European Commission Report Research Articles

The battle to end fake news: A qualitative content analysis of Facebook announcements on how it combats disinformation

The recent spread of online disinformation has been profound and has played a central role in the growth of populist sentiments around the world. Facilitating its progression has been politically and economically motivated culprits who have ostensibly taken advantage of the digital freedoms available to them. At the heart of these freedoms lie social media organisations that only a few years earlier techno-optimists were identifying as catalysts of an enhanced digital democracy. In order to curtail the erosion of information, policy reform will no doubt be essential. The UK's Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Disinformation and ‘fake news’ Report and Cairncross Review, and the European Commission's Report on Disinformation are three recent examples seeking to investigate how precisely such reform policy might be implemented. Just as important is how social media organisations take on more responsibility and apply self-regulating mechanisms that stifle disinformation across their platforms (something the aforementioned reports identify). Doing so will go a long way in restoring legitimacy in these significant institutions. Facebook (which includes Instagram and Whatsapp), is the largest social media organisation in the world and must primarily bear the burden of this responsibility. The purpose of this article is to offer a descriptive account of Facebook's public announcements regarding how it tackles disinformation and fake news. Based on a qualitative content analysis covering the period November 16th 2016–March 4th 2019, this article will set out some groundwork on how to hold social media platforms more accountable for how they handle disinformation.

Measuring the efficiency of medical tourism industry in EU member states

Purpose Under the Directive 2011/24/EU, medical tourism and cross-border health are interrelated terms regarding the freedom to move to get the most accessible medical treatment into EU Member State within the defined procedures for reimbursement. Little known empirically regarding the efficiency of the cross-border health/medical tourism industry. This study aims to measure its efficiency in Europe for the years 2010-2014, by using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Design/methodology/approach Data obtained from OECD and the European Core Health Indicators (ECHI), which is collecting the data through Eurostat. Eurostat collects data on health-care activities and provides data on hospital discharges, including the hospital discharges of non-residents and these include hospital discharges of in-patients and day care patients. The analysis uses “DEA.P, 2.1 for windows” by Coelli (1996). Findings The results show that the Members States health systems were very efficient in handling non-residents in-patients; however, when managing day cases/outpatients, the efficiency scores dropped. Practical implications The findings would have significant associations affecting intentions to revisit clinics and the destination country. In addition, will be useful to those seeking a better understanding of the cross-border health and medical tourism industry efficiency. Originality/value Extending the findings of the European Commission report (2015c) by examining how well medical tourists are informed about the decision they are making, would be of perceived value. These are important indicators at European level by helping each Member State to measure its medical tourism services.

Response to the European Commission's Report on the Application of the Takeover Bids Directive

This paper contains the European Company Law Experts' response to the report of the European Commission of 28 June 2012 on the application of the Takeover Bids Directive of 2004 and the reform initiatives announced. For evaluating these initiatives the rationale of the mandatory bid rule is relevant (exit rationale, control premium rationale and undistorted choice rationale). On this basis the paper discusses each of the concerns raised by the European Commission: 1) The concept of acting in concert: The ECLE are of the opinion that a uniform concept for the Takeover Bids Directive, the Transparency Directive and the Acquisition Directive is not useful because of the different objectives of these Directives. As to the Takeover Directive it should be made clear that joint engagement activities of investors should not trigger a mandatory offer. 2) National derogations to the mandatory offer rule differ widely, but there are different types of derogations that pose different concerns. The ECLE recommend that the Directive should provide for a review process with respect to national derogations. 3) The ECLE believe that there are good reasons to close the loopholes against the “creep in” and the “creep on” acquisitions. 4) As to board neutrality and the break-through rule the ECLE believe that the default rules should be changed. The option rights should be given to the shareholders, not to the member states. The reciprocity rule is flawed. 5) The protection of the rights of employees should be addressed in a wider context and should not be taken up specifically for one type of transaction such as takeover bids.

The Impact of the Implementation of Cohesion Policy on the Sustainable Development of EU Countries

The impact of implementation of cohesion policy on the sustainable development of EU countries is of great interest and presents a number of actual challenges. This research aims to evaluate the impact and the effects of the cohesion policy among the Member States using hierarchical clustering analysis in order to identify how the selected variables affect the sustainable development adopted models. The variables used in the analysis were selected on the basis of official data provided by the European Commission, SDG Index and Dashboards Reports and the EU Cohesion Monitor. The results of the research have led to the grouping of the 28 Member States in a number of six clusters, identifying performers but also those countries that have a high potential for sustainable development or which require increased attention to be sustained in recovering existing gaps. The results of the study can be a starting point for policy makers and other stakeholders involved in their efforts to support sustainable development through effective and effective policies.

