European Union Directive Research Articles

СТРАХОВИЙ РИНОК УКРАЇНИ У ПЕРІОД ДІЇ ВОЄННОГО СТАНУ: ФІНАНСОВИЙ ТА МАРКЕТИНГОВИЙ АСПЕКТИ

The article focuses on the study of modern development trends of the insurance market of Ukraine with an emphasis on the period of martial law. The content of the concept of "insurance market" has been identified and approaches to the interpretation of its essence have been systematized. Theregula-tory basis for the regulation of the insurance market has been developed, in particular, the new Law of Ukraine "On Insurance". A new model of regulation of the NBU has been studied, taking into account the provisions of the European Union directives, the International Principles of the IAIS, and the best international practices. The main requirements of the NBU for the activities of insurance companies and the priority areas of supervision during the period of martial law have been systematized.An analysis of the state and trends in the development of the insurance market has been carried out, in particular: the number of insurance companies and registered insurance contracts, the structure of gross receipts of insurance payments (premiums, contributions), the dynamics of insurance premiums and insurance payments, as well as the costs of marketing insurers. It has been found that in the condi-tions of martial law, the approaches to analysis and the informativeness of the main indicators are being transformed. Indicators of operational activity, marketing costs, the level of capitalization of insurers (that is, the amount of own funds and insurance reserves) are particularly informative in determining market stability. The insurance market experienced the biggest decline at the end of the 1st quarter of 2022. Already by the end of 2022, insurance companies were able to adapt to new operating conditions and the situation stabilized. The main directions of changes in the marketing strategy of insurance com-panies have been determined.The challenges faced by the insurance market during the period of martial law (strengthening of regulatory requirements, coverage of war losses, fulfillment of obligations under voluntary health in-surance contracts, the NBU increased the amount of insurance sums under CMTPLI contracts, insur-ance for Ukrainians who went abroad, difficulties in planning further actions) have been systematized. Attention has been focused on finding ways to neutralize them, as well as on the creation of a compre-hensive system of insurance of military and political risks due to the creation of a special compensation fund or a pool at the state level with the involvement of funds from donors and insurers, including on the basis of public-private partnership.

Challenges of Fulfilling European Union Directives: The Importance of Clinical Practice at the Bachelor Nursing Study Program

Nursing education in EU countries follows EU requirements and directives. Even Albania, as a candidate country in relation to nursing and midwifery education must start planning to implement these standards. EU directives require that 50% of the nursing education curriculum to be converted into hours of laboratory and clinical practice, which should be carried out in specialized hospital units. The non-compliance of the Albanian Nursing Education’s programs with these standards has become an issue for our graduates and makes the equivalentation of the nursing program abroad difficult. Aim: To sightsee the nursing programs offered by Higher Education Institutions in Albania and to analyze how they meet the standards defined in the EU directives. Method: The data was collected from a review of the programs of some Higher Education Institutions in Albania, during the academic year 2019-2021. Results: The results obtained from the analysis of the programs offered by the Higher Education Institutions showed that they do not meet the EU recommendations. The number of hours of nursing lab and clinical practice, as well as the operation of practice are below the standards defined in these directives. Conclusion: This study clearly shows the challenges faced by Higher Education Institutions in Albania. The implementation and coordination of Nursing programs with EU directives is a crucial task. The standardization would enable not only solving the nowadays problems referred by students but would also enable in the future mobility for all lecturers, researchers and nurses who have studied in Albania. Keywords: EU directives, nursing, Higher Education Institution, nursing clinical and laboratory practices.

Characteristic features of the operation of the insurance market of Ukraine in the conditions of martial law

The purpose of the article is to analyze the current state of the insurance market of Ukraine and highlight the peculiarities of its functioning. The relevance of the research is driven by the changes in the structure and functioning mechanisms of this market, associated with the introduction of a new model of its regulation.
 The article defines the essence of the insurance market and its main functions. The current state of the insurance market of Ukraine was reviewed, the main indicators of its development were analyzed with the determination of the reasons for their changes for the period 2019­2022. The most significant trends in the market of insurance services were characterized, among which the follo wing are highlighted: a decrease in the volume of gross insurance premiums; reduction of the number of insurers; increase in the level of insurance payments; decrease in the insurance penetration rate.
 Market problems were identified, the main ones being the low solvency and liquidity of insurers; imperfection of insurers’ business models; lack of market transparency andproblems in corporate governance; lack of a mechanism for guaranteeing insurance payments under long-term life insurance contracts; low demand for insurance services due to distrust in the opaque insurance market and low solvency of the population.
 The peculiarities of the insurance market of Ukraine related to the change of the regulator and the beginning of reform are characterized. The main elements of the new insurance market regulation model, built on the principles of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and the provisions of the European Union directives, are reviewed.
 The basic norms of the new Law of Ukraine “On Insurance”, which will come into effect on January 1, 2024, have been considered. It was concluded that the preparation of the law took into account numerous proposals of scientists to increase the efficiency of the functioning of the insurance market. It was emphasized that the introduction of a new model of regulation and supervision of the insurance market and improvement of the legislative support for reforms will allow solving a number of existing problems in domestic insurance.

