The AOAC Stakeholder Panel on Strategic Food Analytical Methods approved AOAC INTERNATIONAL Standard Method Performance Requirements (SMPRs®) 2023.003 for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in produce, beverages, dairy products, eggs, seafood, meat products, and feed. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) method is a single laboratory validated (SLV) method for determination of 30 PFAS in food and feed. In response to a call for minimum method performance characteristics and analytical requirements, the FDA's method for detection of PFAS in food and feed was validated in a single laboratory study with comparison to AOAC SMPR 2023.003. Samples were extracted using (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, Safe) QuEChERS followed by solid phase extraction (SPE) clean-up and concentration using nitrogen. Analysis was performed using isotope dilution liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The method was validated for parameters such as limit of quantification, recovery, repeatability, system suitability, and reference materials were analyzed. A full validation was conducted in European Union (EU)-regulated matrixes (eggs, shrimp, clams, salmon, chicken, beef liver) and other matrixes (produce, milk, baby food, ground coffee, fish oil, protein powder, corn snaplage) with satisfactory performances both in terms of recovery and reproducibility. Recovery percentages at target limits of quantification (LOQ) and two additional levels for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) were between 80-120% and repeatability (RSDr) results were ≤20% for EU-regulated matrixes. For other matrixes recovery percentages were between 65-135% and repeatability results were ≤25%. All were within acceptable ranges as per AOAC SMPR 2023.003. The FDA's method for detection of 30 PFAS in food and feed compares favorably with the requirements of AOAC SMPR 2023.003 and should be adopted as a First Action AOAC Official Method. The FDA's single lab validated method for PFAS detection in food and feed meets the requirements of AOAC SMPR 2023.003.

ABSTRACT The European Union (EU) announced the inclusion of shipping emissions in the Emissions Trading System (ETS) in 2023. This new policy has a positive impact on reducing environmental pollution caused by shipping. On one hand, it generates revenue through the ETS for environmental remediation; on the other hand, it potentially encourages shipping companies to use cleaner and lower-emission energy sources. This study focuses on the EU ETS policy and investigates the potential impacts of the EU ETS on shipping networks. Utilizing optimization techniques and graph theory, this study first develops models to obtain the optimal shipping network under the EU ETS policy. Then, we analyze the types of shipping routes that will be influenced by the EU ETS policy, which in turn can provide insights for policymakers. When shipping companies can avoid high emission charges by altering routes, the EU ETS helps reduce maritime pollution in the EU. If shipping companies cannot avoid these charges, the policymaker can impose higher fees to generate more revenue for environmental remediation or encourage the use of cleaner energy sources.

Telemedicine is increasingly playing a vital role in European health systems, offering great potential for improving healthcare access and outcomes. Funded between September 2022 and December 2024, the Joint Action 'Strengthening eHealth including telemedicine and remote monitoring for health care systems for CANcer prevention and care' (eCAN JA) provided evidence-base for person-centred implementation of telemedicine services among cancer patients in the European Union (EU). Through a mixed-method approach, this foresight study gathered insights from key decision-makers in 14 EU Member States and eight cancer patient associations via two surveys and a joint workshop, conducted within the Sustainability Work Package (WP4) of the eCAN JA. Our results show that EU Member States and cancer patients view telemedicine as a useful and complementary tool, however, not as a replacement for in-person services for cancer care. The policy recommendations from our study can be summarised as follows: (i) develop legal frameworks to complement in-person care with telemedicine; (ii) improve digital literacy and information technology infrastructure while ensuring privacy and health equity; and (iii) engage patients in the co-design of telemedicine services. Implementing these recommendations will enhance the integration of telemedicine into cancer care in Europe.

The application of artificial intelligence in public health surveillance in Portugal: an exploratory study of expert perspectives

Access to environmental information is a fundamental principle of international environmental law, emphasizing transparency and public participation as essential for environmental protection and justice. Despite international initiatives, national legal frameworks vary in providing timely and effective access to such information, which can influence public awareness and environmental responsibility. The purpose of this study is to examine the legal regulation of access to environmental information in the European Union (EU) and several post-Soviet countries. The methodology includes general scientific methods (systemic, analytical, dialectical, formal-logical, and modeling) and specialized legal approaches (historical-legal, comparative-legal, and formal-legal). The study finds that while EU institutions have extensive reporting mechanisms, capacity and awareness gaps limit effective use of environmental data. In post-Soviet countries, legal frameworks often lack mechanisms for early public involvement and effective feedback. Comparative analysis highlights a strong link between national regulations and international norms, with opportunities for legislative improvement and civic empowerment. The study concludes that enhancing access to environmental information can improve transparency, strengthen democratic participation, and support sustainable environmental governance. The paper is relevant for policymakers and scholars seeking to align national legislation with international environmental standards.

