Why is Britain hesitating about membership of EMU and what are the main issues?
International Relations: Why is Britain hesitating about membership of EMU and what are the main issues? On Friday January 1st 1999, "European dreamers finally saw their cherished hope become reality at midnight when 11 countries signed away their sovereignty over monetary policy and the single currency was born".1 However, with the mass jubilation that followed the commencement of the final stage of Economic and Monetary Union within the European Union, there were still some sour notes amid the rhetoric. One included the argument from France that Wim Duisenberg (president of the European Central Bank) should step down in favour of a French president; the other major argument was the claim by Jacques Santer, European Commission president at the time, that Britain's membership of the single currency was inevitable. So why, 4 years later, has this "inevitability" not come into fruition? In order to answer such a question, one must derive first the meaning of EMU. Economic and Monetary Union has been a European ideal for many years. The end of the Second World War heralded the start of a new European surge towards integration. On the one hand, France, left in ruins by occupation from Germany, held a hereditary fear of any further European conflict. As the dust settled, Charles de Gaul emerged as the leader of the Provisional Government of the French Republic. De Gaul
The Foreign Policy of Great Britain in relationship to the European Union.
The Foreign Policy of Great Britain in relationship to the European Union. B.A. (Hons) European Studies 2nd Year ES 202 - The Foreign Policies of the Main EU States : Assignment Introduction The aim of this paper is to analyze the British policy vis-à-vis the European Union; first of all by looking at how the British Government itself looks at its country's participation in this community and related aspects like monetary union and the organization of a common defense. Also this paper will look at Britain's position in regards to the Union's present major internal debates, namely enlargement to the Central-East of Europe and to the Mediterranean and the necessary institutional reforms. Historical Background Before looking at the present position it is important to keep in mind the historical background. The British Government today, led by Tony Blair's Labour Party explains to the British citizens that their country without Europe will be weak. Yet the same party, fifty-five years ago was completely opposed to British participation. The first elections after World War II were, perhaps surprisingly, not won by the pro-Europeanist and British leader during the War, Winston Churchill, but by the Labour Party led by Clement Attlee, which obtained a 146-seat majority in a seat of 640 deputies. There were several reasons that alienated the British Government away from the
The Euro.
THE EURO What is the euro? It is the official name of the new currency which will be used by the participants in EMU. The euro is also known as the single currency or the single European currency. The introduction of the euro is just one aspect of EMU, although it will be the most visible sign. While legislation will probably refer to the plural of euro as euro, common parlance will probably refer to euros. What will the sub-unit of the euro be called? The sub-unit of the euro will be the cent. Each euro will have 100 cent. Although common usage may refer to cents or centimes as the plural of cent, the technically correct plural is cent, not cents nor centimes. If the £ sign represents sterling, what sign will be used for the euro? European Commission Regulations specify that the euro is officially represented by the symbol . Hence, a reference to 100 euro can also be written as 100. In addition, every currency is provided with a three letter code by a body called the International Standards Organisation. For example, the three letter code for sterling is GBP. The three letter code for the euro is EUR. Hence, 100 euro will often be written in financial circles as EUR100. Many financial institutions will also write 100 euro as euro100, as their computer systems are more easily able to cope with this. Many people will not be able to use the
The Management of Global Crisis.
The Management of Global Crisis The Terrorism Case Within the EU Policies From the beginning the paper has to take into account some methodological limitations, due to the fact that the research paper will examine the terrorism case only from the perspective of the European liberal democracy. By doing so, it assumes that the analise of a limited framework it is enough for proving the international character of terrorist activity.In this way the paper shows that the European terrorism case is to some extent particular, but in the same time it has a strong common ground with worldwide terrorism. For the last three decades, the liberal democracies have been facing a normative dilemma: how should they act consistently against terrorism in such a manner that the result should meet at least two conditions- efficiency and democratic acceptable? It seems that between the compromising politics of democracies and the violent actions of terrorist, there is a procedural gap, in which the first is in a disadvantaged position. It is the state able to use unconstitutional measures in order to be more efficient, and by doing so loosing democratic accountability? The answer is certainly no. For this reason the liberal state avoid indiscriminate countermeasures against terrorist actions. To a certain extend the problem of the liberal state acting efficient, so necessarily
Common Agriculture Policy in European Union.
Common Agriculture Policy in European Union COMMON AGRUCULTURE POLICY IN EU INTRODUCTION The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is comprised of a set of rules and mechanisms, which regulate the production, trade and processing of agricultural products in the European Union (EU), with attention being focused increasingly on rural development. Among the EU's policies, the CAP is regarded as one of the most important policy areas. Not only because of its share of the EU budget, the vast number of people and the extent of the territory directly affected, but also because of its symbolic significance, and the extent of sovereignty transferred from the national to the European level. The significance of the CAP, nowadays, is also portrayed by the fact that it is directly related to the Single Market and the EMU. The Treaty of Rome defined the general objectives of a common agricultural policy. The principles were set out at the Stresa Conference in July 1958. In 1960, the CAP mechanisms were adopted by the six founding Member States and two years later, in 1962, the CAP came into force. To explore the different aspects of this very significant EU policy, we will start by explaining the very first reasons of the creation of the CAP. Then, we will describe its objectives, its functionment and the way it is financed. We could thus make an assessment of the first consequences of the
In 1957 The Treaty of Rome came into existence it declared a common European market as a European objective with the aim of increasing economic prosperity and contributing to "an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe".
