EU Publications

Connecting Europe's energy systems by Stephen Tindale — last modified 11 October 2012, 23:15 CET

In this policy brief published by the Centre for European Reform, Stephen Tindale argues that Europe’s energy infrastructure urgently needs to be modernised, to maximise renewable energy use, so the European Commission’s proposals on infrastructure should be adopted as soon as possible.

EU Employment Law by EUbusiness — last modified 04 October 2012, 11:33 CET

This new edition of EU Employment Law provides a complete revision and update of the leading English language text in the field. The coverage in the new edition has been expanded with material on all the latest developments, incorporating the changes made by the Lisbon Treaty; the EU2020 strategy; the Charter of Fundamental Rights; the 'Article 19 Directives'; the Temporary Agency Work Directive; the revisions to the existing including the Directives on Parental Leave and European Works Council; and the new Social Security Regulations 883/2004. It also analyses the ever-expanding body of employment case law, including the momentous decisions in Viking, Laval, Rueffert, and Commission v Luxembourg. The book begins with an examination of the development of EU employment law focusing on the shift from employment law to employment policy. The text then studies rule-making in the field of employment law, considering both the traditional routes to legislation and governance techniques such as the Open Method of Coordination. The final chapters look closely at the substantive area of employment law, examining the free movement of persons, equal treatment, health and safety and working conditions, the restructuring of enterprises, worker participation, and collective action. Throughout, the book addresses the fundamental question as to the purpose of EU employment law: is it primarily economic, or social, or both?

Conceptual Gaps in China-EU Relations: Global Governance, Human Rights and Strategic Partnerships by Amazon UK — last modified 04 October 2012, 11:25 CET

China and Europe have few political values in common, even though they employ the same value-laden concepts in their political discourse. Chinese-European disputes over issues from Tibet to human rights, from market economy status to the arms embargo, from Africa to Iran are reflected, to a large extent, in their perceptual gaps on such political concepts as sovereignty, human rights, strategic partnership, multilateralism, and global governance. The authors analyze how differently China and Europe interpret the same political concepts, to examine what implications of their conceptual gaps may have on China-EU relations, and thus to discover how best to manage and bridge them. A multidimensional exploration of how differently China and Europe interpret the same political concepts and how their conceptual gaps impact on the China-EU relations.

Promoting cultural and creative sectors for growth and jobs in the EU by EUbusiness — last modified 26 September 2012, 21:30 CET

The European Commission has presented a strategy to unlock the full potential of the cultural and creative sectors in the EU to boost jobs and growth. These sectors, which include companies and other organisations active in architecture, artistic crafts, cultural heritage, design, festivals, film and television, music, performing and visual arts, archives and libraries, publishing and radio, already account for up to 4.5% of GDP and up to 8.5 million jobs in the European Union. But the creative and cultural sectors also face major challenges stemming from the digital shift and globalisation, as well as from a high fragmentation of markets along cultural and linguistic lines. Access to finance remains a major difficulty. The strategy is outlined in this document entitled "Promoting cultural and creative sectors for growth and jobs in the EU", which envisages a series of policy initiatives and the promotion of a modern regulatory environment. The Commission also wants to encourage stronger partnerships between different policies, in particular culture, education, industry, economic affairs, tourism, urban and regional development, and territorial planning. It also plans to mobilise EU funding to increase support for the sectors, notably through the proposed €1.8 billion 'Creative Europe' programme for 2014-2020 and through Cohesion Policy funds.

Air quality in Europe 2012 by EUbusiness — last modified 24 September 2012, 19:44 CET

This report presents an overview and analysis of the status and trends of air quality in Europe based on concentration measurements in ambient air and data on anthropogenic emissions and trends from 2001- when mandatory monitoring of ambient air concentrations of selected pollutants first produced reliable air quality information - to 2010.

EU Budget 2011 Financial Report by EUbusiness — last modified 20 September 2012, 13:58 CET

The European Commission has released its annual financial report which describes how the 2011 budgetary cycle was managed. The financial report provides detailed information on the sources of EU financing and gives a basic overview of EU expenditure.

