Journal articles on the topic 'EU's decision making process'
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1
Frost, Amanda. "Restoring Faith in Government: Transparency Reform in the United States and the European Union." European Public Law 9, Issue 1 (March 1, 2003): 87–104. http://dx.doi.org/10.54648/euro2003007.
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On the surface, the transparency reform movements in the United States and the European Union appear to have much in common: both the US and the EU have embraced transparency as a means of bolstering public confidence in governance, and the EU's recently issued access regulation shares many features with the US Freedom of Information Act. The similarities end there, however. The goals of the EU reform movement are far more ambitious than those of the US. US reformers hoped that sunlight would put an end to the corruption and abuse of power that plagued the executive branch in the late 1960s and early 1970s, but they did not seek to change the decision-making process itself. In contrast, the EU has latched onto transparency reform as a means of democratizing and legitimizing EU governance. Unfortunately, reformers in the EU have yet to link transparency reforms with democratization of the legislative process. Although transparency is an invaluable tool with which the public can monitor EU governance, transparency alone, without concomitant increases in public opportunities to influence EU decision-making, cannot ameliorate the EU's infamous `democratic deficit'. Increased transparency must be coupled with public participation rights before reformers can accomplish their ambitious goal of bringing EU decision-making closer to Europeans.
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Smith, Karen E. "Emotions and EU foreign policy." International Affairs 97, no. 2 (March 2021): 287–304. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiaa218.
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Abstract This article assesses the role that emotions play in European Union foreign policy-making. EU decision-making has often been depicted as technocratic and ‘de-dramatized’, yet there are still situations in which emotions can affect the process and outcomes of foreign policy decision-making. Using examples of the EU's responses to crises in Ukraine and Myanmar, the article illustrates that emotions can motivate the taking of particular decisions at particular times. Further, the EU expresses emotions in its foreign policy communications, although its use of emotional diplomacy may not be accompanied by substantive action appropriate to the emotions expressed, thus revealing the existence of an emotions–action gap. The ‘emotional turn’ in foreign policy analysis can open up new directions for research in EU foreign policy, and the conclusion considers other promising avenues for researching emotions and EU foreign policy.
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Zielonka, Jan. "The Quality of Democracy after Joining the European Union." East European Politics and Societies: and Cultures 21, no. 1 (February 2007): 162–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0888325406297133.
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Joining the European Union (EU) has changed the nature of democracy in the new member states. The EU's membership has complicated the structure of democratic decision making by making it more multilayered and multicentered. EU membership has enhanced the powers of nonmajoritarian institutions such as the European Commission, the European Court of Justice, and various regulatory agencies. National parliaments tend to be less powerful democratic players after a country joins the European Union—and even before, as the EU accession process has shown. EU membership has also broadened the democratic public space. As a consequence, democratic decision making within the European Union has to accommodate a more diversified set of interests and cultural orientations. Providing citizens with greater access to the European decision-making process seems to be most urgent in the new member states from Central and Eastern Europe, whose citizens feel particularly detached from this process. The article tries to suggest some ways of achieving this.
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Bast, Jürgen. "Of General Principles and Trojan Horses — Procedural Due Process in Immigration Proceedings under EU Law." German Law Journal 11, no. 9 (September 2010): 1006–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s207183220002006x.
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AbstractThe present paper concerns procedural guarantees in immigration proceedings, thus addressing the broader question of the role of the general principles of EU law in respect of administrative decision-making. The main assertion is that certain requirements of procedural due process are recognized in EU law as fundamental rights. They must therefore be observed by Member State authorities when decisions significantly affecting the legal position of a person are taken, provided that the decision is at least partly determined by EU law. The relevant immigration proceedings involve measures related to the termination of residence as well as decisions related to denial or loss of a particular legal status. In effect, the actual scope of application of the EU's administrative fundamental rights is determined by the actual scope of activity of the European legislator. The author concludes that even a relatively ‘shallow’ harmonization of laws can lead to a ‘deep’ reshaping of the domestic legal order, by becoming a Trojan Horse for fundamental rights heretofore alien to some national immigration regimes.
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Stalford, Helen, and Mieke Schuurman. "Are We There Yet?: the Impact of the Lisbon Treaty on the EU Children's Rights Agenda." International Journal of Children's Rights 19, no. 3 (2011): 381–403. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157181811x584532.
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AbstractThe EU's Lisbon Treaty presents the most important opportunity for the development of children's rights since the EU's existence. This article sets out the broader constitutional changes made that are of relevance to children and the implications of changes to the legislative procedure, including a discussion on whether the new Citizens' Initiative might be exploited as a lobbying tool for specific children's rights issues and its relation to the right of children to participate. The impact of the EU's enhanced fundamental rights agenda on children's rights is assessed, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights, the General Principles of EU Law and the ECHR. In addition, the Lisbon Treaty presents new opportunities for integrating children's rights into all stages of the decision-making and implementation process. It also provides sharper tools to develop adequate non-legislative responses to the diverse range of needs that children have, such as policy, budgetary and research initiatives.
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Dakowska, Dorota. "Networks of Foundations as Norm Entrepreneurs: Between Politics and Policies in EU Decision-making." Journal of Public Policy 29, no. 2 (July 3, 2009): 201–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0143814x0900107x.
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AbstractThe European Commission has taken significant steps towards the recognition of political party foundations at EU level. Firstly, it has agreed to recognize them as actors of European development policies. Secondly, it has proposed the creation of political foundations at EU level, linked to the European political parties. This article analyses the reasons, modalities and potential impact of this process, which signifies a breakthrough in comparison with the Commission's previous attitude towards party affiliated organisations. For the foundations, network-building turns out to have been a crucial means to attain legitimacy and access to the European institutions: firstly, through the mobilisation of political entrepreneurs in the European Parliament lobbying the Commission and Council representatives; and secondly, by linking the future role of non-state actors such as political foundations to the reconsideration of the EU's communication policy.
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Wrange, Pål. "The EU Guidelines on Promoting Compliance with International Humanitarian Law." Nordic Journal of International Law 78, no. 4 (2009): 541–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/090273509x12506922106993.
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AbstractIn 2005, the European Union (EU) adopted Guidelines on Promoting Compliance with International Humanitarian Law(IHL). The Guidelines are designed to be implemented by any officer in the foreign services of the EU, including its member states. After outlining the main features of IHL, the Guidelines have provisions on the decision-making process and on possible action to take. The Guidelines, which have been quite widely implemented according toa survey, should be an important tool in keeping IHL issues on the EU's agenda.
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Wettestad, Jørgen. "The Making of the 2003 EU Emissions Trading Directive: An Ultra-Quick Process due to Entrepreneurial Proficiency?" Global Environmental Politics 5, no. 1 (February 1, 2005): 1–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/1526380053243477.
