euro Carlos Alcaraz - Andrey Rublev en direct: ATP Finals - Tennis - Eurosport FR By news.google.com Published On :: Wed, 13 Nov 2024 05:06:10 GMT Carlos Alcaraz - Andrey Rublev en direct: ATP Finals - Tennis Eurosport FRCarlos Alcaraz - Andrey Rublev, ATP Finals, Masters (Turin), Groupe John Newcombe, Mercredi 13 novembre 2024 L'ÉquipePRONOS PARIS RMC Le pari sûr d’Eric Salliot du 13 novembre – Tennis - Masters RMC SportEN DIRECT - Alcaraz-Rublev : Alcaraz prend le premier set Le FigaroPronostic Carlos Alcaraz - Andrey Rublev, ATP Finals SportyTrader Full Article
euro Aide à l'Ukraine : Antony Blinken met la pression sur les Européens avant le retour de Donald Trump - FRANCE 24 By news.google.com Published On :: Wed, 13 Nov 2024 03:47:12 GMT Aide à l'Ukraine : Antony Blinken met la pression sur les Européens avant le retour de Donald Trump FRANCE 24Les craintes des dirigeants ukrainiens face aux futures nominations annoncées par Donald Trump Le Monde«La confrontation entre Trump et Poutine est inévitable, mais que va-t-elle coûter à l’Ukraine et à l’Europe ?» Libération24H Pujadas du mardi 12 novembre 2024 - 24 h Pujadas, l'info en questions | LCI TF1+Guerre en Ukraine : "Donald Trump souhaite parvenir à la paix le plus rapidement possible", en acceptant de céder à Poutine les territoires conquis par son armée L'Indépendant Full Article
euro Au procès des assistants parlementaires du FN, les flèches des avocats du Parlement européen - Le Monde By news.google.com Published On :: Wed, 13 Nov 2024 06:42:35 GMT Au procès des assistants parlementaires du FN, les flèches des avocats du Parlement européen Le MondeProcès du RN : « Un système pour détourner des fonds de l’UE au bénéfice du parti » Ouest-France"Marine Le Pen seule donneuse d’ordre" : au procès des assistants parlementaires, un "système" en accusation MarianneProcès des assistants parlementaires du FN: le Parlement européen réclame près de 4 millions d’euros au parti Le FigaroMarine Le Pen dans le piège de « l’inéligibilité obligatoire » Le Point Full Article
euro En renonￜant aux dividendes, l'Etat va perdre 2,4 milliards d'euros By www.politique.net Published On :: Wed, 20 May 2020 19:16:48 GMT Pas de dividendes en pￜriode de crise. En annonￜant qu'il n'accorderait aucune aide (comme des reports de cotisation) aux entreprises qui verseraient des dividendes ￜ leurs actionnaires, le gouvernement a tentￜ... Full Article
euro Journￜes parlementaires, campus rￜgionaux : La Rￜpublique en marche va dￜpenser prￜs d'un million d'euros pour sa rentrￜe By www.politique.net Published On :: Thu, 03 Sep 2020 07:02:22 GMT C'est la rentrￜe politique. Et qui dit rentrￜe, dit universitￜ d'ￜtￜ. Cette annￜe, la Rￜpublique en marche a vu les choses en grand en organisant ￜ la fois des journￜes... Full Article
euro Selon Le Canard enchaￜnￜ, le gouvernement Castex est le plus coￜteux de l'histoire de la Ve Rￜpublique (185 millions d'euros par an) By www.politique.net Published On :: Tue, 06 Apr 2021 19:45:04 GMT L'information est passￜe inaperￜue mais elle ne manque pas de sel. Alors que la gestion de la crise du covid-19 par le gouvernement est trￜs contestￜe (au retard dans la livraison de masques s'ajoute... Full Article
euro Le ministre de la justice, Eric Dupont-Moretti, a oubliￜ de dￜclarer 300 000 euros de revenus au fisc By www.politique.net Published On :: Wed, 07 Jul 2021 18:27:41 GMT Voilￜ un "petit oubli" bien embￜtant. Selon Mediapart, "le garde des Sceaux, Eric Dupont-Moretti, a oubliￜ de dￜclarer au fisc et ￜ la Haute Autoritￜ pour la transparence de la vie publique... Full Article
euro Pￜle emploi a organisￜ un sￜminaire au Stade de France pour 300 000 euros By www.politique.net Published On :: Mon, 22 Aug 2022 19:20:41 GMT Le retour de Politique.net mￜritait bien de commencer par une fￜte. Selon Le Canard enchaￜnￜ, "le 17 juin, Pￜle emploi Il-de-France s'est offert un sￜminaire managers au Stade de France pour communier... Full Article
euro Why students need to learn biomimicry rather than select a correct answer? A neurological explanation By www.inderscience.com Published On :: 2024-10-02T23:20:50-05:00 For a long time, high school students have been forced to practice selecting correct answers on college scholastic ability tests. Recently, it has been suggested that schools introduce biomimicry activities for STEM education to develop students' 21st century competency. However, there have been arguments about which system is more appropriate in terms of enhancing a student's competency development. Therefore, we evaluated neurological evidence of students' competency using fMRI scans taken during the selecting a correct answer for a biology question and during a biomimicry activity. Results showed that the repetitive practice of selecting correct responses limited a student's neurological activities to the brain network of the visual cortex and the front-parietal working memory cortex. However, the biomimicry activity simultaneously involved diverse prefrontal, parietal and temporal cortexes, and the putamen, limbic and cerebellum lobes. Therefore, this study proposes that the biomimicry activities could stimulate their coordinated brain development. Full Article
euro Auditing the Performing Rights Society - investigating a new European Union Collective Management Organization member audit method By www.inderscience.com Published On :: 2020-02-07T23:20:50-05:00 The European Union Rights Management Directive 2014/26/EU, provides regulatory oversight of European Union (EU) Collective Management Organizations (CMOs). However, the Directive has no provision indicating how members of EU CMOs may conduct non-financial audits of their CMO income and reporting. This paper addresses the problem of a lack of an audit method through a case study of the five writer members of the music group Duran Duran, who have been members of the UK's CMO for performing rights - the Performing Rights Society (PRS) for over 35 years. The paper argues a new audit CMO member method that can address the lacunae regarding the absence of CMO member right to audit a CMO and an applicable CMO audit method. Full Article
euro The Transition from the Soviet Higher Education System to the European Higher Education Area: The Case of Estonia By amle.aom.org Published On :: Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:47:52 +0000 The interview questions deal with the means by which Estonia and other republics of the former Soviet Union managed to transform their educational systems and the impact of the Soviet heritage on this transformation. An interview was conducted with Professor Olav Aarna. In 1991 Professor Olav Aarna became the rector of TUT. From 2000 to 2003 he held the position of rector of the first private university in Estonia - Estonian Business School (EBS). From 2003 to 2007 Olav Aarna was member of the Estonian Parliament, serving also as Chairman of the Committee for Cultural Affairs responsible for education, research, culture and sports affairs. From 1998-2000 he was Vice Chairman of Estonian National Council for Research and Development. His experience in the field of educational legislation stems from his advisory position to the Minister of Education of Estonia from 1990 to1992. His competence in the field of the Bologna process results from the development of higher education legislation in Estonia (2002-...) and the development of a higher education quality assurance system for Estonia (2008-...). Olav Aarna has consulted third countries in the national qualifications framework (NQF) development as a European Training Foundation (ETF) expert. Full Article
euro McIlroy to keep European events in reduced schedule By www.bbc.com Published On :: Wed, 13 Nov 2024 11:59:34 GMT Rory McIlroy vows to retain DP World Tour events as a key part of his schedule next year while skipping some tournaments in America after an intense 2024. Full Article
euro Russia’s Medvedev says Europe is trying to escalate Ukraine conflict after Trump win By thesun.my Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 10:09:14 GMT MOSCOW: Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accused European leaders on Tuesday of seeking to dangerously escalate the Ukraine conflict following the re-election of former U.S. President Donald Trump.Medvedev, a senior security official, wrote on Telegram that European politicians were aiming to “push the conflict with Russia into an irreversible phase” while they could and warned against allowing Kyiv to use Western long-range missiles to fire at targets inside Russia.Medvedev dismissed what he called “ultimatums” issued by German opposition leader and possible next chancellor Friedrich Merz about Ukraine’s use of such weapons as “electioneering in nature”.“It is clear that these missiles are not capable of changing anything significantly in the course of military operations”, he said.French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reaffirmed their support for Kyiv during talks in Paris on Monday, while France’s foreign minister urged Ukraine’s allies not to prejudge how Trump will handle the conflict.“Generally speaking, it is surprising to what extent the current generation of European politicians wants to drag the war into their territory”, Medvedev said.Medvedev previously said that Trump’s win would likely be bad news for Ukraine. Trump, a Republican, has repeatedly criticised the scale of Western aid to Kyiv and has promised to end the conflict swiftly, without explaining how.The Kremlin dismissed on Monday reports that Trump had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent days as “pure fiction.” Full Article Reuters
euro Muslim, European FMs to meet in Madrid on Israel-Palestine two-state solution today By tribune.com.pk Published On :: Thu, 12 Sep 24 19:51:49 +0500 Spanish FM Jose Manuel Albares will host the meeting with EU officials and Arab-Islamic Contact Group for Gaza Full Article World
euro European BMX Trade Show 2018 By www.kunstform.org Published On :: 2018-06-07 11:15:58 This year's European BMX Trade Show will take place from 23.-24.6.2018 at the Kölner Jugendpark. The only theme is BMX! At the EBTS, Distributions, as well as passionate BMXers or bloody beginners, can get extensive advice on the new BMX products for the upcoming season. To give the visitors a better view into the BMX Sport, there is, as every year, a BMX show with well-known professional riders. Currently, Traffic Distribution, SIBMX (Sport Import), 24/7 Distribution, G & S Distribution and Unity BMX Distribution have registered as exhibitors. Click here for more: EBTS All the best, your kunstform BMX Shop Team! What: European BMX Trade Show 2018 When: Saturday Dealers Only Sa 23th of June 2018 10:00am – 18:00pm (Local time) Sunday Public Day Su 24th June 2018 2:00pm – 4:00pm (Local time) (10:00am – 14:00pm – Dealers Only) (Local time) Where: European BMX Trade Show 2018 Sachsenbergstr. / Zoobrücke 51063 Köln Full Article
