From Opacity to Transparency? The Place of Organized Interests within the European Institutions

Regulació dels Grup d'interès en la governança europea és crucial per a una comprensió completa de com s'exerceix el poder a la Unió Europea (UE) i per a una descripció més precisa de com funciona el sistema polític de la UE (i dels seus principis subjacents). Un dels temes principals aquí és com els interessos privats o particulars comprometre amb un interès general o públic encarnat en una forma o altra per aquells que actuen per a la UE. Donada la varietat de temes sensibles en joc, no és d'estranyar que la qüestió de la regulació es troba amb una resistència considerable, sobre tot en la Comissió. No obstant això, els recents obstacles a la integració europea han tingut l'efecte de rellançar un debat que fa que l'ètica i la transparència de les peces centrals de l'agenda. Dinàmiques polítiques actuals semblen donar testimoni d'una creixent receptivitat de la UE a les reivindicacions del moviment ALTER-EU que busca un entorn molt més regulat per cabilderos i funcionaris comunitaris.Interest group regulation in European governance is crucial to a full understanding of how power is exercised within the European Union (EU) and for a more accurate description of how the EU political system functions (and of its underlying principles). One of the main issues here is how private or specific interests engage with a general or public interest embodied in one way or another by those acting for the EU. Given the range of sensitive issues at stake, it is hardly surprising that the question of regulation meets with considerable resistance, especially in the Commission. However, recent obstacles to European integration have had the effect of relaunching a debate that makes ethics and transparency core parts of the agenda. Current political dynamics seem to testify to a growing EU receptiveness to the claims of the ALTER-EU movement which seeks a more highly regulated environment for EU lobbyists and official

The Alter-EU Movement and European Governance

The recent obstacles to European integration have relaunched a debate that makes ethics and transparency core parts of the European agenda. This hints at the possibility of a more demanding regulation of lobbyists and, in broader terms, of all parties involved in the European Governance. The dynamics currently at work testify to growing receptiveness of EU officials to the claims of the Alter-EU movement; to the power struggles between representation models; and to the existence of more or less open, virtuous and/or citizen-controlled conceptions of public action that reflect differentiated national traditions and practices (...)

EU Member States’ Consultation with Civil Society on European Policy Matters

A study prepared in the framework of the European Union Democracy Observatory for the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). The present publication is an integral part of a larger comparative study on EU Member States consultations with civil society on European policy matters. Following a call for tenders launched by the EESC, the EUDO Observatory on Public Opinion, Political Elites and the Media was commissioned to carry out the study under the direction of Didier Chabanet and Professor Alexander H. Trechsel.The objective of this study is to describe the EU national governments’ consultation with civil society at national level, Member State by Member State. To achieve objective 1, each country expert has carried out internet investigations. Additional research has been realized (such as analysis of policy-making documents, legal texts, etc.), as well as phone inquiries with governments and CSOs in order to better understand their system of consultation with civil society. As a general rule, the country experts have interviewed two members (or representatives) of two different CSOs operating in two different sectors. These interviews do not constitute a representative sample but have nonetheless enabled us to add more information to that already available through official documents, and to read it from a different, often relatively critical, angle. On the basis of the information gathered by the country experts, the two project coordinators - Didier Chabanet and Alexander H. Trechsel - have carried out the most accurate possible synthesis. The description of each national government consultation with civil society is provided in four different sections, following the same pattern for each case examined. 1. Introduction 2. Formal Framework for Civil Society Consultation 3. European Issues Consultation 4. ConclusionThis study was funded by the European Economic and Social Committe

EU National Economic and Social Councils and Similar Institutions: A study prepared in the framework of the European Union Democracy Observatory for the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)

The present publication is an integral part of a larger comparative study on EU Member States consultations with civil society on European policy matters. Following a call for tenders launched by the EESC, the EUDO Observatory on Public Opinion, Political Elites and the Media was commissioned to carry out the study under the direction of Didier Chabanet and Professor Alexander H. Trechsel. The publication is identical with the text published by the EESC: http://www.eesc.europa.eu/resources/docs/eesc-2010-21-en.pdfInspired by a European spirit, the EU’s national economic and social councils and the EESC worked together tirelessly to create a European network of economic and social councils. Thanks to the commitment of the presidents and members of all the councils, the network has helped forge systematic and structured cooperation on topics of practical relevance in EU policy. Today, the EU’s network of economic and social councils and similar institutions is a recognised institutional set-up which is consulted and listened to by the main EU institutions.This study was funded by the European Economic and Social Committe