Abstract Recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports emphasize that there is no ‘silver bullet’ to tackle the global climate crisis. In response, several Members of the World Trade Orgnization (WTO) are adopting policy instruments to internalize the environmental costs of greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, when adopting these policy tools, Members may face concerns about the risk of carbon leakage and the resulting loss of competitiveness. In May 2023, the European Union (EU) adopted Regulation 2023/956, establishing the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Shortly thereafter, other WTO Members, including the USA, tabled proposals for national border carbon adjustment (BCA) mechanisms. While BCAs hold potential to advance climate mitigation and incentivize global decarbonization, they also pose complex legal and systemic challenges under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). If not designed and implemented with sensitivity to global disparities, BCAs may impose disproportionate burdens on developing and least-developed countries, potentially undermining their consistency with GATT non-discrimination obligations and the chapeau of Article XX. To ensure that BCAs are genuinely directed towards climate objectives, interpretations of Article XX chapeau must be informed by the Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC) principle, which must guide States’ climate mitigation efforts. Against this backdrop, this contribution critically examines and compares the core implementation challenges of the EU CBAM and four BCA proposals introduced in the 118th US Congress in 2023. With the EU CBAM nearing full implementation and growing momentum for BCAs in other jurisdictions, including the USA, addressing legal and distributive concerns is imperative to avoid adverse impacts on vulnerable economies. This is particularly pressing also in light of the potential emergence of a ‘BCA coalition’ among politically and economically aligned states. While BCAs can foster international cooperation and make meaningful contributions to climate change mitigation, their legitimacy depends on consistency with the CBDR-RC principle and compliance with the GATT.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) comprise an important group of indoor air pollutants, commonly found in building materials and consumer products. Due to their low boiling points, VOCs are prevalent in indoor environments, with concentrations in homes, schools, and offices often two to five times higher than outdoors. Chronic exposure to VOCs is linked to a range of adverse health outcomes, including respiratory, neurological, cardiovascular damage, and an increased cancer risk. Children and adolescents who spend a significant amount of time in educational buildings are particularly vulnerable to these effects. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the related health risks to those in day care centres, schools, high-schools and universities across 17 member states of the European Union (EU) by utilizing a previously published dataset and collecting data on levels of 9 VOCs. Health risks were assessed using the World Health Organization's Indoor Air Quality Risk Calculator. Point of departure indices (PODIs) and cancer risks were calculated, with values above 1.0 and 10 cases/1 million population respectively indicating an increased health risk. Our results showed that formaldehyde exposure poses an increased risk of respiratory, neurological and carcinogenic effects in educational buildings in 14 of the countries studied. Additionally, neurological risks from exposure to benzene were above the limit in 4 EU countries. These findings indicate the need to reduce formaldehyde and benzene concentrations in European educational buildings to protect the health of the next generation.

The study examines how economic, environmental, and social sustainability indicators influence sustainable value added in the tourism sector across the 27 European Union (EU) member states. The research addresses the limited evidence on how sustainability inputs shape value creation in tourism, highlighted in prior work such as Trinajstić et al. (2022). The purpose is to identify which sustainability dimensions support stronger long-term performance. A dynamic panel model estimated with the two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) method is used to control for endogeneity and country-specific effects, following the approach of Arellano and Bover (1995). The results show that fixed capital formation and tourism-related turnover increase sustainable value added. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions show a positive association, which reflects current transitional practices. Renewable energy use contributes to stronger sustainability outcomes. Environmental taxes and social indicators show no significant link. The study concludes that economic investment and clean-energy adoption support sustainable value creation in EU tourism. The findings are relevant for policy efforts focused on green transition and long-term sector competitiveness.

Purpose The prices and rents of land depend on its marginal productivity and a number of other factors (the range of economic and policy-related factors). Significant changes in the European Union (EU) agricultural policy and changes in productivity models in recent years have influenced land market dynamics. To properly understand the dynamics in the land market and relate it to changes in agricultural production and policy, it is important to establish a multi-factor model that would allow the main factors determining changes in land rental prices in the EU to be assessed. Design/methodology/approach The article proposes an index decomposition analysis model to explain changes in land price at the country level. The logarithmic mean Divisia index is used for the decomposition of agricultural land prices into their key contributing factors. The proposed index decomposition analysis model is used with data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network. The empirical case of the EU countries over 2004–2022 is considered. The proposed approach allows one to measure the contributions of different factors towards changes in land rent based on the production theory. Findings The results indicate that growth in agricultural output per hectare appears to be the major cause behind changes in agricultural land rent. Increasing land productivity can be attributed to improved agricultural practices and the application of intermediate inputs. The price changes are also included in the analysis. During the period under review, land and rental prices and farm profitability indicators increased in most EU countries. Average growth in land rents in the EU-28 was around 2.2%, while land prices grew at 1.3%. The fastest growth in rental prices was recorded in Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic (10.6–17.1%), while that for land prices was recorded in Bulgaria, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia (10.4–26.2%). Land prices have also increased relative to the income generated by a land unit. This can be attributed to a €12/ha increase in the land rent price. Increasing agricultural subsidies have also played a stimulating role with respect to changes in agricultural land rent in the EU-28. However, this effect amounted to an increase in the agricultural land rent of just €7/ha. Originality/value The proposed approach allows one to isolate the effects of land rent price changes with respect to multiple factors. These factors explain land productivity, support rate and the situation in the land market. The proposed model can also be adjusted to explain dynamics in the land rent in other contexts.

