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- Nos despojos da crise económica e financeira: a inviabilidade de uma moeda mundialPublication . Vila Maior, PauloA crise económica e financeira colocou o mundo perante desafios sem precedentes. A criação de uma moeda mundial – como resposta à crise e como medida preventiva de futuras crises – é equacionada. A moeda mundial esbarra em três obstáculos que têm diferentes enfoques teóricos: teoria realista (relações internacionais), teoria das escolhas racionais (ciência política) e teoria das zonas monetárias óptimas (ciência económica). A heterogeneidade é o pano de fundo da economia política real que domina a economia internacional, liquidando as aspirações da moeda mundial. The ongoing crisis raised important challenges. The idea of creating a world currency to overcome the crisis and to prevent future crisis is examined. However appealing it might be, the idea of a world currency faces three obstacles with different theoretical insights: realism (international relations), rational choice (political science), and the optimum currency area theory (economics). Theoretical heterogeneity is the political economic template of international economics, therefore jeopardising the aspirations of a world currency.
- Anatomia do alargamento da Europa comunitária aos países de Leste e do MediterrâneoPublication . Vila Maior, Paulo; Marques, Nuno Castro
- A União Europeia após a queda do muro de Berlim: sucessos e desafiosPublication . Vila Maior, PauloO artigo explora os efeitos endógenos e exógenos da queda do muro de berlim no processo de integração europeia: os desenvolvimentos na união europeia (ue) foram determinados por aquele acontecimento? e, em consequência, a ue projectou-se no exterior? O artigo identifica, nas conclusões, a esquizofrenia do processo de integração europeia: a ue é um gigante económico e um anão político. A ue não conseguiu assumir protagonismo no teatro das relações internacionais. todavia, esse diagnóstico não traduz um insucesso do processo de integração europeia. The article explores endogenous and exogenous effects of the berlin wall collapse on european integration. Did the fall of the berlin wall influenced european union (eu) developments? Did, henceforth, the eu played a role at the international level? the schizophrenia of european integration is emphasised, i.e., the eu as an economic giant and a political dwarf. Whether this is instructive of failure of the european project, notably for the absent international role of the eu, is the issue addressed in the conclusion.
- A cidadania da União Europeia: algo mais que retórica?Publication . Vila Maior, PauloO artigo analisa a dimensão transnacional da cidadania da União Europeia (UE), destacando o seu simbolismo político ao tentar representar os conceitos de pertença ao nível nacional. Apesar de alguns resultados significativos, a cidadania da UE depara-se com importantes lacunas que toldam a sua ambição, reduzindo-a a uma dimensão limitada. A cidadania da UE é analisada sob um duplo ponto de vista conceptual. Primeiro, é avaliada quanto ao impacto produzido na lealdade política dos cidadãos. Dados retirados do Eurobarómetro, bem como outros dados estatísticos, são passados em revista para perceber de que forma se ancoram as lealdades dos cidadãos (ao nível da União, ao nível nacional, ou até ao nível regional). Os dados empíricos pretendem avaliar a cidadania da UE quando medida ao nível do seu impacto junto dos cidadãos. Catorze anos de cidadania europeia fornecem um lastro suficiente para o efeito. Em segundo lugar, faz sentido interrogar se a cidadania da UE – enquanto cidadania complementar – está servida dos ingredientes suficientes, tendo em conta o entendimento comum de que a cidadania se relaciona com a dialéctica entre impostos e representação. Por esta via, uma abordagem normativa da cidadania da União desafia o que está positivado no Tratado da União Europeia (TUE). As democracias liberais sustentam-se (entre outros aspectos) no princípio que impede a aplicação de impostos sem prévia representação (e consentimento) parlamentar. Neste artigo faz-se uma extensão do princípio, para interrogar se a ausência de significativos poderes de fixação de impostos da UE não é um obstáculo a uma dimensão efectiva da cidadania supranacional. No fundo, trata-se de averiguar se a cidadania da UE é credível e eficaz se os cidadãos não pagam impostos à UE. At the outset, the paper briefly addresses European Union (EU) citizenship as enshrined in the Treaty on the European Union. Attention is paid on its transnational nature. The political symbolism attached to EU citizenship is also emphasised, as it tries to emulate national concepts of belonging at the EU level. Despite some achievements, flaws are nevertheless a major setback on the EU ambition for supranational citizenship’s limited scope.European Union citizenship is addressed through a twofold conceptual lens. On the one hand, it is measured in terms of the impact on citizens’ loyalties. Eurobarometer and other statistical data are scrutinised to draw a picture on whether citizens drive their loyalties to the EU or to the national (or even regional) levels. Therefore, empirical data provide an assessment of EU citizenship outcomes. Fourteen years of EU citizenship is a considerable time span to make this assessment. On the other hand, the paper asks whether the attempt to forge a complementary citizenship is out of context, considering the common understanding that citizenship is connected with taxation and representation. Thus, a normative approach of EU citizenship is also a reason of concern. Liberal democracies are supported (among other things) upon the “no taxation without representation” principle. I draw an extension of the aforementioned principle and ask whether the absence of significant EU taxation powers is an obstacle to effective supranational citizenship. Thus, the research question is whether EU citizenship is credible and effective if citizens don’t pay taxes to the EU?
