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This paper tracks the rise of German dominance since Bismarck’s unification of Germany in 1871 and during the 20th century, when the Germans used their economic, demographic, and military power in addition to geopolitical theories, particularly the vital space theory, to support expansionism. The «German question» evolved in the wake of the two world wars as the European States’ main concern was how to maintain a peaceful, powerful Germany. Following the Ukrainian war, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared Germany’s goal to have the greatest army in Europe, modernize military industries, and allocate 100 billion Euros for the defense budget. Accordingly, as strong Germany, historically, has always sought to dominate its neighbors, the paper examines the possible scenarios for the rise of Germany and its dominance over the European Union. What will be the repercussions of Germany’s rise on the future of the European Union and its institutions, and the potential incentives for cooperation and collaboration among European nations? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the third-largest exporting country in the world, Germany is a clear beneficiary and proponent of free trade. Few, therefore, expected the magnitude of contention that emerged within Germany during the negotiations between the EU and the United States for a transatlantic trade deal (TTIP). This paper explores the politicisation process of TTIP within the context of the broader transformations of German politics including not only the entry of new issues and new players in the electoral and protest arenas but also the increased hybridisation of forms of protest. Theoretically, we draw on the 'Players and Arenas' framework to put forward a sequential, strategic interactionist approach to the unfolding process of politicisation, in which various types of players face dilemmas when interacting with each other over time. Applying this analytical framework to the politicisation of TTIP in Germany, we reveal previously overlooked players, interactions and dilemmas, while opening up multiple opportunities for empirical analysis of cases beyond this area. We show how the politicisation of TTIP brought about an important intensification of relations between Germany's protest and electoral arenas, and confronted all players involved with choices with long-lasting consequences for both mobilisation and coalition building dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transformation of societies and economies towards climate neutrality is a highly complex multi-sectoral and multi-level challenge. This paper examines the multi-level dimension of climate policy with particular reference to the European legal framework and the example of Germany. It analyses how regional and local governments are engaged and whether, in this regard, the existing arrangements of multi-level climate governance can be considered adequate and effective. In the light of the basic principles of federalism theory and in view of the - failed - German multi-level approaches to energy transition it is concluded, in particular, that federal climate governance must build not only on European and national objectives but also on regional and local climate targets and policy planning schemes as a means of both ensuring sufficient transformation efforts and preserving as much autonomy as possible for regional and local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the founding states of the European Union (EU) and a long-standing member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), Germany has made significant contributions to both organisations and to European security. Despite being frequently accused as a free rider, this article claims that Germany takes the position of balancer in the EU-NATO relationship whereby it facilitates cooperation through mediating between both organisations and their member states. This article analyses Germany's role and conceptualises it as balancer in interorganisational relations. As a member of both organisations, the debates concern how Germany can make effective use of its geographical, cultural and economic positions to contribute to European security. It takes a 'midstream' position in which it balances between the EU and NATO and among other member states. This article argues that due to its expansive network of bilateral and minilateral relations, Germany emphasises its role as balancer by using its diplomatic skills to broker among fellow member states. A well-working and amicable EU-NATO relationship is indispensable for its own interests. This paper therefore takes into account its particular position and capabilities as well as its multilateral linkages to examine how Germany positions itself as balancer in the EU-NATO relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current paper contributes to the existing literature on migration by explaining the emigration pattern from Denmark, Finland and Sweden to Germany. We have tried to discover the reason why people migrate from high-income European Union (EU) member states to Germany, which for a long time has hosted the highest number of migrants when compared to other EU member states. We have employed gravity models using fixed effects and ordinary least squares estimation for 1998 - 2019. Our results have indicated that Germany, compared to other EU member states, is more competitive in terms of its labour market efficiency. Germany is an attractive destination for migrants from Denmark, Finland and Sweden in terms of its employment rate, wages and effective government support of its labour force programmes. The current research provides insights into enhancing German competitiveness in terms of labour market factors, which is important for both the migrant and native populations. The results show that if wisely managed, the labour market attracts the labour force, which can address critical social issues Europe is currently facing. In particular, competition issues for high-skilled workers, an aging population, and a low birth rate. The study indicates that the long-term attractiveness of Germany for migrants is based on the efficient participation of the government in labour management-related decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU has established the world's first cross-border emission-trading systems (ETS) for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, currently covering aviation, emission-intensive sectors, and electricity (EITE). The EU Commission has offered to apply emissions trading in new sectors where emissions from maritime transport will be incorporated into the current EU ETS, while a separated emissions trading system will cover emissions from road transport and the building sector. This paper employs a multi-regional multi-sectoral computable general equilibrium (CGE) model with two simultaneous international emission permit markets. After examining the abatement costs for the EU regions, various policy scenarios are implemented to study the welfare effects of forming an ETS covering the sectors other than EITE (NEIT) and its linking with the EITE sectors under two different baselines and four emission reduction targets. The results provide several important insights: (i) Marginal abatement costs in Germany and the Eastern European Union region (EEU) are significantly lower than in the rest of the EU regions. (ii) The carbon price in the emission permit market covering NEIT is significantly higher than the carbon price in the emission permit market covering EITE. (iii) Germany and EEU appear as notable suppliers of emission permits in both markets. (iv) There is a significant aggregate welfare gain under the scenario in which the ETS covering NEIT co-exists parallel with the ETS covering EITE. (v) The aggregate welfare in the EU under the full integration of EITE and NEIT may fall below its value under the scenario with two parallel emission permit markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most commonly used surface protection technologies against wear and corrosion are electrochemical hard chromium plating or thermal spraying. But these coating technologies have limits. Additionally, due to health concerns, hard chromium plating is under increasingly restrictive use in Germany, the European Union, and the Asian market. One technology which is currently under investigation for replacing conventional coating processes, e.g., plating in these instances is the high-speed laser cladding. Using high-speed laser cladding (high-speed laser metal deposition, HS-LMD), which is a DED (directed energy deposition) process, a laser beam is heating powder particles, which are fed coaxially into the laser beam, to nearly melting temperature before these particles hit the surface. Using a laser as the heat source, the heat input into the workpiece can be minimized. This allows a very low dilution of additive material into workpiece--typically < 10 µm--and high feed rates between 100 and 500 m/min can be achieved. Layers generated by this process can be locally adjusted in thickness between 50 and 300 µm per layer. Since each layer is metallurgically bonded to the metallic substrate or the adjacent layer before, multi layers or multi-material approaches are feasible. By use of the aforementioned unique process features, new and in properties tailored coating systems become possible. HS-LMD might be a promising candidate for replacement of hard chromium plating, for example, large rotational symmetric parts. In this paper, we have selected Rockit®401 as a hard, corrosion-resistant, and nearly "cracking-proof" material. Additionally, we have chosen the corrosion resistant Inconel® 625. We will investigate the influence of high surface rates on properties such as defects, hardness, and crack susceptibility, as well as achievable layer thicknesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strict regulations imposed by the European Union (EU) with the target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions oblige the biogas plant operators to manage digestate properly. Digestate is a by-product of biogas plants and is used extensively as an organic fertilizer. Digestate drying is a commercially available technology. According to the Fachverband Biogas (German Biogas Assiciation) (2018), 500–700 dryers are in use in Germany's biogas industry. Thermal drying can meet the requirements for hygienization and produce a transportable and storable fertilizer as well. Moreover, the GHG emissions from dried digestate are considerably lower than emissions from moist digestate. In addition to the high energy demand of the drying process, emissions occur during drying, resulting in both a decrease in the digestate's fertilizing value and some negative effects on the environment. Consequently, accurate investigation of the drying kinetics is needed in order to optimize the process with regard to energy consumption, drying time, and the amount of emissions. Drying of digestate faces many difficulties because of material specific properties as well as environmental issues. Digestate tends to stick to the dryer in high moisture content. In spite of additional energy requirements, back-mixing or additives is usually utilized to cope with this problem. These methods also have a positive effect on drying rate and considerably reduce drying time. However, they should be investigated exactly because they can sometimes have negative effect in case of excessive usage. Drying rate and also ammonia emission can be controlled by operational conditions, as well. On account of wide variety of digestate, availability of a generalized reliable model will be of benefit as it allows the engineers and designers to develop and optimize the drying processes. However, determination of primary data should be regarded as the first step. It should be noted that even though obtaining an efficient drying process with regards to both energy consumption and emission is not possible, a relative commitment can be achieved. Thanks to the advances of computational resources, numerical modeling could be considered a key instrument for future progress in designing and optimization of drying process provided that reliable input data are obtainable. This paper aims to review the literature on drying techniques, drying kinetics, and emission behavior of digestate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2015 and 2016, the enormous increase in asylum seekers travelling along the Balkan Route confronted the Member States of the European Union with an exceptional pressure on national asylum systems. Since then academic literature has revealed a reappraisal of the Common European Asylum System at regulative and policy implementation level, notably regarding the fair distribution of asylum seekers across Member States and regions. Yet we know very little about the locational choices of forced migrants or how those choices evolved and transformed during their journey. In this paper, we aim to shed light on those decision-making processes and (individual, subjective) locational choices based on the aspiration-ability model, drawing from a series of qualitative interviews with migrants held in Luxembourg and Germany in the context of the H2020 project CEASEVAL. We focus on the migrants' journeys to their actual recipient countries, highlighting mobility trajectories from the moment of first departure and on the process of decision-making regarding their choice of location. Then, we examine further mobility aspirations, which may lead to secondary mobility within or out of the country of residence. In the concluding section, we discuss the consequences of our findings for migration and asylum politics against the background of