CEPS Projects

The aim of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the EU’s approach to tackling public health issues, using asthma as a case example. In so doing, the study will show how, despite its relatively narrow legal base for actions in the field of public health, the EU can – and already does – exert substantial influence on health issues via EU policy measures in related fields such as environment, health research, and the European-wide regulation of medicinal products through the EMEA. The report will critically examine these initiatives and present proposals on how the EU’s current activities could be streamlined and improved so as to better complement and support Member States activities on asthma and make a stronger ‘European’ contribution towards improving the management and regulation of this public health issue across the EU.
Funded by: Asthma Allergy Inflammation Research (AAIR)
Period: December 2006 – June 2007

(“Constructing Europe” Network) is a network of excellence for joined research and teaching will look at the construction of a new Europe especially from 2005-2008. It will address questions of the mutual reinforcing effects of deepening and widening by developing and working with three sets of expectations for analysing the past and developing an innovative framework for the future integration beyond Western Europe. Within such a conceptual framework 25 teams will test lessons from the past in view of their academic and political validity for discussing visions and scenarios for the future. The major leitmotiv is that the Union is in the full process of reinventing itself – a development which is however difficult to grasp and explain.
Website
Funded by: European Commission, DG Research Sixth Framework Programme
Period: June 2005 – May 2009

The project produced a background paper for an AARP conference on long term care. Ensuring adequate care for the elderly citizens is a key element in the social fabric and the approach to long-term care for the elderly and the disabled is a significant and highly visible feature of the system of social protection in any country. It is also the area of social protection in which substantial differences persist, with most long-term care provided by specialised institutions in notably the Nordic countries and the Netherlands and by informal family care in the Mediterranean countries and the New Member States.
The following issues will be tackled: Promoting Independence: Receiving Care at Home and in the Community; Guaranteeing Quality Long-Term Care; Ensuring Sustainable Financing of Long-Term Care Systems.
Funded by: AARP (United States)
Period: April 2006 – December 2006

CEPS, with Iain Begg (LSE) assisted by CEPS staff.
In view of the European Parliament's contribution within the economic governance cycle of the European Union, Parliament intends to commission a framework contract covering the provision of an annual study on the implementation of the Integrated Guidelines for Growth and Jobs in the individual EU Member States as well as from an overall EU perspective.
The framework contract should run until 31 July 2009 in order to facilitate the assessment of the Integrated Guidelines up until the end of validity of the current set of Integrated Guidelines (2008).
Such a study must provide:

• comprehensive reports on the implementation of the Integrated Guidelines in each Member State and the progress made until the end of the year for which assessment is requested;
• an assessment of the implementation situation of the Integrated Guidelines in the EU as a whole;
• an assessment of the implementing situation regarding the specific national measures stated in the National Reform Programmes of each Member State;
• an assessment of the progress made on Community level in implementing the measures contained in the European Commission's "Community Lisbon Programme".
• Furthermore, the annual study should:
• point out and explain best practices in the Member States as well as on Community level as regards measures taken and implementation processes conducted;
• comment on an appropriate timetable for further reforms in the Member States as well as on Community level;
• evaluate which further reforms could be implemented together at the same time and which reforms must be implemented consecutively;
• evaluate the relationship between reforms and the evolution of public deficits, employment rates and growth rates in the Member States.

A study undertaken for DG EMPL by CEPS, in collaboration with LSE (Iain Begg), DIW, Fondazione Rodolfo Debenedetti (fRDB) (Tito Boeri), The Leverhulme Centre for Research on Globalisation and Economic Policy, Nottingham University, TÁRKI Social Research Institute Inc. and János Gács, George Pagoulatos and Panos Tsakloglou.
This study is to trace the possible channels through which globalisation impacts on the social situation in the Member States of the EU. Employment obviously is prominent among such channels. Yet, while drawing on the work of the Commission and others on the impact of globalisation on employment [E.g. chapter 5 in the 2004 Employment in Europe Report] this study should focus specifically on the Social impact. Thus, it is to seek to separate the social impact from the employment impact, while treating the interaction between the two where necessary. The study should furthermore explore the degree to which the social effects of globalisation can be disentangled from those that result from increasing economic interdependence on a lesser geographical scale, such as European economic integration and integration of regions. On the basis of its depiction of patterns of social impact (i.e. identification of risks and opportunities) across the Union, the study should analyse how outcomes relate to capacities and shortcomings of policy and governance structures and discuss which adaptations would be needed to better absorb the negative and exploit the positive social effects.
Funded by: European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities
Period: December 2005 – February 2007