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The EU emissions trading scheme has been characterized as one of the most farreaching and radical environmental policies for many years, and “the new grand policy experiment.” Given the EU's earlier resistance to this market-based instrument with no international track record and with US origins, the EU decision-making process, which took less than two years, can be characterized as a puzzlingly ultra-quick political “pregnancy.” In order to understand this, it is necessary to take three explanatory perspectives—and the interaction between them—into account. First, the emissions trading issue was more mature within the EU system than immediately apparent, given that emissions projections were worrying and no effective common climate policies had been adopted. Second, the Commission acted as a strong and clever policy entrepreneur, dealing with other basically positive EU bodies. Third, when the US pulled out of the Kyoto process in March 2001, it provided a window of opportunity for the EU to take the reins of global policy leadership.
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Calamita, N. Jansen. "The Making of Europes International Investment Policy: Uncertain First Steps." Legal Issues of Economic Integration 39, Issue 3 (August 1, 2012): 301–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.54648/leie2012019.
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The Treaty of Lisbon's grant of exclusive competence to the European Union for foreign direct investment (FDI) matters signals the beginning of a profound shift in the global landscape of FDI regulation as the international investment policies of twenty-seven states begin to be consolidated and harmonized at a regional level. The Union's first steps in developing its international investment policy, however, have been uncertain. The process thus far has lacked transparency and has been marked by significant disagreement in approach and substance among the European institutions. Among the EU's decision-making bodies there is disagreement over fundamental issues such as whether to develop a model investment treaty text and how to strike a balance between the protection of investors and the preservation of host state regulatory discretion. This article evaluates the key issues facing the European Union and places them within their international context.
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Piana, Claire. "The EU's Decision-Making Process in the Common Foreign and Security Policy: The Case of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia." European Foreign Affairs Review 7, Issue 2 (June 1, 2002): 209–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.54648/5094030.
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Gleißner, Werner, Florian Follert, Frank Daumann, and Frank Leibbrand. "EU’s Ordering of COVID-19 Vaccine Doses: Political Decision-Making under Uncertainty." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 4 (February 23, 2021): 2169. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18042169.
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Worldwide, politicians, scientists, and entrepreneurs are operating under high uncertainty and incomplete information regarding the adequacy of measures to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. It seems indisputable that only widespread and global immunity can bring normalization to social life. In this respect, the development of a vaccine was a milestone in pandemic control. However, within the EU, especially in Germany, the vaccination plan is increasingly faltering, and criticism is growing louder. This paper considers the EU’s political decision in general and the decisions of the German government to procure vaccine doses against the background of modern economics as a decision under uncertainty and critically analyzes the process.
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Pătrăuș, Mihaela, and Darius-Dennis Pătrăuș. "BRIEF CONSIDERATIONS ON THE EUROPEAN LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURES, WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO PASSERELLE CLAUSES." Agora International Journal of Juridical Sciences 11, no. 1 (September 24, 2017): 7–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.15837/aijjs.v11i1.3013.
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The Lisbon Treaty in order to strengthen the EU's capacity to decide, to act and to ensure the legitimacy of decisions taken at the same time, reformed the decision-making process of the EU, particularly by changing the legislative procedures in force.Among the novelties of the Lisbon Treaty, we must mention the passerelle clauses, which according to the ordinary legislative procedure will be generalized, under certain conditions, in areas which were initially outside its scope.The treaty nominates two types of passerelle clauses: the general passerelle clause which applies to all European policies and the enabling of this clause will be authorized by a decision of the European Council, acting unanimously; the passerelle clauses specific to certain European policies (MFF, Common Security and Defence Policy, judicial cooperation regarding the family rights- this specific clause is the only one explaining which national parliaments keep their right to oppose; cooperation is strengthened in the areas governed by unanimity or by a special legislative procedure, social affairs, environmental ).The flexibility introduced through a significant number of passerelle clauses in the Lisbon Treaty allows adjustment of the EU quickly and efficiently, depending on punctual developments, without neglecting the guarantees on the sovereignty of member states.
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Szkarłat, Monika. "Legal and political hybridity of the European Union – genetically modified organisms’ case." Przegląd Europejski, no. 3.20 (September 1, 2020): 125–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.31338/1641-2478pe.3.20.8.
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The European Union can be described as a particular hybrid integration structure that combines features of a state and intergovernmental organisation. Its institutional framework, legal system and division of competences are examples of a supranational organisation or a transnational decision-making system. The decision-making process is an outcome of network interactions between multiple actors, whose relations are non-hierarchically ordered. Genetically modified organisms (GMO) as an example of modern biotechnology application is a highly polarising subject in the EU, as well as globally. Thus, the policy towards GMO is an exemplification of legal and political hybridity of the EU. The analysis of the EU’s legal and political hybridity will be narrowed down to the GM plants case and methodologically organised around the concept of decision-making analysis that is composed of five categories: decision-making situation, actors, decision-making process, decision, implementation of the decision
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Drywood, Eleanor. "'Child-proofing' EU law and policy: interrogating the law-making processes behind European asylum and immigration provision." International Journal of Children's Rights 19, no. 3 (2011): 405–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157181811x584541.
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AbstractThe EU is pursuing an increasingly explicit agenda in relation to young immigrants and asylum-seekers, leading the supra-national legislature to grapple with the question of how to ensure that children's rights are upheld through this body of law. The tool of mainstreaming, which ensures that a particular concern is promoted through its incorporation into the entire law-making process, has emerged as a key strategy in this regard. This article explores the use of mainstreaming within the specific context of children's rights and uses its implementation in the specific context of the European Union's (EU's) asylum and immigration laws as a case-study to assess both its successes and its shortcomings. Using similar mainstreaming activities in the gender equality arena by way of illustration, the analysis questions, in particular, the capacity of mainstreaming: to accommodate the heterogeneity of child migrants as a group; to ensure appropriate representation and coordination in relation to children's rights at institutional level; and to deliver an adequate knowledge base to underpin decision making in the legislative process in relation to young immigrants and asylumseekers. The discussion concludes by pointing to some of the current deficiencies of children's rights mainstreaming, and speculating on its capacity to successfully promote the needs of young people in EU laws and policies in the future.
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Aliu, Ylber. "New Governance in the European Union: Omc." Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences 13, no. 1 (January 5, 2022): 25. http://dx.doi.org/10.36941/mjss-2022-0003.
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The main purpose of this paper is to study the new governance in the European Union: the open method of coordination (hereinafter: OMC). Some of the main features of the OMC are: an instrument of spreading the best practices of achieving the EU's main goals; to help member states develop their policies; creating a calendar for achieving project goals: short, medium and long term; translating European guidelines into national and regional policies specifying objectives and measures; as well as periodic monitoring and evaluation. The main value of the OMC is all involvement in decision-making: European Union institutions, civil society, interest groups, media, etc., through the OMC play a role in the process of drafting public policies and monitoring and evaluating implementation. The OMC aims to complement the 'democratic deficit' of EU institutions, especially in the education policy, employment policies and social welfare policies. We have used two methods for research of the paper. The first, the method of research of scientific and academic literature related to the European Union. Second, the case study of individual cases for displaying the new governance format: OMC in the European Union. The result of the research is to understand what new governance in the European Union is, when it comes to expression of this form of governance, who are the main actors in implementing new governance, when it has started to apply, etc. The conclusion of the paper is that the new governance in the European Union: the OMC has transformed the decision-making process as well as the process of drafting policies, strategies and legislation within the EU.
