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.

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• Topical Term from 2016/08/18
  The ‘Song of the Germans’ is 175 years old: it was written on 26 August 1841 by Hoffmann von Fallersleben 
  

  On 26 August 1841, August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben wrote the ‘Song of the Germans’ during a stay on the island of Helgoland, which still belonged to Britain at that time. The text reflected the yearning for freedom and national unity that existed amongst many Germans against the background of Germany’s fragmentation into 41 separate sovereign states and free cities. The first verse remains the subject of heated debate, particularly because the National Socialists misused it from 1933 onwards to lend legitimacy to their expansionist war aims. In the Weimar Republic, the song was declared the national anthem in 1922. Since 1952, the third verse of the ‘Song of the Germans’ has been the national anthem of the Federal Republic of Germany.

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• Topical Term - Europe from 2016/07/29
  Parliamentary rights of participation in the framework of the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union
  

  In the framework of the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), the governments of the Member States have a powerful position. Nevertheless, parliaments do have notification and participation rights in this policy area, at both European and national level. During the negotiation and conclusion of international agreements in the CFSP framework, the European Parliament must be immediately and fully informed at all stages of the procedure. The German Bundestag has the right to be notified comprehensively and as early as possible on matters concerning the EU, with the exception of matters falling within the core area of the Federal Government’s own executive responsibility. 

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• Topical Term - Europe from 2016/07/12
  The programme of the 2016 Slovakian presidency of the EU 
  

  On 1 July 2016, Slovakia took over the presidency of the European Council from the Netherlands for the second half of the year. It is thus continuing the current trio council presidency of the Netherlands, Slovakia and Malta. The main goals of the Slovak presidency are an economically strong Europe, a modern single market, sustainable migration and asylum policies and a globally engaged Europe.  

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• Topical Term from 2016/06/21
  Fintechs
  

  For several years now, the financial sector has been going through a period of structural change which is particularly characterized by the digitalization of financial services. Fintechs or FinTechs take up this change and actively promote it. This Topical Term starts with a definition of the term ‘Fintech’. Afterwards it informs the reader about Fintechs different business units as well as successes and challenges for these new enterprises. Finally, it explains the requirements the legislator has to fulfil regarding the regulation of Fintechs.  

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• Topical Term from 2016/06/17
  22 June 1941: The German invasion of the Soviet Union
  

  The twenty-second of June 2016 marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The German Bundestag is holding a debate on this day in remembrance of the war and its effects. This war was planned by the German side as a war of annihilation and conquest, motivated by a racist ideology. By the end of the war, the death toll on the Soviet side was 26.6 million, including 11.4 million members of the armed forces. Over 2.7 million Wehrmacht soldiers died on the Eastern Front. Remembrance of this war is an important part of the collective memory of both peoples. In Russia, the twenty-second of June is an official day of remembrance (‘Day of Memory and Grief’).

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• Topical Term from 2016/06/10
  Twenty-five years ago: The decision on the capital of Germany of 20 June 1991 
  

  Following a vigorous twelve-hour debate in the former waterworks in Bonn, on 20 June 1991 the German Bundestag voted by a narrow majority to move the seats of parliament and government from Bonn to Berlin. What came to be known as the decision on the capital also ensured a fair division of labour between Berlin and Bonn, along with financial compensation payments to Bonn.

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• Topical Term from 2016/05/27
  Organ donation day
  

  Each year since 1983, Organ Donation Day has been marked in Germany on the first Saturday in June. The aim is to raise public awareness of the issue and to increase the willingness of each individual to donate. At the end of 1997, the Transplantation Act (TPG) brought in rules for organ donation, removal, allocation and transplant. In 2012, following the discovery of manipulation in the organ allocation system, the German Bundestag introduced extensive reforms to the law. It is currently deliberating a draft bill on the creation of a national transplant register, with the aim of making the process of organ transplantation more transparent. This also aims to build up trust in the process – and with it, the willingness to donate.

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• Factsheet from 2016/05/18
  Inheritance and wealth tax in the EU Member States, Japan, Canada and the USA
  

  This factsheet provides an up-to-date summary of inheritance and wealth tax regulations in the EU Member States, Japan, Canada and the USA. Presented as an overview, it includes statements on tax rate structures, allowances and other country-specific features of the taxation systems.

