Chronicles of a disagreement foretold. CEPS Commentary, 28 November 2012

In the wake of the collapsed talks on a new EU budget for 2014-20, a new CEPS Commentary by Jorge Núñez Ferrer allows that there is a good chance that agreement will be reached before the summer but that the instrument will remain largely disconnected from the fundamental needs of the EU, foremost of which is the imperative to address imbalances in the eurozone

Towards a new MFF New priorities and their impact on Italy. CEPS Research Paper 20 February 2020

This paper analyses the outlook for regional funding under the next Multiannual Financial Framework of the EU for which the Commission has proposed new criteria. The starting point is the so-called Berlin formula, developed from a blend of national and regional indicators. In reality, the allocation for any region depends not only on the state of the region, but also heavily on the income level of the member state in which this region is located. The modifications to the Berlin formula proposed by the Commission would accentuate the importance of the national component, despite the fact that the EU cohesion policy is supposed to aim at lagging regions, not countries. Growth in Italy has been below the EU average for some time. This means that the poorer Italian regions should be entitled to a higher amount of cohesion policy funding. However, the increase one could expect on this count is limited given the modifications to Berlin formula proposed by the Commission. The application of the new formula would lead to a somewhat lower allocation for Italy overall (especially for the Mezzogiorno) for two reasons: i) Italy is still a relatively prosperous member state, ii) There are caps to the increase of cohesion policy funding to which regions can be eligible even if their relative income position has worsened a lot. Italian Universities and research institutes benefit less from EU funding than one would expect given the size of the Italian economy from competitive support for research and innovation programmes under Horizon 2020. This underperformance is not due to political decisions as the research funding of the EU is allocated strictly on scientific merit. In the area of research and innovation there is as well a strong north-south divide within the country. Creating high quality research institutions in the south might be a more promising way to use cohesion policy funds than building roads or railways. It should receive more attention and funding from national and EU policymakers

Observaciones micropaleontológicas en el macizo cretácico de Garraf (Barcelona)

El llamado macizo de Garraf ha sido objeto de una serie de observaciones por parte cle renonibrados geólogos y paleontólogos. Sin embargo hasta ahora no se ha hecho ninguna observación micropaleontológica ni de microfacies. Sin duda alguna, la falta de dichas observaciones se debe a la naturaleza de la roca sedimentaria que constituye la casi totalidad del macizo. Se trata de calizas generalmente grises o pardo claras que localmente pueden encontrarse dolomitizadas y cuyas capas se estratifican en diversos espesores, yendo desde calizas masivas (de 2 a 4 metros de espesor), a calizas hojosas o tableadas en cuyo caso el espesor de las capas no sobrepasa los 5 cm.El objeto de la presente nota es poner en evidencia la existencia de un magnífico yacimiento de ejemplares pertenecientes a la famila Orbitolinidae, así como la presencia de rocas carbonatadas realmente ilustrativas. Me ha in~pulsado a ello los comentarios y observaciones realizadas por conocedores profundos de la facies urgoniense de España, así como de la familia Orbitolinidae, como son el profesor PIERRE RAT de la Universidad de Dijon y el doctor JAH HOFICER Jr., cuyos conocimientos sobre dicha familia son indiscutibles

What Does It Mean to Live a Fully Embodied Spiritual Life?

This essay discusses the meaning of embodied spirituality—based on the integration of all human attributes, including the body and sexuality—and contrasts it with the disembodied spirituality—based on dissociation and/or sublimation—prevailing in human religious history. It then describes what it means to approach the body as a living partner with which to co-create one’s spiritual life, and outlines ten features of a fully embodied spirituality. The article concludes with some reflections about the past, present, and potential future of embodied spirituality

Participation, metaphysics, and enlightenment: reflections on Ken Wilber’s recent work

This article critically examines Ken Wilber’s (2006) recent work from a participatory perspective of human spirituality. After a brief introduction to the participatory approach, I limit my discussion to the following four key issues: a. the participatory critique of Wilber’s work, b. the cultural versus universal nature of Wilber’s Kosmic habits, c. the question of (post-)metaphysics in spiritual discourse, and d. the nature of enlightenment. The article concludes with some concrete directions in which to move the dialogue forward

