scholarly journals Implementation of Visual-Only Swine Inspection in the European Union: Challenges, Opportunities, and Lessons Learned

2020 ◽  
Vol 83 (11) ◽  
pp. 1918-1928 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. ELIZABETH RIESS ◽  
KARIN HOELZER
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Meat Inspection ◽  
Inspection System ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Safety Hazards ◽  
Member States ◽  
The World

ABSTRACT Consumption of contaminated meat and poultry products is a major source of foodborne illness in the United States and globally. Meat inspection procedures, established more than 100 years ago to detect prevailing food safety issues of the time and largely harmonized around the world, do not effectively detect modern hazards and may inadvertently increase food safety risks by spreading contamination across carcasses. Visual-only inspection (VOI) is a significantly different, modernized meat inspection system that is data driven and minimizes physical manipulation of the carcass during inspection. It was developed based on scientific evidence and risk assessment and aims to better control current food safety hazards. In 2014, the European Union (EU) became the first supranational government in the world to require VOI for all swine herds slaughtered in member states that met certain epidemiologic and animal rearing conditions. Here, we review the implementation of this new inspection system with the goal of informing similar modernization efforts in other countries and for other commodities beyond pork. This article reports the results of a literature review and interviews conducted with nine experts in 2018 on the implementation of the EU's 2014 VOI regulation. Challenges, opportunities, and lessons learned about the implementation of the regulation are described for audiences interested in adapting inspection procedures to prevent and detect modern food safety hazards. Overall, implementation of VOI varies within and across member states, and among slaughterhouses of different sizes. This variation is due to disease risk patterns, supply chain conditions, and trade barriers. Before transitioning to a similar risk-based meat inspection system, other countries should consider the following: science-based research agendas to identify what food chain information best predicts herd health and foodborne hazards, regulatory system design that accurately reflects local hazards, and development of targeted VOI educational materials. HIGHLIGHTS

scholarly journals Enaction of Chapter VII of the Insurance Distribution Directive: What Can Member States Learn from the Enforcement Failures of the United States?

2020 ◽  
pp. 197-217
Author(s):  
Kathleen M. Defever
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
The United States ◽  
Insurance Market ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Insurance Regulation ◽  
Member States ◽  
The World ◽  
Extensive Body ◽  
Enforcement Mechanisms

AbstractChapter VII of the Insurance Distribution Directive delineates the sanctions and other pecuniary measures which the Commission of the European Union now requires as a portion of the minimum harmonization of the Directive. As Member States adopt and apply the articles of Chapter VII, which are unprecedented in their scope and specificity, they may find guidance through a comparison of the enforcement mechanisms already in place in other jurisdictions.The United States is well known as the largest insurance market in the world, and possesses an extensive body of insurance regulation. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners, an advisory organization comprised of the insurance commissioners from each of the 50 U.S. states, drafted the Producer Licensing Model Act—the closest American corollary to the IDD. Unfortunately, despite widespread adoption of the PLMA, the effectiveness of U.S. state enforcement mechanisms on the actions of intermediaries is, overall, weak and inconsistent. We will analyze why this is the case, and offer concrete examples of the failures of specific state enforcement regimes.

The EU's Economic Cooperation with North Korea: The Possibility as a Useful Tool to Complement Korea-US Cooperation

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jong-Sue Lee
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Korean Peninsula ◽  
North Korea ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Position ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
The North ◽  
The Eu

North Korea conducted 2nd nuclear test on May 25, 2009. It made a vicious circle and continued military tension on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea regime got a question on the effectiveness of the six party talks and ‘security-economy exchange model’. In addition, the North Korea probably disappointed about the North Korea issue has been excluded from the Obama administration's policy position. So the dialogue or relationship recovery with the United States and North Korea through six-party talks or bilateral talks will be difficult for the time being. This paper examines the EU policy on North Korea. Based on the results, analyzes the EU is likely to act as a balancer on the Korean Peninsula. Through the procedure of deepening and expanding the economic and political unification, the EU utilizes their cooperative policies towards North Korea as an ideal opportunity to realize their internal value and to confirm the commonness within the EU members. The acceleration of the EU's unification, however, began to focus on human rights, and this made their official relationship worse. Yet, the EU is continuously providing food as wells as humanitarian and technological support to North Korea regardless of the ongoing nuclear and human rights issues in North Korea. Also, the number of multinational corporations investing in North Korea for the purpose of preoccupying resources and key industries at an individual nation's level has been increasing. The European Union has unique structure which should follow the way of solving the problem of member states like subsidiary principle. It appears to conflict between normative power of the European Union and strategic interests on member states. This paper examines if the European Union is useful tool to complement Korea-US cooperation in the near future.

