The Oxford Handbook of Italian Politics provides a comprehensive look at the political life of one of Europe's most exciting and turbulent democracies. Under the hegemonic influence of Christian Democracy in the early post-World War II decades, Italy went through a period of rapid growth and political transformation. In part this resulted in tumult and a crisis of governability; however, it also gave rise to innovation in the form of Eurocommunism and new forms of political accommodation. The great strength of Italy lay in its constitution; its great weakness lay in certain legacies of the past. Organized crime - popularly but not exclusively associated with the mafia - is one example. A self-contained and well entrenched 'caste' of political and economic elites is another. These weaknesses became apparent in the breakdown of political order in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This ushered in a combination of populist political mobilization and experimentation with electoral systems design, and the result has been more evolutionary than transformative. Italian politics today is different from what it was during the immediate post-World War II period, but it still shows many of the influences of the past.

Since its formation the European Union has expanded beyond all expectations, and this expansion seems set to continue as more countries seek accession and the scope of EU law expands, touching more and more aspects of its citizens' lives. The EU has never been stronger and yet it now appears to be reaching a crisis point, beset on all sides by conflict and challenges to its legitimacy. Nationalist sentiment is on the rise and the Eurozone crisis has had a deep and lasting impact. EU law, always controversial, continues to perplex, not least because it remains difficult to analyse. What is the EU? An international organization, or a federation? Should its legal concepts be measured against national standards, or another norm? The Oxford Handbook of European Union Law illuminates the richness and complexity of the debates surrounding the law and policies of the EU. Comprising eight sections, it examines how we are to conceptualize EU law; the architecture of EU law; making and administering EU law; the economic constitution and the citizen; regulation of the market place; economic, monetary, and fiscal union; the Area of Freedom, Security, and Justice; and what lies beyond the regulatory state. Each chapter summarizes, analyses, and reflects on the state of play in a given area, and suggests how it is likely to develop in the foreseeable future. Written by an international team of leading commentators, this Oxford Handbook creates a vivid and provocative tapestry of the key issues shaping the laws of the European Union.

The law of the external relations of the European Union is a subject of great importance. The EU institutions have developed an extensive practice in this area, by concluding many international agreements, by participating in the work of international organizations, and by legislating and regulating on matters of external relations. It is a practice giving rise to many legal problems and questions, as evidenced by the substantial and fast expanding body of case-law in this area from the EU Courts. These problems and questions are often of constitutional significance, and the external relations law of the EU therefore occupies an important place in the overall constitutional and institutional development of the EU.
This volume examines the legal foundations of the EU's external relations. It focuses on the EU's external competencies and objectives; on the instruments, principles, and actors of external policies; and on the legal effects of international agreements and international law. It analyses a number of key external policies, particularly in the fields of trade and foreign policy.
Substantially updated to take into account recent case law, it also incorporates an examination of the changes made by the Lisbon Treaty. This new edition, formerly published as External Relations of the European Union: Legal and Constitutional Foundations, is an invaluable asset to those studying and working in the field.

The Global Financial Crisis has re-ordered how the EU intervenes in the EU financial market, both with respect to regulation and with respect to supervision. After 5 years of a behemoth reform agenda, the new landscape is now clear. Rule-making power has decisively moved to the EU and radical reforms have been made to the organization of supervision. EU Securities and Financial Markets Regulation provides the first comprehensive, critical, and contextual account of the vast new rule-book which now applies to the EU financial market in the aftermath of the seismic reforms which have followed the financial crisis. Topics covered in-depth include the AIFMD, EMIR, the Short Selling Regulation, the new market abuse and transparency regimes, the rating agency regime, the UCITS IV-VI reforms, and MiFID II/MiFIR; the analysis is wide-reaching, extending to secondary legislation and relevant soft law. The book also examines the far-reaching institutional changes which have followed and considers in detail the role and impact of the European Securities and Markets Authority and the potential impact of the Single Supervisory Mechanism for euro area banks on the supervision of the EU financial market. EU Securities and Financial Markets Regulation is the third edition of the highly successful and authoritative monograph first published as EC Securities Regulation. Almost entirely recast and re-written from the 2008 second edition to reflect the changes wrought by the Global Financial Crisis, it adopts the in-depth contextual and analytical approach of earlier editions and so considers the market, political, international, institutional, and constitutional context of the new regulatory and supervisory regime, and the underlying forces which have (and will continue to) shape it.

