A Conceptual Framework of Mapping Access to Health Care across EU Countries: The Patient Access Initiative.

Science.gov (United States)

Souliotis, Kyriakos; Hasardzhiev, Stanimir; Agapidaki, Eirini

Research evidence suggests that access to health care is the key influential factor for improved population health outcomes and health care system sustainability. Although the importance of addressing barriers in access to health care across European countries is well documented, little has been done to improve the situation. This is due to different definitions, approaches and policies, and partly due to persisting disparities in access within and between European countries. To bridge this gap, the Patient Access Partnership (PACT) developed (a) the '5As' definition of access, which details the five critical elements (adequacy, accessibility, affordability, appropriateness, and availability) of access to health care, (b) a multi-stakeholders' approach for mapping access, and (c) a 13-item questionnaire based on the 5As definition in an effort to address these obstacles and to identify best practices. These tools are expected to contribute effectively to addressing access barriers in practice, by suggesting a common framework and facilitating the exchange of knowledge and expertise, in order to improve access to health care between and within European countries. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

EU CONTRIBUTION TO SUPPORT DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana Popa

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the EU aid concerning to improved the economic situation from developing countries. Therefore, the aim of this research is to identify how EU states contribute to helping poor countries, members of the World Trade Organization. For the beginning, we define the EU’position before, during and after the Doha Round – a round of WTO multilateral trade negotiations. Moreover, we analyse the development dimension, focusing on countries „marginalized” until early of XXI century in terms of international trade, because this represents the idea-axis of the Doha Round. In this context, the EU – one of the leading global commercial players and a key member of the institution mentioned above – has set several objectives to achieve the basic goal of negotiations and several ways to support developing countries. To conclude, we propose to define the key points of the European aid for least developed and developing countries.

Intra-EU Direct Investment and Enlargement

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Festa Andrea

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the determinants of the intra-EU direct investment (IDI into the New Member States (NMS using a panel dataset of bilateral capital flows for the period 1993-2013. It is found out by using a simple gravity model that EU membership is the most important determinant. Unlike previous studies including non-EU countries, the distance is insignificant, which is caused by proximity of these countries to one another. A separate analysis focused on subgroups of accession countries gives some evidence that even when size of their economy, distance, institutional quality and EU accession are taken into account, Central European countries receive more IDI than the Baltic and the Balkan states. On the contrary to that, the analysis restricted to the Balkan countries which have joined the EU shows the inexistence of a negative Balkans effect in attracting foreign investment. This finding is relevant because previous studies demonstrate a persistent negative Balkans effect for non-EU Balkan countries and suggests a crucial impact of the EU accession in determining the intra-EU capital flows.

Consequences of EU air quality directives for spatial development plans in various EU countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koelemeijer, R.B.A.; Blom, W.F.; Bouwman, A.A.; Hammingh, P.; Backes, C.W.

2005-01-01

Over the past few years, the highest Dutch court of justice has rejected many building plans for new homes, roads and businesses because of reasons related to EU air quality limit values. This has made it clear that detailed impact assessments are necessary to having plans approved for permits, and that failure to achieve limit values can be a reason to reject a plan. An investigation to see whether such issues have also played a role in other EU countries has proven the contrary. Only a few similar court cases have taken place in other countries, while air quality limit values are breached in other EU countries as well. The reason is that the Netherlands has implemented the first EU Daughter Directive in a relatively strict manner in comparison to other countries, in particular: Adopting a strict legal coupling of air quality and spatial planning policies, with many types of plans being subject to an air quality impact assessment; Perceiving limit values as absolute limit values, whereas in many other countries a need to meet a limit value is weighted with other interests in granting permits; Applying limit values to the whole country. Although this application is, in principle, valid for all EU member states, some member states apply limit values only to locations where people can be exposed; Since air quality assessment is detailed in the Netherlands, many locations are appointed where air quality limit values are breached. Clearly, the role of limit values in granting permits for plans differs considerably among the EU countries, while the underlying EU legislation is the same, and while limit values are breached in other countries as well [nl

Is additional conditionality preventing EU accession? Serbian democratic 'step back'

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Milenković Miloš

2013-01-01

Full Text Available European Union integration of Western Balkan countries in conditioned on the fulfilment on the set of criteria aimed at profound societal change. However, there is a number of additional criteria within the EU enlargement policy for the Western Balkans and Serbia in particular. We have already designated this process as 'culturalization' of accession criteria. It comprises of alterations of criteria from initial, identity-neutral and technical issues to coming to terms with the legacy of identity conflicts in the Balkan region. These conditions pose a significant challenge to political institutions in a not yet consolidated democracy. In this article we analyze how, as a result of additional conditioning, the EU accession, instead of enjoying social consensus, has reopened identity issues, divided the society and boosted discourses on 'sovereignty', 'double standards of international community' and 'injustice' perpetrated to Serbia at the time of disintegration of Yugoslavia. Serbia is in a paradoxical situation we refer to as democratic deadlock - it is in need of consolidated democracy in order to achieve political stability and stable government capable to implement EU reforms, while the instability itself is a result of additional criteria for EU accession (and reactions to it. It is a theoretically intriguing case of additional criteria preventing fulfilment of the basic accession requirements. It is further analyzed how this observed tendency can be redirected through slight alteration of beneficiaries of EU incentives aimed at facilitating cultural change. In order to viably change the political community, external assistance process needs to be as inclusive as possible. It is argued that external assistance should not only cover main political, economic and legal actors, but also include cultural actors, especially culturally legitimate elites.

Slovenian Experience as the EU Candidate Country in the Field of Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grlicarev, I.

2002-01-01

Slovenia was the first EU acceding country which has managed to successfully reach consensus with the European Commission (EC) on the chapters Energy, which comprises nuclear energy, and Environment, which comprises nuclear safety and radiation protection. This practically meant that the EU adopted the position that these two chapters did not, at that stage, require further negotiation. The EC will continue to monitor the progress in adoption and implementation of the EU legislation throughout the negotiations. The activities in relation to the accession of Slovenia to the EU in the area of nuclear energy and nuclear safety are reflected in the transposition of the legislation and establishing the institutions capable of implementing the EU legislation. The importance of regular reporting to the EC on the status is vital for monitoring the progress. The EC issues progress reports for all candidate countries on annual basis and the action plan has been devised by the EC to put some extra pressure on the candidate countries. The position of the EU in the area of nuclear legislation is reflected in the so called Non-binding EU acquis. The actual position of the EU towards each Candidate Country and to these countries as a whole is contained in the document Report on Nuclear Safety in the Context of the Enlargement. The Act on Nuclear and Radiation Safety had been drafted and is planned to be passed by the Parliament in the first half of 2002. The EC is willing to provide support in implementation of projects to strengthen nuclear safety in Slovenia (assistance to the regulatory authority, review of seismic studies, support with the periodic safety review, review and application of PSA studies). The recent status in the preparation of the position of Slovenia in negotiations in to the EU in the field of nuclear energy, nuclear safety and radiation protection shows that Slovenia has still some tasks to be done, but there are no pending issues which might hinder the

Migration from the new EU member countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Louise Møller; Lund Thomsen, Trine

2012-01-01

investigates the potentials, limitations and conflicts of interests that are connected with temporary employment of Eastern European migrant workers within the unskilled labour sectors seen from the perspective of Danish labour market actors; politicians, labour marked unions, Danish employers, Danish......During the past four years more than 52.500 Eastern European EU citizens have worked and lived in Denmark. Migrant workers from the new EU countries are characterized by a high degree of mobility, flexibility and eagerness in terms of working and adapting to working conditions. Poorer socioeconomic...... and working conditions in their home countries as well as being of another cultural background than their Danish colleagues brings with it many challenges. This article examines the consequences of low-skilled labour migration to Denmark from the new EU member countries in Eastern Europe. The article...

STATE REGULATION OF FRANCHISING IN THE EU MEMBER COUNTRIES

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Solomiya Ohinok

2015-11-01

Full Text Available In despite of extensive research of franchising in the scientific community, there are a lot of unresolved issues relating to franchising, in particular its regulation at the national level and at the level of the European Union that is why the purpose of the paper is to summarise and present the difference between state regulation of franchising in the EU member states and to research the basic principles of state regulation of franchising in the EU also to analyze legislation of the franchise relationship. Methodology. The survey is based on a comparison of data from all EU member countries and analisis of the legal framework of each country in particular and in general EU legislation. The article is devoted to a detailed analysis of main features of the franchise business in Europe. The mechanism of implementation of franchise relations between EU member states are studied. Government regulation of franchising in the EU member states are investigated. The rate of growth of franchising in Europe are analized. Results. By comparing different state laws and regulations of franchising we have identified the most effective and productive. We divided counties into two groups due to their regulation of franchising: countries which do not have a special government regulation of franchising; the countries which have state regulation of franchising; countries which have government regulation of franchising and it is governed by EU law, countries in which regulation is carried out in accordance with EU law. Thus, results of the survey showed that government regulation of franchising, as well as its regulation at the level of EU institutions have a positive impact on the development of franchising relationships. Practical implications of the results of the paper will help to develop well known network of franchise bussiness without legislative interference. Value/originality. It is first time we have grouped countries due to the main aspects of state

The development of environmental management system in Serbia and Montenegro as part of the EU accession

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Zdravković Dušan S.

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Environmental protection is one of the top priorities of the EU. The EU regulates this area both within the Union and internationally. Also, the regulations concerning environmental protection in the EU to a certain extent exceed the national level. The EU environmental legislation imposes a number of challenges to membership candidates. Legal heritage of the EU is very extensive, complex and costly, and environmental problems are much more important in the EU membership candidates than in the member states. Therefore, it is of great importance for transitional countries such as Serbia and Montenegro to participate in the EU Stabilization and Association Process as well as in the WTO accession process.

Tobacco taxation policy in three Baltic countries after the EU accession

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Konstantin Krasovsky

2012-11-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined the EU in 2004 and had to increase tobacco excise rates. The aim of the paper is to explore the impact of tax policies on tobacco consumption, revenue and tobacco market in the Baltic countries.METHODS: Data on tobacco sales, tax rates, prices, revenues, and smoking prevalence were taken from databases and reports. Tobacco affordability index was calculated using data on prices and GDP. RESULTS: Tobacco taxation policy had three similar stages in Baltic countries: (1 In 2004-2007, tax rates increased slowly and cigarettes became more affordable in years of economic boom. Tobacco consumption and smuggling out of Baltic countries was on the rise, which caused increase of sales and revenues. (2 In 2008-2009, Baltic countries had to hike excise and VAT rates in years of economic recession, which caused sharp decline of cigarette affordability and resulted in large decline of consumption and sales and some excise revenue downfall in 2009-2010; however, all countries had higher revenues in 2010 than in 2007. (3 In 2011, economic situation improved and tobacco sales and revenue increased. The tobacco taxation policy in Baltic countries in 2004-2011 resulted in: (1 decline of total (licit + illicit annual cigarette consumption by 30% both in Latvia and Lithuania, and by 10% in Estonia; (2 decline of daily smoking prevalence by 10-20%; (3 decline of the out-of-country smuggling; (4 almost no changes in volumes of smuggling into Lithuania and Estonia; (5 three-fold increase of the annual tobacco revenues in three countries combined.CONCLUSIONS: Decrease of tobacco affordability caused by tax hikes and economic recession was the key factor of tobacco consumption decline. Tobacco tax hike is a win-win policy, while in years of economic boom it has more fiscal benefits and in years of economic recession it has more public health benefits.

Anchor, float or abandon ship: exchange rate regimes for the accession countries

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Willem H. Buiter

2002-06-01

Full Text Available The paper considers alternative exchange rate regimes for the East Europeanaccession candidates, both prior to EU accession and following EU accession but prior to EMU membership. We conclude that, from an economic point of view, EMU membership should be as early as possible. There is, however, a risk that prevailing interpretations of the inflation and exchange rate criteria for EMU membership could lead to unnecessary delays in EMU membership for the accession countries. Theexchange rate criterion for EMU membership requires that the candidate "has respected the normal fluctuation margins provided for by the exchange ratemechanism of the European Monetary System without severe tensions for at least the last two yeas before the examination." Both this text and the precedents of Finland, Italy and Greece, support the view that the exchange rate criterion can be satisfied without two years of formal ERMII membership. Insistence on at least two years of formal ERMII membership for the accession countries, would result in an unnecessary, costly and potentially risky stay in EMU purgatory.

ANALYSIS OF BUDGET DEFICIT IN THE CANDIDATE COUNTRIES FOR EU MEMBERSHIP

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Danijela Despotović

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The problems of deficit and debt are the traditional drivers of the recession in the past. Due to the high impact of the budget deficit to increase in indebtedness and deterioration of a macroeconomic performance, the European Union in Maastricht Treaty and later in the Pact of Stability and Growth strictly defined fiscal criteria which the member states should adhere to. Fiscal criteria are particularly important when it comes to candidate countries for EU membership. The aim of this paper is that, through theoretical and empirical basis perform a comparative analysis of the budget deficit in EU countries and candidates for membership in the EU, to rank the 34 countries according to the criteria of public finances and to show the causality between the candidate countries for membership of the EU and EU member states.

Ombudsman institutions in the candidate countries on the road to EU membership: a comparative view

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Vahap Atilla OĞUŞGİL

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The European Union has been attaching great importance to the values of democracy and human rights in its external policy, including to its relationship with candidate countries seeking membership in the Union. In accordance with the significance of the values stipulated by the Copenhagen political criteria, as well, it urges the countries in question, for example, to build or strengthen national oversight mechanisms that are tasked to promote the democratic governance of the state and protect human rights. This paper examines one of those oversight mechanisms – ombudsman institutions – in the candidate states conducting accession negotiations with the EU. It specifically scrutinises a fundamental characteristic for the effective functioning of these institutions – the jurisdiction and powers granted by their statutes. Relying on the findings to be noted, the paper also seeks an answer to the question of which ombudsman institution(s score(s better in terms of effectiveness and thus play(s a more significant role in the improvement and consolidation of democracy and protection of human rights in its or their countries, and as a result, contribute(s more to the fulfilment of Copenhagen political criteria during the EU accession processes.

NEW TRENDS IN R&D DISPARITIES AMONG EU COUNTRIES. A SIGMA CONVERGENCE APPROACH

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Goschin Zizi

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The recent economic crisis brought about new challenges and disrupted the previous convergence process in R&D systems of EU member countries. The new developments in the configuration of the European Research Area require the use of adequate methods for measuring disparities between EU countries and monitoring of the convergence process. In this context, our paper aims to explore the new trends in R&D disparities among different groups of EU countries by means of a specific method for assessing the convergence/divergence process, namely the "sigma convergence" indicator introduced by Barro and Sala-i-Martin (1995. Considering the sizeable heterogeneity that exists within the EU-28 and candidate countries, we performed separate analyses on two groups of countries that are likely to be more homogenous: old and new EU member countries. Our main finding is a convergence trend for both EU-28 and candidate countries and old EU members over 2006-2013, while the new EU countries seem to diverge in terms of the research and development activity as captured by the Summary Innovation Index. The existence of a systematic trend of convergence / divergence was further tested based on both Augmented Dickey - Fuller (ADF and DF- GLS stationarity tests.

AN ANALYSIS OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE COUNTRIES OF EASTERN AND CENTRAL EUROPE IN THE CONTEXT OF E.U. ADHERING

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Adrian\tLiviu\tSCUTARIU

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Unemployment is a negative phenomenon that manifests itself in any economy with varying degrees of intensity. In this paper we propose to analyze the evolution of unemployment in the EU. There are countries where economic recession was felt more intense and harder recovered from it, such as Greece or Spain. Within the European Union one notes some differences in unemployment between Member States but also in terms of age groups. In the EU youth unemployment rate is approximately double that the general unemployment rate, but the situation is worse in some countries where youth unemployment rate is even higher. Our analysis also focuses on trends recorded at regional level in Central and Eastern Europe countries in the context of their accession to the EU, highlighting positive developments, which were maintained in the coming years. The unemployment rate decrease is one of the objectives followed by the EU through its policies.

Colorectal cancer screening in countries of European Council outside of the EU-28.

Science.gov (United States)

Altobelli, Emma; D'Aloisio, Francesco; Angeletti, Paolo Matteo

2016-05-28

To provide an update on colorectal cancer (CRC) screening programmes in non-European Union (EU)-28 Council of Europe member states as of December 2015. The mission of the Council of Europe is to protect and promote human rights in its 47 member countries. Its 19 non-EU member states are Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Republic of Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, Russian Federation, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, FYR of Macedonia, Turkey, and Ukraine (EU-19). The main data source were GLOBOCAN, IARC, WHO, EUCAN, NORDCAN, ENCR, volume X of the CI5, the ministerial and Public Health Agency websites of the individual countries, PubMed, EMBASE, registries of some websites and the www.cochranelibrary.com, Scopus, www.clinicaltrials.gov, www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu, Research gate, Google and data extracted from screening programme results. Our results show that epidemiological data quality varies broadly between EU-28 and EU-19 countries. In terms of incidence, only 30% of EU-19 countries rank high in data quality as opposed to 86% of EU-28 states. The same applies to mortality data, since 52% of EU-19 countries as against all EU-28 countries are found in the high ranks. Assessment of the method of collection of incidence data showed that only 32% of EU-19 countries are found in the top three quality classes as against 89% of EU-28 countries. For the mortality data, 63% of EU-19 countries are found in the highest ranks as opposed to all EU-28 member states. Interestingly, comparison of neighbouring countries offering regional screening shows, for instance, that incidence and mortality rates are respectively 38.9 and 13.0 in Norway and 29.2 and 10.9 in Sweden, whereas in Finland, where a national organised programme is available, they are respectively 23.5 and 9.3. Cancer screening should be viewed as a key health care tool, also because investing in screening protects the weakest in

The Economic Effects of Croatia's Accession to the EU

OpenAIRE

Lejour, Arjan Marcel; Mervar, Andrea; Verweij, Gerard

2008-01-01

We explore the economic implications of Croatia's possible accession to the European Union. We focus on two main changes associated with the EU-membership: accession to the internal European Market and institutional reforms in Croatia triggered by the EU-membership. GDP per capita in Croatia is estimated to rise by about 1.1 percent as a result of accession to the internal market. In particular the textile and wearing apparel sectors expand. If Croatia succeeds in reforming its domestic insti...

Competitiveness of Serbia and Macedonia and the accession to the EU in a time of crisis

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Lazić Biljana

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The elapsed global economic and financial crisis has caused economic instability around the world and the consequences of crisis will be manifested in different forms for a long time. Destructive power of crisis has not bypassed developed countries that due to previous economic stability and financial strength managed to overcome the crisis waves quickly. However, for developing countries that are still economically unstable and financially very weak the crisis can indeed be fatal. The destruction of the domestic economy, the slowdown of economic trends, the decline in the standards of the population, the growth of external debt, constant inflation threats are just some of many effects of the crisis faced by Serbia and Macedonia. These republics of the former Yugoslavia in addition have shared history, similar institutional design and economic and political environment, and they have the same status in the EU accession process and similar levels of economic competitiveness. Following achieved levels of global and individual competitiveness of Serbia and Macedonia in the past five years, it will be explained how the crisis affected their key pillars of competitiveness, in which period the worst results were achieved and when the recovery and noticeable improvement began. Constant efforts to improve the competitiveness of these countries will provide faster and more efficient treatment of the effects of the crisis while intensifying their relations with the EU. The primary aim of this paper is to prove the existence of relations between the achieved level of competitiveness and the current EU status of analyzed countries while highlighting the fact that the enhancement of national competitiveness, fostering relations with the EU and the acceleration of the accession process also represent a primary weapon in the continuation of struggle with the consequences of the crisis.

The New Environment of EU Enlargement: The Impact of Economic Crisis on the Western Balkans and their EU Accession Prospects

OpenAIRE

Ritsa Panagiotou

2014-01-01

This paper will explore the impact of the economic crisis on the Western Balkan countries, and how the new, unfavorable international environment is affecting their EU accession prospects. The analysis will be presented in three sections: the first part will examine the effect of the “first wave” of the global economic crisis on the economies of the region, specifically the impact on the region’s macroeconomic indicators, foreign direct investment flows, financial sectors, etc. Part two...

Impact of EU agricultural policy on developing countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boysen, Ole; Jensen, Hans Grinsted; Matthews, Alan

2016-01-01

Despite substantial reforms, the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is still criticised for its detrimental effects on developing countries. This paper provides updated evidence on the impact of the CAP on one developing country, Uganda. It goes beyond estimating macro-level economic effects...... by analysing the impacts on poverty. The policy simulation results show that eliminating EU agricultural support would have marginal but nonetheless positive impacts on the Ugandan economy and its poverty indicators. From the perspective of the EU’s commitment to policy coherence for development, this supports...... the view that further reducing EU Agricultural support would be positive for development....

Physical Education in Primary Education in EU Countries

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Črtomir Matejek

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The main aim of this paper is to compare the representation of physical education in primary education in the countries of European Union and to explain the effects of sports activities in child's development. For at least twenty years experts have pointed to the lack of spontaneous movement in childhood. Therefore, sports activity is suitable for maintaining good health and proper physical fitness. Physical education represents a large proportion of children's sports activities and has positive effects on a child’s holistic development. EU countries allocate physical education of children in primary school different amounts of attention. To physical education about half of European countries devote 10% of the total time of school curriculum, Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia to 15%, while Ireland only 4%. These findings suggest that among EU countries, there are very large differences in the number of hours devoted to physical education and that designers of primary education in Europe perceive physical education as less important than other subjects.

Eu accession to the ECHR: Enlarging the human rights protection in Europe

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Krstić Ivana

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the importance of the EU accession to the ECHR, as the most significant regional instrument for human rights protection. The paper outlines the evolution of the idea of the accession to the ECHR, different stages of that process, as well as a Draft agreement which attempted to resolve some complex legal issues relating to the specific nature of the EU legal system. In the second part of this paper, the Opinion 2/13 of the CJEU from December 2014 has been analyzed, which basically interrupted the entire accession process. It is noted that currently the ECtHR has only an indirect constitutional control over the EU's legal order by examining laws of the Member States. The EU accession to the ECHR would allow examination of all acts and measures in the EU from the human rights perspective, including those over which the CJEU does not have full oversight function. Therefore, the authors argue that due to the establishment of legal certainty and external control over acts of the EU institutions, it is necessary to find a way for the continuation of the accession process, as soon as possible. There are two possible scenarios: a re-negotiation of the agreement on accession, or modification of the EU Treaties. Both solutions seem almost impossible in the created political milieu. However, there is a hope that negotiations will continue due to the influence of the Avotiņš judgment from May 2016 in which the ECtHR upheld the principle of equal protection from the Bosphorus case, pointing to the importance of maintaining mutual trust between two courts, as well as the need for the establishment of greater credibility and EU strengthening after Brexit.

Matching Up to the Information Society: An Evaluation of the EU, the EU Accession Countries, Switzerland and the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Graafland-Essers, Irma; Cremonini, Leon; Ettedgui, Emile; Botterman, Maarten

2003-01-01

This report presents the current understanding of the advancement of the Information Society within the European Union and countries that are up for accession in 2004, and is based on the SIBIS (Statistical Indicators Benchmarking the Information Society) surveys and analyses per SIBIS theme and country. The report is unique in its coherent and…

Economic Effects of Russia’s Trade Liberalization: Russia’s WTO Accession and FTAs with EU and Korea

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Chang-Soo Lee

2008-06-01

's liberalization gains from the Russia-EU FTA are not so great, either. This result is in contrast to that of CEEC’s accession to the EU, where the CEEC enjoys large gains due to increases in FDI. Fourth, the economic effects of the Korea- Russia FTA on concerned countries are ignorable. Fifth, the sequencing issue regarding the Korea-Russia FTA, the FTA after Russia's WTO accession or the FTA before the accession, has no meaning. Sixth, the negative economic impacts, such as trade diversion effects, of Russia's liberalization policies on external regions are also ignorable.

Material Deprivation in Selected EU Countries According to EU-SILC Income Statistics

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Stávková Jana

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The article deals with issues of households at risk of poverty in relative conception. Income poverty means a situation when the threshold of 0.6 of median income is not achieved. The analysis of a broader definition of poverty is based on identification and assessment of material deprivation factors, including: financial stress, housing conditions, availability of consumer durables and basic needs. Data sources are based EU-SILC dataset. Presented analysis is focused on selected EU countries, namely Czech Republic, Finland, France, Spain and United Kingdom. The result identifies the problem areas that cause deprivation symptoms.

The Structure and Financial Dimensions of Public Administration in EU Countries

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Martina HALÁSKOVÁ

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Various traditional trends and roles of pub-lic administration can be traced across the Eu-ropean Union member states. These countries, however, are obliged to abide by common ad-ministrative and legal principles of the European administrative area. This paper focuses on the structure and differentiation of public adminis-tration in EU (28 countries, levels of local gov-ernment and internal division of administrative structures, using the ESA methodology and a comparison of expenditures made by public ad-ministration in 2003, 2009 and 2013. The f scal aspect of public administration is evaluated also through f scal decentralization (revenues, expen-ditures. Cluster analysis is used for the com-parison of selected areas of public expenditures according to the levels of public administration, showing that EU (28 countries can be divided into three clusters.The most signif cant differences in public ex-penditures according to levels of public adminis-tration were observed in EU countries in the f rst and third cluster, where f scal decentralization of expenditures constitutes the most notable differ-ence. The smallest differences in all clusters are perceived in total general government expendi-tures as % of GDP.

The Changing Patterns of Foreign Direct Investment in EU Accession Countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Meyer, Klaus E.; Ionascu, Delia Simona; Kulawczuk, Przemyslaw

2005-01-01

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has been maturing as the region prepared to join the European Union (EU). Since the beginning of transition the pattern of FDI has evolved, reflecting new business strategies pursued in anticipation of EU membership. Based on first...... results from a questionnaire survey conducted in 2003 in Hungary, Lithuania and Poland, we portray the recent patterns and developments in foreign investment, the motives for investment, and managers' assessment of the local business environment. Some questions have been replicated from a study conducted...

Management of waste electrical and electronic equipment in two EU countries: A comparison

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torretta, Vincenzo; Ragazzi, Marco; Istrate, Irina Aura; Rada, Elena Cristina

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Review on data regarding WEEE management in Italy and in Romania. ► Problems that countries that will enter in the EU will have to solve facing with the WEEE management. ► Pilot experiences useful for the awareness campaign of the population. - Abstract: The paper presents some data regarding waste electrical and electronic (WEEE) management in one of the founding countries of the EU, Italy, and in a recent entry into the EU, Romania. The aim of this research was to analyze some problems that countries entering the EU will have to solve with respect to WEEE management. The experiences of Italy and Romania could provide an interesting reference point. The strengths and weaknesses that the two EU countries have encountered can be used in order to give a more rational plan for other countries. In Italy the increase of WEEE collection was achieved in parallel with the increase of the efficiency of selective Municipal Solid Waste collection. In Romania, pilot experiences were useful to increase the awareness of the population. The different interests of the two populations towards recyclable waste led to a different scenario: in Romania all types of WEEE have been collected since its entrance into the EU; in Italy the “interest” in recycling is typically related to large household appliances, with a secondary role of lighting equipment.

Matching Up to the Information Society: An Evaluation of the EU, the EU Accession Countries, Switzerland and the United States. Summary

Science.gov (United States)

Graafland-Essers, Irma; Cremonini, Leon; Ettedgui, Emile; Botterman, Maarten

2003-01-01

This report presents the current understanding of the advancement of the Information Society within the European Union and countries that are up for accession in 2004, and is based on the SIBIS (Statistical Indicators Benchmarking the Information Society) surveys and analyses per SIBIS theme and country. The report is unique in its coherent and…

Renewable energy sources evolution connected with Romania's accession to the EU process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matei, M.; Matei, L.

2005-01-01

The RES direct support in 2010 for the EU-15 countries varies from 0.08 Euro cents/kWh of total electricity in Finland, to 1.32 Euro cents/kWh of total electricity in Denmark, with a weighted average of 0-39 Euro cents/kWh of total electricity. In case of EU-15 countries using only feed-in tariffs to promote RES, the weighted average of RES direct support is 0.44 Euro cents/kWh. EURELECTRIC's position on RES support is in favor of market-based mechanisms to support renewable sources, which do not lead to market distortions. EURELECTRIC supports the Commission's intention to create a regulatory framework for the promotion of renewable sources in the internal market. Romanian Governmental Decision No. 443/2003 is aiming at the harmonization of the national legislative framework with EU Directive. The important share of large hydroelectricity generated in Romania could represent a good opportunity for Romania to participate in the EU green electricity market, but the key problem in Romania's case is the target of 12.5 % of RES-E in 2010 without large hydroelectricity. On the other hand, the development of the future European green market will influence Romania's energy policy concerning RES development. The development of some national schemes presenting an obstacle to a European certificate trading system, which do not recognize foreign certificates, could cut down the Romania's opportunities to sell into an European green electricity market the electricity generated at low price in the existing large hydropower plants. Some member states accepted electricity generated in large HPP as 'green', the others consider only small HPP in this category. The Romania's accession to EU could mean the acceptance to increase the share of new renewable sources in the next years. Such a request, involving the real implementation of schemes for RES support could be very difficult, taking into account the low support ability to increase the electricity price in Romania. (author)

Registry data for cross-country comparisons of migrants' healthcare utilization in the EU: a survey study of availability and content

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Krasnik Allan

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Cross-national comparable data on migrants' use of healthcare services are important to address problems in access to healthcare; to identify high risk groups for prevention efforts; and to evaluate healthcare systems comparatively. Some of the main obstacles limiting analyses of health care utilization are lack of sufficient coverage and availability of reliable and valid healthcare data which includes information allowing for identification of migrants. The objective of this paper was to reveal which registry data on healthcare utilization were available in the EU countries in which migrants can be identified; and to determine to what extent data were comparable between the EU countries. Methods A questionnaire survey on availability of healthcare utilization registries in which migrants can be identified was carried out among all national statistic agencies and other relevant national health authorities in the 27 EU countries in 2008-9 as part of the Migrant and Ethnic Minority Health Observatory-project (MEHO. The information received was compared with information from a general survey on availability of survey and registry data on migrants conducted by Agency of Public Health, Lazio Region, Italy within the MEHO-project; thus, the information on registries was double-checked to assure accuracy and verification. Results Available registry data on healthcare utilization which allow for identification on migrants on a national/regional basis were only reported in 11 EU countries: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, and Sweden. Data on hospital care, including surgical procedures, were most frequently available whereas only few countries had data on care outside the hospital. Regarding identification of migrants, five countries reported having information on both citizenship and country of birth, one reported availability of information on country of birth, and

THE WORKFORCE AND ITS PRODUCTIVITY IN THE FOOD ECONOMY OF THE EU COUNTRIES

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Aldona Mrówczyńska-Kamińska

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The main aim of the article is a comparative analysis of the workforce and its productivity in the food economy of the EU countries in the years 1995 and 2009. The first part of the article analyses the internal structure of the workforce in the food economy and its share in the national economy. In the following part the workforce productivity was estimated, taking into consideration the value of global output and gross value added per employee. The basic source materials used in this study were input-output tables for individual EU countries. The results of the calculations indicate that the internal structure of the workforce in the food economy, its share in the national economy, and the level of the workforce productivity in the EU countries differ considerably. The level of the labour productivity is much higher in the countries of Western and Northern Europe than in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. It is mainly caused by a structural defect which is due to an excessive workforce in the agricultural sector EU member states.

COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES IN ECONOMIC CRISES GEOGRAPHY. ECONOMIC STRATEGIES IN EU COUNTRIES

OpenAIRE

Roxana Maria Grecu

2011-01-01

The strategies for structural-systemic crisis management have generated, to a geographical level, a number of differences between EU countries. These cleavages are the result of differential macroeconomic policies. In this context, this article has the aim of achieving a comparative approach between countries of the south, west and east of the EU space. Also our approach is focused on observing the nature of macroeconomic policies and also on identifying a "pattern" associated with a common i...

Classification of EU Countries in Terms of the Level of Sustainable Development

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Stec Małgorzata

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This article has classified the EU countries in terms of the level of sustainable development. The study was based on main sustainability indicators developed by Eurostat. In empirical research, one of the methods used was Cluster Analysis - Ward's method. Grouping methods make it possible to distinguish countries with a similar level of sustainability which is particularly useful for monitoring the progress of individual EU countries in implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy. For specific groups of countries, appropriate control instruments and strategies can be proposed. The research period is 2016. As a result of the research, 6 clusters of countries were obtained. For specific groups of countries, their characteristics were defined.

The impact of terrorism on the FDI of the EU and EEA Countries

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Heri Bezić

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The key goal of this research is to empirically determine the effects of terrorism on FDI of the selected EU and EEA member countries. The methodology is based on a system-GMM estimator for dynamic panel data models on a sample covering up to 29 countries, and 13-year periods from 2000 to 2013. The main results confirm that terrorism incidents, economic and institutional variables are found to depress FDI of analysed EU and EEA countries. It can be concluded that terrorism and institutional stability are most influential on FDI inflows of the observed EU and EEA countries. The results indicate that terrorist activities reduce security and confidence of investors in countries exposed to terrorist activities, reducing the inflow of foreign direct investment. The recommendations and proposals are given based on the results of empirical analysis.

The Limits of Conditionality: Turkey – EU Taxation Negotiations

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Hakan Cavlak

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Conditionality is mostly defined as the EU policy engendered for candidate countries. However, the mere use of conditionality by the EU does not essentially explain transferring of policies and EU rules towards the candidate countries. EU conditionality may be considered as a comprising approach but in certain policy areas or countries it might not be as successful as it was on other ones. The EU conditionality basically defined as a bargaining policy of affecting through reward, under which the EU provides inducements to candidate or neighbor countries to aligning with the conditions of the EU. In this study the explanatory power of conditionality would be questioned; so the main question will be “to what extent does the EU have influence on policy convergence in a candidate country that does not have a clear membership perspective? Taxation chapter in accession negotiations between Turkey and the EU has been chosen as the case of this research as providing to have an answer on this question. The main objective of this paper is ‘analyzing the extent of EU conditionality on Turkish taxation policy.’ Furthermore, it is argued in this study that “without a concrete incentive, European Union’s impact on a candidate country would be limited.”  

EU Aid Conditionality in ACP Countries: Explaining Inconsistency in EU Sanctions Practice

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Karen Del Biondo

2011-09-01

Full Text Available The EU is often criticised for using negative conditionality only in poor, strategically less important countries in the ACP region. However, whether and why there is inconsistency within the group of ACP countries has not been properly investigated. Therefore, this article investigates the reasons for the EU’s non-application of Article 96 of the Cotonou Agreement in five countries that can be considered typical cases where negative conditionality is generally imposed, namely countries that experienced flawed elections over the last ten years: Ethiopia, Rwanda, Nigeria, Kenya and Chad. On the one hand, the study confirms previous findings that security interests tend to trump the EU’s efforts to promote democratisation. On the other hand, the article adds that democratisation might not only conflict with the EU’s interests, but also with its objective to promote development and poverty reduction.

Comparative Price Levels of New EU Member Countries

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Taušer Josef

2014-10-01

Full Text Available This article analyzes comparative price levels of 10 new EU member countries from Central, East, and South-East Europe and discusses their main determinants. A comparison of comparative price levels is logically followed by a comparison of relative GDP per capita in purchasing power parities. Further, the Balassa-Samuelson efect is theoretically explained and empirically tested using a sample of EU27 countries (excluding Luxemburg. The results of simple regression analysis confrm that diferences in comparative price levels can be explained by the diferences in relative GDP per capita in purchasing power parities. Besides the Balassa-Samuelson efect there are, however, many other factors that have an impact on comparative price levels. Tey are related to the lower competitiveness of domestic companies on international markets as the result of such factors as a lower quality of production, inefcient organizational structures and management styles, insufcient marketing and business skills, or a poor approach to international distribution channels.

THE ROMANIAN BANKING COMPETITION AND THE ACCESSION TO EU

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Bogdan Capraru

2010-07-01

Full Text Available In this study we try to assess banking competition in the Romania for 2001 – 2008, taking into account the evolution of market share of the top five, Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI, performances indicators like ROA and ROE and evolutions of deposit and loans rates. We observed that the competition in the Romanian banking system increases continuously in the last years. The main factors which have influenced this process were: the privatization of the majority of state capital banks and the perspective of accession of our country in the EU. In the period assessed, there are two approaches: in the first period banks have had very good performances due to their market share in a low competitive banking environment and after the privatization of some state capital banks, the leader of the market lost market share in the favor of other bank with greater performances.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ACCESS TO PATENTED HIV/AIDS PHARMACEUTICAL MEDICINES THROUGH THE CANADIAN AND EU TRIPS FLEXIBILITIES MEASURES: ARE THEY EFFICACIOUS OR OVERLY BURDENSOME AND INEFFECTIVE MEASURES?

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Omphemetse S Sibanda

2012-08-01

Full Text Available This paper evaluates the Canadian and the European Union's (EU implementation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO General Council Decision of 2003, which resolved that developed nations could export patented pharmaceutical drugs to member states in order to address public health challenges such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other epidemics, such states including Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA. The author makes a primarily textual appraisal of how and to what extent the Canada Access to Medicine Regime (CAMR and European Union (EU Regulations benefit, for instance, SSA countries in the WTO in their quest to make essential medicine more accessible. The author argues that although there are identifiable complexities inherent in the Canadian and the EU's access to pharmaceutical product regimes, there are far more important incentives and benefits that can be reaped in taking advantage of the respective systems. The author recommends that countries facing public health crises/emergencies, such as SSA countries, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs take advantage of the regulatory flexibilities of Canada and the EU in their efforts to provide their communities with essential HIV/AIDS treatment, and treatment for other diseases such as malaria. The author dismisses the arguments against TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property flexibilities-inspired legislation and similar measures as mostly mere rhetoric and hair-splitting, because they sometimes unwarrantedly dismiss a workable solution to public-health problems.

Patterns of clinical mentorship in undergraduate nurse education: A comparative case analysis of eleven EU and non-EU countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Dobrowolska, Beata; McGonagle, Ian; Kane, Roslyn; Jackson, Christine S; Kegl, Barbara; Bergin, Michael; Cabrera, Esther; Cooney-Miner, Dianne; Di Cara, Veronika; Dimoski, Zvonko; Kekus, Divna; Pajnkihar, Majda; Prlić, Nada; Sigurdardottir, Arun K; Wells, John; Palese, Alvisa

2016-01-01

In spite of the number of studies available in the field and policy documents developed both at the national and the international levels, there is no reliable data available regarding the variation of roles occupied by clinical mentors (CMs) across countries. To describe and compare the CM's role; responsibilities; qualifications; employment requirements and experience in undergraduate nurse education as enacted in 11 European Union (EU) and non- EU countries. A case study design. A panel of expert nurse educators from 11 countries within and outside of the EU (Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, and the USA). A questionnaire containing both quantitative and qualitative questions was developed and agreed by the panel using a Nominal Group Technique (NGT); four cycles of data collection and analysis were conducted involving key experts in nursing education in each country. In all countries, there are at least two types of clinical mentorship dedicated to undergraduate nursing students: the first is offered by higher education institutions, and the second is offered by health care providers. Variation was noted in terms of profile, responsibilities and professional requirements to act as a CM; however, the CM role is mainly carried out by registered nurses, and in most countries there are no special requirements in terms of education and experience. Those who act as CMs at the bedside continue to manage their usual caseload, thus the role adds to their work burden. Whilst it is imperative to have respect for the different national traditions in undergraduate nurse education, the globalisation of the nursing workforce and greater opportunities for student mobility during the course of their undergraduate education suggests that in areas such as clinical mentorship, jurisdictions, particularly within the EU, should work towards greater system harmonisation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimating future burned areas under changing climate in the EU-Mediterranean countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Amatulli, Giuseppe; Camia, Andrea; San-Miguel-Ayanz, Jesús

2013-04-15

The impacts of climate change on forest fires have received increased attention in recent years at both continental and local scales. It is widely recognized that weather plays a key role in extreme fire situations. It is therefore of great interest to analyze projected changes in fire danger under climate change scenarios and to assess the consequent impacts of forest fires. In this study we estimated burned areas in the European Mediterranean (EU-Med) countries under past and future climate conditions. Historical (1985-2004) monthly burned areas in EU-Med countries were modeled by using the Canadian Fire Weather Index (CFWI). Monthly averages of the CFWI sub-indices were used as explanatory variables to estimate the monthly burned areas in each of the five most affected countries in Europe using three different modeling approaches (Multiple Linear Regression - MLR, Random Forest - RF, Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines - MARS). MARS outperformed the other methods. Regression equations and significant coefficients of determination were obtained, although there were noticeable differences from country to country. Climatic conditions at the end of the 21st Century were simulated using results from the runs of the regional climate model HIRHAM in the European project PRUDENCE, considering two IPCC SRES scenarios (A2-B2). The MARS models were applied to both scenarios resulting in projected burned areas in each country and in the EU-Med region. Results showed that significant increases, 66% and 140% of the total burned area, can be expected in the EU-Med region under the A2 and B2 scenarios, respectively. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Innovation in Hungary - The Impact of EU Accession and Integration into Global Value Chains

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Szalavetz Andrea

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This paper argues that EU accession has brought about minimal changes in the patterns of innovation in Hungary. The reason why is not that the ‘EU factor’ is of minor importance; rather, it is Hungary's inability to use EU resources effectively, so as to fully benefit from EU membership. The Hungarian story also demonstrates that the EU cannot block member states from reversing reform or abusing the opportunities EU membership offers to them. We contend that globalization (global value chain integration has more effectively contributed to Hungary's knowledge-based upgrading than Europeanization (in the sense of policy transfer; access to EU Structural & Cohesion Funds, and integration in the European Research Area. This argument is substantiated with a case study on innovation strategy design and implementation, which illustrates the ambiguous impact of Europeanization, which is contrasted with our investigation of integration in global value chains, conducted through interviews of foreign-owned manufacturing companies about their R&D-based upgrading experience.

Preferential Market Access, Foreign Aid and Economic Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Afesorgbor, Sylvanus Kwaku; Abreha, Kaleb Girma

contributed to the economic development of the beneficiary countries. Focusing on the ACP countries over the period 1970-2009, we show that only the EU preferential scheme is effective in promoting exports and that market access plays a significant and economically large role in the development of beneficiary......Several studies highlight that exporters in developing countries face substantial trade costs. To reduce these costs, a few developed countries mainly Canada, the EU, Japan and the USA granted preferential market access to these exporters. We assess whether these preferential accesses have...

Membership of Eastern European countries of the European Union -environmental perspectives. Main report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-06-01

Ten central and eastern European countries have made association agreements with the EU and submitted applications for EU membership. The countries are: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania and Bulgaria. Accession to the EU by the central and eastern European countries requires that the countries accept the acquis communautaire (the rules of the EU) as well as the acquis politique (the political aims of the EU), including environmental issues. Accession to the EU is expected to result in substantial environmental improvements both in the central and eastern European countries and in the countries which are exposed to pollution originating from these countries. The extent of the environmental improvements when the 10 countries implement and use the rules laid down by the EU is an important issue. Another important approximation related problem is how the countries will secure the human and financial resources to meet the EU requirements. The purpose of this publication is to provide a first analysis of the tasks ahead in the environmental field during the current approximation process, including the environmental consequences/gains and the costs of accession of the 10 associated countries to the EU. This analysis deals both with general and sectoral problems, focusing on sectors with special adaptation problems which thus need targeted assistance. The analysed sectors are: air pollution, ozone depleting substances, waste, water pollution, agriculture, chemical substances, biodiversity, energy - including nuclear energy. (LN) 119 refs

Are there any top FDI performers among EU-15 and CEE countries? A comparative panel data analysis

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Miroslav Mateev

2014-09-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the major determinants of foreign direct investment (FDI inflows in 26 European Union (EU countries using panel data. Our empirical study takes a different approach by separating European countries into two groups: Western (EU-15 countries and Central and Eastern European (CEE countries. The results from the panel data analysis of FDI inflows to 26 EU countries for the period 1994-2012 show that: (1 traditional location variables such as market size, trade openness, unemployment, infrastructure, tax rate and unit labour costs are able, to a large extent, to explain FDI flows to both groups of countries; (2 there are country-specific factors such as economic growth, unit labour costs and credit risk that contribute to the differences in FDI patterns across EU-15 and CEECs; and (3 policy and institutional quality factors are found to play an important role for both groups of countries. When analyzing host countries based on their relative level of performance, we find that the top ten FDI performers are able to attract a significant amount of FDI because of their macroeconomic stability and high level of institutional development, while for EU countries with low FDI dominance, policy and institutional risk factors play a more important role.

Foreign Direct Investments and Tax Correlation: Some of EU Countries and Turkey

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Ali YAVUZ

2010-06-01

Full Text Available In the globalizing world; individuals, markets and capital are more mobile than the past for that reason countries are in cutthroat competition for attract the direct and indirect investments. Especially, developing countries overview their own tax policy and perform incentive measures including tax incentives to attract the direct investments which have a positive effect of production and employment level. In this process, some countries achieve their goals and some are not. The purpose of this study evaluate the difference of tax policies in Turkey which in EU candidacy process and some old central, east Europe countries which are in EU and the main rival of Turkey to attracting direct investments. In this evaluation process, changing income tax, corporate tax, value added tax and performance of attracking the direct investments which was performed in selected countries, were evaluated by comparative

Evaluation of Trends in Foreign Trade Development in the Post-Communist Countries of Europe in the Years 2000–2012 Following their Accession to the EU

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Cieślik Ewa

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper seeks to analyse directions in foreign trade in the post-communist countries of Europe over the years 2000-2012 in the context of changes observed in other EU states. It was assumed that changes in the directions of foreign trade in post-communist states would be similar to those noted in Western Europe. On the basis of data derived from the OECD, EUROSTAT and OECD-WTO we show that the trading rules used by the old EU-15 adopted by those countries have brought them measurable benefits. As a result, the post-communist economies have become similar to those of the EU-15. Considering the structure of their trade and links with the EU-15, it is apparent that they have become the main trading and investment partners for the European Union. Hence, their integration with the EU structures made their development faster, but also made them more sensitive to industrial and demand shocks coming from the eurozone. It is predicted that the present model is not going to change, especially in the context of the participation in production networks.

