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Kinds of EU Terms modified by EU Selected AbstractsAn innovative model to promote CSR among SMEs operating in industrial clusters: evidence from an EU projectCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2010Massimo Battaglia Abstract This paper presents the findings of our EU co-funded project, an idea developed to better understand the opportunities to formalize corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in a clustered system. Small companies often have to compete in a global market; for this reason, cooperation among SMEs, and with local stakeholders and intermediary institutions, might be facilitated by a collective answer to new market requests. Cooperation and social capital are key elements to facilitate trust amongst involved local actors. Moreover, they can also play a key role in the formalization of CSR policies and practices for small companies. In our project, we aimed at identifying and understanding the role of the ,intermediary institutions' (such as trade unions, local authorities, business consortia) in the cluster. Throughout the paper, we focus on the analysis of three industrial clusters in Tuscany (Italy). Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Foreign Direct Investment, Services Trade Negotiations and Development: The Case of Tourism in the CaribbeanDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 4 2006Dirk Willem te Velde This article examines whether and how developing countries can use services trade negotiations to increase the amount of inward FDI conducive to development. It reviews how services trade rules can affect inward FDI, and employs panel data analysis with innovative use of instrumental variables in the tourism sectors of 9 Caribbean countries during 1997,2003. It argues that Caribbean countries may want to signal openness to inward FDI in GATS, while maintaining a degree of flexibility in the use of policy measures; in the current negotiations with the EU on Economic Partnership Agreements, the focus could be on emphasising the development dimension. [source] Die Koordinierungsstelle für die harmonisierte europäische Normung im Bereich der Bauproduktenrichtlinie im DIBt.DIBT MITTEILUNGEN (FORMERLY-MITTEILUNGEN DEUT INST FUER BAUTECHNIK), Issue 2 2006Aktuelle Entwicklungen im Zusammenhang mit harmonisierten europäischen Normen Vor inzwischen mehr als drei Jahren wurde beim DIBt die Koordinierungsstelle für die Mitarbeit der Bauaufsicht in der harmonisierten europäischen Normung nach der Bauproduktenrichtlinie (BPR) eingerichtet , Zeit genug, um etliche Erfahrungen mit solchen harmonisierten Normen zu sammeln. Zweimal wurde über solche Erfahrungen bereits berichtet (siehe "DIBt Mitteilungen", Hefte Nr. 4/2004 und Nr. 1/2005). Der erste Bericht stellte vor allem die Aufgaben der Koordinierungsstelle vor und ging insofern auf die bisher gemachten Erfahrungen mit harmonisierten Normen nach BPR und mit deren Mängeln ein, als ein Merkblatt für die Mitarbeit von Vertretern der Bauaufsicht an der harmonisierten Normung vorgestellt wurde, dass diese Erfahrungen widerspiegelt. Der zweite Bericht hat dann diese Erfahrungen konkreter und an Beispielen ausgeführt. Dieser dritte Beitrag kann zu den oben genannten Punkten nichts Neues bieten , insbesondere leider keine Erfahrungen mit grundlegenden Verbesserungen im Bereich der harmonisierten Normung. Im Gegenteil, das letzte Jahr war gekennzeichnet durch zwei von Deutschland über die deutsche Delegation im Ständigen Ausschuss für das Bauwesen (StAB) eingeleitete Verfahren nach Artikel 5 Absatz 1 der Bauproduktenrichtlinie. Dieses Verfahren hat die offizielle Zurückziehung der Referenz für harmonisierte Normen zum Ziel mit der Folge, dass diese Normen nicht mehr den Status von harmonisierten Normen haben. Ein weiteres Verfahren wurde von der französischen Delegation eingeleitet. Ein zweiter Schwerpunkt dieses Beitrags ist die neue Form der Bekanntmachungen von harmonisierten Normen in der Reihe C des Amtsblatts der EU. Erstmals am 8. Juni 2005 haben die Dienste der Kommission in der Nr. C 139 des Amtsblatts eine konsolidierte Liste aller harmonisierten Normen bekannt gemacht. Die europäische Normungsorganisation CEN (Comit, Europ,en de Normalisation) hatte im Frühjahr 2005 den Kommissionsdiensten zugesagt, in Zukunft alle 3 Monate eine solche Liste zu liefern, so dass eigentlich davon auszugehen war, dass im gleichen Abstand eine entsprechende Bekanntmachung im Amtsblatt der EU erfolgt. Dies ist jedoch bisher nicht der Fall; die zweite und bisher letzte Bekanntmachung dieser Art erfolgte im Amtsblatt der EU Nr. C 319 vom 14. Dezember 2005. Die Kommission gibt am Ende dieser Bekanntmachungen den Hinweis, dass sie jeweils alle vorherigen Bekanntmachungen harmonisierter Normen nach BPR ersetzen. [source] THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF OVERLAPPING JURISDICTIONS AND THE FRENCH/DUTCH REJECTION OF THE EU CONSTITUTIONECONOMIC AFFAIRS, Issue 1 2006Jean-Luc