Showing papers on "Directive published in 2009"

The National Nursing Home Survey: 2004 overview.

Abstract: Objective This report presents estimates for U.S. nursing homes, their current residents, and staff, based on results from the 2004 National Nursing Home Survey (NNHS). Facility data are summarized by facility characteristics and include new data items on special care units and programs, formal contracts with agencies and providers, end-of-life care programs, and electronic information systems. Current residents are presented by characteristics such as demographics, health and functional status, and services received, with new data items on advance directives, falls, use of restraints, hospitalizations, pain management, and medications. The discussion highlights key survey findings, including differences in selected national estimates between the 2004 NNHS and the 1999 survey. Methods The 2004 NNHS consisted of a two-stage design with a probability sample of 1,500 nursing facilities in the first stage and up to 12 current residents from each facility in the second stage. This nationally representative sample survey was conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics from August 2004 through January 2005. Results In 2004, an estimated 1.5 million current residents received nursing home care in 16,100 facilities, the majority of which were proprietary (61.5%) and were located in the Midwest and in the South. Most full-time equivalent employees of the facilities were nursing staff. Most current residents were aged 65 years and older (88.3%), female (71.2%), and white (85.5%). Nearly one-half (48.2%) of all residents were admitted from a hospital or health care facility other than a nursing home or assisted-living-type facility, and 65.3% of all residents had some kind of advance directive.

Improving API documentation usability with knowledge pushing

Abstract: The documentation of API functions typically conveys detailed specifications for the benefit of interested readers. In some cases, however, it also contains usage directives, such as rules or caveats, of which authors of invoking code must be made aware to prevent errors and inefficiencies. There is a risk that these directives may be “lost” within the verbose text, or that the text would not be read because there are so many invoked functions. To address these concerns for Java, an Eclipse plug-in named eMoose decorates method invocations whose targets have associated directives. Our goal is to lead readers to investigate further, which we aid by highlighting the tagged directives in the JavaDoc hover. We present a lab study that demonstrates the directive awareness problem in traditional documentation use and the potential benefits of our approach.

The European flood risk directive: challenges for research

Abstract: In recent years, flood management has shifted from protection against floods to managing the risks of floods. In Europe, this shift is reflected in the Flood risk directive of October 2007 (2007/60/EC; FRD). The FRD requires EU Member States to undertake a preliminary assessment of flood risks and, for areas with a significant flood risk, to prepare flood hazard and flood risk maps and flood risk management plans. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the FRD and discuss the challenges that the FRD poses to research. These challenges include the issue how to define and measure ''flood risk'', the selection of alternatives to be assessed, coping with uncertainty, risk communication, nurturing trust and promoting collaboration. These research challenges cannot be addressed properly within any single discipline and without involving the flood risk managers and other stakeholders. The paper therefore concludes that there is a large need for interdisciplinary and participatory research. This constitutes in fact the biggest research challenge.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in EU Migration Law: Is the European Parliament Becoming Bad and Ugly (The Adoption of Directive 2008/115: the Returns Directive)?

Abstract: Historically, the European Union has had a dichotomy between the liberal view in immigration management represented by the Parliament (‘the good’) and the Commission (‘the ugly’), and the conservative approach embodied by the Council (‘the bad’). This article deals with the first important immigration instrument adopted under co-decision: Directive 2008/115 (the so-called ‘Returns Directive’). This Directive has received a great deal of criticism addressed to the European Parliament in its approval of the text negotiated with the Council in the first reading, without introducing a single amendment. This behaviour has cast doubts as to whether the future involvement of this institution will result in a more migrant-friendly approach in the European Union. The reasons why the European Parliament voted in favour of the Directive will be analysed in the following pages. But first, a question arises: Is the European Parliament becoming ‘bad’ and ‘ugly’ or has its involvement improved the Council’s position in a way which would not have been possible without its participation? This is the main issue that this article, in the following pages, will try to answer by analysing the different steps in the adoption of the Directive from the Commission proposal until its official publication.

The Return and Removal of Irregular Migrants under EU Law: An Analysis of the Returns Directive

Abstract: After protracted negotiations, in June 2008, agreement between the European Parliament and the Council cleared the way for the adoption of the Directive setting out common standards and procedures in the Member States for returning irregularly staying third country nationals (the Returns Directive). While its impact in terms of harmonising national legal frameworks can be questioned, from the Member States’ point of view the agreed standards will underpin their common efforts at removing a higher number of irregular immigrants. From the point of view of immigrants, it will mean longer pre-removal detention periods and a ban on re-entering legally the Union’s territory for the foreseeable future.

