European Union Nations Research Articles

Successfully Articulating National Constitutional Identity Claims: Strait Is the Gate and Narrow Is the Way

Article 4(2) Treaty of the European Union (TEU) has not played any autonomous role up to now. Cases involving that provision have not been handled differently by the Court than cases involving derogations to free movement. In this article, after an analysis of the existingcase law on Article 4(2) TEU, I make the case for a bolder and exceptional use of Article 4(2) TEU where genuine national constitutional identity claims (NCI claims) directly clash with provisions of EU law. I provide a normative framework of analysis to identify genuine NCI claims and determine how the Court should address them. ‘Strait is the gate and narrow is the way’ is certainly a relevant metaphor to capture the possibility for genuine NCI claims to be successful. In view of its own mission and constraints, the Court is only to accept well motivated, narrow claims that are strictly based on crucial and distinctive features of national law that are embedded in the national Constitution and do not run against the own constitutional identity of the Union. Member State constitutional identity, Article 4(2) TEU, Extraordinary function, Constitutional conflicts, Instructions for use, Constitutional courts, Court of Justice, Balancing between national identity and fundamental rights, European Union constitutional identity, National and European constitutionalism

The potential impacts of the EVFTA on Vietnam’s imports of dairy products from the EU: a SMART model analysis

This study investigates the potential impacts of tariff elimination under the European Union - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) on Vietnam’s imports of dairy products from the European Union market. The SMART model, which is a simulation tool under the WITS, is employed with support data from TrendEconomy and Trade Map Database, UNCTAD’s TRAINS, WTO’s IDB (Integrated Data Base), and Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance. The study examines two scenarios of Vietnam’s tariff reduction commitments under the EVFTA and the big picture vVietnam’s import value by product line and by European Union (EU) nations would increase insignificantly as the trade creation effect dominates the trade diversion. Additionally, the results indicate insignificant welfare gain for the consumers and potential revenue loss for the government. The study provides insights for Vietnam’s dairy industry and policymakers to fully grasp the possible benefits and losses under the EVFTA and implications for decision-making.

Trends in incidence and mortality of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin: An observational analysis of the Global Burden of Disease database from 1990 to 2017.

10569 Background: Epidemiological data relating to non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), including squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), is highly under-reported and under-studied due to its lower metastatic potential. In recent years, incidence and prevalence of SCC has increased in many countries due to earlier detection, increased ultraviolet light exposure, as well as increasing life expectancy. This investigation compared trends in SCC incidence, mortality and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in 33 countries. Methods: We utilized the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) database for 33 countries, including the European Union nations as well as other selected high-income countries including the UK and USA. We extracted data including age-standardized incidence rates (ASIRs), age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) and DALYs for SCC of the skin from 1990 to 2017. Joinpoint regression analysis was used to describe the trends. Results: For both sexes, the highest ASIRs were seen in the USA and Australia: ASIRs were 362.8/100,000 and 283.7/100,000 respectively for males, and 171.2/100,000 and 152.4/100,000 respectively for females. Males had higher ASIRs than females at the end of the observation period in all countries. In contrast, the highest ASMRs for males were observed in Australia (2.77/100,000) and Latvia (2.44/100,000), while the highest ASMRs for females were observed in Romania (0.95/100,000) and Croatia (0.90/100,000). The highest DALYs for both sexes were seen in Australia and Romania: DALYs were 58.4/100,000 and 43.8/100,000 respectively for males, and 16.9/100,000 and 14.9/100,000 respectively for females. Over the observation period, there were more countries demonstrating decreasing trends in mortality than in incidence. There was also a disparity between which countries had comparatively high mortality rates and which had high incidence rates – for instance, the USA, which had by far the highest SCC incidence rates, had among the lower mortality rates. Overall reductions in DALYs were observed in 24 of 33 countries for males, and 25 countries for females. Conclusions: Over the past 27 years, although trends in SCC incidence have risen in most countries, there is evidence that mortality rates have been decreasing, especially towards the end of the observation period. Overall, burden of disease as assessed using DALYs has decreased in the majority of countries. Future work will explore potential explanatory factors for the observed disparity in trends in SCC incidence and mortality.