the "autonomy of migration" framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to present the effects of the abolition of the milk quota system who was in force for more than 30 years, to analyse the new milk packake introduced by the European Union (since October 3, 2012, it is in full force). This package was prepared in 2015 with a view to the long term future of the dairy sector after the quota system expired. Also, we have analyzed and produced a study case for Germany, in respect of the two systems who were in force in EU, taking in consideration the role, position and place of the German milk market at European level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since European Union (EU) enlargement in 2003, labour migration from East to West and South to North has increased. It is to be expected that a share of these workers will want to retire in their host countries. According to the academic literature, EU legislation protects such mobility well by allowing the transfer of rights accrued in any EU country to another. However, such research has focused on legislation, not outcomes. We know little about how migration will affect the financial status of retired migrants in their host country and their ability to sustain a life there, should they stay after retirement. Using migration, wage and pension policy data (Eurostat, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), this paper projects the post-retirement incomes of a range of hypothetical EU migrants, selected in relation to the most common migratory flows since 2003. After having worked in their home countries (Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Italy) for at least ten years, these people move to richer countries (Italy, Spain, Germany, United Kingdom) and work there for at least 30 years. To determine whether they can remain settled after decades of labour force participation in the host country, the paper adds their pension entitlements from home and host countries and compares this income with the relative poverty line of the host countries. This shows that good portability of entitlements matters little when these are very low because of a large wage gap between home and host country. Thus, after at least 30 years of enjoying all citizenship rights as workers, most of these individuals are projected to receive incomes below the relative poverty line of their host countries and thus experience a sharp drop in this status. Their citizenship is diminished. The paper concludes by considering policies that could avoid such an outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional governments' discretion in allocating structural funds is limited by the competences of the European Commission to control fiscal activities of decentralized governments. Regional political behaviour and the complexity of the implementation process shape the policy outcome. Who benefits from structural funds? In this paper, we analyse implementation of ERDF funds in East Germany in the financial perspective 2007 to 2013. We find that less rural regions and some economic sectors benefit by more than others. A few beneficiaries control the highest share of the funds. The Gini coefficients vary by group of actor and show high inequality in the distribution of the funds. This indicates that a few actors have better access to the funds than others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the European Union has gradually overcome its «federal blindness» (Landes-blindheit), the participation of peripheral territorial authorities has yet to be perfected. This paper shows a comparative study of the bottom-up participation of Lander and autonomous communities in the European Union. While the German legal system encourages and facilitates internal (or indirect) participation, in Spain, the channels of external (or direct) participation essentially prevail. After exposing the existing ways of participation in both States, a critical conclusion is drawn to evaluate the interest and adaptation of the mechanisms and responses of one system in the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research note, I analyse the case of DiEM25, a pan-European movement that decided to contest for the 2019 European elections and ran in seven different countries with the same programme. Focussing on Germany, I discuss how the different logics of spontaneity in social movements and party politics both enabled and constrained the electoral campaign. Building on official documentation as well as my own experience as part of the campaign, I suggest that organizational complexity, lack of resources and reluctance to embrace electoral politics on the part of movement-oriented members finally contributed to the failure to secure seats in European parliament. The paper also contextualizes both the political junctures of DiEM25's emergence and the political opportunity structures in Germany at the time of the campaign arguing that the political space was quite narrow in light of political contenders and public opinion in Germany in relation to the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper aims to examine a cluster-based strategy implemented in the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia under the 2007-2013 "Regional Competitiveness and Employment" programme. Departing from traditional discretionary approaches, a substantial share of the funds was now allocated on a competitive basis. The authors analyse the resulting distribution of funds across stakeholders and sub- regions and try to assess the pros and cons of this process, which constitutes a novel delivery system for cluster policies. Design/methodology/approach -- Following a literature review, the paper applies two sets of regression models to explain the distribution of funds under the new policy delivery system. Interviews with stakeholders provide evidence on the efficacy and efficiency of the competitive funding process. Findings -- The changes introduced in the 2007-2013 funding period benefit universities and research organisations, as well as intermediary organisations, whereas the private sector and especially small firms capture a rather small piece of the pie. Contrary to the "innovation paradox" hypothesis, structurally weak sub-regions did not lose out in state-wide funding contests. The presence of universities with an overall high volume of third-party funding is the key variable explaining the spatial distribution of funds. This interview evidence identifies the duration of the selection process and its administrative complexity as main weaknesses, which the authors attribute to bureaucratic rationality on different levels. Originality/value -- This is the first analysis of a competitive funding scheme at the sub-national level, using the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia as a case study. It sheds light on the mechanisms of funding allocation