Academic literature on the topic 'European Union countries – Social aspects'
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Journal articles on the topic "European Union countries – Social aspects"
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Lengyel, György, and Borbála Göncz. "Symbolic and pragmatic aspects of European identity." Sociologija 48, no. 1 (2006): 1–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.2298/soc0601001l.
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It seems realistic that one of the long-term preconditions of European integration is the strengthening of European identity. Otherwise, it might happen that a growing split occurs between the elites and the population in the question of integration. In the Western European countries the concepts of Europe and the EU frequently coincide, while in the Eastern European countries Europe has primarily cultural-historical connotations and the EU embodies economic development and welfare. In an international comparison, European identity was stronger in the newly joining countries, but in some of them (i.e. in Hungary and Estonia) the national identity was among the strongest as well. The current study is based on a Hungarian representative survey carried out in 2003 - that is before Hungary joined the European Union. We supposed that class positions, the availability of material, cultural and social resources strongly influence European identity. We examined two aspects of identity, a symbolic and a pragmatic one. The symbolic identity was measured by questions addressing national vs. supra- and sub-national belonging, while pragmatic identity was approached by a question addressing the fair redistribution of taxes among the different levels. We could compare these dimensions and investigate the possible reasons for inconsistencies. .
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Zvozdetska, Oksana. "Combating Disinformation in the European Union: Legal Aspects." Mediaforum : Analytics, Forecasts, Information Management, no. 9 (December 28, 2021): 245–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.31861/mediaforum.2021.9.245-262.
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Today, both Ukraine and European countries are subject to disinformation and foreign intervention in their domestic policies. Each democracy no matter its geography experiences its distinct vulnerabilities and respectively, reactions to foreign interference. It should be stated, the immediate responses to such challenges in most Western countries have been rare and sluggish, hampered by legal constraints and bureaucracy, and furthermore, they lacked a real political awareness of the problem or proof of its further impact. Foreign actors are increasingly using disinformation strategies to influence public debate, stir controversy and interfere in democratic decision-making. Responding to these new challenges, the European Commission has introduced a set of actions and tools to better regulate the digital ecosystem of the media and its participants, in particular, the formation and improvement of the legal framework to combat disinformation in the European information space. The researcher’s focus revolves around the European Union’s comprehensive approach to vigorous combating misinformation. The research data prove that since 2015, the EU has adopted a number of regulations to counter this information threat and the potential effects of foreign interference. In particular, in 2016 the EU adopted a document “Joint Framework on countering hybrid threats, a European Union response”, and “Action Plan against Disinformation”, respectively in 2018. These documents provide a baseline for understanding the diverse types of challenges other countries face and how they are addressing them. Consequently, a number of initiatives and projects of the European institutions, and the first worldwide self-regulatory “EU Code of Practice on Disinformation” issued in 2018 on a voluntary basis, have become main pillars of the EU. The Code identifies issues related to ensuring the transparency of political advertising, strengthening efforts to close active counterfeits. accounts, enabling users to report misinformation and access various news sources, while improving the visibility and reliability of authoritative content; enabling the research community to monitor disinformation on the Internet through access to these platforms, compatible with the confidentiality signed by the largest Internet platforms and social media (Google, Facebook, Twitter and Mozilla) in the framework of WMC self-regulation activities. It should be noted that the implementation of the “European Union Code of Practice on Countering Disinformation” has yielded ambiguous fruits. Self-regulation was the first logical and necessary step, but few stakeholders were fully satisfied with the process or its outcome, significant challenges remain for building trust through industry, governments, academia and civil society engagement.
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Burlacioiu, Cristina. "Online Commerce Pattern in European Union Countries between 2019 and 2020." Societies 13, no. 1 (December 22, 2022): 4. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/soc13010004.
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The development of information technology, along with the high growth and diversification of consumer needs, has revolutionized the way in which business-to-consumer transactions occur. All this progress was boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic period in a different manner in each EU country, depending on different local aspects. The main goal of this paper is to determine the key characteristics of e-commerce in European Union countries in a pandemic context, based on Eurostat Digital Economy data for 2019–2020. Therefore, for an easier visualization, based on PCA, using 27 analyzed variables, new unique dimensions were revealed: 1. heavy online purchasers, 2. triggers for embracing digital purchasing, 3. perceived barriers against buying online (privacy concerns, security, or not having a card), 4. dynamics of online interaction with public authorities, and 5. enterprise online sharing. Moreover, clustering techniques set four groups of countries with different online commerce patterns that might require attention, according to their specificities, both from a government level and from a business perspective. Special attention is paid to Romania, which has one of the biggest e-commerce industries in Southeastern Europe, but with the share of e-commerce in total retail still quite low, despite this great increase. The models of other countries could be important in helping Romania to catch up with the most successful economies in terms of e-commerce.
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Witkowska, Janina. "Social Aspects of Transnational Corporations’ Activities in the New EU Member States." Comparative Economic Research. Central and Eastern Europe 15, no. 3 (December 28, 2012): 143–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/v10103-012-0021-y.
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Water resources are among the most valuable resources of the natural environment. The sustainable and integrated management of these resources is the basis of European water policy. Pursuant to the Water Framework Directive, all waters in the European Union should achieve a state considered at least good by the year 2015. Just how this objective can be met continues to be a topic of discussions in some of the Member States. There exist serious problems and delays in performing and implementing the provisions of the Directive in most EU countries. What is more, the state of the water economy in several countries, including Poland, has been criticized by the European Commission. Many challenges stand before European water policy. They require solutions on a global and local level. This article presents current key problems and planned directions for EU water policy development, subjected to analysis and assessment. Note is taken on the newest initiative of the European Commission in the area of water policy, especially the plan for protecting Europe’s water resources—the Blueprint to Safeguard Europe’s Water Resources
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Hurduzeu, Gheorghe, Iulia Lupu, Radu Lupu, and Radu Ion Filip. "The Interplay between Digitalization and Competitiveness: Evidence from European Countries." Societies 12, no. 6 (November 7, 2022): 157. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/soc12060157.
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In modern societies, digitalization plays a tremendously important role for people and businesses. Apart from an economic representation, competitiveness characterizes a society from political, cultural, or human points of view. In this article, we aim to highlight the role of digital development from a competitiveness perspective, as there are few studies related to this relationship. The empirical investigation is based on panel data analysis for European Union countries for 2017–2022, considering the digital economy and society index (DESI) and the index developed by International Institute for Management Development (IMD), respectively IMD world competitiveness index. The results obtained are reported both for general indices and for the components of DESI, presented separately for the groups of Central and Eastern European countries and Western European countries. They indicate different influences for the two groups of countries, with only a few common aspects. The most obvious is the case of skilled labor. This aspect demonstrates the link between the various dimensions of digitalization and changes in human capital development strategies, as they appear in the specialized literature.
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Rydzewski, Paweł. "Immigration and Social Aspects of Sustainable Development. The Case of Germany." Problemy Ekorozwoju 15, no. 1 (January 1, 2020): 25–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.35784/pe.2020.1.03.
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The aim of the article is to show the relationship between immigration and the social aspect of sustainable development. Data from the German General Social Survey (ALLBUS) study conducted in 2016 on a sample of 3490 respondents (residents of Germany) was used. Research suggests that this relationship is negative: mass immigration from culturally foreign countries and social environments can significantly reduce the quality of life of residents in developed societies. This manifests in opinions about the need to limit or stop immigration. The case of Germany can probably be generalized to other developed countries, especially from the European Union.
