A 2030 climate and energy policy framework was endorsed by the European Council in 2014. The main elements are a binding 40 % greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target compared to 1990, a renewable energy share of 27 %, and an energy savings target of at least 27 % by 2030. In this paper, we assess the impact of these targets on the European land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF) sector using a Europe focused global land use model linked with a detailed forest management model. We show that implementing a 40 % GHG emission reduction target by 2030 may only have a small negative impact on the domestic LULUCF sink if the additional biomass demand for energy is mostly met through ligno-cellulosic energy crops rather than forest removals. However, if the increased biomass demand were met through higher rates of forest harvest removals, a more negative impact on the LULUCF sink could be expected.
SINCE THE OBJECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION IS TO BE CLOSER TO ITS CITIZENS, THE TREATY OF AMSTERDAM CONTRIBUTES TO THE DEVELOPMENT AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP. WHILE THE SOCIAL DIMENSION OF THE EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP IS REINFORCED, THE SPECIFIC RIGHTS PROVIDED ONLY TO UNION'S CITIZENS ARE, HOWEVER, MARGINALIZED. IN ORDER TO EXPLAIN THIS SITUATION, THE PAPER PRESENTS THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP, AND THEN, ANALYZES THE MAIN PROVISIONS OF THE DRAFT TREATY RELATED TO A STRONGER RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE UNION AND ITS CITIZENS.
The main purpose of this study is to describe the current situa tion of nursing in selected national emergency services in European Union and United States of America. An undoubted advantage of the article is referring to unpublished interviews with emergency services staff from Belgium, the Netherlands and US-experienced Polish paramedic. ; Maria Grzymisławska-Cybulska
Incomes of population and poverty are key elements of the EU cohesion policy which aims at reducing disparities between the levels of development of individual regions. The traditionally appropriate study to evaluate the convergence of the Member States is the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU‑SILC). However, this is not the only source of information on income distribution and social inclusion in the European Union. In this article, the basis for calculations are the results of the fourth European Quality of Life Surveys (EQLS), whose purpose is to measure both objective and subjective indicators of the standard of living of citizens and their households.
The aim of the paper is to assess the diversity of distributions of household incomes and the level of income poverty due to the selected socio‑demographic characteristics of the respondent or household in selected European countries in two periods: 2007 and 2016. Countries of the Visegrad Group (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary) were selected for the analysis, along with the Weimar Triangle (Poland, Germany, and France). Such a selection allowed us to compare the financial situation of households in Western Europe with those in Central and Eastern Europe. Poland becomes a natural link between all these countries.
The article uses modelling methods of income distribution, indicators of distance (overlapping) of distributions and aggregate indicators of the scope, depth and severity of poverty. Those ratios were determined on the basis of the use of relative. In order to ensure comparability of incomes of households with different demographic compositions, the analysis used equivalent incomes.
As a result of the preliminary analysis, differences were noted regarding the measured position, variation and asymmetry of equivalent incomes in the studied households. The applied gap measurements showed a significant disparity between the distributions of income in Western European countries (Germany, France) and the countries of the Visegrad Group, but the size of that differentation de creased significantly in 2016 relative to 2007. Important differentiation was also noted in terms of income poverty risk within the Visegrad Group: the highest proportion of households at risk of poverty exists in Poland and the lowest in the Czech Republic.
The European Union (EU) is a complex political system whose institutional framework encompasses representatives of European citizens, member states, »eurobureaucracy « (Commission and agencies), national parliamentarians and members of public administrations. Such a complex framework is a by-product of reforms the EU has gone through in order to include stakeholders in its decision- making process, with the goal of delivering democratically adopted rules that have legitimacy. The democratic deficit is a sign that the EU lacks full legitimacy. The paper aims to show that comitology system is a source of democratic deficit. It shows the reasons why national public administrations got involved in the decision-making process, and the role they have in overseeing the implementation of adopted measures. The paper also gives the reasons why comitology is a threat to democratic accountability, pointing to the Council as the main source of that threat. Finally, it also suggests ways of reducing the democratic deficit by empowering the representatives of national public administrations to work transparently. ; Europska unija je složen politički sustav čiji institucionalni okvir obuhvaća predstavnike građana Unije i država članica, »eurobirokraciju« putem Europske komisije i raznih agencija, članove nacionalnih parlamenata, kao i službenike javnih uprava država članica. Ovako složeno institucionalno uređenje nusproizvod je stalnih reformi koje Unija provodi kako bi u proces odlučivanja uključila što veći broj dionika, s ciljem da se propisi donose na demokratski način i imaju legitimitet u očima njezinih građana. Demokratski deficit EU znak je da joj nedostaje puni legitimitet koji joj bi trebali dati vlastiti građani. Analizira se netransparentnost pojedinih dijelova procesa odlučivanja, tzv. sustava komitologije, koja je jedan od uzroka demokratskog deficita. Pokazuje se zašto su se javne uprave država članica umiješale u proces odlučivanja na razini EU te uloga koju one imaju pri izradi nacrta propisa i primjeni donesenih mjera, kao i pri nadzoru ispravnog provođenja usvojenih propisa u državama članicama. Objašnjava se razloge radi kojih je komitologija, u svojem današnjem obliku, prijetnja demokratskoj odgovornosti Unije, pokazujući da je trenutačni način rada Europskog vijeća glavni izvor te prijetnje. Navode se mogući načini smanjivanja demokratskog deficita, ne tako da se javne uprave država članica EU isključe iz odlučivanja, već tako da se njihovim predstavnicima omogući transparentan rad.
This article makes the point that politicians should not use religion as a tool for power but should instead promote religious values as a means to achieve the common good. A free church and a religious society are necessary conditions for genuine peace, both for individuals and for society as a whole.
The author examines the foundation of our societies, and reflects upon why it is important that religious values are preserved. He pays particular attention to the current secularisation-sentiments in our time, and why the process cannot merely be seen as modernisation, but also as a challenge to the current moral and faith-oriented norms. Both Muslim and Christian leaders must recognise the need to address the challenges of secularisation together through dialogue and cooperation.
Die gespaltene Stimme Afrikas hinsichtlich Russlands Krieg gegen die Ukraine hat überrascht. Diese Analyse beleuchtet die Rolle der Afrikanischen Union (AU). Sie hebt zwei Hauptquellen der Spaltung innerhalb dieser Kontinentalorganisation hervor: Unterschiede in konkreten Positionen zu internationalen Fragen und die Delegation von Befugnissen an die AU-Kommission. Afrikas "aktive Blockfreiheit" im Verlauf von Russlands Krieg gegen die Ukraine, historisch informiert durch die politische Prägung Afrikas im Kalten Krieg, führte zu einem Versuch der Äquidistanz zu Russland und dem Westen. Diese komplexe Politik hat Auswirkungen auf die Diplomatie der AU während des Krieges und beeinflusst auch die Diplomatie der Ukraine im Globalen Süden.