Abstract The Council of the European Union (EU) is one of the main decision-making bodies of the EU. A number of decisions require a qualified majority, the support of 55% of the member states (currently 15) that represent at least 65% of the total population. We investigate how the power distribution based on the Shapley–Shubik index and the proportion of winning coalitions change if these criteria are modified within reasonable bounds. The power of the two countries, with approximately 4% of the total population each, is found to be almost flat. The decisiveness index decreases if the population criterion is above 68% or the states criterion is at least 17. Some quota combinations contradict the principles of double majority. The proportion of winning coalitions can be increased from 13.2% to 20.8% (30.1%) such that the maximal relative change in the Shapley–Shubik indices remains below 3.5% (5.5%). Our results are indispensable for evaluating any proposal to reform the qualified majority voting system.

ABSTRACT The debate on whether national industrial relations (IR) are experiencing convergence is a long‐standing one. Recently, scholars argue that we are witnessing a neoliberal convergence of national IR, understood as an increase in employers’ discretion. Much of this discussion has focused on countries of the European Union (EU) as empirical test cases. Hence, this debate has intertwined with that on the effects of the process of European integration on national IR. Drawing insights from the economic geography literature and the perspective of ‘variegated neoliberalisation’, this article argues that neoliberalisation and Europeanisation on IR should be seen as intertwined processes, which are, however, constitutively variegated. Through a multi‐level research design, the article applies this theoretical framework to one key function of national IR, that is, wage regulation, with a focus on Ireland and Italy.

We investigate the relationship between the public debt ratio, austerity measures, and ideology and support for austerity policies in European Union (EU) member states from 2010 to 2019. We build and expand upon earlier research. We find a negative effect of austerity on support for austerity. Using a larger data set, we confirm prior findings that rising debt levels are associated with greater public support for austerity. So, we find a thermostatic dynamic: while support initially increases with debt, it declines once citizens experience the tangible effects of austerity. We also show that ideology moderates this relationship, with left-wing individuals’ support more responsive to economic conditions than that of their right-wing counterparts.

Citizenship is simultaneously a foundational, individual, and universal concept. It also embodies a tendency to transcend the limits of any specific political community and become a universal legal status. European citizenship pertains to a union of peoples and is acquired derivatively through the citizenship of Member States. It has been described as a “bundle of rights of different legal, political, and existential significance”, yet the existential identity of the European citizen remains difficult to define due to the lack of a European Constitution. This paper aims to analyze the possible forms of political and social participation that connect individuals and groups, along with their identities, to a distinct way of conceiving the European Union and European citizenship.

The recast Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) calls for monitoring antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in wastewater of large European agglomerations (≥ 100,000 person equivalents). Guidance on scope and methods is currently in development. Two European Joint Actions share a goal to harmonise procedures and indicators: the European Union (EU)-Wastewater Integrated Surveillance for Public Health (EU-WISH), aiming to strengthen wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) for public health and the EU-Joint Action Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infections (EU-JAMRAI) 2, providing among others, approaches for environmental surveillance of AMR. An EU-WISH survey in 2024, mapping WBS AMR-related activities across Europe, revealed that of 27 countries surveyed, 11 had an operative AMR WBS system and mainly employed WBS to determine AMR trends, primarily through culture-based analyses, in-depth characterisation of specific bacteria, and quantitative PCR for specific resistance genes. Occasionally metagenomics was used. We argue that prioritising AMR WBS targets should consider the intended objectives of surveillance, which could include uncovering AMR trends and emerging AMR determinants in humans, the assessment of antimicrobial/AMR environmental release, and wastewater treatment efficiency. Targets should be assessed for their public health relevance and the usefulness of complementary information they provide, while integrating measurability, resource efficiency, and expertise from different One Health domains.

ABSTRACT The article analyses how the European Union (EU) constructs AI-related security in its emerging AI policy. It conceptually engages with the elements of riskification: a referent object and potential harm. By conducting a discourse analysis of selected documents and semi-structured expert interviews, both fundamental rights and a democratic political system emerge as referent objects, while intrusion, discrimination and AI autonomy are posited as conditions of potential harm to them. The analysis contributes to the debates on AI-related security by introducing the concept of agentic security. It focuses on protecting human agency, understood as the capacity to sustain control and decision-making power vis-à-vis AI. This security logic is driven by the imaginary of human-machine interaction, aiming to embed AI in the EU’s priorities, and refuses other constellations between human agency and machines. This position, grounded in anthropocentric views, seeks to establish AI governance that supports and protects a liberal order.

