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Taking into account recent literature on economic growth, we focus on analyzing the extent to which metropolitan regions (NUTS3 urban predominant regions), as growth poles, especially from Romania and from EU member states and regions with similar levels of development, contribute to economic growth, from the perspective of employment-related issues. We place our analysis in the context of Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and of the urban dimension of the EU regional policies. The variables included refer to labor market indicators, in conjunction with demographic data, from Eurostat, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the contribution of growth poles to the overall development of country, in comparison with the capital region, the national average and EU27 average. The selection of growth poles from countries with similar levels of development as Romania is based on previous research results of cluster analysis for year 2010, conducted using headline indicators of Europe 2020 strategy and GDP per head, for country level, and cohesion policy indicators, for NUTS2 regional level, looking for possible overlaps of the country and regional clustering that include Romanian regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we introduce the special issue on Financial and Institutional Reforms for an Entrepreneurial Society in Europe. There are many reasons for Europe to want to make the transition to a more Entrepreneurial Society. And for decades now, policy makers are trying to bring that transition about with variations on the Beducate, deregulate and finance^ approach to entrepreneurship. We argue that more fundamental reforms are required to improve the entrepreneurial ecosystem and bring about this transition. We then discuss the 12 contributions that pertain to five different facets of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The first two papers address the most fundamental institutional foundations of the ecosystem. The next three papers discuss the (lack of) access to knowledge and incentives to start innovative entrepreneurial ventures. That is followed by three papers that focus on the institutions that (fail to) channel financial resources to such ventures and two papers that analyze the relevance of labor market institutions. The special issue concludes with two papers investigating how the interplay of institutions and productive entrepreneurship results in economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topic of financial inclusion has gained increased attention, on the background of international frameworks and policies devoted to inclusive societies, inclusive financial systems, sustainable and inclusive growth. However, existing literature and practice lack a generally accepted, reliable and easy to interpret quantitative measure of financial inclusion. The novelty of our paper relies on developing a financial inclusion index, comprising an updated set of indicators which account for current developments of the financial industry and the continuous diversification and complementarity of financial products people have access to. It is the first study comprising all the 28 EU countries and covering a large, recent time horizon (2008-2013). The index has been computed for each year considered and a ranking has been provided to comparatively assess the evolution of a given country on the financial inclusion scale. Our findings revealed that one-third of EU countries show moderate financial inclusion, while the remaining ones depict low financial inclusion, with different degrees of severity. A constant presence at the bottom limit of financial inclusion, in each of the six years, has been Romania. This result reflects a reality, namely the lack of official concern from authorities and financial institutions in respect of monitoring, measuring and stimulating financial inclusion. We believe that the index proposed in this paper could act not only for assessing the degree of inclusion at a given moment of time, but also as a tool for monitoring and signaling the imperative involvement of regulators, financial institutions and civil society in designing and implementing policies and programs for enhancing inclusive financial products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study is to determine the pace and directions of changes (understood as: improvement or deterioration) occurring in selected areas of sustainable development of EU Member States. The paper analyzes dynamics of changes in selected areas of sustainable development monitored on the basis of headline indicators published by Eurostat from 2008 to 2015. In the paper, three variants of reference points of synthetic measure of development were considered. On the basis of the obtained results, the countries in which the improvement in the sustainable development and its deterioration can be observed were identified. The results have confirmed the existence of significant developmental disparities between EU Member States in this field, but it should be noted that the obtained results depend on the methodological approach both to the selection of features and the adoption of a specific standardization formula, as well as the considered variants of reference points. The results obtained can be utilized in subsequent years to examine the directions of change observed both from the point of view of European Union as one organization, and the individual EU Member States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today the EU is being confronted with internal and external economic challenges. They may become a threat of European stability. Significant strategies must be implemented for the promotion of a sustainable development reflected in economic resilience. The paper deals with the question of boosting the competitiveness of the EU via a rapid implementation of the trust-like mechanisms- "analogues" of the common law trust. It is mainly oriented on the method of a comparative analysis and presents certain prorated fruitful ways of rapid implementation of the trust-like devices in civil law jurisdictions. The outcomes of the paper will be useful for the successful planning of the European entrusting processes, because they indicate to the necessity of the implementation of the American models of mutual funds and the beginning of the utilization of an express trust, which will serve a great variety of socio-economic purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on water scarcity and water management in Europe has accelerated significantly in the past two decades, mainly