European Neighbourhood Policy Package - Conclusions for the Eastern Partners. OSW Commentary No. 78, 2012-05-25

In 2011 the European Union began a process aimed at reforming its policy on the Eastern and Southern Neighbourhood. The change in circumstances in neighbouring countries following the Arab Spring, along with the lack of significant progress regarding Eastern Europe’s integration with the EU, formed the main driving force behind this process. The prime objective of the changes to the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) was the need to introduce new incentives for partner countries to modernise and integrate more closely with the EU Another aim was to increase the flexibility of EU instruments (by adapting them to the specific context of each partner state). One year later, on 15 May 2012, the European Commission and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy published the European Neighbourhood Policy Package which reported on the progress made in the implementation of the ENP over the preceding year and set out the aims and Action Plans for 20131. An analysis of the outcomes of changes made to the EU policy towards Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus suggests that the aim of the revision was aimed more at addressing the changing political landscape in the region rather than at the implementation of a substantial reform of the neighbourhood policy. The ENP is largely based on bureaucratic procedures (the negotiation of bilateral agreements, the implementation of support programmes). These have only a limited capacity to bring about lasting change in the region, as has been exemplified by the deterioration of democratic standards in a number of countries; this was highlighted in EU’s own reports. This problem is particularly clear in the case of Ukraine; until recently it was seen as the leader of European integration but is now raising much concern due to a deterioration in the state of democracy there. EU instruments have a limited influence on the situation in Eastern Partnership countries and the region’s significance on the EU’s agenda is falling (the priority is now given to counteracting the economic crisis, and prominence in the neighbourhood policy has been given to the Southern Mediterranean). In response to this EU policy on Eastern Europe will focus to a larger extent on technical and sectoral cooperation.

Answering the Call of the European Court of Justice in Eurofoods a Proposed Package of Due Process Rights with a View Toward the 2012 Revision of the European Insolvency Regulation. IES WORKING PAPER 3/2011

This paper anticipates the 2012 revision of the European Insolvency Regulation, which is the sole Union legislation on the subject of cross border insolvency proceedings. The paper first describes the historical background of the Regulation. The salient point of the historical discussion is that the Regulation is the product of forty years of negotiation and arises from a historical context that is no longer applicable to current economic realities, i.e. it provides for liquidation, not reorganization, it doesn’t deal with cross border groups of companies, and it lacks an effective mechanism for transparency and creditor participation. The paper then reviews the unique hybrid jurisdictional system of concurrent universal and territorial proceedings that the Regulation imposes. It looks at this scheme from a practical viewpoint, i.e. what issues arise with concurrent proceedings in two states, involving the same assets, the same creditors, and the same company. The paper then focuses on a significant issue raised by the European Court of Justice in the Eurofoods case, i.e. the need to comply with fundamental due process principles that, while not articulated in the Regulation, lie at the core of Union law. Specifically, the paper considers the ramifications of the Court’s holding that “a Member State may refuse to recognize insolvency proceedings opened in another Member State where the decision to open the proceedings was taken in flagrant breach of the fundamental right to be heard.” In response to the Court’s direction, this paper proposes a package of due process rights, consisting principally of an accessible, efficient and useful insolvency database, the infrastructure of which already exists, but the content and use of which has not yet been developed. As part of a cohesive three part due process package, the paper also proposes the formation of cross border creditors' committees and the establishment of a European Insolvency Administrator. Finally, on the institutional level, this paper proposes that the revision of the Regulation and the development of the insolvency database not only need to be coordinated, but need to be conceptualized, managed and undertaken, not as the separate efforts of diverse institutions, but as a single, unified endeavor.

The Schengen Governance Package-another missed opportunity?. IES Policy Brief Issue 2015/1, February 2015

The Schengen Area of free movement is considered to be one of the most substantial and, in the eyes of many, most successful achievements of European integration. In 2014, the ‘Schengen Governance Package’, which alters the rules of the Schengen co-operation, came into force. It is a response to conflict among Member States in maintaining the common zone of freedom of movement. This Policy Brief aims to analyse how this package was developed and to assess whether it represents a suitable response to the conflict and difficulties within the Schengen agreement. The Brief argues that the Governance Package only touches on one part of the problem, namely border controls, whereas it does not deal with solidarity and burden-sharing and hence represents another missed opportunity to improve cooperation in the Schengen Area.

Analyser l’influence du syndicalisme agricole majoritaire: quelle utilité pour le modèle néo-corporatiste? Etude de cas à partir du «mini-paquet lait» = Analyze the influence of the majority agricultural trade unionism: what use to the neo-corporatist model? Case study from the "mini-milk package". Bruges Political Research Paper No. 35, August 2014

Cette recherche se propose de réfléchir sur la place des groupes d’intérêts dans le système politique de l’UE en partant de l’exemple de la filière lait. Dans un système généralement pluraliste, la PAC fait en effet figure de cas particulier puisqu’elle a fonctionné à partir des années 1960 sur une logique de co-gestion de la politique des marchés entre la Commission et la principale fédération agricole européenne, le Comité des Organisations Professionnelles agricoles (COPA) associé depuis 1962 au Comité Général de la Coopération agricole de l'Union européenne (COGECA). Néanmoins, du fait du processus de réforme de la PAC engagé depuis 1992, il paraît nécessaire d’analyser si la logique de co-gestion est remise en cause. Cette recherche conclue qu’il existe bien un rapport néo-corporatiste dans le secteur laitier, dans le sens où un acteur en particulier, le syndicat COPA-COGECA est parvenu à influencer de manière déterminante la procédure en obtenant de renforcer le pouvoir de négociation des producteurs sans revenir sur les réformes récentes de la PAC.

