DOCSLIB.ORG

Fifteen Into One?

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

fifteen into one art 19/11/2002 9:14 am Page 1 EPRU Fifteen into one European Series Fifteen into one? Policy The European Union and its member states Research Unit Series The European Union and the roles of member states is one of the major topics of political debate and academic discourse. The evolution of the political system in Brussels and the developments within the individual member states promise new insights into the European integration process. This book provides a country-by- Fifteen country analysis of how European policy is made and applied in the member states. Its central focus is the involvement of national institutions in European policy-making: governments, parliaments, sub-national governments, the courts and public administrations. Who participates at which stages of the European Union’s policy cycle and how do national institutions and non-state actors interact into one? and fit into the Union’s system? The contributors show how member states have adapted their institutional structures in different ways to European integration, especially since the Maastricht The European Treaty. The editors argue that the extent and intensity of institutional interaction between the EU and its member states have led to a ‘system of institutional fusion’. Wessels, Maurer & Mittag Maurer Wessels, This timely book is the most comprehensive study yet of European policy-making Union and its at the national level and is aimed at scholars of integration studies and comparative politics. Professor Wolfgang Wessels is Jean Monnet Chair of Political Science at the member states University of Cologne and is also Chairman of the Trans European Policy Studies Association (T.E.P.S.A.) Andreas Maurer is Research Associate in Political Sciences at the University of Cologne and at the Trans European Policy Studies Association (T.E.P.S.A.) Jürgen Mittag is Research Associate in Political Sciences at the University of Cologne (eds) ISBN 0 7190 5849 X Edited by Wolfgang Wessels, Andreas Maurer 9 780719 058493 & Jurgen Mittag 2444Prelims 3/12/02 2:00 pm Page i Fifteen into one? 2444Prelims 3/12/02 2:00 pm Page ii European Policy Research Unit Series Series Editors: Simon Bulmer, Peter Humphreys and Mick Moran The European Policy Research Unit Series aims to provide advanced text- books and thematic studies of key public policy issues in Europe. They con- centrate, in particular, on comparing patterns of national policy content, but pay due attention to the European Union dimension. The thematic studies are guided by the character of the policy issue under examination. The European Policy Research Unit (EPRU) was set up in 1989 within the University of Manchester’s Department of Government to promote research on European politics and public policy. The series is part of EPRU’s effort to facilitate intellectual exchange and substantive debate on the key policy issues confronting the European states and the European Union. Titles in the series also include: The governance of the Single European Market Kenneth Armstrong and Simon Bulmer The politics of health in Europe Richard Freeman Immigration and European integration Andrew Geddes Mass media and media policy in Western Europe Peter Humphreys The regions and the new Europe Martin Rhodes (ed.) The rules of integration Gerald Schneider and Mark Aspinwall Political economy of financial integration in Europe Jonathan Story and Ingo Walter Extending European cooperation Alasdair R. Young Regulatory politics in the enlarging European Union Alasdair Young and Helen Wallace 2444Prelims 3/12/02 2:00 pm Page iii Fifteen into one? The European Union and its member states Edited by Wolfgang Wessels, Andreas Maurer and Jürgen Mittag Manchester University Press Manchester and New York distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave 2444Prelims 3/12/02 2:00 pm Page iv Copyright © Manchester University Press 2003 While copyright in the volume as a whole is vested in Manchester University Press, copyright in individual chapters belongs to their respective authors. This electronic version has been made freely available under a Creative Commons (CC-BY-NC- ND) licence, which permits non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction provided the author(s) and Manchester University Press are fully cited and no modifications or adaptations are made. Details of the licence can be viewed at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ Published by Manchester University Press Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9NR, UK and Room 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data applied for ISBN 0 7190 5849 X paperback First published 2003 1009080706050403 10987654321 Typeset in Sabon by Action Publishing