Green claims, green washing and consumer protection in the European Union

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to offer some reflection on the importance of reliable green claims to encourage sustainable production. The role of market is fundamental. Businesses and consumers are both involved in achieving environmental protection objectives. There is the real risk of the phenomenon of so-called green washing or misleading marketing. The problem arises of verifying the reliability of green claims to prevent competitive elements from become distorting factors of competition. Design/methodology/approach Based on the analysis of a European programme, the author shows how in Italy there is a dangerous lack of consumer protection. For this reason the European and national authorities have provided that green claims must be true, reliable, verifiable and comparable, but it is necessary that consumers be protected, through a certification system that makes it possible to certify the veracity of green claims. The problem is that a number of certification systems have been adopted in Europe which undermine the competitiveness of the market for green products. Findings This work aims to identify the tools necessary to make green indications more reliable, but above all to create a common methodology on which to base them. In this direction, companies wishing to advertise the ecological characteristics of their products should be required to provide the supporting demonstrations on the basis of a standard methodology assessing their actual environmental impact. Originality/value This work will examine the problem of green washing and the importance of reliable green claims for environmental protection. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the original work of the author and has not been submitted elsewhere for publication.

Międzynarodowa mobilność edukacyjna jako determinanta rozwoju osobistego i zawodowego studentów

The aim of the article is to analyze the extent, to which the participation of students in learning mobility projects on the example of the Erasmus+ programme influences the improvement of their individual skills desired from the perspective of the labour market. The text begins with an introduction that outlines the background to the considerations undertaken. Next, the historical context of learning mobility in Europe and the process of internationalization of universities are presented as one of the consequences of the globalizing labour market. In the following part of the article we characterized the best known European programme promoting academic mobility Erasmus+. The end of the article contains a review of the research on the competences of beneficiaries of learning mobility projects, supported by statistical data, and an attempt to draw a link between participation in student exchange and the chances of finding a satisfactory employment after graduation. The analysis shows that graduates with foreign mobility experience develop a number of characteristics and skills, that increase their employability and career opportunities.

ICD-11 Revision of Mental Disorders: the Global Standard for Health Data, Clinical Documentation, and Statistical Aggregation

Mental health conditions in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region affect more than 10% of the population, with 140,000 lives lost annually to suicide. Comorbidity with other diseases is high. However, basic mental health care is received by less than a third of patients. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the vulnerability of mental health services to disruptions and underscored the need to integrate mental health into response strategies. One of the flagship initiatives of the WHO European Programme of Work (EPW), 20202025: United Action for Better Health in Europe is the establishment of a Mental Health Coalition at the European level. In this framework, reporting of health statistics using the International Classification of Diseases 11th Revision (ICD-11) will begin on 1st January 2022. Clinical utility, scientific rigour and wider cultural applicability were all of prime importance in the development of the ICD-11. The 11th Revision was the end product of the most extensive global, multilingual, multidisciplinary and participative process ever undertaken for this task, involving more than 15,000 experts from 155 countries, representing approximately 80% of the worlds population. With the adoption of the ICD-11 and the priority being given to mental health, new ideas based on the 30 years of research since the approval of the ICD-10 will be widely adopted and applied.

THE RELATION BETWEEN YOUTH SPORT AND THE REDUCTION OF PEER VIOLENCE

This research was a part of a field study, within the SAVE project funded under the Erasmus+ European programme. The study aimed at providing answers about the benefits of practicing sports in the prevention and reduction of peer violence. Generally, the frequency of aggressive behaviour was low, and equal in both tested groups. The results revealed a significant relationship between physical activity and prosocial behaviour, group cohesion and satisfaction of participants with the group. Furthermore, the athletes had a lower level of aggression compared to the students. Although this difference is small, it is in line with some previous studies and it is an indicator of sport benefits in the suppression of peer aggression. This finding is very important for policy makers, because some research showed that regardless of SES, sport is seen as a favourite extracurricular activity among parents. The results of this research should contribute to the overall aim of the SAVE project, i.e. the prevention of violent behaviour among peers. Thus, it should be observed and targeted in such a way as to systematically reduce the exposure of children and youth to violence.