euro BMX Trip Eurocamp & Barcelona Part 1 By www.kunstform.org Published On :: 2020-05-20 15:22:25 As previously reported, our Sis Lara Lessmann went to Spain with the Bros Robin Kachfi, Michael Meisel and Julian Bachmann to stack tons of clips for a new video, but unfortunately got injured right on day 1. In his travel vlog part 1, Robin takes you on the trip and you can find out what the crew has experienced so far. Stay tuned for part 2 and check back soon! Have fun with the video, your kunstform BMX Shop Team! Video: Robin Kachfi Related links: all products of kunstform Robin's YouTube Channel Full Article
euro Israel smidt ud af Eurovision: Anklager om folkedrab i strid med konkurrencereglerne By rokokoposten.dk Published On :: Sat, 11 May 2024 13:10:41 +0000 Efter et anonymt tip om Den Internationale Domstols igangværende undersøgelser om formodet Folkedrab begået af Israel har EBU øjeblikkeligt udelukket den israelske deltager fra at deltage i aftenens finale. Indlægget Israel smidt ud af Eurovision: Anklager om folkedrab i strid med konkurrencereglerne blev først udgivet på RokokoPosten. Full Article Kultur Udland
euro European fake art network involving Banksys, Warhols, Modiglianis uncovered in Italy By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 07:12:44 -0500 Italian authorities say a network of European art forgers who painted fake Warhols, Banksys and Picassos and then tried to sell them to unsuspecting buyers with the help of complicit auction houses has been dismantled. Full Article
euro Man United ends winless run in Europe and Osimhen scores 2 as Galatasaray beats Tottenham By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Thu, 07 Nov 2024 18:16:26 -0500 Manchester United secured its first win in Europe for more than a year by beating PAOK 2-0 in the Europa League on Thursday. Full Article
euro Pentagon spokesman defends record of U.S. operations in Europe, Middle East By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Wed, 24 Jul 2024 17:12:09 -0400 Ukraine's military is seeing results with a new border-focused strategy after the White House eased the restrictions on Kyiv's use of U.S.-provided weapons to attack Russian targets just across the border, the Pentagon's top spokesman said in an interview this week. Full Article
euro There's light on the horizon for American energy and our allies in Europe By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Mon, 11 Nov 2024 16:53:39 -0500 President-elect Donald Trump's resounding victory may spell doom for the anti-freedom, anti-prosperity international movement that is the push for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Full Article
euro Blinken is heading to Europe for urgent talks on Ukraine after Trump's election By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 08:39:13 -0500 Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to Europe for urgent meetings on Ukraine with NATO and European Union officials following last week's U.S. presidential election and the return of Donald Trump to the White House in January. Full Article
euro Missing kayaker faked his own death and fled to Europe, investigators believe By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 15:04:14 -0500 A Wisconsin man apparently faked his own drowning this summer so he could abandon his family and flee to eastern Europe, investigators say. Full Article
euro Facebook and Instagram users in Europe can opt for less personalized ads By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Tue, 12 Nov 2024 09:26:14 -0500 Facebook and Instagram users in Europe will get the option to see less personalized ads if they don't want to pay for an ad-free subscription, social media company Meta said Tuesday, bowing to pressure from Brussels over digital competition concerns. Full Article
euro IOC candidate Samaranch urges European lawmakers to invest in sport as a public health policy By www.washingtontimes.com Published On :: Tue, 24 Sep 2024 08:32:19 -0400 IOC presidential candidate Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. has urged European lawmakers to regard investing in sport as a public health policy in his first keynote speech of a six-month Olympic leadership campaign. Full Article
euro La questione catalana è una questione politica europea By www.collectiuemma.cat Published On :: Sun, 17 Sep 2017 14:45:00 +0200 Lo scontro tra Madrid e Barcelona è al suo culmine: i catalani vanno avanti verso il referendum del 1° ottobre mentre Madrid promette che la consulta «non si celebrerà». All'orizzonte un conflitto ancora più fosco, dove tutto è possibile, che fa sorgere più di qualche domanda IL SOLE 24 ORE di ALESSANDRO GIBERTI 12.09.2017 Le forze politiche dormienti di Madrid si sono accorte ieri l’altro che la Catalunya vuole decidere se dividersi dal resto di Spagna. Dopo l’approvazione ufficiale per parte catalana del referendum del 1° ottobre prossimo (1-O) e l’immediata sua sospensione da parte del tribunale Costituzionale di Madrid, sono arrivate le denunce dalla Procura generale per il presidente della Generalitat de Catalunya Carles Puigdemont e tutti i membri del suo Governo e per la presidente del Parlamento catalano Carme Forcadell. I catalani hanno tirato dritto approvando la “Ley de Transitorietad”, con la quale si fissano i termini della cosiddetta “disconnessione” della Catalunya dal Regno di Spagna e le basi della successiva fondazione della Repubblica catalana in caso di vittoria del sì al referendum. In mezzo abbiamo visto tentativi di sequestri da parte della Guardia Civil spagnola di urne e schede elettorali dell’1-O con irruzioni in tipografie e stamperie considerate “vicine” al Governo catalano e la solita imponente Diada di ieri, che sarebbe la festa nazionale catalana, cioè di tutti i catalani, ma che è ormai interamente consacrata alle ragioni del referendum. Lasciando perdere la cronaca – al momento non si sa nemmeno se si voterà, figurarsi con quali garanzie e in quale clima – quel che importa è capire se quello che sta succedendo tra Madrid e Barcelona sia ancora circoscrivibile in termini di scontro politico locale o se sia legittimo chiedersi se questa vicenda catalana non sia un po’ più larga, ovvero se non sia una questione che intacchi i principi democratici generali, ovvero se non sia una questione politica europea. Dovessimo trattare la vicenda dal primo punto di vista, non ci sarebbero dubbi: forzando la mano, Barcelona sta minacciando l’ordine costituzionale di un Paese membro dell’Unione europea. Di conseguenza le ragioni di Madrid prevarrebbero su quelle catalane e lo Stato spagnolo sarebbe pienamente autorizzato a contrastare, da ogni punto di vista, le minacce al proprio ordine costituito. Però il milione di persone scese in piazza ieri a Barcelona, per la sesta Diada multitudinaria consecutiva (fino al 2011 a celebrare la giornata della Catalunya erano sì e no 15mila persone), non sono figlie del caso. Non credo si possa più fingere che piazza e Governo non siano originate dal medesimo movimento politico-ideale, maggioritario in Catalunya, che chiede a gran voce di essere ascoltato: quello del “derecho a decidir”, cioè del voto. Il problema qui è far calare il costituzionalismo sull’80 per cento dei catalani favorevoli al voto – queste le stime – come fosse l’ultima istanza di una traiettoria che ha viste esplorate tutte le altre opzioni possibili. Ma non è così: ci sono stati anni di sviluppi politico-elettorali e infinite possibilità di mettere in marcia risposte che avrebbero attutito il colpo e magari anche indirizzato il procés fuori dal vicolo cieco referendario, ma si è deciso di non fare nulla che non fosse frustrare le aspirazioni di un’intera comunità politica, fino farla diventare maggioritaria. Ora le forze politiche dormienti di Madrid si sono messe a parlare nientemeno che di “colpo di Stato”. Un colpo di Stato passato attraverso elezioni “autonomiche” (regionali), elezioni politiche nazionali e un referendum ancorché fake. Siamo di fronte a una nuova fattispecie dottrinale: il colpo di Stato a suon di voti. Solo pochi giorni fa, Mariano Rajoy ha dichiarato, testuale, che la «Spagna è un Paese che vive in pace da più di 40 anni». Non stupisce quindi che la questione catalana sia la peggiore gestione di un problema interno che si ricordi da quella di Eta, esattamente nei supposti quarant’anni di pace. Con «nessuno poteva immaginare di assistere a uno spettacolo così antidemocratico», vale a dire l’approvazione in un Parlamento – in un Parlamento! – di una legge ancorché contraria alla Costituzione e la successiva puntualizzazione che «in Spagna si può essere indipendentisti o qualsiasi altra cosa, quel che non si può fare è conseguirlo», Rajoy ha ridotto in un colpo solo popolo sovrano e principio democratico a forme di passatempi non cogenti. La supposta “perversione antidemocratica” del Parlamento di Catalunya, nel quale a dare «grande prova di democrazia» è una minoranza che abbandona l’emiciclo è l’ultimo ribaltamento della realtà operata da Madrid in tutta la storia recente della questione catalana. L’Aventino non può diventare il metro di giudizio ufficiale dello stato di salute di una democrazia parlamentare. Se ogni qual volta una minoranza – e la minoranza happens all the time – prende ed esce dall’aula parliamo di deficit di democrazia che ce ne facciamo del fondamento della democrazia rappresentativa e cioè del principio di maggioranza? La risposta all’80 per cento dei catalani che chiede di votare non può più essere esclusivamente giuridica: deve essere politica. Siamo arrivati troppo in là perché si chiuda il becco a un’intera comunità brandendo solo la Carta fondamentale. Non perché non si possa, ovvio che si possa, ma perché non funziona. E non funziona perché le democrazie non funzionano contro la volontà maggioritaria di una comunità politica. Pur non condividendo le forzature di leggi, norme e regolamenti, e riconoscendo che l’inflazionatissimo “principio di auto-determinazione dei popoli” poco c’entri in questa questione, non dimentichiamoci che siamo europei, siamo occidentali e siamo democratici. Da questa parte di mondo facciamo parlare le persone. Se l’80 per cento di un popolo vuole parlare, deve poterlo fare. Se l’idea è quella di mettere a tacere 7 milioni di persone tre settimane prima del momento culminante di una vicenda politica lunga un decennio semplicemente perché si è deciso di ignorarne l’esistenza fino all’altro ieri non si può in tutta onestà fingere che la cosa appartenga alla normale dialettica democratica (lasciando perdere in questa sede le ragioni storiche: la Generalitat è un’istituzione politica del XIV secolo, precedente a qualsiasi idea di comunità politica spagnola). Infine, davanti a «il referendum non si celebrerà» e «la democrazia risponderà con fermezza» ripetendo più volte «senza rinunciare a nulla», qual è il sottotesto democratico delle parole di Rajoy? Fino a che punto possiamo spingere l’immaginazione? Se i dirigenti politici catalani venissero condannati (già successo), inabilitati (già successo) e magari anche incarcerati (ancora no, ma è tecnicamente possibile) che cosa dovremmo fare come europei? L’esistenza di prigionieri politici in un Paese membro è conforme ai principi della Ue? È più grave la persecuzione politica o il mutamento democratico di un ordinamento? La legge sta sopra il popolo o emana dal popolo? Siamo sicuri che la questione catalana sia una questione meramente spagnola? Full Article
