How Chemicals Are Regulated in the European Union: A Commentary

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-185
Author(s):  
Dan Jørgensen

Professor Ragnar Lofstedt has written a very interesting and thought provoking paper “Risk versus Hazard Assessment – How to Regulate in the 21st Century”. The paper reflects upon the advantages and disadvantages of using risk assessments compared to hazard assessments of chemical compounds. It investigates the debate that has been going on in recent years in Europe between regulators, politicians, NGOs and industry on the subject.This commentary will discuss some of the assumptions that the analysis rests on as well as some of the conclusions that are presented in the paper.First, the commentary will discuss the definition and critique of the “risk assessment” approach that Lofstedt presents. The commentary here concludes that Lofstedt's analysis of risk assessment does not take sufficiently into account the fact that risks can not always be calculated in an exact way because uncertainty rather than certainty is the condition when analysing chemicals.

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-162
Author(s):  
Stefan Marek Grochalski

Parliament – an institution of a democratic state – a member of the Union – is not only an authority but also, as in the case of the European Union, the only directly and universally elected representative body of the European Union. The article presents questions related to the essence of parliament and that of a supranational parliament which are vital while dealing with the subject matter. It proves that the growth of the European Parliament’s powers was the direct reason for departing from the system of delegating representatives to the Parliament for the benefit of direct elections. It presents direct and universal elections to the European Parliament in the context of presenting legal regulations applicable in this respect. It describes a new legal category – citizenship of the European Union – primarily in terms of active and passive suffrage to the European Parliament, as a political entitlement of a citizen of the European Union.


2016 ◽  
pp. 90-108
Author(s):  
Marta Witkowska

The aim of the article is to present possible scenarios on maintaining democracy in the EU, while assuming different hypothetical directions in which it could develop as a federation, empire and Europe à la carte. Selected mechanisms, norms and values of the EU system that are crucial for the functioning of democracy in the European Union are the subject of this research. The abovementioned objective of scenario development is achieved through distinguishing the notions of policy, politics and polity in the research. In the analysis of the state of democracy in the European Union both the process (politics) and the normative approach (policy) have been adopted. The characterised norms, structures, values and democratic procedures in force in the EU will become a reference point for the projected scenarios. The projection refers to a situation when the existing polity transforms into a federation, empire or Europe à la carte. The article is to serve as a projection and is a part of a wider discussion on the future of the basis on which the European Union is build.


BioTech ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 10
Author(s):  
Michael F. Eckerstorfer ◽  
Marcin Grabowski ◽  
Matteo Lener ◽  
Margret Engelhard ◽  
Samson Simon ◽  
...  

An intensely debated question is whether or how a mandatory environmental risk assessment (ERA) should be conducted for plants obtained through novel genomic techniques, including genome editing (GE). Some countries have already exempted certain types of GE applications from their regulations addressing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In the European Union, the European Court of Justice confirmed in 2018 that plants developed by novel genomic techniques for directed mutagenesis are regulated as GMOs. Thus, they have to undergo an ERA prior to deliberate release or being placed on the market. Recently, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published two opinions on the relevance of the current EU ERA framework for GM plants obtained through novel genomic techniques (NGTs). Regarding GE plants, the opinions confirmed that the existing ERA framework is suitable in general and that the current ERA requirements need to be applied in a case specific manner. Since EFSA did not provide further guidance, this review addresses a couple of issues relevant for the case-specific assessment of GE plants. We discuss the suitability of general denominators of risk/safety and address characteristics of GE plants which require particular assessment approaches. We suggest integrating the following two sets of considerations into the ERA: considerations related to the traits developed by GE and considerations addressing the assessment of method-related unintended effects, e.g., due to off-target modifications. In conclusion, we recommend that further specific guidance for the ERA and monitoring should be developed to facilitate a focused assessment approach for GE plants.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philipp Heinrichs

Since the abolishment of singular admission to the higher regional courts in 2000, the judiciary has been asking itself the question whether singular admission to the Federal Court of Justice is compatible with the German Constitution and the laws of the European Union. In particular, the non-transparent selection procedure was and is the trigger of controversial discussions and the subject of legal disputes. The work questions the conformity of singular admission to the Federal Court of Justice with the German Constitution and considers the selection procedure to be without transparency, comprehensibility and rule of law.


