This is the seventh volume in the highly influential State of the European Union series, produced under the auspices of the European Union Studies Association. This volume provides major new insights on both the recent evolution of the EU and its future developmental trajectory, and maps European trends against American policies and institutions.
In an era in which the EU's influence in criminal law matters has expanded rapidly, attention has recently turned to the possible creation of a European Public Prosecutor's Office. This two volume work presents the results of a study carried out by a group of European criminal law experts in 2010-2012, with the financial support of the EU Commission, whose aims were to examine in detail current public prosecution systems in the Member States and to scrutinise proposals for a new European office. Volume 1 begins with thorough descriptions of 20 different national legal systems of investigation and prosecution, addressing a range of evidential and procedural safeguards. These will serve as a point of reference for all future research on public prosecutors. Volume 1 also contains a series of cross-cutting studies of the key issues that will inform debates about the creation of a European Public Prosecutor's Office, including studies of vertical cooperation in administrative investigations in subsidy and competition cases, the accession of the EU to the ECHR, judicial control in cooperation in criminal matters, mutual recognition and decentralised enforcement of European competition law. Volume 2 (which will be published in 2013) presents a draft set of model rules for the procedure of the European Public Prosecutor's Office and continues with a set of comparative studies of the national legal systems that cover the gathering of evidence, seizure of assets, arrests, tracking and tracing, prosecution measures, procedural safeguards, the presumption of innocence and the right to silence, access to the file and victim reconciliation. Volume 2 concludes with the final report, written by Professor Ligeti, summarising the findings of the group and reporting on the prospects for the proposed reform.
More than 25 years after the fall of the Soviet Union, European integration remains a work in progress, especially in those Eastern European nations most dramatically reshaped by democratization and economic liberalization. This volume assembles detailed, empirically grounded studies of eleven states—Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, and the former East Germany—that went on to join the European Union. Each chapter analyzes the political, economic, and social transformations that have taken place in these nations, using a comparative approach to identify structural similarities and assess outcomes relative to one another as well as the rest of the EU.
This book is based on contributions made to the WG Hart Workshop 2003. It contains articles by leading experts seeking to assess the state of development of EU law some fifty years after the establishment of the Communities and to contribute to the current debate on the European Constitution. The first volume concentrates on the themes of European Constitutionalism and EU external relations. It analyses the proposed Constitution dealing, among others, with the division of competence between the EU and the Member States, Community legislation, the role of national parliaments, democracy in the EU, human rights, and the Court of Justice. It also contains articles on EU external relations covering, among others, enlargement, the common foreign and security policy, immigration and asylum policy, and the relations between the EU and the WTO.
Volume II considers the history of the European Union from an inside-out perspective, focusing on the internal developments that shaped the European integration process. Taking an innovative, thematic approach, this volume will be of interest to students and researchers of European integration.
The European Union (EU) is in crisis. The crisis extends beyond Brexit, the fluctuating fortunes of the eurozone and the challenge of mass migration. It cuts to the core of the EU itself. Trust is eroding; power is shifting; politics are toxic; disillusionment is widespread; and solidarity has frayed. In this major new text leading academics come together to unpack all dimensions of the EU in crisis, and to analyse its implications for the EU, its member states and the ongoing study of European integration.
This book contributes fresh theoretical and empirical evidence on patterns of regional production structures, specialization, regional disparities, convergence and divergence processes and evaluation of cohesion policies in both current and future European Union (EU) member states in the context of increased integration. These subjects are addressed in both individual and cross-country analyses using innovative methodologies. The book is an essential reading for a large audience including researchers and policy makers working in the fields of economic integration, transition economics and regional development. The thirteen contributions brought together in this book are the result of recent research undertaken in the framework of a larger project initiated and coordinated by the Center for European Integration Studies (ZEI) of the University of Bonn on determinants of regional specialization, growth and convergence in the context of European integration. A number of these papers were presented to a conference on “European integration, regional convergence, location of industrial activity and labour market adjustment” initiated by the Center for European Integration Studies of the University of Bonn and organized jointly with the Center for European Studies of the University “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” of Iasi, Romania. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the European Commission Framework Programme and the Center for European Integration Studies of the University of Bonn.
Confronting sophisticated theoretical reasoning with the actual realities of policy-making, this book is essential reading for all those interested in the risks and opportunities of a comparative-interdisciplinary approach to European governance.
