The European Union's work on equal opportunities for women and men can be described historically in three eras; equal treatment, positive action and, most recently, the gender perspective. In accordance with the latter, gender mainstreaming is the latest method in dealing with these issues. Its aim is the implementation of the gender perspective in all policy processes and to challenge the male norm that permeates all decision making. EU:s work on equal opportunities, though, persists not only of gender mainstreaming but has a double approach also including special actions.This thesis bases its argumentation on discourse analysis of communications from the Commission regarding employment and social affairs. It argues that the two components of the double approach; gender mainstreaming and special actions, are incompatible and even becomes contra productive put together.

The ambition of this study is to examine the discussion surrounding the Swedish participation in the European security- and defence policy. By forming feasible areas of arguments the goal is to gain further comprehension in the case of Sweden. These arguments are formed in close relation to the empirical sources; With less public funding there are economic aspects of cooperation, this could also be related to Swedish the industry of defence systems; A high level of participation in the UN is a tradition in Swedish foreign policy, the European battle groups are the perfect tool to further strengthen the UN ability in conflict management and peace keeping missions; Outside the EMU Sweden could face the political margin, to retain influence a high level of activity ought to occur in the integration process; Finally, the future position of United States and NATO is not clear, Europe needs an capacity apart the US to contribute to lasting peace and stability. The arguments are close related to each other, but the main argument is to through ESDP create a tool that will strengthen UN, there is also a wide range of economic arguments related to the industry..

A lot of houses built during the Million Homes Programme are in need of major renovation. Today?s technology and materials are better than in the 60?s and 70?s. Both Swedish government and the European Union have set climate goals regarding energy consumption by 2020 and 2050. Achieving these goals would require better standards in buildings than the Building regulations demands, such as Umeå municipality?s construction requirements for new buildings.The report aims to investigate if a renovation of apartment buildings from the Million Homes Programme can reach Umeå municipality?s construction requirements.

In January 2005 the emission allowance system was introduced within the European Union and the first period ends at the end of 2007. The system was introduced in order to decrease the wastes of carbon dioxide and the system is a part of ratifying the Kyoto ?protocol which first period runs between 2008-2012.The idea of the system is to reduce the wastes of carbon dioxide where it costs less to do so and the expenses for the society therefore are as diminutive as possible. Different theories explain that companies can benefit from environment legislation and can depending on the company?s attitude gain competitive advantages improve its productivity and thereby increase its profitability.With this in mind, the study aims at examining how the introduction of the emission trade system has influenced Swedish smaller companies in the distant heating industry, with focus on the factors attitude, innovation, competition and profitability.

The breakdown of the ratification process of the EU constitution was in Sweden blamed on a lack of a debate concerning European issues. The constitution can be seen as the best and latest, but in no way the only, example of this problem. The breakdown can also been seen as proof of a larger legitimacy crises within the EU. The aim of the study is to determine whether or not there really was of lack of debate concerning the constitution in Sweden. This question is theoretic¬ally connected to EU legitimacy through Habermas idea of a public sphere.

In this essay I have studied the Swedish Working Class whose part of LO.Ideological texts in LO- Magazines is used to quote texts by collective orindividual terms. Method and theory material show high level of solidarity andequality while theory shows higher level of individualism and autonomy. Myresearch is closer to Boréus than Blocks. Politics taking under the 1980: s apowerful right turns holding a steady course through my material.The question in the essay is: What vision on the collective shows in theLO- Magazine in a time during individualization? Answer to this question is thatthe collective unofficially through LO: s: staff on central level tries to showstrength and unity with terms like solidarity and equality between the sexes.

AbstractThe European union experience sometimes difficulties in advancing its work due to the member states? different ambitions and interests. The budget is one common tool that the member states can use in order to implement different policies according to their preferences. A large share of the budget is presently tied up in the CAP, the common agricultural policy. This share could be spent in another area and by doing so the EU could take a slightly different direction.

This thesis examines why working time preferences differ between workers and nations, and explains the effect of working time regulation and working time flexibility on negotiating work-life balance. In five separate sections the following working time issues are examined: the number of hours worked by workers in Europe; factors affecting individual working time preferences; how working time preferences are negotiated in the national industrial relations systems of Sweden, France and the United Kingdom; how the institutions of the European Union have influenced working time negotiations through the Working Time Directive; and the benefits and practices available to organisations implementing working time flexibility. Broadly this paper views working time preferences as being a highly personal and influenced by factors such as wages, taxation, culture (national and workplace) and non-work responsibilities. It is argued that negotiating a preferred working time pattern is essential to achieving work-life balance and when such a balance is achieved, workers are more healthy, motivated and committed to their employer. Essentially this provides an incentive for businesses to voluntarily implement working time flexibility beyond the regulatory standards..

