Interoperability of Cross-Border European Egovernment Services: Some Design Issues

The authors analyse some of the research outcomes achieved during the implementation of the EC GUIDE research project “Creating an European Identity Management Architecture for eGovernment”, as well as their personal experience. The project goals and achievements are however considered in a broader context. The key role of Identity in the Information Society was emphasised, that the research and development in this field is in its initial phase. The scope of research related to Identity, including the one related to Identity Management and Interoperability of Identity Management Systems, is expected to be further extended. The authors analyse the abovementioned issues in the context established by the EC European Interoperability Framework (EIF) as a reference document on interoperability for the Interoperable Delivery of European eGovernment Services to Public Administrations, Business and Citizens (IDABC) Work Programme. This programme aims at supporting the pan-European delivery of electronic government services.

An empirical investigation on firm-level performance of cross border mergers and acquisitions

This empirical study investigates the performance of cross border M&A. The first stage is to identify the determinants of making cross border M&A complete. One focus here is to extend the existing empirical evidence in the field of cross border M&A and exploit the likelihood of M&A from a different perspective. Given the determinants of cross border M&A completions, the second stage is to investigate the effects of cross border M&A on post-acquisition firm performance for both targets and acquirers. The thesis exploits a hitherto unused data base, which consists of those firms that are rumoured to be undertaking M&A, and then follow the deal to completion or abandonment. This approach highlights a number of limitations to the previous literature, which relies on statistical methodology to identify potential but non-existent mergers. This thesis changes some conventional understanding for M&A activity. Cross border M&A activity is underpinned by various motives such as synergy, management discipline, and acquisition of complementary resources. Traditionally, it is believed that these motives will boost the international M&A activity and improve firm performance after takeovers. However, this thesis shows that such factors based on these motives as acquirer’s profitability and liquidity and target’s intangible resource actually deter the completion of cross border M&A in the period of 2002-2011. The overall finding suggests that the cross border M&A is the efficiency-seeking activity rather than the resource-seeking activity. Furthermore, compared with firms in takeover rumours, the completion of M&A lowers firm performance. More specifically, the difficulties in transfer of competitive advantages and integration of strategic assets lead to low firm performance in terms of productivity. Besides, firms cannot realise the synergistic effect and managerial disciplinary effect once a cross border M&A is completed, which suggests a low post-acquisition profitability level.

TPEA good practice guide: lessons for cross-border MSP from transboundary planning in the European Atlantic

This Good Practice Guide is the outcome of a project co-funded by the European Commission (DG Mare) called Transboundary Planning in the European Atlantic (TPEA), which ran from December 2012 to May 2014. The aim of the project was to demonstrate approaches to transboundary maritime spatial planning (MSP) in the European Atlantic region. This is one of a series of projects exploring the opportunities and challenges of carrying out cross-border MSP in Europe’s regional seas, making connections with integrated coastal management (ICM). TPEA focused on two pilot areas: one involving Portugal and Spain and the other Ireland and the United Kingdom. Despite distinct identities in the region relating to different traditions of planning and stages of MSP implementation, TPEA worked towards a commonly-agreed approach to transboundary MSP and developed principles of cross-border working which it is hoped will be of wider benefit. This guide presents these principles, illustrated with examples from the TPEA project.

Euphoria in financial markets: how Indian companies generate value in their cross-border acquisitions

In this paper, we investigate the effect of euphoria on returns derived by Indian companies in their cross-border acquisitions. Cognitive legitimacy generated at the country level facilitated firms in deriving higher value from internationalization. In addition, overoptimism after the legitimacy-building event led to euphoria in financial markets and short-term abnormal returns. Hence we argue that the springboard effect created by legitimacy is short-lived, as euphoria fades away over time. Using cross-border and domestic acquisitions by Indian companies during 1999-2009, and controlling for fundamental factors, both financial and non-financial, we find support for our euphoria hypothesis. Because of overoptimism, Indian companies experienced short-term abnormal returns in their cross-border acquisitions in the few years following the legitimation process, but not in later years.

Cross-border Movement of Patients in the EU: A Re-Appraisal

The national welfare state, so it seems, has come under attack by European integration. This article focuses on one facet of the welfare state, that is, health care and on one specific dimension, that is, cross-border movement of patients. The institution which has played a pivotal role in the development of the framework regulating the migration of patients is the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The Court’s activity in this sensitive area has not remained without critics. This was even more so since the Court invoked Treaty (primary) law which not only has made it difficult to overturn case law but also has left the legislator with very little room for manoeuvre in relation to any future (secondary) EU law. What is therefore of special interest in terms of legitimacy is the legal reasoning by which the Court has made its contribution to the development of this framework. This article is a re-appraisal of the legal development in this field.