Observaciones micropaleontológicas en el macizo cretácico de Garraf (Barcelona)

El llamado macizo de Garraf ha sido objeto de una serie de observaciones por parte cle renonibrados geólogos y paleontólogos. Sin embargo hasta ahora no se ha hecho ninguna observación micropaleontológica ni de microfacies. Sin duda alguna, la falta de dichas observaciones se debe a la naturaleza de la roca sedimentaria que constituye la casi totalidad del macizo. Se trata de calizas generalmente grises o pardo claras que localmente pueden encontrarse dolomitizadas y cuyas capas se estratifican en diversos espesores, yendo desde calizas masivas (de 2 a 4 metros de espesor), a calizas hojosas o tableadas en cuyo caso el espesor de las capas no sobrepasa los 5 cm.El objeto de la presente nota es poner en evidencia la existencia de un magnífico yacimiento de ejemplares pertenecientes a la famila Orbitolinidae, así como la presencia de rocas carbonatadas realmente ilustrativas. Me ha in~pulsado a ello los comentarios y observaciones realizadas por conocedores profundos de la facies urgoniense de España, así como de la familia Orbitolinidae, como son el profesor PIERRE RAT de la Universidad de Dijon y el doctor JAH HOFICER Jr., cuyos conocimientos sobre dicha familia son indiscutibles

Appropriate Financial Instruments for Public-Private Partnership to Boost Cross-Border Infrastructural Development-EU Experience

The member states of the European Union (EU) and the EU institutions have increasingly been using public-private partnerships (PPPs) to accelerate the development of (ambitious) trans-national infrastructure. This paper argues that in the EU (i) private sector partners remain risk-averse; and (ii) risk-pooling across a larger number of tax-payers tends to reduce the cost of risk to zero, making EU funds highly desirable and sought after for public infrastructure development. This paper argues that private equity has not been forthcoming to the extent that had been expected by those propagating this method of finance. In those instances where private non-publicly guaranteed resources have been used, the distribution of risks between public and private partners remained asymmetric, with public governmental bodies carrying the financial risks, which ultimately may become a contingent liability for the country’s public finances. However, EU and European Investment Bank (EIB) public funding is used not simply because the risks are spread more widely, but rather because EU rules and regulations for using such funds lead to better preparation of projects and greater efficiency gains in project implementation and delivery.public-private partnerships; trans-national infrastructure; european union institutions; european union; public infrastructure development

Which economic model for a water-efficient Europe? Report of a CEPS Task Force. CEPS Task Force Report, 27 November 2012

This CEPS Task Force Report focuses on how to improve water efficiency in Europe, notably in public supply, households, agriculture, energy and manufacturing as well as across sectors. It presents a number of recommendations on how to make better use of economic policy instruments to sustainably manage the EU’s water resources. Published in the run-up to the European Commission’s “Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Waters”, the report contributes to the policy deliberations in two ways. First, by assessing the viability of economic policy instruments, it addresses a major shortcoming that has so far prevented the 2000 EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) from becoming fully effective in practice: the lack of appropriate, coherent and effective instruments in (some) member states. Second, as the Task Force report is the result of an interactive process involving a variety of stakeholders, it is able to point to the key differences in interpreting and applying WFD principles that have led to a lack of policy coherence across the EU and to offer some pragmatic advice on moving forward

Leveraging funding for energy efficiency in buildings in South East Europe. CEPS Policy Insights No 2019-05/28 March 2019

This paper addresses the possibility of creating financial instruments so that large scale energy efficiency renovation programmes can be substantially financed by the private sector. Aimed at decision-makers and those wishing to understand the issue, it avoids excessive technicalities. The paper presents some selected examples of financial instruments for energy efficiency that could represent possible blue prints for South East Europe. It concludes by proposing to develop variations of one of the simplest models to avoid ambitious, complex but ineffective instruments. A clear warning is given on the need for a careful ex-ante assessment of the legal framework, other barriers and the capacity of building associations to request loans on behalf of the owners. It also insists that business strategy development requires special attention