The Public and the Union

Author(s):  
Michael Keating

Public attitudes to the Union are complex. Citizens in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are aware of the choice between British and local identity. Most of them combine both but with different intensities. Citizens in England are now willing to make the same distinctions. There has not been a marked increase in non-British identities in recent years but their political significance has changed. Support for independence in Scotland has increased and is linked to identity. Support for reunification in Northern Ireland fell after the 1999 settlement but has fluctuated since. In Wales, a narrow majority for devolution in the referendum of 1997 shifted towards broad support as the National Assembly (now Senedd) matured. Brexit led to an increase in support for Scottish independence and Irish reunification but not to a decisive degree. There has not been a significant increase in English identity or support for an English Parliament. Citizens in England are not mostly opposed to devolution for the other territories and are, by international standards, often relaxed about the prospect of the secession of Scotland and Northern Ireland. There is a clear link between strong English identity and support for leaving the European Union.

Author(s):  
Sami Tlais ◽  
Hayat Omairi ◽  
Ali Al Khatib ◽  
Hassan HajjHussein

In light of recent news reporting the use of banned colorants in Lebanese-made pickled turnips exported to the European Union (EU) by the Rapid Alert System of Food and Feed (RASFF), The Lebanese Consumer Protection Association tested samples of pickled turnips being sold to the public and confirmed the use of rhodamine B. Many products were pulled off the market and were replaced with new products that were supposed to be free of any banned colorants. We selected 5 different brands of pickled turnips and tested them for pH, salinity, nitrites, and colorants. We tested the salinity using two methods: evaporation and titration. The concentration of nitrites was tested by absorbency method. The presence of colorants was determined using TLC and absorbency method. We determined that the newly released pickled turnips comply with the rules and regulations adopted by the Lebanese Standards Institution (LIBNOR) and the international standards according to the Codex Alimentarius.


Author(s):  
Armağan Gözkaman

The European Community/Union has always been a controversial issue in the UK. At present, the probability of an in-or-out referendum makes it all the more divisive. Eurosceptics see a brighter future for their country outside the union both in political and economic terms. Pro-Europeans, on the other hand, maintain that British membership brings up benefits that outweigh the costs. Both sides have their arguments. The former seek success through social mobilizations and debates. The latter believe that the anti-EU stance may be costly in economic and political terms. Hence, the public must be convinced before the referendum – if it ever takes place.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 82-96
Author(s):  
Carla Machado

This article aims to address the interpretation that has been made by Portuguese courts in relation to the concept of “communication of the work to the public” enshrined in Article 3 (1) of Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001, duly transposed into the Portuguese legal order by Law No. 50/2006 of 24 August, which culminated in the drafting of the case law unifying judgment No. 15/2013. By verifying its content and analysing the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (hereinafter CJEU), concerning the interpretation of that concept, we conclude that the said case law unifying judgment does not comply with EU law. Therefore, we will list, on the one hand, the inherent consequences regarding the upkeep of the interpretation that has been held by the Portuguese judicial authorities and, on the other, we will suggest solutions for the resolution of similar cases by appealing to the principle of conforming interpretation.


Author(s):  
Lucy Atkinson ◽  
Andrew Blick ◽  
Matt Qvortrup

This book was conceived of and written during a protracted episode of political turmoil. The period of disruption in question was triggered by the use of a democratic device; one which asks members of the public to choose between options with respect to a given decision. It is known as a referendum. This particular popular vote was held on 23 June 2016 across Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and Gibraltar. The ballot paper read: ‘[s]hould the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?’ Of those who could have voted (rounded to two decimal places), 72.15 per cent took part and cast valid votes (that is, 33,551,983 of a total of 46,501,241), a higher proportion than at any General Election since 1992 (77.71)....


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 505-522
Author(s):  
Hakim Khatib

The empirical literature has focused on political, socio-economic and even religious indicators when attempting to understand the rise of Islamic factions in Egypt, thereby minimizing the role of cultural aspects in driving mobilization and contestation processes in the Arab World. With this issue in mind, this paper focuses on the alteration of cultural perception of the public through the capitalization of perceptual biases. The contribution of European Union policies in the region has served as useful material for the Islamic rhetoric of the ‘Salafi Call’ and the Muslim Brotherhood in creating a European Union-sceptical culture to contest and mobilize for the elections in 2012 in Egypt. Based on the sixth edition of Jerald Greenberg and Robert Baron's Behavior in Organizations (London, 1997), perceptual biases of stereotyping, which may distort the image of the target collective, and comparative examples of Islamic rhetoric from the period covering the Egyptian elections will be analyzed to demonstrate how Islamic factions took advantage of these perceptual biases to disparage the ‘West’ in the region and, at the same time, to gain more sympathy, support and legitimacy from the Egyptian people. Whilst there is a significant knowledge gap about Europe in the Arab world, clouded by generalization and stereotyping, the European Union likewise lacks accurate and up-to-date information about religious movements. Religious elites constitute a significant player in altering cultural perception in the Arab region. Pragmatism of politically active religious factions increases their impact on perception of the ‘Self’ and the ‘Other’.