Received: 26 October 2021 / Accepted: 15 December 2021 / Published: 5 January 2022
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Leleur, Steen. "Systemic Planning (SP): A Generic Framework for Complex Decision Making." Acta Europeana Systemica 8 (July 10, 2020): 263–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.14428/aes.v8i1.56443.
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The generic framework for planning and decision support presented in this paper and referred to as systemic planning (SP) is the result of research work carried out by the Decision Modelling Group at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). More specifically, SP theory and methodology development has interchanged with practical application and testing of SP in a number of cases. SP is based on combining and operationalising five different systems thinking approaches: functional, interpretive, emancipatory, post-modern and complexity-oriented that are seen to span current systems thinking. These approaches are behind five formulated modes of enquiry (MOEs) that make up some of the iteratively interwoven steps in a formulated SP process, which is assisted by a study-specific subset of methods. These are selected from a toolbox of seven soft (qualitative) and seven hard (quantitative) operations research (OR) methods. The paper is disposed as follows: After an introduction that outlines the five systems thinking approaches and their MOEs, the paper presents SP in an overview as concerns process and tools and SP as a group proces. Then follows an application example where the potential of SP is demonstrated on the planning of a large transport infrastructure case concerning the Rail Baltica transport project, which is part of the EU’s North Sea - Baltic TEN-T corridor. The case shows how issues around growth and sustainability need to be explicitly considered in the planning of large new transport infrastructure. Finally, following a discussion of the main features of SP, some findings and a perspective are stated.
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Griglio, Elena, and Stelios Stavridis. "Inter-parliamentary cooperation as a means for reinforcing joint scrutiny in the EU: upgrading existing mechanisms and creating new ones." Perspectives on Federalism 10, no. 3 (September 1, 2018): I—XVIII. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/pof-2018-0028.
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Abstract This special issue develops a contextual analysis of EU inter-parliamentary cooperation in the post Lisbon Treaty framework. Indeed, it is possible to claim that there are several sources and causes for renewed EU inter-parliamentary cooperation: first, a voluntary one, i.e. the connection with the Lisbon Treaty’s intent to facilitate a wider democratisation objective; second, this time more a reaction than an initiative, the need to counterbalance the institutional outcomes of the economic and financial crisis that shook the world but particularly the eurozone; and, third, the call for an improvement in existing rules and mechanisms to develop even further democratic (read: parliamentary) input in common policies. The special issue analyses whether current inter-parliamentary mechanisms are suited to react to these challenges. It specifically assesses the practical impact of interparliamentary cooperation on the numerous democratic gaps that still exist in the EU's multi-layered decision-making process. Its objective is to show, beyond the mere sharing of information and the comparison of best practices at a supranational and transnational level, whether existing inter-parliamentary practices contribute to joint parliamentary scrutiny by involving both the EP and the national parliaments of EU member states.
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Kelbel, Camille, Axel Marx, and Julien Navarro. "Editorial: Access or Excess? Redefining the Boundaries of Transparency in the EU’s Decision-Making." Politics and Governance 9, no. 1 (March 31, 2021): 221–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.17645/pag.v9i1.4291.
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Over the last decades, transparency has featured prominently among the European Union’s (EU) efforts to democratize and legitimize its governance. This shift toward transparency has taken many forms and, as the contributions to this thematic issue show, these different forms have evolved significantly over time. Yet, initiatives to enhance transparency have often been blamed for limiting the efficiency of the decision-making process or leading to suboptimal policy outcomes. Consequently, the debate has shifted to whether transparency would be excessive in that it would undermine the EU’s capacity to deliver through political arrangements. This editorial presents this transparency–efficiency dilemma, which the different contributions to this thematic issue analyse further.
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Posner, Elliot. "Making Rules for Global Finance: Transatlantic Regulatory Cooperation at the Turn of the Millennium." International Organization 63, no. 4 (October 2009): 665–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0020818309990130.
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AbstractThis article explains a shift in the way transatlantic authorities managed conflicts over the cross-border regulation of securities markets: from cooperation skewed heavily toward the preferences of U.S. officials and accepted grudgingly by European counterparts; to a Euro-American regulatory condominium characterized by close interactions among decision makers and mutual accommodation. In the final decades of the twentieth century, the asymmetric influence wielded by U.S. securities market authorities had few parallels in other regulatory areas. Why, then, did U.S. officials become more accommodating and European authorities more influential, and why did the turning point occur in 2002 and 2003, an unlikely moment for intensified transatlantic sovereignty sharing? My study shows that institutional change inside the EU recast the North Atlantic balance of regulatory leverage and thereby was the primary factor behind the reshaping of transatlantic cooperation. Internal EU regulatory centralization changed the expectations of U.S. and European firms and authorities and generated new incentives in Washington, D.C., for accommodation and closer transatlantic coordination. My explanation differs from models that, accepting U.S. financial pre-eminence as a given, attribute variance in cross-border regulatory cooperation to factors such as incentives derived from the particularities of issue areas or preferences rooted in domestic politics. While resonating with a well-established theme from the realist branch of IPE, my findings have broad theoretical significance, and open new avenues for dialogue between realists and constructivists about the social, political, and institutional foundations of power in global economic affairs. The transatlantic political process set off by financial transformation in Europe reveals contemporary sources of systemic change and raises questions about what the EU's ascendance as a global financial regulator will mean in the aftermath of the late-2000s crisis.
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Czermińska, Małgorzata. "Democratic legitimacy in common commercial policy of European Union – evolution of European Parliament’s role." Horyzonty Polityki 13, no. 44 (September 29, 2022): 47–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.35765/hp.2279.
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RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: This article aims to present the principles of decision-making, distribution of competences regarding the common commercial policy (CCP), with attention given to the evolution of European Parliament’s (EP) role and to identify actions taken by the EP in relation to the CCP.
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: Due to the Member States’ delegation of powers to the supranational level and decision-making procedures, allegations that there is no democratic legitimacy in the European Union are of particular relevance to the CCP. In this context, special importance is given to the role of the European Parliament and powers vested in it, especially over the past years. The article employs an analytical and descriptive method.
THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The first part presented decision-making principles for the EU’s common commercial policy. Next, the evolution of the European Parliament’s role in the shaping of the CCP was discussed. Finally, the last part gives attention to the EP’s actions in practice and attempts to assess what was a decisive factor behind the Parliament’s specific position.
RESEARCH RESULTS: The Treaty of Lisbon increased the formal powers of the European Parliament with regard to the CCP, but at the same time, diminished the role of Member States’ national parliaments (which was due to the fact that the CCP coverage was extended and the scope of the EU’s exclusive competences was broadened). The research conducted has revealed that the EP is more and more often taking advantage of its position in the shaping of the EU commercial policy.
CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Due to the fact that the role of the European Parliament in the decision-making process has increased, the issue of a democracy deficit in the shaping of the CCP, which was raised in the pre-Lisbon Treaty period, is currently becoming less formally legitimate.