OFFENCES IN THE VAT SYSTEM AND ITS PREVENTION

It is well known that one of the elements affecting the stability of each country is a properly structured tax system. There is also no doubt that VAT receipts are a key component of the budget. In many publication (Gomulowicz & Malecki, 2010, pp. 303-304); (Kaldonski, 2016, p. 5); (Brzezinski, 2013, p. 232); (Pietrasz, 2007, pp. 48-49) we can find that the taxpayer, as a homo oeconomicus , seeks to minimize its tax burden. According to Gomulowicz & Mączynski (2016, p. 379) and Ziolek (2007, p. 163) tax resistance seems to be as extensive as the tax bases are. The globalization of tax avoidance using cross-border schemes is very visible in all developed market economies. Many European countries are struggling with the VAT gap. Recently, the fraud sector internationally and nationally has increased significantly. According to Gomulowicz (1996, no. 5) and Gomulowicz & Malecki (2002, pp. 35-36) it should be remembered that any tax crime constitutes a threat to the constitutional value of budget balance and the sustainability of public finances. The state's ability to act and fulfill its tasks will depend on the effectiveness of its protection. This phenomenon, in addition to the obvious consequences in the form of a decrease in budget revenues, also leads to many pathologies throughout the economy and has an impact on the safety and efficiency of doing business by honest taxpayers. According to the European Commission reports, the VAT gap is widening, and the seriousness of threats should force a unified fight against criminal practices. According to primary sources (Leśniak, (2013)) and (Szulc, (2018)); (Council of Ministers, (2018)) it should be remembered that the introduced changes should be systemic solutions, not attempts to control the situation in specific sectors of the economy only temporarily. It is important not to stop at just detecting and punishing the perpetrators, as ‘fighting’ understood in this way will only remove the effects instead of addressing the causes.

Comparative Analysis of Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises for Enhancing Created Added Value in the EU and China

Considering that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) play a significant role in the economy of country and taking into account the changes in the modern world economy, we investigated the problem of increasing the SMEs’ contribution into national economy by using new opportunities of business environment. The problem can be solved through the participation of SMEs in the links of the global value chain with high added value. However, it is necessary to find new instruments for SMEs’ support. The study is aimed at discovering relevant SMEs support tools focused on increasing the added value. The research is based on content and comparative analysis of the European Union and China experience using the material from the European Commission reports, national programs of European countries and China. The research terminology and analysis algorithm were refined. The set of new tools of SMEs support is presented in the context of groups and national characteristics. In European countries non-financial tools dominate among state support forms. They include creating special niches for small enterprises in the global value chain and giving SMEs access to the national supply base. In China non-state support forms dominate with a larger share of financial tools, including the provision of resources by participants of the value chains within regional integration associations, by financial units of large companies. The research results are addressed to the representatives of SMEs, large companies, public authorities.

The Occidental Perspective of the Accession Negotiations Between Turkey and the European Union

The purpose of this article is to study the process of the Europeanization of Turkey, amid the European crisis. The introduction is creating a framework for the research. The paper is studying Turkey’s negotiations with the EU, respectively the main negotiating chapters related to economy and law, following the progress made in the Turkish state regarding the potential accession to the European Union (according to the annual reports of the European Commission). Documents presenting official views are used to study international elements, such as the history of negotiations. The objectives of the article are: to present the history of the negotiations between Turkey and the European Union, to show the current state of these negotiations (for this part, the paper focuses on the European negotiations dealing with the mediation between the EU and non-EU states that want to integrate), to evaluate. The literature review is related to the significance of the paper explained in the previous work (about candidate countries’ negotiations with the EU, in the waves of enlargement starting 1973). Also, the Occidental opinions of leaders about the integration of Turkey may influence decisions according to this subject. Currently, Turkey has made efforts to get closer to Europe but does not meet all the conditions for the membership of the European Union yet, so that all the negotiation chapters to be closed. To resolve this problem, the EU works towards revealing the mandatory requirements related to the accession process, while the candidate country is striving to meet its membership conditions by creating the necessary institutions during the process. About the methodology, I will start with the theoretical part (from special sources). There are official documents for studying international elements. In this article, I am analyzing some of the negotiation chapters from the European Commission reports on Turkey from 2017. I am transforming the content into position documents. They will have the following structure after the analysis: introduction (presentation of the issue, the circumstances), points of agreement; points of disagreement and conclusions. In this way of analysis, personal contribution is highlighted. Regarding the results and discussions, looking at the report published by the European Commission, the study is able to show whether or not the preparations made by this state are generally advanced. By detailing the most relevant chapters of the negotiation, the areas will be highlighted in which there is no need to continue the process and the areas under development. As conclusions, generally, the final works can highlight the level of improvement for the detailed negotiation chapters, which contains concrete requirements related to policy implementations