as a result of growing water demand for agricultural, industrial, and municipal uses. Most research studies in the field evaluate water use and management by means of static indicators that depict a one-time value for a given time period (e.g., one year). This paper suggests a dynamic indicator measuring product (here: water) generational dematerialization. The indicator presents a comprehensive approach for evaluating water resources and water management strategies, as it represents a function of both resource use changes and population changes occurring simultaneously and over time. To accentuate the benefits of this dynamic indicator over static indicators as well as its practical applicability for decision-making support, the paper evaluates water management in Europe based on the total water use between 2001 and 2013. The results show that water management estimated cumulatively for the analyzed European countries has been effective for the last 13 years, though significant regional variations have been found. The research and the dynamic water generational dematerialization indicator can be helpful with addressing regional and national water deficit problems and designing sustainable water management strategies in the mid- and long-run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

The process of integration and future developments within the European Union (EU) covers the issues of environmental protection, sustainable development and energy efficiency. These issues are becoming a significant part of economic and social development and appear as a factor for assessing the competitiveness of the EU countries. Therefore, this paper focuses on: the implementation of achieving the climate and energy objectives in line with the Europe 2020 Strategy, the environmental sustainability of EU countries under the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) and the assessment of the competitiveness of the EU countries on the basis of ecological development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe through innovation system foresight and systemic innovation approach to address key systemic issues of European Union (EU) Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) concerning the sustainable development and economic resilience: the authors highlight the need for a systemic approach to innovation policy for the sustainable islands’ growth.Design/methodology/approach This research focuses on a multiple case study of selected OCTs, members of the Association of the OCTs. Specifically, this paper illustrates the foresight approach implemented in six OCTs in the context of the Territorial Strategies for Innovation project funded by the 10th European Development Fund.Findings The focus is on innovation system foresight and systemic innovation: the authors argue that key innovation elements of the individual OCTs can be used as crucial components of an emerging innovation system while this specific type of foresight can assist the governments of respective OCTs in the selection and design of specific instruments in relation to the formulation of their innovation strategies and policies.Originality/value This paper is based on work undertaken by the Territorial Strategies for Innovation project team during a three-year period dedicated to supporting the governments of OCTs both in defining and in implementing their innovation strategies. Its main contribution is to develop the concept of innovation system foresight and systemic innovation for the OCTs. The work presented here is considered to be of value by highlighting specific innovation elements for achieving sustainable and inclusive growth in OCTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The work represents a continuation of the author's concerns about sustainable development issues. This paper is aimed at meeting Romania's targets for energy and the environment, targets with a major impact on the objectives of sustainable development. The concrete targets included in SDSEU and RES are highlighted, defining and specifying how to assess their degree of achievement. For the evaluations, the official information from the NRAE and DB of NIS is used. The conclusions contain references to the degree of achievement of TC for EM as well as proposals for improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) launched in 2009 as the Eastern dimension of the European Neighbourhood Policy introduced the civil society as a new strategic actor in the EU's relations with Eastern Partnership countries. The civil society's role is to participate in policy making, to suggest new initiatives and to promote shared values of partnership, such as: democracy, promoting better governance, state law, sustainable development, respect for human rights and for the fundamental freedoms. The paper is divided into two parts. In the first part, we analyse the role of the civil society in the EaP and we ask whether the increasing role of the civil society in the EaP will lead to the success of this project. In the second part, we analyse the perceptions and the attitudes of civil society towards European integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socio-economic development of EU countries has been and remains a constant concern of specialists in the field in recent years, reflected in a country's welfare analysis by socio-economic factors. The study shows that while some European Union countries have a high level of GDP, it lags behind other countries if we consider other indicators showing the level of socio-economic development. The paper evaluated and compared disparities between the 28 EU countries based on a set of indicators that combine relevant economic and social data. The indicators used in research provide insight into three key areas for sustainable development- economic development, innovation, competitiveness and employment. The method used is that of real rank, resulting in a ranking of them according to the importance given to each indicator in terms of information content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

