The recent financial and economic crisis had particularly severe employment and welfare implications for newly flexible labour markets. Only a coherent approach to the integration of markets and market-correcting policies may in the future prevent uncoordinated social and employment policies from endangering the political sustainability of economic integration, writes the author of this analysis.
The process of reforming the legislation in the area of financial services in the EU has been going on since the late 1990´s. This analysis presents a brief history on that process.
In October 2010 the European Commission finally released the communication on the 2008/9 review of the EU budget. Professor Iain Begg concludes in his analysis that even though the political obstacles to EU budget reform are formidable, there should be plenty to debate in months to come, for example which expenditures to cut; what to do with the CAP; and a number of aspects related to Cohesion policy.
The Lisbon Treaty has profoundly changed the judicial foundation of the so called comitology. What previously was enclosed in a single treaty article, is now divided in two separate articles and the idea is that the comitology will remain in only one of them.
The Stability and Growth Pact must be reinforced, have greater automaticity and entail graduated sanctions. Fiscal surveillance must be improved through the establishment of a European Fiscal Stability Agency and the European Financial Stability Facility must be made permanent.
Regardless of whether the global imbalances are seen as a cause, codeterminant or a side-show, the financial crisis has brought back global imbalances on the policy agenda.
In the Lisbon Treaty, the EU committed itself to the creation of a European "social market economy". But the European legislation that would be required to promote this goal still depends on qualified majorities in the Council and will therefore easily be blocked by the veto of member states preferring a "liberal market economy", argues the author of this new analysis within the SIEPS research project Social Europe.
The presumption that undocumented migrants are outside the law is wrong. This is one the conclusions in a new European Policy Analysis, with contributions from six researchers at Lund University.
Circular migration has become a central concept for the future EU migration policy, implying that migrants should be encouraged to move repeatedly between the country of origin and the host country. In this SIEPS report, the author investigates the relevant literature and discusses problems that might arise when forming a migration policy that promotes movement.
During the past months, we have witnessed increasing activity regarding the establishment of a European External Action Service (EEAS) – one of the most emblematic innovations that the Treaty of Lisbon introduces to strengthen the EU external action. While the details of the EEAS organisation and functioning are still under (intense) discussion, this Analysis sheds light on the political and legal contexts in which the EEAS is being set up, and raises some questions as to its possible contribution to the development of a common European diplomacy.