bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Coming of Age of Infringement Proceedings
Authors: Smulders Ben , Prete Luca
Published: March 2022

The “infringement procedure” is one of the most important mechanisms envisaged by the founding fathers to ensure that EU law is thoroughly and uniformly applied. The procedures are laid down in Articles 226-228 EC (now Articles 258 and 259 TFEU), and concern a failure of a Member State to fulfil an obligation under the EC Treaty . The impact of the infringement procedure on the work and operation of EU institutions and Member States, and ultimately on the life of EU citizens, may be significant. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the recent developments in this field of law which, in spite of its importance for Member States, EU institutions and citizens, is often given insufficient attention in works of academics and practitioners. This article will focus on the latest case law of the Court of Justice, in conjunction with the related policy developments in this area. A number of recent rulings from the Court have brought important developments in, and interesting clarifications with regard to, the way infringement proceedings ought to be conducted. In addition, over the last few years, the Commission has published several communications, seeking to improve the efficacy and transparency of its activity in this field. The authors submit that this corpus of judicial and legislative developments has meant that infringement proceedings have come of age: from a rarely used, opaque and policy-driven procedure, it has now become a common, fairly transparent and highly technical procedure. It is thus useful to provide a comprehensive overview of these developments, putting them into their proper context
Consistency and Coherence as Conditions for Justification of Member State Measures Restricting Free Movement
Authors: Mathisen Gjermund
Published: March 2022

Consistency and coherence have become increasingly visible in the 2000s as substantive preconditions for the justification of Member State measures restricting free movement. In particular, the ECJ has lately taken to insisting that restrictive national legislation is appropriate for ensuring attainment of the objective pursued only if it genuinely reflects a concern to attain it “in a consistent and systematic manner”. In substance, similar exigencies are however also found in earlier case law. Consistency, in this context, may be understood to mean that nothing is allowed to counteract the attainment of the objective (purportedly) pursued by the restrictive measure, whilst coherence may be used to describe that a measure is intelligible as a means to attain the objective. On this basis, it is argued that a requirement of consistency and coherence is neither fundamentally new nor separate from a traditional EU law model for justification, whereby a restrictive measure must pursue a legitimate objective and be suitable, necessary and proportionate stricto sensu. The analysis carried out also shows that some inconsistencies might frequently have to be accepted and do not necessarily thwart justification of a restrictive measure. At the same time, consistency makes even relatively restrictive measures easier to justify; and the better the coherence between a restrictive measure and its objective, the better chances are that a Member State will gain acceptance for it.
The Europol Council Decision: Transforming Europol into an Agency of the European Union
Authors: Vermeulen Gert , De Moor Alexandra
Published: March 2022

The long-awaited Council Decision of 6 April 2009 establishing the European Police Office (Europol) replaces the Europol Convention and transforms Europol from an intergovernmental organization into an EU agency. This article contains a critical exploration of the new provisions of the Europol Council Decision. The authors take stock of the novelties through a comparative analysis of the Europol Convention, its Protocols, the Commission Proposal and revised versions of the Europol Council Decision. Europol is thematically dissected into clusters: legal basis, competence, tasks, governance and control. The assessment is based on the following questions: What are the major changes? Do they contribute to a better functioning of Europol? What are the missed opportunities? In what direction is Europol heading? The importance of the Europol Council Decision is that it provides Europol with a new and more flexible legal basis. The shift in competence from “organized crime” to “serious crime” is another significant change. The Europol Council Decision continues to stress Europol’s core-business, which remain information-related tasks. A “European FBI” seems far off, even with the transformation of Europol into a full-fledged EU agency. The Europol Council Decision falls somewhat short of expectations when it comes to Europol’s governance and control. Overall, the main conclusion of this article is that the Europol Council Decision is not as new as it would seem, yet new enough to herald a new era for Europol.
European company law 1999–2010: Renaissance and crisis
Authors: Ringe Wolf-Georg , Armour John
Published: March 2022

European corporate law has enjoyed a renaissance in the past decade. Fifteen years ago, this would have seemed most implausible. In the mid–1990s, the early integration strategy of seeking to harmonize substantive company law seemed to have been stalled by the need to reconcile fundamental differences in approaches to corporate governance. Little was happening, and the grand vision of the early pioneers appeared more dream than ambition. Yet since then, a combination of adventurous decisions by the Court of Justice, innovative approaches to legislation by the Commission, and disastrous crises in capital markets has produced a headlong rush of reform activity. The volume and pace of change has been such that few have had time to digest it: not least policymakers, with the consequence that the developments have not always been well coordinated. The recent financial crisis has yet again thrown many – quite fundamental – issues into question. In this article, we offer an overview that puts the most significant developments of this decade into context, alongside each other and the changing patterns of corporate structure in European countries. Such developments cover, for instance, corporate mobility, corporate freedom of establishment, golden shares case law, as well as the Commission’s Company Law Action Plan CLAP and Financial Services Action Plan FSAP. Harmonization of Member States’ company laws on the rules governing listed companies and the facilitation of cross-border restructuring are also examined.
Individual, institutional and collective vigilance in protecting fundamental rights in the EU: Lessons from the Roma
Authors: Dawson Mark , Muir Elise
Published: March 2022

