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Seeks to answer the question “whose interests are being served by the laws of purporting to regulate genetically modified organisms?“ Considers the interests of the seed/chemical multinational companies, trade and investment for the countries in which these companies operate and the innovation of science and technology. Covers the European interests with regards to the single internal market and the conflict this can cause between economic and environmental/health interests. Looks at the issues from the US perspective and world trade. Continues by covering nature and the environment followed by health and safety and the rights of consumers. Assesses the regulations of the European community in order to find what protection is available.

This paper introduces the special issue “Rebuilding trust: Sustainability and non-financial reporting, and the European Union regulation”. Inspired by the studies published in the special issue, this study aims to examine the concept of accountability within the context of the European Union (EU) Directive on non-financial disclosure (hereafter the EU Directive) to offer a critique and a novel perspective for future research into mandatory non-financial reporting (NFR) and to advance future practice and policy.

The authors review the papers published in this special issue and other contemporary studies on the topic of NFR and the EU Directive.

Accountability is a fundamental concept for building trust in the corporate reporting context and emerges as a common topic linking contemporary studies on the EU Directive. While the EU Directive acknowledges the role of accountability in the reporting practice, this study argues that regulation and practice on NFR needs to move away from an accounting-based conception of accountability to promote accountability-based accounting practices (Dillard and Vinnari, 2019). By analysing the links between trust, accountability and accounting and reporting, the authors claim the need to examine and rethink the inscription of interests into non-financial information (NFI) and its materiality. Hence, this study encourages research and practice to broaden mandatory NFR practice over the traditional boundaries of accountability, reporting and formal accounting systems.

Considering the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis, this study calls for further research to investigate the dialogical accountability underpinning NFR in practice to avoid the trap of focusing on accounting changes regardless of accountability. The authors advocate that what is needed is more timely NFI that develops a dialogue between companies, investors, national regulators, the EU and civil society, not more untimely standalone reporting that has most likely lost its relevance and materiality by the time it is issued to users.

By highlighting accountability issues in the context of mandatory NFR and its linkages with trust, this study lays out a case for moving the focus of research and practice from accounting-based regulations towards accountability-driven accounting change.

The European Works Council (EWC) Directive reflects a shift to a softer style of governance which has been adopted by the EU in recent years. This article sets out to explore how successful this soft style governance is when implemented at the national level.

The paper introduces the literature on the subject and shows that two main theses have been developed to date; one which favours the softer mechanism of governance and one which is critical of it. Two propositions are developed from the literature. The article explores them by examining them in light of the manner in which the Directive has bedded down in the Irish context. It does this through a micro and macro analysis of material available on the EWC in Ireland and a series of interviews. Ireland is regarded as a suitable arena in which to explore these propositions.

The article finds that the EWC Directive was implemented in Ireland in a manner which was deemed suitable for its smooth integration into the Irish context. However, the transposition’s flexible nature is such that it is unclear that it has made any significant contribution to Ireland’s system of industrial relations. It is suggested that the EU may not yet have developed a form of governance suitable for a disparate, expanding community.

The paper provides a micro‐analysis of how the EWC Directive has been transposed in one Member State (Ireland). It combines this with a macro‐analysis which enables us to compare the Irish transposition with other Member States. This approach indicates that the Directive has been applied in a very heterogeneous style throughout the Member States, which tends to reproduce indigenous industrial relations systems rather than reform or challenge them.

Discusses the effects of EC legislation on the construction industry in the light of the opening of the Single European Market on 1st January 1993. Outlines the background to European legislation and then examines its four main categories: those covering product and materials, the purchase of goods and services by public bodies, the mutual recognition of professional qualifications and health and safety at work. Explains how this legislation operates and its likely effect on the construction industry, in the form of a personal view by the author. Concludes that while the industry needs to be aware of and prepare for the Single Market, the changes it will bring about should be considered opportunities rather than threats.

