Showing papers on "Directive published in 2016"
TL;DR: The long-awaited General Data Protection Regulation of the EU was provisionally agreed in December 2015 and publication of the final version of the regulation is expected around July 2016, but the final details are still being ironed out.
175 citations
Journal Article•
149 citations
TL;DR: Now that the General Data Protection Regulation's final provisions are at hand it is possible to present differences with the first draft prepared by the Commission, to discuss the issues raised through its law-making passage over the past few years, and to attempt to assess the effectiveness of its final provisions in relation to their declared purposes.
124 citations
TL;DR: The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is arguably the most ambitious piece of European Union (EU) legislation in the field of water as discussed by the authors, which defines a general framework for integrated river basin management in Europe with a view to achieving good water status.
Abstract: The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is arguably the most ambitious piece of European Union (EU) legislation in the field of water. The directive defines a general framework for integrated river basin management in Europe with a view to achieving “good water status” by 2015. Institutional novelties include, among others, water management at hydrological scales, the involvement of nonstate actors in water planning, and various economic principles, as well as a common strategy to support EU member states during the implementation of the directive. More than 15 years after the adoption of the WFD, and with the passing of an important milestone, 2015, we believe it is time for an interim assessment. This article provides a systematic review of existing scholarship on WFD implementation. We identify well-documented areas of research, describe largely unchartered territories, and suggest avenues for future studies. Methodologically, we relied on a meta-analysis. Based on a codebook of more than 35 items, we analyzed 89 journal articles reporting on the implementation of the directive in EU member states. Our review is organized around three major themes. The first is “who, when, and where”; we explore publication patterns, thereby looking into authors, timelines, and target journals. The second is “what”; we analyze the object of study in our source articles with a particular focus on case study countries, policy levels, the temporal stage of WFD implementation, and if the directive was not studied in its entirety, the aspect of the WFD that received scholarly attention. The third is “how,” i.e., theoretical and methodological choices made when studying the WFD.
104 citations
Book Chapter•
01 Jan 2016
TL;DR: The European Council, meeting at Corfu on 24 and 25 June 1994, stressed the need to create a general and flexible legal framework at Community level in order to foster the development of the information society in Europe.
Abstract: (2) The European Council, meeting at Corfu on 24 and 25 June 1994, stressed the need to create a general and flexible legal framework at Community level in order to foster the development of the information society in Europe. This requires, inter alia, the existence of an internal market for new products and services. Important Community legislation to ensure such a regulatory framework is already in place or its adoption is well under way. Copyright and related rights play an important role in this context as they protect and stimulate the development and marketing of new products and services and the creation and exploitation of their creative content.
81 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a typology of stakeholders for effective participatory processes and co-design of solutions to complex social-environmental issues and a roadmap stepwise methodology for balanced and productive stakeholder engagement are presented.
Abstract: This paper presents a typology of stakeholders for effective participatory processes and co-design of solutions to complex social-environmental issues and a roadmap stepwise methodology for balanced and productive stakeholder engagement. Definitions are given of terminology that is frequently used interchangeably such as “stakeholders”, “social actors” and “interested parties”. Eleven research questions about participative processes are addressed, based on more than 30 years of experience in water, estuarine, coastal and marine management. A stepwise roadmap, supported by illustrative tables based on case-studies, shows how a balanced stakeholder selection and real engagement maybe achieved. The paper brings these together in the context of several up-to-date concepts such as complex, nested governance, the 10 tenets for integrated, successful and sustainable marine management, the System Approach Framework and the evolution of DPSIR into DAPSI(W)R(M) framework. Examples given are based on the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the Water Framework Directive, the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive, the Framework for Marine Spatial Planning Directive, as well as for Regional Sea Conventions. The paper also shows how tools that have been developed in recent projects can be put to use to implement policy and maximize the effectiveness of stakeholder participation.
