Events 2009
Methodological dimensions of the RECON democracy models
A workshop on methodology and empirical analysis as part of RECON's work package 3 on Representation and Institutional Make-up.
Date: 18.12.2009 | Programme and Abstracts
Podiumsdiskussion zum Thema
Kriterien der Exzellenz in den Sozialwissenschaften:
Disziplinäre Perspektiven
Mit dieser ersten Veranstaltung startet die geplante Reihe zu „Exzellenz und Evaluierung“ des Zentrums Sozialwissenschaften der ÖAW.
Date: 15.12.2009 | Time: 14:00 - 17:00 | Invitation
Location:
Seminarraum 1,
Wohllebengasse 12-14,
1040 Wien
Geplant sind Statements aus bzw. zu den verschiedenen im Zentrum vertretenen Fachrichtungen durch die Leitenden der verschiedenen Einrichtungen. Dazu kommen Beiträge aus fachnahen anderen Disziplinen im Rahmen der ÖAW
Developing a policy against organised crime:
The EU as internal and external actor
Research Seminar held by Helena Carrapico,
European University Institute
Date: 28.10.2009 | Time: 14:00 |
Location:
Institut für europäische Integrationsforschung
Strohgasse 45/DG,
1030 Wien
The presentation will cover three aspects:
- Overview of the policy itself: Historical background, legal basis, goals, decision-making procedures and instruments of the EU's anti-organised crime policy
- The EU's discourse and the internal dimension
- The external dimension of the EU's approach
The European Union and "New Modes of Governance":
How important are they?
Date: 19.10.2009 | Time: 17:00 | Einladung [pdf]
Public lecture by Renaud Dehousse
Location:
Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Sitzungssaal 1. Stock
Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Platz 2,
1010 Wien
THE IRISH REFERENDUM ON THE LISBON TREATY
in Kooperation mit der Diplomatischen Akademie, Wien
Date: 22.09.2009 | Time: 19:00 | Invitation [pdf]
Location:
Festsaal der Diplomatischen Akademie, Wien
Favoritenstraße 15a,
1040 Wien
coming soon
REPRESENTATION DURING THE 6th EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT:
MEP Activity and Explanations of Performance Variation
Research Seminar held by Manos Sigalas,
Institute for European Integration Research
Date: 06.07.2009 | Location: on request
Read more...The theoretical part of the paper reviews the different meanings of the concept of representation and concludes that good representation does not mean doing simply what the represented want, but rather working in their name and for their interests. It follows, that MEPs who are active in their duties offer better services than MEPs who fail to show the same level of commitment. The empirical part examines the level of MEP activity in terms of reports, votes, questions and speeches in the plenary and the importance of different explanatory factors. The findings show that MEPs of the smaller European political groups have a preference for questions and speeches, but not because they produce fewer reports than their colleagues in the larger parties. Experienced MEPs are generally more active than the newly elected, while younger MEPs, those aiming for a career in the EP and the ones elected on open ballots resort quite easily to questions or speeches. Finally, rapporteurships are less likely to be trusted to Eurosceptic MEPs, but other than that Eurosceptic attitudes do not undermine performance in the EP.
Regulatory integration in EU financial markets
Research Seminar held by Zdenek Kudrna,
Institute for European Integration Research
Date: 29.06.2009 | Location: on request
Read more...This paper reviews the process of regulatory integration in financial markets of the European Union. It shows that the regulatory framework for the single market in financial services has evolved in stages reflecting the evolution EU integration modes; from market opening to attempts on harmonization, to reliance on mutual recognition. The slow progress induced EU to innovate its decision-making processes by introducing Lamfalussy procedure in 2001. The new procedure speed up adoption of new regulations and is being adapted to ensure consistent enforcement across all EU jurisdictions. The next round of challenges to regulatory integration will stem from weak crisis management mechanisms that have been highlighted by the current crisis.
Legitimationsprobleme der EU "Integration durch Recht":
Die EU, der EuGH, und Österreich
Einleitender Vortrag von Fritz W. Scharpf
(Max-Planck-Institut für Gesellschaftsforschung, Köln)
Date: 22.06.2009 | Zeit: 18:00 | Invitation [pdf]
Location:
Theatersaal der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
Sonnenfelsgasse 19/I, 1010 Wien
Kontroversielle Entscheidungen haben den EuGH jüngst zunehmend in die Kritik gebracht. Fritz W. Scharpf argumentiert, dass politische Entscheidungen auf EU-Ebene breiten Konsens voraussetzen, weil die Regierungen sie gegenüber ihren eigenen BürgerInnen vertreten können sollen – was im Fall des EuGH so nicht immer gilt und letztlich auch die Grundlagen der mitgliedstaatlichen Legitimität unterminieren könnte.
Diese These wird einleitend ausgeführt und in der Folge anhand österreichischer Fallbeispiele kontroversiell diskutiert werden: Als wie legitim können wichtige EuGH-Urteile in Österreich angesehen werden? Welche Herausforderungen im positiven oder negativen Sinne ergeben sich daraus in den Augen einschlägiger Expertinnen und Experten aus Wissenschaft und Politik?