The two years since publication of the first edition of The Law of EU External Relations: Cases, Materials, and Commentary on the EU as an International Actor have been characterized by the large amount of case law on the new provisions on external relations, which have found their way into the Lisbon Treaty. Moreover, there have been important changes in EU secondary law on external relations as a consequence of these changes to the Lisbon Treaty. In this second edition, new case law and legislative developments are critically discussed and analysed in this comprehensive collection of EU Treaty law. Combining chapters on the general basis of the Union's external action and its relation to international law, with chapters which further explore the law and practice of the EU in the specialized fields of external action, this book presents the law of EU external relations in a concise and accessible manner for students, practitioners, and academics in the field. Topics include the common commercial policy, development cooperation, cooperation with third countries, humanitarian aid, the enlargement and neighbourhood policies, the external environmental policy, and the common foreign and security policy. Carefully selected primary documents are accompanied with analytic commentary on the issues they raise and their significance for the overall structure of EU external relations law. The primary materials selected include many important legal documents that are hard to find elsewhere but give a vital insight into the operation of EU external relations law in practice.

Two of the world's leading political scientists present the best of their research, focusing on how to build and test a social science of law and courts. Written for a broad, scholarly audience, the book is also recommended for use in graduate and advanced undergraduate courses in law and the social sciences.

This book investigates the role of bourgeoisie society and the political developments of the nineteenth century in the peculiarities of German history. Most historians attribute German exceptionalism to the failure or absence of bourgeois revolution in German history and the failure of the bourgeoisie to conquer the pre-industrial traditions of authoritarianism. However, this study finds that there was a bourgeois revolution in Germany, though not the traditional type. This so-called silent bourgeois revolution brought about the emergence and consolidation of the capitalist system based on the sanctity and disposability of private property and on production to meet individual needs through a system of exchange dominated by the market. In this connection, this book proposes a redefinition of the concept of bourgeois revolution to denote a broader pattern of material, institutional, legal, and intellectual changes whose cumulative effect was all the more powerful for coming to be seen as natural.

Charts the Union's development from its conception through to the implementation of the Maastricht Treaty and its continuing activities. Includes an A-Z section of concise definitions and explanations of organizations, acronyms and terms.

The most extensive collection of information available on the European Union.
The third edition of this definitive reference work has been thoroughly revised and updated to provide the latest information on the EU. It charts the Union's development from its conception through to the creation of the single market in 1992, to the implementation of the Maastricht Treaty and its continuing activities. Contents include:
An A-Z section of concise definitions and explanations of organizations, acronyms and terms, plus short articles on the member states.
A series of introductory articles providing a broader view of the policies and activities of the EU.
Statistical data for the entire EU on trade, employment and industrial production.
An extensive directory of key names, addresses, phone and fax numbers, e-mail and internet addresses for all major European Union institutions and official bodies.
Details of MEPs, their political groups and national parties, members of major committees, Directorates-General and other commission bodies.

This is an authoritative, one-volume, and independent treatment of the history, functioning and nature of the European integration. Written by a selection of leading scholars. It covers the major institutions, policies, and events in the history of integration, whilst also providing a guide to the major theoretical approaches that have been used to study it over time. By bringing together such a distinguished cast covering such a wide array of themes, the Handbook is intended as a one stop shop for all those interested in the European Union and its predecessors. Written in an accessible style, the volume is intended to shape the discipline of EU studies, and to establish itself as the essential point of reference for all those interested in European integration, both in universities and more broadly. It represents a timely guide to an institution that is much discussed but often only imperfectly understood.

With Economic and Monetary Union, the European Union has embarked on one of the biggest projects in its history. Previous literature has focused on how EMU came into being and on the policy issues that it raises. This text seeks to move the discussion forwards by offering a systematic evaluation of how it is affecting EU states, both members and non-members of the Euro-Zone. It explicitly situates EMU in the growing literature on Europeanization. It examines the effects on public policies, political structures, discourses, and identities. The book seeks to identify the scope of EMU's effects, the direction that it imparts to political and policy changes, the mechanisms by which it produces its effects, and the role of domestic institutions, political leadership and specific forms of discourse in shaping responses. In addition, the book assesses how, and with what effects, EMU is affecting key policy sectorslabour markets and wages, welfare states, and financial market governance.