The ultimate goal of the project is to provide policy options to improve the potential growth of the EU and attainment of a high level of employment, taking into account the challenges from enlargement and the environmental aspirations adopted in the EU. The extensive use of numerical general equilibrium models and econometric estimations will permit the evaluation of the impact of the existing different tax/benefits systems and will yield policy options that can be quantified and adapted to different political constraints.
The project aims to analyse and make contributions in five areas relevant to the tax/benefit systems:
1) The link between tax/benefit systems and employment in the EU;
2) The EU tax systems under tax competition and enlargement;
3) The growth potential of the EU and its relation to the tax/benefit systems;
4) The macroeconomic role of tax systems in promoting reforms in tax systems in the EU under the single monetary policy;
5) Attainment of sustainable growth in the EU with a high quality of the environment and the role of green taxes and emission trading in the energy sector.
Funded by: European Commission, DG Research Sixth Framework Programme
Period: December 2004– December 2006

Leading institute: TARKI Social Research Institute (Hungary), Participating institutes: CEPS - Centre for European Policy Studies (Belgium) and CASE – Centre for Social and Economic Research (Poland).
The study will analyze the socio-economic developments and the process of structural reforms in Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Turkey and to contribute to developing a prospective view of the dynamics and potential of socio-economic change and the key challenges in attaining the overall objectives of social policy set by the Lisbon Strategy and the European Social Agenda. The major challenges in the current demographic, social and economic context will be identified, recent reform efforts will be assessed and major current issues for further reform will be identified and prioritised.
Funded by: European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs & Equal Opportunities
Period: December 2005 – December 2006

The project’s aim is to develop a new approach and new methods for assessing the performance and adequacy of the pension systems with full respect of the sustainability constraint. The project should provide a strengthened conceptual and scientific basis for assessing the capacity of European pension systems to deliver adequate old age income maintenance in a context of low fertility and steadily increasing life expectancy. The main focus is on the capacity of social security systems to contribute to preventing poverty among the old and elderly and more generally to enable persons to take all appropriate measures to ensure stable or “desired” distribution of income over the full life cycle. In addition it will explore and examine the capacity of pension systems to attain broad social objectives with respect to inter- and intra generational solidarity. Furthermore it will examine the capacity of pension systems to allow workers to change job or to move temporarily out of the labour market and to adapt career patterns without losing vesting of pensions rights. The project will also address the specific challenges with respect to providing appropriate old age income for women.
http://www.enepri.eu/Aim
Funded by: European Commission, DG Research Sixth Framework Programme
Period May 2005 – April 2008

CEPS is leading a consortium of 18 partners in a project examining the future evolution of health expenditure in the (enlarged) European Union. This project will refine existing estimates of the links between reported states of health and use of medical services. As well as looking at the effects of ageing on health care the research will take account of the link between health expenditure and fertility rates and the demands on health services made by non-native populations. Particular attention is paid to costs of care near death. A study will be made of factors other than demand (such as methods of financial control) which may influence health spending. An important aspect of the research is that the work is carried out so as to be able to provide not only the familiar projections and scenarios but also standard deviations and confidence limits for predictions of key variables such as healthy life expectancy and demand-driven expenditure levels. These will allow policy-makers to judge not only possible outcomes but also the risks surrounding them and to assess their implications.
Funded by: European Commission, DG Research Sixth Framework Programme
Period February 2004– January 2007

In order to improve its capacity for surveying socio-economic developments in the European Union the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Gender Parity has established a Social Situation Observatory composed of thematic research entities with the task of undertaking independent analysis of the social situation in Europe. The Observatory is coordinated by the Commission. It is composed of four specialised networks dealing, respectively, with (i) demographic trends and their implications for social and economic conditions, (ii) social inclusion, (iii) social cohesion, trust and participation and, (iv), health status and living conditions. The project is contracted on an annual basis, for a maximum of four years.
The network dealing with demographic trends is headed by the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI, the Netherlands) and includes the Centre for European Policy Studies, the Center for Social and Economic Research (CASE, Poland), the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW, Germany) and the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS, Austria), all members of the European Network of Economic Policy Research Institutes (ENEPRI). In addition this team is seconded by a Network of high-level population and social policy experts. The main task of this team is to prepare an Annual Report on demographic trends for inclusion into an Annual Report on the Social Situation in the EU. The contribution by CEPS will in particular cover the implications of demographic trends for economic growth, productivity and labour market developments (in collaboration with DIW) while IHS and CASE will cover broader social implications of demographic developments.
Funded by: European Commission, DG Employment and Social Affairs
Period January – December 2008

This network aims at training young researchers in the analysis of the links between bio-demographic developments on one side and retirement decisions and social expenditure on the other. With this purpose, trainees are placed in institutes that participate to the AGIR project, which aims to explore existing measures to describe the health status of an ageing population, and to feed these findings into projections of future pension and health expenditure. Trainees are involved in other research and related activities in the field of ageing, health and retirement carried out at the host institute. The project partners are CPB, the Netherlands; DIW, Germany; ETLA, Finland; FEDEA, Spain; LEGOS, France.
http://www.enepri.eu/Reviser
Funded by: European Commission, DG Research Fifth Framework Programme
Period: August 2003– July 2007