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Büken, Nüket Örnek, and Erhan Büken. "Emerging Health Sector Problems Affecting Patient Rights in Turkey." Nursing Ethics 11, no. 6 (November 2004): 610–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1191/0969733004ne742oa.
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It is accepted throughout the world today that a new approach is needed to health care, one that brings to the forefront the role of economic development. This situation has also increased the importance of the health care sector and health data have begun to take a significant place in countries’ development indicators. Health care services as a basic indicator of social and economic development in Turkey, as in the rest of the world, continue to gain in importance. However, there is a significant difference between health indicators for Turkey, which is a candidate for full membership of the European Union, and European Union countries.
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Tomaszewska, Monika. "In-Work Poverty: A Multi-Layered Problem across European Union Countries." Studia z zakresu Prawa Pracy i Polityki Społecznej 29, no. 3 (October 20, 2022): 341–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.4467/25444654spp.22.028.16573.
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The article’s primary purpose is to present an understanding of in-work poverty by defining the mentioned phenomenon uniformly in all European Union countries and by demonstrating its main determinants. First of all, it is necessary to present a complex definition of the term in-work poverty and refer it to the concept of precarious work functioning in both the legal circuit and the literature. The analysis starts by presenting the existing indicators and measurements of this phenomenon as a basis for conclusions on legal, economic, and social conditions of in-work poverty. The critical role in this regard is attributed to labour law and social security regulations and their continuous changes caused by adapting to new forms of organizations of work and to expectations coming from market competition. The broad range of analyses of phenomena in the work-poverty results from studies delivered under a project of the same name “Working Yet Poor.” The project aims to examine the regulatory structures affecting the working conditions and to assess different aspects of regulations that can have a direct and indirect impact on the occurrence of this phenomenon.
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Hennyeyová, K., and I. Okenka. "Selected aspects of development of the Information Society in the enlargement process of the European Union ." Agricultural Economics (Zemědělská ekonomika) 50, No. 8 (February 24, 2012): 349–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.17221/5215-agricecon.
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The information society represents the most fundamental change in our life, with huge opportunities for all people. Program eEurope has been very successful in extending Internet connectivity and has helped to obtain the adoption of the current legal framework for electronic communications and for e-commerce. The eEurope initiative should also become part of the enlargement process of the European Union. Slovakia and other candidate countries take part in realization of the program eEurope+ to support activities in using new information and communication technologies (ICT). eEurope 2005 carries the ambitious objective of achieving “Information Society for All”. This means not only overcoming geographical and social differences, but also ensuring an inclusive digital society that provides opportunities for all.
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Kaivo-oja, Jari, Samuli Aho, and Theresa Lauraéus. "European COVID -19 Pandemic Data and Social Inclusion Policy in the European Union: Drivers-Driven Trend Analysis." Economics and Culture 18, no. 1 (June 1, 2021): 82–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/jec-2021-0007.
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Abstract Research purpose. The study is focused on the Covid-19 pandemic crisis in the European Union. This study investigates the current driving trends and trade-offs of the Covid-19 pandemic phenomenon and social inclusion trends in the European countries. Design / Methodology / Approach. The methodology is based on conventional statistical index theory and statistics. The study investigates cases, deaths, and key Covid-19 statistics. The research design combines key social inclusion statistics of the Eurostat and the official Covid-19 statistics of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Covid-19 data is updated to 1.3.2021. Social inclusion variables are selected from the Eurostat database. Social inclusion variables cover poverty, material deprivation, income distribution, income, quality of life, employment, and education matters. Scattering matrices on the relationships among the key variables under review are reported. Findings. The study reports basic trends of Covid-19 cases, deaths, deaths/cases and calculates these Covid-19 trends in 29 European countries. This study reports trade-off analyses of key social inclusion trends of the European Union countries. Key indicators are linked to economic income, income distribution, poverty, gender issues, and housing statistics. The 19 key indicators of social inclusion are analysed and reported with Covid-19 data. Statistical correlation analysis tables (2a and 2b) are calculated with key European social inclusion indicators. The study reveals some relevant aspects of the social inclusion policy of the European Union about the ongoing Covid-19 crisis and exit strategies. Originality / Value / Practical implications. This conference paper demonstrates novel and exciting possibilities of integrated data pooling (The Eurostat and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control). Original results of key trend drivers are provided by the authors. Value-adding and interesting results are delivered for European governments and the business community. Results and findings of the study can be used in the planning of economic recovery and Covid-19 exit policies in the member states of the European Union.
Dissertations / Theses on the topic "European Union countries – Social aspects"
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RUIZ, SOLER Javier. "Is Twitter the new coffee house? : the contribution of the European political Twittersphere to the European public sphere and European demos." Doctoral thesis, European University Institute, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/1814/63305.
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Defence date: 12 June 2019Examining Board: Prof. Alexander Trechsel, University of Lucerne (Supervisor); Prof. Giovanni Sartor, European University Institute; Prof. Luigi Curini, University of Milan; Prof. Anamaria Dutceac Segesten, Lund University
A Public Sphere and a demos are intrinsic key elements of any democratic society. The literature has pointed out that social media platforms can play an important role in developing direct interactions between users and creating a sense of community. Can Twitter contribute to the emergence of a transnational networked European Public Sphere and European demos? This thesis examines the contribution of the European Political Twittersphere to this question. I divide the question into three articles. In each I use a different theoretical framework and methodological approach to two datasets of two issue publics (the Schengen agreement and the transatlantic trade partnership, TTIP) collected through the public Twitter Streaming API from August 2016 to April 2017. In the first article I explore the actor level of the networks created from the Twitter data. I investigate whether these Twitter networks constitute networked publics where non-elite actors receive attention and play an important role by the number of mentions and retweets. In the second article I explore the question of the constitution of European transnational networks. To do so, I geolocate the accounts involved in the two networks to identify the type of interactions the users establish, whether national or transnational. In the third article I analyse the content of these networks by extracting what sentiments the users express for the topics, and whether they see themselves and the topics as national or European. The three articles capture three features of the European Political Twittersphere. First, the results indicate the presence of transnational European networks. Second, built from the bottom-up where non-elite actors receive most of the attention. And third, composed of a multilingual demoi where the users see themselves and the topics as European. However, although these mapped Twitter networks contribute to some extent to transnational interaction and a sense of community, the deliberative quality of these networks is low.
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Noordijk, Peter Andrew. "Building Bridges with Social Capital in the European Union." PDXScholar, 2013. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1091.
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A culture of accommodation and tolerance is a necessary part of establishing and preserving a functional multi-national and multi-ethnic European Union. Civil society organizations and their associated social capital have been shown to foster civic capacity and achievement of public policy goals. However, social capital that is based on group identity can also contribute to a sense of intolerance towards out-groups, undermining the stated tolerance objectives of the social pillar of the European Union. States with a strong presence alongside civil society are expected to be curb the development of the exclusionary bonding form of social capital in favor of bridging social capital which will improve progress toward policy goals.
This study tests the link between government capacity, social capital and tolerance using data from the 1990-2009 waves of the World Values Survey and European Values Study. Using path analysis and multi-level models of the relationships between political capacity, social capital and intolerance, the model establishes that government capacity enhances bridging social capital and which increases social tolerance. The study fills a gap in understanding how government capacity and policy can result in improved social capital even with greater diversity. A proposed relationship between political capacity and bonding forms of social capital was not supported.
