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In several European Union countries, drug use amongst Black and minority ethnic communities is largely unacknowledged, ignored, unrecognized, or hidden by some policy-makers, drug researchers, drug service planners and commissioners, and by some members of some Black and minority ethnic communities themselves. This article presents evidence to support this statement and suggests ways forward to ensure that the knowledge base on drug use amongst these communities is increased, and drug services are accessible to all who need them. Examples of good practice in engaging members of Black and minority ethnic communities in research and with drug services are provided.

Because of the asymmetric nature of cyber threats and the dynamics of their evolution, there is a tendency for a growing role of security cooperation activities in cyberspace through joint efforts of states and non-state actors in international relations. New challenges and threats caused by the global pandemic are linked with an increased internet activity. The recent spread of fake news related to COVID-19 illness caused by SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus might be seen as part of sharp power disinformation strategy applied by state actors. International organisations serve as a forum for discussion to disseminate and analyse knowledge about cybersecurity and the effects of cyber threats, they are at the same time creators of common principles of prevention, legal and institutional solutions, and are complementary to the activities of states in this field. By adopting the regional level of analysis as its methodological perspective, the article shows a natural evolution of cybersecurity means from the time of the 1990s and early 2000s when the focus was set on computer and cyberspace as a tool of serious and organised crime, through the stage when computer crime was endangering cyberspace of the EU Member States, to the period when finally the EU objectives were to achieve an open, safe and secure cyberspace keeping in mind the importance of raising awareness and acquiring skills and knowledge how to avoid or face cyber threats. At the early stages of establishing the EU cybersecurity policy, the documents focused on definitions and identifications of threats and trends. Later stages included organising institutional and legal framework, and setting up specialised institutions, centres and teams. Not only did the understanding of cyber-related issues changed but also the response of the EU to cyber threats. The transition is from the soft law instruments (recommendations) such as guidelines, communications, declarations, roadmaps, actions plans, and strategies towards more hard law instruments (obligations) such as directives and other legislative acts. The character of directives has also changed – from directives on cyber-related issues to those characterised as cyber-oriented, each being more ambitious than the previous one. The complete appraisal of the effectiveness of the EU cyber security policy is impeded by a specific nature of cyberspace and its security, as well as problems with gathering appropriate data.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze the current situation of the European Union in terms of gender equality, researching the possible existence of models differentiated by groups of countries or conglomerates. For this, the indicator offered by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) has been used, which includes six dimensions: work, money, knowledge, time, power and health.Design/methodology/approachThe Gender Equality Index is compared with an alternative indicator that has been developed using the same dimensions but with a different methodology. Specifically, the DP2 distance measure has been applied, the use of which is common in studies focusing on well-being and quality of life. In addition, a cluster analysis has been carried out that allows classifying the EU member states and obtaining groupings of countries according to the proximity between them in terms of equality between men and women.FindingsThe results show that the most egalitarian countries are those of northern Europe, but without finding the typical north–south classification. Thus, in the group of the least equal are many eastern countries that have recently joined the EU, along with other southern countries that have been part of the EU since its creation, such as Italy. The classification of the countries resulting from applying one or the other methodology is not identical although there are hardly any significant changes. The groups obtained in the years for which information is available are also not altered, which reflects the structural nature of gender equality.Originality/valueThis paper shows a division into four groups of countries according to gender equality, using different indicators and methodologies. The typology of countries has hardly altered during the last decade.

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to focus on the analysis and assessment of the level of development of Industry 4.0, the social development in the context of the implementation of the concept of sustainable development and to determine the relationship of these phenomena in EU countries. Design/Methodology/Approach: Due to the fact that both Industry 4.0 and social development are complex issues, the research uses taxonomic measures based on the TOPSIS method, which replace the multi-feature description of the studied objects by a single aggregate size, which greatly facilitates their analysis. For the purposes of this article, an attempt was made to construct a synthetic measure of the development of Industry 4.0, as well as a synthetic measure of social development in the context of implementing the concept of sustainable development based on a previously selected set of diagnostic variables. The research also used the so-called threshold method to classify EU countries into homogeneous typological groups. In addition, a correlation analysis was carried out in order to examine whether there is a correlation between the analysed phenomena. Findings: The results of the research indicate that there is a moderate variation in the level of social development in the EU countries in the context of implementing the concept of sustainable development and a significant variation in the level of development of Industry 4.0. The analysis showed that there is a very high positive correlation between the two. Practical Implications: Modern economies are faced with the need to meet the challenges resulting from the fourth industrial revolution, for which the emergence of Industry 4.0 is significant. The changes resulting from the implementation of the concept of Industry 4.0 concern not only industry and its enterprises, but also affect the overall shape of socio-economic processes. Originality/value: Social development considered in connection with the development of Industry 4.0 a relatively new economic category, still not well described in the literature. The way they are combined in the article is a relatively new proposal, important from the point of view of each of these areas. ; peer-reviewed

