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January 6, 2014
As issue managers in chemical companies lurch from one policy catastrophe to another, seeing public trust disintegrate and policies work against them, now is the time to do some basic thinking. What is needed are more philosophers and fewer lawyers var addthis_config = {“data_track_clickback”:false,”data_track_addressbar”:false,”data_track_textcopy”:false,”ui_atversion”:”300″}; var addthis_product = ‘wpp-3.0.5’;
December 11, 2013
This post is focusing on the analysis of an actual research manuscript called “Tobacco Control in the EU-15: The Role of Member States and the European Union”, written by Donley T. Studlar, Kyle Christensen and Arnita Sitasari, and first published in the Journal of European Public Policy Volume 18, Issue 5, 2011. Conceptually, my post… » read more
In 2013, European science has been weakened by poor publication practices and the infiltration of politics within the production of data. From Séralini to Kortenkamp, activist researchers have used their white coats to whitewash evidence-based policymaking, diminishing the public perception of research. The Risk-Monger fears the politicisation of science will only get worse.
October 25, 2013
A recent 16 year study taking 5000 samples of blood and sperm from young males entering the Danish military from two towns (using the best available analytical technology) found no decrease in sperm counts or evidence of endocrine disruption. The researchers chose not to publish their findings. Why not? That is a very good question.
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English, Health & Consumers, Innovation & Enterprise, Science & Policymaking |
October 22, 2013
The world has started to change more rapidly, than we can realize it and moreover transfer into new concepts, norms and regulatory mechanisms. It becomes clear that current political, economic and social situations, conflicts and opportunities have a lot of ways of solutions and, respectively, different options of future appear before us. In these conditions… » read more
October 14, 2013
I was lucky to obtain the first big interview of Irina Bokova, the UNESCO Director General, following her re-election for another four years as head of the biggest UN agency for culture, science and education. Bokova was in my opinion very happy, because her re-election had not been an easy one. She has had two… » read more
October 3, 2013
Cross-border cooperation is set to continue as one of the main objectives of the ETC for the next programming period of 2014-2020. In a unique construction such as the EU, which blends inter-governmental and supra-national institutions, national and local governments it becomes mandatory to use clear terminology and simplify the public speech. According to Ferdinand… » read more
September 25, 2013
The demand to transfer powers from the EU back to the national level is politically en-vogue in several EU Member States at the moment. EU policy on agricultural biotechnology, however, is an interesting exception. The Council of Ministers has recently deadlocked[1] a Commission legislative proposal to re-nationalise parts of EU legislation on the cultivation of… » read more
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Agriculture & Food, English, Health & Consumers, Science & Policymaking |
September 17, 2013
“Are you aware you are working in a health care industry with patients and human beings?” It Is not often you hear a regulator putting this question to a speaker from the pharmaceutical industry but this happened (twice) at a meeting I attended a couple of weeks ago. The speaker was Neal Parker, a lawyer… » read more
September 16, 2013
Law professor offers constitutional arguments for the disclosure of important Council documents. The General Court orders partial disclosure, but only on procedural grounds. By Maarten Hillebrandt On Thursday 12 September, the General Court gave its judgment in Besselink v Council. In January 2011, Leonard Besselink, then Professor of Constitutional Law at Utrecht University, requested access… » read more
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English, EU Citizens and Media, InfoSociety, Media Freedom, Science & Policymaking |
September 2, 2013
By The Risk Monger Something went very wrong earlier this year with how DG SANCO pushed through a precautionary ban on neonicotinoid pesticides to “save the bees”, in a period of four months, without proper evidence, without consultation and without any attempt to manage potential risks. While the Risk-Monger expected an internal investigation into possible… » read more
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English, Health & Consumers, Science & Policymaking, Sustainable Dev. |
August 19, 2013
Whether it is from campaigns in the Philippines against Golden Rice as a solution for Vitamin A Deficiency, which kills hundreds of thousands of children per year, or spreading a culture of activist civil disobedience in non-Western societies, Greenpeace has been spending millions in developing countries to impress its anti-progress, anti-development message on locals a… » read more
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Development Policy, English, Health & Consumers, Science & Policymaking |
July 31, 2013
Ex-smokers have be busily spreading doubt about e-cigarettes. When will they stop their vindictiveness and let facts and science tell the story? var addthis_config = {“data_track_clickback”:false,”data_track_addressbar”:false,”data_track_textcopy”:false,”ui_atversion”:”300″}; var addthis_product = ‘wpp-3.0.5’;
July 23, 2013
The European Parliament’s somewhat frenzied concern about the possible indirect land use change (ILUC) resulting from EU biofuel policies is a splendid example of the phenomenon of unintended consequences. While acting on the basis of some pretty questionable science, the MEPs are constructing a new form of protectionism which is likely to damage the interests… » read more
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Agriculture & Food, Development Policy, English, Global Europe, Science & Policymaking, Sustainable Dev. |
July 15, 2013
A child’s voice, when heard clearly, can put an adult to shame. So should we be surprised when adults use children to further their campaigns? We don’t want children to be used in factories, battlefields or scientific testing, but what about in front of cameras and in political debates? Last week, Malala Yousafzai, became the… » read more
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English, EU Citizens and Media, Health & Consumers, Science & Policymaking, Sustainable Dev. |
July 10, 2013
Why is it that most cars have designed the exhaust pipe to emit toxic fumes right at the precise maximum exposure level for an infant in a baby carriage / stroller? It has been the standard design for almost a century, and no one has apparently considered whether those most vulnerable in our society should… » read more
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Climate & Environment, English, Health & Consumers, Science & Policymaking |
July 9, 2013
Climate change keeps accelerating at an alarming rate. The 2013 global weather conditions demonstrate it once again, with summer temperatures in northern Alaska , floods in central Europe and India, algae pollution at Chinese beaches, forest fires in California etc. Humanity must put an end to climate change if it wants to survive in the… » read more
July 3, 2013
Through the DG Environment Life programme, Friends of the Earth receives around three quarters of a million euros every year to spread bias and prejudice on European issues. This needs to stop.
July 2, 2013
The European Commission wants to know whether recycling targets in EU waste legislation need reviewing, and how. The consultation focuses on three Directives whose targets are under review: Waste Framework Directive / Landfill Directive / Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive. Each year in the European Union we throw away 2.7 billion tonnes of waste, 98… » read more
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Climate & Environment, English, Science & Policymaking, Sustainable Dev. |
The EU suffers from the highest unemployment ever since its start half a century ago. Its political leaders have been unable to respond with appropriate medicines. But they are also increasingly unable to explain their citizens what the EU is all about, what it can do and where it is not competent. They are lost… » read more
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Climate & Environment, Energy, English, Science & Policymaking, Sustainable Dev. |