Technology Ltd, Gloucester Printed in Great Britain by Bookcraft (Bath) Ltd, Midsomer Norton 2444Prelims 3/12/02 2:00 pm Page v Contents List of figures page vii List of tables ix Notes on contributors xi Preface and major findings: the anatomy, the analysis and the assessment of the ‘beast’ xiii List of abbreviations and acronyms xviii I Introduction 1 1 The European Union and Member States: analysing two arenas over time Wolfgang Wessels, Andreas Maurer and Jürgen Mittag 3 2 The European Union matters: structuring self-made offers and demands Andreas Maurer and Wolfgang Wessels 29 II Member States and the European Union 67 3 Belgium: Europeanisation and Belgian federalism Christian Franck, Hervé Leclercq and Claire Vandevievere 69 4 Denmark: in pursuit of influence and legitimacy Finn Laursen 92 5 Germany: fragmented structures in a complex system Andreas Maurer 115 6 Finland: smooth adaptation to European values and institutions Teija Tiilikainen 150 7 Greece: a never-ending story of mutual attraction and estrangement Nikos Frangakis and Antonios D. Papayannides 166 8 Spain: the emergence of a new major actor in the European arena Felipe Basabe Lloréns 184 2444Prelims 3/12/02 2:00 pm Page vi vi Contents 9 France: the European transformation of the French model Andrea Szukala 216 10 Ireland: modernisation via Europeanisation Brigid Laffan 248 11 Italy: progress behind complexity Flaminia Gallo and Birgit Hanny 271 12 Luxembourg: flexible and pragmatic adaptation Danielle Bossaert 298 13 The Netherlands: a former founding father in search of control Ben J.S. Hoetjes 315 14 Austria: domestic change through European integration Otmar Höll, Johannes Pollack and Sonja Puntscher-Riekmann 337 15 Portugal: one way to Europeanisation Maria João Seabra 355 16 Sweden: another awkward partner? Karl Magnus Johansson 369 17 The United Kingdom: between political controversy and administrative efficiency Kenneth A. Armstrong and Simon Bulmer 388 III Conclusion 411 18 The ‘One’ and the ‘Fifteen’? The Member States between procedural adaptation and structural revolution Jürgen Mittag and Wolfgang Wessels 413 Select bibliography 455 Index 459 2444Prelims 3/12/02 2:00 pm Page vii List of figures 1.1 Evolution of the European Union’s legislation in force 1983–98 page 6 2.1 Decision-making modes in the Council of Ministers, 1952–2001 (EC Treaty area), absolute numbers 35 2.2 Decision-making modes in the Council of Ministers, 1952–2001 (EC Treaty area), per cent 35 2.3 Decision-making procedures in the European Parliament/ Council, 1958–2001, absolute numbers 37 2.4 Decision-making procedures in the European Parliament/ Council, 1958–2001, per cent 37 2.5 Three steps towards communitarisation 38 2.6 The EC/EU policy-cycle, November 2001 40 2.7 Legal output of Council and Commission, per year, 1952–2000 44 2.8 European legislation in force, 1983–98 47 2.9 Productivity of the Council of Ministers, 1966–2000: legal acts per year against meetings per year 49 2.10 Parliamentary involvement in EC legislation, 1987–98: real use of procedural empowerments 50 2.11 Co-decision procedure, 1991–2000: time periods between Commission proposal and final adoption of the legal act, December 2000 52 3.1 The national level of European decision-making – Belgium 74 4.1 The national level of European decision-making – Denmark 97 5.1 The national level of European decision-making – Germany 118 6.1 The national level of European decision-making – Finland 154 7.1 The national level of European decision-making – Greece 170 8.1 The national level of European decision-making – Spain 189 9.1 The national level of European decision-making – France 233 10.1 The national level of European decision-making – Ireland 254 11.1 The national level of European decision-making – Italy 275 2444Prelims 3/12/02 2:00 pm Page viii viii List of figures 12.1 The national level of European decision-making – Luxembourg 302 13.1 The national level of European decision-making – The Netherlands 321 14.1 The national level of European decision-making – Austria 341 15.1 The national level of European decision-making – Portugal 359 16.1 The national level of European decision-making – Sweden 373 17.1 The national level of European decision-making – United Kingdom 393 18.1 Models of Member States’ adaptation 414 18.2 Models of ‘policy co-ordination’ 426 18.3 Models of adaptation strategies 442 2444Prelims 3/12/02 2:00 pm Page ix List of tables 2.1 Legal output per year of Commission, Council and Parliament, 1952–98, according to policy areas page 46 2.2 ‘Real’ use of QMV, 1985–99 47 3.1 Cases that are being or have been brought before the ECJ, 1993–98 85 4.1 Parliamentary representation of
Recommended publications
  • Individual V. State: Practice on Complaints with the United Nations Treaty Bodies with Regards to the Republic of Belarus

