Technology Assessment Principles and Prospects: European Union Experience

Vestnik MEI ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-107
Author(s):  
Andrey L. Andreev ◽  
◽  
Nina M. Malinovskaya ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Technology Assessment ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Free Process ◽  
Research Organizations ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Right

The authors of the article, who were among the participants to the IV European Conference on Technology Assessment held in November 2019 in Bratislava, set a goal not only to inform the readers about its results, but also to draw the attention of our engineers, scientists and educationists to the interdisciplinary problem of technology assessment. Technology assessment principles were considered from the viewpoint of the fundamental documents adopted by world leaders and characterizing the policy of developed countries in the field of science and technology. The Good Governance Principles implied the participation of various stakeholders in decision-making; however, there arises a problem about the competence of these parties. Since 2011, technology assessment institutional and organizational principles are being actively developed in the European Union: financial and educational programs, forums and meetings, publications, and establishment of special research organizations. Conferences on technology assessment have been held since 2013. The forum participants also touched another key issue – how to digitize the indicators characterizing the extent to which the supported development goals have been achieved. Discussion of the consequences of already developed and applied technologies with an unpredictable benefit-to-harm ratio has been recognized to be an outdated form of assessment. Collaboration has become the key word that sets the tone. Nonetheless, the transition to a new model, in which the right to vote will be given to the public members united with incorruptible competent scientists-experts, will not be an easy and conflict-free process. The Russian academic and engineering community is gradually joining the pan-European movement; however, the teaching of social and humanitarian disciplines still remains the only form for technology assessment institutionalization in our country. There are proposals to set up a laboratory for social expertise of technological projects at the MPEI Department of Philosophy, Political Science and Sociology, which could also act as a crowdsourcing platform uniting researchers in the sociology of technology.

scholarly journals African Asylum Seekers in Europe: The Interplay between Foreign Aid and Governance in Origin Countries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordi Ripollés ◽  
Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Development Aid ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Trust Fund ◽  
Governance Quality ◽  
Official Development Aid

AbstractThis paper empirically investigates the effects of governance quality on the number of African asylum seekers in Europe over the period 1996–2018 and evaluates the extent to which official development aid acts as a catalyst. With this purpose in mind, different gravity model specifications and estimation approaches have been employed. The obtained results suggest that the asylum flows are strongly determined by governance quality in the country of origin and that this effect does depend on the amount of foreign aid received from developed countries. Moreover, it is also found that development aid is only effective in reducing asylum applications coming from countries with good governance. Moreover, we find no differences in the estimated elasticity of foreign aid on asylum claims for the beneficiaries of the European Union Emergency Trust Fund (EUTF) for Africa, the main aim of which has been to improve living conditions of potential migrants in their countries of origin.

scholarly journals Auf ein Neues? Erfolgsfaktoren für die Konferenz zur Zukunft Europas

IG ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-158
Author(s):  
Joachim Wuermeling
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Future ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Right ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Forward Looking

In this article, the author contrasts the experience of the Convention on the Future of Europe 2002-2003 with the mandate for the Conference on the Future of Europe which commenced on May 9, 2021. He criticises that the Conference is deprived of fundamental structural elements that were success factors for the Convention: a clear mandate, a tight leadership, and the right to self-organise. Nevertheless, the author is convinced that the Conference still has every chance of giving the European Union a forward-looking impetus for reform. He derives five recommendations for the future work of the Conference. In particular, it must be set up considering the desired outcome, by defining a product that is to be established, and directing the work toward its creation. If the Conference serves solely as a sounding board for diffuse citizen concerns, its potential cannot be fully exploited.

Implementation of Good Governance Principles on the European Level

2019 ◽  
pp. 243-262
Author(s):  
Henk Addink
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Court ◽  
Charter Of Fundamental Rights ◽  
Right To Good Administration ◽  
Administrative Proceedings ◽  
The Right ◽  
Council Of Ministers

In this chapter the focus is on the implementation of the principles of good governance by the European Union administrative institutions and the controlling institutions like the European Court of Justice and the European Ombudsman. The Treaty of Lisbon contains rules and obligations in respect of the implementation of these principles. The principle of transparency has found its expression in article 1 paragraph 2 TFEU. The principles of political participation are embodied in article 11 TEU. The right of access to documents of the Union’s institutions is a fundamental rule in article 15 TFEU. Furthermore, according to article 16 paragraph 8 TEU, the European Council of ministers must meet in public when acting as a legislator. These Treaty principles are complemented by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union which has entered into force with the final ratification of the Lisbon Treaty and its chapter on citizen’s rights like the right to good administration in article 41. In search for a better quality of administrative proceedings, a code on good administrative practise, a soft law instrument based on the logic of best practise has ultimately been adopted.

Can We Better the European Union Better Regulation Agenda?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Felice SIMONELLI ◽  
Nadina IACOB
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Public Consultation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Consultation Process ◽  
Stepwise Approach ◽  
The Public ◽  
Better Regulation ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The Right

The European Commission published a new Communication on better regulation on 29 April 2021, with the aim of improving the European Union’s (EU) policymaking process. By updating the better regulation agenda to mainstream sustainable development goals and the digital and green transition and by ensuring more foresight-based policymaking, this Communication shows that the Commission is moving in the right direction. Several proposals also have great potential to simplify the better regulation process and make it more transparent. By contrast, the envisaged simplification of the public consultation process may jeopardise its effectiveness and should be carefully reconsidered. In addition, a more cautious, stepwise approach to introducing, testing and adjusting the new EU one-in, one-out system is certainly needed. This article aims to identify and assess the key changes proposed by the new Communication and to share ideas for the preparation of the new Better Regulation Guidelines and Toolbox, which are expected to translate the Communication into practice.