Current Process of Optimisation of the Legal System of the Czech Republic, including the Implementation of the Present EU Strategy in the Fight against Terrorism and Radicalism

The programme statement of the new government of the Czech Republic (CR) from the beginning of 2022 about the current security situation in the country and the European Union (EU) foresees the implementation of a significant optimisation of legal regulations in dealing with crises and emergency events. In addition to the experience of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, the worsening effects of weather, and the current negative indicators in the economy, the government decided to focus its legislative efforts on combating terrorism in line with the policy of both the EU and NATO. The paper provides an overview of relevant EU documents and discusses some specific problems encountered by the Member States, including the CR. In these regards, due attention is also paid to the consistent implementation of the EU Directives into national legislation. The paper also discusses some of the Department of Crisis Management activities as part of scientific research at the Police Academy of the CR in Prague (PACR), which is partially related to the optimisation of the legislative process in the security field.

The role of the EU non-financial reporting directive and employee representation in employee-related disclosures

ABSTRACT This study investigates how the European Union (EU) Directive (2014/95) on Non-Financial Reporting and employee representation within the board affects the extent and quality of employee-related disclosures. Using a sample of Swedish firms listed on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm Exchange, we find that both the Directive and employee representation on the board positively affect the extent and quality of disclosures on employee-related matters. We document that employee-related disclosures are more precise and less uncertain among firms with employee representatives, although the level of uncertainty increases after implementing the Directive. Moreover, our interaction analysis indicates that the Directive and employee representatives affect employee-related disclosures independently. This finding suggests that both internal corporate governance and external regulation are important, and that the Directive ensures a minimum extent of disclosures at firms that lack internal governance mechanisms (i.e. employee representation on their corporate boards).

Institutional accountability: the differentiated implementation of collaborative governance in two EU states

Governments increasingly apply collaborative governance based on deliberation that typically takes place in non-majoritarian institutions. However, collaborative institutions face accountability challenges depending on their institutional design. Still, empirical research is missing on the different choices member states make when designing collaborative institutions implementing European Union (EU) political goals. Using four theoretical principles of accountability, the study compares how Finland and Sweden implement the requirements for collaborative governance of two EU directives in national legislation and management plans. While Finland has provided more detailed and stricter rules resulting in higher process accountability, Sweden has delegated final decision making to authorities, achieving a higher degree of institutional independence. The results reveal that since the directives set only some of the key rules and procedures needed for achieving accountable collaborative institutions, member states’ discretion can lead to institutional variation even in similar governance contexts, resulting in differing institutional accountability and legitimacy of EU policies.

A System of Systems for the Optimal Allocation of Pollutant Monitoring Sensors

In this article, the problem of pollutant monitoring sensor allocation is formalized as a variant of the well-known set covering problem and solved by means of both a mixed-integer linear programming solver and genetic algorithms. The allocation of the sensors in the monitoring network is one of the most practical and challenging problems that regional authorities have to face, in particular due to the constraints that European Union Directives pose in terms of the number of sensors per area/subarea and in terms of representativeness capability (i.e., the ability that the data coming from the monitoring network have to represent the air quality levels in their surrounding areas). The methodology has been applied to the allocation of sensors for particulate matter (PM10) and nitrogen dioxides (NO <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$_2$</tex-math></inline-formula> ) in Lombardy, Italy. The results are promising, showing that the two proposed approaches are able to strongly dominate the current solution.

The Safety Situation of Municipal Solid Waste Landfills in Hungary from a Disaster Management Perspective

Today, nearly seventy municipal solid waste landfills in Hungary fully comply with European Union directives. Experience has shown that some sites have not yet been recultivated and that there are several illegal landfills. Waste fires are a special area within disaster management that have not yet been legally regulated nor intervention procedures have been established. In the first part of the series of articles I will present the key aspects that should be taken into account when defining a possible legal regulation. In addition, I plan to evaluate the prevention and response measures to hazards that are specific to landfills.