The project focuses on the sustainability of welfare systems in EU countries in the face of ageing and demographic uncertainty. The main innovation is to bring new quantifications of demographic uncertainty into economic & social analysis of the effects of population ageing. The main tools are general equilibrium models with overlapping-generations structure. It compares the welfare systems in participating countries and look for systems and rules that perform well under uncertainty. The project also attempts to improve current policy instruments, and design new, to better cope with demographic uncertainty, and evaluate their performance with model simulations. Guidelines for future development for both economic and demographic models will also be formulated. The project partners are ETLA, Finland; CPB, the Netherlands; NIESR, the UK; FEDEA, Spain; CEBR, Denmark; CEPII, France; University of Würzburg, Germany and the FPB, Belgium.
http://www.enepri.eu/Demwel
Funded by: European Commission, DG Research Fifth Framework Programme
Period: January 2003– December 2005

As part of the Africa Credit Reporting and Financial Infrastructure Initiative (ACRFII) this project focuses on a broad definition of financial information infrastructure. The team will primarily engage with stakeholders at the regional level, but will also look in more detail at the Cameroon financial sector, which represents a significant share of total banking assets in the CEMAC region, in order to assess the dynamics of establishing credit reporting systems at a country level within a supranational regulatory framework.
Funded by: The World Bank
Period: December 2007-June 2008

The European Commission’s DG Employment and Social Affairs has contracted CEPS, together with the Personal Finance Research Centre (University of Bristol) and the European Savings Institute for a large-scale research project which aims to lay the basis for the future common operational European definition of over-indebtedness. Although over-commitment of consumers and financial exclusion are growing problems in Europe, there exists no standard definition of over-indebtedness. Thus, it is currently not possible to collect comparable statistics for international comparisons across different Member States. This study aims to fill that gap, by proposing a common definition of over-indebtedness, which can be used to collect such statistics. The research will involve a survey of the existing definitions of over-indebtedness in Europe, as well as an overview of the political, administrative and legal approaches to over-indebtedness in 19 European countries. CEPS will work on this project together with a network of researchers from several countries including Italy, Finland, UK, Sweden and Poland.
Funded by: European Commission, DG Employment and Social Affairs
Period: January 2007– January 2008

This project is funded by an independent research grant from the financial services company Genworth. It aims to construct an index to measure the financial vulnerability of households in Europe. The main purpose is to map influence factors as well as early warning factors about the possible increase of credit risk. This research project will involve the psychology of borrowing, behavioural economics as well as insights from similar indices across Europe. The University of Bristol’s Personal Finance Research Centre also participates in this project.
Funded by: Genworth Financial
Period: December 2006– December 2007

The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of the forthcoming UCITS revision, MiFID and Basel II for the non-listed real estate industry.
Funded by: INREV
Period: 2007

This research project aims at understanding the performance dimension of some non-strictly profit-oriented banking groups in Europe, while investigating their roles in their respective economies.
Funded by: European Savings Banks Group
Period: 2006 - 2007

The project examines the positioning of European OFCs in light of international developments, European Regulations and taxation agreements.
Funded by: Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey and Liechtenstein governments
Period: 2007

The main objective of this study consists of determining the policy mix and programmes to monitor and promote access to financial services.
Funded by: European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs & Equal Opportunities
Period: 2007

CEPS undertook a major research project for the Asian Development Bank in an assignment to apply lessons from the integration of European capital markets to the ongoing effort to further develop and integrate East Asian bond markets. Ever since the 1997 financial crisis, Asian governments have been keen to develop native sources of debt finance to rely less on foreign capital with attendant currency and refinancing risk.
The CEPS study offers a historical perspective on the development and integration of European bond markets, especially the attendant regulatory and institutional framework. It offers lessons to Asian policymakers in their regional capital markets integration exercise.
Funded by: Asian Development Bank
Period: September 2005-April 2006

The results of this study will address three major issues. First, this study will construct a gravity model to determine if the current trade flows between Canada and the EU, and Quebec and the EU, are above, at or below potential. Doing this will determine whether an FTA could help to increase trade between Canada and the EU, and Quebec and the EU. Second, this study will perform an analysis of the major industries involved in Quebec-EU trade to determine the extent to which tariff and non-tariff barriers are affecting trade flows. This will help to determine which industries will be important to Quebec should a Canada-EU FTA be negotiated. The results of the analysis will determine which industries will likely benefit, and which industries could suffer from an FTA. Last, this study will examine the extent to which Canada and Quebec are reliant on the United States as a market for export and how a Canada-EU FTA might reduce any dependency.
Funded by: le Ministre du Développement Economique, de l’Innovation et de l’Exportation, Quebec
Period: July – November 2007

This study examines the following elements:

The main interest of this study is to provide an empirical underpinning of the analysis of policy influences on the land market. The main policy influences include in particular the different options for the implementations of the SPS, the specific conditions for the calculation and distribution of payment entitlements, their tradability as well as other CAP measures having a potentially strong impact on the profitability of farming. Regional case studies will be compiled into and extended by a national analysis for each of the selected Member States. The final step of the study shall be a comparative analysis between Member States. This will allow some more general conclusions concerning the influence of the different drivers affecting the operation of land markets and, in particular, the effects of the ways of implementing the SPS and the land market settings itself.
Funded by: DG Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Period: January – July 2008

During the accession negotiations, candidate countries requested the possibility to maintain existing national provisions restricting the acquisition of agricultural land or forests. They considered these derogations necessary in order to preserve the socio-economic agricultural structure of the countries from shocks that might arise from the differences in land prices and income with the rest of the union, and to be able to pursue an effective agricultural policy. They were also deemed necessary due to an unfinished process of privatisation and restitution of agricultural land to the farmers in some countries. Some candidate countries provided detailed arguments justifying the transitional periods in the framework of the Common Positions expressed by the Council during the negotiations. The Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia were granted transitional periods during which they could maintain existing provisions of their legislation restricting the acquisition of agricultural land or forest, in derogation to the freedom of capital movement enshrined in Art. 56 of the EC Treaty. The Commission is required by the Act of Accession to review these transitional measures in the third year following the date of accession and to submit a report to the Council, which may decide, acting unanimously, to shorten or terminate these transitional periods. CEPS is collaborating with 7 Institutes from the New Member States to produce a study that will serve as an input for this Commission report to the Council.
The specific objectives of the study are to:

AGRINERGY (EU Bioenergy Policies and their effects on rural areas and agriculture policies) is a Specific Support Action (SSA) within the Sixth EU Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (FP6). The project aims to analyse and understand the socio-economic, environmental and societal issues of EU bioenergy policies and their effects on future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and how they fit into the concept of sustainable rural development.
Key objectives of AGRINERGY are:

The main objectives of this project is to provide an overview of the recent developments in the European Food Industry Sector, including links with the farm sector; to analyze the impact of foreign direct investments and trade flows on the food industry sector in the EU25, including the issue whether (western) FDI in the New Member States food industry compete with the established food industry in the old Member States, with a quantitative investigation, using a modeling approach; and to provide an analysis of the policy implications.
Funded by: DG-Research / Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS), Seville
Period: January 2006 – February 2007

ENARPRI brings together leading national institutes and research teams from 13 countries of EU-25. The network aims to create an institutional structure which will lead to improved exchange of information and policy research insights. It will also contribute to the development of tools and methods and the organization of EU wide research programmes which are closer aligned with the interests and demands of the users of the policy research. In addition, there is scope for significant positive spill-over effects and economies of scales within the network by avoiding overlap in the development of models for quantitative evaluations and in developing policy scenarios, and by linking comparative advantages of various institutes through network collaboration. The activities of the Network are coordinated and managed by CEPS.
The central themes of this network are the impact of regional, bilateral, and multilateral trade agreements which the European Union has concluded or is negotiating, including WTO, enlargement, Everything But Arms (EBA), EuroMed, Mercosur; as well as, the multifunctional model of European agriculture and sustainable development of rural areas.
In summary, the expected achievements of the network are:
(a) in the creation of an institutional structure linking key research institutes with major benefits for improved exchange of information and policy analysis both in the short and long run,
(b) in the development of improved tools for impact assessment,
(c) in more effective impact assessment of trade agreements on a variety of important social, economic, and environmental indicators and an assessment of multifuctionality,
(d) clearer analysis of the need for EU policy adjustments
http://www.enarpri.org/
Funded by: European Commission, DG Research Fifth Framework Programme
Period: January 2003 – December 2006

Leading Institute: CEPS, participating organisation, Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) under the auspices of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). CEPS in co-operation with the WBCSD has organised a multi-stakeholder task force involving participants from industry, EU institutions, member states, NGOs and academic experts. Objectives was to take stock of the discussions on sectoral approaches and identify practical ways forward for such approaches.
Funded by: WBCSD and participation fees
Period: September 2007 – March 2008

The objective of this project is to develop a new tool aimed at evaluating EU’s vulnerability to the different risks which might affect energy supplies, in order to help optimising the Union’s energy risk mitigation strategies. The project will therefore consist of developing energy security indicators for all the energy sources in order to identify the risk factors and quantify EU’s exposure to volume and price risks in the short and long terms, including the value consumers give to supply security. Costs and benefits of energy security will be evaluated for different energy demand scenarios to help policy makers building the most appropriate institutional, political and industrial parades.
Funded by: European Commission, DG Research Seventh Framework Programme
Period: 2008 –2010