euro La Catalogna protesta nel cuore dell’Europa, che soffre delle sue stesse malattie By www.collectiuemma.cat Published On :: Sun, 31 Dec 2017 12:00:00 +0100 IL FATTO QUOTIDIANO 11-12-2017 FABIO MARCELLI Giurista intennazionale La questione catalana presenta un forte interesse scientifico dal punto di vista del diritto internazionale, innescandosi nel solco formato da recenti manifestazioni di prassi internazionale, quali quelle per l’indipendenza del Quebec o del Kosovo. Preciso che non sono un sostenitore dell’indipendenza catalana a ogni costo e che ciò non avrebbe comunque molto senso, dato che non sono né cittadino spagnolo né tantomeno catalano. Sono però cittadino europeo, oltre che italiano, e in quanto tale interessato al rispetto della democrazia e dei diritti politici su tutto il nostro continente e oltre. Per tale motivo sono rimasto negativamente impressionato dalla selvaggia repressione scatenata dal governo Rajoy contro milioni di cittadini spagnoli e catalani che stavano semplicemente esercitando in modo pacifico un proprio elementare diritto democratico e cioè dichiarare o meno la loro preferenza per l’instaurazione di una Repubblica catalana indipendente. Si può in altri termini discettare riguardo alle conseguenze giuridiche di tali atti, che taluni ritengono di nessun rilievo da tale punto di vista. Non si può invece negarne il valore politico né si può accettare la repressione avvenuta quel giorno né la conseguente criminalizzazione del movimento indipendentista, culminata con il mandato d’arresto internazionale, successivamente ritirato, dell’ex presidente catalano con i suoi quattro ministri. Mandando contro una buona parte del popolo catalano che voleva solo votare democraticamente truppe armate di manganelli e pallottole di gomma, il governo spagnolo ha senza dubbio violato la Convenzione europea dei diritti umani, dando un ulteriore pessimo segnale in un’Europa nella quale si moltiplicano inquietanti fenomeni di esaltazione del passato fascista che si sperava e pensava superato per sempre. Un passato fascista che in Spagna ha un solo nome: franchismo. Tali fenomeni inquietanti hanno peraltro la loro radice nella crescente disaffezione della gente nei confronti della politica e della sua ispirazione generalmente antipopolare in Europa. Peraltro, la stessa consultazione referendaria del primo ottobre ha evidenziato l’esistenza di un malcontento estremamente diffuso, in Catalogna ma probabilmente anche altrove, che parte da un inevitabile giudizio negativo sul governo spagnolo per la corruzione in cui sta affogando e le sue spietate politiche neoliberali, ma esprime anche insoddisfazione e disagio a fronte di un quadro costituzionale che si è rivelato del tutto asfittico e inadeguato. Situazione di grave inadeguatezza, ulteriormente aggravata e evidenziata dall’improvvida decisione della Corte costituzionale sullo statuto catalano, decisione fortemente voluta e ispirata da quello stesso Rajoy. Significativa appare del resto la circostanza che le organizzazioni colpite dalla repressione abbiano deciso di portare la propria protesta proprio a Bruxelles e cioè nel cuore dell’Europa. Se è vero che proprio l’Europa soffre le stesse malattie dello Stato spagnolo e di altri stati, quali soggezione alle politiche neoliberali e alle lobby che le predicano, corruzione, insufficiente funzionamento dei meccanismi democratici che provoca disaffezione crescente dalla politica e anche rigurgiti di fascismo e di razzismo, è pure vero che essa dovrebbe giocare un ruolo di mediazione politica in situazioni come quella catalana impedendo lo slittamento verso conflitti sempre più aspri e incontenibili. Occorre quindi auspicare che le istituzioni europee, dando senso alla loro stessa esistenza, vogliano accettare un ruolo di promozione del necessario dialogo politico tra il popolo catalano e il governo spagnolo, nel nome dei principi democratici iscritti nei propri trattati istitutivi oltre che, beninteso, del buon senso più elementare. Full Article
euro IL CASO PUIGDEMONT: LA "PROVA DEL FUOCO" DEL MANDATO D'ARRESTO EUROPEO By www.collectiuemma.cat Published On :: Mon, 06 Aug 2018 13:15:00 +0200 DIRITTO PENALE CONTEMPORANEO 4 luglio 2018 | Luigi Foffani Per leggere la decisione dell'OLG del 5 aprile 2018, clicca qui. Per leggere la decisione definitiva dell'OLG del 12 luglio 2018, clicca qui. 1. La mattina del 25 marzo 2018 Carles Puigdemont, ex-Presidente della Generalitat de Catalunya, viene fermato alla guida di un automobile su un’autostrada dello Schleswig-Holstein, pochi chilometri dopo l’ingresso nel territorio della Repubblica Federale Tedesca. Puigdemont – che risiedeva a Bruxelles dal 28 ottobre 2017, per sfuggire al mandato di cattura del Tribunal Supremo spagnolo – si era recato in Danimarca per una conferenza e stava rientrando in Belgio attraverso la Germania. Contro di lui viene emessa una richiesta di mandato d’arresto europeo (MAE) per i delitti di “ribellione” (“rebelión”: art. 472 CP esp) e peculato (“malversación de caudales públicos”: art. 432 e 252 CP esp). L’Oberlandsgericht dello Schsleswig-Holstein, con la decisione del 5 aprile 2018 respinge senza esitazione la richiesta di mandato d’arresto europeo per quanto riguarda il delitto di “rebelión”: tale delitto infatti non ricade in alcun modo nel “campo d’applicazione del mandato d’arresto europeo” descritto dall’art. 2 della Decisione quadro del 13 giugno 2002 “relativa al mandato d’arresto europeo e alle procedure di consegna tra Stati membri” (2002/584/GAI) ed anche la richiesta di estradizione appare a prima vista inammissibile per la mancanza di una “beiderseitige Strafbarkeit” (“doppia incriminazione”). Diversamente invece non sarebbe inammissibile – secondo l’OLG Schleswig-Holstein – la richiesta di mandato d’arresto europeo in relazione al secondo delitto (peculato, “malversación de caudales públicos”, “Veruntreuung öffentlicher Gelder”), che sarebbe riconducibile alla fattispecie di corruzione richiamata dalla Decisione quadro; ma la richiesta del Tribunal Supremo spagnolo – secondo l’OLG – “non contiene una sufficiente descrizione delle circostanze, sulla base delle quali il reato sarebbe stato commesso, con una necessaria concretizzazione del rimprovero penale, che renda possibile la sua riconducibilità al comportamento addebitato all’imputato. […] Non è chiaro peraltro se lo Stato sia stato realmente gravato di questi costi, nella misura in cui questi siano stati effettivamente pagati con fondi del bilancio regionale e se l’imputato abbia occasionato queste spese”. La decisione dell’OLG Schleswig-Holstein risulta pienamente corretta e convincente, sulla base della disciplina europea e nazionale del mandato d’arresto europeo e dell’estradizione. 2. Quanto al primo e più importante punto (il supposto delitto di “rebelión”) è del tutto evidente l’inesistenza in concreto del requisito della “doppia incriminazione” (“beiderseitige Strafbarkeit”, “double criminality”), necessario per dar corso alla richiesta di estradizione ai sensi del § 3 comma 1 della legge sulla cooperazione giudiziaria internazionale in materia penale (Gesetz über die Internationale Rechtshilfe in Strafsachen, IRG). Il comportamento tenuto da Puigdemont e dagli altri leader indipendentisti durante tutto il percorso politico-istituzionale che ha portato al referendum dell’1 ottobre 2017 e alla successiva dichiarazione unilaterale di indipendenza del 27 ottobre sarebbe infatti – sulla base di una ipotetica applicazione al caso in esame del diritto tedesco – penalmente irrilevante. Il delitto di “Hochverrat gegen den Bund” (“alto tradimento contro lo Stato federale”) – punito dal § 81 StGB con l’ergastolo o con una pena detentiva non inferiore a 10 anni – richiede infatti che si sia concretamente perseguita la separazione di una parte del territorio nazionale “con violenza o tramite minaccia di violenza” (“mit Gewalt oder durch Drohung mit Gewalt”). L’OLG Schleswig-Holstein richiama correttamente la giurisprudenza del Bundesgerichtshof tedesco, che richiede per l’applicazione in concreto di una così grave fattispecie incriminatrice – ed anche della molto più lieve ipotesi della “violenza contro un organo costituzionale” (“Nötigung eines Verfassungsorgans“: § 105 comma 1 StGB) – che la violenza impiegata o minacciata dai rivoltosi abbia concretamente annullato la libertà di decisione nel caso specifico dell’organo costituzionale destinatario della violenza. Un’ipotesi che – come correttamente rileva l’OLG Schleswig-Holstein – mai si è concretamente verificata durante il processo indipendentista dei mesi scorsi, né nei confronti del Parlamento catalano, né nei confronti delle Cortes spagnole. Ma a ben vedere anche sulla base del diritto spagnolo – che l’OLG Schleswig-Holstein non prende in considerazione, in quanto una simile analisi non rientrava nelle sue competenze – l’imputazione formulata dal Tribunal Supremo spagnolo risulta del tutto inverosimile. Il delitto di “rebelión”[1] (art. 472 e 473 CP) punisce infatti con una pena elevatissima (reclusione da 25 a 30 anni, poiché il Tribunal Supremo contesta a Puigdemont e agli altri imputati l’aggravante di aver “distratto i fondi pubblici dalla loro legittima destinazione”) “los que se alzaren violenta y públicamente para cualquiera de los fines siguientes” (“coloro che si sollevino violentemente e pubblicamente per qualsiasi delle seguenti finalità”), fra le quali finalità viene prevista espressamente “declarar la indepedencia de una parte del territorio nacional” (art. 472 n. 5° CP esp.). L’unico elemento di questo gravissimo delitto che possa ragionevolmente ritenersi integrato dal processo indipendentista catalano è l’evento, ossia la dichiarazione unilaterale di indipendenza del 27 ottobre 2017, in esecuzione del risultato del referendum dell’1 ottobre (dichiarato preventivamente illegittimo dal Tribunal constitucional). È indiscutibile dunque l’esistenza della finalità tipica del delitto di “rebelión” a carico di Puigdemont e degli altri imputati, ma è altrettanto evidente l’assoluta inesistenza della condotta materiale tipica di tale grave delitto e soprattutto di un qualsivoglia nesso di causalità fra la condotta e l’evento che rappresentava l’obiettivo di tale illecita finalità. L’art. 472 descrive la condotta tipica come il fatto di “alzarse violenta y públicamente” per conseguire una delle finalità penalmente rilevanti della “rebelión” (quale appunto la separazione della Catalunya dallo Stato spagnolo). In realtà chiunque sia stato in Catalunya nei mesi scorsi ha potuto rilevare il carattere assolutamente pacifico del processo indipendentista: l’unica violenza è stata quella delle ripetute cariche di polizia dell’1 ottobre per tentare di impedire l’esercizio del voto in quello che il Governo spagnolo ed il Tribunal constitucional avevano definito come un referendum illegale e incostituzionale. Ma quand’anche si fossero verificate delle manifestazioni pubbliche di violenza nelle settimane e nei mesi antecedenti al referendum e alla successiva dichiarazione unilaterale di indipendenza, e