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• Topical Term - Europe from 2016/05/11
  Lifting of visa requirement for travel to the Schengen area by Turkish citizens and participation rights of the Bundestag
  

  On 4 May 2016 the European Commission presented a proposal to lift the existing visa requirement for travel by Turkish citizens to the Schengen area. This enables the European Parliament and the European Council, acting in line with EU border protection policy (Art. 77 (2) lit. a) TFEU) and in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, to amend Regulation (EC) No. 539/2001 and to include Turkey in the list of countries exempt from the visa requirements (Annex II of the Regulation). This requires all criteria outlined in the timetable for visa-free travel agreed in 2013 to be met. On 18 March 2016, in a joint statement, EU and Turkish heads of state and government agreed for this timetable to be accelerated in order for the visa requirement to be lifted for Turkish citizens by the end of June 2016.

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• Topical Term - Europe from 2016/04/27
  Residence restriction for persons eligible for subsidiary protection - ruling of the European Court of Justice in joined cases C-443/14 and C-444/14
  

  In Germany, residence permits for individuals eligible for subsidiary protection can be made contingent on the individuals remaining resident in a defined area (residence restriction). In order to clarify whether such a residence restriction contradicts Directive 2011/95/EU (Recognition of Professional Qualifications), the Federal Administrative Court, before which several challenges against the restriction by beneficiaries of subsidiary protection are currently pending, referred to the European Court of Justice (CJEU) for a preliminary ruling. On 1 March 2016, the CJEU ruled that, in certain cases, residence restrictions could be compatible with the above directive for reasons of integration policy.

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• Topical Term from 2016/03/30
  “Reserve antibiotics” - Critically Important Antimicrobials
  

  Due to the excessive and sometimes inappropriate use of antibiotics in human and veterinary medicine, an increasing number of bacteria worldwide are developing resistance to available antibiotics. The European Parliament is currently deliberating the European Commission’s proposal for a regulation on veterinary medicinal products (COM(2014) 558), which provides for more restrictive use of certain antibiotics in the veterinary field. The European Parliament is also proposing that the use of those antibiotics classified by the WHO as highest priority critically important antimicrobials/reserve antibiotics be restricted to human medicine. 

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• Topical Term from 2016/03/03
  Anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster
  

  The day of 11 March 2016 will be the fifth anniversary of the nuclear disaster in Fukushima. At that time, an earthquake 130 kilometres off the coast of Japan and a tsunami around ten metres high triggered the destruction of several units of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The Fukushima nuclear disaster is attributed to inadequate disaster risk management. This Topical Term examines the significance of use of nuclear energy both in Japan and worldwide five years after the disaster. 

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• Topical Term from 2016/02/26
  Undefeated global infectious diseases
  

  On 1 February 2016, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), due to the increased prevalence of the Zika virus. Despite the considerable progress made in epidemics control, many life-threatening infectious diseases have still not been eradicated. Currently, the most commonly occurring life-threatening infectious diseases are HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. In 2002, a global fund – the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria – was established to combat these infectious diseases worldwide. 

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• Topical Term from 2016/02/16
  Basic benefits for EU citizens
  

  The Federal Social Court (BSG) and the Berlin Social Court (SG) hold different views on basic benefits for EU citizens without a substantive right of residence under the regulations of the Second (SGB II) and Twelfth (SGB XII) Books of the Social Code. The different legal views are presented in the paper. The BSG is of the opinion that claims under SGB XII could be justified for the individuals in question. The Berlin Social Court rejects claims under both the SGB XII and the SGB II.

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• Topical Term from 2016/02/16
  Work 4.0 – The changing world of work Green Paper and public dialogue
  

  In light of the changes to the world of work expected as a result of the increasing digitisation and networking of industrial production, on 22 April 2014 the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs published the Green Paper “Work 4.0” and started a public dialogue process on the topic. This includes both expert-level dialogue and a public discussion, and aims to derive options for political action by the end of 2016. This paper reports on the course of the dialogue thus far and outlines the initial results of the expert workshops.

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• Topical Term from 2016/02/16
  One hundred years ago: the battle of Verdun starts on 21 February 1916
  

  The battle of Verdun, which lasted from February until December 1916, was one of the bloodiest of the First World War and involved among the heaviest losses. These occurred on both sides and, given their immense scale, resulted in the sustained weakening of both armies. Historians estimate that the battle cost around 300,000 lives. The “hell of Verdun” remains anchored in the collective European memory to this day as a symbol of the horror and senselessness of an “industrialised” war waged with modern weaponry with little regard for the huge number of victims this incurred.