Processes of regionalization are mainly conceived as bottom-up processes of political and economic mobilization—often even as counter-movements to alienating forces of globalization. In marked contrast to this conventional view, this paper argues that sub-national regions are constitutively shaped by and embedded in a wider social context. This external institutional context encourages the ‘reflexive resurgence’ and ‘staging’ of regional identities in terms of most contemporary notions of development, such as innovation, cohesion, competitiveness, sustainability, and so forth. Starting from a macro-phenomenological research perspective (in the tradition of the world society theory proposed by John W. Meyer and colleagues) this paper sketches six major analytical perspectives to account for the massive ‘world-cultural’ regional mobilization currently seen in Europe. It is emphasized that relatively universal (‘world-cultural’) models and practices of regional mobilization are crucial in determining the current shape of European regions. This has particularly been encouraged by the EU Cohesion Policy, which specifies, reinforces and accelerates the diffusion of highly rationalized models of regional development throughout EU territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the White Paper on Transport 2011 the European Commission stressed the concept of green transport corridors, i.e. transshipment routes with concentration of freight traffic between major hubs and by relatively long distances of transport marked by reduced environmental and climate impact while increasing safety and efficiency with application of sustainable logistics solutions. Green transport is based on inter-modality, powerful logistics hubs and advanced ICT-systems improving traffic management, increase efficiency and better integrate the logistics components of a corridor. Sustainable hub development along the transshipment routes of green corridors is one of the major tasks of green corridors in order to safeguard and meet the necessary corridor performance for the current and future transport demand. The main corridor hubs represent logistics clusters in the sense of Yossi Sheffi, comprising ports, logistics centers and other transshipment nodes. The paper will present results about the development of core logistics clusters representing hubs in green transport corridors and it will indicate actions for hub development with a future-oriented compilation of sustainable development measures of infrastructural, legal or organizational nature. Since the author took part in some important green transport corridor initiatives around the Baltic Sea, including "East-West Transport Corridor (EWTC II)" initiative, representing the first European project which delivered a green corridor manual formulating recommendations and requirements of green transport corridors to European level, some case studies from EWTC project will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a framework of the tax systems of CIT - Corporate Income Tax in the EU. This paper treats the concept of CIT according to the OECD, EU directives and Kosovo legislation. It aims to identify gaps in the current Kosovo legislaton and the tendency to increase the harmonization of the tax systems in EU, especially, in view of the direct taxes. The theory of international tax law counts some methods used in the case of the relocation of the source of income from countries with high tax rate in countries with the lower tax rate. However, determining the level of taxation in this area is the exclusive issue of Member States in harmony with the principle of subsidiarity. With the aim at securing sustainable economic development and growth in the EU, within the framework of their strategy some changes were proposed regarding the elimination of all legal and fiscal barriers that hinder the full integration of the national systems of member states into the common market. The CCCTB initiative is considered a major step towards aligning the EU tax systems. So, the purpose of this article is to demonstrate the level of harmonization of the tax systems in EU, using the comparativ, empirical, normativ and logical methods, to conclude the role of CIT in the tax systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the sustainability of urban housing in the European Union. It outlines a number of key criteria for assessing the sustainability of urban housing including mixed-use developments, higher residential densities, high-quality dwellings and neighbourhoods, affordability and food production. Utilizing the 2007 tranche of the European Quality of Life Survey, it finds significant variations between countries in the sustainability of urban housing and communities and highlights the leaders and laggards in this regard. The relative success of urban areas in Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Finland deserves some additional research, although there is scope for considerable improvement even in these “leader” countries. The paper highlights significant problems with housing and communities in some urban locations which must significantly retract from (a) the quality of life of residents in these locations and (b) the sustainability of their cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indicators define our world. We are constantly measured and assessed. Perhaps the most important indicator in current use is Gross Domestic Product or GDP. It is the measure of a nation's success and can be key to its ability to borrow money and appear internationally credible. This paper is set against the current debate 'Beyond GDP' begun in November 2007 with the conference hosted by the European Commission, European Parliament, Club of Rome, OECD and WWF. The initiative, with its five actions, recognizes weaknesses in the ways in which indicators of all kinds are collected and presented, and attempts to improve the indicator world, but is the answer to effective information for policy formulation hidden in the articulation of indicators? Maybe indicator use is a function of the ways in which stakeholders are engaged in their use? Our conjecture is that indicator use is little understood and that this use dynamic can be better understood. In this paper, the authors write from the perspective of their work undertaken in the European Union funded Framework 7 project 'Policy Influence of Indicators' (POINT; contract no 217207), which began in 2008. A major element of the project involved a number of group workshops designed to elicit viewpoints regarding the use of indicators (including sustainable development indicators) in sustainable development policy at EU and member-state levels. The paper outlines some emergent hypotheses and hints at how group approaches to indicators can be foreseen and some challenges for indicator use policy for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

