National parliaments are often thought of as having lost substantial powers due to European integration. In what way has the rapid decision-making of the EU during the Eurozone crisis affected national parliaments within the Union? In this publication, political scientists Katrin Auel and Oliver Höing present their analysis of activity within the national parliaments of the EU during the Eurozone crisis.

The fall in Swedish public opinion on European integration has come to a halt. The polls from late 2013 even show a slight increase in the pro-EU attitudes among the Swedes.

Through the Lisbon Treaty, the national parliaments were entrusted with the task of reviewing proposals of EU legislation in the light of the principle of subsidiarity, a task which in the special protocol on subsidiarity is called the Early Warning Mechanism. In this analysis the author argues that the review should be seen as a constitutional dialogue and not as a narrow legal control.

Beggars have increasingly become a common sight in Swedish cities. This, in turn, has led to a renewed discussion on the situation for the Roma in Southeast Europe.

The European economic crisis revived the discussion on future treaty revision. However, stringency of the revision procedure based on unanimity requirement presented an obstacle to fast resolution of complicated problems posed by the crisis.

The Eurozone crisis and its management prompted dramatic changes to social rights and entitlements, specifically in the Member States which were most severely affected by the economic downturn. Fundamental rights, including fundamental social rights, from different sources can be a means to contest those crisis-imposed changes.

Professor Christopher Lord, author of the present report On the Legitimacy of Monetary Union argues that both economists and political scientists have often failed to ask one of the most central questions, namely whether the monetary union can be considered legitimate.

The Schengen system is one of the core achievements of the European integration process. This system, which permits those who are present in any of the Schengen States to cross the borders without being checked, assumes a considerable degree of harmonization and mutual trust among those states.

A much discussed topic in the European Union is how public procurement may be used to support general societal goals, such as good environmental protection. But to what extent is it actually possible for public authorities to use procurement in order to achieve non-economic goals? In this report, the situation in Europe is compared with the one in the United States.

During the last decade, European Union has undertaken a range of measures aiming at prevention and control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs). Regulation of the so called ‘lifestyle risks’ is, however, not uncontroversial.