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Pünder, Hermann. "More Government with the People: The Crisis of Representative Democracy and Options for Reform in Germany." German Law Journal 16, no. 4 (September 1, 2015): 713–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s2071832200019878.
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Throughout the world, there is debate about how democratic systems should adapt to the demands of their increasingly emancipated citizenries. More than ever, people desire to take part in the creation of their life circumstances. The demand for participation is paired with a growing discontent with the political elites. This article looks at the challenges in the context of Germany's system of government, discussing the leading debates of democratic reform in the EU's largest member state with some incidental remarks on other countries. Specifically, the study analyzes two core components of representative democracy—the electoral process and the parliamentary decision-making procedure—and shows how they should be reformed to ensure political stability in the long run. As a measure for the analysis, the author develops a system of four preconditions, on which successful democratic government depends: Responsiveness and political leadership on the side of the elected representatives; preparedness for participation and acceptance on the part of the represented. The article shows that optimizing democracy on the basis of these pillars is not just advisable as a matter of political prudence. In fact, Germany's constitution, the Basic Law, contains a normative expectation towards the political elites that they continuously improve democracy and ensure its appropriate functioning.
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Öberg, Jacob. "National Parliaments and Political Control of EU Competences: A Sufficient Safeguard of Federalism?" European Public Law 24, Issue 4 (December 1, 2018): 695–731. http://dx.doi.org/10.54648/euro2018040.
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It is clear that the formal inclusion of the national parliament as a political actor within the EU decision-making process has been one of the most important innovations of the Lisbon Treaty. Their role, however, remains controversial. It is on the one hand disputed whether national parliaments enjoy sufficient powers to tame ‘competence creep’. On the other hand, it is contested to what extent it is desirable that they should become involved as a legislative actor in the EU’s decision-making procedure. This essay contributes to these debates by critically examining to what extent national parliaments can contribute to the enforcement of the subsidiarity principle. The article contends that national parliaments by having taken a too expansive view of their remit under Protocol No 2 appears to have ‘misunderstood’ their role within the EU- decision making procedure. Notwithstanding this, it is sustained that national parliaments could, in the absence of other trustworthy safeguards of federalism, be seen as a promising avenue for legitimate political control of the exercise of EU competences
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Blake, Robin. "Eu Neonicotinoid Ban Removes Vital Tools in Global Fight Against Pests." Outlooks on Pest Management 29, no. 5 (October 1, 2018): 197–200. http://dx.doi.org/10.1564/v29_oct_02.
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In May 2018, the European Union (EU) banned all outdoor uses of three neonicotinoid insecticides due to concerns about adverse effects on pollinators following their use. Neonicotinoids continue to be used in other areas of the world such as North America. However, increasing scrutiny following the European Union decision threatens their availability as a control tool for farmers in these regions too. This article aims to provide an update on the current status of neonicotinoids, including a brief overview of the reasons behind the European regulatory decision, alternative control strategies that are available to farmers, how the situation in Europe might influence what will happen in other regions of the world, and what this means for future regulatory decision-making. The author concludes that the recent neonicotinoid ban in the EU represents an overly conservative approach to pesticide regulation, and in using the Draft Bee Guidance Document, one where the majority of pesticides currently on the market will fail. There is no definitive scientific evidence that neonicotinoids are the primary cause of declines in bees, and although banning these insecticides is the factor that humans have the greatest control over, it represents an overly simplistic solution to a very complex problem, and one that alone may not improve bee health. Whilst extreme pressure from environmental NGOs and politicians have undoubtedly helped shape these decisions, it is imperative that the regulatory process allows scientific innovation to help achieve food security and protect the environment. Ruling against recent lawsuits brought by Syngenta and Bayer CropScience to contest the bans on their respective neonicotinoids, the General Court of the European Union, said that the EU's"precautionary principle" meant that the EU could take measures if there was scientific uncertainty about risks to human health or the environment. The precautionary principle lies at the heart of EU regulation and effectively puts the burden of proof to demonstrate that a pesticide poses no unacceptable risk onto the manufacturers. Given that neonicotinoids are insecticides, and insecticides kill insects, it is not difficult to connect how the use of the precautionary principle led to the neonicotinoid ban. However, this principle is at odds with the desire to innovate – the so-called "Innovation principle" – "whenever policy or regulatory decisions are under consideration the impact on innovation as a driver for jobs and growth should be assessed and addressed". The innovation principle and precautionary principle should be complementary, recognising the need to protect society and the environment while also protecting the EU's ability to innovate. Neonicotinoids represent one such innovation where their highly targeted nature, especially as seed treatments, makes them effective within Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies, in comparison to alternatives such as pyrethroids, organophosphates and carbamates, that are known to be highly toxic to bees (and other non-target invertebrates) through spray drift. Replacing neonicotinoids with these products will also result in higher overall environmental risks, including risks to taxonomic groups that are not adversely affected by neonicotinoids such as birds, mammals and fish, together with higher risks to humans, particularly applicators. The HFFA report recommends that potential environmental concerns must be balanced against the need to boost agricultural productivity, and if such an assessment results in societal benefits outweighing the costs, then the technology should be applied. The hope is that regulators in other regions of the world will judiciously balance innovation and precaution, and base decisions on science rather than opinion or fear, and thus allow the continued use of neonicotinoids as vital tools in the global fight against crop pests.
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Haukkala, Hiski. "The EU’s Common Strategy on Russia: Four Lessons Learned About Consensus Decision–Making in Foreign Policy." European Foreign Affairs Review 13, Issue 3 (August 1, 2008): 317–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.54648/eerr2008025.
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The article analyses and engages in a discussion the Union’s experiment with socalled CFSP common strategies, especially the one drafted on Russia (1999–2004). In the process, the origins and eventual outcomes of the concept are discussed. The main conclusion is that at all times the EU and its Member States should keep an eye on the wider external context within which their policies are played out and keep in mind that their actions might have unintended consequences. The same holds for scholars in reverse: when studying EU external policies, the internal setting and dynamics count and explain a lot and should be taken more fully into account in our studies.
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Greenwood, Justin, and Christilla Roederer-Rynning. "In the Shadow of Public Opinion: The European Parliament, Civil Society Organizations, and the Politicization of Trilogues." Politics and Governance 7, no. 3 (September 27, 2019): 316–26. http://dx.doi.org/10.17645/pag.v7i3.2175.
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This article examines the relations between the European Parliament (EP) and civil society organizations (CSOs) in the EU’s legislative process. It focuses specifically on legislative trilogues, an informal institution bringing together the representatives of the EP, Council, and Commission in a secluded setting to conclude legislative agreements. Trilogues have become the modus operandi and an absolutely pivotal part of the EU law-making process: they are where the deals are made. While secluded decision-making offers plenty of opportunities for EU institutions to depoliticize law-making, we argue that trilogues have become politicized, partly from the relationship between the EP and CSOs. We flesh out this argument on the basis of insights from the politicization and the historical institutionalist literatures, advance two ideal types of trilogue politics, and explore these types on the basis of a preliminary examination of a comprehensive interview material.
