An article examined developments in European Union social policy 'discourse', and their potential determinants. It divided the discourse into three periods: the first associated with the 'Lisbon Strategy', the second with the reforms that followed (2005–2009), and the third with the Europe 2020 strategy for inclusive growth. The most recent period had witnessed a radical marginalization and 'tokenization' of social policy as compared with macroeconomic and financial concerns. At the same time, EU institutions had increasingly encroached upon national jurisdiction over social policy. These changes seemed to be explained by reshuffling among important actors.
Source: Jean-Claude Barbier, 'Tracing the fate of EU "social policy": changes in political discourse from the "Lisbon Strategy" to "Europe 2020"', International Labour Review, Volume 151 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Dec
A paper examined the relationship between economic and political conditions and support for democracy in developed countries. Support for democracy tended to be highest in countries with a high level of economic development: but income inequality mattered much more. Citizens from countries with relatively low levels of income inequality tended to be more likely than others to support democracy. Household income was positively related to support for democracy in most countries: but the effect was strongest if economic development was high and income inequality was low.
Source: Robert Andersen, Support for Democracy in Cross-National Perspective: The detrimental effect of economic inequality, Discussion Paper 47, GINI Project (European Commission)
Links: Paper
See also: Robert Andersen, 'Support for democracy in cross-national perspective: the detrimental effect of economic inequality', Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, Volume 30 Issue 4
Date: 2012-Nov
An article examined how political science theories could provide useful insights into the way European Union policy evaluation was carried out, by reference to cohesion policy programmes. Contrary to the 'mixed methods rhetoric' of the European Commission, positivism remained the dominant approach when evaluating the structural funds.
Source: Julian Hoerner and Paul Stephenson, 'Theoretical perspectives on approaches to policy evaluation in the EU: the case of cohesion policy', Public Administration, Volume 90 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Sep
A study examined European Union citizens right to be informed and to enjoy their right to access information.
Source: Alexander Scheuer, Cristina Bachmeier, Leyla Rock, and Birgit Schmeyer, The Citizens' Right to Information: Law and policy in the EU and its member states, European Parliament
Links: Report part 1 | Report part 2 | Report part 3
Date: 2012-Aug
A report examined how far European Union member states were willing or able to use social dialogue as a tool to mitigate the effects of the global economic crisis. It analyzed where it was used and how effective it was; and also identified the factors that could make it more or less likely that the social partners would be involved in efforts to respond to the crisis.
Source: Rachel Guyet, David Tarren, and Claude-Emmanuel Triomphe, Social Dialogue in Times of Global Economic Crisis, European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
Date: 2012-Jul
An article examined the 'governance architecture' of the Europe 2020 agenda, and in particular its social dimension. Insofar as Europe 2020 had a social dimension it was located within a suite of thematic 'flagship initiatives', as well as within a policy co-ordination framework that built on the Lisbon agenda's governance architecture. The role to be played by the 'open method of co-ordination' as a 'new' form of social governance remained unclear. Indeed, the risk was that political energy would be concentrated on policy co-ordination as a means of strengthening economic governance rather than as a vehicle for articulating a progressive social policy vision.
Source: Kenneth Armstrong, 'EU social policy and the governance architecture of Europe 2020', Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, Volume 18 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Jul
A book chapter examined the history of the open method of co-ordination in the social policy field in Europe, and identified its value as a benchmarking tool.
Source: Bart Vanhercke and Peter Lelie, 'Benchmarking social Europe a decade on: demystifying the OMC s learning tools', in Alan Fenna and Felix Knuepling (eds), Benchmarking in Federal Systems: Australian and international experiences, Productivity Commission (Melbourne)
Links: Chapter
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: 2012-Jul
An article examined the involvement of sub-national authorities and national parliaments in policy co-ordination in the area of welfare policy in the European Union. The involvement of sub-national authorities was uneven, depending on their constitutional structures, as federal and regionalized states in general had more elaborate mechanisms: but some centralized states had sophisticated systems too, which pointed to governance practices also playing a role. Throughout the EU, national parliaments remained largely decoupled from the open method of co-ordination. In the case of both sub-national authorities and parliaments, their input was greater in the preparatory phase than in the ex-post evaluation, which had implications for democratic policy-making.
Source: Anna Michalski, 'Social welfare and levels of democratic government in the EU', Journal of European Economic Integration, Volume 34 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-May
A new book examined the future of European law and policy in the light of the Lisbon Treaty. The Treaty was a milestone in the history of European integration: but its shortcomings and open questions made a further major treaty inevitable.