    Individual V. State: Practice on Complaints with the United Nations Treaty Bodies with Regards to the Republic of Belarus

    Individual v. State: Practice on complaints with the United Nations treaty bodies with regards to the Republic of Belarus Volume I Collection of articles and documents The present collection of articles and documents is published within the framework of “International Law in Advocacy” program by Human Rights House Network with support from the Human Rights House in Vilnius and Civil Rights Defenders (Sweden) 2012 UDC 341.231.14 +342.7 (476) BBK 67.412.1 +67.400.7 (4Bel) I60 Edited by Sergei Golubok Candidate of Law, Attorney of the St. Petersburg Bar Association, member of the editorial board of the scientific journal “International justice” I60 “Individual v. State: Practice on complaints with the United Nations treaty bodies with regards to the Republic of Belarus”. – Vilnius, 2012. – 206 pages. ISBN 978-609-95300-1-7. The present collection of articles “Individual v. State: Practice on complaints with the United Nations treaty bodies with regards to the Republic of Belarus” is the first part of the two-volume book, that is the fourth publication in the series about international law and national legal system of the republic of Belarus, implemented by experts and alumni of the Human Rights Houses Network‘s program “International Law in Advocacy” since 2007. The first volume of this publication contains original writings about the contents and practical aspects of international human rights law concepts directly related to the Institute of individual communications, and about the role of an individual in the imple- mentation of international legal obligations of the state. The second volume, expected to be published in 2013, will include original analyti- cal works on the admissibility of individual considerations and the Republic of Belarus’ compliance with the decisions (views) by treaty bodies.
  • Century 100 Years of Type in Design

    Century 100 Years of Type in Design

    Bauhaus Linotype Charlotte News 702 Bookman Gilgamesh Revival 555 Latin Extra Bodoni Busorama Americana Heavy Zapfino Four Bold Italic Bold Book Italic Condensed Twelve Extra Bold Plain Plain News 701 News 706 Swiss 721 Newspaper Pi Bodoni Humana Revue Libra Century 751 Boberia Arriba Italic Bold Black No.2 Bold Italic Sans No. 2 Bold Semibold Geometric Charlotte Humanist Modern Century Golden Ribbon 131 Kallos Claude Sans Latin 725 Aurora 212 Sans Bold 531 Ultra No. 20 Expanded Cockerel Bold Italic Italic Black Italic Univers 45 Swiss 721 Tannarin Spirit Helvetica Futura Black Robotik Weidemann Tannarin Life Italic Bailey Sans Oblique Heavy Italic SC Bold Olbique Univers Black Swiss 721 Symbol Swiss 924 Charlotte DIN Next Pro Romana Tiffany Flemish Edwardian Balloon Extended Bold Monospaced Book Italic Condensed Script Script Light Plain Medium News 701 Swiss 721 Binary Symbol Charlotte Sans Green Plain Romic Isbell Figural Lapidary 333 Bank Gothic Bold Medium Proportional Book Plain Light Plain Book Bauhaus Freeform 721 Charlotte Sans Tropica Script Cheltenham Humana Sans Script 12 Pitch Century 731 Fenice Empire Baskerville Bold Bold Medium Plain Bold Bold Italic Bold No.2 Bauhaus Charlotte Sans Swiss 721 Typados Claude Sans Humanist 531 Seagull Courier 10 Lucia Humana Sans Bauer Bodoni Demi Bold Black Bold Italic Pitch Light Lydian Claude Sans Italian Universal Figural Bold Hadriano Shotgun Crillee Italic Pioneer Fry’s Bell Centennial Garamond Math 1 Baskerville Bauhaus Demian Zapf Modern 735 Humanist 970 Impuls Skylark Davida Mister
  • Design One Project Three Introduced October 21. Due November 11