This paper examines the potential impact of the European Union’s Environmental Liability Directive (ELD)1 on the nanotechnology (NT) sector. In terms of risk governance the ELD represents a new paradigm, affording the environment an enhanced status both in legal and indeed ontological terms. However, the nature of the NT industry itself is such as to create complexity in the implementation of the ELD. Whilst the field of nano-toxicology is making advances, debate still prevails around issues pertaining to exposure, (eco)-toxicity, metrics, potential impact and legal causation. Levels of uncertainty remain high and hence measuring environmental impact is problematic. The paper addresses the potential environmental liability exposures of NT manufacturers and producers pursuant to the provisions of the ELD and by extension highlights the importance of the insurability of the liability risk all of which bears significance for the sustainability of the industry. It also examines the legal and regulatory challenges of the application of the ELD in the context of the NT industry, highlighting the challenges which this pervasive technology presents for regulatory policy. A cursory discussion of the legal theoretical underpinning of the directive helps to explain the rationale of the directive. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In 2010, EU adopted a new growth strategy which includes three growth priorities and five headline targets to be reached by 2020. The aim of this paper is to investigate the current performance of the EU member and candidate states in achieving these growth priorities and the overall strategy target by allocating the headline targets into the priorities and the priorities into the strategy by the use of a composite indicator methodology. The paper determines how far away each member and candidate state is from the targeted levels of the priorities and the strategy by making a distinction between EU 15 and relatively new member states as well. The developed composite indices enable the observation of the performances of the member and candidate states in a single indicator for the overall strategy and each growth priority. The results of the strategy index and three growth priority indices show that Nordic states possess the highest index scores already having reached many of the targets; many new member states performed as good as EU 15 and some EU 15 states are placed at the bottom of the ranking with quite poor performance in reaching the EU 2020 strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to summarize and discuss the results from the LIVING LAB design study, a project within the 7th Framework Programme of the European Union. The aim of this project was to develop the conceptual design of the LIVING LAB Research Infrastructure that will be used to research human interaction with, and stimulate the adoption of, sustainable, smart and healthy innovations around the home. Design/methodology/approach – A LIVING LAB is a combined lab-/household system, analysing existing product-service-systems as well as technical and socioeconomic influences focused on the social needs of people, aiming at the development of integrated technical and social innovations and simultaneously promoting the conditions of sustainable development (highest resource efficiency, highest user orientation, etc.). This approach allows the development and testing of sustainable domestic technologies, while putting the user on centre stage. Findings – As this paper discusses the design study, no actual findings can be presented here but the focus is on presenting the research approach. Originality/value – The two elements (real homes and living laboratories) of this approach are what make the LIVING LAB research infrastructure unique. The research conducted in LIVING LAB will be innovative in several respects. First, it will contribute to market innovation by producing breakthroughs in sustainable domestic technologies that will be easy to install, user friendly and that meet environmental performance standards in real life. Second, research from LIVING LAB will contribute to innovation in practice by pioneering new forms of in-context, user-centred research, including long-term and cross-cultural research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the European Commission (EC) has placed a focus on social tourism issues within Europe. The underlying logic of this intervention is that social tourism aims for social equity, aiding access to tourism to provide fair tourism for all citizens and contributing towards sustainability of the European tourism industry. By linking social tourism to sustainable development, the EC sets priorities for future policies to foster mobility within the community. Yet, most European countries have different approaches, priorities and diverse ideological interpretations of the role of the state in tourism provision. Consequently, systems and practices vary strongly between nations and seem to put the ideal of a common approach a very distant prospect. This paper outlines the context of these approaches to social tourism to highlight these challenges and to propose initiatives for the future integration of the European social tourism sector. It presents a comparative analysis of social tourism systems in seven European countries with important social tourism structures. The paper assesses different interpretations of social tourism, examining development and employment issues. In addition, the paper assesses the links with the commercial tourism sector and provides recommendations for future development in the social tourism sector and consequences for European policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to investigate the corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy orientations in the Euopean Union (EU) by focusing on the specific case of the French legislation on compulsory sustainability reporting for publicly-listed companies. Design/methodology/approach - The approach is mostly exploratory and based on secondary literature review as well as empirical classroom work on reporting. Findings - This exploratory paper provides findings about the relevance of the French law, thus highlighting some critical aspects of sustainability reporting practices. It also raises the broader issue of the consistency of the European CSR approach. Research limitations/implications - This research needs to be completed by field studies on sustainability reporting practices both in France and in all EU members. Practical implications - This paper may help firms improve their sustainability reporting practices. Originality/value - There have been hardly any papers on the impact of the French NRE law so far. Another original feature is the issue raised about the somewhat unclear links between environmental legislation and CSR policy in the EU. The paper provides a case for regulation in CSR, showing the possible