Suchergebnisse

Large emissions of greenhouse gases are expected to cause major environmental problems in the future. European policy makers have therefore declared that they aim to implement cost-efficient and fair policies to reduce carbon emissions. The purpose of this paper is to assess whether the cost of the EU policies for 2020 can be reduced through the inclusion of carbon sequestration as and abatement option while also equity is improved. The assessment is done by numerical calculations using a chance-constrained partial equilibrium model of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and national effort-sharing targets, where forest sequestration is introduced as an uncertain abatement option. Fairness is evaluated by calculation of Gini-coefficients for six equity criteria to policy outcomes. The estimated Gini-coefficients range between 0.11 and 0.32 for the current policy, between 0.16 and 0.66 if sequestration is included and treated as certain, and between 0.19 and 0.38 when uncertainty about sequestration is taken into account and policy-makers wish to meet targets with at least 90 percent probability. The results show that fairness is reduced when sequestration is included and that the impact is larger when sequestration is treated as certain.

Surveys cooperative roles of the Nordic states in connection to the expansion of the European Union. Overlap between membership in NATO & the EU makes development issues of critical importance for the Nordic states. Aside from taking part in some of the general challenges currently encompassed in the EU agenda, such as the improvement of transatlantic relations & the development of the EU Constitution, the Nordic states should also strive, it is suggested, to play a key role in the EU's expansion to include Baltic states. Nordic investment in environmental development in Russia & the Baltic region, Baltic interest in Nordic policy, & other factors position the Nordic states to be effective role players in the EU expansion. While certain initiatives in this arena have been met with success, a diminished visibility in EU decision making is nonetheless feared. Several suggestions are here made that approach the need to more effectively advance cooperation between both dominant EU powers & newcomers alike. C. Brunski

Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, & Hungary have in little more than ten years established market-based economies. The countries chose, in spite of geographical proximity & historical links, different reform strategies, especially with respect to inflation stabilization & privatization. The different strategies can to a large extent be explained by different starting points. In preparation for EU membership, the economic policies in the four countries have gradually converged. The economic results have been mixed. Many have gained from greater choice & higher living standards. Still, economic growth is only slightly above the performance of the EU countries, unemployment is high, & government budgets exhibit large deficits. Membership of the EU could bring about more trade & investment & help narrow the income gap towards Western Europe. Adapted from the source document.

In May 2004, the new EU members will also become members of the EEA. This article discusses the negotiations on the enlargement of the EEA. During the negotiations the EFTA countries were faced with tough demands of radically increasing their financial support to the new member states of the EU. The result of the negotiations made the EFTA countries, particularly Norway, significant net contributors to the enlargement process, more so than many of the member states. The article discusses the negotiations & examines factors that can explain the outcome. Based on survey data the article also demonstrates the overwhelmingly positive attitudes of Norwegians toward enlargement. 1 Table, 16 References. Adapted from the source document.

On 1 January 1995 Sweden became member of the European Union. This basic fact is not mentioned in Sweden's fundamental law. Nor does the Swedish constitution have anything to say about the important changes to the practice of public policymaking that have taken place since Sweden joined the EU. At the same time, it is indeed apparent that the basic rules of the political game in Sweden have been transformed dramatically after EU accession. This constitutional change, however has taken place without any substantial changes being made to the wording of the most important of Sweden's four fundamental laws, i.e., the Instrument of Government (regeringsformen). Constitutional change can be brought about in two different ways: Constitutional amendment, or explicit constitutional change, refers to a change of the rules of the game which implies a modified wording of the constitutional text. Constitutional alteration, or implicit constitutional change, means the constitutional document itself remains unaltered while its meaning is changed through judicial interpretation or legislative action. How frequently used are these different methods when it comes to the constitutional changes brought about by EU membership? How can we explain the differences between member states? How can these competing methods for constitutional change be normatively justified? Is one of them to be preferred? The research project "Hur regleras EU-medlemskapet?" seeks to answer these questions in a comparative study on how EU membership regulated in different member states. Adapted from the source document.