    Design One Project Three Introduced October 21. Due November 11

    Design One Project Three Introduced October 21. Due November 11. Typeface Broadside/Poster Broadsides have been an aspect of typography and printing since the earliest types. Printers and Typographers would print a catalogue of their available fonts on one large sheet of paper. The introduction of a new typeface would also warrant the issue of a broadside. Printers and Typographers continue to publish broadsides, posters and periodicals to advertise available faces. The Adobe website that you use for research is a good example of this purpose. Advertising often interprets the type creatively and uses the typeface in various contexts to demonstrate its usefulness. Type designs reflect their time period and the interests and experiences of the type designer. Type may be planned to have a specific “look” and “feel” by the designer or subjective meaning may be attributed to the typeface because of the manner in which it reflects its time, the way it is used, or the evolving fashion of design. For this third project, you will create two posters about a specific typeface. One poster will deal with the typeface alone, cataloguing the face and providing information about the type designer. The second poster will present a visual analogy of the typeface, that combines both type and image, to broaden the viewer’s knowledge of the type. Process 1. Research the history and visual characteristics of a chosen typeface. Choose a typeface from the list provided. -Write a minimum150 word description of the typeface that focuses on two themes: A. The historical background of the typeface and a very brief biography of the typeface designer.
  • …Et D'ailleurs

    …Et D'ailleurs

    Billets d’Afrique… …et d’ailleurs Informations et avis de recherche sur les avatars des relations franco-africaines Dans ce numéro Sommaire ËP. 2 LES BRÈVES DE LA FRANÇAFRIQUE - TOGO Le chiffon rouge du terrorisme islamiste – La drogue, plus que l’islamisme – Compaoré, médiateur multicarte – Copenhague, salon du nu- Nous voici «au cléaire pour Sarko – Gabon, épilogue électoral attendu – Faux procès pour bord du marigot» ! faux dinars – Manque de coopération ËP. 3 EDITORIAL Survie a 25 ans ! À trois mois de la ËP. 4 DOSSIER TOGO Nous voici au bord du marigot ! présidentielle prévue À trois mois de la présidentielle, analyse des le 28 février 2010, analyse enjeux et des rapports de force de la scène des enjeux et des rapports politique togolaise alors que Faure Gnassing- bé fait des œillades appuyées à la France. de force de la scène politique togolaise alors ËP. 5 TÉMOIGNAGE André Afanou : “Le Cacit, contre l’impunité” Le Col- que Faure Gnassingbé fait lectif des associations contre l’impunité au des œillades appuyées à la togo (Cacit) est un réseau d’associations de la société civile togolaise œuvrant dans France. (page 4) la lutte contre l’impunité. Il s’est illustré par l’assistance juridique et judiciaire aux victimes des violences politiques en 2005. NOTRE SUPPLÉMENT DU MOIS DE DÉCEMBRE Survie, depuis un quart de siècle Les gouvernements passent, les promesses ARCHAL M fusent, la françafrique demeure.... ÉBASTIEN S 1984 - 2009 Rétrospectives sur vingt-cinq , de combats. 8 pages de supplément ! RAPHISME G ËP. 7 FRANCE L’or de Bongo L’information est passé inaperçue début novembre : la condamnation à quatre ans de prison ferme et à 50 000 euros Survie, 25 ans d’amende d’un pied nickelé de la françafri- Le 24 juin 1981, sur l’initiative du Parti radical italien, on diffusait dans les plus que, Olivier Bazin.
  • The Nordic Countries and the European Security and Defence Policy