79 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluated Dutch nutrient policies for agriculture with respect to target achievement, effectiveness, costs and benefits, and concluded that the Dutch nitrogen policies have generated net benefits for Dutch society: annual costs were estimated to be 500 million euros and societal benefits were estimated between 900 and 3700 million euros.
Abstract: Dutch nutrient policies for agriculture are generally implementations of European environmental Directives, i.e. the Nitrates Directive (ND), the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the National Emission Ceilings Directive (NECD). We present an evaluation of these policies with respect to target achievement, effectiveness, costs and benefits. Implementation of the Nitrates Directive decreased nutrient surpluses and improved groundwater quality. However, the nitrate target of 50 mg/l was still exceeded in groundwater in half of the sand region. Ecological quality of surface waters improved slightly, but this improvement was mainly due to measures for the WFD and not to reduced nutrient losses from agriculture. The NECD reduced emissions of ammonia effectively, but critical loads of nitrogen were still exceeded in the majority of ecosystems. Health benefits of reducing the concentrations of ammonia aerosols were however substantial. Overall, nutrient policies have generated net benefits for Dutch society: Annual costs were estimated to be 500 million euros and societal benefits were estimated to be between 900 and 3700 million euros. With policies currently in place, the general protection goals of the Directives will not be met. Reaching more targets in a cost-effective way would first require better coordination of policies to implement the three Directives. For example 65% of phosphorus input to surface waters is caused by agriculture but the Dutch implementation of the WFD hardly contains any measures to reduce nutrient loads from agricultural soils. In addition to more strict national policies that are better enforced, regionally differentiated mitigation options would be needed. The most robust option would be mining of soil phosphorus by zero P-application in agricultural soils that affect sensitive aquatic ecosystems. Where target achievement cannot be combined with competitive agriculture, political choices would have to be made between ecology and agriculture, or for financial compensation of affected farmers. A key factor for implementation would be redistributing of costs and benefits between specific groups of farmers or regions. This would imply better integration of the Common Agricultural Policy with environmental directives.
76 citations
TL;DR: In the framework of European law telemedicine is, simultaneously, a health service and an information service, therefore, both regulations apply, but many issues still lack uniform regulation, mainly the domain of medical liability and of medical leges artis.
Abstract: In the framework of European law telemedicine is, simultaneously, a health service and an information service, therefore, both regulations apply. In what concerns healthcare and the practice of medicine there are no uniform regulations at the European level. Concerning health services the most relevant achievement to regulate this domain is Directive 2011/24/EU. In what regards information and telecommunications we must have in consideration Directive 95/46/EU, Directive 2000/31/EC and Directive 2002/58/EC. However, many issues still lack uniform regulation, mainly the domain of medical liability and of medical leges artis. Probably such standardization will never take place, since the European Union does not have, until now, a common set of norms regarding tort and criminal liability, much less specific legal norms on medical liability. These gaps may jeopardize a truly European internal market in health services and hamper the development of telemedicine in the European zone.
73 citations
TL;DR: The need for culture makes it imperative that patient′s family and loved ones are carried along as far as possible, without compromising the autonomy of the patient in question when utilizing advance care directives.
Abstract: An advance care directive is a person's oral or written instructions about his or her future medical care, if he or she becomes unable to communicate. It may be in written or oral form. Africans ordinarily do not encourage the contemplation of death or any discussion about their own or their loved ones' death. According to the African belief system, life does not end with death, but continues in another realm. Becoming an ancestor after death is a desirable goal of every individual, a feat which cannot be achieved if an individual asks for an unnatural death by attempting to utilize advance care directives. Advance care directives are considered to be too individualistic for communitarian societies such as Africa. Coupled with the communitarian nature of African societies are issues such as lack of awareness of advance directives, fear of death and grief, and the African cultural belief system, which are potential barriers to the utilization of advance care directives in the African setting. Hence, the need for culture sensitivity which makes it imperative that patient's family and loved ones are carried along as far as possible, without compromising the autonomy of the patient in question when utilizing advance care directives.