Migué In seeking to protect their failed social model by rejecting the EU constitution, French and Dutch voters ironically contributed to promoting the very ,liberal' order they misunderstand and despise. When, as in federalist politics, functions overlap, two levels of government compete for the same votes in the same territory in the supply of similar services. Not unlike the tragedy of the commons in oil extraction, it is in the interest of both political authorities to seek to gain votes in implementing the programme first. The overall equilibrium supply of public services is excessive and both levels of government have a tendency to invade every field. Short of effective constitutional limits on the powers of the central government, a more decentralised EU offers an opportunity to overcome the common-pool problem of multi-level government. [source] Convergence within the EU: Evidence from Interest RatesECONOMIC NOTES, Issue 2 2000Teresa Corzo Santamaria The economic and political changes which are taking place in Europe affect interest rates. This paper develops a two-factor model for the term structure of interest rates specially designed to apply to EMU countries. In addition to the participant country's short-term interest rate, we include as a second factor a ,European' short-term interest rate. We assume that the ,European' rate follows a mean reverting process. The domestic interest rate also follows a mean reverting process, but its convergence is to a stochastic mean which is identified with the ,European' rate. Closed-form solutions for prices of zero coupon discount bonds and options on these bonds are provided. A special feature of the model is that both the domestic and the European interest rate risks are priced. We also discuss an empirical estimation focusing on the Spanish bond market. The ,European' rate is proxied by the ecu's interest rate. Through a comparison of the performance of our convergence model with a Vasicek model for the Spanish bond market, we show that our model provides a better fit both in-sample and out-of sample and that the difference in performance between the models is greater the longer the maturity of the bonds. (J.E.L.: E43, C510). [source] Trade liberalisation and CAP reform in the EUECONOMIC OUTLOOK, Issue 1 2006Article first published online: 26 JAN 200 Europe has underperformed relative to its peers and to its own previous performance over the last two decades. That underperformance reflects a range of factors, from structural rigidities in labour and capital markets, to inappropriate macroeconomic policy. But one set of policy measures that could contribute to improved economic performance in the future is trade liberalisation and reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). This article examines the benefits that could accrue to the UK, EU and global economies from the liberalisation of trade in goods and from the replacement of the current CAP with other, more productive forms of spending. It finds that the current barriers to trade in the EU, and the resources dedicated to the maintenance of the CAP, are set to cost the EU some 2% of GDP by 2015 if they remain in place. Moreover, this cost falls disproportionately on the poorer members of society. [source] Cross-border mergers and acquisitions and European integrationECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 57 2009Nicolas Coeurdacier SUMMARY Cross-border M&A Cross-border mergers and acquisitions activities (M&As) sharply increased over the last two decades, partly as a result of financial liberalization policies, government policies and regional agreements. In this paper, we identify some of the main forces driving M&As, using a unique database on bilateral cross-border M&As at the sectoral level (in manufacturing and services) over the period 1985,2004. The key empirical findings are: (1) EMU helped the restructuring of capital within the same sector of manufacturing activity among euro area firms; (2) joining the EU favoured both horizontal and vertical mergers; (3) policy-makers can help attract capital by reducing the corporate tax rates and the degree of product market regulations and by improving the country's financial systems; (4) the service industry has not yet fully benefited from European integration because the level of protection and barriers to entry in the services sector act as a strong deterrent to cross-border M&As in services. , Nicolas Coeurdacier, Roberto A. De Santis and Antonin Aviat [source] Trade spill-overs of fiscal policy in the European Union: a panel analysisECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 48 2006Roel Beetsma SUMMARY Spill-overs in the EU We explore international spill-overs from fiscal policy shocks via trade in Europe. To assess and quantify the channels through which a fiscal expansion stimulates domestic activity, foreign exports, and foreign output, we estimate a dynamic empirical model of government spending, net taxes, and output, and