37th National Selection Conference of EYP Greece | Topic Overviews by National Selection Conference

TOPIC OVERVIEWS 37th National Selection Conference of European Youth Parliament Greece Athens, 30 March - 2 April 2018

/Contents /Contents..................................................................................................................................................... 2 /Committee on Constitutional Affairs I (AFCO I) ................................................................................ 3 Infographic................................................................................................................................................. 10 /Committee on Constitutional Affairs II (AFCO II) ............................................................................ 11 Infographic................................................................................................................................................. 17 /Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) .................................................................................. 18 Infographic................................................................................................................................................. 25 /Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) .................................................................. 26 Infographic................................................................................................................................................. 33 /Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) .......................................... 34 Infographic................................................................................................................................................. 41 /Committee on Industry, Research, and Energy I (ITRE I) ............................................................... 42 Infographic................................................................................................................................................. 51 /Committee on Industry, Research and Energy II (ITRE II) .............................................................. 52 Infographic................................................................................................................................................. 58 /Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs I ............................................................. 59 Infographic................................................................................................................................................. 64 /Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs II (LIBE II) ............................................ 65 Infographic................................................................................................................................................. 72 /Committee on Fisheries (PECH) .......................................................................................................... 73 Infographic................................................................................................................................................. 80

/Committee on Constitutional Affairs I (AFCO I) Make the EU great again: Emmanuel Macron said “This year will be the year where we have to redesign a ten-year strategy for Europe” in the World Economic Forum 2018 in Davos. With Europe 2020 Strategy coming to an end in two years, what priorities should the European Commission set for a post-2020 European Strategy package to make Europe an economic, social, scientific, political and a sustainable power? By Elisavet Sidiropoulou (GR)

Problematisation of the Issue In a rapidly evolving and continuously changing world, one either keeps up with the pace of the race or gets left behind. In an attempt to be one of the frontrunners, the European Union (EU) has chosen to plan ahead and map out an emulous future in which it aims to constitute a leading transnational power. Part of that planning has been the Europe 2020 Strategy and although the end of the strategy is nearing, the results have not been the desired ones, with most of the targets set by it remains unattained. With a new decade approaching, the past points of weakness and failure are called into question. The EU remains ambitious in regards to maintaining a powerful position on the international stage and is, thus, expected to design a new long-term plan that will act as a reference point for building a purposeful future. The focus point should be properly prioritising and efficiently structuring realistic goals that reflect the needs of the Union and its citizens, as aptly described in the results of the Commission’s public consultation on the Europe 2020 Strategy1. The EU is going through a period of uncertainty and is caught in the middle of a global economic crisis that greatly affects the bank sector, the competitiveness of european economies and the sustainability of its social models. Meanwhile, climate change and increasing energy dependency remain as challenging issues. Maintaining social cohesion and fighting against climate change would demand a highly sustainable social market economy. Key pillars of the future are renewing the economic and social model, empowering the education of individuals to reach an economy of knowledge, tackling demographic issues, addressing energy security, realising weaknesses and building on strengths.2

European Commission, 2015. “Results on the public consultation on the Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth”. 2 The Reflection Group on the Future of the EU 2030, 2010. “Project Europe 2030”.

Areas to consider include the mindfulness of the human aspect and social issues as a means of equalising social sustainability with economic and environmental sustainability, especially considering that Europe 2020 does not address how social, economic and environmental policies are interlinked. Further points of interest include proper balance between ambition and pragmatism in order to ensure that the upcoming targets will not only be aspiring, but also attainable. Bearing in mind international agendas such as the United Nations’ (UN) 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the EU is, also, called to harmonise global policies with European frameworks. Lastly, a future plan is expected to, once more, be conscious of the possible national levels of contribution of Member States to the overall targets of the Union.3

Terminology and Definitions Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs4. Environmental sustainability is the ability to maintain rates of renewable resource harvest,

pollution

creation,

and

non-

renewable resource depletion that can be continued indefinitely5. Economic sustainability is the ability to support a defined level of economic production indefinitely6. Social sustainability the ability of a social system, such as a country, to function at a defined level of social well being indefinitely7. Pragmatism is an approach that evaluates theories and/or beliefs in terms of the success of their application and based on practical rather than theoretical considerations. Multilateralism requires states to follow international norms and pay more respect to international institutions8. 3

German Development Institute, 2016. “Towards a Sustainable Development Union”. UN World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987. “Our Common Future”. 5 Thwink Glossary. “The three pillars of sustainability”. 6 Thwink Glossary. “The three pillars of sustainability”. 7 Ibid. 4

Sovereignty is the power and the ultimate authority in the decision-making and governing of a state over itself, without interference from third-parties.

Stakeholders The European Commission is the executive institution of the EU, responsible for proposing legislation and implementing the decisions of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. The Commission has a vital role as far as the future of Europe is concerned considering that redesigning, planning and implementing a potential post-Europe 2020 Strategy is at its discretion. The Council of the European Union is composed of the government ministers from each EU country, thus representing the executive governments of the Member States. It is the main decision-making body of the EU together with the European Parliament and it is in charge of endorsing and formally adopting the Commission’s potential proposals. It is, also, responsible for coordinating Member States’ policies in the fields of economy, education and employment. The European Parliament is the only directly-elected EU institution. It shares legislative power with the Council of the EU and apart from adopting Commission’s proposals, it may also ask the Commission to propose legislation. Furthermore, it deals with supervisory and budgetary matters. Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union. It provides statistics that enable comparisons between countries and regions, and thus affect decision making and facilitate performance evaluations. Eurostat regularly publishes progress reports for Europe 2020. EU Member States are in the core of implementing and following the recommendations of the European Commission. Any policy decisions in response to country-specific recommendations are made by the national government in question, based on the actions they deem appropriate. The United Nations (UN) is a global organisation that promotes international cooperation, peace and security. Being one of the leading actors in the international scene, the UN is the main partner of the EU in its path towards structuring an efficient plan for the future.

Oxford Research Encyclopedias, 2017. “Multilateralism, Bilateralism and Unilateralism in Foreign Policy”.

Measures already in place The Europe 2020 Strategy is a ten-year agenda, adopted in 2010, which promotes smart, sustainable

and

inclusive

growth through the areas of research and development, poverty and social exclusion, climate

and

energy,

employment, and education. The strategy’s EU-wide goals are translated into national targets according to each Member

State’s

particular

situation. In order to reach the desired goals of Europe 2020, the European Commission introduced seven flagship initiatives, namely “Innovation Union”, “Youth on the move”, “A digital agenda for Europe”, “Resource efficient Europe”, “An industrial policy for the globalisation era”, “An agenda for new skills and jobs”, and “European platform against poverty”. These initiatives are meant to act as a catalyst for progress under each focus area of Europe 2020. The European Semester is a cycle of economic and fiscal policy coordination within the EU, which was first introduced in 2010. It is an instrument that allows Member States to align their budgetary and economic policies with the objectives and rules agreed at EU level. The European Semester has been covering economic policy coordination in terms of structural reforms in order to promote growth and employment in accordance with the Europe 2020 Strategy. The UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals compose an agenda of 17 goals which cover a broad range of sustainable development issues, including ending poverty and hunger, improving health and education, making cities more sustainable, combating climate change and protecting oceans and forests. This agenda was adopted in 2015, after the end date of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), with the purpose of building on the successes of the MDGs and addressing pressing global sustainable development challenges.

The 2030 Energy Strategy is a framework for climate and energy composed of targets and policy objectives for the 2020-2030 decade. The strategyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s targets are focused on costeffectively reducing greenhouse gases and achieving decarbonisation by 2050. The main aim is a more competitive, secure and sustainable energy system. In March 2017, the European Commission introduced the White Paper on the Future of Europe, which presents 5 possible scenarios for what Europe could look like by 2025 and initiated a broad debate on what kind of Europe EU citizens and leaders want to see. Later on, in September 2017, President Juncker proposed a Roadmap for a More United, Stronger and More Democratic Europe. In February 2018, the European Commission published a Communication on the post-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework. The said framework sets out a variety of scenarios for the next long-term budget along with the consequences of each. In it Member States are called to recognise that a sufficient budget is necessary to implement new priorities. The Commission is expected to present its final concrete proposal by early May 2018 at the latest.

Problems that remain unresolved Despite the timeline of Europe 2020 coming to an end, most of the growth targets that were set have not been achieved, especially due to the impact that financial and economic crisis has had on a plethora of the main objectives. Employment and poverty reduction, two of the goals that most directly affect EU citizens, remain as ongoing challenges, while in terms of research and development the EU still falls behind. Significant progress has only been made 7

in the areas of education, climate change and energy. Nevertheless, the decline in greenhouse gases emissions is simultaneously accredited to the low economic output in sectors such as manufacturing and construction.9 Furthermore, the EU has been failing to compete with global powers, such as the United States and China, as far as digitalisation is concerned. Thus, the European Commission has been called

increase

investment

artificial intelligence and cybersecurity research10, especially considering the lack of a framework with adequate structures that supports and guides the economy and entrepreneurship through digital transformation in order to

maintain

and

increase

the

competitiveness of the EU11.

Questions for thought -

How are Member States citizens most directly affected by the targets the EU sets?

How can EU leaders plan a more ambitious future for Europe?

Is it still possible for the EU to make a leap forward and achieve the so far unattained goals of Europe 2020?

How can the EU maintain and increase the quality of life of its citizens and its prosperity while adapting to a changing and globalised world?

Can european values and interests be safeguarded despite the structural reforms that seem to be needed?

Eurostat, 2017. “Smarter, greener, more inclusive?”. Science Business, 2018. “EU urged to boost artificial intelligence and cybersecurity research”. 11 Business EU, 2018. “Digitalisation is crucial for SMEs’ competitiveness”. 10

Useful links -

European Council, an infographic on the European Semester: http://bit.ly/2tfBaEp

European

Committee

the

Regions,

Europe

2020

Monitoring

Platform:

http://bit.ly/1nfrBv9 -

Margaritis Schinas, The EU in 2030: a long-term view of Europe in a changing world: keeping the values, changing the attitudes: http://bit.ly/2FcGFsJ

Carnegie Europe, Four Predictions on the Future of Europe: http://ceip.org/2FV6Gdo

Huffington Post, The Future of Europe: http://bit.ly/2H43YBA

European Council on Foreign Relations, The future shape of Europe: http://bit.ly/2nCIAh5

Infographic Created by Ersagun Ersoy (TR), Journalist.

/Committee on Constitutional Affairs II (AFCO II) Multilateralism vs. Protectionism: Despite European leaders saying that the way to sustainable growth and becoming a stronger global actor is multilateralism, the advocacy for less integration and more sovereign Member States is on the rise and Eurosceptic forces are gaining popularity across the Member States. Bearing in mind the reflections and scenarios presented in the “White Paper on the Future of Europe”, what type of organisation shall the EU aim to be in the long run? by Xenia Constantinou(CY) & Georgios Taggilis (GR)

Problematisation of the Issue Sixty years ago, Europe’s foundations were laid on the prospect of a peaceful, shared future of integration away from conflict and war, in a context of peace, democracy, freedom and stability. Nonetheless, Europe’s challenges see no sign of abating especially in current years. The rise of Euroscepticism is evident all across Europe; an increasing number of European citizens are considering the EU as either too distant or too interfering while the financial, economic and social hardships of recent years have proved for many, that Europe has in fact fallen short of their expectations. Throughout the course of 60 years since the signing of the Treaty of Rome (1957), the EU has grown vastly, has established free flow of trade across EU borders by creating the ‘Single Market’, based on the four freedoms of: movement of goods, services, people and money. Additionally, the Schengen agreement achieved the abolition of EU internal borders allowing free movement. Nonetheless, criticism against European integration has alway been around, with the term Euroscepticism being increasingly used to describe cynicism and disillusionment regarding EU affairs and policy. A multiplicity of economic, socio-political, and policy driven changes and events have contributed to the escalation of a Eurosceptic atmosphere across the Member States. The escalation made its presence prominent across Europe especially in the last decade, as it has been struck by major crises that have shaken up core beliefs of the Union, leading to questioning over trust and legitimacy. The two major crises the EU has come across are the financial crisis of 2008 and the refugee crisis, which, ever since the start of the Syrian civil war, has brought an immense influx of refugees to Europe. In addition to this,Brexit referendum has also been identified as a complex challenge for the Union. In fact,

the possible effects on the voting behaviour of the citizens of other European countries are still difficult to define.12 Research made on Euroscepticism has suggested mainly three theoretical explanations: the phenomenon is either caused by economic factors, meaning that Euroscepticism bases on the evaluation of economic effects and economic performance (unemployment, inflation, economic growth), by identity factors stemming from the attitude how Europeans conceive their identity (civic versus ethnic, inclusive versus exclusive), or by

institutional factors

resulting in citizens’ distrust towards national as well as European institutions.13.