in the 2007-2013 funding period of the European Union's cohesion policy, which was reoriented towards supporting regional competitiveness and employment in response to the Lisbon Agenda. While competitive funding is still seen as mobilising regional stakeholders and improving the quality of projects and the selection process, these findings highlight administrative complexity as a main deficiency, which has partly been addressed in the 2014-2020 funding period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy sources (RES) can play a significant role in economic growth. This article examines the development of the wind energy market in the EU. The applicable regulations, directives, and legal acts are reviewed, and the State's role in the development of the renewable energy market is discussed. The analyses were carried out based on the available literature and Eurostat data. The authors of the paper used basic statistics to summarize the changes in wind energy and make a prognosis. The data analysis uses the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average Method (ARIMA). The survey found that the highest average wind cumulative installed capacities were in Germany (31026 MW), Spain (18602 MW), United Kingdom (7894 MW) and France (6108 MW). Our analysis indicates that the biggest average annual installed wind capacity was in Germany (2952.6 MW), Spain (1224.5 MW) and the United Kingdom (1363.8 MW). These same countries achieved the highest average wind gross electricity production in the years 2004–17: Germany (50.9 TWh), Spain (39.3 TWh) and United Kingdom (18.9 TWh). The study finds that wind cumulative installed capacity will increase in most countries of the EU. • The European Union onshore wind energy market seems to be stable. • Wind power plays an important role as a source of energy supply. • The most important wind gross electricity producers in the EU are: Germany and Spain. • The highest increase of wind cumulative installed capacity in 2022 will be in Croatia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Banking union is arguably the most important EU reform since the Maastricht Treaty, transferring substantial authority to European regulators and taking a significant step toward fiscal union. However, it remains incomplete, as Germany has repeatedly blocked progress on the European Deposit Insurance Scheme (EDIS). This opposition contrasts with German support for an expansive Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) and limited Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM). This paper explains the inconsistent German position on banking union's components by examining the interests of the different elements of the German banking industry in a multi-level governance perspective. While the savings banks and cooperatives have staunchly opposed any form of banking union, preferring local regulation, the commercial banks' position is more complex. They saw the SSM as a way to eliminate their competitors' national or local regulatory advantages both within Germany and elsewhere in Europe. The SRM similarly offered benefits for large banks by ensuring that resolution was funded at the European level. However, EDIS threatened their private deposit insurance scheme, so they joined with the other German banks in opposing its development. In doing so, they blocked completion of banking union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores trade union strategies to protect wages in the face of EU migration after the enlargement of the European Union. We argue that unions have three instruments at their disposal to deal with the risks linked to downward wage pressure: closure through immigration control, equalisation through collective bargaining and minimum wages, and the organisation of migrant workers. Using comparative case studies of Sweden, Germany and the UK, we show how different types of power resources shape union strategies: unions with substantial organisational resources (in Sweden) relied on a large membership to pursue an equalisation strategy and expected to be able to 'afford' openness. German unions with low membership but access to the political system pushed for a mix of closure and equality drawing on political intervention (e.g. minimum wages). British unions, unable to pursue either, focused their efforts on organisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Germany remains the only large country in the world without a general speed limit on highways. One of the main arguments for this policy is that lower speeds represent a travel time cost that is not outweighed by benefits, such as a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. As transport decision making in the European Union is based on cost-benefit analysis (CBA), this paper compares the value of travel time, fuel consumption, infrastructure, crashes, carbon dioxide (CO 2), and air pollution. Results suggests that, at the low end of the estimate, a 130 kph speed limit will generate welfare gains in the order of 950 million Euro per year. The 'no speed limit' policy consequently represents a subsidy forwarded to fast drivers. The paper also discusses the views of the public vis-à-vis automobile lobbies, and the relevance of Germany's climate change mitigation law, mandating that transport systems be decarbonized. The CBA suggests that a 130 kph speed limit is a policy field where environmental concerns, positive economic effects, and public opinion can be aligned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the scholarly debate on hegemony and leadership in international relations and elaborates on an analytical framework to assess the nature, scope, functions and causal mechanisms of hegemonic and non-hegemonic leadership in general terms. Based on this framework, it takes issue with the interpretation of Germany's role during the euro area crisis as being a hegemonic one. Discussing the concepts of hegemony, leadership and dominance, it argues that Germany proved dominant during the euro area crisis on selected issues, mainly using its veto power. On other issues, Berlin provided non-hegemonic leadership, more often than not asymmetric co-leadership shared with France. It did not play the role of a hegemon, however, lacking the resources and being unable to shape decisively the economic constitution of the euro area along the lines of its core preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current paper presents three studies, which suggest that perceiving one's nation as transgenerational (TG) is related to a differentiation in the evaluation of ethnically German diaspora migrants and ethnically non-German ('foreign') migrants. First, we find that unlike 'classical' concepts such as right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), social dominance orientation (SDO), and hierarchic self-interest (HSI), TG explains differences in derogatory sentiments