EU Decision Research Articles

The European Ombudsman’s role in access to documents

The right of public access to EU documents was formally established 30 years ago, and given widespread effect through legislation in 2001. The European Ombudsman is a redress mechanism for those seeking access to EU documents. Together with the Court of Justice, the Ombudsman has helped to define how this right can be exercised and set best practice for the EU administration in dealing with access to documents. In doing so, the Ombudsman has helped to develop how this crucial right is used to make EU decision making more transparent. The Ombudsman encourages the EU institutions to take a more proactive approach to transparency.

The Right of a Child to Contact Relatives in Cross-Border Situations – Comments Based on EU Legal Regulations and the Case Law of the CJEU

Abstract The article presents EU legal regulations and decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) relating to one of the most important rights of children, which is their right to direct contact with their parents and other people close to them. Difficulties may be encountered in cross-border situations when the child moves to another Member State or to a third country. In the first case, EU regulations apply, in particular Art. 24 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Council Regulation 2019/1111. They are complemented by the case law of the CJEU, which interprets the terms they contain, e.g. the right to personal contact with the child. Its decisions recognise the best interests of the child as an overriding principle. At the same time, the Court tries to adapt existing EU legal provisions to social realities related not only to increased mobility, but also to changes in the structure of the family itself (patchwork families, single-parent families, etc.).

Czech Republic as A Deferring Factor for European Union to Achieve Climate Change Measures

This study aims to finds out causal factors for Czech Republic yet to decide on phasing out coal-fired power plant and the impact of delaying the preparation of the coal-fired power plant phase-out plan by Czech on the EU's goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The researcher conducts an analysis based on two research questions: what are causal factors for Czech Republic yet to decide on phasing out coal-fired power plant and what impact will it have on the EU's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and become fully carbon neutral by 2050. The method used in this study is descriptive qualitative approach and literature review. The findings of this study are as follows: first, environmental and health reasons are the main reasons for the EU's decision to phasing out coal and other forms of fossil energy. The EU targets to cut emissions by 2030 and become fully carbon neutral by 2050. Second, Yet, Prague continues to mine coal since it is the only domestic-energy-source and made Czech become energy exporter. Czech has to import crude oil, natural gas and uranium for nuclear reactors. Third, Coal survives in Czech as politician and former politician support it. Czech coal industry also indirectly received support from the local mass media. Czech mass media almost never associate coal issues with climate change and other environmental and health issues. Concern on coal in Czech Coal often raised from the perspective of job opportunities, regional economic resilience, and energy security.

Antimicrobial Resistant Salmonella in Chelonians: Assessing Its Potential Risk in Zoological Institutions in Spain.

Salmonella is mostly noted as a food-borne pathogen, but contact with chelonians has also been reported as a source of infection. Moreover, high levels of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) have been reported in Salmonella isolated from wild and captive reptiles. The aim of this study was to assess the occurrence of Salmonella AMR carriage by chelonians admitted to two zoological institutions in Spain, characterizing the isolates to assess the Salmonella AMR epidemiology in wildlife. To this end, 152 chelonians from nine species were sampled upon their arrival at the zoological nuclei. Salmonella identification was based on ISO 6579-1:2017 (Annex D), isolates were serotyped and their AMR analysed according to the EU Decision 2013/652. Moreover, the genetic relationship of the isolates was assessed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Results showed 19% (29/152) of the chelonians positive to Salmonella, all of them tortoises. For all isolates, 69% (20/29) were resistant and 34% (10/29) multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains. PFGE clustered isolates according to the serovar, confirming a low genetic diversity. In conclusion, this study shows a high presence of MDR Salmonella strains in tortoises at their entry into zoological nuclei. This condition highlights the need to establish Salmonella detection protocols for the entry of animals into these centres.

Health-care provision for displaced populations arriving from Ukraine

Health-care provision for displaced populations arriving from Ukraine

Privacy International and Quadrature du Net: One Step Forward Two Steps Back in the Data Retention Saga?

