Περίληψη : Like a number of former Soviet Union republics in Central Asia, Turkmenistan has recently recorded quite high economic growth rates — often in the double digits — mainly thanks to the increasing global demand for energy and other raw materials, which are abundant in the country. Despite recent progress, the country's economic growth is still hampered by inefficient economic and public structures, still largely inspired by Soviet models and lacking modern infrastructure. The geographical location of Turkmenistan, a land-locked country with some 'difficult' neighbours (such as Iran and Afghanistan), also negatively influences its development. Among the former Soviet Union republics, Turkmenistan has what is probably the worst record in terms of economic and trade liberalisation. Despite growing public revenues, malnutrition still plagues remote rural areas, and poverty is widespread.

Συντάκτες : Roberto BENDINI (Policy Department, Directorate-General for External Policies of the Union, European Parliament)

Επιτροπές : Διεθνές εμπόριο

Περίληψη : Freezing assets is an EU competence; recovering them, on the other hand, is a competence of the Member States. For the EU, recovering the assets of the ousted Tunisian and Egyptian regimes is an issue of political commitment and credibility, with the Union's reputation in Arab Spring countries partly at stake. The United Nations Convention against Corruption (in force since 2005) makes clear that recovering assets is a priority in a coordinated international fight against corruption. There exists a lack of efficient cooperation between 'requesting' and 'requested' states, as well as a paucity of reliable information about the amounts in question. The EU Council has recently adopted a decision to make it easier to share information relating to Egyptian and Tunisian funds in the EU. There are still many procedural problems to tackle, especially in the case of Egypt. An EU special task force could be set up to explore practical ways to better coordinate and exchange best practices between EU Member States and Tunisia and Egypt. The UK is a frontrunner in establishing a central structure facilitating the legal proceedings to recover assets. The European Parliament can send a clear signal of the EU's political commitment to helping Tunisia and Egypt recover their assets.

Συντάκτες : Andreas KETTIS and Pekka HAKALA (EP, DG EXPO, Policy Department)

Επιτροπές : Εξωτερικές υποθέσεις

Περίληψη : The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Project is an international scientific undertaking between seven cofinancing Parties intended to demonstrate the feasibility of nuclear fusion as a power source. Fusion for Energy (F4E) is the Domestic Agency charged with providing the EU contribution to the ITER International Organisation. ITER, and subsequently, F4E costs have increased substantially from original estimates, because of a number of internal and external drivers. While the EU has continued to affirm its support for the project, cost overruns have attracted a large amount of political questions, culminating in the capping of ITER expenditure through 2020 at 6,6 billion Euros, and have accentuated early difficulties of the F4E organisation. Beginning in 2010, a number of reforms were undertaken within F4E, including a reshuffling and reorientation of the governance and management structures, as well as significant efforts to implement cost-savings. The reforms have been widely lauded as effective and positive by stakeholders, although the inherent cost-effectiveness of F4E remains inextricably linked with the ITER project as a whole. Despite F4E’s commendable efforts, the margin to achieve the cost-savings needed to rebuild the contingency is highly limited by inherent characteristics of F4E’s operating environment. However, the study puts forward some tracks for improvements.

Συντάκτες : Ernst & Young - Government & Public Sector (GPS) (Paris-la-Défense, France)

Επιτροπές : Έλεγχος των Προϋπολογισμών, Δημοσιονομικά θέματα

Περίληψη : This note seeks to provide an initial appraisal of the European Commission's Impact Assessment accompanying its proposal for a Directive on the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products, submitted on 19 December 2012. The Commission wishes to update existing Directive 2001/37/EC on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products (Tobacco Products Directive, TPD), by adjusting it to current developments and including so far uncovered areas. The revision of the TPD focuses on five policy issues: (1) smokeless tobacco products (STP) and extension of the product scope (nicotine containing products and herbal products for smoking), (2) packaging and labelling, (3) ingredients and additives, (4) cross-border distance sales, and (5) traceability and security features.

Συντάκτες : Alina-Alexandra Georgescu

Επιτροπές : Εκτίμηση επιπτώσεων, Περιβάλλον, δημόσια υγεία και ασφάλεια των τροφίμων

Περίληψη : This is the update of the June 2011 comprehensive digest of the EU legislation on aviation security. It reminds notably of the current obligations on the parties involved, the monitoring process or the international aspects. The note also sheds light on the regime which applies to liquids on board, to the cargo from third countries or to the financing of security measures which all give rise to recurrent significant debate.