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Faber, Pierre Anthony. "Industrial relations, flexibility, and the EU social dimension : a comparative study of British and German employer response to the EU social dimension." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1999. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:959fa1ee-cd08-450b-8e94-68b9858dd9e3.
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This study sets out to explore employer response to the EU social dimension, in answer to the question, "How are employers in the UK and Germany responding to the EU social dimension, and why?" Using case study evidence from nine large British and German engineering companies, as well as material from employers' associations at all levels, it is argued that there is little employer support for extending the social dimension. Focusing on micro-economic aspects of the debate, it is also argued that a common feature in both British and German employer opposition is a concern for the impact of EU industrial relations regulation on firm-level flexibility. This stands in direct contradiction of the EU Commission's own contentions about the flexibility-enhancing effects of its social policy measures, and appears paradoxical in light of earlier research findings of a German flexibility advantage over UK rivals on account of the country's well-structured regulatory framework for industrial relations. Evidence from participant companies, however, suggests that, in the global environment of the late 1990s, much of Germany's former flexibility advantage has been eroded, and the regulation-induced limitations on both the pace and scale of change are increasingly onerous to German companies. German managers perceive a need for targeted deregulatory reform of their industrial relations system; by strengthening (and often extending) existing industrial relations regulation, EU social policy measures meet with firm disapproval. In the UK, by contrast, the changed context has contributed to a significant increase in firm-level flexibility. British companies now operate to levels of flexibility often in advance of their German counterparts, at far lower 'cost' in terms of the time taken, and the extent to which change measures are compromised, to reach agreement. For British managers, EU social policy measures are perceived as a threat to these beneficial arrangements, and vigorously opposed. The thesis concludes by suggesting that such fixed opposition, in the face of Commission determination to extend the EU social dimension, points to an escalation of the controversy surrounding the social dimension.
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Papandropoulos, Sylvie-Pénélope. "Issues in european competition policy: lobbying, reputation and R&D co-operation." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/211988.
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Ou, Po-Hsiang. "Climate change v Eurozone crisis : social and economic views of risk in inter-expert risk communication." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:f3619fc5-fd2a-483b-92b5-94aa90ce13d1.
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This DPhil thesis discusses how two divergent risk conceptions, a 'social view' and an 'economic view' of risk, are constructed through inter-expert risk communication. Different and sometimes contradictory concepts of risk are mobilised in regulatory practice, but the origins of these divergent risk conceptions are not extensively studied. This thesis seeks to unpack this divergence. Empirically, I analyse risk communication among experts in the European Union (EU) during the creation of two risk regulation standards. The two case studies, one related to the development of the two-degree target of EU climate policies (the climate case) and the other about the negotiation of the excessive deficit criteria of the Maastricht Treaty (the euro case), can shed light on the relations between risk conceptions and inter-expert risk communication. I argue that through risk communication, an initial 'view' of risk can be entrenched and developed into a paradigmatic 'risk conception'. My analysis uses historical and sociological institutionalism, by focusing on path dependence of risk communication and social construction risk conceptions among EU experts. Through the two case studies, I identify four analytical dimensions of inter-expert risk communication: networks (the institutional setting and relationships between different experts), cultures (the mentalities of experts in relation to discussing risks), dynamics (the actual processes of transmitting and receiving risk messages) and strategies (the rationales supporting the decisions of risk regulation standards). My thematic analysis reveals four key distinct 'features' of social/economic views of risk: expertise (the types of knowledge mobilised), normality (characterising risk as either 'special' or 'routine'), probability (considering risk as either uncertain or calculable) and impact (seeing risk as either negative or positive). I argue that these four features can help explain the construction of risk conceptions, and more broadly, provide an analytical framework for studying how views of risk evolve and interact over time.
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Weerts, Laurence. "Mutations et utilisations du concept de "frontière" dans l'intégration européenne: une analyse des recompositions des modes de gouvernement et de légitimation dans l'ordre politique européen." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/211212.
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Harris, Linda H. "On Human Migration and the Moral Obligations of Business." UNF Digital Commons, 2008. http://digitalcommons.unf.edu/etd/296.
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This work addresses to what extent businesses in the United States and the European Union have a moral obligation to participate in social integration processes in areas where they operate with the use of migrant laborers. It begins with the presupposition that a common framework as to what constitutes ethical behavior in business is needed and beneficial. It argues that the very industry that creates a need for migrant labor ought to also be involved in merging this labor successfully into the existing community and specifies that a discourse on business ethics and migration is gravely needed. This must be one that considers how businesses can become more engaged in resolving the social issues that arise both for the migrants and for the local community in which the businesses operate. The purpose would be to fill a social and humanitarian need that government alone cannot. More importantly, it will be to exercise beneficence and display responsible and sincere corporate citizenship. It is claimed that businesses that fail to encourage and participate in integration processes display a moral flaw. Cosmopolitan business ethics are proposed as a way to look at ethical business conduct and it is claimed that businesses that act as cosmopolitan citizens are morally praiseworthy.
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Bauer, Sibylle. "The europeanisation of arms export policies and its impact on democratic accountability." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/211210.
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Mavrikiou, Petros Andreas. "Aspects of European economic integration : the single market and the single currency." Thesis, McGill University, 1995. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=23724.
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This paper considers two major issues in the evolution of the European Union, the Single Market and the Single Currency. The first chapter deals with the projected effects of the 1992 Programme, and the second chapter deals with the collapse of the Exchange Rate Mechanism of the European Monetary System and examines the prospects for European Monetary Union given this collapse. The third chapter revolves around the concept of Central Banking under Monetary Union and focuses on the European Monetary Institute and the European System of Central Banks. Chapter four presents data regarding the progress of the European Union towards the target of the Single Currency, as well as other macroeconomic indicators.
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Menuet, Laetitia. "Le discours sur l'espace judiciaire européen : analyse du discours et sémantique argumentative." Phd thesis, Université de Nantes, 2006. http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-00133442.
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La recherche menée dans cette thèse traite du discours de l'Union européenne sur l'espace judiciaire européen entre 1996 et 1999. En convoquant l'analyse du discours et la lexicométrie dans un cadre théorique de la sémantique argumentative, elle analyse le sens des mots autour de l'expression « espace de liberté, de sécurité et de justice ». L'objectif est de définir comment s'élabore la réappropriation de valeurs universelles au profit du discours et de l'identité européenne véhiculée par les procédés argumentatifs utilisés pour représenter l'espace judiciaire européen. Le contexte politique et les théories linguistiques de la méthode d'analyse exposés, cette thèse porte sur les conditions de communication du discours et de sa particularité sémantique, en montrant qu'il construit une identité en triade renvoyant aux trois valeurs de son emblème triptyque (« liberté, sécurité et justice ») : les institutions, la criminalité organisée et les citoyens. Elle révèle les indices linguistiques de cette construction identitaire avec ses enjeux politiques et de légitimation en introduisant la notion de « normalisation discursive ». Celle-ci adopte un schéma linguistique très marqué conduisant à la mise en œuvre d'un processus de « manipulation argumentative » défini et démontré dans ce travail. Les résultats illustrent que la normalisation et la manipulation engendrent une circularité du discours reposant sur le conflit de deux orientations discursives : celle d'un discours sécuritaire et celle d'un discours sur l'État de droit et la démocratie.