In the summer of 2010, French authorities organized the systematic dismantling of illegal Roma settlements. This resulted in the departure of a large number of Roma-EU citizens from France, as well as a significant dispute between France and the European Commission. While the dispute raises a number of issues of substantive EU law, it also illustrates some important strengths and weaknesses in the system of fundamental rights protection in EU law. This article takes these events as a test case to illustrate that tackling complex problems of human rights protection in the EU requires a hybrid approach in which individual and institutional enforcement mechanisms are complemented by a third level of collective vigilance. While ever since Van Gend & Loos the EU has built a comprehensive system of individual and institutional remedies for the enforcement of EU law, social and political factors may limit their usefulness for vulnerable minorities. The vigilance of collective actors such as networks, NGOs, trade unions and agencies may offer a useful additional layer of protection where they are well-integrated within the classic system of remedies for fundamental rights protection in the EU.
Towards a revision of the consumer acquis
Authors: Wagner Gerhard , Zimmermann Reinhard , Faust Florian , Eidenmüller Horst , Jansen Nils
Published: March 2022

When the European Commission initiated the Common Frame of Reference process, it aimed, in particular, at a revision of the acquis communautaire in the field of consumer contract law. However, such revision has not, to date, been undertaken. The Draft Common Frame of Reference (DCFR) is marked by a largely uncritical attitude vis-à-vis the acquis. The same will be true, it must be feared, for the "optional instrument" to be developed by an "expert group" on that basis by mid-2011. The Proposal for a "horizontal" Directive on Consumer Rights submitted by the Commission in October 2008 did not benefit from a critical revision of the acquis either. The authors of the present paper have attempted to remedy this deficiency by an investigation of the key issues involved: the proper scope and effectiveness of mandatory law, the policing of not individually negotiated unfair contract terms, rights of withdrawal, the unwinding of consumer contracts following the exercise of a right of withdrawal, and information duties. This paper presents in English the main conclusions of a more comprehensive German study, and in the form of 52 propositions, grouped by subject matter and elucidated, in most cases, by brief comments. We thus hope to initiate a discussion on the reform of European consumer contract law that goes beyond a harmonizing generalization of individual rules, which emphasizes intellectual coherence as well as consistency of concepts, policies, and evaluations. A particular focus is on rational justifications for consumer contract rules and on how such rules should be formulated in order to serve the economic purposes they are intended to serve.
Restrictions of competition by object under Article 101 TFEU
Authors: Bailey David
Published: March 2022

This article discusses the concept of restriction of competition by object under Article 101(1) TFEU.  It is argued that this concept is justified by a combination of economic consensus; practical experience; and policy judgment about the likelihood of harm to competition.  The article discusses the criteria that are used by the EU Courts to identify object restrictions: the content of an agreement, its objectives and its surrounding context.  The case law reveals a process of classification in which the EU Courts engage in a judgment as to how much the conduct deviates from the competitive norm.  That judgment is frequently non-controversial, although the article discusses several recent cases in which the existence of an object restriction was strongly contested.  The article analyses the relationship between object restrictions and respectively the analysis of effects on competition, the de minimis doctrine, and Article 101(3) TFEU.  Classification as an object restriction entails a definitive finding as to a restriction of competition which, provided the other elements of Article 101(1) are met, can only escape prohibition by satisfying Article 101(3) TFEU.
Network neutrality and internal market fragmentation
Authors: Sluijs Jasper P.
Published: March 2022

The debate on network neutrality concerns the ways in which Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can manage the traffic on their network, as gatekeepers of information between content providers and end-users on the Internet. The European institutions have chosen not to regulate network management by ISPs strictly, but rather have them make their network management transparent for end-users. Some Member States, however, are in the process of regulating network management beyond the transparency approach of the European framework, for instance by banning ISPs from blocking or degrading traffic on their networks. Such different regulatory approaches towards network management across borders lead to regulatory fragmentation that causes inefficiencies and threatens the Internal Market. The present research establishes the necessity for the European Institutions to counteract this regulatory fragmentation, and re-harmonize network management regulation across the EU. The core of this article then investigates whether EU law allows for such a re-harmonization effort and analyses two non-exclusive approaches to mitigate regulatory fragmentation of network management. First, the European Commission could open infringement proceedings against defecting Member States and argue that their national regulation encroaches on the independence of National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs). Second, the European Institutions could initiate harmonizing legislation following the Article 114 TFEU procedure-which will likely be upheld when challenged before the European Courts.
An (un)common frame of reference: An American perspective on the jurisprudence of the CESL
Authors: Bernstein Lisa
Published: March 2022