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Meads, Richard, and Lorenzo Allio. "A “Win-Win-Win” Scenario – Reaping the Benefits of an EU Law on Administrative Procedure." European Journal of Risk Regulation 5, no. 1 (March 2014): 87–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1867299x00003007.
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A Law on Administrative Procedure (LAP) is an essential institutional feature of democratic and effective governments. It is a general law on executive law-making, setting out how laws and regulations should be made. The need for a LAP at EU-level is growing – to counter the EU's legitimacy deficit and to make the regulatory process more predictable and robust. At the same time, the EU regulatory “machine” faces new challenges and pressures, as it seeks to implement highly complex (risk management) regulation. Greater regulatory effectiveness depends on more transparency, evidence quality standards and participation. As such, an EU LAP appears to be the natural culmination of the EU Smart Regulation agenda. Since the European Parliament in 2013 called for the Commission to adopt a LAP-related legislative proposal, the debate has gained in visibility and political salience. This article makes the case for an EU LAP for the EU institutions, citizens and businesses – provided the Law enshrines the four key principles of good administration (transparency and consistency; public participation; public record; and accountability); it establishes clear and legally binding procedural standards; and it covers as a principle also rule-making and adjudication decisions by all EU institutions and bodies involved in the preparation, adoption, implementation and repeal of secondary legislation.
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Van den Brande, Luc. "Sub-State Diplomacy Today." Hague Journal of Diplomacy 5, no. 1-2 (2010): 199–200. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1871191x-05010109.
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In an increasingly interdependent world, Europe will need its regions to tackle the challenges of globalization effectively, and to remain a leading partner on the international scene. Regions should therefore reorient their administrations towards the European Union (EU), focus more on the EU’s rolling political agenda, and dare to better steer the EU’s decision-making process. On the flipside, the EU itself should be based upon a model of multi-level governance, allowing the EU to work in partnership with its regional and local authorities. Having experienced politics himself at all levels of governance during his career, Dr Luc Van den Brande gives his practitioner’s view to future policy-makers.
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Huang, Yixiong. "The EU-China’s Strategic Partnership: A Case Study of the EU’s Arms Embargo against China." Agora: Political Science Undergraduate Journal 2, no. 1 (December 20, 2011): 52–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.29173/agora12406.
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In 2003, the EU and China established a strategic partnership intended to deepen their bilateral relationship not only economically, but also strategically. However, the EU-China relations are still challenged by several ideological and strategic issues. This paper will evaluate the EU-China’s strategic partnership by presenting a case study of the EU’s arms embargo against China since the 1989 Tiananmen Incident. This paper will argue that although the EU-China’s strategic partnership has a strong foundation of bilateral economic and strategic cooperation, the relationship between the EU and China is still very weak: (1) ideologically, the EU is still unsatisfied with China’s human rights record and political reform process; and (2) strategically, the United States (U.S.) still plays an influential role the EU’s external decision-making process.
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Zimmermann, Hubert. "The European Parliament and the Layered Politicization of the External Dimension of the Common Fisheries Policy." Politics and Governance 7, no. 3 (September 27, 2019): 237–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.17645/pag.v7i3.2178.
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When the Lisbon Treaty entered into effect, the European Parliament became a core player in the decision-making processes of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and its external dimensions. This new role suggested a shift towards stronger politicization in what had previously been a rather technocratic policy field. However, the CFP is not yet marked by a clear and consistent level of politicization. I use the concept of ‘layered politicization’ to explain this pattern. Although it is not comparable to the degree of political controversy shaping fully politicized policy fields, some similar political dynamics can be observed. Among them is a transformation in the policy process due to higher ratification requirements; a higher likelihood of political deadlock resulting from an increasing number of veto-players; and a strengthening of the contested legitimacy of EU decision-making. An empirical test of these theoretical propositions is provided here in the form of two case studies; the negotiation of Fisheries Partnership Agreements with Morocco and Mauritania.
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Ker-Lindsay, James, and Spyros Economides. "Forging EU Foreign Policy Unity from Diversity: The ‘Unique Case’ of the Kosovo Status Talks." European Foreign Affairs Review 15, Issue 4 (November 1, 2010): 495–510. http://dx.doi.org/10.54648/eerr2010036.
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This article explores the way in which the European Union (EU) attempted to forge a united position on the question of Kosovo over the course of the latter stages of the status process, which ran from late 2005 until the end of 2007. Following an overview of the development of EU foreign policy decision-making processes, the work analyses how these were applied in the case of Kosovo. It shows that while significant efforts were made to reach a united position on the question of recognition, these efforts eventually proved to be unsuccessful. The EU Member States ultimately agreed to the establishment of a law and order mission for Kosovo. To some, this was a success, but it cannot disguise the fact that procedural changes in the EU’s foreign policy decision-making do not cover up for diverging Member State interests and that the EU was unable to take charge of what was essentially a European issue.
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Kaveshnikov, N. Yu. "Ukraine’s Membership Application As a Trigger to Reform the EU Enlargement Policy." Herald of the Russian Academy of Sciences 92, S7 (December 2022): S651—S659. http://dx.doi.org/10.1134/s1019331622130032.
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Abstract The European Union’s successive enlargements had a qualitative impact on the nature of the integration organization, entailing changes in the agenda and priorities, institutions, and decision-making process and also changing the attitude of other international actors towards the European Union. The EU’s decision to grant candidate status to Ukraine reflects a fundamental change in the logic and goals of the enlargement policy and will have a strategic impact on the design of integration processes both within the EU and on its periphery. This article is devoted to two aspects of the ongoing changes: (1) the geopoliticization of the enlargement policy and (2) the further development of differentiation processes and the prospect for new forms of external differentiation (partial membership).
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Eliantonio, Mariolina. "Private Actors, Public Authorities and the Relevance of Public Law in the Process of European Standardization." European Public Law 24, Issue 3 (August 1, 2018): 473–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.54648/euro2018027.
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The reliance on private parties is a global tendency in modern regulation. One peculiar regulatory technique which foresees a core role for private parties is that of European standardization. The employment of standards for regulatory purposes delivers enormous benefits for the harmonization process and is today a key factor in the EU’s trade policy; however, the process of European standardization raises a number of concerns from a rule of law perspective, which are linked to ‘hybrid nature’ of the process, which foresees an intertwined public and private decision-making process. The aim of this contribution is to discuss the role of public law in the process of European standardization. After discussing the legal nature of European harmonized standards, the current application and potential applicability of general principles of administrative law is discussed and the necessity and availability of judicial control is examined.
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Michailidou, Asimina. "Democracy and New Media in the European Union: Communication or Participation Deficit?" Journal of Contemporary European Research 4, no. 4 (December 31, 2008): 346–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.30950/jcer.v4i4.129.
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At the heart of most academic and political debates regarding the future of the European Union lie three key ideas: openness and transparency; citizens’ participation in the decision-making process; and democratic legitimacy. Scholars and EU policy-makers have advocated the use of new media, particularly the Internet, in the democratising process of the EU.This article focuses on the top-down aspect of the online European public dialogue and the opportunities that the EU’s public communication strategy offers to citizens for involvement in shaping the Union’s political nature.Following a ‘multi-method’ approach for the gathering of empirical data, the Internet’s role in the EU’s public communication strategy is examined here from four aspects: the European Commission’s public communication policies (document analysis); the Commission’s implementation of its online policies (website analysis); their impact on key Internet audiences (user survey); and the views of policy-makers (semi-structured interviews with senior Commission officials).