combine its estimates with a panel model of trade linkages across European countries. The baseline estimates of both models are quite robust and statistically significant. Our results indicate that trade spill-overs of fiscal shocks should be taken into account when assessing the character and intensity of economic integration in the European Union. , Roel Beetsma, Massimo Giuliodori and Franc Klaassen [source] Marketization of household production and the EU,US gap in workECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 41 2005Richard B. Freeman SUMMARY Jobs and homework Time-use evidence Employment rates and hours worked per employee are very different in the EU and the US. This paper relates the greater time worked in the US to greater marketization in the US of traditional household production: food preparation, childcare, elderly care, cleaning houses. Since women do most household work, marketization is particularly relevant to the EU,US difference in hours worked by women. We suggest that to raise employment rates the EU should develop policies that make it easier for women to move from the household to the market and to substitute market goods and services for household production. , Richard B. Freeman and Ronald Schettkat [source] Seeking asylum in EuropeECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 38 2004Timothy J. Hatton SUMMARY Seeking asylum in Europe Over the last three decades the annual number of applications for asylum in the countries of the European Union has increased from about 15 000 to more than 300 000. This has sparked a political backlash, a revolution in policy, a lively academic debate, but very little economic analysis. Although the causes of asylum flows and the effects of policy are much discussed, they have rarely been the subject of quantitative analysis. This article examines the evolution of asylum flows and asylum policy across the EU since the early 1980s. It investigates the effects of war and conflict, economic incentives, and asylum policies on the total numbers and on the proportions going to the different countries of the EU. Special attention is given to the growth of policy restrictiveness across the EU and to the harmonization of asylum policies. Contrary to some views, policy has worked to stem the flows, but it has been overwhelmed by other forces. [source] Delocation and European integration: is structural spending justified?ECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 35 2002Karen Helene Midelfart-Knarvik SUMMARY How is European integration changing the location of industry? And what part are national and EU aids to industry playing in this process? We show that states and regions are becoming more specialized within the EU, but this process is very slow. While there is no evidence of polarization occurring at the national level, some regions are losing out. National state aids to industry appear to have little effect for either good or ill, since their effectiveness at attracting economic activity and employment is limited. European Structural Funds expenditure, by contrast, does have an effect on the location of industry, notably by attracting industries that are intensive in research and development. However, this effect has mostly been acting counter to states' comparative advantage , R&D-intensive industries have been encouraged by these aids to locate in countries and regions that have low endowments of skilled labour. Only in Ireland, where Structural Funds reinforced rather than offset comparative advantage, have poor regions been enabled systematically to catch up with the EU average. [source] Unemployment clusters across Europe's regions and countriesECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 34 2002Henry G. Overman Summary High unemployment and regional inequalities are major concerns for European policy-makers, but so far connections between policies dealing with unemployment and regional inequalities have been few and weak. We think that this should change. This paper documents a regional and transnational dimension to unemployment , i.e., geographical unemployment clusters that do not respect national boundaries. Since the mid 1980s, regions with high or low initial unemployment rates saw little change, while regions with intermediate unemployment moved towards extreme values. During this polarization, nearby regions tended to share similar outcomes due, we argue, to spatially related changes in labour demand. These spatially correlated demand shifts were due in part to initial clustering of low-skilled regions and badly performing industries, but a significant neighbour effect remains even after controlling for these, and the effect is as strong within as it is between nations. We believe this reflects agglomeration effects of economic integration. The new economic geography literature shows how integration fosters employment clusters that need not respect national borders. If regional labour forces do not adjust, regional unemployment