Books on the topic "European Union countries – Social aspects"
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A European welfare state?: European Union social policy in context. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2002.
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Europa zwischen Nationalstaat und Integration. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2009.
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Christian, Joerges, and Vos Ellen, eds. EU committees: Social regulation, law and politics. Oxford: Hart Pub., 1999.
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Europe in the global age. Cambridge: Polity, 2007.
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Rumford, Chris. The European Union. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 2007.
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European economic and social constitutionalism after the Treaty of Lisbon. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
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Being and becoming European in Poland: European integration and self-identity. London, UK: Anthem Press, 2014.
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Pompeo, Della Posta, Uvalić Milica, and Verdun Amy 1968-, eds. Globalization, development, and integration: A European perspective. New York, N.Y: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
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1978-, Orbie Jan, and Tortell Lisa Ann, eds. The European Union and the social dimension of globalization: How the EU influences the world. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2008.
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The cultural realm of European integration: Social representations in France, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Westport, Conn: Praeger Publishers, 2004.
Find full textBook chapters on the topic "European Union countries – Social aspects"
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Vargas Vasserot, Carlos. "Social Enterprises in the European Union: Gradual Recognition of Their Importance and Models of Legal Regulation." In The International Handbook of Social Enterprise Law, 27–45. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14216-1_3.
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AbstractThis chapter addresses social enterprises as a special corporate category, which in some European jurisdictions, and increasingly so after their promotion by the European Union, are provided with a specific legal framework to promote and encourage their development. The paper begins with a brief compilation of the several social enterprise concepts developed by economic doctrines both in the United States and Europe, which reveal a great diversity of approaches. This is followed by an analysis of the various documents published by the European Union, showing the increasing recognition of this business phenomenon, from the publication of the Social Business Initiative in 2011 to the recent Action Plan for the Social Economy in 2021. Finally, the results obtained from the analysis of the different European legal systems are presented, and three main models of legal regulation of social enterprises are distinguished, namely, the use of the social cooperative form, enactment of a special law, and integration into a social economy law. The chapter concludes with a table comparing the essential aspects of the regulation of social enterprises in 14 European countries.
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Fontana, Olimpia. "Tra solidarietà europea e responsabilità nazionali: la tutela dei beni pubblici europei." In Studi e saggi, 143–62. Florence: Firenze University Press, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.36253/978-88-5518-591-2.09.
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The theme of solidarity between European Union (EU) member states lies at the heart of the European integration process itself, in the context of an ongoing tension between the renunciation of national sovereignty, driven by a drive for cooperation, and the maintenance of prerogatives of strategic interest to states. In fact, the EU was born from the decision of its members to pool selected aspects of their sovereignty, in a process whose evolution is expressed both in the choice of community policies and in the availability and methods of financing those policies. These are two sides of the same coin, that of the Community budget, which is the operational instrument that supports and accompanies the major steps in the EU's evolutionary process. Indeed, since the 1980s, the Community budget has represented the instrument capable of holding together on the one hand the process of economic liberalisation and on the other the objective of social integration between countries that had different starting conditions. However, cooperation and solidarity are aspects that need to be strengthened today, albeit in new dimensions. The financial crisis has brought about a new acceleration in the coordination of national fiscal policies, without, however, generating the missing piece to European economic policy, namely an autonomous fiscal capacity, endowed with taxation power, on which a full fiscal union would be based.
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Hemels, Sigrid. "Social Enterprises and Tax: Living Apart Together?" In The International Handbook of Social Enterprise Law, 77–100. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-14216-1_5.
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AbstractThis chapter examines the complex relationship between social enterprises and taxation. The focus is not on a specific country, although various examples are mentioned. As specific tax measures for social enterprises are a form of tax incentives, the chapter discusses this public finance concept. In addition, an important legal constraint on introducing such incentives for social enterprises in the European Union (EU) is discussed: the prohibition of state aid. From an analysis of the taxation of profits of social enterprises, it turns out that only a few countries have implemented tax incentives to further social enterprise models. Some social enterprises may meet the charity definition and thus benefit from tax incentives for charities. The drawback might be that it may require social enterprises to use next best legal forms. The chapter also discusses the relevant tax aspects for funders of social enterprises. Tax rules can especially be detrimental to the funding of high-risk social enterprises. Social enterprises also encounter value-added tax (VAT) issues. The VAT that applies in the EU has been copied (with variations) by many non-EU Member States. For that reason, this chapter focusses on the EU VAT legislation as included in the VAT. Problems emerging from the impossibility to deduct input VAT can best be solved outside the VAT framework.
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Griffith-Jones, Stephany, and Bettina De Souza Guilherme. "Introduction." In Financial Crisis Management and Democracy, 1–7. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54895-7_1.
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AbstractThis book is the result of the first 3 years of the comparative and multidisciplinary Jean Monnet Network, “Crisis-Equity-Democracy for Europe and Latin America”, of senior academics and policy advisors from four European and three Latin American countries, including experts on the European Union and Latin American regionalism. The rationale of the project and the common link is that both Europe and Latin America can learn from their respective experiences on “crisis”, its management and the distributive and democratic implications at national and regional level. The main purposes of the joint research can be summarised as to (1) locate in the current global financial system as one of the very major causes of the financial and debt crises in the EU and Latin America; (2) demonstrate the impact of the paradigm change on global and EU economic governance; (3) analyse key systemic aspects of the global crisis, i.e. climate change, macro-financial instability and the weakening of democracy and their inter-connections; (4) map and evaluate how both regions and individual countries within both regions have tried to manage these crises; (5) discuss the economic, political and social effects of these crises on both regions and individual countries; (6) finally, to make policy suggestions on how to transition from finance capitalism to a more sustainable real capitalism, on how both regions can better manage/govern/respond to such systemic pressures and on how they can increase their cooperation.
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Kustec, Simona, and Simon Ličen. "Sport and welfare in Central and Eastern European countries." In Sport, Welfare and Social Policy in the European Union, 132–42. Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2020. |: Routledge, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781351118064-12.
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Balcerzak, Adam P., and Michał Bernard Pietrzak. "Relations Among Social and Economic Order in European Union Countries." In Eurasian Studies in Business and Economics, 385–96. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67916-7_25.
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Kapounek, Svatopluk. "Long-Run Heterogeneity Across the EU Countries." In Competitiveness, Social Inclusion and Sustainability in a Diverse European Union, 37–46. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17299-6_3.
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Etchart, Nicole, and Loïc Comolli. "Trade-offs between Regulation and Fostering of Social Enterprise: The Case of European Union Policies." In Social Enterprise in Emerging Market Countries, 35–57. New York: Palgrave Macmillan US, 2013. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/9781137342102_3.
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Brosig, Magnus, and Karl Hinrichs. "The “Great Recession” and Pension Policy Change in European Countries." In International Impacts on Social Policy, 385–98. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86645-7_30.
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AbstractIn the wake of the “Great Recession” and its severe fiscal implications, many European countries enacted significant pension reforms aimed at reducing public spending and limiting contribution rates. Unlike most changes carried out before, they were implemented swiftly and without building a broad political and social consensus, usually being suggested or even mandated by inter- and supranational organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or the European Union (EU). While some of these cuts were at least partly revoked during the following years of economic recovery, European welfare states still tend to face lower “pension burdens” in the upcoming decades than had been expected during the 2000s. Financial sustainability, however, puts adequacy at risk for present and future retirees, many of whom no longer achieve sufficient working careers anyway.