positive impacts on corporate behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable growth and responsibility for the economy and the environment are postulates rarely associated with the term 'financial market'. Financial markets are identified with the ruthless maximisation of profit at acceptable risk, rather than with socially responsible conduct. However, in the global economy businesses modify their priorities and become aware of not just the need to grow in financial terms but also to improve their quality performance. International financial markets have become part of this trend and are increasingly often adopting environmentally friendly attitudes and embracing the challenges posed by the concept of sustainable growth. Ideas such as CSR - Corporate Social Responsibility - and SRI - Socially Responsible Investment are gaining in importance. While sustainable growth of the economy as perceived from the point of view of the manufacturing or service sectors is widely discussed, the sustainable growth of financial markets is a relatively new concept and the available literature on 'green' financial markets is quite scarce. This paper is intended to fill in this gap and examine the changes that have taken place on financial markets in the context of the idea of sustainable growth, with particular attention paid to the European Union markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the rising importance and popularity of the concept of sustainable development, a huge number of various methodologies and concepts for measuring sustainability have evolved in the last few decades. However, there are still challenges and issues that should be solved, suggesting the need for new approaches and sustainability metrics to be developed and proposed. The main goal of this paper is the present possibilities of application of I-distance methodology to measurement of the sustainable development as it could address some of the actual challenges related to subjective nature of usually applied normalization, weighting and aggregation methods. The proposed I-distance methodology was applied on a set of European countries. A twofold approach provided a deeper insight into not only domain dynamics, but also into total score dynamic. It can support policy makers to identify key indicators and focus the policy areas where appropriate policy measures would have the most significant influence on the overall positioning of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special edition contains a selection of papers presented at the conference Labour Standards and Sustainable Development: Unpicking the EU's Approach. As the organizers of the conference and guest editors of this special issue, we are grateful to many, including: for their generous financial support, the Society of Legal Scholars, UACES, the University of Bristol, School of Law and the University of Stirling, School of Law; the speakers and attendees at the conference in October 2014; and Professor Mia Rönnmar, editor of the Journal, for the opportunity to publish the following papers. Below we briefly set out our motivation for holding this conference as well as the principles which guided its organization. Finally we summarize the articles contained in this special issue and conclude with our thoughts on possible directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Problems of Sustainable Development / Problemy Ekorozwoju is the property of Faculty of Environmental Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

By 2020, the European Union, prefigures an economic and social system based on social and economic policy coordination in order to generate the growth for a sustainable development, for the level of employment and social cohesion. The challenges faced by the European Union are greater than before the recession and have a much broader area, starting with fundamental economic issues to social instability. This paper provides an overview of how the European social model should revive the economic system. The main hypothesis of the paper assumes that social market economy with valence in social responsibility can be a viable solution for the future of the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to cast light on the relationship between sustainable development environmental policy and renewable energy use. We utilize a dynamic GMM approach over a panel of 34 European Union (EU) countries spanning the period 2005–2013. Our findings reveal a positive monotonic relationship between development and pollution. Energy saving positively affects environmental degradation, while energy intensity increases air pollution. Our findings have important policy implications for policy makers towards sustainability. Despite the fact that the Europe '20–20–20' climate and energy package strategy seems to be achieved, the recently adopted Energy Roadmap 2050 must be updated on a regular basis in order to be effectively implemented and monitored by government officials and firms' stakeholders. Therefore, we argue that EU countries must increase the use of new technology and renewable energy capacity in order to align environmental policies towards more efficient energy use and sustainable development among the EU periphery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

We provide a first attempt to include an off-balance sheet, implicit insurance to SIFIs into a consistent assessment of fiscal sustainability, for 27 countries of the European Union. We first calculate tax gaps à la Blanchard (OECD Economics Department Working Papers, No 79, ) and Blanchard et al. (Revue économique de l'OCDE, ). We then introduce two alternative measures of implicit off-balance sheet liabilities related to the risk of a systemic bank crisis. The first one relies on microeconomic data at the bank level. The second one is based on econometric estimations of the probability and the cost of a systemic banking crisis. The former approach provides an upper evaluation of the fiscal cost of systemic banking crises, whereas the latter one provides a lower one. Hence, we believe that the combined use of these two methodologies helps to gauge the range of fiscal risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses issues related to the impact of information and communication technologies in the sphere of public administration that lead to rapid and multiple transformations. The fundamental objective of the paper was to highlight the role of digitization in the governance process as a generating element of public value. We have developed the concept of e-government, which has the effect of modernizing central and local