This essay examines the ability of the recentlyproposed Common European Sales Lawto meet its goal of increasing cross-border tradeacross the Common Market, in light of itsdeeply realist jurisprudenceandits extensivereliance on the concepts of tradeusageandgood commercial practice. It concludesthat a more formalisticstatutethatprovidedmenus of clear contract default rulesandencouraged a jurisprudential approach similartothatadoptedby New York Courts, would have a better chance than the CESL of increasing cross-border trade, especiallyamong small and medium sizeenterprises.
Consistency and fundamental freedoms: The case of direct taxation
Authors: Haslehner Werner
Published: March 2022

Consistency,as coherence, is a central requirement of justice, and, consequently, a central requirement for any legal system. The concrete conditions to achieve it, are, however, less evident.  The potential reach of the concept as it appears in the case law of the ECJ, is still mostly unexplored in academic literature. This article thus undertakes to analyse and pinpoint its significance, taking direct tax law as an example of a subject matter falling squarely within the competence of the Member States. As such, direct taxation provides a prime example for the conflicting principles of national parliamentary sovereignty and quasi-constitutional supranational limits to this sovereignty and thus an ideal case for such analysis. It is shown how many of the peculiarities of the ECJ decisions on tax discrimination can bereconceptualized and understood in terms of the idea of consistency. Through the discussion of the main justifications unique to direct tax cases the article also reveals the inconsistency of the ECJ in respect of its application of that central idea and advocates a more stringent approach to improve the transparency of the case law and thus, in turn, its consistency. This approach is explained in more detail by reference to different tests for consistency to be employed on each stage of the proportionality analysis, and defended against possible objections to different standards of the concept.
Accession of the EU to the ECHR: The rationale for the ECJs prior involvement mechanism
Authors: Baratta Roberto
Published: March 2022

After having outlined some of the legal implications, as well as some of the main issues raised by the accession of the EU to the ECHR, the paper focuses on the prior involvement mechanism as to situations when the alleged violation involves national judicial proceedings. It seeks to demonstrate that the mechanism does match both the ECHR's features, and the precise conditions imposed by EU primary law on the accession process. It further argues that the prior involvement rule does not require a revision of the EU Treaties. Finally, it is argued that the ECJ's prior involvement mechanism encourages the positive intervention of the ECJ, while recognizing the subsidiary external control of the Strasbourg Court. It seeks to preserve the primary role of both Courts in their respective domains, on the assumption that the protection of human rights requires the two Courts to be not rivals for primacy, but rather complementary partners for progressiveevolution in the interest of improving individual protection. This is, in the author's view, the fundamental rationale for the prior involvement mechanism.
What if Cassis de Dijon were Cassis de Quebec? The assimilation of goods of third country origin in the internal market
Authors: Ankersmit Laurens
Published: March 2022

This paper attempts to reconcile the principle of assimilation with the principle of mutual recognition with respect to third country goods entering the EU. It argues that third country goods in free circulation should benefit from the principle of mutual recognition when imported into other Member States if those goods are marketable in any one of the Member States. Following the principle of assimilation, such goods should be able to rely on Article 34 TFEU "without distinction" between goods of EU origin and third country origin. Mutual recognition, on the other hand, allows traders to challenge indistinctly applicable product rules if goods are "lawfully produced and marketed in another Member State". This article assesses four different ways of reconciling these two principles. The article argues that the preferred option is to allow goods in free circulation that are "lawfully marketable" in another Member State to benefit from the presumption of equivalence that follows from mutual recognition when those goods are imported into another Member State. This is the least trade restrictive way to achieve the fundamental purpose of mutual recognition: subjecting goods within the EU internal market, as much as possible, to only one set of technical regulations, not two or zero. If goods of third country origin can be marketed in one Member State according its technical rules, those goods should be presumed to meet equivalent standards set by the Member State of importation. The burden of proof should be on the Member State seeking to apply its technical rules to the imported products in question to demonstrate their necessityin light of public interest requirements.
The emergence of an EU lifestyle policy: The case of alcohol, tobacco and unhealthy diets
Authors: Alemanno Alberto , Garde Amandine
Published: March 2022

