Iceland can consider its participation in the European Economic Area (EEA) as an associate membership of the European Union (EU). Under the EEA agreement, Iceland participates in the EU free movement of capital, persons, services and industrial goods, along with cooperation in social policy and related fields. However, Iceland does not participate in the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), or in the EU Customs Union. This dissertation studies the effects of full EU membership on Iceland's Political Economy. It gives an overview of the EU, EEA and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), offering thorough analyses of the EMU, Agricultural Policy and Fisheries Policy. The dissertation also reviews the pros and cons of EU membership. A decision to join the EU is in the end a question of political choice and this dissertation is intended to make such a choice as informed as possible.

The financial crisis – originated in 2008 in the United States – had a dramatic impact on the world economy. The European Union was immediately involved, but its reaction to the crisis was clearly inadequate. The misgovernment of the European economy not only put at risk the European Monetary Union, but it also caused further hindrances to the recovery of the global economy. The global financial turmoil shook deep-rooted beliefs. The doctrine of international neo-liberalism is more and more criticized. Nevertheless, the critics of neo-liberalism focus their attention on the relationship between the state and the market, as if the nation states, with their international organisations, have enough power for an effective global governance of the world economy. The model of European supranational integration, though seriously imperfect, can suggest some new way out from the crisis – even at the world level – based on a new relationship between the supranational government of the Union and the market. In this book, several academic disciplines are involved: international economics, international political economy, international law, international relations, political theory and democratic theory. Adopting such a multidisciplinary theoretical perspective, the volume tries to answer the following question: Is a more supranational Europe able to provide a better government of the EMU? Does this reform involve more European democracy?

The Political Economy of Integration in the European Union has gained a well-deserved reputation as the key textbook in the area of European studies, economics and politics. This new and fully revised edition comprehensively surveys recent changes - such as the deepening and widening of European integration through eastward expansion and the Maastricht and Amsterdam Treaties - whilst continuing to offer a thorough overview of integration. The core material has been revised to ensure the best possible grounding in the political economy of the EU. Jeffrey Harrop presents an accessible account of European integration, including: * free trade, the customs union and the internal market * agriculture and fisheries * industrial and technological policies * regional and social problems and policies * monetary integration * fiscal policy: taxation and the EU budget * world-wide trading links * an in-depth discussion of EU enlargement, including the proposed integration of Central and East European countries * an assessment of energy, transport and environment policies * an overall view of the progress and possible future of the European Union. The book has been widely adopted for both specialist courses in economics as well as interdisciplinary courses in European studies. Teachers who are already using the book or who would like to consider it are invited to send for a 60-day examination copy of the third edition.

This edited collection examines unemployment in Europe in the context of globalisation, the implementation of European Monetary Union and the Eastern enlargement of the EU. It combines theoretical chapters with detailed case-studies of Britain, The Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Central Europe.

During the last decade Europe has been transformed both politically and commercially. The establishment of a genuinely single marketplace in the context of an expanding membership has enabled the European Union greatly to enhance its role on the world stage. In the areas of trade and commercial policy the Union increasingly speaks with one voice. As a result of the Maastricht Treaty on Economic and Political Union of 1993, a process has been set in motion whereby the embryonic mechanisms of a common foreign policy (European Political Cooperation or EPC) are gradually evolving into a more comprehensive Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The contributors to this volume describe and evaluate the nature and extent to which the European Union plays an independent role in international affairs. This pioneering work makes an important contribution to the literature on the European Union since the chapters present a comprehensive picture of the Union's foreign economic policies and actions, its foreign security policy, and the supranational nature of much Union decision-making. The book is significant, not only because of its dual focus on economics as well as politics, but also because it comprehensively covers the broad range of Union policies in both the economic and political spheres. The intended level of readership is undergraduate courses on the EU and on European politics; upper level undergraduate courses in International Relations; and graduate survey courses on the EU. The book is sufficiently comprehensive and instructive to achieve a wide readership, especially in North America and the UK.

The idea for this volume came from the enigma that some Central and Eastern European (CEE) European Union (EU) member states have been keen to join the Eurozone while others have shown persistent reluctance. Moreover, the attitudes towards joining have seemingly not correlated with either the level of economic development or the time spent as part of the EU, nor with any other rational reason such as the level of integration into the EU real economy, or the level of trust in the EU on the part of the public. Therefore, at first sight, the answer to the question ‘why in, why out?’ remains rather unclear. The attractiveness of the currency union has nevertheless not disappeared for the CEE countries. Despite the Eurozone crisis of 2010–13, it was during that time that the Baltic states introduced the euro. Then, after a few years of inactivity, Croatia and Bulgaria successfully applied for membership of the exchange rate mechanism in July 2020, amid the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. At the same time, the three Visegrad countries still using their national currencies – Poland, Czechia and Hungary – no longer have a target date to join the monetary union. This volume aims to discuss these issues from horizontal aspects and through country studies, with contributions from expert authors from, or closely related to, the CEE region.

This book examines the effect of post-Soviet transitions on current problem solving trends with regards to world capitalism. The fall of Soviet communism left liberal capitalism as the dominant blueprint from which to construct economic development policies. Using Central Europe as an example it is shown that the application of the Western liberal-capitalist model has not been without its difficulties. This book endeavours to place the changes to the global political economy, since 1989, in a theoretical and historical context.

This book provides an accessible introduction to diverse political economy perspectives on different aspects of European integration. It presents a critical appraisal of how scholars in the EU and US use theory to understand European integration.

The delegation of policy-competencies to the European Union has changed the context in which national actors form their interests and represent them. Shaping European markets and societies, EU regulation has important effects in the member states. This book analyses how business interest organizations respond to this challenge and what strategies they develop to cope with European integration. Starting from the idea that institutional contexts, resource dependencies, and organizational characteristics explain, to a considerable degree, how interest groups adapt to EU policy-making, this study delivers important insights into EU governance. The empirical analysis draws on a comprehensive data set of German, British, French, and EU business associations and large firms. Divided into three parts, it moves from the study of domestic contexts to the analysis of multilevel-governance in the EU before finally scrutinizing in greater detail the factors that shape the access of interest groups to the EU institutions. Making an important contribution to the development of institutional and organizational accounts of interest groups in the EU, this book will be of interest to political scientists, economists, and sociologists working in the areas of European integration, comparative European politics, political economy, interest groups and civil society.

In this forward-thinking book, Rafał Riedel and Jakub Anusik explore the dynamics and determinants of one of the most salient issues facing contemporary Europe: differentiated integration. Going beyond static models of differentiated integration in Europe built on legal-institutional criteria, Riedel and Anusik capture the dynamism of the system by employing both a political economy perspective and the varieties of capitalism framework. This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.