Comparison of Operational Subsidies on Less Favoured Areas in EU Countries

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Jana Lososová

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This article is aimed at an analysis of operational subsidies on the Less Favoured Areas (LFA in the European Union countries. With the help of cluster analysis, the EU countries were divided into groups and, using correlation and regression analyses, the relations between defined indicators were evaluate. The indicators of FADN EU related to the cultivated land area were completed with relative indicators. Some differences were proved in subsidy effectiveness between particular groups of the countries. The amount of operational subsidies only has a positive impact on subsidised costs in the mountain LFAs. Worse productive and climate conditions increase the dependence of the output on subsidies related to cost effectiveness. No dependence of the output share of subsidies and the subsidised costs was proven in all groups.

The Strategic Character of the Cooperation Relationship Between the EU and the BRIC Countries

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Iulia Monica Oehler-Şincai

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Brazil, the Russian Federation, India and China (coined under the acronym BRIC at the end of 2001 are alongside the United States of America (USA, Canada, Japan, Mexico and South Africa the strategic partners of the European Union (EU. Although the relationships between the EU and each of the four largest emerging economies in the world have a common backbone – the bilateral trade and investment flows – each one bears its own particularities. In this article, our purpose is to explore the strategic partnerships between the EU and the BRIC countries with emphasis on the economic pillar of the EU-BRIC cooperation framework. In our investigation, we will start with the analysis of the “BRIC mechanism”, continue with a short presentation of the particularities of the individual relationships between the EU and each BRIC country, and conclude with emphasising the EU role in the process of modernization of these economies.

COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVES IN ECONOMIC CRISES GEOGRAPHY. ECONOMIC STRATEGIES IN EU COUNTRIES

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Roxana Maria Grecu

2011-06-01

Full Text Available The strategies for structural-systemic crisis management have generated, to a geographical level, a number of differences between EU countries. These cleavages are the result of differentialmacroeconomic policies. In this context, this article has the aim of achieving a comparative approach between countries of the south, west and east of the EU space. Also our approach is focused on observing the nature of macroeconomic policies and also on identifying a "pattern" associated with a common ideal -type of "rational choice" in the efficient and effective management of systemic crises. This article aims to identify areas of growth and economic stability of a particular model of public policy and political-economic ideology, to set up a mechanism for "economic engineering”. From the methodological point of view, this article uses a quantitativemethodology, derived from mathematical analysis, statistics and stochastic, in order to explain, understand and predict the possible evolution of the systemic crises in the EU countries. The interest lies in the possibility of giving a model of macroeconomic policy for the adjustment of inflationist imbalances, labor market and pricepolicy, and also in regulating the equation of production-consumption.

Some impacts of the EU accession on the new member states’ agriculture

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Judit KISS

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The main aim of the paper is to analyse the impact of the EU accession on the New Member States’ agriculture with special regard to production, employment, farmers’ income and intra-EU trade in agricultural goods on the basis of the latest statistical data of Eurostat. According to our findings, accession has provided incentives to agricultural production and to utilize natural endowments (mainly agricultural land; however, agricultural employment decrease could not be halted. Nevertheless, the economic situation of the farmers improved due to increasing incomes. Though the enlarged EU provided markets for the NMS agricultural products, the competition on their domestic markets increased significantly, resulting in massive import penetration. Consequently, most of the NMS agricultural trade balance deteriorated considerably. Concerning future prospects, it highly depends on the reformulation of the Common Agricultural Policy, the new budget of the EU and the domestic economic and agricultural situation of the NMS.

EU Banking Union: Lessons for non-eurozone transition countries

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Šoškić Dejan

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Eurozone has gone through turmoil of sovereign debt crisis just after the detrimental effect of global financial crises of 2007/2008. Sovereign debt crisis of the eurozone was caused by bank-sovereign interdependence and lack of fiscal union in the eurozone. Financial fragmentation in the eurozone financial markets was an immediate outcome. Banking union of the EU is a regulatory and institutional remedy for main financial problems of the eurozone post global financial crisis. It is clear signal that lessons have been learned from the two crises. Stricter regulation (single rule book aims to increase the quality of banks. Single Supervisory Mechanism (SRM, and Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM aim to unify and better the standards of supervision and resolution in the EU. With emphasis on bail-ins, and EU level backstops, bank-sovereign interdependence should be dismantled and chances of financial crisis reoccurrence with huge costs for taxpayers should be significantly lower. There are important elements of Banking Union that could be introduced in non-eurozone transition countries both members and nonmembers of the EU.

THIRD-COUNTRY MIGRATION TO THE EU: BETWEEN NORMATIVE EUROPEAN FRAMEWORKS AND NON-EUROPEAN IMMIGRANTS' PERSONAL EFFORTS

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Demir ABDULLAH

2018-05-01

Full Text Available European leaders' rhetoric on third-country migration ranges from a discourse extolling the benefits of a United Europe, to one upholding Europe’s repute as a bastion of fundamental human rights, to yet another one out of which the continent emerges as a repressive fortress. Third-country migration not only engages the EU's efforts, but also those exerted by non-EU immigrantstowardsintegrating and becoming more open to their European host culture. This paper will be focusing both on the EU's commitment to honing its third-country migration policies, as well as on the non-EU immigrants' potential and limitations when it comes to their assimilation/integration into EU countries, in particular, Romania. Methodologically this paper uses the content analysis of European leaders’ discourses and also the qualitative analysis of data collected from 40 interviews carried out with non-EU immigrants into Romania. Another methodological tool will consist in an analysis of official EU documents. What will be pursued is the way in which the EU official documents reflect the shared interest proved by European leaders concerning the immigration processes. It will touch upon how the integration processes reclaims on the one hand permanent exchanges between the host European society and non European immigrant and on the other hand sustained efforts from these two parts in order to meet their needs and recognise their limits, in terms of economic, professional and social resources.

Economic Partnership between the ACP countries and the EU

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Hoestenberghe, K.; Roelfsema, H.J.

2006-01-01

In this paper we explore the nature and effects of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and groups of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. We argue that the direct economic effects from reciprocal trade liberalization - both positive and negative – may be rather

THE THEORETICAL CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK WITH REFERENCE TO THE ROLE OF INSTITUTIONS IN THE PROCESS OF ACCESSION TO THE EU

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Eugenia FEURAS

2016-09-01

Full Text Available One of the primary competitive factors of a country is the state of institutions. EU membership requires substantial changes in the content and structure of the institutional framework of the acceding countries, which could generate progress or regress in their development if the existing institutions and the transferred ones are incompatible. In this article the author has undertaken the task to examine, theoretically and conceptually, the process of institutional change in terms of three concepts: Europeanization, institutional transfer and path dependence. There have been analysed the forms, tools, methods and costs of institutional transfer and possible institutional failures. This research has come to the conclusion that in the situation of the Republic of Moldova, the partial modification of institutions is mainly determined by the desire of the veto players to survive and not by the consistent abidance of the accession process to the EU.

The role of globalization in drug development and access to orphan drugs: orphan drug legislation in the US/EU and in Latin America.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Renée J G; Bighash, Lida; Bryón Nieto, Alejandro; Tannus Branco de Araújo, Gabriela; Gay-Molina, Juan Gabriel; Augustovski, Federico

2015-01-01

Compared to a decade ago, nearly three times as many drugs for rare diseases are slated for development. This article addresses the market access issues associated with orphan drug status in Europe and the United States in contrast to the legislation in five Latin American (LA) countries that have made strides in this regard--Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Argentina. Based on the success of orphan drug legislation in the EU and US, LA countries should strive to adopt similar strategies with regard to rare diseases and drug development. With the implementation of new targeted regulations, reimbursement strategies, and drug approvals, accessibility to treatment will be improved for people afflicted with rare diseases in these developing countries.

Information-communication technology impact on labor productivity growth of EU developing countries

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Ljiljana Lovrić

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to investigate the ICT impact on labor productivity growth of EU developing countries. Empirical studies of the role of ICT as one of the main determinants of productivity growth, for developing countries have produced disagreement. To help clear up the subject, this paper employs a Generalized Method of Moments (GMM through a dynamic panel data approach on the sample of 25 European developed and developing countries over the period of 2001-2010. The results indicate a positive and significant impact of ICT on labor productivity growth in developed and developing countries, but the terms of impact in developing countries rely on human capital, a contribution of a higher educational level, advanced research qualifications and development activity. Comparing to developed countries, the growth accounting approach indicate that developing countries have similar relative ICT contribution to labor productivity growth, but their average growth rate of labor productivity is 6.8 times higher. The main conclusion is that education, especially of higher levels, is the critical factor of productivity and growth of EU developing countries and that must be taken as development policy implication in these countries.

Regulatory aspects of nanotechnology in the agri/feed/food sector in EU and non-EU countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Amenta, Valeria; Aschberger, Karin; Arena, Maria; Bouwmeester, Hans; Botelho Moniz, Filipa; Brandhoff, Puck; Gottardo, Stefania; Marvin, Hans J P; Mech, Agnieszka; Quiros Pesudo, Laia; Rauscher, Hubert; Schoonjans, Reinhilde; Vettori, Maria Vittoria; Weigel, Stefan; Peters, Ruud J

2015-10-01

Nanotechnology has the potential to innovate the agricultural, feed and food sectors (hereinafter referred to as agri/feed/food). Applications that are marketed already include nano-encapsulated agrochemicals or nutrients, antimicrobial nanoparticles and active and intelligent food packaging. Many nano-enabled products are currently under research and development, and may enter the market in the near future. As for any other regulated product, applicants applying for market approval have to demonstrate the safe use of such new products without posing undue safety risks to the consumer and the environment. Several countries all over the world have been active in examining the appropriateness of their regulatory frameworks for dealing with nanotechnologies. As a consequence of this, different approaches have been taken in regulating nano-based products in agri/feed/food. The EU, along with Switzerland, were identified to be the only world region where nano-specific provisions have been incorporated in existing legislation, while in other regions nanomaterials are regulated more implicitly by mainly building on guidance for industry. This paper presents an overview and discusses the state of the art of different regulatory measures for nanomaterials in agri/feed/food, including legislation and guidance for safety assessment in EU and non-EU countries. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The New Environment of EU Enlargement: The Impact of Economic Crisis on the Western Balkans and their EU Accession Prospects

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Ritsa Panagiotou

2014-05-01

Full Text Available This paper will explore the impact of the economic crisis on the Western Balkan countries, and how the new, unfavorable international environment is affecting their EU accession prospects. The analysis will be presented in three sections: the first part will examine the effect of the “first wave” of the global economic crisis on the economies of the region, specifically the impact on the region’s macroeconomic indicators, foreign direct investment flows, financial sectors, etc. Part two will analyse the repercussions of the “second wave” of the crisis, namely the Greek sovereign debt crisis, which rapidly spilled over into the entire Eurozone. Part three will build on the issues examined in parts one and two and will discuss the repercussions of both waves of the crisis on the region’s enlargement process and prospects. The paper will also propose that although the EU’s role in Southeast Europe remains crucial (not least as a provider of economic assistance its hitherto undisputable symbolic role as an “anchor” of stability and as a goal to be aspired to may be losing its appeal for some of these countries. This paper will explore the impact of the economic crisis on the Western Balkan countries, and how the new, unfavorable international environment is affecting their EU accession prospects. The analysis will be presented in three sections: the first part will examine the effect of the “first wave” of the global economic crisis on the economies of the region, specifically the impact on the region’s macroeconomic indicators, foreign direct investment flows, financial sectors, etc. Part two will analyse the repercussions of the “second wave” of the crisis, namely the Greek sovereign debt crisis, which rapidly spilled over into the entire Eurozone. Part three will build on the issues examined in parts one and two and will discuss the repercussions of both waves of the crisis on the region’s enlargement process and

An Analysis of Conditional Dependencies of Covariance Matrices for Economic Processes in Selected EU Countries

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Janiga-Ćmiel Anna

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The paper looks at the issues related to the research on and assessment of the contagion effect. Based on several examinations of two selected EU countries, Poland paired with one of the EU member states; it presents the interaction between their economic development. A DCC-GARCH model constructed for the purpose of the study was used to generate a covariance matrix Ht, which enabled the calculation of correlation matrices Rt. The resulting variance vectors were used to present a linear correlation model on which a further analysis of the contagion effect was based. The aim of the study was to test a contagion effect among selected EU countries in the years 2000–2014. The transmission channel under study was the GDP of a selected country. The empirical studies confirmed the existence of the contagion effect between the economic development of the Polish and selected EU economies.

Welfare migration? Free movement of EU citizens and access to social benefits

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Michael Blauberger

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This article analyzes the political impact of the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ case law concerning the free movement of EU citizens and their cross-border access to social benefits. Public debates about ‘welfare migration’ or ‘social tourism’ often fluctuate between populist hysteria and outright denial, but they obscure the real political and legal issues at stake: that ECJ jurisprudence incrementally broadens EU citizens’ opportunities to claim social benefits abroad while narrowing member states’ scope to regulate and restrict access to national welfare systems. We argue that legal uncertainty challenges national administrations in terms of workload and rule-of-law standards, while domestic legislative reforms increasingly shift the burden of legal uncertainty to EU migrants by raising evidentiary requirements and threatening economically inactive EU citizens with expulsion. We illustrate this argument first with a brief overview of the EU’s legal framework, highlighting the ambiguity of core concepts from the Court’s case law, and then with empirical evidence from the UK, Germany and Austria, analyzing similar domestic responses to the ECJ’s jurisprudence. We conclude that EU citizenship law, while promising to build the union from below on the basis of equal legal entitlements, may, in fact, risk rousing further nationalism and decrease solidarity across the union.

COMPETITIVENESS OF HUNGARIAN SHEEP SECTOR IN RELATION TO OTHER EU COUNTRIES

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HAJNALKA MADAI

2007-10-01

Full Text Available Hungarian farmers became as entrepreneurs into the EU, where they foundthemselves in a competition, which has special conditions. Farmers foundthemselves within new land-, ownership-, and tax conditions, which requiredconscious entrepreneurial behavior and thinking. In this special situation sheepindustry and (at farm level sheep farmers also have to survive, develop, and face tonew possibilities, produce competitive products for the present and future markets.On the course of the examination the competitiveness parameters of Hungariansheep sector we analyzed the domestic and international statistics. The level ofmeasurement required an overall consideration of sheep production in EU-25countries and also the of the Easter-European countries. Period of time covered along term (from the year 1990 to base complex and reliable findings andconclusions.

Technical efficiency of economic systems of EU-15 countries based on energy consumption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bampatsou, Christina; Papadopoulos, Savas; Zervas, Efthimios

2013-01-01

In the present study, Data Envelopment Analysis is used to determine the Technical Efficiency index of EU-15 countries from 1980 to 2008, using cross-country comparison. Technical Efficiency index represents the capacity of an economy to produce a higher level of Gross Domestic Product for a given level of total energy input. The level of the Technical Efficiency index is determined from the energy mix (fossil fuels, non-fossil fuels, nuclear energy) of each country and depends on the maximization level of the production of the Gross Domestic Product of the economic system, without waste of energy resources. The current study is applied in the case of the EU15 countries. Its scope is to highlight the differentiations of country classifications before and after the integration of nuclear energy in the energy mix of each country. The main result is that the integration of nuclear energy as an additional input in the energy mixture affects negatively the Technical Efficiency of countries. Also, when an economy achieves a decrease of the energy consumption produced from fossil fuels, and a better exploitation of renewable energy sources, clearly improves its capacity to produce more output with the given levels of inputs. - Highlights: ► Technical efficiency index of EU-15 countries is determined through the DEA method. ► Level of the TE index is determined from the energy mix used in each country. ► TE level depends on the maximization level of GDP without waste of energy resources. ► Capacity of an economy to produce more GDP for a given energy input is determined. ► TE differentiation before and after the integration of nuclear energy is performed

The geopolitics of future tourism development in an expanding EU

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Peter Antony Singleton

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assert the link between the process of EU accession, the consolidation of democratic processes and the improvement of economic and tourism infrastructure to incoming tourism flows. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology of this paper involves explanation of an analysis exploring links between governmental systems and the order necessary for economic development and tourism. The argument is supported by the recent history of tourism development in three countries, two within the EU and one outside. Findings – Accession to the EU (especially in the case of Eastern European countries constitutes a way to emulate the democratic freedoms and greater economic prosperity of existing EU member states. Tourism is one of the areas of economy that benefits from the stability and growth EU membership can bring. Accession to the EU has had beneficial effects for acceding in terms of political stability and tourism growth. Originality/value – The opportunities that EU membership can bring to tourism development for example (also strategies to exploit these opportunities depend to a large degree on the international relations between the EU and its rivals. The extent to which tourism demands ebb and flow is governed by a range of factors, but the issues of conflict and security are game breakers. Understanding the factors and trends involved in the peaceful resolution of conflict (democratic model or use of force to resolve conflict (military model is key in the analysis of future tourism opportunities.

EU FP7 project 'CAMbrella' to build European research network for complementary and alternative medicine

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weidenhammer, Wolfgang; Lewith, George; Falkenberg, Torkel

2011-01-01

BACKGROUND: The status of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) within the EU needs clarification. The definition and terminology of CAM is heterogeneous. The therapies, legal status, regulations and approaches used vary from country to country but there is widespread use by EU citizens. A...... review open access publications and a final conference, with emphasis on current and future EU policies, addressing different target audiences....

Ancorare, fluttuare o abbandonare la nave:i regimi valutari dei paesi candidati all’Unione Europea (Anchor, Float or Abandon Ship: Exchange Rate Regimes for the Accession Countries

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Willem H. Buiter

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The paper considers alternative exchange rate regimes for the East European accession candidates, both prior to EU accession and following EU accession but prior to EMU membership. We conclude that, from an economic point of view, EMU membership should be as early as possible. There is, however, a risk that prevailing interpretations of the inflation and exchange rate criteria for EMU membership could lead to unnecessary delays in EMU membership for the accession countries. The exchange rate criterion for EMU membership requires that the candidate "has respected the normal fluctuation margins provided for by the exchange rate mechanism of the European Monetary System without severe tensions for at least the last two years before the examination." Both this text and the precedents of Finland, Italy and Greece, support the view that the exchange rate criterion can be satisfied without two years of formal ERM II membership. Insistence on at least two years of formal ERM II membership for the accession countries would result in an unnecessary, costly and potentially risky stay in EMU purgatory.           JEL Codes: F33, P33, F15Keywords: EMU, EU, Exchange Rates

Classification of EU Countries in the Context of Corporate Income Tax

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Alena Andrejovská

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Taxes are an integral part of human society, regardless of the economic, cultural and political disparities between the countries. Income taxes of legal entities represent significant part of the budget, what is the reason for their timeliness and public discussion. The aim of the paper is a classification of the EU countries into economic groups and an assessment of the grouping these EU member states based on common characteristics in the area of corporate income taxes. Common features are determined by the structure of selected macroeconomic indicators: public debt, government budget balance, the overall tax burden, economic performance, nominal and effective tax rate. The analysis compares a range of methodological approaches of hierarchical (Ward linkage and median linkage, and non‑hierarchical clustering (k-means clustering and fuzzy cluster analysis. The results of cluster analysis grouped the monitored countries into five clusters based on common characteristics as the corporate income tax rate, economics performance and the level of public debt. The result of the analysis shows that despite of ongoing there are still differences present, which are present in the ratios of countries’ development as well as in the economic policies of the particular countries.

An Internationally Competitive Economy: a Comparison of Poland and the Visegrad Group Countries in the Post‑Accession Period

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Molendowski Edward

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This article presents the results of an analysis comparing the competitive position of Poland and other countries of the Visegrad Group (V4 in the post‑accession period (2004-2015. The assumption is that among the V4 countries, Poland has joined those countries where the diverse effects of EU membership are clearly visible. In the study, analysis was applied to secondary data pertaining to pillars of economic competitiveness, as determined by the ‘Global Competitiveness Reports’ prepared by the World Economic Forum. The article ends with a list of vital conclusions based on the presented analysis.

The Basic Challenge in EU Countries Promotion Strategy in Exporting Commercial Services

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Octavian-Liviu Olaru

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The global financial and economic crisis which started in 2007 had a considerable impact onthe international exchange of goods and services and on the intensity of global financial flows andbusiness activity. Starting with 2010, the EU-27 economy returned to its previous trend of progressivelymore integration with the international economy in terms of its level of credits and debits relative togross domestic product (GDP, having experienced a reversal in 2009. The average value of EU-27 tradeflows of goods corresponded to 11.6 % of GDP in 2010, up from 9.8 % the previous year. The level oftrade integration of services rose to 4.0 % of GDP in 2010, up from 3.9 % in 2008 and 3.8 % in 2009.The basic challenge in EU countries promotion strategy in exporting a commercial service is to convincea foreigner to try a service that does not exist yet. The foreigners have to believe that the service will beof good quality and will meet their needs. Usually the foreigner forms that belief based onrecommendations, referrals, or somehow seeing the service provider in action. There are also severalroles that trade promotion activities can play in building that belief or credibility. A national TPO needsto find or reinforce some special quality that its country has so that when potential customers hear abouta service supplier from this country, their first response is, “Oh yes, I’ve heard good things aboutservices from your country.”

The economic recovery in the Central and Eastern European EU countries

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Elena GURGU

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Following the recession in 2008-09, the economies of the eight EU countries in central and Eastern Europe outside the euro area (CEE are recovering gradually, albeit with significant differences across countries. The expansion in economic activity is currently being driven primarily by exports as domestic demand remains subdued. Those countries that accumulated relatively more substantial internal and external imbalances before the financial crisis suffered more severe contractions in output during the crisis, and most of them face a more sluggish economic recovery.

EFFECTS OF THE ECONOMIC FREEDOMS ON THE ECONOMIC GROWTH: EVIDENCE FROM THE EU AND COMCEC COUNTRIES (1996-2015

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HALİL İBRAHİM AYDIN

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In this research, the effects of the economic freedoms on the economic growth for EU and COMCEC countries at different development/income level are econometrically analyzed via panel data analysis for the period of 1996- 2014 by being considered the improvement of economic growth theories for the key determinants of economic growth. From this aspect, it is aimed at this research that to evaluate the effects of the economic freedoms on the long termed economic growth performances and income level differences of EU and COMCEC countries which have different statuses in terms of economic freedoms and income level indicators. It is determined at the end of the study that the economic freedoms have a positive and statistically significant effect on the economic growth of EU countries in investigation period, on the other hand, these freedoms have not any effect on the economic growth of COMCEC countries. Moreover, the existence of a one-way causality relation operates from economic freedoms to the economic growth in EU countries is specified while there is any causality link found between these freedoms and the economic growth for the countries in COMCEC group. All these results indicate that also the economic freedoms besides the physical human capital accumulation, in other words, whether the EU and COMCEC countries have a market economy adopts outward-oriented liberal fiscal policies plays a major role in differentiating the income levels or the economic growth performances.

Evidence of direct and indirect rebound effect in households in EU-27 countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freire-González, Jaume

2017-01-01

This research estimates the direct and indirect rebound effect of energy efficiency in households for the EU-27 countries (the first twenty-seven Member States of the European Union). A hybrid methodology that combines econometric estimates, environmental extended input-output analysis and re-spending models has been developed. Although most of the economies present values below 100%, there are seven countries situated above this critical threshold. By weighting individual estimates by GDP, an average value for the overall EU-27 economy has been found between 73.62% and 81.16%. These results suggest that the energy policy at the European level should be rethought if efficiency measures pursue reducing energy consumption and tackling climate change. - Highlights: • Empirical evidence of direct and indirect rebound effect is provided for EU-27. • Most economies have a rebound effect below the threshold of 100% (20 of them). • Additional energy efficiency measures are needed even with low direct rebounds.

EU Enlargement: Migration flows from Central and Eastern Europe into the Nordic countries - exploiting a natural experiment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Peder J.; Pytlikova, Mariola

In this paper we look at migration flows from 10 Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) to 5 Nordic countries over the years 1985 - 2007. We exploit a natural experiment that arose from the fact that while Sweden opened its labour market from the day one of the 2004 EU enlargement......, and Finland and Iceland from year 2006, the other Nordic countries chose a transition period in relation to the "new" EU members. The results based on a differences-in-differences estimator show that the estimated effect of the opening of the Swedish, Finnish and Icelandic labour markets on migration from...... the CEECs that entered the EU in 2004 is not significantly different from zero. However, the effect of the opening of the Swedish and Finnish labour markets in 2007 on migration from the 2007 EU entrants, Bulgaria and Romania, is significantly positive. Further, we are interested in the overall effect...

EU FP7 project 'CAMbrella' to build European research network for complementary and alternative medicine

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Weidenhammer, Wolfgang; Lewith, George; Falkenberg, Torkel

2011-01-01

BACKGROUND: The status of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) within the EU needs clarification. The definition and terminology of CAM is heterogeneous. The therapies, legal status, regulations and approaches used vary from country to country but there is widespread use by EU citizens...... governing CAM provision, and to explore the needs and attitudes of EU citizens with respect to CAM. Based on this information a roadmap will be created that will enable sustainable and prioritised future European research in CAM. CAMbrella encompasses 16 academic research groups from 12 European countries...... review open access publications and a final conference, with emphasis on current and future EU policies, addressing different target audiences....

Ancorare, fluttuare o abbandonare la nave:i regimi valutari dei paesi candidati all’Unione Europea (Anchor, Float or Abandon Ship: Exchange Rate Regimes for the Accession Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Willem H. Buiter

2002-06-01

Full Text Available The paper considers alternative exchange rate regimes for the East European accession candidates, both prior to EU accession and following EU accession but prior to EMU membership. We conclude that, from an economic point of view, EMU membership should be as early as possible. There is, however, a risk that prevailing interpretations of the inflation and exchange rate criteria for EMU membership could lead to unnecessary delays in EMU membership for the accession countries. The exchange rate criterion for EMU membership requires that the candidate "has respected the normal fluctuation margins provided for by the exchange rate mechanism of the European Monetary System without severe tensions for at least the last two years before the examination." Both this text and the precedents of Finland, Italy and Greece, support the view that the exchange rate criterion can be satisfied without two years of formal ERM II membership. Insistence on at least two years of formal ERM II membership for the accession countries would result in an unnecessary, costly and potentially risky stay in EMU purgatory.

Changes in the age pattern of childbearing in Serbia and EU countries - comparative analysis

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Magdalenić Ivana

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Most European countries nowadays are characterized by a fertility level, which by earlier theoretical considerations was not even assumed as the lower limit for childbearing. The focus of this paper are the changes in reproductive behavior of women during the second half of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century as well as the changes in the age model of childbearing which resulted from that. The comparative analysis between Serbia and 28 EU member countries covers the period 1960-2012. The distribution of live births according to mother's age was analyzed, as well as the phenomena of postponing births and increasing the average age of mothers at childbirth, changes in the structure of female population according to the number of live births, and the decrease of higher birth orders. Demographic potentials of fertility through age structures of the fertile cohort were also pointed out. The similarities and differences in the fertility patterns in the Republic of Serbia and the EU countries were considered in order to determine the specificities of the reproductive model of women in Serbia and the widespread phenomena of postponing births. The fertility transition in Serbia in the second half of the 20th century had the same trend as in the EU countries evolving in the direction of constant lowering of the childbirth levels. Nevertheless, in relation to the sixties of the 20th century, Serbia shifted towards the lower part of the scale at which the EU countries are ranked according to total fertility rate. Almost all EU member countries (except for Luxembourg, Malta, Cyprus and Portugal marked an increase in fertility in the 2000-2011 period, while the fertility level in Serbia, with some oscillations, continued to decrease. The turnabout in total fertility rate registered in most European countries is attributed to the effect of postponed childbirths, while it is assumed that its impact will be marked in Serbia during the next decade. Changes

EU ENLARGEMENT AT A CROSSROADS

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Andreea Cătălina Paul

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The present article aims to explore the general theme of the EU enlargement strategy in the new 2012 European context. Until now, the EU’s enlargement strategy has yielded impressive results. It succeeded in transforming ten central and eastern European countries from post-communism confusion into open-market, mature and effective systems of democratic governments, and even on the economic front, they have also made astonishing progress. It is no doubt that people in the new EU countries live better then before. In this context, the EU must continue the enlargement process to help stabilize the Balkan region that lie beyond its expanded eastern border. No one can deny that major issues concerning western Balkan countries’ accession are still on the table, and they even exert a geopolitical influence of sorts. This makes it all the more important to see stability and regional co-operation there are strategically vital. An all-out effort must now be made to complete the enlargement process and ensure there is no strategic vacuum. This article provides the framework of analyses for the EU problems and the challenges for the Balkans governments as for Brussels.

Agriculture of central and eastern European countries in the European Union

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Redžepagić Srđan

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Agriculture posed considerable tensions for the processes of enlargement of the European Union, because of its continuing importance both in the economies of the applicant countries of Central and Eastern European countries which have joined EU on the 1st may 2004., and in the EU budget and acquits communautaire. The preparation of agriculture in the candidate countries to join the EU was rendered more complex by the fact that the Community's Common Agricultural Policy was a moving target. The aim of this paper is to show the bases elements of the Common Agricultural Policy, but also to provide a survey of recent developments relating to agriculture in the EU and new member states of the EU before their accession to EU and their preparation to access on the enlarged market, in order to indicate the main challenges and difficulties posed by enlargement. It seems likely that agricultural policy in the enlarged EU will attach increased priority to objectives such as rural development and the environment. However, these new priorities may be expensive to realize, and may impose a growing burden on the national budgets of EU member states.

EU Enlargement: Migration flows from Central and Eastern Europe into the Nordic countries - exploiting a natural experiment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pytlikova, Mariola; Pedersen, Peder J.

We look at migration flows from 8 Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) to 5 Nordic countries over the years 1985 - 2005 and we can exploit a natural experiment that arose from the fact that while Sweden opened its labour market from the day one of the 2004 EU enlargement, the other Nordic...... countries chose a transition period in relation to the "new" EU members. We employ a differences-in-differences estimator in our analysis. The results show that the estimated effect of the opening of Swedish labour market in 2004 on migration is insignificantly different from zero. Further, we...... are interested in the overall effect of the "EU entry" on migration. Therefore we look at migration flows from CEECs during the first round EU enlargement towards CEECs in 2004 and compare them with migration flows from Bulgaria and Romania. We again used a DD estimator in our analysis. The estimated effect...

Trends in Trade and Investment Flows between the EU and the BRIC Countries

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Iulia Monica OEHLER-ŞINCAI

2011-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we intend to present an in-depth comparative analysis of the trade and investment flows between the EU member states and the four strongest emerging countries: Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC, during 2004-2009(1 and beyond. In the EU-BRIC equation, we include for comparison countries like the USA and Japan, and their respective relations with BRIC.The purpose of the paper is to contribute to the discussion of the integrated issues related to trade and investments, since the EU-BRIC relations represent one of the most important „pieces” in this „global puzzle”.First, relying on the statistics published by Eurostat, the WTO, the UNCTAD and the national authorities, our study highlights the main trends of the trade and investment flows between the EU and BRIC, in comparison with those of the USA and BRIC or Japan and BRIC.Second, we emphasize the principal factors that contributed to these developments and their economical consequences. For example, the global economical situation, the political decisions, the resource scarcity or the (still existing fiscal paradises play a major role in the celerity and magnitude of the trade and investment flows.Third, on the basis of the actual data and information, our analysis outlines the perspectives of the EU-BRIC trade and investment relations in the long run.Following this rationale, the paper is structured around three main sections, followed by a summary of the conclusions of the author.

Development of the rate of employment and unemployment of males and females in countries of EU15

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Milan Palát

2005-01-01

Full Text Available The paper is focused on the evaluation the rates of employment and unemployment of women, men and as a whole in countries of EU15. Rates of employment were evaluated in the period 1993–2002. Rates of unemployment were evaluated in the period 1994–2003. Employment of males in fifteen countries of EU is higher then employment of females. Unemployment of females in fifteen countries of EU is higher than unemployment of males and in opposite unemployment of females in Sweden is lower than unemployment of males. Trends of rates of male, female and total employment and unemployment are evaluated. Methods of regression and correlation analysis, development trends and cluster analysis were applied for the mathematical-statistical analysis.

Trade Union Practices in the EU and Latvia: Experience for Eastern Partnership Countries

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Stacenko Sergejs

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The article will show major dimensions in the experience of EU Member States that could be shared with the Eastern Partnership (EaP countries. The framework of the study is the EU concept of trade unions in social dialogue and social partnership in the public sector. This study outlines the concept of social dialogue as a core element of industrial relations and will focus on industrial relations specifically in the public sector.

FY 2000 report on the survey on global warming prevention measures in main E.U. countries; 2000 nendo EU shuyokoku ni okeru ondanka boshi taisaku no gaiyo ni tsuite hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-03-01

This report dealt with the background of energy policies in E.U. countries and energy plans. At COP3, E.U. countries internationally gave a pledge that they will reduce the emission of greenhouse effect gas 8% from that as of 1990 during 2008-2012, which is stricter than those given by Japan and the U.S. Actually, the European Commission made public 'Toward the European Climate Change Programme' and 'Green Paper on Emissions Trading in the E.U.' These are correspondent to E.U.' global warming preventive strategy which is called the twin track approach by the European Commission. The former is a frame for coordinating individual reduction measures taken under the responsibility of member countries as the whole E.U. As to the latter, for the specified sectors from energy supply sectors to large energy consumption industries, it was planned to be started in 2005. And, the basic policy on the trade and concrete subjects/problems on the trading system were arranged. (NEDO)

European Union's public fishing access agreements in developing countries

OpenAIRE

Le Manach, F.; Chaboud, Christian; Copeland, D.; Cury, Philippe; Gascuel, D.; Kleisner, K.M.; Standing, A.; Sumaila, U.R.; Zeller, D.; Pauly, D.

2013-01-01

The imperative to increase seafood supply while dealing with its overfished local stocks has pushed the European Union (EU) and its Member States to fish in the Exclusive Economic Zones of other countries through various types of fishing agreements for decades. Although European public fishing agreements are commented on regularly and considered to be transparent, this is the first global and historical study on the fee regime that governs them. We find that the EU has subsidized these agreem...

Evaluating Tobacco Control Policies in 28 Countries (including 9 EU countries: The ITC Project

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Geoffrey Fong

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Since its start in 2002, the ITC Project has been conducting evaluation studies of tobacco control policies via prospective cohort surveys of tobacco users in 28 countries, including 9 EU countries. This presentation will focus on the design of the ITC Project and how it differs from and complements existing evidence-gathering systems (monitoring and surveillance systems in measuring and understanding the impact of FCTC policies. The presentation will also describe the ITC Project's most recent initiatives: (1 the EUREST-PLUS study focusing on measuring the impact of the Tobacco Products Directive, and (2 a large-scale international cohort study of e-cigarettes starting in the United States, Canada, England, and Australia.

Interventions of state in favour of mining industry in EU countries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jaroslav Dvoracek; Vladimir Slivka [VSB-Technical University of Ostrava (Czech Republic)

2008-03-15

This contribution is based on a study dealing with the limitation or withdrawal of ownership rights to real estates in favour of the mining industry. All EU countries are included as of the year 2006. The interventions of the state concern ensuring entry to other people's lands to carry out exploration activities and restraining the proprietary rights of landowners in favour of mining, including expropriation. The countries where mining legislation does not cover state interventions are also presented.

The work environment in the twelve EU-countries: Differences and similarities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smulders, P.G.W.; Kompier, M.A.J.; Paoli, P.

1996-01-01

A survey on the work environment in Europe was carried out by the European Union in 1991. The sample of the study was 12,500 workers (about 1000 per country) and was representative for the workforce distribution in the EU according to occupation, gender, age, economic sectors, and company size. With

State of Diabetes Self-Management Education in the European Union Member States and Non-EU Countries: The Diabetes Literacy Project

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Henna Riemenschneider

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Diabetes self-management education (DSME is considered essential for improving the prevention and care of diabetes through empowering patients to increase agency in their own health and care processes. However, existing evidence regarding DSME in the EU Member States (EU MS is insufficient to develop an EU-wide strategy. Objectives. This study presents the state of DSME in the 28 EU MS and contrasts it with 3 non-EU countries with comparable Human Development Index score: Israel, Taiwan, and the USA (ITU. Because type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM disproportionately affects minority and low-income groups, we paid particular attention to health literacy aspects of DSME for vulnerable populations. Methods. Data from multiple stakeholders involved in diabetes care were collected from Feb 2014 to Jan 2015 using an online Diabetes Literacy Survey (DLS. Of the 379 respondents (249 from EU MS and 130 from ITU, most were people with diabetes (33% in the EU MS, 15% in ITU and care providers (47% and 72%. These data were supplemented by an expert survey (ES administered to 30 key informants. Results. Access to DSME varies greatly in the EU MS: an average of 29% (range 21% to 50% of respondents report DSME programs are tailored for people with limited literacy, educational attainment, and language skills versus 63% in ITU. More than half of adult T2DM patients and children/adolescents participate in DSME in EU MS; in ITU, participation of T1DM patients and older people is lower. Prioritization of DSME (6.1 ± 2.8 out of 10 and the level of satisfaction with the current state of DSME (5.0 ± 2.4 out of 10 in the EU MS were comparable with ITU. Conclusion. Variation in availability and organization of DSME in the EU MS presents a clear rationale for developing an EU-wide diabetes strategy to improve treatment and care for people with diabetes.

Environmental Kuznets curve for EU agriculture: empirical evidence from new entrant EU countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Zafeiriou, Eleni; Sofios, Spyros; Partalidou, Xanthi

2017-06-01

The present work examines the intertemporal causal relationship between environmental damage from carbon emissions released by agriculture per 1000 ha of utilized agriculture area and economic performance in the sector of agriculture as described by net value added per capita. The autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing approach is employed to examine this linkage, for three new entrant EU countries, namely, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, and Hungary. The environmental Kuznets hypothesis is confirmed in the long run for Bulgaria and Czech Republic while in the short run is validated only for the case of Czech Republic. The results indicate that the adoption of environment-friendly farming practices and crops' selection does not secure simultaneous high economic and environmental performance at least in the short run for our sample countries and also in the long run for Hungary necessitating the modification of the agro-environmental measures adopted to make those two targets complementary and not mutually exclusive for a farmer.

Output Loss Severity across EU Countries. Evidence for the 2008 Financial Crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iustina Alina Boitan

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Financial crises are complex phenomena, in terms of the triggering factors, duration and severity, impact on both financial system and macroeconomic fundamentals and the full range of costs arising from its occurrence. The paper aims at providing an updated picture on the magnitude the 2008 financial crisis had, in terms of economic costs incurred by EU member states. It has been briefly reviewed crises’ main monetary and economic effects and costs. Then it has been employed International Monetary Fund’s approach for measuring crisis severity, expressed as an output loss indicator. To check the stability of the results, the basic methodology relying on a 3-year GDP trend has been complemented with a 7-year GDP trend. The output losses recorded by each EU country, under both trend assumptions, showed that Baltic states and Greece had been the most affected as they cumulated the highest losses. The lowest output losses have been registered in Western Europe countries (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and Poland. Most EU economies’ growth still hasn’t entered on a robust ascending path, as they haven’t reached the level of GDP trend computed for the period preceding the onset of the financial crisis.

REFLECTIONS ON ROMANIA'S TRADE WITH EU DURING THE PERIOD 2007-2015

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PAUL BOGDAN ZAMFIR

2017-02-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the author intends to highlight the overall evolution of Romania's bilateral trade relations with EU in the period 2007-2015. On this background it is important to mention that the European Union (EU has been the main trade partner of Romania both the export and import throughout this period of post-accession. So, during the analyzed period, as can be observed from statistical data provided by INSSE it is obvious a general tendency of enhancing Romania's trade with EU. Furthermore, since 2007 EU has held a share of over 70% in total imports and exports of Romania. Also, relative to the evolution of Romania's trade balance in relation with EU, from statistical data presented in the paper, can be noticed that in the reference period it has known a general negative trend. There are also presented some positive progress of our country in issue of adjusting the trade balance deficit with EU. In these circumstances, can be proposed a range of macroeconomic measures formulated in direction of reducing the trade deficit, registered by our country in relation with EU. Another element of maximum visibility in this analyzed issues is represented by geographical orientation of Romanian exports and imports with EU countries. Starting from statistical data provided by INSSE through the prestigious official publication Romanian International Trade Yearbook, results clearly that in the whole of this reference period, Germany had the most significant share of over 20%, both export and import. Also during this period of post-accession, the attention of policy makers should focus on measures that will can lead to increase of Romania 's trade not only with Germany, Italy, France, Hungary etc. but also with other community partners whose share in Romania's total trade with EU was a insignificant along analysed period. Thus, in the current context and in perspective for Romania is imperative necessary the proliferation, intensification and

Harmonization of Legislation of a Candidate Country with EU Legislation: Insights from the Prism of the Citizens of Macedonia

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Abdula Azizi

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Since the majority of the Western Balkan countries remain although they have expressed a willingness to join the EU, it is considered necessary to examine the topic of harmonization of national legislation of these countries with the EU legislation. So while until now, to this problem is not devoted adequate attention in scientific circles, it is considered necessary to explain and analyze the theoretical aspect of the harmonization of the legislation of the candidate countries with EU legislation, while they also learned things fr survey was conducted with the citizens of Macedonia where they express their opinions on the harmonization of Macedonian legislation and government policies related to Euro hope that in the future this work will encourage research and other activities related to government policy on the harmonization of national legislation with EU legislation.

INSTITUTIONS IN TRANSITION: IS THE EU INTEGRATION PROCESS RELEVANT FOR INWARD FDI IN TRANSITION EUROPEAN ECONOMIES?

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Uros Delevic

2017-02-01

Full Text Available This research challenges the contemporary view of economic policy makers in transition European economies that the EU integration process will lead to a greater inflow of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI, thereby increasing living standards. With the Brexit referendum, the integration of the EU has been threatened by a distressing existential question: is EU membership valuable for transition countries if even developed countries (like the UK vote to leave or decided not to align like Switzerland and Norway in the past? Our analysis considers the success of several countries in Eastern Europe in attracting and benefiting from FDI on their way to EU membership. Analyzing a 13-year panel data of 16 transition countries, we found no statistically significant positive association between FDI inflow and EU accession. We argue, that it is also important to consider the welfare for domestic economies that can emerge from those investments. We illustrate this through the case study of a successful combination of institutional development and local content policies implementation accompanied by sufficient FDI inflows in a non-EU country - Kazakhstan.

EU Structural Funds in the Baltic Countries-Useful or Harmful. Euroopa Liidu struktuurifondid Balti riikides- kasulikud või kahjulikud?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Urmas Varblane

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The current article is focused on the role of financial assistance from the European Union in the budgets of the three Baltic countries. They all have seriously benefitted from the support of EU structural funds, which have reached close to five per cent of their GDP. Based on the case of higher education research funding, the article argues that the Baltic countries overlook the additionality principle of the European Union cohesion policy. Structural funds are replacing the Baltic countries’ own funding. During the current EU programming period between 2014 and 2020 the exit strategies should be prepared by the governments of Baltic countries in order to be able to finance research with significantly lower support from EU cohesion funds. The precondition is that instead of a short-run view, in the coalition treaties of the Baltic governments, a long-term strategy for how to move toward knowledge intensive economies is also needed. The first and most urgent need is to improve the quality of use of the EU support funds by all three countries in order to support longrun productivity growth and increase the competitiveness of the Baltic countries.

BUILDING ENVIRONMENTAL CAPACITIES IN KOSOVO AND ITS CHALLENGE TO COMPLY WITH EU ENVIRONMENTAL ACQUIS

OpenAIRE

Istrefi, Remzije; Kerolli-Mustafa, Mihone

2017-01-01

This paper analyses the development of environmental governance in Kosovo, environmental laws, regulations, processes, and their conformity with the EU environmental acquis. Kosovo, like other countries in the Balkans trying to join the EU, will, in the process of accession, have to ensure that its legislation conforms to the Copenhagen accession criteria. While Kosovo authorities have progressed in the process of legal harmonization, there has been little progress in executing the legal fram...

National and Regional Impacts of Increasing Non-Agricultural Market Access by Developing Countries – the Case of Pakistan

OpenAIRE

Butt, Muhammad Shoaib; Bandara, Jayatilleke S.

2008-01-01

The US, the EU, Brazil and India met in Germany in June 2007 with a view to bridging differences between developed and developing countries on the Doha Round of trade negotiations. However, the talks broke down because of disagreement on the intertwined issues of agricultural protection and Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA). This study uses the first regional computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of Pakistan to evaluate the national and regional impacts of increasing NAMA as per two ...

EU Cooperation in the Energy Sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goumas, T.

1998-01-01

The European Union with 15 Member States at the end of the century and with 6 more countries in the accession phase has set up certain instruments which enhance energy cooperation among them and with third countries. The major dimensions of EU energy policy presented in the White Paper are the external dimension - globalization of markets, the increasing environmental concern, the technology developments and the EU institutional responsibilities. To contribute to these, certain EU initiatives and supporting actions are undertaken through the energy and the broader co-operation programmes like THERMIE, SYNERGY, SAVE, ALTENER, PHARE, etc. The THERMIE programme supports the demonstration application and dissemination of innovative and successful energy technologies. SYNERGY is a programme for energy co-operation with third countries in energy policy and strategy implementation issues. SAVE and ALTENER concentrate on the promotion and enhancement of energy efficiency practices and use of renewable respectively. PHARE is a technical assistance programme addressed to Eastern European Countries which are in the phase of transition to market economy. There are also other initiatives like the Transeuropean Energy Network (TEN) and the activities managed by the financial institutions namely the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). All this context of programmes and initiatives is modified from period to period in order to serve the EU energy policies and the developments in the energy markets. The recent agreement which came up from the Kyoto conference has actually influenced the direction of actions towards more intensive amelioration of environmental pollution. (author)

State aid in the EU law and national law

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Divljak Drago

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Due to emphasized negative implications, state aid in contemporary law is more and more the subject of legal rules of supra-national and international law, and consequently it is more and more frequently the subject of national laws. The systems of state aid are based on the principle of general non-allowedness of state aid, which is relativised with wide exceptions and the form of allowed and conditionally allowed forms of state aid. In the EU law, a complex and differentiated system of legal regime on state aid is created aimed at preventing the Member States to protect or promote their companies at the expense or harm of competition within the EU. Compared to the regulations that refer to subsidies and that are created at the international level, within the WTO, these regulations are much more detailed and they cover a wide spectrum of different forms of state aid. National laws are accepting the EU concept as a novelty, which is valid in particular for countries in the process of the EU integrations. This has been done in our law as well by enacting of the Law on state aid control. This Law regulates general conditions for granting, granting control, and utilization of state assistance, with the essential objective to establish and provide for competitive market conditions and introduction of order in the field that has not been regulated previously. At the same time, this means a successful fulfillment of the obligations related to pre-accession harmonization of this field, which is a necessary pre-condition for accession of our country into this group of countries since the EU standards and requirements have been fully observed with the above-mentioned Law.