Leading Institute: Fondazione ENI Enrico Mattei, Italy; Participating institute: CEPS The project’s objective is to derive a comprehensive picture of the full cost of energy, and to make this crucial knowledge available to all stakeholders. Such assessment is of paramount importance for energy and environmental policy making, both for the supply and the demand side of energy provision. The aim is to assess external costs for energy that are affected by policy at the EU level.
Funded by: European Commission, DG Research (6th R&D Framework Programme project)
Period: April 2006 – October 2008

The study analyses the role of sectoral industry approaches to design commitments under a climate change regime either at sectoral or industry-level. It reviews existing sectoral approaches with a view of data collection on emissions on either an installation or (industrial) sector basis, and identify baselines or benchmarks set by the relevant (industrial) sectors using existing sectoral approaches including the Asia-Pacific Partnership Task Forces, assesses how the data can be used to set sectoral commitments or caps, and examines how sectoral commitments could facilitate formation of an inter-governmental agreement on setting of global caps.
Funded by: Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), Cabinet Office, Government of Japan.
Period: November 2007 – March 2008

The study contributes to better understanding of European corporations’ responses to second National Allocation Plans (NAP II allocation), especially focusing on energy consuming industry. The study covers following points: requests from corporations to national governments with regard to NAP II allocation; guidance provided by national governments to corporations; evaluation by European corporations of NAP II allocation; European corporations’ strategies in response to tight allocation; evaluation of the EU ETS; and evaluation of carbon prices under the EU ETS.
Funded by: Tokyo Electric Power Company
Period: January 2007 – February 2007

Based on the experiences of the first two National Allocation Plans (NAPs), this study analysed possible ways of setting the cap, allocating and distributing allowances in the EU ETS from 2013 and onwards. The study lists and briefly discuss principal advantages and disadvantages of different options for setting caps, allocating and distributing allowances before presenting a possible blueprint for a revised EU ETS.
Funded by: Swedish Energy Agency
Period: April – June 2007

The ADAM project is a FP6 funded integrated research project consisting of more than 20 research institutes in 15 countries. The project is co-ordinated by the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research in the UK. The project will lead to a better understanding of the trade-offs that exist between adaptation and mitigation policies and looks among other at future scenarios, appraisal methods for climate policies, policy options and instruments for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, impacts, vulnerabilities and ways to cope with these. CEPS will contribute to the project by organising 6 science-policy workshops and policy briefs. It participates furthermore in the team that analyses options for the future climate change regime.
http://www.adamproject.eu/
Funded by: European Commission, DG Research Sixth Framework Programme
Period: March 2006 – March 2009

In the efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals it is a problem that EU domestic policies at times undermine EU development cooperation policies. CEPS has analysed the policy-making process in the EU Council in the 12 areas that are mentioned in the May 2005 Council Conclusions on Policy Coherence for Development: trade, environment, climate change, security, agriculture, fisheries, employment and social affairs, migration, research and innovation, information society, transport and energy. In addition, six in-depth case studies were made in the areas of agriculture, fisheries, trade, climate change, migration and security. Since EU policies are generally (co-) decided in the Council, this institution is of vital importance for ensuring policy coherence in general and PCD in particular. CEPS analysed whether policy-making processes in the EU Council sufficiently allow ‘development-related’ inputs to be made. In addition, where appropriate, the influence of the other institutions, notably the European Commission, has been analysed. On the basis of the empirical research conducted by a team of CEPS researchers and a development specialist of the Overseas Development Institute, the report draws general conclusions and sets out a strategy for strengthening policy coherence for development in the EU Council.
Funded by: UK Department for International Development
Period: February 2006 – July 2006 (+ dissemination activities in autumn 2006)

The European Climate Platform (ECP) is a joint initiative by Mistra’s Climate Policy Research Programme CLIPORE and CEPS established in 2005. It has set as its objective to facilitate policy/research interaction, mainly but not exclusively in Europe. Its working method consists bringing together a select number of policy-makers, negotiators and experts to discuss key topics in the area of international climate change policy. An important element is to actively disseminate results. The ECP actively searches the dialogue with policy makers and other stakeholders while being dedicated to academic excellence, unqualified independence and policy relevance. The ECP is governed by a steering group, drawn from government and academia. In Autumn 2005 the ECP did a project on the functioning of the Clean Development Mechanism, in Spring 2006 it concentrated on the Review of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and in Autumn 2006 it will focus on adaptation as a strategic issue in the climate negotiations. In early 2007 a large-scale ECP summit on framing future commitments is planned.
Funded by: Mistra’s Climate Policy Research Programme (Clipore) and CEPS
Period: 2005 – ongoing