Letting the managers manage: analyzing capacity to conserve biodiversity in a cross-border protected area network

Biodiversity loss is one of the most significant drivers of ecosystem change and is projected to continue at a rapid rate. While protected areas, such as national parks, are seen as important refuges for biodiversity, their effectiveness in stemming biodiversity decline has been questioned. Public agencies have a critical role in the governance of many such areas, but there are tensions between the need for these agencies to be more “adaptive” and their current operating environment. Our aim is to analyze how institutions enable or constrain capacity to conserve biodiversity in a globally significant cross-border network of protected areas, the Australian Alps. Using a novel conceptual framework for diagnosing biodiversity institutions, our research examined institutional adaptive capacity and more general capacity for conserving biodiversity. Several intertwined issues limit public agencies’ capacity to fulfill their conservation responsibilities. Narrowly defined accountability measures constrain adaptive capacity and divert attention away from addressing key biodiversity outcomes. Implications for learning were also evident, with protected area agencies demonstrating successful learning for on-ground issues but less success in applying this learning to deeper policy change. Poor capacity to buffer political and community influences in managing significant cross-border drivers of biodiversity decline signals poor fit with the institutional context and has implications for functional fit. While cooperative federalism provides potential benefits for buffering through diversity, it also means protected area agencies have restricted authority to address cross-border threats. Restrictions on staff authority and discretion, as public servants, have further implications for deploying capacity. This analysis, particularly the possibility of fostering “ambidexterity”—creatively responding to political pressures in a way that also achieves a desirable outcome for biodiversity conservation—is one promising way of building capacity to buffer both political influences and ecological pressures. The findings and the supporting analysis provide insight into how institutional capacity to conserve biodiversity can be enhanced in protected areas in Australia and elsewhere, especially those governed by public agencies and/or multiple organizations and across jurisdictions.

All Island All Active: An innovative top-down/bottom-up cross-border approach to increasing physical activity levels

National Institute of Health Sciences Research Bulletin: Volume 6, Issue 3 - June 2012

EU-North Africa relations in cross-border law enforcement: new legal challenges for the EU in the post-Lisbon and post-Stockholm era

The Stockholm Programme, allied to the Lisbon Treaty, heralds a new era of development of the EU provisions on cross-border law enforcement. The focus is shifting from the ongoing internal EU developments to the external relations of the EU. Many North African countries have had long legal relationships with the EU through the Euro-Mediterranean Partnerships. A number of these partnership agreements make express references, at the political level, to the development of cross-border law enforcement provision, as is the case of Morocco and Algeria with regard to drug trafficking and manufacture, or the lengthy references by Egypt to many of the crimes of interest to the EU’s own law enforcement legal framework. Algeria is currently focusing on modernising their own police forces, with both Algeria and Tunisia, reforming their criminal judicial frameworks. Another key player, Libya, currently has no legal agreements with the EU, and at least until the recent conflict, maintained an observer status in the Euro-Mediterranean process. At a practitioner level, the European Police College (CEPOL) is currently involved in the Euromed Police II programme. Clearly momentum is developing, both within the EU and from a number of Euro-Med North African countries to develop closer law enforcement co-operation. This may well develop further with the recent changes in governments of a number of North African countries. The EU approach in the Police and Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters (PJCCM) policy area is to develop a legal framework upon which EU cross-border law enforcement will be based. The current EU cross-border law enforcement framework is the product of many years of multi-level negotiations. Challenges will arise as new countries from different legal and policing traditions will attempt to engage with already highly detailed legal and practice frameworks. The shared European legal traditions will not necessarily be reflected in the North African countries. This chapter critically analyses, from an EU legal perspective the problems and issues that will be encountered as the EU’s North African partner countries attempt to articulate into the existing, and still developing EU cross-border law enforcement framework.

A Transaction cost analysis of cross-border insolvency.

The thesis identified transaction cost efficiencies in the application of appropriate governance mechanisms in cross-border insolvency law.