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Rozmahel, Petr, Ladislava Issever Grochová, and Marek Litzman. "The Competitiveness of the EU Countries: A Multi-dimensional Cluster Analysis Approach." In Competitiveness, Social Inclusion and Sustainability in a Diverse European Union, 13–36. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17299-6_2.
Full textConference papers on the topic "European Union countries – Social aspects"
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Miceski, Trajko, and Natasha Stojovska. "Comparative Analysis of Birth Rate and Life Expectancy in Macedonia, Turkey and the European Union." In International Conference on Eurasian Economies. Eurasian Economists Association, 2014. http://dx.doi.org/10.36880/c05.01036.
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The comparative analysis of birth rate and life expectancy will provide information about the position of Macedonia in relation to Turkey and the EU and also about the factors that have the greatest impact on the population’s movement and vitality. This information should help the policy creators in the process of defining and implementing measures for increasing the birth rate and life expectancy of the population, which is aim of every country. In this paper will be put out some theoretical aspects about the economic, social, psychological, technological, cultural and political factors that have impact on the birth rate and life expectancy of the population. Also, the tabular and graphical displays will show the movement of these two demographic features in the period from 1980 to 2011. Changes in birth rate and life expectancy in Macedonia, Turkey and the European Union have been leading to demographic aging of the population in the last three decades. The birth rate in these countries shows a trend of continuous decline, despite the gradual increase in life expectancy of the population. Although the declined birth rate and increased life expectancy of the population have been a common features of these countries in the last decades, the percentage of this changes is different for each country.
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Panagoreţ, Andreea, Dragos Panagoreţ, and Tomislav Kandyija. "Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy of the European Union." In G.I.D.T.P. 2019 - Globalization, Innovation and Development, Trends and Prospects 2019. LUMEN Publishing, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.18662/lumproc/gidtp2022/16.
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Sustainable development approaches the concept of quality of life in all its complexity, from an economic, social and environmental point of view, promoting the idea of the balance between economic development, social equity, efficient use and conservation of the environment. By its very nature, sustainable development represents the need for responsibility and education for environmental protection, and this aspect is reflected in the evolution of community policy in recent years, a policy marked by the transition from an approach based on constraint and sanction, to a more flexible, based one on incentives. Thus, it is acting in the direction of a voluntary approach, in order to promote this environmental responsibility and to encourage the use of environmental management systems. The environmental policy does not act independently, but reflects the interest of civil society in this direction, manifested by the creation of numerous environmental movements and organizations. Moreover, in some countries the creation and development of "green" political parties has been achieved, with real success in the political arena. However, resistance - or, more properly, the restraint and inertia that manifests itself, should not be forgotten, when environmental objectives seem to limit industrial competitiveness and economic growth; but this aspect only emphasizes once again the need for a concerted approach at European level and the need for an active and integrated environmental policy, capable of responding to the challenges that appear economically. The European environmental policy is based on the principles of precaution, prevention, correction of pollution at source and "polluter pays". The precautionary principle is a risk management tool that can be invoked if there is scientific uncertainty about a possible risk to human health or the environment, arising from a particular action or policy.
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Sloka, Biruta, Ieva Brence, and Henrijs Kalkis. "Application of information technologies for social inclusion: current trends and future prospective." In 13th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE 2022). AHFE International, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1002652.
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Remote work and remote studies has increased in great extent the requirements of information technologies use and skills to apply information technologies. In European Union countries annually it is checked the availability of computer software as well as skills of information technologies use: there are annually conducted surveys on survey on use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in households and by individuals. The aim of the paper is to research theoretical aspects and to analyze internet use in regions of Latvia for checking on whether there is statistically significant use. The source of the data is the questionnaire No. ICT-persons “Use of computers and the internet in households”. As well as Labor Force Surveys, EU-SILC survey data. Research methods applied: scientific publication analysis, time-series analysis of internet use in Baltic countries, analysis of data on differences of availability of computers in households by regions of Latvia by analysis if variance or ANOVA, by territories (urban and rural) by t – test and by household size by ANOVA.
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Kvedarienė, Audronė, Laima Švedienė, and Giedrė Švedaitė. "Creation and Implementation of High Technologies in Lithuania under Conditions of Globalization." In Contemporary Issues in Business, Management and Education. Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.3846/cbme.2017.068.
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The development, dissemination and implementation of high technologies in Lithuanian market is a complex process within national innovation system. The comprehension of trends in the global market requires investigation of implications of regionalization, globalization and internationalization phenomena. EU policies significantly support R&D though the efficiency of innovation commercialization is not far reaching comparing with the leading countries in high technologies development, dissemination and implementation. To overcome this European paradox and social, environmental challenges, EU Commission ascertained Innovation Union 2020 Strategy. The objective of this article is to explore the EU regionalization impact on Lithuanian high technology development, dissemination and implementation performance, therefore the value chain theories relevant for the global markets aspect are reflected.
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Đurić, Stefan, and Bojana Lalatović. "SOLIDARITY CHECK IN TIMES OF COVID-19. ANALYSIS OF THE EU APPROACH TOWARDS ITS CLOSEST NEIGHBOURS WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS ON MONTENEGRO." In EU 2021 – The future of the EU in and after the pandemic. Faculty of Law, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.25234/eclic/18303.
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Solidarity as one of the cornerstone values of the European Union has been once again seated on the red chair and intensively discussed within the European Union and broader. After the economic recession and migrant crisis that marked the last two decades, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has once again harshly tested the fundamental objectives and values of the European Union and the responsiveness and effectiveness of its governance system on many fronts. In April, 2020 several EU Member States were among the worst affected countries worldwide and this situation soon became similar in their closest neighbourhood. It put a huge pressure on the EU to act faster, while at the same time placing this sui generis community to the test that led to revealing its strengths and weaknesses. As it happened in the previous crises, the Union launched policies and various programmes that were meant to lessen the burden of the Member States and aspiring countries caused by the crises. The objectives of the mentioned soft law instruments that the EU adopted during the COVID-19 crisis has been not only to show that EU law is equipped to react to health and economic crises rapidly but to deliver its support in terms of solidarity to its Member States and its closest neighbours facing the unprecedented health and economic crisis. This article will explore the value and implication of the solidarity principle in times of Covid-19 in its various manifestations. A special focus will be on the financial and material aspects of the EU instruments created to combat the negative consequences of the pandemic and their further impact on shaping the solidarity principle within the EU system. While examining the character and types of these mechanisms a special focus will be placed on those available to Western Balkan countries, whereas Montenegro as the “fast runner” in the EU integration process will be taken as a case study for the purpose of more detailed analyses. One of the major conclusions of the paper will be that although the speed of the EU reactions due to highly complex structure of decision making was not always satisfying for all the actors concerned, the EU once again has shown that it is reliable and that it treats the Western Balkan countries as privileged partners all for the sake of ending pandemic and launching the socio-economic recovery of the Western Balkans. Analytical and comparative methods will be dominantly relied upon throughout the paper. This will allow the authors to draw the main conclusions of the paper and assess the degree of solidarity as well as the effectiveness of the existing EU instruments that are available to Montenegro and aimed at diminishing negative consequences of the crisis.
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Popa, Luminita. ""ELECTRONIC SHEET OF PRACTICE" USED IN ROMANIAN STUDENTS' INTERNSHIP ACTIVITIES." In eLSE 2017. Carol I National Defence University Publishing House, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.12753/2066-026x-17-072.
