilisés pour représenter l'espace judiciaire européen. Le contexte politique et les théories linguistiques de la méthode d'analyse exposés, cette thèse porte sur les conditions de communication du discours et de sa particularité sémantique, en montrant qu'il construit une identité en triade renvoyant aux trois valeurs de son emblème triptyque (« liberté, sécurité et justice ») : les institutions, la criminalité organisée et les citoyens. Elle révèle les indices linguistiques de cette construction identitaire avec ses enjeux politiques et de légitimation en introduisant la notion de « normalisation discursive ». Celle-ci adopte un schéma linguistique très marqué conduisant à la mise en œuvre d'un processus de « manipulation argumentative » défini et démontré dans ce travail. Les résultats illustrent que la normalisation et la manipulation engendrent une circularité du discours reposant sur le conflit de deux orientations discursives : celle d'un discours sécuritaire et celle d'un discours sur l'État de droit et la démocratie.

Les rapports entre le Trésor français et les banques centrales africaines de la zone franc sont fondés sur la garantie de convertibilité externe que la France accorde aux francs CFA. De la sorte, le Trésor français convertit de manière illimitée les francs CFA en euro et en d’autres monnaies. Par ailleurs, la BCEAO et la BEAC sont protégées contre le risque d’épuisement des réserves de change car, elles peuvent puiser théoriquement de façon illimitée en cas de rupture de changes sur les réserves françaises. La mise en oeuvre de cette solidarité repose sur un mécanisme particulier appelé : comptes d’opérations. Hérité de la période coloniale, ce principe oblige les instituts d’émission africains en vertu des accords de coopération monétaire signés avec la France au lendemain des indépendances et rénovés en 1972 et 1973, à déposer 65 % de leurs réserves de change sur ces comptes. Cette quotité a été ramenée depuis la réforme de 2005 à 50%. Le Trésor français verse des intérêts à ces comptes lorsqu’ils sont créditeurs alors qu’il prélève des intérêts en cas de débit. Cette coopération vise deux objectifs principaux : la solidarité monétaire et le développement économique par le biais d’une solidarité monétaire sécurisée. Cette coopération a donné naissance à des institutions qui oeuvrent en vue d’atteindre ces objectifs. Lors de l’adoption de l’euro à l’échelle européenne en 1999, la France a pu obtenir de ses partenaires européens la reconnaissance de la nature budgétaire des accords qui la lient à ses anciennes possessions d’Afrique pour continuer à garantir les francs CFA. Cette coopération comporte cependant beaucoup d’inconvénients qui incitent au dépassement du cadre actuel
The monetary agreements of France and the CFA franc zone are based on the permanent free convertibility of the CFA. In this case, the French Treasury supports the free convertibility of the CFA franc into Euros and other currencies with a fixed change rate. The BCEAO and the BEAC accordingly cannot suffer from the lack of changes risk for, they are both guaranteed by France. Such a parity and interdependence principles inherited from the colonial period was renewed in the 1960's up to 2005 reforms. The main goals of this cooperation are the economical development and monetary solidarity safety. Some institutions have been created in order to achieve those goals. In anticipation of the coming of the Euro in 1999, the competent French authorities convinced the European Union to maintain the monetary agreements France has with the African countries using the CFA currency. Nevertheless, such agreements compound some shortcomings which require new ideas

La thèse aborde le droit européen de la télévision sous deux aspects :les régimes administratifs d’accès des émissions télévisées aux réseaux câblés et les droits intellectuels.

En ce qui concerne l’accès des émissions aux réseaux câblés, la thèse met en avant le besoin de sauvegarder un service public de l’audiovisuel. Celui-ci est défini comme un ensemble des règles qui visent à la fois le paysage audiovisuel propre à chaque Etat membre (par exemple pluralisme) et le contenu des émissions proprement dit (émissions informatives, éducatives, épanouissement culturel etc.). Le droit communautaire primaire et dérivé, tel qu’interprété par la Cour de justice, fournit les moyens de conciliation entre, d’une part les intérêts généraux et, d’autre part, les exigences découlant de la libre prestation de services et de la libre concurrence.

En ce qui concerne l’application des droits intellectuels, la thèse aborde la problématique liée à l’épuisement ou la subsistance de ceux-ci. Dans le cas de la câblodistribution, la Cour a affirmé la subsistance du droit. Cette position est corroboré par la nouvelle directive européenne sur le droit d’auteur et les droits voisins dans la société de l’information. La thèse appuie la position de subsistance en considérant qu’elle constitue une condition essentielle pour la juste récompense des auteurs.

