Asymmetric regulation for competition in European railways?

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 184-201
Author(s):  
Juan J. Montero
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
Natural Monopoly ◽  
Rolling Stock ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Economic Literature ◽  
Eu Directive ◽  
Eu Directives ◽  
Access Charges ◽  
Asymmetric Regulation ◽  
The Eu

There is an increasing number of voices calling for asymmetric regulation to reinforce competition in European railways as they are liberalized in December 2020. The regulatory framework defined in the Directives of the European Union (EU) might be insufficient to ensure effective and widespread competition. But the EU Directive declares tracks a natural monopoly, and structural measures in the form of vertical separation with transport activities have been imposed. Behavioral obligations have also been imposed on infrastructure managers in the form of access obligations. There is no room for asymmetry between competing networks, as tracks are a natural monopoly. Furthermore, as access conditions are ruled by the principle of nondiscrimination, it does not seem possible to introduce asymmetries in favor of newcomers, for instance in the form of access charges below the price charged to incumbent railway undertakings. For the rest of railway assets, which only exceptionally can be considered essential facilities, the EU Directives either impose no access obligations (rolling stock, drivers, ticketing systems) or when they impose access obligations (maintenance facilities), there is no formal asymmetry, as all undertakings are subject to the same access obligations. National regulatory authorities considering the introduction of asymmetric access obligations should take into account economic literature describing how asymmetries attract inefficient market entry, and they should consider that obligations introduced at a national level might fragment the Single European Railway Area.

European experience in transition to circular economy

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 598-617 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.V. Ratner
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
National Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Scientific Methods ◽  
European Experience ◽  
General Scientific ◽  
The Eu

Subject. The article considers the concept of circular economy, which has originated relatively recently in the academic literature, and is now increasingly recognized in many countries at the national level. In the European Union, the transition to circular economy is viewed as an opportunity to improve competitiveness of the European Union, protect businesses from resource shortages and fluctuating prices for raw materials and supplies, and a way to increase employment and innovation. Objectives. The aim of the study is to analyze the incentives developed by the European Commission for moving to circular economy, and to assess their effectiveness on the basis of statistical analysis. Methods. I employ general scientific methods of research. Results. The analysis of the EU Action Plan for the Circular Economy enabled to conclude that the results of the recent research in circular economy barriers, eco-innovation, technology and infrastructure were successfully integrated into the framework of this document. Understanding the root causes holding back the circular economy development and the balanced combination of economic and administrative incentives strengthened the Action Plan, and it contributed to the circular economy development in the EU. Conclusions. The measures to stimulate the development of the circular economy proposed in the European Action Plan can be viewed as a prototype for designing similar strategies in other countries, including Russia. Meanwhile, a more detailed analysis of barriers to the circular economy at the level of individual countries and regions is needed.

Polish Approach to Sharing Resources Deployable for the EU Civil Protection Mechanism

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-158
Author(s):  
Tomasz Zwęgliński
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Response ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
International System ◽  
National Level ◽  
Civil Protection ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Internal Security ◽  
Protection Mechanism ◽  
European Dimension ◽  
The Eu

Poles are highly aware of the fact that Polish civil protection assets are being deployed abroad in order to assist other disaster- and crisis-stricken countries around the world. Such a type of urgent assistance provided from one country to another in an emergency response situation is regulated and organised by the European Union. Poland, as a state participating in the EU international system, is very active in sharing its civil protection assets, such as in the Beirut explosion case in Lebanon (2020), and during forest fires in Sweden (2018). Using its civil protection resources to assist other countries poses a question on the potential influence of such activities on the homeland’s internal security. Solving the problem has to be preceded by answering the following question — How is the process of international civil protection deployment organised in Poland? Responding to this question required utilising such methods as a review and analysis of literature sources on the European dimension of civil protection, EU legal regulations, statistics, reports as well as Polish standard operating procedures and internal regulations on the national level and was the key method applied in the research. Furthermore, semi-formal interviews with Polish and EU experts were done. The findings prove that operational planning in the researched area is well organised, which significantly diminishes the identified risk for internal security.