The market size for GI food products–evidence from the empirical economic literature

In order to understand the global importance of foods with Geographical Indications (GIs), it is essential to get an overview of the market size for such products. In spite of the relative importance of GI policy in EU trade agreements, there are only very limited data available on the actual market size for GI labelled products. Against this background this paper collects all the available data that provides estimates of the market size for GI foods, analysing the available datasets and reports of the European Commission and conducting a systematic literature review on the academic papers related to this topic. Based on the results we can underline the high level of concentration of GI products in terms of origin and product category. The most important GI market is the domestic market of the European Union even though the share of GI production is only a minor part of total agri-food output. On the other hand, GI products with both significant market size (domestic and export) and remarka¬ble market share also exist, but these are a small set of all registered GI products and are concentrated in only a few countries.

(Net)Working CLIL in Portugal

Abstract Recent growth in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) across educational levels in Portugal has positioned it in European Commission reports (Eurydice 2012; 2017) and attracted much needed attention to the educational practice which warrants further in-depth exploration in order to better understand it and ensure quality provision in the country. This article explores the concept of CLIL at work in Portugal and highlights its brief trajectory to date as well as the challenges and opportunities it presents teacher educators and researchers. It provides an overview of the recently established Working CLIL research strand of TEALS (Teacher Education and Applied Language Studies) which is actively engaged in connecting CLIL communities in Portugal and beyond.

Breast Cancer in Europe: Epidemiology, Risk Factors, Policies and Strategies. A Literature Review

INTRODUCTION: Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in European women, accounting for 28.8% of the total number of cancer diagnosis in Europe. Over the past few decades, several factors have led to remarkable improvements in overall breast cancer outcomes in Europe, such as early detection, screening, and progresses in treatment. However, breast cancer remains the most common cancer in females in Europe, yet more there is an increase in the incidence and mortality rates in some European countries. This research summarizes the current status of breast cancer in Europe, including epidemiology, risk factors, policies, and strategies. The results can help to better identify this health problem, which could help in developing better breast cancer control or prevention strategies and policies.
 
 METHODS: A literature review was conducted using five electronic databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, ProQuest, Eurostat, BioMed) and the European Commission reports for studies that reported on epidemiology and risk factors of breast cancer, or policies and strategies that target it in Europe. In addition, the Social Ecological Model (SEM) was used in categorizing the breast cancer risk factors into different levels.
 
 RESULTS: Europe and North America have the highest rate of breast cancer globally. Incidence and prevalence of breast cancer vary across Europe, and so does its mortality rates. Breast cancer was found to be associated with a number of risk factors, including but not limited to aging, use of hormone therapy, older age at the first birth, and smoking which are common in Europe. Cancer in general, and breast cancer have attracted specific attention, and the European Union has focused many of the resources and expertise on the topic.
 
 CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS: Breast cancer remains a major public health issue in Europe, despite the efforts and actions being taken. Therefore, current efforts against breast cancer in Europe need to be revisited and improved.

Sustainable engineering labs - A Portuguese perspective

Strategies to reduce emissions responsible for greenhouse effect, and contributing to economy decarbonisation, should focus on using renewable energy, increasing energy efficiency both at production, distribution and consumption (equipment efficiency), sustainable mobility, urban renewal and rehabilitation and behavioural changes. Considering that man spend a significant part of their lives inside buildings that represent a significant share of energy consumption, buildings turn out to be an attractive area to invest efforts, aiming to improve efficiency, as recommended in the European Commission reports. However, despite the goals outlined in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, there are difficulties in the projection of new buildings that can be classified as nearly Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB). These include legal and financial obstacles, as insufficient formation of professionals (such as architects, engineers and consultants) able to tackle the challenges. This paper aims to point strategies that can contribute to the creation of a nearly zero energy laboratory in a university environment, that works as a tool for raising awareness about nZEB while improving the future engineering professionals’ skills towards team work and knowledge sharing – a living lab.

