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Abstract by the authors: Natural hazards and climate-related disasters disregard political borders, where additional barriers can complicate mitigation, response and recovery efforts within and between the sectors of Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). The ESPREssO Project (Enhancing Synergies for Disaster Prevention in the European Union) aims to improve management of transboundary disasters by encouraging closer synergies between the CCA and DRR communities. Using targeted stakeholder interviews, questionnaires, Think Tank discussions and purpose-built serious games, ESPREssO draws on both CCA and DRR stakeholder experiences and informed perspectives in order to identify current gaps. Set within a fictitious border zone, ESPREssO's RAMSETE II serious game challenges CCA and DRR stakeholders in making coordinated decisions before, during and after a simulated disaster, in protection of population and critical infrastructure. Results highlight the essential role of local governance mechanisms as the sharp end of the policy wedge, with current examples of proactivity that require to be championed and supported at national level in order to thrive. These good practice examples reflect the fact that transboundary settings, despite their challenges, act as fertile ground for mutual growth, offering opportunities for CCA and DRR communities to find innovative ways to cooperate and unite in developing synergies and strengthening their mutual efforts towards resilience. Stakeholders emphasise a need to invest more resources in informal cooperation and call on policy makers to recognise that each border zone raises its own unique set of complex challenges that requires flexibility and special consideration by transboundary authorities in management of disasters.
Abstract by the authors: With climate change impacts being felt across Europe, governments have started to invest in designing and implementing adaptation actions. The means through which governments adapt is generally referred to as policy instruments. Although there is a large body of adaptation policy literature emerging, our comprehensive understanding of policy instruments is limited nor do we know much about how scholarship on adaptation is addressing critical questions about policy instrument choice and effectiveness to support policy practice. In this article we map academic scholarship on climate change adaptation policy instruments in Europe. Using systematic approaches, we identify 184 relevant articles published 2014-2019. Our findings show that research is heavily concentrated on a limited number of western-European countries, with hardly any insights from eastern Europe and smaller countries. Most studies do not connect climate change impacts and risks with policy instruments, making assessment of policy effectiveness difficult, if not impossible. We argue that expanding the geographical scope of future research and enhancing the diversity of study types across Europe is critical for advancing theories on climate change adaptation policy, as well as providing useful recommendations for policy makers to strengthen the solution space and accelerate climate change adaptation.
Abstract by the author: The European Green Deal (EGD) puts forward and engages with review mechanisms, such as the European Semester and policy monitoring, to ensure progress towards the long-term climate targets in a turbulent policy environment. Soft-governance mechanisms through policy monitoring have been long in the making, but their design, effects, and politics remain surprisingly under-researched. While some scholars have stressed their importance to climate governance, others have highlighted the difficulties in implementing robust policy monitoring systems, suggesting that they are neither self-implementing nor apolitical. This article advances knowledge on climate policy monitoring in the EU by proposing a new analytical framework to better understand past, present, and potential future policy monitoring efforts, especially in the context of the EGD. Drawing on Lasswell (1965), it unpacks the politics of policy monitoring by analysing who monitors, what, why, when, and with what effect(s). The article discusses each element of the framework with a view to three key climate policy monitoring efforts in the EU which are particularly relevant for the EGD, namely those emerging from the Energy Efficiency Directive, the Renewable Energy Directive, and the Monitoring Mechanism Regulation (now included in the Energy Union Governance Regulation), as well as related processes for illustration. Doing so reveals that the policy monitoring regimes were set up differently in each case, that definitions of the subject of monitoring (i.e., public policies) either differ or remain elusive, and that the corresponding political and policy impact of monitoring varies. The article concludes by reflecting on the implications of the findings for governing climate change by means of monitoring through the emerging EGD.