Understanding the Crisis Symptoms of Representative Democracy: The New European Economic Governance and France's ‘Political Crisis’

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-131
Author(s):  
Julia Lux
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
Representative Democracy ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
Economic Governance ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Left Wing ◽  
Discursive Space ◽  
New Economic Governance ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
The Eu

This article will investigate the ‘political crisis’ in France (Amable, 2017) to highlight two aspects often set aside in public and academic discussions: 1) the technocratic, neoliberal character of the European Union (EU) that limits democratic debate about political economic issues and 2) the socio-economic context the parties operate in. Using this perspective, I add to the debate on the inherent theoretical/conceptual tension between representative democracy and populism (Taggart, 2002) by showing how the ‘new economic governance’ increases the democratic problems of the EU by limiting the discursive space. Representative liberal democracy has particularly marginalised anti-capitalism at EU and national level. My analysis shows that the EU's discursive strategies are aligned to those of governing parties and the employers’ association. Left-wing actors and the Front National (FN) oppose the EU's discourse not necessarily for reasons of sovereignty but for political reasons concerning the politico-economic trajectory of France.

scholarly journals Monitoring residue in animals and primary products of animal origin

2008 ◽  
Vol 62 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 383-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sasa Jankovic ◽  
Aurelija Spiric ◽  
Tatjana Radicevic ◽  
Srdjan Stefanovic
Keyword(s):  
Veterinary Medicine ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
Animal Origin ◽  
Food Hygiene ◽  
The European Union ◽  
National Monitoring ◽  
Primary Products ◽  
Eu Directives ◽  
The Eu

The objective of control and systematic monitoring of residue is to secure, by the examination of a corresponding number of samples, the efficient monitoring of the residue level in tissues and organs of animals, as well as in primary products of animal origin. This creates possibilities for the timely taking of measures toward the securing of food hygiene of animal origin and the protection of public health. Residue can be a consequence of the inadequate use of medicines in veterinary medicine and pesticides in agriculture and veterinary medicine, as well as the polluting of the environment with toxic elements, dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls, and others. Residue is being monitored in Serbia since 1972, and in 2004, national monitoring was brought to the level of EU countries through significant investments by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management. This is also evident in the EU directives which permit exports of all kinds of meat and primary products of animal origin, covered by the Residue Monitoring Program. The program of systematic examinations of residue has been coordinated with the requirements of the European Union, both according to the type of examined substance, as well as according to the number of samples and the applied analytical techniques. In addition to the development of methods and the including of new harmful substances into the monitoring programme, it is also necessary to coordinate the national regulations that define the maximum permitted quantities of certain medicines and contaminants with the EU regulations, in order to protect the health of consumers as efficiently as possible, and for the country to take equal part in international trade.

scholarly journals THE INFLUENCE OF THE INTEGRATION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION ON THE ROMANIAN FISCAL LEGISLATION

2008 ◽  
pp. 56
Author(s):  
Mircea Muntean ◽  
Doina Pacurari
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Fiscal Policy ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Value Added ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Directives ◽  
Eu Directives ◽  
Dividend Tax ◽  
Excise Duties ◽  
The Eu

Fiscal policy constitutes – within the state's economic policy – a system by means of which the taxes and duties owed to the country's consolidated budget are established and collected. Taking into account the role fiscal policy has been playing since Romania's admission in the European Union, one of the goals ceaselessly looked for is its adapting to the international community's acquis through the implementation of the European directives in our context. The EU directives make reference to direct taxes: dividend tax, interest income tax, assets transfer, shares exchange, income taxation for the non-residents, and so on, along with the indirect taxes: value-added tax, excise duties, etc. The paper approaches the main provisions within the contents of the European directives as well as the means of their implementation in the Romanian fiscal legislation regarding various types of taxes. The implementation of the European directives has been simultaneous with the establishing of measures concerning fiscal fraud prevention, frauds liable to have a negative impact on the state's consolidated budget.

scholarly journals Digital business taxation issues and threats abstract

2020 ◽  
pp. 98-121
Author(s):  
Alanas Gulbinas ◽  
Kamilė Jogminaitė
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Business Taxation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Bilateral Agreements ◽  
Corporate Profit ◽  
Eu Directive ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

“Article of digital business taxation issues and threats”, analyzes the impact of the digitalization in modern society and the changes of corporate profit tax. This article has been concentrated on the regulation of the European Union but mentions the international adjustments as well. The article has been written in a discussion of national law and bilateral agreements, which apply to the traditional permanent headquarters concept. This article discusses the current situation, where digital businesses are not being taxed with corporate profit tax, and possibilities to change it according to the needs of the digital economy In addition, when digital businesses emerged, the permanent headquarters concept, which taxed based on the permanent location, required further discussion and a new definition. Therefore, the article talks over the proposals of the European Union to equalize corporate profit taxation. The article analyzes the possible consequences and issues of the adaptation of the EU directive. In question of regulating the corporate profit tax, the authors discussed the competence of the EU.