public administrations to deliver public services to citizens and to business environment in an integrated, transparent and secure manner. In deeper research, we analyzed the E-Governance Development Index (EDGI) at European Union level and highlighted Romania's position, which is below the European Union average and hence the need to accelerate the digitization process for a faster and more sustainable development. Another relevant indicator was the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), which looks at the evolution of the EU member states in five main dimensions: connectivity, human capital, internet use, digital technologies integration, digital public services. The investigative method was the documentary and comparative analysis of data and information on the role of information and communication technologies provided by reports, statistics, and specialized articles available on the EU websites. We have also highlighted the strategic development lines of the government, which in our country are reflected in the following: Providing improved public services through the use of e-government, Promoting the adoption of eGovernment services, Optimizing the use of ICT in governmental operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to highlight the problems and possibilities for improving the nature protection zoning of protected areas (PA) in spatial planning. It analyses and compares the systems of spatial planning and the legal basis for protecting nature in PAs in selected EU countries and Serbia. It investigates and compares the role of nature protection zoning and the practice of spatial planning for selected European countries. The case study of a national park in each of the selected countries is used to analyse the nature protection zoning and its role in the coordination of spatial planning for PAs and their surroundings. The initial hypothesis is tested and confirmed that, regardless of differences in the planning systems of the selected European countries, the models of nature protection zoning established for PAs are defining for the coordination of planning instruments in achieving the protection and sustainable development of PAs. The lessons learnt concern the identification of similarities and differences in approaches to nature protection zoning, and their relationship with the spatial planning for PAs in six European countries. Based on these lessons and existing research, recommendations are given for improving the legal basis for the nature protection zoning and spatial planning of PAs in Serbia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plausible scenarios of future land use derived from model projections may differ substantially from what is actually desired by society, and identifying such mismatches is important for identifying policies to resolve them. This paper presents an approach to link explorative projections of future land use for the European Union to normative visions of desired land-use futures. We used the results of 24 scenario projections obtained from seven linked simulation models to explore uncertainty in future land-use developments. Land-use projections were linked to statements made by stakeholders for three normative visions of desired, future land use. The visions differed in the scale of multifunctionality of land use: at European (Best Land in Europe), regional (Regional Connected) or local (Local Multifunctional) level. To identify pathways to these visions, we analysed in which cases projected land-use changes matched with the land-use changes desired in the visions. We identified five pathways to the vision Regional Connected, two pathways to the vision Best Land in Europe, but no pathway to the vision Local Multifunctional. Our results suggest that policies have the ability to change the development of land use such that it is more in line with land-use futures desired by society. We believe our approach represents an interesting avenue for foresight studies on land use, as it combines the credibility from explorative scenarios with legitimacy and saliency of normative visions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capture and sequestration of CO 2 released by conventional fossil fuel combustion is an urgent need to mitigate global warming. In this work, main CO 2 capture and sequestration (CCS) systems are reviewed, with the focus on their integration with renewables in order to achieve power plants with nearly zero CO 2 emissions. Among these technologies under development, the Dry Carbonate Process shows several advantages. This manuscript analyses the integration of a CO 2 sorption-desorption cycle based on Na 2 CO 3 /NaHCO 3 into a coal fired power plant (CFPP) for CO 2 capture with solar support for sorbent regeneration. The Dry Carbonate Process relies on the use of a dry regenerable sorbent such as sodium carbonate (Na 2 CO 3 ) to remove CO 2 from flue gases. Na 2 CO 3 is converted to sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO 3 ) through reaction with CO 2 and water steam. Na 2 CO 3 is regenerated when NaHCO 3 is heated, which yields a gas stream mostly containing CO 2 and H 2 O. Condensation of H 2 O produces a pure CO 2 stream suitable for its subsequent use or compression and sequestration. In this paper, the application of the Dry Carbonate CO 2 capture process in a coal-based power plant is studied with the goal of optimizing CO 2 capture efficiency, heat and power requirements. Integration of this CO 2 capture process requires an additional heat supply which would reduce the global power plant efficiency by around 9–10%. Dry Carbonate Process has the advantage compared with other CCS technologies that requires a relatively low temperature for sorbent regeneration (< 200 °C). It allows an effective integration of medium temperature solar thermal power to assist NaHCO 3 decarbonation. This integration reduces the global system efficiency drop to the consumption associated with mechanical parasitic consumption, resulting in a fossil fuel energy penalty of 3–4% (including CO 2 compression). The paper shows the viability of the concept through economic analyses under different scenarios. The results suggest the interest of advancing in this Solar-CCS integrated concept, which shows favourable outputs compared to other CCS technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Commission has acknowledged the significance of local and regional communities in its effort to tackle climate change. In this respect a number of initiatives and programmes (e.g. Covenant of Mayors, Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy, CONCERTO, CIVITAS, etc.) have