In this timely and significant study of delegation and agency in the European Union, one of the leading authors in the field examines the role of supranational actors like the Commission, the Court of Justice, and the European Parliament in the process of European integration and in contemporary EU governance.

European law has come to influence almost all fields of national law, including administrative, constitutional, contract, criminal and even tort law. But what is the European Union? How does it work? How does it produce European law? This book uses a clear framework to guide readers through all core constitutional and substantive topics of EU law. New content includes: a Brexit chapter covering the negotiation process and the possible future relationships between the United Kingdom and the European Union, new EU private international law and EU criminal law sections, and extended coverage of delegated legislation, human rights and free movement of persons. All chapters reflect judicial and legislative practice up to 31st December 2017. Key features include case extracts accompanied by extensive critical discussion of the theoretical and practical aspects of EU law, over 100 figures and tables clarifying complex topics and a companion website with full 'Lisbonised' versions of cited cases and many extra materials.

The Achmea judgment revolutionised intra-EU investment protection by declaring intra-EU bilateral investment treaties (intra-EU BITs) incompatible with EU law. This incisive book investigates whether intra-EU foreign investments benefit from this alteration, which discontinued the parallel applicability of intra-EU BITs and EU law in the EU internal market. Analysing the level of protection offered to four identified types of investments, Dominik Moskvan argues that certain investors will find more favourable substantive protection under the framework of EU law as opposed to intra-EU BITs. However, he also highlights the loss of investment safeguards significant to more complex investments when relying exclusively on EU law. Furthermore, since the analysis reveals important differences in the approaches of EU Member States' judiciaries, the book proposes the creation of a permanent intra-EU foreign investment court to ensure a balanced economic development of the EU internal market. This book's discussion of the impact of the EU legal framework on investors' decisions will be beneficial for both EU and national policymakers when challenged with forming recommendations aimed at improving intra-EU investment policy. The comparative legal analysis from an investor perspective will also be of interest to scholars in EU and international investment law, as well as to lawyers advising foreign investors.

A-state-of-the-art and comprehensive survey covering all aspects of politics in Western Europe. The volume brings together the very best scholars in the field from the UK, continental Europe and North America.

Exploring the considerable qualitative research conducted by the Judicial Cooperation in Economic Recovery (JCOERE) Project, this book provides a rich analysis of the questions surrounding the contrasting legal traditions and cultures within the European framework. Building on existing research, this book analyses the EU Directive (2019) harmonising 'preventive restructuring' law in a number of member states of the EU. Embodying a modern approach to business failure involving radical concepts, it examines the imposition of a stay or moratorium, the process of agreeing a compromise of existing debt through cram-down and final approval, and ultimately financing the rescued business into the future. These concepts are considered in addition to the obligations imposed on courts through EU Regulation (2015) to cooperate in cross-border litigation in insolvency generally. Chapters also provide a critical analysis of legal texts and commentary, studying the development of the Preventive Restructuring Directive (PRD) and domestic preventive restructuring processes. Critically considering the legal initiatives affecting business rescue within a broader EU legal context, this book will be an insightful read for EU policy-makers and insolvency lawyers and practitioners. Academics and researchers with an interest in European law and EU integration will also benefit from this comprehensive book.

This timely book sets out a shrewd and comprehensive policy programme, for both 'microeconomic' supply-side settings of tax and regulatory systems, and 'macroeconomic' policies for fiscal and monetary policies to regulate demand and support the supply-side growth agenda. Explaining the numerous benefits of free trade after Britain's exit from the EU, and challenging the anti-Brexit argument, Patrick Minford builds on his extensive research into economic modelling to quantify the effects of Brexit and propose policies for the aftermath. Laying out an agenda for replacing social interventionist EU regulation with a robust free market framework, Minford proposes a radical tax reform programme to broaden the tax base and flatten marginal rates. This incisive book looks to the future of the UK beyond Brexit, addressing the effects of coronavirus and proposing an avenue of policies for recovery. Featuring key empirical analysis and insightful arguments, this book will be crucial reading for economists and policymakers investigating and overseeing the future of UK economic policy. It will also benefit scholars of economics and political economy, particularly those interested in tax reform programmes.