quand’anche si potesse dimostrare la riconducibilità degli atti di violenza alle decisioni assunte dall’ex Presidente della Generalitat e dalla cupola dei partiti e movimenti indipendentisti – come tenta di dimostrare il provvedimento del Tribunal Supremo spagnolo – ciò che comunque sarebbe inesistente ed indimostrabile sarebbe il nesso di causalità fra gli atti di violenza (condotta tipica del delitto di “rebelión”) e l’evento rappresentato dalla dichiarazione unilaterale di indipendenza della Catalogna. Quest’ultima infatti è derivata da un voto espresso dalla maggioranza del Parlamento catalano il 27 ottobre 2017 in esecuzione del risultato del referendum dell’1 ottobre e la maggioranza in questione era esattamente quella corrispondente ai seggi conseguiti dai partiti indipendentisti alle ultime elezioni catalane. I partiti indipendentisti (Junts x sì e CUP) avevano espressamente dichiarato già in campagna elettorale l’intendimento di giungere a promuovere un referendum sull’indipendenza, nonostante la ferma e reiterata opposizione del Governo spagnolo e le prese di posizione in senso contrario del Tribunal constitucional. Il voto del Parlamento catalano del 27 ottobre 2017 è null’altro che la naturale e fedele conseguenza delle elezioni catalane del 27 settembre 2015, per nulla influenzato dalle ipotetiche manifestazioni di violenza che il Tribunal Supremo spagnolo imputa all’azione politica dell’allora Presidente della Generalitat e degli altri leader indipendentisti. In conclusione, dunque, del delitto di “rebelión” previsto dal Codigo penal spagnolo può essere contestata a Puigdemont e agli altri imputati solo ed esclusivamente la finalità – dichiarata pubblicamente, perseguita con coerenza ed infine conseguita, sia pure in termini assolutamente effimeri e più simbolici che reali – di separare la Catalogna dallo Stato spagnolo. Troppo poco, evidentemente, per ritenere integrati gli elementi costitutivi di un gravissimo delitto che il legislatore spagnolo aveva pensato e descritto con riferimento a vicende di tutt’altra natura, come un tentativo di colpo di stato, un’insurrezione armata, un sollevamento di gruppi militari o paramilitari[2], ecc. È vero che il delitto di “rebelión” è stato costruito dal legislatore spagnolo come una fattispecie a dolo specifico, che non richiede la realizzazione materiale della finalità secessionista; ma è altrettanto evidente che – se non si vuole cadere nella deriva di un “Gesinnungsstrafrecht” di matrice chiaramente autoritaria – la consumazione di un reato di tale gravità non può non presupporre una condotta violenta non solo soggettivamente indirizzata, ma anche oggettivamente idonea, a realizzare la predetta finalità secessionista. Mutatis mutandis, sarebbe come se i consigli regionali di Lombardia e Veneto, anziché assumere alcuni mesi or solo la legittima iniziativa di un referendum popolare per promuovere una maggiore autonomia delle rispettive Regioni, avessero voluto organizzare un referendum per la secessione dallo Stato italiano: la reazione delle autorità governative statali sarebbe stata verosimilmente quella di promuovere un conflitto di attribuzioni fra i poteri dello Stato davanti alla Corte costituzionale; ma certo a nessun ufficio di procura sarebbe venuto in mente di promuovere un’azione penale per “attentato contro organi costituzionali o contro le assemblee regionali” ex art. 289 c.p. o addirittura un’“insurrezione armata contro i poteri dello Stato” ex art. 284 c.p. Ciò che è avvenuto in Spagna, viceversa, è stata una repentina criminalizzazione del conflitto politico-territoriale catalano attraverso un uso assai discutibile e spregiudicato dello strumento penale. L’evidente forzatura interpretativa della ricostruzione operata dal Tribunal Supremo spagnolo è verosimilmente alla base di ciò che l’OLG dello Schleswig Holstein non scrive nella propria decisione, ma sembra implicitamente ritenere: il venir meno nella vicenda in esame del principio della fiducia reciproca fra gli ordinamenti che è alla base della Decisione quadro sul mandato d’arresto europeo e di tutto il sistema della cooperazione giudiziaria europea e la convinzione (anch’essa implicita) che in Spagna non vi sarebbero oggi le condizioni per un giusto processo (“fair trial”) nei confronti di Puigdemont per il delitto di “rebelión”. Una convinzione implicita che trova conferma nel fatto che da molti mesi numerosi esponenti del decaduto Governo catalano ed altri leader indipendentisti si trovino in custodia preventiva per la medesima contestazione del delitto di “rebelión”. 3. Quanto infine al secondo punto della decisione dell’Oberlandsgericht dello Schleswig Holstein, suscita perplessità l’affermazione – sostenuta nella richiesta di mandato d’arresto europeo avanzata dal Tribunal Supremo spagnolo e ripresa in termini adesivi dalla decisione dell’OLG – secondo la quale il delitto di peculato (“malversación de caudales públicos”, “Veruntreuung öffentlicher Gelder”), contestato dal Giudice istruttore del Tribunal Supremo a Puigdemont e ad altri esponenti del decaduto Governo catalano, sarebbe riconducibile alla fattispecie della corruzione presente nel catalogo dei reati presupposto del mandato d’arresto europeo. Non vale infatti sostenere che la Convenzione ONU sulla corruzione del 2003 ed altre iniziative internazionali intendono la corruzione in senso ampio ed atecnico, come comprensiva anche di altre figure di reato del settore pubblico, come appunto la “malversación de caudales públicos”. Un conto infatti è una convenzione internazionale che – nel generico intento politico di contrastare fenomeni di corruzione intesa nel senso più ampio del termine (in senso sociologico più che giuridico-penale) – chieda ai legislatori nazionali di incriminare anche altre ipotesi di reato diverse dalla specifica fattispecie della corruzione; cosa completamente diversa invece è una Decisione quadro che – comportando l’adozione di misure restrittive della libertà personale nella forma del mandato d’arresto europeo – va interpretata in senso tecnico e restrittivo in ordine al “campo d’applicazione del mandato d’arresto europeo” di cui all’art. 2 della Decisione quadro. In ogni caso gli strumenti della cooperazione giudiziaria internazionale avrebbero comunque potuto essere utilmente attivati in forma di richiesta di estradizione, poiché sussiste senz’altro, nell’ipotesi in esame, il requisito della doppia incriminazione: la “malversación de caudales públicos” di cui agli art. 432 e 252 CP esp. – sostanzialmente equivalente alla fattispecie di peculato ex art. 314 c.p. it. – trova infatti corrispondenza nella più generale fattispecie di “Untreue” o “infedeltà patrimoniale” (§ 266 StGB), suscettibile di trovare applicazione anche nel settore pubblico in presenza di condotte di “Veruntreuung öffentlicher Gelder” (“gestione infedele di fondi pubblici”). La richiesta del Tribunal Supremo spagnolo non trova tuttavia accoglimento – come già segnalato all’inizio di questo commento – per la carente descrizione, da parte dell’autorità richiedente, delle circostanze di fatto sulla base delle quali si sosterrebbe la responsabilità dell’imputato da estradare[3]. Un ulteriore ed evidente sintomo di quella implicita carenza di fiducia – da parte dell’autorità giudiziaria a cui è rivolta la richiesta di estradizione – circa la fondatezza dell’impianto accusatorio costruito dal Giudice istruttore del Tribunal Supremo spagnolo contro i leader del processo indipendentista. 4. In conclusione: dopo questa decisione interlocutoria – alla quale ha fatto seguito una rinnovata richiesta delle autorità giudiziarie spagnole, che insistono con fermezza nella pretesa di sottoporre a processo l’ex Presidente della Generalitat Carles Puigdemont – siamo in attesa della decisione definitiva dell’OLG dello Schleswig Holstein. Qualunque sarà la decisione definitiva, essa segnerà comunque una pietra miliare – in un senso o nell’altro – nella storia del mandato d’arresto europeo e della cooperazione giudiziaria europea. 5. Nelle more della conclusione di questo breve commento è sopraggiunta finalmente la decisione definitiva dell’OLG Schleswig-Holstein del 12 luglio 2018, che sostanzialmente conferma la decisione precedente, negando l’estradizione per il delitto di “rebelión” ed ammettendola invece per la “malversación de caudales públicos”. Una settimana più tardi – il 19 luglio – il Giudice istruttore del Tribunal Supremo Pablo Llarena ha deciso, con suo autonomo provvedimento, di rifiutare l’estradizione “dimezzata” [4] e di ritirare tutte le richieste di estradizione e di ordine d’arresto europeo nel frattempo indirizzate in Belgio, Scozia e Svizzera contro altri politici indipendentisti di primo piano rifugiatisi all’estero per sfuggire all’arresto in Spagna. Sembra dunque chiudersi definitivamente – con un passo indietro dell’autorità giudiziaria spagnola (a malincuore e non senza considerazioni polemiche nei confronti della pronuncia della magistratura tedesca) – la partita europea e internazionale per la soluzione penale della questione independentista catalana[5] e la palla ritorna nuovamente nel campo della politica: una politica che – con nuovi attori protagonisti (tanto a Barcellona – con la Presidenza della Generalitat di Quim Torra – quanto a Madrid, dopo la caduta a sorpresa del governo di Mariano Rajoy e l’arrivo alla Moncloa di Pedro Sanchez) – tenta di riprendere – con estrema prudenza da ambo le parti, ma con qualche nuova timida speranza – la difficile via del dialogo e della ricerca di una soluzione politica condivisa alla crisi costituzionale aperta dalla domanda di indipendenza di una parte (sia pur lievemente) maggioritaria della società civile e politica catalana. _____________________________________ [1] Sul quale v. per tutti in dottrina il recentissimo contributo di M. Cugat Mauri, La violencia como elemento del delito de rebelión, in Liber Amicorum. Estudios Juridicos en Homenaje al Prof. Dr. Dr.h.c. Juan M. Terradillos Basoco, Valencia, Tirant Lo Blanch, 2018, p. 567-582. [2] Esempio paradigmatico fu il tentativo di colpo di stato militare che ebbe luogo il 23 febbraio 1981, nel quale una parte dell’esercito spagnolo comandato dal tenente colonnello Tejero fece irruzione nel Parlamento durante il voto di fiducia al Primo Ministro Adolfo Suarez, prendendo in ostaggio parlamentari e governo, mentre altri gruppi militari invadevano alcune strade di Valencia con carrarmati e soldati ed intendevano inviare una divisione di carristi a Madrid per occupare la capitale. [3] Di fronte per di più a dichiarazioni pubbliche della stessa autorità governativa spagnola (l’ex Ministro delle Finanze Montoro) che a suo tempo aveva riconosciuto che per la realizzazione del referendum indipendentista catalano non erano stati impiegati fondi ricavati dal bilancio pubblico. [4] Probabilmente si è tenuto in conto in questa decisione il rischio che per il solo delitto di “malversación de caudales públicos” difficilmente sarebbe stato sostenibile un lungo protrarsi della custodia cautelare in carcere di Puigdemont, e che una volta liberato questi avrebbe potuto esercitare senza limiti il proprio mandato di parlamentare catalano e finanche essere nuovamente eletto come Presidente della Generalitat. [5] V. ad es.: Llarena da por perdida la batalla europea de la rebelión, in La Vanguardia, ed. online, 19 luglio 2018. Full Article