been set up in order to engage European cities in the effort towards a low carbon future and an improved quality of life through sustainable economic development. These initiatives have been generally successful and have resulted in the commitment of an increasing number of European cities towards sustainable development goals. At the same time, however, it has been revealed that there is a critical need for improved comprehensive city planning driven by an integrated and strategic approach, focused on cost benefit assessment towards sustainable energy use. This paper presents an innovative city planning approach developed within the EU FP7 project InSMART. It brings together four European municipalities – Evora (Portugal), Nottingham (UK), Trikala (Greece) and Cesena (Italy) –, academics, industries and technical consultants in order to establish a common methodology for enhancing sustainable planning for both the current and future city needs through an integrative and multidisciplinary approach. The methodology develops and employs a number of tools to assess the optimum mix of medium term measures (up to 2030) for a sustainable energy future, addressing the efficiency of energy flows across various city sectors with regards to economic, environmental and social criteria and paving the way towards actual implementation of priority actions. This paper presents the key concepts around this methodology and some selected results of the project (still ongoing). The results refer to the four city partners, all actively involved in developing a more sustainable energy system. Further on, the proposed approach may be replicable to other cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adaptation of environmental policies to often unexpected crises is an important function of sustainable governance arrangements. However the relationship between environmental change and policy is complicated. Much research has focused on understanding institutional dynamics or the role of specific participants in the policy process. This paper draws attention to interest groups and the mechanism through which they influence policy change. Existing research offers conflicting evidence in regards to the different ways in which interest groups may affect change. This paper provides an in-depth study of the 2013 European Union Common Fisheries Policy reform − a policy change characterized by active interest group participation. It traces the activity of interest group coalitions to understand how they achieved influence under a changing policy context. The study involves interviews with interest group representatives, policy experts and decision-makers, document analysis of interest group statements and EU legislative documents. Findings identify the important role of coalition-building and informational lobbying for environmental interest group success in exploiting favorable sociopolitical conditions and influencing reform outcomes. An insight on interest group influence and its conditions contributes to our understanding of the complex dynamics of the environmental policy process as well as its implications for policy adaptation to environmental change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite existing policies of regional development and cohesion at the national and the EU level, economic regional inequalities or disparities stay relatively high or decrease too slowly. In this context, policies to reduce economic regional disparities in the European Union are a constant concern both for policy-makers and for theoretical and empirical research because of the strong impact on sustainable development in general. In this study we combine elements of theoretical and policy discussions with the empirical assessment of economic regional development in the European Union in order to identify the state of regional disparities, what factors are favouring unbalanced growth in different regions of the EU and to find an appropriate theoretical setting to understand, explain and reduce with regional inequality in the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the modern world, ecology and the economy are on cross roads. With the increasing pace of globalization and economic liberalization, giving birth to the rapid growth of consumerism by the modern civilization, there is growing consciousness to move gradually towards green growth with sustainability. This is now becoming possible by enhancing eco-consciousness both among the producers as well as the consumers. The chosen path is obviously to go in for more and more eco-innovations to provide complementarily to industrial production without sacrificing much on the production as well as economic front. Renewable alternate technologies - widely known as eco-technologies, are now being developed with massive investment on R&D activities by several research organizations across the world to achieve this mission. To leverage the gains from eco-innovations and achieved through proactive and carefully planned organizational and R&D support, there seems to be a surge in the growth of Eco-industries; which in turn, are getting increasingly organized as a chain of eco-industry, by constantly evolving replicable as well as sustainable eco-industrial models in the emerging sectors of economy, prominently in the EU countries. The paper takes a holistic and strategic review on how the Eco-innovations and their eco-specific promotional and developmental efforts are stimulating the sustainable development of Eco-industries and enhancing Green growth by setting up of demonstrable Eco-industrial models in multi-sectoral areas in Europe and the other parts of the world. The paper also provides a brief account of various corporate and entrepreneur initiatives taken in developing sustainable Eco-industrial business models and the methodologies to measure the impact of eco-innovation projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new index to quantify, measure and monitor the progress towards the objectives of the Europe 2020 strategy. This index is based on a set of relevant, accepted, credible, easy to monitor and robust indicators presented by the European Commission at the time the strategy was launched. The internal analysis of the index shows that the Smart and the Inclusive growth dimensions of the strategy are strictly correlated and that the trade-offs between each of these two dimensions and the Sustainable one exist but are decreasing, suggesting that a change towards more sustainable models of development is occurring in Europe. The external analysis of the index shows that it can be a valid measure to assess the overall competitiveness of countries and that the most critical factors for this strategy to be successful are good governance and social capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Research Papers of the Wroclaw University of Economics / Prace Naukowe Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego we Wroclawiu is the property of Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny we Wroclawiu and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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

