The present book is a collection of studies presented at the 10th International Conference on Finance and Banking which took place at Silesian University - School of Business Administration in Karviná, Czech Republic on October 19 - 20, 2005. All papers presented at the conference have been peer-reviewed and, consequently, the nine best papers that discuss issues corresponding with the book’s focus have been selected by the editors for publication in this book. In spite of the fact that the book is a collection of independent studies it represents a comprehensive and consistent work. All studies (book chapters) are tied together by common references. Through original research, the book will cover various aspects of financial and banking sectors in new EU-member countries, giving a comparison of their development to financial sectors of developed countries. Special attention is paid to prospective integration of the new EU-member countries to the European Economic and Monetary Union and the implications for national economic policies. Generally, the book we are offering gives very deep insight into the financial sector of new EU-member countries written by a very interesting group of authors. It combines young and promising economists with respected researchers living in new as well as in traditional EU countries and working in various ways with the financial sector. The book successfully pulls together theory and actual development of financial sectors in new EU-member countries. Moreover, a rich blend of applied theory and actual practice makes the book attractive for a wide spectrum of readers.

Recoge : 1. Introductory session. - 2. Past convergence within the European Union. - 3. Accesion countries : achievements in real convergence. - 4. Accesion countries : how to balance real and nominal convergence challenges for monetary and exchange rate policy. - 5. Does the financial sector contribute to real growth? - 6. Is there somebody left out in the cold? prospects of CEE countries other than current accesion countries. - 7. Policy challenges within the (enlarged) EU : how to foster economic convergence?

The development of EU enlargement has raised many thorny issues unanticipated by the framers of the EC Treaty. A significant upshot of these issues is that the concept of European identity – defined in terms of such factors as culture, history and economics – has supplanted the long-dominant theme of ‘widening and deepening,’ particularly since the Union’s expansion has become primarily eastward. The major contribution of this important book lies in its analysis of the conceptualization and perception of enlargement from various points of view, focusing on the concerns of stakeholders and the ‘identity’ conflicts and uncertainties incurred by enlargement initiatives. In the course of its presentation, it details the actual pre-accession Europeanization process and its complex history. Among the key elements discussed are the following: the conflict between ‘widening’ and ‘deepening’ and the effect on EU institutional reform; institutional requirements on candidate countries; pre-accession criteria and negotiations; administrative capacity, judicial capacity, and legal approximation in accession states; capacity of the EU to absorb new Member States; and EC law as part of European identity. Also covered are specific historical details of particular pre-accession negotiations (e.g., Greece, Spain, Portugal, Malta, and Cyprus), the still inconclusive negotiations with Turkey and the Western Balkan states, and political factors involved in the non-accession of Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. Assembling powerful evidence and applying incisive analysis, the author’s conclusion shows that, absent further (and major) EU institutional reform, it will be difficult for an enlarging Union to continue to ‘deliver the goods.’ A watershed in the continuing great debate on the fulfilment of the EC Treaty’s determination to foster and promote ‘an ever closer union of the peoples of Europe,’ this book will prove invaluable to anybody interested in the European integration project, particularly lawyers, academics, officials and policymakers in the EU Member States.

Owing to the global financial crisis of 2007-2009 and subsequently the Eurozone crisis, the accession of Central and Eastern European countries to the European Union and the Eurozone has not been an easy one. The EU's Eastward Enlargement analyses challenges that these countries currently face in their pursuit of economic self-reliance. Covering a period from the second half of the 1980s to the present, Yoji Koyama provides unique and objective analyses of the European Union and the Euro system from a non-European's perspective. He offers a detailed reexamination of the fundamental problems of the European Union, which in turn have affected the autonomous development of countries such as Poland, the former Yugoslavia, Albania, and the Baltic States. This book is a useful addition to the scholarship available on the Euro system and Central and Eastern European countries. It will help readers gain a more holistic understanding of the ongoing Eurozone crisis and the future of the Eurozone project.

A Brookings Institution Press and Scuola Superiore della Pubblica Amministrazione (SSPA) publication As the European Union tries to increase both its visibility and its impact on the world stage, it cannot overlook the fact that until now enlargement has formed its most successful foreign policy. But is the EU's enlargement strategy still relevant today? Have the economic crisis and the speculative attack on the euro made the enlargement policy more uncertain? In The Frontiers of Europe, an international cast of leading experts and policymakers examine the EU's prospective borders from new perspectives. Indeed, the frontiers of Europe are as much a matter of values and the EU's international credibility as they are a matter of geographic definition. The contributors highlight the considerable yet different interests of the United States and Russia in the EU's enlargement strategy, paying special attention to the likely effects on the future of U.S.-EU relations. This comprehensive volume focuses not only on the European Union's outward expansion, but also on the internal dynamics within EU states and those states' abilities to deal with pressing issues such as terrorism, immigration, internal crime, and energy security. The EU must prioritize stability in both its enlargement strategy and its relations with the broader international neighborhood. The book raises a note of caution, however: as governance challenges increase, the EU's attention increasingly draws inward, thus diminishing its soft power. The Frontiers of Europe is important reading for anyone trying to understand the current geopolitical landscape of Europe and what it means for the rest of the world.

In May 2004, after bringing their legislation into accordance with EU regulations, ten more countries joined the European Union. The contributors to this volume assess the impact of this historical development on gender relations in the new and old EU member states. Instead of focusing on either western or eastern Europe, this book investigates the similarities and differences in diverse parts of Europe. Although initially limited, gender equality was part of the original framework of the European Union, an organization often more open than national governments to feminist demands, as this volume illustrates with case studies from eastern and western Europe. The enlargement process thus provides some important policy instruments for increasing equality between men and women.

While there may be consensus on the broader issues of the core objectives of the health care system, expectations differ between EU countries, and European national policy-makers. This book seeks firstly to assess the impact of the enlargement process and then to analyse the challenges that lie ahead in the field of health and health policy.