Il diritto europeo del consumatore: un diritto alieno

Strumenti per la didattica e la ricerca, 2012

The social dimension has been neglected for a long time in the analysis of the change phenomena accompanying the European integration process. The proposed analysis tries to enhance the different sociological approaches to the study of the restrictions and factors favouring/hindering European integration and to how this, in turn, influences and structures social life, by looking to the social actors, institutions and models of behaviour, and to how the social relationships are configured in the European space. The structuring of European society is captured through analysis of the changes characterizing the European social model, the production of social inequalities, the relationship between citizenship and welfare, and the individual and collective social identity formation processes.

2010

European integration is an object of studies receiving a growing interest from different fi elds of political science. Theoretical approaches based on international relations are the more often used to investigate that object. Among them, neofunctionalism plays an important role, as a theoretical as well as practical approach of the European integration. However, evading the notion of sovereignty, as it is the case with neofunctionalism in the perspective of federalism, is called into question through the uprising of crises which prove the persistence of sovereignty. The federalist legal paradigm has reifi ed the notion of sovereignty, and thus makes its political dimension unintelligible. Therefore, a reifi ed conception of sovereignty is an obstacle to the reorientation of Europe into a political federation. Eventually, the best way to prevent that obstacle is to consider federalism within the international relations realist paradigm.

2004

Santos, P.; Silva, M. – “A identidade europeia – a cidadania supranacional”. In Janus.net – E-Journal of International relations. Vol. 2, nº 1 (Spring 2011). In http://observare.ual.pt/janus.net/. ISSN: 1647-7251, 2011

Pretende-se com esta comunicação apresentar uma reflexão sobre a construção da identidade comunitária europeia, procurando identificar os principais desafios à consolidação da cidadania europeia e as dificuldades em tornar os indivíduos do espaço comunitário mais participativos no processo de integração e as instituições europeias mais próximas do cidadão comum. Palavras chave: Cidadania Europeia, Tratado de Lisboa, supranacionalidade, direitos fundamentais, cidadania democrática, desafios.

Synthesis Philosophica, 2011

European identity can be considered in its objective dimension, as being the top-down project and also the bottom-up process of building the genuine form of the trans-national political community, as well as in its subjective dimension related to the identification of the individuals and groups -the Europeans -with this new political community and in addition to their already established identification with a certain nation-state. The third dimension, related to the relevant interpretative models -ethno-cultural/Euroscepticism approach, European constitutional patriotism, pluralist/multiculturalism approach -has also been important factor of European identity-building. New type of political community opens new questions -whether it is a Europe as the family of nations, a Europe of citizens, a Europe which is going to be built through common practices, a Christian Europe or a Europe of mutual matching and crossing civilizations, a secular Europe or Europe of religious Christian heredity and/or different religions. Founding Treaties define European identity politically, starting from the motto "Unity in Diversity". However, this motto is differently interpreted by communitarians/Euro nationalists, ethno-nationalists/Euro skeptics, liberals and republicans/European constitutional patriots. Controversial character of political identity has to be kept in mind always again. The politics of identity, the misuse of an ethnically concieved concept of identity with its war-like consequences, has represented one of the most destructive potentials of a contemporary politics, including the region of Europe (Western Balkans). On the other hand, political communities cannot survive without homogenizing force of a common identity, and it is especially valid for proposed democratic communities, including European Union. When European identity is regarded, it is most important to define its meaning in a sense which will empower a democratic capacity of the European Union, which will contribute to overcoming its democratic deficit, and will also contribute to escaping particularist, xenophobic, Euro skeptic tendencies and sentiments.

Belgeo, 2012

Introduction : the gap between Global City and European City debates 1 Two recent publications are good illustrations of the lack of integration, or even debate, between two strands of research converging upon the same phenomenon : cities in Europe. In the "International Handbook of Globalization and World Cities" (Derudder et al., eds., 2012), European cities are included in most of its 50 chapters, and some European cities receive a chapter of their own (London, Randstad, Brussels, Berlin, Warsaw). In his re-edition of "Le retour des villes européennes" (2011), Patrick Le Galès confirms and elaborates his original thesis of the specificities of the "European City". The first book is a flagship outcome of Global City research, the second by one of the most dedicated proponents of the idea of a European City. The first focuses on external relations of cities, predominantly at the global level, while the second focuses on multi-level urban governance and internal relations, insofar as these interactions are mainly within the urban region, the nation-state, or at most within the European Union. When reading both books, the remarkable finding is that there is hardly any cross-reference ; hardly any European City theorist is quoted in the Globalization Handbook, and hardly any Global City author is noted in Le Galès' new preface. This article will address this lack of overlap. 2 The European City, as a category of urban research, is a challenging term. One hundred years ago, Max Weber gave a historical definition of the city in Europe that focused on the specificities of the medieval city. In his view, partial political autonomy, urban jurisdiction, the formation of guilds, the existence of a marketplace, and a delimitation by city walls had made European cities very specific communities, places that were distinct The European City in the Age of Globalisation Belgeo, 1-2 | 2012

This chapter introduces a theoretical reflection on the origin and the nature of Europeanization. Attention will be focused on the path leading to Europeanization, its original structure, and its pattern, from the beginning of European construction until today. These stages will be examined through comparative discourse analyses of past European enlargements, regarded as vital manifestations of the Europeanization process.

Panel: Mediterraneo allo specchio: migrazioni verso sud tra passato e presente (Speziale, Brondino) L’intervento ha l’obiettivo di analizzare la comunità degli svizzeri d’Algeria e, nello specifico, l’Association des Suisses spoliés d’Algerie ou d’outre-mer (ASSAOM), nata con lo scopo di chiedere l’indennizzo per la perdita dei beni in Algeria e le pensioni, derivate da anni di lavoro oltremare. Nonostante la Svizzera non possa essere definita una potenza coloniale, gli svizzeri hanno preso parte alla colonizzazione: gli emigrati sono diventati coloni e proprietari terrieri, hanno dato avvio a imprese commerciali e industriali, hanno vissuto per più generazioni all’estero creando la cosiddetta comunità des Suisse à l’étranger. Di conseguenza, sono stati toccati in modo diretto dal processo di decolonizzazione. Al momento dell’indipendenza dei paesi colonizzati, infatti, la Confederazione elvetica ha dovuto confrontarsi con i numerosi interrogativi riguardanti il rimpatrio, l’assistenza da fornire, i beni da salvaguardare, gli indennizzi e le pensioni. L’origine dell’importante colonia svizzera in Algeria risale all’inizio della presenza francese (1830-1840). Negli anni 1950, prima della guerra di liberazione nazionale, l’Algeria è il secondo paese d’Africa in cui vive il più alto numero di svizzeri e nel 1954, anno dello scoppio della guerra, conta più di 2000 persone, costituendo una delle più grandi colonie svizzere d’Africa. L’ASSAOM rappresenta un case study emblematico, cui si legano temi quali sicurezza sociale, reinserimento economico e politico, migrazione, tutti all’ordine del giorno nell’agenda politica svizzera ed europea.