Germany's relations with the United States and China from a strategic triangle perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Biba
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
The United States ◽  
Great Power ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Bilateral Relations ◽  
Puzzle Piece ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Angela Merkel

Abstract As the Sino-American Great Power competition continues to intensify, newly-elected US President Joe Biden's administration now seeks to enlist the support of its allies and partners around the world. As Europe's largest economy and a, if not the, leading voice within the European Union, Germany represents an important puzzle-piece for Biden. But Germany, at least under outgoing chancellor Angela Merkel, has been reluctant to take sides. It is against this backdrop that this article looks into Germany's past and present trilateral relationships with the US and China through the theoretical lens of the so-called strategic triangle approach. Applying this approach, the article seeks to trace and explain German behaviour, as well as to elucidate the opportunities and pitfalls that have come with it. The article demonstrates that Germany's recently gained position as a ‘pivot’ (two positive bilateral relationships) between the US and Chinese ‘wings’ (positive bilateral relations with Germany and negative bilateral relations with each other) is desirable from the perspective of the strategic triangle. At the same time, being pivot is also challenging and hard to maintain. Alternative options, such as entering a US–German ‘marriage’ directed against China, are also problematic. The article therefore concludes that Germany has tough decisions to take going forward.

scholarly journals The Development of Whistleblowing Laws in the United States and Europe (de lege ferenda remarks)

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-155
Author(s):  
Łucja Kobroń-Gąsiorowska
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Work Process ◽  
Free Markets ◽  
Member States ◽  
Communist Countries ◽  
Established Democracies

Corruption, harassment in a workplace, practices contrary to the correct work process, and many others are irregularities that can arise in any enterprise. This is a problem that affects established democracies and free markets and post-communist countries that are transitioning to democracy and market economies. While the causes of irregularities vary, the tools often suggested tackling them include that do not necessarily encourage potential whistleblowers to report them, whether inside or outside the organization. This article discusses the role of whistleblowing as a whistle­blowing tool. Describes the law and whistleblowing in a comparative context, focusing on the United States and the European Union. The article then concludes with recommendations for strengthening whistleblowing in Europe, where reporting irregularities is just beginning, and the level of protection differs between the Member States.

scholarly journals National Food Safety Systems in the European Union: A Comparative Survey

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Hadjigeorgiou ◽  
Elpidoforos S. Soteriades ◽  
Anastasios Philalithis ◽  
Anna Psaroulaki ◽  
Yiannis Tselentis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
European Union ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Comparative Survey ◽  
Safety Systems ◽  
Central Level ◽  
The Eu

This paper is a comparative survey of the National Food Safety Systems (NFSS) of the European Union (EU) Member-States (MS) and the Central EU level. The main organizational structures of the NFSS, their legal frameworks, their responsibilities, their experiences, and challenges relating to food safety are discussed. Growing concerns about food safety have led the EU itself, its MS and non-EU countries, which are EU trade-partners, to review and modify their food safety systems. Our study suggests that the EU and 22 out of 27 Member States (MS) have reorganized their NFSS by establishing a single food safety authority or a similar organization on the national or central level. In addition, the study analyzes different approaches towards the establishment of such agencies. Areas where marked differences in approaches were seen included the division of responsibilities for risk assessment (RA), risk management (RM), and risk communication (RC). We found that in 12 Member States, all three areas of activity (RA, RM, and RC) are kept together, whereas in 10 Member States, risk management is functionally or institutionally separate from risk assessment and risk communication. No single ideal model for others to follow for the organization of a food safety authority was observed; however, revised NFSS, either in EU member states or at the EU central level, may be more effective from the previous arrangements, because they provide central supervision, give priority to food control programs, and maintain comprehensive risk analysis as part of their activities.