Enfin, la thèse aborde les questions plus spécifiques qui naissent à propos de la convergence technologique et juridique. Tout d’abord, il est avancé que le service public de l’audiovisuel n’est pas uniquement lié à des contraintes techniques, mais essentiellement à des objectifs qualitatifs (contenu des émissions). Ainsi, la thèse plaide en faveur de la pérpetuité du service public de l’audiovisuel dans l’ère du numérique. Par ailleurs, des questions plus spécifiques (comme l’accès à la boucle locale, l’interconnexion des réseaux et la numérisation des infrastructures) ont été examinées.

Doctorat en droit
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The object of study of this research is the right to Personal Data Protection within the framework of the EU-US E-Market legal regime. Its characteristics, as well as the features of the main actors participating into that E-Market, make possible to consider it as a proper basis for the development of an International/Universal legal system treaty-based. The Actors and Relations included by the research are the duty bearers of Personal Data Protection law, both State and Private Entity Activities. Nonetheless, the Informal Power Relation between State and Private organization is also taken into account since there are some informal agreements or coordination between State Agencies and IT Corporations on data sharing and processing. The time frame of the research is 2001-2016 (after the terrorist’s attack in USA on 9/11 until the most recent reform of the EU-US E-Market regime in 2016). The research’s point of departure is International Human Rights Law, as far as it recognizes a general framework to support and regulate personal data protection on cyberspace realm. Nonetheless, the distinctive characters of cyberspace demand a well designed, at universal level, specific regulation and mechanisms to guarantee such fundamental rights relating personal data protection internationally. Accordingly, Research Hypothesis is represented in double issues: first, effective personal data protection on cyberspace needs the establishment of an International/Universal legal system treaty-based; second, EU Regime on personal data protection in cyberspace and current EU-US agreements on this issue can be used as a model for initiating such International/Universal Treaty. The structure of the thesis is divided into six chapters, being Chapter 1 the research design and Chapter 6 the conclusions and recommendations coming from the research. So, Chapter 2 analyzes Universal Legal Instruments, EU Laws and EU-US Agreements in force before 5th June 2013 (critical turning point date because of the revelations of Mass Electronic Surveillance presented then on World Wide Web). Within this legal framework, Chapter 3 studies hard cases about personal data protection in US domestic courts and in the Court of Justice of European Union, in order to search for precise interpretation of the right to personal data protection in cyberspace that, later, had to be taken into account by US and EU in their further legal reforms. Chapter 4 analyses and reviews the legal instruments enacted through the reform of the EU personal data protection regime and the new EU-US Bilateral Agreements currently in force. Finally, Chapter 5 evaluates the possibility to initiate an International Treaty for regulating data using across borders. Considering the initiatives of either international governmental organizations or non-governmental movements in the field, the chapter shows how a set of principles can be extracted from the reforms in the EU and EU-US regime and how they can be used to create an International Regime for protection of personal data in cyberspace.
L'objecte d'estudi d'aquesta recerca és el dret a la protecció de les dades personals en el marc del règim jurídic aplicable al mercat electrònic UE-Estats Units. Les seves característiques, així com les dels principals actors que intervenen en aquest mercat, permeten considerar aquest règim jurídic com una base adequada per al possible desenvolupament d'un tractat internacional de vocació universal sobre protecció de dades personals en el ciberespai. Els actors i les relacions incloses en la recerca són els responsables de les obligacions jurídiques en matèria de protecció de dades personals, tant entitats públiques com a privades. Malgrat això, també es tenen en compte les ‘relacions informals de poder’ entre Estat i organitzacions privades, donada l'existència d'acords informals o coordinació entre tots dos per a l'intercanvi i processament de dades. El marc temporal de la recerca és 2001-2016 (després dels atemptats del 9/11 a Estats Units i fins a la més recent reforma del règim UE-EUA culminada en 2016). El punt de partida d’aquesta recerca és el Dret Internacional dels Drets Humans, que conté el marc general per al suport i regulació de la protecció de dades personals en el ciberespai. Ara bé, els caràcters distintius del ciberespai exigeixen una regulació i mecanismes específics ben dissenyats, a nivell universal, per garantir internacionalment els esmentats drets fonamentals relatius a la protecció de dades personals. Conseqüentment, la hipòtesi de recerca es formula de la següent manera: en primer lloc, la protecció eficaç de les dades personals en el ciberespai necessita l'establiment d'un sistema jurídic internacional d'abast universal basat en tractats; en segon lloc, el règim de la UE sobre protecció de dades personals en el ciberespai i els actuals acords UE- Estats Units sobre aquesta qüestió poden utilitzar-se com a model per a l'elaboració d'aquest