Authors Iain Begg | Gabriel GlÃ¶ckler | Anke Hassel ... - The Europaeum

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eflected in the objective of the Lisbon agenda which concerns the modernisation of the European social model. The Commission’s new Social Agenda (2005-2010) is focused on providing jobs and equal opportunities for all and ensuring that the benefits of the EU’s growth reach everyone in society. Since the last EU enlargement, questions of minority protection and accommodation of diversity have become even more prominent and challenging. What does the EU do to ensure the rights and protection of minorities within Europe, and thereby ensure its social cohesion? The role of the EU in ensuring the rights and protection of minorities Varied practices among member states The experience of the 15 old member states reveals a considerable lack of consistency in policies directed at minorities. While some EU member states are very progressive in their accommodation of internal diversity, others remain uneasy and reject the concept of minority rights altogether, jealously guarding their right to deal with minorities in their own way. Practices range from constitutional and legal protection for minorities through institutional power-sharing mechanisms (e.g. Spain or Belgium), to complete aversion of the recognition of minorities even in principle (e.g. France). The question of what constitutes a minority is debated in international politics and the lack of common standards further complicates dialogue on the issue. As a matter of fact, there is a fundamental disagreement among states as to the appropriate form and content of minority rights. Some countries will invoke collective rights 6 and selfgovernment as the necessary political response to minority demands, while for others the priority remains the territorial integrity of the sovereign state. The latter are grudgingly prepared to accept minority rights defined only in terms of individual human rights. 7 France and Greece are notoriously the EU’s “black sheep” when it comes to minority protection. Both of these countries have so far resisted recognising minorities and adopting collective rights. Despite demands for the self-government of Corsica dating back to the 1960s, as well as serious episodes of political violence 8 , French authorities have refused to depart from the principle of unity and indivisibility of the French nation. Corsica does have a unique institutional status 9 but it 144 After the crisis: A new socio-economic settlement for the EU
amounts to no more than administrative devolution. In contrast, neighboring Sardinia has enjoyed regional autonomy since 1948. Similarly, Greece has been reluctant to ensure effective protection for its minorities. The Turkish-speaking Muslims of Thrace have traditionally been viewed with suspicion by the Greek state and have suffered gross human rights violations. Through Article 19 of the Greek Citizenship Code, 10 the citizenship of some 60,000 non-ethnic Greeks was arbitrarily revoked until international pressure led to its abolition in 1998. 11 Despite some improvements, 12 Greece continues to officially deny the Turkish identity, often persecuting it. In terms of good practices, the Aland Islands are an example of the accommodation of minorities which can serve as a model for social inclusion. The question was negotiated after the First World War by the League of the Nations. The result was a balanced compromise that, while satisfying Finland’s claim to sovereignty, protected the Alanders’ interests and identity 13 - with a positive impact on the stability of the Baltic Sea region. As for central and eastern Europe, there is a general fear of separatism but with differences among member states reflecting a different conception of minority rights as collective or individual rights. Some have demonstrated significant political will in favour of minority protection (e.g. Hungary) while others have tended to perceive minorities as threats to national identity and sovereignty (e.g. Romania, Estonia, Latvia). The lack of EU minority policy The discrepancies in minority practice between member states and the reluctance of some countries to adopt minority rights have so far prevented the development of EU norms of minority protection. European Treaties refer to the respect of human rights, such as articles 6 and 14 of the EU Treaty which refer to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Article 128 of the Maastricht Treaty mentions respect for the regional diversity of member states. Lastly, article I-2 of the draft Constitutional Treaty of 2004 mentioned respect for the rights of persons belonging to minorities as being among EU values. Consequently, European documents of minority protection have not been developed by the EU but by the Council of Europe and are contained in the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities 14 and European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages. 15 However, both Chapter 10 – Simona Milio 145
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Authors Iain Begg | Gabriel Glöckl
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Published in 2009 by Policy Network
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4 After the crisis: A new socio-eco
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6 After the crisis: A new socio-eco
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Simona Milio is associate director
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Chapter 10 Simona Milio ...........
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Before the crash: the EU as a parti
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liberalisation. The City of London
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of the Financial Services Action Pl
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confidence and world trade, to whic
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following the ECJ’s controversial
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signals are in place to promote a n
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need to be constructed to create ac
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or indeed re-impose, what they rega
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Markets with rules The overall conc
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30 After the crisis: A new socio-ec
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Target financial stability The EMU
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Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemb
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mortgage banks and the insurance se
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financial market rules. The ESFS au
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prudential regulation - though only
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initiatives vis-à-vis ratings agen
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Even if membership in a monetary un
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emained relatively contained to spe
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The second channel of functional sp
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But even so, the depth and intensit
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governance in the EU and the euro a
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in the EU show, authorities at the
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factors will remain prevalent and b
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centralised decision-maker. Similar
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(GNI), the interests of the member
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terms only very slowly and as a per
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policy proposal asks itself what th
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ensure that a ceiling is put on the
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Reform of EU expenditure Spending 4
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The medium-term financial framework
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unanimity. The need to obtain the c
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therefore, was weakening the Europe
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for the signing of the strict and d
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Since then, member states have name
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in the world monetary system. It al
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a Treaty that not only ignores trad
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Firstly, they should include policy
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emanate from demographic trends. Ho
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Page 134 and 135: Where do we come from? The EU agend
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Page 166 and 167: 22 Financial Services Authority (FS
Page 168 and 169: 7 This idea is not new. The 1970 We
Page 170 and 171: 33 Arpaia, Alfonso, Declan Costello
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Page 174 and 175: Chapter 11 1 Victor, D.G. (2006)
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Authors Iain Begg | Gabriel GlÃ¶ckler | Anke Hassel ... - The Europaeum

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