Sofregaz v. NGSC (CA Paris)

On June 3, 2020, the International Commercial Chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal (the Court or the Court of Appeal) dismissed the annulment application brought by the Société Française d'Etudes et de Réalisation d'Equipements Gaziers (Sofregaz, now called TCM FR) of an arbitral award rendered in Paris on December 27, 2018, in favor of the Iranian Natural Gas Storage Company (NGSC), pursuant to the Rules of Arbitration of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC Rules). The Court ruled in particular that U.S. sanctions against Iran do not form part of French international public order but that European Union (EU) and United Nations (UN) sanctions do. This ruling provides useful guidance on the interaction between international sanctions and international arbitration.

Is body-contouring surgery a right for massive weight loss patients? A survey through the European Union National Health Systems

BackgroundObesity is pandemic nowadays, and hanging skin with consequent functional and psychological impairments is a common price to pay for massive weight loss. Plastic surgery in postbariatric patients represents a fundamental step to regain possession of a positive self-image. The authors aimed to investigate how EU countries’ National Health System (NHS) behaves regarding reimbursements for body-contouring procedures after massive weight loss.MethodsA 1-item survey was sent to contacts found on the NHS official Web sites of 27 EU countries. The question focused on postbariatric surgery practice and investigated the accessibility criteria for NHS coverage concerning body-contouring procedures after massive weight loss.ResultsResponses were collected between January 2020 and February 2020. Response rate was 65%, and access criteria to NHS coverage for postbariatric surgery presented great variation across EU countries. Only one country presented an NHS with no coverage for postbariatric surgeries.ConclusionsDespite the conspicuous variability found among the EU NHS, none of them admit reimbursement in cases of merely aesthetic procedures: postbariatric patients need to display functional or health impairments due to the extensive weight loss. The results of the current study describe a complex situation among EU countries, but a common lead towards postbariatric patients’ care shows off. The ultimate goal of bariatric patient’s healing should be full restoration of physical and psychological well-being. NHS of EU countries are facing this increasing request in various ways, and more studies should be performed in order to understand which is the best approach.Level of evidence: Not ratable.

The Global Communitarian Deficit

This article uses the sociological/philosophical theory of liberal communitarianism to analyze existing trends in global affairs. The European Union (EU) has often erred by expanding its missions without also recognizing the pull of nationalism and conducting community-building to strengthen the bonds among member nations. EU nations and countries around the world are retreating to nationalism. Rather than bringing the world together to fight a common enemy, the COVID-19 crisis has accelerated these global trends. The rise of nationalism has not increased domestic cohesion, but has led to high levels of domestic polarization. International communities seem a long way off, and the world order in the near future may depend to a considerable extent on whether the United States will permit China to increase its influence in the Western Pacific, which would allow for collaboration on most other matters.

A comparative meta-analysis of residential green building policies and measures in the EU, and their impact on overall energy patterns

Data shows residential energy consumption constituting a significant portion of the overall energy end use in the European Union (EU), ranging between 15% and 30%. Furthermore, the EU’s dependency on foreign fossil fuel-based energy imports has been steadily increasing since 1993, constituting approximately 60% of its primary energy. This paper provides an analytical review of diverse residential building/energy policies in targeted EU countries, to shed insight on the impact of such policies and measures on the energy use and efficiency trends. Accordingly, the adoption of robust residential green and energy efficient building policies in the EU has increased in the past decade. Moreover, the data from the EU energy efficiency and consumption databases attributes 44% of total energy savings since 2000 to energy upgrades and improvements within the residential sector. Consequently, many EU countries and organizations are continuously evaluating residential building energy consumption patterns to increase the sector’s overall energy performance. To that end, the energy efficiency gains in EU households were measured at 1% in 2000 compared to 27.8% in 2016, a 2600% increase. Accordingly, 36 policies have been implemented successfully since 1991 across the EU targeting improvements in residential energy efficiency and reductions in the energy use. Moreover, the adoption of National Energy Efficiency Actions Plans (NEEACP) across the EU has been a major driver of energy savings and energy efficiency. Most energy efficiency plans have followed a holistic multi-dimensional approach targeting the following areas, legislative actions, financial incentives, fiscal tax exemptions, and public education and awareness programs and campaigns. These measures and policy instruments have cumulatively generated significant energy savings and measurable improvements in the energy performance across the EU since their inception. As a result, the EU residential energy consumption trends show a consistent decrease over the past decade. The purpose of this analysis is to explore, examine, and compare the various green building and energy-related policies in the EU, highlighting some of the more robust and progressive aspects of such policies. Lastly, the paper analyzes the multiple policies and guidelines across targeted EU nations.

