An article said that the changes made by the Treaty of Lisbon for the protection of human rights meant that the European Union was moving 'inexorably' to a general human rights competence. That competence, however, would necessarily be shared with the member states: worries about the Union over-reaching itself in this field were misplaced given the increased respect for the principle of subsidiarity in the Treaty.
Source: Robin White, A new era for human rights in the European Union?, Yearbook of European Law, Volume 30 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
An article examined the social construction of a European rule of law. It contested the view that such a transnational constitutional order was the direct outcome of the European Court of Justice's judicial fiat.
Source: Antonin Cohen and Antoine Vauchez, 'The social construction of law: the European Court of Justice and its legal revolution revisited', Annual Review of Law and Social Science, Volume 7
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
An article examined the sources of human rights in the European Union legal order.
Source: Robert Schutze, 'Three "Bills of Rights" for the European Union', Yearbook of European Law, Volume 30 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
A new book examined the mechanisms through which the European Union played a role in domestic social policy changes. It focused on where, when, and how national actors used the tools and resources offered by the process of European integration to support them in pursuing national welfare reforms.
Source: Paolo Graziano, Sophie Jacquot, and Bruno Palier (eds.), The EU and the Domestic Politics of Welfare State Reforms, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Nov
A think-tank report said that the United Kingdom government should examine ways of 'repatriating' powers from the European Union – in particular, laws in the social field. It was 'unclear' whether there was any significant merit to deciding these laws at the EU level rather than nationally or sometimes locally. Repatriation would mean that the laws and regulations, and the benefits and costs that they generated, would be under the control of the UK parliament, empowering it to change them to better reflect local circumstances and national democratic preferences.
Source: Stephen Booth, Mats Persson, and Vincenzo Scarpetta, Repatriating EU Social Policy: The best choice for jobs and growth?, Open Europe
Links: Report | Open Europe press release
Date: 2011-Nov
A new book examined the European Union as a political system, and analyzed the meaning and status of democracy in Europe.
Source: Erik Oddvar Eriksen and John Erik Fossum (eds.), Rethinking Democracy and the European Union, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Nov
A paper said that the streamlining of the European Commission's 'open method of co-ordination' in social policy fields (from 2006) had not lived up to original expectations or the goals stated in official documents.
Source: Sandra Kroger, Five Years Down the Road: An evaluation of the streamlining of the open method of coordination in social policy fields, Briefing Paper 8, European Social Observatory (Brussels)
Links: Paper
Notes: The open method of coordination (OMC) is an intergovernmental means of governance in the European Union, based on the voluntary co-operation of member states rather than the application of legislative measures.
Date: 2011-Oct
The European Economic and Social Committee (a consultative body of the European Union) said that the European Commission should further strengthen the overall role of social impact assessment within its general impact assessment system: this should be recognized as a key tool for systematically ensuring that the EU's common social objectives were mainstreamed in all relevant policy areas. There should also be regular monitoring and reporting on the use of social impact assessments by member states in the context of developing the 'national reform programmes'.
Source: Strengthening EU Cohesion and EU Social Policy Coordination Through the New Horizontal Social Clause in Article 9 TFEU, European Economic and Social Committee
Links: Opinion
Date: 2011-Oct
A new book examined the administration of the European Union and the legal framework within which it operated. It looked at the multifarious approaches, techniques, and structures of public administration in order to assess the solutions that they offered to political, social, and economic problems.
Source: Herwig Hofmann, Gerard Rowe, and Alexander Turk, Administrative Law and Policy of the European Union, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Oct
A report examined the impact and implementation of the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights with respect to three EU home affairs agencies.
Source: Elspeth Guild, Sergio Carrera, Leonhard den Hertog, and Joanna Parkin, Implementation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and Its Impact on EU Home Affairs Agencies, Centre for European Policy Studies (Brussels)
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Oct
A new book examined the impact of European integration on social policy development since the launch (and re-launch) of the Lisbon strategy, and discussed the challenges posed by the global economic crisis of 2007-2009.
Source: Ipek Eren Vural (ed.), Converging Europe: Transformation of social policy in the enlarged European Union and in Turkey, Ashgate Publications
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Aug
An article examined variation between member states in compliance with provisions of European Union laws, focusing on the Framework Equality Directive. Formal warnings by the Commission led to a better compliance record, while conflict in the Council did not affect the successful transposition of provisions.
Source: Asya Zhelyazkova and Rene Torenvlied, 'The successful transposition of European provisions by member states: application to the Framework Equality Directive', Journal of European Public Policy, Volume 18 Issue 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jul
The European Union Act 2011 was given Royal assent. The Act provided for a referendum in the United Kingdom on any proposed EU treaty or treaty change that would transfer powers from the UK to the EU.
