EU FTA negotiations with India, ASEAN and Korea: the question of fair labour standards

The EU sets considerable store by the need for its Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) now under negotiation with Asian countries to contain a sustainable development chapter with clear references to respect for the core ILO labour standards. While they reject the sanctions-based approach demanded by the European trade unions, they accept that some real enforcement mechanisms will be needed. Among Asian countries, Korea is most likely to accept some form of a social clause, while India and certainly some ASEAN countries strongly oppose it. This article explores the prospects for mutual agreement on this thorny issue at the bilateral level which, to date, has failed at the multilateral level.

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Congruence-building on multiple fronts: Indian elite perceptions of EU rule promotion in India during the EU-India FTA negotiations (2007–2013)

Asia Europe Journal - How does the European Union export its rules and regulations to its partners during free trade negotiations? While the research fields on EU foreign policy promotion abroad...     

欧盟对印关系初探

欧印关系近年来突飞猛进,从开启首脑对话大门到确立战略伙伴关系,相隔不过4年时间。如今,双方在政治、经济、社会领域互动频繁,经济关系发展迅猛,战略伙伴关系正在落实。作为双方关系主要塑造者的欧盟,选择印度为外交重点出于三方面原因:发展到特定阶段的自然要求、现实利益驱动和战略上的考虑。欧盟与印度建立战略伙伴关系,不仅使欧印双方得益,而且对当前世界格局产生越来越显著的影响。     

EU public diplomacy in Asia: a case study of the EU Center in Taiwan

Since 2004, the EU has created 11 EU centers and two center-modeled programs in East Asia as an integral part of its public diplomacy in order to “promote the study, understanding, and support of the EU and its policies.” All of these centers were jointly established by the EU and local universities, and more than 50 % of their funding is offered by the EU institutions. Among these centers and programs, the EU Center in Taiwan (EUTW) distinguishes itself from the others in two ways. On one hand, similar to the EU Center in Singapore, it acts as a national center rather than a university center. On the other hand, it was jointly inaugurated by a consortium of seven universities rather than one or two universities across the island. Therefore, this paper aims to evaluate the EU public diplomacy in Asia with the help of soft power theory and an in-depth case study of the EUTW. I will firstly review the development of the EU Studies and EU-related communities in Taiwan before the EUTW was formally inaugurated in May 2009. In the second part, I will present an in-depth analysis of the structure and functioning of the EUTW in terms of EU public diplomacy on the island. In the third part, the work of EUTW in the promotion of study, understanding, and even support of the EU and its policies will be evaluated with help of an institutionalist framework. In the end, I will give a balance sheet of the EUTW in terms of EU public diplomacy before drawing into some conclusions.     

2010年中国-东盟自贸区:进展与前景

中国-东盟自贸区正式建成并启动一年内,双方经贸关系突飞猛进,取得前所未有的重大成就.中国-东盟自贸区机制也存在薄弱环节与制约因素.双方都在努力发扬光大积极因素,克服消极因素,将自贸区做大做强,开辟双方经济一体化美好前景.     

The High Representative and directoires in European foreign policy: the case of the nuclear negotiations with Iran

ABSTRACT

The negotiations with Iran about its nuclear programme have seen the most protracted involvement of the High Representatives of the European Union in a high-profile policy case. This article traces the evolution of the High Representatives’ participation in the negotiations, from the first contacts with the E3 (Germany, France and the United Kingdom) in 2003 to the adoption of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in 2015. It focuses on the institutional role the High Representatives played in relation with the directoires leading the talks with Iran – first the E3 and, since 2006, E3/EU. In this context, it examines the personal and organisational factors that affected the influence each of the three High Representatives (Javier Solana, Catherine Ashton and Federica Mogherini) had in regard to the directoires. The analysis distinguishes specifically between the phases before and after the 2009 Lisbon Treaty. The article shows how similar personal qualities of the three High Representatives in terms of problem-solving and trust-building gave them political capital that enabled them to adopt a fairly constant role as bridge-builders within the directoires and between the directoires and other actors. The reforms of the Lisbon Treaty had only a minor impact.     