expressed towards diaspora and 'foreign' migrants. Second, TG is differentially related to positive emotions and behavioral intentions expressed towards these two groups of migrants. Lastly, results indicate that people who perceive the ingroup as TG require 'foreign' migrants to fulfill more criteria that make them eligible for citizenship and are thereby more exclusionist than people who include only the current generation into their concept of national identity. The social implications of these findings in face of the so-called refugee crisis in Germany and the wider European Union are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The existence of a remarkable heterogeneity among groups of countries within the EU. • The southern periphery has been falling behind, eastern countries have been catching up. • The evolution of research or innovation indicators do not provide conclusive information. • Re-positioning of each peripheral EU country in the Germany-centred productive chain. • Strikingly different performances in productivity between the two less advanced groups. This paper looks at a set of European countries, addressing the issue of different performances (in various indicators) within the European Union integrated framework. The selected countries are divided into four groups, also considering their relation with the industrial core of Europe, namely Germany. Firstly, we highlight the wide heterogeneity between them with respect to GDP per capita and labour productivity. Secondly, we point to a similar heterogeneity in indicators which are generally considered representative for the performance in innovative activities. At this point, we investigate whether any process of convergence has taken place in the past two decades among these groups of countries. By applying a standard methodology on all the indicators we are able to distinguish different patterns: the southern periphery is falling behind, the eastern periphery is catching up. Finally, we move to the different patterns in productivity dynamics: through a shift-share analysis, we uncover the paramount relevance of the growth in the productivity within sectors, and we analyze the paths of structural change and the connected shifts of workers among sectors, which result to be partially accountable for such different performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decades, ovarian cancer mortality in Europe has been decreasing, but disparities in trends were observed. In this paper, we analysed ovarian cancer mortality trends in Europe over the period 1990–2020 and predicted the number of deaths and rates by 2025. We extracted population and death certification data from ovarian cancer in women for 31 European countries, between 1990 and 2020 from the World Health Organization database. We computed age-standardised mortality rates (ASMR) per 100,000 women-years, based on the world standard population. We also obtained predictions for 2025 using a joinpoint regression model and calculated the number of avoided deaths over the period 1994–2025. Over the observed period, mortality from ovarian cancer showed a favourable pattern in most countries. In the EU-27, rates declined by 5.9% from 2010–2014 to 2015–2019, reaching an ASMR of 4.66/100,000. During the same period, the decline in ovarian cancer mortality was more pronounced in the EU-14 countries (−7.0%) compared to Transitional countries (−2.1%). Declines were also observed in the United Kingdom, to reach an ASMR of 5.29. Decreases in mortality from ovarian cancer are predicted until 2025, to 4.17/100,000 for the EU-27. Favourable trends in ovarian cancer mortality are expected to persist in Europe and can be mainly attributed to the increased use of oral contraceptives in subsequent generations of European women. Decreased use of menopausal Hormone Replacement Therapy and improved diagnosis and management may also have played a role. • Ovarian cancer mortality decreased over the last decade in most European countries. • Favourable trends will continue in the next 5 years. • Less favourable epidemiological situation was observed in Transitional countries. • The largest decrease of mortality in 2025 is predicted to be in Germany. • Until 2025 nearly 131,000 deaths from ovarian cancer would be avoided in EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Opioids are one of the most important and effective drug classes in pain medicine with a key role in most medical fields. The increase of opioid prescription over time has led to higher numbers of prescription opioid misuse, abuse and opioid-related deaths in most developed OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries around the world. Whilst reliable data on the prevalence of opioid treatment is accessible for many countries, data on Germany specifically is still scarce. Considering Germany being the largest country in the European Union, the lack of evidence-based strategies from long-term studies is crucial. The aim of this work is to review and summarise relevant published literature on the prevalence of opioid prescription in Germany to adequately inform health policy strategies. Methods: A systematic review of the epidemiology of opioid prescription in Germany was conducted, searching PubMed and Web of Science. Eligibility criteria were defined prior to conducting the search. Literature concerning Germany, published in English and German was included and the search was replicated by three independent researchers. Two levels of screening were employed. Disagreement was resolved by face-to-face discussion, leading to a consensus judgement. Results: Our electronic search yielded 735 articles. Reviewing titles and abstracts yielded 19 relevant articles. Three authors examined each article’s full text more closely and determined that twelve papers should be included. Of the twelve identified studies—with publication dates ranging from 1985 to 2016—six were retrospective cross-sectional studies and six were retrospective repeated-measures cross-sectional studies. Sample sizes ranged from 92,842 to ≈ 11,000,000 participants. Data sources of included studies showed vast heterogeneity. The reviewed literature suggested an increase in the number of patients with opioid prescriptions and defined daily doses of opioids per recipient in Germany over time. The majority of opioid prescriptions was used for patients with non-cancer pain. Opioid use was more common in older people, women and in the north of Germany. Fentanyl was shown to be the most prescribed strong opioid in outpatient settings in Germany, despite not being the first-line choice for chronic pain conditions. All data published before 2000—but none of the more recent studies—suggested an insufficient treatment of pain using opioids. There were no signs for a current opioid epidemic in Germany. Conclusions: Despite some limitations of the review and the heterogeneity of