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This article examines why and how China upgraded its engagement with the European Union (EU) in the years between 2001 and 2004, with reference to pre-existing foreign policy traditions and practices in reform-era China. It argues that most of the observed changes can be explained with reference to two dynamics. First, the changing international environment, mostly with regard to the roles of the United States and the EU, challenged the established approach to foreign policy inherited from Deng Xiaoping, China's pre-eminent leadership figure from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. In this sense, the shift towards the EU was part of wider efforts to solve this dilemma. Second, differences in how various groups in the Chinese foreign policy establishment understood and implemented Deng's guidelines and their respective influence in policy-making can help to grasp some of the more specific developments in Chinese policy towards the EU in the early 2000s. To supplement this main claim, the article also critically evaluates the changes less well explained by these two dynamics and proposes additional explanations.

This volume analyzes immigrant integration policies and the implications for governance in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. Leading experts review recent developments in their respective countries and current public policies and programs in three categories: selection/admission, economic and social integration, and civic and political integration (including naturalization). These analyses show that the integration of immigrants is an ongoing process that extends beyond the initial years of settlement in a new country, involving the actions of different governments, non-governmental organizations and others. By examining a range of policy and governance issues from the perspective of federalism, this volume fills a gap in the literature on immigrant integration. It will interest not only academics and researchers but also political representatives and public servants concerned with these important topics.

The European Union is a sui generis, supra-nation organization. After the World War II, step by step, the European Union has turned from a regional trade collaboration into a political integration and become successful during the rise of globalization. The historical signification and geographical location of Turkey and its relationship with Europe gained an economical dimension with the Ankara Agreement of 1963 and the final step of this agreement, the Customs Union of 1995, Turkey tried to integrate into the Western Market Economy. In this study, we will analyze relations between Turkey and EU within the context of Customs Union, internal dynamics and external agents of Turkey that executes full membership process to EU. In addition to this, advantages and disadvantages of Customs Union, reviews and suggestions of the modernization in Customs Union will be presented.

En el presente artículo se desarrolla una reflexión sobre las perspectivas futuras de la integración europea, basada en los retos actuales y las experiencias pasadas. De acuerdo con los resultados, podemos señalar que se han logrado muchos de los objetivos marcados, aunque el proceso de integración aún dista de ser perfecto. Existen factores internos y externos que impiden que la Unión funcione de forma eficiente. Entre los factores internos destaca la fragmentación, el imperfecto funcionamiento de la unión monetaria, los problemas institucionales y de toma de decisiones y el tratamiento de las presentes y futuras ampliaciones de la Unión. Entre los externos destacamos las tendencias demográficas, la sostenibilidad del modelo social europeo, los nuevos competidores y por último, aunque no menos importante, la incertidumbre política sobre el proyecto europeo.__________________________________The present article is devoted to reflection on future prospects of European integration –based on actual challenges and past experiences. As it is presented, much has been reached, but the integration process is still far from perfection. There are internal and external factors that impede the Union to act efficiently. Among internal factors, fragmentation, the imperfect functioning of EMU, the problems of EU institutions and decision-making and the treatment of (recent and future) enlargements of the EU. Among the external factors, demographic trends, the question of sustainability of the European social model(s), the emerging competitors outside Europe, and, last but not least, the political uncertainty about "Project Europe" is discussed.

Unified citizenship education is a must to stop democratic backsliding in the European Union.

alta will be taking up the challenge of running the Presidency of the European Union on the 1st of January 2017. It will be the first time for Malta to hold the Presidency since it became a member of the EU in 2004. The next time Malta will hold the Presidency will be from July to December 2030. One area identified as an absolute priority for the Maltese Presidency is the Mediterranean. This makes sense, because of Malta's location and its history and because, in any case, the subject is very topical with the whole question of migration and the huge security concerns that exist within and around the region. The last time that a Presidency was held by a Member State, which had an immediate interest in the Mediterranean, was in 2014 when it was held by Greece in the first six months and then by Italy during the second six months. The next time around will be in 2020 when Croatia will be at the helm. Meanwhile Bulgaria and Romania will each be holding the Presidency; however, presumably, they will focus more on the Black Sea than on the Mediterranean. The EU Presidency will thus be entrusted to a Mediterranean State after a gap of two years and then again, there will be another gap of over two years before the EU Presidency lands in the hands of another Mediterranean State. ; N/A