Tractat Internacional. L'estructura de la tesi es divideix en sis capítols, essent el Capítol 1 el disseny de la recerca i el Capítol 6 les conclusions i recomanacions que es desprenen de la recerca. Així, el Capítol 2 analitza els Instruments Jurídics Universals, les normes de la UE i els acords UE-EUA vigents abans 5 de juny de 2013 (data crítica a causa de les revelacions sobre Vigilància Electrònica en massa, presentades mundialment aquest dia). Dins d'aquest marc jurídic, el Capítol 3 realitza una anàlisi jurisprudencial i analitza una selecció de casos sobre protecció de dades personals suscitades davant els tribunals interns d'Estats Units i davant el Tribunal de Justícia de la Unió Europea, amb l'objectiu d'identificar la interpretació precisa del dret a la protecció de dades personals en el ciberespai que, posteriorment, ha hagut de tenir en compte la reforma normativa a Estats Units i en la UE sobre aquesta matèria. El Capítol 4 analitza i revisa els instruments jurídics promulgats en virtut de la reforma del règim de protecció de dades personals de la UE i els nous acords bilaterals entre la UE i els Estats Units actualment en vigor. Finalment, el Capítol 5 avalua la possibilitat d'elaborar un Tractat Internacional d'abast universal que garanteixi el dret a la protecció de dades personals que ‘circulen’ pel ciberespai. Tenint en compte les iniciatives formulades per organitzacions governamentals internacionals i pels moviments no governamentals especialitzats, el capítol mostra com es poden extreure un conjunt de principis de les reformes de la UE i del règim aplicable a l'espai UE-EUA i com aquests principis poden utilitzar-se per a la creació d'un règim internacional de protecció de dades personals en el ciberespai.
El objeto de estudio de esta investigación es el derecho a la protección de los datos personales en el marco del régimen jurídico aplicable al mercado electrónico UE- Estados Unidos. Sus características, así como las de los principales actores que intervienen en este mercado, permiten considerar este régimen jurídico como una base adecuada para el posible desarrollo de un tratado internacional de vocación universal sobre protección de datos personales en el ciberespacio. Los actores y las relaciones incluidas en la investigación son los responsables de las obligaciones jurídicas en materia de protección de datos personales, tanto entidades públicas como privadas. No obstante, también se tienen en cuenta las ‘relaciones informales de poder’ entre Estado y organizaciones privadas, dada la existencia de acuerdos informales o coordinación entre ambos para el intercambio y procesamiento de datos. El marco temporal de la investigación es 2001-2016 (después de los atentados del 9/11 en Estados Unidos y hasta la más reciente reforma del régimen UE-EEUU culminada en 2016). El punto de partida de la investigación es el Derecho Internacional de los Derechos Humanos, que contiene el marco general para el apoyo y regulación de la protección de datos personales en el ciberespacio. Sin embargo, los caracteres distintivos del ciberespacio exigen una regulación y mecanismos específicos bien diseñados, a nivel universal, para garantizar internacionalmente tales derechos fundamentales relativos a la protección de datos personales. Consecuentemente, la hipótesis de investigación se formula del siguiente modo: en primer lugar, la protección eficaz de los datos personales en el ciberespacio necesita el establecimiento de un sistema jurídico internacional de alcance universal basado en tratados; en segundo lugar, el régimen de la UE sobre protección de datos personales en el ciberespacio y los actuales acuerdos UE-Estados Unidos sobre esta cuestión pueden utilizarse como modelo para la elaboración de dicho Tratado Internacional. La estructura de la tesis se divide en seis capítulos, siendo el Capítulo 1 el \diseño de la investigación y el Capítulo 6 las conclusiones y recomendaciones que se desprenden de la investigación. Así, el Capítulo 2 analiza los Instrumentos Jurídicos Universales, las normas de la UE y los acuerdos UE-EEUU vigentes antes del 5 de junio de 2013 (fecha crítica debido a las revelaciones sobre Vigilancia Electrónica en Masa presentadas mundialmente ese día). Dentro de ese marco jurídico, el Capítulo 3 realiza un análisis jurisprudencial y analiza una selección de casos sobre protección de datos personales suscitados ante los tribunales internos de Estados Unidos y ante el Tribunal de Justicia de la Unión Europea, con el objetivo de identificar la interpretación precisa del derecho a la protección de datos personales en el ciberespacio que, posteriormente, ha debido tener en cuenta la reforma normativa en Estados Unidos y en la UE sobre esta materia. El Capítulo 4 analiza y revisa los instrumentos jurídicos promulgados en virtud de la reforma del régimen de protección de datos personales de la UE y los nuevos acuerdos bilaterales entre la UE y los Estados Unidos actualmente en vigor. Por último, el Capítulo 5 evalúa la posibilidad de elaborar un Tratado Internacional de alcance universal que garantice el derecho a la protección de datos personales que ‘circulan’ en el ciberespacio. Teniendo en cuenta las iniciativas formuladas por organizaciones gubernamentales internacionales y por los movimientos no gubernamentales especializados, el capítulo muestra cómo se pueden extraer un conjunto de principios de las reformas de la UE y del régimen aplicable en el espacio UE-EEUU y cómo esos principios pueden utilizarse para la creación de un régimen internacional de protección de datos personales en el ciberespacio.