euro The European Biodiversity Observation Network By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Wed, 06 Mar 2013 14:03:00 +0200 The European Biodiversity Observation Network (EU BON), a European project on biodiversity data, was launched in December 2012. The Belgian Biodiversity Platform attended the symposium connected to the EU BON kick-off meeting in Berlin, Germany, on 11-12th February 2013.The symposium entitled ‘Nature and Governance: Biodiversity Data, Science, and the Policy Interface’ highlighted the importance of biodiversity data for policy-making and research. The complexity of producing and collating data on an international scale involving different methods and disciplines was well illustrated. The importance of the accessibility of biodiversity data within an integrated system was well demonstrated - the sum of all contributions will in the end enable monitoring, forecasting and policy-making.EU BON will create a substantial part of the Group on Earth’s Observation’s Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON) and will operate in support of biodiversity sciences and policy initiatives, such as the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).EU BON will build on existing components, such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), LifeWatch infrastructures and national biodiversity data centers. As Belgian GBIF node, the Belgian Biodiversity Platform can provide an important support to the development of EU BON. The Belgian partners in the EU BON project are the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA), the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), and the National Botanic Garden of Belgium (Botanic Garden).We will follow with interest the development in the EU BON project and will continue publishing data through GBIF. If you would like to support this initiative by having your data published on GBIF, please contact André Heughebaert (GBIF node manager), Dimitri Brosens or Kristina Articus (Biodiversity Experts). Full Article News
euro BHL-Europe is finally officially live By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:05:00 +0200 On March 18 2013 the BHL-Europe portal has gone officially live. The Biodiversity heritage library for Europe project began in 2009 and joins noteworthy European museum and botanical gardens, including some in the USA as well. The primary goal of the project was to create an indexed archival system for digitized scientific literature, and free access to this literature via a multifunctional portal (www.bhl-europe.eu).The portal makes available 6,149 books containing one million pages from 92 content providers at the moment, but this is just the initial offering. New material is added every day, and the growth is projected to increase over time. The BHL-Europe portal (and other international sources) is linked to the Biodiversity Library Exhibition platform, which publishes selected literature in the form of interesting themes, information and an attractive design. Thanks to the specific presentation of literature and interesting scientific items, the platform has significant educational potential.You can access the BHL-Europe portal here: www.bhl-europe.euRead more about the portal on the official BHL blog: http://bhleurope.blogspot.cz/2013/03/bhl-europe-is-finally-officially-live.html Full Article News
euro Improved flow of European biodiversity data By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 14:05:00 +0300 The Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre (NBIC) was host to an international biodiversity informatics workshop May 29th-31st. The event was held as part of the EU-project European Biodiversity Observation Network (EU BON), where NBIC is a partner. The theme for the ‘EU BON Initial Informatics Workshop’ was data architectures, standards and interoperability (improving flow of information between systems). The event gathered renowned international and national experts within data structures for biological data. EU-project for better data flowNBIC is the Norwegian partner in EU BON, an EU-project spanning 5 years where 30 institutions from 18 countries contribute. The objective is to build an infrastructure that improves the flow of biodiversity data in all of Europe. Furthermore, the project is a European affiliate to its global counterpart (GEO BON) and will contribute to the work of the newly established ‘Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services’ (IPBES). Good solutions showcasedWorldwide, a large number distinct standards and solutions for management of data on species and nature types exist, and one of EU BON’s objectives is to find solutions to get all of these systems to communicate with one another. Several attendees contributed with presentations highlighting diverse standards and solutions for interoperability. Additionally, four international players in the field of biodiversity informatics presented general international initiatives, projects and services relevant to EU BON. What is biodiversity informatics? Biodiversity informatics is the field of applying IT techniques to improve management and presentation of biodiversity information, making it easier to discover, use and analyze such data. Full Article News
euro Pan-European stakeholder consultation on the intersessional process of IPBES By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Mon, 22 Jul 2013 19:38:00 +0300 From 16th to the 18th of July, a European stakeholder consultation for the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity & Ecosystem Services (IPBES) took place in Leipzig (Germany). The consultation was organized by three European Biodiversity Platforms: Network-Forum Biodiversity Research Germany (NeFo), the Belgian Biodiversity Platform, and the French Foundation for Research on Biodiversity (FRB) (further information on the conference: www.biodiversity.de/index.php/de/ipbes/nefo-aktivitaeten-zu-ipbes/workshops/pan-european-stakeholder-consultation). IPBES will greatly influence future biodiversity policy and research, and EU BON is expected to provide a European contribution to IPBES. IPBES will be in particular of high interest, because it will need tools to integrate and analyse different data sources, to develop relevant infrastructure and to do assessments of state and trends of biodiversity at multiple scales. EU BON was represented by several partners at the meeting and we acted as facilitators in the round-tables, gathered input for the project, participated in discussions and exchanged ideas with many representatives and colleagues. We provide you with a short summary of the meeting below. The aims of the pan-European stakeholder consultation meeting in Leipzig were: To reach out to stakeholders to inform people and institutes and to raise awareness of the dynamics in IPBES. To discuss and obtain feedback on several IPBES-related documents that are currently being drafted. In their final form these documents will be submitted to the Panel for the IPBES 2 plenary session in 9-14 December 2013. The meeting in Leipzig was organized around round table discussions of several draft documents of importance for stakeholders: the draft work programme, the stakeholder engagement strategy draft and the draft "Vision for pan-European IPBES support perspective". If you are interested these documents, currently for review, can be found here: http://www.ipbes.net/intersessional-process/current-review-documents-ipbes2.html . There were several opportunities for EU BON partners to flag the potential biodiversity data and analysis requirements for the future IPBES work program in separate discussions and to give recommendations as to what should be additionally integrated in the draft work programme. We also brainstormed on a potential EU BON side event at the second IPBES meeting, which will be held in 9-14 December in Antalya, Turkey. Topics discussed by national delegates in that plenary will amongst other topics comprise: the first work programme, budget, stakeholder engagement, the position of observers, technical requirements and a list of thematic priorities for IPBES assessments. Although the meeting was a success in terms of the number and diversity of participants, the consultation felt for many participants as a top down exercise. However, the importance of being involved at this stage was felt and the hope for stakeholder empowerment in the future was often voiced. Full Article News
euro European Commission launches pilot to open up publicly funded research data By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Mon, 16 Dec 2013 17:59:00 +0200 Today, 16/12/2013, the European Commission announced the launch of a new Pilot on Open Research Data in Horizon 2020, to ensure that valuable information produced by researchers in many EU-funded projects will be shared freely. Researchers in projects participating in the pilot are asked to make the underlying data needed to validate the results presented in scientific publications and other scientific information available for use by other researchers, innovative industries and citizens. This will lead to better and more efficient science and improved transparency for citizens and society. It will also contribute to economic growth through open innovation. For 2014-2015, topic areas participating in the Open Research Data Pilot will receive funding of around €3 billion. The Commission recognises that research data is as important as publications. It therefore announced in 2012 that it would experiment with open access to research data (see IP/12/790). The Pilot on Open Research Data in Horizon 2020 does for scientific information what the Open Data Strategy does for public sector information: it aims to improve and maximise access to and re-use of research data generated by projects for the benefit of society and the economy. The Pilot involves key areas of Horizon 2020: Future and Emerging Technologies Research infrastructures – part e-Infrastructures Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies – Information and Communication Technologies Societal Challenge: Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy – part Smart cities and communities Societal Challenge: Climate Action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw materials – with the exception of topics in the area of raw materials Societal Challenge: Europe in a changing world – inclusive, innovative and reflective Societies Science with and for Society Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission for the Digital Agenda said "We know that sharing and re-using research data holds huge potential for science, society and the economy. This Pilot is an opportunity to see how different disciplines share data in practice and to understand remaining obstacles." Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn said: "This pilot is part of our commitment to openness in Horizon 2020. I look forward to seeing the first results, which will be used to help set the course for the future." Projects may opt out of the pilot to allow for the protection of intellectual property or personal data; in view of security concerns; or should the main objective of their research be compromised by making data openly accessible. The Pilot will give the Commission a better understanding of what supporting infrastructure is needed and of the impact of limiting factors such as security, privacy or data protection or other reasons for projects opting out of sharing. It will also contribute insights in how best to create incentives for researchers to manage and share their research data. The Pilot will be monitored throughout Horizon 2020 with a view to developing future Commission policy and EU research funding programmes. Full Article News