- A política regional da união europeia e o desafio do alargamento: inércia ou reforma?Publication . Vila Maior, PauloO último alargamento é um acontecimento singular na vida da união europeia (ue). A consequência mais notória é o acréscimo de heterogeneidade no interior da ue. Como as assimetrias de rendimento entre os estados membros são mais acentuadas, interrogamo-nos se o funcionamento equilibrado da união não está em perigo. Faz sentido questionar o papel desempenhado pela política de coesão económica e social (em especial pela política regional). O artigo analisa duas soluções alternativas: a preservação do actual statu quo e a reforma da política regional. The recent enlargement is unprecedented for many reasons. One of the most visible implications is the sizeable heterogeneity that characterises the european union (eu). Since income differentials between member states have widened, the question is whether the eu is affected by this intense heterogeneity. Therefore, the role of cohesion policy (especially regional policy) is at stake. The paper examines two alternative solutions: the preservation of the existing statu quo and the reform of regional policy.
- The European Union as a Federal Polity?: an input to an unfinished symphonyPublication . Vila Maior, Paulo; yesFederalism is a Trojan horse of European integration: instead of giving way to a consensual characterisation of the European Union (EU), it is profoundly divisive. Some hate the concept (for long, the reverberated ‘f-word’), while for others federalism is clearly within the aims and nature of European integration. Still others neglect federalism in the EU context, as they purport a distinctive pathway for European integration, one that stands outside current, state-centric stereotypes. Left outside the realm of consensual issues of European integration, federalism is though a promising intellectual journey. The goal of the paper is to find out whether the EU currently incorporates federal elements. I am aware of the difficult task ahead, since there is no single theory of federalism. Assuming the existence of several models of federalism, the paper starts from a level playing field of federal features in order to understand whether the EU already matches with federalism. To that purpose, the paper surveys three federal criteria – legislative, teleological and institutional – and examines the EU through them. Nevertheless, additional difficulties arise for it is important to test to which mode of federalism the EU suits better (or, should one say, which mode of federalism matches with the EU?). New confederalism, cooperative federalism and regulatory federalism are the hypothesis under assessment. A methodologically coherent approach requires a final step: to seek the finalité of European integration, to put it differently, what is the EU as a polity. The paper surveys asymmetric confederation, federation without a federal state and emerging federal state as the working hypothesis.
- Is the European Central Bank a case for institutional adaptation to the challenges of globalisation?: implications for European Union’s democratic legitimacyPublication . Vila Maior, Paulo; yesThe paper focus on the constitutional implications derived from the specific nature of the European Central Bank (ECB) for the would-be polity formation in the European Union (EU). The emphasis is placed on the alleged absence of democratic legitimacy and the intertwined weak pattern of accountability the ECB shows. My argument tries to challenge the reasoning supporting this conventional criticism. Maybe the ECB is not so undemocratic; maybe the institutional arrangements for its accountability are not to be so harshly criticised. The denial of the conventional criticism relies on the specific nature of the supranational polity that is emerging, for which Economic and Monetary Union (and the ECB by large) plays a prominent role. The reasons for this alternative interpretation are twofold. One depicts the specific nature of the European integration process, and the inherent changes to the traditional vision of sovereignty, democracy and accountability. The other challenges the way member states themselves are currently unable to satisfy the requirements of democratic legitimacy and accountability for reasons related to a decay of parliamentary democracies and for the diminished ability nation states have to be the central agents of decision-making in a world of increased economic interdependence. Therefore the ECB may be in possession of sufficient democratic legitimacy (and thus the claims of limited accountability fall apart) if one assess its performance as being the guarantee for price stability as the main political-economic outcome the supranational bank can afford to the European citizens.