In January 2008, CEPS and the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise launched a new project termed “Policymaking in the EU: past achievements and proposals for reform”. The project will last 15 months and will be coordinated by Andrea Renda, CEPS Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Regulatory Affairs Programme. During the next months, CEPS will appoint one working group on the “future of Europe”, led by Sebastian Kurpas; one working group on subsidiarity, headed by Jacques Pelkmans; and one on better regulation, led by Andrea Renda. These issues will be analysed and discussed with external experts, scholars, policymakers and practitioners; the main findings will be compiled into a Final Report, which will be presented in early 2009 in Brussels and Stockholm, with the aim to provide a set of policy recommendations to the upcoming Swedish presidency in mid-2009.
Funded by: Confederation of Swedish Enterprise
Period: January 2008 – June 2009

This study is meant to support the European Commission White Paper on Private Antitrust Damages Actions (April 2008). Coordinated by Andrea Renda, it was completed in collaboration with LUISS Guido Carli University (Roberto Pardolesi, Enrico Leonardo Camilli, Paolo Caprile) and Erasmus University Rotterdam (Roger Van den Bergh, Sonja Keske). The study assesses the potential impact of more effective private antitrust enforcement in Europe, and then performs a cost-benefit analysis of selected options related to multiple damages, fee-shifting, access to evidence, group litigation, limitation periods, the legal treatment of passing-on and the coordination of private antitrust damages actions with leniency programs. The study provided a major contribution to the Commission White Paper, as was judged as one of the most refined and ambitious impact assessments carried out at EU level to date.
Funded by: European Commission, DG Competition
Period: April 2007 – December 2007

Within the Framework Contract on competitiveness studies for the European Commission, DG ENTR, headed by Vienna-based research centre WiFo, CEPS has been performing research in support of the Commission Action Programme for the measurement and the reduction of administrative burdens in Europe, launched in January 2007. The first project carried out was the “Pilot project on administrative burdens”, which provided the basis for the Action Programme subsequently launched.
Funded by: DG Enterprise, European Commission
Period: June 2006 – December 2006

Within the Framework Contract on competitiveness studies for the European Commission, DG ENTR, headed by Vienna-based research centre WiFo, CEPS has been performing research in support of the Commission Action Programme for the measurement and the reduction of administrative burdens in Europe, launched in January 2007. This second project implied the measurement of potential savings of specific “fast track actions” selected by DG Enterprise as first measures to reduce burdens while the measurement was still ongoing. These actions were analysed in three progress reports.
Funded by: DG Enterprise, European Commission
Period: January 2007 – December 2007

CEPS continued its activities on better regulation by contributing to the ongoing measurement of administrative burdens generated by EU legislation. After three rounds of consulting activities with DG Enterprise on fast-track actions to be adopted with the aim of reducing administrative burdens in the short-term, the European Commission requested CEPS and Austrian research centre WiFo to look at burdens generated by selected information obligations in the two directives on capital adequacy and on the taking up and pursuit of the business of credit institutions and investment firms (namely Directives 2006/48/EC and 2006/49/EC). Two units were involved in this research activity - CEPS Regulatory Affairs Programme and the CEPS Financial Services Unit. The final report was completed in February 2008 and provides a range of cost estimates for the 7 Information Obligations identified by the European Commission. The report was authored by Michael Boeheim (WiFo), Andrea Renda, Rym Ayadi and Sarah Cheliout.
Funded by: DG Enterprise, European Commission
Period: January 2007 – December 2007

At the end of January 2008, CEPS RAP issued the Final Report for the European Parliament on evaluation of the EU funding of research in the fields of nuclear fusion and aerospace/aeronautics. The Report, authored by Andrea Renda, Donatas Mykolaitis and Alice Felci, analyses the allocation of budgetary resources to research in these two fields during the 2006-2008 timeframe, by evaluating the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and usefulness of actions undertaken. Particular emphasis is put on the potential to improve funding arrangements in two large projects, ITER and GALILEO. In the final recommendations, the Report concludes that contractual arrangements should be improved in order to avoid unnecessary contractual risks, especially in public-private partnerships for research; coordination between short- and long-term policy and research goals should be strengthened; and projects funded should respond to the needed “energy mix”, instead of allocating the lion’s share of funding to nuclear fusion energy. The report contributed to the debate on the EU budget, and was presented at the European Parliament in Brussels on April 8 2008.
Funded by: European Parliament, Budgetary Committee
Period: September 2007 – February 2008

In this report, Andrea Renda, Rym Ayadi, Lorna Schrefler and Julia Rodkiewicz describe the implementation and enforcement of competition rules in 10 Mediterranean Partners: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey. The report also discusses to what extent the wording of Association Agreements has been transformed into practical implementation, and whether significant instances of monopoly power in some sectors could be tackled more effectively by competition rules in each country. The report also takes a more forward-looking stance on the development of competition policy in the Euro-Mediterranean countries, and issues suggestions on the potential convergence/coordination between enforcement of competition legislation in the Euro-Med area. Section 4 concludes.
Funded by: EIPA
Period: January 2007 – April 2007