Non-communicable diseases account for nearly 86percent of deaths and 77percent of the disease burden in Europe. In light of these worrying trends, the European Union has started to develop a range of policies intended to encourage healthier lifestyles, and in particular to reduce smoking, to combat the harmful use of alcohol and to promote healthier diets and physical activity. This article attempts to systematize the common themes emerging between these policies and place lifestyle risk regulation more firmly on the EU agenda. It demonstrates that, besides the inherent complexity of this emerging field of EU studies, which requires a coordinated multi-sectoral response, the very nature of the EU itself gives rise to additional issues around roles, obligations and rights. We conclude that the EU should reflect more systematically upon the coherence, the effectiveness and the limits of its embryonic lifestyle risk policy, and that it should do so in light of the Global Action Plan on the Control and Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases for 2013-2020, unanimously adopted in May at the last World Health Assembly.
The fundamental rights implications of EU legislation: Some constitutional challenges
Authors: Muir Elise
Published: March 2022

The architecture of the EU system of protection of fundamental rights is uniquely complex. The web of Charter and Convention articles is closely interwoven with general principles of EU law,Treaty provisions as well as with rights enshrined in EU legislation. The latter have received limited attention to date. EU legislation increasingly directly or indirectly, explicitly or implicitly, sets fundamental rights standards or marks the presence of Union law - thereby allowing the European Court of Justice to do so. The variety of EU legislation with fundamental rights implications sheds light on the active dimension of EU fundamental rights policy and poses multiple challenges for the interaction between the European and domestic legal orders that are explored in this article).
The fight against letterbox companies in the internal market
Authors: Engsig Sørensen Karsten
Published: March 2022

After the seminal judgment in Centros, it seemed that the fight against  letterbox companies was lost. The judgment made it clear that it is  possible for a company without any substantial activities in the Member  State where it is incorporated to exercise the free movement rights when  doing business in other Member States. After this judgment, the  widespread use of letterbox companies was not countered by any  coordinated effort of the EU; instead the Member States individually  undertook to fight letterbox companies. However, it has become clear that  letterbox companies sometimes interfere with the proper functioning of  the internal market. As a result, the EU has recently adopted or proposed  legislation aimed at diminishing the threat they pose. The article analyses  these legislative measures, their background and impact.
From the Scylla of restriction to the Charybdis of licence? Exploring the scope of the special purposes freedom of expression shield in European data protection
Authors: Erdos David
Published: March 2022

The relationship between European data protection and public freedom of  expression is tense. Directive 95/46 includes a special purposes provision  for processing "carried out solely for journalistic purposes or . . . artistic  or literary expression", but its limited scope fails to fully reconcile values  in this area. The recent Google Spain decision highlights that these  problems were only partially resolved in Satamedia. Proposed  amendments risk expanding the scope of this highly discretionary clause  into one of universal application. However, this conflicts with the core  harmonizing aim of reform, and would almost certainly be interpreted  much more restrictively, fuelling existing confusions. A two-pronged,  layered approach may be preferable, expanding the special purposes  provision to protect disclosure of information, opinion or ideas for the  benefit of the public collectively, while obliging Member States to effect a  broader but more stringent reconciliation of data protection with the right  to public freedom of expression under general derogation provisions.
Towards an EU law doctrine on the exercise of discretion in national courts? The Member States self-imposed limits on national procedural autonomy
Authors: Wallerman Anna
Published: March 2022

While it is widely recognized that national procedural law must satisfy the minimum requirements of effectiveness and equivalence, the way procedural law is regulated is generally considered a matter of Member State autonomy. However, this article demonstrates that the ECJ tends to award national legislatures greater autonomy in procedural matters than it does national courts. The effect is that the framing of national rules, such as the choice between mandatory regulation and conferral of discretion, does matter in EU law. Relying on the principle of sincere cooperation, the Court has on several occasions held that the existence of a discretion or a power on the part of the national court entails a duty to exercise that discretion or power in the way most conducive to the effective enforcement of EU law, even though the rule providing for the discretion is not in itself contrary to EU law. Discretion in national law is thereby used to enhance the impact of EU law. By increasing discretionary elements in procedural rules, national legislatures may thus unwittingly strengthen the impact of EU law in the Member States.
The lender of last resort in the eurozone
Authors: Steinbach Armin
Published: March 2022

