scholarly journals The Concept Of Unfair Contract Terms

2021 ◽  
pp. 3-13
Author(s):  
I.M. Harhat
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Legal Literature ◽  
Commercial Code ◽  
Unfair Terms ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Contractual Rights ◽  
The Eu

The article explores the concept of «unfair terms contract terms» through the analysis of its origin and fixing in the legislation and legal literature of the European Union, Ukraine and the United States. Comparisons of interpretations of this concept according to Directive 93/13/EEC, Model Rules of European Private Law, The Uniform Commercial Code, as well as the Law of Ukraine «On Consumer Protection». In the article author notes that the definition of unfair terms of the contract is a complex symbiosis of material and procedural, a combination of justice and dishonesty, comparison of signs of «imbalance of interests» and «significantly disadvantaged» and therefore at this stage of civil law is not can be defined unambiguously. It is investigated that the modern civil legislation of Ukraine is still in solidarity with the legislation of most EU member states in terms of introducing this concept primarily to protect consumer rights. Regarding the definition of «unfair terms», author notes that Ukrainian legislation follows common legal trends and recognizes unfair terms when they violate the principle of good faith and fairness, as well as when they lead to a significant imbalance of contractual rights and obligations of the parties and harm the consumer. As a result, it was found that in general the concept of «unfair terms» is evaluative and can not by its very nature reflect the motives laid down in the contract by one or another party. The Court of EU and the courts of the EU member states do not give general conclusions on a case-by-case basis, using the definitions contained in the text of Directive 93/13/EEC, which set out the conditions that may be considered unfair. Author proposes to use the sign «significantly unfavorable position» proposed by A.A.Leff to define the concept of «unfair terms of the contract», as it will improve the protection of the interests of the economically weaker party in the contract.

scholarly journals Positioning of the concept of corporate restructuring in the EU member-states and its approval by the auditor

2021 ◽  
pp. 131-151
Author(s):  
Olga Nikolaevna Sinkina
Keyword(s):  
European Commission ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Corporate Management ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Eu

The object of this research is the concept of restructuring, which in the conditions of crisis in the European Union is positioned as an instrument for its overcoming and the procedure for its verification by the auditor. The subject of this research is a range of question associated on the peculiarities of positioning of the concept of restructuring in the EU. The article analyzes the criteria for insolvency and tests for the presence of the signs of insolvency according to the national legislation of the EU jurisdiction based on the typical crisis process. The author introduces the definition of the concept of restructuring, its framework and elements. The recommendations of the European Commission on overcoming crisis situations and insolvency of companies are provided; the principles of preventive concept of restructuring are analyzed; the auditor’s procedures pertaining to the concept of restructuring are formulated. The research methodology relies on the fundamental provisions presented in the works of foreign scholars. The main conclusions are as follows: the responsibility of the corporate management in a number of EU member-states includes verification of compliance with the established criteria of insolvency on the regular basis; for this, it is necessary to submit the report to regulatory authorities on the current state of the company and decision on overcoming the crisis, usually in the form of the concept of restructuring approved by the auditor. The scientific novelty of this research consists in: 1) generalization of legal regulation of the criteria of insolvency in the EU member-states, tests for the presence of the signs of insolvency, responsibility of corporate management, outline of the restructuring plan; 2) positioning of the concept of restructuring, formulation of definition of the concept of restructuring, its framework and elements; 3) analysis of the principles of the preventive concept of restructuring of the European Commission; 4) development of audit procedures concerning the concept of restructuring.

The New EU Rules on Insurance Customer/Policyholder Protection Viewed against the NAIC Model Acts

Global Jurist ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo Paul Martinez ◽  
Pierpaolo Marano
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
The United States ◽  
List Type ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Distribution Services ◽  
The Eu

AbstractEffective October 1, 2018, the Member States of the European Union had to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Directive (EU) 2016/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council of January 20, 2016 on insurance distribution (IDD). The IDD arose out of a desire to give insurance customers equal protection regardless of the type of distributor from which they obtained insurance. Essentially, the IDD seeks to level the playing field of protections for insurance customers by simplifying, consolidating, and expanding customer protections when needed. The IDD has the stated goal of focusing on “the area of the disclosure of information” to customers. The directive is intentionally broad and applies “to persons whose activity consists of providing insurance or reinsurance distribution services to third parties.”Although it is much too early to predict the course of the IDD within the European Union, a comparison can be drawn with the Model Acts promulgated by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) in the United States to glean an inkling as to where the IDD might be headed. Parts of the Model Acts have been in place for a number of years and, while the legal regimes they cover are modestly different, there are nonetheless broad lessons that can be drawn in the comparison of the two. Whether the path of the IDD follows the arc of the Model Acts, or not, will perhaps be attributed to three instrumental aspects: 1.The IDD is unquestionably focused on customer protection. The NAIC is more nearly concerned with uniformity. It may be that the IDD’s focus will contribute to better traction among the EU Member States then Model Acts have experienced in the United States.2.Unlike the IDD, the NAIC Model Acts are not comprehensive with respect to customer protection.3.The NAIC Model Acts have seen inconsistent adoption by the states, a factor that has contributed to a lack of uniformity and constancy across any number of insurance products. While the IDD should not suffer from spotty adoption, the relative flexibility of the EU Member States in adopting more stringent rules may lead to a lack of uniformity and consistency similar to that of the Model Acts. Thus, the IDD may very well face the same headwinds faced by the Model Acts in the United States.Accurate predictions are always elusive when dealing with the implementation of regulation and legislation. Accordingly, we will watch with curiosity whether the IDD, which takes a much more global approach in customer protection, will see more success.

