Julia Leininger, Christoph Strupat, Yonas Adeto, Abebe Shimeles, and Wilson Wasike
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:
Direct and indirect effects' of the Covid-19 pandemic on the prospects of structural transformation in Africa are at the core of this study. It is comprehensive and identifies patterns of country groups. Social cohesion matters for effective policy responses and longer-term sustainable development.
Topic:
Sustainable Development Goals, Pandemic, and COVID-19
German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:
Budgetary constraints forced Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia to reduce energy and food subsidy after 2010 but they applied different strategies, thereby transforming their existing, quite akin social contracts into different new ones delivering more protection, provision or participation for citizens.
Topic:
Reform, Social Contract, Participation, and Subsidies
Political Geography:
Middle East, North Africa, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia
German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:
Regional tariff commitments have successfully reduced intra-African applied tariffs but they also sharply reduced the tariff policy space within Africa. Has this come at the expense of the prevalence of non-tariff measures? What are the implications for the AfCFTA?
Topic:
Tariffs, Trade, Non-Tariff Measures, and Regional Economy
Despite the European Union's ambitious response,
the current crisis is a stark reminder of a nagging
problem: the challenge, in practice, to the principles
and concepts governing major European economic
policies. This situation can be seen in monetary
policy, budgetary rules, trade policy, competition,
the European budget and the structure of the euro
zone. It fuels resentment between Member States
and populations and, paradoxically, it encourages
economic divergence. It is also undermining the
legibility and credibility of European action in the
eyes of the public. It therefore would seem advisable
to reform the European economic framework in a
pragmatic rather than radical way.
For half a decade, the Polish government has been
reshaping the country's judicial system in a process
described by the European Union as a "threat to the
rule of law". Despite numerous Council of Europe
reports and resolutions, several infringement
proceedings and decisions of the Court of Justice of
the European Union (ECJ), and the unprecedented
activation of the so-called Article 7 procedure of the
Treaty on European Union (TEU), the transformation
of the judiciary into relays of political power has
continued and accelerated since the Law and Justice
Party (PiS) won a new term in 2019 and the reelection of President Andrzej Duda in 2020, pushing
Poland to the limits of the European legal order.
Topic:
Government, European Union, Courts, and Rule of Law
Sarah Brichet, Hugo Chouarbi, Marie Dénoue, Valérian Frossard, Armony Laurent, Nicolas Libert, Anne-Flore Magnuszewski, Pauline Maillard, and Juliette Rolin
Publication Date:
04-2021
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Robert Schuman Foundation (RSF)
Abstract:
The launch of the European Defence Fund is a true step forward. Its objective is to facilitate the
emergence of a European defence industrial and technological base through cooperation between
European industrialists and thus reduce European "capability bottlenecks" in the field of military
equipment while attempting to increase the Union's "strategic autonomy". With a budget of €7 billion
under the EU's new multi-annual budget, a new Directorate General, DG DEFIS, will be responsible
for its management, under the supervision of the European Commissioner for the Internal Market,
Thierry Breton. At the heart of European institutional and conceptual transformations, its operation and
management are of particular importance.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Regional Cooperation, Science and Technology, Governance, and Industry
Crises reveal the state of a policy, reveal its ambiguities, strengths and shortcomings, and
sometimes force a redefinition or clarification of its guiding principles to ensure its sustainability, if
not its survival. Although at the height of the crisis, there is a reflex to completely overhaul what
already exists, the constants and structuring considerations quickly tend to dampen the ardour for
reform.
Topic:
Reform, European Union, Trade, COVID-19, and Adaptation
The fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the
USSR were supposed to usher in a golden age in
which liberal democracy and a market economy would
naturally spread throughout the European continent.
On the strength of this optimism, the European Union
concluded accession negotiations with ten countries
between 2003 and 2005, opened them to Croatia and
Turkey, promised the same to the Western Balkans and
launched the Neighbourhood Policy in the East and the
South. Initiated in 2004, this policy intended to ensure
'stability and prosperity' on the European Union’s new
borders after the accession of the Central and Eastern
European countries.
We live at a time of deep and radical transformations.
The pandemic has accelerated many of the changes
that were already underway and has brought new
challenges to the surface. Among the most affected
realms of our societies, we undoubtedly find work and
the freedom of movement of people. In Europe, it is
precisely at the intersection of these two elements
that the posting of workers lays. In this field, we
are also at a crucial moment because the pandemic
arrived just a few months before the deadline for
the implementation of the changes related to the
revision of the Posting of Workers Directive. Hence, it
has become even more urgent to understand how all
these changes have impacted the posting of workers
as well as propose solutions to facilitate workers
and companies in this adaptation path. That is key
if we are to safeguard an important instrument of
the European single market. This is exactly the merit
of this article and its two co-authors: offering a first
and clear account of the characteristics of posting of
workers during the pandemic, identifying the main
challenges faced by Member States, EU institutions
and businesses, while also identifying some potential
future developments, despite the climate of great
uncertainty surrounding us.
Topic:
European Union, Crisis Management, Pandemic, and COVID-19
According to official statistics, the African continent
has been relatively spared by the Covid-19 pandemic
compared to Europe, America and Asia. The factors
behind the low incidence of coronavirus in Africa
are not fully understood. According to the WHO, the
African continent has benefited from certain structural
factors such as the limited international connectivity
of most African countries, with the exception of some
regional "hubs" such as Johannesburg, Casablanca,
Addis Ababa and Nairobi. Incidentally, the most
'connected' African countries such as Morocco and
South Africa have incurred the highest prevalence
rates of Covid-19, which may lend credence to this
explanation.
Topic:
International Relations, European Union, Pandemic, and COVID-19