Asymmetric-flow field-flow fractionation for measuring particle size, drug loading and (in)stability of nanopharmaceuticals. The joint view of European Union Nanomedicine Characterization Laboratory and National Cancer Institute - Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory

Asymmetric-flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) has been recognized as an invaluable tool for the characterisation of particle size, polydispersity, drug loading and stability of nanopharmaceuticals. However, the application of robust and high quality standard operating procedures (SOPs) is critical for accurate measurements, especially as these complex drug nanoformulations are most often inherently polydisperse. In this review we describe a unique international collaboration that lead to the development of a robust SOP for the measurement of physical-chemical properties of nanopharmaceuticals by multi-detector AF4 (MD-AF4) involving two state of the art infrastructures in the field of nanomedicine, the European Union Nanomedicine Characterization Laboratory (EUNCL) and the National Cancer Institute-Nanotechnology Characterisation Laboratory (NCI-NCL). We present examples of how MD-AF4 has been used for the analysis of key quality attributes, such as particle size, shape, drug loading and stability of complex nanomedicine formulations. The results highlight that MD-AF4 is a very versatile analytical technique to obtain critical information on a material particle size distribution, polydispersity and qualitative information on drug loading. The ability to conduct analysis in complex physiological matrices is an additional very important advantage of MD-AF4 over many other analytical techniques used in the field for stability studies. Overall, the joint NCI-NCL/EUNCL experience demonstrates the ability to implement a powerful and highly complex analytical technique such as MD-AF4 to the demanding quality standards set by the regulatory authorities for the pre-clinical safety characterization of nanomedicines.

The relevance of EU external cultural synergies

European Union (EU) is a supra-ideological construct in permanent change. Changing times bring the European External Action Service (EEAS) to its cultural strategy. EU external cultural strategy with the complexity of political and social realities defines the two main steps followed in this study: a) EU intercultural strategy analysis, and b) the role and the place of EU Delegations (EU Dels) and the European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC). The basis of the analysis is the qualitative approach. It analyses various institutional manifestations of power and status discrepancies in the EU on a macro and micro institutional level. How does the EU manage to communicate its values and identity in a context of potential cultural and ideological differences? Does ”wanting to understand the other” seem neglected, whereas ”wanting to get understood“ seems to have become an EU intercultural attitude driver? The aim of this paper is to identify the process and relevance of EU cultural synergies and its external intercultural image through various involved actors.

Uncertain sunset lives: British migrants facing Brexit in Spain

One of the most concerned groups potentially impacted by the approval of Brexit in 2016 is that of the so-called “Brexpats”. This group of people is composed by at least 784,900 British citizens who are living in the European Union (EU), among which those settling in Spain are the most prominent. Spanish Brexpats are the largest British population outside the borders of the UK, except for in the Commonwealth territories. They have some peculiar characteristics, such as an advanced average age compared to other EU destinations; a large number of people living off the radar; geographical concentration within coastal areas; and a certain social isolation. In this context, the succession of news and potential scenarios that the Brexit process generated in the media and official sources has created a feeling of insecurity about citizenship rights and freedom of movement in this group; rights that, after the withdrawal agreement seem to have disappeared. However, there are still many details that need to be finalised, especially with regard to trade agreements, which may affect in one way or another the group of British residents, not only in Spain but also in other EU nations. The following text analyses the possible changes and challenges that this group will have to face with the new reality beginning in 2021.

The nexus between financial inclusion and economic development: Comparison of old and new EU member countries

The main objective of this study is to investigate the impact of financial inclusion and trade openness on the economic development of 27 European Union (EU) nations. The sample countries are classified into low-income, high-income, old-EU, and new-EU members; this distinction allows us to provide more constructive and practical policy implications. Yearly data from 1995 to 2015 and panel econometric techniques were used. The results show that access, depth, efficiency, and the overall development of financial institutions have significant positive impact on economic growth in both the full sample and sub-samples. We also find that capital, labour, energy consumption and trade openness play an important role in driving economic growth across these panels. Moreover, the impact of financial inclusion on economic output is more significant in low-income and new-EU member countries than in high-income and old-EU countries. Based on these findings, detail policy implications for the entire EU, as well as for its sub-groups, are provided.