studies, it can be stated that the number of opioid prescriptions overall as well as the number of people receiving opioid treatment have increased over time. Most prescriptions were found to be for strong opioids and patients with non-cancer pain. Even though patterns of opioid prescription follow trends observed in other developed countries, there are no signs of an opioid epidemic in Germany. Therefore, this review could currently not find a need for urgent health policy interventions regarding opioid prescription practices. However, critical gaps in the literature remain and more research is needed to make more reliable judgements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The news media is a key source for health and medical information, and relies to a large degree on material from press releases (PR). Medical universities are key players in the dissemination of PRs. This study aims to 1) explore the relation between the quality of press releases (PRs) from medical universities and their corresponding news stories (NSs) and 2) to identify the likelihood that specific scientific and interest-raising measures appear or are omitted in PRs and NSs. Methods and findings: In this retrospective study using quantitative content analysis, PRs (n = 507) from 21 medical universities in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, the USA and the UK were retrieved. Of all PRs, 33% had media coverage, resulting in 496 NSs. With two codebooks, 18 scientific (e.g. reporting the study design of the study correctly) and 7 interest-raising measures (e.g. words like ‘ground-breaking’) were evaluated in the PRs and NSs. For all measures the percentage of presence in NSs and PRs was calculated, together with a Mean PR Influence Factor. Quality of PRs and NSs was defined as a score, based on 12 of the 18 scientific measures. Mean (SD) NS quality score was 6.5 (1.7) which was significantly lower than the PR score of 8.0 (1.5). The two quality scores were significantly correlated. Quality measures that were frequently omitted included reporting important study limitations (present in 21% of PRs, 21% of NSs), funding (59% of PRs, 7% of NSs) and conflicts of interest (16% of PRs, 3% of NSs). We did not evaluate the quality of the scientific papers (SPs), and can therefore not determine if the quality of PRs and NSs is associated with the quality of SPs. Conclusions: This large study of medical university press releases and corresponding news stories showed that important measures of a scientific study such as funding and study limitations were omitted to a very large extent. The lay public and health personnel as well as policy makers, politicians and other decision makers may be misled by incomplete and partly inaccurate representations of scientific studies which could negatively affect important health-related behaviours and decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to unravel the effects of both policies and autonomous developments driving the changes of final energy consumption for the European Union (EU28) and its member states complemented with an in-depth analysis of two EU member states, Germany and Poland, for the period of 2000 to 2015 by the logarithmic mean Divisia index methodology (LMDI). We examine the influences on the changes in final energy consumption for each of the five main demand sectors at aggregated level and at a more detailed level of residential end-uses, transport modes and industrial sub-sectors. With the second level, we provide insights into the effects of policies from a European and national perspective. Our analysis shows that final energy consumption in the EU28 is primarily influenced by an increase in energy efficiency in industry followed by households. For the latter, the energy savings were mainly realised in space heating. The main counteracting drivers were increasing economic activity and the rising demand for higher comfort and social factors, such as a declining household size. Germany shows relatively low energy efficiency improvements in industry, but strong energy efficiency gains in households followed by transport. Poland's transport, however, is responsible for a strong increase in final energy consumption mainly through increased activity, while here the sector industry—despite strong effects of increased activity—in total shows a significant reduction in energy consumption through energy efficiency improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to contribute to a more nuanced discourse on vaccination policy. Current polarization between either mandatory and entirely voluntary is misleading, as virtually all immunization programs feature a combination of instruments that comprise mandatory and voluntary elements. We develop this argument by presenting five case studies from the European Union (EU). By systematically acknowledging the nuances of political and institutional varieties, we build the case for reframing the terms of the debate in the EU and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the role of European integration in affecting voting behaviour in the 2017 German federal election. Building on a theoretical analysis of EU issue voting, it demonstrates that despite a list of issues on the European agenda, EU-related issues did not play a prominent role in the campaign, nor were issues primarily addressed from a European perspective. Relying on survey data collected before and after the election, the analysis demonstrates that voters perceived parties to differ considerably on EU integration, but they did not care much about it. Attitudes towards European integration and financial aid to EU member states were only mildly related to vote choice in the 2017 election. European integration thus has not yet become a powerful political issue in Germany. The paper concludes by discussing implications for EU issue voting in future German elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities are major drivers of environmental change at all scales and are especially at risk from the ensuing effects, which include poor air quality, flooding and heat waves. Typically, these issues are studied on a city-by-city basis owing to the spatial complexity of built landscapes, local topography and emission patterns. However, to ensure knowledge sharing and to integrate local-scale processes with regional and global scale modelling initiatives, there is a pressing need for a world-wide database on cities that is suited for environmental studies. In this paper we present a European database that has a particular focus on characterising urbanised landscapes. It has been derived using tools and techniques developed as part of the World Urban Database and Access Portal Tools (WUDAPT) project, which has the goal of acquiring and disseminating climate-relevant information on cities worldwide. The European map is the first major step toward creating a global