Radical right and radical left parties have been attacking positions of Eurocentrism, by taking a stance against European integration, while mainstream, centrist parties are more likely to uphold a pro-EU position. However, the ideological reasons for EU opposition differ across the spectrum; radical leftist parties express resistance to the EU on its alleged ‘neoliberal’ character , financial and economic mismanagement and criticism of austerity policies, while the radical right opposes EU policies of integration by putting forward arguments for national sovereignty and identity against immigration in fear of foreign infiltration and security and the strains placed upon States due to the influx of refugees15. Matters of European interest have become a prominent basis for domestic party competition. 12Kristin

Archick, Congressional Research Service, 2017. The European Union: Current Challenges and Future Prospects. 13 Journal of the Academy of Social Sciences, 2018. , The tandem of populism and Euroscepticism:comparative perspective in the light of the European crises. 14 European Commission, 2017. Standard Eurobarometer Survey 88. 15 Maurits J Meijersp, ‘Contagious Euroscepticism: The impact of Eurosceptic support on mainstream party positions on European integration’, p.415

As a result, the austerity measures and stricter border policies adopted to combat the crises have led to EU citizens’ loss of trust and dissatisfaction in national and European representatives. In fact, today there is a representational gap between the highly bureaucratic and complex structures of the EU which citizens find hard to identify with. According to the Standard Eurobarometer 84 Survey in 2017 by the European Commission, 50% of EU-citizens disagreed with the statement ‘My voice counts in the EU’ while despite an increase in trust in national governments, parliaments and in the European Union since autumn 2015, this upward trend has been halted, as ‘distrust’ has risen slightly, +1 percentage point for the European Union (48% “tend not to trust”), national parliament (58%), +2 for the national government (59%), since spring 2017.16

Terminology and definitions Multilateralism is a kind of alliance where multiple countries progress together towards a given goal. In the form of membership in international institutions, it serves to give the small powers a voice and voting opportunities that they would not otherwise have. Populism in a European context is described as a political approach that seeks to disrupt the existing social order by solidifying and mobilising the people against privileged elites and the establishment. Populists can fall anywhere on the traditional left–right political spectrum and there has been a rise of both left wing and ring wing populist parties across Europe. European integration is the process of industrial, political, legal, economic, social and cultural integration of countries in Europe. This means that states transfer some of their competences to the EU so it can regulate certain policy areas for all Member States. Europe à la carte is a concept proposed by Member States who wish for less integration such as the UK. It is the idea that the Member States should decide on a minimum of binding goals (such as the internal market) and leave further agreements to Member States interested in further integration. Multi-speed Europe or two-speed Europe is used to explain that different parts of the EU should integrate at different levels at a pace depending on the political situation in each individual Member State. Currently, multi-speed Europe is a reality with only a subset of Member States in the eurozone and in the Schengen area. Sovereignty is the full right and power of a governing body over itself, without any interference from outside sources or bodies 16European

Commission, 2017. Standard Eurobarometer 84 Survey.

Principle of subsidiarity states that the EU should not regulate what can be managed more efficiently at national level.

Stakeholders The European Commission is the EU's politically independent executive arm. It is alone responsible for drawing up proposals for new European legislation, implementing decisions by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. The European Parliament is the directly-elected EU body with legislative, supervisory, and budgetary responsibilities. The Council of the European Union is where ministers from each EU country meet to discuss, amend and adopt laws, and coordinate according to the policy area addressed. Ministers have the authority to commit their governments to the actions agreed on in the meetings. Together with the European Parliament, the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU. Member States party to the Unionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s founding treaties and thereby subject to the privileges and obligations of membership. Unlike the members of most international organisations, EU Member states of the EU are subjected to binding laws in exchange for representation within the common legislative and judicial institutions. Member states must agree unanimously for the EU to adopt policies concerning defence and foreign policy. The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) is an umbrella term for the group of policies aimed at converging the economies of Member States of the European Union at three stages. The policies cover the 19 Eurozone states, as well as non-euro European Union states. Each stage of the EMU consists of progressively closer economic integration. Once a state participates in the third stage it is permitted to adopt the euro.

Measures already in place Commission Work Programme 2018 is a two-fold programme. First, the work programme sets out a limited number of targeted legislative actions to complete Commissionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s work in priority policy areas over the next months. The Commission will table all legislative proposals no later than May 2018. This will allow the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union the time and space to complete the legislative work before Europeans give their democratic verdict in the European elections of June 2019 on what has been achieved. Secondly, the work programme also presents a number of initiatives that have a more 14

forward-looking perspective, as the new Union of 27 shapes its own future for 2025. These initiatives reflect the debate kick-started by the Commission's White Paper on the Future of Europe and the State of the Union address. They can all be achieved by making full use of the untapped potential of the Lisbon Treaty. They will deliver all of these initiatives by the end of the mandate. The White Paper17 sets out five scenarios, each offering a glimpse into the potential state of the Union by 2025 depending on the choices Europe will make. The scenarios cover a range of possibilities and are illustrative in nature. They are neither mutually exclusive, nor exhaustive.

Problems that remain unresolved Based on the scenarios prospected from the White Paper, there are still some issues that remain unresolved. Even if the EU decides to continue functioning as it currently does, without any significant treaty changes or decision making reforms and only tries to find some degree of common solutions to crises, greater reform may be needed in order to target the issues of inefficient , complex and slow decision-making process, and fulfilling citizen’s expectations. Instead, if the EU is reduced to just a common market, it is unclear if this would mean abandoning the common currency. In principle, the common market is not so little if it functions properly. Hayek explained that a common market is a sufficient basis for a working interstate federation. It preserves peace, which is considered as the main achievement of the EU, and prevents government meddling with the economy. The Member States in the absence of common consumer, environmental, social and tax standards would restrict free movement,employment and sharing of services. Despite the ‘two-speed entity’ proposal, in which members would be able to pick and choose freely the EU policies in which they wish to participate, in the long-term this strategy would increasingly undermine solidarity and create further frictions between “core” and “periphery” member states. A closer cooperation in the Eurozone is not an option but a necessity. All of the aforementioned arguments suggest that the EU should concentrate on a few important tasks, but those performing well. An option for Member states would be to transfer more power to Brussels and establish common policies for several areas. In choosing to share more power, resources and decision17

European Commission, 2017. White Paper on the Future of Europe

making, concerns over legitimacy and the excessive power of the EU are further reinforced rather than constrained.

Questions for thought 1. What influence do Eurosceptic challenger parties have on the population? What are their main arguments and their impact on European integration? 2. To what extent did European crises catalyse the increase of populism and Euroscepticism and how does this relate to the Member Statesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; economy and culture? 3. What is the effect of the negotiations between the United Kingdom and the EU upon other EU Member States? 4. Can the 5 scenarios of the White Paper stand alone or they need additions and even combinations between them? 5. How can we ensure the selected scenario is the proper one and wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t lead to further problems?

Links for further research -

Express, How anti-EU sentiment is spreading across Europe: http://bit.ly/2p0LsTg

BBC Schengen: Controversial EU free movement deal explained: http://bbc.in/1hIJagF

Europa.eu, The history of the European Union: http://bit.ly/2cnX6Dg

European Commission, Directorate-General for Communication,Standard Eurobarometer 88 Autumn 2017 Survey: http://bit.ly/2p04ytB

Kristin Archick , The European Union: Current Challenges and Future Prospects: http://bit.ly/2iLpbHg

Wilfried Martens Centre, The sixth scenario of the White Paper: http://bit.ly/2FtScjG

Infographic Created by George Spanias (GR), Journalist.

/Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) Towards a reskilling revolution: Due to the constantly evolving labour market and the penetration of Industry 4.0 applications, many low-skilled and middle-skilled jobs are under the risk of being replaced by automated technologies. How can the EU Member States ensure their citizens are equipped with the skills, competencies, and qualifications needed for the digital era to achieve sustainable employment? By Kalypso-Sofia Sdrali (GR) & Nikos-Pavlos Kotzias (GR)

Problematisation of the Issue When Alan Turing designed the first computer almost a century ago, it would have been hard for him to imagine the scale of his invention. The impact the digital sector has had in both the information and communications technology (ICT) field and the European economies as a whole is unimaginable. Creating thousands of jobs and billions in profit in the span of a few years, it seems as if the growth is unstoppable18. However, research shows that this trend may soon become inherently problematic. New advancements in quantum computing, machine learning and a steady progress towards the “Internet of Things” will soon impact many labour sectors, rendering affiliated jobs obsolete or at least limiting the people employed in the respective sectors19. At this front, it is important to ensure a smooth transition into the “digital era” for all European citizens.

In light of these technological advancements, developing digital literacy seems the only way forward. This development has three main dimensions: the operational, cultural, and critical ones. The operational dimension refers to the skills and competencies needed for the use of diverse digital media. The cultural dimension includes the development of digital literacy practices in various social and cultural contexts, such as constructing and maintaining effective professional relationships online. FInally, the critical dimension refers to the ability to adapt these practices according to the specific case actively and creatively20.

PWC, 2013. “The digital future of creative Europe”. European Commision, 2015. Digital skills, jobs and the need to get more Europeans online. 20 ELINET, 2016. “Position Paper on Digital Literacy” 19

Digital literacy can be perceived as a combination of high specialisation, advanced digital skills and lifelong learning. Consequently, the challenge of accommodating every European citizen is evident, as all three criteria require a lot of resources and further investments

through coordinated efforts. At the same time, with the EU being a leading force in digitisation, many fear that further development will eventually lead to higher unemployment rates. 21 See this development, it would be a mistake to think that there will be no employment available. Nevertheless, with fewer available positions in an already competitive labour market addressed only towards high-skilled individuals, social exclusion could be a major issue of the future22. Consequently, low or medium-skilled individuals, let alone people in remote and developing regions, who could soon find themselves unemployed and excluded, with jobs of lower specialisation being viewed with contempt.

Terminology and definitions Industry 4.0 is the digital transformation of manufacturing, leveraging third platform technologies, such as Big Data/Analytics and innovation accelerators, such as the (Industrial) Internet of Things; and requiring the convergence of ICT and Operational Technology (OT) .23

European Commission, 2017. The Digital Skills Gap in Europe Leslie Haddon, London School of Economics 2000. Social exclusion and information and communication technologies. 23 I-scoop, 2017. Industry 4.0: the fourth industrial revolution 22

Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of internet-connected physical objects able to collect and exchange data using embedded sensors.24 Information and communications technology (ICT) is the technology used to handle telecommunications, broadcast media, intelligent building management systems, audiovisual processing and transmission systems, and network-based control and monitoring functions. Although ICT is often considered an extended synonym for information technology (IT), its scope is more broad.25 Digital

Single Market (DSM)

the

free

movement of persons, services and capital, where the individuals and businesses can access and exercise online activities under conditions of fair competition, and a high level of consumer and personal data protection, irrespective of their nationality or place of residence.26 Labour

Market,

according

the

Oxford

Dictionary, is the availability of employment and labour, in terms of supply and demand.

Stakeholders The European Commission and particularly the Directorateâ&#x20AC;&#x2018;General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG-CONNECT) have been at the forefront of promoting digital innovation and literacy as part of its strategy towards a Digital Single Market. The Commission aims to invest in innovation and job growth in order to further support European economies in their transition, while also taking particular interest sustainable and inclusive growth. The European Parliament has been active in pushing for greater digital skills innovation in the European labour market, focusing on inclusive development, especially in relation to regions and individuals who are most affected by the digital gap27. Its latest proposal, underlined the importance of striving for a sustainable transition into the digital era hoping to avoid social exclusion. 24

Business Insider, 2016. What is the Internet of Things (IoT) Techopedia, 2018. What is Information and Communications Technology (ICT) 26 European Commission. Shaping the Digital Single Market. 27 European Parliament, 2017. Digital Skills in the EU labour market. 25

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has created a Skills Strategy to support countries in their efforts to improve their national skills systems and develop policies that will lead to a more stable transition in the digital era and its challenges. The European Literacy Policy Network (ELINET) unifies 77 partner organisations from 28 European countries engaged in literacy policy-making and reading promotion in Europe. ELINET strives to improve literacy policies in all member countries, reducing the number of people with low literacy skills in Europe. In November 2016, it published a “Position Paper on Digital Literacy” in the EU, detecting the challenges and proposing feasible measures. In many Member States, digitisation has been a priority and long-term goal for their sustainable growth. For example, in the Netherlands, a country with an already extensive and advanced ICT sector, promoting digital literacy amongst its citizens28. At the same time, Romania is ranked last in the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) amongst all EU Member-States, showing the widening digital gap in the continent29.

Measures already in place Horizon 2020, also known as the 7th Framework for Research and Innovation, is an EUR 80 billion project launched by the European Commission to promote sustainable economic and job growth through investing in further Research and Development across the EU.

28 29

Europe’s DIgital Progress Report (EDPR), 2017. Country Profile the Netherlands Europe’s Digital Progress Report (EDPR), 2017. 2017 Country Profile Romania.

