scholarly journals The Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Trade

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 402-410
Author(s):  
Ignacio CARREÑO ◽  
Tobias DOLLE ◽  
Lourdes MEDINA ◽  
Moritz BRANDENBURGER

On 17 March 2020, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the European Commission (hereinafter, Commission), Ursula von der Leyen, announced further European Union (EU) actions in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Since the pandemic reached Europe, the EU has adopted a number of trade-related measures, including the issuance of guidelines for national border management, as well as export authorisation requirements. On 14 March 2020, the Commission adopted “Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/402 of 14 March 2020 making the exportation of certain products subject to the production of an export authorisation”, temporarily restricting exports of “personal protective equipment” to destinations outside of the EU. On 14 April 2020, the Commission announced that it would narrow down export authorisation requirements to protective masks only and extend the geographical and humanitarian exemptions. Governments around the world have been implementing trade-related measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, some trade restrictive, but a number of countries have also called for the elimination of export controls and restrictions on essential goods. As the greater implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on trade are still difficult to assess, the emergency measures taken by affected countries already require legal scrutiny. At the same time, it must be noted that, as noted above for the EU measures, measures around the world are subject to change dynamically in view of the evolution of the pandemic.

Author(s):  
Petr YAKOVLEV

The decision on Britain’s secession from the European Union, taken by the British Parliament and agreed by London and Brussels, divided the Union history into “before” and “after”. Not only will the remaining member states have to “digest” the political, commercial, economic and mental consequences of parting with one of the largest partners. They will also have to create a substantially new algorithm for the functioning of United Europe. On this path, the EU is confronted with many geopolitical and geo-economic challenges, which should be answered by the new leaders of the European Commission, European Council, and European Parliament.


Author(s):  
Michał Pietrzak ◽  
Marcin Mucha

In the period 1990–2013 sugar industry in Poland faced numerous legal transformations, shifting from nearly free-market conditions into a strongly regulated sector. Changes of the sugar industry regulations had a significant impact on the structure of the sugar market, companies’ actions and, as a result, on their performance. Accession to the European Union and the reform of the sugar regime conducted from 2006 to 2010 on the initiative of the European Commission involved deep restructuring and modernization of the factories, which caused growth of their productivity. However, prices of sugar in the EU and in Poland are much higher than prices on the world market.


Author(s):  
Neil Parpworth

The aims of this chapter are threefold. It first briefly considers the events that have led to the creation of the European Community (EC) and the European Union (EU). Secondly, it introduces the reader to the principal institutions of the Union: the European Council; the Council of Ministers; the European Commission; the European Parliament; and the Court of Justice of the EU and General Court. The nature and functions of each of these bodies is considered. Thirdly, the chapter indicates, where appropriate, the nature of the institutional reforms which have occurred following the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty by the member states.


Author(s):  
Fiona Hayes-Renshaw

This chapter examines the inhabitants of, and working visitors to, the Council of Ministers’s headquarters in Brussels. The Council of Ministers has always occupied an important position among the European institutions and in European policy-making. As a European Union institution, it is involved in all areas of EU activity, both by legislating in tandem with the European Parliament (EP) and by coordinating the member states’ policies in particular fields. The chapter first traces the origins of the present-day Council of Ministers before discussing its hierarchy and what the Council does. It then considers how the Council deals with the other EU institutions such as the European Council, the EP, and the European Commission. It shows that the Council embodies the enduring tension between supranationalism and intergovernmentalism as explanatory tools for understanding the construction of the EU.


Author(s):  
Neil Parpworth

This chapter has three aims. It first briefly considers the origins of the what is now the European Union (EU). Secondly, it discusses the institutions of the Union, the European Council, the Council of Ministers, the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Court of Justice of the EU and General Court. The nature and functions of these bodies is considered. Thirdly, the chapter indicates the nature of institutional reforms which have occurred following the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.