Abstract by the authors: Cities are major drivers of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions--the sources of anthropocentric climate change, whilst also concentrating people, buildings, and infrastructures and therefore potential risk and impacts of the latter. As a consequence, planning for climate change in urban areas does not only provide the opportunity but should necessitate considering interactions between mitigation and adaptation actions. However, existing research found that only a minority of urban areas consider both mitigation and adaptation in their climate action plans, i.e. 147 Climate Change Action Plans (CCAPs) were identified among a representative sample of 885 European cities. We investigate these 147 CCAPs to understand the degree of integration of adaptation and mitigation and draw implications for the maximization of synergies and co-benefits of such a combined approach. Using the developed scoring framework to evaluate the level of integration of CCAPs, the research finds that most of the plans reveal a ‘moderate’ level of integration. Moderate integration characterizes a plan that identifies sources of emissions and vulnerabilities to climate change, as well as some qualitative consideration of the synergies, but one that lacks a systematic consideration of potential integration opportunities. Furthermore, the analysis reveals that one of the main gaps of the evaluation and implementation of more integrated climate change actions in cities is the insufficient quantitative evaluation of the costs and funding schemes for adaptation and mitigation action implementation. •Review and assessment of the level of integration of adaptation and mitigation in 147 EU urban climate change action plans.•Development and application of the Urban Climate Change Integration Index (UCCII).•Review and analysis of synergies and co-benefits of climate mitigation and adaptation actions.•Mitigation objectives are still more prominent than adaptation objectives in integrated urban climate change plans.•Discussion on capacity gaps and needs of local governments to understand, plan and implement integrated approaches.
Abstract by the author: Due to climate change, it is foreseen that the frequency and magnitude of extreme climate events such as heavy precipitation, flooding and drought will increase throughout Europe. In recent times, numerous areas suffered from disasters that produced significant damage to cultural heritage. Although different risk management strategies are currently enforced in Central Europe, there still exist many challenges that undermine their effectiveness. This study reviews the necessary points to be addressed for strengthening existing management strategies within the region and the characteristics of potential resilience building measures. It presents feasible and tailored ICT solutions (e.g. a web GIS platform) and decision support tools (e.g. a manual for cultural heritage resilience and a handbook on transnational rescue procedures) for the protection of cultural heritage against floods, heavy rain and fire. These tools result from the Interreg Central Europe project ProteCHt2save, concentrating on risk assessment and sustainable protection of cultural heritage in changing environments. The proposed measures are tested at pilot sites and successfully integrated in local risk management plans. Future work is also proposed for further implementation of the results.
Abstract by the authors: The European Union's (EU) reaction to the Covid-19 crisis will be discussed for a long time and will inform policy and academic debates about European integration, the relationship between EU institutions and member states, and the power struggles between member states. The outcome of the EU policies adopted in 2020–21 will also determine the Union's longevity and its role as a global actor. Decisions were made and policies were re-designed and, on some occasions, designed from scratch in areas where close cooperation pre-existed such as economic governance, competition policy and borders control but also in less developed domains such as health policy and a common vaccines strategy (Wolff and Ladi, 2020). The EU institutions had to adjust to a new form of distant work, away from Brussels and to coordinate the EU's reaction in a health crisis, which soon affected almost all EU policies. Along with key EU institutions, a previously less-known EU agency, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), found itself at the forefront of the response. Although the EU's response at the beginning looked uncoordinated and slow, it soon picked up with trust in the EU reaching its highest level since 2009 in April 2021.
Abstract by the author: With the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the question of society's capability to deal with an acute health crisis is, once again, brought to the forefront. In the core is the need to broaden the perspective on the determinants of a country's ability to cope with the spread of the virus. This paper is about bringing together diverse aspects of readiness and initial reaction to a COVID-19 outbreak. We proposed an integrated evaluation framework which encapsulates six dimensions of readiness and initial reaction. Using a specific multi-level outranking method, we analysed how these dimensions affect the relative positioning of European countries in the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak. The results revealed that the order of countries based on our six-dimensional assessment framework is significantly reminiscent of the actual positioning of countries in terms of COVID-19 morbidity and mortality in the initial phase of the pandemic. Our findings confirm that only when a country's readiness is complemented by an appropriate societal reaction we can expect a less severe outcome. Moreover, our study revealed different patterns of performance between former communist Eastern European and Western European countries.