Συντάκτες : Marc Thomas (Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies, European Parliament)

Επιτροπές : Μεταφορές και τουρισμός

Περίληψη : In recent years, the United States’ natural gas industry has undergone a significant transformation, dubbed a 'revolution': extraction rates have soared thanks to new technologies. The shale gas boom is having an unprecedented affect on the US energy market, and this, in turn, has important implications for the rest of the world, notably the Middle East and Russia. While the shale gas 'revolution' has spurred a debate on environmental consequences and sustainability within the US, other countries — including countries as diverse as Canada and China — have, in different ways, aimed to replicate the US boom. In the EU, a shale gas 'revolution' appears relatively unlikely, at least for the moment, given Europe’s less favourable geological conditions and its wary public. Nevertheless, some EU Member States rich in shale gas, such as Poland and the United Kingdom, are actively promoting shale gas exploration activities to diversify their energy mix, reduce energy dependency and enhance energy security. Other countries, such as France and Bulgaria, have for the moment chosen to privilege environmental constraints and have implemented bans. The remaining Member States seem to have adopted a 'wait-and-see' attitude. For all these states, however, the EU has an important role to play in ensuring a balanced common approach and encouraging the sustainable development of this industry while ensuring an adequate environmental protection. A recent Commission green paper on shale gas is a good initial step, although this should be followed with concrete action.

Συντάκτες : Jacopo BELLELLI supervised by Wanda TROSZCZYNSKA-VAN GENDEREN (Policy Department, Directorate-General for External Policies of the Union, European Parliament)

Επιτροπές : Εξωτερικές υποθέσεις

Περίληψη : The study analyses the role of economically dependent self-employed workers in the labour market by taking institutional factors into account, such as labour law and social protection rights. In addition to setting out the reasons for the increase of dependent self-employed workers, the authors provide case studies across various sectors of selected EU Member States. While the phenomenon of dependent self-employment is highly diverse across EU Member States, it has become increasingly important and can be regarded as part of a general trend towards increasing labour market flexibilisation.

Συντάκτες : Eichhorst, Werner (IZA, coordinator), Braga, Michela (Fondazione DeBenedetti), Famira-Mühlberger, Ulrike (WIFO), Gerard, Maarten (IDEA Consult), Horvath, Thomas (WIFO), Kahanec, Martin (CELSI), Kahancová, Marta (CELSI), Kendzia, Michael (IZA), Martišková, Monika (CELSI), Monti, Paola (Fondazione DeBenedetti), Pedersen, Jakob Louis (NIRAS), Stanley, Julian (University of Warwick), Vandeweghe, Barbara (IDEA Consult), Wehner, Caroline (IZA) and White, Caroline (University of Warwick)

Επιτροπές : Απασχόληση και κοινωνικές υποθέσεις

Περίληψη : This note seeks to provide an initial analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the European Commission's Impact Assessment (IA) accompanying the proposals for a Regulation on consumer product safety and for a Regulation on market surveillance for products, the ‘Product safety and market surveillance package’, submitted by the Commission on 13 February 2013. The problem in need of EU intervention is described generally as ‘the existence of unsafe and non-compliant products circulating in the internal market, indicating a failure in the functioning of the legislative framework within which the internal market operates’. This note, prepared by the Impact Assessment Unit for the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO), analyses whether the principal criteria laid down in the Commission’s own Impact Assessment Guidelines, as well as additional factors identified by the Parliament in its Impact Assessment Handbook, appear to be met by the IA. It does not attempt to deal with the substance of the proposal. It is drafted for informational and background purposes to assist the relevant parliamentary committee(s) and Members more widely in their work.

Συντάκτες : Elke Ballon

Επιτροπές : Εκτίμηση επιπτώσεων, Εσωτερική αγορά και προστασία των καταναλωτών

Περίληψη : In recent years, the use of drones and other unmanned robots in warfare and other situations of violence has increased exponentially, and States continue to invest significantly into increasing the operational autonomy of such systems. The present study provides an overview of the current and likely future use of such systems and examines the relevant legal implications under human rights law, international humanitarian law and the UN Charter. The study concludes that the present sense of uncertainty as to the applicable legal standards, the rapid development and proliferation of drone and robotic technology, and the perceived lack of transparency and accountability of current policies have the potential of polarizing the international community, undermining the rule of law and, ultimately, of destabilizing the international security environment as a whole. Accordingly, the study develops the following policy recommendations for European foreign policy: 1. First, the EU should make the promotion of the rule of law in relation to the development, proliferation and use of unmanned weapons systems a declared priority of European foreign policy. 2. In parallel, the EU should launch a broad inter-governmental policy dialogue aiming to achieve international consensus: (a) on the legal standards governing the use of currently operational unmanned weapon systems, and (b) on the legal constraints and/or ethical reservations which may apply with regard to the future development, proliferation and use of increasingly autonomous weapon systems. 3. Based on the resulting international consensus, the EU should work towards the adoption of a binding international agreement, or a non-binding code of conduct, aiming to restrict the development, proliferation or use of certain unmanned weapon systems in line with the legal consensus achieved.

Συντάκτες : Nils MELZER (Geneva Centre for Security Policy - GCSP and Swiss Chair of International Humanitarian Law, Geneva Academy - ADH)

Επιτροπές : Δικαιώματα του ανθρώπου