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Determination of GMOs in cow feed
Get PDFTo support EU GMO legislation, official control laboratories must monitor GMOs in food and feed through analytical testing. Under Regulation (EU) 2017/625, the European Union Reference Laboratory for Genetically Modified Food and Feed (EURL GMFF) organises proficiency tests (PTs) to ensure reliable lab performance. This report presents results of PT “GMFF-25/01” on GMO content in commercial cow feed containing GM soybean events 40-3-2, MON87701, MON89788, and was additionally spiked with maize MIR162. Soybean, present below 5%, was treated as a botanical impurity. Sixty-nine labs, including NRLs, OCLs, and non-EU labs, participated. Most demonstrated accurate GMO detection and quantification in complex samples.JRC.F.5 - Food and Feed Complianc
A – Potentially Positive – Welfare Assessment of the Global Minimum Tax
Get PDFWe assess the welfare implications of the Global Minimum Tax (GMT) on corporate income in a multi-country macroeconomic model. The objectives of the GMT are to mitigate harmful tax competition and to curb wasteful profit shifting. The theoretical literature suggests that the welfare effects of the GMT are ambiguous. It contributes positively to welfare by improving tax revenues and limiting profit shifting; however, it may also raise firms' capital costs, exerting a contractionary effect on the economy. Using our applied model, we combine all these effects to produce numerical welfare results, creating what we believe is the first comprehensive and quantitative welfare assessment of the GMT. We simulate the implementation of a GMT of 15 percent by all countries in our model, which are the 27 EU Member States, the US, the UK, Japan, and a tax haven. We measure the welfare change in two scenarios. In the first, additional corporate income tax (CIT) revenues are redistributed as direct transfers to households. This produces mixed welfare results across countries, while the global welfare impact is slightly positive. In the second, additional CIT revenues are redistributed back to firms as lower CIT rates, provided that the rate remains at or above the GMT rate. In most countries, the reduction in the cost of capital from a lower CIT rate more than offsets the increase caused by reduced profit shifting, stimulating economic activity. Positive welfare outcomes are widely, though not universally, experienced, leading to a modest increase in global welfare. We investigate the impact of alternative GMT rates, finding that a 16 percent GMT rate yields the highest level of global welfare in our model.JRC.B.2 - Fiscal Policy Analysi
On some recent optimizations in EUROPLEXUS numerical simulations of urban blast events
Get PDFThis report presents some optimizations that have been recently introduced in the EUROPLEXUS code for the numerical simulation of blast events in urban environments.
Two (alternative) types of optimization are considered. In the first type, the calculation of numerical fluxes in the Cell-Centered Finite Volume (CCFV) discrete model used to represent the fluid sub-domain is skipped for all portions of the model that have not yet possibly been reached by the blast wave resulting from the explosion. This is simply derived from the distance between the charge and the fluid FV (or FV interface) under consideration, and from the propagation speed of the blast wave, assumed constant for simplicity.
In the second type of optimization, which is outlined but not yet implemented, a combined 1-D/multi-D fluid model would be set up. The 1-D model is similar to that used to produce a so-called map file, i.e. to compute the numerical solution from the detonation instant until the instant in which the blast wave encounters the first obstacle, typically a structure. During this time period, the blast wave is typically spherical or hemispherical and may be represented by a 1-D model instead of a (typically) 3-D one, thus saving a substantial amount of CPU time.
Then, the solution would be stored on a map file. In a subsequent simulation, the (1-D) solution would be read back from the map file and mapped onto the real 3D mesh, containing also the structures to be tested. Finally, the 3-D simulation would be carried on until the desired final time.JRC.E.2 - Space, Connectivity and Economic Securit
CIPHER: Monitoring Crypto Markets
Get PDFThis progress report presents the current state of development of the CIPHER framework, an robust and scalable platform for monitoring crypto-asset markets, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, and blockchain-based financial activity. CIPHER’s role is to integrate blockchain-derived data with structured monitoring modules, covering areas such as market activity, financial stability risks, and systemic dependencies.
The report outlines the methodological foundations, technical infrastructure, and preliminary analytical outputs achieved to date. All of this is contextualised within the recent technological and regulatory development of the crypto landscape.
The report highlights key challenges and lessons learned, including data issues, the computational demands of large-scale blockchain analytics, and the need for interoperability and long-term sustainability. Finally, it provides a forward-looking roadmap for further development, including infrastructure scaling, feature enhancements, and deeper collaboration with EU and international stakeholders.
The ultimate objective of CIPHER is to provide a policy-relevant, operationally sustainable monitoring and analytics tool capable of supporting EU institutions in supervisory, regulatory, and strategic decision-making related to crypto-assets and DeFi.JRC.B.1 - Economic and Financial Resilienc
Administrative border effects in Covid-19 related mortality
No full textLombardy, the first region in Italy to be hit by COVID-19 and one of the first in Western countries, was in the spotlight during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020 due to its high mortality rates. Simple regional comparisons are, however, hampered by potentially unobservable variables affecting mortality, such as the virus spread. To address this ‘unobserved heterogeneity’ concern, we adopt a Difference in Geographic Regression Discontinuity Design (DiD-GRDD), which compares 2020 vs. 2017–2019 excess mortality in Lombardy’s municipalities close to the administrative borders with neighbouring municipalities in other regions.