The present contribution aims to critically reflect on the future direction of data retention at the EU and the national levels by discussing the lessons arising from two seminal Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) decisions: Privacy International and Quadrature du Net. The article addresses four main themes: (1) the broad reach of EU data privacy law, (2) the detailed typology of permissible data retention models and the conditions applicable to these, (3) the evolving interaction between the CJEU and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in cases of bulk surveillance, and (4) the relevant legislative developments regarding data retention enshrined in the proposed ePrivacy Regulation. It advances four main lines of criticism. The first concerns the Court’s reasoning regarding the expansive scope of application of EU data protection law that – while anticipated – appears unconvincing. The second regards the shortcomings and weaknesses in the CJEU’s analysis laying down a taxonomy of permissible data retention systems. The third line of criticism is broader and concerns the progressive re-legitimisation of bulk as well as other surveillance models that seems to be the path undertaken by both the CJEU and ECtHR. Finally, we criticize the ways the EU legislature is trying to ‘circumvent’ the CJEU’s data retention rulings. data retention, EU fundamental rights, Privacy International, Quadrature du Net, bulk data retention, EU data protection law, European Court of Human Rights Big Brother Watch, GDPR, ePrivacy, UK adequacy decisions after Brexit

SMART VILLAGES AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

The “smart village” concept is relatively new among EU decision- and policy it is a result of many-it is a result of many years of debate, economic and territorial inequalities, social exclusion, diversification of certain areas, gradual reduction of agricultural activities and the interaction of cohesion, regional, and common agricultural policy. The concept of smart villages implies saving villages and their inhabitants, protecting cultural heritage and using local potentials to meet modern challenges. In its initial stages, it requires activities of all stakeholders, from individuals living in the rural area in question to decision-makers participating in identifying the strengths, threats, opportunities, and weaknesses of a certain rural area. Apart from the theoretical definition of smart villages, this paper aims to analyse European regulations of smart villages, and to define the challenges and smart village traps in rural development and ways in which they can be prevented.

European experience as a tool for solving problems of public control in Ukraine

Nowadays, society is increasingly interested in the work of local authorities and administration. Decentralization reform in Ukraine has not solved significant problems that hinder the strengthening of community control over local self-government. This article aims to find analogues of EU decisions to solve Ukrainian problems in terms of implementing public control. To address this goal, a comparative analysis of the experience of the EU and Ukraine, and the object of study are examples of the application of public control in the EU and Ukraine. Solving problems with data openness can be implemented through open meetings, maximum disclosure of information, and active use of the community website. The problem of fraud and inefficient use of budget funds can be solved by involving public organizations in inspections of government agencies. Making a mandatory conclusion from the community (for management decisions at the strategic level) will take into account their interests in the future. Especially the communities of Ukraine should pay attention to compliance with the requirements for web pages and reliability, completeness of information on them, which will allow the community to control the activities of local governments including financial control.

Anti-EU Backlash from Below or Above? Public Opinion in Central and Eastern Europe Prior to the 2015 Migration Crisis

Relations between Brussels and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) worsened during and after the 2015 migration crisis. In order to see to what extent CEE citizens contributed to and/or resonated with this new state of affairs, this paper investigates public opinion before the migration crisis in seven CEE EU Member States. We inquire whether the main issues of the rift (CEE political elites’ opposition to following EU decisions and immigration and their emphasis on sovereignism, nationalism, Christian Europe and historical traumas) could also be traced to public stances towards these issues before the migration crisis. We used the ISSP National Identity module conducted in 2013 and 2014 in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia and Slovenia. The results show that opposition to EU supranationalism was not linked to ethnic nationalism and religious identity (except in Hungary). Contrary to political elites, who emphasised the cultural threat posed by migration, public opinion was more concerned with the economic threat. Moreover, the perception of cultural threat was not linked to opposing EU supranationalism in any of the countries. However, particularly support for sovereignism (in almost all the countries), but also pride in national history (in some countries) correlated negatively with support for EU supranationalism. The results suggest that political elites can bypass public opinion to construct an anti-EU climate, however not out of thin air. The conditions for such a process were present in Hungary with its emerging transnational cleavage, which shows the importance of cleavages in studying Euroscepticism.

STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION IN ENSURING ECONOMIC ECURITY OF EUROPEAN UNION COUNTRIES

The purpose of the article is to study the essence and stages of strategic analysis in ensuring economic security. Research methods: the use of system-structural method and the method of generalization allowed to analyze the general trends in the use of methods of strategic analysis. Using the dialectical method of scientific knowledge, as well as methods of analysis, synthesis and abstraction, the content and purpose of the research problem are clarified, its main features and structure, as well as the relationship with systems analysis are determined. Results: these methods of strategic analysis significantly increase the efficiency of forecasting the development of situations in the field of economic security due to the possibility of compiling a SWOT-analysis, PEST-analysis, etc. Discussion: in order to improve the system of strategic analysis, it is necessary to involve certain independent think tanks. Such think tanks should work closely with the authorities and be partially funded by the Government of Ukraine to obtain any necessary analytical information from them. Thus, the key issues of economic security are: the system of forecasting management activities; the process of research and analytical examinations; development of information and analytical products and their distribution; professional activity of specialists, professionals, analysts. Given the above, we conclude that the strategic analysis of public administration in the field of economic security is aimed at providing quality information to public authorities, and its improvement is impossible without studying the methodological principles of its formation. Analytical centers provide a link between government and civil society; represent and protect public interests; evaluate power and its decisions and formulate alternative policy proposals. Analytical centers are involved in the formation of European policy, promote better public understanding of EU regulations and decisions. The establishment of a domestic network of think tanks according to EU standards, which will be actively integrated into Euro-Atlantic networks of think tanks, will help find additional reserves to improve the mechanisms of strategic analysis in the field of economic security and state policy on effective forecasting and analytical support.