The time-dependent effect of conflict in the council on delays in the transposition of EU directives

Abstract: This article analyses the effect of conflict in the Council of the European Union (EU) on delays in the transposition of EU directives. Based on enforcement and management theories, we predict that conflict in the Council speeds up the transposition process. In addition, we control for the instigation of infringement procedures by the Commission and expect a weaker effect of conflict in cases where the Commission disagrees with a directive and if directives grant more discretion to member states. These hypotheses are tested using two indicators of conflict: heterogeneity and polarization. Cox regression analysis is applied with time-dependent effects and with a shared frailty to control for the multilevel structure of the data. The analyses show that, over time, conflict has an increasing negative effect on delays.

‘As time goes by’: Explaining the transposition of maritime directives1

Abstract: The aim of this article is to explain the speed with which Member States transpose EC directives in the maritime sector. By discussing earlier work, the focus is on explanatory factors related to the contents of the directive that needs to be transposed and the context within which national transposition takes place. The authors' expectations have been tested using data across seven Member States and 32 maritime directives. Using survival analysis based on Cox regression, several political-administrative and legal factors are identified that have an impact on the speed of transposition. The political sensitivity of the directive and the total number of national implementing measures lengthens the duration of transposition, while the degree of specialisation of the directive, the use of package law and experience speed up transposition. The authors also find that the impact of some of these explanatory factors changes over time. This underscores the importance of taking time seriously and to explore time dependency in further theoretical work on explaining policy-making processes.

Third “Energy Package”: The European Parliament and the Council adopt the third “Energy Package” which includes two directives repealing and replacing the 2003 directives concerning common rules for both electricity and natural gas internal markets

Abstract: Directive 2009/72/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive 2003/54/EC, OJ L211, 14…

Tax Co-ordination in Europe: Assessing the First Years of the EU-Savings Taxation Directive

Abstract: This paper reviews the economic effects of the EU Savings Taxation Directive. The Directive aims at enabling taxation of foreign interest payments received by individuals in accordance with the rules of their State of residence. The data suggest that the Directive, which is based on automatic information exchange, has not led to major shifts in international savings. However, this result has to be interpreted with caution since the available data is scarce and not always conclusive.

The Risk Based Approach in the New European Anti-Money Laundering Legislation: a Law and Economics View

Abstract: In 2005 the European Commission adopted the Third Directive on Anti-Money Laundering (AML), which was to be implemented into national laws at the latest by December 2007. The key feature that characterizes the Third Directive is the idea that the regulatory framework should be risk-based (RBA). The aim of this regulation is to elicit a high level of outcome in terms of AML effectiveness from self-interested financial institutions (FIs) who hold private information. In this paper we study how to increase the effectiveness of AML rules, using a principal-agent framework to describe the regulatory setting in which an RBA is applied. We focus on incentive problems arising in a three-layer hierarchy, which includes public authorities (policymakers), financial institutions, and supervisors.

Social Norms and Intellectual Property. Online Norms and the European Legal Development

Abstract: This report is the result of study that was performed in January and February 2009. It was presented and reviewed at the Annual Meeting of the Law and Society Association: Law, Power, and Inequality in the 21st Century in May 2009. The study empirically examined, or rather examined the lack of, social norms opposing illegal file sharing. A total of over 1,000 respondents have answered the questionnaire. Along with the social norm indicators, the study maps out relevant questions regarding internet behaviour in this field, such as the will to use anonymity services and the will to pay for copyrighted content. These results are compared and contrasted with the legal development trend in European law in internet and file sharing related matters, as well as the Swedish implementation of this development, as a member of the European Union. This includes the Intellectual Property Enforcement Directive (IPRED), the Directive on Data retention as well as the implementation of INFOSOC. Svensson and Larsson in Social Norms and Intellectual Property – Online norms and the European legal development consequently portrays the social norms on the one hand and the legal development on the other, and the overarching question of the report therefore addresses the correlation of these two. Do the social norms amongst 15-25 year olds match the legal regulation, as well as the regulatory trend on this field? If not, how can this be understood or explained? The study shows that the cybernorms differ, both in inherent structures and origin, from current legal constructions.

