Suchergebnisse

The members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) have traditionally been `reluctant Europeans' that preferred to remain outside the European Community (EC) in spite of their high economic dependence. This article analyses the EC-EFTA negotiations 1989-93 on the creation of a European Economic Area (EEA). It suggests one possible explanation for the puzzling question of why most of the EFTA countries have applied for full EC membership at a time when the Community has been offering them participation in its internal market in the form of the EEA and without the political burdens of the Maastricht Treaty. In highlighting the factors of uncertainty which characterized the complex bargaining process, the article shows that the outcome of the EEA involved a substantial loss of `operational sovereignty' for the EFTA countries without offering them satisfactory `voice opportunities' in return. Adding to the economic fears of exclusion, this disappointment is likely to have contributed to their policy change in favour of EC membership.

Background: Although tuberculosis (TB) incidence has been decreasing in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) in the last decades, specific subgroups of the population, such as migrants, remain at high risk of TB. This study is based on the report 'Key Infectious Diseases in Migrant Populations in the EU/EEA' commissioned by The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Methods: We collected, critically appraised and summarized the available evidence on the TB burden in migrants in the EU/EEA. Data were collected through: (i) a comprehensive literature review; (ii) analysis of data from The European Surveillance System (TESSy) and (iii) evidence provided by TB experts during an infectious disease workshop in 2012. Results: In 2010, of the 73 996 TB cases notified in the EU/EEA, 25% were of foreign origin. The overall decrease of TB cases observed in recent years has not been reflected in migrant populations. Foreign-born people with TB exhibit different socioeconomic and clinical characteristics than native sufferers. Conclusion: This is one of the first studies to use multiple data sources, including the largest available European database on infectious disease notifications, to assess the burden and provide a comprehensive description and analysis of specific TB features in migrants in the EU/EEA. Strengthened information about health determinants and factors for migrants' vulnerability is needed to plan, implement and evaluate targeted TB care and control interventions for migrants in the EU/EEA.

BACKGROUND: Although tuberculosis (TB) incidence has been decreasing in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) in the last decades, specific subgroups of the population, such as migrants, remain at high risk of TB. This study is based on the report 'Key Infectious Diseases in Migrant Populations in the EU/EEA' commissioned by The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. METHODS: We collected, critically appraised and summarized the available evidence on the TB burden in migrants in the EU/EEA. Data were collected through: (i) a comprehensive literature review; (ii) analysis of data from The European Surveillance System (TESSy) and (iii) evidence provided by TB experts during an infectious disease workshop in 2012. RESULTS: In 2010, of the 73,996 TB cases notified in the EU/EEA, 25% were of foreign origin. The overall decrease of TB cases observed in recent years has not been reflected in migrant populations. Foreign-born people with TB exhibit different socioeconomic and clinical characteristics than native sufferers. CONCLUSION: This is one of the first studies to use multiple data sources, including the largest available European database on infectious disease notifications, to assess the burden and provide a comprehensive description and analysis of specific TB features in migrants in the EU/EEA. Strengthened information about health determinants and factors for migrants' vulnerability is needed to plan, implement and evaluate targeted TB care and control interventions for migrants in the EU/EEA.

THERE IS A GENERAL FEELING THAT ICELAND'S RELATIONS WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD HAVE UNDERGONE A QUALITATIVE SHIFT, THAT MEMBERSHIP IN THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA (EEA) IMPLIES LASTING ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL CHANGE. THE AUTHORS OF THIS PAPER OUTLINE THE BASIC FRAMEWORK OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE ICELANDIC POLITICAL SYSTEM AND THE EEA. THE AUTHORS' MAIN FOCUS IS THE IMPACT OF ICELAND'S EEA MEMBERSHIP ON THE NATIONAL CHAIN OF DELEGATION AND ACCOUNTABILITY. IN SHORT, THE BASIC ISSUE IS THE IMPACT, IF ANY, OF EEA MEMBERSHIP ON DEMOCRACY IN ICELAND. THE AUTHORS' TASK IS COMPLICATED BY THE FACT THAT THEY MUST EXAMINE THE FUNDAMENTAL AND COMPLEX ISSUES OF NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY AND DEMOCRACY UNDER NEW AND CONTINUOUSLY EVOLVING CIRCUMSTANCES. THESE CIRCUMSTANCES MAKE IT DIFFICULT FOR ANY REAL CONCLUSIONS TO BE REACHED.

AbstractThe COVID‐19 crisis provides important examples whereby Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway (the EEA EFTA States) deemed it necessary to influence the content of EU rules. Despite participating in the internal market through the EEA Agreement, they were not initially excluded from the EU's restrictions on the export of personal protective equipment and later the export of vaccines against COVID‐19, and they sought to reverse these decisions. This article explores how the EEA EFTA States influenced EU policy in this regard and which methods proved to be most effective. Did the nature of the COVID‐19 crisis have an impact on EU decision‐making processes as well as the methods and channels used by the EEA EFTA States? The EEA EFTA States' relationship with the EU is also examined as it relates to their ability to influence EU legislation and the legitimacy of such influence.

This book examines Europeanization in the European Economic Area (EEA), exploring whether non-member states can have an input into EU decision-making and whether the EU can successfully export its policies within the framework of the EEA.Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, while not EU member states, are members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and signatories of the EEA Agreement. The Agreement allows participation in the EU's internal market but also requires extensive and continuous adaptation to EU rules. Whilst existing literature is limited mainly to the EU's.