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Practice in Romania universities is regulated by the Education Law, which stipulates the students' obligation to perform it. In the case of students' specialty professional practice at economic agents, the Labor Code has also provisions that apply to them. The Labor Code is completed by the other provisions of labor legislation in Romania, in harmony with EU norms and rules of international labor law. The orders of the Ministry of Education on professional practice stipulates that conducting internship in university programs is developed under the Framework Convention between the organizer of practice (university), practice partner (economic agent) and practitioner (student). The Electronic Sheet of Practice (ESP) requires also three different perspectives for student practitioner, faculty member (practice mentor) and economic agent. Using Electronic Sheet of Practic instrument, faculty members practice mentors can post their programs including students' practice results. The existence of such assessment tools and their use in accordance with the law governing the practice of students ensure professional assessment and uniformity of training, fostering their careers accessibility. Such tools, appropriate to each stage of specialty practice development, could be judiciously organized in the European Union countries. The need for such tools, which represent a support unit for the specialty practical training of students, is felt during this period in Romania, which, as its membership of the European Union, must find solutions to meet both commitments and to resolve social problems they face. The educational activities and products of the project, are evaluated favourably by the students who intend to continue their implementation, including in new projects development of the some aspects of the project developed.
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Leon Bello, Jorge, and Emilio Gonzalez Viosca. "CARONTE project: Creating an Agenda for Research on Transportation Security." In CIT2016. Congreso de Ingeniería del Transporte. Valencia: Universitat Politècnica València, 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/cit2016.2016.3272.
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Europe’s prosperity relies on effective transport systems. Any attacks and disturbances to land freight and passenger transport would have significant impact on economic growth, territorial cohesion, social development and the environment. Unfortunately, there are weaknesses in the land transport security.The objective of CARONTE project is define a future research agenda for security in land transport that focuses on core gaps caused by emerging risks while avoiding any doubling-up of research elsewhere. Its research agenda will cover all threats, including cyber-crime, and security aspects across all modes of land transportation. At the same time, it will respect the fundamental human rights and privacy of European citizens. The step-by-step method of CARONTE’s consortium has analyzed the state of the art and emerging risks; has identified gaps, analyses and assessments of potential solutions; and has produced an overall research agenda for the future. CARONTE’s results will answer the following questions among others: Which existing research projects merit a follow up and extension?Where are the combinations or synergy effects to be attended?Which themes and topics should be elaborated in new research projects?Who should be involved and integrated in future research projects (stakeholders, authorities, etc.)? The CARONTE consortium includes universities and research institutes, companies, and end-users providing with experience in research and consultancy in transportation, logistics, infrastructure management, security and communications. ITENE - Instituto Tecnológico del Embalaje, Transporte y Logística- has been one of the Project partners among a total of 11 members from eight different countries in the European Union which have also been supported via a High Level Advisory Board.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4995/CIT2016.2016.3272
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Ciconkov, Risto. "Climate Change and HVACR Systems." In 50th International HVAC&R Congress and Exhibition. SMEITS, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.24094/kghk.019.50.1.245.
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Indicators at a global level are presented: population in the world today and forecasts for developed and developing countries. The following diagrams are presented: world total primary energy consumption, global CO2 emissions from combustion since 1971, as well as cumulative CO2 emissions by regions since 1750. Facts for climate change are included (according to WMO and IPCC): increase in GHG concentrations, increase in air temperature, rise in sea level, etc. The consequences of global warming are listed: extreme rainfall and floods; high temperatures – heat waves, droughts, wildfires; huge damage to agriculture; harmful impacts on the environment, etc. The IPCC provides several scenarios for a global rise of air temperature up to 2100, for a global rise of sea level etc. The activities of the international community on climate change are organized through: IPCC, UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, Paris Agreement and continuous negotiations. The European Union (EU) is probably the most advanced in the battle against climate change. Some important strategies are outlined: by 2020, by 2030, and by 2050. Heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration systems (HVACR) are connected with energy consumption, which means they are a source of GHG emissions. The situation with HVACR systems is such that even in EU countries, the fossil fuels are dominant in the heating systems. Future solutions for HVACR systems are described. The first step is to increase the energy efficiency of buildings and HVACR equipment. The concept of "nearly zero-energy buildings" should be worked on. HVACR systems should be based on renewable energy sources (RES). The considered solutions include heat pumps, solar panels, thermal storage, district heating, combined heat and power, condensing boilers, reversible air conditioners, the concept of "smart" buildings, automation of HVACR systems with digital technology, etc. The political, economic and social aspects of climate change are analyzed. Capitalism society, market economy, profit, is the main reason for today's climate change situation. On the end, there is a discussion highlighting the need for urgent and major investment in RES and energy efficiency. For rich countries, this is really achievable. But developing countries, representing 83% of the world's population, need financial assistance, and this needs to be regulated through the Paris Agreement. Obstacles of a political nature are also possible (US and Paris Agreement).
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Miolo De Oliveira, Caio, Rita Assoreira Almendra, Ana Rita Lourenço, and Tiago Leitão. "Community Engagement Methodology for the Academic Design Curriculum." In 13th International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics (AHFE 2022). AHFE International, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.54941/ahfe1001372.
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Design profession has become quite resignified over time, being increasingly associated with an approach to involve people working collaboratively to co-create new opportunities for the welfare, solve complex problems or even favor innovation processes, whether they are applied in business environments or in the social sphere. By acting in this scope, Design is articulating social innovation processes, as it is developing strategies, whether through products or services, so that the actors related to the existing context can be active agents of transformation. In synergy with this approach, there is another participatory aspect, originating from other areas of knowledge: Community Engagement Methodology. This encompasses a process for providing information, empowering the community to identify solutions to their needs, as well as influencing priorities and strategic decisions. In this context, despite having enough theoretical and practical research implemented to favor community engagement, it appears that the academic curricula of Design courses do not work so specifically with community engagement/ implementation of social innovation processes. Thus, this paper reveals a methodology developed during PhD research in Design that aimed to favor the social reintegration of offenders and ex-offenders. This methodology, made up of different methods, was created in codesign with a Portuguese social cooperative, which was one of the promoters of a project co-founded by the European Union, between 2017 and 2020. The methodology was applied to professionals of the Criminal Justice System who work within the scope of reintegration in four countries (Portugal, Italy, Romania, and Germany), who evaluated it very positively. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to reveal the community involvement methodology created and propose ways that it can be implemented in Design curricula, to encourage and favor the development of solutions and improvements in different social contexts.
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Petrishchev, Vyacheslav. "ETHNO-CULTURAL ASPECTS OF GLOBALIZATION: EXPERIENCE OF EUROPEAN COUNTRIES." In Globalistics-2020: Global issues and the future of humankind. Interregional Social Organization for Assistance of Studying and Promotion the Scientific Heritage of N.D. Kondratieff / ISOASPSH of N.D. Kondratieff, 2020. http://dx.doi.org/10.46865/978-5-901640-33-3-2020-340-349.
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The article deals with the ethno-cultural aspects of globalization on the example of European countries, members of the European Union. The influence of the ethno-cultural factor on political, economic and cultural relations within the EU member-states, between the EU member-states and relations with immigrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East is shown. The forecast for the further development of the European Union as a major factor of globalization is given.
