European Studies at the University of Turku and Åbo Akademi University

Last week's Thursday to Sunday were the European Parliament Elections 2014.

Apart from the results, which have triggered and will trigger a lot of comments, these elections are a nice occasion to consider the role and functions of the European Parliament. Here are a few links to keep track of things, and to understand the results of these elections as they unfold.


The European Parliament's website:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/00b3f21266/At-your-service.html

The legislative architecture behind the Parliament's current status:

http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/glossary/european_parliament_en.htm

Votewatch Europe, to look at who's done what in the Parliament:

http://www.votewatch.eu/

..and in the same webpage, a list of academic research on national relations to the politics of the European Parliament:

http://www.votewatch.eu/en/research.html



And finally, the election results and track sheet of the new Parliament:

http://www.results-elections2014.eu/en/election-results-2014.html

Results of the 2014 European elections - European Parliament Official results of the elections to the European Parliament held between 22 and 25 May 2014 - European Parliament

Louis Clerc and Kimmo Elo wrote the first Finnish-language textbook on European Integration, containing both the history of European Integration and a presentation of the European Institutions.

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Louis Clerc ja Kimmo Elo julkaisivat oppikirjan Euroopan integraation historiasta ja EU:n instituutioista.

Lisää tietoa:

Aatteesta instituutioksi. Euroopan unionin historia ja rakenteet | Kustannusosakeyhtiö Avain Louis Clerc ja Kimmo Elo Mitä on Euroopan integraatio? Mitkä ovat olleet sen tärkeimmät tausta­voimat ja vaiheet? Miten Euroopan yhteisöt ovat syntyneet ja kehittyneet? Mitä unionin toimielimet tekevät? Kuka EU:ssa päättää ja mitkä ovat kansalaisten vaikutusmahdollisuudet?

Louis Clerc muses about Anglo-Nordic relations and the role of the Nordic Futures Forum.

Uniscan Reborn? (28.4) Louis Clerc muses about Great-Britain's intentions in relation to Northern Europe.

Ratkaisuja euroalueen ongelmiin – onko niitä? Vielä luentokutsussa professori Paul De Grauwen luennon otsikkona oli “Design Failures in the Eurozone and How to Fix Them”, m***a luennolle hän oli muuttanut otsikkoa skeptisemmäksi: ”Design Failures in the Eurozone – Can They Be Fixed?”

Kimmo Elo writes that Germany should work closely with European partners to reform the European Union.

Reluctant Europe and German Elections In the summer of 2009, The Economist published a critical article ‘The Reluctant Hegemon’ on Germany’s European policy. In this article, Europe’s protracted economic crisis was seen as a result of Germany’s unwillingness to lead Europe, to construct a new European framework. The enormous public atte...

Roolipelisimulaatiolla opiskellaan EU:n toimintaa Diplomaatti, ministeri, EU-komissaari tai EU-virkamies. Pieni jännitys ja kollegoiden motiiveilla spekulointi. Ainekset EU:n laajentumisneuvotteluihin ovat kasassa. Omaan rooliin paneudutaan huolella, jonka jälkeen roolipelisimulaatio voi alkaa.

Visiting columnist Louis Clerc writes about the similarities between UK's EEC referendum in 1975 and David Cameron's proposed EU referendum in 2017.

http://europeanstudies.utu.fi/media/column/Clerc_2013_01_29.html

Times Were Dire in Fair England Louis ClercSenior Lecturer History and Politics of European Integration non-degree programme Department of Political Science and Contemporary History, University of Turku

Henrik Serup Christensen from Åbo Akademi University writes that European solutions rather than national solutions are needed in order to increase democracy within the EU.

Democracy in the EU [7.1.2013] European solutions rather than replication of national models are needed in order to increase democracy within the EU, writes Henrik Serup Christensen.

On 27 November, the Pan-European institute Studia Generalia continues with Plekhanov Russian Economic University (Moscow) Prof. Ruslan Hasbulatov's talk about Putin's external economy doctrine.

Studia Generalia: Emerging trends in the Baltic Sea region

Dr Kimmo Elo's new column discusses subsidiarity, solidarity, and the risk of throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

European Debt Crisis Overshadows Subsidiarity and Solidarity The European debt crisis is a subsidiarity case and should be solved by applying subsidiarity rules, writes Dr Kimmo Elo.

"The EU is currently undergoing grave economic difficulties and considerable social unrest. The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to focus on what it sees as the EU's most important result: the successful struggle for peace and reconciliation and for democracy and human rights. The stabilizing part played by the EU has helped to transform most of Europe from a continent of war to a continent of peace."

The Nobel Peace Prize 2012 - Press Release Nobelprize.org, The Official Web Site of the Nobel Prize

Kansainvälisen politiikan professori Henri Vogt kirjoittaa poliittisesta johtajuudesta globaalissa keskinäisyhteyksien maailmassa.

Poliittisen johtajuuden lähteistä ja vaihdoksista [11.10.2012] Globaalissa keskinäisyhteyksien maailmassa poliittinen johtajuus on moniulotteista ja kerrostunutta, kirjoittaa Henri Vogt.