Where in the world are we today? And tomorrow?
IntroductionMultilateralism refers to a form of international cooperation that involves coordinating national policies in groups of three or more states, based on specific rules and recognised principles (Keohane 1990 and Reggie 1993, as cited in Philipps & Braun 2020). Multilateral cooperation commonly seeks to achieve a particular goal or a set of multiple goals, ranging... Continue Reading →
IntroductionWith COVID-19, the year 2020 is inherently different from any other year this generation has seen. The pandemic’s impacts are so severe that many say the challenge is comparable to that of the Second World War. In this unprecedented trial, how will the European Union emerge? This essay argues that Europe has a chance with... Continue Reading →
EU fundamental rights bind EU institutions (in all their acts) and Member States (while implementing EU law). Now, the problem with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is that (1) the ECHR and the EU are two separate entities; (2) the EU is yet to accede to the ECHR (despite the EU’s good intentions);... Continue Reading →
The Member States are bound by EU fundamental rights when they are implementing EU law. The contention, however, has been regarding what constitutes the ‘implementation of EU law’. What follows is my digest of the list of cases from the CJEU’s Fact Sheet on Field of Application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the... Continue Reading →
Discussion on the fundamental political status of Union citizenship demands a careful examination in two dimensions. The first dimension is the role of EU citizenship as a legal status, particularly within the framework of the intergovernmental agreement reached by the Member States but endowed with supranational institutions—including the ECJ—which operate autonomously. This dimension has a... Continue Reading →
Hoffmeister (2007) categorises 27 EU MS into five theoretical models in regards to their procedures of ratifying EU treaties. The first group of countries apply their constitutional provisions as regards the ratification of international treaties irrespective of the unique nature of the European Union. The second group of countries (limitation of sovereignty) recognise that sovereignty... Continue Reading →
The right to asylum is explicitly stated in the EU Treaties. Article 18 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union states, “the right to asylum shall be guaranteed”. This ethos is repeated in Articles 67(2) and 78 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). It is against EU... Continue Reading →
“Efficiency comes through optimal adaptation to an existing environment, while resilience requires the capacity to adapt to disruptive changes in the environment.” Efficiency and resilience have long been opposite concepts in various fields, including business management and public administration. The chart below further illustrates that the concept of sustainability could be expressed as a trade-off... Continue Reading →
Many of the European problems essentially boil down to the conflict between intergovernmentalism (the member states wanting to maintain their sovereignty) and supranationalism (the EU’s tendency towards a higher level of political integration). Churchill’s big-bang approach for a United States of Europe failed, and Monnet’s proposal for a limited economic integration prevailed instead. The Constitutional... Continue Reading →
As far as the European market is concerned, the New Member Countries (NMC) have significant advantages over their extra-EU competitors. This argument is based on two sets of strong evidence: (1) statistics indicating the share of imports originating from inside and outside the EU, and (2) distinct benefits that NMCs enjoy but are not attainable... Continue Reading →
The Pragmatic Globalist 