European Commission's Action Research Articles

The Challenges of Banco Crédito Agrícola in Portugal to the European Commission's Sustainable Finance Action Plan

This article relates to the necessary changes that Banco Crédito Agrícola in Portugal must consider; at the level of strategy, processes and organizational culture, to meet the European Commission Action Plan for sustainable finance, published in 2018 (European Commission, 2018). The Action Plan obliges financial institutions to redirect capital flows towards more sustainable investments to ensure sustainable and inclusive growth, manage financial risks arising from climate change, resource depletion, environmental degradation, and social issues, as well as promote transparency and long-term vision in economic and financial activities (European Commission, 2018).
 The study seeks to give greater relevance to the approach on Resource-Based View and Dynamic Capabilities supported by knowledge management as the main sustainable competitive advantage for Banking in Portugal to meet the Action Plan requirements described above.
 Firstly, qualitative, and secondly quantitative methodologies were used. The qualitative part was made by analyzing the sustainability reports of the 2013-2020 period of Banco Crédito Agrícola and by interviewing key employee stakeholders of the institution. The quantitative part was made by applying questionnaires to two different samples; one representing the Portuguese population and the other, consisted of employees of Banco Crédito Agrícola based in Portugal. 
 We conclude that there is a relationship between sustainable finance and knowledge management in the banking sector. This relationship implies a need for strategic, cultural, and process changes in Banco Crédito Agrícola, in the context of its organizational development.

Education of Roma Pupils from Marginalized Environment in Special Schools and Its Impact on Success in the Slovak Labor Market

In connection with the European Commission's action against Slovakia concerning the segregation of Roma pupils in the educational process and their inclusion in the system of special schools, issues related to their subsequent employment are also becoming legitimate. The aim of the paper is to identify how education in special schools affects their employment ability in the labour market. It is based on a secondary analysis of data available in the field of education and unemployment statistics. Our findings show that in Slovakia, there is a large proportion of children diagnosed with mental disabilities. When comparing with the situation abroad, we speak of a threefold, in some regions up to four times higher proportion of children diagnosed with mental disabilities. For Roma children, this means in practice that they complete their education segregated from their peers and have only a limited opportunity to continue their studies at secondary schools. We can state that the Slovak education system systematically excludes tens of thousands of children and young people not only from the education system, but also from the possibility of full employment in their lives and on the labour market.

Greenland and the geopolitics of critical minerals

Greenland and the geopolitics of critical minerals

Making Corporate Governance Codes More Effective: A Response to the European Commission's Action Plan of December 2012

This paper contains the European Company Law Experts' response to one of the main issues raised in the European Commission’s Action Plan of 12 December 2012, namely how to make corporate governance codes more effective. The concept of “codes’ effectiveness” has two meanings: effectiveness of the comply-explain mechanism (disclosure effectiveness) and level of adoption of the codes’ recommendations themselves (substantive effectiveness). The ECLE believes that it is of crucial importance to keep the advantages of regulation by codes while finding adequate improvements of the quality of the reports and the explanations. The relationship between the content of corporate governance codes and disclosure is discussed. A “culture of departure from code recommendations”, if well explained, is needed. The quality of corporate governance reports and the explanations should primarily be improved by incentives, but non-legal and legal sanctions may help. Improvements may also be possible by mobilizing private actors and/or by charging public or private agents and agencies with inspection and monitoring.

European Commission action on digital health

European Commission action on digital health

European Commission action on digital health

European Commission action on digital health

How Pre-Hospital Time Relates to Traffic Injury Severity

Background The importance of solid emergency medical response to traffic fatalities has been studied over time, leading for instance to the European Commission action to equipped new vehicles with eCall system. Most studies are however focused on the effect of response time on fatalities resulting from cardiac arrest and fewer from traffic crash consequences. In this context, the present study aims to analyze the effect of the pre-hospital time (dispatch to scene arrival to admission to acute care facility) on the risk of fatalities as well as on the hospital recovery of non-fatal victims. Injury severity was classified according to the maximum abbreviation injury severity. Methods In order to analyze to which extent the pre-hospital time has impact on the probability of dying from a road injury, a binary probit model was used. Additionally, victims' recovery was measured based on the length of hospital stay as well as hospital care costs. These two continuous variables were analyzed considering a generalized lineal model named log link with gamma distribution. For all mentioned models, pre-hospital time was analyzed as an independent variable alongside control variables. The used database corresponds to crash victims occurred in the Porto Metropolitan Area, Portugal, covering a 6-year period. Data from police and hospitals were linked using a mixed deterministic and weight-based probabilistic linkage method. Two databases were created depending on the objectives: one to analyze fatalities (6,608 observations) and other to analyze recovery time and costs, excluding the fatalities, and focused only on patients (467 observations). Results Pre-hospital time variable was significant at the 5% level of confidence in all three models. Results showed that the probability of dying from a crash increased with pre-hospital time. In the same way, when this variable increased, the recovery time and costs increased too. No difference was found between injury severities classified with intermediate scores (i.e. 2 and 3 in a scale of 5). Other control variables such as age and gender of the victim, type of incident and the hospital of assistance showed impacts on the probability of dying and on the recovery process. Conclusions This study shows the relevance of pre-hospital time on injury consequences, adding new value to several studies focused only on the effects on survival. The study results demonstrated that several actions should be applied to improve emergency medical assistance.