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VAN DEN BRINK, Ton. "Danger! Glyphosate may Expose Weaknesses in Institutional Systems: EU Legislation and Comitology in the Face of a Controversial Reauthorisation." European Journal of Risk Regulation 11, no. 3 (March 6, 2020): 436–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/err.2020.2.
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The 2017 glyphosate reauthorisation process has exposed key weaknesses of the EU’s institutional system. First, the role of Germany as Member State rapporteur and the subsequent decision to appoint a group of Member States to form the Assessment Group on Glyphosate (AGG) suggest that the nature of scientific assessments become blurred. These assessments are apparently not just purely objective, science-based and procedural elements of the authorization procedure, but require support from a significant number of Member States as well. Second, the arduous comitology trajectory in the glyphosate reauthorisation process has caused the Commission to initiate questionable changes to comitology. These changes would corrupt the coherence of the EU’s legislative system in general and the constitutional distinction between delegated and implementing acts in particular. Moreover, they would overlook the more obvious solution of relying more on discretion on the part of the Commission. Lastly, the glyphosate reauthorisation has questioned the dichotomy between legislation and executive rule-making, an equally central element of the EU’s constitutional order. This dichotomy is based on a distinction between essential elements that belong to the legislative domain and non-essential element which are more technical in nature. It has been claimed that weighing the economic benefits of pesticides against the health and environmental costs associated with their use is in essence a legislative choice. This claim highlights not so much the practical problem of how to draw the line between political and technical decision-making, but rather denies the very meaning of the dichotomy altogether. Yet, the current system on the placing on the market of plant protection products – based on the legislation providing the general framework and the executive applying this in concrete cases – is certainly not devoid of coherence and logic.
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Otenko, P. V. "Two sides of the contemporary system of quasi-legislative acts of the Commission of the European Union." Актуальні проблеми держави і права, no. 89 (April 29, 2021): 62–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.32837/apdp.v0i89.3192.
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The scientific article is devoted to the issue of complex legal analysis of both advantages and disadvantages of the contemporary system of Commission’s quasi-legislative acts which is composed of implementing and delegated acts. Commission’s implementing and delegated acts play a crucial role in the EU, but the abusive application by the EU legislator of the delegation of quasi-legislative powers to the Commission of the EU cause various negative consequences on the EU legal order. The author outlines the following positive sides of Commission’s quasi-legislative acts: acceleration of the EU decision-making process, adding the EU decision-making process flexibility, improvement of the quality of the EU legislative acts and unloading the overall EU legislature’s workload. Taking into account the latest statistics, the author has proved that the process of the adoption of implementing and delegated acts is in four times faster than ordinary and special legislative procedures. It is emphasized that COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 made the EU urgently enact a bunch of legislative acts that were mainly adopted in the form of Commission’s quasi-legislative acts. The author also points out that the quality of the EU’s legislation has been improved as well as EU’s legislator workload has been greatly reduced because of Commission’s implementing and delegated acts. At the same time, the author specifies that the absence of an explicit legal distinction between Commission’s implementing and delegated acts leads to numerous interinstitutional litigations and disputes and undermines the hierarchy of legal acts under the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty. It is established that an excessive application by the Commission of the EU of the quasi-legislative instruments may breach the principle of institutional balance and may lead to the replacement of the sole EU legislator – the European Parliament and the Council. Eventually, the author argues that the lack of transparence and accountability of the Commission of the EU during the process of adoption of implementing and delegated acts deepen the ‘democratic deficit’ problem within the EU.
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Sapała, Magdalena. "Wieloletnie ramy finansowe na lata 2021–2027 i plan na rzecz odbudowy Unii Europejskiej – uwarunkowania negocjacji, przełomowe decyzje i perspektywa zmian." Studia BAS 3, no. 67 (2021): 27–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.31268/studiabas.2021.25.
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The article reflects on the negotiations on the EU’s 2021–2027 Multiannual Financial Framework and the European Union Recovery Instrument. It gives an overview of exceptional circumstances surrounding the negotiations, broad scope of the legislative package negotiated, and complex decision-making process. The paper also examines the final agreement, in particular as regards the size of the new long-term budget, the shift in spending priorities, and changes in the way the EU actions are financed. The author concludes that despite many difficulties on the road to the agreement, some elements of the outcome can be characterised as groundbreaking. She gives some arguments that a departure from path dependency in financing of the EU is possible. However, whether or not the change is permanent, depends on the successful implementation of the decisions made. The Conference on the Future of Europe gives an opportunity to continue the debate on further reform of the EU finances.
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Vári, Ágnes, Eszter Tanács, Eszter Tormáné Kovács, Ágnes Kalóczkai, Ildikó Arany, Bálint Czúcz, Krisztina Bereczki, et al. "National Ecosystem Services Assessment in Hungary: Framework, Process and Conceptual Questions." Sustainability 14, no. 19 (October 9, 2022): 12847. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su141912847.
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Mapping and assessing ecosystem services (ES) projects at the national level have been implemented recently in the European Union in order to comply with the targets set out in the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2020 and later in the Strategy for 2030. In Hungary this work has just been accomplished in a large-scale six-year project. The Hungarian assessment was structured along the ES cascade with each level described by a set of indicators. We present the selected and quantified indicators for 12 ES. For the assessment of cascade level 4, human well-being, a set of relevant well-being dimensions were selected. The whole process was supported by several forms of involvement, interviews, consultations and workshops and in thematic working groups performing the ES quantifications, followed by building scenarios and synthesizing maps and results. Here we give an overview of the main steps and results of the assessment, discuss related conceptual issues and recommend solutions that may be of international relevance. We refine some definitions of the cascade levels and suggest theoretical extensions to the cascade model. By finding a common basis for ES assessments and especially for national ones, we can ensure better comparability of results and better adoption in decision making.
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Schapira, Marilyn M., Sumedha Chhatre, Jason M. Prigge, Jessica Meline, Dana Kaminstein, Keri L. Rodriguez, Liana Fraenkel, et al. "A Veteran-Centric Web-Based Decision Aid for Lung Cancer Screening: Usability Analysis." JMIR Formative Research 6, no. 4 (April 8, 2022): e29039. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/29039.
