Cell signalling by reactive lipid species: new concepts and molecular mechanisms

The process of lipid peroxidation is widespread in biology and is mediated through both enzymatic and non-enzymatic pathways. A significant proportion of the oxidized lipid products are electrophilic in nature, the RLS (reactive lipid species), and react with cellular nucleophiles such as the amino acids cysteine, lysine and histidine. Cell signalling by electrophiles appears to be limited to the modification of cysteine residues in proteins, whereas non-specific toxic effects involve modification of other nucleophiles. RLS have been found to participate in several physiological pathways including resolution of inflammation, cell death and induction of cellular antioxidants through the modification of specific signalling proteins. The covalent modification of proteins endows some unique features to this signalling mechanism which we have termed the ‘covalent advantage’. For example, covalent modification of signalling proteins allows for the accumulation of a signal over time. The activation of cell signalling pathways by electrophiles is hierarchical and depends on a complex interaction of factors such as the intrinsic chemical reactivity of the electrophile, the intracellular domain to which it is exposed and steric factors. This introduces the concept of electrophilic signalling domains in which the production of the lipid electrophile is in close proximity to the thiol-containing signalling protein. In addition, we propose that the role of glutathione and associated enzymes is to insulate the signalling domain from uncontrolled electrophilic stress. The persistence of the signal is in turn regulated by the proteasomal pathway which may itself be subject to redox regulation by RLS. Cell death mediated by RLS is associated with bioenergetic dysfunction, and the damaged proteins are probably removed by the lysosome-autophagy pathway

Governance in South American Integration: Insights and Encouragement from the European Union. Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series Vol. 7 No. 5 April 2007

[From the introduction]. In order to strengthen regional integration in the EU, the European Commission, since 2000, has encouraged improving European governance which became one of the Commission’s strategic objectives. Thus, for the past seven years the Commission has been on a constant quest to improve methods of governance not just in its own daily practices but also in its external affairs. The EU has made the adoption of good governance initiatives a requirement for the allocation of its external regional development funding. With a conceptual framework based on governance, this paper will address to what extent and in what forms the EU, the CAN, and MERCOSUR have adopted practices of good governance, specifically those related to nonhierarchical governance. This qualitative analysis is based on a comprehensive review of original language primary documents from all of these regional organizations, hundreds of news articles, and official speeches. I argue that since 2005 the CAN and MERCOSUR have initiated but not consolidated exercises of good governance, particularly in the social, environmental, and cultural competences

European Union-Mercosur Relations: The Institutionalization of Cooperation, Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series, Vol. 1 No. 8, October 2002

The European Union is a continuing process of integration. Evidence of this is apparent in the current enlargement process. As this regional organization continues to deepen and widen, it remains a principle actor in the international community, not only through the often criticized Common Foreign and Security Policy, but more tangibly through its bilateral and multilateral cooperation agreements, many of which are highly institutionalized and extend beyond the more popularly-known economic aspects of these external relations. In 1991, the Treaty of Asunción was signed, forming a new regional integration agreement between Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Created out of joint political necessity, the Southern Cone Common Market, commonly known as Mercosur, has not adopted the European system of integration, but uses it as a model to develop an organization based on the economic, political, and social characteristics and needs of this particular region. While many systems of regional integration were either created or intensified in the Western Hemisphere during the late 1980s and early 1990s, Mercosur is unique in that it has an institutional framework, a necessity for successful integration and external relations. Although the Mercosur institutions are weak compared to those of the European Union, they are the most advanced of all the regional organizations in the Western Hemisphere, recently taking a respectable step in the direction of supranationality. Since the creation of Mercosur, the European Union has been a strong supporter of this initiative, and continues to promote closer ties with the region. Other than economic opportunity, why is the European Union so interested in formalizing, and indeed, institutionalizing relations with Mercosur? And how has this relationship progressed over the past eleven years

The European Union's International Political Capacity into the 21st Century. Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series Vol. 8 No. 14, July 2008

[From the Introduction]. During more than 50 years the European Union (EU) has made great progress in many areas, developing from a small community of coal and steel to a robust economic and political union. Part of this growth has come in the form of the EU’s external relations despite the fact that the EU has relatively minimal military capabilities. Rather than using military force to achieve its international goals, the EU has relied on trade pacts; economic, political and humanitarian agreements; and institutionalized diplomatic relations. Although the threat of force is not an option for the EU, it has attained significant international influence and compliance with its international agreements. This is a testament to the international political capacity of the European Union

European Union-Latin American Relations after Lima and Lisbon. Jean Monnet/Robert Schuman Paper Series Vol. 5 No. 6, March 2008

