Hoe kunnen we de invloed van ambtenaren beter controleren? Begin met het erkennen van hun macht, en voer speciaal ambtelijk tuchtrecht in om ze in het gareel te houden.
Hongarije is geen democratische staat meer. Het land nu toestaan voorzitter van EU-raad te zijn bedreigt de fundamentele waarden van de EU, betogen Tom Theuns, universitair docent politieke theorie... Show moreHongarije is geen democratische staat meer. Het land nu toestaan voorzitter van EU-raad te zijn bedreigt de fundamentele waarden van de EU, betogen Tom Theuns, universitair docent politieke theorie en Europese politiek aan het Instituut voor Politieke Wetenschap in Leiden, en Samira Rafaela, Europarlementariër voor D66. Show less
For innovation to happen, it is not enough that new ideas and technologies are being invented. Cultural factors play an essential role in their acceptance and appropriation. Recent scholarship... Show moreFor innovation to happen, it is not enough that new ideas and technologies are being invented. Cultural factors play an essential role in their acceptance and appropriation. Recent scholarship hypothesises that Europeans after 1650 became more receptive to new technology and innovation than their ancestors, and so enabled the Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution. The spread of new knowledge and techniques among scholars and experts between 1500 to 1850 is indeed well-documented. Yet since acceptance by experts does not guarantee wider acceptance, I will demonstrate how and under which conditions, new knowledge was actually appropriated among society at large, and provide a new perspective on how cultural change anchored in the early modern Low Countries.I will do so by using the Chronicling Novelty-corpus of more than 300 chronicles, written by a heterogeneous group of middle-class citizens from the Low Countries between 1500 and 1850. The topics subjected to diachronic analyses in my dissertation are epidemics and diseases; weather aberrations and climate change; dearth and inflation; and the increasing use of Western numerals and structured quantitative data. By using digital methods and close reading techniques, combined with cultural evolution theory, I examined how, and under which circumstances the knowledge, beliefs and practices of chroniclers changed in each topic. As a result, it became possible to examine cultural change at a concrete level but also to challenge hypotheses and theories at a more abstract level. Show less
In the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), decisions to grant or oppose an acquisition of a qualifying holding in a bank are adopted in a so-called composite procedure. First, the national... Show moreIn the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), decisions to grant or oppose an acquisition of a qualifying holding in a bank are adopted in a so-called composite procedure. First, the national competent authority (NCA) assesses the proposed acquisition based on five criteria enshrined in Art. 23(1) of the Capital Requirements Directive IV (CRD IV) and implemented into national law. Then, it forwards a proposal for a decision to the European Central Bank (ECB). The ECB adopts the final decision. One of the criteria requires an assessment of whether, in connection with the proposed acquisition, there are reasonable grounds to suspect (potential) breaches of rules on the prevention of money laundering (AML) or financing of terrorism (CFT). While the NCAs have the competence to assess such (potential) breaches, the SSM Regulation did not confer AML and CFT-related supervisory tasks on the ECB. The ECB must thus to a certain extent rely on the national AML/CFT assessment. The question is how to reconcile the ECB’s lacking AML/CFT competence with its sole responsibility and legal accountability for the final decision on a proposed acquisition. This contribution suggests that the general principle of duty of care can be calibrated to allow the ECB to review the AML/CFT assessments made by the NCA without exceeding the limits of its competence and ensure a judicial review by the EU courts. Show less
The commercial space sector in the United States of America (USA) is large and vibrant, encompassing a wide diversity of large and small actors conducting a wide array of space activities. The... Show moreThe commercial space sector in the United States of America (USA) is large and vibrant, encompassing a wide diversity of large and small actors conducting a wide array of space activities. The regulation of this sector is correspondingly robust and complex. A number of national regulatory agencies, including the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Commercial Space Transportation, and the Department of Commerce (DoC) Office of Space Commerce all play key roles in the licensing, authorization, and oversight of US national space activities. This chapter provides an overview of the relevant national agencies, as well as the federal laws and implementing regulations governing commercial space activities. Additionally, various recent Space Policy Directives (SPDs) are summarized and placed in context of the current American regulatory framework. Show less
