scholarly journals Progress in the Implementation of the EU Energy Efficiency Directive through the Lens of the National Annual Reports

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Zangheri ◽  
Marina Economidou ◽  
Nicola Labanca
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
National Level ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Article 5 ◽  
The Eu

Following the adoption of the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) in 2012, the Member States of the European Union implemented various policies and measures to meet the Directive's requirements, including national energy efficiency targets for 2020. The progress made at national level is tracked through the Annual Reports provided by Member States to the Commission in accordance with the EED Article 24. To provide valuable insights of the actions taken by Member States towards increasing energy efficiency in various sectors of their economies, this paper reviews the assessment of the Annual Reports (AR) submitted since 2013 – the year in which the first reports were due – until the latest Annual Reports of 2018. Notably, the implementation status of key EED provisions such as Article 5 on the exemplary role of public bodies’ buildings and Article 7 on Energy Efficiency Obligation Schemes (EEOS) is discussed, providing a historical view of the progress made from the inception of the various actions until now. The need of more efforts, in particular with the Article 5 implementation, is identified. The national contributions towards the EU 2020 target are also discussed, including an analysis of the latest energy consumption trends and reasons for which energy consumption remained stable or increased, as given by Member States in their reports. Lessons learned from the EED experience so far are drawn that provide valuable input for the successful implementation of the future requirements under the new Energy Union Governance.

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.

scholarly journals New Challenges for European Comparative Law: The Judicial Reception of EU Non-Discrimination Law and a turn to a Multi-layered Culturally-informed Comparative Law Method for a better Understanding of the EU Harmonization

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 721-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jule Mulder
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
Comparative Law ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
National Courts ◽  
Culturally Informed ◽  
Harmonization Process ◽  
Legal Harmonization ◽  
The Eu

This article argues that comparative law needs to explore its critical potential when engaging with the European harmonization process and its effects on the law of the Member States. In the first part, the article evaluates existing comparative law methods and their suitability to identify legal and cultural factors that influence the judicial reception of EU harmonized law on a national level. Using EU non-discrimination law as a case study, it questions to what extent traditional methods are suitable to explain differences in the national judicial reception of EU harmonized law, despite the exclusive competence of the Court of Justice of the European Union to interpret EU law. In doing so, it considers the potential of critical comparative law for the development of a deeper understanding of the national courts' reception of EU harmonized law as a key part of the broader legal harmonization process. In the second part, the article develops an original multi-layered culturally informed method to compare EU harmonized law. The proposal goes beyond the existing methods of comparative law by including critical aspects and stressing the relevance of embedding a general normative framework in any comparative critique. It challenges comparatists to reach deeply into national cultural spheres and to identify key influences on the application of EU rules and EU-national legal ‘hybrids’. The method creates room for multi-layered narratives of comparison aimed at gaining a deeper understanding of the national legal and non-legal cultural background that can hinder or facilitate harmonization processes. This enriched comparative critique can offer new insights into the process of legal harmonization in the EU, particularly by focusing on the point of application rather than the previous phases of creation of EU law and its reception by Member States.

scholarly journals Comparative Assessment of the Impact of Electricity Consumption in Different Economic Sectors on the Economic Development of the EU Member States

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (24) ◽  
pp. 8335
Author(s):  
Romualdas Ginevičius ◽  
Gracjana Noga ◽  
Eigirdas Žemaitis ◽  
Barbara Piontek ◽  
Karel Šuhajda
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
National Economic ◽  
National Economic Development ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

Recently, the Member States of the European Union (EU) have found themselves in a controversial situation. On the one hand, national economic development is barely possible without increasing electricity consumption, whereas on the other we are facing increased use of natural resources (coal, oil, gas, wood), thermal effects, pollution and risks to human health. The European Green Deal is a response to the currently observed negative trends. The strategy aims to accelerate the economic development of the EU Member States, thus reducing electricity consumption. Objectives may include both the national economy and the electricity generation sector by applying advanced technologies and introducing innovations that increase output efficiency while reducing electricity costs. Assessing the current situation is vital for the successful implementation of the European Green Deal, i.e., by comparing the impact of electricity consumption on the economic development of the Member States. Thus, combining indicators for national economic development and the extent of electricity consumption into a single aggregate is necessary because electricity greatly affects economic development. The proposed methodology allows dividing the analysed EU Member States into three groups, in line with the degree of national economic development and the scope of electricity consumption in their economy sectors.

scholarly journals Are the EU Member States Ready for the New Union Customs Code: Emerging Legal Issues On the National Level

