Changes in urban and environmental governance in Canterbury from 2010 to 2015: comparing Environment Canterbury and Christchurch City Council

This article compares the proximate but not parallel trajectories of Canterbury Regional Council’s (ECan) and the Christchurch City Council’s changing authority to manage the urban and natural environment from 2010 to 2015. We ask why the trajectories are so far from parallel, and speculate as to why the central government interventions were so different. The apparent mismatch between the justifications for the interventions and the interventions themselves reveals important implications on the national and local levels. Nationally, the mismatch speaks to the current debate over an overhaul of the Resource Management Act. Locally, it informs current discussions in Wellington, Nelson, Gisborne and elsewhere about amalgamating district and regional councils. • Ann Brower is a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Policy at Lincoln University. She holds a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s from Yale. Ike Kleynbos holds a Bachelor of Environmental Management and Planning degree from Lincoln University and is currently doing postgraduate studies at Lincoln

The role and current status of IFRS in the completion of national rules: Evidence from Greece

Law 4308/2014 is the main regulation that transposed Accounting Directive 2013/34 of the EU into national law in Greece. This short paper summarises the underlying background and the process followed up to the issuance of this Law. It also outlines the key accounting principles introduced with this Law and how they compare with IFRS. This brief analysis indicates that, to a large extent, Greek accounting standards have now been aligned with IFRS. Given the preceding substantial differences between Greek accounting Laws and IFRS, this Law introduced significant changes to the accounting environment for non-listed companies in Greece, aiming at improving accounting quality and enhancing accounting comparability between listed and non-listed companies

Some reflections on 'Creative Europe'

No abstract available

Democracy and Digital Authoritarianism: An Assessment of the EU’s External Engagement in the Promotion and Protection of Internet Freedom. College of Europe EU Diplomacy Paper 01/2020

The past decade has seen a gradual global increase in digital authoritarianism. Internet shutdowns, online censorship, mass surveillance and violations of privacy rights have all become more frequent in parts of the world where citizens are not guaranteed sufficient digital rights. The task of defending, promoting and protecting internet freedom is becoming increasingly relevant for the European Union (EU) − for internal digital and cybersecurity policies as well as for the EU’s external promotion of democracy and human rights. Whilst much has been written about the various internal policies which establish and protect internet freedom within the European Union and its member states, the EU’s external engagement in this field remains critically under-researched. To what extent does the EU engage externally in the promotion and protection of internet freedom? This paper answers this question by covering a wide variety of policy fields including human rights and democracy promotion, digital policy, enlargement and neighbourhood policy, development cooperation and trade policy. Whereas the EU faces a limited opportunity to shape global norms with regard to internet freedom or to change the course of digitally authoritarian states, it has demonstrated several strengths which deserve not to be overlooked. These include, for example, the externalisation of internal data protection and policies and the provision of direct support and protection for civil society. Despite facing significant obstacles, the promotion and protection of internet freedom has become an important area of the EU’s external action which is only set to become more relevant in the coming years

Territorial-Administrative Decentralisation and Ethnocultural Diversity in Ukraine: Addressing Hungarian Autonomy Claims in Zakarpattya

The paper argues firstly that, since there is no obvious separatist movement within Zakarpattya, the Ukrainian state should seek as far as possible to accommodate Hungarian identity claims within the region (and those of other smaller minority communities living within the state) as part of a normative and instrumental strategy of promoting ‘unity in diversity’. Secondly, it argues that Ukraine’s current concept of decentralization offers space to realise the non-territorial vision of cultural autonomy, provided that sufficient attention is also given to maintaining pre-existing territorially-based provisions with regard to minority language use and political representation for Hungarians at both regional and national level

Unaccompanied minors seeking for protection in the European Union: will a fair and adequate asylum system ever see the light?

SUMMARY 1. Introduction. – 2. Coping with an “Enhanced Vulnerability”: the Case of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Minors. – 3. Accommodating Migrants and Promoting the Development of the Host Country: Two Birds with One Stone? – 4. The Protection of Asylum Seeking Minors in Europe: an Overview. – 4.1. The Protection of Unaccompanied Minors Under the European Convention on Human Rights. – 4.2. The European Union: the Quest to Accommodate and Protect Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Minors. – 5. Rethinking the Common European Asylum System to Provide an Effective Response to the Migration Challenge. – 5.1. The Current Deficiencies of the CEAS and the Struggle to Ensure the Protection of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Minors. – 5.2. Reforming the CEAS to Foster the Best Interest of the Child: a (Possible) Step Forward. – 6. New Proposals, Old Problems: Will an Adequate Asylum System Ever See the Light?

The role of African Union law in integrating Africa

This article traces how the development of regional law is linked to the state of regional integration in Africa. Given the prominent role European Union law plays in the functioning of the European Union, the question is posed whether there is similar scope for the development of ‘African Union law’, a term not established hitherto. Initially devoid from the necessary supranational elements required to adopt law that would automatically bind member states, the African Union is leaning towards a functionalist approach paving the way for transfer of sovereign powers to African Union institutions. It is argued that law-making capacity, be it through the activities of the Pan-African Parliament, the Peace and Security Council or the African court system are necessary requirements to accelerate the process of regional integration. African Union law will hold member states accountable to comply with international and continentally agreed standards on inter alia democracy, good governance and human rights