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The present study aims to present contemporary European multilingualism policies. In the spirit of European values, the quest for knowledge is directed towards the development of language competences in more than one of the European languages. These policies are gaining momentum especially after Britain's exit from the European Union. The purpose of the research is to show the direction in which the European policies for multilingualism are heading. They are of utmost importance for the development of common values in the European Union and represent an indispensable support for the sustainability of the Кnion. Learning another foreign language has many positive sides. learning a language other than the mother tongue develops a new way of thinking in the learner. This is of utmost importance for creating a climate of acceptance and mutual understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Despite the interconnectedness of the European Union, there are significant variations in pregnant women's legal status as migrants and therefore their ability to access maternity care. Limited access to maternity care can lead to higher morbidity and mortality rates in migrant women and their babies. This study aimed to investigate and compare maternal health access policies and the context in which they operate across European countries for women who have migrated and are not considered citizens of the host country. Methods: The study adopted a mixed-methods research design exploring policies on migrant women's access to maternity care across the migration regimes. Data were extracted from legal documents and research reports to construct a new typology to identify the inclusiveness of policies determining access to maternity care for migrant women. Results: This study found inconsistency in the categorisation of migrants across countries and significant disparities in access to maternity care for migrant women within and between European countries. A lack of connection between access policies and migration regimes, along with a lack of fit between policies and public support for migration suggests a low level of path dependency and leaves space for policy innovation. Discussion: Inequities and inconsistencies in policies across European countries affect non-citizen migrant women's access to maternity care. These policies act to reproduce structural inequalities which compromise the health of vulnerable women and newborns in reception countries. There is an urgent need to address this inequity, which discriminates against these already marginalised women. Significance: Some migrant women in Europe struggle to access maternity care when compared to non-migrant women, resulting in poorer pregnancy outcomes. Systematic inconsistencies in maternal health care access policies across Europe reveal the extent of inequity faced by vulnerable migrant women. Our analysis demonstrated significant policy differences across and within migration regimes, but also highlighted that some countries do not have a good fit between policies regulating migrants' access to maternity care and public or policy level support for migrants. This points to limited relevance of path dependency in these policies, suggesting that a more inclusive approach across Europe might be possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beginning with UN Agenda 2030, the European Commission has recently adopted many strategic policies, such as Farm to Fork, Biodiversity Strategy, and Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). These documents set up important objectives to cope with environmental and climate challenges. The study uses a quantitative and qualitative research methodology to provide an empirical analysis of the land-use changes and landscape modifications in an important area of apple production in Italy, such as Val di Non in the Trentino Region. The aim is to reflect upon the gap between policy formulation and implementation through spatial planning. Recently, some of the most important Italian agricultural associations protested against the forced reduction of the use of pesticides set in place by new common policies. A closer look at our case study tells us that the local system of production is unlikely to change if territorial planning does not problematize the rising social demand for more sustainable policies and practices in agriculture. Some empirical implications suggest the need for planning tools capable of addressing social demand. In other words, creating conditions for mutual interaction between planning and practices to imagine new ways of living together in a territory of monoculture

Digitalisation is for sure one of the most pervasive and significant transformations that humanity has undergone in the last decade. Technology changed how we see and relate to the world, the interhuman relationships and represented an essential catalyst for innovation and development. The paper aims to analyse the relationship between digitalisation (overall and its components) and happiness in European countries from 2017-2022 using an OLS naïve panel model and Granger causality. The results show that, overall, digitalisation has a negative impact on happiness. At the same time, Internet user skills, Fixed broadband coverage, Mobile broadband, and E-government seem to be the digitalisation components with the most significant impact on happiness.