The European Commission Action Plan for a Fair and Efficient Tax System in the European Union: What Should Be Expected?

On 17 June 2015, the European Commission (the Commission) published its Action Plan for fair and efficient corporate taxation in the European Union. The authors discuss the Action Plan and place the Action Plan into the landscape of ongoing developments in the international tax realm. Critical comments are offered with regard to the merits and limits of the actions proposed by the Commission in the Action Plan.

Cybercrime Tendencies and Legislation in the Republic of Macedonia

The advancement of information and communication technologies opens new venues and ways for cybercriminals to commit crime. There are several different types of cybercrime offences that need to be treated in a separate and different manner. The major international source that provides guidelines for treatment of cybercrime is the Convention on Cybercrime adopted by the Council of Europe and the European Commission Action Plan. The purpose of the paper is to present, discuss and analyze the Macedonian legislation treating cybercrime, with respect to the specific cases typically encountered in practice and the international guidelines concerning cybercrime. The major source of cybercrime legislation in Macedonia is the Criminal Code with provisions thereof in ten of its articles; it addresses cybercrimes such as personal data abuse, copyright and piracy issues, production and distribution of child pornography, computer viruses, intrusions into computer systems, computer fraud and computer forgery. We also present and analyze reports on cybercrime complaints and victims from Macedonia, issued by the Internet Crime Complaint Center and the Macedonian Ministry of Internal Affairs. The reports reveal the unusually high number of complaints for perpetrators and victims originating from Macedonia. Furthermore, we highlight several recent cybercrime cases reported in Macedonia. All things considered, the Macedonian penal legislation is modern and it follows the current European and world standards. It provides guidelines for successful resolution of cybercrime committed in the Republic of Macedonia. However, it could be improved by a more active inclusion of Macedonian authorities in the global response to cybercrime and by stronger enforcement of cybercrime prevention measures and strategies.

A CO2-saving-based Methodology to Measure the Impact of the SUMP in European Cities: Application to the City of Burgos

Urban mobility in Europe is always a responsibility of the municipalities which propose measures to reduce CO2 emissions in terms of mobility aimed at reducing individual private transport (car). The European Commission's Action Plan on Urban Mobility calls for an increase in the take-up of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans in Europe. SUMPs aim to create a sustainable urban transport system. Europe has got some long term initiatives and has been using some evaluation procedures. Nevertheless, the weak point with the SUMPs in Spain, has been the lack of concern about the evaluation and the effectiveness of the measures implemented in a SUMP. For this reason, it is difficult to know exactly whether or not the SUMPs have positively influenced in the modal split of the cities, and its contribution to reduce CO2 levels.The case of the City of Burgos is a very illustrative example as it developed a CiViTAS project during the years 2005-2009, with a total investment of 6M€. The results have been considered as “very successful” even at European level. The modal split has changed considerably for better and the cost-effectiveness ratio of the SUMP in the city can be measured with the CO2 ton saved, specifically 36 € per CO2 ton saved, which is fully satisfactory and in line with calculations from other European researchers. Additionally, the authors propose a single formula to measure the effectiveness of the activities developed under the umbrella of a SUMP.

New Licensing Models for Online Music Services in the European Union: From Collective to Customized Management