Too good to be true? A quick assessment of the EC’s new Better Regulation Package. CEPS Special Report No. 108/May 2015

On 19 May 2015, the European Commission published a very comprehensive, ambitious and innovative Better Regulation package, which contains new guidelines on various phases of the policy cycle and various documents setting out the rules and functioning of entirely new consultation platforms and a new body in charge of regulatory scrutiny. This Special Report presents some initial impressions on the content of this remarkable set of new documents, which will shape the way in which EU policies will be prepared, shaped, monitored and evaluated in the years to come.

The Schengen governance package - another missed opportunity? IES Policy Brief Issue 2015/1 February 2015

The Schengen Area of free movement is considered to be one of the most substantial and, in the eyes of many, most successful achievements of European integration. In 2014, the ‘Schengen Governance Package’, which alters the rules of the Schengen co-operation, came into force. It is a response to conflict among Member States in maintaining the common zone of freedom of movement. This Policy Brief aims to analyse how this package was developed and to assess whether it represents a suitable response to the conflict and difficulties within the Schengen agreement. The Brief argues that the Governance Package only touches on one part of the problem, namely border controls, whereas it does not deal with solidarity and burden-sharing and hence represents another missed opportunity to improve cooperation in the Schengen Area.

The energy security package: significant overhaul or business as usual? EPC Commentary, 24 February 2016

On 16 February 2016, the European Commission presented its energy security package, the first major delivery of the Energy Union agenda. The package includes legislative texts (the revised Regulation on Security of Supply and the Decision on Inter-Governmental Agreements) and non-legislative texts (the Communications on the LNG and Storage Strategy and the Heating and Cooling Strategy). This commentary takes stock of the political and market conditions surrounding the proposal, highlighting strengths and weaknesses of the EU’s approach. It argues that more attention should be devoted to demand to ensure correct investment signals, which are key to the strategy’s success.

The Better Regulation Package: Creating better regulations, but for what kind of EU politics?. European Policy Brief No. 39, October 2015

Back in July 2015, we acknowledged the priorities established by the Luxembourg presidency, topped by ambitious cross-sectoral dossier of Better Regulation and the Interinstitutional Agreement negociations. We investigated these issues through the lens of their “A Union for the Citizens” pledge. With four months left, this promise to EU citizens still has much to deliver if it is to meet expectations. This paper is a mid-term look at the advances made with these dossiers.

Description and Prediction of Freezing of Gait in Parkinson's Disease from Wearable Inertial Measurements Units

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neuro-degenerative disorder, the second most common after Alzheimer's disease. After diagnosis, treatments can help to relieve the symptoms, but there is no known cure for PD. PD is characterized by a combination of motor and no-motor dysfunctions. Among the motor symptoms there is the so called Freezing of Gait (FoG). The FoG is a phenomenon in PD patients in which the feet stock to the floor and is difficult for the patient to initiate movement. FoG is a severe problem, since it is associated with falls, anxiety, loss of mobility, accidents, mortality and it has substantial clinical and social consequences decreasing the quality of life in PD patients. Medicine can be very successful in controlling movements disorders and dealing with some of the PD symptoms. However, the relationship between medication and the development of FoG remains unclear. Several studies have demonstrated that visual or auditory rhythmical cuing allows PD patients to improve their motor abilities. Rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) was shown to be particularly effective at improving gait, specially with patients that manifest FoG. While RAS allows to reduce the time and the effects of FoGs occurrence in PD patients after the FoG is detected, it can not avoid the episode due to the latency of detection. An improvement of the system would be the prediction of the FoG. This thesis was developed following two main objectives: (1) the finding of specifics properties during pre FoG periods different from normal walking context and other walking events like turns and stops using the information provided by the inertial measurements units (IMUs) and (2) the formulation of a model for automatically detect the pre FoG patterns in order to completely avoid the upcoming freezing event in PD patients. The first part focuses on the analysis of different methods for feature extraction which might lead in the FoG occurrence.

A novel, bedside technique to rapidly identify umbilical cord blood units with high total nucleated cell numbers

BACKGROUND With increasing demand for umbilical cord blood units (CBUs) with total nucleated cell (TNC) counts of more than 150 × 10(7) , preshipping assessment is mandatory. Umbilical cord blood processing requires aseptic techniques and laboratories with specific air quality and cleanliness. Our aim was to establish a fast and efficient method for determining TNC counts at the obstetric ward without exposing the CBU to the environment. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Data from a total of 151 cord blood donations at a single procurement site were included in this prospective study. We measured TNC counts in cord blood aliquots taken from the umbilical cord (TNCCord ), from placenta (TNCPlac ), and from a tubing segment of the sterile collection system (TNCTS ). TNC counts were compared to reference TNC counts in the CBU which were ascertained at the cord blood bank (TNCCBU ). RESULTS TNCTS counts (173 ± 33 × 10(7) cells; calculated for 1 unit) correlated fully with the TNCCBU reference counts (166 ± 33 × 10(7) cells, Pearson's r = 0.97, p < 0.0001). In contrast, TNCCord and TNCPlac counts were more disparate from the reference (r = 0.92 and r = 0.87, respectively). CONCLUSIONS A novel method of measuring TNC counts in tubing segments from the sterile cord blood collection system allows rapid and correct identification of CBUs with high cell numbers at the obstetric ward without exposing cells to the environment. This approach may contribute to cost efficacy as only CBUs with satisfactory TNC counts need to be shipped to the cord blood bank.