THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE EUROPEAN EXTERNAL ACTION SERVICE: THE EU IN SEARCH OF A STRONGER ROLE ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE

The Lisbon Treaty introduces major reforms to the external action of the European Union. The creation of the European External Action Service (EEAS) is one of the most important of these innovations, carried out with a view to improving the effectiveness, consistency and visibility of the Union on the international stage. The search for greater coherence between the different fields of external action and between these and other EU policies is in fact one of the most important underlying reasons for the institutional reforms introduced by the Lisbon Treaty. The objective of this paper is to analyse the main points of interest raised by the creation of the EEAS, in order to determine to what degree the organisation and functioning of the EEAS will contribute to improving the coherence and effectiveness of the external action of the European Union

Constitutionalising the External Dimensions of EU Migration Policies in Times of Crisis. Legality, Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights Reconsidered. Research Paper. July 2019

This discerning book examines EU migration and asylum polices in times of crisis by assessing old and new patterns of cooperation in EU migration management policies in the scope of third-country cooperation. The case studies explored reveal that there has been a clear tendency and strategy to move away from or go outside the decision making rules and institutional principles enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty to advance third country cooperation on migration management. It explores the implications of and effects of the adoption of extra-Treaty instruments and patterns of cooperation in the light of EU rule of law and fundamental rights principles and standards. The book, examines the ways in which ‘the politics of migration crisis’ and their patterns of cooperation and legal/policy outcomes evidenced since 2015 affect and might even undermine EU’s legitimacy in these policy areas

In Deep Water: Towards a Greater Commitment for Human Rights in Sea Operations Coordinated by FRONTEX?

Introduction: The paper is organized in four sections. The first section of this paper will be devoted to analysing the broad concept of border surveillance adopted by the Regulation on the sea border operations coordinated by Frontex. In the following two sections, the paper will focus on examining to what extent the new rules applicable to the detection, interception of vessels, and search and rescue situations respect the obligations arising from the main international law treaties binding on the Member States. Finally, in the fourth section, the paper provides a detailed exam of the principle of non-refoulement in the context of Frontex operations. It is important to determine the content and scope of the principle of non-refoulement when interception of vessels takes place in the territorial seas and contiguous zone of the Member States. Furthermore, it is crucial to know whether the principle applies extraterritorially, in particular on the high seas and in the territorial waters of third states

Transatlantic Transfer of Personal Data: Rebuilding Trust in EU-US Data Relations?

Introduction: This paper aims to analyse firstly, the extent to which the NSA scandal has damaged trust in EU-US transfer of data. PNR and SWIFT already raised serious concerns regarding breaches of data protection rights of EU citizens but the NSA scandal constituted the last straw in the already troubled waters of transatlantic data exchanges. While PNR and SWIFT are not the only existing data transfer agreements between the EU and the US, they are the most contentious. Secondly, this paper will try to examine whether the Umbrella Agreement can contribute to rebuilding trust in EUUS relations by laying down a sufficient and effective framework for data protection in the context of transatlantic cooperation. For that purpose, this paper will first look at the implications of the NSA scandal for trust in transatlantic data relations. Secondly, the challenges to transfers of data in EU-US relations will be examined, paying particular attention to weak level of protection in SWIFT and PNR as well as to their review process and issues of accountability. Thirdly, an analysis of the Commission’s Non- Paper on the state of play of negotiations on the Umbrella Agreement will serve as a ground to assess whether the agreed proposals will provide sufficient safeguards against the identified concerns. Finally, provisional conclusions will be drawn on the basis of the current state of negotiations

Wikipedia como herramienta de aprendizaje en el entorno de la Cátedra de Seguridad de Telefónica de la Universidad de Salamanca

Memoria ID12-0222. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2012-2013

Wikipedia como herramienta de aprendizaje en el entorno de la Cátedra de seguridad de telefónica y ciencias de la seguridad de la Universidad de Salamanca

Memoria ID-244. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2013-2014

Wikipedia como herramienta de aprendizaje en un espacio jurídico multidisciplinar en el entorno de la Cátedra de Seguridad Telefónica y Ciencias de la Seguridad

Memoria ID-0152. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2014-2015

Predictors of clinically significant quality of life impairment in Parkinson's disease.