euro International Conference on Global Environmental Change and GEO European Projects Workshops (Athens, Greece) By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Tue, 11 Feb 2014 10:23:00 +0200 An international conference Adaptation Strategies to Global Environmental Change in the Mediterranean City and the Role of Global Earth Observations will take place between 10-11 June 2014 in Athens, Greece. The conference will explore the potential of earth observations and thrust climate information transfer from the science to the stakeholder application realm, in order to develop suitable adaptation measures at national and regional levels. It will identify best adaptation programs and approaches to global environmental change in Mediterranean-climate cities. The aim is to enhance and strengthen European and international cooperation in the context of the activities within the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), and promote tools and options for adaptation strategies. The Conference will help local and regional authorities and stakeholders to gain insight on the role of EO-based services in adapting to climate chance impacts in urban hot-spot areas. The eighth annual series of GEO European Projects Workshops will be consequently held on 12-13 June as a follow-up of the conference. The worksops are intended to bring all those interested in and actively contributing to the Global Earth Observations System of Systems (GEOSS) from all over Europe together, in order to present their work and discuss how Europe can contribute to this international effort, especially in the wake of the launch of the new EU Framework Programme for Research, Horizon 2020, and the renewal of the mandate of GEO for another 10 years through the endorsement of the 2014. Registrations opens: 16 February 2014 Information and registration: www.mariolopoulosfoundation.gr/medcity2014 First Announcement (pdf flie) Full Article News
euro New EU BON publication: Improved access to integrated biodiversity data for science, practice, and policy - the European Biodiversity Observation Network (EU BON) By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Fri, 28 Mar 2014 15:38:00 +0200 The latest EU BON publication in the open access journal Nature Conservation is now a fact. The article titled "Improved access to integrated biodiversity data for science, practice, and policy - the European Biodiversity Observation Network (EU BON)" provides an overview of the project's background, research interests and vision for the future. Abstract Biodiversity is threatened on a global scale and the losses are ongoing. In order to stop further losses and maintain important ecosystem services, programmes have been put into place to reduce and ideally halt these processes. A whole suite of different approaches is needed to meet these goals. One major scientific contribution is to collate, integrate and analyse the large amounts of fragmented and diverse biodiversity data to determine the current status and trends of biodiversity in order to inform the relevant decision makers. To contribute towards the achievement of these challenging tasks, the project EU BON was developed. The project is focusing mainly on the European continent but contributes at the same time to a much wider global initiative, the Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON), which itself is a part of the Group of Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). EU BON will build on existing infrastructures such as GBIF, LifeWatch and national biodiversity data centres in Europe and will integrate relevant biodiversity data from on-ground observations to remote sensing information, covering terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats. A key feature of EU BON will be the delivery of relevant, fully integrated data to multiple and different stakeholders and end users ranging from local to global levels. Through development and application of new standards and protocols, EU BON will enable greater interoperability of different data layers and systems, provide access to improved analytical tools and services, and will provide better harmonised biodiversity recording and monitoring schemes from citizen science efforts to long-term research programs to mainstream future data collecting. Furthermore EU BON will support biodiversity science-policy interfaces, facilitate political decisions for sound environmental management, and help to conserve biodiversity for human well-being at different levels, ranging from communal park management to the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). Additionally, the project will strengthen European capacities and infrastructures for environmental information management and sustainable development. The following paper outlines the framework and the approach that are pursued. Original Source: Hoffmann A, Penner J, Vohland K, Cramer W, Doubleday R, Henle K, Kõljalg U, Kühn I, Kunin WE, Negro JJ, Penev L, Rodríguez C, Saarenmaa H, Schmeller DS, Stoev P, Sutherland WJ, Tuama1 EO, Wetzel F, Häuser CL (2014) Improved access to integrated biodiversity data for science, practice, and policy - the European Biodiversity Observation Network (EU BON). Nature Conservation 6: 49–65. doi: 10.3897/natureconservation.6.6498 Full Article News
euro EU BON and the European Space Agency: Earth Observations to support biodiversity monitoring By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Tue, 08 Apr 2014 15:28:00 +0300 The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. ESA is an international organisation with 20 Member States. How is EU BON connected to space research? As a speaker at the EU BON General Meeting, which took place on Crete between 30 March - 3 April 2014, Marc Paganini of the European Space Agency explains the collaboration between ESA and GEO BON, and how EU BON is involved. In the following interview he continues the topic: Marc Paganini (left) and Dirk Schmeller (right) at the EU BON General Meeting 2014 1) For most of the general public space and biodiversity research hardly have anything to do with each other, can you explain how the European Space Agency (ESA) and the idea of remote sensing communities make these two meet? It is widely recognized that in-situ observations available on biological diversity are very scarce for most of the Earth’s ecosystems and are often insufficient for determining precisely the global status and trends of biodiversity worldwide. In most cases, satellite Earth Observations do not provide a direct measurement of biodiversity but, if properly used with ground collection of biodiversity data and species and habitat modeling, remote sensing can become an important and essential component of biodiversity monitoring systems. There are multiple cases where remote sensing is often the only instrument that can offer large scale monitoring, as for example in highly variable ecosystems such as wetlands or in remote areas that can hardly be monitored by field campaigns. The recent and future evolution of the portfolio of EO satellites offers huge potential for increasing the use of EO products into biodiversity monitoring systems. The lack of data continuity has always been a barrier for the biodiversity community to invest in EO technology. A commitment from Space Agencies to provide sustained observations on the long term is a strong incentive for the biodiversity community to invest in Space. The Sentinel series of the European Copernicus program, together with the freely available data from other space agencies such as the Landsat family of the US Geological Survey, will bring unprecedented long-term continuity of observations for the biodiversity community. In that context, free and open data policy to taxpayer-funded satellite remote sensing imagery is becoming a "de facto" standard amongst Space Agencies and a unique opportunity for the biodiversity community to use widely EO products to monitor biodiversity trends. 2) How is the ESA involved with the aims of EU BON, where do the two initiatives intersect? ESA and many other Space Agencies are becoming more and more committed in helping the biodiversity community at large, in improving their capacity to use remote sensing data for monitoring biodiversity trends. First there is a coordinated action from all Space Agencies through the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and its involvement in the Group of Earth Observation (GEO). The GEO is a voluntary partnership of governments and international organizations who engaged jointly in developing a comprehensive, coordinated and sustained system of observations of the Earth with the ultimate objective to enhance scientifically-sound decision making. Biodiversity is one of the primary societal benefit areas of GEO and is addressed by the GEO Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON). CEOS is actively involved in GEO BON, principally through the participation to its steering committee of the European, US and German Space Agencies, namely ESA, NASA and DLR. Since EU BON is the principal European contribution to GEO BON, and has, amongst its objectives, the aim to integrate biodiversity data from ground observations to remote sensing information, ESA is directly concerned by the EU BON development in using remote sensing for terrestrial, freshwater and marine realms. Second, ESA has its own EO application development programs, and funds a wide range of Research & Development projects for biodiversity and ecosystem services. In that context, ESA has established close relationships with the European Environment Agency (EEA) but also with the secretariats and scientific bodies of major Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEA) such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Ramsar Convention on wetlands. The findings of the ESA-funded EO projects on biodiversity and ecosystem services are highly relevant to EU BON. It is therefore expected that the ESA and EU BON activities in relation to the use of RS for biodiversity monitoring will offer some convergence of evidence showcases for the whole biodiversity community. 3) How do you see the future of collaboration with EU BON? The high potential for satellite Earth Observations to support biodiversity monitoring is growing but is yet to be fully realised. The recent efforts of GEO BON, supported by the GEO Plenary and the CBD Conference of the Parties, to define a set of minimum essential observational requirements to monitor biodiversity trends will give considerable impetus for space agencies and for the remote sensing community to focus their work on a small set of well defined EO products that will serve the needs of the biodiversity community at large. In that context ESA is firmly engaged in supporting the development of these emerging Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs). EU BON together with ESA can be pioneers in the early development and demonstration. Full Article News