This revised and updated Research Handbook on European State Aid Law brings together established academics and practitioners to provide a wide-ranging coverage of the field. Incorporating political science, economics and the law in its analysis, it provides a strong overview of the salient issues in State aid law and policy. Chapters address the significance of State aid to various aspects of the political and legal systems of the Member States, including taxation, the financial sector, and the interplay between EU rules on State aid, free movement and public procurement. The Research Handbook further examines the application of the State aid rules to major sectors of the EU economy and introduces brand new themes for State aid analysis, such as arbitration, social services and the impact of Brexit. Featuring theoretical explorations and empirical studies, this Research Handbook will be crucial reading for scholars and researchers of EU State aid law, especially those searching for new avenues of research. It will also be a useful reference point for officials in national governments and the European Commission who are engaged in the State aid approval process. Judges hoping to expand their knowledge of EU State aid law and policy will also benefit from this insightful Research Handbook.

Illustrating the legacy of Brexit, this timely Research Handbook provides a comprehensive and coherent analysis of not only the Brexit process within the UK but also what it means for both the UK and the EU within the framework of their future relationship. Bringing together contributions from leading scholars in the field, this Research Handbook considers the ways in which the legal, economic and political uncertainty brought about by Brexit through the upheaval of established norms and values will continue to reverberate for the remainder of the 2020s and beyond. Divided into four parts, it focuses on different aspects of the Brexit process and the EU-UK future relationship, including Brexit's impact on the political system of the United Kingdom, repatriation of laws and competences and a post-Brexit framework. Above all, it argues that Brexit creates both new challenges and new opportunities for the UK but also for the process of EU integration. The Research Handbook on Legal Aspects of Brexit will be crucial reading for researchers and students in the fields of constitutional and administrative law, European law and politics looking to enhance their understanding of the impact that Brexit will have for both the UK and the EU.

This insightful book provides readers with a practical and theoretical explanation of the ways in which the new, tailor-made Innovation Partnership Procedure can be used throughout all Member States in the European Union. Pedro Cerqueira Gomes argues that innovation is a crucial policy of the EU that must be extended to public procurement. With a focus on the Procurement Directive for the public sector (Directive 2014/24/EU), the author explores the ways in which this new EU legislative framework has succeeded in transforming this legal subject into a driver of innovation. The author explains and analyses in detail the fundamental characteristics of the Innovation Partnership Procedure, while also investigating whether the EU will be capable of increasing the levels of innovation procurement in public sectors of all Member States. Issues and elements of the procedure that can be viewed as challenges of the EU harmonisation process are also considered throughout. Thought-provoking and thorough, EU Public Procurement and Innovation will be a key resource for practitioners, lawyers and consultants in all Member States looking to better understand how to use the Innovation Partnership Procedure within the EU law and legal framework.

Identifying a crisis for representative democracy in Western European party systems, this essential book studies the widening gap between political parties' ideological economic Left-Right rhetoric and their increasing convergence on policymaking. Addressing whether these ideologies are converging or diverging, it answers whether these changes are initiated by the parties themselves, aligned with voter demand, or forced by economic globalization. The crisis of representative democracy in Western Europe is a prevalent issue in comparative politics. This comprehensive study assesses the problems faced by representative democracy by analysing ideological polarization and inter-party conflict in relation to the changing linkage between citizens, parties, and public policies, and the implications this has for representative democracy. Considering both supply-side and demand-side theories, it analyses five major theoretical themes central to the ideological convergence and polarization within party systems, including the cartel party thesis, the median voter theorem, realignment theory, consensus democracy theory, and globalization theory. Going beyond theory, chapters use five decades of empirical research to present new and unique longitudinal and comparative data sets covering eight party systems, ultimately providing a more accurate diagnosis of the vitality of representative democracy in contemporary Western Europe. Combining in-depth theoretical analysis with empirical research, this comprehensive book will prove invaluable to students and scholars of politics and political science, and policymakers concerned with party systems.

This comprehensive textbook provides a thorough guide to the economic analysis of law, with a particular focus on civil law systems. It encapsulates a structured analysis and nuanced evaluation of norms and legal policies, using the tools of economic theory. Key features include: Examples and cases that illustrate central concepts of the economic analysis of law in relation to civil law doctrines Examination of the core areas of civil law: tort law, contract law, property law, intellectual property law as well as basic problems of insolvency law and corporate law In-depth analysis of the legal rules of statutory law and judge-made law, demonstrating the extent to which these rules are either based on economic criteria or run parallel to them - and the extent to which such criteria facilitate the application and further development of law. This substantially revised second edition presents the latest insights into legal economic research, including important empirical and behavioural deliberations. It will be a valuable guide for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of law and economics.