Gender wage gaps and economic crisis in Greece

ABSTRACTWe examine gender wage gap (GWG) in Greece for 2013, by using a survey data set. Our findings show first, that the unadjusted GWG is 15.3%, while European Commission reports a value of 15%. Secondly, we derive the ‘adjusted’ GWG, using the Oaxaca and Ransom (OR) and the Juhn, Murphy and Pierce (JMP) methods to be ranging from 10% to 13.6%. Thirdly, looking into the behaviour of the full population, we find a decreasing trend for the discrimination effects, an increasing trend for the residuals effects and a ‘random’ endowments effects while moving to higher deciles. These three effects are associated to the economic crisis 2008–2015. Fourthly, our findings do not show evidence of either a ‘glass ceiling’ effect or a ‘sticky floor’ effect. Finally, that there is strong evidence that investing in higher education reduces the wage discrimination between sexes.

Sewage sludge for sustainable agriculture: contaminants\u2019 contents and potential use as fertilizer

BackgroundSewage sludge, the inevitable byproduct of municipal wastewater-treatment plant operation, is a key issue in many countries due to its increasing volume and the impacts associated with its disposal. According to the report of European Commission published in 2010, 39% of sewage sludge produced in the European Union is recycled into agriculture. Management options require extensive waste characterization, since many of them may contain compounds, which could be harmful to the ecosystem, such as heavy metals, organic pollutants, etc. The present study aims to show the results of 2 years’ sampling of sewage sludge—based on 130 samples collected from 35 wastewater-treatment plants situated in the North of Italy—and to assess its suitability as soil fertilizer regarding contents of nonylphenol (NP), nonylphenolethoxylates (NPnEOs), and phthalates (DEHP).ResultsAn effective analytic method for organic pollutants detection in the sewage sludge has been developed, showing an excellent repeatability and recoveries. Ecotoxicological risk assessment was evaluated using risk quotients (RQs) for sludge-amended soil. Most of the analyzed samples do not contain NP, NPnEOs, and DEHP at levels higher than the limit established by the draft-working document of the European Commission on Sludge. The assessment using RQs reports that NP and NPnEOs never give values higher than 1, and for DEHP the obtained RQs exceed the value of 1 just three times. Data obtained were compared to the data from other European and Asiatic countries, showing a huge variability for all the compounds considered.ConclusionsBased on the obtained results, it appears that the proposed EU limits for the selected substances on sewage sludge intended to be used as soil fertilizer in agriculture are sufficiently conservative to avoid negative effects on soil fauna.

Chapter 6 – Mobility, migration and transnational connectivity

Chapter 6 – Mobility, migration and transnational connectivity

Digital Permanent Establishment and Digital Equalization Taxes

In this article, the author examines the new OECD and European Commission reports on how to tax the digital economy.

The EU membership processes of Romania and Bulgaria relative to Turkey?Ekrem Yaşar AkçayThe EU membership processes of Romania and Bulgaria relative to Turkey?

Bulgaria and Romania joined the European Union in 2007 as part of the EU’s sixth enlargement wave. However, the problems concerning Bulgaria and Romania, such as their struggle with economic problems, are still on the agenda. That both countries are full members of the EU has begun to be debated within and outside Europe since both states are regarded as among the weakest countries in the EU. At the same time, this situation has brought forth the question concerning Turkey’s accession. Even though Bulgaria and Romania have been accepted into the European Union, Turkey’s application to the Union has been held in abeyance for a long time. Recognising that Turkey’s accession process is currently frozen, and indeed that some EU member states are in opposition, the article considers the reasons why Bulgaria and Romania were accepted as EU members, drawing on a series of European Commission reports. It uses this official analysis to prompt a debate as to whether, and in which areas, Turkey needs to make a change in its foreign policy discourse and in the type of relationship it wants with the EU.

A Comparaison of Beekeeping Sectors between Slovakia and Romania

Beekeeping sector plays an essential role in agriculture for two main reasons: the process of pollination and the production of honey and other apicultural products. The aim of the paper was to analyse and compare beekeeping sectors between Slovakia and Romania in terms of honey production, market competitiveness and EU funding budget allocation. The secondary data used in the analysis were provided by European Commission reports, the Romanian Institute of Statistics, Slovak statistics, Central Register of Hives in Slovakia, Faostat and Trademap. The competitiveness in honey market was calculated using RCA indices and the Michaely index. Results show that the number of hives as well as honey production increased, while market competitiveness decreased. In conclusion, national beekeeping programmes provide financial support for beekeepers and foster the whole sector, therefore the European Union should continue implementing these programmes to stabilize this sector and increase production capacities in both countries.

