Sludge utilisation in agriculture: possibilities and prospects in Greece

2002 ◽  
Vol 46 (10) ◽  
pp. 231-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.D. Andreadakis ◽  
D. Mamais ◽  
E. Gavalaki ◽  
S. Kampylafka
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Sludge Treatment ◽  
Sludge Disposal ◽  
Qualitative Characteristics

The paper presents the prospects for agricultural utilisation of the sludge produced from wastewater treatment plants in Greece and more specifically focuses on a critical review of the legislatory framework, determination of the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the produced sludges, examination of possible sludge treatment methods and evaluation of the possibilities and prospects of sludge utilisation on the basis of the above considerations. Landfilling is practically the only route to sludge disposal in Greece. However, in view of the anticipated future restrictions for landfilling within the European Union, this method is clearly a short-term solution and alternative options, including agricultural reuse, must be implemented. The results of a recent survey are presented and discussed in relation to this need.

Study Regarding the Determination of Specific Flows of Wastewater for Urban Areas in Romania

2014 ◽  
Vol 656 ◽  
pp. 476-485
Author(s):  
Mircea Vlad Mureşan ◽  
Elena Maria Pică ◽  
Dan Vasile Mureșan
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Urban Wastewater ◽  
Household Wastewater ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Urban Wastewater Treatment

IIn 2007, through the accession of Romania to the European Union, the Government of Romania made the commitment to put into practice the project on implementing the Directive 91/271/EEC concerning urban wastewater treatment. For the second transition phase, according to Directive 91/271/EEC, it is necessary that by December 31st, 2015 all the localities with over 10,000 inhabitants should be connected to sewage systems containing treatment plants [1].In order for the Government of Romania to comply with its commitment made at the moment of the accession to the European Union, respectively that all the localities with over 10,000 inhabitants should be connected to treatment plants by the end of 2015, it absolutely necessary to concentrate its efforts for the identification of the optimal methods of household wastewater treatment in terms of investment and operating costs for the urban areas.

Unfolding the case of returnees: How the European Union and its member States are addressing the return of foreign fighters and their families

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Carlota Rigotti ◽  
Júlia Zomignani Barboza
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Perceived Threat ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Security Threat ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Member States ◽  
Foreign Fighters ◽  
Term Response

Abstract The return of foreign fighters and their families to the European Union has mostly been considered a security threat by member States, which consequently adopt repressive measures aimed at providing an immediate, short-term response to this perceived threat. In addition to this strong-arm approach, reintegration strategies have also been used to prevent returnees from falling back into terrorism and to break down barriers of hostility between citizens in the long term. Amidst these different strategies, this paper seeks to identify which methods are most desirable for handling returnees.

scholarly journals Wastewater Treatment and Water Reuse in Spain. Current Situation and Perspectives

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Jodar-Abellan ◽  
María Inmaculada López-Ortiz ◽  
Joaquín Melgarejo-Moreno
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
European Union ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Water Reuse ◽  
Wastewater Reuse ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Water Planning ◽  
Structural Problem ◽  
The World ◽  
Access To Water

The issues of wastewater treatment and the reuse of water are of great importance, especially in areas where the shortage of conventional resources is a structural problem, as it is in the case of Spain. Wastewater reuse is a valid mechanism to avoid problems derived from droughts and water scarcity. It allows access to water resources in areas with water restrictions and to prevent futures scenarios, due to it being expected that water consumption will double by 2050 over the world. Thus, the likelihood that this unconventional, strategic resource would become scarce is unquestionable, particularly in cases where water planning and exploitation systems prioritize the preservation, protection, and improvement of water quality, as well as the sustainable and efficient use of natural resources. This paper shows how wastewater treatment and reuse are linked, as the reuse of wastewater is associated with a previous regeneration, and both of them are essential tools for maximizing environmental outcomes, as called for in the European Union Directives.

scholarly journals Forecasting Energy Consumption of Wastewater Treatment Plants with a Transfer Learning Approach for Sustainable Cities

Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 1149
Author(s):  
Pedro Oliveira ◽  
Bruno Fernandes ◽  
Cesar Analide ◽  
Paulo Novais
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Transfer Learning ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Sustainable Cities ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Long Short Term Memory ◽  
Gated Recurrent Units

A major challenge of today’s society is to make large urban centres more sustainable. Improving the energy efficiency of the various infrastructures that make up cities is one aspect being considered when improving their sustainability, with Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) being one of them. Consequently, this study aims to conceive, tune, and evaluate a set of candidate deep learning models with the goal being to forecast the energy consumption of a WWTP, following a recursive multi-step approach. Three distinct types of models were experimented, in particular, Long Short-Term Memory networks (LSTMs), Gated Recurrent Units (GRUs), and uni-dimensional Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). Uni- and multi-variate settings were evaluated, as well as different methods for handling outliers. Promising forecasting results were obtained by CNN-based models, being this difference statistically significant when compared to LSTMs and GRUs, with the best model presenting an approximate overall error of 630 kWh when on a multi-variate setting. Finally, to overcome the problem of data scarcity in WWTPs, transfer learning processes were implemented, with promising results being achieved when using a pre-trained uni-variate CNN model, with the overall error reducing to 325 kWh.

scholarly journals The Effect of Remittances on Poverty in the Emerging Countries of the European Union

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 3265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anca Mehedintu ◽  
Georgeta Soava ◽  
Mihaela Sterpu
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Regression Models ◽  
Emerging Countries ◽  
Time Dependent ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Growth Trend ◽  
Poverty Threshold

