Primary assumption of this thesis is that the European Union (EU) represents a unique international actor that embodies the major changes in institution of diplomacy. These changes culminate in the 21st Century. They rest namely in widening of diplomatic agenda, increasing number and kind of actors conducting diplomacy, growing importance of multilateral frameworks and transformation of diplomatic actors' objectives. At the centre of our interest lays the concept of structural foreign policy (SFP) that constitutes an analytical framework of this thesis. SFP is an instrument through which the EU exercises its structural power towards third countries. The aim of this thesis is to provide an analysis and critique of the EU's SFP towards Maghreb. The region has been chosen as the subject of our analysis since despite a long term and continuous effort since 1990s the EU has largely failed to effectively exercise its structural power in the region.

The European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) performs several different tests to evaluate vehicles and rate their safety. Some of these tests are subsystem tests made to mimic different body parts of a pedestrian in an interaction with a vehicle. However, some criticism to the test method for the upper leg has been presented, stating that there is a discrepancy between this test method and a real-life interaction. Therefore, a modified test method for the upper leg has been proposed. The aim of this thesis was to evaluate the upper leg test method used today by Euro NCAP, and compare it with the proposed modified test method as well as to computer simulations with a Human Body Model (HBM). The evaluation was performed by comparing different parameters obtained in the two test methods. These have also been compared to computer simulations using a HBM in interaction with a passenger vehicle model. Prior to the evaluation of the test methods, the HBM was positioned into different stances to mimic postures in the human walking cycle. The vehicle model was positioned at four different heights, and three different impact points along the bonnet were used. The results showed that the different methods had their own advantages for some parameters. However, no general conclusion of which method showed the closest correlation to the HBM reference simulations could be determined. / European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) utför flera olika tester för att utvärdera fordon och betygsätta deras säkerhet. Några av dessa tester sker med delsystem skapade för att efterlikna olika kroppsdelar hos en fotgängare i en kollision med ett fordon. Viss kritik har dock riktats mot testmetoden för lårben och höft, då studier visat att det finns en skillnad mellan testmetoden och en verklig kollision. En modifierad testmetod för lårbenet och höften har därför föreslagits. Syftet med detta examensarbete har varit att utvärdera testmetoden för lårben och höft, som idag används av Euro NCAP, och jämföra den med den föreslagna modifierade testmetoden men även datorsimuleringar med en humanmodell. Utvärderingen har genomförts genom att jämföra olika parametrar som erhållits från de två testmetoderna. Dessa parametrar har även jämförts med datorsimuleringar av fotgängarkollisioner med en humanmodell och en bilmodell. Humanmodellen positionerades i olika kroppsställningar innan utvärderingen av testmetoderna genomfördes. Detta för att efterlikna verkliga positioner i en mänsklig gångcykel. Bilmodellen positionerades vid fyra olika höjder och tre träffpunkter längs motorhuven användes. Resultaten visade att båda metoderna hade fördelar gentemot varandra för vissa parametrar. Ingen generell slutsats kunde dock dras om vilken metod som visade närmast korrelation till referenssimuleringarna med humanmodellen.

Global economic and financial crisis uncovered serious structural deficiencies of the EU economies - especially of the Eurozone members. High levels of debt have resulted in inability to honour it and state bankruptcies or necessary debt restructurings are a real possibility. This paper analyzes the current Eurozone crisis on the basis of theoretical and methodical foundations of the Optimal Currency Area literature and theory of economic integration. It evaluates the rationality of the Maastricht nominal convergence criteria and analyzes the role of real convergence criteria in like with the introduction of common currency and common monetary policy. It discusses the non-compliance with the Stability and Growth Pact which was supposed to ensure fiscal discipline also after a country's Euro accession. It also deals with the current developments in the monetary and fiscal crisis of the most affected Eurozone members (Greece, Ireland, Portugal) which have already had to ask for financial aid from the EU and the IMF. Tools and measures adopted in this light by the EU and other national and supra-national authorities are also discussed and their partial evaluation is presented. The final section offers possible alternatives of future development of the Eurozone.

This graduate thesis analyses the EU security policy towards the Maghreb between 2005 and 2010. It does so in order to ascertain to what extent the level of practical policy corresponds with the level of declarations. Also, by using the promotion of democratic governance in the Maghreb countries under the ENP as s case study, the thesis means to challenge the proposition that European Union can be described as a 'Normative Power'. First chapter briefly presents the concept of 'Normative Power Europe'. Following section looks at the European Security Strategy and localizes the primary position of the goal of democracy promotion in the document. Third part gives an overview of the European policy towards the Mediterranean under which EU relations with the Maghreb have been framed. Most attention is paid to the European Neighbourhood Policy. Next chapter examines the level of practical EU policy. It consists of three separate case studies of European policy towards Tunisia, Morocco and Libya between 2005 and 2010. The fifth and final part qualitatively analyses the way four factors (trade, energy, migration and terrorism) contributed to the structuring of relations of Tunisia, Morocco and Libya with Spain, France and Italy. The thesis arrives at the conclusion that while at the declaratory level the EU strives...

The main aim of this thesis is the analysis of European Neighbourhood Policy, which was established in 2004 in connection with the eastern enlargement of European Union. The main goal of European Neighbourhood Policy is to create an area of stability, prosperity and welfare with its neighbourhood countries. Partnership is based on the commitments to create an area of rule of law, good governance, respect for human rights, promotion of principles of market economy and promotion of sustainable development. Political cooperation is complemented by EU financial aid to neighbourhood countries. Thanks to financial support the neighbourhood countries should implement the necessary reforms, which later help to establish shared values. This thesis seeks to examine what is the impact of EU to internal political situation of neighbourhood countries. The hypothesis assumes that the higher EU financial aid to neighbourhood countries increases its influence on the internal political situation at neighbourhood countries.