polarization with neighbour effects can result. To account for these ,neighbour effects' a cross-regional and transnational dimension should be added to national anti-unemployment policies. Nations should consider policies that encourage regional wage setting, and short distance mobility, and the EU should consider including transnational considerations in its regional policy, since neighbour effects on unemployment mean that an anti-unemployment policy paid for by one region will benefit neighbouring regions. Since local politicians gain no votes or tax revenues from these ,spillovers', they are likely to underestimate the true benefit of the policy and thus tend to undertake too little of it. [source] Factor mobility and fiscal policy in the EU: policy issues and analytical approachesECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 31 2000David E. Wildasin Increased integration of labour and capital markets creates significant challenges for the welfare states of modern Europe. Taxation of capital and labour that finances extensive programmes of cash and in-kind redistribution creates incentives for capital owners and workers to locate in regions where they obtain favourable fiscal treatment. Competition among countries for mobile resources constrains their ability to alter the distribution of income and may lead to reductions in the size and scope of redistributive policies. Mobility of labour and capital is imperfect, however. Recent trends indicate that labour and capital are neither perfectly mobile nor perfectly immobile, but rather adjust gradually to market conditions and economic policies. This paper presents an explicitly dynamic analysis showing that governments can achieve some redistribution when it is costly for factors of production to relocate. As the costs of factor mobility fall, however, the effectiveness of redistributive policies is more limited, and governments have weaker incentives to pursue them. Liberalized immigration policies, EU enlargement, and other steps that promote integration of the factors markets of Western Europe with those of surrounding regions thus present a challenge to policy-makers if they also wish to maintain fiscal systems with extensive redistribution. [source] Unemployment, growth and taxation in industrial countriesECONOMIC POLICY, Issue 30 2000Francesco Daveri To the layman, the upward trend in European unemployment is related to the slowdown of economic growth. We argue that the layman's view is correct. The increase in European unemployment and the slowdown in economic growth are related, because they stem from a common cause: an excessively rapid growth in the cost of labour. In Europe, labour costs have gone up for many reasons, but one is particularly easy to identify: higher taxes on labour. If wages are set by strong and decentralized trade unions, an increase in labour taxes is shifted onto higher real wages. This has two effects. First, it reduces labour demand, and thus creates unemployment. Secondly, as firms substitute capital for labour, the marginal product of capital falls; over long periods of time, this in turn diminishes the incentive to invest and to grow. The data strongly support this view. According to our estimates, the observed rise of 14 percentage points in labour tax rates between 1965 and 1995 in the EU could account for a rise in EU unemployment of roughly 4 percentage points, a reduction of the investment share of output of about 3 percentage points, and a growth slowdown of about 0.4 percentage points a year. [source] Business Cycles under Monetary Union: A Comparison of the EU and USECONOMICA, Issue 267 2000Mark A. Wynne This paper documents business cycle similarities and differences among the12 Federal Reserve districts in the USA and the 15 countries that make upthe EU. The comparison is suggestive of what might be expected to emerge inthe way of business cycle synchronization from a monetary union between themember states of the EU. [source] Large-volume sample stacking combined with separation by 2-hydroxypropyl-,-cyclodextrin for analysis of isoxyzolylpenicillins by capillary electrophoresisELECTROPHORESIS, Issue 17 2003Zhiwei Zhu Abstract A simple, quick and sensitive capillary electrophoretic technique has been developed for the pharmaceutical analysis of isoxazolylpenicillins (oxacillin, cloxacillin and dicloxacillin) at trace levels for the first time. This method comprises large-volume sample stacking using the electroosmotic flow (EOF) pump (LVSEP), separation using 2-hydroxypropyl-,-cyclodextrin (HP-,-CD) as selective complex-forming background electrolyte additive, and direct UV detection. A complete resolution was achieved in the optimal background electrolyte containing 5.2 mM HP-,-CD. LVSEP was successfully applied in their determinations to improve the sensitivity, where the EOF in the buffer zone was suppressed by using an acidic buffer with pH 3.6. The detection limits of the current technique were found to be 2.0 ,g/L