Liquidity supply by a Lender of Last Resort (LOLR) can be pivotal for both the conduct of monetary policy and safeguard of financial stability. During the financial crisis, the importance of liquidity provision significantly increased at both the macro-level – through the European Central Bank – and also for individual credit institutions in the guise of Emergency Liquidity Assistance through the National Central Banks (NCBs). This article examines the legal framework in which the ECB and the NCBs carry out their respective roles as LOLR. The question of who holds competence for liquidity supply is discussed in light of the LOLR functions pertaining to financial stability and monetary policy, as are the availability of effective measures and the legal prerequisites and limitations, particularly with regard to the prohibition of monetary State financing, the imperative of price stability and State aid rules. In view of recent reforms of banking supervision in the eurozone, the question of centralizing Emergency Liquidity Assistance within the ECB also arises.
Genetically modified crops, agricultural sustainability and national opt-outs: Enclosure as the loophole?
Authors: Dobbs Mary
Published: March 2022

EU Member States face a quandary: after decades of demanding powers to choose whether or not to cultivate GM crops, the EU has returned some limited but significant powers to them. A directive permits Member States to “opt-out” from GM cultivation, provided that they meet relevant criteria. Member States need to decide urgently and carefully whether and how to restrict GM crops, as the permeable nature of the environment facilitates the spread of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) once cultivated. One consideration is agri-sustainability. In principle, GM crops could promote agri-sustainability, including through increasing agrobiodiversity, as they facilitate introducing new traits or species into an ecosystem. However, the nature of their modifications allows for the applicability of patenting law, which enables the legal “enclosure” of the crops’ genetic make-up. This impacts negatively upon the long-term availability of plant genetic resources and agrobiodiversity, as farmers and other breeders operate in a context where accidental cultivation of patented material can still attract liability. This article argues that legal enclosure could justify imposing restrictions on GM cultivation in order to conserve agrobiodiversity as an exhaustible natural resource essential to agri-sustainability. To improve the likelihood of restrictions being upheld legally at both the EU and WTO level, such justifications must be distinguished clearly from any broader environmental concerns, as both the EU and WTO impose stringent restrictions where environmental objectives are raised.
Brexit as the European Unions Machiavellian moment
Authors: Van Middelaar Luuk
Published: March 2022

The article presents the political developments following the UK’s Brexit referendum decision, arguing that the EU demonstrated a combination of frailty and firmness, resentment and determination, which were signs of a new will to live. The EU showed awareness of the need to protect itself and its citizens. The recognition that the very existence of the Union could not be taken for granted is presented in terms of a “Machiavellian moment”, a concept taken from Pocock. The article argues that the main reason why this particular moment evoked a will to live that seemed lacking in earlier crises facing the Union is situated in the geopolitical needs of the Federal Republic of Germany.
An airbag for the crash test dummies? EU-UK negotiations for a post-withdrawal status quo transitional regime under Article 50 TEU
Authors: Dougan Michael
Published: March 2022

Following the EU’s acceptance of the UK’s formal request for a post-withdrawal transitional regime, a common understanding was reached that it would be desirable to base a transitional regime, in principle, on a temporary prolongation of the status quo. However, there remains tension between the political preferences of the two sides. The article examines these developments, and looks in particular at whether a “status quo” transition can be located within the legal basis of Article 50 TEU, also bearing in mind the broader constitutional context provided by the Treaties and Union principles. It investigates the exceptional nature of the powers conferred on the Union under Article 50 TEU. It concludes that there may be more difficulties in agreeing the transitional arrangements than is widely assumed.
Closed evidence in EU courts: Security, secrets and access to justice
Authors: Abazi Vigjilenca , Eckes Christina
Published: March 2022

In 2015, the General Court’s Rules of Procedure introduced for the first time an EU closed evidence procedure that allows the use of closed or semi-closed evidence, i.e. reliance on evidence that is not, or not fully, disclosed to the applicant. This article shows that the EU closed evidence procedure does not comply with the requirements of the ECHR where even the essence of the evidence is kept from the applicant. It also identifies procedural ambiguities where compliance with the ECHR depends on the interpretation of the Rules by the GC.The article further argues that as the Rules were not introduced through publicly debated law, but were drafted and developed mostly behind closed doors, they lack democratic legitimacy.
The rise of deference: The margin of appreciation and decentralized judicial review in EU free movement law
Authors: Zglinski Jan
Published: March 2022

An institution erstwhile known for its activism, the ECJ has, in recent years, rendered a growing number of judgments marked by caution, especially when reviewing Member State acts. Through doctrines such as the margin of appreciation, the Court has granted national authorities substantial deference. This article investigates how and when the Court defers to the Member States. It focuses on free movement adjudication and, more specifically, on the way in which the ECJ conducts justification and proportionality review. Drawing on an empirical study of free movement case law (1974–2013), it is argued that an important shift has taken place in EU law: the ECJ is scaling down its control over Member State measures and increasingly delegates decision-making tasks to national institutions, both political and judicial.
Do we still need Article 6(2) TEU? Considerations on the absence of EU accession to the ECHR and its consequences
Authors: Callewaert Johan
Published: March 2022