Toward digital twins for sawmill production planning and control : benefits, opportunities and challenges

Sawmills are key elements of the forest product industry supply chain, and they play important economic, social, and environmental roles. Sawmill production planning and control are, however, challenging owing to severalfactors, including, but not limited to, the heterogeneity of the raw material. The emerging concept of digital twins introduced in the context of Industry 4.0 has generated high interest and has been studied in a variety of domains, including production planning and control. In this paper, we investigate the benefits digital twins would bring to the sawmill industry via a literature review on the wider subject of sawmill production planning and control. Opportunities facilitating their implementation, as well as ongoing challenges from both academic and industrial perspectives, are also studied

Salt content impacts food preferences and intake among children

This work was supported by a PhD grant from the Nutrition, Chemical Food Safety and Consumer Behavior Division of INRA (French National Institute for Agronomical Research, France) and the Regional Council of Burgundy (France) received by SB; and by a research grant (Gustolf) from Regional Council of Burgundy (France) received by SN. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Decreasing dietary sodium intake, which can be achieved by reducing salt content in food, is recommended. Salt contributes to the taste of foods and makes them more enjoyable. Whether a food is liked or disliked is an important determinant of food intake, especially among children. However, the role of salt in children's food acceptance has received little attention. The impact of salt content on children's hedonic rating and intake of two foods was investigated in children. Using a within-subject crossover design, we recruited 75 children (8–11 years) to participate in five lunches in their school cafeteria. The target foods were green beans and pasta. The added salt content was 0, 0.6 or 1.2 g/100 g. The children's intake (g) of all lunch items was measured. The children provided their hedonic rating of the food, a preference ranking and a saltiness ranking in the laboratory. Children could rank the foods according to salt content, and they preferred the two saltier options. A food-specific effect of salt content on intake was observed. Compared to the intermediate level (0.6 g salt/100 g), not adding salt decreased green bean intake (−21%; p = 0.002), and increasing the salt content increased pasta intake (+24%; p<0.0001). Structural Equation Modeling was used to model the relative weights of the determinants of intake. It showed that the primary driver of food intake was the child's hunger; the second most important factor was the child's hedonic rating of the food, regardless of its salt content, and the last factor was the child's preference for the particular salt content of the food. In conclusion, salt content has a positive and food-specific effect on intake; it impacted food preferences and intake differently in children. Taking into account children's preferences for salt instead of their intake may lead to excessive added salt

Preferences for fat and basic tastes in 3-, 6- and 12-month-old infants

Fat perception received recent interest, but fat preference in human infants is a matter of debate. The objective here was to investigate fat and taste preferences in the same infants (N= 66) at 3, 6 and 12 months. Preference for a fat solution (sunflower and rapeseed oils mixed with soy lecithin) and for taste solutions (sweet, lactose; salty, NaCl; bitter, urea; sour, citric acid; umami, sodium glutamate) was evaluated. The same method was applied at each age. Mothers and their infant participated in 2 videotaped sessions, during which the 5 taste and fat solutions were assessed in a balanced order. For each taste, 4 bottles (water, tastant, tastant and water) were presented by the experimenter.Twoglobal indices were calculated to represent acceptance of the tastant relatively to water (W), based on ingested volumes and on facial expressions. At 3 and 6 mo, the fat solution was as consumed as W; but less than W at 12 mo; at all ages it elicited ‘negative’ expressions. For taste solutions, at 3 mo the sweet solution was more and the bitter one wasless consumed thanW;the bitter and the sour solutions elicited ‘negative’ expressions. At 6 and 12 mo, the sweet and salty solutions were more consumed than W and elicited ‘positive’ expressions; the bitter and sour solutions elicited negative expressions. Infants were indifferent to the umami solution. These findings are in accordance with the literature on taste preference but the indifference or rejection of the fat solution raise questions about an ‘innate’ preference for fat. The olfactory component of fat might be involved in this rejection