Constitutional provisions on judicial independence and EU standards

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Kolaković-Bojović Milica

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Implementation of the 'Checks and balances' principle as one of the milestones in modern democracies, demonstrates its full complexity when it comes to balancing guaranties of judicial independence and the need to prevent misinterpretation or abuse of the rights. Additional issue in that process is determination of the border line between constitutional and guaranties of judicial independence prescribed by law. Raising that issue opens various questions which go beyond the legal framework itself. It actually tackles the historical, political and cultural country background. Furthermore, if analyzed from the prospective of the requirements defined in the accession negotiation process with the EU, constitutional guaranties of (nonapplication of the EU standards might demotivate candidate countries in their efforts to achieve substantial reform results.

Participation of CASSIOPEE in the EU technical assistance programmes to Eastern countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beceiro, A.R.; Vico, E.; Deconinck, J.M.

2000-01-01

CASSIOPEE, established in 1993, is a European Economic Interest Group formed by ANDRA (France), COVRA (the Netherlands), DBE (Germany), ENRESA (Spain), NIREX (United Kingdom) and ONDRAF/NIRAS (Belgium). CASSIOPEE provides assistance to the Central and Eastern European countries and to the New Independent States through the EU Programmes in two different ways: developing radioactive waste management strategies and advising on the implementation of adequate engineering resources.The advisory role of CASSIOPEE in the EU assistance programmes and main projects defined and/or developed by CASSIOPEE are presented. The activities in the area of low and intermediate level waste related to safety assessment of existing repositories, site selection, waste acceptance criteria ect. are given

‘Access to Justice’ and the Development of the Van Gend En Loos Doctrine: The Role of Courts and of the Individual in EU Law

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Daminova Nasiya

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The ‘access to justice’ within the meaning of the Treaty of Lisbon and the pertinent CJEU jurisprudence is primarily seen as access to the EU judicial system, i.e. to the EU Member States’ national courts applying the EU Law or/and the CJEU. The concept of ‘access to justice’ is therefore developing such premises of the Van Gend en Loos judgment as direct effect, vigilance of the EU individual, and the symbiotic relationship between the CJEU and national courts via the preliminary reference procedure. This work aims to explore the development of two basic ideas of Van Gend en Loos, i.e. granting directly enforceable EU rights to individuals and authorizing national courts to protect those rights, in light of the ‘access to justice’ concept within the meaning of the Lisbon Treaty – considering their importance for the realization of EU individuals’ substantive rights and uncertainty surrounding this issue. The paper develops a critique of the theory of justice in EU Law, analyzing if and how the Van Gend en Loos premises influenced the role of individuals making an attempt to claim their EU rights and the role of the EU courts responsible for the enforcement of ‘access to justice’ in the European Union. The claim of this paper is that the new concept of ‘access to justice’ brought by the Lisbon Treaty may be seen as the further development of the Van Gend ‘federalizing effect’ for greater integration through law and an enhanced protection of the individual within the EU multilevel system of Human Rights protection.

Northern Steps of EU Enlargement: The Impact of “Cohesion” Policies on Iceland’s Accession Process

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Adriana Di Stefano

2011-03-01

Full Text Available This paper focuses on the EU accession process of Iceland, reading the latest northern steps of EU enlargement under a “cohesion” perspective, i.e., through the lens of the cohesion “theory”, namely the method resulting from interactions of the general principles of subsidiarity and cooperation or partnership. From the Mediterranean to the Arctic, the territorial dimension of cohesion policies, as grounded in different EU policies, plays different roles and meets a wide range of economic and social needs. By implementing Nordicum-Mediterraneum analogies, a cohesion-minded EU enlargement approach requires the overall reframing of territorial-based policies and a better allocation of shared responsibilities at the more efficient level of governance.

European Union's public fishing access agreements in developing countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Le Manach, Frédéric; Chaboud, Christian; Copeland, Duncan; Cury, Philippe; Gascuel, Didier; Kleisner, Kristin M; Standing, André; Sumaila, U Rashid; Zeller, Dirk; Pauly, Daniel

2013-01-01

The imperative to increase seafood supply while dealing with its overfished local stocks has pushed the European Union (EU) and its Member States to fish in the Exclusive Economic Zones of other countries through various types of fishing agreements for decades. Although European public fishing agreements are commented on regularly and considered to be transparent, this is the first global and historical study on the fee regime that governs them. We find that the EU has subsidized these agreements at an average of 75% of their cost (financial contribution agreed upon in the agreements), while private European business interests paid the equivalent of 1.5% of the value of the fish that was eventually landed. This raises questions of fisheries benefit-sharing and resource-use equity that the EU has the potential to address during the nearly completed reform of its Common Fisheries Policy.

European Union's public fishing access agreements in developing countries.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frédéric Le Manach

Full Text Available The imperative to increase seafood supply while dealing with its overfished local stocks has pushed the European Union (EU and its Member States to fish in the Exclusive Economic Zones of other countries through various types of fishing agreements for decades. Although European public fishing agreements are commented on regularly and considered to be transparent, this is the first global and historical study on the fee regime that governs them. We find that the EU has subsidized these agreements at an average of 75% of their cost (financial contribution agreed upon in the agreements, while private European business interests paid the equivalent of 1.5% of the value of the fish that was eventually landed. This raises questions of fisheries benefit-sharing and resource-use equity that the EU has the potential to address during the nearly completed reform of its Common Fisheries Policy.

Chosen Aspects of Modernization Processes in EU Countries and in Poland - Classical Point of View

OpenAIRE

Dworak Edyta; Malarska Anna

2010-01-01

The aim of this paper is an evaluation of changes in a sectoral structure of the employment in EU-countries in time. Against this background there are exposed changes in Polish economy in the period 1997-2008. There were used classical tools of the statistical analysis to illustrate and initially verification the theory of three sectors by A. Fisher, C. Clark i J. Fourastiè, orientated to the evaluation of the modernization process of EU-economies.

EU Enlargement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Peder J.; Pytlikova, Mariola

We look at migration flows from 8 Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) to 5 Nordic countries over the years 1985 - 2005 and we can exploit a natural experiment that arose from the fact that while Sweden opened its labour market from the day one of the 2004 EU enlargement, the other Nordic...... countries chose a transition period in relation to the "new" EU members. We employ a differences-in-differences estimator in our analysis. The results show that the estimated effect of the opening of Swedish labour market in 2004 on migration is insignificantly different from zero. Further, we...... are interested in the overall effect of the "EU entry" on migration. Therefore we look at migration flows from CEECs during the first round EU enlargement towards CEECs in 2004 and compare them with migration flows from Bulgaria and Romania. We again used a DD estimator in our analysis. The estimated effect...

The EU-Turkey Deal and the Safe Third Country Concept before the Greek Asylum Appeals Committees

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gkliati, M.

2017-01-01

This article discusses the first case law issued on the EU-Turkey deal from April to June 2016, which authoritatively answers the question whether Turkey constitutes a safe third country for refugees. In 390 out of 393 decisions, the Greek Asylum Appeals Committees ruled that Safe Third Country

Civil Justice: Lay Judges in the EU Countries

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Stefan Machura

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Lay judges fulfill important functions for the justice system of a country. In the European Union member states, scholars have analysed the use of lay judges in criminal cases. However, little is known about lay participation in civil justice. The paper introduces commonly cited reasons to have lay judges as well as the principal forms of lay participation and then surveys the EU countries for its implementation in civil cases. Mixed tribunals, involving lay judges under the leadership of a professional judge, are relatively frequent. Several countries have special labour courts or commercial courts with lay members and others have single lay judges, or all-lay judge panels. Roughly a third of the 28 EU member states have no lay participation in civil justice but only three of those have no lay judges in any branch of the courts. Almost all the reasons for including lay decision makers are served somehow by the existing forms, including providing different experiences and perhaps expert knowledge. The article concludes, citing non-EU states and lay participation in criminal and administrative courts as further evidence, that lay judges in one form or another are an element of European legal systems. Los jueces legos cumplen funciones importantes para el sistema de justicia de un país. En los Estados miembro de la Unión Europea, académicos han analizado el uso de jueces legos en casos criminales. Sin embargo, se sabe poco acerca de la participación de los legos en la justicia civil. El artículo presenta las razones que habitualmente se citan para tener jueces legos, así como las formas principales de la participación de legos, para a continuación medir su implementación en casos civiles en los países de la Unión Europea. Son relativamente frecuentes los tribunales mixtos, en los que participan jueces legos, bajo la dirección de un juez profesional. Varios países tienen tribunales laborales especiales o tribunales comerciales con

EU enlargement and the Common Agricultural Policy: The case of Slovenia

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S. KAVCIC

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The paper aims at assessing the economic effects of Slovenia ’s accession to the EU.For this purpose, a sector model of Slovenian agriculture APAS-PAM has been constructed.The methodological framework allows for assessment of market, income and competitiveness effects for ten key agricultural products with consideration of two accession scenarios (optimistic EUe and pessimistic EUpthat describe the whole range of possible accession effects.Slovenia ’s accession to the EU will not increase agricultural production significantly.Accession under the scenario of complete acceptance of the CAP mechanisms and quasi equal treatment by the EU (EUewill not bring significant changes to aggregate production and income levels with moderate changes on commodity basis. Discrimination of the candidate countries in the field of direct payments and non-competitive down-stream sector assumed by the EUp– subscenario will significantly deteriorate the income situation of domestic producers. This holds especially for cereal and beef production. For many commodities,the competitiveness of the food processing industry assuming different price levels for raw materials could have much greater impact on the economic situation of agricultural production than agricultural policy environment itself.;

Current Account Balance and Export Performances: Evidence Based on New EU Countries

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Bogdan Željko

2017-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we investigate whether the differences in the current account balance and export performances for a new EU countries are a result of exchange rate policies. The analysis shows that countries with a flexible exchange rate have better export performances and the current account balance in the pre-crisis period. The obtained results show that movements in the current account balance are mainly driven by domestic variables. In the countries with a flexible exchange rate, real and nominal depreciation affects export positively although the magnitude of these effects is tiny and limited to the crisis period. These results point to a higher significance of non-price competitiveness on export which should be a future research topic.

Economic Freedom and Entrepreneurial Activity: Evidence from EU 11 Countries

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Mandić Dragan

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we will present the results of our survey on economic freedom and entrepreneurial activity. We have conducted our analysis on EU 11countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom for the time period 2000- 2014. To measure the entrepreneurial activity we have used data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, and to measure economic freedom, we have used data from Fraiser Institute. Our results suggest strong positive and statistically significant, long term impact of economic freedom on entrepreneurial activity.

Open Access in Turkey and Comparison with Other Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bülent Karasözen

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The number of open access journals and institutional repositories, as a product of open access movement has grown rapidly in recent years. Open access research articles remove the barriers in accessing scientific research results and accelerate the communication among the scientist worldwide. In many countries the number of institutional archives and open access journal are increasing. In this article, the recent developments in open access journals, institutional repositories and open courseware in Turkey are summarized and compared with some countries. A sample mandatory institutional repository policy document is given with some suggestion for establishing open access in Turkey.

2002 electricity statistics: EU and EU+

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2003-01-01

Electricity generation in the European Union (EU) decreased by 0,7% in the period of 2001 to 2002, reaching 2521,3 billion kWh. Developments varied in different countries. Conventional thermal power plants generated 1340,1 billion kWh, which corresponds to a 53.0% share in the total generation and an increase by 2.7% over the level in the previous year. Generation in nuclear power plants increased by 2.7% to 855.5 billion kWh, which corresponds to a 33,8% share in EU-wide generation. Hydroelectric plants and other plants supplied 15.2% less electricity. Eurostat statistics do not differentiate these data any further. The volume of 332.2 kWh is tantamount to a 13.1% share. In the new EU member countries and the candidate countries, electricity generation showed a moderate increase by 0.4% and 2.1%, respectively. While generation both in conventional power plants and in other plants decreased, a considerable increase is shown for nuclear power generation of +13.5% and +10.6%, respectively [de

Renewable electricity consumption in the EU-27: Are cross-country differences diminishing?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maza, Adolfo; Hierro, Maria; Villaverde, Jose [University of Cantabria, Department of Economics, Avda. de los Castros s/n, 39005 Santander (Spain)

2010-09-15

The aim of this paper is to analyse cross-country differences for shares of renewable electricity in the EU-27 for the period 1996-2005. We carry out a standard convergence analysis and then examine the evolution of the entire distribution, namely the external shape, intra-distributional dynamics and ergodic distribution. Our main results are as follows. First, there has been a clear convergence pattern for renewable electricity shares across countries. Second, the shape of the distribution has varied significantly over time, with more countries positioned around the mean in 2005 than in 1996. Third, the analysis shows that intra-distributional mobility has been relatively high, especially in those countries with the highest share in the initial year of our sample. Fourth, in spite of this, large cross-country differences will likely persist for RES-E shares in the hypothetical long-term equilibrium, which implies that a major impulse to national RES-E support policies will be necessary in the coming years to shorten this gap. (author)

Multilevel LMDI decomposition of changes in aggregate energy consumption. A cross country analysis in the EU-27

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernández González, P.; Landajo, M.; Presno, M.J.

2014-01-01

This paper aims at analysing the factors behind the change in aggregate energy consumption in the EU-27, also identifying differences between member states. The logarithmic-mean Divisia index method (LMDI) is applied to multiplicatively decompose, at the country level, the variation in aggregate energy consumption in the EU-27 member states for the 2001–2008 period. We also analyse the sensitivity of the results when several aggregation levels are considered, with energy intensity used as the criterion to aggregate countries. This allows us to check robustness of results, also enabling an improved understanding of both inter and intra-unit effects. Results indicate that improvements in energy efficiency in the EU-27 were not enough to overcome the pressure of European economic activity on aggregate energy consumption. Mediterranean countries, and especially former communist states, increased their energy consumptions, most of them favoured by structural change. The analysis also reveals that the impact of intra-group movements on aggregate energy consumption is partially offset when moving from higher to lower aggregation levels. - Highlights: • Increase in EU-27 aggregate energy consumption is decomposed through LMDI at 3 levels. • We present the subgroup activity effect and we demonstrate its nulls consequences. • Structural and intensity group effects lose influence when moving to a higher level. • R and D, quality energies, efficient technologies, are main tools to lower energy consumption. • Structural effect: “Green” attitudes and changes in consumer choices, also necessary

Accessing international financing for climate change mitigation - A guidebook for developing countries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Limaye, D.R.; Zhu, X.

2012-08-15

This guidebook has been prepared by the UNEP Risoe Centre (URC) as part of its Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) project. The TNA project assists developing countries to identify national mitigation and adaptation technology priorities and to develop Technology Action Plans (TAPs) for mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change adaptation. This guidebook provides information to help TNA countries better identify and access financial resources for the mitigation activities included in their national TAPs. This guidebook covers both mitigation 'projects' (such as a wind farm or a solar PV generation facility) and 'programmes' (such as a credit line for financing energy efficiency projects in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), or bulk procurement and distribution of compact fluorescent lamps to households). The primary emphasis is on multilateral and bilateral sources of financing but the guidebook also includes an overview of private funding sources and public-private partnerships (PPPs). This guidebook only covers international financing for mitigation actions in developing countries. For example, EU funding for EU member countries and Chinese funding for mitigation in China are not covered in this guidebook. However, the EU funding for mitigation in developing countries and Chinese funding supporting mitigation in other developing countries are included. Special funds established in some developing countries by pooling financing support from developed countries are also covered in this guidebook. Information on the financing sources was compiled in a standard format and reviewed and analysed to categorise the financing sources. For the multilateral and bilateral financing sources, the available information was used to define their major characteristics (such as geographic coverage, technology/sector focus, funding sources, financing objectives, financing mechanisms, and management and governance). In addition, the

EU Science Diplomacy and Framework Programs as Instruments of STI Cooperation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

К. А. Ibragimova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This article examines the tools that the EU in interactions with third countries in the field of STI uses. The EU is a pioneer in the use of science and technology in the international arena, the creation of strategic bilateral agreements on science and technology and the conduct of political dialogues at the highest political level (at the country and regional levels. The EU actively uses its foreign policy instruments of influence, including the provision of access to its framework programs to researchers from third countries, as well as scientific diplomacy. The success of these programs and scientific diplomacy shows the effectiveness of the EU as a global actor. In its foreign policy global innovation strategy, the EU proceeds from the premise that no state in the world today can cope independently with modern global challenges such as climate change, migration, terrorism, etc. Therefore, the solution of these issues requires both an expert evaluation from an independent world scientific community, and the perseverance of diplomats and officials of branch ministries of national states capable of conveying the views of their government in international negotiations and defending national interests of the country to find a solution that suits everyone. The EU has the resources to create a "cumulative effect" by developing and applying common norms on the territory of theUnion, analyzing the innovation policies of member states and the possibility of sharing best practices. At the same time, the EU shares its vision of problems, values and priorities with partners and uses the tools of "soft power" (including its smart and normative force and scientific diplomacy in the field of STI. The soft power of the EU in the field of STI lies in the attractiveness of the EU as a research area in which it is possible to conduct modern high-quality international research with the involvement of scientific teams from different countries in both physical

The Impact of the Housing Quality on the Socio-Economic Standard of the EU Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Špirková

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the qualitative characteristics of the housing in the EU countries. On the one hand there is a problem with housing itself and on the other hand there is a problem with the housing quality with its significant impact on the quality of life. The housing quality is defined by the attributes mentioned in the EQLS survey. The examined characters are the dwelling stock, the space problem, the rot problem, the damp problem, the toilet problem, the bath problem, the garden problem, the rent problem, the utility problem and the heating problem. The housing quality is affected by the public expenses on the housing and the community amenities per capita. The relations between the qualitative characteristics mutually and the qualitative characteristics and the public expenditures on the housing and the community amenities are examined by the correlation and regression analysis. The aim of the article is to point out to the dependence between the expenses and the housing quality in the EU countries. The mentioned relation strongly implicates the socio-economic standard of these countries.

Approximation of the energy acquis communautaire. Review of energy markets and policies of seven accession countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Oostvoorn, F.; Voogt, M.H.; Uyterlinde, M.A.; Van Wees, M.T.

1999-12-01

This report is a compilation of the country reviews conducted by ECN in the framework of the Phare Multi-country programme project 'Approximation of CEEC to EU legislation'. The project was conducted and co-ordinated by DEM (Denmark), with contributions of ERM (UK) and ECN. The project's main objective was to assist the CEECs to approximate their energy legislation with EU energy legislation. A secondary objective was to review the current situation of the energy markets and policies in the thirteen CEECs with respect to their progress in approximation towards the EU energy acquis and policy practices. For this second objective ECN assessed the current situation in seven countries, on the basis of a survey organised by the project co-ordinator DEM and filled in by the counterparts in the seven CEECs. Those seven countries are: the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Poland. These country reviews, which were sent to DEM for inclusion in their final report, are compiled here. In addition, ECN drafted an introduction and formulated a few final comments

Multilateral market-access reforms of the Doha Round

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yu, Wusheng; Jensen, Hans Grinsted

members such as the US. This paper provides a preliminary assessment of the likely impact of the tiered-formula reform approach on EU agricultural sectors. Numerical simulations of a multilateral market-access reform scenario show that such cuts would lead to across-the-board decreases in intra-EU trade...... external trade surpluses in many EU agricultural products. Further, the resulting adjustments in member states’ production and net trade positions are not equal: the new member states would generally lose part of their export shares in the EU market to external competitors, as highlighted in the cases......The July package of the Doha Round of trade negotiations stipulates that a tiered-formula approach should be used to significantly reduce market access barriers across countries, implying that the EU would have to make larger cuts to its high external tariffs, in comparison with many other WTO...

The importance of a project level risk management methodology for EU Structural and Investment Funds accession in Romania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolae Ciprian

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Accessing EU funds is considered to be an important development chance for all type of beneficiaries in Romania: public bodies, nongovernmental organizations and firms. The grounds for this are the amount of funds available per beneficiary and the co financing rate (for example, the investment projects for firms amounted up to 5 million Euro of EU funding at a EU co financing rate up to 70%. As the Romanian responsible authorities strive to conduct a fast and smooth process, the reality shows the funds accession is rather unpredictable and costly, both in terms of time consumption and financial resources. Lots of causes contribute to this situation, amongst which the inefficient risk management conducted, both by the state authorities responsible with the EU funds management and by the beneficiaries of funds. The effects are visible: a poor absorption rate of the EU structural and cohesion funds (79,23% at the level of January 2017 for the 2007-2013 financial period. The authors' research follows the importance that risk management should have in the process of managing and accessing EU funds. The research methodology starts from the responses that 170 people involved in managing EU funded projects within 2007-2013 financial period gave to an online questionnaire carried on in 2016. The focus was to establish if and how risk management methodologies/procedures/guidelines were used within the implementation of projects and in what measure this kind of approach should be compulsory or optional for the financial period 2014-2020. The research methodology further implied the analysis of key issues for projects financing such as: feasibility and opportunity determination, budgeting, projects' evaluation, etc. The main finding of the research is that applicants and beneficiaries need to implement project level risk management methodologies. Based on this, the authors propose a guideline for drafting project level risk management methodologies, that

Promoting renewable energy sources for heating and cooling in EU-27 countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cansino, Jose M.; Pablo-Romero, Maria del P.; Roman, Rocio; Yniguez, Rocio

2011-01-01

In addition to public policies aimed at improving the energy efficiency of buildings, EU authorities have also promoted the use of Renewable Energy Sources for heating and cooling uses (RES H and C). This paper analyses the main policy measures implemented in EU-27 countries up to 2009: i.e. subsidies, tax incentives, financial support and feed-in tariffs. Twenty-three Member States (MSs) have developed some of these policy measures. The most widespread measure is the subsidy (22 MSs have implemented these) because from a political point of view, subsidies provide a straightforward approach to promote the use of RES H and C. Secondly, tax incentives have been used for reducing investment costs and making renewable energy profitable. Thirdly, financial incentives and feed-in tariffs have been used sparingly. While financial incentives might be used more extensively for promoting RES H and C if they are accompanied by other policy measures, feed-in tariffs are not likely to be implemented significantly in the future because this measure is not designed for household heat producers. - Highlights: → Main EU policies to reduce energy consumption are focused on buildings' efficiency. → Alternative incentives to promote the use of RES H and C in EU-27 are now studied. → Subsidies are the most widespread measure. → Tax incentives are used for reducing investment costs and making RES profitable. → Financial incentives and feed-in tariffs have been used sparingly.

FY 2000 report on the survey on global warming prevention measures in main E.U. countries; 2000 nendo EU shuyokoku ni okeru ondanka boshi taisaku no gaiyo ni tsuite hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-03-01

This report dealt with the background of energy policies in E.U. countries and energy plans. At COP3, E.U. countries internationally gave a pledge that they will reduce the emission of greenhouse effect gas 8% from that as of 1990 during 2008-2012, which is stricter than those given by Japan and the U.S. Actually, the European Commission made public 'Toward the European Climate Change Programme' and 'Green Paper on Emissions Trading in the E.U.' These are correspondent to E.U.' global warming preventive strategy which is called the twin track approach by the European Commission. The former is a frame for coordinating individual reduction measures taken under the responsibility of member countries as the whole E.U. As to the latter, for the specified sectors from energy supply sectors to large energy consumption industries, it was planned to be started in 2005. And, the basic policy on the trade and concrete subjects/problems on the trading system were arranged. (NEDO)

Relatedness and diversification in the European Union (EU-27) and European Neighbourhood Policy countries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boschma, Ron; Capone, Gianluca

2016-01-01

This paper analyzes the process of industrial diversification in the countries that were part of the European Union (EU-27) and those that were the target of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in the period 1995–2010 by means of world trade data derived from the BACI database (elaborated UN

Determinants of Intra-Industry Trade in Agricultural and Food Products Between Poland and EU Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Łapinska Justyna

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The present study investigates the country-specific determinants of intra-industry trade between Poland and its European Union trading partners in agricultural and food products during the time period 2002-2011. An econometric model for panel data is applied for the analysis of the factors determining Polish bilateral intra-industry trade with European Union countries. The research leads to the formulation of a statement that the intensity of intra-industry trade in agricultural and food products is positively influenced by the intensity of trade with EU countries and the level of economic development of the member countries (as measured by the size of their GDP per capita. Increase in intra-trade turnover is also facilitated by EU membership and by the fact that Poland’s trade partners use similar Slavic-based languages. Relative differences in the size of the economies and relative differences in Poland’s and its trading partners’ levels of economic development have a negative impact. The degree of the imbalance of trade turnover between trading partners also negatively influences the intensity of intra-trade exchange. The research confirms that the impact of all of the identified factors determining intra-industry trade is consistent with the predictions of the theory.

The European PV market evaluation for potential investors - actual information on the 15 EU member state countries and Switzerland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurdziel, M.

2004-01-01

The EU has ambitious targets for the introduction of PV. According to the white book of the European Commission, the target for 2010 is to install 3000 MWp. In the following the European PV markets of the 15 EU member state countries and Switzerland are presented and evaluated for potential investors. (author)

The EU anti-dumping policy towards Russia and China: product quality and the choice of an analogue country

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jørgen Ulff-Møller; Rutkowski, Aleksander Jerzy

2005-01-01

This paper uses the theory of international trade in vertically differentiated products in order to assess whether the EU has calculated disproportionately high dumping margins in its anti-dumping policy towards the two non-market economies (NMEs) Russia and China since 1992. Specifically......, the investigation concerns cases in which the level of economic development in and the quality of the products from the chosen analogue country are higher than in the two NMEs. The conclusion drawn here is that, even when the EU chooses analogue countries at a higher level of economic development than Russia...... and China, the differences in product quality and in the levels of economic development between the dumpers and the analogue countries provide no systematic explanation of the size of dumping margins. Udgivelsesdato: JAN...

Estimating broad-brush rebound effects for household energy consumption in the EU 28 countries and Norway: some policy implications of Odyssee data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galvin, Ray

2014-01-01

Currently there is a strong policy commitment in European Union (EU) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries to increase the energy efficiency of residential buildings, and it is widely assumed that this will naturally and automatically reduce domestic energy consumption. However, other factors such as fuel prices, wages, attitudes and lifestyles also influence energy consumption. This paper calculates broad-brush rebound effects based on changes in energy efficiency and energy consumption in each of the 28 EU countries plus Norway, for the years 2000–2011. In doing so, it tests how well the assumption of energy efficiency leading to energy reduction stands up to scrutiny in these lands. It uses the EU’s Odyssee database for efficiency and consumption figures and a commonly employed econometric definition of the rebound effect as an energy-efficiency elasticity. Most older EU lands show rebound effects in the expected range of 0–50%. However, the range for newer EU countries is 100–550%, suggesting that energy efficiency increases are not a good predictor of energy consumption. A more in-depth look at one country, Germany, suggests these results underestimate the rebound effect significantly. This also identifies research needs for specific energy consumption determinants in each country, to find more precisely what is driving consumption levels. - Highlights: • Policymakers frequently link energy efficiency gains with energy consumption falls. • Household energy rebound effects are calculated for EU lands using Odyssee data. • Most older EU lands show results in the range of 0–50% but newer lands show 100–552%. • Energy efficiency gains are not always a reliable predictor of energy consumption. • Targeted research could explore why consumption is often so unrelated to efficiency

Access to Information in the Nordic Countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Oluf

Access to Information in the Nordic Countries explains and compares the legal rules determining public access to documents and data in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland. In addition, international rules emanating from the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the European Union...

Survey of strategies for low-energy buildings in EU countries; Kortlaegning af strategier for lavenergibyggeri i EU lande

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2011-02-15

The overall objective of this task is to identify and analyze several European countries' approaches to regulate energy efficiency in new buildings. In addition, the study maps the initiatives established in relation to introduce voluntary low energy mechanisms at national level. As part of this work it has been a major goal to explore how individual countries are preparing the introduction of a ''nearly zero'' energy framework. The introduction of a ''nearly zero'' framework has been invoked via the new revised Building Directive (2010/31/EU) which requires that all new buildings are ''Nearly Zero'' by 31 December 2020, however, new public buildings must meet ''nearly zero'' requirement already by 31. December 2018. Finally, the survey also includes an examination of national and political conditions and current legislation on energy consumption in buildings. The countries in the survey are: Norway, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Britain, France, Switzerland and to a limited extent Ireland and Poland. The comparative analysis of the countries' efforts is presented in the main part of the report, and the individual country reports are presented in appendices. (LN)

Fossil and renewable energy consumption, GHGs (greenhouse gases) and economic growth: Evidence from a panel of EU (European Union) countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bölük, Gülden; Mert, Mehmet

2014-01-01

Recently a great number of empirical research studies have been conducted on the relationship between certain indicators of environmental degradation and income. The EKC (Environmental Kuznets Curve) hypothesis has been tested for various types of environmental degradation. The EKC hypothesis states that the relationship between environmental degradation and income per capita takes the form of an inverted U shape. In this paper the EKC hypothesis was investigated with regards to the relationship between carbon emissions, income and energy consumption in 16 EU (European Union) countries. We conducted panel data analysis for the period of 1990–2008 by fixing the multicollinearity problem between the explanatory variables using their centered values. The main contribution of this paper is that the EKC hypothesis has been investigated by separating final energy consumption into renewable and fossil fuel energy consumption. Unfortunately, the inverted U-shape relationship (EKC) does not hold for carbon emissions in the 16 EU countries. The other important finding is that renewable energy consumption contributes around 1/2 less per unit of energy consumed than fossil energy consumption in terms of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions in EU countries. This implies that a shift in energy consumption mix towards alternative renewable energy technologies might decrease the GHG emissions. - Highlights: • We investigate the EKC (Environmental Kuznets Curve) hypothesis for 16 EU (European Union) countries. • We fix the multicollinearity problem between explanatory variables. • We found no evidence to support the EKC hypothesis in EU between 1990 and 2008 periods. • Renewable energy contributes less to GHGs (greenhouse gases) around ½ that of a unit of fossil energy

The role of globalization in drug development and access to orphan drugs: orphan drug legislation in the US/EU and in Latin America [v1; ref status: indexed, http://f1000r.es/3ix

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renée J.G. Arnold

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Compared to a decade ago, nearly three times as many drugs for rare diseases are slated for development. This article addresses the market access issues associated with orphan drug status in Europe and the United States in contrast to the legislation in five Latin American (LA countries that have made strides in this regard--Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Argentina. Based on the success of orphan drug legislation in the EU and US, LA countries should strive to adopt similar strategies with regard to rare diseases and drug development. With the implementation of new targeted regulations, reimbursement strategies, and drug approvals, accessibility to treatment will be improved for people afflicted with rare diseases in these developing countries.

Croatia's EU Accession: Socio-economic Assessment of Farm Households and Policy Recommendations

OpenAIRE

Möllers, Judith; Zier, Patrick; Frohberg, Klaus; Buchenrieder, Gertrud; Bojnec, Stefan

2009-01-01

Croatia is very close to meeting the requirements necessary for becoming a member of the European Union (EU). On February 6, 2008, the European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said that accession negotiations with Croatia are moving ahead well. As in all new member states (NMS), the agricultural sector and food processing chain are core issues within the negotiation process. Successful negotiation requires intimate knowledge of the issue at hand, including the socio-economic situation and ...

FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION DETERMINANTS AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN EU COUNTRIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anca Florentina GAVRILUŢĂ (VATAMANU

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This work aims to assess the impact of fiscal decentralization on local (regional development in the EU Member States while controlling for macroeconomic and local autonomy specific factors. Using a panel data approach with dynamic effects, we examined the implications of fiscal decentralization on local development across European Union countries over the 1990-2004 period. The novelty of the study is emphasized by including in the analysis a variable which tests local fiscal discipline, more exactly, Fiscal Rule Strength Index for local level of government. Our findings suggest that prosperity of regions, measured in GDP growth depends on variables such as characteristics of decentralization undertaken by each country or local fiscal discipline, confirming our primary hypothesis. This supports the view that recently implemented reforms aiming to enforce fiscal discipline following-up the Fiscal Compact strengthened the local budgetary framework and restrained, therefore, the local discretionary power to act towards development.

Software developed by research vs. Freedom of information in EU (open access and open data)

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kolman, Jiří

2014-01-01

Roč. 8, č. 2 (2014), s. 183-198 ISSN 1802-5951 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : cooperation of public research institutions and private partners * freedom of information in the EU * open access * open data * research and development * software Subject RIV: AG - Legal Sciences

Testing the transport energy-environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in the EU27 countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pablo-Romero, M.P.; Cruz, L.; Barata, E.

2017-01-01

Transport activities are essential for economic and social development. Nevertheless, the transport sector has also shown the fastest growth in energy consumption in the European Union and its contribution to increasing greenhouse gas emissions merits the thorough attention of academics and policy makers. In this paper we analyze the relationship of economic growth and transport activities with transport final energy consumption. Energy Kuznets curves are estimated for a panel data set covering the EU27 countries in the period 1995–2009 for total transport energy use, household transport energy use, and productive transport energy use (all three in absolute and per capita energy use terms). The productive transport energy use and gross value added relationship are further considered as per hour worked. Finally, the control variables of energy prices and differences in the economic structures are tested. Empirical results show that the elasticity of transport energy use with respect to gross value added in per capita terms decreases from a threshold for the three transport energy consumption variables, but the turning point of improved environmental quality is not reached in any instance. - Highlights: • Transport EKCs are estimated for the EU countries in the 1995–2009 period. • Total, household and production activity transport energy uses are analyzed. • Data support a concave shape, but the turning point is not reached. • Richer countries have more limited potential for energy efficiency policies. • EKCs elasticity values are considered to support policy interpretations.

The possible effects of health professional mobility on access to care for patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Glinos, Irene A

2014-01-01

The chapter explains how health professional mobility impacts on the resources and capacity available within a health system, and how this affects service delivery and access. The contrasting experiences of destination countries, which receive foreign inflows of health professionals, and of source countries, which loose workforce due to outflows, are illustrated with country examples. The evidence opens the debate on how EU countries compete for health workforce, what this means for resource-strained, crisis-hit Member States, and whether there is any room for intra-European solidarity. The nexus between patient mobility and health professional mobility is moreover highlighted. This take on free mobility in the EU has received little attention, and while evidence is scarce, it calls for careful analysis when considering the possible effects of free movement on access to care in national health systems. The chapter reformulates the question on 'who wins' and 'who looses' from freedom of movement in the EU to turn our attention away from those who go abroad for care and instead focus on those who stay at home.

Decomposition of useful work intensity: The EU (European Union)-15 countries from 1960 to 2009

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serrenho, André Cabrera; Sousa, Tânia; Warr, Benjamin; Ayres, Robert U.; Domingos, Tiago

2014-01-01

Energy intensity measures, defined as the ratio of energy use to gross domestic product of a country, are widely used to study the productivity of energy use in an economy. Unlike conventional primary and/or final energy intensities, useful work intensity (useful work/gross domestic product) addresses the problem of aggregating in a single measure the different energy forms used, and allows for a clear distinction between thermodynamic efficiencies and structural changes in the demand for energy end-uses. Here, our aim is twofold: (1) Disclose the factors that control the useful work intensities across the EU-15 countries over the deindustrialization process, performing a decomposition of the useful work intensities from 1960 to 2009. (2) Describe a methodology for the automatization of useful work accounting, based on a general mapping of energy end-uses from IEA (International Energy Agency) energy balances. We show that, in contrast to the other conventional energy intensity measures, useful work intensity depends only on the intensity of high temperature heat uses and the relative size of residential energy needs. Aggregate thermodynamic efficiencies slightly increased as a consequence of technological improvements, but were negatively affected by deindustrialization, as a consequence of a transition to less efficient and productive energy uses. - Highlights: • We provide an automated useful work accounting methodology from IEA energy balances. • We provide an estimation of 2nd law efficiencies for EU-15 countries since 1960. • This methodology is applied to EU-15 from 1960 to 2009. • Useful work intensity depends only on high temperature heat and residential uses. • Thermodynamic 2nd law efficiencies were negatively affected by deindustrialization

Public Integrity, Economic Freedom and Governance Performance. A Comparative Study for the EU Member States and Acceding Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ani MATEI

2010-11-01

Full Text Available The studies concerning the impact of corruption on the effectiveness of governance are numerous, valorising profound approaches, based on criteria and standards related to good governance, organizational behaviour. The concepts and mechanisms specific for econometrics and statistics provide the quantitative support for qualitative analyses, substantiating public policies, in view to assure effectiveness in performance measurement. For EU Member States and acceding countries, the level of development and social organization determines specific ethical behaviours. In this context, the current paper aims a comparative economic and social evaluation of the correlations between corruption, performance and economic freedom in the states mentioned, following the various significant stages of the EU enlargement. The working hypotheses turn into consideration the following issues:# Corruption holds national specific character and the statistic, econometric or sociologic analyses reveal that it is stable during time.# The climate of economic freedom and the intensity of corruption influence powerfully the economic performance.# The EU membership, “seniority” in EU, regional context determine different attitudes and perceptions on the corruption phenomena.# For the newer EU states or the acceding countries, the strategies of integrity have mimetic character and the National Integrity Systems have structured powerful connections aimed at determining an action focused on public integrity.In the analyses achieved, the EU is approached globally, at least from statistic point of view, and the conclusions aim situations specific to the groups of states that have been or will be the beneficiaries of the EU enlargement. The quantitative analyses use both own results of the researches carried out by the authors and public results of World Bank or Heritage Foundation, as well as results of authorities responsible for national statistics. The paper uses the

A portrait of trading firms in the services sectors: Comparable evidence from four EU countries

OpenAIRE

Haller, Stefanie A.; Damijan, Jože; Kaitila, Ville; Kostevc, Črt; Maliranta, Mika; Milet, Emmanuel; Mirza, Daniel; Rojec, Matija

2012-01-01

We establish a set of stylised facts for trade and trading firms in five market services sectors using comparable firm-level and services data from four EU countries. Our analysis shows that exports account for much lower shares of overall sales in the services sectors than in manufacturing. In line with this there are also fewer firms engaged in trade in the services sectors than in manufacturing; trade intensities, in turn, vary by services sector and country. Trade by services firms is som...

The effect of European integration on exchange rate dependence: the Polish accession to the EU

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Thiel, J.H.; van Giersbergen, N.P.A.

2010-01-01

This paper investigates the effect of the Polish accession to the European Union (EU) on the dependence between the euro-US dollar and Polish zloty-US dollar exchange rate. The dependence is estimated by means of copulas as suggested by Patton (2006). This approach allows to first specify and

Accession of the Slovak Republic to EU - new legislation, new conditions and new approaches in the area of emergency preparedness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sladek, V.; Metke, E.

2003-01-01

At present after five years of Urad jadroveho dozoru (UJD) experience of using new Slovak regulations and before entering to European Union (EU), which is foreseen since May 2004 a comprehensive review of Atomic Act and all relevant decrees is being made with the objective to fit them to EU directives. On line with that also necessary organizational and technical arrangements in the area of regulatory activities including emergency preparedness are prepared. UJD participate actively in EU and IAEA projects to achieve the harmonization of its practices with EU and other countries with developed nuclear power and makes efforts to keep on a high level of nuclear safety to be a valuable member of EU

Prospective Constitutional Changes in Kosovo Emanating from the EU Pre-Accession Process

OpenAIRE

Morina, Visar

2016-01-01

Although Kosovo is in the initial period of its European integration process, this article will analyse the extent to which the 2008 Kosovo Constitution is compatible with EU law. Integration in the European Union is one of the key objectives of Kosovo’s constitutional preamble and the paper will discuss the prospective constitutional amendments that will occur in Kosovo in anticipation of accession to the European Union. The author’s position is that a great part of constitutional non-compli...

Euros vs. yuan: comparing European and Chinese fishing access in West Africa.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dyhia Belhabib

Full Text Available We compare the performance of European Union (EU and Chinese fisheries access agreements with West African countries in terms of illegal and unreported fishing, economic equity, and patterns of exploitation. Bottom-up re-estimations of catch reveal that the EU (1.6 million t•year(-1 and China (2.3 million t•year(-1 report only 29% and 8%, respectively, of their estimated total catches (including estimated discards whenever possible from West African countries between 2000 and 2010. EU catches are declining, while Chinese catches are increasing and are yet to reach the historic maximum level of EU catches (3 million t•year(-1 on average in the 1970s-1980s. The monetary value of EU fishing agreements, correlated in theory with reported catches, is straightforward to access, in contrast to Chinese agreements. However, once quantified, the value of Chinese agreements is readily traceable within the African economy through the different projects they directly cover, in contrast to the funds disbursed [to host governments] by the EU. Overall, China provides resources equivalent to about 4% of the ex-vessel value [value at landing] of the catch taken by Chinese distant-water fleets from West African waters, while the EU pays 8%. We address the difficulties of separating fees directly related to fishing from other economic or political motivations for Chinese fees, which could introduce a bias to the present findings as this operation is not performed for EU access fees officially related to fishing. Our study reveals that the EU and China perform similarly in terms of illegal fishing, patterns of exploitation and sustainability of resource use, while under-reporting by the EU increases and that by China decreases. The EU agreements provide, in theory, room for improving scientific research, monitoring and surveillance, suggesting a better performance than for Chinese agreements, but the end-use of the EU funds are more difficult, and sometime

PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY TROUGH EQUAL LIFE STANDARD IN EU COUNTRIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksandar Dashtevski

2018-06-01

Full Text Available After the World War II, especially in the early fifties there is an expansion of gender rights. Women are massively employed all over the world in all sectors of social life, contributing to an increase in both their own standard of living and the standard in their own countries. As the importance and role of women grows, this is achieved with increasing respect for its rights. Gender means elimination of inequality and promote equality between women and men in all areas of social life. If we want to achieve gender equality as a whole, it is inevitable to achieve an economic consolidation of the two sexes. Economic strengthening is possible trough equal pay. Experience shows that payments are not equal when it comes to wages for men and women. Therefore, the EU is constantly working to regulate this area, with special regulations, which are mandatory for the member states, but should also be respected by countries that would like to join the union. This led to the promotion of gender equality through an equal life.

Building a System of Comparative-Spatial Assessment of the Level of Development of Ukraine and the EU Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bril Mykhailo S.

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The article proposes an approach to the formation of a system of comparative-spatial assessment of the level of socio-economic development of the State, on the basis of which the multidimensional statistical analysis of Ukraine and the EU countries was accomplished. On the basis of the hierarchical agglomerative and iterative methods of the spatial cluster analysis, groups of countries are allocated by homogeneous characteristics of the socio-economic development. A comparison of the results of spatial and dynamic clustering confirms the stability of the composition of the allocated groups and their quality characteristics. The proposed complex of economic and mathematical models for determining the level of socio-economic development of the State and the EU countries on the basis of assessment and analysis of the main macro-indicators and their relationship in the perspective will improve the quality of managerial decisions as to ensuring the socio-economic development of the State.

Development of Romanian Nuclear Power Program implications for future's EU enlargement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Havris, A.

2002-01-01

Energy and transport are two areas for which relations with third countries are crucial. Transport is of course essential in order to ensure smooth movements of people and economic operators within the EU but also with the outside world. Its importance becomes even more apparent in a period characterised by globalization. If modes of transport are the arteries of our society, then energy is the blood. The Green Paper on the security of EU energy supply issued by the Commission shows that whereas the EU economy is energy-intensive, Community energy resources are limited. Consequently, the EU is dependent on external sources of energy, a situation which will not change with the forthcoming enlargement. Hence, most of the EU's external relations include an important chapter on energy. The instrument for applying Romania's pre-accession strategy is the National Programme for Accession (NPAR). I focused on the current situation, short and medium term priorities of the Nuclear Energy as part of the Energy Chapter of the NPAR. In spite of the Romanian Authorities' strong commitment for the completion of Unit2, obtaining the EURATOM loan, for which Societatea Nationala Nuclearelectrica S.A. applied to the European Commission in 1999, remained a critical component of the overall financing requirements of this project. The National Strategy for the Development of the Energy Sector on Medium Term 2001- 2004, as part of our national economic strategy, concludes that on a least-cost basis and considering programs for improving energy efficiency, it is necessary to have Cernavoda Unit 2 in operation by 2006. Finally, are presented the benefits for Romania, as a country involved in the process of European Integration, with a view to obtaining the EURATOM loan and finalizing Cernavoda NPP - Unit2.(author)

The Role of Access to Finance in Explaining Cross-National Variation in Entrepreneurial Activity: A Panel Data Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sorin Gabriel Anton

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to investigate to what extent access to finance explains differences in entrepreneurial activity across European Union (EU member countries. We use a dataset containing information across countries and time to investigate the determinants of entrepreneurial activity in twenty-five EU members over the period between 2007 and 2013. Our sample comprises both periods of difficult access to finance and periods of excessive liquidities. Employing a panel data model with fixed effects, we found a positive relationship between access to finance and entrepreneurial activities. Furthermore, we showed that this positive relationship is more important for the individuals who believe they have the required skills and knowledge to start a business. The results proved to be robust when we employed different measures of entrepreneurial activity and several proxies for access to finance. Our findings provide empirical evidence for the need of policy initiatives at national and EU level to facilitate the creation of sustainable new ventures.