Opening the Door? Immigration and Integration in the EU by EUbusiness — last modified 20 September 2012, 00:28 CET

Migration into the EU and the integration of immigrants are matters that will be decisive for the future of Europe. The Centre for European Studies (CES), the political foundation of the EPP, and its Member Foundations, have therefore created this in-depth study of immigration and integration policies in countries across the EU. This book, the first produced by a European political foundation in cooperation with its member organisations, covers thirteen EU countries and one region, as well as the EU itself. It suggests expanding legal avenues for migration so as to meet labour and skill shortages in the EU. Recognising that illegal immigration undermines the rule of law, the Member States and the EU should continue to exchange information and examples of good practice in tackling illegal immigration. The EU should also improve its integration policies, working with Member States to increase the employment rate of legal immigrants and to encourage their civic and political participation.

Enhancing and focusing EU international cooperation in research and innovation: A strategic approach by EUbusiness — last modified 18 September 2012, 11:05 CET

The European Commission has set out a new strategy for developing international cooperation in research and innovation. The strategy proposes to further focus cooperation on EU strategic priorities while maintaining the tradition of openness to third country participation in EU research.

Final report of the EU High Level Group of experts on Literacy by EUbusiness — last modified 06 September 2012, 17:34 CET

The European Union needs to overhaul its approach to improving literacy standards, according to a high-level group of experts set up by EU Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou to address the issue. One in five 15 year-olds, as well as nearly 75 million adults, lack basic reading and writing skills, which makes it hard for them to get a job and increases their risk of poverty and social exclusion. The expert group's chair, HRH Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands, a long-time campaigner in the field, describes the report as a "wake-up call about the crisis that affects every country in Europe". The 80-page report includes a raft of recommendations, ranging from advice for parents on creating a culture of reading for pleasure with their children, to siting libraries in unconventional settings like shopping centres and the need to attract more male teachers to act as role models for boys, who read much less than girls. It also makes age-specific recommendations, calling for free, high-quality early childhood education and care for all, more specialist reading teachers in primary schools, a change of mind-set on dyslexia, arguing that almost every child can learn to read with the right support, and for more varied learning opportunities for adults, especially in the workplace.

EU Globalisation Fund Annual Report 2011 by EUbusiness — last modified 05 September 2012, 18:36 CET

More than 21,000 workers dismissed due to the economic crisis and the effects of globalisation were helped to find new job opportunities by the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund (EGF) in 2011, according to a report adopted on 4 September 2012 by the European Commission. The EU's Globalisation Fund paid out a total of EUR 128 million in 2011 to assist these workers in twelve EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland and Portugal).

The 2012 EU SURVEY on R&D Investment Business Trends by EUbusiness — last modified 21 August 2012, 23:18 CET

The report contains the main findings of the seventh survey on R&D investment business trends based on 187 responses of mainly large companies from the 1000 EU-based companies in the 2011 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard. These 187 companies are responsible for R&D investment worth almost €56 billion, constituting around 40% of the total R&D investment of the 1000 EU Scoreboard companies.

Screening of waste management performance of EU Member States. Report submitted under the EC project "Support to Member States in improving waste management based on assessment of Member States' performance" by EUbusiness — last modified 08 August 2012, 10:25 CET

A new report on how EU Member States manage their municipal waste shows startling differences across the European Union. The report grades the 27 Member States against 18 criteria, using green, orange and red flags in areas such as total waste recycled, pricing of waste disposal, and infringements of European legislation. The resulting scoreboard forms part of an on-going study that will help Member States improve their waste management performance. Top of the table are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden, none of which have more than 2 red flags. But the pattern is reversed at the other end of the scale, where green flags are scarce.

Central and Eastern Europe Beyond Transition: Convergence and Divergence in Europe by EUbusiness — last modified 27 July 2012, 21:41 CET

The focus of the Forward Look project is on Central and Eastern Europe ‘beyond transition’: the objective being to define the extent to which social science research agendas need to address issues that are specific to this region, and the extent to which pan-European research agendas need to pay more attention to the specific dynamics of change in this region. The last 25 years have witnessed some of the most profound political, social and economic changes in Europe’s history. The fall of communism at the end of the 1980s not only reshaped relationships within the continent against a background of rapidly increasing globalisation, but also provided fascinating insights into the potential for, and limitations of, the large-scale reshaping of society. The Forward Look ‘Central and Eastern Europe Beyond Transition: Convergence and Divergence in Europe’ aimed both to identify the developments in CEE which would, could or should become hot research topics in the study of CEE as a part of European society and as such be promoted and endorsed by national and European grant institutions; and to outline ways in which foresight on CEE can contribute to the development of the social sciences in general and input important topics into transnational research.