COMPOSITE MATERIAL WITH CAST IRON MATRIX DESIGNED FOR BRAKE SYSTEMS OF TECHNICAL MEANS OF TRANSPORT

The paper presents the basics of manufacturing and the tribological properties of the developed cast ironceramic composite designed for brake discs or drums. The matrix of the composite consists of GJL-150 grey cast iron used for the production of brake discs. The reinforcing phase is a SiC foam with an activated surface. The use of ceramic foam simplifies the production process because it does not require expensive mixing of the matrix and the reinforcing phase to ensure the homogeneity of the composite. An addition of 10% SiC (λSiC=100-350 Wm-1K-1) improves the thermal conductivity of cast iron (λCI=50-60 Wm-1K-1). The presence of foam elements homogenously distributed throughout the whole matrix volume reduces the wear of both the composite and the counter-sample. The results of comparative studies of contacts between the cast iron and the composite brake disc showed almost a threefold lower wear of the pad and disc and about a 10°C lower temperature in the pad near the friction zone under the pressure of 1 MPa and at a sliding velocity of 0.5 m/s. The significantly lower wear of the friction elements of the brake system will contribute to a reduction in environmental pollution by wear debris, which is required by European Union directives.

The new approval procedure for clinical trials of medicinal products in the European Union-challenges for the pharmaceutical industry in Germany

In the European Union (EU), 27 May 2014 was asignificant date for clinical trials. Since that day, the EU Clinical Trials Regulation 536/2014 (EU-CTR) officially came into force. The new EU-CTR replaces EU Directive 2001/20/EC and fundamentally reforms the way clinical trials are applied for and conducted in Europe. For clinical trial sponsors, the responsible regulatory authorities, ethics committees, and all EU member states, the new EU-CTR brings profound changes. However, it has taken along time for the new regulation to be applied, as the establishment of the new Clinical Trials Information System (CTIS) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has taken some time. Contrary to expectations, the establishment of this system could not be completed in 2016, but only with anotification from the EMA on 31 July 2021.Overall, Germany is well prepared for the new regulation. The German Medicinal Products Act (AMG) was adjusted at an early stage. Authorities and ethics committees have tested the cooperation in apilot phase from 2015 to 2021 and have shown that the cooperation in Germany works well in the evaluation of applications.However, initial experience from the application process shows that there are some fundamental problems with CTIS and that there is also aneed for further adaptation at the national level in Germany. This includes, for example, the integration of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) approval or the harmonization of ethics committee requirements. It is important that Germany addresses these points at the national level to remain competitive.

Combined effort opportunities of aggregated demand response flexibility and energy savings in households

This paper analyses possible synergies between demand response flexibility programmes and energy savings delivered by households. In the framework of the energy transition, European Union (EU) directives are endorsing energy consumers to become full-fledged participants of the energy market, mostly via independent aggregator intermediaries. The flexibility aggregators have a very arduous role in collecting, optimising and settling aggregated flexibility delivered from heterogenous sources on the energy market. Novel business models incorporating both flexibility and energy savings opportunities from households’ consumers could deliver revenue diversification for flexibility aggregators and support them in overcoming technical and motivational challenges for activating consumers in the energy market. This paper discusses the main pillars for a sustainable flexibility aggregator business model which sums up the potential for flexibility placement on energy, ancillary services and energy savings markets. The main challenge identified in this work are the requirements for programme establishment, allowing the recognition and proper interpretation of energy savings triggered by short-term events and obtained by an aggregator via explicit demand response actions. This paper proposes possible solutions for a joint venture of a flexibility and energy savings aggregator, thus alleviating possible data collection problems. Collaborative efforts have been recognised in the establishment and maintenance of information and communication technologies and infrastructure, therefore facilitating continuous monitoring and verification of flexibility programmes which are able to deliver energy savings.

Comparison of visual requirements and regulations for obtaining a driving license in different European countries and some open questions on their adequacy.