Seed Legislation and agrobiodiversity: conservation varieties

Abstract: European seed policies and legislation have contributed to fostering a system in which fewer varieties are traded in ever bigger markets in accordance with the law of economy of scale. Informal seed systems have been marginalised and perceived as outdated in a scenario in which the agricultural system was being modernised. In 1998, however, the European Union recognised the need to conserve agricultural genetic resources and created a catalogue specially for registering what it called ‘conservation varieties’. In June 2008 an EU Directive was issued regulating the agricultural species involved. So what is this ‘new’ category of variety. What impact will it have in supporting the informal conservation initiatives in agricultural biodiversity and making them legitimate? This article sets out to address these questions by analysing the concept of conservation variety from when the phrase was coined up to the recent European directive 62/2008. After describing and evaluating the impact that the directive may have, Italian regulation on conservation varieties will be analysed focusing on synergies and diversities. Lastly, in the light of the International Treaty on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, attention will turn to the regulations in order to verify how they correspond.

Bankruptcy and reorganization procedures for cross‐border banks in the EU

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the complexities of reorganizing and/or liquidating troubled banks under the European Union's (EU) current institutional framework as it is defined by its directives and by national supervisory, remedial, and insolvency practices.Design/methodology/approach – The paper compares provisions of different EU directives that impact financial institutions and summarizes national remedial practices.Findings – The paper documents the diversity that currently exists among national supervisory, remedial and failure resolution practices for banks. It also assesses the economic efficiency of the institutional framework for resolving problem banks that is defined by the Reorganization and Winding‐up Directive and identifies components of the directive that can hamper efficient cross‐border resolutions.Research limitations/implications – There is a deficiency in publicly available information on EU member countries' practices for disciplining and resolving troubled bank...

Environmental Displacement in European Asylum Law

Abstract: Environmentally displaced persons can be included in several existing categories of protected persons under international law, but there may be a normative protection gap for many of those who cross an international border. This article looks at protection possibilities within the EU framework and national European legislations. Environmental displacement can arguably trigger temporary protection according to the EU Temporary Protection Directive. There may also be environmentally displaced persons who require longer-term or permanent protection. Drawing on the EU Qualification Directive and case-law from the European Court of Human Rights, one can argue that subsidiary protection should be granted in certain cases of extreme natural disaster or degradation. In less extreme cases, humanitarian asylum could be granted. Human rights principles such as non-refoulement could also be used to extend at least basic protection. In addition, legal labour migration could supply a work force, assist distressed countries and enhance protection of the individual. A strategy to meet the challenge of environmental displacement must also include climate change mitigation and external measures such as adaptation. Most of the displaced persons in the world today and in the near future do not arrive at the EU borders.

Life cycle assessment of two personal electronic products—a note with respect to the energy-using product directive

Abstract: Personal electronic products have received little attention regarding life cycle assessment (LCA), possibly due to the fact that their energy consumption is not high in general. In fact, the European Union has decided to enforce a law (Directive 2005/32/EC, the EuP Directive hereafter) for regulating the environmental consequences of all energy-using products (EuPs), the scope of which also covers such personal electronic products. In complying with the directive, LCA is a useful tool to draw conclusion and to compare the performance of alternatives. In this connection, a pilot study is carried out to assess the environmental impacts of two personal electronic products through LCA, subject to the scope of the said directive. Main objective of this technical note is to raise the awareness of eco-design for personal electronic products.

SOCIAL NORMS AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY. Online norms and the European legal development

Abstract: This report is the result of study that was performed in January and February 2009. It was presented and reviewed at the Annual Meeting of the Law and Society Association: Law, Power, and Inequality in the 21st Century in May 2009. The study empirically examined, or rather examined the lack of, social norms opposing illegal file sharing. A total of over 1,000 respondents have answered the questionnaire. Along with the social norm indicators, the study maps out relevant questions regarding internet behaviour in this field, such as the will to use anonymity services and the will to pay for copyrighted content. These results are compared and contrasted with the legal development trend in European law in internet and file sharing related matters, as well as the Swedish implementation of this development, as a member of the European Union. This includes the Intellectual Property Enforcement Directive (IPRED), the Directive on Data retention as well as the implementation of INFOSOC. Svensson and Larsson in Social Norms and Intellectual Property – Online norms and the European legal development consequently portrays the social norms on the one hand and the legal development on the other, and the overarching question of the report therefore addresses the correlation of these two. Do the social norms amongst 15-25 year olds match the legal regulation, as well as the regulatory trend on this field? If not, how can this be understood or explained? The study shows that the cybernorms differ, both in inherent structures and origin, from current legal constructions. This study is part of Cybernorms – norm creation processes in young net cultures, a research project that explores the norm creating processes (social and legal) that appear in the wake of the changing information technology. The project is run by researchers at the Department of Sociology of Law at Lund University and is funded by The Knowledge Foundation (Stiftelsen for kunskaps- och kompetensutveckling). The members of the project run a scientific blog at www.cybernormer.se. (Less)

Review of railway policy reforms in Europe

Abstract: This paper provides an overview of railway reforms in Europe which at EU level were initiated by Directive 91/440. This reform process is aiming at achieving opening of the rail transport market, particularly freight, in order to promote efficiency and enhance the position of this mode. The background to the reform process, the legislative initiatives as set out in EC Directives, and the implementation of EC Directives in the EU Member States are discussed.