Effects from Brexit on the EU-27 and the Euro Area Developments

Brexit affects all the aspects of life, business and European integration process. It has strong implications also on the developments in the Euro Area despite the fact that the United Kingdom had the so-called “opt-out clause” for not adopting the single currency within the EU as well as despite the abstinence of the UK from participation in the Banking Union of the EU. The purpose of this study is to analyse some important aspects of the influence of Brexit on the EU-27 and the Euro Area developments. It is too early to draw final conclusions on the effects of Brexit on the EU-27 and the Euro Area developments. However, some possible implications may be outlined even today as for example the opportunity for consolidation of the Euro Area and its current reforms, possible implications for the EU decision making process and even a possible stimulation of the enlargement of the Euro Area.

What is next? Vision statement and reflections for sustaining project outcomes in a possibly post-pandemic era

IntroductionThe ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance in strengthening cooperation and coordinated action of Member States (MS) to improve preparedness and response capacities at points of entry (PoE). This emphasizes the need for perpetuating the work of EU HEALTHY GATEWAYS (EU HG) and the availability of this cross-European network to transfer lessons learned for future public health threats.MethodsAn interdisciplinary sustainability working group identified options for continuity of activities at EU level and provided a template national sustainability plan to be adapted by MS based on national needs and priorities.ResultsSince the beginning of the pandemic EU HG provided 37 consultations to MS, developed 15 advice documents, delivered training courses, produced a study on preparedness and response at PoE and developed the EU digital Passenger Locator Form (EUdPLF) system. A European web-based network for PoE was developed including discussion forums, e-learning platform, searchable network of professionals' at PoE registry, bibliographies, web-based training resources and best practice catalogues. Overall, the 533 inspectors in the EU SHIPSAN INFORMATION SYSTEM (EU SIS) recorded 29268 IHR (International Health Regulations) certificates, followed up 69 public health events via the communication network for EU ports, and recorded >4600 hygienic deficiencies.ConclusionsEU HG has a holistic approach, supporting operations on local, regional, national and European level and by taking into account all transport sectors. The web-based systems and capacity building activities support EU Decision 1082/2013/EU for serious cross-border health threats and the EUdPLF supports implementing Decision (EU) 2017/253 for the contact tracing of passengers identified through PLFs. Adoption of components of EU SIS will support implementation of Regulation (EU) 2019/1239 which includes the provision of a common ship sanitation database.

Regulatory Governance for the Gig Economy

This article explores the possibility of replacing the traditional administrative supervision over the gig industry in favour of regulatory instruments rooted in economy. While regulation in this sense is not uncommon in the Enlish-speaking countries, even outside infrastructural sectors, in continental Europe, administrative supervision of business still prevails. The current approach of states, including administration, legislative authorities and courts, towards the gig economy can be attributed to the misconception expressed in the EU and national court decisions presuming that companies such as Uber, offering an electronic platform, form one entity with thousands of businesses performing services such as Uber drivers. This paper asserts that regulatory authorities with their powers of correcting the anomalies of the market, are better suited for platform-based services. States should use their powers to liberalise doing business, rather than restrict new, inventive forms of business to the detriment of the customers.