Source: Martin Trybus and Luca Rubini (eds.), The Treaty of Lisbon and the Future of European Law and Policy, Edward Elgar Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
A new book examined European Union constitutional law in relation to economic and social integration, contrasting 'liberal' and 'socially embedded' constitutionalism. It proposed a 'constitution of social governance', under which the European Court of Justice and EU institutions would encourage steps towards social integration at EU level to be taken by transnational societal actors.
Source: Dagmar Schiek, Economic and Social Integration: The Challenge for EU Constitutional Law, Edward Elgar Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-May
A think-tank report said that the European Court of Human Rights intervened too often in the decisions of national courts, giving an 'artificially wide' application to the European Convention on Human Rights. A new protocol should be added to the Convention to put an end to judicial activism .
Source: Jonathan Fisher, Rescuing Human Rights, Henry Jackson Society
Links: Report
Date: 2012-Mar
A new book examined the way in which think-tanks made a difference to social policy and politics in the United Kingdom and Germany.
Source: Hartwig Pautz, Think-Tanks, Social Democracy and Social Policy, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Mar
A new book provided a systematic commentary on case law related to the European Convention of Human Rights.
Source: Javier Garc a Roca and Pablo Santolaya (eds.), Europe of Rights: A compendium on the European Convention of Human Rights, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Mar
A new book examined the European Union s 'early warning system' for subsidiarity (introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon), and how national parliaments had responded to EU legislative proposals under the system.
Source: Philipp Kiiver, The Early Warning System for the Principle of Subsidiarity: Constitutional theory and empirical reality, Routledge
Links: Summary
Notes: The early warning mechanism allows national parliaments to object to European Commission proposals within 8 weeks of publication on the grounds that they breach the principle of subsidiarity – that is, that a given objective could be achieved better at a lower level.
Date: 2012-Feb
A new book examined data protection issues in Europe, including the challenges posed by rapid social and technological change.
Source: Serge Gutwirth, Ronald Leenes, Paul De Hert, and Yves Poullet (eds.), European Data Protection: In Good Health?, Springer
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Feb
A new book examined the key themes and challenges that agency governance in the European Union posed to effective and legitimate policy-making.
Source: Berthold Rittberger and Arndt Wonka (eds.), Agency Governance in the EU, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Feb
A new book examined the role that the people played in defining and developing human rights in Europe, and whether rendering the original process of defining human rights more democratic at the national and international level would improve the degree of protection they afforded.
Source: Definition and Development of Human Rights and Popular Sovereignty in Europe, Council of Europe
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Feb
An article examined the policy agenda of the European Council between 1975 and 2010, and tested hypotheses on agenda change and diversity over time. The increasing complexity of the institution pushed its members to produce a more diverse agenda: but capacity limits and the need to be responsive to incoming information led to concentration at specific time-points.
Source: Petya Alexandrov, Marcello Carammi, and Arco Timmermans, 'Policy punctuations and issue diversity on the European Council agenda', Policy Studies, Volume 40 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2012-Feb
A think-tank report examined how the exercise of the power of legislative initiative by the European Commission had evolved over the years, and whether the role of the European Commission as initiator of legislative proposals really had been eroded.
Source: Paolo Ponzano, Costanza Hermanin, and Daniela Corona, The Power of Initiative of the European Commission: A progressive erosion?, Notre Europe
Date: 2012-Feb
A new book examined the perception that the European Court of Justice often failed to leave sufficient autonomy to European Union member states in developing their own legal and policy choices in areas where European and national competences overlapped.
Source: Hans-Wolfgang Micklitz and Bruno De Witte (eds.), The European Court of Justice and the Autonomy of the Member States, Intersentia
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Feb
A new book examined developments in the field of social impact assessment (SIA). A 'dramatic shift' was required in the way that socio-economic studies and community participation were undertaken: SIA needed to be the process of managing the social aspects of development, based on a holistic and integrated approach. Greater attention needed to be given to ensuring that the goals of development were attained and enhanced.
Source: Frank Vanclay and Ana Maria Esteves (eds.), New Directions in Social Impact Assessment: Conceptual and methodological advances, Edward Elgar Publishing
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jan
A paper examined the quality of impact assessments by the European Commission and the United Kingdom government between 2005 and 2010. Impact assessment was not merely a perfunctory activity: quality had improved steadily over the years, arguably as a result of learning and regulatory oversight.
Source: Oliver Fritsch, Claudio Radaelli, Lorna Schrefler, and Andrea Renda, Regulatory Quality in the European Commission and the UK: Old questions and new findings, Working Paper 362, Centre for European Policy Studies (Brussels)
Links: Paper
Date: 2012-Jan
A new book examined the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty since it came into effect in 2009, and its impact on European Union law and policy.
Source: Andrea Biondi, Piet Eeckhout, and Stefanie Ripley (eds.), EU Law After Lisbon, Oxford University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2012-Jan