DG-CONNECT has established a strategic plan for the years 2016-2020, aiming towards the development of the DSM, increasing growth and investment in the digital economy. Amongst others, the plan aims to support European companies in their digital transition, create the necessary physical and digital infrastructure, encourage private and public investment and promote digital literacy amongst European citizens. The plan is implemented through the â&#x20AC;&#x153;New Skills Agenda for Europeâ&#x20AC;? policy adopted in 2016. It includes different initiatives and projects from both the European Commission and Member States, as well as other civil initiatives. The Upskilling Pathways Initiative is a lifelong learning programme and the main legislative proposal of this Agenda. It supports adults with low level skills in order for them to acquire the basic digital skills and award them with an upper secondary qualification or equivalent.. Another joint project of the Agenda is the Digital Skills Jobs Coalition, by promoting digital skills for both ICT professionals and citizens through education. The projects aims to train 1 million young unemployed people, support small and medium-sized enterprises in their transition, modernise education and raise awareness on how digital literacy is a prerequisite for employability, competitiveness and equal participation in society.

Problems that remain unresolved Digitisation is a long and complex process that the European community has not fully comprehended. Nevertheless, it is a phenomenon that should not be neglected. However, despite any efforts, there are still many issues to be addressed. Firstly, digital education in the EU is often overlooked due to the severe financial problems of some Member States. Undeniably, the cost of pushing millions of people through higher education poses serious logistical and financial challenges, let alone when specialised equipment and staff is required. Furthermore, the unwillingness of the stakeholders to cooperate and create a feasible strategic plan on digital literacy impedes this progress and leads to stagnation resulting in the social inclusion of the financially weaker classes. In a multi-speed Europe, digital literacy is not a paramount goal for all Member States. For example, Romania by no means can follow the lead of Denmark, which is considered a pioneer in this domain, since they neither have equivalent resources nor the same educational action plan. Besides, providing digital education is by definition not an inclusive strategy. Millions of individuals do not have access to computers, the Internet or the extensive educational 22

background required. Digital literacy can only be effective for individuals of middle-higher education, seeking high-paying jobs. For many living in remote areas or poverty, having a minority or immigrant background and working in low-skilled sectors where, digital education seems like an unnecessary effort. This leaves us wondering if digital education is a privilege of young Europeans or a goal for all.

Key Questions 1. What measures should be taken towards a European Digital Single Market while ensuring it is accessible to all European citizens? 2. How can the EU and Member States ensure a smooth transition into the digital era? 3. With social exclusion being an overarching danger for low and middle-skilled individuals, how should the EU and Member States redefine their social and educational policy and promote inclusive growth? 4. What measures should be taken in accordance to the New Skills Agenda for Europe to enhance the already existing lifelong learning programmes? 5. To what extent aiming towards achieving an Industry 4.0 society should be prioritised, without questioning the principles of the European Union as a whole?

Links for Further Research -

The Guardian’s article, “Digital exclusion is a modern social evil we can abolish”. http://bit.ly/2IsXCgH

European Parliament, a briefing on “Bridging the Digital Gap in Europe”. http://bit.ly/2tRVsnr

European Commission’s factsheet, “The Digital Skills Gap in Europe”. http://bit.ly/2i1TlVe

European Commission’s factsheet, “A Digital Europe needs Digital Skills”. http://bit.ly/2FZHq8s

An article from the Forbes magazine, “Digital Skills - The New Literacy Debate”. http://bit.ly/2FMHq86

A video by McKinsey & Company, “The digital future of work: What skills will be needed?” http://bit.ly/2hGsqBj

A video by McKinsey & Company, “The digital future of work: What will automation change?” http://bit.ly/2piqqj7

A video by C.G.P Grey, “Human Needs Not Apply”. http://bit.ly/1mITYwo

Infographic Created by Anastasia Tsilivakou (GR), Journalist.

/Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) Time to Close the Gender Gap: Given that economic and societal inequality remains between men and women despite legislative measures and promotional work, what further steps can the EU take to reach equal participation and equal pay in the workplace? by Marta Zaragozá Navarro (CH)

Problematisation of the Issue The Equal Pay Day comes around once a year, but the gender pay gap exists every hour of every day. The gender gap is one of the most pressing challenges our working world has to face, as numerous factors are currently preventing women to fully participate as men in the labour market. The undervaluing of women’s work is closely linked to occupational segregation, as it is the jobs primarily associated with female labour that still tend to be undervalued. Today, not only women are less likely than men to participate in the labour market but also, once they are in it, they are less likely to have as great access to quality employment opportunities as that of men. Actually, “women’s jobs”, which women are more likely to do, the so-called “5 Cs” (cleaning, catering, caring, cashiering and clerical work), are much more associated with lower salaries30 and limited prospects for progression and promotion. Indeed, men and women are segregated between occupations, and industries dominated by women have lower status and pay31: “today, differences in the type of work men and women do account for 51% of the pay gap”32. This means that women divorced or widowed have more chances of ending up poor, having less economic security than man as they tend to have lower earnings, and thus having lower pensions33. Besides, despite the preference of most women worldwide is to work in a paid job, work done by women tends to be less visible, and hence not (well-)paid. It is still often the case that women, especially those who work part-time, are perceived as expecting to get less money, with their incomes being perceived just as “pin money to supplement family income and, therefore, are perceived as they do not require decent pay”34. Moreover, as married women are the ones investing more time than their partners in household chores,

SAGE journals. Work, Employment and Society, 2016: Why do occupations dominated by women pay less? How ‘female-typical’ work tasks and working-time arrangements affect the gender wage gap among higher education graduates 31 Harvard Business Review, 2017. Women Dominate College Majors That Lead to Lower-Paying Work. 32 The New York Times, 2016. As Women Take Over a Male-Dominated Field, the Pay Drops. 33 The Guardian, 2018. The gender gap in retirement savings isn't just about super. 34 Closethegap.org.uk.Undervaluing Women’s Work.

they have less time for paid work; the division of labor and responsibilities within the household not being yet gender equalitarian35. Globally, the lack of affordable care for children or family members affects women’s participation negatively. Nowadays, women still have to choose between careers and families. Managers have been proven to be reluctant to promoting women starting or willing to starting families, which often makes the opportunity for the critical first promotion coincide with women having their first child36. A majority of women with children at home, work for fewer hours or switch to a less demanding job when giving priority to childcaring, which results in their careers falling behind. The high cost of childcare also indirectly forces some women to quit working or choose a part-time jobs since the school day ends long before the working one. It is usually the mother, not the father, who sacrifices her career for the sake of the children and women will not catch up with men at work unless a broader shift towards flexible working is achieved. Undeniably, women starting their families at an older age, improvements in maternity and parental rights and childcare, and an expansion of flexible working arrangements would mean that more women could work the same amount of hours as men, which would result into equal share of responsibilities in the household and taking care of their children. However, there are still barriers women need to overcome to become more integrated in the terms of job choice, pay and working hours. These include lack of unbiased information about job prospects37, harassment and discrimination in male-dominated jobs38, gender role conformity and stereotypes, all of which negatively impacts the presence of women in the workforce.

Terminology and Definitions Flexibility of working time arrangements is the organisation of working time, part-time work, overtime and night work in a flexible way. Working time flexibility can be rated as contributing to gender equality because it helps individuals to maintain work–life balance. Gender pay gap is a percentage of men’s earnings and represents the difference between the average gross hourly earnings of female and male employees.

Haya Stier, Noah Lewin-Epstein, 2000. Women’s Part-Time Employment and Gender Inequality in the Family. Harvard Business Review, 1989. Management Women and the New Facts of Life. 37 Aspen Review, 2017 Future of jobs from gender perspective. 38 ShulmanKlesser LLP, 2018. Gender discrimination may be higher in male-dominated jobs. 36

"Unadjusted gender pay gap" is a gender pay gap which calculation method does not take into account all of the indirect factors that might have an impact on the gender pay gap (ie: differences in education, labour market experience, hours worked, type of job, etc.) Gender Impact Assessment evaluates the likelihood of a given decision having negative consequences for the state of equality between women and men, aimed at the strengthening of gender equality through better designed, transformative legislation and policies. “Glass ceiling / Sticky floor” phenomena are artificial impediments and invisible barriers that militate against women’s access to top decision-making and managerial positions in an organisation. Gender mainstreaming is a strategy aiming to promote gender equality that integrates a gender perspective into the different development stages of policies, regulatory measures and spending programmes. Occupational segregation ishe actual dominance of one sex in a particular occupation. Parental leave is a leave granted to either parent to care for a child at a young age. Unpaid work is mostly housework and care work that produces goods and services but carries no direct remuneration or other form of payment.

Stakeholders Committee on Employment and Social Affairs of the European Parliament (EMPL) is responsible for employment and social policies (working conditions, social security, social protection…), it also focuses on ensuring the free movement of workers and pensioners and preventing all forms of discrimination at the workplace and in the labour market (except those based on gender since these are the competence of the Women's Rights Committee). Women at the table is proactively engaging for the promotion of gender equality, Women@theTable comes up with initiatives that "target systemic change, catalyzing opportunities for feminists to speak with international audiences about [gender] solutions", identifying, supporting and driving visibility to inspiring feminists and empowered women. OECD Gender Initiative is launched in 2010 a Gender Initiative by the OECD to examine existing barriers to gender equality in Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship aiming to improve policies and to promote gender equality in the world economy; essentially it monitors the national public policies’ progress and shares good practices among states, providing open-source analytical tools and reliable data. 28

UN Women is dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, UN Women leads numerous initiatives aiming at achieving worldwide gender equality. Among others, one of its main goals is for example to actively engage on women’s economic empowerment39. Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a functional commission of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) The CSW is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women indeed supports all aspects of the Commission’s work, facilitating among others the participation of civil society representatives. International Labour Organization (ILO) carries out projects and publications aiming to achieve gender equality at work either locally or globally. A “Good Policy and Practice” guide on women development as well as a “Women at work trend” publication assessing in detail the current situation when it comes to gender inequality and women in the workplace has been being published. Directorate General for Justice and Consumers of the European Commission (DG JUST) is responsible for implementing the European Commission’s strategies on gender equality, the DG JUST for all Member States regarding gender equality for all Member States regarding gender equality. The European Institute for Gender Equality works in close cooperation with stakeholders at various levels (such as the Council, the Commission, the Parliament and the Member States of the European Union as well as civil society organisations, academia and gender equality experts). The EIGE is an EU agency working to make gender equality a reality in the EU and beyond; producing, monitoring and sharing research, data and good practices.

Measures already in place The Treaty of Rome (1957) introduced the principle of equal pay for men and women whereas the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) set the advancement of equality between women and men as needing to be a fundamental task of the EU, obliging Member States to not only eliminate gender inequality and discrimination but also promote it in all areas of activity. Later, it was in the Treaty of Lisbon (2007/2009), where was incorporated reference to gender equality and to the furtherance of such by the EU; explicitly referring to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (2000), a legally binding primary European law that reinforces 39

United Nations Women. Economic empowerment.

the prohibition of discrimination and the obligation to ensure equality between women and men in all areas, making the institutions, organs and agencies of the EU and member states to act accordingly to the rights set out under the Charter. In 2010 the Women’s Charter was adopted, reinforcing the Commission’s obligation to gender mainstreaming and providing targeting support for equality between women and men in all policy areas. Moreover, in order to show its commitment to gender equality, the European Commission adopted since 1970 numerous directives such as the Equal Pay Directive (1975), condaming gender discrimination in respect of all aspects of pay; the directive is then complemented by the Equal Treatment Directive (1976), further providing that there should be no sex discrimination, either direct or indirect, nor by reference to marital or family status, in access to employment, training, working conditions, promotion or dismissal. It amended in 2002, where definitions of indirect discrimination, harassment and sexual harassment were added the Member States were required to set up equality bodies to promote, analyse, monitor and support equal treatment between women and men. Specific topics of gender equal treatment in working policies were also covered by the Social Security Directive (1979), Occupational Social Security Directive (1986), Self-employment Directive (1986), Goods and Services Directive (2004), Pregnant Workers Directive (1992) and the Parental Leave Directive (1996). In 1997, the Burden of Proof Directive was established, requiring changes in Member States’ judicial systems so that the burden of proof is shared more fairly in cases where workers made complaints of sex discrimination against their employers.

Problems that remain unresolved Reasons for the gender wage gap are multifaceted. Indeed, today’s equal pay practices and end of the “glass ceiling” phenomenon pick up not only on any inadvertent pay discrimination but also on low rates of return from maternity leave, harassment, gender stereotypes, segregational work, unequal distribution of household chores or even also on flexible working hours being taken up only by workers in lower paid roles. Today, despite numerous national and European legislation, vast gender inequalities remain, especially in terms of pay and status. The development of policies definitely have a role to play in men’s and women’s expectations for their own and each others’ careers, and companies’ decisions about whom to hire and promote.

However, when it comes to the countering of gender discrimination at the workplace, not only governments should develop new rules and social policies but also they should make sure employers, trade unions and other public or private employers stick to them. When thinking of gender equality policies, the diversity of the different actors concerned needs to be taken into account in order to better develop them; as European member states' action might not only be influenced by national and European institutions on a top-down approach but also multiple private actors such as workers and employers. A comprehensive approach to address the multiplicity of actors and their maybe diverging challenges should be adopted in order for women to realize and achieve their full economic empowerment.

