Extending European Cooperation: The European Union and the 'New' International Trade Agenda

trade policy; cohesion policy; acquis communautaire; Treaty on European Union

The European Union as a Global Regulator? Context and Comparison

The European Union’s regulations affect how business is conducted and consumers and the environment protected in parts of the world far beyond its borders. Moreover, the external impact of its regulations informs understandings of the EU as a global actor. This article makes three main arguments. First, the EU’s regulatory influence varies systematically across different forms of regulatory interaction: regulatory competition and different forms of regulatory cooperation. The form of regulatory interaction, therefore, is a critical intervening variable between the EU’s regulatory power resources and its influence. Second, within the different forms of regulatory cooperation the EU’s influence varies in line with expectations derived from the literature. But, third, the magnitude of the EU’s influence seems to be considerably less in regulatory cooperation than suggested by the literature on regulatory competition; a finding that reinforces the first argument. The article also introduces the rest of the special issue

The European Union as a Global Regulator? Context and Comparison

The European Union’s regulations affect how business is conducted and consumers and the environment protected in parts of the world far beyond its borders. Moreover, the external impact of its regulations informs understandings of the EU as a global actor. This article makes three main arguments. First, the EU’s regulatory influence varies systematically across different forms of regulatory interaction: regulatory competition and different forms of regulatory cooperation. The form of regulatory interaction, therefore, is a critical intervening variable between the EU’s regulatory power resources and its influence. Second, within the different forms of regulatory cooperation the EU’s influence varies in line with expectations derived from the literature. But, third, the magnitude of the EU’s influence seems to be considerably less in regulatory cooperation than suggested by the literature on regulatory competition; a finding that reinforces the first argument. The article also introduces the rest of the special issue

Emerging trends in WTO dispute settlement : back to the GATT?

As the number of cases in the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement system has increased, there has been a greater effort by the academic community to analyze the data for emerging trends. Holmes Rollo, and Young seek to develop this literature using data up to the end of 2002 to ask whether recent trends confirm previously identified patterns and to examine whether there are divergences from the overall pattern according to the type of dispute. They focus on three questions in particular: What explains which countries are most involved in complaints under the dispute settlement understanding? Is there a discernible pattern to which countries win? Is there a difference to these patterns depending on the type of measure at the heart of the complaint? The authors find that: A country's trade share is a pretty robust indicator of its likelihood to be either a complainant or a respondent. The frequently remarked absence of the least developed countries from the dispute settlement system can be explained by their low volume of trade. There is not much, if any, evidence of a bias against developing countries either as complainants or respondents. Regulatory issues are fading as reasons for disputes and trade defense disputes are the rising issue. Complainants overwhelmingly win (88 percent of cases). There is no strong evidence that the rate of completion of cases is biased against newly industrializing countries or traditional less developed countries.Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Judicial System Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Information Technology,Judicial System Reform,Economic Theory&Research,Information Technology,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Trade and Services

Trading Up or Trading Blows? US Politics and Transatlantic Trade in Genetically Modified Food

European Food Agency; international trade; OECD; regulation; regulatory politics; WTO

EU interest representation or US-style lobbying?

While the number of interest groups competing for influence at the European level has exploded, the EU policy process is usually described as strikingly apolitical. The initial surge in interest group participation was principally a consequence of the transfer of authority to the EU, and of greater policy activity in the wake of the single market program. Subsequent efforts to integrate interest groups more fully into the policy process reflected an effort to extend democracy. The still-limited scope of EU authority, however, also restricts the successful extension of democracy at the European level

Healthy Scepticism: Does the Charter Matter? A Study of the CFREU’s Effects on Health Law and Policy in the UK and Germany

This thesis studies the effects of Articles 1, 3, 20, 21, and 35 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Many academics assume that the adoption of a binding human rights document such as the Charter improves human rights protection. Such beliefs are also reflected in fears that the Charter will significantly change domestic policies. This thesis investigates these assumptions. Does calling something a ‘human right’ have notable effects on its implementation? Does the Charter significantly affect national policy? Do EU human rights impose unwanted constraints upon Member States’ health systems? Using an interdisciplinary analysis of the Charter’s practical impacts, the thesis studies whether specific Charter rights have caused top-down Europeanisation of health law and policy in the UK and Germany, including: Europeanisation through ECJ judgments; through national courts; and through the legislative process. The thesis takes process-tracing, an empirical methodology used in political science, and applies it to the legal field. Process-tracing is particularly suitable for assessing the multi-step phenomenon of Europeanisation. By breaking down theoretical literature into individual causal mechanisms, each of which can be tested with empirical evidence, the thesis establishes the reality facing two of the three largest Member States – bringing crucial clarity at a febrile moment in the UK-EU relationship. Ultimately, the thesis reaches three main conclusions: firstly, that the Charter does increase the significance of fundamental rights, something which manifests across the thesis; secondly, that this increased significance and thus the Charter has few to no policy effects; and thirdly that the Charter, unexpectedly, can reinforce Member States’ policy choices within internal market law. These findings not only provide empirical evidence against the prevailing wisdom on fundamental rights, they show the Charter increasing Member States’ freedom to act as opposed to imposing top-down control

Government‒business relations in multilevel systems: the effect of conflict perception on venue choice

In multilevel systems, organised interests, including business firms, can pursue their political goals at different levels. At the same time, national systems of interest representation provide important incentive structures for corporate political behaviour. In this context, corporate political strategy is guided by firms’ perceptions of their relationship with policy-makers. If this relationship is under strain in one venue, firms shift their lobbying effort to alternative venues, subject to constraints reflecting national institutional legacies. Using survey data on 56 large German and British firms, the article investigates empirically how perceptions of government‒business relations and national systems of interest representation interact to shape the political behaviour of large firms in multilevel systems. The analysis shows that perceived conflict with public authorities at the national level leads to increased business lobbying at the EU level. Furthermore, national types of interest representation shape relative business engagement at the EU level as well as the readiness of firms to shift venue

Government‒business relations in multilevel systems: the effect of conflict perception on venue choice

In multilevel systems, organised interests, including business firms, can pursue their political goals at different levels. At the same time, national systems of interest representation provide important incentive structures for corporate political behaviour. In this context, corporate political strategy is guided by firms’ perceptions of their relationship with policy-makers. If this relationship is under strain in one venue, firms shift their lobbying effort to alternative venues, subject to constraints reflecting national institutional legacies. Using survey data on 56 large German and British firms, the article investigates empirically how perceptions of government‒business relations and national systems of interest representation interact to shape the political behaviour of large firms in multilevel systems. The analysis shows that perceived conflict with public authorities at the national level leads to increased business lobbying at the EU level. Furthermore, national types of interest representation shape relative business engagement at the EU level as well as the readiness of firms to shift venue