GLOBAL DIMENSION OF INNOVATION CAPACITY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER COUNTRIES

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olena Zayats ◽  
◽  
Tomash Yarema ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Union Member ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Global Innovation ◽  
The World ◽  
Innovation Capacity ◽  
Innovative Capacity ◽  
European Union Member States

The article examines the essence of the global innovation capacity of the member states of the European Union and its interconncetion with involvement in the processes of international economic integration and disintegration. It is noted that the global innovative force has a significant impact on stable economic growth and competitive positions of any economic entity in the world arena. In addition, it was determined that the unification of countries into interstate integration groupings leads to the transformation of the innovation capacity of the member country and the formation of the innovation capacity of the international integration associations. As a result of the study, it was noted that today there is no single methodology for measuring innovative capacity. As part of the innovation capacity research of the European Union member states, the most prominent and frequently used method for measuring the innovation capacity of the country amongst of global economy, namely the global innovation index, is considered. The aim of this article is to compare the positions of the innovative capacity of the member states of the European Union and to study how the integration and disintegration processes in the European Union affect the innovation capacity of participants and, in the prospect, develop a methodology for ranking the innovation capacity of interstate integration associations. The positions of the innovation capacity in the global economy of the European Union member states are analyzed according to the global innovation index. It has been established that five member countries of the European Union are in the top 10 most innovative economies in the world economy. The innovation capacity index of the European Union 2020 is proposed to be calculated and was calculated. It is noted that albeit the ratings do not give any propositions, but only actually determine the state, however, with their assistance it is possible to carry out adequate monitoring, analysis, forecast of activation and measurement of innovation leadership of all economic and innovative entities of the global economy. It has been proved that methodological approaches to measuring the innovation capacity of the subjects of the global economy ought to be improved furthermore ratings should be developed not only in the context of countries, but of international integration associations as well.

Sustainable Agriculture The United States versus the European Union

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 26-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carson H. Varner ◽  
Katrin C. Varner
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
Genetically Modified Crops ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Population ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Sustainability Issue ◽  
The World ◽  
Two Sides

This paper examines developing issues and attitudes that unite and divide the United States and the European Union as the discussion and regulation of agriculture evolves. While some terms, such as “organic,” are defined in law in both the United States and European Union, the increasingly used “sustainability” is an evolving concept. The main sustainability issue is how to provide food and fiber for a rapidly growing world population. In this context, the role of biotechnology is questioned. Americans tend to favor what are sometimes called genetically modified crops, while Europeans remain cautious. Europeans lean more toward organic farming, while Americans assert that much of the world will starve if organic methods are required. This paper reviews the directions that the discussion of these issues is taking and will show areas of agreement and where the two sides diverge.

scholarly journals Food safety and food imports in Europe: the risk of aflatoxins in pistachios

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Xiong
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Aflatoxin Contamination ◽  
Income Effect ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Us ◽  
Food Imports

The United States has surpassed Iran as the largest pistachio exporter to the European Union. Both lower prices and a less frequency of aflatoxin contamination have contributed to the success of the US pistachio industry. Using EU monthly imports and food safety alerts data, we estimate EU demand for US and Iranian pistachios. We find that EU demand for US pistachios is price-inelastic but the demand for Iranian pistachios is price-elastic. We also find that the income effect is positive for US nuts but negative for Iranian nuts. Most importantly, we find that EU imports of US pistachios decrease with aflatoxin alerts traced back to the US but increase with contamination incidents originated from Iran.

Research on Safety Hazard Control of Genetically Modified Organisms Based on Compensation Laws

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chensong Fei
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
European Union ◽  
Genetically Modified Organisms ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Safety Hazards ◽  
Safety Hazard ◽  
Existing Problems ◽  
Hazard Control

In this paper, we firstly analyzed the categories and characteristics of safety hazards of genetically modified organisms. Then, we summarized and compared the laws on safety hazard compensation for genetically modified organisms in the United States, the European Union and China. Finally, suggestions were put forward to solve the existing problems in compensation laws in China so as to ensure the healthy and orderly development of China's genetically modified biological industry. 

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