Questions for thought 1. What are the main reasons why shortcomings persist when it comes to todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current initiatives aiming at reducing gender inequalities at the workplace? 2. What further measures should be implemented? What are the best practises you find most relevant? 3. How can the â&#x20AC;&#x153;glass ceilingâ&#x20AC;? phenomena acting as an invisible barrier to success mostly for women can be prevented? 4. Would it be possible to achieve a reconciliation of work, family and private life?

Useful links -

Commission of the European communities. A Roadmap for equality between women and men. http://bit.ly/2HNBDQf

Michelle

Bachelet.

Gender

and

development,

translating

commitment

into

http://bit.ly/2FUeewa -

OECD. Gender Publication, Closing the Gender Gap - Act Now. http://bit.ly/1hjQaht

European Commission. Europe 2020. http://bit.ly/KMnOnV

results.

EIGE.

Gender

impact

assessment,

gender

mainstreaming

toolkit.

http://bit.ly/2GM8ndL -

Gender inequality and the women at the workplace. http://bit.ly/2fWuz7i

Infographic Created by Pavlos Paraskevopoulos (GR), Journalist.

/Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Food in a Green Light: What actions should the EU take to transform its food system to achieve the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal of ensuring sustainable food production systems by 2030 and the European Union's long-term sustainability goal of 'living well, within the limits of the planet’ by 2050? By Athina Karameliou (GR) & Luke Piercy (ES)

Problematisation of the Issue Food Sustainability is a worldwide and multidimensional goal nowadays. However, it really comes down to eating and producing food differently. The United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals which were due in 2015 were replaced and complemented by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or 2030 Agenda in short. These goals apply to both the developing and the developed countries and cover a variety of socioeconomic development issues which include poverty, hunger, health, education, climate change, gender equality, water, sanitation, energy, environment and social justice40. Recent decades have seen a trend towards less sustainable and less healthy diets, with European citizens consuming "..too much energy, too many calories, too much fat and sugar, and salt"41. Such diets are predisposing factors as well as leading causes of cardiovascular diseases and type II diabetes. According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) 66 million people in Europe have diabetes. If no action is taken, this figure will rise to 81 million by 204542. Habits of food overconsumption lead to increasing levels of obesity among the general population. Country estimates of the World Health Organisation (WHO) for 2008 show that over 50% of both men and women in Europe were overweight, and roughly 23% of women and 20% of men were obese43. The aforementioned chronic health problems not only deteriorate the patients’ quality of everyday life but also pose an additional burden to the national public healthcare systems. At the same time, fewer people go hungry in Europe today, but many – up to three-quarters of the population in some countries – suffer from a

United Nations, 2012. UN General Assembly’s Open Working Group proposes sustainable development goals. 41 EU Platform for Diet, Physical Activity and Health, 2005. “Diet Physical Activity and Health - A European Platform for Action”. 42 International Diabetes Federation, 2017. “IDF Diabetes Atlas: Global estimates for the prevalence of diabetes for 2015 and 2040”. 43 World Health Organisation, 2018. “Global Health Observatory (GHO) for Obesity”.

form of malnutrition consuming enough calories, but not getting enough of the vitamins and minerals (micronutrients)44. Besides the effect the diet has on individuals, current food consumption tendencies pose a threat to the environment as well. The amount of energy necessary to cultivate, process, pack and bring food to the table accounted for 17 % of the EU's gross energy consumption in 2013, equivalent to about 26% of the EU's final energy consumption that same year45. This energy mainly comes from unsustainable energy sources, thus also highlights the exhaustion of the planet’s natural resources. Agriculture consumes about 70% of fresh water worldwide; for example, approximately 1000 liters of water are required to produce 1 kilogram of cereal grain, and 43,000 liters to produce 1 kilogram of beef46. Agricultural activities in the EU-28 also generated 470.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2012, corresponding to about 10 % of total greenhouse gas emissions, thus contributing to global climate change47. The need of bigger cultivating areas is consequent to the need for more food production. The biggest cause of forest loss, accounting for around 70%, is agricultural deforestation, notably for beef, soy, palm oil and commercial timber. The EU’s involvement is mainly because European farmers rely on imported soy from Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay to use as animal feed48. When natural vegetation is cleared and farmland is ploughed, the exposed topsoil is often blown away by wind or washed away by rain. This phenomenon is called land degradation. Soil degradation caused by agriculture can reach up to about 30% of the total global land area49. The problem persists, with a reported loss rate of about 10 million hectares per year. The major crops that cause soil erosion include coffee, cotton, corn, palm oil, rice, tea, tobacco, and wheat. With world population being 7.3 billion and expected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030, 9.7 billion in 2050, and 11.2 billion in 2100 50, it is more than clear that the needs for more and better quality food press for more food production. A number of irresponsible food habits also contribute to the unsustainability of the current food system by producing a considerable amount of food waste. Nearly 33% of the food globally produce is wasted, with EU citizens generating 180 kg of food waste per capita each

EURACTIV, 2014. “Even in wealthy nations, malnutrition is a serious public health problem” JRC Science and Policy Report, 2015. Energy use in the EU food sector: “State of play and opportunities for improvement”. 46 BioScience, Volume 54, Issue 10, 1 October 2004, Pages 909–918. Water Resources: Agricultural and Environmental Issues. 47 Eurostat - European Environmental Agency European, 2016. Environment Agency’s (EAA) European environment information and observation network (EIONET). 48 Fern, 2017. Agriculture and deforestation The EU Common Agricultural Policy, soy, and forest destruction. 49 International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), 2016. Economics of Land Degradation and Improvement – A Global Assessment for Sustainable Development 50 United Nations, 2015. UN DESA report, “World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision”. 45

year, of which 50% is healthy and edible51. Food waste comes from a number of different stages of food processing. Households discard approximately 25% of the purchased food52 in ways of excess buying, improper maintenance, labeling confusion or leftover discard. In the manufacturing and retail process, discharge of by-products, improper storage, aesthetic standards and packaging defects also contribute to the food wasted. Food services, such as restaurants and canteens, often offer excess portions and do not provide different portion sizes. Adding the excess production of food due to difficulty in estimating demands to this, food services are a main contributor to food waste. With around 88 million tonnes of food wasted annually in the EU and associated costs estimated at EUR 143 billion53, it is evident that immediate action needs to be taken to reduce the environmental impact of food system.

Terminology and definitions Sustainability is the property of biological systems to remain diverse and be produced indefinitely. Food Security is the condition in which all people have physical, social and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. Sustainable food production system might be seen as encompassing a range of issues such as security of the supply of food, health, safety, affordability, quality, a strong food industry in terms of jobs and growth and, at the same time, environmental sustainability, in terms of issues such as climate change, biodiversity, water and soil quality. Food loss is defined as â&#x20AC;&#x153;the decrease in quantity or quality of foodâ&#x20AC;?. Food waste is part of food loss and refers to discarding or alternative (non-food) use of food that is safe and nutritious for human consumption along the entire food supply chain, from primary production to end household consumer level. Malnutrition is a condition that results from eating a diet in which nutrients are either not enough or are too much such that the diet causes health problems. Genetically Modified Crops (GMCs, GM crops) are plants used in agriculture, the DNA of which has been modified using genetic engineering methods. In most cases, the aim is to introduce a new trait to the plant which does not occur naturally in the species, for example, resistance to certain pests, diseases, or environmental conditions, reduction of spoilage, or 51

European Environmental Agency, 2014. From production to waste: the food system. Ibid. 53 FUSIONS Programme, 2016. Estimates of European food waste levels. 52

resistance to chemical treatments (e.g. resistance to a herbicide), or improving the nutrient profile of the crop. Organic food is the product of a farming system which avoids the use of artificial fertilisers, pesticides, growth regulators and livestock feed additives.

Stakeholders Î¤he European Parliament Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) is responsible for food safety issues, such as the labelling and safety of food products, veterinary legislation concerning protection against risks to human health, public health checks on food products and food production systems. It also supervises the work of the European Food Safety Authority and the European Food and Veterinary Office. European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the agency of the EU, that provides independent scientific advice and communicates on existing and emerging risks associated with the food chain. EFSA supports the European Commission, the European Parliament and EU member states in taking effective and timely risk management decisions that ensure the protection of the health of European consumers and the safety of the food and feed chain. The European Environment Agency (EEA) is an agency of the European Union, whose task is to provide sound, independent information on the environment. The EEA aims to support sustainable development by helping to achieve significant and measurable improvement in Europe's environment, through the provision of timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information to policy making agents and the public. The European environment information and observation network (Eionet) is a partnership network of the EEA and its member and cooperating countries. Through Eionet, the EEA brings together environmental information from individual countries concentrating on the delivery of timely, nationally validated, high-quality data. Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) of environmental interests such as Greenpeace and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) can contribute to spreading awareness and influencing populationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; habits on food production and consumption. Their actions are carried out mainly through activism activities, workshops and public events and media campaigns. Everyone in the food production system is actively involved in its reform process. Farmers and farm workers are responsible for abiding by international standards of food production. Food services providers need to adopt the proposed measures to reduce food waste and

energy consumption as well. The different environmental agencies and governmental institutions are responsible for not only conducting research on the current situation and proposing measures to improve the current impact of the food system but also monitoring the their efficient application. Customers play a vital role in adopting and maintaining a sustainable food system. Being the last part of the food chain in most cases, their adaptation to international standards and adoption of more sustainable food habits is of utmost importance.

Measures already in place The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is the agricultural policy of the European Union. It implements a system of agricultural subsidies and other programmes. It was introduced in 1962 and has undergone several changes since then to reduce the cost (from 71% of the EU budget in 1984 to 39% in 2013) and to also consider rural development in its aims. The CAP is a policy that states the European Union's farm policy ensures a decent standard of living for farmers, at the same time as setting requirements for animal health and welfare, environmental protection and food safety. Sustainable rural development completes the picture of the EU's common agricultural policy (CAP). Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers brings together EU rules on general food labelling and nutrition labelling into one piece of legislation. The majority of the requirements of the legislation applied to pre-packed foods from 13 December 2014 with mandatory nutrition declarations for most pre-packed foods applying from 13 December 2016. New rules on country of origin information for meat from sheep, pigs, goats and poultry applied from 1 April 2015. The EU presented the Roadmap for a Resource efficient Europe in 2011, setting a milestone of 50% reduction in edible food waste by 2020. However, only France has set its national goals in that direction, with other Member States setting theirs in the 20-25% range. There are other policies on waste, like the Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC), which sets the basic principles for waste management and the waste hierarchy54. Moreover, the Landfill Directive (1999/31/EC) obliges Member States to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste by 65% by 2016 compared to 1995, yet it does not provide specific guidelines on

The waste hierarchy gives preference, in this order, to prevention, reuse, recycling, energy recovery and, lastly, disposal.

implementation, which has led to most Member States turning to incineration rather than waste prevention.

Problems that remain unresolved Food sustainability has been a goal of the European Union and the United Nations for decades. Why is it though, that those goals of a sustainable food system have not yet been met? This is either by inadequate compliance with the measures proposed or dilemmas that have risen from them. Certified organic food is generally more expensive than conventional counterparts due to limited supply compared to the demands, greater labour inputs per unit and post-harvest handling of relatively small quantities of organic foods, which results in higher costs. However, the price of organic food includes not only the price for food production but for environmental

enhancement,

such

higher

standards

for

animal

welfare,

avoidance of health risks to farmers and rural development as well. Organic food is the healthiest and environmentally friendliest option despite being considerably more expensive. This creates unequal access to healthy food and new forms of social inequalities between those who can and cannot afford organic food in their everyday diet. GMCs could be a solution to the aforementioned situation providing enough and good quality food to feed the growing population equally. However, the cultivation and distribution of such crops has been met with skepticism and hesitation in a substantial part of the consumers and governments alike because of their controversial nature as of “non natural” origin. Agricultural biotechnology has not been embraced by the public equally to other technological advancements mainly because of concerns about its effects to human health despite scientific evidence proving otherwise. Food labelling and date marking were introduced as means of reducing food waste and informing consumers of the nutritious value of the products. The terms “best before” and “used by” were used to indicate that food may be consumed after the given date, but that it may not be at its best in terms of quality and that food should not be consumed past this date accordingly. However, only 40-47% of consumers were properly informed on these terms’ meanings55. Public awareness, hence, is of essential importance in the efforts made to transform the current food system.

Flash Eurobarometer 425 (Summary), 2015, Food waste and date marking

Questions for Thought 1. What would more responsible food consuming habits involve? 2. Are there ways of environmentally friendly food production, processing, distribution and consumption, and if there are which are they? 3. In what ways could the amount of food wasted be reduced? 4. What actions can the respective stakeholders take towards a more sustainable food system?

Useful links -

International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), “Making Europe More Organic, a short overview of IFOAM’s EU past present and future work”. http://bit.ly/2HDqFNe

European Commission. “Executive Summary of the Impact Assessment on Measures Addressing Food Waste to Complete SWD (2014) 207 regarding the Review of EU Waste”. http://bit.ly/2tSRoDp

EURACTIV,

“EU

agricultural

emissions:

the

table”.

http://bit.ly/2IssMVy -

European

Commission’s

factsheet,

“EU

agriculture

and

climate

change”.

http://bit.ly/2phM1bA -

European Environment Agency, “From production to waste: the food system”. http://bit.ly/2pipqf7

Infographic Created by Ida Eerola (FI), Journalist.