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Background Web-based tools developed to facilitate a shared decision-making (SDM) process may facilitate the implementation of lung cancer screening (LCS), an evidence-based intervention to improve cancer outcomes. Veterans have specific risk factors and shared experiences that affect the benefits and potential harms of LCS and thus may value a veteran-centric LCS decision tool (LCSDecTool). Objective This study aims to conduct usability testing of an LCSDecTool designed for veterans receiving care at a Veteran Affairs medical center. Methods Usability testing of the LCSDecTool was conducted in a prototype version (phase 1) and a high-fidelity version (phase 2). A total of 18 veterans and 8 clinicians participated in phase 1, and 43 veterans participated in phase 2. Quantitative outcomes from the users included the System Usability Scale (SUS) and the End User Computing Satisfaction (EUCS) in phase 1 and the SUS, EUCS, and Patient Engagement scale in phase 2. Qualitative data were obtained from observations of user sessions and brief interviews. The results of phase 1 informed the modifications of the prototype for the high-fidelity version. Phase 2 usability testing took place in the context of a pilot hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation trial. Results In the phase 1 prototype usability testing, the mean SUS score (potential range: 0-100) was 81.90 (SD 9.80), corresponding to an excellent level of usability. The mean EUCS score (potential range: 1-5) was 4.30 (SD 0.71). In the phase 2 high-fidelity usability testing, the mean SUS score was 65.76 (SD 15.23), corresponding to a good level of usability. The mean EUCS score was 3.91 (SD 0.95); and the mean Patient Engagement scale score (potential range 1 [low] to 5 [high]) was 4.62 (SD 0.67). The median time to completion in minutes was 13 (IQR 10-16). A thematic analysis of user statements documented during phase 2 high-fidelity usability testing identified the following themes: a low baseline level of awareness and knowledge about LCS increased after use of the LCSDecTool; users sought more detailed descriptions about the LCS process; the LCSDecTool was generally easy to use, but specific navigation challenges remained; some users noted difficulty understanding medical terms used in the LCSDecTool; and use of the tool evoked veterans’ struggles with prior attempts at smoking cessation. Conclusions Our findings support the development and use of this eHealth technology in the primary care clinical setting as a way to engage veterans, inform them about a new cancer control screening test, and prepare them to participate in an SDM discussion with their provider.
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Poboży, Monika. "Obywatelstwo i obywatelskość w Unii Europejskiej." Przegląd Europejski, no. 1-2014 (June 29, 2014): 44–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.31338/1641-2478pe.1.14.3.
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Celebration of the 20th anniversary of the EU citizenship in 2013 was a good occasion for reflection on this institution. Has anything changed during this period in the status of European citizens and their role in the EU’s political system? Do they have opportunities to participate in the European decision-making process and to influence the European law and the direction of the EU’s development? Is the EU citizenship only a symbolic project that brings no added value? Can it be called “citizenship”? The article is devoted to answering these questions. The institution of the EU citizenship was analysed in two aspects: 1) citizenship as formal status connected with some rights and 2) civilness as mechanisms that guarantee participation in decisions on the future of a political community. The conclusion is that after 20 years the importance of the EU citizenship has been significantly increased, but only on declarative level – in the wording of treaties and institutional acts. However, this change has not caused the factual increase of citizen participation in the shaping of the European Union politics. It is the effect of a discrepancy on the EU level between citizenship as formal status and civilness as real empowerment of individual in the political system.
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Traversa, Edoardo, and Alice Pirlot. "The UK Brexit Referendum: A Catalyst to Reform the European Union Institutional Architecture in Tax Matters?" Intertax 44, Issue 12 (December 1, 2016): 878–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.54648/taxi2016082.
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The results of the UK referendum in favour of leaving the European Union (EU) clearly put into question the European economic and political project as well as its institutional structure. This article argues that the Brexit may be a momentum to reform the institutional structure and procedural rules through which tax policy is made at the EU level. The UK referendum is indeed unlikely to further slow down the EU harmonization process in tax matters, which has always followed a tortuous path. Instead, the Brexit may give momentum to reform major weaknesses of the EU institutional and decision-making process in tax matters, in particular the unanimity rule and the role of the European Parliament. Finally, with regard to taxation specifically, the establishment of an EU tax, providing the EU with sufficient genuine own resource, could also reinforce EU’s legitimacy by countering the criticisms related to Member States’ contribution to the European budget.
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Querci, Isabella. "EU and Mercosur vis a vis the Trade Agreement. Remarks from the institutional perspective." OASIS, no. 26 (December 11, 2017): 63–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.18601/16577558.n26.05.
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The member States of Mercosur are currently negotiating a Trade Agreement with the EU, as part of the process towards a comprehensive bi-regional Association Agreement. In 2016, the EU and Mercosur members exchanged offers, followed by a negotiation round. The next round will be held in October 2017; while awaiting for political developments, it is worth anticipating some challenges to come, especially from a legal perspective. Both actors have a multilayered system for decision-making, requiring the consensus of a multiplicity of governmental actors and thus enabling them to convey. Furthermore, current dialogues consider a broad range of issues, which were also covered by different EU’s agreements with other trading partners. These agreements received critiques from the civil society, which are worth to reflect upon, considering that the trade agreement is due to impact the general negotiation for the bi-regional Association Agreement. The paper develops this reflection from a twofold perspective: that of the institutional nature of EU and Mercosur and that of the democratic deficit in the overall negotiation process.
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Trauner, Florian, and Emanuele Manigrassi. "When Visa-free Travel Becomes Difficult to Achieve and Easy to Lose: The EU Visa Free Dialogues after the EU’s Experience with the Western Balkans." European Journal of Migration and Law 16, no. 1 (February 24, 2014): 125–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15718166-00002051.
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Abstract In the wake of the visa liberalisation for Western Balkan states, the sudden increase of Balkan asylum seekers has become a salient issue in the eu. This article elaborates on how this issue has made the eu alter its instruments of visa-free travel. With regard to the pre-visa liberalisation phase, the eu now places more emphasis on issues relating to the fundamental rights and social inclusion of marginalised groups, in particular Roma. Also, the ongoing Visa Free Dialogues with countries such as Ukraine and Russia have become more political and include more instances of decision-making where member states can slow down the process. The most significant modification to the EU’s approach is probably the fact that the eu has developed a structured post-visa liberalisation phase. With its post-visa liberalisation monitoring and the visa safeguard clause, the EU has established new (lower level) instruments to keep track of and push for further reforms post-visa liberalisation. The incentive of visa-free travel has turned into a moving target not only used as a source of external eu influence on domestic policy-making pre-visa liberalisation but also post-visa liberalisation.
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Röllgen, Jasmin, and Mathias Bug. "Internal Security Institutions Meeting Internet Governance. A comparative view on the UK and Germany." JeDEM - eJournal of eDemocracy and Open Government 3, no. 2 (January 5, 2012): 192–206. http://dx.doi.org/10.29379/jedem.v3i2.69.
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The internet stays a high potential infrastructure of open interaction, hence, governmental desires in monitoring the internet are growing. A demonstrative example might be the attempts to make any technology based communication ‘traceable’ with the help of a European scheme of data retention (EU direction 2006/24/EC) and its national ratifications. Regarding this, two theses come up: First, governments try to achieve their logic of ‘real life’ internal security also within the internet regime. Second, the internet changed the society in so far as it opened space for new relevant communities and actors – lobbying more and more on institutionalised paths. This will be shown by analysing the processes in the UK and Germany. A focus will lie on each national implementation of the EU’s data retention directive. Societal and especially political differences will find some notion as well, as they build the framework of any political decision making process.