Unequal unions? A comparative decomposition of income inequality in the European Union and United States

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 545-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Filauro ◽  
Zachary Parolin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Household Income ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Relative Significance ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The Eu

This study applies improved household income data to measure and decompose trends in pan-European income inequality from 2006 to 2014. To contrast the relative significance of economic homogeneity versus the efficacy of welfare state and labour market institutions in shaping income distributions, we compare the structure of inequality in the 28 Member States of the European Union (EU-28) to that of the 50 United States. This comparison stands in contrast to the standard practice of evaluating the United States against individual EU Member States. Despite the greater relative heterogeneity of the EU-28 and our corrections for the underreporting of household income in the United States, post-fisc income inequality in the EU-28 remains lower than that of the United States from 2006 onward. Moreover, inequality appears to be rising in the United States, while it has remained stagnant since 2008 in the EU-28. In both unions, and particularly the United States, within-state income differences contribute more to union-wide inequality than between-state differences. In a counterfactual analysis, we find that if the EU-28 matched the between-state homogeneity of the United States, but maintained its relative within-country inequalities, pan-European inequality would fall by only 20 percent. Conversely, inequality in the United States would fall by 34 percent if it matched the within-country inequality of the EU-28. Our findings suggest that the strengthening of egalitarian institutions within the 28 Member States is more consequential than economic convergence in reducing pan-European income inequality. We highlight institutional challenges towards achieving a ‘more equal’ Europe and discuss implications for future EU policymaking.

scholarly journals Political Changes in Europe and European Integration in Uriadovyi Kurier

2018 ◽  
pp. 798-801
Author(s):  
Serhii Braha
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Active Phase ◽  
The United States ◽  
European Parliament ◽  
Customs Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The Eu

The article analyses in detail the 2018 political season in Europe. The author recalls how the year began: the European Union extended sanctions against the Russian Federation for violating the territorial integrity of our state. It is noted that ensuring strict compliance in the European Union and in companies of EU member States with the policy of non-recognition and the sanctions regime is very important for Ukraine. The author highlights the areas of Ukrainian national interest. Describes the vicissitudes of relations between Ukraine and the European Union. Reveals the content of cooperation between Ukraine and NATO. Notes that the Ukraine–EU Summit confirmed the strategic nature of the development of relations with the European Union, as well as the desire of both sides to further develop a dialogue with the EU on the integration of Ukraine into the EU Customs Union, the EU Energy Union, the common digital market and Association with the Schengen area. The Summit also analysed the topic related to the activities of the member States of the European Union and the United States to prevent the implementation of the Nord stream 2 project. Further, the author of the article examines the functioning of the free trade zone and the visa-free regime. Clarifies that more than a million of our compatriots have already used the visa-free regime, becoming true lobbyists for the European integration of Ukraine. The author also notes that one of the most noticeable factors that will affect the lives of leading European States will be the beginning of the election campaign for the European Parliament. The approach of the active phase of the campaign is beginning to change the attitude of European deputies of Ukraine. The author of the article notes that the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union may affect the “Ukrainian file” in the future composition of the European Parliament. Keywords: European Union, NATO summit, “Ukrainian issue”, dialogue, visa-free regime, European Parliament.

scholarly journals PROSPECTS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY DEVELOPMENT IN THE EU IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oksana Safonchyk ◽  
Konstiantyn Vitman
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
The State ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Eu

