Research papers published by the Research Services of the Deutscher Bundestag
This page sets out the English summaries of the research papers published by the Research Services. A link from the end of the summary will take you to the complete research paper in German.
Please note the disclaimer and copyright notice.
-
"Wolf children" from Lithuania
On 9 May 2011, a group of "wolf children" from Lithuania is visiting the German Bundestag. The members of this group are amongst the children from East Prussia who, between 1944 and 1947, lost their parents, sought refuge in the forests of Lithuania and were taken in by Lithuanians, who risked their own lives in doing so, though some of them wanted to exploit them as cheap labour. Today, many former "wolf children" are still unaware that their roots actually lie in Germany. Fear of the Soviet occupiers meant that anything indicating their German origins had to be abandoned. After Lithuanian independence, groups were set up which deal with the fate of these people in exhibitions and books.
-
2011 Census
In the context of the 2011 Census (for which the official date is 9 May), statistics are to be complied on the population, buildings and housing. In order to obtain reliable population figures and valid basic data for use in political and economic planning and decisions in all EU Member States, the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council obliges countries to carry out population and housing censuses - the 2011 Census. In Germany, provisions on the obligation to furnish information and on the details concerning data protection are contained in the law on censuses. This census is scheduled to be repeated every ten years.
-
Identification requirements for police officers in the Member States of the European Union
This factsheet provides an overview of issues relating to identification requirements for police officers in different European countries. The overview is based on the responses from the par-liaments of the EU Member States to a request for information transmitted via the European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation (ECPRD).
-
The election of the judges of the European Court of Human Rights
The election of the judges of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is one of the important tasks of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. This procedure sets the ECHR apart from other international courts. Some academics specialising in international law see this means of electing judges as having the potential to give legitimacy to the exercise of jurisdiction by international courts. A number of developments have recently resulted in the election procedure becoming the focus of parliamentary attention. These developments are set out in this issue of the Topical Term.
-
The 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident
In the night of 25 to 26 April 1986, a major accident took place at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union. Today it remains the most serious accident to have taken place at a nuclear facility anywhere in the world. It resulted in the release of large quantities of radioactive fuel and fission products, leading to the contamination of large areas of Europe, even as far away as Scandinavia and the United Kingdom.
-
The Ecodesign Directive
The Ecodesign Directive, adopted by the EU in 2005, introduced the concept of environmentally friendly product design (ecodesign). The aim was to improve the environmental performance and energy efficiency of specific products across the whole of their life cycle - from the selection of raw materials, to the use phase, to disposal. To this end, mandatory minimum requirements for product design were established. The recasting of the Directive in 2009 widened its scope to include more product categories. The Directive is intended to help the EU reach its climate change targets and reduce energy and resource consumption. Another aim is to prevent trade barriers and unfair competition in the EU.
-
Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute violations of international law in Libya
-
Results-based financing in development cooperation
Results-Based Management (RBM) in development cooperation is one of the main principles enshrined in the Paris Declaration agreed at the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in 2005. The focus of the planning mechanisms used in OECD members' bilateral and multilateral development cooperation has since largely shifted to defining indicators for expected results. The advantages of Results-Based Financing (RBF) compared to traditional, input-based approaches appear to include ensuring greater ownership of implementation by the partner countries and demonstrating the legitimacy of the funding invested in development cooperation via the results achieved (value for money). RBF is less a development strategy in its own right than an instrument that can be used in the context of various aid modalities and at various levels.
-
The establishment of a permanent European Stability Mechanism by means of the simplified treaty revision procedure
-
Free movement of workers following the eastward enlargement of the European Union - Opportunities and risks for the labour market
From 1 May 2011, unrestricted freedom of movement for workers from eight new EU Members States in Central and Eastern Europe will also apply in Germany. Likewise, by 1 January 2014 at the latest, the same freedom of movement will be enjoyed by workers from Bulgaria and Romania. Many concerns have been expressed about possible negative impacts on the labour market for nationals. Recent scientific studies, which also examine experiences in those EU Member States which opened up their labour markets from the beginning, conclude that these concerns are unfounded.