The domestic politics of international negotiations: The effects of state structures and policy making processes

Putnam's metaphor of a two‐level game that state representatives play when they face the dual constraints of international bargaining and domestic pressures has been applied across different political systems. This paper argues that it is important to take into account differences in state structures and political processes in the study of international negotiations. That state structures and processes are important has become a common theme in current research on foreign policy, decision making, and international conflict. Building on this literature, this study involves a meta‐analysis of existing case studies of two‐level games. The previously completed cases provide evidence of variation in the characteristics of two‐level games. Independent measures of the institutional structures of the states involved in the set of case studies are collected from the POLITY III dataset. Hypotheses on how differences in state structures might influence the characteristics of two‐level bargaining are then examined. The study finds that differences in state structures do influence the dynamics of two‐level games. Some of the results support the conventional wisdom on this relationship, while other results suggest counter‐intuitive insights. A framework conceptualizing state characteristics at three levels is proposed for future research.     

欧盟面临艰难转变

欧盟遭遇成立以来从未有过的困难局面。欧盟出路何在,这是全世界都关注的问题。作者对欧盟面临的主要问题及根源进行了综述。未来,欧盟不会解体,经济联合还会深化;欧盟扩大的步伐将放慢,在可预见的时期内难以形成有行动能力的独立政治力量和军事力量。     

当前欧盟对俄关系中的能源因素

欧盟东扩后,俄罗斯在欧盟能源战略中的意义明显增大,欧盟对俄罗斯能源供应高度依赖的风险也随之上升,地缘政治问题成为影响欧俄能源关系的重要因素。能源作为一种战略资源,在未来既有可能成为破坏欧俄关系的“武器”,也有可能成为密切欧俄关系的“黏合剂”。受欧俄政治关系的影响,欧盟对俄能源外交存在着明显的矛盾性和局限性。     

东北亚地区建立自由贸易区(FTA)的现状与趋势

2000年以来,东北亚有关国家建立双边自由贸易协定(FTA)的步伐明显加快,但在东北亚地区内部,除日本和韩国外其他国家之间近期内建立FTA的可能性很低,特别是对中日、中韩经济贸易关系非常紧密的国家之间建立FTA的可能性较小,缺乏政治互信是导致该地区内部FTA发展缓慢的主要原因。     

中欧关系演进的内在逻辑:基于欧盟对华援助的视角

欧盟对华援助的主要表现在援助资金呈递增趋势、援助领域由早期的农业援助转向经济和社会改革领域、援助项目要按照"标准化"要求操作等三个方面。从援助特征可以看出欧盟对华援助背后的政治经济逻辑正好吻合了新自由主义对国际政治经济生活进行必要干预的主张,把欧盟成员国和欧盟内部的社会经验在援助国得以拓展,使其经济运行和社会秩序朝着欧盟所拟定的方向发展,这也恰好表明欧盟对华援助的行为不可能偏离自利立场。但是,中国在坚持独立的外交政策和方针下,使得中欧关系逐步朝务实性方向发展,在合作基础上解决面临的共同难题,谋求长期的战略性合作伙伴关系依然符合中欧关系发展的趋势。     

The effects of anger on negotiations over mergers and acquisitions

Conclusion The practical implications that have been drawn from this analysis of anger in mergers and acquisitions negotiations are just a few of the many that could be identified and further developed from future research. Future studies of conflict behavior can profitably go beyond the narrow focus on anger used here to consider other emotions and related states, such as fear, resentment, gratitude, guilt, or stress. Scholars and negotiators should be mindful not to ignore emotional factors in negotiation simply because emotions and their causes are complex. As I pointed out earlier, emotions are an integral part of the way human beings approach many conflict situations. Those of us who are interested in resolving disputes can only benefit by gaining a better understanding of emotions, the factors that trigger them, and their consequences. Joseph P. Daly is Assistant Professor in the Department of Management, Walker College of Business, Appalachian State University, Boone, N.C. 28608. He is nearing completion of his doctoral studies in organizational behavior at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University.This study was supported by a grant from the Dispute Resolution Research Center (DRRC) at North-western University. An earlier version of the paper appeared in the DRRC's working paper series as Working Paper Number 43.The author is indebted to the following for their suggestions on the research and writing of this paper: Bob Bies, Denise Rousseau, Jerry Fox, Tom Tripp, and Max Bazerman.     

试析构建中国-东盟自由贸易区中的东盟因素

构建中国-东盟自由贸易区是东亚区域合作的一项重要内容.目前它已经进入实质性谈判阶段.但是作者认为,从这一构想的缘起到达成协议以及今后的实施,都将面临来自东盟的一些不确定因素.这些因素将直接影响到中国-东盟自由贸易区的走向和未来,可称之为东盟因素.