In the world practice, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is recognized an important component of sustainable development strategy, for which reason governments of many countries pay considerable attention to the promotion of CSR ideas at the national level, creating favourable conditions for socially responsible behaviour of national and foreign enterprises. The author aims to analyse the experience of regulation of corporate social responsibility policy in the EU Member States, to show the practice of national governments of the EU Member States in the field of CSR, and to determine prospects of corporate social responsibility at the modern development stage in view of implementing the concept of sustainable development. Summarizing approaches to the definition of CSR, it can be emphasized that CSR should positively influence society, in which the enterprise operates. It is a free choice in favour of increasing the welfare and moral and ethical values of society through appropriate approaches to doing business. Relations between enterprises both in the European Union and in other countries are increasingly based on the principles of CSR. Compliance with these principles becomes an important prerequisite for attracting foreign investment and obtaining government orders. In the international context, CSR is an efficient instrument to develop partnership and cooperation of countries in the context of achieving the Millennium Development Goals, to control the negative influence of the industrial sector on ecology, to prevent social crises, as a consequence, to ensure sustainable development of the world civilisation. Among the European institutions, the European Commission’s committees play a key role in disseminating the idea of CSR. One of the main factors in strengthening the EU economy is considered precisely the stable growth based on the rational use of resources, ecology, and competition. Plans of the Strategy for 2012–2015–2020 clearly show that the European Union intends to strengthen control over economic management and “voluntarily oblige” the business to follow the rules of CSR. The goal of a new CSR Strategy is to create conditions favourable for sustainable development, responsible business conduct, and permanent employment in the medium and long term. Key changes in comparison with the policy for 2010 – definition of corporate social responsibility as “Responsibility of enterprises for their impact on society” and rejection of the principle of voluntariness: “the European Commission recognizes that some regulations stimulate CSR, therefore, public authorities should support the CSR development by applying a mix of voluntary and regulatory policies”. As the study showed, the governments of the EU countries are actively engaged in the development and promotion of corporate social responsibility. The role of the state is manifested in the implementation of the following key functions: the state as a legislator and a controlling authority; the state as an employer; the state as a consumer and a buyer; the state as a partner; the state as an institutional investor; the state as a participant in international relations. The most significant results have been achieved by those EU Member States that use the systemic approach to CSR development. In these countries, responsible state structures have been formed that coordinate work in all areas. The approach to the choice of instruments is individual and is selected taking into account the priorities of the country’s socio-economic development and the importance of economic, environmental, and social aspects. An example of Great Britain, France, Belgium, Estonia, and Spain shows the possibility of successful CSR development.

scholarly journals Preventive Restructuring as a New Trend of Insolvency Legislation

2021 ◽  
pp. 51-60
Author(s):  
Yaroslav Hrynchyshyn ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Main Tool ◽  
Business Failure ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Eu Directive ◽  
Financial Restructuring ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Eu

The need to harmonize corporate insolvency legislation has led to the adoption by the European Union of the relevant regulations – the Recommendation on a New Approach to Business Failure and Insolvency and the Directive 2019/1023 on preventive restructuring frameworks, on discharge of debt and disqualifications, and on measures to increase the efficiency of procedures concerning restructuring, insolvency and discharge of debt, and amending Directive (EU) 2017/1132 (Directive on restructuring and insolvency). The purpose of the article is to reveal the essence of preventive restructuring, to assess the main differences in the definition of preventive restructuring in accordance with the provisions of the EU Directive and the Code of Ukraine on bankruptcy procedures. In this work, preventive restructuring is considered as the main tool for timely prevention of bankruptcy, the implementation of which in the EU member states has significant differences. An overview of the provisions of EU regulations on preventive restructuring and the process of their implementation in the member states was done. A comparative analysis of the EU directive on the mechanisms of preventive restructuring and certain provisions of the Code of Ukraine on bankruptcy procedures related to reorganization prior to the commencement of bankruptcy proceedings was carried out. It was found that the Code lacks such principles as early appeal, protection of new financing, taking into account the peculiarities of small and medium-sized businesses. Differences in the use of other principles were also identified. Ukrainian legislation encourages debtors to liquidate their business rather than to carry out financial restructuring. Taken into account the European vector of development, today Ukraine has a real chance to improve insolvency legislation based on the provisions of the EU Directive.

scholarly journals Decline of democracy—the European Union at a crossroad

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresia Smolka
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
New Eu Members ◽  
Fundamental Values ◽  
The Eu

AbstractAlthough EU member states have committed themselves to upholding the fundamental democratic values enshrined in Article 2 Treaty on European Union, violations of these values could be observed in some member states—first and foremost in Hungary and Poland. This article studies whether these negative developments, which are often summarized under the terms backsliding or erosion of democracy, should be classified as a loss in the quality of democracy or even as a decline of democracy. By drawing on Gero Erdmann’s (2011) theoretical definition of decline of democracy and using Democracy Barometer data for the period between 2004 and 2016, this form of loss of the quality of democracy is analysed for the 28 EU member states. In addition, the EU’s role in safeguarding democracy in its member states is discussed. The article shows that it is not only the new EU members that show a decline of democracy more frequently, but the old EU members. The EU as guardian of the democratic fundamental values is failing to live up to its role despite the numerous instruments it has at its disposal.