The Takeover Directive: Is a Little Regulation Better Than No Regulation?

Abstract: This article examines Directive 2004/25/EC on Takeover Bids through a regulatory lens in order to determine its effectiveness as a regulatory mechanism. A central regulatory problem for European legislators is to determine the optimal balance between harmonisation and diversity, and the directive reflects the balance which was struck. The article questions whether the resulting ‘light regulatory touch’ may have jeopardised the existing efficient self‐regulatory regime which operates in the UK (the largest European takeover market), while simultaneously undermining the directive's goal of facilitating takeovers and yielding a level playing field.

‘We want you! But . . .’ Recruiting Migrants and Encouraging Transnational Migration Through Progressive Inclusion

Abstract: The article submits a proposal for outlining the present body of legal norms in the field of European migration and immigration law. To this end, it suggests understanding European migration and integration law as shaped by two principles: the principle of congruence between a state's territory, authority and citizenry and the principle of progressive inclusion. According to the established principle of congruence, the granting of rights to third‐country nationals (TCNs) is always geared to the ideal image that the persons permanently living on a territory are—in reality—part of the citizenry of that state and subject to the state's authority. According to the more recent principle of progressive inclusion, TCNs are to be gradually included into the host country's society by approximating their rights progressively to the rights of citizens. There are potential tensions between the two principles, which can be explained by the diverging philosophical and political concerns that they follow and the conceptions of migration that each uses. The article then goes on to explore the influence of both principles in current European migration and integration law. It brings forward the argument that current European migration and integration law is structured as much by the ‘older’ principle of congruence as by the principle of progressive inclusion. This assumption will be illustrated by the examples of the Long‐term Residents Directive (LTR Directive). Important provisions of the proposal for a framework directive intended to guarantee TCNs' equal treatment with EU citizens in social matters (Draft Framework Directive) and the directive on the highly skilled migrant workers (Blue Card Directive) will also be taken into account. Against the background of the highly contested legal field of migration and integration law, using the language of principles provides a useful tool not only for better grasping the current shape of this legal field, but even more for the legal discourse on the future development of European migration and integration law.

Harmonisation of ethics committees' practice in 10 European countries

Abstract: Background: The Directive 2001/20/EC was an important first step towards consistency in the requirements and processes for clinical trials across Europe. However, by applying the same rules to all types of drug trials and transposing the Directive’s principles into pre-existing national legislations, the Directive somewhat failed to meet its facilitation and harmonisation targets. In the field of ethics, the Directive 2001/20/EC conditioned the way of understanding and transposing the “single opinion” process in each country. This led to a situation in which two models of research ethics committees organisation systems exist, being the model in which the “single opinion” is considered to be the decision made by a single ethics committee more effective and simpler in terms of administrative and logistic workload. Method: A survey was conducted in 10 European countries. Members of the European Clinical Research Infrastructures Network working party number 1, with expertise in the field of ethics, responded. Results: There is a major heterogeneity in the composition of ethics committees among the surveyed countries based on the number of members, proportion of experts versus lay members and expertise of the scientific members. A harmonised education of the ethics committees’ membership based in common curricula is recommended by the majority of countries. Conclusions: Despite the efforts for harmonisation of the European Clinical Trial Directive, from an ethical point of view, there remains a plurality of ethics committees9 systems in Europe. It is important to comprehend the individual national systems to understand the problems they are facing.

