Democracy in Europe: Why the Development of the EU into a Transnational Democracy Is Necessary and How It Is Possible

Can the process of European unification lead to a form of democracy that is at once supranational and situated above the organisational level of a state? The supranational federation should be constructed in such a way that the heterarchical relationship between the Member States and the federation remains intact. The author finds the basis for such an order in the idea of the EU constituted by a ‘doubled’ sovereign—the European citizens and the European peoples (the States). In order to sustain such an order, reforms of the existing European treaties are needed. It is necessary to eliminate the legitimation deficits of the EU in a future Euro‐Union—that is, a more closely integrated core Europe. The European Parliament would have to gain the right to take legislative initiatives, and the so‐called ‘ordinary legislative procedure’, which requires the approval of both chambers, would have to be extended to all policy fields.     

Spatial variation in non-marital fertility across Europe in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries: recent trends,persistence of the past,and potential future pathways

This article investigates spatiotemporal variation in non-marital fertility across Europe over the last 100 years. In the first 50 years of this period, non-marital fertility was generally declining, reaching very low levels in the mid-twentieth century. But starting in the 1960s, non-marital fertility increased strongly. The main aim of this paper is to investigate to what degree the persistence of the past might be relevant for understanding spatial aspects of the recent rise. A secondary aim is to explore how spatial non-marital fertility variation is likely to develop in the future, both between and within countries. The outcomes support the view that historical patterns are relevant for understanding current non-marital fertility variation in most parts of Europe. However, the persistence of the past varies spatially, and seems to fade over time. The analysis of current trends in spatial variation between countries suggests that an east–west dichotomy is currently emerging: i.e., countries that are not in the European Union and that have Orthodox Christian or Muslim traditions exhibit higher propensities to remain at or to revert to comparatively low levels of non-marital fertility. Within Northwestern Europe, suburban belts around big cities appear to be the last strongholds of marital fertility.     

Deckner, Kathrin: Mediationsergebnisse in der Bauleitplanung

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Rezension

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Ministerialentwürfe

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Keine Legalisierungswirkung der wasserrechtlichen Bewilligung für einen Tiefbrunnen

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Planfeststellung für den Verkehrsflughafen Münster/Osnabrück; Verlängerung der Start- und Landebahn zulässig

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Ersatzzahlungen für nicht ausgleichbare Beeinträchtigungen des Landschaftsbildes durch die Errichtung von Windkraftanlagen

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Bauplanungsrechtliche und die naturschutz- bzw. landschaftsrechtliche Zulassungsvoraussetzungen für Vorhaben im Außenbereich

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Verkehrssicherungspflichten in Wäldern

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