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Three decades of policy layering and politically sustainable reform in the European Unionâs Agricultural Policy
The study of policy reform has tended to focus on single-stage reforms taking place over a relatively short period. Recent research has drawn attention to gradual policy changes unfolding over extended periods. One strategy of gradual change is layering, in which new policy dimensions are introduced by adding new policy instruments or by redesigning existing ones to address new concerns. The limited research on single-stage policy reforms highlights that these may not endure in the postenactment phase when circumstances change. We argue that gradual policy layering may create sustainability dynamics that can result in lasting reform trajectories. The European Unionâs Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has changed substantially over the last three decades in response to emerging policy concerns by adding new layers. This succession of reforms proved durable and resilient to reversal in the lead-up to the 2013 CAP reform when institutional and political circumstances changed
European Community Responses to the âProblem of World Hungerâ: Food Aid, Food Security, Food Strategies and All That
SUMMARY The problem of âworld hungerâ as it is conventionally understood in fact involves a number of related problems. A weakness of the North's response is its failure to recognise interrelationships between these problems, which often fall within the portfolios of different agencies. The EEC's agricultural production and trade policies, for example, have a major impact on the Third World food situation, but are normally regarded as a constant; hence, European attempts to help alleviate the âworld hunger problemâ tend to focus exclusively on development assistance. Within these narrow confines, there are a number of policy changes that could benefit developing countries. These include an extension to the Stabex scheme to take account of food import costs, as well as major improvement in the Community's food aid programme to establish greater coordination with other donors and between the Community's programme and other elements of the recipients' food strategies. RESUMEN Pespuestas de la Comunidad Europea al âproblema del hambre mundialâ:ayuda alimenticia, seguridad alimenticia, estrategias alimenticias, etc. El problema del âhambre mundialâ, como se entiende convencionalmente, involucra de hecho problemas interrelacionados. Una debilidad de la respuesta del Norte deriva de no reconocer estas interrelaciones, las que, a menudo, aparecen en las carteras de diversas agencias. Por ejemplo, las polĂticas de producciĂłn y comercio agrĂcolas tienen mayor impacto en la situaciĂłn alimenticia del Tercer Mundo, pero normalmente se consideran como una constante. En consecuencia, los intentos europeos para ayudar a aliviar el âproblema del hambre mundialâ tienden a concentrarse exclusivamente en la asistencia al desarrollo. Dentro de estos estrechos lĂmites, hay algunos cambios de polĂtica que podrĂan beneficiar a los paĂses en desarrollo. Estos incluyen una extensiĂłn del programa Stabex para considerar los costos de importaciĂłn de alimentos, asĂ como un importante mejoramiento en el programa de ayuda alimenticia de la Comunidad, tanto para establecer mayor coordinaciĂłn con otros donantes, como entre el programa de Ă©sta y otros elementos de las estrategias de los receptores de alimentos. RĂSUMĂ Les rĂ©ponses de la CommunautĂ© EuropĂ©enne au âprobleĂšme de la faim dans le mondeâ: assistance alimentaire, sĂ©curitĂ© alimentaire, stratĂ©gies alimentaires et tout ce qui s'en suit Le problĂšme de la âfaim dans le mondeâ auquel on se rĂ©fĂšre habituellement comprend en fait un nombre de problĂšmes apparentĂ©s. Une faiblesse de la rĂ©ponse du Nord est son incapacitĂ© Ă reconnaĂźtre la corrĂ©lation entre ces problĂšmes, qui souvent font partie de portefeuilles d'organismes diffĂ©rents. La politique de la CEE sur le commerce et la production agricole, par exemple, a un impact majeur sur la situation alimentaire dans le Tiers?Monde, mais est normalement considĂ©rĂ©e comme une constante; de ce fait, les tentatives europĂ©ennes d'aide Ă la rĂ©duction du âproblĂšme de la faim dans le mondeâ tendent Ă se concentrer exclusivement dans une assistance au dĂ©veloppement. Dans ces limites rĂ©duites, il y a un certain nombre de changements de ligne d'action qui pourraient profiter aux pays en voie de dĂ©veloppement. Ils comprennent une extension du projet Stabex en vue de prendre en compte le coĂ»t de l'importation de denrĂ©es alimentaires, ainsi qu'une amĂ©lioration majeure dans le programme d'assistance alimentaire de la CommunautĂ© pour Ă©tablir une coordination plus grande avec les autres donateurs et entre le programme de la CommunautĂ© et d'autres Ă©lĂ©ments des bĂ©nĂ©ficiames des stratĂ©gies alimentaires
Why EU asylum standards exceed the lowest common denominator: the role of regulatory expertise in EU decision-making
While scholars traditionally expected EU policy-making in the area of asylum to produce lowest common denominator standards, recent studies on the first phase of the Common European Asylum System have observed higher asylum standards in some instances. This article aims at explaining this divergence. Drawing on concepts of regulatory expertise and âmisfitâ, it argues that the observed variation in policy output can be explained by the dominance of a few (Northern) member states which were highly successful in inserting their positions in the core EU directives. Government effectiveness and exposure to the phenomenon entailing regulatory expertise provide a powerful explanation for member states being effective policy-shapers. Characterized by low levels of government effectiveness and exposure in the asylum area, Southern European countries were, on the contrary, rather passive during the negotiations and barely left any mark on the EU directives