Political aspects of security of the European Union Member States

2020 ◽  
pp. 97-105
Author(s):  
Aleksandra Kusztykiewicz-Fedurek
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Political Security ◽  
New Institutions ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Key Aspects ◽  
The Eu

Political security is very often considered through the prism of individual states. In the scholar literature in-depth analyses of this kind of security are rarely encountered in the context of international entities that these countries integrate. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to key aspects of political security in the European Union (EU) Member States. The EU as a supranational organisation, gathering Member States first, ensures the stability of the EU as a whole, and secondly, it ensures that Member States respect common values and principles. Additionally, the EU institutions focus on ensuring the proper functioning of the Eurozone (also called officially “euro area” in EU regulations). Actions that may have a negative impact on the level of the EU’s political security include the boycott of establishing new institutions conducive to the peaceful coexistence and development of states. These threats seem to have a significant impact on the situation in the EU in the face of the proposed (and not accepted by Member States not belonging to the Eurogroup) Eurozone reforms concerning, inter alia, appointment of the Minister of Economy and Finance and the creation of a new institution - the European Monetary Fund.

scholarly journals Inequalities in the European Union—A Partial Order Analysis of the Main Indicators

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6278
Author(s):  
Lars Carlsen ◽  
Rainer Bruggemann
Keyword(s):  
Indicator System ◽  
Partial Ordering ◽  
Disposable Income ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Educational Aspect ◽  
The Eu

The inequality within the 27 European member states has been studied. Six indicators proclaimed by Eurostat to be the main indicators charactere the countries: (i) the relative median at-risk-of-poverty gap, (ii) the income distribution, (iii) the income share of the bottom 40% of the population, (iv) the purchasing power adjusted GDP per capita, (v) the adjusted gross disposable income of households per capita and (vi) the asylum applications by state of procedure. The resulting multi-indicator system was analyzed applying partial ordering methodology, i.e., including all indicators simultaneously without any pretreatment. The degree of inequality was studied for the years 2010, 2015 and 2019. The EU member states were partially ordered and ranked. For all three years Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Austria, and Finland are found to be highly ranked, i.e., having rather low inequality. Bulgaria and Romania are, on the other hand, for all three years ranked low, with the highest degree of inequality. Excluding the asylum indicator, the risk-poverty-gap and the adjusted gross disposable income were found as the most important indicators. If, however, the asylum application is included, this indicator turns out as the most important for the mutual ranking of the countries. A set of additional indicators was studied disclosing the educational aspect as of major importance to achieve equality. Special partial ordering tools were applied to study the role of the single indicators, e.g., in relation to elucidate the incomparability of some countries to all other countries within the union.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Sustainable Energy Development Progress in EU Member States in the Context of Building Renovation

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4209
Author(s):  
Rita Remeikienė ◽  
Ligita Gasparėnienė ◽  
Aleksandra Fedajev ◽  
Marek Szarucki ◽  
Marija Đekić ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Co2 Emissions ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Investment Efficiency ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Energy Usage ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The Eu

The main goal of setting energy efficiency priorities is to find ways to reduce energy consumption without harming consumers and the environment. The renovation of buildings can be considered one of the main aspects of energy efficiency in the European Union (EU). In the EU, only 5% of the renovation projects have been able to yield energy-saving at the deep renovation level. No other study has thus far ranked the EU member states according to achieved results in terms of increased usage in renewable sources, a decrease in energy usage and import, and reduction in harmful gas emissions due to energy usage. The main purpose of this article is to perform a comparative analysis of EU economies according to selected indicators related to the usage of renewable resources, energy efficiency, and emissions of harmful gasses as a result of energy usage. The methodological contribution of our study is related to developing a complex and robust research method for investment efficiency assessment allowing the study of three groups of indicators related to the usage of renewable energy sources, energy efficiency, and ecological aspects of energy. It was based on the PROMETHEE II method and allows testing it in other time periods, as well as modifying it for research purposes. The EU member states were categorized by such criteria as energy from renewables and biofuels, final energy consumption from renewables and biofuels, gross electricity generation from renewables and biofuels and import dependency, and usage of renewables and biofuels for heating and cooling. The results of energy per unit of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions per million inhabitants (ECO2), energy per capita, the share of CO2 emissions from public electricity, and heat production from total CO2 emissions revealed that Latvia, Sweden, Portugal, Croatia, Austria, Lithuania, Romania, Denmark, and Finland are the nine most advanced countries in the area under consideration. In the group of the most advanced countries, energy consumption from renewables and biofuels is higher than the EU average.

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