European Union

In the Czech Republic the grades of this year's school leavers are worse than ever before. In Czech and maths in particular, many failed the exam altogether. Commentators express concern for the state of the education system as a whole, noting that a negative trend has been noticeable for years.

Kreuziger
Freedom of movement for persons
Advocate General Bot proposes that the Court of Justice should hold that the mere fact that a worker did not apply for leave cannot automatically entail the loss of the right to an allowance in lieu of untaken leave at the end of the employment relationship

Bauer
DFON
Advocate General Bot proposes that the Court of Justice rule that EU law precludes national legislation which prevents the heirs of a deceased worker from claiming an allowance in lieu of outstanding leave

Liga van Moskeeën en Islamitische Organisaties Provincie Antwerpen and Others
Agriculture and fisheries
The Court confirms that ritual slaughter without stunning may take place only in an approved slaughterhouse

This final post in the series on group project work looks at the oral group exam, which is a traditional Danish type of exam. Oral exams are integral to the Danish educational system from primary school through to university and can take different forms. This post explains the oral group exam based on a project, where it highlights some of the benefits and challenges.

The exam is structured as follows; there are two examiners (the supervisor and either an internal or an external examiner depending on the project level), who discuss the written project before the group enters the room. Each student has a right to 30 minutes examination, including assessment. Consequently, a project exam lasts between 30 minutes and three hours depending on the size of the group (1-6 persons). The students leave the room after the exam, and the examiners discuss the individual student’s performance and the written project, then each student comes into the room to receive their individual grade and feedback on their exam performance and the project. Sometimes groups decide to receive the grades together.

Colleagues who have never tried oral group exam often ask ‘how can you distinguish between the different students and their performance?’ Firstly, I always ask the students to make a nametag, so the other examiner (and me) knows who is who in the group. Secondly, it is important to take notes during the exam, so that you afterwards can assess if the individual student answered all the questions and thereby assess the level of the answers. Thirdly, some students are very nervous during exams and do not say much, whereas other students talk a lot, here it is important for the examiners to ensure the quiet students are given the opportunity to talk, this might involve asking a talkative student to be quiet. Often, the students are good at giving space to each other to allow everyone to answer the questions.

The exam starts with a short presentation by each student, before the examiners begin asking questions about all aspects of the project in relation to the formal requirements outlined in the degree programme. The dialogue between the students and the examiners sometimes leads to interesting discussions and reflections relating to methodological and theoretical choices or further implications of the empirical findings. These exams are interesting and fun, whereas other exams can be painful, for both students and examiners, because the project is not very good and the students struggle to answer basic questions. Here, it is important to give constructive and instructive feedback to the students, at the end of the exam, so that they know how to improve their research skills the following semester.

The individual grade is based on the written project and the oral examination, where the student’s performance can either drag the grade down or pull it up. Colleagues sometimes discuss the extent to which we differentiate grades between the students in a project group. Whilst it is important to differentiate between students’ grades when appropriate, there are often good reason for giving the students the same grade. Often students choose to work with peers who have the same interests and get the same grade, so there is a natural selection bias in project formation especially as the students get to know each other (see blog post on group formation and group dynamics).

Overall, the oral group exam based on a project is time and resource intensive, but they provide a good opportunity for the students and examiners to discuss the research project in details, thereby helping the students to develop their presentation skills and ability to discuss different aspects of research, including reflecting on the research process.

The post Assessing group research projects: oral group exams with individual grades! appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

Plenary - Strasbourg

Source : © European Union, 2018 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2018 - EP

Source : © European Union, 2018 - EP

It seems that the Eurozone is now moving towards a true OCA. But caution needs to be exercised as to the pace of this process as well as its detailed institutional set-up, especially in relation to democratic procedures which have been, so far, somewhat inefficient in ensuring true legitimacy and oversight.

It is no secret that the Eurozone is not a complete Optimum Currency Area (OCA). Chief among its shortcomings is the uneven level of integration between its monetary and economic aspects. When the Eurozone was created, capital restrictions were eliminated but inflation was slow to converge between the core/Northern low-inflation and the periphery/Southern high-inflation Member States (Walters critique).

Economic booms in the periphery/South, financed by excessive and cheap capital inflows from core/North, led to a loss of competitiveness that could not be restored through monetary policy. This resulted in severe trade imbalances, further weakening the import-led, deficit-expanding economies of the periphery vis-à-vis the export-led, highly competitive economy of the core Eurozone Member States. Meanwhile, the absence of a banking union and of a proper Eurozone-wide framework for resolution of problematic banking and finance institutions created moral hazard issues related to predatory lending and unsustainable borrowing, (bailouts became the only alternative for problematic banks).

A rain-check is not an option anymore for the Eurozone’s set-up. In order for EMU to function properly, avoiding crises or at least addressing them effectively, additional steps have to be taken towards a full OCA. The relevant theory, developed by Robert Mundell in the 1960s, identifies three primary characteristics: factor (mainly labor) mobility (in the event of a potential asymmetric shock, workers could move easily to low unemployment areas), convergence (similarity in economic structures of members), and fiscal integration (system of budgetary transfers that enable temporary assistance to members affected by recessions). Developments in finance after the 1960s have also raised the need for a single Central Bank that is also the lender of last resort, a backstop function for bank resolution, and for a banking union.