Is the EU Constitution dead in the water? Although it may have disappeared from the headlines, right-wing European leaders have not given up on pushing through a binding EU text providing total freedom for goods, services and capital but few advantages for Europeans. A more neo-liberal anti-democratic document than the one rejected by the French and the Dutch may be hard to imagine, but the new reform treaty tries hard. What do they have in store for us? What should European people be fighting for? Leading writer and alter-globalisation activist Susan George explains what is at stake for all peoples of Europe. What must we reject and how will such a document affect our lives? Who will it really empower--corporations or ordinary Europeans? What kind of future do we want to build together as Europeans? Written with clarity and authority, We the Peoples of Europe will help you make up your own mind

This paper is about the ways that citizens perceive their place in the political world around them, through their political identities. Using a combination of comparative and quantitative methodologies, the study traces the pattern of citizens' political identifications in the European Union and Canada between 1981 and 2003 and explains the mechanisms that shape these political identifications. The results of the paper show that in the EU and Canada identity formation is a process that involves the participation of both individuals and political institutions yet between the two, individuals play a greater role in identity construction than do political institutions. The paper argues that the main agents of political identification in the EU and Canada are citizens themselves: individuals choose their own political identifications, rather than acquiring identities that are pre-determined by historical or cultural precedence. The paper makes the case that this phenomenon is characteristic of a rise of 'civic' identities in the EU and Canada. In the European Union, this overarching 'civic' identity is in its infancy compared to Canada, yet, both reveal a new form of political identification when compared to the historical and enduring forms of cultural identities firmly entrenched in Europe. The rise of civic identities in both the EU and Canada is attributed to the active role that citizens play in their own identity constructions as they base their identifications on rational assessments of how well political institutions function, and whether their memberships in the community will benefit them, rather than on emotional factors rooted in religion or race. In the absence of strongly held emotional identifications, in the EU and Canada political institutions play a passive role in identity construction by making the community appear more entitative to its citizens. These findings offer new theoretical scope to the concept of civic communities and the political identities that underpin them. The most important finding presented in the paper is that although civic communities and identities are manufactured by institutions and political elites (politicians and bureaucrats), they require thinking citizens, not feeling ones, to be sustained.

This paper is about the ways that citizens perceive their place in the political world around them, through their political identities. Using a combination of comparative and quantitative methodologies, the study traces the pattern of citizens' political identifications in the European Union and Canada between 1981 and 2003 and explains the mechanisms that shape these political identifications. The results of the paper show that in the EU and Canada identity formation is a process that involves the participation of both individuals and political institutions yet between the two, individuals play a greater role in identity construction than do political institutions. The paper argues that the main agents of political identification in the EU and Canada are citizens themselves: individuals choose their own political identifications, rather than acquiring identities that are pre-determined by historical or cultural precedence. The paper makes the case that this phenomenon is characteristic of a rise of 'civic' identities in the EU and Canada. In the European Union, this overarching 'civic' identity is in its infancy compared to Canada, yet, both reveal a new form of political identification when compared to the historical and enduring forms of cultural identities firmly entrenched in Europe. The rise of civic identities in both the EU and Canada is attributed to the active role that citizens play in their own identity constructions as they base their identifications on rational assessments of how well political institutions function, and whether their memberships in the community will benefit them, rather than on emotional factors rooted in religion or race. In the absence of strongly held emotional identifications, in the EU and Canada political institutions play a passive role in identity construction by making the community appear more entitative to its citizens. These findings offer new theoretical scope to the concept of civic communities and the political identities that underpin them. The most important finding presented in the paper is that although civic communities and identities are manufactured by institutions and political elites (politicians and bureaucrats), they require thinking citizens, not feeling ones, to be sustained. Full text available at: https://doi.org/10.22215/rera.v2i4.179

The organization of dock labor and, more in particular, the use of dock labor schemes has been under EU scrutiny for a long while. The EU however has not come with clear-cut answers so far. The diversity of dock labor schemes existing in Europe is an important factor in assessing their compatibility with EU law. The compliance of dock labor schemes with internal market principles such as the freedom to provide services and the freedom of establishment has not been put to the direct test of European jurisprudence yet. It was the European Commission's Directive proposal on port services that put the principle of freedom to provide services centre-stage. This paper sets out the EU legal and policy framework that applies to dock labor schemes. It also gives an extensive analysis of how dock labor interests contributed to the failure of the port services' Directive. It further describes the process that emerged after the downfall of the Directive, including the proposal to set up a European social dialogue on port labor. Finally, it gives insight in ways in which European policy-makers may address the issue in the future. ; peer-reviewed