Spatio-temporal patterns of herbage availability and livestock movements: A cross-border analysis in the Chinese-Mongolian Altay

Due to increasing population and the recent implementation of policies to intensify the use of land and water resources, the transhumant pastoral systems in the Chinese-Mongolian Altay-Dzungarian region are rapidly changing, leading to modifications of herd size, herd composition and spatial distribution of livestock grazing. This may have major consequences for the supply and quality of rangeland biomass. Despite similar topographic settings, the socio-political framework for Chinese and Mongolian pastoralists differs significantly, leading to differences in rangeland utilization. To substantiate these claims, the long-distance transhumance routes, frequency of pasture changes, daily grazing itineraries and size of pastures were recorded by means of GPS tracking of cattle and goats on 1,535 (China) and 1,396 (Mongolia) observation days. The status quo of the main seasonal pastures was captured by measuring the herbage offer and its nutritive value in 869 sampling spots. In the Altay-Dzungarian region, small ruminant herds covered up to 412 km (Mongolia) and grazed on up to nine pastures per year (China). In Mongolia, the herds’ average duration of stay at an individual pasture was longer than in China, particularly in spring and autumn. Herbage allowance at the onset of a grazing period (kg dry matter per sheep unit and day) ranged from 34/17 to 91/95 (China/Mongolia). Comparing crude protein and phosphorous concentrations of herbage, in China, the highest concentrations were measured for spring and summer pastures, whereas in Mongolia, the highest concentrations were determined for autumn and winter pastures. Based on our data, we conclude that regulation of animal numbers and access to pastures seemingly maintained pasture productivity in China, especially at high altitudes. However, this policy may prohibit flexible adaptation to sudden environmental constraints. In contrast, high stocking densities and grazing of pastures before flowering of herbaceous plants negatively affected rangeland productivity in Mongolia, especially for spring and summer pastures.

La protection des données personnelles en droit international privé

Les nouvelles technologies et l’arrivée de l’Internet ont considérablement facilité les échanges transnationaux de données entre les entreprises publiques et/ou privées et également entre les personnes elles-mêmes. Cependant cette révolution numérique n’a pas été sans conséquences sur l’utilisation de nos données personnelles puisque cette abondance de données à la portée de tiers peut conduire à des atteintes : la commercialisation des données personnelles sans le consentement de l’intéressé par des entreprises ou encore la diffusion de sa photographie, de son nom, de son prénom à son insu en sont des exemples. La question qui vient alors se poser est en cas de litige, c’est-à-dire en cas d’atteintes au droit à la protection de nos données personnelles, présentant un ou des éléments d’extranéité, quels tribunaux pouvons-nous saisir ? Et quelle est la loi qui sera applicable ? Les droits québécois, de l’Union européenne, et suisse présentent différents critères de rattachement intéressants et adaptés à des situations prenant place hors et sur internet. Le droit commun de chacun de ces systèmes est envisagé, puis appliqué aux données personnelles dans le cadre d’une situation normale, et ensuite à internet si la situation diffère. La doctrine est également analysée dans la mesure où certaines solutions sont tout à fait intéressantes, et cela notamment sur internet. Un premier chapitre est consacré à la compétence internationale des tribunaux et aux critères de rattachement envisageables en droit commun à savoir notamment : le tribunal de l’État de survenance du préjudice, le tribunal de l’État de la faute ou encore le tribunal du domicile de la victime. Et ceux prévus ou non par la doctrine tels que l’accessibilité et le ciblage par exemple. Les conflits de lois sont étudiés dans un deuxième chapitre avec également l’énumération les différents facteurs de rattachement envisageables en droit commun comme la loi de l’État du préjudice, la loi de l’État de la faute ou encore la loi de l’État favorisant la victime. Et également ceux prévus par la doctrine : la loi de l’État « offrant la meilleure protection des données à caractère personnel » ou encore la loi de l’État où est établi le « maître du fichier ». Le tribunal le plus compétent au regard des principes généraux de droit international privé en cas d’atteintes au droit de la protection des données personnelles hors et sur internet est le tribunal de l’État du domicile de la victime. Et la meilleure loi applicable est la loi de l’État du domicile ou de la résidence principale du demandeur et du défendeur à l’instance, et dans le cas où la situation ne présente pas d’éléments d’extranéité, la meilleure loi est la loi favorisant la victime.