The article is devoted to the research of the possibilities of cooperation between the European Union (EU) and Ukraine in the use of blockchain technologies. The transition to the blockchain allows to minimise costs and maximise the results of economic activity. The experience of using blockchain technologies by world corporations is analysed. The subject of the research in the article is the potential of economic cooperation between the EU and Ukraine in the field of implementation and use of blockchain technologies. The purpose of the article is to find out the economic prospects of cooperation between the EU and Ukraine in the use of blockchain technologies. Tasks: researching of tendencies of development of blockchain technologies and possible variants of their implantation in activity of the Ukraine’s enterprises, searching for benefits from cooperation between Ukraine and the EU in the field of use of blockchain technologies. General scientific used research methods: analysis – to determine the peculiarities of the use of blockchain technologies in the EU, synthesis – to find opportunities for cooperation between Ukraine and the EU in the use of blockchain technologies. The obtained results: based on the analysis of the dynamics of changes in the field of enterprise technology, problematic aspects are identified and the main advantages of the transition from the traditional management model to blockchain platforms are identified, and the economic benefits of locating mining farms in Ukraine compared to some EU countries are calculated. Conclusions: using of blockchain technologies by modern enterprises gives them a number of competitive advantages, including saving on labor costs, increased information security, reduced costs for quality control of products/services, etc. Blockchain allows to promote more sustainable cooperation between EU and Ukrainian companies not only in trade, but also in industry, finance and energy. By implementing joint blockchain systems with the EU, Ukraine can provide mining with low costs for electricity and wages.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Hadjigeorgiou ◽  
Elpidoforos S. Soteriades ◽  
Anastasios Philalithis ◽  
Anna Psaroulaki ◽  
Yiannis Tselentis ◽  
...  

This paper is a comparative survey of the National Food Safety Systems (NFSS) of the European Union (EU) Member-States (MS) and the Central EU level. The main organizational structures of the NFSS, their legal frameworks, their responsibilities, their experiences, and challenges relating to food safety are discussed. Growing concerns about food safety have led the EU itself, its MS and non-EU countries, which are EU trade-partners, to review and modify their food safety systems. Our study suggests that the EU and 22 out of 27 Member States (MS) have reorganized their NFSS by establishing a single food safety authority or a similar organization on the national or central level. In addition, the study analyzes different approaches towards the establishment of such agencies. Areas where marked differences in approaches were seen included the division of responsibilities for risk assessment (RA), risk management (RM), and risk communication (RC). We found that in 12 Member States, all three areas of activity (RA, RM, and RC) are kept together, whereas in 10 Member States, risk management is functionally or institutionally separate from risk assessment and risk communication. No single ideal model for others to follow for the organization of a food safety authority was observed; however, revised NFSS, either in EU member states or at the EU central level, may be more effective from the previous arrangements, because they provide central supervision, give priority to food control programs, and maintain comprehensive risk analysis as part of their activities.


Author(s):  
Natalia Dominiak

The aim of the article is to discuss issues related to the development of tourism in the context of the possibility of financial support available from cohesion policy funds in the current financial perspective for the years 2014-2020. The particular attention was paid to the multifaceted nature of modern tourism and the directions of changes in the use of EU funds, referring to the completed programming period 2007-2013. An attempt was also made to indicate the significance of tourism in the section of the national economy of Poland and in the European Union, concentrating on its interdisciplinary character. Characteristics of cohesion policy, its goals and principles of functioning were made. The article is of a review nature, which means that the authors’ own materials and empirical material from the literature of the subject were used. The figures were obtained from reports published by the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of the Council of Ministers. It was found out that the amount of allocated funds for cohesion policy among all European Union countries in 2014-2020 is the highest for Poland and amounts to EUR 72.9 billion. There is an increase in the amount of funds allocated from the European Union to Poland, compared to the amount of allocated funds in the 2007-2013 perspective. It was also pointed out that the cohesion policy instruments mentioned above only indirectly contribute to the development of tourism, as the financing for 2014-2020 lacks programs and activities entirely dedicated to tourism.


Author(s):  
N. V. Tsopa ◽  
A. E. Dikarev

in the article provides a comparative analysis of the development of solar energy in the world, in the European Union, in Russia and in Crimea; the advantages and disadvantages of the use of solar energy, the features of the use of renewable energy sources are considered, the use of solar energy in the Crimea is justified; describes the mechanism of a feasibility study for the use of autonomous power supply for low-rise buildings in Crimea.


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