Showing papers on "Directive published in 2012"

Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference Document:for:Iron and Steel Production:Industrial Emissions Directive 2010/75/EU:(Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control)

Abstract: This BAT reference document for the Iron and Steel Production forms part of a series presenting the results of an exchange of information between EU Member States, the industries concerned, non-governmental organisations promoting environmental protection and the Commission, to draw up, review, and where necessary, update BAT reference documents as required by Article 13(1) of the Directive on industrial emissions (2010/75/EU). This document is published by the European Commission pursuant to Article 13(6) of the Directive.

Making Standards Stick: A Theory of Coupled vs. Decoupled Compliance

Abstract: This paper presents an inductive account of how two divisions of the same corporation sought to standardize their engineering work. Although both groups achieved ISO 9000 certification, each was guided by historical antecedents and internal processes that left different legacies: a culture of cynicism and chaotic work practices in one division vis-a-vis a system of standardized work practices that are voluntarily (and often enthusiastically) followed in the other. The contrasting cases shed light on what happens when an external standard is adopted by an organization, converted into a formal directive, and then confronted by the norms and practices of an existing occupational community. More generally, the paper articulates how three common modes of social regulation—standards, directives, and norms—are interconnected in the process of implementing a standard in an organization, and the conditions under which institutional exigencies are either decoupled from or tightly coupled to technical work.

Reforming Natural Gas Market in EU: Directive 2009/73/EC Concerning Common Rules for the Internal Market in Natural Gas and Repealing Directive 2003/55/EC

Abstract: Volkov Alexander - Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Law, Saint Petersburg Campus of National Research University Higher School of Economics, Associate Professor, Candidate of Juridical Scinces. Address: 17 Promyshlennaya Str., Saint Petersburg, 198099, Russian Federation. E-mail: akvolkov@hotmail.com.July 13, 2009, the EU Parliament and Council adopted Directive 2009/73/EC concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas and repealing Directive 2003/55/EC which became a new stage of reforming the European natural gas market. Its aim is to create a competitive internal market of this natural resource, eliminating private and public obstacles, which should result in the dynamic development of the branch and better protection of consumer rights. The author of the article examines and gives a brief characteristic to the preceeding acts having regulated the relations in this sphere. Among the key clauses of the Directive are the following. If as of September 3, 2009, the enterprise owner is vertically integrated, the state is given a choice either to divide the property of the enterprise or at the proposal of the owner of the transportation system and approval of the Commission to set up an independent system operator or an independent transportation operator. If the state involved has decided to divide completely the property of the enterprise with vertical integration, the latter has no right to establish an independent system or transport operator. Afterwards, the enterprise performing the functions of production and shipment cannot implement control or rights regarding the transportation system operator. It is of note that the model of property and law liability division is supported by the minority of the EU states. The other countries have preferred the establishment of an independent transportation operator or independent transportation operator. This variant allows a vertically integrated enterprise to keep the right of ownership as to the transportation system but loses the control over its management - in the case with an independent system operator - completely and in the case with an independent transport operator - partially. The author arrives at a conclusion that the essence of Directive 2009/73/EC is progressive in terms of a single gas market in Europe but the result of the reforms will depend on the will of Member states. However, while some countries try to make a final decision or its form the majority of the member states have abandoned the monopoly in this sector, the companies of these states develop actively, make competitive advantages and conquer foreign markets.

The economic impact of the Services Directive: A first assessment following implementation

Abstract: This paper estimates the economic impact of the actual implementation of the Services Directive across the Member States based on the new data on barriers to cross-border provision and to establishment for the periods before and after the Directive. It is however still an updated prediction or extrapolation exercise rather than an assessment of its full effects, because the period following the implementation of the Directive is too short to yield sufficient data. The study takes into account the domestic impact of barrier reductions on labour productivity, a novelty with respect to previous studies. It concludes that, while the likely effects of the achieved barrier reductions are large, Member States may reap yet additional significant benefits from the Directive if they continue their reform efforts. Besides the reduction of sectoral barriers, the Directive also seeks administrative simplification through the setting up of national Points of Single Contact (PSC). The study estimates an approximate possible economic impact of setting up PSC through the new establishments of service activities. Again it demonstrates that Member States can reap significant additional gains by improvements in the PSC.

