Comparative Analysis of the Evolution of Public Debt in the European Union

In the context of the difficult economic situation experienced over the past decade, most EU Member States are calling for increased tax rates to cover budget deficits, but also resort to loans. The effect of the loans was the emergence and accentuation of public debt. In this article we aim to analyze the evolution of public debt at the level of the European Union during 2007-2017, both in terms of its structure and its dynamics. The conclusion we reach is that very few Member States have met the conditions imposed by the Maastricht Treaty on public debt

Harmonization of VAT in the European Union. Achievements and Perspectives

The drafted study pursues the development of the generalization process of using VAT in the EU member States, and the advantages they represent. The negotiations and compromises implied by this process are presented, as well as the current stage of harmonization of the taxation base and of the VAT shares in the member countries. The impact of the economic-financial crisis on the harmonization process is also emphasized, in the context of budgetary restrictions that the governments of the member States had to deal with

Effects of Dairy Cows Management Systems on the Physicochemical and Nutritional Quality of Milk and Yogurt, in a North-Eastern Romanian Farm

The study’s objective was to investigate changes in the fatty acid composition of cow milk in general and in 80 Romanian Spotted cows’ husbandry and feeding systems in particular (grazing–GC group vs. stabulation–SC group). The ultimate objective was to determine if the changes that happened in the milk also transferred to the finished product. Also, the influence of the quality of raw milk produced by both systems was evaluated when yogurt was made from it. The milk was gathered in May, July and September and used for both the yogurt-making process and the study, which lasted from May to October. In comparison to milk from SC, milk from grazed caws had larger percentages of fat and dry matter throughout the summer (GC) season. Moreover, pasture-based rations (MGC) contained more PUFA than MCS did. Data research revealed that not only do factors such as milk origin and initial quality have a substantial impact on yogurt quality parameters, but also technologies such as milk fermentation have a considerable impact on the fatty acid profile of yogurt. In comparison to cows kept permanently in stables, grazed cows (MGC) had fat with a lower concentration of saturated fatty acids and a higher proportion of rumenic, vaccenic and oleic acids (MSC). When fresh milk is processed into yogurt and other dairy products, the fatty acid profiles alter, with saturated fatty acids predominating over unsaturated ones. The findings show that pasture-fed cows have a positive impact on milk quality, particularly in terms of fatty acid profile, as well as on yogurt’s ultimate nutritional and dietary quality

Application of Agri-Food By-Products in the Food Industry

Every year, the global food industry produces a significant number of wastes and by-products from a variety of sources. By-products from the food-processing sector are produced in large quantities, and because of their undesirable qualities, they are frequently wasted, losing important resources. In order to pursue a circular economy that refers to waste reduction and effective waste management, by-products valorization recently received increased interest. By-products are rich in bioactive compounds and can be used in various industrial applications for health promotion and nutritional benefits. A novel step in its sustainable application is the use of these inexpensive waste agri-food by-products to create the value-added products. The present review intended to summarize the different types of agro-industrial by-products and their properties and highlight their nutritional composition and potential health benefits. Applications of agri-food by-products in foods as well as the potential health and sustainability implications of by-products in food products were also covered. According to research, agri-food by-products can be added to a variety of food to increase their bioactive profile, fiber content, and antioxidant capacity while maintaining good sensory acceptability. Overall, the sustainability of the agri-food chain and consumer health can both benefit from the use of agri-food by-products in food formulation

Network analytics for drug repurposing in COVID-19

To better understand the potential of drug repurposing in COVID-19, we analyzed control strategies over essential host factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection. We constructed comprehensive directed protein–protein interaction (PPI) networks integrating the top-ranked host factors, the drug target proteins and directed PPI data. We analyzed the networks to identify drug targets and combinations thereof that offer efficient control over the host factors. We validated our findings against clinical studies data and bioinformatics studies. Our method offers a new insight into the molecular details of the disease and into potentially new therapy targets for it. Our approach for drug repurposing is significant beyond COVID-19 and may be applied also to other diseases.</p

Linking Public Finances’ Performance to Renewable-Energy Consumption in Emerging Economies of the European Union

Implementing public policies linked to sustainable development is a global challenge for most countries that focused their efforts on identifying and improving the factors that led to environment degradation. The current paper analyzes the influence of primary indicators of public finances (public debt and budget deficit) on renewable-energy consumption (REN), for the emerging economies within the European Union. The main objective of this research is to understand the implications of fiscal measures on the sustainable development of a country and thus provide directions for stimulating renewable-energy consumption. The research starts with cross-sectional dependence analysis by using the Breusch–Pagan Lagrange multiplier (LM) test that is followed by cointegration relationships among variables by applying two appropriate panel-cointegration tests (Pedroni and Johansen). The research methodology is based on the fully modified ordinary-least-squares (FMOLS) method in order to test the long-run relationships, and on the pairwise Granger causality test in order to identify the direction of causality among variables. Results show unilateral influences from public debt and budget deficit on the analyzed variables, especially on renewable-energy consumption, and a bidirectional causality relationship between budget deficit and trade openness

Tendencies in the Financial Implementation of Structural and Cohesion Funds in the EU

The considerable differences between Member States of the European Union not only creates specific EU cultural diversity, they are also with an economical nature, with local specificities in each region of the Member States. In order to reduce the economic gaps between different EU Member States, each Member State being in turn divided into various regions, European Union grants financial assistance to Member States in the form of structural funds. In context of the efforts aimed at improving the overall competitiveness of the European Union, European cohesion policy is the most important financial instrument to support the Member States under the Convergence objective, namely to promote economic and social cohesion by reducing disparities starting from regional level

Testing the macroeconomic impact of the budget deficit in EU Member States using linear regression with fixed effects

The article aims to research impact of budget balance, whether surplus or deficit, on the main indicator characterizing the economic growth of a country, namely GDP and the inflation rate in the 27 European Union Member States and the United Kingdom. For this analysis was used panel data, taking into account the period from 2001 to 2015. The method used for the analysis is the linear regression with fixed effects and with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors. The dependent variables are the growth rate of real GDP and the inflation rate, and the independent variable is the budget balance (surplus or deficit). The results obtained after using econometric software Stata shows a positive impact of budget balance on growth in the European Union for the analyzed period

FINANCIAL AUDIT -RISKS IDENTIFIED IN THE AUDIT PLANNING STAGE

The general objective of the audit activity is to currently present, under all significant aspects, a financial situation and to state an opinion according to which all economic operations are indeed correct and pursuant the law. As any activity that involves the human factor, the audit activity is subject to the influence of certain risks, risks that emerge, firstly, from an organizational level of the audited entity. In audit, risk is a very important influence element, whose ignorance can generate major implications in achieving the final goal to create an evidences database on which a pertinent and objective opinion can be founded, concerning the audited financial situations. In this context, one of the main objectives, that takes place during the planning phase of the audit, is represented by assessing risks to which the audited activity is subjected to, evaluation that helps the determining the work volume implied by the audit