/Committee on Industry, Research, and Energy I (ITRE I) #Renew Europe: Europe is developing the foundations for a world-leading green economy, but it is still largely dependent on fossil fuels. How could the Member States be encouraged to implement the Paris Agreement and move towards a more sustainable economy? by Grigoris Makris (GR) & Milan Dragačević (RS)

Problematisation of the Issue The implementation of the Paris Agreement and the threat of climate change have prompted the European Union (EU) and its Member States to take a series of measures in order to both decrease the greenhouse emissions and establish a careful use of energy. The Paris Agreement sets an ambitious target: to hold the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C, to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C, and to achieve net zero emissions in the second half of this century. It also highlights the need for continuous financing for the lowering of carbon emissions. Further proving the EU’s commitment, all Member States have ratified the Paris Agreement and Intended Nationally Determined Contribution56 (INDC) became the EU’s NDC with the same emissions reduction target. Regardless, mostly fossil fuels are used for energy generation, while the consumption of energy reaches borderline the desirable limit and extensive renewable energy use can as well be considered a prospect. Fossil fuels lie at the hearth of the problem. They emit significant amount of CO x when burnt, and are mostly imported from third countries. Both environmental, and health and energy security related problems the use of them cause have triggered the EU to take immediate actions. Among the presented actions, efficient use of energy stands out as one of the few potential measures to address the issue and decrease the large levels of consumption of fossil fuels in energy generation. Simultaneously, another potential action is said to be increasing the domestic production of energy through exploiting the renewable energy sources, and use them more in energy generation to accelerate the move towards a sustainable living. Briefly, the course the EU has taken can be categorised into two parts. On the one hand we have the emission reductions through economic policies such as the Emission Trading

Countries publicly outline what post-2020 climate actions they intended to take under the international agreement

Scheme and the Effort Sharing Decision and on the other hand, the use of alternative, ecofriendly sources of energy and ways to reduce the energy consumption as a whole. Two of the main strategies are the 2020 Climate & Energy Package and the 2030 Climate and Energy Framework. For the former, the EU targets include a reduction by 20% in the greenhouse emissions (GHG), increasing the share of renewable energy consumption to 20% and a 20% improvement on energy efficiency57, while for the latter the EU aims for a 43% reduction in GHG, a 27% share of renewable energy in consumption and 27% improvement in energy efficiency respectively.58

Terminology and definitions Fossil fuels are formed from organic material as are the main source of non-renewable energy. Coal, petroleum, natural gas and oil shales belong to the most used ones. Renewable energy is the energy collected from renewable resources, which are naturally refilled again, such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, and geothermal heat. Energy Efficient Technology consumes less energy in order to operate productively in comparison to others of its kind. Primary Energy Consumption measures the total energy demand of a country. It covers consumption of the energy sector itself, losses during transformation (for example, from oil or gas into electricity) and distribution of energy, and the final consumption by end users. Final Energy Consumption is the total energy consumed by end users, such as households, industry and agriculture. It is the energy which reaches the final consumer's door and excludes that which is used by the energy sector itself. Cost effective is good value for the amount of money paid. Carbon leakage: Carbon leakage refers to the situation that may occur if, for reasons of costs related to climate policies, businesses were to transfer production to other countries with laser emission constraints such as receive a higher share of free allowances (see ETS below). International credits: Financial instruments that represent a tonne of CO2 removed or reduced from the atmosphere as a result of an emissions reduction project.

57 58

European Commission. 2020 climate & energy package. European Commission. 2030 climate & energy framework.

Stakeholders The European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) is

stakeholder when it comes to industrial and energy policies, the security of energy supply and energy efficiency and the information of society and information technology. The European Parliament Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) is a key stakeholder when it comes to climate change. Its range responsibilities covers sections such as air, soil and water pollution, waste management and recycling, climate change, and the protection of biodiversity. The Directorate-General for Energy (DG ENER) is a department of the European Commision, responsible for the realisation of the EU's energy policy, which aims for a

secure,

sustainable, and competitive energy for Europe. The Green 10 are ten of the largest environmental organisations in Europe have formed a coalition which aims to ensure that the actions of the EU regarding the climate are efficient, by assessing the EUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s actions and often proposing alternative measures to deal with upcoming problems. 59 Agency for the cooperation of energy regulators, as an independent European structure which fosters cooperation among European energy regulators, ACER ensures that market integration and the harmonisation of regulatory frameworks are achieved within the framework of the EUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s energy policy objectives.

Measures already in place The European Union Emission Trading System (EU ETS) was set up in 2005 as a key tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions cost-effectively. Through this system, countries can buy, sell, or store emission allowances. They can also buy limited amounts of international credits from emission-saving projects around the world. The EU ETS sets a gradually decreasing limit for the number of allowances. In order to deal with the surplus of allowances, build up due to the economic crisis and high imports of international credits, the Market Stability Reserve has been established.60 Through this system the allowances can be taken out of the market in case of a surplus of allowances, which eliminates lower carbon prices and thus a weaker incentive to reduce emissions.

59 60

Green 10, 2018. The Green 10. European Commission. Market Stability Reserve.

The Effort Sharing Decision (2013-2020), establishes binding annual greenhouse gas emission targets for Member States in order to reach an overall 10% reduction in the sectors it covers compared to 2005. The targets concern emissions from most sectors not included in the EU ETS, such as transport, buildings, agriculture and waste. In contrast to the EU ETS it is up to Member States to decide how they want to achieve these reductions. In 2016, the EU Commission proposed, an Effort Sharing Regulation, active for the period 2021-2030 as a continuation of the Decision. Within that framework, reductions of GHGs are set to reach 30% by 2030. The regulation also introduced flexibilities such as some Member States being allowed to use EU ETS allowances. The European Commission presented a legislative proposal to integrate greenhouse gas emissions and removals from land use, land use-change and forestry (LULUCF) into the 2030 climate and energy framework, which is not included in the current goal. Through binding measures the Member States have to remove an equal amount of CO2 emitted from the sectors, an action known as â&#x20AC;&#x153;no debit ruleâ&#x20AC;? . The EU has established the Energy Efficiency Directive. Energy efficient measures include energy efficient buildings renovations regarding heating and cooling systems, since buildings are responsible for 40% of the energy consumption61, minimum energy efficient standards for products and ways to keep track of individual energy consumption.62 63 One of the innovative techniques the EU uses is the Carbon Capture and Geological storage used for trapping carbon and then storing and injecting it in the ground. 64 Also concerning low carbon technologies, NER 300 is one of the world's largest funding programmes for innovative low-carbon energy demonstration projects.65 The European Commission also established the "Innovation and Networks Executive Agency" (INEA) in 2013. One of its main tasks is to make the transport sector more sustainable and greener, in order to reach the main objectives of the "2020 Energy Strategy". As a reaction to global warming and to the tremendous rise of air pollution in some European countries, the European Commission published their strategy for a higher use of renewable energy until 2020 in 2009 (20% of all the energy from renewable energy sources), under the Renewable Energy Directive.

European Commission. Buildings. European Commission. Energy Efficiency. 63 European Commission. Energy Efficiency Directive. 64 European Commission. Carbon Capture and Geological Storage. 65 European Commission. NER 300 programme. 62

The EU has adopted this directive which establishes a common framework for the use of energy from renewable sources66 in order to limit greenhouse gas emissions and promote cleaner transport. To this end, national action plans have been defined. The progress made towards national targets is measured every two years through national renewable energy progress reports, published by EU countries. A wide range of schemes, policies and legislation to promote renewable energy is being implemented across the EU.67 The national targets covering the 2013-2020 period are set on the basis of Member States' relative wealth (measured by Gross Domestic Product per capita). Member States must report on their emissions annually under the EU monitoring mechanism. Overall, the RED 10% subÂtarget for transport has failed by promoting cropÂ-based biofuels at the expense of more sustainable fuels, undermining GHG emission reductions. A sectoral target in transport based only on volumes of biofuels has not been a successful tool to drive real decarbonisation because the target looks at the amount of biofuel used rather than the type or generation of biofuel, resulting in cheaper biofuels being produced. A wider range of alternatives to traditional fuels needs to be promoted, including energy efficiency, public transport, electrification and hydrogen fuel cells68.

Problems that remain unresolved Europe is threatened by the current banking rules that allow the carry-over of offset credits that will have been converted into EU ETS allowances. What this means is that international offsets that will have accumulated in the system by 2020 can be used towards the 2030 reduction target, thus making the need to buy allowances obsolete. A more general problem might be the unnecessary surplus of allowances.The Non Governmental Organisations (NGO) as well as the Environmental Council call for the ability to cancel surplus emission allowances in the future.69 A surplus of allowances is said to lower the price of the allowances and thus undermine the desirable incentive towards lowering the CO2 emissions by making it easier for industries to buy allowances. There is also the heated debate around carbon leakage. To safeguard the competitiveness of industries covered by the EU ETS, the production deemed to be exposed to a significant risk

Eur-Lex, Access to European Union Law (2017) Promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources Res-Legal 2012 Legal Sources on renewable Energy 68 A fuel cell is a device that converts chemical potential energy (energy stored in molecular bonds) into electrical energy. A hydrogen fuel cell uses hydrogen gas (H2) and oxygen gas (O2) as fuel. 69 CAN Europe, 2017. Summary of the Environment Council agreement on the ETS reform. 67

of carbon leakage receive a higher share of free allowances.70 A study conducted by the European Commission and several voices from environment related NGOs are indicating the inexistence or the limited risk of actual carbon leakage. 71 72 73 Regarding the ESD and the ESR, several stakeholders criticise the 30% EU-wide target and consider it too low. Banking of allocations is also a point of debate since it is currently unlimited. 74 As of 2016, the primary energy consumption was 4% higher than the 2020 energy efficiency target for primary energy, while the final energy consumption was below the 2020 energy efficiency target in 2014, it began increasing and by 2016 it was 2% above. Current policies require energy companies to achieve yearly energy savings of 1.5% of annual sales to final consumers75 however the average savings are said to be reduced due to alleged loopholes. 76 In 2015, 72.5 % of all energy in the EU-28 was generated by the fossil fuels.77 The EU’s dependency on imports of fossils fuels has increased, with 73% imported in 2015 compared to 53% in 1990.78 While in 1990 one tonne of fossil fuels was imported for each tonne produced in the EU, by 2015 three tonnes were imported for each tonne produced. Member States such as The Netherlands, UK, Germany, France have agreed to phase out their coal and nuclear power plants, respectively, by their own agreed date whilst other Member States disagree with this.79

Questions for thought 1. Given the proposed measures towards innovation, how can the EU further improve its stance on innovation concerning climate change and energy efficiency? 2. Given the recent increase in energy consumption, due to various factors including potential aforementioned loopholes, what further measures in energy consumption and energy efficiency should be taken to achieve the 2020 target? 70

European Commission, Carbon leakage. Carbon Market Watch, 2015. Carbon leakage myth buster. 72 World Bank Group, 2017. Carbon leakage: theory, evidence and policy. 73 CAN Europe, 2014. Briefing:The lack of evidence for carbon leakage. 74 European Commission, 2016. Summary of stakeholder feedback to the Effort Sharing Regulation proposal. 75 European Commission. Obligation schemes and alternative measures. 76 CAN Europe, 2017. CAN Europe’s Position On The Energy Efficiency Directive Review. 77 Eurostat, 2017. Energy trends. 78 Balkan Greece Energy News, 2017. EU dependency on fossil fuel imports on rise despite energy consumption decrease. 79 Carbon Brief, 2017. Mapped: EU coal plants ‘should all close by 2030’. 71

3. How can the EU ensure that it is on track to reduce its emissions by 40% by 2030? 4. Considering the examples of some Member States, how can the EU successfully phase out of its coal and nuclear power plants? 5. What are the challenges (regulatory, technological, behavioural, and others) of decarbonising transport in the longer-term and how could these be overcome?

Links for further research -

European Commission, Climate Strategies and Targets. http://bit.ly/2FsDHwz

European Commission, Energy Strategy and Energy Union. http://bit.ly/2rnRkXG

European Commission, Energy Efficiency. http://bit.ly/29pWIAZ

European Commission, Low Carbon Innovation. http://bit.ly/2p2aYaH

European Union Brief, Phase-out 2020: monitoring Europeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fossil fuel subsidies. http://bit.ly/2FrEI89

European Renewable Energy Council, Mapping Renewable Energy Pathways towards 2020. http://bit.ly/2FudPQP

Eurostat, Renewable energy statistics. http://bit.ly/1FZESzf

Infographic Created by Elena Ignatiadou (GR), Journalist.