euro New version of Euro+Med Plantbase By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Thu, 17 Apr 2014 15:48:00 +0300 A new updated version of Euro+Med Plantbase was made available online in the middle of April 2014. For the first time, the economically important gymnosperms (coniferous trees), and the genus Thalictrum, as the first part of the large Ranunculaceae family, are treated in Euro+Med Plantbase. Euro+Med Plantbase integrates and critically evaluates information from Flora Europaea, Med-Checklist, the Flora of Macaronesia, and from regional and national floras and checklists from the area as well as additional taxonomic and floristic literature. This is complemented by the European taxa of several families taken from the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families and of the Leguminosae from the International Legume Database and Information Service ILDIS. By April 2014 it provides access to 187 plant families, corresponding to ca. 92 % of the European flora of vascular plants. The Euro+Med Plantbase web portal is accessible at http://ww2.bgbm.org/EuroPlusMed/. Web services for Euro+Med merged with Fauna Europaea, ERMS, and Index Fungorum are provided by VLIZ at http://www.eu-nomen.eu/portal/webservices.php. The services will be also registered for use in EU BON in summer 2014. Full Article News
euro Memorandum of understanding signed between EU BON and CETAF (Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities) By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Wed, 04 Jun 2014 14:49:00 +0300 A memorandum of understanding has been signed between EU BON and CETAF (Consortium of European Taxonomic Facilities, AISBL). The document was signed by EU BON project coordinator Christoph Häuser and the Chair of CETAF, Dr. Michelle J. Price, during the 35th CETAF General Meeting in Oslo, 6-7 May, 2014. CETAF is a networked consortium of scientific institutions in Europe formed to promote training, research and understanding of systematic biology and palaeobiology, Together, CETAF institutions hold very substantial biological (zoological and botanical), palaeobiological, and geological collections and provide the resources necessary for the work of thousands of researchers in a variety of scientific disciplines. Meanwhile the list of MoU signed by EU BON has grown with further institutions/projects joining: http://www.eubon.eu/showpage.php?storyid=10373 Full Article News
euro Distributed European School of Taxonomy (DEST) approaching training courses By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 13:28:00 +0300 The Distributed European School of Taxonomy (DEST) has been established by prominent taxonomists and other international partners during the EU funded project European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy (EDIT). The major aim of DEST is to transfer knowledge between current and future generations of taxonomists by providing high quality education and prepare students for future taxonomic careers. Overall, DEST involves a network of around 100 training providers from 60 institutions. Within the framework of the EDIT project, DEST organised training sessions in 30 European institutions for 185 students from all over the world (116 of which EDIT-granted). Since March 2011, the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences remains responsible for the continued management of DEST, organization of courses and related logistical matters. During the academic year 2011-2012, DEST provided training to 100 students through 16 courses, while 130 students participated in 19 training courses during 2012-2013. DEST continues to provide high-quality training to future taxonomists. Below are the deadline for registration for several approaching courses in Modern Taxonomy:Philosophy of Biological Systematics (8-12 September 2014)Course venue: Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, BelgiumTraining provider: Dr. Kirk Fitzhugh, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, U.S.A.Registration deadline is being extended untilFriday 20 June 2014 Zoological Nomenclature training course (22-26 September 2014)Course venue: Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, FrancTraining provider: Prof. Alain Dubois, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, ParisRegistration deadline is being extended untilFriday 20 June 2014Botanical Nomenclature training course (26-30 January 2015)Course venue: Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, U.K.Training provider: Katherine Challis, Royal Botanic Gardens, KewRegistration deadline: 10 October 2014 To read more about the courses and to register, visit the official DEST webpage: http://www.taxonomytraining.eu/content/modern-taxonomy-course-programme-2013-2014 Full Article News
euro European Space Agency's call for proposals: Data User Element INNOVATOR By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Mon, 23 Jun 2014 10:38:00 +0300 European Space Agency (ESA) has released its call for proposals for the next projects in the Data User Element (DUE) INNOVATOR arena. Projects are expected to contributed to various international efforts, and CliC and the Cryosphere in a Changing Climate Grand Challenge are specifically mentioned. We encourage those of you interested in submitting a proposal to consider tying your efforts to some of the ongoing and developing CliC activities. The full call for proposals can be downloaded here. The DUE INNOVATOR III will consist in a suite of up to 12 projects of maximum two year time duration and of value up to 200 K euro each. The DUE INNOVATOR III projects will give to the end-users, industry and research communities the opportunity to develop and demonstrate innovative Earth Observation (EO) services and products using existing ESA, ESA third-party mission and other EO datasets. These original projects, if successful, may constitute future large scale activities within the Agency's Data User Element (DUE) programme. The DUE INNOVATOR III application areas and service themes are open, but require a targeted end-user community that will directly benefit from these new services and products. At least one end-user entity shall be actively involved in each DUE INNOVATOR III project and will be responsible for providing the detailed service and product requirements, as well as support the interpretation and validation of the service products, and assess the adequacy of and benefits of the service. Each project will be carried out up to 24 months and will consist of three phases: - Specification and demonstration; - Implementation and validation; - Evaluation and evolution scenario. EO topics already covered by past or ongoing projects within the ESA DUP/DUE, EOMD, GSE, EU Framework Programmes or National programmes will not be considered for funding. Spanish Tenderers are advised that although Spain is participating in EOEP-4, its contribution is already earmarked for specific elements in EOEP-4 aiming at ensuring continuity with activities stemming from the previous period. Therefore, for this ITT, entities which have their registered office in Spain are not entitled to take part in a bidding consortium, either as Prime Contract or as subcontractor. Full Article News
euro 8th GEO European Projects Workshop (GEPW-8): Presentations and photgraphs are now available By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 16:02:00 +0300 The 8th GEO European Projects Workshop (GEPW-8) took place in Athens, Greece, on 12 and 13 June, hosted by the Greek GEO Office - National Observatory of Athens and co-organized by the Mariolopoulos-Kanaginis Foundation for the Environmental Sciences. The event was intended to bring all those interested in and actively contributing to the Global Earth Observations System of Systems (GEOSS) from all over Europe together, in order to present their work and discuss how Europe can contribute to this international effort, especially in the wake of the launch of the new EU Framework Programme for Research, Horizon 2020, and renewal of the mandate of GEO for another 10 years through the endorsement of the 2014 Geneva Declaration. Oral presentations, a book of abstracts and the photos from the event are now uploaded and available for download on the events website. Full Article News
euro LTER Europe - a new associated partner By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 15:55:00 +0300 EU BON is pleased to welcome a new associated partner Long-Term Ecosystem Research (LTER) Europe to its family! Long-Term Ecosystem Research (LTER) is an essential component of world-wide efforts to better understand ecosystems. This comprises their structure, functions, and long-term response to environmental, societal and economic drivers. LTER contributes to the knowledge base informing policy and to the development of management options in response to the Grand Challenges under Global Change. From the beginning (around 2003) the design of LTER-Europe has focussed on the integration of natural sciences and ecosystem research approaches, including the human dimension. LTER-Europe was heavily involved in conceptualizing socio-ecological research (LTSER). As well as LTER Sites, LTER-Europe features LTSER Platforms, acting as test infrastructures for a new generation of ecosystem research across European environmental and socio-economic gradients. Full Article News