Towards a Risk Governance Culture in Flood Policy—Findings from the Implementation of the “Floods Directive” in Germany

Abstract: The European Directive on the Assessment and Management of Flood Risks is likely to cause changes to flood policy in Germany and other member states With its risk governance approach, it introduces a holistic and catchment-oriented flood risk management and tries to overcome shortcomings of the past, such as the event-driven construction of mainly structural measures However, there is leeway for interpretation in implementing the directive The present paper gives an overview on the implementation of the floods directive in Germany and is divided into two qualitative empirical case studies Case Study I investigates the level of acceptance of the floods directive among decision-makers in the German part of the Rhine river basin Findings show that the federal states respond differently to the impulse given by the floods directive Whereas some decision-makers opt for a pro-forma implementation, others take it as a starting point to systematically improve their flood policy Case Study II presents recommendations for a successful implementation of flood risk management plans that have been developed within a project for the water authority in Bavaria and might be interesting for other federal/member states For a participation of the interested parties on the level of shared decision-making, the planning process has to work on sub-management-plan level (15–20 communities) The water resources authority has to adopt a multi-faceted role (expert, responsible or interested party depending on the discussed topics)

Best Available Techniques (BAT) Reference Document:for:Manufacture of Glass:Industrial Emissions Directive 2010/75/EU:(Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control)

Abstract: This BAT reference document for the Iron and Steel Production forms part of a series presenting the results of an exchange of information between EU Member States, the industries concerned, non-governmental organisations promoting environmental protection and the Commission, to draw up, review, and where necessary, update BAT reference documents as required by Article 13(1) of the Directive on industrial emissions (2010/75/EU). This document is published by the European Commission pursuant to Article 13(6) of the Directive.

Welcoming the Unwelcome: The Politics of Minimum Reception Standards for Asylum Seekers in Austria

Abstract: Despite considerable efforts to harmonize reception conditions for asylumseekers in the European Union, the adoption of Directive 2003/9/EC reflectsdomestic interests, producing substantially different standards at the nationallevel. By drawing upon the Austrian case, this article examines the politics andpolicies of reception that have emerged in the context of the adoption, trans-position and implementation of the Directive. Based on analysis of policy docu-ments, house rules and expert interviews, it will be demonstrated to what extentand why outcomes differ widely even at the sub-state level. The prevailingvariations are ascribed to, first, wide margins of administrative discretionand, second, conflicting interests between regional and federal governments,regarding financial and executive competences but also over the mere presenceof asylum seekers. Thus, the concept of ‘minimum standards’ translates intominimum welfare and restricted enjoyment of personal freedom but not intomeasures supportive of a dignified life for asylum seekers.Keywords: asylum seekers, minimum standards, reception conditions, exclusion,multi-level governance, dispersal, housing

Implementing advance directives in office practice

Abstract: Patients prepare advance directives in an effort to maintain autonomy during periods of incapacity or at the end of life. Advance directive documents are specific to the state in which the patient lives, but an effective strategy in the family physician's office involves more than filling out a form. Physician barriers to completing an advance directive include lack of time and discomfort with the topic. On the patient's part, lack of knowledge, fear of burdening family, and a desire to have the physician initiate the discussion are common barriers. Once the advance directive is complete, barriers to implementation include vague language, issues with the proxy decision maker, and accessibility of the advance directive. Overcoming these barriers depends on effective communication at multiple visits, including allowing the patient the opportunity to ask questions. Involving the family or a proxy early and over time can help the process. It may be helpful to integrate advance directive discussions at selected stages of the patient's life and as health status changes.

Involving the Public in Catchment Management: An Analysis of the Scope for Learning Lessons from Abroad

Abstract: Scholars have tended to treat the European Union (EU) as an environmental ‘leader’. Yet significant potential nonetheless exists for it to learn lessons in areas such as water policy where it has a long and successful history of involvement. The EU's Water Framework Directive (2000) imposes potentially far reaching requirements on its Member States to enhance public participation in the process of catchment management. However, to date, its implementation has been highly variable across and even within individual states. As the EU starts to revise the original Directive, thoughts will turn to how the current situation could be improved. One potentially productive avenue, which has not yet been fully explored, is to draw lessons on public participation from comparable multi-levelled governance contexts such as in the USA and Australia, where public engagement has arguably been more advanced. Drawing on theoretical accounts of the most likely facilitators and obstacles to lesson drawing, this paper assesses the scope for transfer. It finds that while the EU could potentially learn from these jurisdictions, there are likely to be significant obstacles in practice. These should be born in mind by would-be policy learners.

The European Water Framework Directive: A Framework?