/Committee on Industry, Research and Energy II (ITRE II) Internet of Energy: Experts estimate that by 2020 the global market for smart grid technology will be almost € 400 billion. What actions should the EU take to exploit the potential of smart technologies to keep urban energy grids stable by balancing the power generated from renewable resources with the electricity consumed? by Kateryna Hlebova (UA)

Problematisation of the Issue Can you count how many electronic devices are in your house? I bet when your grandma was a child, her family had a refrigerator, a TV, and a radio at the most. Obviously, the energy demand has increased drastically in last 40 years. According to the European Environment Agency80, the European Union’s (EU) total electricity consumption increased by 28% between 1990 and 2015. The technological progress is not going to slow down any time soon, introducing and developing such innovative concepts as the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Cloud Computing etc. Therefore, it’s getting harder and harder to meet the rising electricity demand. High dependency of businesses’, governmental institutions’, households’, and individuals’ functioning on these technologies demonstrates the necessity to deliver energy constantly and securely to end-users. With the EU striving for a greener future81, focusing on renewable sources of energy, which produce variable amounts of energy, a stable electricity supply is getting even harder to reach, at least with the conventional electricity transportation system. The traditional energy transportation system designed in the previous century implies a onedirectional flow of electricity from a power plant to end-users.

80 81

The European Environment Agency, 2015. Overview of electricity production and use in Europe. The European Commision, 2010. 2020 Energy Strategy

Local energy production combined with the use of smart technologies like smart grids, and smart meters seems to be a wise solution to these problems.

Smart grids allow to manage better energy generated from different sources, and balance loads when user demand is high or the energy supply from renewables is low. Thanks to a real-time monitoring of the energy consumption with smart meters, consumers are able to spread electricity use more evenly to decrease energy costs and generally reduce the frequency and scale of demand peaks, which improves energy efficiency, reduces the use of fossil fuels needed for back-up power generation, and ultimately requires fewer power plants and less transmission capacity to supply electricity84. Thanks to smart grids, consumers can also sell energy they generate locally. However, the deployment of smart technologies faces a number of problems ranging from old good security and data protection, and low level of regulatory support for necessary investments, to the lack of distinct technology standards for smart meters and home-area network communications, and fear of radiofrequency radiation coming from smart meters.

Terminology and definitions A smart grid is an upgraded electricity network, enabling a two-way communication between supplier and consumer in order to monitor and manage the transport of electricity from all sources of generation.

European Distribution System Operators for smart grids. Why smart grids? European Distribution System Operators for smart grids. Why smart grids? 84 The European Parliamentary Research Service, 2015. Smart electricity grids and meters in the EU Member States. 83

A smart meter is a small electronic device that records consumption of electrical energy, and provides frequent two-way communication with the utility. The set of common functional requirements of the smart meter includes 12 functionalities85. Distribution system operators (DSOs) manage and sometimes own parts of energy networks, and are responsible for distribution of electricity to end-users.86 Transmission system operators (TSOs) are operating the part of the energy network, that transport high-voltage electricity across vast distances, providing grid access to the electricity market players, i.e. generating companies, traders, suppliers, distributors and directly connected customers87.

Stakeholders The European Commission as the only legislative institution of the European Union carves energy strategies and action plans, and provides financial and regulatory support for the smart grids projects and roadmaps. National governments are the ones who implement the EC strategies in Member Statesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; legislation. They can also invest in smart grids projects, along with DSOs, public institutions, and other stakeholders. Energy suppliers, utilities, TSOs, and DSOs form the energy supply line, and are directly involved in the electricity transportation. Research centers, both on the EU88 and national levels, conduct economic assessments of the benefits and costs of implementing smart grids, track and analyze progress of smart grids and smart meters deployments in MS, caused effects etc. Information and communications technology (ICT) and telecom companies and technology manufacturers provide smart grids projects with necessary hardware and software. Entities, such as the Smart Grids Task Force (SGTF), now consisting of five Expert Groups, including

industry representatives, and the European Union Agency for Network and

The European Commission, 2011. A joint contribution of DG ENER and DG INFSO towards the Digital Agenda, Action 73: Set of common functional requirements of the SMART METER. 86 European Distribution System Operators for smart grids. Why smart grids? 87 European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity, 2015. ENTSO-E Member Companies. 88 European Commission, 2018. EU Science Hub.

Information Security (ENISA) are working on standardisation of smart technologies to reduce the risks coming with their deployment. The three officially recognized European Standardization Organizations: the European Committee for Standardization (CEN), the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization (CENELEC) and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) are actually developing and updating official standards. Networks of different smart grids stakeholders get together in smart grids platforms to foster the transition to smarter grids, to promote the development of joint initiatives, and to disseminate best practices, i. e. European Distribution System Operators (EDSO) for smart grids, European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E)

Measures already in place Adopted in 2009, the Third Energy Package requires the Member States to evaluate the costs and benefits of the large-scale smart metering rollout, and based on this assessment prepare a timescale for the deployment of intelligent metering systems89. In 2009, the EC set up SGTF that two years later issued key recommendations for standardisation, consumer data privacy and security of Smart Gridsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; deployment under the framework of the Third Energy Package90. For instance, Expert Group 2 suggested the creation of a trusted network of public and private organisations, where information about incidents, threats, vulnerabilities and good practices will be shared intensively. Another example of issued recommendations is a requirement of energy supply core functionality to be able to handle disruptions and return to normal operations afterwards. Based on these results, the European Commission issued a mandate for smart grids standards to the European Standardisation Organisations (CEN-CENELEC-ETSI), and adopted the recommendation for the roll-out of smart metering systems with guidelines for conducting an aforementioned cost benefit analyses of smart grid projects. In 2012, in accordance with the Third Energy Package, eleven European countries had developed regulatory roadmaps for the full-scale introduction of smart meters. In 2012 ENISA introduced a set of cyber security measures for smart grids91. 89

The European Commission, 2012. Benchmarking smart metering deployment in the EU-27 with a focus on electricity. 90 Smart Grids Task Force, 2012. European Task Force for the Implementation of Smart Grids into the European Internal Market. 91 ENISA, 2012. Appropriate security measures for smart grids.

In 2014 the EC has produced guidance on data protection and privacy for data controllers and investors in smart grids through the Commission Recommendation on the Data Protection Impact Assessment Template for Smart Grid and Smart Metering Systems. Smart grids play a key role in an integrated energy market which works for consumers, keeps the EU world number one in renewables.It ensures the meeting demand energy supply which is a core concept of the Energy Union strategy proposed by the EC in 2015.92 Smart grid roadmaps have been adopted in several Member States under different names (roadmap, route map, strategy, etc.), mostly by competent national authorities, but sometimes by private organisations. In Germany, for example, a roadmap was drafted by the federal association of energy and water industry, BDEW (BDEW Bundesverband der Energie- und Wasserwirtschaft e.V., 2013)93.

Problems that remain unresolved Even with the Third Energy Package, requiring Member States to substitute 80% of the conventional meters with smart meters by 2020, some countries decided not to mandate the large-scale smart metering rollout, going for a voluntary deployment instead (Germany, the Netherlands), or even discouraging even small pilot projects (mostly countries of the Eastern Bloc). There are a few reasonable explanations for that. First of all, for some states, benefit and cost assessment showed negative results. Also, in countries which extensively deployed smart metering, cost savings are not as high as they were expected. For example, Finland found the average savings to be only 1-2%, while Sweden gave a range of 1-3%. Finally, some industry players have suggested that a transition to an intelligent electricity grid in Europe can take place without smart meters94. Even though both the Third Energy Package and the Energy Union encourage the modernisation of the energy grid, neither of them specified whether the smart grids deployment should be financially supported by the Member States. There is still lacking a clear EU-wide regulatory framework for the definition of different segments of smart grids, financial support they need, and investment incentives95. Smart grids enable a number of services for customers, such as monitoring energy consumption in real-time, or selling surplus energy they produce locally. However, customers 92

The European Commission, 2012. Innovative smart grids central to Energy Union. The European Commission Directorate-General Joint Research Centre, 2017. Smart Grid Projects Outlook 2017. 94 EURACTIV.com (Elza Holmstedt Pell), 2016. Smart meters â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;not neededâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; after all for European power grid. 95 McKinsey & Company, 2010. How Europe is approaching the smart grid. 93

do not demonstrate a high interest in these services, that undoubtedly slows down the transition to smart grids. The reason for that is a limited understanding of the energy grid functioning, and value the smart grids implementation could bring.

Questions for thought 1. What problems of smart grids deployment are already solved? 2. How do stakeholders interact with each other? Can their communication be enhanced? 3. What should motivate Member States, electricity market players, businesses and individuals to support smart grids deployment? 4. What can be done to foster smart grids deployment in Member States which are falling behind?

Links for further research -

Smart electricity grids and meters in the EU Member States http://bit.ly/1iau2y3

How Europe is approaching the smart grid. http://bit.ly/2paRim9

Smart Grids: from innovation to deployment http://bit.ly/2HxqEKO

Smart grids projects outlook 2017 http://bit.ly/2p8OwxM

Essential Regulatory Requirements and Recommendations for Data Handling, Data Safety, and Consumer Protection http://bit.ly/2GpjQPY

Infographic Created by Natalia Ferrando (ES), Journalist.

/Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs I Sharing Responsibilities: Europe has been struggling to formulate a united and lasting strategy in dealing with immigration. How should the EU act in order to unblock the discussion and move towards a holistic, forward-looking migration policy? by Giorgi Beroshvili (GE) & Ifigenia Moumtzi (GR)

Problematisation of the Issue Ever since the Syrian War and the general instability in the Middle East, a great number of refugees has arrived in Europe. The first point of entry for the refugees are generally the Frontline States, Italy and Greece, which have had to deal with the most refugees seeking a new home. Due to the Dublin III Regulation, the first countries asylum seekers enter the European Union (EU) are the ones responsible for assessing their application. Moreover, up until it is determined as either successful or not, the asylum seekers have to remain at their first point of entry. This has raised questions on responsibility sharing regarding the influx of refugees, since Italy and Greece have been the most challenged by the massive refugee influx on both an economic and social level. What is more, many member states have raised arguments against opening their national borders to refugees and asylum seekers while others have welcomed refugees. This conflict revealed the lack of a common European position on the matter; what should the EU do to have a unanimous solution to the problem?

Terminology and definitions Refugee, according to the 1951 Convention of Refugees, is a person who ‘’owing to wellfounded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it.” Asylum Seeker is a person who move across borders in search of protection, but who may not fulfill the strict criteria laid down by the 1951 Convention. Asylum seeker describes someone who has applied for protection as a refugee and is awaiting the determination of his

or her status. Asylum seekers can become refugees if the local immigration or refugee authority deems them as fitting the international definition of refugee. 96 Relocation is the transfer of people who are in need of international protection from one country to another. For the purposes of the European Migrant Crisis, this is referred to in the context of the transfer of asylum seekers between Member States. The Refugee Crisis or The European Migrant Crisis is used to identify the crisis that began in 2015 when an unprecedented wave of migrants arrived in Southern Europe across the Mediterranean and Turkish border. Through 2015 and 2016 Europe received more than million migrants, questioning existing migration policies.97

Stakeholders European Commission is a body of the European Union responsible for proposing legislation, implementing measures and upholding treaties. Each EU Member State has one representative in the Commission, nevertheless, each member’s duty is to protect the rights of the European Union citizens as a whole and not the country which they represent. European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) is the European Union’s body responsible controlling external borders of the signatory countries of the Schengen Area.98 Frontline States are the states that receive the most refugees’ influx and due to the Dublin II Agreement they are responsible for assessing the asylum seekers’ applications. The term, usually refers to Greece and Italy, which ‘’ face an unprecedented economic and social challenge of the refugees and migrants that remain within their borders.99 EU Member States are divided on the migration crisis, as some stand for the welcoming of refugees (E.g. Germany) and others for closing their borders and ignoring the EU’s instructions (e.g. Hungary).100 The European Asylum Support Office (EASO) is an EU agency established in 2011, seeking to facilitate protection of asylum seekers in Europe. EASO provides temporary support to Member States with significant refugee influx by offering consultation on asylum policies

Ernst and Young, 2016. Managing the EU Migrant Crisis. BBC, 2016. Migrant Crisis: Migration Explained in 7 Charts. 98 FRONTEX, 2017. Mission and Tasks. 99 Human Rights Watch, 2015. Europe’s Refugee Crisis: An Agenda for Action. 100 European Commission. Relocation and Resettlement: EU Member States urgently need to deliver. 97

with particular reference to the prevailing circumstances within the Member State in question.101

Measures already in place In 2015, based on the proposal of the European Commission, the Member States agreed to implement the Emergency Relocation Scheme. The Commission proposed to relocate 160,000 people in need of protection from the Member States under pressure to other EU Member States, showing the support in terms of sharing the burden equally. Unfortunately, there are several Member States who dislike the plan and are not committed to it, which hinders the overall process. The proposal also suggested including the relocation mechanism into the Dublin Regulation. In May 2016, as part of its proposed reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), the Commission presented a draft proposal for a Dublin IV Regulation.102 The reform aims to make the Dublin System more transparent and enhance its effectiveness. This would be achieved through a fairness mechanism, which would relocate refugees from a Member State if its asylum quota103, calculated in proportion to a Member Statesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; size and GDP, is exceeded by over 150%. In case of refusing to relocate refugees, the Member State would have to pay a fine of EUR 250,000. Moreover, there have been agreements between Greece and Turkey. Both parties agreed to implement the Joint Action Plan104 in 2015, which aims to control the flow of the refugees across the Greek-Turkish border. The implementation of the action plan contributed to the reduction of the migrant flow on the border. More than EUR 3 billion have been spent on the plan already. Regarding the illegal migrant routes in the Mediterranean, more than 250,000 lives have been saved in 2015 alone. The European Border and Coast Guard was reformed in order to tackle with the increasing numbers of the refugees from North Africa and secure the borders.105 Under EUROPOL, the European Migrant Smuggling Centre has been opened which deals with criminal activity among the migrants and combats the smuggling routes across the Mediterranean Sea.

