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HOT BLADE 2018, the 12th helicopter exercise organised under the umbrella of the European Defence Agency’s (EDA) Helicopter Exercise Programme (HEP), kicked off yesterday 7th May at Beja airbase in Portugal. It will run until 24 May and involve a total of 29 air assets and crews from six countries: Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia and the Netherlands. Representatives from Austria, the Czech Republic and Italy will also take part as observers. A Distinguished Visitors Day (DVD) will take place on 22 May.

HOT BLADE 2018 will allow crews from 21 helicopters and 8 fixed wing assets (including 6 Portuguese F-16 fighters), ground troops, EW simulator/emulators operators and Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) to practice operations in a hot, high and dusty environment replicating the challenging conditions that participants’ forces are expected to encounter when deploying to a theatre of operation. 

The exercise’s main focus is on enhancing interoperability at the tactical level between helicopter units by using the Composite Air Operations (COMAO) concept in a combined, joint, realistic and challenging environment.

It is the 4th time that the exercise is hosted by the Portuguese Air Force, under EDA’s Helicopter Exercise Programme (HEP), following three earlier successful editions that took place between 2012 and 2014. This year, the Hot Blade 2018 exercise will be carried out in the area surrounding Beja Air Force Base, located in the Southern part of Portugal.

The use of EDA HEP Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), the application of best practices gathered during the 11 previous helicopter exercises led by the EDA and the availability on location of a Mentor Team will support the standardisation of planning processes and helicopter tactical procedures amongst participating crews.

This year’s training is focussed on missions in a dusty, hot and mountainous environment. To ensure the maximum levels of flight safety, scheduled activities will follow a progressive approach. Tactical training (e.g. formation flights, NVG, tactical formation) will be performed during the first days, while national training requirements enabling the performance of demanding day and night Composite Air Operation (COMAO) missions will be addressed during the last days of the exercise.
 

More information:

• EDA Helicopter Initiatives Project Page
• Factsheet Exercice HOT BLADE 2018

Esso Raffinage kontra ECHA
SANT
When assessing whether a registration dossier of a chemical substance complies with the REACH Regulation, the European Chemicals Agency must act in accordance with the procedures laid down by the regulation

Esso Raffinage v ECHA
SANT
When assessing whether a registration dossier of a chemical substance complies with the REACH Regulation, the European Chemicals Agency must act in accordance with the procedures laid down by the regulation

Esso Raffinage / ECHA
SANT
Dans le cadre de l’appréciation de la conformité des dossiers d’enregistrement d’une substance chimique au regard du règlement REACH, l’Agence européenne des produits chimiques doit s’en tenir aux procédures prévues par le règlement

K.A. és társai
Bel- és igazságügy
A családegyesítés iránt benyújtott kérelmeket akkor is meg kell vizsgálni, ha a szabad mozgását korábban soha nem gyakorló uniós polgár harmadik ország állampolgárságával rendelkező családtagjával szemben beutazási tilalmat rendeltek el

K.A. and Others
Justice and Home Affairs
Requests for family reunification must be examined even if the national of a non-EU country, who is a family member of an EU citizen who has never exercised his right of freedom of movement, is subject to an entry ban

K.A. e.a.
Justice et Affaires intérieures
Les demandes de regroupement familial doivent être prises en compte même si le ressortissant d’un pays non-UE, membre de la famille d’un citoyen de l’UE n’ayant jamais exercé sa liberté de circulation, est frappé par une interdiction d’entrée sur le territoire

Čepelnik
Letelepedés szabadsága
Wahl főtanácsnok annak megállapítását javasolja a Bíróságnak, hogy az uniós joggal ellentétes az a nemzeti jogszabály, amely a szolgáltatások igénybevevője számára előírja, hogy nyújtson biztosítékot azon bírság fedezete céljából, amely valamely nemzeti munkajogi jogszabályi rendelkezésnek egy másik tagállamban székhellyel rendelkező szolgáltató általi megsértése miatt szabható ki

Čepelnik
Freedom of establishment
Advocate General Wahl proposes that the Court holds that national legislation requiring a recipient of services to provide security in order to secure a fine that might be imposed on a service provider established in another Member State for breach of a provision of national labour legislation is contrary to EU law

Čepelnik
Liberté d'établissement
L’avocat général Wahl propose à la Cour de juger qu’une législation nationale imposant au destinataire d’un service de constituer une caution afin de garantir une amende qui pourrait être infligée au prestataire du service établi dans un autre État membre pour violation de la réglementation nationale du travail est contraire au droit de l’Union

Ende April verstarb Wolfgang Zapf kurz nach seinem 81. Geburtstag. Die Längsschnittstudie SOEP verliert einen langjährigen Förderer und stets verlässlicher Unterstützer.