Anyone that has the opportunity to access online music or film services in both the United States and in Europe (or even in distinct E.U. countries) can easily realize how undeveloped, or more restricted territorially, the E.U. online content sector is. In the United States, the recent launch of innovative online services – e.g., Apple's iTunes, Microsoft's Zune, Rhapsody, Beatport, Pandora – has revolutionized the landscape of legitimate access to and use of online content and created a credible alternative to digital piracy. Contrastingly, in the European Union, online music services and music stores – e.g., LastFm, Spotify, iTunes – have not taken off, at least not fully. This is not only due to the still rampant phenomenon of music and film piracy on illegal file sharing platforms. The unbearable complexity of online rights clearance processes is a major problem for commercial users wishing to develop and launch pan-European online content services and to take advantage of the E.U. cultural sector as a whole.This Article examines the restructuring of online rights management that the E.U. Commission recently imposed upon collecting societies and copyright holders in the online music sector in order to foster the adoption of multi-territorial collective licences covering the whole territory of the European Union. The Article examines the responses of major international music publishers and national collecting societies to the European Commission's action by focusing on the emergence of distinct types of new licensing models and on the legal problems and questions that these new models have posed so far. The scenarios which have materialized in the wake of the restructuring of online music rights management show how the pan-European monorepertoire licensing models of the major multinational music groups impacts the economic sustainability of national collecting societies and the online rights clearance solutions made available to commercial users. The Article also examines whether the above restructuring is of any help to rights holders and rights managers who find it suitable or commercially convenient to combine commercial collective licences and noncommercial individual licences (e.g., Creative Commons) in the management of online rights over their works. The Article takes the conclusion that the radical modification of the structure of online music rights management recently pursued by the E.U. Commission has mainly failed its policy objectives while making online music rights clearance even more complicated, legally uncertain and discouraging. The Article also indicates what legislative amendments the Commission might consider proposing in order to rationalize and greatly simplify collective rights management in the digital environment and what the easiest and most productive model for the development of E.U.-wide music rights management could be.

La politica ferroviaria europea: dalla prudenza alla liberalizzazione (1957-2007)*

- This article analyses the European Commission's efforts to encourage the development of efficient rail sector. The potential of railways for expanding their share of both passenger and freight transport was seriously limited by rail systems fragmented into national market shaped by national transport policies. The Commission stressed the importance of the necessary transformation of railway market that requires the following priorities: liberalization, free access market and competition, interoperability including both high speed and conventional rail networks. The European Commission's action (i.e. directive 91/440 and the railway packages) is intended to a renaissance of rail traffic, but the European States and the "historical" railway operators seem reluctant to apply these ambitious and "revolutionary" initiatives.Parole chiave: Commissione Europea, Politica di liberalizzazione, Sistema ferrociario, Politiche di trasporto statali, Operatori ferroviari, Politica regionale della CEE European Commission, Liberalization Policy, Rail System, National Transport Policies, Railway Operators, EEC Regional Policy

No reason for optimism: the expected impact of commitments in the European Commission's Alcohol and Health Forum

Europe is the heaviest-drinking region in the world, more than 2.5 times the rest of the world's average. THE COMMISSION'S CONCLUSION: The cornerstone for the European Commission's action to decrease the alcohol-related harm of this consumption and the main emphasis for its work is the Alcohol and Health Forum, with its Task Forces on Marketing Communication and Youth-Specific Aspects of Alcohol. The Forum, which was launched in June 2007, aims to provide a common platform for all interested stakeholders. Forum members are invited to make commitments to reduce alcohol-related harm, in the form of a monitored and evaluated action plan. By 29 February 2008, 79 commitments have been provided by the members of the Forum. Taking into account the limited information available, the proposed commitments indicate few evidence-based approaches. A large majority of the summaries do not, or only slightly, address the relevance of their commitment and give no evidence of why their proposed action is important in reducing alcohol-related harm. Even fewer commitments mention indicators of effectiveness of the proposed actions or propose to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed actions. While most economic operators in the Forum have resources to undertake actions which could be highly effective, they commit principally to educational programmes which have been found to be mainly ineffective. This, and the neglect of existing legislation, do not give reason for optimism on the impact of the proposed commitments.

The Draft Common Frame of Reference: Mistake and Duties of Disclosure

The provisions of the CFR dealing with mistake, non-disclosure and pre-contract information fulfil the functions of the CFR as a legislator's guide or toolbox stated in the European Commission's Action Plan documents: to provide definitions and model rules which the European legislator could employ were it minded to deal with these topics – for example, to give consumers who have been the victims of breaches of information duties stronger remedies than the rights of withdrawal currently required by, e.g., the Doorstep and Distance Selling Directives.

Pilot study of indoor radon in Greek workplaces

Radon and gamma dose rate measurements have been performed in 561 workplaces in 19 prefectures of Greece. The distribution of radon concentration can be well described by a log-normal distribution. Most of the radon concentrations are between 50 and 200 Bq m(-3) with an arithmetic mean of 123 Bq m(-3). The maximum measured value of radon gas concentration is 695 Bq m(-3). About 10% of the workplaces exceed 200 Bq m(-3). Only a small fraction ( approximately 1%) of workplaces exceed the European Commission action level (400 Bq m(-3)). Despite the relative small fraction of workplaces which exceed the value of 400 Bq m(-3), it is clear from the results of the present work that for certain prefectures, further and more extensive research is needed.