This dissertation is a collection of three essays dealing with selected problems of the Euro Area during its most recent crisis. It applies empirical, theoretical, and institutional analyses to gain new insights into many of its financial aspects. The first essay offers an alternative explanation for the surge in government bond spreads. Many researchers attribute this phenomenon to market sentiment and multiple equilibria alone. We show that an often neglected fundamental variable may drive spreads: a decrease in the expected recovery value of private market participants. With an ever-increasing share of crisis countries’ debt held by official creditors, private investors may feel pushed into the position of subordinated creditors. The other two essays both explain the sharp increase in central bank credit from different perspectives. First, from the national perspective, central banks may be confronted with a classical tragedy-of-the-commons problem, which gives rise to an expansionary bias. Second, from the perspective of the ECB, we argue that the empirical patterns surrounding the liquidity provision in December 2011 are reminiscent of a speculative attack on a fixed exchange rate system.

This paper investigates a new category of influential factors on business cycle synchronization (BCS), so far hardly regarded in the BCS literature: It provides an empirical assessment of the impact of macroeconomic imbalances, as monitored by the European Commission by the scoreboard indicators since 2011, on BCS in the Euozone. We use a quarterly data set covering the period 2002-2012 and estimate the direct and indirect effects of macroeconomic imbalances in the pre- and post-crisis period in a simultaneous equations model. Business cycle correlation between EA members is measured by the recently proposed dynamic conditional correlation of Engle 2002 which can better identify synchronous and asynchronous behaviour of BC than the commonly used measures. We find that appearing differences between EA members in the current account, in government deficit and public debt, in private debt and unit labor cost developments have reduced BCS in the EA, even more in the post-crisis period than before. Moreover, these explanatory factors of BCS, generally reinforce each other and are also influenced by other critical macro imbalances. Since BCS is essential in a monetary union, this paper provides clear support that a stronger, common economic governance would be important for the functioning and survival of the Eurozone. (authors' abstract) / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

The sluggish development of corporate lending has remained the central concern of EU monetary policy makers as it is considered to hinder seriously the resurgence of growth. This paper looks at the development of loans to large corporations vs SMEs in the pre-crisis and post-crisis period and wishes to answer: (i) to which extent do allocated loan volumes actually contribute to Output growth? (ii) which factors determine the development of loans, considering above all loan interest rates? and (iii) what causes differences in loan interest levels across the EA? The results indicate that different loan developments in the EA explain very well differences in output development, loans to SMEs contribute even more to output growth than those for large corporations. Loan development itself is negatively influenced by the interest level which differs significantly across EA members, with small loans in addition always being charged an interest premium over large loans. The capitalization of banks, the size of banks and their internationalization play a role as well. A part of the sluggish growth of loans can be explained by the increasing use of alternative financial instruments by large firms. Interest rates in turn are following the ECB interest rate, - but this link has become looser in the post-crisis period, and long term government bond rates. Different risks faced by banks and different bank structures have become important explanatories of interest rates in the post-crisis period. (author's abstract) / Series: Department of Economics Working Paper Series

Notre projet de recherche se situe dans le cadre de l'analyse du discours en tant que discipline qui traite le fonctionnement du discours en situation. Notre propos s'inscrit donc dans la relation entre événement et discours, en particulier au sein du débat institutionnel français lors du remplacement monétaire du franc opéré par la monnaie unique, autrement dit lors du " passage à l'euro ". Ce sujeta demandé aux locuteurs de notre corpus de rechercher de façon continue l'adhésion de leurauditoire. Pour cette raison, une approche argumentative s'est tout de suite imposée à notrerecherche : nous avons ainsi mis l'accent sur l'utilisation de formes et structures intra-discursivesfinalisées à créer un climat de confiance ou de méfiance envers la monnaie unique.Notre attention s'est concentré sur l'étude des stratégies argumentatives en relation avec les positionnements et les thèses politiques et économiques défendues à l'intérieur de ce débat.Quelles stratégies de persuasion ont été employées en France pour argumenter ce passage ? À travers quels types d'arguments les locuteurs ont-ils organisé l'objectif de leur discours? Finalement, existe-il un discours sur l'euro associable à des argumentations spécifiques selon les places argumentatives occupées par ses partisans et ses opposants ?

A phantom is haunting the EU enlargement process. Some fear that the Balassa-Samuelson (B-S) effect might be a major obstacle for the Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) to become members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). A review of the relevant literature reveals that most estimations of the B-S effect in the EU acceding countries are flawed by one kind or the other. Either they do not estimate correctly the B-S propositions, or if they measure it they use a variety of measures for the variables needed. Additionally, the B-S effect is only a special case of a broader approach towards equilibrium real exchange rates. Lastly the B-S effect is studied in a CGE multi-country world in order to detect possible spillover effects. After describing the "official" road map towards the EMU, it is concluded that the uncertainties in measuring the B-S are much too high in order to see in it (alone) a major hindrance for the CEEC to become early members of the EMU. Moreover, real exchange rate appreciations that reflect productivity gains in the tradable sector are an equilibrium phenomenon and do not require a policy response. They are a natural phenomena in catching-up countries like the CEEC. Furthermore, the official doctrine for entering the EMU by the EU/ECB only interdicts depreciations but not appreciations for potential EMU members. (author's abstract) / Series: EI Working Papers / Europainstitut