This insightful book analyzes the evolution of the operational tasks and cooperation of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX), the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (EUROPOL). Exploring the recent expansion of the legal mandates of these decentralized EU agencies and the activities they undertake in practice, David Fernandez-Rojo offers a critical assessment of the EU migration agencies. The book identifies two key trends in the administration of the European Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. Fernandez-Rojo discusses how on one hand the new legal frameworks of FRONTEX, EASO and EUROPOL stress that their operational roles are limited to providing national authorities with technical assistance, while on the other hand these agencies are increasingly involved in guaranteeing the enforcement of EU migration, asylum and border management measures. The book expertly illustrates how FRONTEX, EASO and EUROPOL establish an effective and uniform national implementation of laws and policies, with a focus on their multilateral cooperation in the hotspots established in the aftermath of the refugee crisis. Examining the de jure and de facto operational powers and cooperation of EU migration agencies, this book will be critical reading for academics and students of law, international relations and political science. Its assessment of the effectiveness of policy implementation will also be beneficial for legal practitioners, policy makers and NGOs.

In this timely and insightful book, Laura Maxim evaluates the use of socio-economic analysis (SEA) in the regulation of potentially carcinogenic, mutagenic, and toxic chemicals. Retracing the history of the use of cost-benefit analysis in chemical risk policies, this book presents contemporary discourse on the political success of SEA. Informed by empirical research, theoretical analysis, and professional experience in implementing EU Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH), Maxim proposes a new form of risk regulation called 'regulatory co-management', of which SEA has become a convenient tool. Chapters outline the controversy surrounding cost-benefit analysis in the US, the history of chemical regulation in Europe since 1967, and the construction and institutionalization of the European Chemicals Agency's (ECHA) socio-economic guidelines. The book concludes by analyzing legal, political, and ethical criticisms of the role of SEA in the authorization of chemicals such as lead chromate, chromium trioxide, and sodium dichromate. With direct relevance to ongoing debates about the revision of EU chemicals policy, this unique book will be essential reading for practitioners of socio-economic analysis and stakeholders involved in REACH. It will also be beneficial to academics and students of environmental governance and regulation, European politics and policy, and industrial economics.

Through a pioneering analysis of two critical junctures in EU counter-terrorism, this topical book examines the drivers, conditions and impediments for policy integration and information-exchange institutionalisation in EU counter-terrorism. Taking a deep dive into the key questions surrounding EU counter-terrorism, Christine Andreeva utilises distinct terrorism case studies over two decades to investigate the evolution of information-sharing in EU counter-terrorism. Using an innovative theoretical framework combining historical and constructivist institutionalism, the book examines key events in EU counter-terrorism development: the 2015-2016 Paris and Brussels attacks and the 2004-2005 Madrid and London attacks. Identifying a post-2015 paradigm policy shift, the book traces the increased efficiency of cross-border and inter-agency co-ordination in the EU's counter-terrorism policy. Andreeva demonstrates how institutionalisation, information-sharing and improved legislative frameworks have led to further policy integration and added significant value to international EU counter-terrorism efforts. Illustrating the importance of practitioners' perception of EU added value in counter-terrorism, this book will be essential to scholars and students of public policy, particularly those studying EU and international politics and EU counter-terrorism. Its empirical findings will also be useful to policymakers and practitioners in security and counter-terrorism fields.

Carefully authored by Justine Pila, this significantly revised and expanded third edition of Catherine Seville's classic text, presents a thorough and detailed treatise on EU intellectual property (IP) law, taking into account the many developments in legislation and case law since the second edition. As well as setting out the legal framework for the main IP rights - copyright, patents, designs, trademarks, and related rights - the book examines the enforcement of IP rights, and the relationship of IP with the EU's rules on the free movement of goods and competition. It also addresses the increasingly global exploitation of IP, while harmonisation remains partial, even at the EU level. This authoritative reference work is a rigorous and precise account of these complex and technical fields. It will be an essential resource for both practitioners and scholars in the field of IP. Key Features: Significantly updated and expanded since the second edition Precise and eloquent examination of all IP rights in the EU Coverage of the interaction between EU, National and International laws A key reference work for practitioners and academics