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-75
Author(s):  
Gediminas Valantiejus
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
International Trade ◽  
National Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Eu

AbstractIn 2016, the European Union has launched a new and ambitious project for the future regulation of international trade in the European Union and the rules of its taxation: since the 1 May 2016, the new Union Customs Code (UCC) has entered into force. It revokes the old Community Customs Code (CCC), which was applied since 1992, and passed in the form of EU regulation sets brand-new rules for the application of Common Customs Tariff and calculation of customs duties (tariffs) in all the EU Member States. It is oriented to the creation of the paperless environment for the formalisation of international trade operations (full electronic declaration of customs procedures) and ensuring of a more uniform administration of customs duties in the tax and customs authorities of the Member States in the European Union. Therefore, the article raises and seeks to answer the problematic question whether the Member States of the European Union themselves are ready to implement these ambitious goals and does the actual practice of the Member States support that (considering the practice of the Republic of Lithuania). The research, which is based on the analysis of case law in the Republic of Lithuania (case study of recent tax disputes between the taxpayers and customs authorities that arose immediately before and after the entry into force of the UCC), leads to the conclusion that many problematic areas that may negatively impact the functioning of the new Customs Code remain and must be improved, including an adoption of new legislative solutions.

scholarly journals Europeanisation and German Public Administration

2021 ◽  
pp. 53-60
Author(s):  
Hans Hofmann
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
National Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Level ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Public ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Legal Remedy ◽  
Administrative Procedures ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThis chapter discusses how public administration in Germany is influenced by the making and implementation of law by the organs of the European Union (EU). Although the public administrations of the EU Member States are, in principle, responsible for enforcing the laws made by the EU, the EU’s influence on the public administration of Germany as EU Member State is constantly growing. This is true, not only of those areas in which the Member States have transferred to the EU the authority to make laws, but increasingly also of those areas in which the Member States have retained such authority. At the same time, however, there is no systematic codification of the law on administrative procedures at European level and no system of legal remedy for Union citizens equivalent to those at national level.

scholarly journals RISK-BASED APPROACH IN THE EUROPEAN UNION LEGISLATION TO PREVENT MONEY LAUNDERING AND FINANCING OF TERRORISM

2020 ◽  
pp. 43-52
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Money Laundering ◽  
National Level ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Specific Situation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Financial Flows ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The Eu

Money laundering and terrorism financing are serious and internationally emerging issues that must be approached and confronted at European Union level. The latest terrorist attacks and periodic banking scandals highlight the necessity for additional attention in this particular direction. In regard to the internal EU market, financial flows are integrated and trans-border by nature, thus funds can circulate rapidly, from one country to another, offering the possibility to perpetrators and terrorists to transfer money across Member State avoiding detection by authorities. This specific situation generates the necessity to identify and understand the particular ML/TF risks generated by services and products offered within the EU economic and financial ecosystem. In order to ensure an efficient mechanism for identifying the ML/TF risks associated with the products and services provided on the territory of European Union, the 4AMLD provides the obligation of the EU Commission to perform once in two years the so-called European Union Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Supranational Risk Assessment. Since 2017 two supra-national risk assessments were carried out and the final results are used by Member States to monitor the evolution of risks at Union level and to implement the necessary recommendation for ensuring a proper minimization of threats and vulnerabilities at the national level. This paper aims to analyze, understand and compare the main outcomes of the two assessments, namely the identified risks and their links with vulnerable sectors, as well as the evolution or devolution of certain risks as a result of mitigation measures applied by EU Member States. Another task of this article is to provide additional recommendations in terms of mitigating measures and efforts, which must be taken into account by Member States

scholarly journals PROBLEMS OF LABOR LAW FORMATION IN THE FRAMEWORK OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

2021 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 85-92
Author(s):  
Liubov Kotova ◽  
◽  
Victoria Tiutiunnyk ◽  
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
Labor Law ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Social Model ◽  
International Labor Organization ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
National Legislation ◽  
International Labor ◽  
The Eu