- Is Fiscal Federalism Different in the European Union?: a comparative analysis through the allocation functionPublication . Vila Maior, Paulo; noA political-economic model largely influenced by the monetarist school inspires European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Accordingly, neither income redistribution nor resource allocation is the cornerstone of economic policy mix. That role is reserved to the stabilisation function. Among those scholars who discuss whether the EU is comparable to existing cases of “conventional fiscal federalism”, the analysis is frequently concentrated on allocation and redistribution. Despite macroeconomic stabilisation is the key aspect of EMU, the paper undergoes a comparative analysis between the European Union (EU) and five mature federations (United States, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Switzerland) as far as resource allocation is concerned. It first surveys the operation of the allocation function in these countries, concluding that there are remarkable differences when the countries under examination are measured within a centralisation/decentralisation continuum. Resource allocation is subsequently reviewed in the context of EMU to capture convergences and divergences with the federations examined – and to what extent do convergent aspects contribute to put a label on the EU in terms of fiscal federalism. The awareness that the discussion is sometimes plagued with conceptual oversight – the confusion between the desirability and feasibility of fiscal federalism in the European integration context – paves the way to the empirical dimension. The paper concludes with an input from statistical data assessing to what extent inter-state solidarity exists (or is absent) in the EU.
- The Stability and Growth Pact: enforceable, flexible or dead?Publication . Vila Maior, Paulo; noThe paper reflects the nature of the Stability and Growth Pact capturing its innovative essence as a ‘more-than-federal’ device, following an alternative classification I propose. This classification is based on a comparative method using other countries as case studies, seeking their main characteristics when the rules of fiscal discipline states have to comply with are concerned. Then the attention shifts to a highly sensitive question – whether enforceability of the Stability and Growth Pact is the expected outcome. This is an important discussion since recent debates on the desirability to make the pact more flexibility fuelled intense controversy among scholars, member states and supranational institutions. Also recent events showing how key member states are unable to respect the rules of the pact feed further doubts about its strict implementation. Using several scholars’ judgment that the pact’s main shortcoming is its rigidity, the question is to know whether the pact is geared towards enforceability without any variation that undermines its original meaning. The methodology uses three types of sources. On the one hand, a literature review emphasising the main theoretical conclusions that emerge on this issue. On the other hand the results of interviews carried over at the Commission, the European Central Bank and a sample of nine member states at the level of Finance and Foreign Affairs ministries. Some divergence is found between the solutions devised by academics and the answers given by practitioners. This gap is heightened by the third methodological element: an examination of national governments’ recent performance in terms of fiscal discipline, as well as the reaction of the Commission. This is a crucial task for concluding about the likely fate of the Stability and Growth Pact.
- Economic and Monetary Union: insights into the theoretical conundrum of European IntegrationPublication . Vila Maior, Paulo; noAs part of an ongoing research, this paper focus on European monetary integration depicting to what extent existing theories and theoretical approaches fit with the ontology and subsequent developments of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). A special emphasis goes to the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) as a crucial ingredient of European monetary integration, particularly for the political turmoil it produced in recent years. On a previous conference (UACES Annual Conference 2007: Exchanging Ideas on Europe: Common Values and External Policies, Portsmouth, UK, 3-5 September 2007), EMU and the SGP were assessed through the lens of neofunctionalism, liberal intergovernmentalism, supranational governance, new institutionalism and the fusion thesis. This paper turns to the federal theory and the rational choice theory. Some argue that the power of ideas (the monetarist school) and national governments’ adjustment to a new international setting provide the broad explanation of the move towards EMU. Others claim that the project of European monetary integration was independent from such exogenous inputs, understanding the step towards EMU as part of the dynamism encapsulated by European integration. I test these contrasting perceptions against the explanatory power of federal theory and rational choice. The analysis of the SGP (in both the original version and after the November 2005 reform) follows the same methodology. The rationale behind the paper is twofold. On the one hand, whether EMU and the SGP fit into one of the theories under examination, and whether the corresponding mapping is telling of theoretical prevalence or dissemination. On the other hand, whether the SGP (and subsequent reform) converges or diverges with EMU’s theoretical matrix.
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