European Community Level Research Articles

Coal restructuring in Spain: Continuity and uncertainty?

The policies of coal energy are currently undergoing a significant change. At the European Community level, energy concerns are dominated by environmental commitments that seem to demand coal's disappearance. The countries that for years have supplied the European energy market with this resource have confronted their future challenges in differing ways. The history of the energy sector in Spain has been marked by important changes, and coal has been a key factor in this process. Membership in the European Union has constituted a clear transition for a historically subsidized and protected sector that now faces an uncertain role in the national energy market. The aim of this paper is to offer an overview and analysis of the mechanisms that have been implemented in the energy sector. The first part analyzes the rationalization policies that preceded Spanish entry into the EU, giving a detailed description of the complex programs designed by the government to help mining companies. The second part analyzes later systems aimed at helping the coal industry that were implemented after the EU imposed new criteria and objectives. These systems led to the so-called “mixed model” of rationalization. This model, which is completely different from that implemented in other member states, is based on maintaining a system of subsidies that discriminate between public and private companies. The third part examines the objectives of the current system and the plans projected for the future in the context of the EU's adoption of an energy strategy that seeks to reconcile a self-sufficient energy supply with adherence to environmental commitments.

Comparative study on removal of pathogenic and parasitic organisms using extended wastewaters treatment technologies

Although there is an absence of common guidelines or regulations about wastewater reuse at European Community level, there are several countries or federal regions that have published their own standards or regulations. In Spain, the current Royal Decree 1620/2007 regulates the legal regime for reuse of treated wastewaters for different uses. The aim of present study is to evaluate the removal performance of certain parasitic and pathogenic organisms by means of the use of different extensive wastewater treatment technologies in small communities. The study results were assessed based on both the EU Urban Wastewater Directive (91/271/EEC) and Spanish Royal Decree. The selected extended technologies are installed in the Experimental Plant of Urban Wastewater Treatment of Carrion de los Cespedes, PECC, (Sevilla, Andalusia, Spain) property of Andalusian Water Agency (Andalusian Department of the Environment). These extensive technologies are: 1) stabilization ponds, 2) constructed wetlands, and 3) peat filte...

Governing forests of the European Union: institutional framework for interest representation at the European Community level

AbstractWe analyse whether the European Community provides for articulating a common set of priorities for society and supports openness and participation in the area of forest policy at the Community level. In doing so, we review the institutional framework and, using the results of the internet‐based stakeholder consultation, assess the presence of interested parties at the level of the European Community. In addition, from the same consultation we learn about the opinions of the interest groups concerning possible areas for enhancing coherence in forest governance in the European Union.The results of the study demonstrate that there is a range of possibilities for participation of different interest groups and flow of information between the European Commission and the stakeholders. However, the number of interest groups prepared to actively participate in Community‐level forest and forestry‐related policy‐ and decision‐making is relatively low.We conclude that the present institutional arrangements should be sufficient for open and participatory priority setting in forest governance at the European Community level. However, based on the ‘stakeholder consultation’ we also conclude that co‐ordination and co‐operation, and hence coherence, in forest and forestry‐related policy‐ and decision‐making at the Community level should be improved. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

European Community Communications Law: An Introduction

The present article is an abridged version of a chapter to the book EC Electronic Communications and Competition Law (London: Cameron May, 2007). It provides an introduction to the rules at the European Community level governing the electronic communications sector (previously and more traditionally referred to as telecommunications). Such an introduction encompasses essentially an enquiry into the relevant competition law rules, of which here particular attention is paid to abuse of dominant position and the essential facilities doctrine, as well as an analysis of the EC sector specific regulatory framework, which has substantially evolved since the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector back in the beginning of the 1990s. It is the objective of the article to explore to what extent both regulatory tools could deal with the specificities of communications markets, and where they may fail to do so.

Download of Copyright-Protected Internet Content and the Role of (Consumer) Contract Law

The software, music, and movie industries keep suggesting to consumers that if they copy digital contents they may find themselves in jail. Moreover, horrifying damage claims are in the air. The problem with these scenarios is, amongst others, that it is difficult to understand for consumers where their rights end and where illegal use of content begins. This article focuses on the contractual relationship between online content providers and consumers. It explores relevant consumer law issues and lays open the legal uncertainties of the current regimes at the European Community (EC) and national level. The article then looks at current ideas put forward by the Commission on how to regulate internet consumer law. It concludes that a sector-specific i-consumer contract law should be introduced and offers proposals related to its possible content.

EU-wide baseline studies: achievements and difficulties faced

With the purpose of providing the scientific basis for setting targets for Salmonella in food-producing animals, several EU-wide baseline studies to determine the prevalence of Salmonella have been organised at the European Community level. The studies in laying hens and broilers are completed and reported. The achievements and difficulties faced are the main focus of this paper. The results support that poultry products, and table eggs in particular, are important sources of human salmonellosis in EU. However, they also illustrate that with effective surveillance and control efforts, as implemented in several Member States, the prevalence, and thus the associated human infections, can be reduced significantly.