Data Resource Profile: The European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC).

Science.gov (United States)

Arora, Vishal S; Karanikolos, Marina; Clair, Amy; Reeves, Aaron; Stuckler, David; McKee, Martin

2015-04-01

Social and economic policies are inextricably linked with population health outcomes in Europe, yet few datasets are able to fully explore and compare this relationship across European countries. The European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) survey aims to address this gap using microdata on income, living conditions and health. EU-SILC contains both cross-sectional and longitudinal elements, with nationally representative samples of individuals 16 years and older in 28 European Union member states as well as Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. Data collection began in 2003 in Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Greece, Luxembourg and Austria, with subsequent expansion across Europe. By 2011, all 28 EU member states, plus three others, were included in the dataset. Although EU-SILC is administered by Eurostat, the data are output-harmonized so that countries are required to collect specified data items but are free to determine sampling strategies for data collection purposes. EU-SILC covers approximately 500,000 European residents for its cross-sectional survey annually. Whereas aggregated data from EU-SILC are publicly available [http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/income-and-living-conditions/data/main-tables], microdata are only available to research organizations subject to approval by Eurostat. Please refer to [http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/microdata/eu_silc] for further information regarding microdata access. © The Author 2015; all rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association.

2003-2004 ACADEMIC TRAINING PROGRAMME (Renewable) Energy Policy in the EU Members States and the Accession States

CERN Multimedia

Françoise Benz

2003-01-01

13, 14, 15, 16, 17 October 2003 2003-2004 ACADEMIC TRAINING PROGRAMME LECTURE SERIES Main Auditorium bldg. 500 (Renewable) Energy Policy in the EU Members States and the Accession States D. Reiche / Free University of Berlin, D The aim of this lecture is to discuss the transformation of the energy sectors in the EU with the main focus on obstacles and success conditions for renewable energy sources. Besides the EU-15 and the ten states which will join the EU in 2004, Bulgaria and Romania which will probably join in 2007 as well as Turkey are analysed. The factors which influence renewable energy development are described as the path dependencies/starting positions in energy policy (natural conditions for the RES, availability of fossil resources, use of nuclear power), the instruments for promoting renewable energies (as feed-in tariffs or quota obligations), the economic (level of energy prices, for example), technological (i.e. grid capacity), and cognitive environment.

Trade in Value Added (TiVA in EU New Member States (EU NMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ines Kersan-Škabić

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Contemporary trade analysis indicates the necessity of calculating trade in value added (TiVA which is created through global value chains (GVCs. This paper aims to determine the characteristics and importance of GVC trade in the EU new member states (EU NMS with special emphasis placed on the industry level. The results demonstrate different levels of GVC participation of the EU NMS, where Hungary is the most integrated country and Croatia the least integrated. Regional GVCs exist because a huge part of value added (VA comes from EU member states, as in gross export as well as in final demand (Europe as a hub. The most important source countries are Germany and Italy and there is also evidence of geographical and historical relations between the countries. The domination of backward participation has been found in the analysis made on the industrial level, i.e. the EU NMS are highly dependent on the import of intermediates for the production and export of final products. Strong interconnections between imports of intermediate products and exports of final products have been found in the manufacture of computers, electronics and optical products; manufacture of wood, paper, printing and reproduction. This research has contributed to the scarce literature concerning GVC (TiVA in EU NMS and has opened up new possibilities for further research and analysis.

Development of the rate of employment and unemployment of males and females in ten associated countries of EU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Klíma

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The paper is focused on the evaluation the rates of employment and unemployment of women, men and as a whole in ten associated countries of EU. Rates of employment were evaluated in the period 1996-2002. Rates of unemployment were evaluated in the period 1996-2003. Employment of males in all ten associated countries of EU is higher then employment of females. Unemployment of females in the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia is higher than unemployment of males and in opposite unemployment of females in Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania and Latvia is lower than unemployment of males. Trends of rates of male, female and total employment and unemployment are evaluated. Methods of regression and correlation analysis, development trends and cluster analysis were applied for the mathematical-statistical analysis.

Explaining Cross-Country Differences in Attitudes Towards Immigration in the EU-15

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Malchow-Møller, Nikolaj; Munch, Jakob Roland; Schroll, Sanne

2009-01-01

In this paper, we use data from the first two rounds of the European Social Survey to analyze the extent to which differences in average attitudes towards immigration across the EU-15 countries may be explained by differences in socioeconomic characteristics and individually perceived consequences...... of immigration, using an extension of a decomposition technique developed by Fairlie (2005). We find that despite the significant effects of socioeconomic characteristics on attitudes, differences in the distributions of these characteristics can only explain a modest share of the cross-country variation...... in average attitudes. A larger part can be explained by differences in perceived consequences of immigration, but the main part is still left unexplained. Apart from providing useful input for policy makers working in the area of immigration policy, this raises a number of questions for further research...

Explaining Cross-Country Differences in Attitudes towards Immigration in the EU-15

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Malchow-Møller, Nikolaj; Munch, Jakob Roland; Schroll, Sanne

2007-01-01

In this paper, we use data from the first two rounds of the European Social Survey to analyze the extent to which differences in average attitudes towards immigration across the EU-15 countries may be explained by differences in socioeconomic characteristics and individually perceived consequences...... of immigration, using an extension of a decomposition technique developed by Fairlie (2005). We find that despite the significant effects of socioeconomic characteristics on attitudes, differences in the distributions of these characteristics can only explain a modest share of the cross-country variation...... in average attitudes. A larger part can be explained by differences in perceived consequences of immigration, but the main part is still left unexplained. Apart from providing useful input for policy makers working in the area of immigration policy, this raises a number of questions for further research...

Explaining Cross-Country Differences in Attitudes Towards Immigration in the EU-15

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Malchow-Møller, Nikolaj; Munch, Jakob Roland; Skaksen, Jan Rose

In this paper, we use data from the first two rounds of the European Social Survey to analyse the extent to which differences in average attitudes towards immigration across the EU-15 countries may be explained by differences in socioeconomic characteristics and individually perceived consequences...... of immigration, using an extension of a decomposition technique developed by Fairlie (2005). We find that despite the significant effects of socioeconomic characteristics on attitudes, differences in the distributions of these characteristics can only explain a modest share of the cross-country variation...... in average attitudes. A larger part can be explained by differences in perceived consequences of immigration, but the main part is still left unexplained. Apart from providing useful input for policy makers working in the area of immigration policy, this raises a number of questions for further research...

Revisiting Ricardo: Can productivity differences explain the pattern of trade between EU countries?

OpenAIRE

Beine, Michel

2009-01-01

In this paper we revise the empirical tests of the Ricardian model by testing properly the Ricardian hypotheses on bilateral trade flows. Our tests are based on NACE 2-digit industry aggregation of productivity and of bilateral trade flows between 21 EU member states for the period 1994-2004. We compare the matchings between relative bilateral sectoral productivity rankings and bilateral sectoral exports-to-imports ratio rankings for each of 21 x 20 country pairs. We find that the Ricardian h...

DRIVERS OF KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY IN THE EU’S DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Burja Vasile

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The new EU Member States have made important efforts to achieve an economic growth based on accumulation of knowledge according with principles and realities of developed countries. After accession, Romania has initiated an extensive restructuring process in entire society. The main purpose of this study is to appreciate the knowledge based economy’s features in Romania, comparative to other countries which joined later the EU. In this respect, the study aimed to evaluate the state of knowledge economy depending by a group of elements which refer to the following areas: innovation system, education and ICT. The research methodology was based on the econometric analysis of a representative panel data for the twelve new member states of the EU. Results highlight that for the analyzed countries, education system and the R&D activity had positively affected the economic growth, but the education factors had a stronger impact on the knowledge economy dynamics

EU-UNAWE Project: Inspiring every child with our wonderful cosmos

Science.gov (United States)

Arisa, E.; Fabregat, J.; Ros, R. M.

2013-05-01

The Project UNAWE was born in 2005 with the intention that children, of every country and every economical and social condition, can be in touch with astronomy. This is the first large-scale attempt to use astronomy as a tool to inspire and educate very young children. Project resources are open to everyone, but are mainly tailored to boys and girls aged 4 to 10. The Project is implemented in countries from all over the world, supporting the activities that are performed there. The European project EU-UNAWE funded by the European Union, includes six countries: Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, South Africa and Spain. EU-UNAWE Spain bases its activity in conducting training courses for teachers: in Barcelona in November 2011, in Granada and Madrid in February 2012 and in Pamplona in May 2012. Just as in the publication of educational materials: practical activities, experiences, books made by teachers... available in the entire Spanish-speaking world. All this can be accessed through the website of the program (http://es.unawe.org).

Exchange of information in the EU and counteraction of tax avoiding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert Draba

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an assessment of selected European Union legislation of the exchange of information between EU countries in context of preventing tax avoiding. The primary tool to prevent tax avoidance within the EU is information exchanging between EU countries and between EU countires and other countries.

Solar Energy: Incentives to Promote PV in EU27

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María del P. Pablo-Romero

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The growth in the use of renewable energies in the EU has been remarkable. Among these energies is PV. The average annual growth rate for the EU-27 countries in installed PV capacity in the period 2005-2012 was 41.2%. While the installed capacity of PV has reached almost 82 % of National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP targets for the EU-27 countries for 2020, it is still far from being used at its full potential. Over recent years, several measures have been adopted in the EU to enhance and promote PV. This paper undertakes a complete review of the state of PV power in Europe and the measures taken to date to promote it in EU-27. 25 countries have adopted measures to promote PV. The most widespread measure to promote PV use is Feed- in Tariffs. Tariffs are normally adjusted, in a decreasing manner, annually. Nevertheless, currently, seven countries have decided to accelerate this decrease rate in view of cost reduction of the installations and of higher efficiencies. The second instrument used to promote PV in the EU-27 countries is the concession of subsidies. Nevertheless, subsidies have the disadvantage of being closely linked to budgetary resources and therefore to budgetary constraints. In most EU countries, subsidies for renewable energy for PV are being lowered. Twelve EU-27 countries adopted tax measures. Low-interest loans and green certificate systems were only sparingly used.

Cost evaluation of energy crops at farm gate in different EU countries and related agricultural issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calliope, P.; Dalianis, C.

1996-01-01

Interest on energy crops varies greatly among EU regions. Certain climatic conditions prevailing in the areas, determine the coice of the energy crop which is going to be used as raw material for energy production. Furthermore, energy markets, farm structure and set aside regulations as well as national policy play a critical role to biomass exploitation for energy purposes. A common methodology was developed (Moore, 1996) for comparing costs of different options for ''biomass-to-energy systems'' across six EU countries (figure 1). This methodology was developed in the framework of an AIR Concerted Action financed by DGXII of EU and entitled ''Development of a Standard Methodology for Integrating Non-Food Crops in Rural Areas with Niche Energy Markets''. Cost estimations were done form the first stage of raw material production till the final energy product (kWh of heat and electricity or lt of liquid biofuel. In this paper, only the raw material production cost estimation phase will be presented. (Author)

Women, men and creativity in higher education sector – comparative studies of leading EU and ECE countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Zachorowska-Mazurkiewicz

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The focus in the article is on creativity in the higher education sector in terms of gender perspective. The question posed concerns the relation between women’s and men’s patent activities and R&D expenditures. The paper is based on the data from the European Patent Office, 1999-2013 concerning creative activities performed by women and men in the higher education sector. The paper looks into the dynamics of changes in terms of the number of women and men researchers, R&D personnel and inventors, and combines them with the changes in R&D expenditures in the higher education sector. The analysis is conducted for the two groups of leading EU countries in the light of their patent activities. The objective of this exercise is to present the correlation between R&D expenditures and women and men in the R&D sectors, comparing these two groups of the EU countries.

The relationship between inflation and inflation uncertainty. Empirical evidence for the newest EU countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Viorica, Daniela; Jemna, Danut; Pintilescu, Carmen; Asandului, Mircea

2014-01-01

The objective of this paper is to verify the hypotheses presented in the literature on the causal relationship between inflation and its uncertainty, for the newest EU countries. To ensure the robustness of the results, in the study four models for inflation uncertainty are estimated in parallel: ARCH (1), GARCH (1,1), EGARCH (1,1,1) and PARCH (1,1,1). The Granger method is used to test the causality between two variables. The working hypothesis is that groups of countries with a similar political and economic background in 1990 and are likely to be characterized by the same causal relationship between inflation and inflation uncertainty. Empirical results partially confirm this hypothesis. C22, E31, E37.

European union water policy--tasks for implementing "Water Framework Directive" in pre-accession countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Sözen, Seval; Avcioglu, Ebru; Ozabali, Asli; Görgun, Erdem; Orhon, Derin

2003-08-01

Water Framework Directive aiming to maintain and improve the aquatic environment in the EU was launched by the European Parliament in 2000. According to this directive, control of quantity is an ancillary element in securing good water quality and therefore measures on quantity, serving the objective of ensuring good quality should also be established. Accordingly, it is a comprehensive and coordinated package that will ensure all European waters to be protected according to a common standard. Therefore, it refers to all other Directives related to water resources management such as Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive Nitrates Directive, Drinking Water Directive, Integrated Pollution Prevention Control etc. Turkey, as a candidate state targeting full-membership, should comply the necessary preparations for the implementation of the "Water Framework Directive" as soon as possible. In this study, the necessary legislative, political, institutional, and technical attempts of the pre-accession countries have been discussed and effective recommendations have been offered for future activities in Turkey.

A European classification of services for long-term care—the EU-project eDESDE-LTC

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, Germain; Brehmer, Barbara; Zeilinger, Elisabeth; Salvador-Carulla, Luis

2009-01-01

Purpose and theory The eDESDE-LTC project aims at developing an operational system for coding, mapping and comparing services for long-term care (LTC) across EU. The projects strategy is to improve EU listing and access to relevant sources of healthcare information via development of SEMANTIC INTER-OPERABILITY in eHEALTH (coding and listing of services for LTC); to increase access to relevant sources of information on LTC services, and to improve linkages between national and regional websites; to foster cooperation with international organizations (OECD). Methods This operational system will include a standard classification of main types of care for persons with LTC needs and an instrument for mapping and standard description of services. These instruments are based on previous classification systems for mental health services (ESMS), disabilities services (DESDE) and ageing services (DESDAE). A Delphi panel made by seven partners developed a DESDE-LTC beta version, which was translated into six languages. The feasibility of DESDE-LTC is tested in six countries using national focal groups. Then the final version will be developed by the Delphi panel, a webpage, training material and course will be carried out. Results and conclusions The eDESDE-LTC system will be piloted in two EU countries (Spain and Bulgaria). Evaluation will focus primarily on usability and impact analysis. Discussion The added value of this project is related to the right of “having access to high-quality healthcare when and where it is needed” by EU citizens. Due to semantic variability and service complexity, existing national listings of services do not provide an adequate framework for patient mobility.

EU pharmaceutical expenditure forecast.

Science.gov (United States)

Urbinati, Duccio; Rémuzat, Cécile; Kornfeld, Åsa; Vataire, Anne-Lise; Cetinsoy, Laurent; Aballéa, Samuel; Mzoughi, Olfa; Toumi, Mondher

2014-01-01

With constant incentives for healthcare payers to contain their pharmaceutical budgets, forecasting has become critically important. Some countries have, for instance, developed pharmaceutical horizon scanning units. The objective of this project was to build a model to assess the net effect of the entrance of new patented medicinal products versus medicinal products going off-patent, with a defined forecast horizon, on selected European Union (EU) Member States' pharmaceutical budgets. This model took into account population ageing, as well as current and future country-specific pricing, reimbursement, and market access policies (the project was performed for the European Commission; see http://ec.europa.eu/health/healthcare/key_documents/index_en.htm). In order to have a representative heterogeneity of EU Member States, the following countries were selected for the analysis: France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. A forecasting period of 5 years (2012-2016) was chosen to assess the net pharmaceutical budget impact. A model for generics and biosimilars was developed for each country. The model estimated a separate and combined effect of the direct and indirect impacts of the patent cliff. A second model, estimating the sales development and the risk of development failure, was developed for new drugs. New drugs were reviewed individually to assess their clinical potential and translate it into commercial potential. The forecast was carried out according to three perspectives (healthcare public payer, society, and manufacturer), and several types of distribution chains (retail, hospital, and combined retail and hospital). Probabilistic and deterministic sensitivity analyses were carried out. According to the model, all countries experienced drug budget reductions except Poland (+€41 million). Savings were expected to be the highest in the United Kingdom (-€9,367 million), France (-€5,589 million), and, far behind them

The Impact of EU Financial Crisis and the EU Member States Measures taken to Leave Recession

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simona Moagăr-Poladian

2009-10-01

Full Text Available This paper is focussed on the financial packages and fiscal stimuli measures taken by EU as a group and by each EU country for supporting hard-hit sectors like automotive industry, tourism and construction. The economic crisis from 2008-2009 has led to a sharp decrease of investment climate and a massive contraction of economic activity. This means a sharp decrease of capacity utilisation that had led in time to an excessive unemployment especially in the most hit sectors. The financial rescue measures of EU are comprised in European Economic Recovery Plan (EERP. Measures approved are different from country to country, depending by the political support and the strategy chosen by the government. The EU's response to support the real economy during the economic crisis has been taken very fast and well-organized in certain countries and industries. By contrary, some Member States' recovery measures has been approved late and the rescue strategy wasn’t enough achieved. This has led to a deepening of financial instability and unemployment.

External governance and the EU policy for sustainable biofuels, the case of Mozambique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Di Lucia, Lorenzo

2010-01-01

Growing demand for transport biofuels in the EU is driving an expansion of the industry in developing countries. Large-scale production of energy crops for biofuel, if mismanaged, could cause detrimental environmental and social impacts. The aim of this study is to examine whether the newly adopted EU Directive 2009/28/EC and its sustainability certification system can effectively ensure sustainable production of biofuels outside the EU. Mozambique, a least developed country with biofuels ambitions, is selected as empirical case. The effectiveness of the EU policy in analysed employing ideal models of external governance (hierarchical, market and network governance) as analytical framework. The findings show that the EU attempts to impose its rules and values on sustainable biofuels using its leverage through trade. The market approach adopted by the EU is expected to produce only unstable (subject to abrupt changes of market prices and demand) and thin (limited to climate and biodiversity issues) policy results. Stronger emphasis on a network oriented approach based on substantial involvement of foreign actors, and on international policy legitimacy is suggested as a way forward. - Research highlights: →The EU attempts to impose its rules and values on sustainable biofuels using its leverage through trade. →The market approach adopted by the EU is expected to produce only unstable (subject to abrupt changes of market prices and demand) and thin (limited to climate and biodiversity issues) policy results.→In order to promote simultaneously stable and substantial impacts, the EU governance approach based on market access should be integrated with a network mode of governance based on policy legitimacy.

Social science teachers on citizenship education: A comparative study of two post-communist countries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jeliazkova, Margarita I.

2015-01-01

This paper presents some of the results of a comparative study of high school social science teachers in two post-communist European countries: Bulgaria and Croatia. In both countries, citizenship education was implemented as a part of the EU accession efforts. I discuss the ways teachers deal with

Access to parks and physical activity: an eight country comparison

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schipperijn, Jasper; Cerin, Ester; Adams, Marc A

2017-01-01

Abstract Several systematic reviews have reported mixed associations between access to parks and physical activity, and suggest that this is due to inconsistencies in the study methods or differences across countries. An international study using consistent methods is needed to investigate...... the association between access to parks and physical activity. The International Physical Activity and Environment Network (IPEN) Adult Study is a multi-country cross-sectional study using a common design and consistent methods Accelerometer, survey and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data for 6......,181 participants from 12 cities in 8 countries (Belgium, Brazil, Czech Republic, Denmark, Mexico, New Zealand, UK, USA) were used to estimate the strength and shape of associations of 11 measures of park access (1 perceived and 10 GIS-based measures) with accelerometer-based moderate-to-vigorous physical activity...

The structure of the EU mediasphere.

Science.gov (United States)

Flaounas, Ilias; Turchi, Marco; Ali, Omar; Fyson, Nick; De Bie, Tijl; Mosdell, Nick; Lewis, Justin; Cristianini, Nello

2010-12-08

A trend towards automation of scientific research has recently resulted in what has been termed "data-driven inquiry" in various disciplines, including physics and biology. The automation of many tasks has been identified as a possible future also for the humanities and the social sciences, particularly in those disciplines concerned with the analysis of text, due to the recent availability of millions of books and news articles in digital format. In the social sciences, the analysis of news media is done largely by hand and in a hypothesis-driven fashion: the scholar needs to formulate a very specific assumption about the patterns that might be in the data, and then set out to verify if they are present or not. In this study, we report what we think is the first large scale content-analysis of cross-linguistic text in the social sciences, by using various artificial intelligence techniques. We analyse 1.3 M news articles in 22 languages detecting a clear structure in the choice of stories covered by the various outlets. This is significantly affected by objective national, geographic, economic and cultural relations among outlets and countries, e.g., outlets from countries sharing strong economic ties are more likely to cover the same stories. We also show that the deviation from average content is significantly correlated with membership to the eurozone, as well as with the year of accession to the EU. While independently making a multitude of small editorial decisions, the leading media of the 27 EU countries, over a period of six months, shaped the contents of the EU mediasphere in a way that reflects its deep geographic, economic and cultural relations. Detecting these subtle signals in a statistically rigorous way would be out of the reach of traditional methods. This analysis demonstrates the power of the available methods for significant automation of media content analysis.

Improving access to transport in developing countries

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Savill, T

2003-06-01

Full Text Available Improving access and mobility of people with disabilities is an essential component of the alleviation of poverty in developing countries. Disabled people are among the most socially excluded members of society and poorly designed and inaccessible...

Trade-facilitated technology spillovers in energy productivity convergence processes across EU countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wan, Jun; Baylis, Kathy; Mulder, Peter

2015-01-01

This empirical paper tests for trade-facilitated spillovers in the convergence of energy productivity across 16 European Union (EU) countries from 1995 to 2005. One might anticipate that by inducing specialization, trade limits the potential for convergence in energy productivity. Conversely, by inducing competition and knowledge diffusion, trade may spur sectors to greater energy productivity. Unlike most previous work on convergence, we explain productivity dynamics from cross-country interactions at a detailed sector level and apply a spatial panel data approach to explicitly account for trade-flow related spatial effects in the convergence analysis. Our study confirms the existence of convergence in manufacturing energy productivity, caused by efficiency improvements in lagging countries, while undermined by increasing international differences in sector structure. Further, we find that trade flows explain 30 to 40% of the unobserved variation in energy productivity. Trade continues to explain the unobserved variation in energy productivity even after accounting for geographic proximity. Last, we find that those countries and sectors with higher dependence on trade both have higher energy productivity growth and a higher rate of convergence, further implying that trade can enhance energy productivity. Thus, unlike concerns that trade may spur a ‘race to the bottom’, we find that promoting trade may help stimulate energy efficiency improvements across countries. - Highlights: • We test for trade-facilitated spillovers in cross-country energy productivity convergence. • We use a spatial panel-data approach and data for 16 European Union countries. • Efficiency improvements in lagging countries cause energy productivity convergence. • Trade flows explain 30 to 40% of unobserved variation in energy productivity. • Higher dependence on trade means higher rates of energy productivity growth

How social policies can improve financial accessibility of healthcare: a multi-level analysis of unmet medical need in European countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Israel, Sabine

2016-03-05

The article explores in how far financial accessibility of healthcare (FAH) is restricted for low-income groups and identifies social protection policies that can supplement health policies in guaranteeing universal access to healthcare. The article is aimed to advance the literature on comparative European social epidemiology by focussing on income-related barriers of healthcare take-up. The research is carried out on the basis of multi-level cross-sectional analyses using 2012 EU-SILC data for 30 European countries. The social policy data stems from EU-SILC beneficiary information. It is argued that unmet medical needs are a reality for many individuals within Europe - not only due to direct user fees but also due to indirect costs such as waiting time, travel costs, time not spent working. Moreover, low FAH affects not only the lowest income quintile but also the lower middle income class. The study observes that social allowance increases the purchasing power of both household types, thereby helping them to overcome financial barriers to healthcare uptake. Alongside healthcare system reform aimed at improving the pro-poor availability of healthcare facilities and financing, policies directed at improving FAH should aim at providing a minimum income base to the low-income quintile. Moreover, categorical policies should address households exposed to debt which form the key vulnerable group within the low-income classes.

EU Law Autonomy Versus European Fundamental Rights Protection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Storgaard, Louise Halleskov

2015-01-01

In the recently issued Opinion 2/13, the EU Court of Justice ruled that EU accession to the European Convention on Human Rights on the basis of the current Draft Accession Agreement would be incompatible with the EU Treaties. This article examines the impact of Opinion 2/13 on European fundamental...... rights protection. It argues that the concerns for EU law autonomy expressed in the Opinion for the most part are unwarranted and that the Court, through the use of classic constitutionalist language, seeks to position EU law as the superior European fundamental rights regime. The article furthermore...

Present developmental conditions petroleum substituting energies in the EU; Sekiyu daitai energy kaihatsu no genjo (EU)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-03-01

This report outlines the policy of development and introduction of petroleum substituting energies, and its diffusion situation in the EU. On the policy, development, introduction and diffusion of petroleum substituting energies in the EU, based on the new EU energy white paper issued in fiscal 1996, the policy of energy and environment in every EU country is first outlined. The policy of and practical approach to petroleum substituting energies in every EU country are next described. In particular, since ALTENER which has been continuously promoted by the EU for 3 years as main control measures against CO2 is newly moving toward the second plan, the trend of ALTENER and the new SAVE2 plan are presented. The content of JOULE-THERMIE is also precisely presented which is the new energy program of the 4th framework R & D program. In relation to the developmental trend of alternative energies to oil in the EU until 2020, its prediction result is presented on the basis of the latest study promoted by EC committee in the ALTENER plan. 10 tabs.

Does economic, financial and institutional developments matter for environmental quality? A comparative analysis of EU and MEA countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Abid, Mehdi

2017-03-01

The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) with a sample of 58 MEA (Middle East & African) and 41 EU (European Union) countries for the period 1990 to 2011. The empirical analysis is carried out using the GMM-system method to solve the problem of endogenous variables. We focused on direct and indirect effects of institutional quality (through the efficiency of public expenditure, financial development, trade openness and foreign direct investment) and the income-emission relationship. We found a monotonically increasing relationship between CO 2 emissions and GDP in both MEA and EU regions. The policy implication is clear: in order to have sustainable positive economic performance and to reduce carbon dioxide emission in the country at the same time, policy makers should regulate and enhance the role and efficiency of domestic institutions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In Search of Market Access: Why the Doha “Plan B” for December 2011 is likely to fail Effective Market Access (Part I)

OpenAIRE

Carrere, Céline; De Melo, Jaime

2011-01-01

Once again the Doha Round negotiators are struggling to reach an agreement, this time by mid-December on a “plan B” package that would give increased market access to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in the form of duty-free-quota free (DFQF) access accompanied by simplified rules of origin. Estimating ‘effective market access' to the two largest ‘preference-givers', the US and EU preferences, this note shows that remaining market access left for the LDCs is negligible at around 3 percent in ...

Barriers to access to opioid medicines for patients with opioid dependence: a review of legislation and regulations in eleven central and eastern European countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Vranken, Marjolein J M; Mantel-Teeuwisse, Aukje K; Jünger, Saskia; Radbruch, Lukas; Scholten, Willem; Lisman, John A; Subataite, Marija; Schutjens, Marie-Hélène D B

2017-06-01

Barriers linked to drug control systems are considered to contribute to inequitable access to controlled medicines, leaving millions of people in pain and suffering. Most studies focus on access to opioids for the treatment of severe (cancer) pain. This study aims to identify specific access barriers for patients with opioid dependence in legislation and regulations of 11 central and eastern European countries. This study builds on a previous analysis of legislation and regulations as part of the EU 7th Framework Access To Opioid Medication in Europe (ATOME) project. An in-depth analysis was undertaken to determine specific barriers for patients with opioid dependence in need of opioid analgesics or opioid agonist therapy (OAT). For each country, the number and nature of specific potential barriers for these patients were assessed according to eight categories: prescribing; dispensing; manufacturing; usage; trade and distribution; affordability; penalties; and other. An additional keyword search was conducted to minimize the omission of barriers. Barriers in an additional category, language, were recorded qualitatively. Countries included Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey. Ten of the 11 countries (all except Estonia) showed specific potential barriers in their legislation and regulations. The total number of barriers varied from two (Slovenia) to 46 (Lithuania); the number of categories varied from one (Slovenia) to five (Lithuania). Most specific potential barriers were shown in the categories 'prescribing', 'usage' and 'other'. The total number in a single category varied from one to 18 (Lithuania, prescribing). Individual differences between countries in the same specific potential barrier were shown; for example, variation in minimum age criteria for admission to OAT ranging from 15 (Lithuania, in special cases) to 20 years (Greece). All countries had stigmatizing language in their legislation

The status of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the process of accession to the European Union

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lakić Danijela

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The paper analyzes the level that Bosnia and Herzegovina has reached in the process of accession to the European union. Since year 2000, it has been included in Stabilization and Accession process, politico-legal framework of the European union for the integration in the Western Balkans. Among the countries in this region, Bosnia and Herzegovina has the slowest advancement on its way to the EU. It has not yet submitted the application for EU membership nor has the Stabilization and Accession Agreement come into force. The EU requires that Bosnia and Herzegovina meet two conditions in order to move forward. The first condition is the implementation of the Sejdić and Finci ruling of The European Court of Human Rights, from 2009, and the second is to create an efficient coordination mechanism on EU issues ( with one voice on EU issues. until the second condition is met, the EU has postponed making the decision on pre-accession assistance to Bosnia and Herzegovina until further notice. According to the assessment of the European Commission, the main cause of this stagnation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the lack of political will, and its specific constitution that does not present the obstacle to succession in the process of European integration.

New prospects in the development of nuclear energy in Romania, in the context of accession to EU

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gorea, Valica; Popescu, Dan; Bilegan, Iosif C.

2007-01-01

Full text: Including about half a billion inhabitants, the European Union is the second largest primary energy consumer in the world after United States. The most recent expansion of the EU towards East added diversity to the EU, challenging the member states to find and implement a joint energy policy. As an expression of increased regionalization, the economic integration implies the elimination of the economic boundaries among countries and the merger of the states into an economic entity that functions more efficiently than the individual economies separately do. The economic integration aims to foster the wealth of the countries involved and, as a natural consequence, to increase the stability of the region. Nuclear energy plays a crucial role in the European energy mix. In the nuclear power sector, the main concern for the new coming countries in the European Union, remains the nuclear safety. New standards and regulation will be issued for improving the general quality of life in a sound environment. For the candidate countries entering the European Union, this situation represents a real challenge. Their national legislation must be improved to meet the European standards. Public acceptance remains an essential issue for the European nuclear industry. In this context, the paper presents the main prospects and priorities in the development of nuclear field in Romania. (authors)

Doing Business in Czech Republic after Accession to the EU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dusan Litva

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Purpose of the article: European Union can be considered as a full integration process including political, safety, social or economic aspects. Economic integration is process of interconnection otherwise separated national markets (by removal of economic borders. This assumes removal of all obstacles (in economy, trade, tax, administration or industrial area and establishment of common rules for market competition. Basic benefit of economic integration is occurrences of real or potential competitiveness effects. Methodology/methods: European integration influenced number of factors of business environment mainly in area of legislation, taxes, public competition or harmonization of norms which can result in overall Czech Republic competitiveness abroad. In these papers have been used DB and GCI indexes and their subsequent indicators to analyze competitiveness and business environment in CR. Scientific aim: The aim of this article is research on impact of European integration on business environment and competitiveness of Czech Republic. Findings: Growing DTF trend for DB index since 2004 shows improvement of business environment after accession to the EU in contrast with non- EU members (Switzerland, Norway which remains flat. The biggest benefit for Czech business environment seems to be trade liberalization as Czech companies were able to compete successfully at foreign markets. On the other hand, according to GCI remains biggest challenge non- effective bureaucracy, tax regulation, corruption, political instability and low business sophistication. Conclusions: Czech Republic should focus, consistently with Lisbon strategy, on qualification of labour forces, increase o

The pursuit of a remedy for gender inequality in wider Europe: Comparison of policies and indices in the EU, Nordic countries, and south east Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kovačević Jasna

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper explores the differences between gender regimes in Europe, with an emphasis on EU policies, the Nordic women-friendly welfare states, and the former socialist policies of South Eastern European (SEE countries. The main premise is that culture and differing institutionalization of gender equality contribute to different perceptions of women’s role in society and to a different perception of gender equality in general. The paper examines the theoretical standpoints and historical background of different gender regimes in Europe. Gender equality indices are analyzed in order to investigate if any patterns exist among European countries with distinct cultural, political, and social backgrounds. Nordic countries are overachievers in gender equality in Europe, mainly due to the prevailing egalitarianism and institutionalization of women-friendly welfare policies, which can serve as a good benchmark for wider Europe, especially for countries from South East Europe. However, cultural differences exist between Scandinavian and other European countries, which cannot be considered homogeneous. The paper raises important issues of gender equality such as multiculturalism and immigration, questioning to what extent future EU enlargements will increase the risk of greater gender inequality in the EU.

Bringing Europe and Third countries closer together through renewable Energies (BETTER). D2.1. EU RES cooperation initiatives with third Countries. North Africa, West Balkans and Turkey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uslu, A.; Dalla Longa, F.; Veum, K.C.; Straver, K. [ECN Policy Studies, Petten (Netherlands); Karakosta, C [National Technical University of Athens, Athens (Greece)

2013-03-15

One major element of EU's external energy policy is expanding its energy norms and regulations to neighbourhood countries and beyond to achieve its energy policy priorities - safe, secure, affordable and sustainable energy supply. The importance of external energy policy has been acknowledged in the European Union's 2007 'energy package', and Second Strategic Energy Review and the European Commission's Communication on security of energy supply and international cooperation. The EU Renewable Energy Directive provides another element to crossborder cooperation by allowing Member States to fulfil their 2020 renewable energy (RES) targets by implementing joint projects in third countries. Even though the Member States' national renewable energy action plans (NREAPs) to reach their RES targets do not indicate any significant use of this mechanism, the RES Directive acknowledges the importance of renewable energy as part of external energy policy. This report aims at presenting the political framework between the EU and the BETTER project target regions (North Africa, Western Balkans and Turkey) with regards to (renewable) energy and the relevant initiatives and the projects to set the scene for RES joint projects as defined in Article 9 of the RES Directive. The main objectives of this study report are (1) to review energy treaties, agreements, and partnerships to assess their relevance to cooperation mechanism with Third countries; and (2) to analyse the relevance of the recent projects and initiatives to BETTER project and improve and trigger the communication and synergies between BETTER project partners and the relevant projects.

IAEA to implement Safeguards Additional Protocols in the EU

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

Full text: IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei welcomed the entry into force today of the Additional Protocols for 15 States of the European Union - France, the United Kingdom and the 13 non-nuclear weapon States of the EU - and the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM). The Protocols, which provide the Agency with better tools to verify compliance with nuclear non-proliferation commitments, entered into force when the European Commission informed the Agency that EURATOM's own requirements for entry into force had been met. The 15 States had provided similar notifications over the past years since signing the Protocols in 1998. The simultaneous entry into force of Additional Protocols for the 15 EU States is 'a very positive development and a milestone in our efforts to strengthen the verification regime', said Dr. ElBaradei. 'In my view, the Additional Protocol should become the standard for verification under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).' He added that the Agency had been preparing for the entry into force of the EU protocols and was confident that, in co-operation with the 15 States and EURATOM, it would be able to ensure effective and efficient implementation in the EU States. The Model Additional Protocol was developed following the discovery of Iraq's clandestine nuclear weapons programme to ensure that the IAEA is given the information and access it needs for timely discovery of any similar activities in States that have pledged not to use nuclear material and activities for weapons purposes. In the past year, Additional Protocols entered into force for 22 countries, and the Agency will now implement Additional Protocols in 58 States, which includes the 15 EU States. The 10 countries joining the EU on 1 May 2004 - seven of which already have brought into force Additional Protocols to their respective safeguards agreements - are expected to gradually accede to the Safeguards Agreement and Additional Protocol covering

Competitiveness analysis of Czech agrarian foreign trade in the context of world agrarian market and agrarian trade of EU-27 countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miroslav Svatoš

2010-01-01

Full Text Available This paper analyses the commodity structure of Czech (CR agrarian trade in relation to the EU countries. An emphasis is put on comparative advantages of particular aggregations from the view-point of their application on the EU internal market. This analysis is based on an evaluation of comparative advantages by means of a modified Balassa index. It is studied in two stages, for the internal EU market and the world market. The analysis results are then shown in a graph. Subsequently, the authors implement an idea arising from a BCG matrix on the results of the graphic presentation. The aim is to identify those aggregations (SITC, rev. 3 which are or have a potential to be a pillar of agri-business (ie, the “cash cows” and “stars”, and vice versa to show the aggregation which are non-prospective in the long term or problematic (ie, the “dogs” and “problem children”. As start are identified as those aggregations which are characterised by the highest growth rate of comparative advantage value. From the analysis results, changes are apparent if we compare the CR trade commodity structure in relation to the EU countries. Findings also concern the development of comparative advantages and following CR specialisation on trade with certain aggregations.

Gender Perspective on Access to Energy in the EU

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Clancy, Joy S.; Daskalova, Victoria Ivanova; Feenstra, Mariëlle Henriëtte; Franceschelli, Nicolo

2017-01-01

This study, commissioned by the European Parliament Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs, presents an overview of the situation within the EU with regard to the way energy poverty is experienced by women and men and explores through a gender lens existing EU legislation

Fighting windmills? EU industrial interest and global climate negotiations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steiner Brand, U.; Tinggaard Svendsen, G.

2003-01-01

Why has the EU been so eager to continue the climate negotiations? Can it be solely attributed to the EU feeling morally obliged to be the main initiator of continued progress on the climate change negotiations, or can industrial interests in the EU, at least partly, explain the behaviour of the EU? We suggest that the EU has a rational economic interest in forcing the technological development of renewable energy sources to get a fast-mover advantage, which will only pay if a sufficient number of countries implement sufficiently stringent GHG reductions. The Kyoto Protocol, which imposes binding reductions on 38 OECD countries, implies that, as a first-mover, the EU will be to sell the necessary new renewable technologies, most prominently wind mills, to other countries, when they ratify and implement the Kyoto target levels. In the latest EU proposal made in Johannesburg, the EU pushed for setting a target of 15% of all energy to come from sources such as windmills, solar panels and waves by 2015. Such a target would further the EU's interests globally, and could explain, in economic terms, why the EU eagerly promotes GHG trade at a global level whereas the US has left the Kyoto agreement to save the import costs of buying the EU's renewable systems. (au)

The EU's Convergence Dilemma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Notermans Ton

2015-02-01

Full Text Available As economic stagnation continues to mark the EU in the fifth year of the euro zone crisis, political support for integration is waning. The European Parliament elections of 2014 returned a hitherto unparalleled number of Eurosceptic MEPs, with EU-critical parties becoming the largest ones in several Member States. Much of this Euroscepticism is driven by economic polarisation between core and peripheral countries. While an increasing number of voters in the northwestern creditor countries resent having to foot the bill for what they consider economic mismanagement in the periphery, voters in peripheral countries increasingly rebel against what they deem to be an economically catastrophic Diktat from Germany and its allies. Continued political support for European integration will hinge on successful income convergence in the EU but the current dilemma is that such policies might not be politically feasible. Periods of rapid convergence would seem to suggest that success depends on two main policy strategies. First, a monetary policy that promotes credit for productive purposes, leaves inflation control to other instruments, and employs selective credit rationing to prevent asset booms. Second, a vertical industrial policy prioritising selected industrial sectors. The first policy conflicts with the present framework of euro zone monetary policy, but that framework was only installed in the first place because many peripheral countries were desperately in search of an external constraint on domestic distributional conflict. Industrial policies, in turn, require a sufficient degree of state autonomy from business elites in order to be effective, but it is highly questionable whether most states in the EU possess such autonomy. Though there are, as yet hesitant, signs of a reorientation of both monetary and cohesion policy in the EU, the question of the institutional and political preconditions for their successful implementation has been largely

Patient Access to Medicines for Rare Diseases in European Countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Detiček, Andreja; Locatelli, Igor; Kos, Mitja

2018-05-01

The number of authorized orphan and non-orphan medicines for rare diseases has increased in Europe. Patient access to these medicines is affected by high costs, weak efficacy/safety evidence, and societal value. European health care systems must determine whether paying for expensive treatments for only a few patients is sustainable. This study aimed to evaluate patient access to orphan and non-orphan medicines for rare diseases in 22 European countries during 2005 to 2014. Medicines for rare diseases from the Orphanet list, authorized during 2005 to 2014, were searched for in the IMS MIDAS Quarterly Sales Data, January 2005 - December 2014 (IQVIA, Danbury, CT). The following three measures were determined for each country: number of available medicines, median time to continuous use, and medicine expenditure. A medicine was considered available if uninterrupted sales within a 1-year period were detected. From 2005 to 2014, 125 medicines were authorized and 112 were found in the search. Of those, between 70 (63%) and 102 (91%) were available in Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, and the Scandinavian countries. These countries were also the fastest to enable continuous use (3-9 mo). Only 27% to 38% of authorized medicines were available in Greece, Ireland, Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia, which took 1 to 2.6 years to begin continuous use. A country's expenditure on medicines for rare diseases in 2014 ranged between €0.2 and €31.9/inhabitant. Patient access to medicines for rare diseases varies largely across Europe. Patients in Germany, Scandinavian countries, Switzerland, France, and the United Kingdom can access larger numbers of medicines in shorter time. Copyright © 2018 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting: Differences among Selected EU Countries

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Vukic Nikolina Markota

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Background: Greater transparency has become a relevant topic for companies around the world. Information and communication technologies revolution (ICT revolution has forced companies to become more transparent. With the intention of increasing companies’ transparency, the European Union (hereinafter: the EU has presented a new Accounting Directive 2013/34/EU which makes Corporate Social Reporting (hereinafter: CSR reporting mandatory for certain companies.

The expanding EU

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zank, Wolfgang

In this paper I try to explore whether the EU can go on expanding and thereby become culturally ever more diversified, and at the same retain its stability. The answer is, in principle, affirmative. Europe has always been much diversified, and therefore it is not possible to define a European...... identity in terms of particular cultural traditions. However, in spite of their diversity, the EU-member countries are united by their adherence to the principles of democracy, rule by law and human rights. Countries which do not share this basic consensus would not be accepted as members, nor is it likely...... that they would apply for it. An essential part is the willingness of member states to accept a reduction of national sovereignty on some important policy fields. The EU project is basically about lifting the principles of democracy and rule by law on the international level, most and foremost among the member...

Nuclear energy and nuclear safety in Slovenia in view of the accession to the EU

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grlicarev, I.

2001-01-01

The recent status in the preparation of the position of Slovenia in negotiations in to the EU in the field of nuclear energy, nuclear safety and radiation protection shows that Slovenia has still some tasks to be done, but there are no pending issues which might hinder the accession process. The effective communication has been established between EC and Slovenia. There are no issues which would need further clarification or even a transition period.(author)

Public Debt, Economic Growth and the Real Interest Rate : A Panel VAR Approach to EU and OECD Countries

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sterken, Elmer; Ogawa, Kazuo; Tokutsu, Ichiro

2016-01-01

We investigate the causal relationship between the public debt to GDP ratio and economic growth for 31 EU and OECD countries from 1995 to 2013. A number of studies have tackled this problem, but very few make the transmission mechanism explicit in their analysis. We estimate a panel VAR model that

Brasov people’s fears after EU accession. Study carried out at the level of Brasov Municipality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudiu COMAN

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This study is part of a wider research, a compared type based sociological survey using the questionnaire, applied in Brasov during January 2010 and June 2010: "Effects of the EU integration perceived at the level of Brasov community and its implications on life quality and styles." By trying to explain precisely these effects of European integration (as research objective it was found that, in the scientific literature, the subject of the EU integration effort was oriented by means of the utilitarian theory (Gabel, 1998. Other international studies have also put in evidence that public opinion on EU integration matters, is determined by economic considerations and personal calculations such as cost-benefit (Anderson, 1995; Eichenberg and Dalton, 1993; Gabel, 1998. Using secondary analysis of the 2010 database and by following the proposed model of Ioan Mărginean, Iuliana PrecupeŃu and Ana Maria Preoteasa (2004 regarding the development of a measurement model of the post-accession EU fears, adapted to the Brasov realities and based on three dimensions (the sphere of private life, the sphere of social life and the relationship between the individual and the society, the statistical analysis provides new clues upon the types, the categories and the attitudinal fears profiles found in Brasov and their correlation with a new global factor - the economic crisis.

New prospects in the development of nuclear energy in Romania in the context of the accession to EU

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gorea, Valica; Popescu, Dan; Bilegan, Iosif C.

2007-01-01

Full text: Including about half a billion inhabitants, the European Union is the second largest primary energy consumer in the world after the United States. The most recent expansion of the EU to the East added diversity to the EU challenging states to find and implement a joint energy policy. As the expression of increased regionalization, the economic integration pertains to the elimination of the economic boundaries between countries and the merger of the states into an economic entity that functions more efficiently than the individual economies separately do. The economic integration aims to foster the wealth of the countries involved and, as a natural consequence, to increase the stability of the region. Nuclear power will play a crucial role in the European energy balance. In the nuclear power sector, the main concern for the new coming countries in the European Union, remains the nuclear safety. New standards and regulation will be issued for improving the general quality of life in a sound environment. For the candidate countries entering the European Union, this situation represents a real challenge. Their national legislation must be improved to meet the European standards. Public acceptance remains an essential issue for the European nuclear industry. In this context, the paper presents the main prospects and priorities in the development of nuclear field in Romania. (authors)

EU Lobbying and Anti-Dumping Policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Jørgen Ulff-Møller; Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard

2012-01-01

of petitioning firms and Council voting in the case of anti-dumping policy. If the political position of countries in anti-dumping cases is influenced by domestic lobbying efforts, we expect that the empirical pattern of country distribution of petitioning firms in EU anti-dumping cases corresponds closely...... to the empirical pattern of EU country distribution in Council voting. Our results show a low petitioning intensity for anti-dumping investigations and a high voting intensity against anti-dumping measures in Northern Europe. Thus, it seems likely that domestic lobbying efforts have influenced the political...