Abstract: The European Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a framework for the Community action in the field of water policy—in short, WFD) is probably the most ambitious and complex of all European environmental regulations. In Spain, and in some other countries, the idea has spread that the WFD involves a radical change of perspective and will obsolete the previous regulations about water. In my opinion, this mystification of the WFD is profoundly naive and reveals a lack of knowledge of history and an insufficient perspective on the global problem. In some sectors the WFD has generated a mirage and collective illusion, from which it must awaken if it wishes to advance, in an effective, non-rhetorical way, towards real improvements of the existing situation.

The Principle of Territoriality and its Implementationin the Proposal for a Council Directive ona Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base(CCCTB)

Abstract: The EU Commission put forward its proposal for a Directive for a "Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base" with some delay after long preliminary work. That proposal provides for a uniform corporate tax base which may be relied upon in all EU Member States. Its underlying objective is to reduce the administrative burden for companies. This paper focuses on some provisions of the proposal, which are relevant for companies which are tax resident outside the EU or for commercial activities carried out there, and for EU resident companies that operate in third countries. The territoriality principle, on which the CCCTB concept is based, and its legal technical structure, are primarily discussed.

The Impact of the EU Takeover Directive on Takeover Performance and Empire Building

Abstract: This paper uses the EU Takeover Directive as a natural experiment to test when legal harmonization creates value, and to examine the impact of increased entrenchment on investment decisions. The EU promulgated the Takeover Directive in April 2004. The implementation deadline was May 2006. The goal was to encourage value-creating takeovers by harmonizing takeover laws across the EU. However, the takeover directive has received criticism for being vague and discretionary, and for entrenching managers. I hypothesize that because the directive hinders takeovers, it might increase managerial entrenchment and enable managers of EU-companies to make agency-motivated investments (or simply exercise less discipline). I find supportive evidence: after the directive, EU-companies make investments that are less profitable (as proxied by takeover returns) and that take longer to compete. Further, asset growth increased in treated companies following the takeover directive, suggesting that the additional entrenchment facilitates empire building.

Compensating Biodiversity Loss: The EU Commission’s Approach to Compensation under Article 6 of the Habitats Directive

Abstract: This Article assesses that part of the legal obligation to provide for compensatory habitat under Article 6(4) of the EU Habitats Directive which requires an opinion from the European Commission. This is located within a wider ‘impact neutrality’ context where such offsetting measures are increasingly being advanced. The literature on compensatory habitat, some of which relates to site-specific measures and some to habitat ‘banking’, is considered in order to map how compensatory measures may be prone to failure. This is done against the criteria of functionality, proponent bias, monitoring and enforceability, and economic influence. These are then used to evaluate the Commission’s opinions under the Directive. While the compensation obligation is to be applauded, the Commission’s opinions fare poorly against all these criteria, a common, and important, thread being a lack of transparency. This calls into question the wider compensatory aspects of the legislation.

Free Movement of Patients: Directive 2011/24 on the Application of Patients’ Rights in Cross-Border Healthcare

Abstract: This contribution comments on Directive 2011/24, providing a legal framework for cross border healthcare 13 years after the famous Kohll and Decker case law The Directive contains provisions concerning the reimbursement of costs, the responsibilities of the Member States and their mutual cooperation in healthcare Analysing the (potential) impact of the Directive 2011/24 on EU healthcare systems, patients and healthcare providers, it becomes clear that the impact of the Directives reaches far beyond patient mobility The Directive creates patients’ rights, pays attention to the quality and safety of healthcare services and creates an excessive structure of cooperation in the field of healthcare The European Union seems ready to use its economies of scale to improve healthcare for all European patients

Study on the Implementation and Effect in Member States' Laws of Directive 2001/29/EC on the Harmonisation of Certain Aspects of Copyright and Related Rights in the Information Society

Abstract: This study, commissioned by the European Commission, examines the application of Directive 2001/29/EC in the light of the development of the digital market. Its purpose is to consider how Member States have implemented the Directive into national law and to assist the Commission in evaluating whether the Directive, as currently formulated, remains the appropriate response to the continuing challenges faced by the stakeholders concerned, such as rights holders, commercial users, consumers, educational and scientific users. As set out in specifications of the study set out by the Commission, its aim is 'to assess the role that the Directive has played in fostering the digital market for goods and services in the four years since its adoption'. The impact of the Directive on the development of digital (chiefly online) business models, therefore, will be the focal point of our enquiry throughout this study.

Responding to Directives: What can Children do when a Parent Tells them what to do?