Article 6(2) TEU provides that the EU shall accede to the European Convention on Human Rights. However, the EU accession project has been significantly delayed by Opinion 2/13 of the ECJ. At the same time, there appears to be some harmony in the case law of the two European Courts, which could lead to the status quo being considered as a valid alternative to EU accession. It might therefore be tempting to remove Article 6(2) altogether from the TEU at the next revision of the Treaties. This paper argues that Article 6(2) should stay in the TEU, because a closer look reveals that the current status quo is not satisfactory: it does not allow an adequate representation of the EU in the procedure before the European Court of Human Rights, nor is it capable of ensuring in the long-term comprehensive and stable consistency between EU law and the Convention. Moreover, removing Article 6(2) TEU would undermine the very idea of a collective understanding and enforcement of fundamental rights. This could initiate a process leading to the current European architecture of fundamental rights protection being unravelled altogether. Hence, there is no return from Article 6(2) TEU. Neither is there from actually implementing it.
A constitutional twilight zone: EU decentralized agencies external relations
Authors: Chamon Merijn
Published: March 2022

Even though EU agencies are poorly embedded in the EU’s constitutional framework their proliferation continues. If and when these agencies establish relations with international counterparts, they sometimes also conclude arrangements or agreement with those counterparts. This brings together two constitutionally problematic issues: the EU’s external action and the limits to the empowerment of EU agencies. This article aims to identify the constitutional and positive law frameworks applying to EU agencies’ external action, and looks at a number of examples. It is shown how the positive law framework does not properly reflect the requirements of EU constitutional law, resulting in legal ambiguity and accountability problems. Some EU agencies seem to go beyond what is allowed under the positive and constitutional law frameworks.
What does Europe do about fair competition in international air transport? A critique of recent actions
Authors: Lykotrafiti Antigoni
Published: March 2022

The States’ perception of what constitutes fair competition in international air transport has evolved from a quid pro quo approach in the era of airline regulation to a laissez-faire approach in the era of airline de-regulation. However, no consensus has ever been reached as to, first, what constitutes fair competition in an industry whose market access is still contingent on bilateral air services agreements (ASAs), and, second, what the pre-requisites of a level playing field are. The commercial success of the Gulf airlines has obliged regulators and policymakers around the world to revisit this issue and demand compliance with global rules. The EU has responded by adopting Regulation (EU) 2019/712 on safeguarding fair competition, as well as by championing the inclusion of fair competition clauses in ASAs. The analysis examines the compatibility of unilateral action under the Regulation with mutually negotiated solutions under ASAs so as to assess the legitimacy and efficiency of the EU strategy in the area of fair competition in international air transport.
Public health emergencies and export restrictions: Solidarity and a common approach or disintegration of the internal market?
Authors: Sokol Tomislav
Published: March 2022

One of the issues which has emerged during the COVID crisis concerns export restrictions on basic supplies – medical equipment – imposed by some EU Member States. Apart from fracturing the internal market, such practices may lead to stockpiling and wastage due to non-priority use of medical equipment. Crucial supplies may fail to reach the people who need them most. Export restrictions may be justified by Member States based on public health protection, subject to the proportionality test. This article claims that the traditional model of justifying market restrictions is not well-equipped to address public health emergencies. It proposes interpreting the notion of public health taking into consideration the public health situations in different EU Member States in cases of emergency, not limited to the situation in the Member State imposing the export restriction. This approach is based on individual and national solidarity within the Union. Finally, a refined application of the proportionality test, to be applied when assessing national export restrictions within the described context, is proposed.
Equivalence in the area of financial services: An effective instrument to protect EU financial stability in global capital markets?
Authors: Pennesi Francesco
Published: March 2022

The article investigates whether the main EU regulatory mechanism for managing cross-border trade in financial services with third countries, the EU equivalence regime, is compatible with the post-financial crisis objective of protecting financial stability. Equivalence allows third-country financial firms to operate in the internal market on the basis of their home country regulation if this is equivalent to EU law. There are three different procedural safeguards to avoid financial stability risks: a) ex ante assessment of third countries’ regulation to ensure regulatory compatibility between the EU and the third country; b) ex post withdrawal of market access if cross-border liberalization triggers a “race to the bottom”; and c) direct supervision of systemic third-country entities to prevent them from becoming vectors of cross-border systemic risk. The article argues that those safeguards are ineffective in protecting the internal market from external risks. It proposes two alternative reforms. First, the EU could replace equivalence with a system of substituted compliance, following the US model where foreign financial firms must register with local authorities and follow host country regulation. Alternatively, the EU could reinforce the assessment, withdrawal, and supervisory procedure by harmonizing the current patchwork of different
Constitutional identity and judicial cooperation in civil matters in the European Union – An ace up the sleeve?
Authors: Szabados Tamás
Published: March 2022