This study investigates the impact of globalisation, renewable energy consumption, and economic growth on CO2 emissions in 26 European Union (EU) countries, in the period 1990–2020. Second-generation panel unit root tests are applied, the Westerlund cointegration test is used, and a panel of fully modified least squares (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) techniques are employed to estimate the long-term relationship between variables. The causality relationship among the considered variables is identified using the heterogeneous Dumitrescu–Hurlin causality test. It was found that globalisation and renewable energy consumption contributed to the carbon emissions' mitigation, while economic growth induced their increase. The results are robust when control variables (i.e., financial development, foreign direct investment, and urbanisation) are added to the model. Foreign direct investment and urbanisation are contributors to carbon emissions' increase, whereas financial development induces their decrease. The effect of the considered variables on carbon emissions is differentiated by economic development and level of institutional quality. Unidirectional causality relationships were identified from globalisation to carbon emissions and from carbon emissions to foreign direct investment and bidirectional relationships were found between economic growth, renewable energy consumption, financial development, and carbon emissions. The policy implications of the results are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is the result of work carried out within the scope of Erasmus+ project Kit@: Media competency training for professionals in day-care centres and comparable institutions in rural areas of Europe. Its main objective is to describe ECE systems, curriculum guidelines, pre-service teacher training curricula and teacher profiles related to media education and ICT use in ECE across the Europe project partners from Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Portugal, and Slovakia. Data collection was carried out by documentary consultation of the curriculum guidelines of each country involved and a questionnaire on ICT use and media education in ECE, specifically developed for this purpose, answered by partners participating in the Kit@ project, and through consultation of official international reports (e.g., OECD, EURYDICE), who collected the data between January and July, 2018. Findings indicate there is a pedagogical area in all countries where the use of ICT and media education is referred to directly or indirectly in the ECE curriculum. However, in most countries, there are no guidelines for media education in initial education. Furthermore, the training of professionals and costs in ECE are quite different. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for media literacy practices in kindergarten across Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Educational Challenges is the property of H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In any communication process, we need a common language through which messages are transmitted from the sender to the receiver. Although the European Union has no fewer than 24 official languages, plus a number of other languages spoken within the Union's territory, a common language seems to be lacking between the European institutions, on the one hand, and companies, organizations, and citizens, on the other hand. The vertical communication formula, generally expressed through linguistic stereotypes, the supranational language of the sender from Brussels directed at the national institutional receiver represents a version of the old language used during the communist period, developed in the administrative field, with a directive character. The analysis of the texts in the study shows the effects of the language from Brussels on the current Romanian language used in business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digitalisation is for sure one of the most pervasive and significant transformations that humanity has undergone in the last decade. Technology changed how we see and relate to the world, the interhuman relationships and represented an essential catalyst for innovation and development. The paper aims to analyse the relationship between digitalisation (overall and its components) and happiness in European countries from 2017-2022 using an OLS naïve panel model and Granger causality. The results show that, overall, digitalisation has a negative impact on happiness. At the same time, Internet user skills, Fixed broadband coverage, Mobile broadband, and E-government seem to be the digitalisation components with the most significant impact on happiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to analyze the critical language of racism in political communication reflected through online media. The analysis is focused on the elements of meaning and content structure of political statements and the context in which they are used. The analysis highlights the use of words with an intensity of meaning toward negative connotation, which manages to produce the harsh language of racism. Political communication develops an interactive discourse, which is simultaneously related not only to linguistic behavior but also to human behavior. Various political statements regarding immigration issues, the intensity of news published by media on the statements of politicians, as well as the influence they have on public opinion will be at the center of the discussion. Through descriptive and analytical methods, the article will argue and highlight the hostile, racial, and discriminatory language used by politicians, which is contradictory to the international framework on human rights and policies of the European Parliament which are focused on eliminating this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2020, two major crisis impacted the global environment: the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. Both had a major impact on international trade and on the evolution of oil prices which has a direct effect on the logistics industry. The scope of our paper is to investigate the effects of oil price evolution on logistics activities, especially transport. Costs of shipment represent an important component of final prices for consumer products and they can influence the general rate of inflation. This is a major concern among government officials in all countries, as high inflation rates can have negative effects on national economies. Our paper is focused on analyzing price trends on each mode of transport, but also prices for integrated logistics services. The results of our analysis offer insight on the logistic market trends and can be useful to professionals from companies, but also for academics interested in this field and consumers worldwide concerned about prices going up.

