IMMUNITY AND PROTECTION AGAINST RETALIATION GRANTED TO „WHISTLEBLOWERS” – PERSONS WHO REPORT VIOLATIONS OF EUROPEAN UNION LAW AND POLICY

The author analyzes the Directive 2019/1937 promoting the idea of cooperation between employees and public authorities regarding information on abuses of European Union law and policy. It outlines the purpose (to improve enforcement and EU policies), methods and techniques for this cooperation (internal and external reporting and follow-up). It discusses the immunity and legal protection (prohibition against retaliation) granted to persons who report a breach of EU law and policy. The author believes that due to historical events, the employed persons, potential whistleblowers, may be critical of the above idea. According to the author, the success of the existing directive depends on its effects, which will be known only in five years.

European’s Union Open Science Policy as a global benchmark for Ukraine: legal environment

Keywords: Open Science, EOSC, intellectual property, scientific researches, COVID-19 pandemic, UA-EU Association, Digital Europe The article provides an analysis of the EU practices inthe field of development and implementation on the Open Science Policy, elaboration ofthe European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), employment of the FAIR principles and theirenhancement with CARE-principles. The European Commission activities are reviewedin the area of the Open Science roll-out as well as its ability to withstand the emergingglobal challenges like COVID-19. The EOSC concept is overviewed on the backdrop ofsuch EU policies as unified Digital Market Strategy and European Cloud Initiative, EuropeanResearch Environment, and Industrial Digitalization, as a part of those. EOSCconcept integration is considered through the development and interaction of Europeanand national research and e-infrastructures and data arrays, services and knowledgewithin the EU and globally.Steps are analyzed taken by Ukraine towards its integration to European researchenvironment and EOSC in the legal field, taking into account the State Authorities activityand implementation of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement. It is highlighted thatthe innovations’ development of Ukraine is bound, both in timelines and meaningfully,with digital economics and the society development, intellectual property area, and should align the Ukrainian science initiatives with the European Cloud initiative as wellas further steps to joint the EOSC. It is consequently proven that consistent and meaningfulimplementation of the UA-EU Association commitments via the conceptual andstrategic regulations adopted by the state authorities is essential for Ukraine integrationto the EU’s Digital Market and Digital Environment so that to enhance its science potential.It is concluded that consistent efforts on implementing the goals and objectives asfor regulatory environment with their consequent enforcement creates the vital groundsfor successful enrollment of the national policy in this area.

Hardly visible, highly admired? Youth perceptions of the EU in Kazakhstan

Youth have always been one of the central target audiences of the European Union’s (EU) policies towards Central Asia, which was once again emphasised in the recent EU Strategy for the region. This paper scrutinises how youth representatives in Kazakhstan, Brussels’ closest partner in the region, perceive the EU and its policies. By doing so, the paper shifts the focus from the EU-centric assessment of its external activities, which has long dominated the academic literature, and provides a ‘voice’ to the targets of the EU’s various initiatives. Examining data obtained through the method of pictorial test and focus group discussions with students of leading Kazakhstani universities, the paper argues that the issue Brussels faces among youth is not an image problem, rather it is a visibility issue. Although Kazakhstani youth are aware of the EU’s main ‘attributes’ at the basic level, they have little knowledge that goes beyond stereotypical, yet positive, images of it. This stereotyped admiration towards the EU, however, is not necessarily an outcome of Brussels’ successful policies, rather it is partly inherited from the historically idealised image of Europe. The paper suggests that increasing its visibility and better communicating its policies and messages need to be a priority for the EU in Central Asia.

Energy and Environmental Evaluation of Retrofitting Facades for Zero Energy Buildings: The Case of an Office Building in Greece

Energy and environmental targets are expressed clearly by the EU policies setting ambitious goals for 2030 and 2050 considering energy intensive sectors such as buildings. Pursuing high energy performance with the least environmental impact of a building, along with ensuring the well-being of the occupants, is the ultimate goal of an institutional framework that addresses energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. Part of this effort is the improvement of the building envelope’s thermal performance, along with the respective one of HVAC systems, as those determine thee energy performance of buildings in their use phase. Main scope of the paper is to evaluate and analyse different scenarios considering the retrofitting of facades as part of the refurbishment towards Zero and Positive Energy Buildings, but also in connection with the strive for Net Zero Energy, Net Zero Cost Energy and Net Zero Emissions goals. The paper also discusses energy and environmental evaluation of refurbishing an office building in Greece, examining the performance of different envelope construction typologies and alternative insulation scenarios. These scenarios include state of the art insulation techniques, but also innovative design elements such as the use of different final coating materials for ventilated façades like the use of phase-changing materials (PCMs). The results of the assessment undertaken are used to rate the construction solutions by means of energy and environmental parameters proving the environmental impact of concrete and insulation materials in construction phase but also the reduced primary energy consumption and thus the CO2 emissions in the life cycle of the building. Considering the environmental evaluation, the carbon footprint analysis was used according to Greenhouse Gas Protocol focusing mainly on CO2 emissions, which is the main emission target of EU policies. The impact assessment followed demonstrated that the most significant impact categories are global warming, acidification and eutrophication.