The reliance on constitutional identity by EU courts and governments has been widely discussed in legal scholarship, but less attention has been devoted to the impact of constitutional identity-based arguments on the evolution of judicial cooperation in civil matters. Member States have increasingly relied on constitutional identity in the area of private international law to claim the application of their own law or reject the recognition of foreign situations. Constitutional identity can be invoked through the public policy exception, to avoid the normal operation of private international law rules. Member States can also refer to constitutional identity when staying outside the adoption of EU private international law rules, especially regarding family law. Constitutional identity can thus impede judicial cooperation in civil matters and contribute to the fragmentation of EU private international law. Constitutional identity does not grant unfettered freedom to Member States, however. The autonomous private international law rules of the Member States must respect EU fundamental principles if the situation demonstrates some connection to EU law and the public international law obligations assumed by the Member State concerned.
Legal mobilization via preliminary reference: Insights from the case of migrant rights
Authors: Passalacqua Virginia
Published: March 2022

Over the years, many theories have tried to explain the puzzle of cross-national variation in preliminary reference rates before the ECJ. Most of the contributions focused on the role of national judges, examining their legal education, policy preferences, workload, and attitude towards higher courts. This article adopts, instead, a legal mobilization perspective that decentralizes the role of courts and redirects the focus to the litigants and their political context. Relying on empirical research and on a comparison of three country case studies in the field of migration, the article argues that national patterns of mobilization influence the emergence of preliminary references. Moreover, it identifies three factors at the national level that help understand when legal mobilization occurs via preliminary reference: altruism, Euro-expertise, and EU legal opportunity structure. The article makes both an empirical and a theoretical contribution by bridging the scholarship on legal mobilization and EU judicial politics.
Management of inoperable endometrial cancer
Authors: Pitakkarnkul Supakorn , Chanpanitkitchot Saranya , Tangjitgamol Siriwan
Published: March 2022

Some endometrial cancer (EMC) patients are not good candidates for primary surgery. The three major types of treatment for inoperable EMC are radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or their combination as neoadjuvant treatment before surgery. Radiation therapy alone (of different modes) has been used as the sole definitive therapeutic modality, particularly for early-stage disease that is limited to the uterine body and cervix with or without parametrial invasion. The most common treatment modality is neoadjuvant treatment before surgery. Postoperative adjuvant treatment is also occasionally used, depending mainly on the sites of the disease and the results of surgery. Data on neoadjuvant hormonal or radiation therapy are limited, with studies focusing on laboratory outcomes or having only a small number of patients. Most neoadjuvant treatments before surgery involved chemotherapy and fewer combined chemoradiotherapy. Surgery was generally performed, particularly in patients who had shown responses or at least stable disease to neoadjuvant treatment. Perioperative outcomes after neoadjuvant treatment were superior to those after primary surgery, whereas survival data were still inconsistent. Features that had or tended to have a favorable prognosis were younger age, early-stage disease, response to neoadjuvant treatment, low preoperative cancer antigen-125 level, and optimal surgery. Among different modalities of neoadjuvant treatment, which has become a frequent mode of treatment, neoadjuvant chemotherapy was more common than radiation therapy alone or chemoradiation.
Research on Product Blocking from an Antitrust Perspective
Authors: Kong Yuxuan
Published: March 2022

In the era of digital economy, risks and opportunities coexist. Business practice is constantly changing, and business strategies of Internet enterprises tend to be conservative. In order to maximize user traffic, Internet platform enterprises widely take product blocking measures against their competitors, such as restricting platform access and blocking network connection. These behaviors are profitable, technical and competitive, conducive to helping platforms create economic benefits. But at the same time, they should be regulated by law as they may damage consumers’ rights and interests and hinder fair competition. From an antitrust perspective, relevant markets should be firstly defined to determine whether the platform with blocking behaviors has a dominant position. If the enterprise dominates the relevant markets, whether the dominance is abused ought to be evaluated according to the components of the rejection transaction. Finally, the effect of restricting competition is expected to be accessed with the principle of rationality. Through clarifying the evaluation framework of antitrust law, this paper aims to improve the legislative concept of antitrust law providing a more complete dispute resolution mechanism for China’s judicial practice.
Research on Enterprise Human Resource Performance Management Innovation in the Era of Big Data
Authors: Zhao Peipei
Published: March 2022