Pivot Tables - Toolkit: the Constraints to the Business Development in the Former Socialist EU Countries from the Central and Eastern Europe between (2008-2016

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ecaterina Daniela Zeca

2016-07-01

Full Text Available When cooperation between countries is in harmony, trade and investment patterns are based on economic considerations. However, in times of geopolitical reconfiguration of ranking supremacy, economic events held on a stage that sums up all the world, with everything that means material resources, financial resources, polarized areas of intervention, causation so "equation", sometimes with many and unpredictable variables, may not be so easy to solve it. The measurements and econometric calculation are indisputable correct, analysis and the economic forecasts must be accompanied by correct investment strategies on international road map being important to not overlook tension that may weaken national strategy. Informational abundance is as dangerous, or more correctly ineffective, like is the shortage of information. I approached the topic " Pivot tables - toolkit: the constraints to the business development in the former EU socialist countries from the Central and Eastern Europe" in terms of the possibility of accessing easy, accurate and timely a lot of sources of information because, this aspect is desirable, that the result of research overcome the academic space and to become a useful and efficient tool both to researchers, the decision makers and for vectors of economic policy. How large were the constraints and limitations which occurred, which is architecture of their evolution curve for the horizon 2008, 2016, all of these are coagulated aspects in this paper and accessible with one click.

DEVELOPING MARKETING STRATEGY OF POULTRY MEAT SUPPLY IN EU- 28 COUNTRIES: MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS APPROACH

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Miro Simonič

2016-03-01

Full Text Available To create a concept of the marketing strategy, it is necessary to analyse the factors affecting the purchasing decisions of consumers. For the variables: production, import, export, and manufacturer's price we examine their impact on the marketing of poultry meat in the EU-28 in 2009 and 2011. Countries are grouped into clusters, their properties are analysed in relation to the mentioned variables. With multiple regression analysis, we find that there is a statistical correlation between high production and de-pending on the variable, and between the imports and exports as the independent vari-ables. Based on the analysed data in the researched countries, we conclude that the qualitative development of the production of poultry meat required implementing sophis-ticated agricultural policy with low inputs prices and exploit all available spare re-sources.

Opportunities and Threats of Ukrainian Membership in WTO for Engineering under Conditions of Co-operation with EU Countries and Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyzym Mykola O.

2014-02-01

Full Text Available The article considers consequences of the membership of Ukraine in the World Trade Organisation (WTO for the engineering industry when co-operating with the EU and CU (Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia countries. It shows that, after Ukraine joined WTO, tariff rates for Ukrainian products reduced in general and liberalisation of access to the world market took place. Along with it, the internal market of Ukraine became more open for imported products. The article analyses the structure of export from Ukraine after joining WTO in the context of individual types of products. The article identifies changes that took place in the market of engineering products after Ukraine joined WTO. The article shows that by main indicators of economic security the engineering industry of Ukraine cannot be considered as stable and also that, after joining WTO, main indicators of economic security of the engineering industry of Ukraine have not improved. It analyses the structure of export and import of Ukrainian engineering products to EU, CU and other countries. It proves that the most topical for the Ukrainian engineering industry is the issue of realisation of the import-replacement potential and increase of competitiveness of domestic products. It considers the state and changes, which took place after Ukraine joined WTO, in car building. It identifies main problems of domestic car building. It analyses measures of the state programme of Ukraine on economic development.

The structure of the EU mediasphere.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ilias Flaounas

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: A trend towards automation of scientific research has recently resulted in what has been termed "data-driven inquiry" in various disciplines, including physics and biology. The automation of many tasks has been identified as a possible future also for the humanities and the social sciences, particularly in those disciplines concerned with the analysis of text, due to the recent availability of millions of books and news articles in digital format. In the social sciences, the analysis of news media is done largely by hand and in a hypothesis-driven fashion: the scholar needs to formulate a very specific assumption about the patterns that might be in the data, and then set out to verify if they are present or not. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, we report what we think is the first large scale content-analysis of cross-linguistic text in the social sciences, by using various artificial intelligence techniques. We analyse 1.3 M news articles in 22 languages detecting a clear structure in the choice of stories covered by the various outlets. This is significantly affected by objective national, geographic, economic and cultural relations among outlets and countries, e.g., outlets from countries sharing strong economic ties are more likely to cover the same stories. We also show that the deviation from average content is significantly correlated with membership to the eurozone, as well as with the year of accession to the EU. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: While independently making a multitude of small editorial decisions, the leading media of the 27 EU countries, over a period of six months, shaped the contents of the EU mediasphere in a way that reflects its deep geographic, economic and cultural relations. Detecting these subtle signals in a statistically rigorous way would be out of the reach of traditional methods. This analysis demonstrates the power of the available methods for significant automation of media content

The Structure of the EU Mediasphere

Science.gov (United States)

Flaounas, Ilias; Turchi, Marco; Ali, Omar; Fyson, Nick; De Bie, Tijl; Mosdell, Nick; Lewis, Justin; Cristianini, Nello

2010-01-01

Background A trend towards automation of scientific research has recently resulted in what has been termed “data-driven inquiry” in various disciplines, including physics and biology. The automation of many tasks has been identified as a possible future also for the humanities and the social sciences, particularly in those disciplines concerned with the analysis of text, due to the recent availability of millions of books and news articles in digital format. In the social sciences, the analysis of news media is done largely by hand and in a hypothesis-driven fashion: the scholar needs to formulate a very specific assumption about the patterns that might be in the data, and then set out to verify if they are present or not. Methodology/Principal Findings In this study, we report what we think is the first large scale content-analysis of cross-linguistic text in the social sciences, by using various artificial intelligence techniques. We analyse 1.3 M news articles in 22 languages detecting a clear structure in the choice of stories covered by the various outlets. This is significantly affected by objective national, geographic, economic and cultural relations among outlets and countries, e.g., outlets from countries sharing strong economic ties are more likely to cover the same stories. We also show that the deviation from average content is significantly correlated with membership to the eurozone, as well as with the year of accession to the EU. Conclusions/Significance While independently making a multitude of small editorial decisions, the leading media of the 27 EU countries, over a period of six months, shaped the contents of the EU mediasphere in a way that reflects its deep geographic, economic and cultural relations. Detecting these subtle signals in a statistically rigorous way would be out of the reach of traditional methods. This analysis demonstrates the power of the available methods for significant automation of media content analysis. PMID

STATE REGULATION OF FRANCHISING IN THE EU MEMBER COUNTRIES

OpenAIRE

Solomiya Ohinok

2015-01-01

In despite of extensive research of franchising in the scientific community, there are a lot of unresolved issues relating to franchising, in particular its regulation at the national level and at the level of the European Union that is why the purpose of the paper is to summarise and present the difference between state regulation of franchising in the EU member states and to research the basic principles of state regulation of franchising in the EU also to analyze legislation of the franchi...

25 years of European Union (EU) quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs across EU Member States.

Science.gov (United States)

Albuquerque, Tânia G; Oliveira, M Beatriz Pp; Costa, Helena S

2018-05-01

Consumers are increasingly turning their attention to the quality and origin of products that they consume. European Union (EU) quality schemes are associated with a label, which was introduced to allow consumers to perform an informed choice and to protect producers from unfair practices. This present study provides an overview of the last 25 years of EU quality schemes [Protected Designations of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indications (PGI) and Traditional Specialities Guaranteed (TSG)] on agricultural products and foodstuffs across the 28 EU Member States. According to the results, it was possible to conclude that Southern European countries have the highest number of registered products. The most used EU quality scheme is PGI, followed by PDO. Concerning the analysis of the evolution in the last 25 years, the number of registered products among EU Member States has increased significantly. The fruit, vegetables and cereals (fresh or processed) category is the one that accounts for the highest percentage (26.8%) of registered products, followed by cheeses and meat products (cooked, salted, smoked) categories, with 17.2% and 13.5%, respectively. Further investigations should address consumer preferences, knowledge and attitudes, especially Northern European countries with a lower number of registered products. Moreover, the investigation and registration of products should be encouraged among all EU Member States to allow the maintenance of important elements of the history, culture and heritage of the local areas, regions and countries. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Marine conservation and accession: the future for the Croatian Adriatic.

Science.gov (United States)

Mackelworth, Peter; Holcer, Draško; Jovanović, Jelena; Fortuna, Caterina

2011-04-01

The European Union (EU) is the world's largest trading bloc and the most influential supra-national organisation in the region. The EU has been the goal for many eastern European States, for Croatia accession remains a priority and underpins many of its national policies. However, entry into the EU requires certain commitments and concessions. In October 2003 the Croatian parliament declared an ecological and fisheries protection zone in the Adriatic. Under pressure the zone was suspended, finally entering into force in March 2008 exempting EU States. There are other marine conflicts between Croatia and the EU, particularly the contested maritime border with Slovenia, and the development of the Croatian fishing fleet in opposition to the Common Fisheries Policy. Conversely, attempts to harmonise Croatian Nature Protection with the EU Habitats Directive, facilitated by pre-accession funding, has galvanised conservation policy. Since 2005 two marine protected areas have been declared, significantly increasing the marine ecosystem under protection. Finally, the development of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive is the latest EU attempt to integrate environmental policy in the maritime realm. This will have an effect not only on member States but neighbouring countries. For marine nature protection to be effective in the region the Adriatic Sea needs to be viewed as a mutually important shared and limited resource not a bargaining chip. Negotiations of the EU and Croatia have been watched closely by the other Balkan States and precedents set in this case have the potential to affect EU expansion to the East.

High Out-of-Pocket Health Spending in Countries With a Mediterranean Connection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon Grima

2018-05-01

like the WHO's 2000 metric, whereas health system performance indicators, namely mortality rates and life expectancy reveal favorable health outcomes in the Mediterranean EU countries. The findings in this paper may be seen in light of the Mediterranean region's lifestyle in terms of diet, health behavior, health beliefs and shared culture. In particular, the higher out-of-pocket expenditure may reflect the tendency for one-to-one relationships with private clinicians and the pursuit of person-centered care (1. Additionally, the Mediterranean people may not be as disciplined as their European counterparts in accessing and using the public health sector. The lower THE also reflects the fact that the Mediterranean countries are less wealthy than the more economically-advanced European countries.

Burden of injury of serious road injuries in six EU countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Weijermars, Wendy; Bos, Niels; Filtness, Ashleigh; Brown, Laurie; Bauer, Robert; Dupont, Emmanuelle; Martin, Jean Louis; Perez, Katherine; Thomas, Pete

2018-02-01

Information about the burden of (non-fatal) road traffic injury is very useful to further improve road safety policy. Previous studies calculated the burden of injury in individual countries. This paper estimates and compares the burden of non-fatal serious road traffic injuries in six EU countries/regions: Austria, Belgium, England, The Netherlands, the Rhône region in France and Spain. It is a cross-sectional study based on hospital discharge databases. of study are patients hospitalized with MAIS3+ due to road traffic injuries. The burden of injury (expressed in years lived with disability (YLD)) is calculated applying a method that is developed within the INTEGRIS study. The method assigns estimated disability information to the casualties using the EUROCOST injury classification. The average burden per MAIS3+ casualty varies between 2.4 YLD and 3.2 YLD per casualty. About 90% of the total burden of injury of MAIS3+ casualties is due to lifelong consequences that are experienced by 19% to 33% of the MAIS3+ casualties. Head injuries, spinal cord injuries and injuries to the lower extremities are responsible for more than 90% of the total burden of MAIS3+ road traffic injuries. Results per transport mode differ between the countries. Differences between countries are mainly due to differences in age distribution and in the distribution over EUROCOST injury groups of the casualties. The analyses presented in this paper can support further improvement of road safety policy. Countermeasures could for example be focused at reducing skull and brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and injuries to the lower extremities, as these injuries are responsible for more than 90% of the total burden of injury of MAIS3+ casualties. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

INTRAW, the EU Observatory for raw materials: fostering international cooperation and developing new opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

Correia, Victor; Allington, Ruth; Keane, Christopher

2016-04-01

A secure supply of raw materials is a European priority that extends beyond country borders and national policies. Recent European initiatives have pioneered the development of an EU strategy on raw materials emphasizing the concept of the "added value chain", which continues to pursue the three pillar strategy to: (1) ensure the fair and sustainable supply of raw materials from international markets, promoting international cooperation with developed and developing countries; (2) foster sustainable supply of raw materials from European sources, and (3) reduce consumption of primary raw materials by increasing resource efficiency and promoting recycling. This contribution presents the Horizon 2020 funded project INTRAW, the objective of which is to establish the European Union's International Observatory for Raw Materials. The creation and maintenance of the European Union's International Observatory for Raw Materials is designed to have a strong impact in two dimensions: 1. To narrow the existing gap in aspects of the raw materials knowledge infrastructure in the EU by providing a link with the same knowledge infrastructure in technologically advanced reference countries. This should contribute to the harmonization of mineral policies all over the EU, by providing data that enables evidence-based policies and appropriate, cost-effective management, planning and adaptation decisions by the public sector. This will benefit businesses, industry and society. The Observatory will also provide to policy makers in the EU and its Member States the data they need to facilitate discussion in multilateral forums. 2. To enable a better alignment of the R&I activities among the individual EU members and international cooperation countries AND between the European Union and international cooperation countries by boosting synergies with international research and innovation programmes. This way the EU's role and scientific capabilities in the raw materials area will be

Prevalence of nickel allergy in Europe following the EU Nickel Directive - a review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahlström, Malin G; Thyssen, Jacob P; Menné, Torkil

2017-01-01

.4% versus 19.8%) (p = 0.02), in female dermatitis patients aged ≤17 years (14.3% versus 29.2%) (p women: 20.2% versus 36.6%) (p men: 4.9% versus 6.6%) (p ..., and generally remained high, affecting 8-18% of the general population. A consistent pattern of decreasing prevalence of nickel allergy in some EU countries was observed, although the prevalence among young women remains high. Steps should be taken for better prevention of nickel allergy in EU countries.......Nickel contact allergy remains a problem in EU countries, despite the EU Nickel Directive. To study the prevalence of nickel allergy in EU countries following the implementation of the EU Nickel Directive, we performed a systematic search in PubMed for studies that examined the prevalence of nickel...

Monitoring VET Systems of Major EU Competitor Countries - The Cases of China, India, Russia and Korea

OpenAIRE

Ruth, Klaus

2009-01-01

The study on VET systems of major EU competitor countries is based on the objective of the (revised) Lisbon agenda to become the most competitive region of the world based on a knowledge driven production and social cohesion. Building on experts opinion and literature research this study aims at monitoring VET policies in China, India, Russia and Korea. The study analyses five themes which are assumed to be of outstanding importance for understanding the current performance and the developing...

Assessing gas transit risks: Russia vs. the EU

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le Coq, Chloé; Paltseva, Elena

2012-01-01

This paper proposes a Transit Risk Index (TRI) designed to assess the riskiness of pipeline gas imports and to study the effect of introducing new gas routes. TRI controls for gas dependency, transit route diversification, political risks of transit, pipeline rupture probability, and the balance of power between supplying and consuming countries along the transit route. Evaluating TRI for the EU-Russia gas trade, we show that the introduction of the Nord Stream pipeline would further widen already large disparities in gas risk exposure across the EU Member States. The gas risk exposure of the Member States served by Nord Stream would decline. In contrast, EU countries not connected to Nord Stream, but sharing other Russian gas transit routes with the Nord Stream countries, would face greater gas risk exposure. We discuss the implications of our analysis for the design of the common energy policy in the EU.

Acquisition of the ownership of agricultural lands in Hungary, taking the EU's and other countries' law into consideration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Szilágyi János E.

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The present article concentrates on the acquisition of ownership (and in some respects: use of agricultural and forestry lands, especially as to the cross-border aspects. One of the hypotheses of the article is that the above mentioned issue is a topical question almost all around the world. Nevertheless, the article focuses on a European aspect of the cross-border acquisition, namely the new land law rules of the EU's Member States having joined the European Union in 2004 and 2007. In 2014 and 2015, the European Commission had assessed the land law of these Member States (i.e. Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and initiated infringement procedures against these countries at the Court of Justice of the European Union. Besides the regulation of these new Member States of the EU, the present article deals with the legislation of other Member States as well as the provisions of non-EU states. The article gives substantial consideration to phenomena such as sovereignty, land-hunger or soil degradation which may exercise significant influence on the land law of a state.

Peer Country Comments Paper - Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bredgaard, Thomas

Bidrag til EU-kommissionens peer-review on "Strategies for Employment policy Reform. Implementation Challenges in Decentralised Countries"......Bidrag til EU-kommissionens peer-review on "Strategies for Employment policy Reform. Implementation Challenges in Decentralised Countries"...

Sizable variations in circulatory disease mortality by region and country of birth in six European countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rafnsson, Snorri B; Bhopal, Raj S; Agyemang, Charles

2013-01-01

BACKGROUND: Circulatory disease mortality inequalities by country of birth (COB) have been demonstrated for some EU countries but pan-European analyses are lacking. We examine inequalities in circulatory mortality by geographical region/COB for six EU countries. METHODS: We obtained national deat...

Exchange of researchers of oil substituting energies in EU countries; EU shokoku no sekiyu daitai energy kenkyusha koryu jigyo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-03-01

In order to further promote smoother introduction of oil substituting energies and development of new energies and energy saving technologies, it was intended to exchange and acquire items of information effective to learn the current state and policy trends on research and development of new energies and energy conservation in the EU countries who are the industrialized countries like Japan and enthusiastic in developing oil substituting energies. Therefore, exchange of researchers was carried out with an objective to contribute to research and development of oil substituting energies by deepening mutual understanding on the development efforts and forming efficient cooperative relationship. The researchers who visited Japan are Dr. Robert Durand (France) and Prof. and Dr. Bruno Scrosati (Italy). Dr. Durand has a great knowledge about fuel cells and storage batteries, and Dr. Scrosati about electrolytes and lithium batteries. Both gentlemen have visited the Agency of Industrial Science and Technology and the Agency of Natural Resources and Energy of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, NEDO, Toshiba, Sony, Sanyo Electric, Japan Storage Battery, Matsushita Battery Industry, the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Osaka, and Kansai Electric Power Company. Views and information were exchanged and a number of good results were rewarded.

The EU electricity production structure requires a differentiated energy policy; Die Stromerzeugungsstruktur der EU erfordert eine differenzierte Energiepolitik

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anon.

2016-04-15

For the electricity production of the EU there are differentiated structures which are based on different natural conditions, political decisions and investments of past decades. It has long been struggled committed to the ''one and correct'' energy policy. But precisely because of the differences in the individual countries, a unified energy and climate policy for the EU is not the right way. Diversity is a strength, which quite the EU Commission considered. Increased understanding of the specifics in other countries should just apply the German politics and the public that all too often judges from their own perspective. [German] Bei der Stromerzeugung in der EU bestehen differenzierte Strukturen, die auf unterschiedlichen natuerlichen Gegebenheiten, politischen Entscheidungen und Investitionen vergangener Jahrzehnte beruhen. Seit langem wird engagiert um die ''eine und richtige'' Energiepolitik gerungen. Doch gerade wegen der Unterschiede in den einzelnen Laendern kann eine vereinheitlichte Energie- und Klimapolitik fuer die EU nicht der richtige Weg sein. Vielfalt ist eine Staerke, was die EU-Kommission durchaus beruecksichtigt. Mehr Verstaendnis fuer die Spezifika in anderen Laendern sollte daher gerade die deutsche Politik und Oeffentlichkeit aufbringen, die allzu oft aus eigener Perspektive heraus urteilt.

Considerations on Cattle Stock and Cow Fresh Milk Production in the EU Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agatha Popescu

2011-10-01

Full Text Available The paper aimed to analyze the evolution of cattle stock and cow milk production in order to point out the main trends and differences between the EU-27 member states in the period 2004-2008. The data collected from FAO Stat, 2010 have been processed calculating the fixed basis index, average annual rhythm index and also the share of each EU state in cow milk production at the EU and world level.The main trends in the EU concerning cow milk sector are the continuous decrease in cattle stock, the increase of cow milk yield under the conditions of keeping a constant milk production and also milk production per capita. In 2008, the EU-27 was raising 90,478 thou cattle, and produced 149,388 thou tons cow fresh milk. The EU -27 is placed on the 5th position for number of cattle and on the 1st position for cow milk production, producing 25.8 % of world production. The largest milk producers in the EU-27 are Germany, France, United Kingdom, Poland, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Romania and Denmark, whose contribution to the EU productions is 82.82 %.

The EU Emissions Trading Scheme. Allowance Prices, Trade Flows, Competitiveness Effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klepper, G.; Peterson, S.

2004-03-01

The upcoming European Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is one of the more controversial climate policy instruments. Predictions about its likely impact and its performance can at present only be made to a certain degree. As long as the National Allocations Plans are not finally settled the overall supply of allowances is not determined. In this paper we will identify key features and key impacts of the EU ETS by scanning the range of likely allocation plans using the simulation model DART. The analysis of the simulation results highlights a number of interesting details in terms of allowance trade flows between member countries, of allowance prices, and in terms of the role of the accession countries in the ETS

Coping with EU environmental legislation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Anker, Helle Tegner; de Graaf, Kars; Purdy, Ray

2015-01-01

A ‘burden reducing’ agenda has spurred an increased interest in how EU environmental legislation is transposed into national legislation—most prominently reflected in the principle of ‘no gold-plating’. Yet, an important question is to what extent transposition principles and practices may ensure...... on coherence and accessibility with respect to environmental legislation and that such issues deserve more attention in the transposition process.......A ‘burden reducing’ agenda has spurred an increased interest in how EU environmental legislation is transposed into national legislation—most prominently reflected in the principle of ‘no gold-plating’. Yet, an important question is to what extent transposition principles and practices may ensure...... a coherent and accessible body of environmental legislation, while at the same time ensuring adequate transposition of EU environmental legislation. This article analyses the existence, or emergence, of transposition principles and practices in three Member States—the United Kingdom, the Netherlands...

Exchange-rate policy in eastern Europe and EU integration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jozef M. Van Brabant

2001-09-01

Full Text Available The paper examines potential conflicts between rapid EU integration of economies in transition (EiTs and their pursuing catch-up by focusing on exchange-rate policies. After justifying the proposed inquiry, official pronouncements on ER policies that EUcandidates are expected to pursue in the run-up to and upon their accession are summarized, and the salient features of recent debates on ER regimes recalled. Inasmuch as EiTs must modernize and reconcile this obligation with EU membership, in spite of the EU's cohesion experience, the paper combines real and nominal convergence issues with institutional changes upon EU accession to draw a novel perspective on the desirable postaccession transition regime for EiTs with a fairly active ER policy and the EU's cohesion strategy. Core components of such a strategy are advocated.

EU GHG Emission Targets: 'Mind the gap'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lojodice, Ilaria

2012-06-01

In Durban, the European Union has been able to overcome the traditional dividing lines between developed and developing countries, setting a 'road-map' for a post-Kyoto framework. This would see countries conclude an 'agreed outcome with legal force' on emissions targets by 2015. Was this a key goal or a partial success for EU climate diplomacy? The main concerns are that the second commitment period would only come into force by 2021, and that necessary carbon cuts are not be increased before 2020. The direct by-product for the EU victory has been the awakening of the debate about raising emissions reductions to 30%. In fact, as stated in the Low Carbon Road-map, the EU has adopted a target of cutting emissions by 20% to by 2020, and of moving to a 30% reduction target if the conditions are right. Is this finally the time for Europe to improve its performance, even if it means going it alone? The EU has always been a strong defender of the Kyoto Protocol under certain constraints, such as developing and emerging countries entering into the deal. But does the EU have all the right assets to fight for this? Where is Europe in achieving its 2020 goal? In essence, this paper provides an estimate of what EU emissions could be in 2020, and how they stand compared to Kyoto and 20% objective of the 2020 strategy. (author)

Gender and educational level modify the relationship between workplace mistreatment and health problems: a comparison between South Korea and EU countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoo, Minsang; Lee, Saerom; Kang, Mo-Yeol

2015-01-01

This study investigated effects of workers' cultural and personal characteristics on the relationship between workplace mistreatment and health problems in both South Korea and EU Countries. Data were obtained from nationally representative interview surveys: the third Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS) in 2011 (50,032 participants) and fifth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) in 2010 (41,302 participants). The Pressure-State-Response model was adapted to explore differences in the relationship between mistreatment and health problems according to country, and logistic regression analysis was used after stratification of moderating factors. Workplace mistreatment, such as discrimination, violence, harassment, and self-reported health problems, were assessed by gender and educational level. Among KWCS participants, there were 4,321 victims (14.70%) of workplace mistreatment; among EWCS participants, there were 5,927 victims (17.89%). There was a significant positive association between workplace mistreatment and self-reported health problems. A stronger association was found among workers with higher educational levels in Korea (2- to 4-fold higher odds for mental and physical health problems), but there was no significant difference by education level in workers of EU Countries. Female Koreans who worked alone had a higher risk of health problems related to workplace mistreatment than other gender compositions in the workplace (the OR for psychological symptoms reached 6.631). In contrast, the gender composition of the work place did not significantly affect EU workers. Workplace mistreatment is significantly associated with physical and mental health problems, especially among workers with higher educational levels and females who work alone in Korea.

Development tendencies in the energy industries of the EU accession candidate countries of Central and Eastern Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riesner, W.

2000-01-01

The present work considers development problems of energy facilities in Central and Eastern European Countries being in transition in the period from 1990 to 1999 and outline the changes in their economic situation. The paper also shows the development dynamics for economic indicators in 11 countries and analyses them for each country of the Central and Eastern European countries taken separately. (author)

Decoupling Economic Growth From Carbon Dioxide Emissions in the EU Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mariola Piłatowska

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to look at the long-run equilibrium relationship between CO2 emissions and economic growth (the EKC hypothesis in an asymmetric framework using the non-linear threshold cointegration. In order to avoid the problem of omitted variables bias, the dynamic relationship between pollutant emissions, economic development and energy consumption are also examined (the extended EKC model. The research hypothesis is that the economic growth decouples from CO2 emissions growth, i.e. the EKC hypothesis holds. The empirical study is carried out for the European Union countries (EU-14 divided into three groups depending on a category of knowledge-advanced economies in order to explain the differences in the dynamic linkage between CO2 emissions and economic growth, as well as in the energy consumption impact on this cointegrating relationship. We have found that the EKC hypothesis is valid for the most high-level and some middle-level knowledge advanced economies. The addition of energy consumption to the standard EKC model has improved the results in terms of the presence of linear or threshold cointegration for all low-level knowledge based economies. Moreover, the causality pattern between CO2 emissions and income has changed after energy consumption adding to the EKC model and some similarities are found in the countries belonging to the same category of knowledge-advanced economies

EU POLICY ON EDUCATION FUNDING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elena Cristina PANA

2014-04-01

Full Text Available On average, EU countries allocate 6.4% of total public expenditure for the direct support of the public sector at all levels of education. In view of a more rational allocation of resources seriously diminished by the crisis there are made efforts to identify educational areas considered problematic in terms of accessing various education programs. This paper presents pre-school funding policies and policies to support families with preschool and school age children in the European Union through a comparative analysis of the focus group type. There are also presented concrete ways of achieving that family support such as tax cuts, family allowances or by taking into account certain factors in order to establish fees. In all countries where taxes are paid for pre-compulsory education (ISCED A there is a mechanism by which parental contributions can be adjusted according to the means available taking into account criteria such as family income, number of children, family status (children who live with one parent geographic area, etc.

Energy efficiency policies for space heating in EU countries: A panel data analysis for the period 1990–2010

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ó Broin, Eoin; Nässén, Jonas; Johnsson, Filip

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Space heating demand between 1990 and 2010 modelled using a panel of 14 EU countries. • The impacts of 260 efficiency polices affecting space heating demand are examined. • Regulatory policies found to have had a greater success than financial or informative. • High priority should be given to regulatory policies for space heating energy goals. - Abstract: We present an empirical analysis of the more than 250 space heating-focused energy efficiency policies that have been in force at the EU and national levels in the period 1990–2010. This analysis looks at the EU-14 residential sector (Pre-2004 EU-15, excluding Luxembourg) using a panel data regression analysis on unit consumption of energy for space heating (kWh/m 2 /year). The policies are represented as a regression variable using a semi-quantitative impact estimation obtained from the MURE Policy Database. The impacts of the policies as a whole, and subdivided into financial, regulatory, and informative policies, are examined. The correlation between the actual reductions in demand and the estimated impact of regulatory policies is found to be stronger than the corresponding correlations with the respective impacts of financial policies and informative polices. Together with the well-known market barriers to energy efficiency that exist in the residential sector, these findings suggest that regulatory policy measures be given a high priority in the design of an effective pathway towards the EU-wide goals for space heating energy

Calling the EU's bluff. Who are the real champions of biodiversity and traditional knowledge in the EU-Central American and EU-Community of Andean Nations Association Agreements?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, R.

2009-12-01

Global Europe and the EU's Raw Materials Initiative are designed to bolster the EU's economic position - whatever the cost - in the face of fierce global competition for both markets and resources, especially from emerging economies such as China and India. The EU also fears losing trade to the US, which has already secured trade and investment concessions from countries in the Western hemisphere, through the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) and other bilateral trade agreements.

Access to Orphan Drugs: A Comprehensive Review of Legislations, Regulations and Policies in 35 Countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Gammie, Todd; Lu, Christine Y; Babar, Zaheer Ud-Din

2015-01-01

To review existing regulations and policies utilised by countries to enable patient access to orphan drugs. A review of the literature (1998 to 2014) was performed to identify relevant, peer-reviewed articles. Using content analysis, we synthesised regulations and policies for access to orphan drugs by type and by country. Fifty seven articles and 35 countries were included in this review. Six broad categories of regulation and policy instruments were identified: national orphan drug policies, orphan drug designation, marketing authorization, incentives, marketing exclusivity, and pricing and reimbursement. The availability of orphan drugs depends on individual country's legislation and regulations including national orphan drug policies, orphan drug designation, marketing authorization, marketing exclusivity and incentives such as tax credits to ensure research, development and marketing. The majority of countries (27/35) had in place orphan drug legislation. Access to orphan drugs depends on individual country's pricing and reimbursement policies, which varied widely between countries. High prices and insufficient evidence often limit orphan drugs from meeting the traditional health technology assessment criteria, especially cost-effectiveness, which may influence access. Overall many countries have implemented a combination of legislations, regulations and policies for orphan drugs in the last two decades. While these may enable the availability and access to orphan drugs, there are critical differences between countries in terms of range and types of legislations, regulations and policies implemented. Importantly, China and India, two of the largest countries by population size, both lack national legislation for orphan medicines and rare diseases, which could have substantial negative impacts on their patient populations with rare diseases.

Access to Orphan Drugs: A Comprehensive Review of Legislations, Regulations and Policies in 35 Countries.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Todd Gammie

Full Text Available To review existing regulations and policies utilised by countries to enable patient access to orphan drugs.A review of the literature (1998 to 2014 was performed to identify relevant, peer-reviewed articles. Using content analysis, we synthesised regulations and policies for access to orphan drugs by type and by country.Fifty seven articles and 35 countries were included in this review. Six broad categories of regulation and policy instruments were identified: national orphan drug policies, orphan drug designation, marketing authorization, incentives, marketing exclusivity, and pricing and reimbursement. The availability of orphan drugs depends on individual country's legislation and regulations including national orphan drug policies, orphan drug designation, marketing authorization, marketing exclusivity and incentives such as tax credits to ensure research, development and marketing. The majority of countries (27/35 had in place orphan drug legislation. Access to orphan drugs depends on individual country's pricing and reimbursement policies, which varied widely between countries. High prices and insufficient evidence often limit orphan drugs from meeting the traditional health technology assessment criteria, especially cost-effectiveness, which may influence access.Overall many countries have implemented a combination of legislations, regulations and policies for orphan drugs in the last two decades. While these may enable the availability and access to orphan drugs, there are critical differences between countries in terms of range and types of legislations, regulations and policies implemented. Importantly, China and India, two of the largest countries by population size, both lack national legislation for orphan medicines and rare diseases, which could have substantial negative impacts on their patient populations with rare diseases.

Legal constraints on EU Member States as primary law makers : a case study of the proposed permanent safeguard clause on free movement of persons in the EU negotiating framework for Turkey's accession

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tezcan, Narin

2015-01-01

Do Member States of the EU have a free hand in drafting Accession Treaties, or are there legal constraints on their primary law making function in this context? That is the central question this thesis addresses. It argues that such constraints do exist, and tries to identify them, thereby hoping to

EU Agro Biogas Project

OpenAIRE

Amon, T.; Mayr, H.; Eder, M.; Hobbs, P.; Rao Ravella, S.; Roth, U.; Niebaum, A.; Doehler, H.; Weiland, P.; Abdoun, E.; Moser, A.; Lyson, M.; Heiermann, M.; Plöchl, M.; Budde, J.

2009-01-01

EU-AGRO-BIOGAS is a European Biogas initiative to improve the yield of agricultural biogas plants in Europe, to optimise biogas technology and processes and to improve the efficiency in all parts of the production chain from feedstock to biogas utilisation. Leading European research institutions and universities are cooperating with key industry partners in order to work towards sustainable biogas production in Europe. Fourteen partners from eight European countries are involved in the EU-AGR...

[Accidents and injuries in the EU. Results of the EuroSafe Reports].

Science.gov (United States)

Bauer, R; Steiner, M; Kisser, R; Macey, S M; Thayer, D

2014-06-01

Accidents and injuries are a relevant although largely preventable public health problem. Information on the causes of accidents is the basis for accident prevention and product safety. The current report "Injuries in the European Union", edited by EuroSafe, the European Association for Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion, is a summary of key statistics on accidents and injuries at the EU level. In addition to international data on cause of death, the data of the European Injury Data Base (IDB) in particular are presented. The IDB is a unique data source for the EU based on an internationally standardized dataset of external causes and circumstances of injuries, which is collected in the emergency department of hospitals. Thus, the IDB covers the entire spectrum of accidents and injuries in sufficient detail as is necessary for the derivation of preventive measures and the knowledge of involved products. The currently available IDB data are collected by the participating Member States (2012: Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, and Sweden) in self-interest (i.e., without legal obligation) with the support of the EU health programs. The central database for the IDB is run by the European Commission and provides public access to the aggregated data of the participating countries. Currently, over 100 IDB hospitals in the EU upload around 300,000 cases per year into the EU database. The IDB contains information on all accident sectors (transport, workplace, school etc.) with a focus on leisure and sports accidents. Depending on the accident sector, up to 25 variables (activities, products involved, means of transport etc.) and often also short narratives are recorded for each case. The report shows that 40 million people are treated in a hospital annually in the EU after accidents and violence, and that about 233,000 people die as a consequence of injury. There are large differences between countries

The Determinants Factors of the Capital Cost � Evidence from 5 EU Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Georgiana Sterea

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to highlight the importance and complexity of the company�s capital and its components and the extent to which its cost is influenced by several factors. In order to achieve this goal we have made a study on a sample of 15 companies from Romania and other 4 EU countries: Italy, Spain, France and Finland. All are SME�s and micro-enterprises that acting in the sector of "Growing of spices, aromatic, drug and pharmaceutical crops". For the study of capital cost determinants were selected five variables: return on equity, return on assets, general indebtedness, taxation and firm�s size in order to determine their influence on the cost of capital.

Research on the National Culture–Intellectual Capital Inter-Relationship in EU Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ioan-Franc Valeriu

2013-12-01

Full Text Available the paper aims at identifying the type and the intensity of the relationship between the national culture dimension and the intellectual capital dimension. The purpose of the paper is to analyse the correlations of the national culture dimensions, based on the Geert Hofstede approach, with the three dimensions of the intellectual capital within the EU countries. The research procedures were: content analysis of the most representative models and methodologies for evaluating the intellectual capital and the national culture dimensions, and correlation analysis. The main outcome of our research reveals the influence of the national culture on the intellectual capital performance. It also shows that some dimensions of the national culture, such as Individualism versus Collectivism and Indulgence versus Restraint, correlate positively with the intellectual capital, while other dimensions, such as Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance correlate with it negatively.

CROATIAN WINE SECTOR IN THE LIGHT OF THE EU ACCESSION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jasna Čačić

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The accession process of The Republic of Croatia towards the membership in the European Union demands preparation and adjustment of the whole economy including agriculture. Wine sector, as one of the most complex agriculture sectors regarding European legislation framework, is finding itself on the point of rapid changes. The wine producers as well as the state have to adjust themselves to the new rules and to the new legal framework. The paper has analysed the current situation in the Croatian wine sector, explored the need for establishment of an institution that could help producers in wine marketing as well as the role of the government. According to the survey 73.6% wine producers sell their wine exclusively on the domestic market and 26.4% producers sell it on both domestic and international market. The results have indicated that 53.6% of the producers expect wine sale difficulties after Croatia enters the EU. According to the producers’ opinion the government should establish the institution that could help producers in marketing and consulting activities.

EU, Eastern Europe and Values Imperialism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen White

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes an idea of'values imperialism'as a helpful way of conceptualising the relationship between the EU and the states that came within its sphere of influence after the end of the Cold War, particularly its 'neighbours' in Eastern Europe. Values imperialism places its emphasis on the 'superstructure', including norms, laws and social practices. EU larger objective was that the assumptions about government and ownership that were favoured by the dominant powers (EU and the West in the broad term should be absorbed and recapitulated by those countries that were subordinate. The broad framework ofsubordination was established by the Partnership and Cooperation Agreements that began to be concluded from 1994 onwards. Patterns of'values imperialism'could also be discovered in the EU Common Strategies on Russia and Ukraine that were adopted in 1999. Article also points out several cases when the EU intervened directly in the domestic affairs of the Eastern Europe countries in a manner that was not always compatible with the provisions on state sovereignty: a 'European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights', launched in 2006, interventions ofEU representatives in the work of local courts and organisation of exit polls, which could be used to discredit the official election results and in this way to undermine the position of local governments. Finally, the author concludes that the EU used 'values imperialism'practices in order to extend its influence, particularly in the Eastern Europe.

Relocating a Company within the EU

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Werlauff, Erik

2008-01-01

This article analyses how a public or private limited company can be relocated in another EU country via establishment of a subsidiary in the second country, followed by a reverse vertical merger (the parent ceases to exist and the subsidiary is the continuing company). The consideration for the ...... for the merger is shares in the subsidiary, which can be effected by giving the parent company's shares in the subsidiary to the parent company's shareholders, but after the shares have taken a brief respite in the subsidiary as own shares......This article analyses how a public or private limited company can be relocated in another EU country via establishment of a subsidiary in the second country, followed by a reverse vertical merger (the parent ceases to exist and the subsidiary is the continuing company). The consideration...

Ireland or the Netherlands: Which country is more entrepreneurial?

OpenAIRE

O'Gorman, Colm; Diaz-Moriana, Vanessa

2013-01-01

What country was ranked the most entrepreneurial of the EU-15 countries in 2005? Ireland. In 2005, Ireland ranked 1st of the EU-15 countries in terms of the rate of entrepreneurship. The Dutch ranked jointed 9th. Which of the EU-15 countries was the most entrepreneurial in 2012? The Netherlands. Since 2005, the rate of entrepreneurship in the Netherlands has increased. They now rank 1stof the EU-15 countries. Ireland’s rate of entrepreneurship has decreased. By 2012, Ireland ranked 9th of the...

CHANGES AND PERSPECTIVES OF SLOVENIAN PIG PRODUCTION BEFORE AND AFTER ACCESSION TO THE EU: THE CASE STUDY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Kastelić

2007-06-01

Full Text Available The changes in pig production during the last six to ten years were studied in case of Farme Ihan d. d., the Slovenian pig producer. At the beginning of the period, the company produced 70 to 75 thousand slaughtering pigs per year. At the end of the period the production increased to 150 thousand. As expected, the prices of pigs were reduced during that period. According to the new legislation, the large part of facilities was reconstructed and some environment protection investments were done. The production was improved: the number of weaned pigs per sow per year increased from 19.2 in 1996 to 25.48 in 2006 and reached the Danish average. The percentage of meat was increased in the same period from 52.7 % to 58.6 %. The progress in daily gain and in feed conversion ratio was moderate. To secure the access to the market, the own slaughter facility was bought and reconstructed. For the same reason, the company became shareholder of two meat processing companies. The transition period has not been finished yet. Production results may improve faster than in old EU member countries. Investment cycle has also not been finished yet. More investments, especially in environment protection are needed.

The Gender Wage Gap as a Function of Educational Degree Choices in an Occupationally Segregated EU Country

OpenAIRE

Livanos, Ilias; Pouliakas, Konstantinos

2009-01-01

This study investigates the extent to which differences in the subject of degree studied by male and female university graduates contributes to the gender pay gap, and the reasons underlying their distinct educational choices. The case of Greece is examined due to the fact that it is an EU country with historically large gender discrepancies in earnings and occupational segregation. Using micro-data from the Greek Labour Force Survey (LFS), the returns to academic disciplines are firstly esti...

The effects of a rise in cigarette price on cigarette consumption, tobacco taxation revenues, and of smoking-related deaths in 28 EU countries-- applying threshold regression modelling.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeh, Chun-Yuan; Schafferer, Christian; Lee, Jie-Min; Ho, Li-Ming; Hsieh, Chi-Jung

2017-09-21

European Union public healthcare expenditure on treating smoking and attributable diseases is estimated at over €25bn annually. The reduction of tobacco consumption has thus become one of the major social policies of the EU. This study investigates the effects of price hikes on cigarette consumption, tobacco tax revenues and smoking-caused deaths in 28 EU countries. Employing panel data for the years 2005 to 2014 from Euromonitor International, the World Bank and the World Health Organization, we used income as a threshold variable and applied threshold regression modelling to estimate the elasticity of cigarette prices and to simulate the effect of price fluctuations. The results showed that there was an income threshold effect on cigarette prices in the 28 EU countries that had a gross national income (GNI) per capita lower than US$5418, with a maximum cigarette price elasticity of -1.227. The results of the simulated analysis showed that a rise of 10% in cigarette price would significantly reduce cigarette consumption as well the total death toll caused by smoking in all the observed countries, but would be most effective in Bulgaria and Romania, followed by Latvia and Poland. Additionally, an increase in the number of MPOWER tobacco control policies at the highest level of achievment would help reduce cigarette consumption. It is recommended that all EU countries levy higher tobacco taxes to increase cigarette prices, and thus in effect reduce cigarette consumption. The subsequent increase in tobacco tax revenues would be instrumental in covering expenditures related to tobacco prevention and control programs.

The Relationship between Property Rights and Economic Growth: an Analysis of OECD and EU Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haydaroğlu Ceyhun

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In recent years, institutions and institutional structure have become some of the most popular concepts analyzed by economics theory. New growth theories have especially focused on the effects of institutions and institutional structure on a macro level. Property rights are one of the most important elements of this institutional structure. The relationship between property rights and economic growth have drawn the attention of many researchers and policymakers in recent years. The aim of this study, covering the period 2007–2014, is to examine the relationship between property rights and economic growth with the help of PARDL in OECD and EU countries. According to the result of a bounds test, there is cointegration between the variables. The long- and short-term relationships between series were determined and the results taken from the analysis show that there is a positive effect on economic growth in those countries.

Nordic working group on x-ray diagnostics - Practical implementation of the directive on medical exposures in the Nordic EU countries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Waltenburg, H.N.; Groen, P. [National Institute of Radiation Hygiene, Herlev (Denmark); Leitz, W. [Swedish Radiation Protection Authority, Stockholm (Sweden); Servomaa, A. [Finnish Centre for Radiation and Nuclear Safety, Helsinki (Finland); Einarsson, G. [Icelandic Radiation Protection Institute, Reykjavik (Iceland); Olerud, H. [Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority, Oslo (Norway)

2003-06-01

The EU directive on medical exposure, 97/43/EURATOM (referred to in the following as MED) imposes new requirements on hospital departments using ionising radiation for either diagnostics or treatment of illnesses. The directive was approved on 30 June 1997, and the member states were obliged to implement the requirements into national legislation before 13 May 2000. The implementation of a directive of this kind is a complicated process requiring time as well as other resources. The Nordic EU countries (Sweden, Finland and Denmark) must comply with the rules in MED, while this is not the case for Norway and Iceland as EFTA (European Free Trade Association) members, since the agreements between EFTA and EU does not cover the EURATOM treaty. The issues that have to be addressed in the national legislation are justification, optimisation, responsibilities, procedures, training, equipment, special protection during pregnancy and breast-feeding, and potential exposure. A central aspect in MED is the requirement for quality assurance programmes to be established in radiological departments (and in other departments employing ionising radiation). A change of this magnitude in legislation requires adjustments in the routines of the individual departments. The staff in each department needs to prepare and follow procedures and instructions for daily work and also participate in day-to-day quality assurance. A considerable burden has also been laid on the radiation protection authorities in the member states, first in the process of transposing MED into national law or regulations, and secondly in guiding the process of practical implementation. Here we will describe how the individual Nordic EU countries have chosen to implement MED in national legislation and how far the process of complying with the requirements has come so far. Although Norway and Iceland are not required to follow MED, it is still interesting for comparison to include the situation in these countries

Nordic working group on x-ray diagnostics - Practical implementation of the directive on medical exposures in the Nordic EU countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waltenburg, H.N.; Groen, P.; Leitz, W.; Servomaa, A.; Einarsson, G.; Olerud, H.