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

Latvia is covered by the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and therein 80 participants from Latvia have participated. The goal of the paper is to analyse the impact of the EU ETS on the sustainable development of its participants in Latvia. The concept of sustainable development is explored with respect to both macro and micro scale and in the context of sustainable development the EU ETS is described. The impact of the EU ETS on its participants in Latvia is considered by means of methods of quantitative and qualitative analysis. It has been established that in past the participants of the EU ETS from Latvia had generally beneficial positions in the EU ETS; hence although the EU ETS did not directly promote greenhouse gas emission reductions, it provided opportunities to gain additional profits and many of the EU ETS participants in Latvia made use of them. In addition, certain interrelationships have been identified between the data on the EU ETS participants performing EUA trading and the data on the EU ETS participants not performing EUA trading. It has been concluded that the EU ETS might have contributed towards the sustainable development of its participants in Latvia within its certain dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the LEADER+ programme and on the work carried out supporting rural communities in EU countries under the LEADER+ programme. This is a programme that supports development in particularly vulnerable rural regions of the European countries that are members of the EU. It supports creative and innovative projects that can contribute to long-term and sustainable development in these regions. In this paper, we will focus on three specific areas: networking, facilitation of groups, and information and communication technologies. Some case studies are shortly described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development is a cross-cutting issue par excellence that necessitates a very high degree of policy coordination. This is especially true considering that the European Union's 2001 Sustainable Development Strategy demands that all European Union (EU) policies actively support the sustainable development of other countries, particularly those in the developing world. In order to fulfil this ambitious obligation, the EU has pledged to consider the impacts that all new policies have within and outside the EU as part of a new impact assessment (IA) regime. This paper aims to evaluate how well the new IA regime has helped address the ‘external’ dimensions of sustainability through the analysis of potential effects of EU policies on non-EU countries. It finds that the IA procedure does not currently function as an effective instrument for the implementation of the Union's commitment to promoting sustainability in the developing world. Other coordination mechanisms need to be considered, given the horizontal and vertical complexity of this challenge. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the implementation of Directive 2001/42/EC on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment (the ‘SEA Directive’) in the UK and draws out wider implications from the UK approach for implementation across the EU as a whole. The paper begins with a brief overview of the UK's progress in implementing the directive in relation to three key issues: establishing the legal framework for implementing the directive; identifying those plans and programmes to which the directive will apply and providing support for implementation (e.g. through guidance and training). The paper then focuses on three sectors – land use planning, water and energy – and discusses key issues affecting implementation in each sector. In the land use planning sector, for example, a key issue is the incorporation of the SEA Directive's requirements into a wider sustainability appraisal process, which addresses economic and social as well as environmental concerns. The sectoral comparison is followed by a discussion of the issues confronting the UK and the potential lessons for the EU as a whole and a series of recommendations to guide implementation. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green Infrastructure within urban areas has become increasingly important in recent years. There has been the development of a European Commission green infrastructure strategy and a range of initiatives identifying the importance of green infrastructure. This paper explicitly identifies the cultural ecosystem benefits gained from urban and peri-urban green infrastructure drawing on studies undertaken in different European countries. The paper utilises the cultural ecosystem services framework developed in a United Kingdom National Ecosystem Assessment project. A review of literature identified studies from fifteen different countries and explores linkages between the types of green infrastructure, the practices undertaken in these spaces and the cultural ecosystem benefits gained. The results show that there are few detailed linkages made between the types of green infrastructure and the practices and benefits associated with these. The cultural ecosystem framework provides an important conceptual approach and this paper is one of the first to populate the framework in greater detail. Further research is needed to assess the differences in benefits and practices associated with different types of green infrastructure. A key message is that the cultural ecosystem benefits identified are wide ranging, diverse and multiple. The typologies and conceptual matrix developed in this paper could be utilised by green infrastructure practitioners to assist them in taking account of cultural ecosystem benefits in their management decision making processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Scientific Papers of Silesian University of Technology. Organization & Management / Zeszyty Naukowe Politechniki Slaskiej. Seria Organizacji i Zarzadzanie is the property of Silesian Technical University, Organisation & Management Faculty and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)