EU Publications

2011 Annual report on the state of the drugs problem in Europe by EUbusiness — last modified 15 November 2011, 13:34 CET

The report on the state of the drugs problem in Europe presents the EMCDDA's yearly overview of the drug phenomenon. This is an essential reference book for policy-makers, specialists and practitioners in the drugs field or indeed anyone seeking the latest findings on drugs in Europe. Published every autumn, the report contains non-confidential data supported by an extensive range of figures.

EC Report on the functioning of the Transitional Arrangements on Free Movement of workers from Bulgaria and Romania by EUbusiness — last modified 14 November 2011, 15:52 CET

A new report published by the European Commission highlights the overall positive role that mobile workers from Bulgaria and Romania (EU-2) have played in receiving countries' economies. These workers have contributed to the skills mix as well as filling vacancies in sectors and jobs with labour shortages such as in construction and the domestic and food services sectors. Estimates also show a positive impact of the free movement of Romanian and Bulgarian workers on the EU's long-term GDP with an increase by about 0.3% for EU-27 (0.4% for eu-15). Studies show too that there has been no significant impact on unemployment or wages of local workers in receiving countries: in the EU-15 studies show wages are on average only 0.28% lower they would have been without mobility of the EU-2. The report also highlights that there is no evidence of a disproportionate use of benefits by intra-EU mobile EU citizens and that the impact of recent flows on national public finances is negligible or positive.

European Court of Auditors' 2010 Annual Report by EUbusiness — last modified 10 November 2011, 17:11 CET

The ECA concludes that the 2010 accounts present fairly the financial position of the European Union and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year. However, the payments underlying these accounts were still affected by material error, with an estimated error rate of 3.7 % for the €122.2 billion of EU spending. The error rate is not an estimate of fraud but reflects the ECA’s estimation of the degree of non-compliance with the rules governing the spending, such as breaches of public procurement rules, ineligible or incorrect calculation of costs claimed to EU co-financed projects, or over-declaration of land by farmers. The control systems tested across the EU budget were still only partially effective in ensuring the regularity of payments.

Report on protection of animals during transport by EUbusiness — last modified 10 November 2011, 17:05 CET

The Commission adopted its report on the impact of Regulation EC 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport on 10 Nov. 2011 showing: Its impact on animal welfare during transport; Impact of the Regulation on trade within the EU; Socio-economic and regional implications; Implementation of the navigation systems; Enforcement of EU rules on animal welfare during transport. The Commission based the report on an external study, an opinion of the European Food Safety Authority, reports from the Food and Veterinary Office and EU countries.

Car prices within the European Union by EU Bookshop — last modified 03 November 2011, 23:08 CET

The car price report, which is based on standardised data provided by vehicle manufacturers, provides manufacturers’ recommended prices for about 80 car models of 27 different brands. Prices are given both excluding and including taxes, together with prices for the major options and right-hand-drive supplements. The report is published once a year. This initiative was launched following numerous complaints from consumers about differences in car prices between Member States and obstacles placed in the way of those consumers that wished to buy in another EU country.

Towards a stronger European response to drugs - EC Communication by EUbusiness — last modified 26 October 2011, 14:16 CET

The European Commission has given a fresh impetus to anti-drugs policy by announcing an overhaul of the EU rules to fight illicit drugs.

European Climate and Clean Energy Law and Policy by The European Bookshop — last modified 13 October 2011, 23:04 CET

The participation of the European Union and the Member States in international climate change policy is a complex issue. This book provides a clear guide to the subject which will help students and professionals alike to interpret and easily navigate to the information they require. It does so by explaining the foundations of European climate and clean energy law and policy, and the position of the European Union in the international climate dialogue. It then goes on to provide a unique commented overview of legislation and policy adopted in Europe since the early 1990s.

The European Union: Economics and Policies - 9th Edition by The European Bookshop — last modified 13 October 2011, 23:06 CET

The European Union has established itself as a leading text that provides readers from all disciplines with a sound understanding of the economics and policies of the EU. Its wealth of information, detail and analysis has ensured that previous editions have been read by a generation of students, researchers and policy makers. It covers all major EU policy areas as well as theories of economic integration, the theory of economic and monetary union (EMU), the measurement of the economic effects of European integration and the legal dimension in EU integration. It also includes an explanation and analysis of all recent developments affecting the EU such as enlargement, the ratification of the Nice Treaty and the Convention for the Future of Europe. This edition has been thoroughly revised and updated and includes new resources to help students and teachers, including summaries, review questions, suggestions for essay titles and further reading lists.