Abstract by the authors: This article examines the main factors affecting COVID-19 lethality across 16 European Countries with a focus on the role of health system characteristics during the first phase of the diffusion of the virus. Specifically, we investigate the leading causes of lethality at 10, 20, 30, 40 days in the first hit of the pandemic. Using a random forest regression (ML), with lethality as outcome variable, we show that the percentage of people older than 65 years (with two or more chronic diseases) is the main predictor variable of lethality by COVID-19, followed by the number of hospital intensive care unit beds, investments in healthcare spending compared to GDP, number of nurses and doctors. Moreover, the variable of general practitioners has little but significant predicting quality. These findings contribute to provide evidence for the prediction of lethality caused by COVID-19 in Europe and open the discussion on health policy and management of health care and ICU beds during a severe epidemic.
Abstract by the author: The health crisis caused by COVID‐19 reached Europe by February 2020, with remarkable differences in its potency by nation (ECDC, 2020). This effectively caused variation in mitigation efforts in European countries, in opposition to the World Health Organization's recommendations to a common response. Highly contrasting policies were implemented by neighboring countries, from "stay‐at‐home" requirements to very light restrictions. Furthermore, the application time of these measures was extremely variable across Europe. This study investigated whether the stringency of containment policies and the implementation speed of 24 European countries may have affected the number of COVID‐19‐associated casualties. The overall stringency (i.e., the containment measures in place) fluctuated over time and by country, which prohibited a clear association with the mortality rate. Importantly, the implementation speed of these containment measures in response to the coronavirus had a strong effect on the successful mitigation of fatalities. The results also suggest that early adopters of strategies are likely to return to normal life more rapidly. Based on these data, the implementation of containment measures at the very early stages of a future health crisis is highly recommended to reduce the negative impact on society and improve the speed of recovery.
Abstract by the authors: This paper explains the economic policy developed in the euro area to manage the economic effects induced by the COVID health crisis. First, an overview of developments in the euro area is presented. It then explains the fiscal decisions taken by member countries, as well as the monetary policy pursued by the European Central Bank. The final part reflects on the advisability of abandoning the fiscal rules that limit the fiscal capacity of states in order to favor economic recovery once the health crisis has been overcome.
Abstract by the authors: The outbreak of the coronavirus—and the responses of governments and businesses to combat the medical and economic crisis it entails—raise a number of urgent questions, many of which concern European economic law, ie the competition rules and free movement provisions. Can businesses cooperate to guarantee the supply of essential items or a vaccine notwithstanding the cartel prohibition of Article 101 TFEU? Is the excessive price doctrine of Article 102 TFEU a match for the price increases caused by hoarding behaviour? Can competition authorities continue to assess mergers, and might they even become more sympathetic to certain arguments such as the failing firm defence and industrial policy considerations? Under which conditions are Member States allowed to grant aid to undertakings that face economic difficulties due to the crisis? Can Member States prohibit the export of medical supplies to other Member States, and can they close their borders for European citizens? And how much freedom do public procurement rules leave governments to quickly conclude contracts for essential supplies? This article addresses these pressing questions in a comprehensive manner. It situates the numerous guidance documents adopted by the European Commission within the broader framework of EU economic law and then evaluates the compatibility of the public and private corona-related measures with that framework. The aim is to offer a legal guide for governments and businesses combatting the corona crisis.
Abstract by the author: During the sovereign debt crisis the ECB and ECJ were constrained by two main factors: pressures from the Crisis Management Mechanism and the sovereign debt markets. Contributions claiming that the European Economic Constitution was transformed did not recognize that European policy makers managed to preserve its main features by reinforcing the role of the market. Other contributions, which claim that the sovereign debt crisis was solved only because of the active role assumed by independent institutions like the ECB and the ECJ, are also devoid of analysis of the underlying causes, which implicitly incentivized or hindered the responses from independent institutions. A unified synthetic approach could provide a better explanation for the trade‐offs faced by independent institutions during four peak moments of the sovereign debt crisis: the ECJ's decisions on the ESM and the OMT, and the ECB's decisions to start the OMT and emergency liquidity provision for Greek banks.
