Bachelor Thesis from the year 2006 in the subject Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 1, University of Twente (Bedrijf Bestuur en Technologie), language: English, abstract: In the conclusion of the European Council in December 2005, the Presidency mentions only in a single sentence what had filled covers of newspapers the days before: "e;The European Council reached agreement on the Financial Perspective 2007-2013 as set out in doc. 15915/05."e;1 It was the second attempt after a former Council six month before, and also this time it needed tough negotiations and a number of revised proposals, until the quoted sentence could be printed. The reason for this controversy can be summarized in an old German adage: Beim Geld hort die Freundschaft auf. Those who are partners in other situations begin to bargain over every Euro they have to spend for the EU budget, giving short-term national interests priority to long-term EU interests. In some way this is understandable, despite the fact that the Council should bring forward the European project politicians are elected in the nation states and have to justify every Euro they leave in Brussels. Besides this, the term of solidarity has neither in Article I-2 of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe 2 , nor in article 1 of the Treaty on European Union 3 been concretised. But nevertheless the difficulties surrounding the agreement on the Financial Perspective are symptoms of a serious problem: Countries which pay more into the budget than they get back, the so-called net contributors, feel to have unacceptable high costs in relation to the benefits they gain from their EU-Membership. The debate on net positions is one of the major reasons which lead to the low acceptance of the European Union in public: According to Eurobarometer, 62% of the population are worried about the increasing costs for the Member States of building Europe. 4 Only the fear of a transfer of jobs to other Member States was mentioned more often (73%).

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 1,5, University of Twente (School of Management and Governance), course: European Economic Policies, language: English, abstract: Broadband development is considered to be central to economic growth in a knowledge-based economy. In Germany, the market leader (Deutsche Telekom) on the telecommunication market recently installed a "e;next generation"e; high-speed network (so called VDSL), which is able to transfer phone calls, internet and TV through only one pair of wire to the consumer. The company invested more than 3 Billion Euro. Due to these enormous costs, it claimed to be allowed to refuse competitors access to its new network. If those competitors would be allowed to use the new network, Telekom threatened to stop all investments into this technology, as it would not be profitable. The German Government followed the claim by adopting a new law in December 2006, which was often said to be a "e;lex Telekom"e; and guarantees "e;regulatory holidays"e; for the new network. The European Commission argues that the protection of a new technology against competitors is against EU competition law and opened a procedure against the German government on the same day. The question is, whether the strict EU competition law in this case prevents innovation. Starting with the liberalization of the telecommunication market in 1988, the policies of the European Union can be called a success story . From state-run monopolies and imperfect competitive conditions with high barriers for new firms to enter the market, the situation has changed dramatically until today: A number of new companies entered the market, prices decreased significantly, and the traditional staterun monopolies lost market shares. Where those monopoly-like situations remain, the EU aims to prevent operators from abusing market power to harm consumers or impede competitors. At the same time, the EU wants to facilitate widespread deployment of new and innovative technologies. Under the heading i2010 , the digital economy component of the renewed Lisbon strategy, the greater use of telecommunication technologies is said to boost productivity throughout Europe, and generate new services and create jobs. To realize the conditions for a flourishing ecommunications environment, the EU has established a detailed regulatory policy. The so-called Article 7 procedure allows national Regulatory Authorities to put obligations on companies with significant market power, whenever a persistent market failure occurs. [...]

Essay from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 2,0, University of Twente (Bedrijf Bestuur en Technologie), course: European Institutions, language: English, abstract: Although the European Economic and Social Committee exists since 1957, there is only scarce literature on this institution. While in the 80s and 90s a few articles and books were published, there has been hardly any literature since 2000. This mere fact may already provide an indication of the Committee's role in today's institutional structure of the European Union: Civil society has found other ways of representation. On the one hand, formal ways of participating in the decision making process increased, for instance through the various consultative bodies around the European Commission. On the other hand, informal participation through lobbying has grown and is often regarded as being more profitable and more efficient than the involvement of an assembly with 344 members which has to agree with a majority on its opinions. Not only on this account is the work of the EESC facing critics. Under the heading Four good reasons to abolish the Economic and Social Committee , Helle Thorning-Schmidt (2003), member of the European Convention and European Parliament, challenges the Committee s right to exist. Her accusations are profound: Unfocused, too expensive, inefficient and not sufficiently European was the EESC s work. Other authors are not so pessimistic. Vierlich-Jurcke (1998) refers to the Committee s ability to democratize the decision making system in the European Union by fostering the dialogue between government and the public. Smismans (2000) agrees on these positive effects, but is in favour of some changes to the composition of the Committee. He wants to strengthen links between civil society, broaden the deliberative basis and bring more expertise. He states that an increased input-legitimacy contributes to output-legitimacy. On a more abstract basis, the critics are not only about efficiency and legitimacy. The question whether the Committee has (still) a right to exist touches the concept of democracy we want to establish in the European Union. The EU has been a participatory democracy from the beginning, and the Constitution s article 46 again strengthens possibilities to participate.