Abstract This edited collection of 20 individual chapters is the concluding academic output of the ‘Families on the Move’ (FAMIMOVE) research project, a two-year project launched in January 2023, carried out by a consortium of seven European universities and co-funded by the European Commission. FAMIMOVE focused on international family law and migration law, having the two-fold objectives of ‘depicting the intersections between these two areas of the law and seeking to contribute a better coordination between them’ (p 23). Despite some gaps in the analysis, which are discussed below, Children in Migration and International Family Law: The Child’s Best Interests Principle at the Interface of Migration Law and Family Law delivers on these objectives for academic and practitioner audiences. Within this volume, practitioners and educators will find accessible and in-depth chapters on important areas of European Union (EU) law, particularly the Brussels IIter Regulation (González Marimón), age assessment (Hüning), and aspects of family reunification (separate chapters by Voinich and Zaccaroni). Where the effects of EU legal regulation are felt less keenly, the case studies shed light on important points of divergence and convergence in the approaches of specific EU States. The eight, chapter-length domestic case studies are drawn from seven different jurisdictions, illustrating the diversity of contexts in which these questions are being addressed.

Abstract The European Council is one, if not the , key institution of the European Union (EU). Coming together for the first time about 50 years ago, in March 1975, the European Council comprises notably the Heads of State or Government of the EU member states, thus linking national and European levels. It takes important decisions in various policy areas and has regularly expanded the EU’s agenda and competences. In recent years, the European Council has acted as the prime crisis manager. At the same time, because of its requirement for consensus and its own small internal capacities, it is vulnerable to blockades and depends on other EU institutions for the preparation and implementation of its decisions. This article analyzes the European Council as key actor in the EU’s multi-level and multi-institutional system of governance. Comparing and bringing together different theoretical perspectives, it critically examines its various roles, functions, and shortcomings. Contrary to the predominant view, the European Council – despite its intergovernmental composition – tends to strengthen the EU’s supranational procedures. With this institution becoming ever more important and visible, the paper also suggests avenues for the further study of the European Council.

ABSTRACT Regional differences in institutions is a threat for political and economic integration. In this paper, we analyse the institutional convergence across regions of the European Union (EU). Preliminary results show that there is continuous improvement fostering institutional convergence. However, heterogeneity analyses point-out that the speed of institutional development is influenced by the enlargement phases of the union. Additional results indicate that the regions of the Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries and the southern regions belonging to Greece and Spain experience faster institutional convergence. Accordingly, the enlargement process, fostering further heterogeneity, is an important element to improve the institutional quality of the new EU members. However, temporal convergence trends show that the dynamics of institutional convergence shift over time, reflecting the non-stationary evolution of success-failure cases.

Abstract Financial market integration has been a major European Union (EU) policy goal since the earliest days of European integration in the 1950s and the subject of hundreds of pieces of EU legislation. Yet, competing economic interests and disagreements about suitable regulatory templates have stalled progress in this area, promoting new proposals, repeated relaunches and relabelling: inter alia, the Capital Markets Union project launched in early 2015, relaunched in 2020 and then relabelled as Savings and Investments Union in February 2025. Combining an actor‐centred strategic constructivism and policy narratives approach and using a quantitative and qualitative text analysis methodology, this article examines the shift in the policy narratives deployed by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the three European Supervisory Authorities with a view to mobilising political support for financial market integration in all its guises and overcoming entrenched opposition to it. This article explains why and how EU supranational actors have wielded five different policy narratives portraying financial market integration as an instrument to achieve other sought‐after economic policy goals, with a view to eliciting wider political and public support.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has always been a strategic asset in industrial policy, but with the emergence and proliferation of generative AI models, it has become a key pillar of geopolitical and economic competition. It has had the capacity to impact fundamental areas of the socio-economic sphere, triggering a race for technological dominance led by major word powers such as the United States (US) and China changing the rules of the global order. In this article, we review and illustrate with figures the impact of AI in various spheres and analyse and classify the regulatory measures adopted by the two major powers and the European Union (EU). The main contribution of the article is the classification of legislative and strategic measures in two dimensions: economic competitiveness and security and ethics, which allow us to compare the strategies of the three powers in the race for AI in a clearer and more structured way. The results show that while the US has promoted AI based on private sector-led innovation with minimal regulation, China has deployed a centralised state strategy with heavy investment in R&D and strict regulatory control. For its part, the European Union has developed a horizontal regulatory framework for AI with a weak competitive strategy but strong ethical and security support.