Quality of life (QOL) plays an important role in independent living in Parkinson?s disease (PD) patients, being crucial to know what factors impact QoL throughout the course of the disease. Here we identified predictors of QoL impairment in PD patients from a Spanish cohort. PD patients recruited from 35 centers of Spain from the COPPADIS cohort from January 2016, to November 2017, were followed up during 2 years. Health-related QoL (HRQoL) and global QoL (GQoL) were assessed with the 39-item Parkinson?s disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) and the EUROHIS-QOL 8-item index (EUROHIS-QOL8), respectively, at baseline (V0) and at 24 months ± 1 month (V2). Clinically significant QoL impairment was defined as presenting an increase (PDQ-39SI) or decrement (EUROHIS-QOL8) at V2 ? 10% of the score at baseline (V0). A comparison with a control group was conducted for GQoL. GQoL did not change significantly in PD patients (N = 507; p = 0.686) or in the control group (N = 119; p = 0.192). The mean PDQ-39SI was significantly increased in PD patients (62.7 ± 8.5 years old; 58.8% males; N = 500) by 21.6% (from 16.7 ± 13 to 20.3 ± 16.4; p < 0.0001) at V2. Ninety-three patients (18.6%) presented a clinically significant HRQoL impairment at V2. To be younger (OR = 0.896; 95% CI 0.829?0.968; p = 0.006), to be a female (OR = 4.181; 95% CI 1.422?12.290; p = 0.009), and to have a greater increase in BDI-II (Beck Depression Inventory-II) (OR = 1.139; 95% CI 1.053?1.231; p = 0.001) and NMSS (Non-Motor Symptoms Scale) (OR = 1.052; 95% CI 1.027?1.113; p < 0.0001) total scores from V0 to V2 were associated with clinically significant HRQoL impairment at the 2-year follow-up (Hosmer?Lemeshow test, p = 0.665; R2 = 0.655). An increase in ?5 and ?10 points of BDI-II and NMSS total score at V2 multiplied the probability of presenting clinically significant HRQoL impairment by 5 (OR = 5.453; 95% CI 1.663?17.876; p = 0.005) and 8 (OR = 8.217; 95% CI, 2.975?22.696; p = 0.002), respectively. In conclusion, age, gender, mood, and non-motor impairment were associated with clinically significant HRQoL impairment after the 2-year follow-up in PD patient

Diplopia Is Frequent and Associated with Motor and Non-Motor Severity in Parkinson’s Disease: Results from the COPPADIS Cohort at 2-Year Follow-Up

[Background and objective] Diplopia is relatively common in Parkinson’s disease (PD) but is still understudied. Our aim was to analyze the frequency of diplopia in PD patients from a multicenter Spanish cohort, to compare the frequency with a control group, and to identify factors associated with it.[Patients and Methods] PD patients who were recruited from January 2016 to November 2017 (baseline visit; V0) and evaluated again at a 2-year ± 30 days follow-up (V2) from 35 centers of Spain from the COPPADIS cohort were included in this longitudinal prospective study. The patients and controls were classified as “with diplopia” or “without diplopia” according to item 15 of the Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS) at V0, V1 (1-year ± 15 days), and V2 for the patients and at V0 and V2 for the controls.[Results] The frequency of diplopia in the PD patients was 13.6% (94/691) at V0 (1.9% in controls [4/206]; p < 0.0001), 14.2% (86/604) at V1, and 17.1% (86/502) at V2 (0.8% in controls [1/124]; p < 0.0001), with a period prevalence of 24.9% (120/481). Visual hallucinations at any visit from V0 to V2 (OR = 2.264; 95%CI, 1.269–4.039; p = 0.006), a higher score on the NMSS at V0 (OR = 1.009; 95%CI, 1.012–1.024; p = 0.015), and a greater increase from V0 to V2 on the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale–III (OR = 1.039; 95%CI, 1.023–1.083; p < 0.0001) and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (OR = 1.028; 95%CI, 1.001–1.057; p = 0.049) scores were independent factors associated with diplopia (R2 = 0.25; Hosmer and Lemeshow test, p = 0.716).[Conclusions] Diplopia represents a frequent symptom in PD patients and is associated with motor and non-motor severity.Martínez-Martin P. has received honoraria from National School of Public Health (ISCIII), Editori-al Viguera and Takeda Pharmaceuticals for lecturing in courses, and from the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society (MDS) for management of the Program on Rating Scales. Mir P. has received honoraria from AbbVie, Abbott, Allergan, Bial, Merz, UCB, and Zambon and have received grants from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [PI16/01575], co-founded by ISCIII (Subdirección General de Evaluación y Fomento de la Investigación) and by Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), the Consejería de Economía, Innovación, Ciencia y Empleo de la Junta de Andalucía [CVI-02526, CTS-7685], the Consejería de Salud y Bienestar Social de la Junta de Andalucía [ PI-0437-2012, PI-0471-2013], the Sociedad Andaluza de Neurología, the Jacques and Gloria Gossweiler Foundation, the Fundación Alicia Koplowitz, the Fundación Mutua Madrileña.Peer reviewe