50 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide a review of the Floods Directive, the cascading phenomena and the vulnerability of critical infrastructures in the European legislation, and analyse some case studies to test the present approach and to improve the work of decision makers.
Abstract: The adoption of the European Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) represented a crucial improvement in the management of watercourses and coastlines. However, the beginning of a new phase of implementation requires the assessment of which emerging topics may be included in the review process. The aim of our research is to understand the existence of any legislative gaps that could limit the preparedness to cascading events and critical infrastructures breakdowns. First, we provide a review of the Floods Directive, the cascading phenomena and the vulnerability of critical infrastructures in the European legislation. Secondly, we analyse some case studies to test the present approach and to improve the work of decision makers. Our results suggest that the Floods Directive tends to focus on localized flood impacts at smaller time scale and it could be ineffective to address the cross-scale impact of cascading events. Although some of the corrective actions may not be of competence of the Directive, we argue...
43 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an analysis of 120 policy documents and 15 semi-structured interviews is presented to explain the politics of exemptions in EU water management. But the authors focus on the use of exemptions to the environmental objectives of the Water Framework Directive (WFD).
Abstract: The Water Framework Directive (WFD) is the core legislative instrument in the European Union for the protection of water resources. Adopted in 2000, its objectives were to achieve “good status” for water bodies by 2015 and prevent any further deterioration. However, the European Commission and some stakeholders are rather dissatisfied with the implementation of the Directive so far, in particular with the use of exemptions to the environmental objectives. Exemptions are of paramount importance: they may constitute a significant obstacle to the achievement of the WFD’s objectives as they enable member states to lower the ambition of the Directive and to delay the achievement of good status, thereby undermining the environmental goal of the WFD. Critical voices observe an excessive reliance on exemptions, poor justifications, and great variations in their use. Based on an analysis of 120 policy documents and 15 semi-structured interviews, this article provides explanations for the politics of exemptions in EU water management. It shows that different viewpoints and interpretations on the WFD’s objectives and exemptions were already present in the negotiation phase of the Directive, but remained undefined on purpose. Moreover, dysfunctional decision-making procedures in the Common Implementation Strategy and the lack of political support in WFD implementation were significant obstacles to an agreement on this important issue. Finally, decisions on WFD implementation in member states were often driven by pragmatism. The article explains how the negotiations of the WFD and the EU-level discussion on the implementation of the Directive undermined environmental goals in EU governance; its findings are also relevant for policy fields other than water.
TL;DR: In 2014, the European Union adopted changes to its Accounting Directive, which, after implementation in member states, will require public-interest entities with more than 500 employees to disclose their financial information as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In 2014, the European Union adopted changes to its Accounting Directive, which, after implementation in member states, will require public-interest entities with more than 500 employees to disclose...
TL;DR: In this article, the issues of employment and social protection of third-country migrant workers in legal instruments of the EU have been examined and a number of EU directives dealing specifically with labour migration from third countries such as the Blue Card Directive 2009/50, the Employers Sanctions Directive 2009 /52, the Single Permit Directive 2011/98, the Seasonal Workers Directive 2014/36 and the Intra-corporate Transferees Directive 2014 /66 were examined.
Abstract: Labour migration within the European Union (EU), as well as from outside the EU, has evolved significantly. There are more temporary forms of labour migration, such as seasonal work, temporary migration of both high- and low-skilled workers and temporary posting by employers. This evolution has led to an increasing vulnerability of labour migrants’ rights. In particular, the employment and social rights of these migrants are subject to legal disputes, as well as to political discussions. The latter resulted in the adoption of legal instruments meant to guarantee some rights to labour migrants, but which in some cases rather increased their vulnerability. This article explores the issues of employment and social protection of third-country migrant workers in legal instruments of the EU. It starts with an examination of a number of EU directives dealing specifically with labour migration from third countries such as the Blue Card Directive 2009/50, the Employers’ Sanctions Directive 2009/52, the Single Permit Directive 2011/98, the Seasonal Workers Directive 2014/36 and the Intra-corporate Transferees Directive 2014/66 (Section 2). This section also explores the interaction between these instruments as well as their shortcomings. Next, this article focuses on international agreements concluded by the EU with third countries. A large number of these agreements contain provisions which, directly or indirectly, regulate the employment and social security rights of nationals of the third States involved (Section 3). Further, it will comment on the issue of (the absence of) social security coordination between the systems of the Member States and those of third countries (Section 4). Finally, it draws some conclusions and pleads for a better enforcement of the rights already guaranteed and for a more prominent role for the protection of human rights (Section 5).