for each of the isoxazolylpenicillins based on the signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The curves of peak response versus concentration were linear from 5.0 to 400.0 ,g/L with regression coefficients of 0.9982, 0.9986 and 0.9976, respectively. The interaction of isoxazolylpenicillins with HP-,-CD was discussed. The association constants for complexes of HP-,-CD with isoxazolylpenicillins were determined by electrophoretic method. The obtained association constants were 27.3, 34.9, and 48.5 M,1, respectively, being proportional to their hydrophobic properties and steric hindrances. A simple and easy-manipulative sample preparation method was developed and validated by analyzing commercially available milk samples. It was found that with current sample preparation process and instrumentation system, 0.1 mL of milk sample is enough for the analysis of isoxazolylpenicillins to meet European Union (EU) guideline of 30 ,g/kg. [source] Weakening of one more alcohol control pillar: a review of the effects of the alcohol tax cuts in Finland in 2004ADDICTION, Issue 4 2009Pia Mäkelä ABSTRACT Aims To review the consequences of the changes in Finnish alcohol policy in 2004, when quotas for travellers' tax-free imports of alcoholic beverages from other European Union (EU) countries were abolished, Estonia joined the EU and excise duties on alcoholic beverages were reduced in Finland by one-third, on average. Design A review of published research and routinely available data. Setting Finland. Measurements Prices of alcoholic beverages, recorded and unrecorded alcohol consumption, data on criminality and other police statistics, alcohol-related deaths and hospitalizations, service use. Findings Alcohol consumption increased 10% in 2004, clearly more than in the early 2000s. With few exceptions, alcohol-related harms increased. Alcohol-induced liver disease deaths increased the most, by 46% in 2004,06 compared to 2001,03, which indicates a strong effect on pre-2004 heavy drinkers. Consumption and harms increased most among middle-aged and older segments of the population, and harms in the worst-off parts of the population in particular. Conclusions Alcohol taxation and alcohol prices affect consumption and related harms, and heavy drinkers are responsive to price. In Finland in 2004, the worst-off parts of the population paid the highest price in terms of health for cuts in alcohol prices. The removal of travellers' import quotas, which was an inherent part of creating the single European market, had serious public health consequences in Finland. [source] The European Union in international environmental negotiations: an analysis of the Stockholm Convention negotiationsENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 1 2009Tom Delreux Abstract This article focuses on the way the European Union acted as a negotiating party during the international negotiations leading to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (1998,2000). Starting from a principal,agent model, the article discusses how the EU participated in these negotiations and how the internal decision-making process developed. It argues that the EU was able to negotiate in a unified and influential way by defending a common position, which was expressed by a flexible negotiation arrangement, at the international level. Three features of the EU decision-making process engendered such a strong EU negotiation arrangement: homogeneous preferences among the actors in the EU, symmetrically distributed information among them and a cooperative and institutionally dense decision-making context. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Interpreting sustainable development and societal utility in Norwegian GMO assessmentsENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 4 2008G. Kristin Rosendal Abstract This article examines the process of assessing applications for genetically modified (GM) crops or plants for import or commercial planting in Norway. GMO legislation in Norway is closely linked to the EU through the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA), to which Norway is a party. A central difference with the EU processes emanates from specific clauses in the Norwegian Gene Technology Act on ,sustainable development' and ,societal utility', which provide a potentially wider leverage for Norwegian authorities to turn down the applications. Research material indicates evidence of an increasingly restrictive practice in the Norwegian evaluations, raising the question of how this can be explained in the face of increasing global acceptance of GMOs. A related question is to what extent and how this result is affected by the trends in the EU. An increasingly restrictive practice may be explained by changes in the access structure to the evaluating body, or it may be due to learning and a growing acceptance of the precautionary principle in this sector. Third, a higher number of rejections may largely be associated with the interest structure pertaining to GMOs in Norway. Final decisions are pending and there are uncertainties concerning how Norwegian authorities will apply the specific criteria of the Gene Technology Act. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Implications of REACH for developing countriesENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 1 2008Frank Ackerman Abstract The new European Union (EU) chemicals regulation, the Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals, or REACH, went into effect in 2007. In the extensive advance discussion of the expected impacts of REACH, questions were raised about the effects of this new chemical policy on developing countries. In particular, will it harm the economies of the group of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries that historically have been connected to Europe? We found, in brief, that there are only limited, isolated cases where REACH could be problematical for ACP exporters. Almost all ACP exports subject to REACH face insignificant obstacles from the new regulation. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Corruption and environmental policies: what are the implications for the enlarged EU?ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 3 2006Lorenzo Pellegrini Abstract The paper discusses the prescription of EU environmental regulations for new member states. It has been argued that these countries should be allowed looser directives as a way to take into consideration their lower income levels and correspondingly different priorities. The paper estimates the determinants of environmental policies' stringency. We find that corruption levels are the most important factor in explaining the variance in environmental policies in the enlarged EU. Most notably, differences in corruption levels across countries appear to be more important than income differences. Thus, it is argued, lower environmental standards in new member states are not necessarily implied by lower income levels, but they are more likely to reflect low institutional quality. We argue that harmonization of environmental policies at the EU level can be a way to tackle this problem, and we provide a further rationale for new members states to adjust to existing EU environmental directives. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Path-dependent climate policy: the history and future of emissions trading in EuropeENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 5 2004Edwin Woerdman At the end of the 1990s, the EU was still sceptical towards emissions trading, but in 2003 it adopted a directive that enables such trading in the EU from 2005 onwards. Instead of presenting ad hoc explanations, we develop and apply the path dependence approach to clarify this remarkable attitude change. Sunk costs, switching costs and learning explain why politicians were initially tempted to add credit trading to existing, sub-optimal policy. Permit trading, however, is more efficient and effective. An institutional lock-in was bound to occur, but attitudes changed as a result of internal pressures, such as the pioneering role of the European Commission, and external ,shocks', such as the withdrawal of the US from the Kyoto Protocol. A full-scale institutional break-out towards efficiency is not guaranteed, though, because elements of credit trading can still enter the permit trading directive. The risk is that these elements become locked in, from which it may be difficult to escape. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] The promotion of green electricity in Europe: present and futureENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 4 2004Pablo del Río Public support schemes for electricity from renewable energy sources (RES-E) are undergoing a period of change. Two interrelated processes can be discerned at both the EU and member state (MS) levels. On the one hand, the RES-E Directive sets targets for consumption of renewable electricity for the year 2010 and opens the possibility that the European Commission sets a community support framework for RES-E promotion in the future. On the other hand, different types of support scheme have been and are used by countries in order to promote the deployment of renewable electricity. A move from tendering/bidding systems and feed-in tariffs to tradable green certificates can be observed in some MSs. This move may take place in the future in some other MSs while others will certainly continue to rely on their current scheme. This paper provides an overview and assessment of the instruments currently used to promote renewable electricity in Europe and considers some possible trends in the choice of support schemes in the future. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley &,Sons, Ltd and ERP,Environment. [source] The need for adaptability in EU environmental policy design and implementationENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 5 2001Matthieu Glachant Is the application of the EU environmentally policy satisfying in the field? In particular, are the environmental objectives set in the directives met? This paper explores the issue of the effectiveness of the European environmental policy. It is based on the results of a recent study, which has consisted in evaluating the implementation of three pieces of EU environmental legislation in France, Germany, Netherlands and United Kingdom. The legislation studied was Directive 89/429 regulating atmospheric emissions from domestic waste incinerators, Directive 88/609 dealing with SO2 and NOx emissions from large combustion plants (LCPs) and Council Regulation 1836/93 concerning the voluntary participation of industrial companies in an EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). The result of the study suggests that simply posing the problem in terms of ,implementation deficit' is not sufficient. In fact, over-compliance with directive goals is even observed in certain cases. By contrast, the evaluation suggests the prevalence of interactions between the considered implementation process and other parallel policy processes at the implementation stage. The study shows that this interplay between policies has a huge impact on implementation environmental results, which can be either positive or negative. Based on this statement, an important question for EU policy is how implementation can efficiently cope with such interactions, which means finding ways to maximize potential synergies, or alternatively to reduce inconsistencies, with the other policy components. Given that policy interactions are difficult to predict at the policy formulation stage of the policy, adjustments necessarily occur at the implementation stage. In this context, implementing EU environmental policy requires policy systems able to adjust at low costs. In this paper, this property is called adaptability and is given a precise content. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment [source] Understanding the costs of an environmentally ,friendly' common agricultural policy for the European Union1,ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 1 2001Pamela M. Barnes Part of the bedrock of the European Union's (EU's) Environmental Policy is the principle that those who pollute the environment should pay for the cost of remedying the damage they cause (the polluter pays principle) (Article 174 para. 2 TEC ex Article 130r TEC). In addition environmental objectives must be integrated into all the sectoral policies of the European Union (Article 6 TEC ex Article 3c TEC). The Common Agricultural Policy's (CAP's) role at the centre of the EU's sectoral policies would appear to make it an ideal focus for implementing Article 6 of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC). If integration of environmental protection can be achieved in this central area of the EU's activities then a major source of environmental degradation could be overcome. However, if these requirements are applied to European agriculture the sector will face a budgetary and financial crisis of even greater magnitude than at the present time. Recent reforms of the CAP have been designed with the objective of achieving an agricultural sector that is moving towards sustainability. As this article argues the political, social and economic significance of the agriculture sector is such that national governments of the EU have repeatedly shied away from adopting the measures, which could significantly reduce the pollution from the sector. The proposals for reform made by the Agricultural Commissioner, Franz Fischler, were amended by the meeting of the European Council that took place in Berlin on 24/25 March 1999. These amendments substantially weakened the ambitions of the strategy for development of the EU, the ,Agenda 2000' adopted in 1997, for a number of reasons (CEC, 1997). This article examines the reasons for the disappointments with the amended reforms and speculates on the possible future path that may be taken to improve matters. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] European Union scientific production on alcohol and drug misuse (1976,2000)ADDICTION, Issue 8 2005Xavier Sánchez-Carbonell ABSTRACT Background Alcohol and drug misuse is a social and health phenomenon of great relevance in the European Union (EU). One indicator of scientific production in a given area is the analysis of publications included in bibliographic databases. Scientific production on alcohol and drug misuse was analysed in EU member countries, and comparisons were made between countries. Methods Analysis of articles on alcohol and drug misuse published during the period 1976,2000 by institutions based in a country of the EU, indexed by PsycINFO. Results A total of 4825 citations was retrieved. Great Britain published 38.6%, while Sweden, Germany and Spain accounted for a further 30%. The articles dealt with drug and alcohol usage (12.8%), substance abuse (53.5%) and drug and alcohol rehabilitation (34.5%). The articles