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• Topical Term from 2016/02/08
  Electricity prices for household consumers and their components
  

  The price that household consumers pay for electricity is made up of several components. This Topical Term informs readers about the level of average electricity prices for household consumers in 2014 and explains how this price can be broken down. It also provides an overview of the factors within the energy sector which influence the individual price components.

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• Topical Term from 2016/02/05
  Ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court on “constitutional identity review”
  

  This Topical Term summarises a recently published ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court on the extradition to Italy of a US citizen who had been sentenced in absentia to a 30-year custodial sentence in 1992. Since the Court’s ruling addresses the issue of measures based on European law infringing the core values enshrined in the German Basic Law (“constitutional identity review), it is of particular significance for constitutional and European law. 

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• Topical Term from 2016/01/28
  Rare Disease Day
  
  
  

  Each year since 2008, Rare Disease Day is held on the last day of February. Rare diseases or rare illnesses are collective terms for illnesses with low numbers of cases. In Europe, a disease is defined as rare if the number of cases does not exceed five per 10,000 inhabitants. There are at least an estimated 26 to 30 million cases of rare diseases in Europe, with around four million of these in Germany alone.

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• Topical Term from 2016/01/27
  Primaries in the USA: Nomination of the presidential candidates
  

  In February 2016 a lengthy and complicated selection process starts in the USA to determine the nomination of the candidates from the two major parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, for the presidential elections on 8 November 2016. In what are known as primaries, which take place in individual US states in phases until mid-June 2016, delegates are elected for the respective nominations at the party conventions. There are two kinds of preliminary election: the “Primary”, a preliminary election in the stricter sense carried out in the majority of states, and the “Caucus”, a multi-stage system of internal party nomination assemblies.

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• Topical Term from 2016/01/26
  Access to higher education for foreign students and refugees 
  

  Over the next few years, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) will invest around an additional 130 million euros as part of the “First package of measures for refugees: German language and vocational training” for teaching German, recognising refugees’ skills and potential and integrating them in work and training. This provides support for the range of existing education programmes for people from migrant backgrounds at other ministries, for example at Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS), Economics and Energy (BMWi), Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) and Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), as well as the BMBF itself. The “Second package of measures for refugees: access to higher education” aims to ensure that those bringing sufficient qualifications are able to access higher education. The BMBF will support universities over the coming years with around 100 million euros, 27 million euros of which will be allocated in 2016.

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• Topical Term from 2016/01/22
  Twenty years ago:  “Day of Remembrance for the Victims of National Socialism” introduced on 27 January
  

  For twenty years now, 27 January has been commemorated in the Federal Republic of Germany as the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of National Socialism. This national day of remembrance, introduced by Federal President Roman Herzog via a proclamation at the start of 1996, is dedicated to remembrance of the millions of people who were deprived of their rights, persecuted and murdered under the National Socialist totalitarian regime. The date itself commemorates the liberation of the survivors of the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp by soldiers of the Red Army on 27 January 1945.

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• Topical Term from 2016/01/21
  Genome engineering
  

  Until now, techniques for targeted genetic modification in industrial biotechnology and modern plant and animal breeding have been relatively complicated, time and cost-intensive, comparatively unspecific and not applicable to all organisms. The discovery of a bacterial defence system led in 2012 to the announcement of a mechanism in bacteria known as CRISPR/Cas9, which can also be used for genome editing or ‘surgery’. It creates ‘DNA scissors’, which can change specific genetic material in a relatively simple and precise way by cutting out and/or inserting elements. The method was used worldwide within a very short space of time and a range of publications followed on genetic modifications previously thought impossible or extremely difficult. In addition to the optimisation of genetic techniques in the established plant and animal-related areas, application of genome engineering in the medical sector is also conceivable. 

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• Topical Term - Europe from 2016/01/12
  Programme for the Dutch EU Council Presidency in 2016 
  

  On 1 January 2016, the Netherlands assumed the Presidency of the Council of the EU (EU Council Presidency) for the first half of 2016, taking over from Luxemburg. The Netherlands thus starts the current presidency trio, which also includes Slovakia and Malta and runs from January 2016 until June 2017. The main aims of this presidency trio are in the areas of economic growth, social policy in its broadest sense, energy and climate policy and, in particular, migration policy.

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