The Place for Creditor Protection on the Agenda for Modernisation of Company Law in the European Union

The European Commission's Action Plan for Company Law, Modernising Company Law and Enhancing Corporate Governance in the European Union, signals a reorientation of the approach to company law at the European level, away from the protection of those who deal with companies and in favour of concentrating instead on business efficiency and competitiveness. This reorientation undermines the 2nd Company Law Directive, which is rooted in dated notions about company law's functions and assumptions about the need for safeguards against abuse. If the reorientation is genuine, it should provoke a more meaningful engagement with questions about company's law role in creditor protection and the regulatory strategies that can best be employed to discharge it.

The Place for Creditor Protection on the Agenda for Modernisation of Company Law in the European Union

The European Commission's Action Plan for Company Law, Modernising Company Law and Enhancing Corporate Governance in the European Union, signals a reorientation of the approach to company law at the European level, away from the protection of those who deal with companies and in favour of concentrating instead on business efficiency and competitiveness. This reorientation undermines the 2nd Company Law directive, which is rooted in dated notions about company law's functions and assumptions about the need for safeguards against abuse. If the reorientation is genuine, it should provoke a more meaningful engagement with questions about company's law role in creditor protection and the regulatory strategies that can best be employed to discharge it. Yet, despite the new emphasis on business facilitation, the Commission's current approach to reform is to use the 2nd Directive as the benchmark against which to assess the feasibility of an alternative regime that might be introduced on an optional basis for Member States. This approach is liable to create confusion and to lead to muddled policy choices. The failings of the 2nd Directive are certainly relevant to the debate on the extent to which, and how, creditors' interests should be addressed within a flexible company law framework for competitive business but the directive should not be presented as a touchstone against which the merits of alternative schemes are to be measured. This paper contributes to the debate on the recognition of creditors' interests in modern European company law in the following ways. It reviews important strands in the existing literature on the European legal capital doctrine and adds to the literature by examining the impact of recent trends in accounting, in particular the transition to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), on the operation of the 2nd Directive. It suggests that accounting trends are set to undermine further the (already weak) arguments in favour of retaining the 2nd Directive. Whilst much of this paper questions the wisdom of the way in which the current proposal for an optional alternative to the 2nd directive has evolved, there is now considerable momentum behind that proposal. The paper therefore concludes by reviewing the substance of the proposal for a solvency-based alternative to the 2nd Directive and comments also on the associated proposal to adopt an EU-wide standard on wrongful trading liability.

(Conflict) Principles of European (Consumer) Contract Law – an Update

In April 2003 I commented on the European Commission's Action Plan on a More Coherent European Contract Law [COM(2003) 68 final] and the Green Paper on the Modernisation of the 1980 Rome Convention [COM(2002) 654 final]. While the main argument of that paper, i.e. the common neglect of the inherent interrelation between both the further harmonisation of substantive contract law by directives or through an optional European Civil Code on the one hand and the modernisation of conflict rules for consumer contracts in Art. 5 Rome Convention on the other hand, remain pressing issues, and as the German Law Journal continues its efforts in offering timely and critical analysis on consumer law issues, there is a variety of recent developments worth noting.

The Action Plan on European Contract Law: Perspectives for the Future of European Contract Law and EC Consumer Law

The European Commission's Action Plan on European Contract Law is the follow-up to the Communication of July 2001. It reveals the conclusions of the Commission and proposes a mix of regulatory and non-regulatory measures aimed at removing obstacles to the smooth functioning of the internal market and ensuring the uniform application of EC law. These measures are (a) the improvement of the acquis through the elaboration of a common frame reference containing common rules and terminology, (b) promotion of the use of standard terms for cross-border contracts, and (c) further reflection on an optional horizontal instrument in the field. This article will undertake a general discussion of the likely impact of the measures on the future of EC consumer law and European contract law, and treat certain questions relating to the conflict of laws. It is also hoped that the article will acquaint the new reader with some of the (mainly) recent discussions in English and French on the subject matter from different jurisdictions.

Professional education for the cancer care nurse in England and Wales: a review of the evidence base.

The third European Commission action plan to combat cancer recognized the need to develop effective continuing and in-service training programmes for doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. A literature review and course documentary analysis commissioned by the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting Education (ENB) in 1997 found that, within their initial training, nurses in England and Wales are seldom adequately prepared to work with cancer sufferers; that very few nurses undertake subsequent specialist training in cancer care; that up to half the places available on specialist training programmes remain unfilled at any one time; and that, 3 months after such training, studies showed that competence has again decreased. As post-qualifying continuing and in-service education for nurses in their specialist areas is not yet mandatory in the UK, it is unlikely that the objectives of the European Commission's third action plan or those of successive British governments, in successfully combating cancer, will be achieved.