Essay from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - General and Theories of International Politics, grade: 1,0, University of Twente (School of Management and Governance), course: International Relations Theory, language: English, abstract: Writing an essay about Andrew Linklater's The Transformation of Political Community"e; is, in light of the pre-eminent praise it received in the academic sphere, a distinct challenge. Is it actually possible to make critical statements about a book, which others have called "e;one of the most important books in international theory published in this decade"e;, or even "e;the most impressive work of international theory to have been produced in Britain since Bull's Anarchical Society"e;? The mere quantity of laud is as impressive as its quality. One easily tends to follow this blandishment, and ignores that it is not more than base flattery. Beyond doubt, Linklater has produced a sound book, which has after his preliminary publications The Problem of Community in International Relations in 1990 and The Question of the Next Stage in International Relations: A Critical-Theoretical Point of View in 1992 made him one of the strongest voices in contemporary international relations theory. I hypothesize that The Transformation of Political Community has already today, only nine years after its first publication, become a classic of international relations. What defines a classic? Two factors are decisive, and they are the same for a classic in international relations than they are for a classic car: It is cherished by people, and it has a unique selling point, something that differs from everything that has been produced before. Using this definition, an Aston Martin DB 5 is a classic as well as Kenneth Waltz s Man, the State, and War . A classic, as complete and coherent it might be, is not necessarily without problems. Several times, Aston Martin went bankrupt (and was reborn again), and for Waltz s neorealism the sudden and peaceful collapse of the Soviet Union meant the end of its universal validity.

Master's Thesis from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - Topic: Public International Law and Human Rights, grade: 1,0, University of Twente (School of Management and Governance), language: English, abstract: In the "e;War on Terrorism"e;, the United Nations (UN) have increasingly used the possibility to impose sanctions on individuals. Those sanctions find their legal basis in Article 41 of the UN Charter. In Resolution 1333, the Security Council (SC) requested to maintain an updated list, based on information provided by States and regional organizations, of the individuals and entities designated as being associated with Usama bin Laden, including those in the Al-Qaida organization for the purpose to freeze funds and other financial assets of those mentioned on the list. After the terror attacks of 11 September 2001, the range of anti-terrorist measures was extended in Resolution1373. In the European Union (EU), all UN Resolutions have been implemented through Common Positions in the area of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP, second pillar) and Regulations within the first pillar. [...]The consequences for individuals on the list are extremely serious: The effect[s] of a freezing order, if it is effectively implemented, are devastating for the target, as he or she cannot use any of his or her assets, or receive pay or even, legallyspeaking, social security. Against the background of those implications, it is important that human rights, especially due process (or procedural) rights, deriving from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) or the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), are respected and guaranteed for people that have been put on terrorist lists. These include the peaceful enjoyment of one s possessions (Article 17 UDHR and Article 1 ECHR Protocol 1), the right to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial Tribunal (Article 10 UDHR and Article 6.1 ECHR), and the right to have an effective remedy. (Article 8 UDHR and Article 13 ECHR). It is a question at issue, whether the listing mechanisms in the EU are in accordance with such rights. The control of assets held in bank accounts falls within the scope of the right to property, and an infringement of this right has to be based on a carefully conducted test of fair balance or necessity and proportionality. [...]While some more human rights may also be infringed, I will concentrate on the property right and, in detail, on due process rights. [...]To clarify these issues from a legal point of view, the paper focuses on the following research question: Which human rights problems arise from the setup of terrorist lists in the EU and how can they be solved?