Wolfgang Zapf hat das SOEP in den frühen 80er Jahren gemeinsam mit seinen Kolleginnen und Kollegen aus der Soziologie und Ökonomie aus der Taufe gehoben und auf dessen Messkonzepte nachhaltig eingewirkt. Wolfgang Zapf prägte mit dem von ihm propagierten Lebensqualitätskonzept ganz wesentlich die Inhalte der Langzeitstudie SOEP. Nach dem Weggang von Hans-Jürgen Krupp im Jahr 1988 aus dem DIW Berlin stand Wolfgang Zapf wie selbstverständlich für rund ein Jahr -  trotz seiner vielfältigen Verpflichtungen als Präsident des WZB - als wissenschaftlicher Interimsleiter solidarisch hinter der am DIW angesiedelten damaligen SOEP-Projektgruppe. Als langjähriges SOEP-Beiratsmitglied konnten wir stets auf seinen Rat und Expertise zählen.

In dieser Ausgabe von The Brief from Brussels: eine Bestandsaufnahme von Emmanuel Macrons Europapolitik anlässlich seines einjährigen

Stadt Brüssel sagt Community-Marktplatz für Kurzzeit-Apartments den Kampf an

Le président américain a décidé le 8 mai de rompre l'accord sur le nucléaire iranien, qui cherche à brider les ambitions nucléaires de la République islamique, mais contre lequel ferraille Donald Trump depuis plusieurs années, assisté de son compère israélien Benyamin Netanyahou. Et tant pis si, à quelques jours d'un sommet avec le Nord-Coréen Kim Jong-un, un désengagement des États-Unis devait plutôt apparaître comme un « mauvais signal »…

- Défense en ligne / États-Unis, Armement nucléaire, Iran, Diplomatie, France, Géopolitique

Trotz einiger Achtungserfolge bleibt der französische Präsident seinem Ruf als Visionär noch einiges schuldig

Quelle : © Europäische Union, 2018 - EP

Zusammenfassung:

Von Renke Schmacker

Hoher Zuckerkonsum wird mit Adipositas, Diabetes Typ II und Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen in Verbindung gebracht. Viele Menschen leiden an diesen Krankheiten, die hohe Kosten für die Gesundheitssysteme verursachen. Daher wird immer häufiger die Forderung nach einer Zuckersteuer laut, auch in Deutschland. Einige Länder haben bereits eine Steuer auf zuckerhaltige Getränke eingeführt und daraus lassen sich einige Lehren ziehen. Der Konsum der besteuerten Getränke ging in den betroffenen Ländern merklich zurück, jedoch wurde teilweise auf andere ungesunde Produkte ausgewichen – sogenannte Substitutionseffekte. Die Tatsache, dass eine solche Steuer niedrige Einkommen proportional stärker belastet als hohe, wiegt weniger schwer, wenn man progressive Gesundheitseffekte berücksichtigt. Insgesamt scheint eine proportionale Steuer auf den Zuckergehalt gut geeignet, da sie den Produzenten Anreize gibt, den Zuckergehalt in ihren Produkten zu reduzieren.

Harmadik alkalommal rendezett egészségnapot a Magyar Afrika Társaság Mentőszolgálata. Ezúttal Pécelen a helyi önkormányzattal együttműködve.

In Tunisia, Morocco and other North African countries, en¬vironmental problems increasingly lead to political protest. Industrial pollution and a lack of clean drinking water adversely impact the living conditions and income op¬portunities of already marginalised groups and trigger unrest. Environmental governance in the region is often highly centralised, and takes no consideration of the needs of the citizens in the use of natural resources. In a political context that remains unstable following the 2011 uprisings, the double challenge of mounting environmental problems and related social unrest calls for new approaches. Reinforcing accountable environmental governance could help, not only by addressing environmental problems and needs, but by contributing to the overall transformation of societal relationships towards more democratic (i.e. transparent, accountable and participative) governance in the longer term.
Access to environmental information plays a crucial role in this regard: only if citizens know about availability, quality and use of natural resources, can they make informed choices and claim their rights. When public institutions address these rights, they can increase sustainable wealth for present and future generations. Institutions charged with strengthening accountability can also include citizens in their monitoring exercises, and help to hold public and private actors legally responsible for their decisions and behaviour. Related international standards can inform such reforms: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Rio Declaration and the Aarhus Convention confirm the importance of access to environmental information. At national levels, environmental charters and Morocco’s and Tunisia’s new constitutions stress the need for participatory and accountable governance.
As recent assessments in Morocco and Tunisia reveal, governments and development partners can support access to environmental information and thereby accountable governance.
First, they can do this by strengthening accountable environmental governance and access to environmental information across sectors. This includes engaging democratic institutions in environmental issues and building up related capacities and know-how, supporting accountability organisations and rules, and improving citizens’ and the administrations’ understanding of new rights. It also entails empowering communities and forging new cross-sectoral coalitions, besides integrating the countries into international initiatives for accountable governance.
Second, governments and development cooperation can support accountability in the environmental sector, including by taking advantage of international initiatives, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Climate mitigation and adaptation policies also provide opportunities for strengthening accountable environmental governance. Moreover, policy-makers need to be more aware of the links between environmental governance and its potential impact on human rights and political stability. Access to environmental information, related legal frameworks and institutional capacities also need further backing, including support to articulate related claims. Finally, comprehensive and transparent environmental and social impact assessments of public and private projects, and engaging protest movements in constructive dialogues with the administration and the private sector can help in preventing and addressing related social unrest.