Founded on January 23, 2006, the European Network for Better Regulation (ENBR) is a pan-European network of 18 partner institutions, which aims at improving and disseminating the current knowledge on regulatory processes as well as the degree and mode of implementation of impact assessment procedures in EU member states. The main activities that will be performed by the network include: a) building a Database on Impact Assessment Development in European Member states (DIADEM); b) exploring the relationship between the type of impact assessment, on one hand, and various regulatory quality indicators (e.g. legitimacy, efficiency, effectiveness, advocacy and private sector involvement in regulatory processes); c) disseminating knowledge on the current methodologies used for regulatory impact assessment and sustainability impact assessment; d) development of a website aimed at collecting and sharing relevant information on better lawmaking in Europe (www.enbr.org); e) performance of interdisciplinary studies and analyses aimed at knowledge-sharing and lesson-drawing; f) organisation of thematic workshops for the purpose of improving awareness of the relevance of impact assessment for better lawmaking and sustainable development; g) publication of Annual Progress Reports on the state of implementation of impact assessment in EU member states, including also policy suggestions for national governments; h) exploration of new lines of research on better lawmaking from a multi-disciplinary perspective; i) networking activity aimed at fostering the coordination/harmonisation of impact assessment procedures in EU member states; j) ongoing dialogue with Commission DGs and Council Working groups, with the Director and Experts of Better Regulation and with the OECD’s Regulatory Reform Programme.
www.enbr.org
Funded by: European Commission, DG Research Sixth Framework Programme
Period: January 2006 – December 2008

CEPS Regulatory Affairs Programme provides external expertise to the European Parliament on emerging regulatory and policy issues within the responsibility of the EP Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection.
Funded by: European Parliament
Period: November 2005 – November 2006

MICROCON, or ‘A Micro Level Analysis of Violent Conflict’ is a five-year research programme funded by the European Commission, which takes an innovative micro level, multidisciplinary approach to the study of the conflict cycle.
Almost one third of the world's population lives in conflict-affected low-income countries. At a fundamental level, conflict originates from people’s behaviour and how they interact with society and their environment - from its ‘micro' foundations. Yet most conflict research and policy focuses on ‘macro' perspectives. MICROCON seeks to redress this balance.
The programme aims to promote understanding of individual and group interactions leading to and resulting from violent mass conflicts, with the purpose of uncovering much-needed fundamentals for better informed domestic, regional and international conflict policy, which places individuals and groups at the centre of their interventions.
It takes an innovative micro level, multidisciplinary approach to conflict, and aims to go beyond merely reactive theorisations of conflict to look at the complete dynamics (across intensities, actors, triggers and effects) of violent mass conflicts.
http://www.microconflict.eu/
Funded by: European Commission, DG Research Sixth Framework Programme
Period: January 2007 – December 2011

Analysis of the possible content, economic impact and feasibility of the EU and Ukraine making a Free Trade Agreement. The team first reviewed available economic evidence on the likely impact of ‘simple’ or ‘deep’ free trade, from which it was apparent that the former would have little impact, whereas the latter could be a major and indispensable component of a strategy to get Ukraine onto a sustainable high growth path. The ‘deep’ free trade scenario was then developed in detail, in which the content overlaps clearly with what the European Neighbourhood Policy calls ‘a stake in the internal market’. A major effort was then deployed into defining how far the ‘deep free trade’ package should go in approximation with the EU acquis, taking into account where Ukraine has got to so far in the post-communist transition. This approach was applied especially in major service sectors such as financial services, transport, energy, telecommunications, and well as in horizontal policies for competition, corporate governance, environment etc. The authors sought to develop what could be a template for European Neighbourhood Policy as regards optimal and feasible acquis compliance.
Funded by: European Commission, DG Trade
Period: August 2005-April 2006

A study on relations between Switzerland and the EU will be undertaken by the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) in collaboration with the Europa Institut of the University of Zurich (EIZ) on behalf of the Office for Economy and Labour of the Canton of Zurich. The main focus of the study will be the functioning of the bilateral agreements, in particular concerning the effectiveness of the institutional arrangements in adapting the agreements to new legal and political developments in the EU, and how they affect the operation of Swiss democracy. This will be compared with the functioning of other EU association arrangements such as the Agreement on a European Economic Area, with a view to provide strategic policy recommendations for the future development of EU-Swiss relations. The study will be undertaken during 2005. In addition to academic research and analysis of official documents, a number of interviews will be conducted with officials, experts and other interested parties in Brussels (EU institutions, EFTA and Swiss EU Mission) and in Switzerland (federal government and parliament, kantons, trade unions and associations, and experts). An informal expert seminar to discuss the first draft will be organised in October 2005. The study is expected to result in the publication of a CEPS paperback in early 2006, which will be presented at two conferences in Brussels and Zurich.
Funded by: Wirtschaftsförderung des Kt. Zürich
Period: September 2005 – March 2006

