Suchergebnisse

The EU regulations on the coordination of social security systems provide a high standard of protection for people moving within the EU. For a long time, third-country national workers have been excluded from this protection. This article shows that the explanation for this exclusion is to be found in the legal basis of the EU regulations. This article also demonstrates how developments in primary law in the last two decades have paved the way for the extension of the EU regulations to third-country nationals. Regulation 1231/2010 offers third-country nationals, in the field of social security, the same protection as EU citizens moving within the EU. However, this extension is subject to two conditions. For this reason, a considerable number of third-country nationals working in a Member State do not benefit from equal treatment as nationals of the host State. The article clarifies why Regulation 1231/2010 does not apply in Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Denmark. Attention is paid to a number of challenges and open questions, such as the special position of the UK and the relationship between Regulation 1231/2010 and bilateral agreements concluded between a Member State and a third country.

This article provides an historical overview of the major developments during 50 years of European social security coordination. It shows how the protection offered by the Community Regulations has been gradually extended and improved. The Court of Justice has played a substantial role in this development. The extension of the personal scope of the coordination rules from workers to EU citizens, as well as some developments in their material scope, is highlighted. The principle of equal treatment has been reinforced in the new Regulation 883/2004, which will soon replace the current Regulation 1408/71. The developments in the geographical application of the coordination rules are highlighted as well as the importance of international agreements concluded between the EU and third countries. The article also shows the growing impact of Treaty provisions governing other fields of Community law on the coordination of social security. Cross-border health care is just an example. Special attention is paid to the developments in the legal basis for Community legislation on coordination of social security, including the introduction of clear competence to legislate on third country nationals. In the conclusions a number of reflections are expressed about where the coordination could, or indeed, should go in the future.

The Community Regulations on the coordination of social security systems provide a high standard of protection for people moving within the EU. For a long time, third country national workers have been excluded from this protection. This article shows that the explanation for this exclusion is to be found in the legal basis of the Community Regulations. The article also demonstrates how recent developments in the legal basis and in the case law of the Court have paved the way for the extension of the current Regulation 1408/71 to third-country nationals. Regulation 859/2003 offers third-country nationals, in the field of social security, the same protection as EU citizens moving within the EU. However, this extension is subject to two conditions. For this reason, a considerable number of third-country nationals legally residing in a Member State do not benefit from equal treatment as nationals in the host State. The article clarifies why some categories of third-country nationals do have a EU level guarantee of equal treatment, even when there is no cross-border element between two Member States, while other categories have not. Regulation 883/2004 will soon replace regulation 1408/71, which is currently in place. One of the main improvements of the latter is its personal scope: it will apply all EU nationals who are insured under national law, including non-active people. Special attention is paid to the consequences of the replacement of Regulation 1408/71 by Regulation 883/2004 for third-country nationals.

The aim of this article is to discuss the chapter on unemployment benefits in Regulation (EC) 883/04 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security schemes. This regulation is part of the ongoing simplification and modernisation of the coordination of Member States' social security schemes and will probably become applicable in 2009. The article illustrates the principal differences between the unemployment chapter of this new regulation and the existing provisions in Regulation 1408/71, and explains some of the difficulties encountered in the attempt to modernise and simplify these rules. It also shows why the extensive case-law of the Court on the provisions in the unemployment chapter of Regulation 1408/71 continues to be useful in the interpretation of the unemployment chapter of the new Regulation 883/04, since this chapter is, to a large extent, based on the provisions of the first Regulation.

Die Koordination der sozialen Sicherheit bildet einen Grundpfeiler der Europäischen Union. Dass die ersten Verordnungen zur Koordination der verschiedenen nationalen Systeme bereits am 1. Januar 1959 erlassen wurden, unterstreicht die hohe Bedeutung dieser Fragen. Die EU-Verordnungen zur sozialen Sicherheit haben in erster Linie das Ziel, diejenigen Arbeitgeber zu schützen, die von ihrem Recht auf Freizügigkeit innerhalb der EU Gebrauch machen. Die Koordination wird jedoch durch die sehr unterschiedlichen sozialen Systeme enorm erschwert. Die EU-Verordnungen zur sozialen Sicherheit bieten Schutz für alle Arbeitnehmer und ihren Familienangehörigen, die die Binnengrenzen der Union überqueren, sei es aus beruflichen oder privaten Gründen. Der Kommentar erläutert systematisch die Artikel der Verordnungen (EG) 883/2004 und (EG) 987/2009. Dabei gehen die Autoren intensiv ein auf:Sinn und Zweck der einzelnen Artikeldie einschlägige Rechtsprechung des Europäischen Gerichtshofsdie einschlägigen Beschlüsse und Empfehlungen der VerwaltungskommissionStellungnahmen der (manchmal divergierenden) Literatur zur Auslegung der Bestimmungen.Zudem befasst sich der Kommentar mit verwandten Rechtsstatuten wie zum Beispiel dem EWR-Abkommen, dem Abkommen zwischen der EU und Schweiz über die Freizügigkeit von Personen sowie mit Assoziierungsabkommen der EU mit einer Reihe von Drittstaaten (z.B. Türkei, Marokko, Tunesien, Algerien, Israel, Mazedonien, Albanien). Die Herausgeber und Autoren sind seit Jahrzehnten auf dem Gebiet der Koordination der sozialen Sicherheit tätig. Unter ihnen finden sich hochrangige Experten aus Wissenschaft, Politik, Verwaltung und Rechtsprechung