Policy-Making in the European Union

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
National Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Policy ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Common ◽  
Key Events ◽  
The Eu

Policy-Making in the European Union explores the link between the modes and mechanisms of EU policy-making and its implementation at the national level. From defining the processes, institutions and modes through which policy-making operates, the text moves on to situate individual policies within these modes, detail their content, and analyse how they are implemented, navigating policy in all its complexities. The first part of the text examines processes, institutions, and the theoretical and analytical underpinnings of policy-making, while the second part considers a wide range of policy areas, from economics to the environment, and security to the single market. Throughout the text, theoretical approaches sit side by side with the reality of key events in the EU, including enlargement, the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, and the financial crisis and resulting Eurozone crisis, focusing on what determines how policies are made and implemented. This includes major developments such as the establishment of the European Stability Mechanism, the reform of the common agricultural policy, and new initiatives to promote EU energy security. In the final part, the chapters consider trends in EU policy-making and the challenges facing the EU.

Labour Immigration Policy in the European Union: How to Overcome the Tension between Further Europeanisation and the Protection of National Interests?

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-223
Author(s):  
Jean-Baptiste Farcy
Keyword(s):  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Added Value ◽  
The European Union ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Labour Immigration ◽  
Eu Directives ◽  
The Eu

Abstract This article critically assesses EU harmonisation in the field of labour immigration. It argues that EU directives are limited both in scope and intensity which explains their relatively low effectiveness and added value. Given the current political and institutional context, the article claims that a truly common labour immigration policy is unrealistic. Labour immigration remains a predominantly national prerogative and EU rules have done little to overcome normative competition between EU Member States. Looking forward, the EU should adopt complementary measures to Member States’ policies. The role of the EU in this sensitive policy area should be better defined and justified, in particular in relation to the principle of subsidiarity.

The ‘puzzle’ of workers’ mobility in Italy

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-108
Author(s):  
Massimiliano Delfino
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Transnational Mobility ◽  
Italian Case ◽  
Eu Directives ◽  
Italian Legislation ◽  
The Eu

In Italy, workers’ mobility is a very complicated puzzle that is composed of different pieces. This paper deals with such different pieces under the perspective of workers' mobility within the European Union and highlights that the term mobility is not a synonym of posting (of workers), since the latter term indicates only one of the types (although the most relevant) of workers’ mobility. The author starts with workers’ mobility within the national border and beyond the European Union. Then, he concentrates his attention on the Italian way of transposing the EU Directives on the transnational posting of workers, which is very problematic, especially with reference to the role of collective bargaining agreements. Special attention is dedicated to the issue of public policy where an important role is played by Italian case law, which is very interesting and not uniform. The paper ends with some predictions about the forthcoming Italian legislation concerning both national and transnational mobility, which will be possibly influenced by the domestic political agenda.

scholarly journals National Set of MAES Indicators in Greece: Ecosystem Services and Management Implications

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioannis P. Kokkoris ◽  
Georgios Mallinis ◽  
Eleni S. Bekri ◽  
Vassiliki Vlami ◽  
Stamatis Zogaris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
National Level ◽  
Natura 2000 ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Thematic Maps ◽  
Food Material ◽  
Data Gaps ◽  
Condition Indicator ◽  
The Eu

Research Highlights: The developed National Set of Indicators for the Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES) implementation in Greece at the national level sets the official, national basis on which future studies will be conducted for MAES reporting for the achievement of targets within the National and the European Union (EU) biodiversity Strategy. Background and Objectives: Greece is currently developing and implementing a MAES nation-wide program based on the region’s unique characteristics following the proposed methodologies by the European Commission, in the frame of the LIFE-IP 4 NATURA project (Integrated actions for the conservation and management of Natura 2000 sites, species, habitats and ecosystems in Greece). In this paper, we present the steps followed to compile standardized MAES indicators for Greece that include: (a) collection and review of the available MAES-related datasets, (b) shortcomings and limitations encountered and overcome, (c) identification of data gaps and (d) assumptions and framework setting. Correspondence to EU and National Strategies and Policies are also examined to provide an initial guidance for detailed thematic studies. Materials and Methods: We followed the requirements of the EU MAES framework for ecosystem services and ecosystem condition indicator selection. Ecosystem services reported under the selected indicators were assigned following the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services. Spatial analysis techniques were applied to create relevant thematic maps. Results: A set of 40 MAES indicators was drafted, distributed in six general indicator groups, i.e., Biodiversity, Environmental quality, Food, material and energy, Forestry, Recreation and Water resources. The protocols for the development and implementation of an indicator were also drafted and adopted for future MAES studies in Greece, providing guidance for adaptive development and adding extra indicators when and where needed. Thematic maps representing ecosystem services (ES) bundles and ES hotspots were also created to identify areas of ES importance and simultaneously communicate the results at the national and regional levels.

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