INTRODUCTION: The smoking epidemic greatly affected mortality levels and trends, especially among men in low-mortality countries. The objective of this article was to examine similarities and differences between sexes and low-mortality countries in the mortality imprint of the smoking epidemic. This will provide important additions to the smoking epidemic model, but also improve our understanding of the differential impact of the smoking epidemic, and provide insights into its future impact. METHODS: Using lung-cancer mortality data for 30 European and four North American or Australasian countries, smoking-attributable mortality fractions (SAMF) by sex, age (35–99), and year (1950–2014) were indirectly estimated. The timing and level of the peak in SAMF(35-99), estimated using weighting and smoothing, were compared. RESULTS: Among men in all countries except Bulgaria, a clear wave pattern was observed, with SAMF(35-99) peaking, on average, at 33.4% in 1986. Eastern European men experienced the highest (40%) and Swedish men the lowest (16%) peak. Among women, SAMF(35-99) peaked, on average, at 18.1% in 2007 in the North American/Australasian countries and five Northwestern European countries, and increased, on average, to 7.5% in 2014 in the remaining countries (4% in Southern and Eastern Europe). The average sex difference in the peak is at least 25.6 years in its timing and at most 22.9 percentage points in its level. CONCLUSIONS: Although the progression of smoking-attributable mortality in low-mortality countries was similar, there are important unexpected sex and country differences in the maximum mortality impact of the smoking epidemic driven by cross-country differences in economic, political, and emancipatory progress. IMPLICATIONS: The formal, systematic, and comprehensive analysis of similarities and differences between sexes and 34 low-mortality countries in long-term time trends (1950–2014) in smoking-attributable mortality provided important additions to the Global Burden of Disease study and the ...

Abstract
Political, professional and academic circles, as well as the general public, are increasingly using different terms like hybrid threats and hybrid wars in everyday circumstances, describing different phenomena and processes. This trend became more prominent in Europe after the events in Ukraine in 2014, and it has especially been more emphasized since the attack of the Russian regime on Ukraine in 2022. For this reason, the central organisations of the European security architecture – the European Union and NATO, as well as their member states – pay more and more attention to research, conceptualisation and explanation of what different forms of hybrid dangers represent, what their scope is and how to effectively oppose them. This is a necessity because only by adequately addressing the problem and defining key definitions and concepts, the development of appropriate and effective response measures can be achieved. This paper aims to comparatively research and present the development of this area at the level of the European Union and the NATO Alliance, and specifically for Croatia, analyse the use of the relevant terms with a special focus on two terms: hybrid threats and hybrid wars. The first term, because it is the most general and most common hybrid term used, the second because it is the term with the strongest meaning and consequences. The research will represent an addition to the existing body of knowledge and will provide guidelines for the continued development of this field at the policy and academic levels. Also, the research will be significant for other countries and researchers in order to perceive the current status of the situation in the European Union, the NATO Alliance and Croatia as a member state of both organisations, and to be able to compare the challenges and solutions in their countries.

"This text argues that the process of West European integration was encouraged and facilitated by the Cold War, in which the threat posed by the Soviet Union temporarily inhibited internal conflicts, and in which American hegemony provided the relatively stable and secure economic, political and military framework in which the major West European countries were able to co-operate and take major steps towards the ultimate ideal of a European Union."--Bloomsbury Publishing

Der dramatische Anstieg der verhängten Geldbußen infolge von Verletzungen des Art 101 AEUV hat in Wissenschaft und Praxis zu Debatten geführt, welche die Adäquanz der Prozessrechte im kartellrechtlichen Verfahren der EU in Frage stellen. Diese Debatten beziehen sich auf die Fähigkeit der Europäischen Kommission sowie der EU-Gerichte, die effektive Durchsetzung der kartellrechtlichen Regelungen mit den Anforderungen des Art. 6 EMRK zu vereinbaren. Im Rahmen dieser Problematik analysiert die Autorin die rechtliche Natur des europäischen Kartellverfahrens. Sie argumentiert, dass der repressive sowie abschreckende Charakters dieses Verfahrens eine "strafrechtliche Anklage" im Sinne der Engel-Kriterien des EGMR darstellt. Ausgehend davon, dass das kartellrechtliche Verfahren der EU an die Verfahrensgarantien der EMRK gebunden ist, reflektiert diese Arbeit die Vereinbarkeit mit der Unschuldsvermutung des Art. 6 Abs 2 EMRK. In diesem Kontext wird die Haftung der Muttergesellschaft für das kartellrechtswidrige Verhalten ihre Tochergesellschaft auf der Basis des Konzepts der wirtschaftlichen Einheit und der Vermutung eines maßgeblichen Einflußes kritisch beleuchtet. Die Autorin argumentiert, dass eine derartige Haftung der Muttergesellschaft auf einer unwiderlegbaren Vermutung basiert und daher im Widerspruch zum Schuldprinzip erfolgt. Die Autorin folgert daraus, dass die Annahme der Haftung der Muttergesellschaft den Prinzipien in dubio pro reo und nulla poena sine culpa und damit den Wesensbestandteilen der Unschuldsvermutung widerspricht. Ferner betrachtet die Autorin die Verpflichtung der Gesellschaften zur aktiven Mitwirkung an Untersuchungsmaßnahmen als problematisch im Sinne des Grundsatzes nemo tenetur, der ebenfalls einen Bestandteil der Unschuldsvermutung darstellt. Letzlich werden Änderungsmöglichkeiten vorgeschlagen, um den Konformitätsmangel der analysierten Probleme zu beseitigen. ; vorgelegt von Aistė Mickonytė, LL.M. ; Zusammenfassungen in Deutsch und Englisch ; Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, Dissertation, 2017 ; (VLID)3358469