Mercury speciation in seafood using non-chromatographic chemical vapor generation capacitively coupled plasma microtorch optical emission spectrometry method – Evaluation of methylmercury exposure

A non-chromatographic method was developed for Hg speciation as CH3Hg+ and Hg2+ using simple instrumentation based on optical emission spectrometry in a low power and low Ar consumption capacitively coupled plasma microtorch and detection with a low resolution microspectrometer. The method is based on (i) determination of total Hg after sample digestion in nitric acid-hydrogen peroxide mixture, derivatization to cold vapor with 20% SnCl2 in 15% HCl medium; (ii) determination of CH3Hg+ separated by double liquid-liquid extraction as recommended in JRC Technical Report of European Commission, followed by photochemical vapor generation in 0.6 mol l−1 formic acid and (iii) calculation of the inorganic (Hg2+) species as difference. The calibration curve was generated with external Hg2+ standards in 5% (v/v) HCl for total Hg determination and 0.6 mol l−1 HCOOH medium for CH3Hg+, respectively. The method was validated against certified reference materials and successfully applied for Hg speciation in most consumed fish species. The limits of detection of the method were 2 and 3 μg kg−1 CH3Hg+ and total Hg respectively, which made possible quantification of 6/9 μg kg−1 organic/total Hg. The method proved to be accurate with recovery of 101 ± 10% (total Hg), 100 ± 8% (CH3Hg+) and 102 ± 13% (Hg2+), and precision in the range 2.4–7.8% (total Hg), 2.4–11.9% (CH3Hg+) and 3.8–14.0% (Hg2+). The speciation method allowed accurate and precise determination of CH3Hg+ and Hg2+ even when the organic species represented more than 98% of total Hg. Total Hg in fish depended on variety but in all cases it was below the maximum admitted level (0.5 mg kg−1). Methylmercury represented 22.3–93.3% of total Hg, with higher weights in salmon, carp, mackerel and hake and lower in cod, trout and pangasius irrespective of total Hg. Evaluation of risk exposure to CH3Hg+ from occasional fish consumption based on Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake seems to be much more informative than the concentration of total or organic Hg species. It has been concluded from our study that there is no health risk from exposure to methylmercury for 300–1000/60-200 g weekly fish consumption by adult/child when fish comes from reliable sources.

The Influence of the Register of Non-Tax Revenues on the Efficiency of the Non-Tax Revenue System in the Republic of Croatia

Non-tax revenues and parafiscal charges in most cases represent a limiting factor for the business sector and are an additional burden for citizens. In accordance with the recommendations of the European Commission and the Croatian national strategic documents, a rationalisation of the system of non-tax revenues is necessary to achieve a further lessening of the burden of economic subjects and citizens and to foster economic growth. The aim of this paper is to analyse the non-tax revenues in the Republic of Croatia, analyse their role, their impact on the effectiveness of the system of non-tax revenues and contribute to its understanding, as it represents an important segment for strengthening the competitiveness of the Croatian economy. The study is based on a systematic analysis of non-tax revenues in Croatia. For the purposes of comparative analysis, the following forms of literature were taken into account: different national strategic documents of the Republic of Croatia, the European Commission reports, available statistical indicators and relevant foreign and domestic scientific and professional literature dealing with the problem of non-tax revenue. The time scope of the analysis is the period from 2008 to 2016 and the results were compared with the data obtained from other sources. Croatia has made limited progress in the area of non-tax revenues as one of the components required for the removal of macroeconomic imbalances in the economy.

The presence of contaminations in sewage sludge – The current situation

Sewage sludge/biosolids are by-wastes of municipal and industrial wastewater treatment. As sources of nutrients (C, N, P) they are widely used in intensive farming where large supplementation of organic matter to maintain fertility and enhance crop yields is needed. However, according to the report of European Commission published in 2010, only 39% of produced sewage sludge is recycled into agriculture in the European Union. This situation occurs mainly due to the fact, that the sewage sludge may contain a dangerous volume of different contaminants. For over decades, a great deal of attention has been focused on total concentration of few heavy metals and pathogenic bacteria Salmonella and Escherichia coli. The Sewage Sludge Directive (86/278/EEC) regulates the allowable limits of Zn, Cu, Ni, Pb, Cd, Cr and Hg and pathogens and allows for recovery of sludge on land under defined sanitary and environmentally sound conditions. In this paper, a review on quality of sewage sludge based on the publications after 2010 has been presented. Nowadays there are several papers focusing on new serious threats to human health and ecosystem occurring in sewage sludge – both chemicals (such as toxic trace elements – Se, Ag, Ti; nanoparticles; polyaromatic hydrocarbons; polychlorinated biphenyl; perfluorinated surfactants, polycyclic musks, siloxanes, pesticides, phenols, sweeteners, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, benzotriazoles) and biological traits (Legionella, Yersinia, Escherichia coli O157:H7).