Copyright and fundamental rights to freedom of the information, the press: EU judicial practice

Trotska V. Copyright and fundamental rights to freedom of the information, the press: EU judicial practice. The author in the article explores the issue of practical application of legal norms that cross two rights: copyright and the right to freedom of information, and press. The court decisions were analyzed in detail:«Spiegel Online GmbH v. Volker Bec» and others. Disputes were heard by German courts as well as by the Court of Justice of the EU (decision of July 29, 2019). The court's explanation of the application of European and German copyright law in the context of exceptions and limitations to these rights for informational purposes has been researched.The main questions were answered by the Court of Justice of the EU and the German Court has been considered:Was the use of the work a notification of current events?What is a citation of the work?Is a hyperlink to his work considered as citation?
 How to find a balance between copyright and fundamental rights to freedom of the information and the press?Attention is drawn to the recommendations of the Court of Justice of the EU to the national court in finding a balance between the exclusive rights of the copyright subject, on the one hand, and the rights of users, on the other hand; taking into account all the circumstances of the case, based on fundamental rights are provided in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and the norms of copyright law.Resolving such disputes requires: take into account the character of the information; to decide whether the information is a notification of current events, even in cases where the event occurred much earlier, but at the time of the dispute considered as public interest; establish the purpose and scope of citation of the work, whether the citation goes beyond what is necessary to achieve the information goal; consider thatcitations can be made, via hyperlinking to the work.A comparison is made between the norms of the legislation of Ukraine on copyright about the free use of works and the corresponding the norms of the European and German legislation.Judicial decisions are interesting, and their consideration is useful, for several reasons.Firstly, the court provided detailed explanations on the conditions of free use of the works of the Media for information purposes.Secondly, recommendations are provided to ensure the balance of these rights.Third, the conditions under which the use of the works (their fragments) will be considered a citation by means of a hyperlink, are determined.Fourth, explanations of the norms of Directive 2001/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the harmonization of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society, are provided.Therefore, familiarization with these cases and their analysis conducted by the author in the article will be useful for judges, lawyers, jurists, scholars and other stakeholders.

Comparative analysis of the fragility curves for Italian residential masonry and RC buildings

The Department of Civil Protection (DPC), in compliance with the EU decision 1313/2013 and at the request of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 to update the disaster risk assessments by various countries, released the latest National Risk Assessment for Italy at the end of 2018. Specifically, as regards the seismic risk assessment, six research units belonging to two centres of competence of the DPC collaborated under its guidance to update the risk maps of the Italian residential heritage. This extensive collaboration complied with the recent Italian code for Civil Protection, which requires a broad scientific consensus for risk assessment. During this research activity, six fragility models were developed, according to some common criteria (four for masonry buildings and two for RC buildings). These models were then implemented by the DPC for the definition of the national seismic risk. Within this context, the aim of this paper is to evaluate the risk results provided by these models, compare their features, and assess and validate their prediction capabilities. In particular, this paper shows the comparison of predicted and observed damage scenarios and consequences on building stock and the population of two seismic events, i.e. L’Aquila 2009 and Amatrice 2016. Furthermore, the paper provides some interesting damage and risk predictions at a national level. Overall, the forecasts and comparisons made in this study demonstrate the validity of the approach adopted by the DPC for the assessment of national seismic risk.

Approaching the EU Sanctions Policy: An Experiment with Event Analysis

For a long time, the US has been a global leader in terms of use of unilateral sanctions. However, the EU is getting increasingly active as sanctions’ initiator. Currently, the EU runs at least 26 regimes of sanctions to address relations with foreign states or tackle functional problems like human rights, nonproliferation, cyber security or counterterrorism. Russia is one of the targets. The EU sanctions policy raises a number of research questions. How active is the EU policy in comparison with other initiators? What are the peculiarities of the EU institutional process of sanctions implementation? What are the key targets and what is the distribution of EU decisions and actions among those targets? To address these questions the article provides analysis of Sanctions Events Database (SED), designed by Russian International Affairs Council. The research implies empirical analysis of EU sanctions policy everyday events in 2020. It also covers sanctions and enforcement actions of separate EU members as well as alignment with the EU sanctions of the third countries. The article attempts to fill in the gap in the literature between quantitative analysis of multiple sanctions cases on the one hand and in-depth analysis of particular cases on the other. It makes a special focus on EU sanctions related to Russia.

Erythromycin Abatement from Water by Electro-Fenton and Peroxyelectrocoagulation Treatments

