NEUJOBS Blog

What about the social profile of the EU? We share with you two interesting publications on one of the topics of NEUJOBS: EU integration and its social dimension. The two papers come from leading scholars: Maurizio Ferrera University of Milan and Jean Claude Barbier CNRS Paris. Both look at the recent evolution of the EU social dimension with different approaches and divergent conclusions: Ferrera (with the paper ‘Liberal Neo-Welfarism: new perspectives for the European Social Model’) adresses the ideological foundations of the EU straetgy in the field of social employment policy. Barbier (with the paper ‘Europe sociale : l’état d’alerte’) critically review the last meager advancements in the field. The two contributions are a good updated review of the research projects the two authors are now working on.

more info at: http://ose.be/EN/publications/ose_paper_series.htm

Something about EU politics in here for Neujobs. In June 2012, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) turned to the Ombudsman alleging that the ECB President’s membership of the Group of Thirty is incompatible with the independence, reputation and integrity of the ECB. For the CEO, “the Group of Thirty constitutes an important interface between private banks and central banks, and members of the Group of Thirty include executives and advisors from major private financial bodies, such as Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan Chase and BNP Paribas”.

On  February  1st 2013, the European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, has rejected the complaint that the independence, reputation, and integrity of the European Central Bank (ECB) are undermined by its President’s membership of the Group of Thirty. After analysing the Group’s membership, funding, and aims the Ombudsman found the President’s membership to be compatible with his role. He also suggested that, in the interests of transparency, the ECB’s own website should publicise the President’s membership of the Group. Case: 1339/2012/FOR.

To know more: http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/cases/decision.faces/en/49139/html.bookmark

To well start the new year, we refer to this most recent contribution of Joseph E. Stiglitz. According to Stiglitz , “(…) the real risk for the global economy is in Europe. Spain and Greece are in depression, with no hope of recovery in sight. The eurozone’s “fiscal compact” is no solution, and the European Central Bank’s purchases of sovereign debt are at most a temporary palliative. If the ECB imposes further austerity conditions (as it seems to be demanding of Greece and Spain) in exchange for financing, the cure will only worsen the patient’s condition”.

What does Neujobs tell about the way the EU is following to exit the crisis? We wait for comments from Neujobers….

Read more at http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/risky-europe-and-america-in-2013-by-joseph-e–stiglitz#l8h4rPksWrdPkL1m.99

For the Neujobers looking at the EU debate here you find a short summary of the last rulings of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

On 27 November 2012, the ECJ ruled that the ESM treaty is valid ! After the experiment of the application of the “memorandum of understandings” in Greece and elsewhere in the EU, it can be considered that the application for the ESM treaty will have consequences on economic (and social) policies of the Eurozone Member States. We remind the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is a permanent international financial institution that assists in preserving the financial stability of the European Union monetary union by providing temporary stability support to euro area Member States.

According to the Court, the ESM “serves to complement the new regulatory framework for strengthened economic governance of the Union”. This is compounsed by the Six Pack which six legal references are mentioned. The Court considers that the ESM treaty does not affect the exclusive monetary competence of the EU.

Those who consider the ESM as a “solidarity tool” should keep in mind that, as says the Court, “the purpose of the strict conditionality to which all stability support provided by the ESM is subject is to ensure that the ESM and the recipient Member States comply with measures adopted by the Union in particular in the area of the coordination of Member States’ economic policies, those measures being designed, inter alia, to ensure that the Member States pursue a sound budgetary policy”.

more info at: Case C-370/12- Pringle v Irish Government Judgment of the Court – 27 November 2012http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:62012CJ0370:EN:HTML