Research
Poland: the EU's new awkward partner
02 February 2004
As a former member of Poland's communist Politburo, Leszek Miller has little in common with Margaret Thatcher or John Major. But the Polish prime minister has adopted very similar negotiating tactics in the EU.
Policing public sector aid
02 February 2004
Europe's powerful public sector trade unions are campaigning to protect public services from the disciplines of EU competition and state aid laws.
Issue 34 - 2004
30 January 2004
- Jobs for the boys, Steven Everts
- Poland: the EU's new awkward partner, Heather Grabbe
- Policing public sector aid, Alasdair Murray
Is Europe working?
01 January 2004
With more than 14 million people out of work, unemployment is the EU's greatest economic problem. However, while EU policy-makers ponder Germany's 4.3 million unemployed, Britain's low labour productivity and Italy's greying workforce, they have missed one of Europe's key labour market challenges: eastward enlargement.
If the EU's labour market statistics...
If the EU's labour market statistics...
Should Britain hold a referendum on the EU Constitution?
01 January 2004
Dear Charles,
European leaders are busy drawing up a constitution which will set out what tasks the EU should and should not perform; clarify who is responsible for what; and specify how the EU takes decisions. Once governments have agreed a final text, the question becomes: how should each country...
European leaders are busy drawing up a constitution which will set out what tasks the EU should and should not perform; clarify who is responsible for what; and specify how the EU takes decisions. Once governments have agreed a final text, the question becomes: how should each country...
A joined-up EU security policy
01 January 2004
EU member-states disagree on whether the EU should have its own military headquarters, or continue to depend on NATO to help run EU operations. This dispute is becoming increasingly theological.
After the Brussels summit: What next for the EU?
16 December 2003
The manner and speed at which the Brussels European Council collapsed took most observers by surprise. Heads of state and government had arrived on the morning of Friday 12 December 2003, expecting negotiations to last until late on Sunday 14.
'Old' and 'New' Europeans united: Public attitudes towards the Iraq war and US foreign policy
11 December 2003
Is there a clear and lasting division between new and old Europe at the level of public opinion? This paper looks at public opinion polls conducted in the EU-15 countries and ten new members that will join the EU in 2004, to see which countries' populations supported the Iraq war before and after it took place.
Germany – the sick man of Europe?
05 December 2003
Germany was once the economic motor of Europe. Its large domestic market offered business opportunities for its smaller neighbours. Its high-quality machines powered manufacturing all across Europe. Its sound budget policies set the standard for the other EU countries. In the 1980s, however, the German motor began to sputter. It...
The CER guide to the Brussels summit
05 December 2003
It is six months since the European Convention, a gathering of parliamentarians, government representatives and experts, presented its draft for an EU constitutional treaty. Since November, the EU governments – the current 15, plus the ten due to join on 1 May 2004 – have been negotiating a revision of this draft, in an 'inter-governmental conference' (IGC).
EU defence takes a step forward
05 December 2003
The deal struck between Britain, France and Germany on the future of European defence is good news for those who believe that the EU should focus more on military capabilities than institutions.
Issue 39 - 2004
28 November 2003
- President Bush: Why you need the Europeans, Charles Grant, Steven Everts
- The EU and China, Katinka Barysch
- Three cheers for EU democracy, Alasdair Murray
Issue 33 - 2003
28 November 2003
- Is Europe working? , Katinka Barysch
- Should Britain hold a referendum on the EU Constitution?, Steven Everts and Charles Grant
- A joined-up EU security policy , Daniel Keohane and Adam Townsend
The case for a stronger European Parliament
07 November 2003
The EU urgently needs a stronger and reformed European Parliament (EP). With 60 per cent of all legislation affecting citizens' lives discussed in Brussels, EU decision-making must become more democratic.
A pact for stability and growth
03 October 2003
The stability and growth pact – the EU’s fiscal rule book – is in tatters. The eurozone’s largest countries, Germany and France, are in breach of the pact, having exceeded the 3 per cent of GDP limit for budget deficits in 2002 and 2003. Theyare likely to do so again...
The EU's new borderlands
03 October 2003
With the 2004 enlargement, the EU will acquire many new neighbours, some of them unstable states with fragile economies. This working paper explains why the regions along the EU's new eastern border matter for Europe's security.
Can the EU achieve an area of freedom, security and justice?
03 October 2003
In 1997 the EU member-states committed themselves to constructing an 'area of freedom, security and justice' – a task at least as ambitious as the creation of the single market.
Resolving the rows over ESDP
03 October 2003
European defence has returned to the top of EU governments’ agendas this year, with the divisions provoked by the Iraq war making it a highly sensitive subject. It is possible to argue that the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) has proceeded according to plan in 2003.
The CER guide to the draft EU constitution
03 October 2003
For the fourth time in little more than a decade, the EU is trying to overhaul its institutions and policies. The EU’s previous attempts, which culminated in the treaties of Maastricht in 1992, Amsterdam in 1997 and Nice in 2000, were less than fully successful. Citizens still perceive the EU...
If it's broken, fix it!
01 October 2003
Europeans are right to worry about their economy. Forecasters think that the eurozone economy will grow by a paltry 0.5 per cent this year. But the real problem is that Europe's sluggish performance is part of a long-term trend.