The development of a sustainable water quality monitoring system at national scale remains a big challenge until today, acting as a hindrance for the efficient implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). This work provides valuable insights into the current state-of-the-art Earth Observation (EO) tools and services, proposing a synergistic use of innovative remote sensing technologies, in situ sensors, and databases, with the ultimate goal to support the European Member States in effective WFD implementation. The proposed approach is based on a recent research and scientific analysis for a six-year period (2017–2022) after reviewing 71 peer-reviewed articles in international journals coupled with the scientific results of 11 European-founded research projects related to EO and WFD. Special focus is placed on the EO data sources (spaceborne, in situ, etc.), the sensors in use, the observed water Quality Elements as well as on the computer science techniques (machine/deep learning, artificial intelligence, etc.). The combination of the different technologies can offer, among other things, low-cost monitoring, an increase in the monitored Quality Elements per water body, and a minimization of the percentage of water bodies with unknown ecological status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sexual behavior of psychiatric inpatients is often inadequately addressed within psychiatric institutions. This systematic review aimed to identify existing policies, guidelines, and recommendations regarding inpatient sexual behavior in psychiatric units, institutions, and supported housing across Europe in existing literature. It also aimed to assess the attitudes held by mental health professionals (MHPs) and inpatients toward existing policies, guidelines, and recommendations. Nine databases were searched in seven languages for articles published between 2000 and 2020. Double-blind bias assessment was performed on 10 articles. Five thematic categories emerged from the selected studies: (1) types of policies and guidelines; (2) MHPs' and inpatients' attitudes toward inpatient sexual behavior; (3) impact and strategies related to inpatient sexual behavior; (4) barriers to inpatient sexual behavior; and (5) facilitators to inpatient sexual behavior. Most screened publications reported implicit norms addressing inpatient sexual behavior among the staff. Surveyed MHPs and inpatients typically showed opposing attitudes regarding inpatient sexual behavior, with MHPs generally deeming such behavior unsafe and inpatients emphasizing it as their human right. The aims of this systematic review were partially fulfilled as articles reported little or no policy documents and guidelines and, therefore, did not allow for the assessment of policy impact. MHPs' attitudes toward inpatient sexual behavior were addressed and trends in several countries outside of Europe addressing inpatient sexual behavior were discussed. Finally, capacity to consent with respect to inpatient sexual behavior is discussed in the context of human rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geological surveys are public institutions founded at national levels, mostly during the nineteenth century to advance national scientific knowledge about the nature, structure, and history of the Earth's subsurface and locate potentially economic mineral concentrations. After the disasters of the two world wars and the formal launch on May 9, 1950, of the European Union's construction, European Geological Surveys actively contribute to this construction, providing data, information, and knowledge on the diversity of the subsurface-hosted natural resources (geothermal energy, groundwater, hydrocarbon and mineral resources, space for infrastructure construction or for storage purposes, for instance, CO2 storage after capture) and of geology-related natural hazards. This article retraces Pr. Wellmer's remarkable contribution to European public geosciences and to the transition from national, or sometimes regional, geological surveys to the development of a collective public European geoscientific infrastructure, nowadays based on the capacities and the experience of 38 national or regional geological surveys being members of EuroGeoSurveys, the Association of the Geological Surveys of Europe. This contribution not only happened during Pr. Wellmer's career with the German Federal Agency for Geoscience and Raw Materials (BGR, 1987–2005, being its president from 1996 to 2005) but is ongoing ever since. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2020, two major crisis impacted the global environment: the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. Both had a major impact on international trade and on the evolution of oil prices which has a direct effect on the logistics industry. The scope of our paper is to investigate the effects of oil price evolution on logistics activities, especially transport. Costs of shipment represent an important component of final prices for consumer products and they can influence the general rate of inflation. This is a major concern among government officials in all countries, as high inflation rates can have negative effects on national economies. Our paper is focused on analyzing price trends on each mode of transport, but also prices for integrated logistics services. The results of our analysis offer insight on the logistic market trends and can be useful to professionals from companies, but also for academics interested in this field and consumers worldwide concerned about prices going up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shrinkage, depopulation and the related structural decline threaten development trajectories of more than a quarter of European territories from the present until 2050. In April 2021, the European Commission has launched the Conference on the Future of Europe to involve citizens and players beyond the traditional actors in shaping future policy agendas. The initiative consists of a wide-scale citizen engagement policy offering them a digital framework to actively contribute to the most relevant debates from April to December 2021. Given that shrinkage is a neglected theme in traditional policy arenas, this article examines the proposals of European citizens for reviving the future of shrinking areas. Through content analysis, the article highlights a limited relative presence of shrinkage in the Conference debate. Nevertheless, the results offer insights into the thematic concentration and the affinity of shrinkage with the most popular policy debates. The article also discusses the content of citizens’ ideas for the future of shrinking areas, thus offering concrete proposals that may fuel the definition of future policy agendas.

