Challenges for Integrated Peacekeeping Operations: Concerning Socio-Economic Aspects and the Capability for a Comprehensive Assessment of the Effects on Existing UN Policies in the Conflict Area

This report will give an overview of a rather complex and complicated subject matter. It deals with the question of importance of future peace operations, the socio-economic effects of the 'third generation' of peacekeeping. These missions usually also involve aspects of peacebuilding. Beyond eliminating the use of violence and/or maintaining peace, operations try to establish the rule of law, improve governance in the area of operation and promote reconciliation so that armed conflict is no longer considered to be a mechanism for dispute resolution. But these integrated peacekeeping operations (PKOs) also have broader objectives, like those related to economic development, which, in particular, should benefit the local population

Die "Regionale Partnerschaft": subregionale Zusammenarbeit in der Mitte Europas

'Die AutorInnen deuten 'subregionale' Zusammenarbeit als Kooperation zwischen benachbarten Staaten und legen Kriterien für ihre Beurteilung dar. Sie erläutern die Entwicklung der österreichischen Nachbarschaftspolitik und stellen die Diskussion über 'Mitteleuropa' kurz dar. Österreich konzentrierte sich in der ersten Hälfte der 1990er Jahre auf den Beitritt zur EU, der 1995 erreicht wurde. In der Folge der 'Sanktionen' der EU-14 schlug Außenministerin Ferrero-Waldner im Februar 2001 vor, dass Österreich, ohne wirkliche Partner in der EU, mit seinen Nachbarn und zukünftigen EU-Mitgliedern (einschließlich Polens) eine 'Interessengemeinschaft zentraleuropäischer Staaten' bilden sollte, ähnlich Benelux oder der nordischen Kooperation; sie wurde schließlich 'Regionale Partnerschaft' genannt. Die AutorInnen zeigen die eher positive Resonanz in Ungarn und die weitgehend skeptische Aufnahme der Initiative in Tschechien auf und stellen empirische Indikatoren (Außenhandel, Meinungsumfragen) für die Einschätzung der Zusammenarbeit dar. Mit regelmäßigen Treffen der AußenministerInnen und VertreterInnen verschiedener technischer Ministerien hat die 'Regionale Partnerschaft' eine gewisse informelle Struktur entwickelt. Trotzdem erfüllt sie nur einen Teil der Kriterien für subregionale Zusammenarbeit.' (Autorenreferat)'The authors define 'subregional' cooperation as a collaboration of neighboring countries and develop criteria for assessing it. They explain the development of Austria's relations with its (Eastern) neighbors and describe the debate on 'Mitteleuropa'. For Austria, accession to the EU was the primary goal during the first half of the 1990s; it joined the Union in 1995. The 'sanctions' of the EU-14 clearly showed that Austria was without partners in the EU. As a consequence, Foreign Minister Ferrero-Waldner proposed an 'interest group of Central European states' consisting of Austria's neighbors and future EU partners (including Poland), something like Benelux or the Nordic cooperation. In the end it was named 'Regional Partnership'. The authors show the rather positive response of Hungary and the much more skeptic answer by the Czech authorities. They give some empirical indicators (trade, public opinion polls) for the evaluation of the cooperation. The regular meetings of the foreign ministers and officials from technical ministries have provided the 'Regional Partnership' with some informal structures. But it meets only parts of the criteria of subregional cooperation.' (author's abstract

The Treaty of Prüm: A Replay of Schengen?

[From the introduction]. On 27 May 2005, seven EU member states signed the “Treaty of Prüm” on the stepping up of cross-border cooperation, particularly in combating terrorism, cross-border crime and illegal migration.2 It was based on an initiative by the then German Interior Minister Otto Schily from mid-2003. The paper starts with a few remarks on the notion of “differentiated integration” for which Schengen and Prüm are prime examples. The Schengen process will be summoned up. The core of this paper deals on the one hand with the way to the Prüm Treaty and its final contents. On the other hand, the signing and ratification, also by EU member states other than the original signatories, and its entry into force will be discussed. The debate on the integration of major parts of the Prüm Treaty into the EU legal framework, which started soon after its signing, will be described. The final sections of the paper present some controversial views of the Treaty among scholars and the analysis by European Data Protection Supervisor of the draft Decision intending to integrate parts of the Prüm Treaty into the Third Pillar of the EU. A few concluding remarks on the whole process wrap up the paper