This project assesses the relations between the European Union (EU) and Canada in the area of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA). It aims at facilitating a better understanding of the concepts, nature, implications and future prospects related to the Europeanization of JHA in the EU, as well as its role and dilemmas in the context of EU-Canada relations The project seeks to address the following specific objectives:

European Parliament, DG Internal Policies of the Union, Directorate C – Citizens’ rights and Constitutional Affairs. Framework contract to support the work of the LIBE Committee in the fields of Fundamental Rights, Immigration and Integration, Borders, Data Protection, Judicial cooperation in Criminal Matters, AFSJ in General.
Period: April 2007 – April 2008

This integrated project analyses educational strategies that contribute to overcome inequalities and promote social cohesion, and educational strategies that generate social exclusion, particularly focusing on vulnerable and marginalised groups, like migrants, cultural groups, people with disabilities, etc. The project is coordinated by the University of Barcelona.
Funded by: European Commission, DG Research Sixth Framework Programme
Period: November 2006 – October 2011

The ENEPO project seeks to examine different aspects of the European Union’s relations with its neighbours to the east (the so-called “eastern neighbourhood”). Primarily, it focuses on the economic features of an EU Eastern neighbourhood such as:

European Parliament, DG Internal Policies of the Union, Directorate C – Citizens’ rights and Constitutional Affairs. Framework contract to support the work of the LIBE Committee in the field of Borders.
Period: 2006

European Parliament, DG Internal Policies of the Union, Directorate C – Citizens’ rights and Constitutional Affairs. Framework contract to support the work of the LIBE Committee in the field of Immigration and Integration.
Period: 2006

This Integrated Project seeks to foster more responsive and responsible attitudes towards new systems and practices being adopted in the post-September 11 environment in the field of security with a view towards minimising their threat to civil liberties, human rights and social cohesion in an enlarging Europe. The aim is to help reshape the security framework emerging in Europe to ensure that it starts with liberty/freedom (civil liberties, human rights and social cohesion) as its point of departure. The project will create an interdisciplinary ‘observatory’ to analyse and evaluate the changing relationship between security, stability and liberty in an enlarging EU. The projects aims: - to understand the merging between internal and external security and evaluate the changing character of the relationship between liberty and security in Europe, especially as it expresses a transformation in the sovereign capacity to declare exceptions - to facilitate the assessment of the changing relationship between liberty and security over time in some especially sensitive sites; to look at the different institutions in charge of security (police, intelligence services, military forces and private) - to facilitate and enhance a new interdisciplinary network of scholars across many regions of Europe and from many scholarly disciplines, who have already played a formative role in reconceptualizing and analysing many of the theoretical, political, sociological, legal and policy implications of new forms of violence and political identity; - to bring together a new interdisciplinary network of scholars to work, using a common methodological approach, on the state of exception as illiberal practice and illiberal regimes. http://www.libertysecurity.org/
Funded by: European Commission, DG Research Sixth Framework Programme
Period: June 2004-June 2009

The specific objectives of the study are the following:

The study examines the most important measures that came under communication headings in the general budget undertaken under the Commission’s prerogatives in the years 2000 to 2005 with a view to developing recommendations for future actions. The focus of the study is to establish how much ‘value for money’ these measures represent by looking at their relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and utility. The study deals with the following areas of activity: 1) media relations and particularly the spokespersons’ service and seminars for journalists, 2) the PRINCE campaigns and in detail with the measures on the Euro, EU enlargement and the debate on the future of Europe, 3) decentralisation and the work of the Commission’s Representations and 4) the communication activities of DGs other than DG Comm and how they are coordinated.
Funded by: European Parliament, Committee on Budgets (COBU)
Period: June 2006-August 2006

This cost-benefit study carried out for the European Parliament assesses the different programmes and actions in the area of information carried out by the European Commission and financed by the Community budget over the period 2000-05. Using the criteria of relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and utility, the study shows that the overall assessment in terms of ‘value for money’ is positive. However, there is still room for improvement concerning all the actions. The study covers the following aspects: 1) The audiovisual sector, including co-productions (APCAV), the Commission’s Audiovisual Service (EbS and the running of studios) and contracts with Euronews, 2) the EUROPA website, 3) written publications, 4) the Europe Direct call centre, 5) Eurobarometer and 6) information outlets.
Funded by: European Parliament, Committee on Budgets (COBU)
Period: June 2006-August 2006

The promotion of lifelong learning and active citizenship is important for the performance of the European economy and democracy. In this study CEPS Associate Fellow Christoph Meyer examines the cost-effectiveness of EU programmes and actions in the fields of education and citizenship during the period 2000-2005. He found that most actions were ‘value for money’, but that more can be done to maximise synergies between different programmes, ease overly burdensome administrative requirements, and to become more innovative in targeting community support.
Funded by: European Parliament, Committee on Budgets (COBU)
Period: June 2006-August 2006