Cross-country collaboration in pursuit of powerful teacher professional learning: Lessons from the European Union

While job-embedded professional learning shows great promise at the school and district level, little is known about how it can be fostered on a grand scale. In 2014 participants from six European Union nations developed and implemented a job-embedded professional development program centered on practitioner inquiry, professional learning communities, and teachers’ use of scholarly literature. This case study provides insight into designing cross-country professional development. Facilitators included collaborative development of the conceptual framework, shared learning experiences, and the use of technology tools for task and time management. Inhibitors included language differences and divergent levels of commitment among the partner nations.

Biosafety Law for GM Technology

In thinking about the utilization of present day biotechnologies, explicitly hereditarily adjusted life forms (GMOs), the Malaysian government perceives the noteworthy likely advantages just as vulnerabilities, dangers and questions of this developing innovation. Despite the fact that extraordinary advantages of this innovation could help address future issues, yet, this innovation is frequently joined by open discussion over its possible dangers, which incorporates bioethical issues. In alleviating these dangers in a practical way, biosafety system is required so as to secure human, plant and creature wellbeing, the earth furthermore, biodiversity. One of the way to deal with the dangers is through guideline of equity dependent on law as a definitive innovation arrangement. The legislature passed the Biosafety Act in 2007 to fill in as an “umbrella demonstration” which incorporate the setting up of the National Biosafety Board just as lawful and institutional arrangements customized to conform to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, with the goal to manage the import, send out, intentional discharge, contained use and advertising of GMOrelated items so as to secure human, plant and creature wellbeing, the earth and biodiversity. The inquiry is how does this law tending to bioethical issues and how viable the law in tending to this issue? The reason for this paper is to dissect the degree to which this Biosafety Act 2007 and its guidelines might be successfully coordinating bioethical issues identifying with GM crops in understanding its goals. The article explicitly centers around bioethical issues arrangements of GMOs under the Act and its guidelines. This paper embraces a subjective exploration technique of library-based strategy which incorporates a doctrinal examination of enactment and law. The paper presumes that bioethical thought is basic for the adequacy of the biosafety administrative structures and in advancing reasonable improvement The United States Supreme Court’s choice in Bowman versus Monsanto, infers that ranchers are legitimately has no privilege to spare seeds from licensed hereditarily adjusted (GM) crops one season, and plant them the following season . This left numerous ranchers unfit to discover top notch non-GM seed. Licenses really confine development, as scientists can no longer unreservedly utilize licensed plants in rearing experimentation . Today, GM organizations control almost threequarters of deals. This fixation has prompted more significant expenses and contracting decision for buyers. GM crops likewise influence biodiversity in manners that quality exchanges through cross fertilization bringing about hybridization with related species on the grounds that many plant species can be discovered both as a harvest and as a weed. Open additionally communicated their interests that people don’t have indisputably the option to change living things what’s more, required the requirement for legitimate and proper marking of present day biotechnology items. They were likewise worried about the related dangers to human wellbeing and the chance of market imposing business model by monster organizations and created nations. The morals and security of biotechnology have been bantered since researchers initially started to explore the new innovation in the early 1970s. The worry communicated about the security of biotechnology research prompted a ban of GM crops in specific states in Australia, in India and some European Union nations.

Setting maximum levels for lead in game meat in EC regulations: An adjunct to replacement of lead ammunition

Each year, hunters from 12 of the 27 European Union (EU) countries and the UK shoot over 6 million large game mammals, 12 million rabbits and hares and over 80 million birds. They support an international game meat market worth over 1.1 thousand million Euros. Animals shot with lead ammunition frequently contain lead fragments in the carcass which contaminate meals made from game meat with concentrations of lead substantially above the maximum allowable level (ML) set by European Commission Regulation EC1881/2006 for meat from domesticated animals. This poses a health risk to frequent consumers of wild-shot game meat, with children and pregnant women being particularly vulnerable. Total replacement of lead rifle and shotgun ammunition with available non-toxic alternatives is needed for all hunting in EU nations to prevent exposure of humans and wildlife to ammunition-derived lead and to allow the depletion of the long-term environmental legacy of lead from spent ammunition. We propose that EC1881/2006 is amended to incorporate an ML for game meats as a supplementary measure to the replacement of lead ammunition. This would harmonise food safety standards for lead in meats traded across and imported into the EU.