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the changing role of the state, through an analysis of the development and implementation of the EU Temporary Agency Work Directive in the UK, and show how, despite a veneer of fairness, the state has developed a regulatory instrument which provides uneven protection for workers, favours the actions of employers, and promotes further flexibility in the use of temporary labour contracts.
Abstract: This article examines the changing role of the state, through an analysis of the development and implementation of the EU Temporary Agency Work Directive in the UK. The article outlines and utilizes the concept of the ‘competition state’ to help frame and comprehend the UK Government’s approach to negotiating and shaping the Directive. Using archival, secondary and primary research, the article shows how the state continues to exercise important choices nationally and internationally which, in turn, have profound implications for the operation of labour markets. The article shows how, despite a veneer of fairness, the state has developed a regulatory instrument which provides uneven protection for workers, favours the actions of employers, promotes further flexibility in the use of temporary labour contracts and, by taking advantage of compromises at the European level, creates further market-making opportunities for well-established large agencies in the sector.
TL;DR: The results suggest that the implementation of the eco-design regulation alone will reduce significantly the impacts from vacuum cleaners by 2020 compared with current situation, and that energy efficiency measures must be accompanied by appropriate actions to reduce the environmental impacts of electricity generation.
TL;DR: In this paper, the legal framework for coordinating public participation in flood risk management and river basin management is investigated and the extent to which Germany has made use of this leeway for coordination of consultation and participation is examined.
TL;DR: The European Union's Energy Efficiency Directive (ED) requires Member States to put in place ambitious energy efficiency policies and requires them to establish energy saving targets as discussed by the authors, which has been applied by Member States and what the implications are.
Abstract: The European Union's Energy Efficiency Directive calls for EU Member States to put in place ambitious energy efficiency policies and requires them to establish energy saving targets. One of the most important Articles of the Directive is Article 7, which required Member States to implement Energy Efficiency Obligations and/or alternative policy instruments in order to reach a reduction in final energy use of 1.5% per year. This paper assesses how Article 7 has been applied by Member States and what the implications are. Analysing the plans of all 28 Member States we evaluate how Article 7 is implemented across the EU. This includes an analysis of the types of policies used, the distribution of the anticipated savings across the different policy instruments, and whether or not the way Article 7 is applied in reality meets the requirements set by the Directive. Our analysis shows that Member States take very different approaches with some using up to 112 policy measures and others just one. We also identify areas of concern particularly related to the delivery of the energy savings with respect to the Article 7 requirements, the calculation methods, and the monitoring and verification regimes adopted by Member States. We model to what extent the projected savings are likely to materialise and whether or not they will be sufficient to meet the target put forward by Article 7. In our paper we also make suggestions for modifying the Energy Efficiency Directive in order to address some of the problems we encountered.
TL;DR: The European Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) aims to protect and improve the status of a wide range of ecosystem components with a regional focus, promoting cooperation among countries and integration with other environmental policies as discussed by the authors.
TL;DR: In this paper, an overview of the past and current state of European Union copyright, of the case law that has allowed the Court of Justice of the European Union to develop and affirm its own concepts and indicates what could and should be expected for the future of European EU copyright law.