Editorial: Ecological processes are not bound by borders: Implications for marine conservation in a post-Brexit world
Institutions versus market forces: Explaining the employment insecurity of European individuals during (the beginning of) the financial crisis
In reaction to the recent financial crisis, the European Commission re-stated its view that the balance between flexibility and security is the key to success for the future of the European social economy, as well as its belief in the power of institutional arrangements it deems necessary for this balance. However, do powerful institutions actually counter market forces where flexicurity is concerned? In this paper we address this question by analysing the impact of institutional configurations and market factors on perceived employment insecurity among workers in Europe. We use the 4th wave of the European Social Survey for 2008/2009, which covers 22 countries, and implement a multi-level approach where contextual effects are taken into account and individuals are considered to be embedded within a country. We find that policies that secure oneâs income and employability skills, such as passive and active labour market policies, are more important for providing employment security for individuals than institutions that secure oneâs current job, such as employment protection. Of the economic and labour market factors, general market conditions (measured as employment rate average) and the strength of the financial crisis (measured as gross domestic product growth rate from 2008 to 2009) are both similarly influential in explaining cross-national variance in the employment insecurity perception of individuals. More generally, and most interestingly, we find that institutional factors lose their significance when market factors are taken into account. Thus, it seems that differences in economic and labour market conditions between countries better explain why workers feel insecure about their employment, than the differences in employment and income policies. Although this result could be influenced by the time period under investigation, which is characterized by a financial crisis, results from previous studies using data from different periods suggest that it is not period-specific
Development of an enhanced histopathological approach to detect low-dose dexamethasone illicit treatment in veal calves
Securing effective and equitable coverage of marine protected areas : the UK's progress towards achieving Convention on Biological Diversity commitments and lessons learned for the way forward
Current international agreements call for protecting 10% of marine and coastal waters by 2020, with the intention of increasing that target to 30% by 2030. With 24% of its territorial waters protected, the UK falls short of the new expected target. As well as quantitative targets, qualitative criteria have been internationally agreed for protected area designation, including minimum coverage values and characteristics that encompass effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well-connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscape and seascape. The legal framework supporting protected area designations at sea is summarized and explained for UK territorial waters. Efforts to date to achieve current marine protected area (MPA) targets are reviewed, with emphasis on how well the existing protected area portfolio captures the qualitative criteria. Examples are given of other effective conservation measures complementary to formalized MPAs, especially with regard to achieving and promoting qualitative criteria for biodiversity conservation, including appropriate recognition of and support for areas conserved by indigenous people, local communities and private entities. A precis on the governance of MPAs and other effective conservation measures in the UK and its overseas territories is presented. Whilst the UK has made exceptional progress with quantitative MPA coverage, it is still not clear whether designated areas offer effective protection. A UK-level strategy is in place to address this; and at site level, Lyme Bay MPA illustrates the benefits of addressing qualitative criteria. Illustrated by the UK example, an urgent call is made for ongoing and future marine in situ area-based conservation efforts to substantiate quantitative and qualitative considerations, and to ensure that MPA networks are ultimately fit for purpose
Concentrations and Migratabilities of Hazardous Elements in Second-Hand Children's Plastic toys.
About 200 second-hand plastic toys sourced in the UK have been analyzed by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry for hazardous elements (As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Hg, Pb, Sb, Se) and Br as a proxy for brominated flame retardants. Each element was detected in >20 toys or components thereof with the exception of As, Hg, and Se, with the frequent occurrence of Br, Cd, and Pb and at maximum concentrations of about 16000, 20000, and 5000 ÎŒg g-1, respectively, of greatest concern from a potential exposure perspective. Migration was evaluated on components of 26 toys under simulated stomach conditions (0.07 M HCl) with subsequent analysis by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry. In eight cases, Cd or Pb exceeded their migration limits as stipulated by the current EU Toy Safety Directive (17 and 23 ÎŒg g-1, respectively), with Cd released from yellow and red Lego bricks exceeding its limit by 1 order of magnitude. Two further cases were potentially noncompliant based on migratable Cr, with one item also containing >250 ÎŒg g-1migratable Br. While there is no retroactive regulation on second-hand toys, consumers should be aware that old, mouthable, plastic items may present a source of hazardous element exposure to infants
Pedagogical Approaches and Design Aspects To Enable Leadership for Sustainable Development
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