2003-01-01

The EU directive on medical exposure, 97/43/EURATOM (referred to in the following as MED) imposes new requirements on hospital departments using ionising radiation for either diagnostics or treatment of illnesses. The directive was approved on 30 June 1997, and the member states were obliged to implement the requirements into national legislation before 13 May 2000. The implementation of a directive of this kind is a complicated process requiring time as well as other resources. The Nordic EU countries (Sweden, Finland and Denmark) must comply with the rules in MED, while this is not the case for Norway and Iceland as EFTA (European Free Trade Association) members, since the agreements between EFTA and EU does not cover the EURATOM treaty. The issues that have to be addressed in the national legislation are justification, optimisation, responsibilities, procedures, training, equipment, special protection during pregnancy and breast-feeding, and potential exposure. A central aspect in MED is the requirement for quality assurance programmes to be established in radiological departments (and in other departments employing ionising radiation). A change of this magnitude in legislation requires adjustments in the routines of the individual departments. The staff in each department needs to prepare and follow procedures and instructions for daily work and also participate in day-to-day quality assurance. A considerable burden has also been laid on the radiation protection authorities in the member states, first in the process of transposing MED into national law or regulations, and secondly in guiding the process of practical implementation. Here we will describe how the individual Nordic EU countries have chosen to implement MED in national legislation and how far the process of complying with the requirements has come so far. Although Norway and Iceland are not required to follow MED, it is still interesting for comparison to include the situation in these countries

Management of packaging waste in Poland--development agenda and accession to the EU.

Science.gov (United States)

Grodzińska-Jurczak, Małgorzata; Zakowska, Hanna; Read, Adam

2004-06-01

In recent years the issue of the municipal waste in Poland has become increasingly topical, with a considerable rise in the waste generation, much of which can be attributed to a boom in product packaging (mainly plastic). The annual production of plastics packaging has been constantly increasing over the last 20 to 30 years, and now exceeds 3.7 million tons. Due to a lack of processing technologies and poorly developed selective segregation system, packaging waste is still treated as a part of the municipal solid waste (MSW) stream, most of which is landfilled. As a result of Poland's access to the European Union, previous legal regulations governing municipal waste management have been harmonized with those binding on the member countries. One of the main changes, the most revolutionary one, is to make entrepreneurs liable for environmental risks resulting from the introduction of packaging to the market, and for its recycling. In practice, all entrepreneurs are to ensure recovery, and recycling, of used packaging from products introduced to the market at the required level. In recent year, the required recycling levels were fulfilled for all types of materials but mainly by large institutions using grouped and transport packaging waste for that matter. Household packaging gathered in the selective segregation system at the municipalities was practically left alone. This paper is an attempt to describe the system and assess the first year of functioning of the new, revamped system of packaging waste management in Poland. Recommendations are made relating to those features that need to be included in packaging waste management systems in order to maximize their sustainability and harmonization with the EU legal system.

Labour Market Integration of young EU Migrant Citizens in Germany and the UK

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Spreckelsen, Thees; Leschke, Janine; Seeleib-Kaiser, Martin

This papers examines the quantitative and qualitative labour market integration of recent young EU migrant citizens in Germany and the UK, separately for citizens from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Romania and Bulgaria, and Southern European countries. It estimates weighted-proportions from...... market outcomes of all migrants, ignoring a potential double-labour market disadvantage of migrant youth. Routinely, EU migrants’ labour market outcomes are compared for EU-15 and CEE countries, rather than separately and against third country nationals. This paper finds two things:  a high labour force...... participation of young EU migrants  a labour market segmentation for young EU migrant citizen from CEE and Bulgaria, who experience more precarious work in both Germany and the UK....

Analysis of Purchasing Power Parities in Romania in the context of EU integration

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Roxana Cristina Vîlcu

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Purchasing power parity (PPP is a useful tool for international comparison of prices between countries, in order to analyze the degree of economic development. On this line, purchasing power parities are indicators that express the main macroeconomic aggregates, in a common currency for all the countries subject to international comparisons. This material analyzes the evolution of PPP in Romania for a time interval of 10 years (2004-2013. The purpose of research is to analyze the purchasing power at national level, in the context of integration in European Union (EU. The period before and after Romania’s integration in the EU, has an important role to establish the positioning of our country in terms of purchasing power, compared to the other EU countries. The main conclusion of the paper is that Romania is the country with one of the lowest purchasing power parities compared to other EU countries, along with Bulgaria, which joined the EU in the same year (2007. Given that PPP cannot establish a hierarchy of countries, the research takes into account other important indicators such as: Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices, GDP and inflation rate.

Monitoring Energy Efficiency in the EU-27 the ODYSSEE - MURE Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bosseboeuf, D.; Bozic, H.; Vuk, B.; Novosel, D.; Keco, M.; Karan, M.; Vukman, S.; Krstulovic, V.

2008-01-01

Since more than a decade, the European Commission through the Intelligent Energy for Europe programme and 29 partners, mainly European national energy efficiency agencies, have developed common methodologies on energy efficiency monitoring. This relies on two complementary tools: 1) ODYSSEE, an internet database on energy efficiency indicators. Around 200 indicators comparable and harmonised across countries are developed at sectoral or end uses levels, over the period 1980-2006 for the EU-15 countries and from 1990 for EU-10 countries + Croatia and Norway. 2) MURE, an interactive internet data base on energy efficiency policies. More than 1300 policies descriptions are stored. When available, ex-post evaluations are reported. Based on this material provided by each of partners representing all the EU-Members and Croatia, a cross countries analysis is carried by sector on the recent trends for the EU as a whole and by countries. This diagnosis of benchmark shows that countries which have performed the best differ according to the end uses. The contribution of the manufacturing sector in the energy savings seems slowing down compared to the late nineties. Inversely, results in transport seem now encouraging. The building sector has performed disappointingly despite numerous policies. Analysis of the policy mix across countries and its dynamic shows divergences between the EU-15 countries and the EU 10. Innovative measures can be found everywhere and are discussed extensively. These results become more and more widely used by member state to assess and interpret the target and the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan of the plan of the Energy Service directive recently launched. This report presents an analysis of energy efficiency trends in Croatian on the basis of energy efficiency indicators based on the ODYSSEE methodology. This analysis focuses on the period 1992-20041, in the energy consumption and energy efficiency in total and in sectors (industry

The effects of a rise in cigarette price on cigarette consumption, tobacco taxation revenues, and of smoking-related deaths in 28 EU countries-- applying threshold regression modelling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chun-Yuan Yeh

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background European Union public healthcare expenditure on treating smoking and attributable diseases is estimated at over €25bn annually. The reduction of tobacco consumption has thus become one of the major social policies of the EU. This study investigates the effects of price hikes on cigarette consumption, tobacco tax revenues and smoking-caused deaths in 28 EU countries. Methods Employing panel data for the years 2005 to 2014 from Euromonitor International, the World Bank and the World Health Organization, we used income as a threshold variable and applied threshold regression modelling to estimate the elasticity of cigarette prices and to simulate the effect of price fluctuations. Results The results showed that there was an income threshold effect on cigarette prices in the 28 EU countries that had a gross national income (GNI per capita lower than US$5418, with a maximum cigarette price elasticity of −1.227. The results of the simulated analysis showed that a rise of 10% in cigarette price would significantly reduce cigarette consumption as well the total death toll caused by smoking in all the observed countries, but would be most effective in Bulgaria and Romania, followed by Latvia and Poland. Additionally, an increase in the number of MPOWER tobacco control policies at the highest level of achievment would help reduce cigarette consumption. Conclusions It is recommended that all EU countries levy higher tobacco taxes to increase cigarette prices, and thus in effect reduce cigarette consumption. The subsequent increase in tobacco tax revenues would be instrumental in covering expenditures related to tobacco prevention and control programs.

EU cooperation with third countries: rethinking concepts and investments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth Collett

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Despite ‘externalising’ its immigration agenda, the EU has largely failed to develop a coherent and effective overall strategy, to the detriment of migrants and would-be asylum seekers.

Presence, characteristics and equity of access to breast cancer screening programmes in 27 European countries in 2010 and 2014. Results from an international survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Deandrea, S; Molina-Barceló, A; Uluturk, A; Moreno, J; Neamtiu, L; Peiró-Pérez, R; Saz-Parkinson, Z; Lopez-Alcalde, J; Lerda, D; Salas, D

2016-10-01

The European Union Council Recommendation of 2 December 2003 on cancer screening suggests the implementation of organised, population-based breast cancer screening programmes based on mammography every other year for women aged 50 to 69years, ensuring equal access to screening, taking into account potential needs for targeting particular socioeconomic groups. A European survey on coverage and participation, and key organisational and policy characteristics of the programmes, targeting years 2010 and 2014, was undertaken in 2014. Overall, 27 countries contributed to this survey, 26 of the 28 European Union member states (92.9%) plus Norway. In 2014, 25 countries reported an ongoing population-based programme, one country reported a pilot programme and another was planning a pilot. In eight countries, the target age range was broader than that proposed by the Council Recommendation, and in three countries the full range was not covered. Fifteen countries reported not reaching some vulnerable populations, such as immigrants, prisoners and people without health insurance, while 22 reported that participation was periodically monitored by socioeconomic variables (e.g. age and territory). Organised, population-based breast cancer screening programmes based on routine mammograms are in place in most EU member states. However, there are still differences in the way screening programmes are implemented, and participation by vulnerable populations should be encouraged. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Import substitution and food safety provision in EU countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valeriya A. Aleshina

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Objective to describe methods of forming the mechanism of agriculturalindustrial complex protection and smoothing the social threats caused by the reduced stability in the food market and the population solvency due to the global crisis. Methods in this work we have applied statistical analytical economicmathematical methods including those based on the analysis of statistical indicators of agriculturalindustrial complex AIC. Results basing on analytical data and expert estimates the technique of risk assessment is grounded which is related to food security and reduced solvency and the situational behavior of the state is described in the context of the food crisis depending on the depth of the crisis and market instability sources. Scientific novelty economicmathematical methods were applied for risk assessment in the sphere of providing the population with food products budget expenditures on agriculture support and social protection are compared among the EU countries the methodology is proposed to coordinate efforts to stabilize the situation in the food market. Practical significance the methodology of analysis of state bodies and business communitiesrsquo efficiency in the area of food security and developing unified policies to promote agriculturalindustrial complex and social protection and recommendations in the sphere of pricing in the AIC products market for the protection of domestic market and entering the foreign commodity markets. nbsp

Opportunities and threats of WTO membership of Ukraine in foreign trade of high-technology products under conditions of co-operation with EU countries and Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyzym Mykola O.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article considers the problem of consequences of membership in the World Trade Organisation (WTO for Ukraine in foreign trade of high-technology products under conditions of co-operation with EU countries and the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia (CU. The article shows that after Ukraine joined WTO there were some rather significant reductions of tariff rates for Ukrainian products and liberalisation of access to the world markets, at the same time the internal Ukrainian market became more open for imported products. The article studies specific features and changes in the high-technology products market after Ukraine joined WTO. It analyses dynamics of volumes and specific weight of the world export-import of high-technology products and the structure of the world export and import of high technology products, including by individual countries and groups. The article makes a conclusion about a weak high-technology component of the Ukrainian export. It studies the structure of export of high-technology products of EU, CU and Ukraine. It shows that in order to develop the high-technology products market Ukraine needs to develop foreign trade with EU countries and also to continue co-operation with CU countries, in particular, with Russia. The article shows that the aerospace industry products takes the biggest specific weight in the export of high-technology products of Ukraine. It considers prospects of development of civil aircraft production in the world and Ukraine under the modern conditions. It analyses strengths and weaknesses of the aircraft construction industry and also threats and opportunities for aircraft construction of Ukraine due to external environment influence. The article shows that Ukraine cannot keep national aircraft building on its own, that is why it is necessary to develop close co-operation both with Russian enterprises and with the countries of the Western Europe. It offers recommendations on

Energy Policies of IEA Countries: Slovak Republic 2005 Review

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-07-01

Slovakia has implemented impressive energy reforms over the recent past, a unique performance in Central and Eastern Europe. The 2000 energy policy prioritised market reforms and sectoral policies, notably on energy security and environment, in order to comply with EU requirements, which were largely met at the time of the country’s EU accession in 2004. Also, Slovakia established new regulations, notably cost reflective pricing enforced by an independent energy regulator, thereby attracting significant foreign direct investment. Notably, this rapid transition has occurred without disruption in this key energy transit country. New challenges ahead include strengthening energy security by diversification, opening energy markets and integrating them into the EU, strongly increasing energy efficiency to offset the high economic burden of energy prices and to help better controlling pollution and CO2 emissions in line with EU and international obligations. This review analyses the Slovak energy sector and policies, and provides recommendations for the government. It is a comprehensive assessment of what constitutes a remarkable case study of effective energy reforms in an economy in transition, which has applied for IEA membership.

Access to Orphan Drugs: A Comprehensive Review of Legislations, Regulations and Policies in 35 Countries

Science.gov (United States)

Gammie, Todd

2015-01-01

Objective To review existing regulations and policies utilised by countries to enable patient access to orphan drugs. Methods A review of the literature (1998 to 2014) was performed to identify relevant, peer-reviewed articles. Using content analysis, we synthesised regulations and policies for access to orphan drugs by type and by country. Results Fifty seven articles and 35 countries were included in this review. Six broad categories of regulation and policy instruments were identified: national orphan drug policies, orphan drug designation, marketing authorization, incentives, marketing exclusivity, and pricing and reimbursement. The availability of orphan drugs depends on individual country’s legislation and regulations including national orphan drug policies, orphan drug designation, marketing authorization, marketing exclusivity and incentives such as tax credits to ensure research, development and marketing. The majority of countries (27/35) had in place orphan drug legislation. Access to orphan drugs depends on individual country’s pricing and reimbursement policies, which varied widely between countries. High prices and insufficient evidence often limit orphan drugs from meeting the traditional health technology assessment criteria, especially cost-effectiveness, which may influence access. Conclusions Overall many countries have implemented a combination of legislations, regulations and policies for orphan drugs in the last two decades. While these may enable the availability and access to orphan drugs, there are critical differences between countries in terms of range and types of legislations, regulations and policies implemented. Importantly, China and India, two of the largest countries by population size, both lack national legislation for orphan medicines and rare diseases, which could have substantial negative impacts on their patient populations with rare diseases. PMID:26451948

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT AND MEASUREMENT OF COMPETITIVENESS OF REGIONS ON EXAMPLE OF COUNTRIES EU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ladislav ROLÍNEK

2008-07-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to outline the substance of strategic management in relation to regional development with focus on the basic indicators that evaluate regional competitive advantage. Strategic management presents the collection of methods and approaches that are applicable to the regulation of regional development. The basic requirement of this process is to increase competitive advantage of the regions. It is possible to define regional competitive advantage as the ability of regions to generate revenues and keep employment rate at a level corresponding to national and international competition. The level of regional competitiveness is, for example, measurable by GDP per capita index. Besides this indicator, we can also use the evaluation of labour productivity expressed as GDP per employee as well as the ratio of employable population to the total of economically active inhabitants. For these monitored indicators, the Czech Republic doesn’t belong to the best countries. It is on the 19th place among the countries of EU in GDP per capita and it is also not very good in productivity evaluation, expressed by GDP per employee (20th place. On the other hand, the Czech Republic belongs among the countries with quite high employment rate (12th place. An application of the point method shows that the Czech Republic is on 18th place according to an average of selected indicators resulting from the GDP description per resident. It reaches only 70.2% of the level of the leading country, Luxemburg. The results of the article were obtained in the frame of the project MSM 6007665806 a MPSV 1J 016/04-DP2.

The Gender Wage Gap as a Function of Educational Degree Choices in an Occupationally Segregated EU Country (Greece)

OpenAIRE

Pouliakas, Konstantinos; Livanos, Ilias

2008-01-01

This study investigates the extent to which differences in the subject of degree studied by male and female university graduates contributes to the gender pay gap, and the reasons underlying their distinct educational choices. The case of Greece is examined due to the fact that it is an EU country with historically large gender discrepancies in earnings and occupational segregation. Using micro-data from the Greek Labour Force Survey (LFS), the returns to academic disciplines are firstly es...

Approximated EU GHG inventory: Early estimates for 2011

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Herold, A. [Oeko-Institut (Oeko), Freiburg (Germany); Fernandez, R. [European Environment Agency (EEA), Copenhagen (Denmark)

2012-10-15

The objective of this report is to provide an early estimate of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the EU-15 and EU-27 for the year 2011. The official submission of 2011 data to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will occur in 2013. In recent years, the EEA and its European Topic Centre on Air Pollution and Climate Change Mitigation have developed a methodology to estimate GHG emissions using a bottom up approach - based on data or estimates for individual countries, sectors and gases - to derive EU GHG estimates in the preceding year (t-1). For transparency, this report shows the country-level GHG estimates from which the EU estimates have been derived. The 2011 estimates are based on the latest activity data available at country level and assume no change in emission factors or methodologies as compared to the official 2012 submissions to UNFCCC (which relate to emissions in 2010). Some Member States estimate and publish their own early estimates of GHG emissions for the preceding year. Where such estimates exist they are clearly referenced in this report in order to ensure complete transparency regarding the different GHG estimates available. Member State early estimates were also used for quality assurance and quality control of the EEA's GHG early estimates for 2011. Finally, the EEA has also used the early estimates of 2011 GHG emissions produced by EEA member countries to assess progress towards the Kyoto targets in its annual trends and projections report (due to be published alongside the present report). In that report, the EEA's early estimates for 2011 were only used for countries that lack their own early estimates to track progress towards national and EU targets. (LN)

Approximated EU GHG inventory: Early estimates for 2010

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Herold, A.; Busche, J.; Hermann, H.; Joerss, W.; Scheffler, M. (OEko-Institut, Freiburg (Germany))

2011-10-15

The objective of this report is to provide an early estimate of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the EU-15 and EU-27 for the year 2010. The official submission of 2010 data to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will occur in 2012. In recent years, the EEA and its European Topic Centre on Air Pollution and Climate Change Mitigation have developed a methodology to estimate GHG emissions using a bottom up approach - based on data or estimates for individual countries, sectors and gases - to derive EU GHG estimates in the preceding year (t-1). For transparency, this report shows the country-level GHG estimates from which the EU estimates have been derived. The 2010 estimates are based on the latest activity data available at country level and assume no change in emission factors or methodologies as compared to the official 2011 submissions to UNFCCC (which re-late to emissions in 2009). Some Member States estimate and publish their own early estimates of GHG emissions for the preceding year. Where such estimates exist they are clearly referenced in this report in order to ensure complete transparency regarding the different GHG estimates available. Member State early estimates were also used for quality assurance and quality control of the EEA's GHG early estimates for 2010. Finally, EEA has also used the early estimates of 2010 GHG emissions produced by EEA member countries to assess progress towards the Kyoto targets in its annual trends and projections report (due to be published alongside the present report). In that report, the EEA's early estimates for 2010 were only used for countries that lack their own early estimates to track progress towards national and EU targets. (Author)

MANAGING RENEWABLE ENERGY IN THE EU10 REGION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BUCUREAN Mirela

2011-07-01

Full Text Available The problems of renewable energy and regional development have gained a global dimension, as well as the concerns about the economic growth. Therefore, this study investigates the issue of managing renewable energy in the EU10 region, within the context of recovery and anticipated growth of the region. The findings of this study disclose that an important source of economic growth in the EU10 region's countries may be to start some new investments in renewable energy. In order to develop the field of renewable energy may be used EU funds, and may be envisaged different public-private partnership models, that may contribute to lower societal costs and increased deployment rates. The study was conducted by combining a wide variety of sources, such as statistics, reports and articles. The results reported in this study could be used for further research in the area of implementing green energy projects in the EU10 region. Another direction for further research could be to identify the most attractive countries for different renewable energy investment projects in the EU10 region.

Determinants of Foreign Direct Investment in South East European Countries and New Member States of European Union Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bardhyl Dauti

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This paper accounts for the main determinants of Foreign Direct Investment flows to 5-SEEC and the 10-New Member States of the EU countries by using an augmented Gravity Model. The study takes into account country specific institutional factors that determine foreign investors’ decisions from 14 core European Union countries to invest into SEE-5 and EU-NMS-10 countries. From the results of the study we find that gravity factors and institutional related determinants like control of corruption, political stability, bilateral FDI agreement, WTO membership and transition progress appear to significantly determine inward FDI flows from core EU countries to host economies of South East European region and new European Union member states.

Zipf rank approach and cross-country convergence of incomes

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Jia; Ivanov, Plamen Ch.; Urošević, Branko; Stanley, H. Eugene; Podobnik, Boris

2011-05-01

We employ a concept popular in physics —the Zipf rank approach— in order to estimate the number of years that EU members would need in order to achieve "convergence" of their per capita incomes. Assuming that trends in the past twenty years continue to hold in the future, we find that after t≈30 years both developing and developed EU countries indexed by i will have comparable values of their per capita gross domestic product {\\cal G}_{i,t} . Besides the traditional Zipf rank approach we also propose a weighted Zipf rank method. In contrast to the EU block, on the world level the Zipf rank approach shows that, between 1960 and 2009, cross-country income differences increased over time. For a brief period during the 2007-2008 global economic crisis, at world level the {\\cal G}_{i,t} of richer countries declined more rapidly than the {\\cal G}_{i,t} of poorer countries, in contrast to EU where the {\\cal G}_{i,t} of developing EU countries declined faster than the {\\cal G}_{i,t} of developed EU countries, indicating that the recession interrupted the convergence between EU members. We propose a simple model of GDP evolution that accounts for the scaling we observe in the data.

Barriers to the EU Single Services Market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ol'ga V. Biryukova

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The EU has the most developed liberalization mechanism in services trade within the framework of an economic bloc. The system of supranational institutions, which decisions are binding upon member states, contributes to a high level of liberalization of trade in services in the EU. However, the creation of a single market for services hasn't completed at all. The reasons are following: not all basic principles for single market are fully applied, and a service is a very specific object for international trade. Financial-economic crisis caused a new wave of protectionism in different countries, which has reflected in the preservation of old and the emergence of new barriers to trade in services within the EU. Integration of services in the Union is accompanied by important trade initiatives at the multilateral level. In the World Trade Organization EU countries negotiate a new agreement on trade in services, and offer provisions which providing transparency, deepening liberalization and investor protection for foreign investors in the market, will also complement and foster the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP EU - USA. Russia is only the fourth among most important partners of the EU in trade in services. At the same time the European Union remains a key Russian partner in trade in services and in goods. There is a considerable potential for growth in this sphere for both partners.

Spatial Access to Emergency Services in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A GIS-Based Analysis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gavin Tansley

Full Text Available Injury is a leading cause of the global disease burden, accounting for 10 percent of all deaths worldwide. Despite 90 percent of these deaths occurring in low and middle-income countries (LMICs, the majority of trauma research and infrastructure development has taken place in high-income settings. Furthermore, although accessible services are of central importance to a mature trauma system, there remains a paucity of literature describing the spatial accessibility of emergency services in LMICs. Using data from the Service Provision Assessment component of the Demographic and Health Surveys of Namibia and Haiti we defined the capabilities of healthcare facilities in each country in terms of their preparedness to provide emergency services. A Geographic Information System-based network analysis method was used to define 5- 10- and 50-kilometer catchment areas for all facilities capable of providing 24-hour care, higher-level resuscitative services or tertiary care. The proportion of a country's population with access to each level of service was obtained by amalgamating the catchment areas with a population layer. A significant proportion of the population of both countries had poor spatial access to lower level services with 25% of the population of Haiti and 51% of the population of Namibia living further than 50 kilometers from a facility capable of providing 24-hour care. Spatial access to tertiary care was considerably lower with 51% of Haitians and 72% of Namibians having no access to these higher-level services within 50 kilometers. These results demonstrate a significant disparity in potential spatial access to emergency services in two LMICs compared to analogous estimates from high-income settings, and suggest that strengthening the capabilities of existing facilities may improve the equity of emergency services in these countries. Routine collection of georeferenced patient and facility data in LMICs will be important to understanding

Differences and inequalities in relation to access to renal replacement therapy in the BRICS countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferraz, Fábio Humberto Ribeiro Paes; Rodrigues, Cibele Isaac Saad; Gatto, Giuseppe Cesare; Sá, Natan Monsores de

2017-07-01

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) is an important public health problem, especially in developing countries due to the high level of economic resources needed to maintain patients in the different programs that make up renal replacement therapy (RRT). To analyze the differences and inequalities involved in access to RRT in the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa). This is an applied, descriptive, cross-sectional, quantitative and qualitative study, with documentary analysis and a literature review. The sources of data were from national censuses and scientific publications regarding access to RRT in the BRICS countries. There is unequal access to RRT in all the BRICS countries, as well as the absence of information regarding dialysis and transplants (India), the absence of effective legislation to inhibit the trafficking of organs (India and South Africa) and the use of deceased prisoners as donors for renal transplants (China). The construction of mechanisms to promote the sharing of benefits and solidarity in the field of international cooperation in the area of renal health involves the recognition of bioethical issues related to access to RRT in the BRICS countries.

Climate Change Adaptation Practices in Various Countries

Science.gov (United States)

Tanik, A.; Tekten, D.

2017-08-01

The paper will be a review work on the recent strategies of EU in general, and will underline the inspected sectoral based adaptation practices and action plans of 7 countries; namely Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Denmark, USA and Kenya from Africa continent. Although every countries’ action plan have some similarities on sectoral analysis, each country in accordance with the specific nature of the problem seems to create its own sectoral analysis. Within this context, green and white documents of EU adaptation to climate change, EU strategy on climate change, EU targets of 2020 on climate change and EU adaptation support tools are investigated.

Certain requirements to surface water quality and monitoring of water bodies in the EU

OpenAIRE

Storchak T. V.; Pogonysheva I. A.; Ryabukha A. V.; Arishev A. I.

2018-01-01

Water pollution has become a pressing issues in the European Union. EU Water protection legislature plays major role in the development of national policies in many of the EU countries. EU is currently implementing Water Framework Directive. The Directive demonstrates an innovative approach to water resources management based on river basins. According to the Directive, EU countries take a responsibility to prevent further deterioration and make effort to restore and improve the state of wate...

The Investment Capacities of the Ukrainian Economy the EU countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O. S.

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The article deals with selected aspects of investment in the context of the enhanced competition at investment markets and the need to increase the investment performance. A review of literary sources shows that investment capacities essentially refer to the economy’s capability to fund processes or phases related with generation of innovation, formation and modernization of fixed assets or intangible assets; development of education, research and information sectors; reproduction, support and creation of national wealth. It is emphasized that formation and realization of investment capacities in the economy can be attributed to processes that have significant effects for economic performance in the long run, especially when the capacities are innovative. The author’s definition of investment capacities of the economy is given, as the capacity to support financially the upward investment trend through accumulating fixed capital and increasing the profit rate from its generation in current and medium-term periods. The existing methodology for assessment of investment capacities at country level is analyzed; recommendations to improve the system of aggregated investment statistics, taking into account the Eurostat methodology, are given. Statistical indicators measuring the investment capacities in EU countries and Ukraine are analyzed. The analysis shows that the investment rate in Ukrainian industrial enterprises was 21.8% in 2014 and 19.6% in 2015, giving an indication of downward investment trend and the shrinking investment capacities of the national economy. Growth in the share of profit in the value added in 2015 by 6.7 percentage points (to 47.3% compared with 2014 is evidence that instead of investing internal resources, enterprises use them to cover financial loses or tend to take them off the national boundaries. Upward investment trend can be recovered by the increased supply of investment projects with low level of investment risk

Access to diphtheria antitoxin for therapy and diagnostics.

Science.gov (United States)

Both, L; White, J; Mandal, S; Efstratiou, A

2014-06-19

The most effective treatment for diphtheria is swift administration of diphtheria antitoxin (DAT) with conjunct antibiotic therapy. DAT is an equine immunoglobulin preparation and listed among the World Health Organization Essential Medicines. Essential Medicines should be available in functioning health systems at all times in adequate amounts, in appropriate dosage forms, with assured quality, and at prices individuals and the community can afford. However, DAT is in scarce supply and frequently unavailable to patients because of discontinued production in several countries, low economic viability, and high regulatory requirements for the safe manufacture of blood-derived products. DAT is also a cornerstone of diphtheria diagnostics but several diagnostic reference laboratories across the European Union (EU) and elsewhere routinely face problems in sourcing DAT for toxigenicity testing. Overall, global access to DAT for both therapeutic and diagnostic applications seems inadequate. Therefore--besides efforts to improve the current supply of DAT--accelerated research and development of alternatives including monoclonal antibodies for therapy and molecular-based methods for diagnostics are required. Given the rarity of the disease, it would be useful to organise a small stockpile centrally for all EU countries and to maintain an inventory of DAT availability within and between countries.

The Eastern Partnership and the EU-Turkey Energy Relations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Demiryol Tolga

2014-10-01

Full Text Available This article discusses the prospects and challenges of energy cooperation between the European Union (EU and Turkey within the context of the Eastern Partnership (EaP. Part of the EaP agenda is to advance energy cooperation between the EU and the partner states, particularly regarding the diversification of import routes. As an energy corridor between the EU and the hydrocarbon-rich Caspian states, Turkey is a strategic asset for European energy security. Turkey also has economic ties and political capital in the Caspian region that can help the EU reach out to its eastern partners. Despite robust incentives for cooperation, however, the EU-Turkey energy partnership has so far failed to meet mutual expectations. This article argues that this is primarily due to the inability of the two actors to credibly commit to regional energy cooperation. Commitment problem stems from two factors. First, the predominance of national energy interests over communal ones undermines credible commitment. The variation in energy needs of Member States prevents the EU from acting in unison in external energy policy. Similarly, Turkey also prioritizes its own energy security, particularly in its relations with suppliers, which undermines cooperation with the EU. Second, the EU and Turkey hold divergent perspectives on the potential political payoffs of energy cooperation. Turkish decision makers are convinced that energy cooperation warrants palpable progress in Turkey’s accession while most EU actors appear hesitant to establish a direct connection between energy and accession.

Job Search Strategies and Labour Market Outcomes of Young Recent Migrants from Central & Eastern Europe in EU15 Member States

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Leschke, Janine; Weiss, Silvana

regulation and institutional settings and language and cultural proximity among others which in turn might impact on the importance and role of social networks in labour market outcomes. Our analysis shows that in all European country clusters recent NMS13 migrants more often found their current job through......This paper examines the use of social networks and its impact on the qualitative labour market integration of young recent EU migrants from Central and Eastern European member states to EU15 countries as well as Switzerland and Norway. The literature points to both positive and negative impacts...... of social networks on migrant workers’ outcomes. Social networks can facilitate access to employers and information on labour regulation and rights and thereby improve the quantitative and qualitative labour market outcomes of migrant workers. On the other hand, social networks can also contribute...

Finland, Sweden and Austria doubled the share of hydroelectric power in EU

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kangas, H.

1996-01-01

New EU countries Finland, Sweden and Austria increased the amount of hydroelectric power produced in EU in 1995 by more than 50 % compared to the year 1994. Especially Sweden and Austria are very dependent on hydroelectric power; the share of hydroelectric power is in Austria more than 70 % and even in Sweden it was nearly 50 %. The share of hydroelectric power in 1995 the EU region was 14 % of the total power demand. Due to the new EU countries the share of hydroelectric power of the total electric power demand, which would have decreased, increased by over 3 %. The increase of the electric power demand in Finland was lowest in the EU region, about 1.0 %, while it was in Greece 5.0 % and in Spain about 4.6 %. The share of nuclear power in the EU region was about 35 % in 1995. The most nuclear power dependent country in the EU was France there the share of nuclear power of the total electric power demand was 89 %. Both Finland and Sweden increased the production of back-pressure power generation in 1995. The share of back-pressure power generation in EU in 1995 was about 50 TWh which corresponds to some 1.5 % of the total electric power demand. About 50 % of the total electric power generation in EU was produced by condensing power generation. This production increased by 10 % compared to 1994. The netimport of electric power of EU increased by 80 % in Finland and Sweden, which are large importers of electric power outside the EU region

Monitoring VET Systems of Major EU Competitor Countries - The Cases of Australia, Canada, U.S.A. and Japan

OpenAIRE

Ruth, Klaus

2009-01-01

The study on VET systems of major EU competitor countries is based on the objective of the (revised) Lisbon agenda to become the most competitive region of the world based on a knowledge driven production and social cohesion. Building on experts opinion and literature research this study aims at monitoring VET policies in Australia, Canada, the U.S. and Japan. The study analyses five themes which are assumed to be of outstanding importance for understanding the current performance and the dev...

The Growth Effects of R&D Spending in the EU

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kokko, Ari; Tingvall, Patrik Gustavsson; Videnord, Josefin

private sector investment in R&D and stronger public-private sector linkages than in the EU. Hence, to reduce the “innovation gap” vis-à-vis the US, it may not be enough for the EU to raise the share of R&D expenditures in GDP: continuous improvements in the European innovation system will also be needed......, with focus on areas like private sector R&D and public-private sector linkages.......In this paper we conduct a meta-analysis to examine the link between R&D spending and economic growth in the EU and other regions. The results suggest that the growth-enhancing effect of R&D in the EU15 countries does not differ from that in other countries in general, but it is less significant...

The Growth Effects of R&D Spending in the EU

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kokko, Ari; Tingvall, Patrik Gustavsson; Videnord, Josefin

2015-01-01

private sector investment in R&D and stronger public-private sector linkages than in the EU. Hence, to reduce the “innovation gap” vis-à-vis the US, it may not be enough for the EU to raise the share of R&D expenditures in GDP: continuous improvements in the European innovation system will also be needed......, with focus on areas like private sector R&D and public-private sector linkages.......In this paper we conduct a meta-analysis to examine the link between R&D spending and economic growth in the EU and other regions. The results suggest that the growth-enhancing effect of R&D in the EU15 countries does not differ from that in other countries in general, but it is less significant...

Financial Integration into EU: The Romanian Case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ibrahim Bozkurt

2016-05-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to investigate the determinants of integration between stock market of Romania and other stock markets of European Union (EU countries. Correlations between the stock returns represent the level of integration between the stock markets. Empirical analysis are performed with daily stock returns of 24 EU members including Romania for 2002-2012 period using panel data gravity models and correlations are investigated. Findings reveal that the following factors have significant and robust effects on the financial integration process of Romania with other 23 EU members; (i EU membership, (ii bilateral trade, (iii GDP per capita, (iv 2012 sovereign debt crisis and (v East European location. The results emphasize that intensifying economic relations with EU members can contribute the integration of Romanian stock market with other EU members. designed & hoste

The Economic Integration Of The EU13 Regions Into EU Economy During The 2004–2013 Period

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kabát Libor

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to study and to highlight the applicative and interpretive limits of the GDP per capita indicators, when regional economics of the new member countries (EU13, particularly the process of integration of their regions into EU economy is examined in terms of the beta and sigma convergence. The growth of gross domestic product has long been pursued as the main objective of the economic activities of countries and regions. Its growth is seen as almost a guarantee of the proper functioning of the economy. The governments of individual countries, in the event of a decline in GDP, take measures for its recovery. Small attention, however, is given to the fact, whether such an economic development copes with the parameters of sustainable economic growth. Also, little attention is paid to the study of how the previous growth is reflected in the standard of living of the population and households in respective countries and regions.

The EU’s CAP, the Doha Round and Developing Countries

OpenAIRE

Halderman, Michael; Nelson, Michael

2004-01-01

This study analyzes the political economy of European Union policy-making in regard to EU trade in beef and dairy with developing countries. The way the EU makes its agriculture and trade policies involves three levels: the EU member state, the EU itself, and the international trading system. The study also considers a fourth "level," developing countries, that is affected by EU policy-making. We present criticism from various sources concerning negative international effects of EU agricultur...

INTEGRATION OF ROMANIAN INSURANCES MARKET IN EU

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gheorghe MOROŞAN

2015-08-01

Full Text Available One of the most important phenomena of the last decade has been the convergence of the financial services industry, especially the capital and insurance markets. The convergence in the insurance industry was determined by the increased frequency and the severity of catastrophic risks, market inefficiency in the past, and the new technologies in IT and communications. These globally developments can be observed much better at EU level, one of the most integrated areas of the world, which aimed the convergence of financial market, including an important component such as insurance market. As part of the EU, Romania also aims to financial market convergence with the EU countries. The article offers an overview and an analysis of the insurance market in the EU and Romania. Through a wide series of indicators such as: the amount of insurance premiums, degree of penetration, number of employees or number of insurance companies, it will analyze the evolution of this market convergence, as per all EU countries and Romania. It will identify the stage in which the insurance market in Romania is, regarding the requirements of full integration. Finally, there will be identified factors encouraging and particularly those who are impediments to insurance market convergence in Romania.

EU-Korea Conference on Science and Technology

CERN Document Server

Lee, Jehyun

2011-01-01

Current research fields in science and technology were presented and discussed at the EKC2009, informing about the interests and directions of the scientists and engineers in EU countries and Korea. The Conference has emerged from the idea of bringing together EU and Korea to get to know each other better, especially in fields of science and technology.

Green taxes in EU and Denmark; Groenne skatter og afgifter i EU og Danmark

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dyck-Madsen, S.

2000-12-01

One of the most essential means to reach an increased sustainability in the world is to increase the use of economical means and hereby extend the polluter-pay-principle. The EU-commission, OECD and other governments in the EU-countries recommend an increased use of green taxes. This book takes as its starting point the implementation of a green tax reform, where the taxation is moved from tax on manpower to tax on resource consumption and pollution. Hereby both the environmental effort and the economic development are strengthened. The book briefly examines the different definitions of sustainability and outlines the principles for a green tax reform. The elaboration of green taxes, the reversing entry to environmental aims or to the Exchequer, the relation to the social distribution, the financing of the welfare state, the development of the green taxes in the EU countries, removal of environmentally damaging subsidies and the positive effect of the existing green taxes are subjects treated in the book. Finally the book presents a proposal for some Danish possibilities to increase existing green taxes or to introduce new Danish green taxes. (EHS)

Housing of old age households in 10 EU countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skak, Morten

2008-01-01

The paper is an extract of a study under the DEMHOW (Demographic Change and Housing Wealth) project financed by the under the EU Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development, which investigates the ways in which, across member states, demographic change and housing wealth...

Innovative Approaches to Increase Access to Medicines in Developing Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hilde Stevens

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Access to essential medicines is problematic for one third of all persons worldwide. The price of many medicines (i.e., drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics is unaffordable to the majority of the population in need, especially in least-developed countries, but also increasingly in middle-income countries. Several innovative approaches, based on partnerships, intellectual property, and pricing, are used to stimulate innovation, promote healthcare delivery, and reduce global health disparities. No single approach suffices, and therefore stakeholders need to further engage in partnerships promoting knowledge and technology transfer in assuring essential medicines to be manufactured, authorized, and distributed in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs in an effort of making them available at affordable and acceptable conditions.

CLASSIFICATION OF EU COUNTRIES IN TERMS OF THE EVOLUTION OF THE GHG INDICATOR USING CLUSTER ANALYSIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MARINOIU CRISTIAN

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Greenhouse gases are one of the main factors that influence the Earth's global temperature variation. As the result of both the beginning of the industrial revolution (the 1750’s and the intensificication and diversification of human activities, the volume of greenhouse gasses increases significantly. The risk of an accelerated global warming can be decreased by reducing the volume of greenhouse gasses emissions resulting from human activities. The annual volume of these emissions is reflected by the Greenhouse gas (GHG indicator. This work carries out a classification of EU countries on the basis of the evolution of the GHG indicator using Partitioning Around Medoids (PAM method.

EU's CO2 trade a high risk project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wellander, Dag

2003-01-01

The uncertainty about the planned CO 2 trade of the European Union (EU) is very great. For the possible buyers in this politically created market the risks may be great and difficult to assess. The most effective way of forcing a reduction of emissions is trading emission licences. But this requires taking a stand on issues of very unpleasant nature. And the Kyoto protocol evades these questions, it is a thin document right from the beginning. Trade in emission licences is one of the three so-called flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto agreement. The second mechanism is joint implementation in which one industrialized country carries out emission reduction actions in another industrialized country. The third is the mechanism of clean development, in which one industrialized country takes remedial actions in a developing country. It is unclear how these mechanisms are to act in accordance with each other, both in the Kyoto Protocol and on the level of the EU. The biggest and most fundamental uncertainty, both on the EU and global levels, relates to the fact that the partners have not decided how to define the right of ownership of emissions of a certain size

Accessing social rights in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacqueson, Catherine

2015-01-01

are in decreasing order Polish, German and British nationals. Debates among politicians reflected in the media have since the enlargement of the EU to 10 new Member States in 2004 focused on and off on the issue of access by migrants to social benefits and the issue of social tourism. The debate and discussions...... 2014. The reason for that is the government’s change of practice in administrating family benefits, granting them to all Union citizens lawfully residing in Denmark without any requirement of prior residence in the country. This change was the result of a request from the European Commission...

Report on current status of petroleum substituting energy development in the EU in FY 1997; 1997 nendo chosa hokokusho (sekiyu daitai energy kaihatsu no genjo (EU))

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-03-01

The EU is one of the most advanced places of petroleum substituting energy development. The EU is highly aware of environmental issues. For the COP3 held at Kyoto in December 1997, The EU gave more severe regulation of CO2 emission than the other advanced countries. The EU takes efforts in the development and introduction of energy effective for global environmental protection. In addition, research and development of geothermal, biomass and wave force energy are actively promoted in this place. Energy situations in this place are significant for predicting and analyzing the future trends of energy development and consumption in the other countries. Firstly, this report looks back toward energy demand held in check to a head at the beginning of the 1990`s. Secondly, supply of energy and cover of energy trend are described for recent years from the point of view. Thirdly, competitiveness of energy in EU countries are discussed from a position of energy density. Fourthly, circumstances about environmental issues are considered. Fifthly, the world market of energy is also considered. Finally, development of new energy and a trend of introduction with a sample of Sweden are introduced. 13 refs., 15 figs., 28 tabs.

THE BALKANS BETWEEN THE EU AND NATO: FOCUSING ON THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mamoru Sadakata

2006-10-01

Full Text Available The fragmentation of Yugoslavia has wrought extensive political and social changes in the Balkans and Europe more generally. After the collapse of communism and the breakup of Yugoslavia, many Balkan countries have transformed their political system and have begun to forge new foreign and security policy. Some of them have already joined the EU and NATO, and some are about to access these organizations. But the Western Balkan states seem to be farther in the future. In regard to the former Yugoslavia, the United States, European states and international organizations, such as the EU, NATO and UN, have attempted to engage and manage this breakup on an individual and collective basis. They have greatly influenced the process of the post-conflict nation building of this region. From this viewpoint, the paper discusses the political and social transformation of the Balkans after the breakup of the Yugoslav conflict, and the role of the EU and NATO in the process of the democratization and nation building in the former Yugoslavia. Moreover, attention is paid to the features of the involvement of the EU and NATO in the former Yugoslav conflict. In the process of Yugoslav fragmentation one can see the ‘Eastern Question’ revisited and the ‘Powder keg of Europe’ once again rising to its brim.

EU Contribution to Global CBRN Security

OpenAIRE

GOULART DE MEDEIROS MARGARIDA; ABOUSAHL SAID; MAIER EDDIE; SIMONART TRISTAN; DUPRE BRUNO

2016-01-01

The EU promotes a culture of CBRN safety and security within the EU and internationally. Accordingly, the Instrument Contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP) contributes to international efforts to mitigate CBRN risks, whether of natural (e.g. pandemics, volcanic eruptions), accidental (Fukushima) or criminal (trafficking, terrorism) origin, following a consistent ‘all hazards’ approach. The aim is twofold: to prevent CBRN incidents and to build partner countries' capacities for emergency r...

School version of ESTE EU

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carny, P.; Suchon, D.; Chyly, M.; Smejkalova, E.; Fabova, V.

2008-01-01

ESTE EU is information system and software for radiological impacts assessment to the territory of the country in case of radiation accident inside/outside of the country .The program enables to model dispersion of radioactive clouds in small-scale and meso-scale. The system enables the user to estimate prediction of the source term (release to the atmosphere ) for any point of radiation/nuclear accident in Europe (for any point of the release, but especially for the sites of European power reactors ). The system enables to utilize results of real radiological monitoring in the process of source term estimation. Radiological impacts of release to the atmosphere are modelled and calculated across the Europe and displayed in the geographical information system (GIS). The school version of ESTE EU is intended for students of the universities which are interested in or could work in the field of emergency response, radiological and nuclear accidents, dispersion modelling, radiological impacts calculation and urgent or preventive protective measures implementation. The school version of ESTE EU is planned to be donated to specialized departments of faculties in Slovakia, Czech Republic, etc. System can be fully operated in Slovak, Czech or English language. (authors)

School version of ESTE EU

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carny, P.; Suchon, D.; Chyly, M.; Smejkalova, E.; Fabova, V.

2009-01-01

ESTE EU is information system and software for radiological impacts assessment to the territory of the country in case of radiation accident inside/outside of the country .The program enables to model dispersion of radioactive clouds in small-scale and meso-scale. The system enables the user to estimate prediction of the source term (release to the atmosphere ) for any point of radiation/nuclear accident in Europe (for any point of the release, but especially for the sites of European power reactors ). The system enables to utilize results of real radiological monitoring in the process of source term estimation. Radiological impacts of release to the atmosphere are modelled and calculated across the Europe and displayed in the geographical information system (GIS). The school version of ESTE EU is intended for students of the universities which are interested in or could work in the field of emergency response, radiological and nuclear accidents, dispersion modelling, radiological impacts calculation and urgent or preventive protective measures implementation. The school version of ESTE EU is planned to be donated to specialized departments of faculties in Slovakia, Czech Republic, etc. System can be fully operated in Slovak, Czech or English language. (authors)

Electricity (in)accessibility to the urban poor in developing countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Singh, Rozita; Wang, Xiao; Mendoza, Juan Carlos

2015-01-01

More than half of the world’s population now lives in urban areas. The difficulties involved in providing new urban residents with a wide variety of services reveals a new face of poverty, one in which urban communities cannot access or afford basic modern energy services for their development...... and empowerment. As an enabler of development processes, access to electricity in urban and peri-urban contexts plays a key role in providing possibilities and solutions to the urban poor. Energy poverty is no longer a rural-only phenomenon, and a concerted effort is needed to find solutions. Taking...... this into account, the Global Network on Energy for Sustainable Development (GNESD) initiated the Urban Peri-Urban Energy Access (UPEA) project in 2006. The objective was to understand the barriers to energy access in the context of the urban poor in seven countries. Barriers from both the supply and demand sides...