2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-137
Author(s):  
Liam D. Murphy

Competitive funding by the European Union for community projects in Northern Ireland operates according to a political logic in which some groups and projects (deemed progressive, modern and generally secular) are prioritised, while others (discursively positioned as anachronistic, traditional and religious) are precluded. In this process, EU processes of statecraft seek to instrumentalise grassroots organisations as means to the many ends of a disenchanted, modern EU federation. In turn, overtly religious groups (among them churches, parachurches, and confraternities of various kinds) adapt to these conditions by instrumentalising EU processes and goals to the general end of securing a future place for religiosity in the 'new' Northern Ireland. This paper discusses the intersection of religious objectives and ideologies with that of European modernism in the context of two organisations: the Orange Order and the Divine Fellowship Congregation (DFC). Speci fically, I argue that both associations have developed distinctive forms of practice (the 'Orangefest' and 'Utopia' projects, respectively) that re-conceive what is possible for modern EU-funded initiatives. This adaptation has implications for both sets of institutions, in that each is transformed through articulation with the other.


Author(s):  
José Ignacio CUBERO MARCOS

LABURPENA: Lan honek honako hau azaltzen du: ingurumen ebaluazio estrategikoa eskatzen duten plan eta programak onartzeko prozedurak xedatutako araubideak dauzkan kontraesan eta hutsune juridiko batzuk. Espainiak Aarhus ituna berretsi zuenetik eta Europar Batasunak 2003/35 Zuzentaraua onartu zuenetik, barneko planen ingurumenaren inguruko ebaluaziorako prozeduretan, pertsonek parte hartzeko gabeziak erakusten ditu legediak. Alde batetik, barneko agintariek pertsonei emateko aurretiazko informazioa eskaintzeko garrantzia gutxietsi dute; bestetik, zalantzak sortu dira ondoko gai honetan: Oraindik ere zalantzak daude ingurumenaren arloan parte hartzeko baldintzak sektoreko legeriarekin edo legeria orokorrarekin nola artikulatzen diren. Izan ere, azken legeria horrek aurreikusten dituen bermeak eta parte hartzeko eskubide desberdinak dira eta, batzuetan, aurreratuagoak. Lanak xede izango du konponbide batzuk ekartzea, Aarhus itunaren interpretazio finalista batean eta EBJAk emandako jurisprudentzian oinarrituz. This work exposes some contradictions and legal gaps regarding the legislation that regulates the participation of people in the procedures aimed at passing plans and programmes subjected to the strategic environmental assessment. Since Spain ratified the Aarhus Convention and the European Union passed 2003/35 Directive, the Spanish legislation shows still shortcomings so as to achieve an effective participation in the environmental assessment of plans. On the one hand, domestic authorities have ignored how important is to supply previous information to the public; on the other, there are doubts about how the requirements of participation in the environmental field are articulated with those provided for in the specific or general legislation, that establishes guarantees and different rights to participate, sometimes more progressive. This works aims at bringing some solutions, in accordance with a finalist interpretation of the Aarhus Convention and with the developments in the case law of the CJEU. RESUMEN: Este trabajo expone algunas contradicciones y vacíos jurídicos que se desprenden de la legislación que regula la participación de las personas en los procedimientos dirigidos a la aprobación de planes y programas que requieran evaluación ambiental estratégica. Desde que España ratificara el Convenio de Aarhus y la Unión Europea dictase la Directiva 2003/35, la legislación interna todavía presenta carencias para el logro de una participación efectiva en los procedimientos para la evaluación ambiental de planes. Por un lado, las autoridades internas han ignorado la importancia de ofrecer información previa al público; por otro, todavía perviven dudas en torno al modo en que se articulan los requisitos de participación en materia medioambiental con la legislación sectorial o general, que también prevé garantías y reconoce derechos de participación distintos y, a veces, más avanzados. El trabajo tendrá por objeto aportar algunas soluciones, inspirándose en una interpretación finalista del Convenio de Aarhus y en el desarrollo jurisprudencial ofrecido por el TJUE.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 3985
Author(s):  
Adam Kozień

The concept of sustainable development is widely used, especially in social, environmental and economic aspects. The principle of sustainable development was derived from the concept of sustainable development, which appears in legal terms at the international, EU, national and local levels. Today, the value of cultural heritage that should be legally protected is indicated. A problematic issue may be the clash in this respect of the public interest related to the protection of heritage with the individual interest, expressed, e.g., in the ownership of cultural heritage designates. During the research, scientific methods that are used in legal sciences were used: theoretical–legal, formal–dogmatic, historical–legal methods, as well as the method of criticism of the literature, and legal inferences were also used. The analyses were carried out on the basis of the interdisciplinary literature on the subject, as well as international, EU and national legal acts—sources of the generally applicable law. Research has shown that the interdisciplinary principle of sustainable development, especially from the perspective of the social and auxiliary environmental aspect, may be the basis for weighing public and individual interests in the area of legal protection of cultural heritage in the European Union. It was also indicated that it is possible in the situation of treating the principle of sustainable development in terms of Dworkin’s “policies” and allows its application not only at the level of European Union law (primary and secondary), but also at the national legal orders of the European Union Member States.


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