November 3, 2013
During the last two decades the EU has gained more and more competences to formulate public policies. This happend within a broader process of sharing sovereignty and legitimacy with the Member States. In a nutshell, the subsidiarity principle says that “in areas which do not fall within its exclusive competence, the Union shall act only… » read more
Posted by windnielsen
October 27, 2013
Back in the 50’s solidarity was one of the main drivers behind the decision of Benelux, France and Germany to create a common market for steel and coal. Since then, solidarity stood at the core of the European project and played a major role in the EU’s expansion towards Eastern Europe. Both in 2004 and… » read more
Posted by windnielsen
October 24, 2013
Governance is one of the buzzwords that politicians, scholars and civil society use to define a unique blend of relationships that make the EU such a distinctive construction in terms of functions and representation. Traditional governments are not capable anymore to capture the dynamic of inter-governmental agreements and supranational decision-making processes having a direct impact… » read more
Posted by windnielsen
October 21, 2013
Beforehand, we addressed the confusing ETC language on indicators and argued that the context indicators are usually defined by the national statistical services and used to measure an objective to be met, a resource to be mobilized or an effect to be obtained and are highly contingent with their environment. Anheier et. al summarize this… » read more
Posted by windnielsen
Cross-border cooperation is set to continue as one of the main objectives of the ETC for the next programming period of 2014-2020. In a unique construction such as the EU, which blends inter-governmental and supra-national institutions, national and local governments it becomes mandatory to use clear terminology and simplify the public speech. According to Ferdinand… » read more
Posted by windnielsen
September 25, 2013
As a symbol of its legal and institutional complexity, the EU Regional policy is represented by a Rubick cub. Although symbols share some common traits with indicators, such as the power to capture the significance of an object, they differ fundamentally from the later by their multiple meanings and interpretations. If regarded from Brussels, the… » read more
Posted by windnielsen
September 12, 2013
Usually, the indicators set up for cross-border co-operation Programmes are national driven and do not properly match the local needs for joint development. Furthermore, they lack transparency (non-clear data sources and no measurement methodologies), thus they are not well suited to reflect any improvements in the quality of life of the citizens living in the… » read more
Posted by windnielsen
September 11, 2013
The Arab Spring is also about the conflict between governments and governance. The former understand power from a top-down perspective and leave no real space for democratic participation. The latter sees power not exercise over but with the others as a better way to ensure participation and deliver public goods. In such circumstances violence seems… » read more
Posted by windnielsen
September 10, 2013
On the following link Francis Fukuyama discusses the relation between governments and governance as part of a larger discussion on governance indicators. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4gD6GHEQVRQ
Posted by windnielsen
September 9, 2013
During the implementation of a cross-border programme, the following EU Regulations must be respected: EC Regulation 1080/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the ERDF; Council Regulation no. 1083/2006 laying down the provisions on the ERDF, ESF and Cohesion Fund and the Commission Regulation no 1828/2006 setting out the rules for the… » read more
Posted by windnielsen
This blog plans to discuss the quality of governance in cross-border cooperation. For this purpose, we plan to develop a more profound understanding of the problems currently affecting the capacity of the European Territorial Cooperation to reduce dispar