Abstract by the authors: Despite vast empirical documentation of the recent sovereign debt crisis in southern Europe, there is little research accounting for the following stylized facts in a single coherent framework: continuous borrowing, high growth, housing bubbles, and current account deficits since the beginning of the European Monetary Union ending with a sudden crisis and subsequent contagion of crisis. We fill this gap by proposing a model and fitting it to the data. Using a growth model with collateral constraints of small peripheral economies in the institution of a monetary union, we analyze the multilayer moral hazards underlying excessive borrowing. Since housing bubbles can support a constant loan‐to‐value (LTV) ratio lower than LTV limits, peripheral economies can lock into a steady‐state Ponzi growth equilibrium with high growth and current account deficits, but these economies become vulnerable to crises. We identify the "self‐fulfilling crisis region" (SFCR), in which the economy grows fast with a seemingly safe LTV ratio, but with a vulnerability to crises. Moreover, a crisis in one sector propagates to other sectors by endogenously expanding their SFCRs. We derive some policy implications on LTV regulations and market psychology. Finally, our calibration exercise presents how bubbles develop and burst along with contagion across sectors, accounting for the data.
Abstract by the authors: This study investigates the short run and the long run relationship between government bond yields and their associated credit default swaps (CDS), using co-integration and Granger causality techniques, for eight major European Union countries, over three different periods, considering the global financial and the resultant European debt crises. Moreover, this study tries to explore the interactions between changes in sovereign debt ratings and the corresponding credit premiums as an effort to examine the role of top credit rating agencies in defining CDS prices and as an attempt to illuminate the importance of the announcement date based on an event study.
Abstract by the authors: Supply chains are comprised of events that link the product or service from conception, different phases of production, to final delivery to the consumers. In this regard, global supply chains (GSC) economics is concerned with the effects on the host economy due to presence of GSC as well as the importance of GSC for exports, or more specifically, the value added from exports. Thus, in this study, the concept of value-added trade was used in relation to exports, employment and foreign direct investment (FDI) in terms of trade facilitation for the host economies. The analysis presented in this article is based on the main dataset for structural business statistics (SBS) presented by Eurostat, where, first, we calculate the extent of overall changes in exports, employment and FDI stock relative to manufacturing, and second, to capture the effect of export restructuring on manufacturing productivity growth, we use the standard growth accounting approach, a production function at the industry level to total factor productivity (TFP) growth. The results show that TFP is reliant on exports for the whole European Union economy and especially for the new member states.
Abstract by the authors: This study investigates the role of supply chain risk management (SCRM) in mitigating the effects of disruptions impacts on supply chain resilience and robustness in the context of COVID-19 outbreak. Using structural equation modeling on a survey data from 470 French firms, the results confirm the basic tenets of resource-based view and organizational information processing theories regarding the combination of dynamic resources to face disruptions’ uncertainty. Furthermore, the findings reveal the mediating role of SCRM practices and the prominent role they play in fostering supply chain resilience and robustness. Overall, by providing empirical assessment of a comprehensive SCRM framework, this research contributes to the extant literature and suggests further avenues for research. •Supply chain risk management practices mitigation role during COVID-19 is examined.•Resources-Based View and organizational information processing theory inform study.•Supply chain risk management practices foster Supply Chain resilience and robustness.•Research discussion provide guidance for further investigation.