Abstract: The first European Union Directive in the field of copyright was enacted nearly 25 years ago. Similarly to many other directives that followed, that Directive was “vertical” in scope, meaning that its “harmonising” effects were limited to the specific subject matter therein regulated (in this case, software). Other examples of “vertical harmonisation” are found in the field of photographs and databases as well as in many other European Union directives in the field of copyright, making this fragmented approach a typical trait of European Union Copyright law harmonisation. The reason for what could be labelled ‘piecemeal legislation’ can be linked to the limited power that the European Union had, until recently, in regulating copyright. As it can be easily verified from their preambles, all European Union Copyright Directives are mainly grounded in the smooth functioning of the internal market. It is the internal market—rather than copyright—that has driven the harmonisation of European Union copyright law to date. Nevertheless, if we look at the entire body of European Union copyright law today (the so called acquis communautaire) it certainly appears much more harmonised than what may be suggested by the above. The reason for this “unexpected” situation can most likely be found in the fundamental role that the Court of Justice of the European Union has played in interpreting and—some would argue—in creating European Union copyright law. Using the example of the originality standard, this paper offers an overview of the past and current state of European Union copyright, of the case law that has allowed the Court of Justice of the European Union to develop and affirm its own concepts and indicates what could and should be expected for the future of European Union copyright law.
TL;DR: An overall minor positive change in follow-up practices in the UK is identified and three main barriers for improved follow- up are established: lack of appropriate legislation, implementation costs, and lack of enforcement.
Abstract: EIA is globally recognised and implemented as a decision making support instrument in project planning. Whilst it should be involved in both, pre-development consent deliberations as well as in subsequent phases, including post construction, in practice, follow-up is often deficient. In this paper, a review of how follow-up is dealt with in UK environmental statement non-technical summaries is presented. Furthermore, opinions of UK EIA practitioners with regards to current practices and barriers and possible implications of the new EC EIA Directive from 2014 are discussed. Comparing results with earlier publications, an overall minor positive change in follow-up practices in the UK is identified and three main barriers for improved follow-up are established: (1) lack of appropriate legislation, (2) implementation costs, and (3) lack of enforcement. The latter may still be the number one reason for continued deficient practice, even when the new EIA Directive is implemented.
01 Jan 2016
TL;DR: The analysis reveals that the Recast APD contains many improvements on its predecessor, but overall the assessment is mixed, particularly if the authors assess it in terms of the objective of setting clear basic minimum standards of fairness.
Abstract: This piece provides a detailed analysis of the Recast Asylum Procedures Directive (Recast APD). Although we are now two decades into harmonization of asylum procedures at the European Union (EU) level, we begin in Part 2 by revisiting the rationale for this process. We contend that the most persuasive rationale for procedural harmonization, in an EU legally committed to refugee protection, is to ensure fair procedures, and to prevent a race to the bottom in procedural standards. Efficiency must serve fairness, not vice versa. The original Asylum Procedures Directive (APD) failed to meet this aim by a long margin. The Recast APD is the product of the new, post-Lisbon legislative environment, so as Part 3 suggests, it comes with high hopes for improvement, particularly given the Parliament’s relatively new role as co-legislator on asylum matters. Our analysis reveals that the Recast APD contains many improvements on its predecessor, but overall our assessment is mixed, particularly if we assess it in terms of the objective of setting clear basic minimum standards of fairness. We attempt to explain this ambivalent outcome by suggesting that the Directive reflects two competing stereotypical views of the asylum seeker. On the one hand, there is a strong notion that asylum procedures must work to weed out ‘abusive’ claims. In contrast, there is also a strong acknowledgement that some asylum seekers are particularly vulnerable or have special needs (as will be seen, different terminologies are used in different contexts). As we argue, these stereotypes create complexity, and crowd out the basic notion of refugee status determination (RSD) as a process for recognising refugees, on the assumption that many (although of course not all) of those who apply will be so recognised.
DOI•
01 Jul 2016
TL;DR: In this article, the revised EIA Directive will be able to strengthen it further by addressing gaps with regards to the consideration of alternatives, climate change mitigation and adaptation, the risk of accidents and disasters along with human health, land and biodiversity.
