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The process of Brexit goes far beyond invoking Article 50. In this Strategic Update, Andrew Hammond and Tim Oliver identify some 14 Brexit negotiations underway - both formal diplomatic discussions and wider debates between and within the UK and EU. How will these range of negotiations bring the EU centre stage, and do they point towards a ‘hard exit’ for the UK?

Donald Trump’s election poses uncomfortable questions for Britain about the future of the UK-US ‘Special Relationship’. This Strategic Update looks at the core elements of the ‘Special Relationship’ that could be under strain and how Britain could be left between a Trump Rock and a Brexit Hard Place.

A British withdrawal from the EU would be a process not an event. This Strategic Update sets out the nine overlapping series of negotiations that would be trigged and the positions the 27 remaining EU countries and the EU’s institutions would take, gathered from a network of researchers across the continent.

A vote by the British people to withdraw from the EU – also known as a ‘Brexit’ – will have significant implications for the EU, the ideas and structures of European integration, and European geopolitics. Opinion polls show that a vote to withdraw is a distinct possibility. The EU, the rest of Europe, allies around the world and the UK itself need to prepare for the wider international implications of such a move. This Strategic Update examines how likely a Brexit is and explores what it could mean for the EU, European integration, and Europe’s economics and security.

Written evidence from Dr Tim Oliver (Dahrendorf Fellow, LSE IDEAS) and Almut Möller (Head of Office and Senior Policy Fellow, ECFR) (EUM0019)

In dieser Arbeit wird die Unternehmensentwicklung ehemaliger Teilnehmer des Staatspreis Innovation aus den Jahren 1996 - 2013 untersucht. Dabei liegt der Fokus auf der Entwicklung der erwirtschafteten Ums��tze sowie dem Besch��ftigungswachstum in einem analysierten Zeitraum von sechs Jahren. Die recherchierte Literatur liefert dazu weitergehende Erkenntnisse ��ber den Zusammenhang zwischen Innovationen und der Unternehmensentwicklung. Dabei konnten 72 Unternehmen aus den Jahren 2000 - 2009 im Rahmen der tiefergehenden Analyse untersucht werden. Diese lassen sich sieben unterschiedlichen Branchen zuweisen, wobei der produzierende Sektor mit 78% dominant ist. Somit liegt der Fokus prim��r auf technologischen Produkt- und Prozessinnovationen aus dem produzierenden Sektor. Im Vergleich mit den korrespondierenden Branchen weisen die ausgew��hlten Unternehmen im Allgemeinen h��here Wachstumsraten aus. Dieser positive Befund illustriert eindrucksvoll, dass besonders innovative Unternehmen aus allen Branchen und Gr����enklassen im Durchschnitt eine bessere Entwicklung ausweisen als der Branchendurchschnitt. Somit konnte in dieser Arbeit insgesamt ein positiver Zusammenhang zwischen Innovationen und der Unternehmensentwicklung sowie dem Unternehmenswachstum festgestellt werden, was im Einklang mit der recherchierten Literatur steht., This study analyzes the development of former participants of the Staatspreis Innovation within the time period 1996 - 2013. The development is analyzed for employment and turnover growth within six years. The researched literature provides greater understanding of the relationship between innovation and business development. The focus is on 72 companies of the time period 2000 - 2009 for which the required data was found. Out of seven different identified sectors, the manufacturing sector is dominant with a 78% share. Thus, the focus is primarily on technological product and process innovations. Overall, the research finds higher growth rates for the selected companies compared to the corresponding industries. This positive finding illustrates that innovative companies from all industries and sizes achieve better growth results than the industry average. In conclusion, this study finds a positive relationship between innovation and business development based on company growth, which is consistent with the examined literature.

The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union has the potential to fundamentally change the EU and European integration. On the one hand, a withdrawal could tip the EU towards protectionism, exacerbate existing division, or unleash centrifugal forces leading to the EU’s unravelling. Alternatively, the EU could free itself of its most awkward member, making the EU easier to lead and more effective. Despite these potentially significant consequences, analysis of the implications for the EU remains quite limited. Most analysis of a UK withdrawal has instead focused on the implications for the UK, or the implications for the EU of a renegotiated UK membership. The threat of a withdrawal also underpins Prime Minister David Cameron’s hopes to one day secure a renegotiation of Britain’s relationship within the EU. If a UK renegotiation would profoundly change the EU, then a British withdrawal would also affect it in a big way. As this paper sets out, a British withdrawal would require the EU to face three sets of interrelated challenges. First, there will be the short-term challenge of negotiating and managing a UK withdrawal. Second, as part of the withdrawal negotiations the EU will need to reach agreement with the UK over a post-withdrawal relationship. The EU will then have to live with that relationship. Finally, the EU will need to manage a series of changes to itself, such as shifts in the balance of power within the EU, change brought to its relations with the other non-EU parts of Europe, and the implications for the EU’s security and place in the world. The paper aims to begin discussion of these issues, setting out a series of questions the EU needs to ask itself about a British withdrawal.(Autorenreferat)

The physical basis and preliminary applications of optical computed tomography (optical-CT) and optical emission computed tomography (optical-ECT) are introduced, as new techniques with potential to provide unique 3D information on a variety of aspects of tumor structure and function. A particular focus here is imaging tumor micro-vasculature, and the spatial distribution of viable tumor cells, although the techniques have the potential for much wider application. The principle attractiveness of optical-CT and optical-ECT are that high resolution (20 microm) and high contrast co-registered 3D images of structure and function can be acquired for relatively large intact samples. The unique combination of high contrast and resolution offers advantages over micro-CT and micro-MRI, and the lack of requirement for sectioning offers advantages over confocal microscopy, conventional microscopy, and histological sectioning techniques. Optical-CT/ECT are implemented using in-house custom apparatus and a commercial dissecting microscope capable of both transmission and fluorescence imaging. Basic studies to characterize imaging performance are presented. Negligible geometrical distortion and accurate reconstruction of relative attenuation coefficients was observed. Optical-CT and optical-ECT are investigated here by application to high resolution imaging of HCT116 xenograft tumors, about 1 cc in dimension, which were transfected with constitutive red fluorescent protein (RFP). Tumor microvasculature was stained in vivo by tail vein injection of either passive absorbing dyes or active fluorescent markers (FITC conjugated lectin). Prior to imaging, the tumors were removed (ex vivo) and optically cleared in a key process to make the samples amenable to light transmission. The cleared tumors were imaged in three modes (i) optical-CT to image the 3D distribution of microvasculature as indicated by absorbing dye, (ii) optical-ECT using the FITC excitation and emission filter set, to determine microvasculature as indicated by lectin-endothelial binding, and (iii) optical-ECT using the DSRed2 filter set to determine the 3D distribution of viable tumor as indicated by RFP emission. A clear correlation was observed between the independent vasculature imaging modes (i) and (ii) and postimaging histological sections, providing substantial validation of the optical-CT and optical-ECT techniques. Strong correlation was also observed between the RFP imaging of mode iii, and modes i and ii, supporting the intuitive conclusion that well-perfused regions contain significant viable tumor. In summary, optical-CT and optical-ECT, when combined with new optical clearing techniques, represent powerful new imaging modalities with potential for providing unique information on the structure and function of tumors.

http://www.iue.it/RSCAS/WP-Texts/04_22.pdf