Critical analysis of the European Union directive which regulates the use of biofuels: An approach to the Spanish case

Abstract: For more than a decade we have lived in a period where the so-called “sustainability” is crucial and is motivated primarily by the social awareness of achieving a balance between human development and the conservation of the environment. This philosophy has a direct and inevitable impact on business and politics. Governments have long since been developing standards and encouraging various diverse initiatives whose aim is to defend the environment. In recent times, the global debate on the environment has been centred on CO2 emissions. This gas is the major cause of the “greenhouse effect” and people are more concerned with the idea that the emissions of this gas should be minimized. As a result of this concern, the Kyoto Protocol was enacted and subscribed to by many countries, setting the maximum gas emissions for them. Fossil fuels are a major source of CO2 emissions. In 2003 the European Union (EU) directive 2003/30/EC [2003/30/EC Directive of the European Parliament and the Council—8th may 2003. On the promotion of the use of biofuels or other renewable fuels for transport] was developed with the aim of promoting the use of biofuels as a substitute for diesel or petrol among European Union countries as well as to contribute to fulfilling the commitments on climate change, security of supply in environmentally friendly conditions and the promotion of renewable energy sources. In order to achieve these goals, the directive forces all EU members to ensure that at least 5.75% of all petrol and diesel fuels sold for transport purposes are biofuels before December 31 of 2010. European Union countries have social and economic characteristics unique to themselves. The energy dependence from foreign sources, the features of the agricultural sector or the degree of industrialization varies greatly from one country to another. In this context, it is questionable whether the obligation imposed by this directive applies to achieve uniform and/or identical goals in each of the countries involved and whether the actions of the various governments are also aligned with these goals.

Legal and Economic Issues in Completing the EU Internal Market for Services: An Interdisciplinary Perspective*

Abstract: We investigate, from an interdisciplinary perspective, the legal and economic consequences of the EU Services Directive, which was adopted in a revised version on 12 December 2006. Studies on the effect of its original version point to moderate macroeconomic effects. Compared with its initial version, the directive has undergone substantial changes, which have eliminated many core elements that would have triggered additional liberalization in services markets. As a result, the Services Directive has moved away from its economic motivation and is likely to miss its aim of completing the EU internal market for services.

Less than adequate: regulating temporary agency work in the EU in the face of an internal market in services

Abstract: This article analyzes the Directive on Temporary Agency Work (2008) in the face of a new internal market in services in the European Union. I argue that the adoption of this Directive is paradoxical: on the one hand, it breaks the lengthy stalemate characterizing workers’ and employers’ efforts to craft a framework agreement. On the other hand, the compromise reached marks a setback for workers’ protection because the Directive qualifies equal treatment and its adoption fuels pressure to include services provided by temporary work agencies within the Services Directive (2006).

The Proposal for a Directive on Consumer Rights: No Single Set of Rules

Abstract: Just as the political process of Europeanization of contract law seems to give a main place to the consumer legislation – in particular with the proposal for a Directive on Consumer rights (COM[2008], 614 final) –, one can be satisfied with the publication of ‘Franchising in European Contract Law’, which is an academic analysis focused on business contracts and, more precisely, on franchising – which is a current type of these contracts.

Block, amend, delay: tobacco industry efforts to influence the European Union’s Tobacco Products Directive (2001/37/EC)

Abstract: In 1996, discussion began in Brussels on the need for further tobacco control measures. Following extensive consultation, in November 1999 the European Commission proposed a new Tobacco Products Directive (TPD). The proposal would strengthen existing European legislation on cigarette yields and product labelling by lowering limits for tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide yields and by enlarging warning labels. It also sought to introduce stringent ingredients disclosure provisions and a ban on misleading descriptors such as “light” and “mild”, and aimed to prohibit the export of noncompliant products outside the European Union (EU). The tobacco industry mounted an intense lobbying campaign in response and made at least five legal challenges against the directive. Despite such efforts the directive was enacted successfully in 2001. This study seeks to identify and analyse tobacco sector responses to the directive and discuss the implications for future legislation within the EU and beyond. Such an analysis is particularly timely given the current review of the directive and emerging debates around plain packaging.

Governing Through Translations: Intermediaries and the Mediation of the EU's Urban Waste Water Directive

Abstract: Environmental innovation is a much discussed, highly prized yet often elusive objective of governance programmes. Despite this, there have been relatively few studies of the everyday realities of achieving innovation on the ground. Addressing this gap, the paper takes a specific example of how the EU's Urban Wastewater Directive sparks a pursuit of new environmental standards in wastewater practices in the north of England. We argue that to encourage innovation, we must first appreciate its contingent and complex character. We do this by adopting an approach to innovation influenced by actor‐network theory and conceive of it as being a highly contingent process of ‘translation’ through which actors’ interests and identities, their practices, even the Directive itself are re-represented and re-ordered through the construction of new actor-networks. From such a perspective, governance of the water sector is shown to be a highly contested, unpredictable business shaped by situationally specific negotiations ...