The government Europe deserves? CEPS Commentary, 17 September 2014

Leaders of the EU’s institutions have to be political entrepreneurs if they are to leave a mark on history. Their decision-making power is limited, but they can often frame the choices and broker coalitions to push the existing boundaries of European integration. This Commentary by Daniel Gros finds that none of the EU’s top three new faces – Jean-Claude Juncker, Donald Tusk or Federica Mogherini – has a track record in this sense. In his view, the most sobering message from the whole appointment process is that the member states’ leaders will not suffer anyone who might rock the boat and push integration forward. That there will be little movement towards the “ever-closer union” envisioned in the Treaty of Rome might come as a relief for those fearing domination by Brussels (like many in the UK), but it can only dismay those who hope that, despite its sluggish economy and declining population, Europe can become a relevant global actor.

Government failure, opposition success? Electoral performance in Portugal and Italy at the time of the crisis. Jean Monnet Occasional Paper 05/2014

The costs of the crisis in Southern European countries have not been only economic but political. Economic crises tend to lead to government instability and termination while political challengers are expected to exploit this contingent window of opportunity to gain an advantage over incumbents in national elections. The current crisis seems to make no exception, looking at the results of the general elections recently held in Southern Europe. However, this did not always lead to a clear victory of the main opposition parties. In most of the elections, in fact, the incumbent parties’ loss did not coincide with the official opposition’s gain. The extreme case is represented by Italy, where both the outgoing government coalition led by Silvio Berlusconi – setting aside for the moment the technocratic phase – and its main challenger, the centre left coalition, ended up losing millions of voters and a new political force, the Five Star Movement, obtained about 25 per cent of votes. On the opposite side there is Portugal. Only in Portugal did the vote increase for the centre right PSD, in fact, exceed the incumbent socialists’ loss. The present work aims at exploring the factors which might account for this significant divergence between the two cases.

Journal of the Senate ... General Assembly of the State of Tennessee.

Title varies slightly.

Drug control : river patrol craft for the Government of Bolivia : fact sheet for the Chairman, Task Force on International Narcotics Control, Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives /

"GAO/NSIAD-88-101FS"

Electric vehicles: limited range and high costs hamper commercialization. Report by the Comptroller General of the United States.

Mode of access: Internet.

Oversight hearings on National Development Bank legislation : hearings before the Subcommittee on General Oversight and Renegotiation of the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, second session, on H.R. 7902 ... September 10, 18, and 24, 1980.

"Serial no. 96-73."

The Renegotiation extension act of 1979 : hearing before the Subcommittee on General Oversight and Renegotiation of the Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, first session, on H.R. 2002 ... March 22, 1979.

"Serial 96-19."

Arms control : U.S. and international efforts to ban chemical weapons : report to the Chairman, Legislation and National Security Subcommittee, Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives /

"B-244914"--p.1.

Need for a Government-wide budget classification structure for Federal research and development information : report to the Congress /

Publication date stamped on cover.

Comparison of the Pershing II program with the acquisition plan recommended by the Commission on Government Procurement, Department of Defense : report to the Congress /

"B-182956."

A compilation of the laws of Illinois, relating to township organization and management of county affairs : with numerous forms and notes of instruction, supported by adjudicated cases, opinions of the attorney general and rulings of the auditor of public accounts, with an appendix /

Includes index.

Review of automatic data processing developments in the Federal Government.

Mode of access: Internet.

Report of the Attorney General of the United States prepared pursuant to section 708(e) of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended. Identical bidding as of August 9, 1961.

Includes bibliographical references.

Essential procedure and requirements for naturalization under the general law.

At head of title: Form C-59 (revised) U.S. Department of Labor. Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Ship maintenance: foreign commercial shipyard repairs to U.S. government ships.

Mode of access: Internet.