The European Union is taking several policy initiatives to combat climate change and the loss of biodiversity with direct impact on agriculture. For farmers the European Commission is promoting an instrument called OECM, Other effective area-based conservation measures. Other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) are a new conservation approach, separate from protected areas, where conservation is achieved mainly as a by-product of other management. OECMs can be counted towards the EU target if: i) Conservation objectives and measures are in place; ii) the area is covered by a national or international legal or administrative act or a contractual arrangement achieving long-term conservation outcomes and iii) effective management and monitoring of the biodiversity in the area is in place. A new growth strategy that aims to transform the EU into a fair and prosperous society with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy where there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases in 2050 and where economic growth is decoupled from resource use. While those initiatives mainly impact the life and work of European farmers, there is as well an indirect impact to farmers elsewhere in the world

The paper focuses on the mechanisms, offences and practices connected to unchartered (underdeveloped) crimes in the information society. The virtual world represents a central part of modern (modem) life, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Omnipresent social media, media sharing platforms, chat sites, web forums, and blogs radically change the way current societies operate. These instruments attract more and more attention from public security planners. This type of research is a normative legal study. The approach used is the law approach and conceptual approach. The legal material consists of primary and secondary legal materials. Basically, the Criminal law system has to adapt to social media to emphasise the legality principle (structure of cases in point) and guarantee measures (prohibition of broadening liability) in the post-modern world. This topic shall look at the role and the problems of criminal law related to multiple profiles, analysing the criminological aspects proposed below.

The development of a sustainable water quality monitoring system at national scale remains a big challenge until today, acting as a hindrance for the efficient implementation of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). This work provides valuable insights into the current state-of-the-art Earth Observation (EO) tools and services, proposing a synergistic use of innovative remote sensing technologies, in situ sensors, and databases, with the ultimate goal to support the European Member States in effective WFD implementation. The proposed approach is based on a recent research and scientific analysis for a six-year period (2017–2022) after reviewing 71 peer-reviewed articles in international journals coupled with the scientific results of 11 European-founded research projects related to EO and WFD. Special focus is placed on the EO data sources (spaceborne, in situ, etc.), the sensors in use, the observed water Quality Elements as well as on the computer science techniques (machine/deep learning, artificial intelligence, etc.). The combination of the different technologies can offer, among other things, low-cost monitoring, an increase in the monitored Quality Elements per water body, and a minimization of the percentage of water bodies with unknown ecological status.

The development prospects of the economy of any state are closely related to the character of the labour market, the degree of employability, the level of performance and labour productivity. In other words, a country's economy is directly reflected in the way the labuor market evolves in terms of typology and especially in terms of unemployment rate. As a relevant indicator of the level of development and of the balance of the economy, unemployment and implicitly the unemployment rate are in this context, key elements of regional and national strategies, with direct consequences on the level of life quality and of sustainable development of the economy. We note that unemployment in both European and Romanian countries is still a challenge to be solved, with different features depending on the political, social, demographic and economic context of each Member State. Romania is, thus, one of the countries with an emerging economy, in which the labour market has mainly a different character, with frequent oscillations of the employability rate and, consequently, with a high level of instability of the economy in the medium and long term. In the same context, with a special role in the labour market, we identify the category of young people that represents a challenge for the European policy, both in terms of educational and professional level and in terms of employability rate.