Abstract: Purpose – This chapter examines children's options for responding to parental attempts to get them to do something (directives). Methodology/approach – The data for the study are video recordings of everyday family mealtime interactions. The study uses conversation analysis and discursive psychology to conduct a microanalysis of sequences of everyday family mealtimes interactions in which a parent issues a directive and a child responds. Findings – It is very difficult for children to resist parental directives without initiating a dispute. Immediate embodied compliance was the interactionally preferred response option to a directive. Outright resistance was typically met with an upgraded and more forceful directive. Legitimate objections to compliance could be treated seriously but were not always taken as grounds for non-compliance. Research implications – The results have implications for our understandings of the notions of compliance and authority. Children's status in interaction is also discussed in light of their ability to choose whether to ratify a parent's control attempt or not. Originality/value of chapter – The chapter represents original work on the interactional structures and practices involved in responding to control attempts by a co-present participant. It offers a data-driven framework for conceptualising compliance and authority in interaction that is based on the orientations of participants rather than cultural or analytical assumptions of the researcher.

Where's the Beef? Mcdonald's and its European Works Council

Abstract: This paper analyses the establishment and subsequent meetings of the McDonald’s European Works Council (EWC) established under Article 13. The paper focuses on the extent to which a non-union firm can frustrate the intent of the EWC directive and especially where this is based on a voluntary agreement. The findings raise a number of questions. Who is an ‘employee representative’? How are such representatives elected in practice and what roles do existing national sub-structures play? Can employee representatives adequately co-ordinate their roles in the absence of significant unionisation? The findings suggest that where workforces have low levels of unionisation and employers are opposed in principle to such consultation arrangements, then it is difficult to guarantee even the limited aims of the directive. Furthermore, when challenged by powerful MNEs, legislatively underpinned national-level sub-structures, which are often assumed to make such European-level bodies accountable, may be unable to do so in practice.

Syntactically Non-Integrated Finnish Jos ‘If’-Conditional Clauses as Directives

Abstract: This article concerns the use of independent jos ‘if’-clauses as directives (requests, proposals, and suggestions) in Finnish everyday conversation. It shows that clause types which are traditionally considered subordinate can be used without any main clauses and, thus, do not project further talk to follow in the same turn. Other participants respond to the directive without waiting for a subsequent main clause to be produced. The grammatical form of the jos-clause is shown to be linked both to the kind of directive action it accomplishes and to the contingencies associated with it.

The Directive on cross-border healthcare or the art of codifying complex case law

Abstract: The main objective of this article is to study the recent Directive on the application of patients' right in cross-border healthcare by putting it into perspective with the case law that initiated it, together with the trade-offs that had to be taken into account. The drafters of the Directive have dealt with a number of trade-offs among the requirements of the respect for the freedom to receive care (as part of the freedom to provide services), the recognition of rights for the patients, the respect for the historical competence of Member States and the diversity of different healthcare models, and the protection of national financial balances. As a result of theses trade-offs, the Directive goes beyond a mere codification of the Kohll and Geraets-Smits case law. It displays an original combination of the codifying solutions derived from the free provision of services, the facilitation of the exercise of patient mobility by highlighting information in relation to such mobility, and a notable focus on several cooperating tools between States in connection with Article 168 TFEU. The article then raises some questions about the efficiency of this combination and its contribution to the realization of a genuine European Health policy.

The Returns Directive

Abstract: Since 1999, the EU has adopted legislation harmonizing many areas of immigration law, in particular rules on borders, visas, legal migration, and irregular migration. The much-enlarged and fully updated second edition of this book contains the text of and detailed commentary upon every significant measure in this field proposed or adopted up until 1 September 2011. It includes commentary on the EU visa code, the Schengen Borders Code, the Frontex Regulation, the Returns Directive, the Directives on family reunion, long-term residents and single permits for migrant workers, and many more besides. This is the essential guide for any lawyers, academics, civil servants, NGOs and students interested in this area of law. Also available as a set of 3 volumes see isbn 9789004222304

Language, space and the law: a study of directive signs

Abstract: This paper contributes to the study of linguistic landscapes by analysing warning and prohibition signs in urban settings. On the basis of data collected in British cities, it explains how directive signs reflect the interplay of language, law, space and society. Primarily conceptual in orientation but with a strong empirical base, the paper explores how the performativity of directive signs is constituted, on the one hand, by where they are placed, and, on the other, by implicit or explicit references to legal authority. By taking a socio-legal perspective, and considering the intertextual links between signs and the legal code, the paper addresses issues hitherto neglected in linguistic landscape research.