The European Union has been working to promote equality between women and men for a long time. Despite this, Sweden still have a gender segregated labor market where men generally has the leading positions. According to European law the member states shall promote gender equality and to take all appropriate measures. Statutory gender quotas for company boards is one such measure that some of the European member states have implemented in national law. The Swedish law has no provisions governing gender quotas and therefore the purpose of this study is to explain how gender quotas for company boards relate to current law, both of European law and national legislation.

The primary purpose of this thesis is to investigate the operation of membership criteria, which are applied against countries that wish to join the European Union (EU). More specifically, the importance of some criteria in comparison to others is considered. To answer this proposal, three questions are posed: What are the EU membership criteria? Are some criteria more important than other criteria? Does the EU treat candidate countries differently in applying the membership criteria? Three countries are used in this analysis, each country representing one recent enlargement round: Poland (2004), Romania (2007), and current candidate country Turkey. Both official documents, such as EU treaties, and unofficial documents such as statements from EU leaders are used to analyze the application of membership criteria.

The industrialized timber housing process is capable nowadays to build multi-storeyhouses since fairly new changes in the Swedish regulations where made after theadmission of the European Union in 1994.The industrialized process moves parts of the construction process into a highlyeffective factory where 3D-volumes of the building are prefabricated beforetransportation to the building site for assemble.The assembly process is relatively effective compared to the completion of thebuilding service system and this is therefore the main focus in this thesis. This thesisattends problems with completion of the building service system, and thereforedemarcates from other aspects, such as technical and economic aspects, of thebuilding service system.The degree of completion of the flats differs from completion of the connectivepassages, for example hallways, in a way that suggests a need for further investigation.This thesis includes analysis of the possibilities to increase the prefabricatedconnective passages, to the extent of containing building service systems.An increase of the prefabrication of the building service system has a greatdevelopment potential, even though some restraining factors need to be solvedbefore implementation.This thesis was made in collaboration with two of Sweden?s leading companies on themarket of multi-storey industrialized timber housing, Moelven ByggModul AB andLindbäcks Bygg AB..

The amount of mergers and acquisitions between international and Swedish actors increased due to the Swedish entry in the European Union. In many cases, conflicts between manage-ment and employees made visible the cultural differences between nations and organisations. As a result of these conflicts many companies experience difficulties in operating on the Swedish market and in some cases they have even been forced to leave it.The starting point of this study is analysing how the management at a foreign company in Sweden, that has undergone a merger, has been affected in the meeting with the Swedish business culture. The analyse has got three different perspectives as a base; management, market knowledge and culture.This study is accomplished on the basis of a deductive approach. It is a case study where the empirical foundation derives from five interviews.

Researchers in the field of political corruption generally expect voters in democratic states to lose trust in corrupted politicians. However, there are cases where corrupted politicians maintain their popularity, a phenomenon studied in this thesis. Focus lies on three cases of political corruption: the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi who has been the subject of several judicial investigations and court cases; the impeached former president of Lithuania, Rolandas Paksas; and the German Christian Democratic Union's (CDU) involvement in a party funding scandal. The cases are chosen based on the method of agreement. Berlusconi, Paksas and CDU have all, in spite of their corrupt behaviour, kept or regained popular support among a large group of their country's citizens.

This study in Environmental Science examines the amendment of the EU-Directive on. Greenhouse gas emission allowance trading. The Directive is to be considered as a tool for fulfilling the obligations that the Union and its member countries have taken on through the 1997 Kyoto agreement together with the protocols proposed at that time. The flexible mechanisms of the protocol are intended as instruments for limiting the climatic changes arising from anthropogenic sources, emission allowance trading being one of these mechanisms. The results presented here consist primarily of an analysis of interviews with various experts in the field of emission control concerning the possibilities and problems attending the process of implementation.

Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the attitudes towards the labour movement?s strategies, goals and organisational issues in Swedish Miners? Union?s (Gruvindustriarbetareförbundet, hereafter Gruv) paper, Gruvarbetaren 1917-1925.The theoretical starting point is Engels? view on the class state. This perspective turns the question of socialism and the way to get there into an issue of working class power over the state. Another theoretical perspective is the partition of the labour movement into a trade-unionistic branch, seeing unions as financial organisations of interest, and a pro-state one, considering unions as political organisations.During the period investigated Gruvarbetaren was quite radical and advocated a firm class struggle strategy towards employers. Since these were considered unreliable, class struggle was seen as the only way to better the conditions for the working class.