ALGORITHMIZED DECISION-MAKING AND THE RIGHT TO INTERPRET IT

2021 ◽  
pp. 49-61
Author(s):  
Elena Alferova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
European Union ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Legitimate Interests ◽  
The Right ◽  
Data Subject

The problems of legality and transparency of decisions made using artificial intelligence, the implementation of the right to interpret them and challenge them in courts are considered. The article analyzes the legislation of the European Union and a number of developed countries that allows for the adoption of algorithmic decisions and provides for appropriate measures to protect the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of the data subject.

Advancing development of medicines by academia and non-profit research organizations in the European Union

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Gonzalez-Quevedo ◽  
Constantinos Ziogas ◽  
Ivana Silva ◽  
Rosan Vegter ◽  
Anthony Humphreys
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Research Organizations

scholarly journals European Union One Health Country Visits as Driver to Combat on Antimicrobial Resistance

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. s222-s222
Author(s):  
Pita Spruijt ◽  
Paul Bergervoet ◽  
Robbin Westerhof ◽  
Merel Langelaar ◽  
Marie-Cécile Ploy
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Antimicrobial Resistance ◽  
Peer Review ◽  
Infection Prevention ◽  
One Health ◽  
Competent Authority ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Review System ◽  
Set Up

Background: In 2016, the European Union adopted unanimously Council Conclusions on the next steps to combat antimicrobial resistance under a One Health approach. To implement some of the provisions laid down in the Council Conclusions, a European Joint Action on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and Healthcare-Associated Infections (HCAI) or EU-JAMRAI was set up, gathering 44 partners. Methods: As part of EU-JAMRAI, 13 participating European countries set up a country-to-country peer review system to evaluate each other’s national action plans (NAPs). This review system entailed a self-assessment, strengths–weaknesses–opportunities–threats (SWOT) analysis, and country visits. All steps were executed with representatives from both the human and the veterinary domains (One Health approach). Special attention was given to supervision and the way supervision can enhance the implementation of guidelines on AMR, both at the policy level and within healthcare institutions. Results: Despite differences in the stage of developing and implementing NAPs, all 13 countries are working on NAPs. In this process, country visits function as a moment to exchange best practices and to provide an outsider’s point of view. At the end of 2019, 13 country-to-country visits had taken place, resulting in tailor-made recommendations for each country. These recommendations were shared with the competent authority. An example is a country that used the recommendation to improve infection prevention as an immediate reason to get the topic on the agenda of the Ministry of Health. During the country visits, intersectoral participation was perceived as desirable, but in some cases it was challenging to arrange. For some highly relevant topics, it has been recognized that discussion should take place on a European level. Examples of such topics include supervision, infection prevention guidelines, funding, surveillance, and regular audits of antibiotic prescriptions for physicians including feedback loops. Conclusions: Peer review is a cooperative and friendly working method compared to common audits. The country visits function as an agenda setting tool to get or to keep AMR on the political agenda and presenting the most relevant topic(s) to address for each country.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None

scholarly journals Joint bodies in the European Union's international agreements: Delegating powers to the European Commission in EU external relations

2021 ◽  
pp. 146511652110273
Author(s):  
Markus Gastinger ◽  
Andreas Dür
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
International Agreements ◽  
Principal Agent ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Original Dataset ◽  
Voting Rule ◽  
External Relations ◽  
Set Up

In many international agreements, the European Union sets up joint bodies such as ‘association councils’ or ‘joint committees’. These institutions bring together European Union and third-country officials for agreement implementation. To date, we know surprisingly little about how much discretion the European Commission enjoys in them. Drawing on a principal–agent framework, we hypothesise that the complexity of agreements, the voting rule, conflict within the Council, and agency losses can explain Commission discretion in these institutions. Drawing on an original dataset covering nearly 300 such joint bodies set up by the European Union since 1992, we find robust empirical support for all expectations except for the agency loss thesis. Our findings suggest that the European Commission is the primary actor in the implementation of many of the European Union's international agreements, allowing it to influence EU external relations beyond what is currently acknowledged in the literature.

scholarly journals The Rise of Right-Wing Extremism in European Union

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-57
Author(s):  
Ljupcho Stevkovski
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Young People ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Living Standards ◽  
Radical Right ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Balkan Countries ◽  
The Right ◽  
Right Wing Extremism

It is a fact that in the European Union there is a strengthening of right-wing extremism, radical right movement, populism and nationalism. The consequences of the economic crisis, such as a decline in living standards, losing of jobs, rising unemployment especially among young people, undoubtedly goes in favor of strengthening the right-wing extremism. In the research, forms of manifestation will be covered of this dangerous phenomenon and response of the institutions. Western Balkan countries, as a result of right-wing extremism, are especially sensitive region on possible consequences that might occur, since there are several unresolved political problems, which can very easily turn into a new cycle of conflicts, if European integration processes get delayed indefinitely.

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