"This book sheds an innovating light on a topic of major scientific as well as practical interest that has seldom been dealt with in a comprehensive way: the relations between EU and non-EU countries and nationals, as far as social security is concerned. These are dealt with in a number of contributions by eminent international experts. First, the internal co-ordination of the European Union in relation with third country nationals is analysed. The ways the social security systems of the EU Member States are being co-ordinated with those of the Mediterranean emigration countries are examined in a second contribution. The EU-EFTA social security arrangements are explored in a third one. An overview of the complex landscape of the existing bilateral and multilateral social security instruments binding EU states and non-EU states is given in a next one. A fifth contribution deals with the European and international law applicable to the social security of illegal foreign workers. The contributions were presented at a conference held on 2 April 2009 in Leuven, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Master of European Social Security."--Publisher's description

Cable bacteria are long, multicellular micro-organisms that are capable of transporting electrons from cell to cell along the longitudinal axis of their centimeter-long filaments. The conductive structures that mediate this long-distance electron transport are thought to be located in the cell envelope. Therefore, this study examines in detail the architecture of the cell envelope of cable bacterium filaments by combining different sample preparation methods (chemical fixation, resin-embedding, and cryo-fixation) with a portfolio of imaging techniques (scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and tomography, focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy). We systematically imaged intact filaments with varying diameters. In addition, we investigated the periplasmic fiber sheath that remains after the cytoplasm and membranes were removed by chemical extraction. Based on these investigations, we present a quantitative structural model of a cable bacterium. Cable bacteria build their cell envelope by a parallel concatenation of ridge compartments that have a standard size. Larger diameter filaments simply incorporate more parallel ridge compartments. Each ridge compartment contains a ∼50 nm diameter fiber in the periplasmic space. These fibers are continuous across cell-to-cell junctions, which display a conspicuous cartwheel structure that is likely made by invaginations of the outer cell membrane around the periplasmic fibers. The continuity of the periplasmic fibers across cells makes them a prime candidate for the sought-after electron conducting structure in cable bacteria. ; This research was financially supported by the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Program (FP/2007-2013) through ERC Grant 306933 (FM), the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO project grant G031416N to FM and JM), and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (VICI grant 016.VICI.170.072 to FM). RB is supported by an aspirant grant from Research Foundation Flanders. LN, AB, LD, and TB were supported by the Danish Council for Independent Research, Technology and Production Sciences—project on Microcable-based Nanoelectronics and the Danish National Research Foundation Center of Excellence CEM—Center for Electromicrobiology.

Biological electron transport is classically thought to occur over nanometre distances, yet recent studies suggest that electrical currents can run along centimetre-long cable bacteria. The phenomenon remains elusive, however, as currents have not been directly measured, nor have the conductive structures been identified. Here we demonstrate that cable bacteria conduct electrons over centimetre distances via highly conductive fibres embedded in the cell envelope. Direct electrode measurements reveal nanoampere currents in intact filaments up to 10.1 mm long (>2000 adjacent cells). A network of parallel periplasmic fibres displays a high conductivity (up to 79 S cm(-1)), explaining currents measured through intact filaments. Conductance rapidly declines upon exposure to air, but remains stable under vacuum, demonstrating that charge transfer is electronic rather than ionic. Our finding of a biological structure that efficiently guides electrical currents over long distances greatly expands the paradigm of biological charge transport and could enable new bio-electronic applications. ; This research was financially supported by the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013) through ERC Grant 306933 (F.J.R.M.), the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO project grant G031416N), and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (VICI grant 016.VICI.170.072 to F.J.R.M.). H.J.E.B., C.J.B. and H.S.J.Z. were supported by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO/OCW), as part of the Frontiers of Nanoscience program. R.B. is supported by an 'aspirant' grant from Research Foundation Flanders (FWO). We thank Laurine Burdorf (UAntwerpen) for help with Thiothrix cultivation, Marlies Nijemeisland (Faculty of Aerospace, TU Delft) for assistance with Raman microscopy, and Jan D'Haen (UHasselt) and Renaat Dasseville (UGent) for help with EM imaging.