Analysis of what Swedish membership in the EU has meant for Swedish policy at the national level. Has its structure and set of priorities changed and if so, how? Compares changes in Swedish policy in the areas of business, agriculture, environmental protection, social life, education, gender equality, asylum and migration, law enforcement, foreign relations and security, communities, and development

In this article we highlight the role of Kaliningrad in Russia, the relationship between Lithuania, Kaliningrad, & Russia in the EU & NATO enlargement processes, & finally, Russian policy towards the EU & NATO enlargement to the Baltic. The article concludes that Kaliningrad today, more than in the previous decade, can be seen as an inclusive region under federal control in the economic area. Militarily, Russia has yet to formulate a clear policy for Kaliningrad. Future Russian policy in general & the policy on Kaliningrad in particular will for the most part depend on the development of the EU (on military cooperation & on enlargement) & on the dialogue between Russia & NATO (on enlargement, on combating terrorism & other issues). Until today the relationship between Lithuania & Russia has mainly been influenced by their common Soviet history, but will in the future to a larger extent be influenced by Lithuania's increasing cooperation with the EU & NATO. 26 References. Adapted from the source document.

The author analyzes EU actor capacity in security policy with special emphasis on crisis management. She places this within the larger context of security policy & the transatlantic debate over the role of NATO, the case of Iraq, & different national interests of key member states. The author concludes that the EU has steadily developed its capacity to undertake the various types of crisis management, but that the role of the EU as a security actor will be determined by the larger systemic decision making in this area. The crisis over Iraq may very well lead to a consolidation of the EU's role. 33 References. Adapted from the source document.

Forest management affects the quantity of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere by carbon sequestration in standing biomass, carbon storage in forest products and production of bioenergy that replace fossil fuels. The main question in this paper is whether forest sequestration is worth increasing at the expense of bioenergy and forest products to achieve EU's emission reduction target to 2050 cost-effectively. The assessment is based on numerical calculations using a dynamic, partial equilibrium model of cost-effective solutions, where three abatement methods in the forest sector are included together with abatement in the fossil fuel sector. The results show that forest sequestration in standing biomass is cost-effective compared to bioenergy. When sequestration is taken into account, net present costs for meeting EU carbon targets can be reduced by 18%. This is achieved through an increase in annual carbon sequestration by 30-158 million ton CO2. The overall cost of reaching the 80 per cent carbon reduction target amounts to 2,002 billion Euros when sequestration is included in the policy, but increases to 2,371 billion Euros without sequestration. Results suggest that forests can serve as a cost-efficient carbon sink over the considered time period.

A special regulatory regime applies to products of recombinant nucleic acid modifications. A ruling from the European Court of Justice has interpreted this regulatory regime in a way that it also applies to emerging mutagenesis techniques. Elsewhere regulatory progress is also ongoing. In 2015, Argentina launched a regulatory framework, followed by Chile in 2017 and recently Brazil and Colombia. In March 2018, the USDA announced that it will not regulate genome-edited plants differently if they could have also been developed through traditional breeding. Canada has an altogether different approach with their Plants with Novel Traits regulations. Australia is currently reviewing its Gene Technology Act. This article illustrates the deviation of the European Union's (EU's) approach from the one of most of the other countries studied here. Whereas the EU does not implement a case-by-case approach, this approach is taken by several other jurisdictions. Also, the EU court ruling adheres to a process-based approach while most other countries have a stronger emphasis on the regulation of the resulting product. It is concluded that, unless a functioning identity preservation system for products of directed mutagenesis can be established, the deviation results in a risk of asynchronous approvals and disruptions in international trade.

The contributions in this issue of the journal are outlined. They are devoted to the topics of: (1) European security & defense policy & the different approaches to it by France & the UK, (2) EU citizens' support for a common foreign & security policy by this international body, (3) economic development problems in China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, (4) the Kurdish question in Turkey as this country applies for EU membership, & (5) the restitution of private property disputes in post-war Kosovo. Contributions to the next, 65th volume of the journal, as it will celebrate its 70th year of publication in 2007, are solicited. Z. Dubiel

This study investigates the contribution of forest carbon sequestration to a cost-efficient EU climate policy from 2010 to 2050 under conditions of uncertainty. We note that there is a trade-off between sequestration and alternative uses of forests such as bioenergy and timber production. A dynamic and probabilistic cost-minimization model is developed, which includes fossil fuel use within the EU Emissions Trading System and forest management in the EU-27 countries. The results suggest that if policy makers wish to meet emissions targets with 80% certainty, this goal will be eight times more expensive than when they were unconcerned with uncertainty. Policy makers' risk attitudes affect forest management strategy primarily through the inclusion of wood products, where potential carbon emissions reductions are high but also highly uncertain. Excluding wood products from a climate strategy can be expensive if policy maker are insensitive to uncertainty.