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Eurobarometer 59.1: The Euro and Parental Leave, March - April, 2003The Eurobarometer (EB) survey series is a unique programme of cross-national and cross-temporal comparative social science research. Since the early seventies representative national samples in all European Union (EU) (formerly the European Community (EC)) member states have been simultaneously interviewed in the spring and autumn of each year. Starting with EB 34.1 (autumn 1990), separate supplementary surveys on special issues have been conducted under almost every EB number. The EB is designed to provide regular monitoring of public social and political attitudes in the EU through specific trend questions. More information about the series may be found on the Zentralarchiv fuer Empirische Sozialforschung (ZA - Central Archive for Empirical Social Research, University of Cologne) Eurobarometer Survey Series web pages. Background Work on European survey series began in early 1970, when the Commission of the European Community sponsored simultaneous surveys of the EC. These surveys were designed to measure public awareness of, and attitudes toward, the Common Market and other EC institutions, in complementary fashion. They also probed the goals given top priority for each respondent's nation. These concerns have remained a central part of the EC's research efforts - which were carried forward in the summer of 1971 with another six-nation survey that gave special attention to agricultural problems. The nine EC member countries were then surveyed again on the same topic areas in September 1973. After 1973, the surveys took on a somewhat broader scope in content as well as in geographical coverage, with measures of subjective satisfaction and the perceived quality of life becoming standard features of the EC public opinion surveys. Over time, the member states of the EC/EU have increased in number, and the coverage of the EB surveys has widened accordingly. In 1974, nine countries were surveyed: France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland and Luxembourg. Greece has been included since the autumn 1980 survey (EB 14) onwards, Portugal and Spain since autumn 1985 (EB 24), the former German Democratic Republic since autumn 1990 (EB 34), Finland since the spring of 1993 (EB 39), and Sweden and Austria since the autumn of 1994 (EB 42). Norway has been included in some surveys since 1991, from EB 36 onwards. In 2004, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the EU, and in 2007, Bulgaria and Romania (some of these countries participated in the Candidate Countries Eurobarometer survey series (see under GN 33343) before full accession). Some surveys are also conducted in Turkey, and in the Turkish Cypriot Community (Northern Cyprus). The Eurobarometer public opinion surveys are conducted on behalf of and co-ordinated by the European Commission, DG Press and Communication - Opinion Polls Sector (European Commission Public Opinion Analysis). Special topic modules are carried out at the request of the responsible EU Directorate General. This round of Eurobarometer surveys queried respondents on standard Eurobarometer measures, such as how satisfied they were with their present life, whether they attempted to persuade others close to them to share their views on subjects they held strong opinions about, whether they discussed political matters, and what the European Union's priorities should be. Additional questions focused on the respondents' knowledge of and opinions about the EU, including sources of information about the EU and whether their country had benefited from being an EU member. Respondents were also asked how informed they were about EU enlargement, their preferred option for the immediate future of the EU as it concerned the enlargement (i.e., whether the EU should include all, some, or none of the countries wishing to join), and whether they agreed or disagreed with statements regarding the EU enlargement (e.g. whether having more countries in the EU would mean more guaranteed peace and security in Europe, whether the EU should financially help future member countries before they join, and whether the EU should reform the way its institutions work before welcoming new members). In addition to the selected standard trend variables (which included additional questions about the perception of and attitudes toward the European Parliament, the European Convention, and the United States of America), the survey also elicited respondents' opinions about the euro and its