The main aim of this paper is to review existing European policies relevant to the biomass value chains and examine how their main objectives support or align with the five core objectives (pillars) identified under the 2018 Bioeconomy Strategy. The paper also discusses key challenges that restrict the compliance of the policies to the Strategy, identifies policy gaps and provides recommendations for future policy formation.A structured review was conducted of over ninety policies relevant to the biomass, bioprocessing and biobased products. The value chain approach was used as a tool to harmonise these sectors under a common bioeconomy framework and provides an understanding of how key activities and challenges are being addressed. Several gaps were identified in relation to these challenges in each stage, at land use stage a lack of European-wide harmonised characterisation of marginal land and integration among sectoral policies targeting soil quality and financial measures incentivising the uptake of sustainable soil improvers. At the biomass production stage, inadequate policy support was found for waste mobilisation and valorisation. Furthermore, there is a lack of policy provisions and financial support improving collaborations among value chain actors to overcome the complexity associated with harmonising biomass logistics and conversion processes. Finally, regarding the end use stage, policy interventions targeting the distribution and standardisation of the wide, available range of biobased products and services remain limited. Based on this gap analysis, a set of recommendations was produced outlining ways in which policy measures can be updated through introducing either financial, regulatory or information provisions, or formulating novel policies altogether. These recommendations were made following the value chain analysis approach, which addresses specific challenges in relation to the five core objectives of the Bioeconomy Strategy, with the aim of further increasing the level of coherence among sectoral policies.

Guidance and counselling are key features in comprehensive strategies aiming to reduce early leaving from education and training (ELET). It may assist students not only in terms of decision-making, but also of managing their transitions within education and training pathways or from education to employment. Minimising the risks of either insufficient information or unrealistic expectations, guidance and counselling may support learners in making informed decisions based on their interests, talents, and future job aspirations as well as prevent dropouts and early leaving. For those who have left education and training early, guidance and counselling may assist them to return and qualify in upper secondary education. The present paper examines how national policies and practices of guidance and counselling in EU Member States support learners at risk and early leavers from education and training. It aims to map and analyse existing policies and practices in both general secondary education and vocational education and training (VET) and identify common trends and patterns. The study draws on data obtained through European research and tools published since 2011 until 2020, the period which marks the adoption of the Council Recommendation for tackling ELET and the completion of the Education and Training 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new climatic, industrial, economic and social realities, as well as their evolving perspectives, have led in the last decades to a particularly careful approach to renewable energy sources. Thus, clear objectives for ensuring public regulations and policies favoring the development and use of energy from renewable sources have been set out. Romania has rallied to the European model that aims to ensure energy security with competitive and clean energy. The statistical data show that the progress is considerable and that Romania has mastered the objectives and targets thus assumed. One of the current challenges is to ensure a unitary development of all renewable energy sources that have potential at national level for sustainable development. Among these, special attention is paid to biomass, especially to energy crops. The justification consists, on the one hand, of the very low level of development compared to the actual capacities, and, on the other hand, the intervention of some legislative changes that seem to continue to hinder this development.

The development prospects of the economy of any state are closely related to the character of the labour market, the degree of employability, the level of performance and labour productivity. In other words, a country's economy is directly reflected in the way the labuor market evolves in terms of typology and especially in terms of unemployment rate. As a relevant indicator of the level of development and of the balance of the economy, unemployment and implicitly the unemployment rate are in this context, key elements of regional and national strategies, with direct consequences on the level of life quality and of sustainable development of the economy. We note that unemployment in both European and Romanian countries is still a challenge to be solved, with different features depending on the political, social, demographic and economic context of each Member State. Romania is, thus, one of the countries with an emerging economy, in which the labour market has mainly a different character, with frequent oscillations of the employability rate and, consequently, with a high level of instability of the economy in the medium and long term. In the same context, with a special role in the labour market, we identify the category of young people that represents a challenge for the European policy, both in terms of educational and professional level and in terms of employability rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of this paper is to review existing European policies relevant to the biomass value chains and examine how their main objectives support or align with the five core objectives (pillars) identified under the 2018 Bioeconomy Strategy. The paper also discusses key challenges that restrict the compliance of the policies to the Strategy, identifies policy gaps and provides recommendations for future policy formation. A structured review was conducted of over ninety policies relevant to the biomass, bioprocessing and biobased products. The value chain approach was used as a tool to harmonise these sectors under a common bioeconomy framework and provides an understanding of how key activities and challenges are being addressed. Several gaps were identified in relation to these challenges in each stage, at land use stage a lack of European-wide harmonised characterisation of marginal land and integration among sectoral policies targeting soil quality and financial measures incentivising the uptake of sustainable soil improvers. At the biomass production stage, inadequate policy support was found for waste mobilisation and valorisation. Furthermore, there is a lack of policy provisions and financial support improving collaborations among value chain actors to overcome the complexity associated with harmonising biomass logistics and conversion processes. Finally, regarding the end use stage, policy interventions targeting the distribution and standardisation of the wide, available range of biobased products and services remain limited. Based on this gap analysis, a set of recommendations was produced outlining ways in which policy measures can be updated through introducing either financial, regulatory or information provisions, or formulating novel policies altogether. These recommendations were made following the value chain analysis approach, which addresses specific challenges in relation to the five core objectives of the Bioeconomy Strategy, with the aim of further increasing the level of coherence among sectoral policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context in which the contemporary society is faced with a lot of social, political, economic problems, the role of social policy proves to be of the highest importance. In other words, through the essential functions which it holds at the level of the current society, social policy brings out a series of aspects connected to decade, integration, personal satisfaction. Of course that in this context all social categories of the population are affected. In these conditions, in this paper we are going to watch to see to what extent the existence of measurable results of specific activities European social politics may constitute the relevant arguments for the initiation and the development of programs at European Union level. It will also try an analysis on the idea of social policy (in general), as well as on certain aspects which it generates the economy in the market share of the European Union. Therefore, the analysis affects the explanation of what is a management and modeling of the market of the European Union. Starting from the above, we can only bring up the fact that the improvement of social life is in accordance with the idea of social policy. So, literature and practical highlights a series of reasons which are the basis of the promotion of the ideas of social policy. We have in view in this case both social policies promoted at the level of Romania and social policies promoted at the level of the European Union (EU).