    The Nordic Countries and the European Security and Defence Policy

    bailes_hb.qxd 21/3/06 2:14 pm Page 1 Alyson J. K. Bailes (United Kingdom) is A special feature of Europe’s Nordic region the Director of SIPRI. She has served in the is that only one of its states has joined both British Diplomatic Service, most recently as the European Union and NATO. Nordic British Ambassador to Finland. She spent countries also share a certain distrust of several periods on detachment outside the B Recent and forthcoming SIPRI books from Oxford University Press A approaches to security that rely too much service, including two academic sabbaticals, A N on force or that may disrupt the logic and I a two-year period with the British Ministry of D SIPRI Yearbook 2005: L liberties of civil society. Impacting on this Defence, and assignments to the European E Armaments, Disarmament and International Security S environment, the EU’s decision in 1999 to S Union and the Western European Union. U THE NORDIC develop its own military capacities for crisis , She has published extensively in international N Budgeting for the Military Sector in Africa: H management—taken together with other journals on politico-military affairs, European D The Processes and Mechanisms of Control E integration and Central European affairs as E ongoing shifts in Western security agendas Edited by Wuyi Omitoogun and Eboe Hutchful R L and in USA–Europe relations—has created well as on Chinese foreign policy. Her most O I COUNTRIES AND U complex challenges for Nordic policy recent SIPRI publication is The European Europe and Iran: Perspectives on Non-proliferation L S Security Strategy: An Evolutionary History, Edited by Shannon N.
  • Spotlight Europe # 2009/08 – September 2009 Europe Begins at Home

    Spotlight Europe # 2009/08 – September 2009 Europe Begins at Home

    spotlight europe # 2009/08 – September 2009 Europe begins at home Joachim Fritz-Vannahme Bertelsmann Stiftung, [email protected] The European policy of the forthcoming German government is bound to change, partly as a result of the new institutional framework. On the one hand there is the ruling of the German Constitutional Court. And on the other hand it will become necessary to play by the EU’s new rules of the game. Can Germany continue to support the trend to more European in- tegration and, more importantly, will it have a desire to do so? Whoever becomes the next Chancellor of I Germany will have to get used to new rules of the game in the area of European policy. They have been determined in two The Ruling in Karlsruhe – different ways. On the one hand the ruling Criticism and Praise of the German Constitutional Court on the Treaty of Lisbon redistributes the tasks The Karlsruhe ruling on 30 June 2009 led assigned to various German institutions. to fierce disputes in Germany and else- # 2009/08 And on the other hand the Treaty itself–if, where among those who sought to that is, the Irish give their assent to it on elucidate its meaning. Writing in the 02 October, for otherwise there will be a weekly newspaper “Die Zeit,” former need for crisis management for years to foreign minister Joschka Fischer criticized come–will change the distribution of the fact that it placed “national power in Brussels, partly on account of the constraints” on European integration. creation of new posts ranging from the “Karlsruhe simply does not like the EU’s permanent President of the European progress towards deeper integration,” Council to the EU foreign policy represen- writes Fischer.
  • The New Eu Foreign Policy Architecture