Examining Board: Professor Hans-Wolfgang Micklitz, European University Institute Professor Giorgio Monti, European University Institute Professor Alexandra (Sacha) Prechal, Court of Justice of the European Union Professor Laurence W. Gormley, University of Groningen and College of Europe.
Defence date: 16 September 2013
First made available online on 15 January 2015.
While the law is often highly harmonized at EU level, the ways in which it is realized in the various national courts are not. This thesis looks at enforcement through damages claims for violations of EU public procurement rules. Despite important recent amendments to the procurement remedies regime, the damages provision remains indeterminate. The legislative inertia pressures the CJEU to give an interpretation and raises the question as to how the Court should deal with damages. The requirements on damages claims are clarified under both general and public procurement EU law. The action for damages is conceived as a legal process which incorporates the national realm. Therefore, a comparative law part (covering England, France, Germany and the Netherlands) examines national damages litigation in public procurement law. A horizontal discussion of the legal issues which structurally frame damages claims is provided. The remedy of damages is analyzed as a bundle of rules and its constitutive and quantification criteria are studied, thereby refining the the Member States’ common conceptual base of damages claims. Functionally, the lost chance emerges as a compromise capable of mitigating the typically problematic nature of causation and uncertainty in public procurement constellations. An adjudicative approach to damages in EU law is developed through Member State liability and the procedural autonomy doctrine. Member State liability is construed as a form of constitutional liability which is distinct from damages arising under the 'effectiveness’ postulate of procedural autonomy. Procedural autonomy as currently used is legally indeterminate and inadequate from the point of view of procedural theory. The thesis proposes to sharpen the effectiveness test in three dimensions: material, based on the intrinsic connection between enforcement rules and substantive law; vertical, in delimiting the spheres of influence of national and EU courts; and in terms of institutional balance vis-à-vis the EU legislator.

Defence date: 7 June 2017
Examining Board: Professor Giorgio Monti, EUI (Supervisor); Professor Petros Mavroidis, EUI; Professor Roberto Caranta, Università di Torino; Professor Kris Wauters, Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve
The starting point for the thesis is the problem of negative externalities public purchasing gives rise to. We argue that public procurement regulation, having as an objective the structuring of public markets for public contracts, produces the said market failure, which may adversely affect the competitive dynamics in other markets. This may cause a significant loss of social welfare. The reason why public procurement produces such negative externalities is, so we argue, due to the fact that public procurement regulation is foremost concerned with the internal dimension of public purchasing, i.e. the relationship between the public purchaser and actual and potential tenderers. However, public procurement regulation largely omits the external dimension, i.e. the effects public purchasing produces vis-à-vis markets outside the specific market for the public contract at hand. In our quest for a way to address this problem of negative externalities we argue that these externalities converge to a large extent with an ‘advantage’, being one of the conditions for the EU state aid prohibition (laid down in article107 (1) TFEU) to apply. Hence, we deem EU state aid law to be a valuable source of inspiration to ‘enrich’ public procurement regulation. Such ‘enriched’ public procurement regulation would be able to avoid the occurrence of the negative externalities we identified, or at least to minimise the risk of their occurrence. Examining a number of areas within EU state aid law allowed us to identify a number of principles that ensure absence of an ‘advantage’. These principles constitute the basis for our ‘standard for enrichment’, i.e. a framework for regulatory reform as to public procurement regulation. We also apply this standard to a number of aspects of public procurement regulation. More specifically, we clarify how ‘enriched’ public procurement regulation would materialise as to the following aspects of public purchasing: (i) the disclosure obligation as to award criteria and their belongings, (ii) the pursuit of policy objectives through public purchasing and (iii) modifications to public contracts in the performance phase.