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2006 in the subject Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 1, University of Twente (Bedrijf Bestuur en Technologie), language: English, abstract: In the conclusion of the European Council in December 2005, the Presidency mentions only in a single sentence what had filled covers of newspapers the days before: "e;The European Council reached agreement on the Financial Perspective 2007-2013 as set out in doc. 15915/05."e;1 It was the second attempt after a former Council six month before, and also this time it needed tough negotiations and a number of revised proposals, until the quoted sentence could be printed. The reason for this controversy can be summarized in an old German adage: Beim Geld hort die Freundschaft auf. Those who are partners in other situations begin to bargain over every Euro they have to spend for the EU budget, giving short-term national interests priority to long-term EU interests. In some way this is understandable, despite the fact that the Council should bring forward the European project politicians are elected in the nation states and have to justify every Euro they leave in Brussels. Besides this, the term of solidarity has neither in Article I-2 of the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe 2 , nor in article 1 of the Treaty on European Union 3 been concretised. But nevertheless the difficulties surrounding the agreement on the Financial Perspective are symptoms of a serious problem: Countries which pay more into the budget than they get back, the so-called net contributors, feel to have unacceptable high costs in relation to the benefits they gain from their EU-Membership. The debate on net positions is one of the major reasons which lead to the low acceptance of the European Union in public: According to Eurobarometer, 62% of the population are worried about the increasing costs for the Member States of building Europe. 4 Only the fear of a transfer of jobs to other Member States was mentioned more often (73%).

Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 1,5, University of Twente (School of Management and Governance), course: European Economic Policies, language: English, abstract: Broadband development is considered to be central to economic growth in a knowledge-based economy. In Germany, the market leader (Deutsche Telekom) on the telecommunication market recently installed a "e;next generation"e; high-speed network (so called VDSL), which is able to transfer phone calls, internet and TV through only one pair of wire to the consumer. The company invested more than 3 Billion Euro. Due to these enormous costs, it claimed to be allowed to refuse competitors access to its new network. If those competitors would be allowed to use the new network, Telekom threatened to stop all investments into this technology, as it would not be profitable. The German Government followed the claim by adopting a new law in December 2006, which was often said to be a "e;lex Telekom"e; and guarantees "e;regulatory holidays"e; for the new network. The European Commission argues that the protection of a new technology against competitors is against EU competition law and opened a procedure against the German government on the same day. The question is, whether the strict EU competition law in this case prevents innovation. Starting with the liberalization of the telecommunication market in 1988, the policies of the European Union can be called a success story . From state-run monopolies and imperfect competitive conditions with high barriers for new firms to enter the market, the situation has changed dramatically until today: A number of new companies entered the market, prices decreased significantly, and the traditional staterun monopolies lost market shares. Where those monopoly-like situations remain, the EU aims to prevent operators from abusing market power to harm consumers or impede competitors. At the same time, the EU wants to facilitate widespread deployment of new and innovative technologies. Under the heading i2010 , the digital economy component of the renewed Lisbon strategy, the greater use of telecommunication technologies is said to boost productivity throughout Europe, and generate new services and create jobs. To realize the conditions for a flourishing ecommunications environment, the EU has established a detailed regulatory policy. The so-called Article 7 procedure allows national Regulatory Authorities to put obligations on companies with significant market power, whenever a persistent market failure occurs. [...]

Essay from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: 2,0, University of Twente (Bedrijf Bestuur en Technologie), course: European Institutions, language: English, abstract: Although the European Economic and Social Committee exists since 1957, there is only scarce literature on this institution. While in the 80s and 90s a few articles and books were published, there has been hardly any literature since 2000. This mere fact may already provide an indication of the Committee's role in today's institutional structure of the European Union: Civil society has found other ways of representation. On the one hand, formal ways of participating in the decision making process increased, for instance through the various consultative bodies around the European Commission. On the other hand, informal participation through lobbying has grown and is often regarded as being more profitable and more efficient than the involvement of an assembly with 344 members which has to agree with a majority on its opinions. Not only on this account is the work of the EESC facing critics. Under the heading Four good reasons to abolish the Economic and Social Committee , Helle Thorning-Schmidt (2003), member of the European Convention and European Parliament, challenges the Committee s right to exist. Her accusations are profound: Unfocused, too expensive, inefficient and not sufficiently European was the EESC s work. Other authors are not so pessimistic. Vierlich-Jurcke (1998) refers to the Committee s ability to democratize the decision making system in the European Union by fostering the dialogue between government and the public. Smismans (2000) agrees on these positive effects, but is in favour of some changes to the composition of the Committee. He wants to strengthen links between civil society, broaden the deliberative basis and bring more expertise. He states that an increased input-legitimacy contributes to output-legitimacy. On a more abstract basis, the critics are not only about efficiency and legitimacy. The question whether the Committee has (still) a right to exist touches the concept of democracy we want to establish in the European Union. The EU has been a participatory democracy from the beginning, and the Constitution s article 46 again strengthens possibilities to participate.