Law and Economics of Environmental Insurance (Editorial)

The topic of environmental insurance is complex in several ways and requires a particular attention. A law and economics perspective could help to solve multiple problems that arise in connection with these kinds of insurance policies and especially the ones covering industrial and technological risks. The first problem is the role of insurance in providing a mechanism through which the potential injurers internalize the risk costs they generate by their activity. Another problem is how to guarantee a sufficient compensation for the victims in case of an accident at a sustainable cost, and which legal regime may provide necessary incentives for prevention. Moreover, environmental risks pertain to the category of potentially catastrophic risks presenting peculiarities that differentiate them from traditional risks: they might have relevant and long-term consequences for the environment and human health. For the insurability, a difficult task is to determine with a sufficient degree of accuracy the probability of occurrence and the magnitude of environmental damages. But the insurability of environmental risks, and especially major accidents, is also very much influenced by changes in the regulatory system. At the European Community level, the Directive 2004/35/CE established a general discipline for the prevention and the remedy of ecological damage at reasonable costs. To guarantee the actual effectiveness of this regime and the consequent insurability, it is important to set specific and equal criteria in all the European Union countries. Problems arise, for example, in connection with the extension of the guarantee to the first-party clean up and to the natural resources recovery regarding protected species and natural habitats.

Ex-post evaluation of European energy models

Various energy-modelling activities are pursued by public authorities, private companies and research institutes with the aim to provide energy forecasts and to assess the impact of energy and environmental policies. Nevertheless, no ex-post evaluations of the results of these modelling activities have been carried out at the European Community level. This paper investigates and compares the assumptions and the results from a European study carried out in the middle of the eighties with the combination of the so-called Modèle de prospective de la demande énergétique à long terme (MEDEE) and Energy flow optimization (EFOM) models with the targeted year of 2000 as presented in the “ENERGY 2000” study. Concretely, assumptions and forecasts are compared with real statistical data. In this way, an evaluation of quantitative tools and model results can be established. The aim of this paper is not to evaluate the quantitative tools themselves but their results and their policy relevance within a frame of 15 years.

Learning from the Application of the ESDP: Influences on European Territorial Governance

European Territorial Cooperation, and the EU INTERREG Initiative in particular, is one of the five main means of application identified by the European Spatial Development Perspective (ESDP). An entire chapter of the ESDP is in fact devoted to considering the application of its concepts and ideas. The five main means of application comprise: (1) application at the European Community level; (2) application via transnational cooperation between member states; (3) application via cross-border and interregional cooperation; (4) application of the ESDP in member states; and (5) application via pan-European and international cooperation. The influence and application of the ESDP clearly have an important transnational learning dimension. This paper examines the influences of the ESDP on territorial policy and governance and on the associated learning effects, looking specifically at the supra-national level. Three areas of influence are considered here: (1) cooperation within the European Commission, looking at sectoral policy-making; (2) cooperation between member states under the INTER- REG Initiative, focusing on cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation; and (3) pan-European spatial planning cooperation, focusing on activities of the European Conference of Ministers responsible for Spatial Planning (CEMAT).

Emerging Issues for Natech Disaster Risk Management in Europe

There is growing concern about the potential effects of natural disaster‐triggered technological (natech) disasters. The chlorine releases in the Czech Republic following the floods that swept across Europe in the summer of 2002 and the multiple hazardous materials releases triggered by the Turkey earthquake of August 1999 were examples which showed the potential danger of a natech disaster occurring near populated areas. However, there is scarce information available on the actual risk of natech disasters and on what communities are doing to prevent or prepare for these types of events in Europe. This paper provides a careful look at how selected countries in Europe are currently addressing natech risk and describes recent natech incidences. Initiatives taken at the European Community (EC) level to address natech risk are also discussed. The paper includes the results of a workshop on natechs held at the Joint Research Center in Ispra, Italy in 2003. The workshop aimed to create awareness of the natech problem, and through guided exercises assess natech hazards and vulnerability to natechs in participating countries. The workshop sessions facilitated the identification of a set of five consensus key strategies for natech risk reduction including emergency planning specific to natechs, education and awareness campaigns, public participation in risk reduction planning, natech planning at industrial facilities, and the use of land use restrictions as a regulatory tool to limit the siting of industrial facilities. The paper concludes with recommendations by the authors, including suggested directions for further research to support natech risk reduction.