Functional Redundancy Patterns Reveal Non-Random Assembly Rules in a Species-Rich Marine Assemblage

The relationship between species and the functional diversity of assemblages is fundamental in ecology because it contains key information on functional redundancy, and functionally redundant ecosystems are thought to be more resilient, resistant and stable. However, this relationship is poorly understood and undocumented for species-rich coastal marine ecosystems. Here, we used underwater visual censuses to examine the patterns of functional redundancy for one of the most diverse vertebrate assemblages, the coral reef fishes of New Caledonia, South Pacific. First, we found that the relationship between functional and species diversity displayed a non-asymptotic power-shaped curve, implying that rare functions and species mainly occur in highly diverse assemblages. Second, we showed that the distribution of species amongst possible functions was significantly different from a random distribution up to a threshold of ∼90 species/transect. Redundancy patterns for each function further revealed that some functions displayed fast rates of increase in redundancy at low species diversity, whereas others were only becoming redundant past a certain threshold. This suggested non-random assembly rules and the existence of some primordial functions that would need to be fulfilled in priority so that coral reef fish assemblages can gain a basic ecological structure. Last, we found little effect of habitat on the shape of the functional-species diversity relationship and on the redundancy of functions, although habitat is known to largely determine assemblage characteristics such as species composition, biomass, and abundance. Our study shows that low functional redundancy is characteristic of this highly diverse fish assemblage, and, therefore, that even species-rich ecosystems such as coral reefs may be vulnerable to the removal of a few keystone species

Social acceptability of a marine protected area: The case of Reunion Island

This paper examines variations in social acceptability of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) prior to implementation. The influence of a number of factors, including socio-economic characteristics, perception of coral resources state of health and attitudes towards non-compliance with regulations are analysed. During May 2006, 640 questionnaires were distributed to school children around Reunion Island, Western Indian Ocean, for completion by their parents, following an informal educational activity made in school. From a 73% (n = 469) response rate, results showed that 78% of participants were in favour of the MPA. Analysis further identified that those supportive of the MPA were generally from higher socio-professional categories, had a negative perception of the coral reef ecosystem's health and were not originally from Reunion. In contrast, locals (born in Reunion) from lower socio-professional categories or with no employment activity and having a positive perception of the health status of coral reefs offered no opinion on the MPA. Attitudes towards enforcement and compliance highlighted that SCUBA divers, fishers and jet skiers attributed a higher value to the protection of the coral reef environment through enforcement of MPA regulations than to their own use of the coral reef resource. When asked about the use of penalties to deter non-compliance, swimmers were awarded the lowest fines, followed by SCUBA divers, fishers then jet skiers being awarded the highest fines. Thus, the more severe the act of non-compliance by a resource user group was perceived to be, the more these users themselves disapproved of non-compliant behaviour and supported use of high penalties. The survey design through focusing on school children's parents, demonstrated a simple and cost-effective method for data collection while providing environmental education, which could be employed in similar case studies elsewhere

Checklist of the shore fishes of Europa Island, Mozambique Channel, southwestern Indian Ocean, including 302 new records

Die Checkliste der Fische der Insel Europa (Kanal von Mosambik, südwestlicher Indischer Ozean) enthält 389 Arten in 62 Familien. 302 Arten werden zum ersten Mal von der Insel Europa beobachtet. Alle Fischarten sind authochthon; es wurden keine durch den Menschen eingeführten oder eingeschleppten Arten gefunden. Alle Fischarten sind marin; die artenreichsten Fischfamilien sind die Labridae, Pomacentridae, Serranidae, Gobiidae und Acanthuridae. Die Fischfauna der Insel Europa ist typisch für küstenferne, niedrige Inseln im südwestlichen Indischen Ozean. Zoogeographisch haben 75,1 % der nachgewiesenen Fischarten eine großräumige indo-pazifische Verbreitung, 3,3 % der Arten werden in allen tropischen Meeren gefunden, und 19,5 % der Arten sind im Indischen Ozean endemisch, davon 9,2 % nur im westlichen Indischen Ozean und 2,6 % im südwestlichen Indischen Ozean. Es wurden keine endemischen Fischarten bei der Insel Europa gefunden