"The similarities and differences of the EU and U.S. foreign policies: Empirical indicators from the UN General Assembly”

This paper tries to illustrate EU-U.S. relations with the help of an empirical-quantitative analysis of the voting behavior of the EU member states and the U.S in the General Assembly of the United Nations. There exists a large amount of data which was analyzed in the 1950s and 1960s, at the height of the behavioralist school in U.S. political science, but has been rarely used since then. A reason for that could be the "stagnation" and finally the "decline" of the UN General Assembly. It has been less and less able to satisfy its members. The Third World countries have become disillusioned. The United States has even become hostile. In addition, one should not forget that the General Assembly can only pass recommendations and not legally binding texts. The "irrelevance" of the General Assembly makes its decision-making processes part of the "low politics." It is the task of the specialists and diplomatic "technicians" in New York to negotiate and find solutions. Rarely the member state capitals are involved in the decision-making. Therefore, the voting in the UN General Assembly can be regarded as a "routine" presentation of the interests of the member states. The results of the present study, thus, cannot be directly exploited for more dramatic and politically sensitive situations

L'élargissement de la Communauté aux pays de l'AELE

The EFTA Enlargement of the European Community, by Paul Luif The renewed « dynamics » of the EC, in particular the completion of the internai market, threatened to bring new discrimination for the exports of the EFTA countries to the EC. The offer of Jacques Delors to create a « European Economie Area » proved to be insufficient, since the EC would not confer any codecision rights to outsiders. The economie problems and the decline of « corporatism » in the EFTA countries, beginning with Austria in the mid-1980s, finally pushed also Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and Norway towards application for EC membership. Besides agriculture and fisheries, the attitudes of the neutral countries concerning the common foreign and security policy of the EC will be a difficult question for the accession negotiations, since inside the EC many people fear that the new members could be a potential obstacle for advancing towards a common defence.Le renouveau dynamique de la CE, en particulier l'achèvement du marché intérieur, menace d'introduire de nouvelles discriminations à l'encontre des exportations des pays de l'AELE vers la CE. La proposition de Jacques Delors de créer un « Espace économique européen » s'est avérée être insuffi- sante dans optique où la CE ne conférerait aucun droit de co-décision aux non-membres. Les problèmes économiques et le déclin du « corporatisme » dans les pays de l'AELE ont fini par pousser la Suède, la Finlande, la Suisse et la Norvège, suivant l'exemple de l'Autriche au milieu des années 80, à déposer une demande d'adhésion auprès de la CE. Outre l'agriculture et la pêche, une question délicate se posera dans les négociations d'adhésion en ce qui concerne l'attitude des pays neutres envers la politique étrangère et de sécurité communes de la CE car à l'intérieur de cette dernière, beaucoup craignent que les nouveaux membres ne soient un obstacle potentiel sur le chemin d'une défense commune.Luif. L'élargissement de la Communauté aux pays de l'AELE. In: Politique étrangère, n°1 - 1993 - 58ᵉannée. pp. 63-77

Freedom, Security and Justice in the European Union: Internal and External Dimensions of Increased Cooperation after the Lisbon Treaty

As the European Union has evolved, it has also begun to address policy questions which are closer to the very heart of the state. From cooperation in Justice and Home Affairs, originally conceived as the third pillar of European cooperation, has emerged the Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice (AFSJ). A unique aspect of policy in this area is the desire to integrate the internal and external dimensions of this policy area. One of the tensions in this policy area has been balancing the protection of fundamental rights and increasing security. The first part of this book focuses on the institutional relations of policymaking in AFSJ, both within member states and between member states, in particular the issues of national executive control, national parliamentary scrutiny and peer review across the member states with regard to AFSJ. The second part focuses on specific policy areas which are part of AFSJ. Two chapters highlight the tension found in this policy area between security and human or fundamental rights, the first related to data retention and the second on policing external borders. The final two chapters are concerned with data exchange among European countries and transatlantically with the US, and the interface between AFSJ and the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The chapters contained in the book were presented at the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and the Dutch national parliament (Tweede Kamer), making it of interest to scholars and practitioners alike