General Data Protection Regulation and Horizon 2020 Ethics Review Process: Ethics Compliance under GDPR

The present manuscript examines the new ethics data protection requirements introduced for the research projects funded by the European Programme Horizon 2020.Initially, reference is made to the basic data protection principles introduced by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the derogations permitted in the research field in favor of the science advancement. Although these derogations are subject to a number of safeguards to protect personal data, new ethics requirements are introduced for research projects funded by the European Programme Horizon 2020. The aim of these safeguards is the increased transparency and accountability at the data processing and the consequent enhanced protection of the individuals’ rights. These requirements are geared to the main research ethics postulate, which requires free, voluntary and informed participation of the research subject.Under these new requirements, Horizon 2020 beneficiaries/applicants must comply with a set of predefined standards, reflecting their ethical and legal obligations, provide a detailed and precise description of the technical and organisational measures that will be implemented in order to safeguard the rights of the research participants and also demonstrate their observance. In addition, depending on the type of the data being processed and the data processing techniques, the H2020 applicants/beneficiaries may need to provide a number of additional documents/explanations and implement further measures.

Increasing childhood vaccination coverage of the refugee and migrant population in Greece through the European programme PHILOS, April 2017 to April 2018

After the 2016 Balkan route border closures, vaccination of refugee children in Greece was mainly performed by non-governmental organisations. Activities varied between camps, resulting in heterogeneity of vaccination coverage (VC). In April 2017, the European programme ‘PHILOS - Emergency health response to refugee crisis’ took over vaccination coordination. Interventions were planned for the first time for refugee children in the community and unaccompanied minors at safe zones. From April 2017–April 2018, 57,615 vaccinations were performed against measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) (21,031), diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (7,341), poliomyelitis (7,652), pneumococcal disease (5,938), Haemophilus influenzae type b (7,179) and hepatitis B (8,474). In April 2018, the vaccination status of children at camps (reception and identification centres and community facilities such as hostels/hotels were excluded) was recorded and VC for each disease, stratified by dose, nationality and camp size, was calculated. More than 80% of the children received the first MMR dose, with VC dropping to 45% for the second dose. For all other vaccines, VC was < 50% for the first dose in children aged 0–4 years and < 25% for the second dose. Despite challenges, PHILOS improved planning and monitoring of vaccination activities; however, further efforts towards improving VC in refugee children are needed.

Methodology of Trainings in the Scope of Health and Safety

The paper stresses the importance of trainings in the scope of Health and Safety, in this H&S management in the functioning H&S systems of contemporary enterprises. The author also presents the principles of training, including H&S training, considering: demonstrativeness, accessibility, awareness of social responsibility, regularity, knowledge durability and binary relations between theory and practice.The underlying objective of the paper is to present training methods in the scope of Health and Safety. These methods have been aggregated in two groups: explanatory methods and activating methods. Referring to the research conducted within the European programme Leonardo da Vinci „H&S management system in enterprise – introductory module” the author has summarised the criteria for selecting teaching methods with regard to: goals and content of training process, diversification of participants in training groups in the scope of H&S, skills of the trainer and organisational conditions. Moreover, training methods in the scope of H&S have been aggregated, being highly adjusted and reflecting actual professional activities – carried out activities and potential threats that occur at the work post, in the enterprises of training participants. These methods have been characterised considering the following aspects: learning goals, educational resources, organisational conditions and examples of pursued contents.

The critical infrastructure protection. The genesis

The concept of critical infrastructure was already known in a number of ancient civilizations across different continents. Critical infrastructure was considered vital, enabling civilization a proper functioning. The purpose of this article is to present reason and sequence of practice actions for selected Poland associated administrative offices and countries organizations. A cause and an historical overview of the preparation of the United States, European and Polish critical infrastructure protection was provided. According to the manuscripts, critical infrastructure of majority of nations concerns systems and physical or virtual resources, damage or destruction of which, impairing the national and citizen security. Polish European Union membership accession requires for this article to be examined regarding the European programme for Critical Infrastructure Protection.