    The New Eu Foreign Policy Architecture

    THE NEW EU FOREIGN POLICY ARCHITECTURE REVIEWING THE FIRST TWO YEARS OF THE EEAS NIKLAS HELWIG PAUL IVAN HRANT KOSTANYAN CENTRE FOR EUROPEAN POLICY STUDIES (CEPS) BRUSSELS The Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) is an independent policy research institute in Brussels. Its mission is to produce sound policy research leading to constructive solutions to the challenges facing Europe. The views expressed in this book are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed to CEPS or any other institution with which they are associated or to the European Union. Niklas Helwig is a Marie Curie Researcher of the EXACT network at the University of Edinburgh and Cologne and focuses on the institutional development of EU foreign policy. He worked for the Centre for European Policy Studies and the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. Paul Ivan is a Romanian diplomat. Previously, he worked as a researcher for the Centre for European Policy Studies, where he focused on EU political and institutional issues and the European External Action Service. Hrant Kostanyan is an associate research fellow at CEPS and a PhD candidate at the Centre for EU Studies at Ghent University. He worked as an external expert for International Alert, based in London, in the Eastern Europe and South Caucasus research project. He also worked as an expert on a European Commission-funded project on the EU’s relations with Russia and the Eastern Partnership at the EU Neighbourhood Info Centre. The authors thank Piotr Maciej Kaczyński for his comments on an earlier draft. ISBN 978-94-6138-262-7 © Copyright 2013, Centre for European Policy Studies and the authors.
  • The French Law of April 13 2016 Aimed at Strengthening the Fight Against the Prostitutional System and Providing Support For

    The French Law of April 13 2016 Aimed at Strengthening the Fight Against the Prostitutional System and Providing Support For

    The French law of April 13 2016 aimed at strengthening the fight against the prostitutional system and providing support for prostituted persons Principles, goals, measures and adoption of a historic law. 1 CAP international, March 2017 www.cap-international.org Authors: Grégoire Théry, Executive director of CAP international Claudine Legardinier, Journalist Graphic design: micheletmichel.com Translation: Caroline Degorce Contents Presentation of the law of April 13, 2016 > Introduction ................................................................................................................................................p.5 > Content of the law ....................................................................................................................................p.5 French law following the adoption of the new Act > The fight against procuring and pimping .......................................................................................p.8 > Prohibition of the purchase of sex acts .......................................................................................... p.9 > Protection, access to rights and exit policy for victims of prostitution, pimping and trafficking .......................................................................................................................p.10 The spirit of the law > Philosophical foundation ....................................................................................................................p.13 > Adoption of the parliamentary resolution of December
  • Codebook Indiveu – Party Preferences

    Codebook Indiveu – Party Preferences

    Codebook InDivEU – party preferences European University Institute, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies December 2020 Introduction The “InDivEU – party preferences” dataset provides data on the positions of more than 400 parties from 28 countries1 on questions of (differentiated) European integration. The dataset comprises a selection of party positions taken from two existing datasets: (1) The EU Profiler/euandi Trend File The EU Profiler/euandi Trend File contains party positions for three rounds of European Parliament elections (2009, 2014, and 2019). Party positions were determined in an iterative process of party self-placement and expert judgement. For more information: https://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/65944 (2) The Chapel Hill Expert Survey The Chapel Hill Expert Survey contains party positions for the national elections most closely corresponding the European Parliament elections of 2009, 2014, 2019. Party positions were determined by expert judgement. For more information: https://www.chesdata.eu/ Three additional party positions, related to DI-specific questions, are included in the dataset. These positions were determined by experts involved in the 2019 edition of euandi after the elections took place. The inclusion of party positions in the “InDivEU – party preferences” is limited to the following issues: - General questions about the EU - Questions about EU policy - Questions about differentiated integration - Questions about party ideology 1 This includes all 27 member states of the European Union in 2020, plus the United Kingdom. How to Cite When using the ‘InDivEU – Party Preferences’ dataset, please cite all of the following three articles: 1. Reiljan, Andres, Frederico Ferreira da Silva, Lorenzo Cicchi, Diego Garzia, Alexander H.
  • The Rainbow/Vinozhito Newsletter