Reports on the topic "European Union countries – Social aspects"
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Domínguez, Roberto. Perceptions of the European Union in Latin America. Fundación Carolina, January 2023. http://dx.doi.org/10.33960/issn-e.1885-9119.dt76en.
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This working paper examines the puzzle of the gaps between the images that the EU projects, voluntarily and involuntarily, and the perceptions of the EU in Latin America. After reviewing some of the debates related to the role of perceptions in public policy and EU Public Diplomacy (EUPD), the paper analyzes some critical developments in global perceptions of the EU based on the study Update of the 2015 Analysis of the Perception of the EU and EU Policies Abroad (2021 Update Study), which assessed the attitudes of the EU in 13 countries. The third section examines some studies on the attitudes of the EU in Latin America, including some contributions from Latinobarometer. The fourth section offers comparative cases of EU perception in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia based on the findings of the 2021 Update Study. The analysis of each country relies on the interpretation of surveys with some references to the press analysis and interview methods provided in the 2021 Update Study. Each case discusses specific trends in the following areas: visibility, primary descriptors, global economics, and international leadership. Also, it identifies some patterns in perceptions of the EU in social development, climate change, research/technology, development assistance, culture, the case of the critical juncture in the survey (pandemic), and the EU as a normative setter. The final section offers some general trends in the perceptions of the EU in Latin America.
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Morsy, Ahmed. Towards a renewed local social and political covenant in Libya, Syria and Yemen. Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, December 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.55163/ofgn2229.
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This SIPRI Insights Paper examines the domestic and external factors at play in Libya, Syria and Yemen and their impact on negotiating post-war peaceful settlements and shaping prospective social contracts.The paper’s argument is two-fold. Firstly, policymaking must move beyond a static approach to understanding these conflicts. Despite apparent stalemates, the three countries should be approached as ever-evolving simmering conflicts. Secondly, policymakers have to move below the national level in order to achieve various forms of localized social peace. Given the nature of these conflicts and the varied sub-national segmentation, the analysis concludes that community-level social and political covenants may offer a first building block towards nationwide social contracts and sustainable conflict resolution.The role of external actors, particularly the European Union (EU), is critical in paving the way for these local-level dialogues and negotiations in Libya, Syria and Yemen. In short, external powers, including the EU, should adopt policies that push for long-term resolution to achieve post-conflict stabilization rather than the opportunistic taking of sides.
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Martin, Matthew. The Crisis of Extreme Inequality in SADC: Fighting austerity and the pandemic. Oxfam, Development Finance International, Norwegian Church Aid, May 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.21201/2022.8793.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the extreme inequality in Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, and pushed millions into poverty. The economic crisis continues due to the obscene global vaccine inequality. As of end March 2022, a dismal 14% of SADC citizens had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, compared with 65.5% in the United States and 73% in the European Union. In 2021, with infections rising in SADC, the critical health, social protection and economic programmes put in place by most governments in 2020 were rolled back and replaced with austerity, in the context of growing debt burdens and lack of external support for country budgets. Such austerity has been built into IMF programmes in the region. Recovering from the pandemic, however, offers SADC governments a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do what their citizens want: increase taxes on the wealthy and large corporations, boost public spending (especially on healthcare, education and social protection), and increase workers’ rights as well as tackling joblessness and precarious work. With external support, including through debt relief and aid, they could reduce inequality drastically and eliminate extreme poverty by 2030.
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Martin, Matthew. The Crisis of Extreme Inequality in SADC: Fighting austerity and the pandemic. Oxfam, Development Finance International, Norwegian Church Aid, May 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.21201/2022.8793.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the extreme inequality in Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, and pushed millions into poverty. The economic crisis continues due to the obscene global vaccine inequality. As of end March 2022, a dismal 14% of SADC citizens had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, compared with 65.5% in the United States and 73% in the European Union. In 2021, with infections rising in SADC, the critical health, social protection and economic programmes put in place by most governments in 2020 were rolled back and replaced with austerity, in the context of growing debt burdens and lack of external support for country budgets. Such austerity has been built into IMF programmes in the region. Recovering from the pandemic, however, offers SADC governments a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do what their citizens want: increase taxes on the wealthy and large corporations, boost public spending (especially on healthcare, education and social protection), and increase workers’ rights as well as tackling joblessness and precarious work. With external support, including through debt relief and aid, they could reduce inequality drastically and eliminate extreme poverty by 2030.
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Bourrier, Mathilde, Michael Deml, and Farnaz Mahdavian. Comparative report of the COVID-19 Pandemic Responses in Norway, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. University of Stavanger, November 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.31265/usps.254.
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The purpose of this report is to compare the risk communication strategies and public health mitigation measures implemented by Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom (UK) in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic based on publicly available documents. The report compares the country responses both in relation to one another and to the recommendations and guidance of the World Health Organization where available. The comparative report is an output of Work Package 1 from the research project PAN-FIGHT (Fighting pandemics with enhanced risk communication: Messages, compliance and vulnerability during the COVID-19 outbreak), which is financially supported by the Norwegian Research Council's extraordinary programme for corona research. PAN-FIGHT adopts a comparative approach which follows a “most different systems” variation as a logic of comparison guiding the research (Przeworski & Teune, 1970). The countries in this study include two EU member States (Sweden, Germany), one which was engaged in an exit process from the EU membership (the UK), and two non-European Union states, but both members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA): Norway and Switzerland. Furthermore, Germany and Switzerland govern by the Continental European Federal administrative model, with a relatively weak central bureaucracy and strong subnational, decentralised institutions. Norway and Sweden adhere to the Scandinavian model—a unitary but fairly decentralised system with power bestowed to the local authorities. The United Kingdom applies the Anglo-Saxon model, characterized by New Public Management (NPM) and decentralised managerial practices (Einhorn & Logue, 2003; Kuhlmann & Wollmann, 2014; Petridou et al., 2019). In total, PAN-FIGHT is comprised of 5 Work Packages (WPs), which are research-, recommendation-, and practice-oriented. The WPs seek to respond to the following research questions and accomplish the following: WP1: What are the characteristics of governmental and public health authorities’ risk communication strategies in five European countries, both in comparison to each other and in relation to the official strategies proposed by WHO? WP2: To what extent and how does the general public’s understanding, induced by national risk communication, vary across five countries, in relation to factors such as social capital, age, gender, socio-economic status and household composition? WP3: Based on data generated in WP1 and WP2, what is the significance of being male or female in terms of individual susceptibility to risk communication and subsequent vulnerability during the COVID-19 outbreak? WP4: Based on insight and knowledge generated in WPs 1 and 2, what recommendations can we offer national and local governments and health institutions on enhancing their risk communication strategies to curb pandemic outbreaks? WP5: Enhance health risk communication strategies across five European countries based upon the knowledge and recommendations generated by WPs 1-4. Pre-pandemic preparedness characteristics All five countries had pandemic plans developed prior to 2020, which generally were specific to influenza pandemics but not to coronaviruses. All plans had been updated following the H1N1 pandemic (2009-2010). During the SARS (2003) and MERS (2012) outbreaks, both of which are coronaviruses, all five countries experienced few cases, with notably smaller impacts than the H1N1 epidemic (2009-2010). The UK had conducted several exercises (Exercise Cygnet in 2016, Exercise Cygnus in 2016, and Exercise Iris in 2018) to check their preparedness plans; the reports from these exercises concluded that there were gaps in preparedness for epidemic outbreaks. Germany also simulated an influenza pandemic exercise in 2007 called LÜKEX 07, to train cross-state and cross-department crisis management (Bundesanstalt Technisches Hilfswerk, 2007). In 2017 within the context of the G20, Germany ran a health emergency simulation exercise with WHO and World Bank representatives to prepare for potential future pandemics (Federal Ministry of Health et al., 2017). Prior to COVID-19, only the UK had expert groups, notably the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), that was tasked with providing advice during emergencies. It had been used in previous emergency events (not exclusively limited to health). In contrast, none of the other countries had a similar expert advisory group in place prior to the pandemic. COVID-19 waves in 2020 All five countries experienced two waves of infection in 2020. The first wave occurred during the first half of the year and peaked after March 2020. The second wave arrived during the final quarter. Norway consistently had the lowest number of SARS-CoV-2 infections per million. Germany’s counts were neither the lowest nor the highest. Sweden, Switzerland and the UK alternated in having the highest numbers per million throughout 2020. Implementation of measures to control the spread of infection In Germany, Switzerland and the UK, health policy is the responsibility of regional states, (Länders, cantons and nations, respectively). However, there was a strong initial centralized response in all five countries to mitigate the spread of infection. Later on, country responses varied in the degree to which they were centralized or decentralized. Risk communication In all countries, a large variety of communication channels were used (press briefings, websites, social media, interviews). Digital communication channels were used extensively. Artificial intelligence was used, for example chatbots and decision support systems. Dashboards were used to provide access to and communicate data.