We reviewed the current state of knowledge regarding visual function and its suitability as part of medical examinations for driving licenses. We focused only on Group 1 drivers. According to previous studies, visual acuity, which is the most common test, is weakly associated with a higher risk of road accidents, with a greater role of visual field. The inclusion of the visual field test in medical examinations is therefore important, but the actual limit value is still unclear and further research in specific situations is needed. Color vision impairment was not found a threat to traffic safety. Contrast sensitivity decreases with age and is affected by abnormal eye conditions. Resulting glare can lead to an increased risk of traffic accidents during night driving in the elderly and others with conditions that impair contrast sensitivity. However, the universal cut-off limits have not been established either. The current European Union (EU) regulations therefore reflect minimum common denominator across the member states which may not entirely translate to optimal driving safety. Due to these open questions, standardized testing in simulators or on polygons that simulate real life conditions would be needed to better determine safe limits of visual function in different conditions. As there is a need to have better standardization across Europe regarding the requirements and rules regarding driving licenses in European countries, we first analyzed existing rules and compared them with each other, also in terms of deviations from the EU directive itself. We reviewed the literature in this field and prepared proposals for a more optimal regulation of the rules in the future. Particular attention is paid to the new method of examining the visual field that was created to respect the European directive. The paper can serve as a basis of information for research teams to design further protocols, as it gathers research findings to date on the importance and impact of various visual functions on driving safety, as well as a starting point for a debate on revising existing rules for obtaining and maintaining licenses, as it compares the current regulations in European countries and differences between them.

Differentiation through flexibility in implementation: Strategic and substantive uses of discretion in EU directives

This article analyses the extent to which European Union (EU) directives allow for variation in domestic implementation. Such flexibility in implementation may be used to deal with heterogeneity among member states. Based on an original dataset of 164 directives adopted between 2006 and 2015, we find that the use of flexibility is associated more with efforts to accommodate differences between national policies (substantive use of discretion) than with attempts to facilitate the decision-making process in and between EU legislative institutions (strategic use of discretion). Although flexibility may be used to address some of the same concerns that drive differentiated integration (DI), the situations in which each is most likely to be used are distinct because they approach the divergences between member states differently.

Vulnerability management as compliance requirement in product security regulation-agame changer for producers' liability and consequential improvement of the level of security in the Internet of Things?

The article outlines the European Union (EU) regulation of information technology (IT) security in Internet of Things products from a consumer and end user perspective. It starts with civil law and the necessity to address security requirements and specifications in individual contractual terms. Data and consumer protection laws have not helped much, mainly because of missing definitions and levels of applicable security. Two new EU directives reforming the law of obligations may improve the situation for consumers since security is now a named quality requirement, especially for the sale of (digital) goods. Also introduced is the provision of security updates as a contractual duty. But both rule sets address only the traders, not the producers. This is different with the activation of clauses in the radio equipment directive, which sets IT security measures as requirements to be compliant for CE labeling. An important element is the introduction of a vulnerability management system. Details can be found in the draft of technical standard ETSI/EN 303645. The work concludes with a look at the EU’s efforts regarding certification schemes and the interaction of all regulation elements, with more liability for insecure products plus the hope for effectiveness.

An Innovative Tool to Control Occupational Radon Exposure.

After smoking, indoor radon is the main contributor to lung cancer in many countries. The European Union (EU) Directive 2013/59/Euratom establishes a maximum reference level of 300 Bq/m3 of radon concentration in the workplace, and an effective dose limit of 20 mSv per year for workers. If the radon concentration in a workplace exceeds the reference level, constructive mitigation applies. When constructive mitigation is not feasible, we propose to keep workers’ effective dose below 6 mSv per year (category B of exposed workers) by controlling occupancy time. Setting the maximum annual dose at 6 mSv protects workers’ health and eases the regulatory requirements for employers. If multisite workers are present, each worker has to be monitored individually by tracking the time spent and the radon concentration at each worksite. This paper shows a software tool for employers to perform this complex tracking in an accurate, conservative, and transparent manner, and in compliance with the EU by-laws.

Direct and indirect effect of European Uniondirectives in the context of European UnionCourt of Justice decisions

The objective of this article is to analyze the direct effect of EU directives in vertical and horizontal legal relationships as well as theindirect effect of EU directivesin the context of EU Court of Justice decisions. In particular, attention is paid to the study of the consolidated legal positions regarding the possibility of the “verticaldirecteffect”, “horizontaldirecteffect” and “indirect effect”of EU directives.Dialectical, comparative-legal, historical, and formal dogmatic methods were used in the research.As the resultof analyzewas made the conclusion that the EU directives, which are used by national courts to fulfill their obligations regarding the respective interpretation, can not be considered with direct effect, because in such disputes they serve as a means of determiningthe scope of other legal provisions that the national court treats or interprets. In such situations, the directive may be applied in cases indirectly, that is, by virtue of another (national) provision, as interpreted.