    The Rainbow/Vinozhito Newsletter

    RAINBOW (VINOZHITO) – European Movement Member of the European Free Alliance (EFA) STEFANOU DRAGOUMI 11 P.O. Box 51 53100 FLORINA / LERIN GREECE TEL : +302385 – 46548 http://www.florina.org E-mail: [email protected] INFO – ZORA OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2003 No. 12 1ST RAINBOW CONGRESS EDESSA 30 NOVEMBER 2003 1-ot KONGRESS NA “VINOZITO” VODEN 30 NOEMVRI 2003 POLITICAL REFUGES PRESS RELEASE Florina - Lerin 1-8-2003 Concerning the issue of exceptions *(N 1266/1982) to the right of repatriation of Macedonian political refugees from the Greek Civil War (1946 - 1949), many of whom as young children were forced to abandon their homes, and many of whom at the end of the war were deprived of their Greek citizenship and their property confiscated, we wish to highlight the following statements recently made by Greek officials: On 8-6-2003 the Sunday edition of the pro-government center-left daily "Eleftherotypia" carried an interview of the Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Loverdos with regard to Greece's political relations with other Balkan countries. Below are excerpts: Journalist: There is, however, a political and humanitarian question, at the societal level. We are referring to the political refugees of the Greek Civil War, who were excluded from general repatriation and live mainly in FYROM, and have the citizenship of this state. Andreas Loverdos: "…what functions as obstacles for the visit of these persons to Greece could very well be overcome in a simple but technical way. We are seeking a technical solution and have found a number of them." Journalist: This concerns the freedom to visit and communicate with relatives, which is the primary issue.
  • EUROPEAN UNION.Pdf

    EUROPEAN UNION.Pdf

    EUROPEAN UNION The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The EU has developed an internal single market through a standardised system of laws that apply in all member states in those matters, and only those matters, where members have agreed to act as one. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the internal market, enact legislation in justice and home affairs and maintain common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development. SOME FACTS ABOUT EU 1. The European Union has its own flag, complete with twelve stars, that generally thought of as a symbol of unity and perfection. 2. The European Union has a motto. It reads: United in Diversity. 3. There are 24 official languages in the European Union. 4. The main currency in the EU is the Euro, but not every country has adopted it. Today, it is the official currency of 19 countries. 5. Member countries aren’t forced to remain in the European Union. Any country is allowed to leave if they so choose, but they obviously must notify the EU of that decision. 6. The European Union has won the Nobel Peace Prize. It was awarded to the EU in 2012 based on its contributions towards peace and reconciliation. 7. The European Parliament is the largest and only directly-elected international body in the world. TIMELINE World War II After World War II, European integration was seen as an antidote to the extreme nationalism which had devastated parts of the continent.
  • 020514 Spring Newsletter V4

    020514 Spring Newsletter V4

    LDDA NEWS LDDA wishes to thank LDDA's website MIDSHIRE for their delivered by support during 2013-14 Prater Raines Ltd 2 Editorial - BOB’S BIT As a member of the Welsh Campaigns and Contents Candidates Committee I am looking forward the 1 Front Cover European elections this May. 2 Editorial - BOB’S BIT Westminster next year, Welsh Assembly 2016 3 The Thoughts of Chairman Phil and local government in 2017 gives us three 4-5 Grants for Disabled Candidates years of continuous campaigning. 6-7 Liz Lynne A Champion for Disability IN Europe In Wales local government elections are all held on the same date every 4 or 5 years. I really miss 8 Biopic: Liz Lynne the borough elections in thirds with the county 9 Biopic: Catherine Bearder elections in the fourth year that I cut my teeth on 10 Biopic: Andrew Duff back in Woking in 1985. 11 Stammering So this edition concentrates on Disability and the 12 Inspiration: Alan Bullion European elections. 13 Dyspraxia 14 Biopic: Jacqueline Bell 15 Biopic: Linda Jack 16-17 Membership Form 18 19 20 Printed Published and Promoted on behalf of LDDA by Bob Barton, Glan Alyn Llanferres Road Llanarmon-yn-Iâl Mold. CH7 4QD 4 Disabled people who want to stand for election as a councillor or MP, including the 2015 General Election, can benefit from two separate but closely related initiatives to access grant schemes which help cover any additional costs they may face. The Government Equalities Office set up the Access to Elected Office Fund in 2012. This is open to any disabled potential candidate.