101

European Commission, 2018. Agencies. European Commission, 2016. COM(2016)270 final. 103 European Commission, 2015. COM(2015) 240 final. 104 European Council, 2016. EU-Turkey statement, 18 March 2016. 105 European Commission, 2016. Press Release: European Border and Coast Guard agreed 102

The European Commission proposed to reform the EASO and change it into the official European Union Agency for Asylum, which will ensure that there is efficient cooperation and information exchange between the Member States regarding the migrant crisis.

Problems that remain unresolved The main conflict revolves around the Dublin Regulation, which is incapable of dealing with the constant flow of the refugees. It was never meant to be used as a mechanism during a crisis. It was proposed to assign certain responsibilities in the migration policy, rather than relocating thousands of refugees across Europe. Therefore, the regulation created a huge pressure on the Frontline States representing a burden for he economies of the Member States. Regarding the relocation of refugees, the current plan also proves to be inefficient. It was set up in 2015 in order to share the burden106 among the Member States equally. The Member States, meeting with the Council, agreed by consensus to relocate more than 32,000 persons in need of international protection under the plan by the end of 2015.

107

Meanwhile, the

frontline states guaranteed that the each and every migrant was identified, registered and had their fingerprints taken. Although it was intended to make the distribution of the refugees more equal, current trend is the opposite - Member States are not willing to commit to the plan, further deteriorating solidarity.108 Hungary and Poland remain as the states that have not admitted any migrant109 within their borders, alongside several other states backtracking on their pledges. Hungary challenged the relocation plan, but the European Court of Justice rejected it in September, 2017.110 On the contrary, Member States such as Luxembourg, Finland, and Malta have already fulfilled their commitment. European migration policy is based on relocation and resettlement, which remain the cornerstones of the control mechanisms. Moreover, it includes coordinated return, readmission, and reintegration of migrants denied asylum, in cooperation with countries of origin.111 Even though the migrant crisis reaches to a bit more coordinated stage, there still

106

Migration Policy Institute, 2003. Burden-sharing in the New Age of Immigration. Council of the EU, 2015. Justice and Home Affairs Council. 108 European Commission, 2017. Relocation and Resettlement 109 European Commission, 2018. Member States' Support to Emergency Relocation Mechanism 110 Court of Justice of the European Union, 2017. PRESS RELEASE No 91/17 111 European Council, 2017. Finding solutions to migratory pressures 107

are major problems which remain unsolved. The European Union has to set up a common and mutually agreed stance on the migrant crisis.

Questions for thought 1. Should the EU keep the current relocation plan while amending the details or come up with the completely new mechanism, as the existing one proved to be inefficient? 2. How should the EU revise the current Dublin Regulation? Does it have to be changed into the Dublin IV Regulation? 3. Is there a need of more effective and fair asylum quota? If so, what does it have to include while calculating the number? (Ex: GDP, size, etc.) 4. How can the EU enhance the cooperation between the Member States in terms of relocation? 5. Should the EU include resettlement and reintegration into the migration policy or strictly focus on dealing with the relocation?

Links for further research Please see the footnotes.

Infographic Created by Vasilis Farsarotas (GR), Journalist.

/Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs II (LIBE II) Towards an Inclusive Growth: How should the European stakeholders act to utilise migration and refugee influx as an engine for economic growth, and create a secure, prosperous, and diverse society that provides an opportunity for everyone? by Mārtiņš Marks Gataviņš (LV)

Problematisation of the issue The current refugee influx, with 1.2 million asylum applications in 2016112, is the largest population movement in Europe ever since World War II. Because of the size and complexity of the issue, it is difficult to draw conclusions on not only the economic challenges and drawbacks, but also on the potential benefits of immigration in EU Member States. Furthermore, this has prioritised European migrant inclusion policy113, yet also created the dilemma among Member States, as to whether it is worth bearing the short-term fiscal burden of refugee and migrant inclusion. Generally, people coming from third countries living in the EU often times face barriers in entering the job market. Yet, the socio-economic prospects for refugees are even worse, as they represent a more vulnerable part of the migrant community.114 There are varying stances on whether the migrant communities should be integrated in European societies, and if so, what strategies should be adopted. Some agree that migrants should be integrated into the European community. On the contrary, there are fractions that agree on the idea of migrants being a socio-economic burden for the EU citizens and should therefore be left unattended.

112

Eurostat, 2018. 1.2 million first time asylum seekers registered in 2016. Bloomberg, 2018. How Can Europe Face Up to Reality on Immigration. 114 European Commission, The Directorate-General Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion (DG EMPL), 2018. Social and labour market integration of refugees. 113

Migrants, though educated and at times with valuable qualifications, cannot find employment opportunities because of lacking language skills or due to their qualifications being mismatched to those of domestic qualifications. In addition, discrimination against migrants further contributes to their unemployment. All of the aforementioned,115 incite migrants not to be integrated into the labour market and create unemployment higher than that of native born populations (Unemployment for non-EU nationals is 8,4% higher than for the nativeborn116).

Some experts agree that including migrants and refugees in European societies and labour market would ensure a long-term growth of GDP of up to 0,3%117 and reduced long-term fiscal costs that the lack of integration policies may cause. An opposing stance suggests that migrants, instead of benefiting, would harm the Member Statesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; economy and take away employment opportunities from EU citizens. As a matter of fact, according to a Brussels European and Global Economic Laboratory (Bruegel) research118, 28% of the EU citizens think 115

Eurostat, 2011. Migrants in Europe. Platform for International Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), 2015. Undocumented Migrants and the Europe 2020 Strategy: Making Social Inclusion A Reality for All Migrants in Europe. 117 International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2016. The Refugee Surge in Europe: Economic Challenges. 118 Brussels European and Global Economic Laboratory (Bruegel), 2018. People on the Move: Migration and Mobility in the European Union. 116

that migrants and refugees are likely to “steal” job opportunities. The same research reported that 31% responded in favour of the idea that the migrants take away more from the country's economy than is given to them through the means of social welfare policies such as healthcare. As evidenced above, the opinions on the issue are often incompatible. Simultaneously, the EU citizens are influenced by xenophobic views, creating many misconceptions on migrants. Anti-immigrant sentiments are often fueled by populistic and nationalistic movements, such as that of Greek “Golden Dawn”119. On the other hand, The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) policy debates on migration have found that migrants actually contribute to the economy more than what they receive in government benefits.120 In addition, integration of migrant communities can boost the working-age population, as recently the median age of Europeans is drastically growing and the birth rates in EU Member States are decreasing121. Furthermore, migrant populations spur innovation and economic growth, while at the same time help fill in jobs both in declining and fast-growing sectors of the economy. Consequently, the situation is multifaceted, as social misconceptions result in a lack political action amongst policy makers, thus hindering the integration process.

Terminology and definitions Refugee is a person who has been forced to flee their own country due to persecution, war, or violence. Migrant122 is any person who moves away from their home country mainly to join family members, seek better study or work opportunities, or escape a natural disaster Social inclusion123 is the process of improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged to take part in society. Asylum is the right to be recognised as a refugee and receive legal protection and materialistic assistance. Xenophobia is the irrational fear of something being of foreign origin.

119

Guardian, 2013. Greece's neo-Nazi Golden Dawn goes global with political ambitions. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2014. Is migration good for the economy? 121 International Monetary Fund (IMF), 2016. The Refugee Surge in Europe: Economic Challenges. 122 UNHCR, Emergency Handbook, 2018. Migrant definition. 123 World Bank, 2018. Social Inclusion. 120

Stakeholders European Commission is the executive institution of the EU. With tasks ranging from representing EU interests, therefore also setting priorities in EU agenda, proposing and enforcing legislation, and deal with issues not addressed at a national level, social inclusion of migrants being one. Currently migration is set as one of the European Commission priorities124 for its proposals. The day-to-day running of the Commission is performed by its staff (lawyers, economists, etc.) organised in departments called Directorate-General (DG) each responsible for a specific policy area. The DGs crucial for the issue are the DirectorateGeneral Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME) and Directorate-General Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL). United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the UN agency mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve issues surrounding the lives of refugees worldwide. UNHCR provides many public awareness programs and also humanitarian assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, and other people with migrant backgrounds. As of late, the UN agency has proposed various methods as to how the asylum policy issue should be approached, including the integration of refugees and the transition process from asylum-seeker to refugee. EU Member States being all of the 28 that constitute the European Union. The Member States have the power to enact laws. In the case of migrant inclusion, some EU Member States governments have created their own migrant integration plans as to involve the third country nationals in the labour market and social environment of the Member State. European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has been providing opinions125 on the labour migration policies, as it has been thought that the approach the European Commission has been taking undermines the abilities of the vulnerable low skilled workers.

Measures already in place Common Basic Principles for Immigration Integration Policy, enacted in November 2004, were made to form the foundations of migrant integration laws in the EU. It also defines the approaches to integration and how it can be defined among individuals and institutions. In addition, the policy has incited the development of Member State policy strategies to immigrant integration. 124

European Commission, 2018. Migration. European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS), Policy briefing, 2015. Third-country migration and European labour markets, Integrating foreigners. 125

Common Agenda for Integration, enacted in 2005, was made based on the Common Basic Principles for Immigration Integration Policy, as a policy framework that was made to further the creation of migrant inclusion strategies within Member States themselves. The policy framework provides explanations as to how each of the issues and aims provided in the above-mentioned Principles should be fulfilled. The Stockholm Programme, enacted in 2009, is a policy strategy aimed to ensure â&#x20AC;&#x153;an open and secure Europe in the area of Freedom, Justice and Securityâ&#x20AC;?. The programme covers the political aims as well as describes the ways on how migration be approached as to ensure security in the EU. The strategy is divided into multiple parts that tackle various issues regarding migration. Among these are freedom of mobility, human rights, in regards to those of migrants at points of discrimination, justice, and economic, personal, and community security. Article 79 (4) of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union refers to migrant inclusion, as a competence, relying primarily on the Member States. Meanwhile, the EU can provide incentives and supports for the EU Member States. In addition, the EU institutions can provide structural support and set out frameworks as to know the issue should be approached within the Member State itself. EU Integration Action Plan of Third-Country Nationals, launched in June 2016, is the latest policy framework to have been released by the EU on the issue. It aims to incorporate various new strategies on how to include migrants in the social life of EU Member States by ensuring quality language education, employment and vocational training, supporting cultural exchange, while also implementing measures to prepare local communities for migrant populations and their integration. National Contact Points on Integration (NCPs) are a network of authorities responsible for integration issues which serves to facilitate exchange of information and good practice at EU level with the purpose of finding successful solutions for integration of immigrants in all Member States and to ensure policy coordination and coherence at national level and with EU initiatives. With the EU Integration Action Plan of Third-Country Nationals, the NCPs are bound to be upgraded and involved in creating a European Integration Network. Europe 2020 - the EU's strategy for the future to ensure sustainability. Within the strategy some of the targets are relevant to migrant inclusion, as it touches upon the need to integrate migrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers into the labour market, alleviate poverty

that is in high occurrence126 among migrant populations and to ensure quality education for all migrant populations to thereby incite successful integration127.

Problems that remain unresolved Though there are extensive policy frameworks and plans that have been put into power over the recent years, the overall motive of EU legislation on migration is fragmented, hierarchical, and multi-layered. Studies128 describe the labour migration policies as discriminatory to certain groups of workers, as the Commission's policy agenda is highly geared towards a â&#x20AC;&#x153;sectoral approachâ&#x20AC;? in which highly-skilled workers are regarded as better, which further undermines the idea of equality and justice. In addition, policy is regarded as complicating and difficult to understand because of its multi-layered nature, making litigation and implementation of the policy more difficult locally. The labour migration policies, as reviewed by PICUM129, even with the Europe 2020 are discriminating towards the more vulnerable low-skilled workers, therefore, there have been recommendations to maintain labour conditions to avoid people being used for as cheap labour. In addition, it is advised that communication is improved among DGs responsible as well as more data is collected to ensure thorough analysis of the matter and have basis on which other countries can work on creating policies not only in the field of employment but also social welfare and education. Furthermore, the issue requires a stable dialogue among Member States and EU institutions, as the policy frameworks often times prove to have different results in varying social backgrounds and the Member States, therefore, create varying policy plans that at times can have their drawbacks130. Generally, although the above-mentioned policies are in power and some countries are proving to have implemented many of them, there still is an issue of migrant social exclusion present as 4 out of 10 foreigners living in the EU-28 face the risk of poverty and social exclusion131, therefore, efficiency of the said policies is at question.