euro Contributions on Fauna Europaea: Data papers as innovative model on expert involvement By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 10:00:00 +0300 Fauna Europaea started in 2000 as an EC-FP5 four-year project, delivering its first release in 2004. After 14 years of steady progress and successful participations in several EC projects, as a part of the EC-FP7 European Biodiversity Observation Network project (EU BON), to increase the general awareness of the work done by the contributors and to extend the general dissemination of the Fauna Europaea results, the Biodiversity Data Journal has applied its novel e-Publishing tools to prepare data papers for all 56 major taxonomic groups. Fauna Europaea provides a public web-service with an index of scientific names (including important synonyms) of all living European land and freshwater animals, their geographical distribution at country level, and some additional information. The Fauna Europaea project covers about 230,000 taxonomic names, including 130,000 species name. This represents a huge effort by more than 400 contributing specialists throughout Europe and is a unique (standard) reference suitable for many users in science, government, industry, nature conservation and education. 'Contributions on Fauna Europaea' is the second series launched by the Biodiversity Data Journal after the Checklist of British and Irish Hymenoptera and the first one that embraces thematic data-papers structured in a common pattern extracted from a large database. This novel publication model will assemble in a single-issue 56 data-papers on different taxonomic groups covered by the Fauna Europaea project in the period 2000-2014 and a range of accompanying papers highlighting various aspects of this project (gap-analysis, software design, taxonomic assessments, etc.). This is the first collection of data-papers of this scale. It will formalise and effectively publish the results of nearly 500 contributors building the largest European animal (taxonomic) database. The new publication model provides a reliable mechanism for citation and bibliographic indexing of large and uniformly structured databases. "The publication of Fauna Europaea data papers brings a number of benefits for science, for example it stimulates experts to hand-over descriptive details on their groups, triggers new ways of community networking and participation, motivates experts to update their data, supports a better documentation of their achievements, including issues like 'micro-publications', and increase an ownership feeling with the associated effort" said Dr Yde de Jong, coordinator of the Fauna Europaea and Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure (PESI) projects. The launch of this large collection of data papers coincides with one more cutting-edge innovation of the Biodiversity Data Journal, the publication of an API, a first of its kind, to import complex and data-rich manuscripts, which include text, data, images, in-text citations, references, in fact anything that a manuscript may contain. "I am happy that these exciting innovations coincided with the first birthday of the Biodiversity Data Journal. Just a year ago we launched this new concept with the motto: Making your data count! These novel approaches and tools are an excellent example how our concept evolved!" comments Prof. Lyubomir Penev, Managing Director of Pensoft Publishers. ### Original Sources: de Jong Y, Verbeek M, Michelsen V, Bjørn P, Los W, Steeman F, Bailly N, Basire C, Chylarecki P, Stloukal E, Hagedorn G, Wetzel F, Glöckler F, Kroupa A, Korb G, Hoffmann A, Häuser C, Kohlbecker A, Müller A, Güntsch A, Stoev P, Penev L (2014) Fauna Europaea – all European animal species on the web. Biodiversity Data Journal 2: e4034. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.2.e4034 Gibson D, Bray R, Hunt D, Georgiev B, Scholz T, Harris P, Bakke T, Pojmanska T, Niewiadomska K, Kostadinova A, Tkach V, Bain O, Durette-Desset M, Gibbons L, Moravec F, Petter A, Dimitrova Z, Buchmann K, Valtonen E, de Jong Y (2014) Fauna Europaea: Helminths (Animal Parasitic). Biodiversity Data Journal 2: e1060. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.2.e1060 Full Article News
euro Nature-Based Solutions: Innovation potential for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth in Europe By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 16:30:00 +0300 On Tuesday 30 September 2014, the European Parliament Intergroup on "Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development", in collaboration with the European Commission and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), organised a full day conference entitled: "Nature-Based Solutions: Innovation potential for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth in Europe." Bringing together 140 participants including representatives from the European Institutions, local and regional authorities, research institutes, NGOs and International organisations, as well as private sector representatives, this conference aimed at promoting the solutions that nature can offer in tackling major challenges, such as climate change and natural disasters, in ensuring food security to an increasing population, in protecting the health of European citizens, and the conservation of biodiversity in the EU and at the global level. The speakers, panellists and participants in the audience all agreed that using nature to tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our time can be cost-effective, can help safeguard the environment and halt biodiversity loss, and can provide numerous economic and social benefits by creating jobs and growth and by stimulating innovation. Read more and find results from the conference here. Full Article News
euro European Journal of Taxonomy #100 By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 12:04:11 +0200 The European Journal of Taxonomy is a peer-reviewed international journal in descriptive taxonomy, covering the eukaryotic world. The content range from descriptions of new species to large inventories of different groups - so far more than 400 new species are described in EJT. Its content is fully electronic and Open Access. It is published and funded by a consortium of European natural history institutions. Neither authors nor readers have to pay fees.The 100th issue of EJT, which was published 24 October 2014, comprises a beautifully illustrated monograph on African millipedes, adding 20 new species to our list of new taxa. Author is Professor Henrik Enghoff from The Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen.No 100 (2014): A mountain of millipedes I: An endemic species-group of the genus Chaleponcus Attems, 1914, from the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania (Diplopoda, Spirostreptida, Odontopygidae). Henrik EnghoffEJT normally is an e-only journal, but on this occasion the editorial team has decided to print a limited number of hard copies, to be distributed amongst the Natural History Institutions around the world. Professor Henrik Enghoff represents EU BON partner UCPH. Full Article News
euro European Environment - State and Outlook 2015 By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Tue, 31 Mar 2015 14:45:00 +0300 The European Environment Agency has published its flagship report, the European Environment - State and Outlook 2015 (SOER 2015) . It contains excellent online resources with detailed information, including downloadable graphs, tables and images. The report is compiled every five years and includes an assessment of trends and prospects, information on individual countries and regions, cross-country comparisons and the global context. Aggregated level information on climate change, impacts, vulnerability and adaptation is included. Read more and find the report online here: http://www.eea.europa.eu/soer Full Article News
euro Conservation Biology Special Section: "Conservation in Europe as a model for emerging conservation issues globally By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Mon, 01 Jun 2015 15:06:00 +0300 A Special Section: "Conservation in Europe as a model for emerging conservation issues globally" is featured in the Early View module of Conservation Biology online. The section includes: Mapping opportunities and challenges for rewilding in Europe Silvia Ceaușu, Max Hofmann, Laetitia M. Navarro, Steve Carver, Peter H. Verburg and Henrique M. Pereira DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12533 Conservation in Europe as a model for emerging conservation issues globally Luigi Boitani and William J. Sutherland DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12530 The alignment of agricultural and nature conservation policies in the European Union Ian Hodge, Jennifer Hauck and Aletta Bonn DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12531 Scenarios of large mammal loss in Europe for the 21st century Carlo Rondinini and Piero Visconti DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12532 On how much biodiversity is covered in Europe by national protected areas and by the Natura 2000 network: insights from terrestrial vertebrates L. Maiorano, G. Amori, A. Montemaggiori, C. Rondinini, L. Santini, S. Saura and L. Boitani DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12535 The role of agri-environment schemes in conservation and environmental management Péter Batáry, Lynn V. Dicks, David Kleijn and William J. Sutherland DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12536 Framing the relationship between people and nature in the context of European conservation John D. C. Linnell, Petra Kaczensky, Ulrich Wotschikowsky, Nicolas Lescureux and Luigi Boitani DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12534 Full Article News
euro EU BON General Meeting 2015: working toward building the European Biodiversity Observation Network By www.eubon.eu Published On :: Wed, 10 Jun 2015 18:35:00 +0300 The annual EU BON General Meeting was successfully held from 1 to 4 June 2015 at the Clare College Conferencing, Cambridge, United Kingdom. The meeting was attended by a total of 85 participants with various organizational background and relation to EU BON. Among these were almost all EU BON alongside representatives of eight associate partners and many guests. Participants at the EU BON General Meeting, 2015; Credit: Dirk Schmeller One of the highlights of the meeting was its very start with three inspiring keynote speakers. Among these, Bill Sutherland from the University of Cambridge started off to give an interesting speech about the progress and future plans on combining Biodiversity science and policy. Second was Gary Geller from the GEO secretariat who talked about GEO, GEOSS and GEO BON, its vision and goals. Later on, Johannes Peterseil from LTER-Europe shared some interesting thoughts about linking ecosystem research and earth observation through the cooperation between LTER-Europe and EU BON. During the meeting other relevant projects were also introduced to all participants. These were DataOne and Species 2000/Catalogue of Life and two new EU projects Ecopotential and Globis-B. The General Meeting included six thematic sessions on highly relevant EU BON topics, followed by many cross-task modules which led to better cooperation and communication between work packages and tasks. The exchange of experience gave new input to all work packages and set the milestones for the work ahead. Presentations from the meeting will be uploaded shortly. PRESENTATIONS: AGENDA - EU BON 3rd General Assembly Keynote speakers: W.Sutherland - Biodiversity science and policy G.Geller - GEO / GEOSS / GEOBON J.Peterseil - Linking ecosystem research and earth observation Other projects: B.Wilson - DataONE C.Flann - Species 2000 Catalogue of Life C.Marangi - Ecopotential W.Los - Globis-B EU BON presentations: C.Haeuser - EU BON core elements for an integrated biodiversity information system U.Koljalg - Data mobilization strategy and show case H.Saarenmaa - European biodiversity portal Y.Gavish - Developing EU BON's site-specific portal E.Regan - Stakeholder requirements I.Geijzendorffer - Context of EU BON Selection of pictures from the meeting: Full Article News