This paper aims to review the rescaling of integrated planning policies for the built environment by the transposition of European directives on air quality in The Netherlands.

This is a case study examining European and Dutch policies, legislation, case law and reports by various Dutch Courts of Auditors and assessment agencies.

The paper reveals how a combination of measures that prohibit practices and measures constituting new ways of working has facilitated environmental protection and integrated planning. The case shows that transposition matters. At first, the aim of transposing European environmental directives into an integrated national legal system resulted in an erosion of integrated planning as courts nullified new development decisions. In later instances, it resulted in the National Cooperation Programme on Air Quality (NSL), an integrated system, allowing the weighing and monitoring of all policies that affect air quality.

The findings of this study of Dutch air quality regulation may contribute to other studies into the rescaling of environmental governance in relation to interactions between central norm-setting and integrated local policies.

The case study shows a real working institutional system that relies on an interactive web tool that facilitates integrated planning decisions which respect environmental limit values. The problems faced and opportunities the system afforded are also discussed.

This paper increases understanding of the process of the transposition of European directives in relation to integrated policies for the built environment, with a specific emphasis on ambient air quality.

Discusses the long existing and confusing problems of establishing the relationship of who is, and who if not, a dependent worker. Reflects developments which have occurred in British law as it affects the employment field, plus an evaluation and analysis of some of the different types of employment relationships which have evolved by examining, where possible, the status of each of these relationships. Concludes that the typical worker nowadays finds himself in a vulnerable position both economically and psychologically owing to the insecurity which exists.

This chapter aims the research whether the application of European Directive, Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID), had any significant effects on the European Capital Markets and the progress of the European Integration. This new regulation specifies the tasks and responsibilities of the supervisory authorities of the Member State of origin and the host Member State, in order to enhance the certainty of effectiveness of cross-border transactions supervision and to reduce the risk of imposing unnecessary legal reforms from the host Member State on investment firms which perform cross-border transactions. It has been concluded, among others, that the aligning of the national regulatory approaches to a common European regulatory system is quite necessary. It is finally concluded that MiFID will contribute to reduce problems at country level as the previous experience of the Investment Services Directive, where the European investments and economies of Member States were based mainly on the level of ‘country’ and not of the ‘sector’. An effective capital entrepreneurship market is a strategically important element in the development of new and innovative businesses, encouraging entrepreneurship, increasing the productivity and maintaining high economic growth rates in Europe. Currently, European venture capital market is much less effective than that of the US market, for example. Therefore, in this area, should be specified the priorities that will lead to new initiatives.

The four sections to this article have distinct but inter‐related objectives. Part I introduces the concepts, problems and tensions central to an understanding of the product liability debate. These issues recur throughout the article. Part II outlines the development of product liability law in Europe and assesses the impact of the European Directive on Product Liability. The “product liability crisis” in the United States is discussed in Part III, which looks at the law's development and proposals for reform. In Part IV the United States and European positions are compared and the case is made out for a global uniform product liability law which recognises the social responsibility of the producer towards those injured by his products.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) on investment managers but also on funds' units as financial instruments.

Starting from the innovative legislative structure and scope of the MiFID, the paper assesses the way investment managers and funds'units are impacted, knowing that investment managers and funds'units are already largely tackled by another Directive, the UCITS Directive.

In spite of increasing many organizational and process requirements within investment management companies, the MiFID will probably not create dramatic changes in the daily functioning of those companies. However, the linkage between the provisions of the MiFID and the UCITS Directive has not been clearly made by European legislative institutions, which leaves uncertainties in the way the national legislators and regulators will transpose the MiFID in order to get the best consistence between this Directive and the UCITS one.

Final assessment should be made once Member States have transposed the MiFID Directive and have enforced it in practice.

The value of the paper is to set a bridge between two different directives (the MiFID on the one hand, the UCITS Directive on the other hand) which both impact investment managers and funds' units.