Staging European Union Democracy: Discussion Paper Prepared for the 'Round Table on a Sustainable Project for Europe'. EPIN Working Paper No. 10, December 2003

Much of the malaise surrounding EU democracy can be accounted for by the fact that there is no effective staging of political debate between the European Parliament and EU executive power. This paper explores the options to increase the visibility of political choices in the European Union, to open ways to have political positions challenged and, thereby, to improve the staging of the democratic process. It starts from the relationship between the European Parliament and the Commission as this is the relationship that has come to resemble most the dynamics of representative democracy at the EU level. In turn, possible reforms are then explored to strengthen the articulation of political alternatives in the European Parliament, to allow for a well-calibrated politicisation of the Commission and to subject EU executive powers beyond the Commission to democratic accountability. The paper concludes with 20 concrete recommendations for reform – some of which would preferably still be taken on board by the current Intergovernmental Conference, but most of which can be followed up upon by the European actors in the years to come

Towards Effective and Accountable Leadership of the Union: Options and Guidelines for Reform. EPIN Working Paper No. 3, January 2003

[From the Executive Summary]. The success of the Convention on the future of the EU will to a great extent depend upon on its answers to the institutional questions. Among these questions, the issue of EU leadership plays a crucial role. In this paper, we identify three challenges for the re-organisation of leadership in the Union: 1. Union leadership has to be more effective. The Union’s growing responsibility for truly governmental tasks (e.g. EMU, CFSP, JHA) makes this an imperative. Enlargement will further add to this necessity. 2. Leadership in the Union should contribute to the democratic character of the Union. Indeed, leadership reform may offer an opportunity to increase the engagement of the people and the visibility of the Union. 3. Leadership reform should not fundamentally distort the Unions institutional balance. The Union is no longer a normal international organisation but neither is it a sovereign political system. Leadership reform must maintain the precarious balance between on the one hand the European general interest and on the other the diversity of national interests. In view of these three challenges, we consider the two main strands of debate that touch upon the issue of leadership in the EU: first, the debate on the election of the Commission President and, secondly, the different proposals for reforming the Council Presidency

Should the EU have a president with two hats? (Pro and contra) : yes

Politiker, Europäische Wirtschafts- und Währungsunion, Funktionäre, Politisches System, Politicians, European Economic and Monetary Union, Officials, Political system

Dispositions of DWI Arrestees: Anchorage, 1996

This study explores the dispositions of subjects arrested in Anchorage, Alaska during 1996 for driving while intoxicated (DWI). The project was designed to describe the Anchorage criminal justice system’s processing of DWI offenders and to isolate legal and extralegal variables that predict various offender dispositions. This report presents a literature review of studies relating to legal and extra-legal factors affecting court processing of offenders; discusses methodologies of the present study; presents flow charts of DWI arrestee processing in Anchorage; and presents the multivariate analysis that isolates significant correlates of DWI arrest disposition.Anchorage Safe Communities Alaska Highway Safety Planning Agency, Alaska Department of TransportationIntroduction / Literature Review / Data and Method / Profiles / Dispositions of DWI Suspects in Anchorage: The Process / Correlates of Disposition / Summary / Bibliography / Appendix - Sex and Race Specific Flow Chart

Literature Review: Diverting Mentally Ill Offenders from Jail

This literature review describes literature available on the topic of diverting mentally ill offenders from jail; outlines major themes found in the literature; analyzed programs described in the literature by type; and highlights recommendations from the literature.Criminal Justice Systems ProjectIntroduction / Description of Literature / Common Themes / Analysis / Recommendation / Abstracts / Bibliograph