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Jones, Emily, Beatriz Kira, Anna Sands, and Danilo B. Garrido Alves. The UK and Digital Trade: Which way forward? Blavatnik School of Government, February 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.35489/bsg-wp-2021/038.
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The internet and digital technologies are upending global trade. Industries and supply chains are being transformed, and the movement of data across borders is now central to the operation of the global economy. Provisions in trade agreements address many aspects of the digital economy – from cross-border data flows, to the protection of citizens’ personal data, and the regulation of the internet and new technologies like artificial intelligence and algorithmic decision-making. The UK government has identified digital trade as a priority in its Global Britain strategy and one of the main sources of economic growth to recover from the pandemic. It wants the UK to play a leading role in setting the international standards and regulations that govern the global digital economy. The regulation of digital trade is a fast-evolving and contentious issue, and the US, European Union (EU), and China have adopted different approaches. Now that the UK has left the EU, it will need to navigate across multiple and often conflicting digital realms. The UK needs to decide which policy objectives it will prioritise, how to regulate the digital economy domestically, and how best to achieve its priorities when negotiating international trade agreements. There is an urgent need to develop a robust, evidence-based approach to the UK’s digital trade strategy that takes into account the perspectives of businesses, workers, and citizens, as well as the approaches of other countries in the global economy. This working paper aims to inform UK policy debates by assessing the state of play in digital trade globally. The authors present a detailed analysis of five policy areas that are central to discussions on digital trade for the UK: cross-border data flows and privacy; internet access and content regulation; intellectual property and innovation; e-commerce (including trade facilitation and consumer protection); and taxation (customs duties on e-commerce and digital services taxes). In each of these areas the authors compare and contrast the approaches taken by the US, EU and China, discuss the public policy implications, and examine the choices facing the UK.
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Hunter, Fraser, and Martin Carruthers. Iron Age Scotland. Society for Antiquaries of Scotland, September 2012. http://dx.doi.org/10.9750/scarf.09.2012.193.
Full textAbstract:
The main recommendations of the panel report can be summarised under five key headings: Building blocks: The ultimate aim should be to build rich, detailed and testable narratives situated within a European context, and addressing phenomena from the longue durée to the short-term over international to local scales. Chronological control is essential to this and effective dating strategies are required to enable generation-level analysis. The ‘serendipity factor’ of archaeological work must be enhanced by recognising and getting the most out of information-rich sites as they appear. o There is a pressing need to revisit the archives of excavated sites to extract more information from existing resources, notably through dating programmes targeted at regional sequences – the Western Isles Atlantic roundhouse sequence is an obvious target. o Many areas still lack anything beyond the baldest of settlement sequences, with little understanding of the relations between key site types. There is a need to get at least basic sequences from many more areas, either from sustained regional programmes or targeted sampling exercises. o Much of the methodologically innovative work and new insights have come from long-running research excavations. Such large-scale research projects are an important element in developing new approaches to the Iron Age. Daily life and practice: There remains great potential to improve the understanding of people’s lives in the Iron Age through fresh approaches to, and integration of, existing and newly-excavated data. o House use. Rigorous analysis and innovative approaches, including experimental archaeology, should be employed to get the most out of the understanding of daily life through the strengths of the Scottish record, such as deposits within buildings, organic preservation and waterlogging. o Material culture. Artefact studies have the potential to be far more integral to understandings of Iron Age societies, both from the rich assemblages of the Atlantic area and less-rich lowland finds. Key areas of concern are basic studies of material groups (including the function of everyday items such as stone and bone tools, and the nature of craft processes – iron, copper alloy, bone/antler and shale offer particularly good evidence). Other key topics are: the role of ‘art’ and other forms of decoration and comparative approaches to assemblages to obtain synthetic views of the uses of material culture. o Field to feast. Subsistence practices are a core area of research essential to understanding past society, but different strands of evidence need to be more fully integrated, with a ‘field to feast’ approach, from production to consumption. The working of agricultural systems is poorly understood, from agricultural processes to cooking practices and cuisine: integrated work between different specialisms would assist greatly. There is a need for conceptual as well as practical perspectives – e.g. how were wild resources conceived? o Ritual practice. There has been valuable work in identifying depositional practices, such as deposition of animals or querns, which are thought to relate to house-based ritual practices, but there is great potential for further pattern-spotting, synthesis and interpretation. Iron Age Scotland: ScARF Panel Report v Landscapes and regions: Concepts of ‘region’ or ‘province’, and how they changed over time, need to be critically explored, because they are contentious, poorly defined and highly variable. What did Iron Age people see as their geographical horizons, and how did this change? Attempts to understand the Iron Age landscape require improved, integrated survey methodologies, as existing approaches are inevitably partial. Aspects of the landscape’s physical form and cover should be investigated more fully, in terms of vegetation (known only in outline over most of the country) and sea level change in key areas such as the firths of Moray and Forth. Landscapes beyond settlement merit further work, e.g. the use of the landscape for deposition of objects or people, and what this tells us of contemporary perceptions and beliefs. Concepts of inherited landscapes (how Iron Age communities saw and used this longlived land) and socal resilience to issues such as climate change should be explored more fully. Reconstructing Iron Age societies. The changing structure of society over space and time in this period remains poorly understood. Researchers should interrogate the data for better and more explicitly-expressed understandings of social structures and relations between people. The wider context: Researchers need to engage with the big questions of change on a European level (and beyond). Relationships with neighbouring areas (e.g. England, Ireland) and analogies from other areas (e.g. Scandinavia and the Low Countries) can help inform Scottish studies. Key big topics are: o The nature and effect of the introduction of iron. o The social processes lying behind evidence for movement and contact. o Parallels and differences in social processes and developments. o The changing nature of houses and households over this period, including the role of ‘substantial houses’, from crannogs to brochs, the development and role of complex architecture, and the shift away from roundhouses. o The chronology, nature and meaning of hillforts and other enclosed settlements. o Relationships with the Roman world