Abstract: Whilst environmental impact assessment (EIA) in England overall can be said to be of a good to satisfactory quality, we believe that the revised EIA Directive will be able to strengthen it further by addressing gaps with regards to the consideration of alternatives, climate change mitigation and adaptation, the consideration of accidents and disasters along with human health, land and biodiversity. Some challenges, however, are likely to remain, for example, with regards to penalties for non-compliance and a scoping stage that will remain optional. The biggest unknown at the time of writing this article however is whether or not the UK will remain in the EU, giving rise to some considerable uncertainties.
Book•
20 Jan 2016
TL;DR: The SEA and the Law as mentioned in this paper is an overview of international environmental law and international environmental protection laws, including the SEA Protocol and the SEA Directive, as well as the European Environmental Directive (EIA).
Abstract: Foreword * Introduction: SEA and the Law * Part I: International Law * An Overview of International Law * International Environmental Law * The Espoo and Aarhus Conventions * The SEA Protocol * SEA and the Conservation Conventions * Part II: European Law * An Overview of European Law * European Environmental Law * The EIA and other Horizontal Directives * The SEA Directive * Relationship between the SEA, EIA and other Related Directives * Comparisons and Conclusions * Index
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the complex relationship between EU and UK legislation in the area of maternity rights and argue that considering the UK government's opposition to the original Pregnant Worker Directive (1992) and later to the abandoned Amendment Directive, we can expect these regulations to become watered down.
Abstract: This article explores some of the medium term implications of the EU Referendum on the position and future of women’s rights in the UK. Using process tracing, the article explores the complex relationship between EU and UK legislation in the area of maternity rights. Specifically, it argues that considering the UK government’s opposition to the original Pregnant Worker Directive (1992) and later to the abandoned Amendment Directive, we can expect these regulations to become watered down. The economic and political environment that shaped the EU Referendum campaigns will frame the UK’s negotiations to leave the EU in favour of de-regulation. The UK’s withdrawal from European institutions increases the vulnerability of marginal groups and interests as layers of representation are taken away. Moreover, the invisibility of gender issues and the largely strategic deployment of women in the actual campaigns is likely to compound the impact of the well- established position of the UK on equality matters, as highlighted by negotiations on the pregnant worker directives.
03 Oct 2016
TL;DR: This chapter investigates the grammatical status of insubordinate if -clauses in English on the basis of spoken data from the British Component of the International Corpus of English to conclude that directive insub subordinate clauses are not mere performance phenomena but represent a grammatical category in their own right in a Construction Grammar sense.
Abstract: Insubordinate clauses are a problem for grammatical analysis as they are subordinate in terms of their form but used like independent main clauses. This chapter investigates the grammatical status of insubordinate if -clauses in English on the basis of spoken data from the British Component of the International Corpus of English. The analysis shows that insubordinate if -clauses have highly specialised functions and fall into two main categories, viz. performatives and elaboratives. The former include directives, optatives, and exclamatives, while the latter express some elaboration of a previous utterance and as such are pragmatically linked to the preceding cotext. Directives represent the most frequent category and are shown to correspond with specific formal features which set them apart from ordinary conditional clauses: three dominant syntactic patterns ( If you + [Verb: present], If you + [Modal: past], If you’d like to ) and terminal prosodic contour. It is concluded that directive insubordinate if -clauses are not mere performance phenomena but represent a grammatical category in their own right in a Construction Grammar sense. It is further concluded that insubordinate if -clauses are part of a larger category of theticals (Heine et al. 2013), which also includes parenthetical if -clauses and conversational if -clauses (Dancygier 1998).
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors address the theoretical and practical challenge faced by the European policy community and Member States trying to simultaneously pursue renewable energy and environmental goals, as incorporated in the EU Renewable Energy Directive and the Water Framework Directive.