Electro-Fenton (EF) and peroxyelectrocoagulation (PEC) processes were investigated to mineralize 10 mg L−1 erythromycin from ultrapure water, evaluating the influence of the anode material (BDD and Fe), current density (janode) (5 mA cm−2 and 10 mA cm−2), oxygen flowrate injected to the cathode (0.8 L min−1 O2 and 2.0 L min−1 O2) and pH (2.8, 5.0 and 7.0) on the process efficiency and the electricity costs. 70% mineralization was reached after applying 0.32 A h L−1 under the best operational conditions: PEC treatment at 5 mA cm−2, 2.0 L min−1 O2 and pH 2.8. The electricity consumption of the electrochemical cell under these conditions was approximately 0.3 kWh m−3. Early-stage intermediates produced from erythromycin degradation were identified and quantified throughout the treatment and a potential erythromycin degradation pathway was proposed. The most appropriate operational conditions tested with synthetic solutions were applied to treat a real effluent from the tertiary treatment of an urban wastewater treatment plant. All emerging compounds listed in the EU Decision 2018/840 (Watch List 2018) were determined before and after the PEC treatment. All listed pollutants were degraded below their quantification limit, except estrone and 17-α-ethinylestradiol which were 99% removed from water. Electricity consumption of the electrochemical cell was 0.4 kWh m−3. Whilst awaiting future results that demonstrate the innocuity of the generated byproducts, the results of this investigation (high removal yields for emerging pollutants together with the low electricity consumption of the cell) indicate the promising high potential of PEC treatment as a water treatment/remediation/regeneration technology.

EU Transparency as ‘Documents’: Still Fit for Purpose?

In this thematic issue, the question whether EU decision making might be characterised by an excess of transparency stands central. This contribution addresses an issue that precedes such questions of quantity: that of transparency’s qualities, i.e., its specific shape. From an early point in time, transparency in the EU has been equated with the narrow and legalistic notion of ‘access to documents.’ Although since then, transparency has become associated with a wider range of practices, the Union has not managed to shake off the concept’s association with bureaucracy, opacity, and complexity. This remains the case, in spite of the fact that administrations and decision-makers across the world increasingly utilise the possibilities of technological innovation to communicate more directly with their electorates. In this changing communicative context, this commentary considers whether EU transparency as access to documents is still fit for purpose. It does so by exploring access policy from the vantage point of legal developments, administrative practices, political dynamics, and technological innovations. The commentary concludes that while improvements are needed, the access to documents concept endures. However, access to documents needs to be complemented by constructive (rather than predatory) public justification and contestation, to remain viable.

Socio-economic Factors Influencing the Development of Renewable Energy Production Sector in Poland

Poland is not one of the leaders in the use of renewable energy sources (RES), and most energy is still produced using hard coal and lignite. Therefore, there are noteworthy emissions of air pollution (including ashes and greenhouse gases), and the Polish energy sector is characterized by a substantial degree of carbonization, which, as a result, threatens to expressively increase the costs of electricity production, leading to financial penalties imposed by the EU. The aim of this paper is to analyze socio-economic factors influencing the development of the RES sector in Poland. According to this aim, expert research was carried out, in which the factors influencing development potential of RES were assessed at two levels (level II – 5 factors, level III – 15 factors) according to the factor tree analysis. Based on the analysis of the level II factors, it can be concluded that the development of the RES sector in Poland will depend to a decisive extent on factors such as: EU decisions and Polish legislation affecting the development of the RES sector in Poland, prices and availability of conventional energy carriers. Other two factors – regional policy on ecology and ecological awareness in Poland – have so far little impact on the development of this sector in the state. The analysis of the level III factors shows that the greatest impact on the development of the RES sector in Poland is the influence of European lobbying of manufacturers of machinery and equipment for renewable energy production on EU law, the impact of Polish lobbying of conventional energy producers on Polish law in the production of renewable energy and the influence of European lobbying of renewable energy producers into EU law.

TANTANGAN SUPRANASIONALITAS UNI EROPA: KOMPARASI INTEGRASI POLITIK PADA KRISIS EUROZONE 2008 DAN KRISIS PENGUNGSI 2015

The European Union is widely referred to as the international organization at the regional level with the highest integration phase. His journey is thought to have united the continent of Europe in a post-modern supranational political institution with a new post-Westphalia identity - European continental identity. This can be defined as a process of political integration. The process marked by the transfer of sovereignty, for example, can be seen in the European Union's ability to handle the Euro crisis in 2008. However, along the way, the political integration of the European Union is considered to be weakening. Post-Crisis 2008, the European Union experienced another challenge in the form of the 2014-2015 Refugee Crisis. This paper aims to answer questions related to why there is a weakening of the political integration of the European Union in these two challenges. By using the method of cross-longitudinal comparative studies on the responses of countries to the EU's decisions in the two challenges above, this paper argues that the increase in right-wing populism in various countries, particularly in Eastern and Central European countries, is a factor. the main part of the start to break up the political integration of the European Union. This paper concludes that the political values ​​of right-wing populism that focus on nation-state nationalism are contrary to the basic values ​​of the European Union which focus on liberal internationalism, and will become an obstacle to the future of EU political integration.