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This book provides a comprehensive account of EU's renewable energy policy development as it traces the agenda-shaping, policy formulation and decision-making phases of the EU's secondary legislation on renewable energy - that is the three successive directives of 2001 (RES-E), 2009 (RED), and 2018 (RED II). It also explores the EU's energy policymaking dynamics and assess integration outcomes of these three policymaking instances in the renewable energy field from a comparative perspective. Enriched with elite interviews with the Brussels policy community, and drawing on European integration and public policy literature, the proposed book will resonate with and offer relevant insights to students, scholars, stakeholders, and policymakers interested in EU energy policy, in particular, and European integration, in general.

ÖZETBu çalışmanın amacı Avrupa Birliği'nin Güney Kafkasya bölgesi ile olan ilişkilerini incelemek ve bu çerçevede bölgeye yönelik hukuki, iktisadi, ve siyasi politikalarını değerlendirmektir. Bu bağlamda, tezde Avrupa Birliği'nin geliştirdiği politika araçları ele alınırken, Güney Kafkasya politikasının belirleyici unsurları ve bölgede uyguladığı dış politikanın etkinliği incelenmiştir. Tezin temel argümanı, hem AB'nin kendi politikaları, hem de bununla ilişkin dış politika araçlarının bölgeyle ilgili temel hedeflerine ulaşma konusunda yetersiz kaldığı yönündedir. Bu yetersizlik, AB'nin bölgeye yönelik olarak uyguladığı politik enstrumanların yetersizliğinden, üyelerin ulusal çıkarlarını korumak amacı ile AB politakalını uygulamadaki eksiklillerinden, bölgesel çatışmaların çözümüne ilişkin izlediği politikaların başarısızlığından, AB'nin amaçları ve stratejik araçlarında işbirliğinin yeterli düzeyde mevcut olmamasından kaynaklanıyor.Bu tez dört bölümden oluşmaktadır: Birinci Bölüm Güney Kafkas ülkelerinin jeopolitik önemi ve söz konusu ülkelerde bağımsızlık kazandıktan sonraki gelişmeleri kapsamaktadır. İkinci Bölüm AB'nin Güney Kafkasya politikasının gelişim tarihini ve belirleyici hukuki unsurlarını analiz etmektedir. Üçüncü bölümde AB ve Güney Kafkas ülkeleri arasındaki ekonomik ilişkiler ele alınmıştır. Son bölümde ise AB'nin bölgede uyguladığı siyaset ve etkinliği incelenmiş ve tez sonuçlandırılmıştır. ABSTRACTIn this study political and economic relations between the European Union and South Caucasus countries and the legal framework of these relations were examined under the title of "European Union's Policy towards the South Caucasus". The aim of this study is to put forth the policies of European Union towards the South Caucasus countries and to analyze adequacy of relations with the countries of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia forming region. The research argues that the EU's current policy approach is not well-tailored to ensure its increasing interests since the EU is not capable to influence the South Caucasus states. Although the EU's current approach to the region has its own logic, the study suggests that the irrelevance in this point could be linked to failure of the EU's policies towards the resolution of regional conflicts, weaknesses concerning the EU's objectives and its strategic instruments, dualistic nature of the EU foreign policy as well as lack of cooperation with international actors in appropriate level to realize EU goals.The thesis consists of four chapters: The First chapter explores South Caucasus' geopolitical significance and the developments occurred in the region after gaining independence. The Second Chapter analyzes Partnership and Cooperation Agreements which is the basic legal script drawing the framework of relations. The third chapter examines the economic relations between Union and the South Caucasus states. The final chapter aims to analyze the political relations and the efficiency of the EU's foreign policies initiated in the region and concludes the thesis.

The focus of this article is on EU social policy-making since 2010 in the context of new governance arrangements and changing policy orientations and politics under the European Semester and Europe 2020. Analysis of these developments can tell us something very important about the consensus around social policy in the EU, and in the member states more broadly, given the potentially important role to be played by social policy in adjusting to the financial crisis. The last five years have been especially momentous in an EU context. The European Semester was introduced in 2011, inaugurating a significant new annual governance cycle to monitor and enforce compliance with stringent budgetary and structural reforms (European Commission, 2010). A key part of the Semester - and the strongest mechanism available to the EU institutions to influence social policy developments at member state level - is the issuing of Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs) to member states in areas of perceived weakness. Europe 2020, the ten-year programme of economic, employment and social policy goals and priorities of the EU, introduced ten integrated guidelines to be taken forward by five headline targets and seven flagship initiatives. Social policy has an explicit place in Europe 2020, especially in terms of poverty and social inclusion, employment, pensions, health and social care. For example, one of the five targets aims to lift some 20 million people out of poverty and social exclusion by 2020.