Mental health promotion in the workplace: a European perspective

The links between work and mental health are gaining increasing recognition both within individual member states and at European Community level as a whole. Yet it is also well recognised that employment has significant benefits for mental health and well‐being. This paper reviews current evidence on the negative mental health impacts of employment, the key factors in work‐related stress and European policies for promoting mental health in the workplace. It ends with some examples of good practice in workplace mental health promotion drawn from a range of European countries.

La politique industrielle dans la Communauté économique européenne : Crise et changement

The ultimate goal of industrial policy is to allow constant improvement in both the quality and standard of living. Necessary conditions to such improvement are full employment at both high, real wages and at increasing rates of productivity. For the European Economic Community, productivity must not only increase absolutely but also relatively, in comparison to other international competitors. Yet during the 60's and early 70's, Europe's competitive position in a number of major industrial sectors weakened, such that the energy shock, when it did come, signaled a reversal in established terms of trade. Suddenly, the Common Market was confronted with new problems of adjustment and decline. It is within this context that both the role and the focus of EEC industrial policy have changea and that come to play the underlying dynamics that shape European industrial policy formulation. In these new economic conditions, traditional policies of demand management, of counter-cyclical measures and of monetary control have proved inadequate to restore real growth, full employment and ordered structural change. While purely national solutions appear to be no longer possible in many sectors, member countries have become increasingly locked into competitive rather than the complementary industrial strategies. New and intense political strains have emerged. Political legitimacy and a clear mandate are critical to the formulation and implementation of industrial policy. Although the essential economic logic of the Treaty of Rome is clear, its political dimensions are less evident. Indeed there is nothing in the Common Market treaty about industrial policy. Yet as the question of industrial development moves to the centre of political debate, the future evolution of the community will be increasingly linked to EC industrial policy. This article analyzes European industrial policy as we enter the 80's. It begins with an analysis of the economic realities and the social and political forces behind the changing focus of European industrial policy and examines briefly the context of industrial policy formulation at the European Community level. Subsequently it turns to the new sectoral pattern and emphasis of European industrial policy. Finally, the article evaluates the evolution of European industrial policy in the latter part of the 70s and considers emerging trends.

The Functional Representation of the Individual's Interests Before the EC Courts: The Evolution of the Remedies System and the Pluralistic Deficit in the EC

The Functional Representation of the Individual's Interests Before the EC Courts:The Evolution of the Remedies System and the Pluralistic Deficit in the EC Luigi Malferrari (bio) Abstract Introduction Given the democratic deficit affecting Community governance, the representation of the individual's interests through tools that are different from the traditional political ones is particularly necessary and important in the European Community (EC).1 Although such alternative tools cannot substitute for the political channels of interest representation, they can integrate them and they are essential to enhance the effectiveness of the representation of the individual's rights and the respect of the rule of law. Given the difficulties citizens and enterprises experience in making their voices heard by the EC political institutions (Council, Commission, and Parliament) and national governments, sometimes the only feasible channel for effectively pursuing their interests is the judicial one. At the same time, the increasing "juridification" of society has turned judicial processes into sites of policymaking within the Community as well. As a result, the functional representation of individual interests before the courts plays a crucial role in the EC. To be effective, the functional representation of the individual's interests before courts presupposes three elements. First, individuals must have sufficient access to courts. Second, the individual's interests must be taken into account in [End Page 667] judgments. Third, those judgments must be enforced. This article will focus on the first element, whereas it will only touch on the second and third elements. Acknowledgment I would like to thank Miriam Aziz, Julio Baquero Cruz, Marco Dani, Nicoletta Falcone, Kirsten Roberts, Louise Robinson, Peter Teachout, and Lorna Young for precious input on the substance and language of this paper. However, the content of this paper reflects only my personal views, and any error of law or fact is solely my responsibility. A previous version of this paper was delivered at the symposium Back to Government? The Pluralistic Deficit in Decisionmaking Processes and Before the Courts held on June 11 and 12, 2004 at the University of Trento, Italy. The aim of this article is thus twofold. First, it illustrates the development of the different avenues that allow the functional representation of the individual's interests before the EC courts. Such avenues are described and critically assessed in regard not only to their aptness to ensure effective interest representation, but also to their impact on European, as well as national, governance. Second, building on this assessment, the paper will discuss possible reforms of the EC judicial remedies with a view to improving or at least maintaining their effectiveness as tools for the functional representation of the individual's interests. I. The Tools for the Individual's Interest Representation Before the EC Courts Before tackling the question of the reform of the EC remedies system, it is necessary to analyze and assess its development from the perspective of the individual's interest representation. The functional representation of the individual's interests before the EC courts is achieved basically through two avenues: 1) access to the EC judiciary in its function as supreme and/or constitutional court and 2) access to the EC judiciary in its function as administrative court. A. Interest Representation through Supreme or Constitutional Adjudication The main and foremost tool for the judicial interest representation at the EC level is doubtlessly the adjudication by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), acting in its role as supreme and constitutional court. This type of adjudication can be achieved in two ways. The first and more relevant one is the preliminary ruling procedure under Article 234 of the EC Treaty (ECT).2 The second is the infringement action that can be brought by the Commission against a Member State under Article 226 of the ECT. 1. Preliminary Ruling Procedure The basic traits of the preliminary ruling procedure under Article 234 of the ECT are generally well-known. They will be very briefly recalled here for the [End Page 668] sake of clarity. Where a dispute before a national judge poses a question regarding the interpretation of EC law, he (usually spurred by the parties) may or, if it is a court of last instance, must refer this question...

