In this paper I would like to raise the question at which extent the Union's cohesion policy can promote convergence within the Union. I will discuss major aspects of an analysis on the justification and of the design of the Union's cohesion policy. For this purpose recent empirical data and policies will be investigated. The paper will focus on the weaker Member States of the European Union. (author's abstract) / Series: EI Working Papers / Europainstitut

The presented thesis The causes of insufficient use of EU funds in Slovakia during the 2007- 2013 programming period addresses a system of utilisation of the EU funds in Slovakia which were provided by the European Union's Cohesion Policy in 2007-2013 programming period. The period is the first Cohesion Policy's programming period that could be fully benefited by Slovakia, and although Slovakia was economically highly evaluated even with regards to the economic crisis, at the end of the period the exceptional prolongation of the n+2 rule was demanded, and eventually approved. Therefore, the aim of the thesis is to find and explore possible causes of the lack of benefit of the EU funds that lead to obtaining the exception. The first part of the thesis analyses the theory of regional policy which provides multiple possible alternative hypotheses that answers to the research question. These potential answers constitute the chapters in the second part of the thesis: the responsibility of the utilisation on the regional level, the problems in settings and functioning of the bodies on national level, the external factors impact, and finally the rules posed by the EU. All hypotheses are analysed by the process-tracing method tracking the process of using of the funds. The method tests the key moments in...

This study analyses the Actorness Cohesion (AC) of the EU’s foreign policy in the United Nations General Assembly First Committee by comparing the EU Delegation foreign policy-maker’s role conceptions to those made by the EU Member State (EU MS) Delegations on the same topic clusters. The concept of AC is developed from actorness and role theory as an ideational, constructivist measure of vertical policy coherence. AC represents the absence of ‘vertical conflicts’ between the EU and EU MS Delegation’s expressed role conceptions along four dimensions; Identity Cohesion, Goal Cohesion and Function Cohesion and Worldview Cohesion. This is studied by interpreting the role stability in the role-set; whether the contents are consistent, the EU role conception is central or whether the EU MS Delegations complement and/or are compatible to the EU role conception. Statements on topic clusters: ‘Disarmament Machinery’, ‘Conventional Weapons’ and ‘Outer Space (disarmament aspects)’ are analysed in order to determine the AC. The study concludes that whilst there is little evidence of the EU Delegation’s role conception being central to the EU MS Delegations, there is considerable consistency of contents. There are also indications of an emerging AC due to the EU MS Delegation’s role conceptions being complementary to that of the EU Delegation. The study calls for more research that will complement this plausibility-probe study and the concept of AC.

La protection des sols dans le cadre de l’Union européenne est loin d’être un thème insignifiant. Il est prétexte à une juste remise en cause des paradigmes qui structurent l’édifice politique et juridique de l’Union et qui, au fur et à mesure que les crises écologiques se précisent, se révèlent anachroniques. La protection des sols interroge, en premier lieu, notre rapport à l’espace, dans une Union morcelée par les frontières administratives, elle suggère un renforcement des solidarités écologiques entre les territoires et la reconnaissance de nouvelles responsabilités qui dérivent de l’exercice de la souveraineté, de l’usage du droit de propriété et de l’organisation des espaces et des zones environnementales. La protection des sols questionne notre rapport au temps, à plus forte raison, notre capacité à décider dans une perspective à long terme et non à court terme pour satisfaire des intérêts politiques, économiques ou sociaux immédiats. La protection des sols invite prestement à reconsidérer le postulat de la rationalité économique lequel sous-tend la plupart des politiques de l’Union. Enfin, la thématique Sol place l’Union face à l’un de ses plus grands défis, la sauvegarde des sols en tant que patrimoine naturel commun, et l’oblige à composer avec des réalités écologiques variées, une multitude de territoires et divers usages du sol sans jamais être tentée de renoncer à son engagement en faveur de la protection des sols. / Soil protection within the European Union framework is far from being a minor issue. It is used as a justification to rightly reconsider paradigms which structure the political and legal edifice of the European Union and are proving to be anachronistic, as ecological crisis become more and more apparent. Soil protection first questions our relationship to space, and because the European Union is fragmented into administrative borders, it suggests a reinforcement of ecological solidarities between territories and acknowledgment of new responsibilities driven from the power of sovereignty, the right of ownership and the organization of space and environmental zones. Soil protection questions our relationship to time and even more so, our ability to make decisions within a long-term perspective - and not short-term perceptive - to satisfy political, economical or immediate social interests. Soil protection calls to quickly reconsider the economic rational assumption which underlies most politics of the European Union. Finally, the Soil thematic exposes the European Union to one of its biggest challenges; soil safeguarding as a common natural heritage and it forces the European Union to compose with varied ecological realities, a multitude of territories and diverse soil uses without ever being tempted to give up its commitment towards soil