Comparative assessment of national bioenergy strategies and biomass action plans in 12 EU countries. European Best Practice Report. Extended version

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

This report is a key output of the EU project 'BAP Driver', an initiative of energy agencies from 8 European key bioenergy nations and the European Biomass Association (AEBIOM). The BAP Driver project aims at identifying ways for improvement of current national policy frameworks for bioenergy in Europe, and at leveraging the process of developing country-specific Biomass Action Plans (BAP). From a strategic perspective, the general approach of this report focuses on four stages, required for setting up national biomass strategies and action plans: Assessment of national biomass resources; Formulation of national bioenergy strategies and biomass action plans; Implementation of national bioenergy policies; Monitoring of national bioenergy markets and policies. Overall the analysis is split into three chapters corresponding to the following logical steps: Chapter B: Country analysis (12 individual country profiles); Chapter C: Benchmark analysis (comparative assessment of 12 countries); Chapter D: Best practice analysis (transnational conclusions across national boundaries)

Comparative assessment of national bioenergy strategies and biomass action plans in 12 EU countries. European Best Practice Report. Executive Summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

This report is a key output of the EU project 'BAP Driver', an initiative of energy agencies from 8 European key bioenergy nations and the European Biomass Association (AEBIOM). The BAP Driver project aims at identifying ways for improvement of current national policy frameworks for bioenergy in Europe, and at leveraging the process of developing country-specific Biomass Action Plans (BAP). From a strategic perspective, the general approach of this report focuses on four stages, required for setting up national biomass strategies and action plans: Assessment of national biomass resources; Formulation of national bioenergy strategies and biomass action plans; Implementation of national bioenergy policies; Monitoring of national bioenergy markets and policies. Overall the analysis is split into three chapters corresponding to the following logical steps: Chapter B: Country analysis (12 individual country profiles); Chapter C: Benchmark analysis (comparative assessment of 12 countries); Chapter D: Best practice analysis (transnational conclusions across national boundaries)

THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP AS PART OF THE EU FOREIGN POLICY: A REVIEW OF THEORETICAL APPROACHES

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Andrei SCRINIC

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The Eastern Partnership (2009 as a component part of the European Neighbourhood Policy is a tool that aims at the economic integration and political cooperation of the countries that are included in this project by signing association and free trade agreements with the European Union (EU. The recent events in Ukraine have revealed the possibility of these countries to become EU member states depending on the progress made, which is confirmed by many European experts. However, there are big differences among the Eastern Partnership countries on their way to EU integration on the background of the strong pressure from Russia, aimed to suppress any pro-European manifestations of such countries. Despite the sharpening of geopolitical challenges, the EU continues to use the traditional ways of enlargement and deepening of cooperation processes with the Eastern Neighbourhood. This paper aims at reviewing the theoretical approaches through which the EU, as a normative power, exerts major influence on the Eastern Partnership (EaP countries by extending the neofunctional practices, intergovernmental cooperation and the constructivist model. However, in view of reaching the soft power objectives, we aim at transforming and strengthening the EU positions in the context of amplified economic and political-ideological problems at regional level.

Household food access and child malnutrition: results from the eight-country MAL-ED study

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Psaki Stephanie

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Stunting results from decreased food intake, poor diet quality, and a high burden of early childhood infections, and contributes to significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although food insecurity is an important determinant of child nutrition, including stunting, development of universal measures has been challenging due to cumbersome nutritional questionnaires and concerns about lack of comparability across populations. We investigate the relationship between household food access, one component of food security, and indicators of nutritional status in early childhood across eight country sites. Methods We administered a socioeconomic survey to 800 households in research sites in eight countries, including a recently validated nine-item food access insecurity questionnaire, and obtained anthropometric measurements from children aged 24 to 60 months. We used multivariable regression models to assess the relationship between household food access insecurity and anthropometry in children, and we assessed the invariance of that relationship across country sites. Results Average age of study children was 41 months. Mean food access insecurity score (range: 0–27 was 5.8, and varied from 2.4 in Nepal to 8.3 in Pakistan. Across sites, the prevalence of stunting (42% was much higher than the prevalence of wasting (6%. In pooled regression analyses, a 10-point increase in food access insecurity score was associated with a 0.20 SD decrease in height-for-age Z score (95% CI 0.05 to 0.34 SD; p = 0.008. A likelihood ratio test for heterogeneity revealed that this relationship was consistent across countries (p = 0.17. Conclusions Our study provides evidence of the validity of using a simple household food access insecurity score to investigate the etiology of childhood growth faltering across diverse geographic settings. Such a measure could be used to direct interventions by identifying children at risk of illness and

Household food access and child malnutrition: results from the eight-country MAL-ED study.

Science.gov (United States)

Psaki, Stephanie; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A; Ahmed, Tahmeed; Ahmed, Shamsir; Bessong, Pascal; Islam, Munirul; John, Sushil; Kosek, Margaret; Lima, Aldo; Nesamvuni, Cebisa; Shrestha, Prakash; Svensen, Erling; McGrath, Monica; Richard, Stephanie; Seidman, Jessica; Caulfield, Laura; Miller, Mark; Checkley, William

2012-12-13

Stunting results from decreased food intake, poor diet quality, and a high burden of early childhood infections, and contributes to significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although food insecurity is an important determinant of child nutrition, including stunting, development of universal measures has been challenging due to cumbersome nutritional questionnaires and concerns about lack of comparability across populations. We investigate the relationship between household food access, one component of food security, and indicators of nutritional status in early childhood across eight country sites. We administered a socioeconomic survey to 800 households in research sites in eight countries, including a recently validated nine-item food access insecurity questionnaire, and obtained anthropometric measurements from children aged 24 to 60 months. We used multivariable regression models to assess the relationship between household food access insecurity and anthropometry in children, and we assessed the invariance of that relationship across country sites. Average age of study children was 41 months. Mean food access insecurity score (range: 0-27) was 5.8, and varied from 2.4 in Nepal to 8.3 in Pakistan. Across sites, the prevalence of stunting (42%) was much higher than the prevalence of wasting (6%). In pooled regression analyses, a 10-point increase in food access insecurity score was associated with a 0.20 SD decrease in height-for-age Z score (95% CI 0.05 to 0.34 SD; p = 0.008). A likelihood ratio test for heterogeneity revealed that this relationship was consistent across countries (p = 0.17). Our study provides evidence of the validity of using a simple household food access insecurity score to investigate the etiology of childhood growth faltering across diverse geographic settings. Such a measure could be used to direct interventions by identifying children at risk of illness and death related to malnutrition.

Importance of intrastat in EU intra-Community trade

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Radmila Presová

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with the importance of Intrastat and Eurostat for mutual trade with goods between EU countries and third countries. It informs about the importance of statistical data for all legal forms of trade companies, multinational companies, public administration institutions and service businesses. It points out that accepting the Czech Republic as a member of EU changed the use of terminology in foreign trade. For goods transactions between EU member states the terms sending and receiving are used, whereas the traditional terminology export – import is used for foreign trade with the third countries.Paper describes legal regulations including the instructions for statistical data records, specifically the Directive of the European parliament and Council No. 638/2004, appended by the Commission directive No. 1980/2004 and Public notice of the Czech statistical office from 18th May, 2005. Based on the retrospective view it shows the development of legal regulation and the importance of quo­ted directive for determining and recording statistical data. It notifies that statistical data are necessary for recognition of the course of integration of the internal market, formation of agricultural policy and adopting anti-dumping measures. Paper acquaints with organisation of statistics within the Euro­pean Union. It also notifies that statistical system includes also the countries of Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein.Results of foreign trade in 2007 show the involvement of the Czech Republic in mutual trade with the EU countries, to which 85.22 % of the total value of exported goods was sent, which represents the amount of CZK 194 056 per inhabitant of the Czech Republic. In the same year, goods of the total share of 69.90 % was received from the EU countries, which represents the amount of CZK 162 021 per inhabitant. Our most important trade partner is Germany, with which we have reached the turnover of CZK 1 429 986. According to

Comparative analysis of Fiber-to-the-Home market liberalization in the EU

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Williams, Idongesit

2017-01-01

The penetration of Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) in the EU is low. This is because deploying FTTH is capital intensive. The liberalization of the FTTH market in three EU countries is studied in this paper. The aim is to identify the challenges that affect the growth of FTTH in the EU. This is a qualit......The penetration of Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) in the EU is low. This is because deploying FTTH is capital intensive. The liberalization of the FTTH market in three EU countries is studied in this paper. The aim is to identify the challenges that affect the growth of FTTH in the EU......, this paper concludes that competition at the wholesale market aspect of the FTTH market should be given more priority than competition at the retail section of the Fiber-to-the-Home market. This prioritization in regulating competition will enable greater market penetration of Fiber...

Exporting EU Liberalism Eastwards

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Lynn M. Tesser

2009-07-01

Full Text Available There is much more to liberalism in the post communist context than has been acknowledged. A sizeable effort has indeed emerged to transplant a relatively coherent liberal ideology to the region, one exported not merely through the conditionality of international financial institutions, but also through the conditionality and socialization of organizations like the NATO, OSCE, EU, and the Council of Europe. ‘EU liberalism’ includes the ‘standard’ liberal emphasis on individual rights, the rule of law, constitutional democracy, freedom, and market economics as well as support for minority rights, and a seemingly schizophrenic emphasis on economic integration that involves, first bringing down borders for the free movement of people, goods, capital, and services between member states, and second, market regulation to diminish the social downsides of capitalism. This paper outlines EU liberalism’s emergence and its application to Central and East European countries.

IMPORTANCE OF MAKING STRATEGIC DECISIONS IN COUNTRIES IN TRANSITION AND CONNECTION WITH THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY GENERALLY SPEAKING

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SLOBODAN POPOVIĆ

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The accession of a number of transition countries of the EU, such as the Republic of Serbia, essentially means the adoption of strategic decisions at the state level in the context of wider EU decision. The authors based their observations on the EU 2020 strategy, which is essentially defined as: smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. The EU has adopted the basic principles of 2010, with the main objective to economic growth throughout the EU based on knowledge, but with respect for the principles of environmental protection, increasing employment, and increase in other basic principles of economics of the company to the state. You could say that the entire system such observations cohesion productivity growth economies of EU member states and social cohesion and socially responsible behavior. This approach was incurred because there is a need of constant adjustment economies member changes at the global level. Notwithstanding the universal adaptation of all EU member states, however, one part remained reserved for a special adjustment of each member country (it depends on the specific characteristics of each country to adapt in accordance with national goals adopted by any government of a Member State specifically for your country, through national development plans, plans of adjustment and reform plans. The consequences of the Great Depression are highly visible and in early 2016, particularly in terms of rising unemployment, rising unemployment especially of young people in all old EU member states. The responsibility for this state of affairs is not only the governments of member states, but responsibility must be sought from the representatives of big business, trade unions, associations, non-governmental organizations and all other stakeholders who have imposed in the decision-making processes, and in a crisis to minimize its impact, because it does not response. At the end of the aforementioned macro effects should be seen in the

Open access for operational research publications from low- and middle-income countries: who pays?

Science.gov (United States)

Zachariah, R; Kumar, A M V; Reid, A J; Van den Bergh, R; Isaakidis, P; Draguez, B; Delaunois, P; Nagaraja, S B; Ramsay, A; Reeder, J C; Denisiuk, O; Ali, E; Khogali, M; Hinderaker, S G; Kosgei, R J; van Griensven, J; Quaglio, G L; Maher, D; Billo, N E; Terry, R F; Harries, A D

2014-09-21

Open-access journal publications aim to ensure that new knowledge is widely disseminated and made freely accessible in a timely manner so that it can be used to improve people's health, particularly those in low- and middle-income countries. In this paper, we briefly explain the differences between closed- and open-access journals, including the evolving idea of the 'open-access spectrum'. We highlight the potential benefits of supporting open access for operational research, and discuss the conundrum and ways forward as regards who pays for open access.

Turkey's EU Quest and Political Cleavages under AKP

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rahigh-Aghsan, Ali

2011-01-01

This article analyses the extent to which the rise of political Islam (Note 1) in Turkey has triggered an intense and polarized debate about the principle eligibility of Turkey to be a full European Union (EU) member state. The Justice and Development Party’s (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi......) The overall political targets of political Islam in Turkey seems less compatible with the traditional Turkish EU quest than formerly (2) The Turkish political Islamic turnaround is contributing to a climate of increasing scepticism in Europe, and presents significant obstacles to EU accession. As a result...

TURKEY’S ACCESSION TO THE EUROPEAN UNION – PRESENT OR PERSPECTIVES?

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Ileana Voica

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The enlargement of the European Union is a sui generis process, which involves internal preparation of the candidate countries, the European Union and accession negotiations as well. The EU enlargement process is based on the desire to create a close relationschip between the European countries in a common economic and political project. Guided by tha values of the European Union and subject to strict conditions, the enlargement proved to be one of the most effective tools for promoting political, economic and social reforms and to strengthen pceace, stability and democracy across the continent. A controversial topic in the last period is Turkey’s accession to the European Union. Turkey’s European ambitions date back to the 1963 Ankara Agreements, although it has formally submitted the membership application in 1987. Following the Helsinki European Council of 10 – 11 December 1999, accession negotiations between the EU and Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Malta and Bulgaria started on 15 February 2000. Regarding the accession negotiations with Turkey, il was considered that this country does not meet, at this stage, the criteria set by the Copenhagen European Council on the rule of law, democracy and human rights. For Turkey, an Accession Partnership was adopted on 8 March 2001. Currently, Turkey is far from concluding the process of joining the European Union. However, Turkey is a state that can no longer be ignored by anyone in the world politics, being remarked by the infrastructure projects, the developed tourism, the steady economic growth and, last but not least, by the impressive military power, being the second NATO army. Given that, in the framework of the enlargement process, both the candidate states and the old members must be prepared for integration and cohabitation as well as the negative opinion on the Turkish membership of the influential states, such as Germany and France, it remains to be seen whether Turkey will

EU-China Trade Partnership: Strategic Importance of Central and Eastern European Members

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Loredana Jitaru

2016-01-01

the increase of Chinese investment in Europe. This paper aims to analyze trade flows betweenChina and the EU member states in Central and Eastern Europe in the framework of the EU-Chinatrade partnership and how these countries can be considered a strategic partner in EU-Chinatrade relations.

The Hierarchical Clustering of Tax Burden in the EU27

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Simkova Nikola

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The issue of taxation has become more important due to a significant share of the government revenue. There are several ways of expressing the tax burden of countries. This paper describes the traditional approach as a share of tax revenue to GDP which is applied to the total taxation and the capital taxation as a part of tax systems affecting investment decisions. The implicit tax rate on capital created by Eurostat also offers a possible explanation of the tax burden on capital, so its components are analysed in detail. This study uses one of the econometric methods called the hierarchical clustering. The data on which the clustering is based comprises countries in the EU27 for the period of 1995 – 2012. The aim of this paper is to reveal clusters of countries in the EU27 with similar tax burden or tax changes. The findings suggest that mainly newly acceding countries (2004 and 2007 are in a group of countries with a low tax burden which tried to encourage investors by favourable tax rates. On the other hand, there are mostly countries from the original EU15. Some clusters may be explained by similar historical development, geographic and demographic characteristics.

A project to establish a skills competency matrix for EU nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Cowan, David T; Norman, Ian J; Coopamah, Vinoda P

Enhanced nurse workforce mobility in the European Union (EU) is seen as a remedy to shortages of nurses in some EU countries and a surplus in others. However, knowledge of differences in competence, culture, skill levels and working practices of nursing staff throughout EU countries is not fully documented because currently no tangible method exists to enable comparison. The European Healthcare Training and Accreditation Network (EHTAN) project intends to address this problem by establishing an assessment and evaluation methodology through the compilation of a skills competency matrix. To this end, subsequent to a review of documentation and literature on nursing competence definition and assessment, two versions of a nursing competence self-assessment questionnaire tool have been developed. The final competence matrix will be translated and disseminated for transnational use and it is hoped that this will inform EU and national policies on the training requirements of nurses and nursing mobility and facilitate the promotion of EU-wide recognition of nursing qualifications.

Environmental Tax Policy in Romania in the Context of the EU: Double Dividend Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Magdalena Radulescu

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In the last decade, environment protection gained much more significance in designing the economic policies in the European Union (EU countries. There are many economic and policy differences between the European countries, despite of the harmonization process inside the EU area. The path of implementation of the environmental tax reforms in the EU countries differs greatly from one country to another and the effects of such taxation in the economic and environmental areas are manifold. The authors of this paper have agreed to undertake the task of testing the double dividend hypothesis of the environmental taxation in Romania (an energy-intensive country versus the EU area as a whole, using Vector Error Correction Model (VECM techniques and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS estimations. Our findings show that this hypothesis is validated neither in Romania (in the economic growth area nor in the EU area as a whole (in the unemployment area. Therefore, Romania cannot increase the level of the environmental tax for supporting economic growth, but it can grant environmental subsidies for decreasing the emissions and supporting the economic growth. This could be achieved by expanding the tax labor base and by collecting higher budgetary revenues to sustain such environmental subsidies. As far as the EU area is concerned, it is a necessary measure to continue the descending trend for the labor taxation to achieve the goal of improving the employment rate.

The EU’s CAP, the Doha Round and Developing Countries

OpenAIRE

Halderman, Michael; Nelson, Michael

2004-01-01

This study analyzes the political economy of European Union policy-making in regard to EU trade in beef and dairy with developing countries. The way the EU makes its agriculture and trade policies involves three levels: the EU member state, the EU itself, and the international trading system. The study also considers a fourth "level," developing countries, that is affected by EU policy-making. We present criticism from various sources concerning negative international effects of EU agricultur...

ECONOMIC GROWTH IN SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE: AN INVESTIGATION FOR SIX EU CANDIDATE AND POTENTIAL CANDIDATE COUNTRIES

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Ileana Tache

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The South Eastern European region (SEE has seen major beneficial transformation in the recent years. Romania and Bulgaria in 2007 and Croatia in 2013 became members of the European Union and registered significant economic growth rates. This paper investigates some important factors that influence economic growth in 6 EU candidate and potential candidate countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia and offers to policy makers in those countries key insights for stimulating the economy. The paper proposes a dynamic growth model which will be developed using the Quasi-maximum likelihood (QML estimation. This model is suited for this type of analysis because of the small T sample and also to cope with missingness. The results indicate that nine out of the fourteen variables were statistically significant. The number of non-resident tourists, the number of passenger cars, the number of children in pre-primary and primary-education are positive factors for economic growth. In contrast, government debt, inflation, all energy imports, railway transportation and primary production of coal and lignite are hindering development.

ANALYSIS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN ROMANIA COMPARATIVE WITH THE EU COUNTRIES -27

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Tudor Pendiuc

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Entrepreneurship is a socio-economic phenomenon of great complexity, defining the market economy system. As the business environment becomes more complex and competitive, the entrepreneurs must become more creative and receptive to what is new and innovative. For Romania the promotion and development of entrepreneurship were a central objective in the last decade for job creation, competitiveness growth and sustainable economic development. Regardless of the method chosen to develop a business, the entrepreneur must operate with criteria of rationality in terms of choices, decisions and performance evaluation. This work aims a comparative analysis of the main issues concerning the development of entrepreneurship in Romania compared to other EU countries. It emphasizes the following aspects: a option on the status of employee/contractor; b the important factors in the decision on starting/taking over a business; c difficulties to start/taking over a business. Based on the analysis were resulted conclusions on the main economic and social features of entrepreneurship in Romania compared to other European Union member states. It was stressed the importance of entrepreneurship development on the Romanian economy, by analyzing the factors that encourage or discourage the entrepreneurship. The research was conducted using a variety of bibliographic sources such as statistics, analysis, reports, professional articles.

Epistemic Dependence and the EU Seal Ban Debate

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Lars Christian Blichner

2015-03-01

Full Text Available On September 2009 the European Union (EU adopted a regulation banning the import of seal products into the EU or placing seal products on the EU market. The European Parliament was the main driving force behind the regulation and the EU has been criticised by affected countries outside the EU for not basing this decision on the available expert knowledge. The questions asked are how, given epistemic dependence, non-experts may challenge an expert based policy proposal. Can non-experts hold experts accountable, and if so in what way? Three main tests and ten subtests of expert knowledge are proposed and these tests are then used to assess whether the European Parliament did in fact argue in a way consistent with available expert knowledge in amending the Commission proposal for a regulation.

Country of residence, gender equality and victim blaming attitudes about partner violence: a multilevel analysis in EU.

Science.gov (United States)

Ivert, Anna-Karin; Merlo, Juan; Gracia, Enrique

2017-09-27

Intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) is a global and preventable public health problem. Public attitudes, such as victim-blaming, are important for our understanding of differences in the occurrence of IPVAW, as they contribute to its justification. In this paper, we focus on victim-blaming attitudes regarding IPVAW within the EU and we apply multilevel analyses to identify contextual determinants of victim-blaming attitudes. We investigate both the general contextual effect of the country and the specific association between country level of gender equality and individual victim-blaming attitudes, as well as to what extend a possible general contextual effect was explained by county level gender equality. We analyzed data from 26 800 respondents from 27 member states of the European Union who responded to a survey on public perceptions of domestic violence. We applied multilevel logistic regression analysis and measures of variance (intra-class correlation (ICC)) were calculated, as well as the discriminatory accuracy by calculating the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve. Over and above individual characteristics, about 15% of the individual variance in the propensity for having victim-blaming attitudes was found at the country level, and country level of gender equality did not affect the general contextual effect (i.e. ICC) of the country on individual victim-blaming attitudes. The present study shows that there are important between-country differences in victim-blaming attitudes that cannot be explained by differences in individual-level demographics or in gender equality at the country level. More research on attitudes towards IPVAW is needed. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Unesco's Activities to Facilitate Access of Developing Countries to Protected Works.

Science.gov (United States)

Alam, A. M. N.

1979-01-01

Describes the operational activities of UNESCO to facilitate easy access of developing countries to works protected by copyright. Particular reference is made to collection of data, economic situation, formation of national copyright information centers, copyright data bank services, reprographic reproduction, preparation of model contracts,and…

Should EU Citizens Living in other Member States Vote there in National Elections?

OpenAIRE

CAYALA, Philippe; SETH, Catriona; BAUBÖCK, Rainer

2012-01-01

The core right of EU citizenship is freedom of movement within the territory of the Union. But EU citizens who live in a member state other than their homeland cannot vote in the national elections of that country unless they first acquire its citizenship through naturalisation. In several member states they also lose their right to vote in national elections of their country of origin when they have lived abroad for too long. A group of EU citizens has started a European Citizens' Initiative...

Identification of Challenges to the Availability and Accessibility of Opioids in Twelve European Countries: Conclusions from Two ATOME Six-Country Workshops.

Science.gov (United States)

Linge-Dahl, Lisa; Vranken, Marjolein; Juenger, Saskia; North, Kate; Scholten, Willem; Payne, Sheila; Radbruch, Lukas

2015-12-01

Access to many controlled medicines is inadequate in a number of European countries. This leads to deficits in the treatment of moderate to severe pain as well as in opioid agonist therapy. The study objective was to elaborate the reasons for this inadequacy. The work plan of the Access to Opioid Medication in Europe (ATOME) project included two six-country workshops. These workshops comprised a national situational analysis, drafting tailor-made recommendations for improvement and developing action plans for their implementation. In total, 84 representatives of the national Ministries of Health, national controlled substances authorities, experts representing regulatory and law enforcement authorities, leading health care professionals, and patient representatives from 13 European countries participated in either one of the workshops. The delegates used breakout sessions to identify key common challenges. Content analysis was used for the evaluation of protocols and field notes. A number of challenges to opioid accessibility in the countries was identified in the domains of knowledge and educational, regulatory, legislative, as well as public awareness and training barriers that limit opioid prescription. In addition, short validity of prescriptions and bureaucratic practices resulting in overregulation impeded availability of some essential medicines. Stigmatization and criminalisation of people who use drugs remained the major impediment to increasing opioid agonist program coverage. The challenges identified during outcomes of the workshops were used as the basis for subsequent dissemination and implementation activities in the ATOME project, and in some countries the workshop proceedings already served as a stepping-stone for the first changes in regulations and legislation.

Regulatory landscape for cell therapy--EU view.

Science.gov (United States)

McBlane, James W

2015-09-01

This article addresses regulation of cell therapies in the European Union (EU), covering cell sourcing and applications for clinical trials and marketing authorisation applications. Regulatory oversight of cell sourcing and review of applications for clinical trials with cell therapies are handled at national level, that is, separately with each country making its own decisions. For clinical trials, this can lead to different decisions in different countries for the same trial. A regulation is soon to come into force that will address this and introduce a more efficient clinical trial application process. However, at the marketing authorisation stage, the process is pan-national: the Committee for Human Medicinal Products (CHMP) is responsible for giving the final scientific opinion on all EU marketing authorisation applications for cell therapies: favourable scientific opinions are passed to the European Commission (EC) for further consultation and, if successful, grant of a marketing authorisation valid in all 28 EU countries. In its review of applications for marketing authorisations (MAAs) for cell therapies, the CHMP is obliged to consult the Committee for Advanced Therapies (CAT), who conduct detailed scientific assessments of these applications, with assessment by staff from national regulatory authorities and specialist advisors to the regulators. Copyright © 2015.

Impact assessment of the European Clinical Trials Directive: a longitudinal, prospective, observational study analyzing patterns and trends in clinical drug trial applications submitted since 2001 to regulatory agencies in six EU countries

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Hartmann Markus

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Shifts in clinical trial application rates over time indicate if the attractiveness of a country or region for the conduct of clinical trials is growing or decreasing. The purpose of this observational study was to track changes in drug trial application patterns across several EU countries in order to analyze the medium-term impact of the EU Clinical Trials Directive 2001/20/EC on the conduct of drug trials. Methods Rates of Clinical Trial Applications (CTA for studies with medicinal products in those six countries in the EU, which authorize on average more than 500 trials per year, were analyzed. Publicly available figures on the number of annually submitted CTA, the distribution of trials per phase and the type of sponsorship were tracked; missing data were provided by national drug agencies. Results Since 2001, the number of CTA in Italy and Spain increased significantly (5.0 and 2.5% average annual growth. For Italy, the gain was driven by a strong increase of applications from academic trial sponsors; Spain's growth was due to a rise in trials run by commercial sponsors. The Netherlands, Germany, France and the UK saw a decline (1.9, 2.3, 3.0 and 5.3% average annual diminution; significant (P Conclusions The EU Clinical Trials Directive 2001/20/EC did not achieve the harmonization of clinical trial requirements across Europe. Rather, it resulted in the leveling of clinical trial activities caused by a continuing decrease in CTA rates in the Netherlands, Germany, France and the UK. Southern European countries, Italy and Spain, benefited to some extent from policy changes introduced by the Directive. In Italy's case, national funding measures helped to considerably promote the conduct of non-commercial trials. On the other hand, the EU Directive-driven transition from liberal policy environments, based on non-explicit trial approval through notifications, towards red-taped processes of trial authorization, contributed to

Can EU conditionality remedy soft budget constraints in transition countries?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schröder, Philipp J.H.; Brücker, Herbert; Weise, Christian

2005-01-01

Soft budget constraints (SBCs) are a persistent feature of transition economies and have been blamed for a lack of fiscal consolidation and sluggish growth. EU eastward enlargement has been conditioned on tackling SBCs. This paper analyzes such outside conditionality theoretically and empirically...

Girls' Access to Education in a Developing Country

Science.gov (United States)

Geissinger, Helen

1997-09-01

Papua New Guinea is a developing country which gained its independence from Australia in 1975. Many of its educational structures inherited from the time of the early missions and the colonial administration influence the practices of today. Women have not advanced in the new country as far as was prophesied in the early 1970s leading up to Independence. Although the current poor economic conditions have some effect on women's advancement, the difficulties they face in even obtaining a basic education form one of the major factors which hinder their progress. This paper describes a number of the barriers which prevent girls from accessing education at every level, from gaining enrolment in the first year of school to positioning themselves for university entry. Distance education provides one of the few "second chances" that young Papua New Guineans can gain, provided they can afford the fees and engage with the somewhat independent study required for success.

Vulnerabilities of regular labour migration in the EU : Guest editorial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Houwerzijl, Mijke; de Lange, Tesseltje

2015-01-01

The aim of this special issue is to present an interdisciplinary overview of migrant workers vulnerabilities. The contributions all deal with the vulnerabilities of EU and third-country national (TCN) migrant workers with legal residence in a receiving state within the EU. Four of the seven articles

Can EU Conditionality Remedy Soft Budget Constraints in Transition Countries?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brücker, Herbert; Schröder, Philipp; Weise, Christian

2003-01-01

Soft budget constraints (SBCs) are a persistent feature of transition economies and have been blamed for i.a. a lack of fiscal consolidation and sluggish growth. EU eastward enlargement has - among other things - been conditioned on tackling SBCs. This paper analyses such outside conditionality...

Gas Transit Tariffs in Selected ECT Countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

One of the strategic aims of the Energy Charter process is to promote and facilitate efficient and uninhibited transit of energy materials and products across the ECT constituency. The Energy Charter process has recently been focusing its attention on the issues related to the transit of natural gas due to the increasing reliance on gas imports into Europe and other regions from more distant sources and across more borders. The transit tariffs (including their levels, structures and associated conditions) are, in addition to the terms of access to the transit infrastructure, one of the key factors affecting the cross-border gas flows. The main objectives of this study are to: review transit tariff methodologies for existing and new gas transit pipeline systems across selected ECT countries; compare transit tariff regimes for gas with those for domestic gas transport in the same countries; and assess the overall consistency of these transit tariffs with main provisions of ECT and draft Transit Protocol. The scope of this study is limited to transit tariffs for natural gas. Furthermore the study does not address the issue of access to gas pipelines which sometimes is a more important hurdle for gas flows than the levels of transit tariffs. Geographically, the study covers the following key gas transit countries: EU-25 plus Switzerland, and Non-EU: Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Morocco, Tunisia, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine. Chapter 3 describes the existing flows of gas trade and transit across the ECT countries and points out potential deviations between physical and contractual flows. Chapter 4 reviews the theoretical approaches used for setting transit tariffs, including: Typical costs for new gas pipelines: construction costs, financing, operation and maintenance costs, country/project risks and their impact on costs; Valuation approaches for existing pipelines; and Treatment of system expansion. Chapter 5 compares the theory and the practice by describing

Distinct and yet not Separate: Revisiting the Welfare Models in the EU New Member States

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Helena Tendera-Właszczuk

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: The objective of this paper is to evaluate the welfare state models in the EU countries and to start the discussion if the new member states (NMS, i.e. those EU member states that joined the EU in 2004/2007, fit the Sapir typology (Nordic model, Continental model, Anglo-Saxon model, Mediterranean model. The second objective is to examine the labour market situation, reduction of poverty and social inequalities in the EU countries. The third one is to open the issue if the public spending can be managed both justly and effectively. Research Design & Methods: The linear regression function and correlation has been used to present effectiveness of social expenditures to reduce poverty, as well as evidence that public spending can be managed both justly and effectively. Findings: This paper demonstrates more similarities can be drawn across the NMS and the EU-15 than within the NMS and EU-15, respectively. The typology of welfare state models is applied to the NMS and their effectiveness is tested. Accordingly, we classify the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Cyprus as countries of the Nordic model; Hungary, Slovakia and Malta as the Continental model; Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia as the Anglo-Saxon model and, finally, Poland, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria as the Mediterranean model. Implications & Recommendations: Recent data suggest that the global crisis has caused an increase in the level of poverty and social spending in the EU countries. However, this is just a temporary situation and it does reflect the solutions of models. Contribution & Value Added: The NMS tend to be examined as a separate group of countries that – as the literature suggests – depict different qualities of the welfare models than those pursued in the EU-15.

The Influence of Migration Crisis in Europe on EU-Turkey Relations

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Pavel P. Timofeyev

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The paper examines the impact of the migration crisis in the EU on the European Union's relations with Turkey. It is shown that for a number of reasons, including a result of EU actions taken from 2011 to 2015, EU has experienced an influx of migrants on a number of routes from the Western to the Eastern Mediterranean. The largest of them fell on Turkey, which has tried to use this factor to exert pressure on the EU in order to obtain economic and political preferences. The author examines the development of the EU migration policy in the context of the crisis, its trying to bring Turkey to cooperate and difficult negotiations, which took place at the summits of the EU-Turkey at the end of 2015. There have been disagreements among the EU countries, and the time factor, which Turkey took advantage of, advancing conditions for the closure of borders to Europe for migrants. Facing the influx of migrants the EU had to agree with a number of conditions, though not with all. The author shows that the agreement reached by the country in March 2016 is not universal, and a number of issues important to the resolution of the crisis, are waiting to be decided upon. However, according to the author, the development of the current crisis can lead both to the reform of the migration and border policy within the EU, and to restarting relations with Turkey. Though guessing on possibilities on Turkey's entry to the EU in the near future is still premature.

INNOVATION POTENTIAL: IMPACT ON THE NATIONAL ECONOMY’S COMPETITIVENESS OF THE EU DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iryna Lomachynska

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The success of the economy of each country is determined by its innovation development. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the essence of innovation potential and its role in providing the national economy’s competitiveness under the conditions of technological changes on the example of the European Union developed countries. The subject of research is the innovation potential of Austria and Germany. Methodology. The study is based on a comparative analysis of approaches to determination and evaluation of innovation potential in specialized economic literature. Analysis and synthesis and the system approach were used to outline the entity of innovation potential, to explore and structure its elements in the context of providing the national economy’s competitiveness. The quality and quantity analysis were used to discover general characteristics of the EU countries’ innovation development, special aspects of the national innovation systems of Austria and Germany, the role of innovation potential in the national economies competitiveness of these countries. The method of mathematical modelling in economics, in particular, regression analysis based on annual data for the period from 1995 to 2015, was applied to assess the impact of innovation potential on the Austria and Germany competitiveness. The absolute value of GDP and the share of export of goods and services in GDP are used as a dependent variable. Elements that characterize the country’s innovation potential were used as independent variables: the share of researchers in R&D of total population, the share of labour force with advanced education of total working-age population with advanced education, expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP, R&D expenditure as a percentage of GDP, patent applications as a percentage of total population. Results of the survey of theoretical works showed that the most multifaceted and comprehensive approach to determining the

Eukaryotic Pathogen Database Resources (EuPathDB)

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — EuPathDB Bioinformatics Resource Center for Biodefense and Emerging/Re-emerging Infectious Diseases is a portal for accessing genomic-scale datasets associated with...

Empirical Study towards the Drivers of Sustainable Economic Growth in EU-28 Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Ştefan Armeanu

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This study aims at empirically investigating the drivers of sustainable economic growth in EU-28 countries. By means of panel data regression models, in the form of fixed and random effects models, alongside system generalized method of moments, we examine several drivers of real gross domestic product (GDP growth rate, as follows: higher education, business environment, infrastructure, technology, communications, and media, population lifestyle, and demographic changes. As regards higher education, the empirical results show that expenditure per student in higher education and traditional 18–22 year-old students are positively linked with sustainable economic growth, whereas science and technology graduates negatively influence real GDP growth. In terms of business environment, total expenditure on research and development and employment rates of recent graduates contributes to sustainable development, but corruption perceptions index revealed a negative association with economic growth. As well, the results provide support for a negative influence of infrastructure abreast technological measures on economic growth. Besides, we found a negative connection between old-age dependency ratio and sustainable economic growth.

GAUGING THE VERTICAL SPECIALIZATION IN EU TRADE

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IULIA MONICA OEHLER-SINCAI

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, we review the mechanisms and determinants of vertical specialization (VS, as this has gradually become the dominant characteristic of international trade. Second, we underline that there is a rich literature regarding VS in EU trade, at aggregate and individual levels and research is advancing together with the instruments used to measure trade in value added. Third, our investigation brings to the forefront a classification of EU countries according to their GVC participation index, taking into consideration both upstream and downstream links. As a conclusion, the VS analyses help us better understand the interconnectedness among countries and industries by means of foreign direct investment, trade, labour migration and technology transfer.

Unequal pay or unequal employment?: a cross-country analysis of gender gaps

OpenAIRE

Claudia Olivetti; Barbara Petrongolo

2005-01-01

There is substantial international variation in gender pay gaps, from 25-30% in the US and the UK, to 10-20% in a number of central and northern EU countries, down to an average of 10% in southern EU. We argue that non-random selection of women into work across countries may explain part of such variation. This ides is supported by the observed variation in employment gaps, from 10% in the US, UK and Scandinavian countries, to 15-25% in northern and central EU, up to 30-40% in southern EU and...

Nuclear legislation and nuclear safety in Slovenia in the context of enlargement of EU

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grlicarev, I.; Sirc, I.; Skraban, A.

2003-01-01

Slovenia, in the period after the Accession Treaty to the EU has been signed and the accession date is approaching, is concluding the tasks of aligning the national legislation and has started the observer status in all EU committees and other bodies. Some specific issues in this period in the area of nuclear legislation and nuclear safety are outlined here. The position of Slovenia regarding the latest developments in drafting the new nuclear safety legislation on an EU level is presented. Some experience gained during the implementation of the newly adopted legislation is given. (author)

Marketing Standards for Enterprises and Higher Educational Institutions: the EU and Ukraine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhaldak Hanna P

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The article considers the marketing standards for enterprises and higher educational institutions in the EU and Ukraine. The basic components of the formation of the marketing standards in our country and the European Union member countries are identified, some legislative restrictions on advertising in certain EU countries are systematized. The features of the EU standards are determined. The main idea of the article is to examine the European marketing standards, determine the level of their adaptation to the national ones, as well as collect data on the effectiveness of the application of marketing standards to higher educational institutions, provide quality education and establish collaboration with the European partner universities. The general understanding of the quality of education, use of harmonized approaches and evaluation criteria is important for the European integration. The majority of national organizations have a number of difficulties associated with the undeveloped system of indicators oriented towards the client and other interested parties. The application of the EU marketing standards sets an appropriate vector of development for the domestic economy and opens up new competitive opportunities

Registry data for cross-country comparisons of migrants' healthcare utilization in the EU: a survey study of availability and content

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Signe Smith; Krasnik, Allan; Rosano, Aldo

2009-01-01

care utilization are lack of sufficient coverage and availability of reliable and valid healthcare data which includes information allowing for identification of migrants. The objective of this paper was to reveal which registry data on healthcare utilization were available in the EU countries in which...... utilization, and the diversity in the definition of migrant status hampers cross-national comparisons and calls for an urgent establishment of registries, expansion of the existing registry information, and adoption of a common, generally acceptable definition and identification method of migrants across...

The innovation of EU environmental policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

actors involved. The seven case-study chapters, written from a variety of perspectives, focus on such topics as the impact of formal and informal institutional factors on policy innovation, the potential influence of new members on EU environmental policy-making, the role of cross-national networks...... and alliances, the shifting balance between leader and laggard members, and the ongoing problem integrating the environment into other policy fields. The book also draws on theoretical approaches ranging from institutional to policy network analyses and examines such pertinent contemporary issues as packaging......Inspired by the recent accession of three environmentally progressive member states to the European Union (EU), this book explores the process of environmental policy innovation in the EU, the forces behind the introduction of new issues and policy approaches, and the roles played by the major...

Challenges to orphan drugs access in Eastern Europe: the case of Bulgaria.

Science.gov (United States)

Iskrov, Georgi; Miteva-Katrandzhieva, Tsonka; Stefanov, Rumen

2012-11-01

This article explores how an Eastern European country could deal with orphan drugs access, combining EU policies with its own national settings. The cross-sectional observational study takes the total number of orphan drugs (61) available on EU level by March 2011, and then consecutively filters it through the requirements and criteria of relevant Bulgarian legislation on registration, pricing and reimbursement of medicinal products, obtaining the final number of accessible orphan drugs (16) in Bulgaria. The study further evaluates the average time period from market authorisation to positive reimbursement decision by Bulgarian health authorities (43±29.1 months). Access to orphan drugs should be provided on a reasonable and justified basis. Having in mind the limited availability of resources, it is not a question whether to prioritise rarity, but to create legitimate mechanisms for properly assessing orphan drugs' value and optimally using this value, according to the society's needs and views. The analysis identifies four important challenges to orphan drugs' access in Eastern Europe: (1) elaboration of new orphan drugs pricing approaches, (2) further interaction of cost-effectiveness analysis with medical criteria, (3) active introduction of epidemiological registries for rare diseases, and (4) research of societal preferences and raising public awareness. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

THE HIGH LEVEL ACCESSION DIALOGUE FOR MACEDONIA: ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

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Mladen Karadjoski

2015-04-01

Full Text Available One of the strategic goals for the Republic of Macedonia is membership in the European Union. At the end of 2011, the Commission launched a so-called High Level Accession Dialogue for Macedonia, with a possibility to start the negotiations after the fulfillment of the Dialogue goals and benchmarks. For these reasons, the main goal of this paper will be to give an answer of the dilemma whether the Accession Dialogue for Macedonia is an accelerator of the entrance in the European Union, or is just a sophisticated tool for delay of the start of the negotiations for final accession. The expected results will correspond with the future EU plans for Macedonia, but also for the other Western Balkan countries, i.e. we will try to examine whether these countries have a realistic perspective for entrance in the European Union, or they are just a “declarative décor” for the vocabulary of the Brussels diplomats and member countries representatives. That will help to determine i.e. to try to predict the next steps of these countries, connected with the European integration, regardless of the actual constellation in the European Union concerning the Enlargement policy. The descriptive method, content analyses method, comparative method, but also the inductive and deductive methods will be used in this paper.

Specificities of the small and medium-sized enterprises in the Czech Republic and EU

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Helena Chládková

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Small and medium enterprises (SME are the engine of the European economy. They are an essential source of jobs, create entrepreneurial spirit and innovation in the EU and are thus crucial for fostering competitiveness and employment. In the enlarged European Union of 27 countries, some 20 million SMEs provide around 75 million jobs and represent 99 % of all enterprises. However, they are often confronted with market imperfections. SMEs frequently have difficulties in obtaining capital or credit, particularly in the early start–up phase. Their limited resources may also restrict access to new technology or innovation. It is therefore necessary to monitor the development of SMEs in individual EU countries and highlighting their problems and mainly to their importance.During the recent period of time there have been many researchers from the FBE Mendel University in Brno, who focused on the analysis of the small and medium-sized enterprise, e.g. Bohušová (2007; Chládková (2009; Nerudová a Bohušová (2008; Kubíčková a Peprný (2006; Zrůst a Pyšný (2008. This paper is the part of the Research proposal MSM 6215648904 being solved at the FBE Mendel University in Brno.

An evaluation of energy-environment-economic efficiency for EU, APEC and ASEAN countries: Design of a Target-Oriented DFM model with fixed factors in Data Envelopment Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Soushi; Nijkamp, Peter

2016-01-01

This paper aims to offer an advanced assessment methodology for sustainable national energy-environment-economic efficiency strategies, based on an extended Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The use of novel efficiency-improving approaches based on DEA originates from the so-called Distance Friction Minimisation (DFM) method. To design a feasible improvement strategy for low-efficiency DMUs, we develop here a Target-Oriented (TO) DFM model. However, in many real-world cases input factors may not be flexibly adjusted in the short run. In this study, we integrate the TO-DFM model with a fixed (inflexible) factor (FF) approach to cope with such more realistic circumstances. Super-efficiency DEA is next used in our comparative study on the efficiency assessment of energy-environment-economic targets for the EU, APEC and ASEAN (A&A) countries, employing appropriate data sets from the years 2003 to 2012. We consider two inputs (primary energy consumption and population) and two outputs (CO 2 and GDP), including a fixed input factor (viz. population). On the basis of our DEA analysis results, EU countries appear to exhibit generally a higher efficiency than A&A countries. The above-mentioned TO-DFM-FF projection model is able to address realistic circumstances and requirements in an operational sustainability strategy for efficiency improvement in inefficient countries in the A&A region. - Highlights: • We examine energy-environment-economic efficiency in European and A&A countries. • We present an operational efficiency improvement strategy using DEA. • European countries tend to have higher energy efficiency than A&A countries. • The study provides efficiency-enhancing strategic paths for inefficient countries.

Energy access: Lessons learned in Brazil and perspectives for replication in other developing countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coelho, Suani T.; Goldemberg, José

2013-01-01

Energy access has been singled out by the AGECC in 2010 as one of the important problems to be tackled in the next few decades in a world where 1.3 billion people do not have access to electricity and 2.7 use primitive fuels – mainly fuel wood – for cooking and heating. To solve such problems, innumerous small scale projects have been implemented around the world either on the improvement of cooking stoves, biogas and others, as well as in generating electricity in decentralized systems. We discuss here the “large scale approach” to solve these problems in Brazil through the introduction of LPG (liquid petroleum gas) in Brazil 70 years ago, all over the country, as a cooking fuel that replaced significantly the use of fuel wood in rural areas. In addition to that, we describe the governmental program (Luz para Todos – LPT – Light for all) introduced more recently to extend the electricity grid to around 10 million people, reducing considerably the number of people without access to electricity in the rural areas of the country. Such experiences and the corresponding lessons learned could be replicated in other developing countries, contributing significantly to poverty alleviation. - Highlights: • Energy access is one important problem for 1.3 billion people not having access to electricity and 2.7 billion using primitive fuels for cooking-heating. • We discuss the approach introduced in Brazil through the introduction of LPG as a cooking fuel that replaced significantly the use of fuel wood in rural areas. • We describe the program introduced to supply electricity, reducing the number of people without access to electricity in rural areas. • Lessons learned could be replicated in other DCs, contributing to poverty alleviation

Multidimensional Welfare Comparisons of EU Member States Before, During, and After the Financial Crisis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hussain, M. Azhar; Siersbæk, Nikolaj; Østerdal, Lars Peter

How did the financial crisis affect population welfare in EU member states in key dimensions such as income, health, and education? Using EU-SILC data, we seek to answer this question by way of first order dominance comparisons between countries and over time. The novel feature of our study...... is that we perform welfare comparisons on the basis of multi-level multidimensional ordinal data. We find that the countries most often dominated are southern and eastern European member states, and the dominant countries are mostly northern and western European member states. However, for most country...