A roadmap to stability and growth by EUbusiness — last modified 13 October 2011, 12:23 CET

The European Commission has presented a roadmap outlining the comprehensive response that is needed to restore confidence in the Euro area and the European Union as a whole. The roadmap presented by the Commission will be submitted to the European Council and Euro area Summit that will take place on the 23rd October 2011.

Autumn 2011: Economic Outlook for the Euro Area in 2011 and 2012 by EUbusiness — last modified 06 October 2011, 13:54 CET

The European Forecasting Network (EFN) is a research group of European institutions, founded in 2001 under the auspices of the European Commission, and currently partly financially supported by the European University Institute (EUI, based in Florence, Italy), which is coordinating the report under the responsibility of Prof. Massimiliano Marcellino. The objective of the EFN is to provide updated forecasts and analyses of the macroeconomic situation for the Euro area. It publishes four quarterly reports. The Highlights of this Report are: · High growth dynamics and demand coming from emerging markets will slow only modestly in the rest of 2011 and in 2012, but the intensification of the financial turmoil and the doubts about the ability of the European Union to contain the consequences of possible defaults will hamper world economic growth considerably in our forecasting horizon. · For the euro area, we expect GDP to grow by around 1.6% in 2011 and 0.8% in 2012, not enough to bring the unemployment rate back below 10% and substantially less for 2012 than in our Summer report. Many private households and firms will adopt a wait-and-see attitude while, to restore confidence in the euro area sovereign debt, fiscal policy will become even more restrictive. · Our industrial production forecast has also been revised downwards with respect to the Summer report, now we expect a growth rate of 3.7% in 2011 and 1.6% in 2012, mostly due to the relative deterioration of the euro area external demand. · Because of energy prices and aggregate demand moderation, our inflation forecasts for 2011 and 2012 are reduced to 2.6% and 1.3% respectively. · Lower inflation and growth forecasts, combined with the intensification of the financial turmoil and the announced restrictive fiscal policy in many euro area countries, make us suggest that the next interest rate decision of the ECB should be a fast and substantial cut, notwithstanding the September value for HICP inflation.

Innovation Union competitiveness report 2011 by The EU Bookshop — last modified 05 October 2011, 19:19 CET

The present Innovation Union Competitiveness report monitors progress towards the EU and national R&D headline targets and provides economic evidence and analysis to underpin EU and national policy making in support of Innovation Union. It aims to complement the overall review of Europe 2020 targets in the European Commission Annual Growth Survey by offering a deeper perspective on R&D intensity targets at EU and national level and presenting evidence on the dynamics of knowledge-intensive firms and other aspects of innovation. The report also extends and complements the Innovation Union scoreboard indicators to address the whole cycle of innovation, including the impact of research and innovation on raising competitiveness and tackling societal challenges.

Annual Report on EU SMEs 2010-2011 by EUbusiness — last modified 05 October 2011, 00:14 CET

The Report on European SMEs is prepared on a yearly basis. It provides an overview of the size, structure and importance of SMEs to the European economy and their contribution to growth and jobs, as emphasised in the SBA and the Lisbon agenda. Comparisons with important partner countries outside the EU and with the large enterprise sector are included.

28th Annual Report on monitoring the Application of EU Law (2010) by EUbusiness — last modified 29 September 2011, 18:22 CET

The European Commission has issued its 28th Annual Report on monitoring the Application of EU Law (2010). The report shows a decrease in the number of infringement procedures launched by the Commission against Member States for failure to apply EU law. A new working method, EU Pilot, has played a major role in addressing possible infringements.

Proposal for a Council Directive on a common system of financial transaction tax and amending Directive 2008/7/EC by EUbusiness — last modified 28 September 2011, 17:13 CET

The exchange of shares and bonds would be taxed at a rate of 0.1% and derivative contracts, at a rate of 0.01%. This could approximately raise EUR 57 billion every year. The European Commission has proposed that the tax should come into effect from 1st January 2014.