-
The new E 10 fuel
The Bundestag and the Federal Government are aiming to achieve a massive reduction in CO? emissions by 2020, in order to limit global warming. In addition to reductions due to technical improvements, one particularly important approach is to replace petroleum products with products derived from renewable resources. With regard to transport, the focus is on the use of biofuels or the blending of biofuels with fossil fuels.
-
Asset price bubbles and monetary policy
In the current debate on how the financial system can be made more immune to crises, the issue of asset price bubbles has increasingly become the focus of political and academic discussion. Before the outbreak of the financial crisis in August 2007, the concept of central bank intervention in asset price bubbles as they form was largely rejected internationally because of various difficulties. The policy of non-intervention is coming in for growing criticism, however.
-
Art in architecture in the GDR
In the former GDR, numerous artistic works were created for administrative buildings, factories, and buildings of cultural and social institutions, as an integral part of public building projects. The promotion of art for buildings dated from a decree issued on 16 March 1950. This was based on the assumption that art could best fulfil a political and ideological function when located at heavily used buildings. Although the architecture-related art at the end of the GDR took in a wide spectrum of works from socialist propaganda to autonomous artistic expression, the more important works are seen as symbols of the Socialist Unity Party dictatorship, a fact that, to this day, influences the debate about how to treat art for buildings that originated in the GDR.
-
Collective renunciation of panel doctor licences (licences to practice within the statutory health insurance schemes)
For years now, general practice doctors (GPs) have been complaining about excessive bureaucratisation, budget-capping, and inferior remuneration compared to their consultant colleagues. It is argued that the latter situation, in particular, results from the GPs having too weak a negotiating position in the associations of statutory health insurance physicians vis-à-vis the health insurance funds, for remuneration and other issues. The GPs' representatives hoped that a mass declaration renouncing panel doctor licences would, sooner or later, cause a crisis in the system of panel doctor care, which would henceforward force the health insurance funds to negotiate agreements with the GPs on the basis of private law. This issue of the Topical Term discusses the plan for collective renunciation in Bavaria, and describes the legal consequences of such a move.
-
The European External Action Service takes up its work
-
The Coptic Orthodox Church
One of the churches which have repeatedly been the target of terrorist attacks recently is the Coptic Orthodox Church. It is one of the oldest Christian communities in the world and traces its origins back to Mark the Evangelist. It is estimated that Coptic Christians represent up to 10% of Egypt's 80 million inhabitants. Approximately two million people outside Egypt are members of the Coptic Orthodox Church; half of them live in the United States. It is estimated that over 3000 Coptic Christians live in Germany.
-
The Animal Welfare Commission at the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection
This issue of the Topical Term deals with the Order of the Federal Constitutional Court (Federal Constitutional Court, Order of 12 October 2010, 2 BvF 1/07) stating that the procedure followed in the adoption of provisions on keeping laying hens was unconstitutional, as the Animal Welfare Commission at the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection was not consulted at a sufficiently early stage. This Topical Term examines the Animal Welfare Commission and its working methods.
-
The Standing Conference of the Ministers of Consumer Protection of the Länder and the Federation - coordinating measures to protect consumers in the dioxin scandal
The Standing Conference of the Ministers of Consumer Protection, an institution established by Germany's federal states, or Länder, coordinates measures taken by the Länder and the Federation in dealing with issues relating to consumer protection. Particularly in the current dioxin scandal it is clear that, in view of the complex distribution of responsibilities and tasks in a food safety crisis, the Conference is a useful and effective instrument.
-
The ordinary legislative procedure
-
New EU employment guidelines
-
The Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union
-
International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Kosovo's Declaration of Independence
In its advisory opinion of 22 July 2010, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concludes that Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence on 17 February 2008 does not represent a violation of international law. The ICJ does not, however, state its position on the highly controversial question of the importance of the right to self-determination in the case of Kosovo. ICJ advisory opinions are not legally binding. They do, however, have considerable authority, since they set out the views of the main judicial body of the United Nations. This Topical Term sets out the background to and the reasoning behind the advisory opinion and analyses it.
-
Annual days of action, topic days and days of remembrance: selection for 2011
The list includes days of action, topic days and days of remembrance for the year 2011, which are intended to mark important national and international political, societal, religious or historic events and draw attention to major issues and problems within society, or in the fields of medicine and science. The list is intended mainly to assist the Members of the Bundestag in their work, but is also targeted at users outside the German Bundestag.