European Union's Fight Research Articles

Is energy poverty of Eastern European countries a threat or opportunity in the European Union's fight against climate change?

Energy poverty is a critical global issue that affects millions of people worldwide. The lack of access to reliable and affordable energy services has significant economic and social impacts, including limited opportunities for education, personal development, and economic growth. This paper examines the relationship between energy poverty and economic development in selected countries using the panel quantile methodology. The findings emphasize the importance of addressing energy poverty in order to foster economic growth in the selected country group. In addition, CO2 emissions have a positive effect on economic growth, but policies to reduce fossil fuel consumption can both boost economic growth and mitigate negative environmental impacts. Inflation has a negative effect on economic growth, so policymakers should prioritize measures to control it. Employment has a positive effect on economic growth, so job creation policies should be promoted. The study found that improving access to clean energy can increase economic growth and improve the well-being of citizens in Eastern European countries. Therefore, efforts to reduce energy poverty should be a priority to promote economic development and improve the quality of life.

The European Union Fight against Trafficking of Human Beings: Challenges of the Victim’s Statute

The fight against trafficking in human beings poses several challenges. The introduction of the human rights approach in this area requires victim protection measures. Faced with this challenge, the European Union has opted for the introduction of different measures through Directive 2011/36/EU. This instrument complements the international framework provided by the Palermo Protocol on trafficking and the Warsaw Convention. The study of some of the provisions of these instruments should help to determine whether EU regulation is truly an advance in the protection of victims of trafficking.

Ten Years of EU's Fight against Terrorist Financing: A Critical Assessment

This article offers a critical assessment of the post-9/11 efforts of the European Union (EU) in the fight against terrorist finances. Using the EU's own goals from its action plans and counterterrorism strategies as the baseline criteria, it examines how successful the EU has been in implementing the relevant aspects of various United Nations Security Council counterterrorism resolutions, the special recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force, and its own measures spanning across all of its three pre-Lisbon pillars. In particular, the article seeks to answer the following questions: (1) What and how much of its own counter-terrorism plans has the EU managed to achieve since 9/11? and (2) What lessons can be learned from the hitherto successes and failures for future EU efforts to counter terrorist financing? Special attention is paid to the thus far neglected role of the private sector in the fight against terrorist financing.

Parliamentary control of CSDP: the case of the EU's fight against piracy off the Somali coast

Parliamentary involvement remains a key tool for the democratic control of executive policies. This article explores the web of parliamentary involvement in decision-making on European Union (EU) military operations, using insights gained in an in-depth case study on the EU's anti-piracy mission Atalanta. We find that parliaments at all levels became involved only after key political decisions had already been made. At the member state level, we find highly uneven involvement with only some parliaments being very well informed and closely monitoring, if not influencing government policy. The European Parliament became active only after the launch of the mission but then scrutinised it intensely, profiting (in contrast to national parliaments) from its access to top military officials and key decision-makers. Finally, transnational parliamentary assemblies as well as more informal networks provided opportunities to transmit information across the boundaries of individual parliaments and party-groups thus potentially enhancing the ability of parliamentarians to scrutinise government policies.

Sobre animales y desahucios

Animal welfare is an important objective of the European policy. Since the 1970', several protection instruments were adopted in numerous domains and particularly concerning fur. In order to forbid products stemming from methods considered as cruel, the European Union adopted several embargos (or import ban) on seal furs, cat and dog furs from China and furs from leghold traps. Nevertheless, this anti-fur policy on the international scene hides a paradox: the European Union is the world’s largest producer of factory farmed fur. While the European Union fight against the methods of hunting, capture and production of fur outside its borders, it holds thousands of fur farms in which methods of detention and killing are also recognized as extremely cruel. Aware of these ethical problems, the European Commission wishes to find solutions. Therefore, it would be desirable to ban fur farming in the European Union. This option seems even more possible that the European countries are more and more numerous to adopt ban and restriction measures concerning these farms. Finally, such a ban would offer the advantage to reach both an objective of coherence of Community law and answer the increasing demand from the European citizens for a more ethical treatment of animals.

The European Union's Fight Against Corruption: The Evolving Policy Towards Member States and Candidate Countries * by Patrycja Szarek-Mason

The European Union's Fight Against Corruption: The Evolving Policy Towards Member States and Candidate Countries * by Patrycja Szarek-Mason

A Weak Link? Irish National Security Policy on International Terrorism

Throughout the Cold War, Irish national security was detached from Western priorities and its policy attracted little academic interest. But such detachment has become increasingly problematic. This paper argues that the threat of international terrorism underlines the need for a change of attitude among security scholars and policy managers alike. Irish policy on terrorism places at risk the security of other Western states and highlights deficiencies in the European Union's fight against terrorism. New evidence is explored here regarding Irish air and sea security, intelligence systems, and immigration procedures, underlining the international implications of each. Trenchant insights and reforms emerged from Irish experience in the weeks that followed the 11 September attack. The policies framed in that period, however, have not changed in any substantial way since. Within the literature on Irish security there are three key explanations for the shape of national policy: 1) political pressures on the security agencies; 2) financial pressures on these agencies; and 3) Anglo-Irish security considerations. Domestic deficiencies create problems for broader counter-terrorism efforts, especially at EU level. This challenges the premise that individual member states will help secure the Union as a whole.

Smoking May not Only be Hazardous to Your Health, but also to World Political Stability: The European Union's Fight Against Cigarette Smuggling Rings that Benefit Terrorism

Smoking May not Only be Hazardous to Your Health, but also to World Political Stability: The European Union's Fight Against Cigarette Smuggling Rings that Benefit Terrorism