Interest Representation in the European Union 3rd edition by The European Bookshop — last modified 21 September 2011, 17:00 CET

• Why is the EU so reliant upon exchanges with interest organisations? • What safeguards have been developed to prevent capture by special interests, and how effective are these? • How does the EU system of interest representation compare with those of other systems, and what are its unique features? The fully revised third edition of this highly-acclaimed book provides an authoritative and comprehensive assessment of the role of organized interests in the EU. Showing that interest representation is a key aspect of the European project, it examines the significance of interests for everyday policy-making, for European integration, and for the democratic legitimacy of the EU. Accessibly written and thoroughly updated, the new edition contains additional material on the regulation of lobbying and the European Transparency Register.

Euro-Guide: Yearbook of the Institutions of the European Union: 28th Edition - 2011 by The European Bookshop — last modified 21 September 2011, 16:16 CET

The EuroGuide, the oldest bilingual English-French reference book on the EU, is divided in two parts: • Partie I: how it functions Structure, powers, operation and activities of EU institutions, bodies and agencies; • Partie II: who does what (directory) The organisational charts with names and details of persons in charge. It also includes: • the newly created European External Action Service, all kinds of practical information: map of the Union and its Member States, information sources, official publications, diplomatic missions accredited to the EU, chronological overview of the history of the European Union... • a chapter is dedicated to association and cooperation with third countries, particularly with the ACP States, another to European studies; • an index with some 13,000 names, an index of acronyms, etc. • with more than 500 photos.

EU interim forecast September 2011 by EUbusiness — last modified 15 September 2011, 11:39 CET

In its latest interim forecast, published on September 15, the European Commission presents its assessment of economic prospects in the euro area and the whole of the EU for 2011. The document includes estimates for GDP growth and inflation in the EU and the euro area, as well as detailed projections for the seven largest EU Member States: Germany, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and the UK. After a strong first quarter, and a considerable softening in the second, the new projections for the remainder of the year imply a slower recovery than expected at the time of the spring forecast. Downside risks to the growth prospects have increased, primarily due to concerns about the unresolved euro-area crisis and its repercussions on financial markets' health as well as the global economic slowdown.

Public Finances Report 2011 by EUbusiness — last modified 12 September 2011, 16:16 CET

The 2011 Report on the Public Finances in EMU takes a look at the recent developments in public finances, analyses new ways of assessing debt sustainability and describes the changes to budgetary surveillance in the EU.

Core EU Legislation 2011-12 by EUbusiness — last modified 08 September 2011, 16:55 CET

Ideal for exam use – clear easy-to-read text The palgrave macmillan core statutes series has been developed to meet the needs of today's law students. Compiled by experienced lecturers, each title contains the essential materials needed at LLB level and, where applicable, on GDL/CPE courses. They are specifically designed to be easy to use under exam conditions and in the lecture hall. This new edition of core eu legislation has been thoroughly revised and updated and contains essential material up to June 2011. "This book is amongst the best statute books currently available. The coverage is up-to-date and precise, the presentation is accessible and clear, and the price offers good value for money." Caoimhín MacMaoláin, School of Law, Trinity College Dublin

EU Law: Text, Cases, and Materials Fifth Edition by EUbusiness — last modified 08 September 2011, 16:51 CET

* Written by leading scholars on European Law, based at Oxford and Harvard respectively, EU Law: Text, Cases, and Materials provides an insightful analysis of the subject by experts in the field. * Fully updated in the light of the Treaty of Lisbon, the fifth edition gives the reader a clear understanding of the way in which the Treaty works, its impact on the Institutions of the European Union, and the effects on substantive areas of European Law. * Succinct and clear commentary sets out the law, illuminates the accompanying materials, and delivers critical and contextual analysis of all the legal and political aspects of EU law and policy. * Carefully chosen materials including extracts from primary and secondary legislation, relevant extracts from Court of Justice and General Court judgments and academic journal articles giving easy access to the materials which are key to understanding this dynamic and diverse area of law. * Well-designed learning features to guide the reader through each topic, including concise "central issues," "summaries" and helpful "conclusions" in each chapter.