La protection des données personnelles en droit international privé

Les nouvelles technologies et l’arrivée de l’Internet ont considérablement facilité les échanges transnationaux de données entre les entreprises publiques et/ou privées et également entre les personnes elles-mêmes. Cependant cette révolution numérique n’a pas été sans conséquences sur l’utilisation de nos données personnelles puisque cette abondance de données à la portée de tiers peut conduire à des atteintes : la commercialisation des données personnelles sans le consentement de l’intéressé par des entreprises ou encore la diffusion de sa photographie, de son nom, de son prénom à son insu en sont des exemples. La question qui vient alors se poser est en cas de litige, c’est-à-dire en cas d’atteintes au droit à la protection de nos données personnelles, présentant un ou des éléments d’extranéité, quels tribunaux pouvons-nous saisir ? Et quelle est la loi qui sera applicable ? Les droits québécois, de l’Union européenne, et suisse présentent différents critères de rattachement intéressants et adaptés à des situations prenant place hors et sur internet. Le droit commun de chacun de ces systèmes est envisagé, puis appliqué aux données personnelles dans le cadre d’une situation normale, et ensuite à internet si la situation diffère. La doctrine est également analysée dans la mesure où certaines solutions sont tout à fait intéressantes, et cela notamment sur internet. Un premier chapitre est consacré à la compétence internationale des tribunaux et aux critères de rattachement envisageables en droit commun à savoir notamment : le tribunal de l’État de survenance du préjudice, le tribunal de l’État de la faute ou encore le tribunal du domicile de la victime. Et ceux prévus ou non par la doctrine tels que l’accessibilité et le ciblage par exemple. Les conflits de lois sont étudiés dans un deuxième chapitre avec également l’énumération les différents facteurs de rattachement envisageables en droit commun comme la loi de l’État du préjudice, la loi de l’État de la faute ou encore la loi de l’État favorisant la victime. Et également ceux prévus par la doctrine : la loi de l’État « offrant la meilleure protection des données à caractère personnel » ou encore la loi de l’État où est établi le « maître du fichier ». Le tribunal le plus compétent au regard des principes généraux de droit international privé en cas d’atteintes au droit de la protection des données personnelles hors et sur internet est le tribunal de l’État du domicile de la victime. Et la meilleure loi applicable est la loi de l’État du domicile ou de la résidence principale du demandeur et du défendeur à l’instance, et dans le cas où la situation ne présente pas d’éléments d’extranéité, la meilleure loi est la loi favorisant la victime.

The importance of stakeholder engagement in invasive species management: A cross-jurisdictional perspective in Ireland

The management of invasive non-native species is a frequent cause of conflict in the field of biodiversity conservation because perceptions of their costs and benefits differ among stakeholder groups. A lack of cohesion between scientific researchers, the commercial sector and policy makers lies at the root of a widespread failure to develop and implement sustainable management practices for invasive species. The crisis of this situation is intensified by drivers stemming from international conventions and directives to address invasive species issues. There are further direct conflicts between legislative instruments promoting biodiversity conservation on the one hand while liberalizing trade at the national, European and global level on the other. The island of Ireland provides graphic illustration of the importance of cross-jurisdictional approaches to biological invasions. Using primarily Irish examples in this review, we emphasize the importance of approaching risk assessment, risk reduction and control or eradication policies from a cost-efficient, highly flexible perspective, incorporating linkages between environmental, economic and social objectives. The need for consolidated policies between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is particularly acute, though few model cross-border mechanisms for such consolidation are available. The importance of engaging affected stakeholders through positive interactions is discussed with regard to reducing the currently fragmented nature of invasive species management between the two jurisdictions.

Culture and the Irish Border:Spaces for Conflict Transformation

The Irish border has been described as a ‘natural’ cultural divide between the island's two dominant indigenous ethno-national communities. However, an examination of key resources of ethno-national group culture - religion, sport and language - provides evidence to challenge this representation. Moreover, in the post-1994 period of conflict transformation, evidence is also presented to support the proposition that the Irish border region has developed into a cultural space in which Irish nationalist and Ulster unionist ethno-national communities can explore cultural differences and commonalities through cross-border, cross-community contact and communication in small group encounters. This space underpins the reconfiguration of the border from barrier to political bridge between North and South. European Union (EU) Peace programmes for Ireland, beginning in 1995, provided the support for a cross-border approach to escaping the cage of ethno-national conflict in Northern Ireland. However, post-2004 EU enlargement signalled the beginning of the end for EU Peace funding and severe economic recession has undermined the expectation of British-Irish intergovernmental intervention to support cross-border partnerships and their work. Therefore, the outlook for the sustainability of this cross-border cultural space is gloomy with potentially deleterious consequences for the continued reconfiguration of the border from barrier to bridge.

Cold War Along the Emerald Curtain: Rural Boundaries in a Contested Border Zone

This paper examines how anxieties about ethnic identity proliferate as state borders begin to shift and open in response to accelerating possibilities of cross-border cooperation. As the border becomes more porous, social and cultural boundaries become marked in other ways, spatially re-scaled to reflect new uncertainties consequent upon border change. Using an example from the Irish land border, the paper traces how national space is re-imagined and re-placed in the everyday practices of residents in a violent border zone from which the state is ostensibly retreating. It shows that communal division is as sharply drawn as ever at a time when the ‘visibility’ of the state border itself is beginning to diminish.