European labor law as a supranational law of the member states of the European Union is interesting to consider its "pros" and "cons", which should be taken into account when reforming Ukrainian labor legislation. The article studies the main provisions of European labor law and the dynamics of changes in European labor law. Ukrainian labor law is national, European labor law is supranational in nature and is binding on any EU member state. The competence of the EU is delimited from the competence of the Member States, the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality are applied. The EU can only act within the limits agreed by the Member States. Labor law at the national level is formed independently by the state, the EU complements national legislation, primarily on the health of workers, working conditions, protection of workers in dismissal. Initially, European labor law was conceived as one of the tools for creating a common market that promotes gradual unification, dictated by economic integration and the political context. Then the European social model began to develop through the harmonization of national legislation to which the social partners are "tied". The process is carried out through the consolidation of fundamental social rights at the EU level, as well as through the use of flexible methods aimed at the approximation of national laws. EU labor law, like Ukrainian labor law, complies with all the basic principles and provisions of international labor law. To date, Ukraine has ratified 70 The International Labor Organization (ILO) conventions. Acts of EU law have supremacy over national law. Even if a state does not bring national legislation into line with the directive, its violation can be challenged in an EU court. Judges of national courts are in some cases directly required to seek interpretation of European law in the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. In the article we consider the legal regulation of major issues in the field of labor: labor protection, an employment contract, working hours, leisure time, wages, protection of personal data of employees and social partnership.

A Qualitative Evaluation of Current Transposition and Implementation Practice of the SEA Directive in EU Member States

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 535-548
Author(s):  
Efthymis Zagorianakos
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Evaluation ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Systematic Assessment ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Implementation Outcomes ◽  
Council Directive ◽  
Assessment Procedures ◽  
The Eu

AbstractBefore 21 July 2004, the Member States of the European Union (EU) were obliged to specify the type of plans and programmes that according to the provisions of the Council Directive on the Assessment of the Effects of Certain Plans and Programmes on the Environment (or SEA Directive) had to undertake a systematic assessment of their effects on the environment. The uniformity of assessment procedures is a target that might be proved difficult to be attained by Member States with different planning procedures, cultures and environmental assessment traditions. The text that follows detects the transposition difficulties and opportunities by evaluating current SEA practice throughout the EU. The purpose is to provide an updated picture and suggest a generic guide for future initiatives aiming at successful implementation outcomes. This is especially relevant and hopefully helpful in view of the forthcoming Commission's first report on the application of the SEA Directive expected before 21 July 2006.

Autonomous vehicles as a challenge for the transport policy of the European Union

2018 ◽  
pp. 76-95
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Tomaszewski
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Autonomous Vehicles ◽  
National Level ◽  
Transport Policy ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Eu

The article refers to the phenomenon of autonomous vehicles in the transport policy of the European Union. Their use in practice results in the need to implement new solutions in the fields of technology, law, economics and politics. The European Union is taking various steps to prepare the Member States for an autonomous revolution. The aim of the article is to conceptualise the basic problems that can be investigated in the subject matter of autonomous vehicles as well as to analyse the position and strategy of the European Union towards autonomous transport. The article uses the decision method. Among the research findings, it should be pointed out that the EU as an international organisation is open and prepared to address the challenges posed by the implementation of autonomous transport. It takes effective action to coordinate the application of new solutions at the national level (in the Member States) as well as at the transnational level. In this way, the transport sector has the chance to dynamically develop and maintain its prominent position as a key sector of the EU economy. The implementation of innovative transport solutions is a conditio sine qua non for the future of this sector.

scholarly journals The Influence of Fiscal Rules on the Fiscal Stability in the EU Member States

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 212
Author(s):  
Ryta Iwona Dziemianowicz ◽  
Aneta Kargol-Wasiluk
Keyword(s):  
Fiscal Policy ◽  
Public Debt ◽  
Budget Deficit ◽  
National Level ◽  
Fiscal Rules ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Fiscal Discipline ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The Eu

Due to the rapid increase of the budget deficit and public debt in many the EU countries after 2008, fiscal policy has faced a significant challenge for developing an appropriate tools to strengthen fiscal discipline and thereby improve the quality of public finance. Institutional mechanisms such as among others numerical fiscal rules play an important role in maintaining the fiscal discipline and support fiscal credibility of the state. Fiscal rules are most often defined as permanent constraints on fiscal policy, expressed by indicators introducing a limit for a particular fiscal aggregate, such as a budget deficit (real or structural), public debt, public expenditure or public revenue. The theoretical objective of the article is to analyze the institutional dimension of numerical fiscal rules (their type, legal basis, transparency, complexity, flexibility, adequacy and coherence). The empirical purpose, on the other hand, is to conduct a statistical analysis and to examine the relationship between the value of the fiscal rules index and the level of budget deficit and public debt in 28 Member States of the European Union. Examining the effectiveness of applied fiscal rules, at both European and national level seems to be the most valuable part of the analysis.

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