Trends in lung cancer mortality between 2001 and 2017: An observational study in USA and EU.

e19277 Background: The lung is the commonest site of cancer and has the highest worldwide cancer-related mortality. Past two decades has seen advancements in screening technologies and guidelines, as well as new modalities for treatment. Few studies have reported on lung cancer trends in the 21st century. Our study reports and compares trends in lung cancer mortality in the USA and European Union (EU). Methods: We utilized the World Health Organization (WHO) Mortality Database and Center for Disease Control (CDC) Wonder database. We extracted Lung Cancer mortality data from 2001 to 2017 based on ICD 10 system. Crude mortality rates were dichotomized by sex and reported by year. We computed Age Standardized Death Rates (ASDRs) per 100,000 population using the World Standard Population and USA Standard Population. Lung cancer mortality trends were compared using Joinpoint regression analysis. Results: We analyzed a data from a total of 26 EU countries and USA, of which 6 countries had data till 2017, 12 till 2016, 7 till 2015 and 2 till 2014. We observed that mortality in men was down-trending in all countries except Cyprus and Portugal. In females, there was an increase in mortality in 22 countries. Amongst EU nations, most recently (2017) Hungary had the highest ASDRs for both males and females (64.5/100,000 and 31.0/100,000), whereas the lowest mortality was in Sweden for males (17.3/100,000) and Lithuania for the females (7.58/100,000). Latvia had the highest Estimated Annual Percentage Change (EAPC) in male mortality (-9.6%). Based on recent most data, we saw that there was a significantly lower mortality in males amongst European nations that joined the EU pre-2004 as compared to those that joined the EU post-2004 (p = 0.006). In USA, ASDRs in males and females were 44.3/100,000 and 30.6/100,000, respectively, with EAPC of -5.1% and -4.2% in males and females, respectively. Conclusions: For the study period, we observed expected decrease in lung cancer mortality in males. In contrast, there was a gradual rising trend in lung cancer mortality amongst females. In addition, there was substantial variation between nations. USA has shown consistent downtrend since 2001 where as there have been fluctuations in trends in other EU nations.

COVID-19 Pandemic in Pakistan

Since February 26, 2020, when coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic emerged in Karachi City and rapidly spread throughout Pakistan, the disease has affected more than 6200 people and more than 111 deaths have been reported till April 15. If we compare the disasters of COVID-19 in Pakistan with other countries like China, Iran and European Union nations, so many questions arise. We have so many challenges in controlling this pandemic like the geopolitics of country, poverty, low literacy rate, environmental conditions, hygienic conditions, and food intake habits. In all these aspects, there are poor conditions but the outbreak of COVID-19 in Pakistan was slower than other developing countries. Pakistan’s humid condition, hot weather, early response to COVID-19, population immune system, BCG vaccination and the number of young people favors to attenuate the impact of COVID-19. In this paper, we discuss the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in China, Iran and Pakistan and share day-by-day developments in this pandemic. We present the structure of COVID-19 and its similarity with SARSCOV and SARS-COV2. We also discuss the treatment procedure like use of Remdesivir (an adenosine similarity) used against RNA viruses, Chloroquine (extensively used anti-malarial drug), convalescent plasma, neutralizing antibody targeting the ACE-2 receptor and ACE-2-like molecule that might bind to the S protein of the coronavirus and disadvantages of the discussed medications. The impact of COVID-19 in the economics of Pakistan and government reliefs are also discussed.
 Key words: • Coronavirus • COVID-19 • Pakistan • Pandemic • Outbreak
 
 Copyright © 2020 Ilyas et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

International management of underwater noise: Transforming conflict into effective action.