Author(s):  
Ewa Latoszek ◽  
Agnieszka Kłos

The aim of this article is to present the essence of competition policy and its implementation in the European Union in the context of ongoing globalization of the world economy. The paper will present selected factors that stimulate the process of globalization, main objectives and tools supporting the functioning of the EU internal market, and the place of the European Commission as a body that enforces compliance with the rules of competition by companies and the Member States.


IG ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-100
Author(s):  
Nicolai von Ondarza

The Brexit negotiations constituted unchartered political and institutional territory for the European Union (EU). This analysis shows how a new institutional approach enabled the EU-27 to present an unusually united front. The “Barnier method” is characterised by five elements: a strong political mandate from the European Council, a single EU negotiator based in the European Commission in the person of Michel Barnier, very close coordination with the Member States and the European Parliament, and a high degree of transparency. Lessons can also be drawn from this for the next phase of the Brexit negotiations and the EU’s relations with other third countries.


IG ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 318-327
Author(s):  
Martin Selmayr

The executive of the European Union (EU) is currently led by two Presidents: the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council. This double Presidency is the result of a compromise between the supranational and the intergovernmental schools of thoughts at the European Convention 2002/2003. However, in practice, the interplay of the two Presidents and their competencies, which are not always clearly separated by the provisions of the Treaty of Lisbon, occasionally leads to inefficiencies or even conflict in the external representation of the EU. This is why former Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker proposed, on 13 September 2017, to merge the functions of the two Presidents by always electing the President of the Commission as President of the European Council. The article explains the rationale of the Juncker proposal, which has the potential to make the EU easier to understand for its citizens and more efficient geopolitically, while overcoming the artificial distinction between national and European interests in the leadership of the Union. The current debate about the future of the EU and its more effective positioning in global affairs appears to be a good moment to look again at the Juncker proposal, which could be implemented without the need to change the Treaties.


2020 ◽  
Vol 99 (6) ◽  
pp. 64-75
Author(s):  
Natalia Anikeeva ◽  
◽  
Natalia Kapitonova ◽  

The article deals with the problem of Gibraltar in British-Spanish relations in light of Brexit. The provisions of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 do not allow the UK and Spain to reach a compromise and move forward in resolving the dispute over Gibraltar. From Britain’s perspective, the Gibraltar issue appears to be a permanent and irritating element in relations with Spain. Gibraltar does not seek to return to the jurisdiction of Spain, as indicated by the results of referendums held in Gibraltar in 1967 and 2002. During the negotiations on regional cooperation in 2004, the parties announced the creation of the Forum "Dialogue on Gibraltar". In 2006, within the framework of the first ministerial meeting of the Forum, the Cordoba agreement was signed, which does not mention the problem of sovereignty, as well as other controversial issues of the Gibraltar problem, but specifically settles inter alia the problem of freedom of movement according to one of the fundamental principles of the EU. Spain considered Brexit as an opportunity to resolve a long-running historic dispute with London. According to Madrid, all parties lose from Brexit. At the same time, Spain managed to strengthen its position on the Gibraltar issue, having enlisted the support of the European Commission and the European Council. The UK as a whole voted to leave the European Union. This puts the Gibraltar in a difficult position: they do not want to leave the EU, but at the same time intend to keep belonging to the British crown.


Author(s):  
Monika Mayrhofer

The EU is neither a state nor a ‘normal’ international organisation, but has a unique institutional structure that is sometimes also referred to as a ‘sui generis’ institutional framework. The institutions of the EU have a pivotal role concerning EU human rights policies. This chapter will provide an analysis of how human rights competences are distributed among EU institutions. It will discuss the institutional architecture of human rights in the EU by analysing the European Council, the Council of the European Union and its human rights-related Working Parties, the European Parliament, the European Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European External Action Service and the Special Representative on Human Rights, the Fundamental Rights Agency, and the European Ombudsman. The analysis will be followed by a summary of opportunities and challenges, a presentation of areas for improvements and recommendations, and a brief conclusion.


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