Extracellular Matrix Interactions Provide Tumor Cells With an Escape Mechanism for Commitment to Differentiation

Extracellular Matrix Interactions Provide Tumor Cells With an Escape Mechanism for Commitment to Differentiation

Terra incognita: Victim Participation Rights, Sexual Offending and Brexit

Over the past four decades, the importance of safeguarding the rights of victims of crimes has been progressively recognised. While the European Convention on Human Rights, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as the European Union Directive on the Rights of Victims of Crime Directive 2012/20 EU have all contributed to this change, this recognition has been driven primarily by EU law. 1 By contrast with the general provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights adopted in 1950, 2 which seeks merely to establish minimum standards in 46 very different States, the Directive sets out in detail the component elements of rights in a legislative text. Further, it enjoys probably both direct effect and certainly supremacy and has the overt intention to harmonise the law in the Member State to which it applies. 3 Increasingly, victims are seen as rights-holders. There is now a growing consensus that victims of crime have an inherent interest in the manner in which criminal justice is administered with accompanying rights as a participant. This concern is heightened 4 in cases of sex offending and has resulted in national reviews and inquiries into the investigation and prosecution of sexual offences 5 in the adversarial criminal jurisdictions of the UK and Ireland. One of the rights focussed on in these reports was the substantive participatory right to state-funded independent legal representation for defence applications to question the victim in relation to sexual history or character evidence at the pre-trial stage. Ireland played a significant leadership role in these initiatives and it extended the already established right from the trial to the pre-trial stage. By contrast, a report commissioned by the Victims’ Commissioner indicates that England and Wales is far behind in providing substantive participatory rights to victims of crime 6 while proposals exist in Scotland and Northern Ireland to follow the Irish approach and place the right on a statutory footing. The decision of the UK to leave the EU now means that the domestic implementing measures and any unimplemented provisions are converted to retained EU law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. 7 Further, the Act removes Charter rights from domestic law on exit day 8 while retaining in domestic law fundamental rights or principles which exist irrespective of the Charter. 9 I will explore here some of the challenges for the UK courts in defining and interpreting these retained law rights. Crucially, any future development will not have access to the “benchmark” 10 of either EU law or a written constitution. The UK’s relationship with the Convention is an evolving one and, while general Convention protections continue to apply, for now at least, 11 I will focus here on implications for the UK’s uncodified constitutional order. This now diluted legal order will be more reliant on common law rights which, by contrast with rights in a written constitution, generally lack a hard -fundamental status.

Traffic emissions management using capacity formulation and multi‐modal road space allocation

The ever-rising traffic volumes and congestion in cities have long constituted concerns for traffic safety and the economy. Moreover, traffic has been recognised as a significant contributor to emissions leading to serious environmental and public health problems, becoming the greatest contributor to premature deaths. In response to global policies, this paper introduces unique evaluation of road capacity with studied impediment factors, demonstrating the need for better road space allocation. Speed and capacity formulation for each factor is a unique contribution to knowledge as presented. The developed formulation depicts poor road space allocation along Birmingham's routes as speed reduces by 13 km/h, and capacity reduction of 400 vehicles/lane/h. A proven method of integrating microsimulation and environmental assessment tools show that CO2 increases by 18%, NOx by 23%, and PM by 6%, with reduced traffic movement due to poor road space allocation. This analysis bridges the gap in knowledge so far reported on road space allocation, showing evidence of significant contribution to European Union Directive on air pollution exceedance. Lastly, evidence from this analysis is used to develop traffic management proposals for a more sustainable road space re-allocation. This provides a unique and measurable impact on the environment for the ‘Birmingham Transport Plan’.

The Influence of Taxation on Income Inequality: Analysis of the Practice in the EU Countries

The growing economic inequality around the world is recognized as a global problem of mankind. At the same time, the key tool for reducing inequality and ensuring the achievement of sustainable development goals is the taxation system given its distributive function. That is why this paper puts forward and proves a scientific hypothesis according to which direct taxation has a significant impact on economic inequality, with its scale and sphere depending on the level of economic development and the specific architecture of the tax system adopted in a particular country. The study relies on data from 28 European Union countries, including the United Kingdom, whose tax systems are not identical but harmonized in accordance with European Union directives, the same as the legislation in other economic sectors. Accordingly, it can be concluded that similar institutional characteristics are present. We have used the method of two-stage cluster analysis, which is meant for identifying the natural splitting of the mass of data into groups, then carried out regression analysis and built some models. The contribution of the study is revealing a number of important regularities that are significant for characterizing the dependence of income inequality on direct taxation as well as formulation recommendations for improving the tax policies of European Union countries, with the potential of policy implications. The results obtained can play a significant role in the development and further harmonization of tax systems and resolving the global problem of increased inequality within and between countries.