[From the Introduction] The fifth European Union-Latin American/Caribbean Summit that took place in Lima, Peru, in May 2008 presented a series of challenges and opportunities for the future relations between these two regions. The fact that current relations are in a period of minor difficulties is not news, nor is the idea that both regions have a vested interest in revitalizing interregional relations, a process to which all relevant actors are at least theoretically committed. The European Commission has addressed this situation by commissioning a “Study on Relations between the European Union and Latin America: New Strategies and Perspectives”, and by proposing in December 2005 a renewed strategy for “A Stronger Partnership between the European Union and Latin America”

The Euro: A Seminar on the New Common Currency. Working Paper Series, Vol. 2 No. 1, January 2002

(From the introduction). Nearly ten years after the signing of the Treaty of Maastricht, the euro is in our pockets and in the hearts of our fellow citizens. The operations for the introduction of the euro carried out in these first two weeks have developed extraordinarily well, surpassing our most optimistic forecasts. Europeans have demonstrated enthusiasm and responsibility and all those involved in the changeover have shown resolve and determination. The launching of the euro on 1 January 2002 is the culmination of a project on which we have worked for many years. The public may tend to think that Europe is built at a slow pace. From a historical perspective, however, its speed is surprising. The Member States needed ten centuries to achieve monetary unification in each of their territories, but the Community has arrived at the single currency in a period of just over 40 years. I should like to pay tribute here to the men and women who have made the success of this project possible. There are many of them, and this morning some of them have been mentioned. I am not going to repeat their names, which are in everyone's mind. But the project, if I may express it in this way, has not only fathers, it also has mothers and I should like to single them out in one specific person, Christa Rantzio Platz, who personifies the involvement with and the commitment to the euro of this Parliament and of its Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. We have worked closely together until now and I hope that we can continue to do so in order to take further steps in the task ahead of us. This is why I would like to stress that the introduction of euro notes and coins is not just the culmination of a project. It is also the start of a new era in the history of the building of Europe. The physical reality of the euro gives us the opportunity to make further progress in the process of European integration, which I shall mention later on

The impact of regional integration on the foreign policy options of small and middle power states: The cases of Argentina, Portugal, Spain, and Uruguay

The study of small and middle states in regional organizations has almost exclusively focused on the economic aspects of membership for these types of countries. However, with the widening and deepening of integration in many parts of the world, especially in the European Union, small and middle states begin to benefit in other issue areas as well, under the proper conditions. Foreign policy is one of these issue areas, and this study attempts to demonstrate that active participation in all aspects of integration on the part of the small and middle power states, and highly developed institutions in systems of regional integration will facilitate increased capabilities with regard to the foreign policy options of these particular countries.The foreign policies of Spain and Portugal, and Argentina and Uruguay were analyzed both before and after they became members of the European Union and Mercosur, respectively. Each of the country\u27s foreign policies were evaluated on the following four criteria: members of the same regional organization, members of other systems of regional integration, countries of special interest, and large power countries to determine the level of success in positively changing their foreign policies since membership in their respective regional organizations

Historical dictionary of the European Union

Includes bibliographical references (p. 225-257

The A to Z of the European Union

"Over half a century old and continuing to grow in strength and authority, the European Union consists of 25 member states - with more on the waiting list - and a population of 450 million people. Its influence in foreign and domestic affairs and human rights and law reaches far beyond its earlier fields of trade and politics. From the initial ideas about integration leading to the Treaty of Paris and the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community to the current reflection on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, The A to Z of the European Union encompasses the most basic elements of the EU and the components that have emerged as a result of them." "Through the use of maps, photographs, a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on topics such as leaders, personalities, institutions, enlargements, member states, internal policies, external relations, basic theories, treaties, and law, this dictionary tells a clear and complete story about the European Union that will assist those with greater interest in understanding it."--BOOK JACKET. Includes bibliographical references (pages 225-257)

Regional integration fifty years after the treaty of Rome. The EU, Asia, Africa and the Americas.

The European Union has been the pioneer and undisputed leader of regional integration processes. Since its inception in the 1950s, following the Schuman Declaration that set in motion Jean Monnet’s innovative idea to join together European coal and steel industries, Europe has offered a useful model for regional integration. Strengthened by the 1957 Treaty of Rome (exactly half a century ago), this bold entity was later transformed into the European Union by the Maastricht Treaty. Having successfully accomplished its primary goal (“to make war unthinkable and materially impossible”), the EU is currently facing challenges associated with its expansion and the deepening of its pooled sovereignty. On the other hand, the effects of the EU in international relations are of paramount relevance. While the forceful transposition of national and regional structures into other regions is a historical error, the essence of the EU as a model to be adapted by other regions is a viable approach to enhance stability and welfare. In this regard, this volume examines the current challenges of the EU and the perspectives of regional integration in Africa, Asia and Latin America