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Fedorova, Elena, Kirsi Aaltonen, and Eva Pongrácz. "Social Sustainability Dilemma: Escape or Communicate? Managing Social Risks Upstream of the Bioenergy Supply Chain." Resources 9, no. 1 (January 15, 2020): 7. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/resources9010007.
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Supply chain risk management has been well researched over the years. However, management of social risks in bioenergy supply chains has been studied less in contemporary research. The ability of bioenergy companies to identify, properly address, and communicate social sustainability has become crucial for many global producers. In order to meet current EU’s energy and climate targets, the development of sustainable bioenergy production is vital. However, over last decade, research of bioenergy production supply chains has indicated that upstream areas of global bioenergy production systems are vulnerable in terms of social sustainability risks. The main objective of this research was to demonstrate how the socially sustainable supply chain practices in bioenergy supply chains can help a production company manage social risks and resources-use related conflicts upstream of the supply chain. These practices can be applied in the process of negotiation between bioenergy producers, local authorities, and communities for creating win-win situations for all parties while planning new bioenergy production systems. This study pays special attention to social sustainability risks at the upstream of the supply chain in countries of raw material origin. Use of social sustainability practices intends to help identify, assess, and address social risks of supply chain activities for bioenergy companies. Moreover, such practices aim at supporting companies and their stakeholders in making right choices and preparing effective strategies ahead of time. We based our research on empirical evidence and offer solutions to multi-national bioenergy production companies on how to manage social risks, allowing them to make the right decisions and necessary adjustments before entering potential markets. Our findings show that even avoidance of market entrance can carry sustainability-related social risks for both the company and the local communities. We suggest that although the financial element plays an important role in decision-making, the no-go decision often means missed opportunities for local communities to improve their respective sustainability states.
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Janků, Martin. "The Lisbon Treaty and Changes in the Legal Rules on the Common Commercial Policy." EU agrarian Law 6, no. 1 (June 27, 2017): 10–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/eual-2017-0002.
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Abstract The EU Lisbon Treaty 2007 (LT) brings some changes for the common commercial policy (CCP) and the decision-making processes related to it. CCP is newly included in the one area with all the external activities of the EU, with foreign and security policy, international environmental policy, development aid and economic, financial and technical cooperation with third countries. The fundamental areas of the CCP have been expanded to include foreign direct investment, services and trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights. The EU’s exclusive competence for external negotiation of agreements in areas of exclusive competence and internal CCP regarding their implementation were confirmed. The changes affect the role of the European Parliament and also the functioning of the European Council, the Council, and competences of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European External Action Service. Together with these changes, there will be also changes in procedures within the European Union. A number of aspects of the decision-making process are not yet entirely clarified, and only the practice of the participation of the EU Member States and the European Parliament in the formation of the common commercial policy will bring more meaningful conclusions. The changes brought by the LT will affect not only the extent of the influence of EU Member States on the common commercial policy, but they can also affect the position of the EU in the context of international trade, particularly in the area of negotiating commitments and rules of multilateral and bilateral trade and investment agreements.
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LYNSKEY, Orla. "The ‘Europeanisation’ of Data Protection Law." Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies 19 (December 21, 2016): 252–86. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/cel.2016.15.
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AbstractEU data protection law has, to date, been monitored and enforced in a decentralised way by independent supervisory authorities in each Member State. While the independence of these supervisory authorities is an essential element of EU data protection law, this decentralised governance structure has led to competing claims from supervisory authorities regarding the national law applicable to a data processing operation and the national authority responsible for enforcing the data protection rules. These competing claims – evident in investigations conducted into the data protection compliance of Google and Facebook – jeopardise the objectives of the EU data protection regime. The new General Data Protection Regulation will revolutionise data protection governance by providing for a centralised decision-making body, the European Data Protection Board. While this agency will ensure the ‘Europeanisation’ of data protection law, given the nature and the extent of this Board’s powers, it marks another significant shift in the EU’s agency-creating process and must, therefore, also be considered in its broader EU context.
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Farmaki, Polytimi, Apostolos Tranoulidis, Thanos Kouletsos, Paraskevi Giourka, and Androniki Katarachia. "Mining Transition and Hydropower Energy in Greece—Sustainable Governance of Water Resources Management in a Post-Lignite Era: The Case of Western Macedonia, Greece." Water 13, no. 14 (July 6, 2021): 1878. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w13141878.
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The present study explores the process of Greece’s current decarbonisation transition and its energy policy regarding the country’s two coal-mining areas. Using the Region of Western Macedonia as a case study, we aimed at providing a holistic approach—as until now only few attempts have been made to systematise the ‘Just Transition Plans’ in European Union (EU)—for raising awareness on issues related to water resource management in post-lignite areas and analysing the use of hydropower in Greece. Our research draws on a flexible method approach, serving as a tool to identify gaps in current knowledge and practices, based on two stages—first the analysis of existing literature, reviews, and sources from government’s core strategies, as well as policy and decision-making papers, and then formulating research questions by synthesising relevant data. In Greece, both ‘Just Transition Development Plan of Lignite Areas’ and hydropower production practices overlook water resources management. By summarising our findings and identifying gaps that remain in current approaches, this work indicates future directions by suggesting processes necessary for addressing the complex issue of adoption of sustainable water resources management measures in post-lignite eras in accordance with EU’s water policy.
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Grip, Lina. "The European Parliament and WMD Non-proliferation: Policy-Making Processes and Decision-Making Outcomes." European Foreign Affairs Review 18, Special Issue (December 1, 2013): 563–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.54648/eerr2013041.
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This article analyses the institutional context of the European Parliament and its powers to influence European Union (EU) policy related to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) non-proliferation. It explores the ways in which the Parliament has influenced policy by using its consultative, budgetary and legislative powers and concludes that while the outcomes to date have been modest, the Parliament's enhanced legislative powers make it an important actor in fulfilling the EU's objectives related to WMD non-proliferation, if it can overcome key institutional constraints.
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Misteli, Valentin. "EU Associates: Third-State Involvement in EU Foreign Policy Decision-Making." European Foreign Affairs Review 18, Issue 2 (May 1, 2013): 255–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.54648/eerr2013016.
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The European Union (EU) invites neighbouring states to contribute to the implementation of its foreign and security policy, but it does not offer involvement in relevant EU decision-making. This article makes the case for an associate status in the framework of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). It examines how third states can be involved in both CFSP decision-shaping and decision-taking and discusses the political implications and legal requirements of such arrangements.
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Shedid, Daniel, and Edward C. Benzel. "DECISION MAKING PROCESS." Neurosurgery 60, suppl_1 (January 1, 2007): S1–166—S1–169. http://dx.doi.org/10.1227/01.neu.0000249279.79686.e3.
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Abstract CLINICAL PROBLEMS ARE often complex. Problems of great complexity are usually associated with a commensurately greater degree of difficulty with respect to the decision making process. This is most certainly true regarding the management of cervical spondylosis. Usually, clinicians make clinically appropriate decisions. However, more often than realized, suboptimal decisions may be made. Therefore, an assessment of the types of errors regarding clinical decision making are worthy of consideration. In this article, a scheme for decision making regarding the management of cervical spondylosis is presented.