Why do some countries join the EU earlier than others, why do others wait? Inorder to answer this question we apply the theory of investment under uncertainty (Dixit andPindyck, 1994) to the decision on EU-membership. We develop a simplified model of twoperiods to study how the value of waiting...

The European Union (EU) failed repeatedly to hold Greece accountable for violations of the Treaties it signed over the past five decades. In particular, the EU not only did not express reservations in the face of these violations, but on two crucial occasions, in 1979 and again in 2000, it even...

New Public Management (NPM) is considered as a global paradigm emerging in response to economic, institutional, political, and ideological changes.Many attempts to define the New Public Management have been made and there are several definitions of this notion, referring to the implementation of...

After almost a quarter of a century since the fall of the Berlin wall, Germany has undoubtedly become the uncontested nerve-centre of the European Union (EU) in both economic and political terms, evolving not only as Europe’s most important economic power, but also as its de facto leader in...

The Lisbon Strategy is working; it has helped to bring about higher economic growth, more jobs and reduced unemployment. As a new member state of the European Union, Romania should respond positively to the challenges of the Lisbon Strategy, and build the prerequisites for a knowledge-based...

Small open economies in Europe share many of the same characteristics, policy choices and economic problems. This paper argues that Belgium is profoundly affected by its position as a small open economy in the core of the European Union. Yet, this European dimension does not prevent that even a...

Why do some countries join the EU earlier than others, why do others wait? In order to answer this question we apply the theory of investment under uncertainty (Dixit and Pindyck, 1994) to the decision on EU-membership. We develop a simplified model of two periods to study how the value of...

A perception of declining EU competitiveness has intensified calls for structural reforms within the EU. This paper examines recent evidence on changes in relative EU competitiveness and considers the observed changes in relation to the evolving competitive environment facing EU firms during the...