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Update:
2009-05-31
The European Union - Jean-Marc CASSAM-CHENAI,
Frédéric OYHANONDO
The construction of Europe represents the culmination of a long-standing
reflection on the means of achieving lasting peace and encouraging
economic and social development. It illustrates the desire of States
to unite together in a supranational organisation, which had not been
seen before then, in order to foster economic and social progress
(with the introduction of the single market and the creation of the
single currency), to confirm the existence of the European identity
on the international scene, to establish a European citizenship, to
develop a region founded on freedom, security and justice or even
to maintain and develop the community’s assets. Looking beyond
the purely institutional aspect, the European integration process
must be analysed in light of the Union’s specific competences
(the “three pillars” of the European Union) and more specifically
the regional policy, the economic and social cohesion, the financial
instruments that support it (ERDF, EAGGF, FSE, FEOP) and the practical
conditions for its implementation.
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Public services and the European Union
- Pierre BAUBY
Public services are traditionally seen as a means for the State
to maintain a certain uniformity and consistency with regard to
access to certain essential goods or services, as well as a factor
driving economic development and the development of the region.
Up until now, one of the conditions of this dual function seemed
to be linked to the role of the public authorities, guaranteeing
the social bond. The construction of Europe and the legal principles
on which it is founded have led to major changes in this approach:
in line with the focus on European integration, the national level
is being replaced by the community level as the geographic framework
for the actions of public services. Moreover, the principles of
free trade, freedom of movement and free competition have progressively
changed public services over from a monopolistic to a competitive
approach. But for all that, the concept of public services does
not seem to be ruled out, and the expressions “public services”,
“general interest services” or “public utilities”
refer to one core idea: the need to meet a certain number of essential
needs with a view to economic and social cohesion and the development
of the regions. The definition of the legal conditions for the
implementation and management of public services therefore seems
to be a key issue for the future of the European Union.
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Regional cohesion - Claude HUSSON
Focusing on Article 7d of the Amsterdam Treaty, Article 16 TCE,
and Article 36 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, regional
cohesion can be defined as the limitation or the reduction of
differences in developments between the various regional components
of a state, or between regions in different states. Assuming
that there are major differences (disadvantaged, enclosed regions,
dispersed settlements, devitalised urban zones), and with a
view to regional solidarity, the public authorities need to
take corrective measures. As such, the role of public services
in “promoting social and regional cohesion in the Union”
seems to be essential. However, the principle of regional cohesion
continues to be fragile in terms of its consecration and uncertain
as regards its legal scope. Nevertheless, its recognition represents
a key challenge, since regional cohesion seems to be the objective
against which all the community policies should be compared
in order to measure their impacts. Is this principle likely
to be renewed in light of the promotion of the concept of social
and regional cohesion in the proposed treaty drawing up a Constitution
for Europe and the reminder of the fundamental role of general
interest economic services in its effective implementation?
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Administrative organisation and public office
in:
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Set against an adjustment of jurisdictions between the central
and regional levels of States, a redevelopment of relations between
the different levels of political decision-makers and a review
of the internal organisation of States in order to reconcile moves
to maintain the primacy of state-level operations with the strengthening
of local independence, nobody can afford to ignore the lessons
learnt from experiences across Europe. What are the various types
of administrative and regional organisation adopted by European
Union member states? How are their public offices organised? What
legal system is applied for their civil servants? Do they have
a specific social security system? This section sets out to provide
answers to all these questions and more, through the wide range
of national systems in the different European countries.
Public management in Europe - Denys LAMARZELLE
The constraints that have been weighing over public action in
general and more specifically administration over the last fifteen
years or so have resulted in key changes in the methods for organising
and managing public services and civil servants. This situation
can be seen in all European States and is reflected in the introduction
of the “new public management” approach. While the
development of new methods for the organisation and management
of administrations and their staff may seem to be a general phenomenon,
common to all European Union member states, these methods are
based on different practices for each one of them. However, a
core set of principles can be identified, such as regionalisation,
participatory democracy and public-private partnerships. Looking
beyond these common foundations, it is important to highlight
the wealth of experiments carried out in the various countries
across Europe and their impact on the restructuring of public
action.
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Social security in
Europe - Florence LEGROS, Anne-Claire MARAND
While all of the European States, driven on notably by the European
Union, have achieved a high level of social security, today they
are faced with a number of common challenges, requiring them to
adapt their systems to fit the economic and social environment,
with a view to rationalising operations, tightening control over
spending and modifying methods of financing. However, to be able
to understand social security in Europe, it is essential to have
reviewed the various systems in place in the countries across Europe
beforehand, with a view to comparing situations. For the comparison,
it is also important to analyse the social security systems in each
country, looking at their general principles and the four main risks
(sickness, retirement, family, unemployment).
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Local public finance in Europe -
Anne-Claire MARAND ; Richard FRIZON ; Sophie RENARD ; François
SCARBONCHI
For regional local authorities, the nature and level of resources
available and their freedom to make use of these means represent
the fundamental conditions that are essential for them to be able
to exercise their competences freely. While the structure of the
resources of regional local authorities varies only slightly from
one State to another (allocation, taxation, borrowings), the relative
scale of these resources and their general level varies considerably
according to the competences exercised and the level of State supervision
of local authority funding methods or the freedom for managing these
resources. In line with the comparative approach adopted by EUROPA,
a number of particularly illustrative countries are covered by a
research study presenting the history, the regional structure and
the relative weighting of local spending. In addition to this information,
there is also a review of the financial resources available to local
authorities and the perception of financial independence in each
country.
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