Our study documents a one to two percentage point higher excess mortality in Lombardy limited to the oldest age group (81+). An exploratory mediation analysis points to the management of nursing homes during the pandemic as a possible critical factor explaining higher mortality in Lombardy.JRC.S.3 - Science for Modelling, Monitoring and Evaluatio
National bioeconomy strategies in Europe
Get PDFThis factsheet provides an up-to-date summary of bioeconomy policy developments in 43 countries in the European region, based on data from the Bioeconomy country dashboard developed by the European Commission’s Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy in collaboration with national experts. The dashboard offers comprehensive data and knowledge on national and regional bioeconomy strategies, institutions and initiatives.
Among the mapped countries, 12 (11 EU-27) have a dedicated bioeconomy strategy, while 10 (8 EU-27) are developing one. Moreover, 9 countries (3 EU-27) have other policy initiatives related to bioeconomy and 12 (4 EU-27) have other related strategies at the national level.
For the countries with a developed bioeconomy strategy, key information includes a) timeline of national strategy development and updates, b) bioeconomy areas covered, c) overview of the national policy actions and d) strategy summary. Links to key documents and web resources are also provided.
This factsheet supports the revision of the 2018 European Union bioeconomy strategy, informing a new strategy for a sustainable and resilient European bioeconomy.JRC.D.3 - Land Resources and Supply Chain Assessment
Node taxonomic resolution affects the robustness of marine macrophyte–epifauna networks
No full textEcological networks provide a powerful framework for investigating species interactions in natural communities and addressing a wide range of ecological questions. But assembling realistic ecological networks depends on our ability to identify the species in question accurately. This often leads to the reconstruction of simplified networks, where nodes are aggregated at a high taxonomic level or by functional groups. However, such aggregations not only reduce the size of the network (in terms of number of nodes and links) but might also cover species-specific patterns of interaction, altering network structure and properties, and hence affecting our understanding of the study system. Here we explore the issue in a small set of real-world ecological networks (marine macrophyte–epifauna networks from the Baltic Sea) which were first assembled using a morphological species identification, leading to simplified networks where some species were pooled into higher taxonomic units. We then reassembled these networks using a molecular approach (DNA metabarcoding), which allowed resolving most nodes to the species level. We show that increasing the taxonomic resolution of network nodes with DNA metabarcoding can provide a substantially different picture of these systems, revealing hidden patterns of association which, in turn, affect the system’s robustness to macrophyte loss.JRC.D.6 - Nature Conservation and Observation
Impact of consequentiality in willingness to accept: evidence from a choice experiment with land managers
No full textStudies analysing land managers’ stated preferences for participation in environmental policy initiatives have largely overlooked the issue of hypothetical bias (HB). In this study, a discrete choice experiment focusing on farmers’ willingness to accept (WTA) to participate in agri-environmental schemes is used to examine an HB mitigation measure. The ex-post HB mitigation measure is based on perceived consequentiality, grounded in the notion that greater survey consequentiality implies greater survey credibility, prompting land managers to provide more realistic responses. The results show that such a measure can help to reduce HB, which can lead to WTA being overestimated by 35%, in line with recent meta-analyses focusing on WTA settings for private goods. The results also indicate that perceived consequentiality exhibits a kind of ‘knife-edge’ effect, like that reported for WTP settings with public goods. Overall, the results support the value of accounting for and enhancing perceived consequentiality. While this study opens up different avenues for further research, it should help future valuations of this kind to provide more accurate estimates, enabling more precise policy-making support for land and resource managers.JRC.D.4 - Economics of the Food Syste
Assessing the environmental, social and economic sustainability of beekeeping activities
No full textThe beekeeping sector faces several socio-economic problems and environmental stressors, from increased prices of pharmaceuticals to habitat loss or pesticides. Our study aims to better understand the variables driving the performance of beekeeping activities across the environmental, social, and economic dimensions and derive a diagnostic system. We gathered data on 29 basic indicators from a survey of 66 beekeeping activities located in Lombardy region (Italy), covering a wide range of sizes, experience, and management strategies. We applied a stepwise simplification of the information by which the 29 basic indicators are synthetized in 13 “sub-dimensions” and lastly in three “dimensions” through: (1) identification of the range of variation and normalization and (2) weighting and aggregation. The end user can make a quantitative analysis by relating beekeeping activity performance to the theoretical optimum. Here, years of experience together with activity size were the most relevant factors affecting sustainability. Beekeepers with more experience and larger activities showed higher economic sustainability together with a greater environmental pollination service. Transhumance practice and geographical location were also relevant, with exclusively or partially transhumant beekeepers showing higher economic sustainability than stationary ones, and apiaries located in the lowland showing higher social and economic sustainability. Beekeeping activities following different management practices (organic, conventional, or in conversion) performed similarly in economic terms, suggesting that organic management can be an economically sustainable approach for honey-producing operations. Our framework becomes particularly relevant within the current policy efforts to support sustainable beekeeping and crop pollination services in the European Union.JRC.D.3 - Land Resources and Supply Chain Assessment
Selected structural highlights of f-element compounds
No full textThis historical overview compiles over 30 years of structural research on f-element compounds initiated by Prof. Magdolna Hargittai and conducted first at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Budapest) with continuation later at the European Commission, Joint Research Centre (Karlsruhe). The research tools included gas electron diffraction, gas-phase and matrix-isolation vibrational spectroscopy as well as quantum chemical calculations while the topic evaluated from small inorganic compounds up to large complexes of lanthanides and actinides.JRC.G.I.5 - Nuclear Science and Innovation for Energy and Healt