were published in 13 different languages, more than three-quarters being in English. Spanish was the second language, and was followed by French, German, Dutch and Italian. The articles were published in 521 different journals, and 62 of these published more than 10 articles. The journals publishing most were Addiction, Alcohol and Alcoholism and Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Sixty-eight per cent of the articles were signed by more than one author, and the index of collaboration, between 1996 and 2000, was 3.24. Discussion and conclusions PsycINFO is useful for making comparisons between countries, because it includes the name and country of the institution. The number of publications in the EU on alcohol and drug misuse increased over the quarter-century analysed. The most used language was English, as it also is for PsycINFO as a whole, and a tendency towards its increased use was observed. Classification of the articles by subject by the Classification Code is too general, and makes it difficult to distinguish between the areas it proposes. Production tends to be concentrated in journals dealing specifically with drug dependence and psychiatry. The index of collaboration is similar to that found in other scientific areas. [source] Eradication of the first outbreak of Xanthomonas fragariae in the United KingdomEPPO BULLETIN, Issue 2 2009S. S. Matthews-Berry Xanthomonas fragariae was identified in the UK in strawberry fruiting crops in October 2004. As this pathogen had not been confirmed in the UK before and is listed as a quarantine organism by the EU and EPPO, emergency official action was taken to contain and eventually eradicate this pest. In order to eradicate this disease the affected growers were given the option of either destroying the crop to eradicate the disease immediately or maintaining the infected plants for the life of the crop for fruit production with hygiene measures to prevent the spread of the disease to uninfected crops. The affected growers chose to maintain the crops with hygiene measures to contain the disease. The crops continued to be monitored and no further symptoms were identified in either the infected crop or other crops on the farms. [source] Fireblight monitoring in Lithuania1EPPO BULLETIN, Issue 3 2004L. Baranauskait Lithuania has requested that its whole territory should be recognized by the EU as a protected zone for Erwinia amylovora. Fireblight monitoring was performed in 1998/2002 with the aim of detecting and identifying the bacterium, and of determining its distribution in the country. The study consisted of periodic surveys (at least twice a year) of nurseries, orchards, collective farms and host plants, growing individually or in small groups, as well as the surrounding zone within a radius of 250 m. Tests, under conditions of quality control, were applied to host plants with and without symptoms, using detection methods such as ELISA and immunofluorescence (with polyclonal antibodies), semi-selective plating and pathogenicity. [source] Official survey, in 2002, for detection of Erwinia amylovora in a proposed protected zone in Jihomoravsky region (Czech Republic)1EPPO BULLETIN, Issue 3 2004O. Vahala Inspectors of the Czech NPPO surveyed the occurrence of fireblight Erwinia amylovora in an area of Jihomoravsky region (South Moravia) proposed as an EU protected zone, including 16 designated buffer zones around nurseries. The disease was not detected in communes where fireblight hosts are grown (nurseries, variety testing stations, orchards) or in buffer zones around nurseries. In 902 communes where fireblight hosts are grown only in orchards or not at all, wild host plants were inspected at 2.629 observation points (2137 located by GARMIN GPS). In Vy,kov district, suspected fireblight was confirmed at one observation point on Crataegus, growing by a railway in Rousínov commune and, in the course of a delimiting survey outside observation points, in four other communes (Drnovice, Habrovany, Komo,any and Vy,kov). [source] Whiteflies on tomato crops in Portugal,EPPO BULLETIN, Issue 1 2002A. Lopes In Portugal during the 1960/1980s, there was intensive development of vegetable crop production, in particular protected crops, of which tomato was the most important. The main producing regions now are Ribatejo e Oeste, Alentejo and Algarve. Tomato presents extensive phytosanitary problems, being host to a wide range of pests, including the whiteflies Trialeurodes vaporariorum, in protected crops, and Bemisia tabaci, in protected and field crops. Portugal has applied for the status of an EU ,protected zone' for this latter pest. As B. tabaci is an important vector of a large number of viruses, including tomato yellow leaf curl viruses (TYLCV), a monitoring programme of the tomato crop was implemented in Portugal. Preliminary data are presented concerning B. tabaci in the three main tomato-growing regions of the country. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||