Telecommunications (Interception and Access) and Its Regulation in Arab Countries

OpenAIRE

Kiswani, Nazzal

2010-01-01

Telecommunication has been a necessity in all countries this century. Communication has always been an essential part of our lives, education, family relations, business, government and other organizational activities. As telecommunication technology has advanced, so has the need for the interception of telecommunications and access by law enforcement authorities. In addition, lawful interception and the way it is performed have played an important role in the effectiveness of the monitoring ...

EU nuclear policy towards countries in Central and Eastern Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gunter, L.

1998-01-01

The European Union has undergone many changes over the last decade as a result of both internal and external pressures. Two successive enlargements have raised the number of Member States to fifteen. Two major Treaty reforms the Single Act and the Treaty on European Union have radically modified the EU's institutional and political framework.(author)

The Danish Folketing and EU Affairs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Buskjær Christensen, Mette

2015-01-01

crisis of democratic legitimacy, as a shift from the permissive consensus of EU public opinion became apparent. Danish conditions for accession to the Treaty were renegotiated in 1993, resulting in the Edinburgh Compromise in which Denmark obtained four opt-outs. All four opt-outs remain in place today...... significant policy areas of EU cooperation. Denmark has a small, open economy. It became a member of the European Community in 1973, mainly motivated by the economic benefits that could be achieved through free trade in the common market. The Danes, however, have often only reluctantly endorsed the more...

Romania - New E.U. Member State, A New Phase of Its Transition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marius PROFIROIU

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Ever since Romania started its transition in the 1990s, it consistently scored poorly in various comparative performance assessments aimed at rating developing countries. In this paper we analyze whether Romania has managed to overcome the transition period or not, by pointing out both the drawbacks as well as the progress that has been made over the transition period, but most of all since our accession to the European Union in 2007. We discuss the concept of good governance for a new EU member state, by focusing on the state of public governance in Romania, but also addressing the other two important actors in the society, the private sector and the civil society.

Prospects of Renewable Energies Evolution in the Context of EU Energy Policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

- Amel Ghediri

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Generally, EU countries are not provided with sufficient amount of energy resources to satisfy an internal energy demand. According to this, such issues as country's energy security, usage of new energy sources, its economy and environmental consequences of irrational use of energy resources are becoming more acute. The article is devoted to various kinds of alternative energy sources, in particular, "green energy" and the issue of increasing use of renewable energy sources. The main goal of the publication is to analyze the energy policy of the EU countries, the expansion of renewable energy potential as the most energy-efficient sources.

Food irradiation in EU and in Poland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Migdal, W.

2007-01-01

Lecture shows comparison of food radiosterilization in Poland with selected countries in EU. The most popular commercial electron radiation sources are presented. Plant for Food Radiation Sterilization operating in the INCT is discussed in details

[How do immigrant women access health services in the Basque Country? Perceptions of health professionals].

Science.gov (United States)

Pérez-Urdiales, Iratxe; Goicolea, Isabel

2017-09-12

To determine the perception of health professionals working in alternative health centres on the barriers and facilitators in the access by immigrant women to general public health services and sexual and reproductive health in the Basque Country. Basque Country. Analysis of qualitative content based on 11 individual interviews. Health professionals working in alternative health centres of Primary Care and sexual and reproductive health. Data collection was performed between September and December 2015 in four alternative health centres. After transcription, the units of meaning, codes and categories were identified. Four categories emerged from the analysis, which represented how the characteristics of immigrant women (Tell me how you are and I will tell you how to access), the attitude of the administrative and health staff ("When they are already taken care of"), the functioning of the health system (Inflexible, passive and needs-responsive health system), and health policies ("If you do not meet the requirements, you do not go in. The law is the law") influence access to health services of immigrant women. This study shows that there are a considerable number of barriers and few facilitators to the access by immigrant women to public health and sexual and reproductive health services in the Basque Country. The alternative health centres were presented as favouring the improvement of the health of the immigrant population and in their access. Copyright © 2017. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U.

Is EU/EEA population protected from polio?

Science.gov (United States)

Nijsten, Dre; Carrillo-Santisteve, P; Miglietta, A; Ruitenberg, J; Lopalco, P L

2015-01-01

The WHO European Region has been declared polio-free since 2002. By 2010, inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) was the only polio vaccine in use in the EU/EEA for the primary vaccination of children. A systematic review of the literature on polio seroprevalence studies, complemented by the analysis of available vaccine coverage data, has been carried out with the aim of assessing the level of protection against polio in the European population. A total of 52 studies, with data from 14 out of the 31 EU/EEA countries, were included in the analysis. This systematic review shows that, overall, seroprevalence for PV1 and PV3 is high in most countries, although seroimmunity gaps have been detected in several birth cohorts. In particular, relatively low immunity status was found in some countries for individuals born in the 60's and 70's. Discrepancies between reported vaccination coverage and immunity levels have been also highlighted. Countries should make sure that their population is being vaccinated for polio to reduce the risk of local poliovirus transmission in case of importation. Moreover, assessing immunity status should be priority for those traveling to areas where wild polioviruses are still circulating.

Labour productivity and economic growth in the EU in post-crisis period

OpenAIRE

Auzina-Emsina, Astra

2014-01-01

Labour productivity and economic growth are the major factors to sustain and improve the performance and competitiveness of countries. The paper is devoted to the analysis of recent trends of labour productivity and economic growth in the European Union (EU) countries in post-crisis period in comparison with the trends in pre-crisis and crisis periods. The paper analyses the impact of changes in labour productivity and the effect on the macroeconomic indicators. The research focuses on the Eu...

Tuberculosis treatment outcome monitoring in European Union countries: systematic review

Science.gov (United States)

van Hest, Rob; Ködmön, Csaba; Verver, Suzanne; Erkens, Connie G.M.; Straetemans, Masja; Manissero, Davide; de Vries, Gerard

2013-01-01

Treatment success measured by treatment outcome monitoring (TOM) is a key programmatic output of tuberculosis (TB) control programmes. We performed a systematic literature review on national-level TOM in the 30 European Union (EU)/European Economic Areas (EEA) countries to summarise methods used to collect and report data on TOM. Online reference bibliographic databases PubMed/MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched to identify relevant indexed and non-indexed literature published between January 2000 and August 2010. The search strategy resulted in 615 potentially relevant indexed citations, of which 27 full-text national studies (79 data sets) were included for final analysis. The selected studies were performed in 10 EU/EEA countries and gave a fragmented impression of TOM in the EU/EEA. Publication year, study period, sample size, databases, definitions, variables, patient and outcome categories, and population subgroups varied widely, portraying a very heterogeneous picture. This review confirmed previous reports of considerable heterogeneity in publications of TOM results across EU/EEA countries. PubMed/MEDLINE and EMBASE indexed studies are not a suitable instrument to measure representative TOM results for the 30 EU/EEA countries. Uniform and complete reporting to the centralised European Surveillance System will produce the most timely and reliable results of TB treatment outcomes in the EU/EEA. PMID:22790913

Export competitiveness of dairy products on global markets: the case of the European Union countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Bojnec, Š; Fertő, I

2014-10-01

This paper analyzed the export competitiveness of dairy products of the European Union (EU) countries (EU-27) on intra-EU, extra-EU, and global markets, using the revealed comparative advantage index over the 2000-2011 period. The results indicated that about half of the EU-27 countries have had competitive exports in a certain segment of dairy products. The results differed by level of milk processing and for intra-EU and extra-EU markets, and did so over the analyzed years. Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, and the Netherlands are old EU-15 countries with competitive dairy exports (from the lowest to the highest according to the level of milk processing). The majority of the new EU-12 countries have faced difficulties in maintaining their level of export competitiveness, at least for some dairy products and market segments. The more competitive EU-12 countries in dairy exports were the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) and Poland. The duration of export competitiveness differed across the dairy groups of products according to the level of milk processing, indicating the importance of dairy chain product differentiation for export competitiveness and specialization. The export competitiveness of the higher level of processed milk products for final consumption can be significant for export dairy chain competitiveness on global markets. Copyright © 2014 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Environmental control policy change in the EU between ideas and reality; Umweltpolitischer Steuerungswechsel in der EU zwischen Ideen und Realitaet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heumader, Katja

2014-07-01

The study on the environmental policy change in the EU covers the following issues: theoretical frame work: the scientific policy debate on political control and governance; boom of ideas: development in the discussion on European environmental policy; discrepancies: the change of political control between intention and realization; case studies: EU policy concerning the enhancement of energy efficiency, the groundwater guideline, waste policy and waste stream priorities, the European emission trading system, access to jurisdiction for environmental issues, the soil protection guideline.

EU MEMBER STATES AND FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION– EMPIRICAL COMPARISON

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Žan Oplotnik

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The purpose of an article is to compare systems of fiscal decentralization in EU member states according to selected quantitative criteria and European Charter of Local Self-Government principles. The results show that a higher number of lower levels of government usually indicate a greater share of local finance within the total public finance, however, this finding does not confirm the inverse link. Even though the structure of expenditures in EU countries is similar, the shares of funds for the implementation of individual tasks differ significantly. On average, the countries allocate most funds to education, social security, healthcare, administration and political systems, with only a quarter of the countries recording the same or higher amounts of revenues than expenditures. Most of the countries still cover the existing deficit either through transfers from the central to lower levels of government or through equalization schemes or borrowing, which otherwise represents a departure from one of the basic principles of the Charter, which stipulates that financial resources must be commensurate with the responsibilities of local self-government.

Differential pricing of new pharmaceuticals in lower income European countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaló, Zoltán; Annemans, Lieven; Garrison, Louis P

2013-12-01

Pharmaceutical companies adjust the pricing strategy of innovative medicines to the imperatives of their major markets. The ability of payers to influence the ex-factory price of new drugs depends on country population size and income per capita, among other factors. Differential pricing based on Ramsey principles is a 'second-best' solution to correct the imperfections of the global market for innovative pharmaceuticals, and it is also consistent with standard norms of equity. This analysis summarizes the boundaries of differential pharmaceutical pricing for policymakers, payers and other stakeholders in lower-income countries, with special focus on Central-Eastern Europe, and describes the feasibility and implications of potential solutions to ensure lower pharmaceutical prices as compared to higher-income countries. European stakeholders, especially in Central-Eastern Europe and at the EU level, should understand the implications of increased transparency of pricing and should develop solutions to prevent the limited accessibility of new medicines in lower-income countries.

European economic area in the system of the EU foreign policy: norwegian perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bohdan Y. Barna

2016-02-01

Full Text Available European Economic Area was one of the first examples of developing the relations between the EU and other partner countries on the continent that rejected a full membership in this organization. This form of cooperation for over twenty years provides stability, predictability and constructive development of relations with the three European partners, including Norway. Currently, the EEA is seen as a model of deeper integration without getting a full-fledged membership in the EU. It should also be noted that this arrangement has proven its resistance to external shocks as reduction of members of EFTA, EU enlargement and adoption of new EU treaties. Therefore, Brussels supports the existence of the EEA and never officially put on the agenda of the termination of the agreement or revision of its provisions. For their part, most Norwegian political parties also defend the status quo. However, there are voices on the need to modernize the EEA, especially after the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty. It is also necessary to point out that the Norwegian model of cooperation with the EU has lost its original exceptionality, especially after the entry into force of the Association Agreement with Ukraine. Oslo has also to compete with a number of other countries, NGOs and other lobby groups for attention from the EU. Relations between Norway and the EU are characterized by the asymmetry of obligations under the EEA, as Oslo is obliged to unilaterally implement acquis communautaire, while having no effective leverage over decision-making in the EU. Another challenge is the weakness of the EFTA pillars in the EEA, as it is necessary to interact with an organization, which has 28 European member-countries. There are other negative aspects that gradually reduce the role of Norway in relations with the EU. Given the current challenges, different scenarios have been prepared focusing on for the further development of relations between the EU and Norway. According to

Strategic partitioning of emissions allowances in the EU ETS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boehringer, Christoph (Carl von Ossietzky Univ. Oldenburg (Germany)); Rosendahl, Knut Einar (Research Dept., Statistics Norway, Oslo (Norway))

2008-07-01

The EU ETS opens up for strategic partitioning of emissions allowances by the Member States. In this paper we examine the potential effects of such strategic behavior on quota prices and abatement costs. We show that although marginal abatement costs in the sectors outside the EU ETS become quite differentiated, the effects on the quota price and total abatement costs are small. More abatement, however, takes place in the old Member States that are importers of allowances, compared to the cost-effective outcome. Single countries can nevertheless significantly affect the outcome of the EU ETS by exploiting their market power

Administrative Aspects of Alternative Consumer Dispute Resolution in the European Union (EU, Slovenia and Croatia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeretina Urša

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The consumer field is widespread and often encompasses different legal fields on a single market, especially when it comes to the field of consumer protection. In fact, the consumer mostly remains a weaker party in resolving consumer disputes, especially in administrative proceedings. Traditional court proceedings do not always offer the most cost-appropriate way of resolving consumer disputes, because the damage with legal costs is disproportionate, especially in Small Claims (20 EUR. In theory, Alternative Dispute Resolution (hereinafter: ADR is considered more flexible, faster and cheaper for disputes between consumers and businesses. Insofar, Consumer ADR (hereinafter: CADR is seen as a useful tool that helps consumers realize their right of access to justice. It is argued that CADR systems provide valuable information on the needs of disputants, while preserving confidentiality, increasing consumer satisfaction, equality and grater trust. While CADR is praised in theory as an added value, in practice it still remains unrecognizable and therefore is seen as an ineffective formalism in some EU countries. It seems that consumers and businesses lack awareness of the CADR schemes and their benefits, which have effects on the efficient use of CADR in different public and private institutions. The focus of this paper is on the field of Public Administrative Law, which, through different approaches of scientific analysis, combines the main administrative aspects of CADR systems in the EU. Special attention is given to different administrative barriers in the development of various CADR schemes, which cause the formation of administrative dilemmas in some Member states. The new EU legal regulation on Consumer ADR, Online Dispute Resolution (ODR and EU Administrative law have set flexible rules and principles that would assure the quality of dispute resolution between EU entities with private or public interests. Similarities in proposed principles

Economic Impacts of the 1997 EU Energy Tax: Simulations with Three EU-Wide Models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jansen, H.; Klaassen, G.

2000-01-01

In March 1997 the European Commission adopted a proposal that increases existing minimum levels of taxation on mineral oils by around 10 to 25% and introduces excises for other energy products. This paper analyses the macroeconomic impacts of the proposal. It employs three models: HERMES, GEM-E3, and E3ME. All models confirm that the proposal will have positive macroeconomic impacts when the tax revenues are used to reduce social security contributions paid by employers. For the EU as a whole, both GDP and employment are expected to be higher and CO2 emissions are 0.9 to 1.6 percent lower. The positive EU-wide effects can be observed in practically all member states. The sector impacts are modest, with the energy sector expected to face the most negative impacts. Differences between model results are due to the model type (general equilibrium or macro-econometric), the EU countries covered and the way tax exemptions were handled. Crucial assumptions to obtain the 'double dividend' are the modelling of the labour market and the impacts on EU external trade. The sensitivity of the results for the use of tax revenues, tax exemptions and tax rate increases is assessed. 21 refs

EU import restrictions on genetically modified feeds: impacts on Spanish, EU and global livestock sectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Philippidis, G.

2010-07-01

Over the last decade, much controversy has surrounded the usage of genetically modified organism (GMO) technology in commercial agriculture. More specifically, it is feared that GMOs may introduce new allergens into the food chain or contribute to antibiotic resistance. At the current time, the European Union (EU) adopts a zero tolerance policy toward non-approved GMO imports, whilst the approval process has not kept pace with the proliferation of new GMO varieties. In the EU livestock sectors, this apparent mis-match threatens to interrupt supplies of high protein feed inputs (e.g., soy meal) from countries with more relaxed regulations regarding GMOs. Employing a well known multi-region computable general equilibrium framework, this study quantitatively assesses the impact of a hypothetical EU import ban on unapproved GMO varieties of soybean and maize imports on livestock, meat and dairy sectors. The model code is heavily modified to improve the characterisation of the agricultural sectors and land usage, whilst a realistic baseline is employed to update the global database to 2008, the year the hypothetical ban is implemented. In the worst case scenario, there are significant competitive losses in EU livestock, meat and dairy sectors. In Spain, the negative impacts are particularly pronounced given the importance of pig production in agriculture. In contrast, all non-EU regions trade balances improve, with notable trade gains in the USA and Brazil. To conclude, the EU must urgently find a long term strategy for GMOs if it is to reconcile political expediency with pragmatic economic concerns. (Author) 21 refs.

Tarım Dışı Ürünlerde Pazara Giriş (NAMA Müzakereleri ve Türkiye (Non-Agricultural Market Access Negotiations and Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Şahin YAMAN

2010-04-01

Full Text Available This essay tries to analyse Turkey’s position and constraints in the WTO Nonagricultural Market Access Negotiations (NAMA especially vis-à-vis developing countries.It basically, underlines Turkey’s unique negotiating position; de jure developing, de facto an advanced economy status in the WTO Doha NAMA negotiations.At Doha Ministerial Meeting in 2001, WTO members agreed to initiate negotiations to further liberalize trade, among other areas, on non-agricultural goods. For this purpose, the Negotiating Group on Market Access (NGMA was created at the first meeting of the Trade Negotiations Committee of the WTO, in early 2002. Turkey has been quite active since then in NAMA negotiations in calibrating its position between offensive and defensive negotiation interests although its offensive market access interests largely outweigh defensive one.Turkey has also been propagating an offensive non-linear tariff cutting Swiss Formula approach at the WTO to curb the international high tariffs, tariff peaks and escalations. Having a strong offensive market access interests, Turkey mainly aims at large developing country markets diversifying its trade portfolio away from traditional markets towards large developing economies.From the perspective of governance, Turkey has serious constraints on its trade and industry policy space stemming from the Turkey-EU Customs Union (CU. Although Turkey is a de jure developing country in the WTO and will have all legal rights and mobligations stemming from the outcome of the DOHA, in practice, Turkey will have to implement the same applied common external tariffs of the EU. Despite the constraints and dilemmas stemming from the EU-Turkey customs union, it can be strongly argued that, it is in Turkey’s industrial interests to be actively involved in the WTO to tackle the high tariffs, tariff peaks and escalations which hinders Turkey’s exports to the world markets.

EU MEMBER STATES AND FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION– EMPIRICAL COMPARISON

OpenAIRE

Žan Oplotnik; Mateja Finžgar

2013-01-01

The purpose of an article is to compare systems of fiscal decentralization in EU member states according to selected quantitative criteria and European Charter of Local Self-Government principles. The results show that a higher number of lower levels of government usually indicate a greater share of local finance within the total public finance, however, this finding does not confirm the inverse link. Even though the structure of expenditures in EU countries is similar, the shares of funds fo...

EU environmental policy and competitiveness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stojanović Boban

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Protection of the environment was not a specific importance to the Community although the Treaty of Rome expressly specified that "health, safety environmental protection" shall be based on "a high level of protection". In deciding upon a framework for a European environmental policy, the Community was also responding to increased public awareness of the problem and concerns about the state of the natural and man-made environment. During the past years, competitiveness concerns have dominated the EU policy debate, in the course of which a growing consensus is being developed on the importance of eco-innovations and resource efficiency for EU competitiveness and on the market opportunities they offer. There is an increasing evidence that environmental policy and eco-innovations can promote economic growth, as well as maintain and create jobs, contributing both to competitiveness and employment. Environmental constraints to rapid economic growth are increasingly recognized by countries, leading to a rising awareness of the need for sustainable development. Implementation of an environmental policy however, generates significant implications for competition among countries.

Ion exchange and luminescence of Eu3+ in Nafion membranes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petushkov, A.A.; Shilov, S.M.; Pak, V.N.

2006-01-01

Dehydration of Nafion perfluorosulphonic membranes at 110 deg C results in a significant reduction of their void space volume, the accessibility of sulphonic groups and the total exchange capacity towards Eu 3+ cations. Nevertheless, the ion exchange sorption of Eu 3+ takes place in accordance with stoichiometric ratio [-SO 3 H]/[Eu 3+ ]=3. The membranes thermal pretreatment also affects noticeably the spectroscopic features of the fastened Eu 3+ ions, such as the relationship between the intensities of the hypersensitive 5 D 0 → 7 F 2 and magnetic dipolar 5 D 0 → 7 F 1 transitions, the excited state life time, as well as the luminescence quenching in the course of water adsorption

Tax incentives to promote green electricity. An overview of EU-27 countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cansino, Jose M.; Pablo-Romero, Maria del P.; Roman, Rocio; Yniguez, Rocio

2010-01-01

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the main tax incentives used in the EU-27 member states (MSs) to promote green electricity. Sixteen MSs use tax incentives to promote green electricity simultaneously with other promotion measures, especially quota obligations and price regulation. However, not all available technologies are promoted. For example, six MSs (Germany, Romania, Slovak Republic, Denmark, Sweden and Poland) have included an exemption on the payments of excise duties for electricity when the electricity is generated from renewable energy sources (RES). This tax incentive is the most widely used. Limited tax incentives in personal income tax are available in Belgium, France, Czech Republic and Luxembourg. In corporate tax, tax incentives consist mainly of a deduction in the taxable profit (Belgium, Greece, Czech Republic and Spain). Lower tax rates in VAT are applied in three MSs, France, Italy and Portugal. Only Spain and Italy use effective tax incentives in property tax. As a great diversity of tax incentives has been used to promote green electricity, this adds another difficulty to the EU objective of providing a renewable energy policy framework, but also it offers a useful set of case studies which can be used to inform EU policy development. (author)

India-EU relations in health services: prospects and challenges

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background India and the EU are currently negotiating a Trade and Investment Agreement which also covers services. This paper examines the opportunities for and constraints to India-EU relations in health services in the context of this agreement, focusing on the EU as a market for India's health services exports and collaboration. The paper provides an overview of key features of health services in the EU and India and their bearing on bilateral relations in this sector. Methods Twenty six semi-structured, in-person, and telephonic interviews were conducted in 2007-2008 in four Indian cities. The respondents included management and practitioners in a variety of healthcare establishments, health sector representatives in Indian industry associations, health sector officials in the Indian government, and official representatives of selected EU countries and the European Commission based in New Delhi. Secondary sources were used to supplement and corroborate these findings. Results The interviews revealed that India-EU relations in health services are currently very limited. However, several opportunity segments exist, namely: (i) Telemedicine; (ii) Clinical trials and research in India for EU-based pharmaceutical companies; (iii) Medical transcriptions and back office support; (iv) Medical value travel; and (v) Collaborative ventures in medical education, research, training, staff deployment, and product development. However, various factors constrain India's exports to the EU. These include data protection regulations; recognition requirements; insurance portability restrictions; discriminatory conditions; and cultural, social, and perception-related barriers. The interviews also revealed several constraints in the Indian health care sector, including disparity in domestic standards and training, absence of clear guidelines and procedures, and inadequate infrastructure. Conclusions The paper concludes that although there are several promising areas for India-EU

India-EU relations in health services: prospects and challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chanda Rupa

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background India and the EU are currently negotiating a Trade and Investment Agreement which also covers services. This paper examines the opportunities for and constraints to India-EU relations in health services in the context of this agreement, focusing on the EU as a market for India's health services exports and collaboration. The paper provides an overview of key features of health services in the EU and India and their bearing on bilateral relations in this sector. Methods Twenty six semi-structured, in-person, and telephonic interviews were conducted in 2007-2008 in four Indian cities. The respondents included management and practitioners in a variety of healthcare establishments, health sector representatives in Indian industry associations, health sector officials in the Indian government, and official representatives of selected EU countries and the European Commission based in New Delhi. Secondary sources were used to supplement and corroborate these findings. Results The interviews revealed that India-EU relations in health services are currently very limited. However, several opportunity segments exist, namely: (i Telemedicine; (ii Clinical trials and research in India for EU-based pharmaceutical companies; (iii Medical transcriptions and back office support; (iv Medical value travel; and (v Collaborative ventures in medical education, research, training, staff deployment, and product development. However, various factors constrain India's exports to the EU. These include data protection regulations; recognition requirements; insurance portability restrictions; discriminatory conditions; and cultural, social, and perception-related barriers. The interviews also revealed several constraints in the Indian health care sector, including disparity in domestic standards and training, absence of clear guidelines and procedures, and inadequate infrastructure. Conclusions The paper concludes that although there are several

A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE ON THE LABOUR VALUING IN EDUCATION AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES IN EU COUNTRIES

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Cristina-Raluca Mazilescu

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The evolution of the world economy over the last decades has demonstrated that knowledge is the major source of wealth and can also play an important role in fighting poverty. In a knowledge economy, education, research and development represent the “new currency” by which nations achieve and maintain economic competitiveness. These sectors offer important enabling effects that can contribute to sustainable development of the respective economies. Nevertheless, reaching these broader objectives requires first of all certain corresponding measures such as ensuring optimum labour conditions and stimulating levels of wage earnings, both contributing to the increase of the motivation degree for education, research and development staff and to the attractiveness degree of the respective professions. The purpose of this study is to assess the place of education and research in the wage hierarchy in EU Member States and their relationship with the wages achieved in other fields. The results of our analysis indicate the existence of significant gaps between wages in European countries.

Access to health care: solidarity and justice or egoism and injustice?

Science.gov (United States)

Prudil, Lukas

2008-09-01

The aim of this paper is to answer the question whether there is a real demand for equal access to health care or--better--to medical care and which interest groups (patients, health care professionals, policy makers and others) are interested in equal access. The focus is on EU countries including recent case law from the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. We discuss whether there is a need to have legislative safeguards to protect equal access to medical care and whether such norms really work. The paper concludes that some of the key players in medical care are not primarily governed by a real willingness to have equal and just access to medical care, but by rather egoistic approaches. It seems that policy makers and politicians are the only ones who, surprisingly, must at least formally call for and enforce equal access to medical care. Interests of other groups seem to be different.

Environmental Management and Education and Training Provision in Selected EU Countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ulhøi, John Parm; Madsen, Henning

Particular attention has been given at the UN level and in the EU environmental policy to the importance of the educational requirements which follow from the implementation of cleaner and less harmful practices. Therefore, training and education have long been recognised as essential ingredients...

'Not everything that counts can be counted' : Assessing ‘success’ of EU external migration policy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reslow, Natasja

2017-01-01

In the context of the ongoing “migration crisis” the externalization of EU migration policy has continued. EU policy documents argue that cooperation with non-EU countries is essential in order to manage migration flows. But how successful is this policy? The public policy literature teaches us that

EU COHESION POLICY NEEDS DIFFERENTIATED POLICY MIX ADEQUATE TO SPECIFICS OF ECONOMIC REGIONS

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Gheorghe ZAMAN

2008-06-01

Full Text Available The 2007-2013 programming period of the EU focuses on economic and social cohesion via three fundamental objectives: convergence – competitiveness and employment – European territorial co-operation. The horizontal dimension of cohesion policy refers to diminishing the regional disparities and solidarity with the lagging regions’ population. Considering the big regional disparities in the New Member States (NMS as well as the gap between their GDP per capita at national level and the EU average, these countries are the main beneficiary of the EU financial allocations, especially via convergence objective. However, two interrelated questions are entailed by this issue. One of them refers to the capacity of these countries to absorb effectively the EU funds. The other one concentrates on the impact of the absorbed EU funds, in other words to the qualitative aspects of the absorption capacity. Our paper discusses these aspects mainly from the viewpoint of regional disparities in the NMS, proposing a typology of their regions based on the main regional growth characteristics. The implications of the structural assistance on regional disparities are also addressed, taking into consideration economic and social criteria and requirements at EU, national, regional and local levels.

The financial burden of out-of-pocket patient payments in the European Union and accession countries: Results of a systematic literature review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Moser, K.; Pavlova, M.; Groot, W.

2014-01-01

A major issue for public health policy is to reduce the poverty and catastrophic effects of out-of-pocket payments. This paper reviews empirical studies that analyze the financial burden of out-of-pocket payments and factors that are associated with this burden for households in the EU and accession

Income inequality and foregone medical care in Europe during The Great Recession: multilevel analyses of EU-SILC surveys 2008-2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Elstad, Jon Ivar

2016-07-07

The association between income inequality and societal performance has been intensely debated in recent decades. This paper reports how unmet need for medical care has changed in Europe during The Great Recession, and investigates whether countries with smaller income differences have been more successful than inegalitarian countries in protecting access to medical care during an economic crisis. Six waves of EU-SILC surveys (2008-2013) from 30 European countries were analyzed. Foregone medical care, defined as self-reported unmet need for medical care due to costs, waiting lists, or travel difficulties, was examined among respondents aged 30-59 years (N = 1.24 million). Countries' macro-economic situation was measured by Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita. The S80/S20 ratio indicated the country's level of income inequality. Equity issues were highlighted by separate analyses of disadvantaged respondents with limited economic resources and relatively poor health. Cross-tabulations and multilevel linear probability regression models were utilized. Foregone medical care increased 2008-2013 in the majority of the 30 countries, especially among the disadvantaged parts of the population. For the disadvantaged, unmet need for medical care tended to be higher in countries with larger income inequalities, regardless of the average economic standard in terms of GDP per capita. Both for disadvantaged and for other parts of the samples, a decline in GDP had more severe effects on access in inegalitarian countries than in countries with less income inequality. During The Great Recession, unmet need for medical care increased in Europe, and social inequalities in foregone medical care widened. Overall, countries with a more egalitarian income distribution have been more able to protect their populations, and especially disadvantaged groups, against deteriorated access to medical care when the country is confronted with an economic crisis.

Duties and tasks of local government and NGOS in protection of the environment in the process of the accession of Serbia to the EU

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Pendić Zoran R.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Local self-government (LSG, and the municipal police (MP and civil society organizations (CSOs, which operate on the territory of the local self-government, play an important role in the definition and implementation of programs for environmental protection within the territory of LSG. LSG, MP and CSOs need to improve their knowledge for the implementation of Serbian legislation in the field of environmental protection, which must be, at the end of the process of Serbia's accession to the European Union (EU, fully compliant with relevant legislation of the EU. The paper presents the theses of tasks for the LSG, MP and CSOs related to environmental protection, with special emphasis on the protection of drinking water sources, which are located in the territory of the local self-government.

Energy service companies in European countries: Current status and a strategy to foster their development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bertoldi, Paolo [European Commission, DG JRC, TP 450, I-21020 Ispra (Vatican City State, Holy See,) (Italy)]. E-mail: paolo.bertoldi@cec.eu.int; Rezessy, Silvia [Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, Central European University, Nador u. 9, H-1051 Budapest (Hungary)]. E-mail: ephlas01@phd.ceu.hu; Vine, Edward [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Building 90-4000, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)]. E-mail: elvine@lbl.gov

2006-09-15

Although the European Commission and the Member States of the European Union (EU) have promoted a number of policy initiatives to foster the Energy Services Company (ESCO) industry, a recent survey of ESCO businesses in Europe has indicated that major differences exist in the development of the ESCO business among the various countries. In some countries a large number of ESCOs have been successfully operating for a number of years, while in other countries only a few ESCOs have recently started to operate. This difference could be explained by several factors, such as different levels of support offered to ESCOs by national and regional energy authorities, local market structures and rules, and variation in the definitions, roles and activities of ESCOs. This paper reviews and analyses the development and the current status of ESCO industries in the EU and the New Accession Countries. Based on the review and the analysis, a long-term strategy to foster the development of ESCOs in Europe is formulated. The strategic actions recommended build on successful experience in Europe and are proposed with an eye to existing and planned legislative measures, such as the proposed Energy Service Directive and the deployment of the Kyoto flexible mechanisms.

Energy service companies in European countries: Current status and a strategy to foster their development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bertoldi, Paolo; Rezessy, Silvia; Vine, Edward

2006-01-01

Although the European Commission and the Member States of the European Union (EU) have promoted a number of policy initiatives to foster the Energy Services Company (ESCO) industry, a recent survey of ESCO businesses in Europe has indicated that major differences exist in the development of the ESCO business among the various countries. In some countries a large number of ESCOs have been successfully operating for a number of years, while in other countries only a few ESCOs have recently started to operate. This difference could be explained by several factors, such as different levels of support offered to ESCOs by national and regional energy authorities, local market structures and rules, and variation in the definitions, roles and activities of ESCOs. This paper reviews and analyses the development and the current status of ESCO industries in the EU and the New Accession Countries. Based on the review and the analysis, a long-term strategy to foster the development of ESCOs in Europe is formulated. The strategic actions recommended build on successful experience in Europe and are proposed with an eye to existing and planned legislative measures, such as the proposed Energy Service Directive and the deployment of the Kyoto flexible mechanisms

Broadband adoption, digital divide, and the global economic competitiveness of Western Balkan countries

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Mitrović Đorđe

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The existing variation in economic performance between countries is significantly affected by the level, diffusion, and use of different types of information and communication technology. In the last several years economic competitiveness increasingly depends on broadband availability and the adoption, use, and speed of this technology. Broadband access to the internet fosters economic growth and development and increases a country’s global competitiveness. This technology could have a big impact on the competitive advantage of Western Balkan countries because they currently experience a large digital divide, both within countries (between regions, urban and rural areas, different vulnerable groups, etc. and with EU countries. The purpose of the paper is to analyse the current level and dynamics of the digital divide in Western Balkan countries using the Broadband Achievement Index (BAI, the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA-based model, the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI, the Corruption Perception Index (CPI, and cross-country methodology. This paper measures and compares Western Balkan countries’ current level of broadband adoption and their position on the evolutionary path towards closing the existing economic and digital gap with EU countries. Comparative analysis of calculated BAI data values, GCI, and CPI shows that Western Balkan countries belong to the ‘laggard’ group regarding their broadband achievement and global economic competitiveness. The values of the calculated BAI sub-indexes in this paper indicate the strong and weak sides of the corresponding aspects of broadband technology implementation and give directions for setting further priorities for political intervention, not only in the building of information society but also in the improvement of the economic competitiveness of Western Balkan countries.

CONSIDERATIONS ON ROMANIA’S AGRO-FOOD EXPORT AND IMPORT BY EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRY GROUP AND AGRO-FOOD PRODUCT GROUP

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Agatha POPESCU

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The goal of the paper was the analysis of Romania’s the agro-food export, import and trade balance by the EU country group and agro-food product group based on the statistical data in the year 2010 in order to identify the commercial relationships with a positive and respectively a negative impact of the trade balance. The EU trade partners were divided into 4 groups: Central Eastern (CE, Western (W, Northern (N and Southern (S EU countries and the agro-food product groups were: Live animals and preparations of animal origin, Vegetal products, Fats and oils of vegetal and animal origin, Food, beverages and tobacco. The data were processed using the share and comparison methods. In 2010, Romania registered a negative agro-food trade balance with a deficit of Euro thousand 903,148.This was due to the unefficient commerce with the CE and W EU countries, which together recorded Euro Thousand 1,400,298 deficit. The balance was positively influenced by the Southern EU trade partners whose contribution accounted for Euro thousand 513,953. Therefore, the agro-food trade has to be intensified with the Southern EU countries and to become more relaxed with the CE and W EU countries, especially regarding imports. Live animals are mainly required in the CE and W EU countries, vegetal products in the W and S EU countries, fats and oils in the CE and S EU countries, and finally, food, beverages and tobacco in the S and the CE EU countries. Agro-food imports have to be substantially diminished as long as Romania’ s agriculture is able to produce for the internal market and export has to be intensified especially with the countries with a positive impact on the trade balance.

Competitiveness of the EU egg industry. International comparison base year 2013

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Horne, van P.L.M.

2014-01-01

In this report the impact of reducing or removing import tariffs on the competitiveness of the EU egg sector is studied. The results show that the offer price of whole egg powder in 2013 of some third countries is close to the average EU price. Despite the current import tariffs on whole egg powder,

EU pharmaceutical expenditure forecast

OpenAIRE

Urbinati, Duccio; Rémuzat, Cécile; Kornfeld, Åsa; Vataire, Anne-Lise; Cetinsoy, Laurent; Aballéa, Samuel; Mzoughi, Olfa; Toumi, Mondher

2014-01-01

Background and Objectives: With constant incentives for healthcare payers to contain their pharmaceutical budgets, forecasting has become critically important. Some countries have, for instance, developed pharmaceutical horizon scanning units. The objective of this project was to build a model to assess the net effect of the entrance of new patented medicinal products versus medicinal products going off-patent, with a defined forecast horizon, on selected European Union (EU) Member States’ ph...

EU COMPARISON OF VAT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MARIA ZENOVIA GRIGORE

2012-05-01

Full Text Available VAT is one of the newest tools of the global economy and is widely adopted in most of the countries. For EU Member States is required not only the existence of VAT, but also that its main characteristics to be uniformly implemented. This should facilitate intra-Community transactions, but in practice does not as there are many local variations which can lead to costly errors and penalties. The objective of this paper is to collate data about the main characteristics of VAT in EU Member States and to highlight the key differences between them. This survey shows that there continue to be opportunities and risks for businesses trading cross border, as a result of differences in application of Community legislation on VAT. This led to the necessity of VAT reform. On this basis, the Commission adopted on the end of the last year a Communication on the future of VAT. This sets out the fundamental characteristics that must underlie the new VAT regime, and priority actions needed to create a simpler, more efficient and more robust VAT system in the EU.

Potential for Introduction of Bat-Borne Zoonotic Viruses into the EU: A Review

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Robin R. L. Simons

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Bat-borne viruses can pose a serious threat to human health, with examples including Nipah virus (NiV in Bangladesh and Malaysia, and Marburg virus (MARV in Africa. To date, significant human outbreaks of such viruses have not been reported in the European Union (EU. However, EU countries have strong historical links with many of the countries where NiV and MARV are present and a corresponding high volume of commercial trade and human travel, which poses a potential risk of introduction of these viruses into the EU. In assessing the risks of introduction of these bat-borne zoonotic viruses to the EU, it is important to consider the location and range of bat species known to be susceptible to infection, together with the virus prevalence, seasonality of viral pulses, duration of infection and titre of virus in different bat tissues. In this paper, we review the current scientific knowledge of all these factors, in relation to the introduction of NiV and MARV into the EU.

EU Foreign Energy Policy. From Intergovernmentalism to Supranationalism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahner, N.

2012-01-01

The European Union's increasing reliance on imports from third countries is reason for unsettling concern. It is anticipated that by 2030, assuming a continuation of the recent trend, more than 70 per cent of the EU's energy consumption has to be imported. Notwithstanding such anticipation, European regulation addressing the external dimension of energy policy remained far and few between. In practise it is the individual countries being leading actors on the foreign energy relations stage exercising their own respective foreign policies. To cope with these threats to the EU foreign energy policy, the European Commission issued its long anticipated Communication on security of energy supply and international cooperation proposing concrete instruments on how energy foreign relations should be addressed in the future. But - does the Union have the power to bring about the crucial rebound?.

Analysis of the network capacities and possible congestion of the electricity transmission networks within the accession countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kristiansen, Tarjei; Hewicker, Cristian

2005-01-01

Since the passage of the first Electricity Directive, the gradual establishment of the Internal Electricity Market (IEM) of the European Union has resulted in a remarkable growth of cross-border trade in electricity that have made trading and flow patterns more dynamic and less predictable. Simultaneously, market actors are increasingly facing congestion on several cross-border lines, limiting their opportunities to exploit the existing economic export and import potential between different markets to the benefit of European consumers. Ten new countries joined the European Union in May 2004 and thus became part of the IEM. In addition, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey have been granted the status of Candidate Countries and may join the EU in the future. This paper describes a study commissioned by the European Commission (Directorate-General Energy and Transport) about the electricity market modelling of the these countries and their neighbour countries with respect to transmission congestion and investments. Our focus is on the following objectives: 1) Determining the economic export and import potential for the new parts of the Internal Electricity Market, covering exchanges between the Accession Countries, and between the Accession Countries and those countries that had already been part of the IEM before May 2004. 2) Developing a methodology for assessing transmission projects based on the market simulations and an assessment of investment costs. We have chosen to simulate market behaviour through a production simulation tool that allows us to determine the least-cost dispatch of power plants, while simultaneously taking account of limited cross-border capacities. Based on existing data and information and the expertise of our specialists, we have thus built a European market model in the well-known production simulation tool PROSYM. This tool is based on a minimum cost dispatch where the underlying power system is described with power plant characteristics and

The Geopolitics of Shale Gas : The Implications of the US' Shale Gas Revolution on Intrastate Stability within Traditional Oil- and Natural Gas-Exporting Countries in the EU Neighborhood

OpenAIRE

Jong, S. de; Auping, W.; Govers, J.; Peters, M.C.A.M.; Widdershoven, C.J.C.G.; Weterings, R.A.P.M.

2014-01-01

The US’ shale gas revolution could in the long term destabilize traditional oil- and gas exporters in the European Union (EU) neighborhood: A combination of substitution effects and greater energy efficiency, could put pressure on the price of oil, leading to fiscal difficulties in traditional hydrocarbon exporting countries.

THE CRUCIAL THEMES OF EU ENLARGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacques Pelkmans

2001-12-01

Full Text Available This article provides a critical review of the “terms” of the ongoing EU enlargement, in the light of the European public interest. The European public interest ought to include the prospective (Central European members, within a perspective of an enlarged Union in 2010, or so. The following forms a personalised summary of a major report published (in Dutch in September 2001 by the WRR in The Hague (a think-tank, formally under the Dutch Prime Minister, but by statute fully independent. The author was one of the lead-writers of this report. The present article merely focuses on the policy recommendations of the report. It is hoped that these kinds of critical analyses will help to stimulate solid policy debate on the EU in Romania, on the road to EU membership. The article discusses why the notion of a “core-acquis” would improve the enlargement strategy; the application of the core acquis to the internal market, environment and justice and home affairs; judicial and administrative capacity; accession to “euro-land”; the rapid reform of the CAP; a reform of “cohesion” approaches; and a note on the EU budgetary implications.

Changes in direct and indirect taxation in the process of the EU tax system reform

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miletić Vesna

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Proceeding from the changes in direct and indirect taxation in the process of the EU tax system reform and the fact that new trends bring about vital social changes, the research in this area could add to the understanding of economic development of these countries. In the EU with its decentralized tax policy, changes in direct and indirect taxation are permanently implemented in the process of tax system reform. Harmonization of direct and indirect taxation in the EU is conducted by means of the adopted community law regulations. In the harmonization of direct taxation there is a tendency towards an increase of the level of fiscal coordination and elimination of barriers to the common market. Thus direct taxation reforms are limited to achieving higher level of coordination and preventing evasion and double taxation. The current policy is the result of the principle according to which fiscal competition has positive effects on reducing consumption and on the EU economic development. In the harmonization process the systems of indirect taxation are aligned particularly with excise duty and value added tax. Fiscal strategies in the reform process are mostly aimed at fiscal coordination, modernization, informative cooperation, evasion reduction and elimination of malpractices in fulfilling a VAT payment liability. Within the excise tax system minimal excise rates are determined and an environmentally-friendly policy is pursued. The main priorities of taxation changes within the harmonization process are in respect of evasion reduction and irrational fiscal competition on the EU market. A study of direct and indirect taxation changes in the process of the tax system reform is highly significant both from the aspect of efficient tax-system functioning, which results in achieving EU macroeconomic goals, and from the aspect of single states' interests in the process of transition and accession.

Nuclear safety in EU candidate countries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-10-01

Nuclear safety in the candidate countries to the European Union is a major issue that needs to be addressed in the framework of the enlargement process. Therefore WENRA members considered it was their duty to offer their technical assistance to their Governments and the European Union Institutions. They decided to express their collective opinion on nuclear safety in those candidate countries having at least one nuclear power plant: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. The report is structured as follows: A foreword including background information, structure of the report and the methodology used, General conclusions of WENRA members reflecting their collective opinion, For each candidate country, an executive summary, a chapter on the status of the regulatory regime and regulatory body, and a chapter on the nuclear power plant safety status. Two annexes are added to address the generic safety characteristics and safety issues for RBMK and VVER plants. The report does not cover radiation protection and decommissioning issues, while safety aspects of spent fuel and radioactive waste management are only covered as regards on-site provisions. In order to produce this report, WENRA used different means: For the chapters on the regulatory regimes and regulatory bodies, experts from WENRA did the work. For the chapters on nuclear power plant safety status, experts from WENRA and from French and German technical support organisations did the work. Taking into account the contents of these chapters, WENRA has formulated its general conclusions in this report.

Nuclear safety in EU candidate countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-10-01

Nuclear safety in the candidate countries to the European Union is a major issue that needs to be addressed in the framework of the enlargement process. Therefore WENRA members considered it was their duty to offer their technical assistance to their Governments and the European Union Institutions. They decided to express their collective opinion on nuclear safety in those candidate countries having at least one nuclear power plant: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. The report is structured as follows: A foreword including background information, structure of the report and the methodology used, General conclusions of WENRA members reflecting their collective opinion, For each candidate country, an executive summary, a chapter on the status of the regulatory regime and regulatory body, and a chapter on the nuclear power plant safety status. Two annexes are added to address the generic safety characteristics and safety issues for RBMK and VVER plants. The report does not cover radiation protection and decommissioning issues, while safety aspects of spent fuel and radioactive waste management are only covered as regards on-site provisions. In order to produce this report, WENRA used different means: For the chapters on the regulatory regimes and regulatory bodies, experts from WENRA did the work. For the chapters on nuclear power plant safety status, experts from WENRA and from French and German technical support organisations did the work. Taking into account the contents of these chapters, WENRA has formulated its general conclusions in this report

Europeana Linked Open Data -- data.europeana.eu

NARCIS (Netherlands)