With the rapid development of Internet information technology, big data has become an important feature of today's era. Under the background of the big data era, the popularity of the Internet, the development of artificial intelligence and the application of information technology help to tap the potential of employees, optimize the enterprise organizational structure and realize the informatization and systematization of enterprise human resource performance management, so as to improve the work efficiency of enterprise human resource performance management and help enterprises achieve strategic objectives. The traditional human resource performance appraisal methods have some problems, such as strong subjectivity, low intelligence, insufficient application of performance management achievements and so on. Based on the era background of big data, this paper explores the innovation path, influence mode and application methods of enterprise human resource performance management, so as to further promote the development of research in relevant fields and provide reference for the practical application of enterprise management in improving evaluation methods, designing evaluation system, optimizing the key links and so on.
Research on the Educational Mechanism of University Teachers based on the Perspective of "Three All-round Education"
Authors: Gan Changlai
Published: March 2022

Building the educational mechanism of university teachers from the perspective of "three All-round education" is the key to realize the educational work of university teachers. The exploration and research were carried out from the analysis of the main connotation of "three All-round education", the central features of the education mechanism, and the construction principles of education mechanism, improving the mechanism of unified leadership of the Party committee, the joint management mechanism of the team by all departments; perfecting the trinity mechanism of Full-time teachers, class teachers, and counselors; giving play to the leading mechanism of the Two-course teachers; improving the building of education mechanism of the administrative and service staff.
Analysis of Gender Stereotyping in English Textbook from A Sociolinguistics Perspective
Authors: Ye Hanwen
Published: March 2022

Human language learning is inextricably linked to its cultural environment. Therefore, the Male-oriented perspective of language bias can give rise to invisible gender stereotypes and internalize them in the minds of language learners. The New English Grammar Course, as a commonly used textbook for English-related majors at the university level, is bound to have a profound impact on college students' values and ways of thinking, and its gender perspective has profound research value. This thesis will build a text corpus of A New English Grammar Coursebook based on quantitative method and text analysis, analyze the linguistic phenomena containing gender stereotypes, and explore the defects of the textbook in several aspects such as masculine subject personal pronouns, strong masculine vocabulary, collocative adjectives, and references to professions and famous people. It also extrapolates past research experiences to finally propose effective ways to address gender stereotyping in textbook texts.
The Concept of “A Community of Shared Destiny” in Robert Frost’s Poems
Authors: Zhang Na
Published: March 2022

Robert Frost was one of the most well-known poets in the United States. He used to live in the farm in New Hampshire. With familiarity with the natural scenery. Frost’s Poems were famous for the specific images in New England. However, his poems were rarely so plain as it appeared. Frost seemed likely to use the simple words to express the deep meanings. In his poems, the concept of “A community of Shared Destiny” was gradually but deeply implicated. The “community” included “Nature and Man”, “Animals and Man” “Man and Man” and so on.
Research on the Supply and Influencing Factors of Urban Community Senior Care Services
Authors: Zhao Xiaoyan , Jiang Mengyu
Published: March 2022

At the present stage, solving the old-age problem is the most important task in China. With the huge population base in China, coupled with the serious aging of the population, the solution of the old-age problem has been one of the most important livelihood issues in China. The solution of the old-age problem is mainly focused on the urban community, and once the problem of old-age in the urban community is solved, half of the old-age problem in China will be solved. The supply of elderly care services in urban communities is mainly reflected in community nursing homes, care homes, families, elderly activity centers, etc. The main influencing factors are population, income, urban living environment, etc. The current community elderly care system is not mature enough and there are many problems that need to be improved continuously to enhance the quality of elderly care.
Analysis of the Narrative Art and Emotional Expression of the "Crying Marriage Songs" of Guizhou Daozhen Gelo Ethnic Minority
Authors: Li Shun
Published: March 2022

As a traditional marriage custom of Gelo ethnic group, Crying Marriage Songs have shown their unique emotional power through historical development and cultural inheritance. The procedure can be divided into starting, crying, and parting. In terms of the narrative art, the performative act of crying and singing is characterized with diversified objects, improvised content based on inheritance, and multiple forms. As for the emotional expression, the songs of crying marriage custom reflect not only the social life and historical situation, but also crying women's thoughts and cognitive processes, indicting the feudal ethics such as arranged marriage and sale of marriage. As a poetic art, the crying songs that contain a rich emotional charm show the national psychology, temperament and aspirations of the Gelo people.