database on cities that can be integrated with existing topographic and natural land-cover databases to support modelling initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Euro crisis has a strong impact on European Union (EU) politics and the EU polity. Crisis-related issues were debated across Europe and governments and EU institutions introduced several institutional instruments which are meant to make EU economic governance more effective. This paper investigates the scope, timing and divisiveness of political contestation, i.e. politicisation, in the GermanBundestagand the frames on which political parties relied in their debates on crisis-induced institutional innovations in the GermanBundestag. To account for these patterns, the paper relies on institutional theories and theories of party competition. Empirically, it draws on written protocols of debates and parliamentary questions in theBundestag. A case study of Germany and theBundestagdoes not lend itself to broad generalisations. Yet, as argued in the article, it is an unlikely case for politicisation and a politically important case. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

With its strong ties to the European Union, Germany is well-positioned to assist many countries achieve sustainability goals. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to examine how renewable energy intensity and renewable energy share improve environmental sustainability, the load capacity factor (LCF) in Germany from 1970 to 2018. To this end, the study uses the autoregressive distributed lag model, with the effects of the Kyoto Protocol included as a dummy variable. The study contributes to the literature by considering and testing for the first time the impact of renewables on the LCF in terms of intensity and share for Germany. The empirical results show that (i) economic growth lowers the LCF faster in the early stages of economic development than in later periods; therefore, the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis is valid in Germany. (ii) A 1% upsurge in renewable energy intensity has no statistically significant effect on the LCF, while a 1% rise in the share of renewables in the total energy mix increases LCF by 0.48%. (iii) A 1% rise in urbanization reduces the LCF by 6.52%. (iv) A 1% augment in human capital enhances the LCF by 3.49%. These outcomes suggest that the German government should use human capital development and increasing the share of renewable energy as policy instruments to achieve the sustainable development goals. [Display omitted] • The EKC hypothesis is valid for Germany. • Renewable energy intensity has no influence on the load capacity factor. • A higher renewable share in the energy mix is associated with an improvement in LCF. • Human capital plays a key role in solving environmental challenges. • The urbanization process has a devastating effect on the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the current geopolitical situation, the EU and its Member States are accelerating efforts to reduce their dependency on fossil fuel imports, while simultaneously tackling the climate crisis. With heating in buildings accounting for a large share of the energy consumption in the EU, policies to phase-out fossil fuels for heating and to switch to renewables are key elements. In the context of the proposed actions to phase-out fossil fuels at EU level, this article provides a systematic analysis of current and planned phase-out regulations for fossil fuel boilers in the EU Member States. The paper quantifies the share of energy consumption for heating that is addressed by such regulations and finds that the current regulations only address about 10% of the total fossil energy consumption for heating in the EU. The share increases to almost 30% when considering the planned regulations, reflecting the fact that large energy consumers such as Germany and the Netherlands have announced such regulations. The analysis shows that several Member States with high energy consumption for heating have neither implemented nor announced plans to introduce phase-out regulations for fossil fuel heating. The study concludes that immediate policy action is needed both at EU and at Member State levels. At EU level, the proposed introduction of an end-date for stand-alone fossil fuel boilers needs to be substantiated and implemented into the legislative framework. At the national level, phase-out regulations for fossil fuel boilers need to be expanded both in quantity and scope. [Display omitted] • Systematic analysis of phase-out regulations for fossil fuel boilers in the EU. • Only 10% of the EU fossil energy used for heating is covered by phase-out regulations. • Including planned regulations, the share of heating energy covered by phase-out regulations increases to almost 30%. • Comparison of different approaches for implementing regulations for phasing out fossil fuel boilers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the EU and especially in Germany, public procurement is bound to a tight legislation that also sets and enforces strategic goals such as innovation or sustainability. The purpose of this paper is to analyze whether different archetypes of public procurement organizations (centralized or decentralized; state-level or local-level) perceive and implement strategic goals differently. A survey with data from 104 entities is used for this purpose. The findings reveal that the implementation of strategy is different in centralized or state-level organizations compared with decentralized or local organizations. Centralized organizations give goals such as innovation, transparency and sustainability a high priority, while local ones highlight regional development and SME support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: A broad range of self-tests (testing for e.g. HIV, cancer, hepatitis B/C) have become available and can be conducted by lay consumers without the help of a health professional. The aims of this study were to (a) investigate the prevalence of self-testing, (b) identify the most frequently used self-tests, and (c) explore the associations between socio-demographic, health-related and individual factors with self-testing. Methods: A face-to-face plus paper-pencil cross-sectional survey was conducted. The sample consisted of 2.527 respondents who were representative of the German population in terms of the age, sex, and residence. Basic descriptive statistics and univariate logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: 8.5% of the participants reported having used one or more self-tests in the past, totalling 363 self-tests, with a mean of 1.7 (min. = 1, max. = 6). The three self-tests most frequently indicated were for detecting diabetes, bowel cancer, and allergies. Self-testers were older (Nagelkerke R2 = .006, p < .01), had a higher BMI (Nagelkerke R2 = .013, p < .001) and displayed more physical and mental fatigue (Nagelkerke R2 = .031, p < .001) than non-testers. Self-testers also reported higher global life satisfaction values (Nagelkerke R2 = .008, p < .01) and a higher educational level (Nagelkerke R2 = .015, p < .01). Conclusions: Self-testing is fairly prevalent in Germany Given the current shortage of physicians in Germany, especially in rural areas, and recent studies on the use of self-medication, the topic of self-testing has a great practical and socio-political relevance. Future studies should investigate further predictors of self-testing (e.g. contextual, situational and individual factors) as well as the emotional consequences of testing as a layperson without the attendance of a health professional. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As compensation for their disempowerment in the process of European integration, national parliaments have been provided with various new rights and powers since the 1990s, culminating in the current provisions of the Lisbon Treaty. This paper argues, however, that rather than simply re-enhancing traditional powers of national parliaments, these reforms imply ideas of a new type of parliamentary democracy in Europe. It identifies three different roles for national parliaments in the EU: preventing rather than shaping legislation (gatekeeping role), cooperating with other parliaments and supranational institutions (networking role), and adopting a uniform mode control of government across all party groups (unitary scrutiniser role). All these roles require a significant deviation from the standard role legislatures usually play in European parliamentary democracies. The paper briefly explores how national parliaments in two ‘old’ (France, Germany) and one ‘new’ (Poland) member state fulfil these three new roles. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

With the institutional setting for the Banking Union having been established and become fully operational, market participants, supervisory staff, and academics are gradually getting to terms with the reality of the new two-tier system of supervisory and resolution authorities within the Eurozone. Drawing from media coverage, input from practitioners and the on-going academic debate, the present article seeks to present an-inevitably provisional-assessment of the new regime from a German perspective. While regulatees and their advisers within the country appear to have got used to the new reality, the paper also identifies a number of residual concerns, some of which are attributable to the specific characteristics of the German financial sector, others indicative of broader problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses whether Germany, France and the UK (the EU3) – with the EU in the background – can shape their own approach to acommon Europeanised positionor even aEuropean role conceptionregarding the Iranian Nuclear Programme. As the EU3 initiative appears situated between Europeanisation and national role conceptions, it seems that the EU3 members – after a coherent start – were finally inclined to readapt themselves to certain of their national role conceptions, resulting in a “mix” of national and European role patterns in the process leading up to 2016. Currently, this mix hints at still-prevailing hindrances involved in genuine European conflict management, although this outcome holds the promise of greater European coherence in the future. Abbreviations:E3: Germany, France and UK (without formal support of the EU); EU: European Union; EU3: Germany, France, UK and the “High Representative for the Common Security and Foreign Policy of the European Union”; EU3 + 3: official designation of the contact group concerning the Iranian Nuclear Programme, consisting of the EU3, the USA, Russia and China; IAEA: International Atomic Energy Agency; P5 + 1: informal designation of the contact group concerning the Iranian Nuclear Programme, consisting of the EU3, the USA, Russia and China (Permanent Security Council Members [P5] plus Germany); UK: United Kingdom; UNs: United Nations; UNSR: Security Council of the United Nations [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Among the members of the European Union (EU), Germany has the largest biogas produc-tion from agricultural sources. However, many other EU member states are creating the necessary conditions for rapid growth in this area. The German Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), which sets payments over a long time period for electricity supplied from renewa-ble sources, often serves as a benchmark. However, the continuing biogas boom has also led to criticism of the EEG in Germany. Opponents of biogas production point to the rising cost of leasing land, changes in the agricultural structure due to maize monoculture, increased competition with other agricultural branches (e.g., livestock husbandry) and the crowding out of classical food production. This paper examines the validity of these points of criticism. To this end, a written survey (n = 246) of farmers in six selected rural districts in the German state of Lower Saxony was carried out in 2010 and 2011. OLS regressions conducted on the data from these farmers showed that biogas production has led to a substantial increase in land lease prices for cropland. Furthermore, approximately 20% of the respondents report complete crowding out of established agricultural production forms, resulting in a decrease in the resource basis for downstream animal and plant processing industries. The results also indicate that, in extreme cases, such crowding out might even reduce the availability of em-ployment in rural areas. In closing, the paper highlights further research needs in order to provide comprehensive information (for every German state, the entire country of Germany and other EU member states) regarding the effects of biogas production on net employment, infrastructure and added value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While animal welfare is commonly invoked in legal debates regarding non-human animals kept for food purposes, the concept of animal joy is rarely mentioned in such contexts. This paper analyzes the relationship between welfare and joy in the German animal protection law (GAPL) and in the EU directive 98/58/EC. Based on a review of scientific and philosophical approaches towards animal welfare, joy is argued to be a part of welfare. Nevertheless, joy is ignored in the German and EU legal provisions. While there may be economic disadvantages of legally protecting animal joy, it is argued that overlooking elements of joy cannot be justified from any ethical perspective that claims to take animal welfare into consideration. In order to clarify the aims of the legal provisions, decision-makers need to define the role joy ought to play in welfare legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]