Source: European Union Act 2011, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, TSO
Links: Act | Explanatory notes
Date: 2011-Jul
A paper examined the making of social policy at European Union level, focusing on the political 'discourse' exemplified by the 'open method of coordination' (OMC).
Source: Jean-Claude Barbier, Changes in Political Discourse from the Lisbon Strategy to Europe 2020: Tracing the fate of ?social policy??, Working Paper 2011-01, European Trade Union Institute
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jun
A new book examined the policy and institutional challenges facing the European Union, including the consequences of the Lisbon Treaty, the reform of economic governance in light of the economic and financial crisis, and the future of 'social Europe'.
Source: Loukas Tsoukalis and Janis Emmanouilidis (eds.), The Delphic Oracle on Europe: Is there a future for the European Union?, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Jun
A new book examined the decision-making processes in the European Union, and why progress occurred in some areas at the same time as blockages characterized others.
Source: Gerda Falkner (ed.), The EU's Decision Traps: Comparing policies, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Jun
A new book presented a theoretical and comparative empirical study of new 'social pacts' in Europe (agreements based on dialogue between governments and social partners). It considered national variation in reliance on social pacts; what determined the outcomes of individual pact negotiations; and the conditions under which pacts were repeated and became regular features of socio-economic governance.
Source: Sabina Avdagic, Martin Rhodes, and Jelle Visser (eds.), Social Pacts in Europe: Emergence, evolution, and institutionalization, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Jun
A paper examined ways of reinvigorating the social open method of co-ordination (OMC) in the context of the Europe 2020 strategy. The OMC for social protection and social inclusion had proved a 'flexible, successful and effective instrument' to bring forward common priorities for social policy at European Union and national level: but there was a need to improve its visibility and impact.
Source: Social Protection Committee, The Future of the Social Open Method of Coordination (OMC), European Commission
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jun
A paper examined the 'open method of co-ordination' in the area of European Union employment policies. In practice very little co-ordination was in place: although there was a need to acquire relevant information, it was difficult to transform knowledge into political will and then into action. There seemed to be a problem of communication between the centre and periphery of the EU.
Source: Silvana Sciarra, Experiments in the Open Method of Coordination: Measuring the impact of EU employment policies, Working Paper 06, Center for Labor and Economic Growth (Rome)
Links: Paper
Notes: The open method of co-ordination (OMC) is an intergovernmental means of governance in the European Union, based on the voluntary co-operation of member states rather than the application of legislative measures.
Date: 2011-May
An article examined the Lisbon Strategy as a mode of governance. Although co-ordination was the central organizational device of the strategy, it had multiple meanings and could not be reduced to the open method of co-ordination: 'soft' co-ordination was combined with 'hard' law.
Source: Stijn Smismans, 'From harmonization to co-ordination? EU law in the Lisbon governance architecture', Journal of European Public Policy, Volume 18 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-May
A report highlighted an 'implementation gap' in relation to human rights in Europe. Standards on human rights had been agreed at European and international level, and many had been integrated into national law: but they were not consistently enforced.
Source: Thomas Hammarberg, Human Rights in Europe: No Grounds for Complacency, Council of Europe
Date: 2011-May
An article examined the creation, evolution, and national impact of the European Union Lisbon Strategy. 'Institutional ambiguity' was used strategically by coalitions at the EU and national level in (re-)defining its ideational and organizational elements.
Source: Susana Borrs and Claudio Radaelli, 'The politics of governance architectures: creation, change and effects of the EU Lisbon Strategy', Journal of European Public Policy, Volume 18 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-May
A new book examined the emergence, execution, and evolution of new modes of governance across several policy fields within the European Union.
Source: Udo Diedrichs, Wulf Reiners, and Wolfgang Wessels (eds.), The Dynamics of Change in EU Governance, Edward Elgar Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-May
An article examined the effects of the Lisbon Strategy on the way in which national executives co-ordinated European Union policy at the domestic level. There was evidence that the Lisbon Strategy had been advancing (further) centralization and politicization in national patterns of EU policy co-ordination, empowering 'core' executives.
Source: Susana Borrs and Guy Peters, 'The Lisbon Strategy's empowerment of core executives: centralizing and politicizing EU national co-ordination', Journal of European Public Policy, Volume 18 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-May
A new book examined law-making procedures and participation in European Union governance. It called for the extension of participation rights in EU law, to offer better protection to those affected by European regulation.
Source: Joana Mendes, Participation in EU Rule-Making: A rights-based approach, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-May
A briefing paper examined plans to reform the proceedings of the European Court of Human Rights.
Source: Vaughne Miller, The European Convention on Human Rights and the Court of Human Rights: Issues and Reforms, Standard Note SN/IA/5936, House of Commons Library
Links: Briefing paper
Date: 2011-Apr
A briefing paper examined the coalition government's plan to change the way in which European Union law was transposed into national law in order to avoid 'gold-plating' and minimize the regulatory 'burdens'.