Underwater noise and its effects on the environment now sit squarely on the international stage and are being addressed by high-level international bodies, such as the European Union and United Nations. This is in addition to the many governments of coastal nations also working to address concerns under their own national laws and requirements. At the same time, the issue's intractability in reaching solutions continues to grow. Initial concerns in the 1990s over impacts of certain naval sonars on marine mammals have now expanded to a broader range of species, geographies, sound sources, stakeholder groups, and political and regulatory interests. In addition, there are now concerns over impacts to fishery catch rates and, for some, how reduced catch rates may affect available food for people. This paper examines how the international community can work to find solutions to this seemingly intractable problem. It reviews ten major international agreements and identifies "what" major topical areas are ripe for collaboration and then ties these findings to "how" collaborative processes should be designed to reach effective and lasting solutions.

The politics of embedding and the right to remain in post-Brexit Britain

The European Union membership referendum (i.e. the Brexit referendum) in the United Kingdom in 2016 triggered a process of introspection among non-British European Union citizens with respect to their right to remain in the United Kingdom, including their right to entry, permanent residence, and access to work and social welfare. Drawing on interview data collected from 42 European Union nationals, namely Finnish and Polish migrants living in Scotland, we explore how European Union migrants’ decision-making and strategies for extending their stay in the United Kingdom, or returning to their country of origin, are shaped by and, in turn, shape their belonging and ties to their current place of residence and across state borders. In particular, we draw on the concept of embedding, which is used in migration studies to explain migration trajectories and decision-making. Our key argument is that more attention needs to be paid to the socio-political context within which migrants negotiate their embedding. To this end, we employ the term ‘politics of embedding’ to highlight the ways in which the embedding of non-British European Union citizens has been politicized and hierarchically structured in the United Kingdom after the Brexit referendum. By illustrating how the context of Brexit has changed how people evaluate their social and other attachments, and how their embedding is differentiated into ‘ties that bind’ and ‘ties that count’, we contribute to the emerging work on migration and Brexit, and specifically to the debate on how the politicization of migration shapes the sense of security on the one hand, and belonging, on the other.

Ten years of proficiency testing reveals an improvement in the analytical performance of EU National Reference Laboratories for genetically modified food and feed

National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) in the Member States of the European Union (EU) monitor the implementation of the EU legislation on the presence of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food and feed. The EU Reference Laboratory for GM Food and Feed (EURL GMFF) supports the harmonisation of measurement procedures and the improvement of the analytical performance of these laboratories, among others through the organisation of a proficiency testing (PT) scheme. The PT results reported over 10 years have been analysed using common criteria applied to the reported data. The outcome revealed a gradual decrease of the relative standard deviation within the sets of the reported data with time. The extent of the deviation of the results from the assigned value also diminished between 2010 and 2019. The average deviation from the assigned value was independent of the GM content in the later PT rounds but it was affected by the complexity of the test item matrix. Performance scores were calculated for all results reported by the 62 NRLs. The number of unsatisfactory performance scores obtained decreased with time. The trends observed indicate an improvement in the analytical performance and an increased harmonisation of GMO testing within the EU enforcement laboratories.

Introduction: External Aspects of the European Union Common Fisheries Policy

The European Union (EU) is a unique international organisation. Its constituent treaties establish a regional legal order separate from international law but also integral to the legal systems of its Member States. EU law has supremacy over the domestic laws of the Member States. The EU also possesses international legal personality and is empowered to enter exclusively into binding legal relations with non-EU States (hereinafter third States) on behalf of its twenty-seven Member States in respect of those matters over which it enjoys competence. The exclusive competence of the EU extends to the conservation and management of marine living resources, which has allowed it to play a significant role in the development of fisheries law and policy. The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is a set of rules agreed by Member States for regulating the conservation and management of stocks in so-called Union waters – the combined waters of the EU’s constituent Member States – as well as the regulation of fishing vessels flying the flag of an EU Member State in the waters under the jurisdiction of third States or on the high seas. In broad terms, it treats the waters and resources therein as a common resource and EU nationals enjoy equal access to waters and fishing opportunities, subject to some legally defined exceptions or conditions. The CFP was introduced in 1970, and been subject to periodic reviews and reform. he CFP has four main policy areas: fisheries management, market and trade policy, structural funding, and international policy. Alongside internal rules harmonising regulations between Member States, the CFP also has an important external dimension. It is this aspect of EU fisheries law which is the focus of this special issue. This introduction provides necessary context on the EU external fisheries policy and identifies some key issues that are explained in more detail in the other papers to this special issue.