Der Forstsektor ? inklusive Entwaldung und Waldzerstörung ? trägt in etwa 20% der globalen anthropogenen Treibhausgasemissionen und liegt damit nur knapp hinter dem Energiesektor und dem Industriesektor. Vor dem Hintergrund der andauernden Entwaldung in den Tropen entstand im Jahr 2008 eine neue Initiative mit dem Namen Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+). Obwohl einzelne Designelemente dieses Mechanismus bereits extensiv erforscht wurden, besteht immer noch ein Mangel an Information über die Rolle der EU. Da REDD+ ein effektives Mittel zum Klimaschutz ist und in der Zukunft weiter entwickelt werden sollte, versucht also folgende Forschungsfrage zu beantworten: Wie kann die EU ihre Verhandlungsposition verbessern um eine führende Rolle in den internationalen REDD+ Richtlinienverhandlungen zu erreichen?Diese Arbeit gliedert sich in 6 Kapitel und beginnt mit einer Einführung in die Thematik des Klimawandels. Darauf folgt eine Zusammenfassung der Optionen des Umgangs mit dem Klimawandel, bevor REDD+ und seine Designelemente im Detail erläutert werden. Diese theoretischen Kapitel werden gefolgt vom empirischen Teil, welcher vor allem die Ergebnisse der Interviews und deren Analyse darstellt. Die Experteninterviews wurden nach der Methode der qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse geführt, verarbeitet und analysiert. Das letzte Kapitel zieht Schlussfolgerungen aus den Ergebnissen und inkludiert Empfehlungen für die Verhandelnden der EU, wie die Verhandlungsposition der EU in den internationalen REDD+ Verhandlungen verbessert werden kann. Sie solle Lehren aus dem FLEGT Action Plan ziehen und ihre Erfahrung mit der Lizenzierung von Holzprodukten nutzen, um den Fokus der Verhandlungen weg von technischen Details und hin zu einem neuen Ansatz lenken, welcher die Rolle von Agrarprodukten innerhalb des REDD+ Mechanismus behandelt. ; The forestry sector - including deforestation and forest degradation - accounts for approximately 20% of global anthropogenic GHG emissions, only after the energy supply sector and the industry sector. In light of on-going deforestation in the humid tropics, a new initiative called Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) came to life in 2008. Although a lot of research has been done on several design elements of the REDD+ mechanism, there is a lack of information on the role of the EU. Because REDD+ is worth expanding in the future as an effective tool for climate change mitigation, the paper therefore aims to find answers to the following research question: How can the EU improve its negotiation position to obtain a leading role in global REDD+ policy debates?The paper is divided into 6 chapters and sets out with an introduction to climate change, its causes and its impacts. This introduction is followed by a synopsis of possible ways of dealing with climate change, before REDD+ and its design elements are discussed in detail in another chapter. These theoretical chapters are followed by the empirical part of the paper which mainly presents the results of the interviews and the analysis thereof. The expert interviews were conducted, processed and analysed according to the method of qualitative content analysis. The last chapter draws conclusions from the results and includes recommendations for EU negotiators as to how to improve the EU?s negotiation position in international REDD+ negotiations, namely as to draw lessons from the FLEGT Action Plan and use its experience with the licensing of timber to shift the focus of the negotiations from technical details to a new approach which addresses the role of agricultural commodities within the REDD+ mechanism. ; vorgelegt von Jacqueline Steindl ; Zsfassungen in dt. und engl. Sprache ; Graz, Univ., Dipl.-Arb., 2014 ; (VLID)243304