In 1957 The Treaty of Rome came into existence it declared a common European market as a European objective with the aim of increasing economic prosperity and contributing to "an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe". It established the European Economic Community (EEC). The goal of the EEC was to reduce trade barriers, streamline economic policies, coordinate transportation and agriculture policies, remove measures restricting free competition, and promote the mobility of labour and capital among member nations. It was very successful, but just as with the ECSC, it served more of a peacemaking role between the European nations than an economic role. At this time, the monetary exchange rate between countries was controlled by the Bretton Woods system, which connected currencies to the U.S. dollar, allowing for only a one-point fluctuation around designated values. This was referred to as the "pegged rate" and was based partly on the gold backing of the dollar. This system worked well for 20 years, helping to stabilize exchange rates and restore economic growth in the post-war period. By 1960, however, the system began to fail, and exchange-rate agreements became the prevalent topic among European political and economic leaders. By December 1969, Luxembourg's Prime Minister, Pierre Werner, was asked to write an EC (European Community) report covering the need for a
Critically discuss how global economic trend may impact upon the future policies of the European Union. Identify ways in which this may affect leisure and tourism trends within Europe.
CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL ISSUES Critically discuss how global economic trend may impact upon the future policies of the European Union. Identify ways in which this may affect leisure and tourism trends within Europe. Since 1980s, the world is greatly influenced by the globalisation effects. In a global perspective, advanced economies are more likely to favour the liberalisation theory, which seems to be dominating the world's economy. In order to compete with other developed countries, European Union(EU) strive to enlarge and synchronise itself. Over the past decades, the globes have witnessed the continuing evolution of the EU, which has been consolidating its integration process with the reality of the common market, such as the Amsterdam Treaty and the adoption of Economic Monetary Union(EMU). In reality, the EU is becoming the best known and example of regional economic integration so far. Beyond doubt, the above movement also influences the leisure and tourism trends as it is the largest global industry, such as universal McDonaldisation. Basically there are infinite issues relating to the relationships between global economic trend, EU policies and tourism, yet due to the assignment constraints, the following discussion focuses on a few important aspects, which include: single market programme, employment and social policies, common policies and technological
How Member States can derogate from the trading conditions governed by European Community (EC) rules
European Union Law - LLB Law and Institutions of the European Union LL255 "[D]erogation ... a temporary waiver from a regulation or ... directive."1 Introduction This essay will look at how Member States can derogate from the trading conditions governed by European Community (EC) rules, starting with a brief account of those rules. The derogations available under Treaty will then be detailed, followed by derogations developed by Community law. The issue of proportionality is a key element for most, if not all, derogations. I will look at how this issue can affect the judgments arrived at by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). I will conclude by looking at issues that seem to require further attention by all parties involved in issues of derogating from EC trading rules, for instance clarity of terminology. ************************************************** European Community Treaty * Prohibitions A fundamental aspect of the European Union concerns trading conditions between Member States, for which the EC Treaty2 expects the structure to be that of a customs union.3 Article 23(1) (ex Art. 9(1)) states this clearly and lists the actions required to achieve this. Articles 28 & 29 (ex Art. 30 & 34)4 prohibit Member States from imposing quantitative restrictions on imports and exports respectively. By Article 90 (ex Art. 95) the Treaty halts internal taxation of imports
European financial services policy and law.
INTRODUCTION There are certain common underlying themes in European financial services policy and law. These include investor, depositor and policyholder protection, prudential supervision of the phenomenon known as bancassurance or Allfinanz , common rules on prevention of money-laundering and protection of personal data. The role of the State in the provision of financial services, in particular provision for old age and retirement, is also an increasingly important policy and legislative area. For these reasons harmonisation of the laws and policies relating to this area has been on the European agenda for many years. This essay will look at the minimum harmonisation policy of the European Union in the areas of banking, insurance and investment services. In doing so I will look at the European Directives relevant to each of these three sectors and discuss the main elements of the harmonisation policy in each area. I will also look at other directives which are perhaps specific not to any one of the areas mentioned above, but to the area of financial services in general. Before I do so however I will look at the concept of minimum harmonisation and what it means in a European Union context. MINIMUM HARMONISATION Minimum Harmonisation is a relatively recent legislative technique, used by the European Union with Directives being the main means of harmonisation of
Managing Work Team Conflict: Assessment and Preventative Strategies
Managing Work Team Conflict: Assessment and Preventative Strategies Debbi Wagner-Johnson Abstract Conflict cannot be avoided since it is an inevitable aspect of work teams. This paper will discuss the two types of conflict (i.e., affect and task) that the research has identified as the most common, describe the benefits and detriments of conflict, and present the causes of conflict. Strategies will also be presented to prevent and to effectively manage conflict. Moreover, a conflict checklist (i.e., Teams and Conflict Checklist or TACC) will be presented as a tool to help teams identify the perceived presence of conflict. Although conflict is an inevitable aspect of team development, conflict can provide the basis for constructive and beneficial outcomes by identifying and managing conflict effectively. Managing Work Team Conflict: Assessment and Preventative Strategies As long as organizations continue to use work teams, conflict cannot be avoided since it is an inevitable aspect of work teams (Amason, 1996; Amason, Thompson, Hochwarter, & Harrison, 1995; Bens, 1999; Capozzoli, 1995; Desivilya, 1998; Eisenhardt, Kahwajy, & Bourgeois, 1997; Fisher, Rayner, & Belgard, 1995; Jennsen, Van De Vliert, & Veenstra, 1999; Kezsbom, 1992; Rayeski & Bryant, 1994; Sessa, 1996; Townsley, 1997). If conflict is identified and is managed properly, it can actually benefit teams rather