The objective of this study is to analyze Portugal clusters recognized by the Operational Programme Competitiveness Factors within the scope of the National Strategic Reference Framework 2007-2013. It is intended through the study of indicators of geographical concentration measures, as well as the application of a questionnaire to examine whether the eight recognized clusters foreshadow and work with the necessary characteristics for the cluster classification. It is concluded that two clusters are assumed as cluster and two clusters have interaction links/more meaningful cooperation. Moreover, results show that only one cluster is functioning at its fullest while cluster.

Featured Application: The methodology developed in this research has direct application in understanding European initiatives and policies for adaptation to climate change through the identification of differentiated strategic adaptation frameworks. The European Union (EU) has assigned municipal governments a key role in the transformations needed to achieve its climate and energy objectives. One of the main initiatives of the EU has been the "The Covenant of Mayors", launched in 2008, with impacts beyond Europe due to integration with the "Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy". This research focuses on local measures to adapt to climate change, verifying their differences between themselves, and aims to identify and characterize patterns in the different adaptation strategies examined. Further aims are (i) the collection of good practices, framed in the Mayors Adapt initiative, managing multidimensional data from the context and from its adaptation proposals; (ii) the classification of strategies in profiles and patterns using artificial neural networks based on the previous variables; (iii) the characterization and comparison of such profiles. The results substantiate the existence of several well-differentiated approaches, connected with their geographical context, vulnerability and politics. These results provide valuable information for its interpretation and for the planning of climate change adaptation actions, highlighting the value of the creation of networks of institutional collaboration targeted at each strategic framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drones face two main concerns: safety and security/privacy. Whilst safety has been broadly studied by literature, less research has been carried out into security/privacy. Moreover, current European regulations on drone flights apply to outdoor drones but not always to their indoor counterparts. However, several industrial sectors have started to use drones for indoor tasks such as surveillance, architecture, emergencies, and communication media. A qualitative study has been conducted in order to explore the concerns expressed by civil drone operators over the measures that manufacturers include in their products and information packages. Codes of conduct could also help these parties when there is no legal regulation that can be applied. We used content analysis as the method of analysis for three different sources: secondary data from a literature review and from public European documents, and primary data from focus groups. Results show that safety and security/privacy by design are seen as the best ethical measures, whilst codes of conduct could be used as complimentary information for professional users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new climatic, industrial, economic and social realities, as well as their evolving perspectives, have led in the last decades to a particularly careful approach to renewable energy sources. Thus, clear objectives for ensuring public regulations and policies favoring the development and use of energy from renewable sources have been set out. Romania has rallied to the European model that aims to ensure energy security with competitive and clean energy. The statistical data show that the progress is considerable and that Romania has mastered the objectives and targets thus assumed. One of the current challenges is to ensure a unitary development of all renewable energy sources that have potential at national level for sustainable development. Among these, special attention is paid to biomass, especially to energy crops. The justification consists, on the one hand, of the very low level of development compared to the actual capacities, and, on the other hand, the intervention of some legislative changes that seem to continue to hinder this development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As it turns 60, the European Union appears engulfed in a crisis. In response to this, political actors have recently advocated a multi-speed Europe. A metaphor for the central idea is the integration highway: since member states are already moving with different speeds, countries need to be separated into different lanes to avoid a major accident. Although the idea of a multi-speed Europe has been criticised as an abatement of the initial dream of simultaneous European integration, this commentary views it as a realpolitik that will allow for greater flexibility in decision-making at times when a fast response to financial, humanitarian and security challenges is imperative. To illustrate this, a scenario is presented on how a multi-speed Europe policy can be applied within the Eurozone to shape two parallel common currency zones. A meticulous application of the multi-speed Europe principle to the Eurozone could address the shortcomings of the initial monetary integration plan and protect the long-term interests of the continent and beyond.