A Delphi-Régnier Study Addressing the Challenges of Textile Recycling in Europe for the Fashion and Apparel Industry

The increasing resource pressure and the expanding amount of textile waste have been rising recycling as a clear priority for the fashion and apparel industry. However, textile recycling remains limited and is therefore a targeted issue in the forthcoming EU policies. As the fashion industry is embedded in complex value chains, enhancing textile recycling entails a comprehensive understanding of the existing challenges. Yet, the literature review suggests only limited empirical studies in the sector, and a dedicated state-of-the-art is still lacking. Filling this gap, a Delphi study was conducted supplemented by the Regnier’s Abacus technique. Through an iterative, anonymous, and controlled feedback process, the obstacles collected from the extant literature were collectively discussed with a representative panel of 28 experts, compared to the situation in Europe. After two rounds, the lack of eco-design practices, the absence of incentive policies, and the lack of available and accurate information on the product components emerged as the most consensual statements. Linking theory to practice, this paper aims to improve consistency in the understanding of the current state of textile recycling in Europe, while providing an encompassing outline of the current experts’ opinion on the priority challenges for the sector.

EU policies for preventing violent extremism: a new paradigm for action?

This article presents a supranational perspective on the prevention of violent extremism (PVE) with the aim of ascertaining whether a new paradigm for action can be identified. To this end, it critically analyses EU policies, measures, and strategies that have been established in the context of the threats and challenges posed by radicalisation and violent extremism. It explores how the approach adopted by the EU, originating in its 2005 antiterrorist strategy, has entailed the need to create tools, strategies, programmes, and networks to inspire and encourage member states to produce policies and instruments in order to prevent and combat radicalisation which could lead to violent extremism. Finally, it formulates the hypothesis that adopting this “soft approach” will probably influence, in the long term, strategies and measures that go beyond the security framework.

The Limits of Demand-Side Explanations

This chapter presents the qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) of all twenty-three EU policies that were successfully challenged before the WTO with reasonable periods to comply expiring before the end of 2019 and for which policy change was necessary for compliance. The chapter discusses how the conditions associated with compliance in the literature—the power of the complainant, the nature of the policy, and the number of veto players—are operationalized. The QCA finds that none of the conditions were necessary for compliance. It does, however, suggest (in line with expectations) that trade policy was sufficient for prompt and sufficient policy change. Contrary to expectations, however, the QCA strongly suggests that the power of the complainant was not associated with policy change. The analysis also found no association between the number of veto players and policy change. The QCA, therefore, contradicts the demand-side explanation of compliance and is consistent with the supply-side explanation. The chapter explores why the power of the complainant is not associated with policy change. It also contextualizes and justifies the case studies.

Managing Migration in the United States and the European Union – Maintaining the Security

The article reflexes the nexus between security and migration management. Immigration is often seen as threat to national security but in case of refugees they are the victims of the instability and lack of protection of their human rights. The article aims to analyse how the human security concept is discussed in EU policies and how it has been implemented to tackle the migration crisis. The approach of the USA to migration and security will be used for the comparative analysis. The article discusses the historical and legal developments of migration management and the effects and problematics in the open world. Since the EU and the USA are the world big players, they should stay the leaders in promoting human rights and security. The way to do it is to introduce homogeneous policies in terms of migration management.

Strategic deployment of riparian buffers and windbreaks in Europe can co-deliver biomass and environmental benefits

Within the scope of the new Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union, in coherence with other EU policies, new incentives are developed for farmers to deploy practices that are beneficial for climate, water, soil, air, and biodiversity. Such practices include establishment of multifunctional biomass production systems, designed to reduce environmental impacts while providing biomass for food, feed, bioenergy, and other biobased products. Here, we model three scenarios of large-scale deployment for two such systems, riparian buffers and windbreaks, across over 81,000 landscapes in Europe, and quantify the corresponding areas, biomass output, and environmental benefits. The results show that these systems can effectively reduce nitrogen emissions to water and soil loss by wind erosion, while simultaneously providing substantial environmental co-benefits, having limited negative effects on current agricultural production. This kind of beneficial land-use change using strategic perennialization is important for meeting environmental objectives while advancing towards a sustainable bioeconomy.