In this paper we study the evolution of remittances and risk of poverty threshold for nine emerging countries in the European Union and analyzed the evolution and trend of the share of remittances in the risk of poverty threshold. The analysis was performed on data taken from the Eurostat database for the period 2005–2017. The statistical analysis of the data showed that the evolution of both remittances and risk of poverty threshold was heavily influenced by the global economic crisis. Although after the crisis, the risk of poverty threshold has seen a growing trend in all emerging countries, the remittances have experienced sinuous variations, dramatic declines for some of the countries (drastically for Romania and Latvia) and significant increases for others (Hungary). The results of the analysis using time-dependent regression models lead to the conclusion that, although the share of remittances in risk of poverty threshold diminished abruptly after the 2009 economic crisis, in the short term it is expected to maintain a growth trend for most of the analyzed countries (Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia), followed downward tendency after 2018 for Bulgaria and Romania, and after 2020 for Hungary and Lithuania. For Latvia and Estonia, both quadratic and cubic models estimate a decreasing evolution.

ANALYSIS OF THE NATURE OF THE EUROPEAN DIGITAL TAX IN COMPARISON WITH THE CURRENT VAT SYSTEM AND ITS IMPACT ON THE ECONOMY AND MANAGEMENT OF ECONOMIC ENTITIES

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 42-48
Author(s):  
S. V. ZAYTSEV ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
European Commission ◽  
Value Added ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Value Added Tax ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Digital Services ◽  
The Many

In March 2018 the European Commission presented a proposal to adopt a digital services tax (DST) on certain types of revenues of multinational digital Companies. The purpose of the digital services tax is to compensate in the short term for the low level of corporate taxation of these companies in the European Union and thus meet the urgent need of civil society for greater tax fairness. DST is presented as an indirect tax on turnover and is often compared to value-added tax (VAT). In this article, the author seeks to highlight the many differences that exist between the harmonized European Union VAT and the new DST. In addition, the author challenges the idea that the DST will actually be an indirect tax and, most importantly, that it will effectively increase tax justice in the European Union.

scholarly journals Polish “Entrepreneur” and EU “Undertaking”: Multilingualism and Differences in Legal Identification

2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-71
Author(s):  
Maciej Etel
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Member State ◽  
Precise Determination ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Economic Sphere ◽  
Polish Law ◽  
Legal Identification ◽  
The Eu

Abstract The European Union and its member-states’ involvement in the economic sphere, manifesting itself in establishing the rules of entrepreneurs’ functioning – their responsibilities and entitlements – requires a precise determination of the addressees of these standards. Proper identification of an entrepreneur is a condition of proper legislation, interpretation, application, control and execution of the law. In this context it is surprising that understanding the term entrepreneur in Polish law and in EU law is not the same, and divergences and differences in identification are fundamental. This fact formed the objective of this article. It is aimed at pointing at key differences in the identification of an entrepreneur between Polish and EU law, explaining the reasons for different concepts, and also the answer to the question: May Poland, as an EU member-state, identify the entrepreneur in a different way than the EU?

scholarly journals THE DETERMINATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION IN THE INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-90
Author(s):  
Mentor Lecaj ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Moral Obligation ◽  
Research Work ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Legal Rules ◽  
Eu Policy ◽  
Political Principles ◽  
The Eu

This paper aims to explain the legal, political and moral obligation of the European Union institutions in the promotion, advancement, respect, and implementation of human rights and freedoms as a universal value, and above all as binding legal- political principles during their efforts in relations with actors both inside and outside the EU. This research work simultaneously analyzes and interprets international legal rules that regulate human rights. Moreover, the cases and means in promoting the human rights used by the European Union in different cultural regions have been compared and analyzed as well as the possibility of changing the approach of EU policy towards countries where the highest level of resistance exist in the accepting of such values.

scholarly journals The concept of technological proximity in the development of European Union national innovative systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (51) ◽  
pp. 35-45
Author(s):  
Svetlana Rastvortseva ◽  
Aizhan Amanalieva
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Industrial Sector ◽  
High Tech ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Composition Determination ◽  
Comparative Advantages ◽  
Degree Of Participation

Abstract The development of national innovative systems is intended to solve a number of issues: from decreasing socio-economic inequality in countries and regions to creating environments favourable to new high-tech production and diversification of industrial composition. Determination of the possibilities for expanding the set of innovative types of economic activity must be scientifically substantiated, since significant financial, material and human resources may be consumed in creating and supporting new economic sectors within the framework of state policy. This article contains an attempt to create a mechanism for revealing promising trends in the development of an innovative economic sphere, taking into account comparative advantages in the commodity composition of exports by determining technological proximity indicators. The article aims to substantiate the possibility of using the concept of technological proximity in developing national innovative systems. The study employs technological proximity indicators based on the revealed comparative advantages (RCA) of countries by commodity groups of export. A matrix of technological proximity in the industrial fields (at a six-unit level) for 28 countries of the European Union in 2007–18 was made. The results revealed comparative advantages by groups of high-tech products in EU countries in real time. The analysis of technological proximity in the industrial sector has shown the types of economic activity connected with the innovative sector, which was used to determine the countries’ degree of participation in the manufacture of high-tech products. The proposed mechanism can be used in the development and implementation of national and regional policy in the sphere of innovative systems, since it allows promising areas for creation and support of new high-tech productions to be determined.

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