Abstract: This article addresses the theoretical and practical challenge faced by the European policy community and Member States trying to simultaneously pursue renewable energy and environmental goals, as incorporated in the EU Renewable Energy Directive and the Water Framework Directive. Through the case of hydropower, which is today at a crossroads between being a renewable electricity source − answering to climate change and energy security concerns − and a local environmental challenge in the light of degradation of river ecosystems and local biodiversity, the article explores the way renewable energy and water protection objectives are integrated inside the Common Implementation Strategy at the EU level. Based on document analysis and interviews, the mapping of the different frameworks shows that old conflicts and controversies related to the hydropower technology have been reopened and reframed to accommodate both the issue of energy security and the discourse on EU sustainability and climate change. Conclusions reveal that despite the creation of a multi-stakeholder platform for negotiation and collaboration, the Common Implementation Strategy fails on several occasions to explain how to achieve the right balance and leaves unclear what specifically has to be integrated and to what degree. Hence, given the plurality and diversity of values, interests and concerns in relation to hydropower and goals of the Water Framework Directive, a prioritization between water, climate and energy policy goals might be needed, with the possibility of having real winners and losers of the integration process. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the policies adopted by the EU in 2015 to cope with the migration crisis in Europe, whether the Council Directive 2001/55/EC of 20 July 2001 on Minimum Standards for Giving Temporary Protection (Temporary Protection Directive) can be implemented to deal with the arrival of the mixed flows and the reason why this Directive can play a key role in solving migration crisis.
Abstract: The number of refugees and migrants arriving by sea in Europe is on the rise. According to UNHCR , more than one million refugees and migrants arrived in Europe by sea in 2015, whereas more than 3700 people lost their lives while trying to reach the European shores. As a response to the migration crisis, the EU has adopted a number of policies as proposed by the European Commission in the Ten point Action Plan on Migration and the European Agenda on Migration. This was followed by adoption of the second implementation package of the Agenda and initiation of EU -Turkey Joint Action Plan on migration management. In the light of the increasing number of refugees and migrants arriving in Europe by sea, this article examines the policies adopted by the EU in 2015 to cope with the migration crisis in Europe, whether the Council Directive 2001/55/ EC of 20 July 2001 on Minimum Standards for Giving Temporary Protection (Temporary Protection Directive) can be implemented to cope with the arrival of the mixed flows and the reason why this Directive can play a key role in solving the migration crisis. Through evaluation of these issues, this article argues that the Temporary Protection Directive should be part of the EU response to the migration crisis as it would provide crucial benefits to both Member States as well as persons seeking refuge in the EU .
TL;DR: By bringing together personnel from the competent authorities in 22 member states (MSs) who have responsibility for implementing the Directive, and engaging in exchange of information and technical methods regarding the Broiler Directive, it has been possible to identify differences in approach with regard to 'what data is being collected, and by whom' across EU MSs.
Abstract: The European Union (EU) Broiler Directive (2007/43/EC) is unique amongst current EU Directives, which address animal welfare, in that it uses outcome data collected at abattoirs and on farm to monitor on-farm broiler welfare and vary the maximum permitted stocking density on farm. In this study, we describe how, by bringing together personnel from the competent authorities in 22 member states (MSs) who have responsibility for implementing the Directive, and engaging in exchange of information and technical methods regarding the Broiler Directive, it has been possible to identify differences in approach with regard to 'what data is being collected, and by whom' across EU MSs. Online questionnaires and workshop exercises enabled us to identify priority areas for knowledge transfer and training. For example, foot pad dermatitis, hock burn, dead on arrival and total rejections (birds rejected as unfit for human consumption by the meat inspection staff at slaughter) were identified by the MSs as measures of medium-to-low priority in terms of knowledge transfer because there are assessment methods for these conditions that are already well accepted by competent authorities. On the other hand, breast lesions, cellulitis, emaciation, joint lesions, respiratory problems, scratches, wing fractures and a number of environmental measures were identified as having high priority in terms of knowledge transfer. The study identified that there is significant variability in the stage of implementation between MSs, and responses from the participating MSs indicated that sharing of guidance and technical information between MSs may be of value in the future set-up process for those MSs engaged in implementation of the Directive.