Source: Vaughne Miller, EU Legislation: Government Action on Gold-Plating , Standard Note SN/IA/5943, House of Commons Library
Links: Briefing paper
Date: 2011-Apr
A think-tank report said that a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that convicted prisoners had the right to vote had put it 'at loggerheads' with the United Kingdom parliament and, hence, the will of the British people. It called for urgent reform of human rights legislation to keep European judges from deciding British law.
Source: Dominic Raab, Strasbourg in the Dock: Prisoner voting, human rights & the case for democracy, Civitas
Links: Civitas press release
Date: 2011-Apr
A paper highlighted the benefits of the social 'open method of co-ordination' (OMC) within the European Union as an independent, rights-based strategy aimed at preventing as well as alleviating poverty. A distinct EU strategy for social protection and social inclusion should be retained, rather than being subsumed within the broader 'Europe 2020' strategy.
Source: EAPN Input on the Role of the Social OMC in the Context of Europe 2020, European Anti-Poverty Network
Date: 2011-Apr
The first report was published on the operation of the European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights.
Source: 2010 Report on the Application of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, European Commission
Links: Report | European Commission press release | EP-LGBT Group press release
Date: 2011-Mar
An article examined the way in which welfare spending cuts in European countries were distributed between social groups. There was a need to better understand the role of key advisers in order to explain welfare state policy: recommendations made by politically appointed advisers differed systematically from those made by advisers who were not appointed politically.
Source: Carl Dahlstrom, 'Who takes the hit? Ministerial advisers and the distribution of welfare state cuts', Journal of European Public Policy, Volume 18 Issue 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Mar
The European Union Bill was given a third reading. The Bill was designed to ensure that a referendum would have to be held on any proposed European Union treaty or treaty change that would transfer powers from the United Kingdom to the EU.
Source: European Union Bill, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, TSO | Debate 10 March 2011, columns 779-876, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard
Date: 2011-Mar
A report by a committee of peers said that many of the referendum 'locks' proposed in the European Union Bill were unlikely ever to be used, either as a matter of policy or by reason of practical difficulty.
Source: European Union Bill, 13th Report (Session 2010-11), HL 121, House of Lords Constitution Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report
Notes: The European Union Bill was designed to ensure that a referendum would have to be held on any proposed EU treaty or treaty change that would transfer powers from the United Kingdom to the EU.
Date: 2011-Mar
A new book examined New Labour's efforts (1997-2010) to build a 'pro-European consensus' in the United Kingdom.
Source: Oliver Daddow, New Labour and the European Union: Blair and Brown's logic of history, Manchester University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Mar
An article examined the impact of devolution on European Union policy-making. The relationship between devolution and institutionalized regional involvement was positive overall, but non-linear.
Source: Michael Tatham, 'Devolution and EU policy-shaping: bridging the gap between multi-level governance and liberal intergovernmentalism', European Political Science Review, Volume 3 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Mar
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on plans to require a referendum on any proposed European Union treaty or treaty change that would transfer powers from the United Kingdom.
Source: The EU Bill: Restrictions on Treaties and Decisions relating to the EU – Government Response to the Committee's Fifteenth Report, Second Special Report (Session 2010-11), HC 852, House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee, TSO
Links: Response
Notes: MPs report (January 2011)
Date: 2011-Mar
A paper examined the determinants of trust in national and European institutions over the previous decade – with particular focus on the global financial crisis 2007-2009. It concluded that citizens' declining trust in national governments was related to an increase in unemployment. Similarly, trust in European Union institutions was strongly associated with economic growth.
Source: Felix Roth, Felicitas Nowak-Lehmann, and Thomas Otter, Has the Financial Crisis Shattered Citizens' Trust in National and European Governmental Institutions?, Working Document 34, Centre for European Policy Studies (Brussels)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Feb
A report examined the role of national parliaments in the European system of governance. There was confusion over how many of the new 'post-Lisbon' prerogatives belonged to individual national chambers, and how many required a collective response: until the latter was organized effectively, national parliaments would remain 'paper tigers' in the European Union decision-making process.
Source: Piotr Maciej Kaczynski, Paper Tigers or Sleeping Beauties? National parliaments in the post-Lisbon European political system, Centre for European Policy Studies (Brussels)
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Feb
A paper examined lobbying coalitions as the major determinants of interest group influence on policy formulation in the European Union.
Source: Heike Kluver, Lobbying in Coalitions: Interest group influence on European Union policy-making, Working Papers in Politics 2011-04, Nuffield College (University of Oxford)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Feb
A report examined national organizations in the member countries of the European Union that were referred to collectively as 'economic and social councils or similar institutions'. It noted that the United Kingdom was one of six member states where there was no similar institution: the continental concept of social partnership was 'still not completely comprehensible to the British'.