Abstract by the authors: •COVID-19 presents unprecedented challenge to all facets of human endeavour.•A critical review of the negative and positive impacts of the pandemic is presented.•The danger of relying on pandemic-driven benefits to achieving SDGs is highlighted.•The pandemic and its interplay with circular economy (CE) approaches is examined.•Sector-specific CE recommendations in a resilient post-COVID-19 world are outlined. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on the 11th of March 2020, but the world is still reeling from its aftermath. Originating from China, cases quickly spread across the globe, prompting the implementation of stringent measures by world governments in efforts to isolate cases and limit the transmission rate of the virus. These measures have however shattered the core sustaining pillars of the modern world economies as global trade and cooperation succumbed to nationalist focus and competition for scarce supplies. Against this backdrop, this paper presents a critical review of the catalogue of negative and positive impacts of the pandemic and proffers perspectives on how it can be leveraged to steer towards a better, more resilient low-carbon economy. The paper diagnosed the danger of relying on pandemic-driven benefits to achieving sustainable development goals and emphasizes a need for a decisive, fundamental structural change to the dynamics of how we live. It argues for a rethink of the present global economic growth model, shaped by a linear economy system and sustained by profiteering and energy-gulping manufacturing processes, in favour of a more sustainable model recalibrated on circular economy (CE) framework. Building on evidence in support of CE as a vehicle for balancing the complex equation of accomplishing profit with minimal environmental harms, the paper outlines concrete sector-specific recommendations on CE-related solutions as a catalyst for the global economic growth and development in a resilient post-COVID-19 world.
Abstract by the author: Since 2016, the European Commission has sought to take a proactive stance in addressing disinformation, with this stance evidently influenced by the divisive nature of disinformation and its ability to dissuade participation and trust in democratic institutions. Yet as the coronavirus pandemic brought fear and uncertainty to Europe and the wider world, how well equipped was the Commission's approach for the onslaught of health disinformation which accompanied the pandemic? Reflecting on the EU's soft law approach both before and after this 'Infodemic,' this article critically analyses the inherent difficulties in regulating disinformation and looks ahead to the Commission's proposed approach into the future. Finally, considering these inherent regulatory difficulties and the impact of the Infodemic, this paper reflects upon the feasibility of a 'consumer-centric' solution to tackling disinformation in the European Union.
Abstract by the authors: At the time of the election of the European Parliament (EP) in 2014, the European Union (EU) was heavily affected by a multifaceted crisis that had – and still has – far‐reaching implications for the political system of its member countries, but also for the European level of governance. Against the background of the strong Eurosceptic vote in the 2014 EP elections, this study aims to investigate in which way Eurosceptic parties of the left and the right respond to the multiple crises of the EU. Using data from the Euromanifesto Project from 2004/2009 and 2014, changes in the party positions towards the EU are analysed in the shadow of the multiple crises and the reasons thereof are explored. The findings show a general anti‐European shift among the two types of Eurosceptic parties. Nevertheless, the changes in the EU polity tone are not determined by issue‐based repercussions of the multiple crises, but by the EU‐related evaluation – the polity mood – of the national citizenry. For far‐right Eurosceptic parties, the shift is moderated by the level of public support for EU integration in their national environment. Among far‐left Eurosceptic parties, by contrast, it is moderated by the more specific public attitudes about the monetary union policy of the EU. Consequently, political parties when drafting their manifestos for EP elections are not so much guided by the objective severity of political problems or by the evaluations of these problems by the citizenry. What matters in the end is the link that citizens themselves are able to establish between the severity of political problems, on the one hand, and the responsibility of the EU for these problems on the other. This has important consequences for understanding of the nature and substance of political responsiveness within the EU system of multilevel governance.
Abstract by the authors:We document the surge of economic nationalist and radical-right parties in western Europe between the early 1990s and 2016. We discuss how economic shocks contribute to explaining this political shift, looking in turn at theory and evidence on the political effects of globalization, technological change, the financial and sovereign debt crises of 2008–2009 and 2011–2013, and immigration. The main message that emerges is that failures in addressing the distributional consequences of economic shocks are a key factor behind the success of nationalist and radical-right parties. We discuss how the economic explanations compete with and complement the "cultural backlash" view. We reflect on possible future political developments, which depend on the evolving intensities of economic shocks, on the strength and persistence of adjustment costs, and on changes on the supply side of politics.