Essay from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - General and Theories of International Politics, grade: 1,0, University of Twente (School of Management and Governance), course: International Relations Theory, language: English, abstract: Writing an essay about Andrew Linklater's The Transformation of Political Community"e; is, in light of the pre-eminent praise it received in the academic sphere, a distinct challenge. Is it actually possible to make critical statements about a book, which others have called "e;one of the most important books in international theory published in this decade"e;, or even "e;the most impressive work of international theory to have been produced in Britain since Bull's Anarchical Society"e;? The mere quantity of laud is as impressive as its quality. One easily tends to follow this blandishment, and ignores that it is not more than base flattery. Beyond doubt, Linklater has produced a sound book, which has after his preliminary publications The Problem of Community in International Relations in 1990 and The Question of the Next Stage in International Relations: A Critical-Theoretical Point of View in 1992 made him one of the strongest voices in contemporary international relations theory. I hypothesize that The Transformation of Political Community has already today, only nine years after its first publication, become a classic of international relations. What defines a classic? Two factors are decisive, and they are the same for a classic in international relations than they are for a classic car: It is cherished by people, and it has a unique selling point, something that differs from everything that has been produced before. Using this definition, an Aston Martin DB 5 is a classic as well as Kenneth Waltz s Man, the State, and War . A classic, as complete and coherent it might be, is not necessarily without problems. Several times, Aston Martin went bankrupt (and was reborn again), and for Waltz s neorealism the sudden and peaceful collapse of the Soviet Union meant the end of its universal validity.

Master's Thesis from the year 2007 in the subject Politics - Topic: Public International Law and Human Rights, grade: 1,0, University of Twente (School of Management and Governance), language: English, abstract: In the "e;War on Terrorism"e;, the United Nations (UN) have increasingly used the possibility to impose sanctions on individuals. Those sanctions find their legal basis in Article 41 of the UN Charter. In Resolution 1333, the Security Council (SC) requested to maintain an updated list, based on information provided by States and regional organizations, of the individuals and entities designated as being associated with Usama bin Laden, including those in the Al-Qaida organization for the purpose to freeze funds and other financial assets of those mentioned on the list. After the terror attacks of 11 September 2001, the range of anti-terrorist measures was extended in Resolution1373. In the European Union (EU), all UN Resolutions have been implemented through Common Positions in the area of Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP, second pillar) and Regulations within the first pillar. [...]The consequences for individuals on the list are extremely serious: The effect[s] of a freezing order, if it is effectively implemented, are devastating for the target, as he or she cannot use any of his or her assets, or receive pay or even, legallyspeaking, social security. Against the background of those implications, it is important that human rights, especially due process (or procedural) rights, deriving from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) or the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), are respected and guaranteed for people that have been put on terrorist lists. These include the peaceful enjoyment of one s possessions (Article 17 UDHR and Article 1 ECHR Protocol 1), the right to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial Tribunal (Article 10 UDHR and Article 6.1 ECHR), and the right to have an effective remedy. (Article 8 UDHR and Article 13 ECHR). It is a question at issue, whether the listing mechanisms in the EU are in accordance with such rights. The control of assets held in bank accounts falls within the scope of the right to property, and an infringement of this right has to be based on a carefully conducted test of fair balance or necessity and proportionality. [...]While some more human rights may also be infringed, I will concentrate on the property right and, in detail, on due process rights. [...]To clarify these issues from a legal point of view, the paper focuses on the following research question: Which human rights problems arise from the setup of terrorist lists in the EU and how can they be solved?