The French government has published a report (Creation et Internet) on the future regulation of the Internet. The report discusses intellectual property and proposals to tax search engines, such as Google. Patrick Zelnik, Jacques Tubon, and Guillaume Cerutti authored the report on behalf of the French Ministry of Culture and Communication. Text available in French.
Creation et Internet (January 2010)
http://www.culture.gouv.fr/mcc/Espace-Presse/Dossiers-de-presse/Rapport-Creation-et-Internet
Eurobaramoter has released a special report on European attitudes towards climate change.
Europeans’ Attitudes Towards Climate Change. Special Eurobameter 322
http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_322_en.pdf
From the introduction of the opinion survey:
This report presents the results of a survey on the attitudes of Europeans towards climate change which was carruied out on late August and September 2009.
2009 is a watershed year for fighting climate change, with world leaders meeting at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen in December to try and reach a follow-up agreement to the Kyoto Protocol. As this time grows closer there has been an increasing focus in the international media on the conference, on climate change, and on the various measures needed to curb its impact. Since the EU adopted ambitious climate and energy targets for 2020 in December 2008 many countries have also seen a more active dialogue about climate change taking place. The EU has launched its own climate change campaign website to provide general information to the public as well as to suggest ways for individual actions1. But what do Europeans actually think about climate change?
This survey mapped the opinion of Europeans on a range of climate change related topics, and in particular covers:
♦ Respondents’ perceptions of climate change in relation to other world
problems.
♦ Respondents’ perceptions of the seriousness of climate change.
♦ Respondents’ perceptions about the actions of local, national governments as
well as the EU in combating climate change
♦ Respondents’ attitudes towards alternative fuels and CO² emissions.
♦ Whether respondents feel that climate change is stoppable or has been
exaggerated, and what impact it has on the European economy.
♦ Whether respondents have taken personal action to fight climate change, and
what those actions are.
♦ Perceived relative importance of the economy and the environment
♦ Europeans’ willingness to pay more for greener energy
The Erich Pommer Institute in Potsdam, Germany maintains an online catalog of its library holdings related to German and EU media law, entertainment law or IP issues. The library catalog records are searchable by year, theme, and keyword. Very few full-text items are listed; however, it is a useful site for literature searches and collection development. Search interface is in German, but catalog entries include various languages.
Erich Pommer Institut Bibliothek
The UK House of Commons European Scrutiny Committee’s report “Conclusions of the European Council and Council of Ministers (HC-86)” provides a brief outline of procedures and documentation of the Council of the European Union (European Council), the European Union body the represents the EU member states. Read the report to learn more about ”limité” documents, COREPER, and the General Affairs and External Relations Council.
House of Commons Report: Conclusions of the European Council and Council of Ministers
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmeuleg/86/86.pdf
Hat tip to Patrick Overy and his Globalex article: European Union: A Guide to Tracing Working Documents. http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/European_Union_Travaux_Preparatoires.htm
The UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Chnage has released a report on global cap and trade: “Global Carbon Trading: a Framework for Reducing Emissions.”
http://www.decc.gov.uk/Media/viewfile.ashx?FilePath=What we do\Global climate change and energy\Tackling Climate Change\Emissions Trading\Lazarowicz report\1_20090720094330_e_@@_GlobalCarbonTradingaframeworkforreducingemissions.pdf&filetype=4
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
THE CURRENT FRAMEWORK
LONG-TERM FRAMEWORK FOR CARBON TRADING
NATIONAL TARGETS IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
EMISSIONS TRADING
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES – A PHASED APPROACH
GOVERNANCE AND INSTITUTIONS
CAPACITY BUILDING
CONCLUSIONS
ANNEX A: SECTOR SUMMARIES:
Power Industry Forestry Agriculture Surface transport International shipping International aviation Buildings Waste
ANNEX B: EMISSION TRAJECTORIES IN THE TRANSITION PERIOD
ANNEX C: CAP AND TRADE IN PRACTICE – THE ACID RAIN PROGRAMME
ANNEX D: GLOBAL CARBON FINANCE MODEL
ANNEX E: CURRENT AND PROPOSED EMISSIONS TRADING SYSTEMS
Intersentia Publishing will release the inaugural voluem of European Labour Law Journal later in 2009. No word on subscription price yet. The first issue will publish papers presented at the Future of Labour Law in Europe Conference in June, 2009.
European Labour Law Journal http://www.intersentia.com/upload/aankondiging%20ELLJ.pdf
About the European Labour Law Journal
The European Labour Law Journal is set to increase and foster the debate on the future of labour law in Europe and to increase the knowledge of labour law.
It aims to better define the role of labour law in Europe and in light of a European Social Model which can provide solutions for the challenges facing the EU and its Member States, requiring a good combination of economic market performance and quality of life, good work and social justice.
In order to contribute to this, the Journal is set to study European labour law in its national, EU and international contexts. Current and future developments in Europe and the world necessitate a fundamental investigation of labour law in the EU and its Member States, and of the basic principles of labour law in Europe.
The Journal fills an existing gap in the academic community. Although there are many national and some internationally oriented labour law journals, none of them specifically addresses the EU as a central focus of attention, including developments of labour law in the EU at the level of the Member States.
Concept
The European Labour Law Journal aims to be a leading academic journal in the area of European labour law and social policy. European labour law is viewed in a wide sense. It includes labour law at the European Union level as well as labour law in the Member States. It also pays attention to developments of labour law at a more global level and its relevance for the EU and its Member States. These various levels are seen as intrinsically connected and mutually interdependent.
The scope of the Journal is confined with:
EU labour law and social policy taken in its internal and external dimension;
The interaction between EU labour law and Member States’ labour law, including relevant national developments of labour law;
Developments of labour law in doctrine and policy at a global level and their relevance for labour law in Europe;
Cross-disciplinary developments relating to social policy and industrial relations and their relevance for labour law in Europe.
Attention is paid to developments at the level of policy, legislation, case law as well as academic doctrine.
For those of you following the EU’s evolving policy on Access to Information (blogged about here and here), there are new developments. This from Statewatch:
EU: Access to documents (Regulation 1049/2001): European Parliament’s Civil Liberties (LIBE) report proposing amendments to the Commission’s proposals (19.2.09, pdf) and Statewatch’s Analysis of the LIBE amendments (pdf) by Professor Steve Peers, University of Essex. see also: Council discussions: Statewatch analysis: Discussion of the new Access to Documents Regulation in the Council (pdf) by Professor Steve Peers, University of Essex.
Shrinking access to EU documents? This is from a press release on the European Ombudsman site:
“The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, has called on the European Parliament (EP) to defend the European Union’s commitment to transparency and the citizens’ right of access to EU documents. This follows the European Commission’s recent proposals to revise the law on public access to documents. In his contribution to today’s public hearing in the EP’s LIBE Committee (Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs), the Ombudsman said:
“The Commission’s proposals would mean access to fewer, not more, documents. This raises fundamental issues of principle about the EU’s commitment to openness and transparency.”
Read the entire contribution given by the Ombudsman
The EU proposals sharply limit the definition of what is a “document” — ”The Commission’s proposed definition of a document would mean that, in many cases, citizens could only apply for access to a document if it appeared in a register.”
Read the full text of the EU proposal to revise Regulation 1049/2001: “Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents” [4/30/2008]
Hat tip to the lawlibrarians blog for tracking this!