Abstract by the authors: Although many EU member states experienced large scale terrorist attacks and both national and EU policymakers have repeatedly acknowledged the need to tackle the apparent contradiction between borderless terrorism and national counterterrorism measures, a genuine supranational EU counterterrorism response has not emerged thus far. In this article, we explore why this has been the case. Via a set of proxy indicators, we operationalize and test three key variables derived from differentiated integration theory, which suggests that the lack of horizontal and vertical integration in the EU’s counterterrorism policy ought to be the result of high and asymmetric politicization, asymmetrical interdependence, and little preference convergence across EU member states. Our findings indicate that although all of these variables did influence integration in the first fifteen years of EU counterterrorism policy (2001–2016), only one variable (interdependence) acted exactly as expected by differentiated integration theory.
Abstract by the author: The last bigger legislative reform and update dedicated entirely to countering terrorism in the EU is already some years ago and came in the form of Directive (EU) 2017/541 of March 2017 combatting terrorism.Footnote1 It was a direct response to the many terrorist attacks that happened on European soil in the preceding years, especially in Paris in November 2015, in Brussels in March 2016 and in Nice in July 2016 and the lessons learnt from them, as well as the at the time still growing threat from ISIS. It set out to more comprehensively counteract conducts related to terrorism. The Directive reinforced the EU legal framework and also ensured that all EU Member States had to criminalise conduct such as training and travelling for terrorism, as well as terrorist financing. These harmonised definitions of terrorist offences serve as a benchmark for cooperation and information exchange between national authorities.
Abstract by the author: This article analyses the European Union’s response to the threat of the ‘returning foreign fighter’ (referred to with increasing frequency as the ‘foreign terrorist fighter’), arguing that it has been characterized by a move to (re)frame migration and border control as essential aspects of EU counter-terrorism policy. The article offers three important observations on the significance of this move. First, it critiques the way in which the EU’s response to this problem is based upon and reinforces a narrow understanding of returning foreign fighters. Second, it argues that the EU has invoked the threat from returning foreign fighters not with the sole intention of preventing terrorism but rather as part of the ongoing securitization of migration and the EU border. Third, it suggests that the threat from returning foreign fighters has been invoked as a way of further legitimizing the EU’s emerging role as a security actor and its embrace of preemptive security practice. The article argues throughout that the move to construct the returning foreign fighter issue in this way has important political and social implications for all categories of migrant, with migrant populations now deemed a potential source of terrorist threat.
Abstract by the authors: From the UN's global resilient cities campaign to the European Union's Integrated Political Crisis Arrangements (IPCR), Europe possess a wealth of crisis management arrangements for mitigating and responding to crises. Yet the ability to coordinate Europe's crisis management arrangements remains an elusive problem for effectively managing major crises in the region. This article examines the leading role of the European Union as a crisis coordinator by investigating the first European Disaster Response Exercise. Applying a transgovernmental lens to this field of cooperation highlights the flexible and dynamic form of coordination as well as the practical function of the EU as a crisis manager.
Abstract by the authors: The collection of articles in this special issue provides a comprehensive analysis of European Union decision-making during the Eurozone crisis. We investigate national preference formation and interstate bargaining related to major reforms of the Economic and Monetary Union. The analyses rely on the new ‘EMU Positions’ dataset. This dataset includes information about the preferences and saliences of all 28 EU member states and key EU institutions, regarding 47 contested issues negotiated between 2010 and 2015. In this introductory article, we first articulate the motivation behind this special issue and outline its collective contribution. We then briefly summarise each article within this collection; the articles analyse agenda setting, preference formation, coalition building, bargaining dynamics, and bargaining success. Finally, we present and discuss the ‘EMU Positions’ dataset.
Abstract by the authors: We assess the impact of the United Kingdom’s 2016 decision to leave the European Union on the Council of the European Union, where Brexit is likely to have the clearest observable implications. Using concepts and models from the spatial model of politics and network analysis, we formulate and test expectations regarding the effects of Brexit. We examine two of the most prominent datasets on recent decision-making in the European Union, which include data on cooperation networks among member states before and after the 2016 referendum. Our findings identify some of the political challenges that Brexit will bring, but also highlight the factors that are already helping the European Union’s remaining member states to adapt to Brexit.
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