Source: EU National Economic and Social Councils and Similar Institutions, European Economic and Social Committee (European Union)
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Feb
The European Union adopted a regulation laying down new rules on how member states controlled the European Commission's exercise of its implementing powers. The regulation replaced a European Council decision of 1999 on the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (the 'Comitology decision') as far as consultation, management, and regulatory procedures were concerned. The regulation established an advisory procedure and an examination procedure. The regulation also gave the European Parliament and the Council a right of scrutiny, allowing either institution to tell the Commission that a proposed implementing act exceeded the Commission's powers. The regulation would enter into force on 1 March 2011.
Source: Press release 14 February 2011, European Union
Links: European Union press release | Regulation
Date: 2011-Feb
A new book examined a 'new style of decision making' within the European Union that was heavily dependent on non-hierarchical and mutually interdependent relationships – along with a novel problem-solving style aimed at building consensus. It explored the roots, execution, and applications of the new forms of governance and evaluated their success. It also examined the possible structural consequences of the application of these modes at European and national levels, and their implications for democratic accountability.
Source: Adrienne Heritier and Martin Rhodes (eds.), New Modes of Governance in Europe: Governing in the shadow of hierarchy, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Feb
The European Union adopted a regulation making it possible for citizens to call for legislative proposals on a specific issue. The 'European citizens' initiative' would enable citizens to ask the Commission to bring forward legislative proposals if the supporters of an initiative numbered at least 1 million and came from a significant number of member states.
Source: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Citizens' Initiative, European Union
Links: Regulation | Addendum | European Union press release
Date: 2011-Feb
A report examined barriers to political participation facing people in Europe who had mental health problems and/or intellectual disabilities.
Source: The Right to Political Participation of Persons with Mental Health Problems and Persons with Intellectual Disabilities, European Agency for Fundamental Rights
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Jan
A paper presented the findings from two large-scale research projects on (non-)compliance with European Union law in the fields of social policy, working time, and equal treatment policies. There were serious compliance problems almost everywhere in the European Union – particularly when enforcement and application of standards was required, and not only formal transposition into domestic law.
Source: Gerda Falkner, Compliance with EU Social Policies in Old and New Member States: Different worlds, different remedies, Working Paper 06/2010, Institute for European Integration Research (Vienna)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jan
A report examined the merits and problems of the open method of co-ordination in the European Union, and presented specific proposals on how it could be developed – particularly in view of the Europe 2020 strategy.
Source: Susana Borras and Claudio Radaelli, Recalibrating the Open Method of Coordination: Towards diverse and more effective usages, Report 7, Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies
Notes: The open method of coordination (OMC) is an intergovernmental means of governance in the European Union, based on the voluntary co-operation of member states rather than the application of legislative measures.
Date: 2011-Jan
A paper said that the extent to which national administrations transposed European Union directives in a timely fashion might be related to how transposition was co-ordinated inside national ministries. Ministries with strong internal oversight tended to be better at timely transposition, while ministries with no or weak oversight performed worse.
Source: Radoslaw Zubek and Katarina Staronova, Ministerial Transposition of EU Directives: Can oversight improve performance?, Working Paper 09/2010, Institute for European Integration Research (Vienna)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jan
A report by a committee of MPs said that it was 'in reality unlikely' that most of the Treaty provisions that would attract a referendum under the European Union Bill would ever successfully be invoked. The possibility for successful judicial review of a ministerial decision as to whether a transfer of power under the terms of the Bill was significant would also, in practice, be limited.
Source: The EU Bill: Restrictions on Treaties and Decisions Relating to the EU, Fifteenth Report (Session 2010-11), HC 682, House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee, TSO
Links: Report
Notes: The European Union Bill was designed to strengthen United Kingdom procedures for agreeing to, or ratifying, certain EU decisions and treaty changes: it provided for a UK referendum on any proposed EU treaty or treaty change that would transfer powers from the UK to the EU.
Date: 2011-Jan
A new book examined the emerging governance of social inclusion in the European Union and the use of the open method of co-ordination as a mechanism of 'Europeanization' of domestic social policy.
Source: Kenneth Armstrong, Governing Social Inclusion: Europeanization through policy coordination, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Notes: The open method of co-ordination (OMC) is an intergovernmental means of governance in the European Union, based on the voluntary co-operation of member states rather than the application of legislative measures.
Date: 2011-Jan
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on the European Union Bill. It said that the Bill was (in part) designed to avert the possibility that the United Kingdom Courts might in future be attracted to the argument that European Union law had an autonomous, entrenched status in UK law.
Source: The EU Bill and Parliamentary Sovereignty: Government Response to the Committee's Tenth Report, First Special Report (Session 2010-11), HC 723, House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee, TSO
Links: Response
Notes: MPs report
Date: 2011-Jan
