Europe: core business or bonus? : German and Hungarian social NGOs in the field of youth policy and their way of dealing with EU policy

Along with the rapid development of industry and agriculture, growth of population, improvement of urbanization level, China has been confronted with increasingly serious deficiency and pollution of water resource. In order to deal with the challenge as well as reduce waste discharge, it is necessary to strengthen all the possible efforts in controlling water pollution. Therefore, the control and management of water pollution is of vital significance to the development of national economy and social society, which is worth doing research on academically and practically. Water pollution management, in a sense, results from the urbanization and cosmopolitanization process. In this aspect, the European countries have acquired a lot of successful experience in water pollution control, which provides plenty of useful knowledge and reference for China’s ongoing efforts in water pollution control. This thesis, by taking a comparative analysis approach, looks into the European countries’ experience of water pollution control, makes evaluations on their managerial strategies, system and methods. Then it reviews China’s efforts on water pollution control, and analyzes the current situation of China’s water management, especially the water pollution control system of Huaihe River Basin, and as a result puts forward suggestions to improve China’s water pollution control system such as verification of property rights of water resources, enhancement of legal framework, investment and taxation policy preference, technological improvements, public participation and prevention measures.www.ima.kth.s

Engagementpolitik in Belgien - Bericht anläßlich der belgischen EU-Ratspräsidentschaft 2010

Inhaltsverzeichnis: 1 Einleitung; 2 Bürgerschaftliches Engagement (BE) in Belgien; 2.1 Hintergrundinformationen; 2.2 Zahlen und Fakten zu bürgerschaftlichem Engagement in Belgien; 2.3 Politischer und rechtlicher Rahmen; 2.4 Besondere belgische Programme, Projekte und Initiativen; 3 BE im Programm der belgischen EU-Ratspräsidentschaft; 4 Fazit

Bürgerschaftliches Engagement in Europa - Überblickspapier zur Europäischen Union

Inhalt: 1 Thematische Einführung; 1.1 Definition von Bürgerschaftlichem Engagement (BE); 1.2 Wie engagiert ist Europa? Ein Überblick über Engagementstudien; 2 Zuständigkeiten für Bürgerschaftliches Engagement in der EU; 3 EU-Programme zu Bürgerschaftlichem Engagement; 4 Unter welchen Gesichtspunkten wird Bürgerschaftliches Engagement auf europäischer Ebene diskutiert?; 5 Europäisches Jahr der Freiwilligentätigkeit zur Förderung der aktiven Bürgerschaft (2011)

Bürgerschaftliches Engagement in den Mitgliedsstaaten der Europäischen Union - Auswertung und Zusammenfassung aktueller Studien

Inhalt: 1 Einleitung; 2 Engagementförderprogramme und -strategien in den EU-Mitgliedsstaaten; 3 Engagementmessungen und -berichte in den EU-Mitgliedsstaaten; 4 Gemeinsame Herausforderungen und Empfehlungen; 5 Zusammenfassung der Ergebnisse; 6 Literatur- und Quellenverzeichni

Spotlights on Contemporary Family Life

Spotlights on Contemporary Family Life covers four issues of cross-cutting importance to families Structures and forms of families: issues relating to a diversification of families away from the ‘traditional nuclear family form’ are relatively uncontroversial from an academic perspective, but much more so for policy makers and family associations. Chapter 1 provides a thorough overview of the state of contemporary European families. Solidarities in families: too often the issue of an ‘ageing society’ is simply reduced to the problem of over-burdening social care systems, but longevity also represents opportunities for new kinds of solidarities inside families and family networks, and new relations between family members – not to mention the satisfaction felt by people who can continue to live fulfilling and rewarding lives long after they’re considered ‘elderly’. Chapter 2 gives voice to authors who identify these new opportunities and challenges. Demographic change: women are having fewer children and having them later in life. Having children is now a conscious decision and fertility rates have declined below the level required to sustain our current populations. At the same time we witness the ‘greying’ of Europe, which brings with it a whole host of opportunities and challenges. Chapter 3 raises important issues for policy makers today. Volunteering: inspired by family associations who could not survive without the support of volunteers, this chapter gives an overview of what’s known - and what isn’t - about volunteering. Coinciding with the European Year of Volunteering 2011, this chapter takes a timely look at the efforts that families put into volunteering across Europe and the important benefits that Europe gains from all of this combined voluntary effort. Linden Farrer and William Lay work for the Confederation of Family Organisations in the European Union (COFACE). This publication was produced by FAMILYPLATFORM, a project funded by the European Commission

The National Action Plan on social inclusion: an opportunity for the third sector?

The European Union’s influence on its member states is currently the topic of frequent discussion, under the label of Europeanisation. With the establishment of the single market, further steps were necessary to ensure the future economic development of the member states. This included the fight against social exclusion, which refers to a situation in which people are prevented from participating fully in society because lack of financial assets, low education or insufficient skills. One means introduced to pursue this goal was the National Action Plan on Social Inclusion (NAPincl), introduced at the Lisbon meeting in March 2000. One of the objectives of the NAPincl was the ‘mobilisation of all relevant actors’. Member states are explicitly expected to include social partners (trade unions and employers), NGO’s and social service providers in the fight against social exclusion. This paper examines whether the introduction of the NAP has led to the desired mobilisation, and whether it has had the effect of bringing third sector organisations active at the national level closer together. Seven countries (France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom) were included in this case study. The period under investigation included the process of setting up both the first NAPincl (submitted in 2001 and covering the period 2001- 2003) and the second (submitted in 2003 and covering the period 2003-2005). The empirical results we have found in relation to mobilisation were quite varied. In some countries, particularly in Sweden and the United Kingdom, the introduction of the NAPincl was perceived to be associated with significant changes in the national tradition of involving third sector organisations in social inclusion policy: many new organisations came together (including user groups) and they were allowed to participate fully in the policymaking process. In the other countries the impact was far more limited. Sometimes (for example in Italy) the government simply ignored the European objective, whereas in others (for example Germany) it merely led to the revision of existing procedures. On the whole, the effect was greatest where no national tradition of mobilising the third sector existed. Where third sector participation was already institutionalised before and outside the NAP process, the NAP led to minor extensions or revisions of existing procedures. Interestingly enough, the NAP seems to have had little impact on third sector policy communities across the board. Generally nothing changed, and where it did, the effect remained confined to the small community of Europe-minded third sector organisations involved in social inclusion policy. One could argue that this outcome merely reflects national third sector policy communities. Where they were fragmented, any effects of the NAP remain within the affected fragment; where they were integrated, effects were incorporated as a matter of course; but in no instance did the NAP have a significant bridging effect. The evidence raises the question of how one should judge the effect of the NAPincl. One should not rely too strongly on a type of analysis that views the NAP in terms of implementation, of European pressure in the face of national opposition. What matters is that the NAP may have facilitated or revised ongoing changes at the national level. If this is the case, then one should not analyse this instrument in terms of an alien influence that may or may not be complied with. Rather, it should be understood in terms of how it weaved into national processes already set in motion