The legal framework for the protection of amphibians and reptiles in Italy: an annotated overview of the provisions at the international, European community, national and regional level

The legal framework for the protection of amphibians and reptiles in Italy: an annotated overview of the provisions at the international, European community, national and regional level

The legal framework for the protection of amphibians and reptiles in Italy: an annotated overview of the provisions at the international, European community, national and regional level

The legal framework for the protection of amphibians and reptiles in Italy: an annotated overview of the provisions at the international, European community, national and regional level

Smart Regulation and the Revised Batteries Directive: Legislated Taxation Systems and Collection Schemes

Summary: This Art. is more than mere analysis of law and policy in relation to the revised Batteries Directive. It describes the practical, legal and economic underpinning of voluntary agreements, also known as environmental agreements. It seeks to reveal that voluntary agreements provide a useful complementary tool to command and control models and economic instruments. The key elements of a voluntary agreement that could be implemented under the revised Batteries Directive have also been drafted and provided. This voluntary agreement is sufficiently flexible so that it may be applied by stakeholders to many other areas of environmental law whether at the Member State or European Community level. The author argues that in some cases they provide advantages over command and control models by aiming for an ``environmental consensus'' that anticipates and plans for strategic interventions to reduce or prevent environmental pollution within a more flexible framework that allows for a confluence of science and industry know-how while reducing regulatory and related cost inefficiency. The first part of the two-part Art. included coverage of economic instruments; producer responsibility voluntary agreements schemes; and deposit return systems. In the second part of this Art. the author considers legislated taxation or charging systems, government-led collection schemes and industry-led programmes before providing a conclusion and making recommendations.

Smart Regulation and the Revised Batteries Directive: The Future of Voluntary Agreements

Summary: This article is more than mere analysis of law and policy in relation to the revised Batteries Directive. It describes the practical, legal and economic underpinning of voluntary agreements, also known as environmental agreements. It seeks to reveal that voluntary agreements provide a useful complementary tool to command and control models and economic instruments. The key elements of a voluntary agreement that could be implemented under the revised Batteries Directive have also been drafted and provided. This voluntary agreement is sufficiently flexible so that it may be applied by stakeholders to many other areas of environmental law whether at the Member State or European Community level. The author argues that in some cases they provide advantages over command and control models by aiming for an 'environmental consensus' that anticipates and plans for strategic interventions to reduce or prevent environmental pollution within a more flexible framework that allows for a confluence of science and industry know-how while reducing regulatory and related cost inefficiency. This first part of the two-part article includes coverage of economic instruments; producer responsibility voluntary agreements schemes; and deposit return systems.

Globalization and E-Commerce VI: Environment and Policy in Denmark

• The diffusion of e-commerce in Denmark is mainly a result of a partnership between government and industry initiatives, rather than being purely market- or government-led. While environmental factors are important enablers of e-commerce diffusion, government policy aims to be a key driving force. • Although the size of government is substantial and the list of policy instruments is extensive, there is a serious question about whether the governments’ efforts to stimulate use within the society (business, consumers, and government itself) are sufficient to stimulate diffusion of e-commerce adequately. Our analysis questions the effectiveness of the government-led approach because of its timing, its lack of coordinated actions, and the mixed motives of government actions, in particular at the European Community level.

Influenza pandemic preparedness and response planning at community level.

In November 2001 the European Commission invited experts from all over Europe to express their views on ways to improve preparedness for an influenza pandemic at the European Community level. The conference was well attended and key actions to be addressed by public health authorities in cooperation with decision makers and the pharmaceutical industry were identified (1).

Environmental agreements at European Community level—reflections based on member state experience

The experience from five national environmental agreement schemes, all about energy efficiency in manufacturing industries, is discussed in relation to the potential for similar action at the European Community level. Agreements at the Community level could have significant advantages. But success at the national level depends on parameters that would be difficult to reproduce or substitute at the Community level, e.g. extensive administrative capacity, substantial political threats, large economic benefits, and/or the capacity to grant tax relief. To overcome such problems, and gain some of the advantages of Community action, one option would be to focus Community action on the best bets, namely a few energy-intensive industries with good capacity for collective action. Another option would be the combination of Community action with national action.