Defence date: 13 February 2013
Examining board: Professor Fabrizio Cafaggi, European University Institute, Florence (Supervisor) Professor Dennis Patterson, European University Institute, Florence Professor Giuseppe Bellantuono, University of Trento Professor Marek Safjan, European Court of Justice, Luxembourg.
PDF of thesis uploaded from the Library digital archive of EUI PhD theses
Contract law is increasingly becoming an important part of the European regulatory landscape. The increasing recourse to contract law as a regulatory technique triggers fundamental questions about the aims and the effects of contract law. This thesis tackles these questions by investigating the topic of regulatory functions of European contract law. The objective of the analysis is to see which contract law instrument performs which specific regulatory function at each institutional level (European and Member States). Claiming that traditional accounts of contract law do not yield satisfactory results when applied to the analysis of European contract law, I develop a theoretical framework based on the public interest theory of regulation with its central concept of market failure. Application of this framework demonstrates incentive effects that contract law creates for market actors. Because of these incentive effects, contract law can be regarded as a regulatory technique, equivalent to other techniques of social and economic regulation. I argue that regulatory use of contract law concerns not only the European but also the Member State level, and in both cases contract law regulates at all three stages of the regulatory process (standard-setting, monitoring and enforcement). Focusing on three general tools – mandatory rules, default rules, and the general clause of good faith – I demonstrate that each of them plays a different regulatory function. More importantly, regulatory functions of selected contract law instruments vary across institutional levels. Selected examples of the acquis communautaire, including the decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union, serve as a major testing ground for regulatory functions of European contract law. Given the multi-level character of European contract law, I look at the national level as well. In order to emphasize the regulatory role of civil judges, specific examples are drawn from selected European jurisdictions.

Defence date: 11 April 2005
Examining board: Mr Monti, London School of Economics ; Prof. Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann, EUI (supervisor) ; Prof. Hanns Ullrich, EUI ; Prof. Richard Whish, School of Law, King's College London
First made available online 25 November 2016
This dissertation discusses the role of public policy in Article 81 of the EC Treaty. The Commission, and recently the Court of First Instance have said that the sole objective of Article 81 EC is consumer welfare. Many competition lawyers and economists support this view. Writing in a crisp, plain style, Townley demonstrates that public policy considerations are still relevant in that provision. He also examines how and where they are currently considered and then suggests why, how and where this might be changed. The book explains how some of the most complex competition law cases can be understood and offers a framework for those fighting or deciding such cases in the future. As such, it will be of interest to European competition lawyers, both academics and practitioners (furnishing them with a framework for hard cases), as well as students, seeking a deeper understanding of how the European competition rules work and how they interact both with European Union and Member State public policy goals. It will also help competition economists by revealing the mechanisms through which public policy considerations impact upon the consumer welfare test in European law.

Defence date: 10 July 2014
Examining Board: Hans-Wolfang Micklitz, European University Institute (Supervisor); Giorgio Monti, European University Institute; Geraint Howells, University of Manchester; Viktor Kreuschitz, General Court of the European Union.
This thesis examines the relationship between the law on unfair commercial practices and consumer contract law. The thesis develops the claim that Directive 2005/29/EC, on unfair commercial practices (UCPD) has had a strong impact on the content of consumer contract law, despite the declaration concerning the independence between both branches of law contained in Article 3(2) UCPD. In order to substantiate this claim, the thesis examines the implications for consumer contract law of the main components of the regulatory regime laid down by the UCPD, namely, (1) the notion of average consumer, (2) the duty to trade fairly, (3) the duty of information and (4) the remedies. By looking both at the theoretical underpinnings and at the actual operation of this regulatory regime, the thesis casts light on the way in which the UCPD has shaped consumer contract law. The thesis further shows that this is an ongoing phenomenon whose ramifications may be far-reaching, for it implies that the UCPD is powerfully fuelling the Europeanization of contract law.