126

Eurostat, 2018. Europe 2020 indicators - poverty and social exclusion. Platform for International Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), 2015. Undocumented Migrants and the Europe 2020 Strategy: Making Social Inclusion A Reality for All Migrants in Europe. 128 Centre for European Policy Studies, 2014. Rethinking The Attractiveness Of EU Labour Immigration Policies: Comparative Perspectives On The EU, The US, Canada And Beyond. 129 Platform for International Undocumented Migrants (PICUM), 2015. Undocumented Migrants and the Europe 2020 Strategy: Making Social Inclusion A Reality for All Migrants in Europe. 130 European Commission and the OECD, 2003. Economic and social aspects of migration. 131 Eurostat, 2018. Migrant integration statistics - at a risk of poverty and social exclusion. 127

Useful questions 1. How should migrant inclusion policies be created to ensure adaptability, clarity, and efficiency? 2. How should the EU act to ensure that all EU Member States implement migrant inclusion policies to the full extent? 3. What are the precautions the EU should take as to avoid political conflict based on the issue because of xenophobia?

Useful links

Annachiara

Destro,

“The

Social

Inclusion

Migrants

Europe”:

http://bit.ly/2BIqW2G

Equinet, factsheet on equality bodies and integration of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers: http://bit.ly/2EEOqUh

The Guardian, “IMF says refugee influx could provide EU economic boost”: http://bit.ly/2oojpgu

European Commission, Priority on Migration: Towards a European agenda on migration: http://bit.ly/2m4ArBK

European Commission, Action Plan on Inclusion of third country nationals: http://bit.ly/2lqM7xB

Urban Innovative Actions, Integration of migrants and refugees: http://bit.ly/2IvucP5

PICUM, Undocumented Migrants and the Europe 2020 Strategy: Making Social Inclusion A Reality for All Migrants in Europe. http://bit.ly/2Dynkgf

Infographic Created by Laura Cantรณs (ES), Journalist.

/Committee on Fisheries (PECH) Farmed in the EU: Bearing in mind the increasing demand for fisheries and increasing pressure on wild fish stocks, what should the EU do to promote sustainable aquaculture in the industry? by Anastasija Loncarevic (RS) & Vasileios Fragios (GR)

“We must plant the sea and herd its animals using the sea as farmers instead of hunters.That is what civilization is all about - farming replacing hunting.” - Jacques Yves Cousteau

Problematisation of the issue In the past few years, fish has turned into the largest traded food commodity and naturally, its consumption is constantly reaching new heights. This growth seems to have no intention to stop, with projections estimating an increase in demand by more than another 20% by 2030132. To cover the aforementioned needs, production of wild fisheries has increased from 69 million to 93 million tons133 in the last 30 years. Of course, it came with its fair share of drawbacks. Nowadays, fish are getting caught much faster than they can reproduce, a prime example of over-exploitation. As a result, fish stocks have been decreased to a fraction of their historical levels. Moreover, the massive amount of marine debris134 left in the ocean and harmful practices such as bycatch are to blame for causing extensive physical and psychological harm to several species, leading to a significant number of fish species going extinct. Due to these problems leading to a decline in wild catches, aquaculture arose. The “Blue Revolution” came as a necessity in order to keep up with the modern world’s needs. Today, fish-farms have almost replaced the exhausted wild fisheries and have become the world’s leading source of seafood. However, this isn’t exactly the case for the European Union (EU), which still has a long way to go, since its aquaculture production represents only 20% of total fisheries production135. A significant development in aquaculture is, nevertheless, crucial. Firstly, because it has been known to work miracles for the economies of many member states, especially for the southern ones, which are facing the biggest financial turmoil. 132

World Bank, 2013. Fish to 2030: Prospects for fisheries and aquaculture. Ibid. 134 Waste caused by fishery. 135 Eurostat, 2015. Aquaculture statistics. 133

Secondly, the industry has already offered many career opportunities, employing more than 35,000 people136. Truth be told, fish farms have been performing well economically, yet the same can’t be said about their environmental impact. On the contrary, aquaculture, which was initially promoted as a sustainable alternative to wild fisheries, has managed to cause quite a controversy when it comes to examining how sustainable it actually is. Poor management is a fundamental issue, since farmed fish, which are vastly different to wild ones, often escape and come to contact with wild fish, even breed with them resulting in ecological disruption and the spread of diseases. Furthermore, the chemicals used, in combination to the controlled conditions under which the fish live, have raised concerns about their welfare.

Terminology and definitions Aquaculture is the process of cultivating marine species in both coastal and inland areas, under enclosed conditions (fish farms) and includes great human involvement within the process. It’s the exact opposite of commercial fishing, that has to do with wild (open-access) fisheries. Over-exploitation of wild fisheries refers to overfishing. It is about harvesting the resources they have to offer to such an extent that they reach their sustainable levels. If continued, it is going to lead to a depletion and, eventually, to a shift in the ecosystem. The “Blue Revolution” is the equivalent of the “Green Revolution” in the oceans. Essentially, it’s about the impressive growth of the aquaculture industry. Bycatch means a fish getting caught without it being the primary target and most often, getting dropped back in the ocean, albeit dead. It’s a form of overfishing and is greatly responsible for the increased extinction risk for several species. Total allowable catches is the maximum quantities of fish from specific stocks that can be caught.

Stakeholders The EU works with the United Nations (UN) bodies and negotiates within regional and international fisheries organisations to ensure that waters everywhere are regulated in a transparent, sustainable way. Since preserving marine diversity under the common fisheries 136

See footnote 4.

policy is an exclusive competence of the European Union, it is up to the EU to take related measures. The European Council plays an important role in the management of EU fish stocks. The Council's responsibilities include fixing total allowable catches (TACs) and allocating fishing opportunities. Every year the Council adopts the revised TACs and quotas for each fish stock. This takes the form of a regulation which is adopted towards the end of the preceding year and updated as necessary throughout the year. Regarding international fisheries agreements, the Council is responsible for providing the mandate for negotiations, for signing agreements on behalf of the EU and for adopting the final decision implementing agreements into EU law. The Council also provides the negotiating mandate to the European Commission when it represents the EU in the various regional fisheries management organisations (such as Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT))137 . Bilateral agreements with on-member States give EU fishermen access to fish in distant waters, under the same sustainability conditions that apply within the EU. This helps to keep the EU market supplied. In return, the partner countries receive a financial contribution that they can invest in developing their own fishery industry and building up their own fish stocks. The EU has 2 types of fishing agreements with non-EU countries: Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPAs)138, under which the EU gives financial and technical support in exchange for fishing rights (mainly to southern countries), as well as Northern Agreements139, concerning joint management of shared stocks with Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands. The European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA)140 is a European Union agency charged with reducing the risk of maritime accidents, marine pollution from ships and the loss of human lives at sea by helping to enforce the pertinent EU legislation. The European Fisheries Control Agency141 (EFCA) aims to promote the highest common standards for control, inspection and surveillance under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The EFCA will function at the highest level of excellence and transparency with a view to

137

European Commission, 2014. Regional fisheries management organisations. European Commission, 2015. Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements. 139 European Commission, 2018. Bilateral agreements with countries outside the EU 140 European Maritime Safety Agency, 2017. Profile. 141 European Fisheries Control Agency, 2002. Mission and strategy. 138

developing the necessary confidence and cooperation of all parties involved and, in so doing, to ensure effectiveness and efficiency of its operations. Cefas142 is a recognised leader in aquaculture science, with environmental impact and aquatic animal health areas of expertise in particular. This organisation has extensive experience of the regulation of all aquaculture systems. This has informed our expert teamsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; understanding of operations across the broad range of system and species types seen in the UK, EU and global aquaculture. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)143is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate arguments and debate policy. FAO is also a source of knowledge and information, and helps developing countries in transition modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices, ensuring good nutrition and food security for all.

Measures already in place The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)144 is a set of rules for managing European fishing fleets and for conserving fish stocks. Designed to manage a common resource, it gives all European fishing fleets equal access to EU waters and fishing grounds and allows fishermen to compete fairly. It sets certain national quotas, according to which a maximum of fish can be brought to the shore, based on each countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s population and needs. Water Framework Directive (WFD)145 is an EU directive which commits Member States to achieving good qualitative and quantitative status of all water bodies by 2015. It is a framework in the sense that it prescribes steps to reach the common goal rather than adopting the more traditional limit value approach. However, the aim will not be achieved, since 47% of the EU water bodies are failing to meet requirements. Blue Growth146 is the long term strategy to support sustainable growth in the marine and maritime sectors as a whole. Seas and oceans are drivers for the European economy and have great potential for innovation and growth. It helps the EU to achieving the goals of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. 142

Cefas, 2018. Fisheries. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2014. FAO's role in fisheries. 144 European Commission, 2014. Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). 145 European Commission, 2016. Introduction to the new EU Water Framework Directive. 146 European Commission, 2017. Blue growth. 143

Planning and development of new aquaculture sites fall under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)147 and Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)148

directives.These

allow environmental concerns to be taken into account very early on in planning processes, thus avoiding or minimising negative impacts. In addition, the recently-agreed Directive on Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) aims to promote sustainable development and use of marine resources, including for aquaculture, through Maritime Spatial Plans to be established in each Member State by 2021. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)149 is the law which applies to the high seas. An important element of UNCLOS was the undertaking by all signatory countries to promote sustainable fishing. Since the adoption of UNCLOS, a number of agreements have been developed to deal specifically with how to bring about sustainable fishing on the high seas. One of them is the Agreement on straddling stocks and highly migratory fish stocks150(1995).

Problems that remain unresolved Although the idea of sustainable aquaculture is definitely not utopic, we keep straying far from that model. Pollution is a key problem, due to many farms dropping waste, chemicals and antibiotics in the oceans. The case also includes dropping feed (disproportionate to the types and needs of wild fishes out there). At the same time, fish farms are overcrowded in order to keep up with the commercial needs. Apart from this constituting animal abuse, it also leads to a big waste in feed and more, to a big amount of fish dropping dead and possible contaminating the so-thought “healthy” waters that other fish are produced into. What’s interesting is considering how feed often accounts for other, wild fish, being a very accurate example of unsustainable practices. What’s even worse is that there are big chances of carnivorous151 fish escaping and that is when genetic weaknesses can become the most intense for wild populations, with salmon acting as the most common and important case. The problem has been found so alarming that there has been talk on sterilising such fish to avoid the consequences152. As expected, problems with carnivorous fish getting farmed don’t end there, since salmon may be one of 147

FAO, 2009. Environmental impact assessment and monitoring in aquaculture. European Commission, 2001. Strategic Environmental Assessment. 149 United Nations, 2018. Oceans and law of the sea. 150 United Nations, 2001. Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks. 151 Fish that feed on other fish. 152 The Guardian, 2014. Sterilise farmed salmon to stop breeding with wild fish, researchers say. 148

the most profitable fish to farm, but the amount of wild fish used for his feed is very big and usually already overfished, putting the wild-fish stocks in further danger. When it comes to the majority of the population, demanding sustainable fish should be one of the top priorities, in order to tackle this issue. Eco-labelling schemes are the most widespread ways to do this, yet in a world where moral shopping has quietly shaped into a trend, labelling products as environmental-friendly has become increasingly easy to do, using the expertise of different institutions and pompous marketing. At the same time, the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) may been a step towards the right direction, but it has not done much, if any to ameliorate the situation. British fishermen have been putting the blame on the treatyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s overly centralized idea of managing fish stocks (bigger countries have more opportunities) for their decreasing catches for quite some years now. It has even been one of the reasons that the UK pushed for Brexit153 and to an extent, it could explain why key-players in the industry (Norway, Denmark) have not joined the EU. Whether the quotas enforced to each country are fair and whether the EU is the appropriate institution to give solutions to this problem, has to be examined more thoroughly, according to the critics of the treaty.

Questions for thought 1. Although the EU seems to have realized the significance of aquaculture being sustainable and has taken measures accordingly, the problem seems to be intensifying instead. Why do you think is that? 2. How should the CFP be reviewed to become more inclusive and encourage MemberStates to invest in aquaculture? 3. How can the EU aquaculture turn into a fully sustainable industry, whilst keeping up with the commercial demand? 4. How can the wild fisheries belong to the vision of sustainable fishery? 5. What kind of role should training and innovation play in the case of aquaculture?

153

European Parliament, 2017. CFP and Brexit.

Useful links -

European Commission’s Science for Environment Policy, “Future Brief: Sustainable Aquaculture”. http://bit.ly/1XurOdP

BBC News, “Shetland salmon packing factory leaks ‘blood water’ into sea”. http://bbc.in/2GxCVzA

The Guardian’s article, “EU to hold Britain to fishing quotas during Brexit transition”. http://bit.ly/2D4D0vm

The Guardian’s article, “Global fish production approaching sustainable limit, UN warns”. http://bit.ly/29qrUBg

International Food Policy Research Institute, “The Future of Fish: Issue and Trends to 2020”. http://bit.ly/2tROPBM

Infographic Created by Nikos Alexiadis (GR), Journalist.

Topic Overviews Booklet | 37th National Selection Conference of European Youth Parliament Greece Athens, 30 March - 2 April 2018 | m: athens.nsc@eypgreece.org