introduction as the common European currency. Respondents were asked a series of questions about dual pricing (prices in both the euro and their own respective national currency), its usefulness and necessity, whether they felt handling eight coins was complicated, the usefulness of 1- and 2-cent coins, and whether some of the coins should be replaced by notes. General attitudes regarding the euro replacing their national currency and whether the euro made the respondent feel more European were also assessed. Finally, respondents were asked questions about parental leave, more specifically about the attitudes of men toward taking time off from the workforce for parental leave. Questions addressed the main reasons that would encourage or discourage fathers from taking parental leave. Demographic variables include gender, age, marital status, occupation, and household income. Main Topics:Main topics for this round were:trust in national, international and EU institutionsthe European Parliamentenlargement of the EUattitudes towards the European Convention and decision making in the EU the international (political) situation (including attitudes towards the USA)the introduction of the Europarental leave
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European Integration - The New German Scholarship -The title of this symposium is European Integration: The New German Scholarship. Note: It is not Recent German Scholarship but New German Scholarship. It could have had a slightly different title: European Integration New, Young and Fresh German scholarship. But that might have offended us, my generation, the Old and the Stale! The initiative came from the new (young and fresh) Director the Max Planck Institute in Heidelberg: A symposium revisiting many of the central constitutional themes of the European legal order in which the main protagonists would indeed be the most promising scholars form the up-and-coming generation. The commentators were mostly scholars from other jurisdictions and other traditions - avoiding at least some of the pitfalls of cloning, careerism and worse. The results, taken as a whole, are most interesting; not only because of what we learn about the legal order of the Union, but what we learn about the Changing of the Guards in German European legal scholarship.
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Reform constraints within the EU in view of the eastwards expansionDie Erweiterung der Europaeischen Union (EU) um die Staaten Mittel- und Osteuropas, Suedosteuropas, des baltischen Raumes und des Mittelmeerraumes wird aus politischen Gruenden fuer unausweichlich erachtet. Der Autor skizziert dem gemaess die entsprechenden Veraenderungen der wirtschaftlichen bzw. politischen Grundbedingungen und die damit einher gehenden Reformen innerhalb der EU. In einem ersten thematischen Schritt werden die folgenden Herausforderungen dargestellt: (1) Der Beitritt zum Gemeinsamen Markt und zur Wirtschafts- und Waehrungsunion, (2) die Teilnahme an der Wirtschafts-und Waehrungsunion, (3) die gemeinsame Aussen- und Sicherheitspolitik sowie die Zusammenarbeit bei der Innen- und Justizpolitik, (4) die EU als Staatenverband und ihre begrenzte Kompetenz- und Handlungsfaehigkeit. Vor diesem Hintergrund werden in einem zweiten Schritt die unerlaesslichen Reformschritte praesentiert. Sie gliedern sich in eine Reihe von Reformfeldern, als da waeren (1) Reform des Europaeischen Parlaments, (2) Einstimmigkeit und Rechtfertigungszwang bei einem Veto, (3) doppelte Zaehlweise bei Mehrheitsentscheidungen, (4) Zahl der Kommissare, (5) Neuordnung der Stimmberechtigung im Rat der Gouverneure des Europaeischen Systems der Zentralbanken, (6) Ausbau der unionseigenen Verwaltung, (7) Grundrechtskatalog, (8) Bindung der Mitgliedsstaaten an die Grundrechte, (9) Europaeische Akademie der Wissenschaften, (10) Sprachregime, (11) Reform des Finanzrechts, (12) Reform der Wirtschaftsunion, (13) Nettofonds-Prinzip, (14) Befristung der Zuwendungs- und Finanzierungsregimes, (15) Landwirtschaftspolitik, (16) Aufgabenkatalog, (17) Regierungskonferenz versus Konvent, (18) Flexibilisierung des Verfassungssystems der EU, (19) nationale Souveraenitaet und Zuwachs an Souveraenitaet der EU sowie (20) Sozial-und Gesellschaftspolitik. Der Text endet mit der Skizze einer Umwandlung der EU in einen Bundesstaat, der einzuleitenden Schritte sowie der daraus resultierenden Konsequenzen fuer den Staatenbund. Der Autor weist allerdings darauf hin, dass ein solches Vorhaben zumindest fuer die vorhersehbare Zukunft kein realistisches Reformziel ist. (ICG2)