Have these been achieved within the Eurozone?  First, labor mobility. Improving its rather disappointing outcome has been a permanent aim for the EU. It has been calculated that US labor mobility is approximately ten times higher. The EU has accordingly  proposed, inter alia, reforming the European Employment Services Network, boosting rights of posted workers through better enforcement of EU rules, etc.

Second, economic convergence. The most advanced of the Eurozone’s post-crisis proposals here is  creating the post of European Minister of Economy and Finance, who would also assume represent the Eurozone as a whole externally. A Vice-President of the European Commission would be chosen and the same individual would also serve as the Eurogroup President. The other principal proposals here include:

• the introduction of the Capital Markets Union, which was first advanced in an EC Green Paper and which is suggested as a way of strengthening EMU by “supporting economic and social convergence … in the euro area;”
• the establishment of a financial instrument for structural reform support, monitored through the European Semester process and focusing “on those reforms that can contribute most to the resilience of domestic economies…” (e.g. product or labor market reforms, tax reforms, etc.):
• the introduction of National Competitiveness Authorities coordinated by the Commission;
• the creation of a European Fiscal Board to assist national fiscal councils;
• and the utilization of the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure to formalize the convergence process.

There is also the proposal for a form of Eurobonds called European Safe Bonds (ESBies); this, however, remains at a very early stage.

Third, fiscal integration. There are two key EU policy initiatives here. The first is the creation of an EU-wide Stabilization function to be activated in the event of asymmetric shocks and to complement any relevant corresponding measures within national budgets. To be effective, this function should “allow for overall net payments of at least 1%” of GDP for the Eurozone alone, to be channeled through some type of borrowing capacity (e.g. increasing EU co-financing, ESIF pre-financing, etc.), without leading, however, to permanent transfers between Member States. The second is the upgrade of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) to a European Monetary Fund (EMF) and its incorporation within the EU legal framework, with greater involvement in the financial assistance process (the ‘Troika’ have so far dominated the negotiation and monitoring of bail-outs with little ESM involvement).

Fourth, the banking union and a backstop for bank resolution. The banking union has already been set up during 2013-14, consisting of the Single Supervisory Mechanism, the Single Resolution Mechanism and the Single Rulebook (primarily  CRD IV, CRR and BRRD). However, it remains incomplete in two main aspects: a full-proof backstop for bank resolution and an EU-wide Deposit Guarantee Scheme (EDGS; other minor elements including proposals on business insolvency, reduction of non-performing loans, etc., also need to be addressed). Regarding the first, an international agreement between EU Member States was signed in 2014 establishing the Single Resolution Fund and, to complement this, the proposal that the EMF be activated when this Fund is insufficient has been suggested. Regarding the second, an EDGS has been proposed from November 2015 to develop from “a reinsurance scheme into a fully mutualized coinsurance scheme” and then into a full insurance scheme covering national schemes.

Final element of an OCA is a unified Central Bank that can also serve as the lender of last resort. The ECB is indeed a common Central Bank, except for its inability to be a lender of last resort. However, this has been indirectly addressed by several ECB initiatives such as the Securities Markets Program, the (Very) Long-Term Refinancing Operations, the Outright Monetary Transaction program and Quantitative Easing. In addition, the proposed EMF could step in as a lender of last resort within the Eurozone in a more direct manner.

Overall, it seems that the Eurozone is now moving towards a true OCA. But caution needs to be exercised as to the pace of this process as well as its detailed institutional set-up. The crisis was not only caused by structural inefficiencies, but also by a malfunctioning or overcomplicated institutional set-up (e.g. when France and Germany pushed for more relaxed SGP criteria in 2005). However, caution is necessary in the implementation of these new measures,  especially in relation to democratic procedures which have been, so far, somewhat inefficient in ensuring true legitimacy and oversight. These elements are important if the public is to believe and participate in the integration process moving forward .

First published in Social Europe on 28.05.2018.

The post The post-crisis EMU: A True OCA? appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

Source : © European Union, 2018 - EP

On 25 May 2018, the Coreper agreed its position on a draft directive aimed at adapting EU copyright rules to the digital environment.

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.

Weekly schedule of President Donald Tusk 28 May - 3 June 2018

On 25 May 2018, the Council adopted on In-depth reviews and implementation of the 2017 country specific recommendations.

On 25 may 2018, the Council adopted conclusions on the sustainability of public finances in the light of ageing populations.

The Council agreed on proposals to reduce risk in the banking industry, implementing reforms agreed internationally after the 2007-08 financial crisis.

Main agenda items, approximate timing, public sessions and press opportunities.

The EU adopted a declaration calling on Russia to accept its responsibility in the downing of flight MH17 and to fully cooperate with all efforts to establish accountability.