This article is an analysis of the legal changes EU legislation on gender violence. Specifically, it deals with the process of defining and categorization in the context of the recent entry into force of the "European protection order for victims". In this sense, the article makes a critical analysis of the construction of indicators and the definition and coordination of EU policies on the eradication of gender-based violence and care for victims. From this perspective, the text analyzes the sources developed by several European institutions on this matter.

Highlights • The WTW CO 2 emissions from BEVs and non-BEVs are analysed at the EU level. • The economic difference over the lifetime of a car ranges from −€1133 to +€3192. • It depends mainly on the mix of national energy sources and car segments considered. • The economic value of CO 2 emissions can rationalize the national incentives for BEVs. Abstract Battery Electric vehicles (BEVs) are generally considered as potentially contributing to the reduction of CO 2 emissions. Consequently, many countries have promoted (or are in the process of promoting) policies aimed at directly or indirectly subsidizing BEVs to accelerate their market uptake. The aim of this paper is to assess whether BEVs' subsidies are justified (and by what amount) with reference to the carbon component, distinguishing by car segments and countries. To address these research questions, a simulation model is developed, based on the most recent and reliable data available. The model estimates and monetizes the Well-to-Wheel CO 2 emissions of six car segments in 28 European countries. The monetary value of the difference of the CO 2 emissions between the non-BEVs and the BEVs ranges from −€1133 (tax) to +€3192 (subsidy), depending on the car segment and on the nation considered. These results are then compared to the policies about alternative fuels adopted by the single EU countries, suggesting in some cases the necessity to rethink such incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Economía, Sociedad y Territorio is the property of El Colegio Mexiquense and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the context in which the contemporary society is faced with a lot of social, political, economic problems, the role of social policy proves to be of the highest importance. In other words, through the essential functions which it holds at the level of the current society, social policy brings out a series of aspects connected to decade, integration, personal satisfaction. Of course that in this context all social categories of the population are affected. In these conditions, in this paper we are going to watch to see to what extent the existence of measurable results of specific activities European social politics may constitute the relevant arguments for the initiation and the development of programs at European Union level. It will also try an analysis on the idea of social policy (in general), as well as on certain aspects which it generates the economy in the market share of the European Union. Therefore, the analysis affects the explanation of what is a management and modeling of the market of the European Union. Starting from the above, we can only bring up the fact that the improvement of social life is in accordance with the idea of social policy. So, literature and practical highlights a series of reasons which are the basis of the promotion of the ideas of social policy. We have in view in this case both social policies promoted at the level of Romania and social policies promoted at the level of the European Union (EU). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article will discuss developments in Europe as a starting point for analysing how victims’ rights and services might influence evolving conceptions of victimhood in general, and victim images in restorative justice practices in particular. First, the development and implementation of restorative justice and its relation to European victim policies will be presented. Then, a discussion will follow on the victim images that appear in this European landscape, based on critical analysis and research findings regarding the actual position of the victim and his/her rights, including the victim’s position in restorative justice programmes. A final section will deal with perspectives that are offered when notions of justice are put forward to rethink victimhood through restorative justice processes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]