European integration and diplomatic practice: the case of Austria
Research Seminar held by Kathleen Angers,
Université de Montréal
Date: 15.06.2009 | Location: on request
Read more...This research project looks at multilateral diplomacy within the European Union (EU). The objective is to understand the dynamics and implications of European diplomatic corps’ participation to the EU, focusing on the experience of Austrian diplomats in this regard. The literature on diplomatic cooperation in the EU has so far portrayed this phenomenon either as one marked by instrumental rationality on the part of the actors involved, or by the internalization of common representations such as norms, values, ideas or identities.
Cross-border patient mobility and the Europeanization of Healthcare systems
Research Seminar held by Thomas Kostera,
Université Libre de Bruxelles
Date: 08.06.2009 | Location: on request
Read more...National healthcare systems represented closed membership spaces until the 1970s, with only few exit options for European citizens to get medical treatment in other countries. The European Union has started to challenge the systems’ national boundaries by a series of landmark rulings by the European Court of Justice regarding cross-border patient mobility. The increased possibilities for citizens to get medical treatment in other member states and to be reimbursed by their domestic system have triggered a political process which lasts already ten years: EU member states fear the loss of control over the consumers of their healthcare systems and find it difficult to agree upon a European Directive on the issue. Despite member states’ initial resistance, the Court of Justice’s rulings have to be implemented nationally. Austria is suggested as a research ground to study possible changes in actors’ preferences and in the healthcare system due to the political process and the legal implementation.
EU Competition Policy from a Political Science Perspective
Research Seminar held by Gaye Gungor,
European University Institute, Florence
Date: 02.06.2009 | Location: on request
Read more...Competition policy, a truly supranational policy of the European Community, has been vital to achieve the “Single market” project. The creation of a single market was not only about removing barriers to free trade, but also encouraging a more efficient and competitive industrial environment. Thus it is critical to understand the competition policy, to understand the European economic integration. While this policy area has been dominated by lawyers and economists until the early 1990s, creation of competition policy regimes in a number of countries to tackle with these activities received a great deal of attention from political scientists. They became interested in the rules and legislation governing these activities, institutions involved, and particularly in policy processes and outcomes. A political science and public administration approach, which complements the legal and economic perspectives, is necessary for an adequate understanding of competition policy.
Die EU als Krisenmanager am Balkan und im Nahen Osten: Strategien, Bilanz und Herausforderungen
Im Rahmen der EIF-Veranstaltungsreihe
"Die EU als Krisenmanager"
Date: 25.05.2009 | Time: 18:00 | Invitation [pdf]
Location: Theatersaal der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften,
Sonnenfelsgasse 19/I, 1010 Wien
Am Podium:
Markus Kornprobst, Diplomatische Akademie
Gudrun Harrer, Leitende Redakteurin "Der Standard"
Friedhelm Frischenschlager, u.a. ehem. Leitung "Democratisation" der Mission für den Kosovo der OSCE
Patrick Müller,Institut für europäische Integrationsforschung, ÖAW
Florian Trauner, Institut für europäische Integrationsforschung, ÖAW
Die Stabilisierung der europäischen Nachbarschaft ist eine zentrale außenpolitische Priorität der EU. Dabei bestehen jedoch wichtige regionalspezifische Unterschiede im EU-Management von Konflikten und Transformationsprozessen. Diskutiert werden die verschiedenen EU-Strategien und Instrumente, die am Balkan und im Nahen Osten zum Einsatz kommen:
Was wurde bislang getan?
Was sind die Erfolge bzw. weiterbestehenden Herausforderungen?
Was sind realistische Zukunftsszenarien bzw. weiterführende Handlungsoptionen?
Why Political Elites Convene EU-referendums
Research Seminar held by Rasmus Leander Nielsen,
University of Southern Denmark
Date: 19.01.2009 | Time: 14:00 | Registration
Location: Institute for European Integration Research, Strohgasse 45/DG, 1030 Vienna
Read more...The talk will present the main findings of the recently completed study “The Logic of EU-Referendums”, which examines why political elites convene EU-referendums and thus instigate yet another veto player about European integration matters.
The main argument forwarded is that EU-referendums are used for strategic reasons to decouple sensitive EU issues from the domestic political arena, i.e. in order to avoid losing domestic parliamentary elections and to soothe internal division.
Empirically, 49 referendums pertaining to European integration have been held since the early 1970s and 35 votes in 20 states (plus several aspirations) are analysed here, but in different tempi. The Danish 1972 accession referendum is examined in an in-depth case-study, as well as the general historical evolution, the other five Danish EU-referendums, and two recent cases where Denmark opted not to vote. Then, all other EU-referendums from 1972 to 2008 are briefly compared.
The comparative findings suggest that the promoted analytical framework does not fully explain all recorded decisions to convene an EU-referendum, especially when referendum-practice becomes ‘matured’ (Denmark and Ireland), and that e.g. various institutional insights enhance the explanation of specific cases. However, it is shown that the parsimonious (Downsian) assumptions explain a variety of cases over time and space. Hence, the study corroborates the supposition that a certain ‘logic of EU-referendums’ can be identified in a majority of cases, i.e. convening an EU-referendum is habitually merely a continuation of representative politics by other means.