Indhira Santos analyses the impact of the European Union's cohesion policy both in terms of economic efficiency and redistribution to needy areas of the EU. She illustrates with data the confusion created by the multiple objectives of current EU cohesion policy and by the political horse-trading over levels of aid granted to different member states and regions. Finally, sh shows how a significant part of EU structural funds involves ine net economic terms simply transferring funds between individuals within one and the same region.

What are the sub-national implications, in policy and practice, of environmental policy integration (EPI) in EU and Swedish bioenergy policy? Focusing on the exceptional bioenergy expansion within the Biofuel Region in north Sweden, this paper discusses cross-level implications of supranational and national policy decisions on bioenergy; whether environmental perspectives are observable also in sub-national bioenergy discussions; and explores the drivers of sub-national bioenergy development in a multi-level governance setting. The study finds that higher-level EPI plays an important role for sub-national bioenergy development. The degree of sub-national EPI in bioenergy and the type of renewables invested in is to a large extent set by top-down influence from the EU and national level through agenda setting, policy goals and economic mechanisms. Local policy entrepreneurs play an important role for finding 'win-win'-solutions that can help initiating local energy projects and ensure sub-national EPI, but environmental-economic – rather than merely economic – motives for getting involved are important to ensure long-term local commitment to renewable energy projects.

[Abstract] What are the sub-national implications, in policy and practice, of environmental policy integration (EPI) in EU and Swedish bioenergy policy? Focusing on the exceptional bioenergy expansion within the Biofuel Region in north Sweden, this paper discusses cross-level implications of supranational and national policy decisions on bioenergy; whether environmental perspectives are observable also in sub-national bioenergy discussions; and explores the drivers of sub-national bioenergy development in a multi-level governance setting. The study finds that higher-level EPI plays an important role for sub-national bioenergy development. The degree of sub-national EPI in bioenergy and the type of renewables invested in is to a large extent set by top-down influence from the EU and national level through agenda setting, policy goals and economic mechanisms. Local policy entrepreneurs play an important role for finding 'win-win'-solutions that can help initiating local energy projects and ensure sub-national EPI, but environmental-economic – rather than merely economic – motives for getting involved are important to ensure long-term local commitment to renewable energy projects

What are the sub-national implications, in policy and practice, of environmental policy integration (EPI) in EU and Swedish bioenergy policy? Focusing on the exceptional bioenergy expansion within the Biofuel Region in north Sweden, this paper discusses cross-level implications of supranational and national policy decisions on bioenergy; whether environmental perspectives are observable also in sub-national bioenergy discussions; and explores the drivers of sub-national bioenergy development in a multi-level governance setting. The study finds that higher-level EPI plays an important role for sub-national bioenergy development. The degree of sub-national EPI in bioenergy and the type of renewables invested in is to a large extent set by top-down influence from the EU and national level through agenda setting, policy goals and economic mechanisms. Local policy entrepreneurs play an important role for finding 'win-win'-solutions that can help initiating local energy projects and ensure sub-national EPI, but environmental-economic – rather than merely economic – motives for getting involved are important to ensure long-term local commitment to renewable energy projects.

What are the sub-national implications, in policy and practice, of environmental policy integration (EPI) in EU and Swedish bioenergy policy? Focusing on the exceptional bioenergy expansion within the Biofuel Region in (North Sweden, this paper discusses cross-level implications of supranational and national policy decisions on bioenergy ( whether environmental perspectives are observable also in sub-national bioenergy discussions ( and explores the drivers of sub-national bioenergy development in a multi-level governance setting. The study finds that higher-level EPI plays an important role for sub-national bioenergy development. The degree of sub-national EPI in bioenergy and the type of renewables invested in is to a large extent set by top-down influence from the EU and national level through agenda setting, policy goals and economic mechanisms. Local policy entrepreneurs play an important role for finding 'win-win'-solutions that can help initiating local energy projects and ensure sub-national EPI, but environmental-economic - rather than merely economic - motives for getting involved are important to ensure long-term local commitment to renewable energy projects.

Iceland has been slow in developing a national security concept, for reasons that include a long period of reliance on US protection post-World War Two, and divided internal views over this defence solution. Since the withdrawal of all US stationed forces in 2006, Iceland's security partnerships have diversified and attempts have been made to frame security in more multi-functional terms. The Risk Assessment Report of 2009 made important progress in itemizing non-military threats and risks. On this basis, a cross-party parliamentary committee was invited to start work in 2012 on guidelines for a security strategy. Its report, published in March 2014, establishes a large area of consensus on 'softer' security issues and on remaining in NATO, with a few dissenting voices on the latter. Its main omission is a proper treatment of economic and financial security, still tied to the divisive issue of EU membership. Meanwhile, Iceland's recent security experience in 2014 has helped to highlight the reality of both harder and softer security challenges. The government can now proceed to draft a full official security strategy, to be laid before parliament possibly in 2015.