Communication from the Commission "Smart Cities and Communities - European Innovation Partnership" [COM(2012)4701] by EUbusiness — last modified 11 July 2012, 12:37 CET

On 10 July 2012, the European Commission launched the Smart Cities and Communities European Innovation Partnership. The partnership proposes to pool resources to support the demonstration of energy, transport and information and communication technologies (ICT) in urban areas. The energy, transport and ICT industries are invited to work together with cities to combine their technologies to address cities' needs. This will enable innovative, integrated and efficient technologies to roll out and enter the market more easily, while placing cities at the centre of innovation. The funding will be awarded through yearly calls for proposals: €365 million for 2013.

Leaving the euro: A practical guide by EUbusiness — last modified 05 July 2012, 15:47 CET

If member states leave the Economic and Monetary Union, what is the best way for the economic process to be managed to provide the soundest foundation for the future growth and prosperity of the current membership? A revised submission for the Wolfson Economics Prize MMXII by Capital Economics

Towards a genuine Economic and Monetary Union - Report by President of the European Council by EUbusiness — last modified 26 June 2012, 18:48 CET

This report, prepared in close cooperation with the Presidents of the Commission, the Eurogroup and the European Central Bank, sets out a vision for the future of the Economic and Monetary Union and how it can best contribute to growth, jobs and stability.

Europeans and their languages - Special Eurobarometer 386 by EUbusiness — last modified 21 June 2012, 16:01 CET

The survey provides information about the citizens' attitudes towards foreign languages and multilingualism within the European Union.It looks at the ways in which Europeans learn and use foreign languages, exploring their motivations and potential barriers to learning.It also gauges their opinion on the role of interpretation and translation in relation to European institutions and various areas across society.

Frontiers of Fear: Immigration and Insecurity in the United States and Europe by Amazon — last modified 14 June 2012, 22:56 CET

On both sides of the Atlantic, restrictive immigration policies have been framed as security imperatives since the 1990s. This trend accelerated in the aftermath of 9/11 and subsequent terrorist attacks in Europe. In Frontiers of Fear, Ariane Chebel d'Appollonia raises two central questions with profound consequences for national security and immigration policy: First, does the securitization of immigration issues actually contribute to the enhancement of internal security? Second, does the use of counterterrorist measures address such immigration issues as the increasing number of illegal immigrants, the resilience of ethnic tensions, and the emergence of homegrown radicalization? Chebel d'Appollonia questions the main assumptions that inform political agendas in the United States and throughout Europe, analyzing implementation and evaluating the effectiveness of policies in terms of their stated objectives. She argues that the new security-based immigration regime has proven ineffective in achieving its prescribed goals and even aggravated the problems it was supposed to solve: A security/insecurity cycle has been created that results in less security and less democracy. The excesses of securitization have harmed both immigration and counterterrorist policies and seriously damaged the delicate balance between security and respect for civil liberties.

CARS 21 High Level Group on the Competitiveness and Sustainable Growth of the Automotive Industry in the European Union - Final Report 2012 by EUbusiness — last modified 07 June 2012, 11:18 CET

The Cars 21 report sets out a complete vision for the automotive industry in 2020 providing recommendations for rapid progress on important subjects such as electro-mobility, road safety, market access strategy and a review of the CO2 emissions from cars and vans.

Ninth Report on Potentially Trade Restrictive Measures by EUbusiness — last modified 06 June 2012, 14:46 CET

In this report released on 6 June, the EU identifies a staggering increase in protectionism around the world with 123 new trade restrictions introduced over the last eight months – a rise of just over 25%. This brings the total number of restrictive measures in place today to 534. In its ninth report on potentially trade-restrictive measures, the European Commission points to a failure by the G20 countries to reducing trade barriers. G20 members have to do more to prevent the introduction of new barriers to trade, and to rectify protective measures introduced since the break-out of the crisis.