2,990 research outputs found
EC Visa Facilitation and Readmission Agreements: Implementing a New EU Security Approach in the Neighbourhood
With the Eastern Enlargement successfully completed, the EU is searching for a proper balance between internal security and external stabilisation that is acceptable to all sides. This paper focuses on an EU foreign policy instrument that is a case in point for this struggle: EC visa facilitation and readmission agreements. By looking at the EU's strategy on visa facilitation and readmission, this paper aims to offer a first systematic analysis of the objectives, substance and political implications of these agreements as a means to implement a new EU security approach in the neighbourhood. In offering more relaxed travel conditions in exchange for the signing of an EC readmission agreement and reforming domestic justice and home affairs, the EU has found a new way to press for reforms in neighbouring countries while addressing a major source of discontent in these countries. The analysis concludes with the broader implications of these agreements and argues that even if the facilitated travel opportunities are beneficial for the citizens of the target countries, the positive achievements are undermined by the Schengen enlargement, which makes the new member states tie up their borders to those of their neighbours.EU, EC visa facilitation, readmission agreements, European Neighbourhood Policy, Stabilisation and Association Process, Justice and Home Affairs
What if? The implications of a Brexit-scenario on different EU policies. IES Policy Brief Issue 2016/4-10âą April 2016
By bundling the manifold policy expertise of the
researchers of the Institute for European Studies
(IES), this paper forms part of a series of analyses
investigating the potential implications of a âBrexitâ
scenario for different EU policies. All papers ask the
same three questions: 1) What is the state of the EU
policy in focus
10,000 border guards for Frontex: Why the EU risks conflated expectations. EPC Policy Brief, 21 September 2018
âBetween now and 2027 we want to produce an additional 10,000 border guards. We are now going to bring that forward to 2020,â Jean-Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission, told Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz at the start of Austriaâs sixth-months presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) on 1 July 2018.1 In his State of the European Union (SOTEU) speech on 12 September, the Commission President confirmed this number and provided a blueprint for the future of Frontex.2 For the EU, the proposed increase in Frontexâs resources will likely become a key argument to counter criticism from populist parties and demonstrate its determination to manage migration effectively
Introducing the IES Brexit-Project. IES Policy Brief Issue 2016/4âą April 2016
By bundling the manifold policy expertise of the
researchers of the Institute for European Studies
(IES), this paper forms part of a series of analyses
investigating the potential implications of a âBrexitâ
scenario for different EU policies. All papers ask the
same three questions: 1) What is the state of the EU
policy in focus? 2) What is the UKâs role/interest in
this policy field? 3) What are the potential implications
of a âBrexitâ scenario at the policy-level?
After Claire Dupont and Florian Trauner introduce the
project, Richard Lewis sets the historical and cultural
context and explains how the UK and the EU have
come to such a low-point in their relations. Next, five
policy fields are analysed: justice and home affairs; free
movement policies; EU external representation; the
(digital) single market; and environmental policy
Undrained shear strength in dependence on the quantity of free water and firmly adsorbed water in fully saturated clays
The article describes the dependence between the undrained shear strength of fully saturated cohesive soils, the quantity of intergrain water and mineralogical properties of soils on the basis of theoretical analysis and practical tests on monomineral clay samples, it was determined that the total quantity of intergrain water is composed of free pore water and the firmly adsorbed water on the external surface of clay grains. The undrained shear strength of saturated soils is precisely dependent on the quantity of free water. The amount of free water and likewise the thickness of the water film around the clay grains are the same for different soils at the same undrained shear strength. The total quantity of firmly adsorbed water and the total quantity of integration water depends on the specific surface of soils
Editorial: The negotiation and contestation of EU migration policy instruments: A research framework
This article develops a research framework for the analysis of the politics of migration policy instruments. Policy instruments are seen as living instruments; they evolve and develop similar to moving targets. A scholar interested in this field of research may focus either on the establishment of a given instrument or on its use. The question of an instrument's design relates to the policy transfer literature focusing on how certain policies move from one setting to another. In the context of a policy transfer, actors from the other-'receiving'-institutional setting negotiate and, potentially, contest or reinterpret a policy instrument. The evolution of policy instruments once adopted in a specific institutional context is a second area of interest. The original goals can be diluted throughout the implementation process notably due to tensions between intergovernmental and supranational actors, or sticky institutionalization, which is characterized by path-dependencies. Often the choice of new instruments derives from an inefficiency or loss of credibility of past instruments. This editorial therefore seeks to make a twofold contribution: first it investigates the added-value of a policy instrument approach to the study of migration; second it furthers research on the external dimension of EU migration policy. © 2014 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden
Optical Control of Glycerolipids and Sphingolipids
Glycerolipids, Sphingolipids, and Sterols are the three major classes of membrane lipids. Both glycerolipids and sphingolipids are comprised of combinations of polar headgroups and fatty acid tails. The fatty acid tail can be chemically modified with an azobenzene photoswitch giving rise to photoswitchable lipids. This approach has yielded a number of photopharmacological tools that allow to control various aspects of lipid assembly, metabolism, and physiology with light
On the stability of mycobacterial ribosomes during stasis
Latent
tuberculosis
is
estimated
to
account
for
over
99%
of
Mycobacterium
tuberculosis
infections
globally.
Bacteria
are
believed
to
enter
a
non-Âreplicating
persistent
(NRP)
state
to
counter
the
effect
of
oxygen
and
nutrient
limitation
during
latent
infection.
While
NRP
bacteria
are
believed
to
retain
some
metabolic
activity,
it
is
not
known
how
the
stability
and
functionality
of
the
biosynthetic
apparatus
is
maintained.
Using
the
Wayne
hypoxia
model,
we
focused
on
mycobacterial
ribosomes
and
found
that,
in
contrast
to
enteric
bacteria,
no
higher
order
structures
(e.g.
ribosomal
dimers)
are
formed
upon
entry
into
stasis.
We
devised
a
strategy
incorporating
microfluidic,
proteomic
and
ribosomal
profiling
techniques
to
elucidate
the
fate
of
mycobacterial
ribosomes
during
NRP.
We
compared
the
stability
of
wild-type
ribosomes
to
those
of
mutants
in
the
transcriptional
regulator
DosR,
which
cannot
survive
prolonged
oxygen
starvation.
While
stability
was
comparable
under
conditions
of
active
growth
and
normoxic
stasis,
ÎdosR
mutants
showed
a
marked
decrease
in
levels
of
70S
ribosomes
and
30S
ribosomal
subunits
under
hypoxia.
Microfluidic
analyses
were
consistent
with
these
observations
and
pointed
to
a
progressive
degradation
of
rRNA
during
prolonged
hypoxia,
with
evidence
of
discrete
rRNA
cleavage.
Proteomic
analysis
also
supported
a
gradual
degradation
of
ribosomes
and
led
to
the
identification
of
S30AE
proteins
as
possible
ribosome
stabilisation
factors.
There
is
an
S30AE
domain
protein
is
the
DosR
regulon
and
it
may
contribute
to
the
observed
destabilisation
of
the
ribosome
during
hypoxia
in
ÎdosR
mutants.
Macromolecular
stability
is
further
compromised
during
infection
by
the
presence
of
reactive
oxygen
and
nitrogen
species.
We
used
mass
spectrometry
to
assess
the
impact
of
oxidative
stress
on
mycobacterial
nucleic
acids.
We
found
that
RNA
was
more
susceptible
to
damage.
Since
only
limited
RNA
synthesis
occurs
in
NRP,
the
ability
of
cells
to
preserve
intact
ribosomes
could
be
crucial
for
long-Âterm
survival
- âŠ