Use of Symbiosis Products from Integrated Pulp and Paper and Carbon Steel Mills: Legal Status and Environmental Burdens

This study assesses the policy/legal status of both multistream residues and potential secondary products (“symbiosis products”) and whether there could be environmental benefits associated with the utilization of residues from integrated pulp and paper and carbon steel mills as raw materials for such secondary products. Waste‐related European Union (EU) and Finnish policy and legal instruments were reviewed to identify potential constraints for, and suggested next steps in, the development of potential process industry residue‐based symbiosis products. The products were soil amendment pellets, low‐grade concrete, and mine filler. A global warming potential (GWP) assessment and an exergy analysis were applied to these potential symbiosis products. Some indicative GWP calculations of greenhouse gas emissions associating similar and/or analogous products based on virgin primary raw materials, more energy‐intensive processes, and the alternative treatment of these residues as wastes are also presented. This study addresses GWP, exergy, and legal aspects in a holistic manner to determine the potential environmental benefits of secondary products within the EU legal framework. The GWP assessment and exergy analysis indicate that the utilization of multistream residues causes very low environmental burdens in terms of GWP. The utilization option can have potential environmental benefits in terms of GWP through process replacement and avoided landfilling and waste treatment impacts, as well as potentially through emission reductions from product replacement if suitable and safe applications can be identified. Waste regulation does not define the legal requirements under which utilizing residues in such novel concepts as introduced in this study would be possible, nor how waste status could be removed and product‐based legislation be applied to the potential products instead.     

How do 28 European Union Member States perform in agricultural greenhouse gas emissions? It depends on what we look at: Application of the multi-criteria analysis

European Union (EU) Member States have agreed to limit their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from sectors not covered by the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, including emissions from agricultural sector. The aggregated GHG emission rate (i.e. t CO₂ eq. from agricultural sector per country) is commonly used to measure the overall size of agriculture’s influence on climate. And indeed, since 2005, EU has managed to decrease its aggregated GHG emissions by 3.1%. However, the question is—does that mean that EU’s agriculture has become less emission intensive? This paper answers the question by providing a different perspective for the assessment and comparison of the agricultural GHG emissions in 28 EU Member States. It is done by applying three different approaches, including creation of derived indicators and application of multi-criteria analysis (TOPSIS), which is a novel approach for comparison of agricultural GHG emission mitigation performance. The results show that each EU Member State performs very differently in emission intensities. Even more, the emission intensity results show an alarming tendency of increase in most of the EU Member States, which indicates that the measured changes in aggregate agricultural GHG emission rates are misleading. Therefore, the paper suggests reconsidering the policy targets for GHG emission limits.     

How effective are the sustainability criteria accompanying the European Union 2020 biofuel targets?

The expansion of biofuel production can lead to an array of negative environmental impacts. Therefore, the European Union (EU) has recently imposed sustainability criteria on biofuel production in the Renewable Energy Directive (RED). In this article, we analyse the effectiveness of the sustainability criteria for climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation. We first use a global agriculture and forestry model to investigate environmental effects of the EU member states National Renewable Energy Action Plans (NREAPs) without sustainability criteria. We conclude that these targets would drive losses of 2.2 Mha of highly biodiverse areas and generate 95 Mt CO ₂ eq of additional greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, in a second step, we demonstrate that the EU biofuel demand could be satisfied ‘sustainably’ according to RED despite its negative environmental effects. This is because the majority of global crop production is produced ‘sustainably’ in the sense of RED and can provide more than 10 times the total European biofuel demand in 2020 if reallocated from sectors without sustainability criteria. This finding points to a potential policy failure of applying sustainability regulation to a single sector in a single region. To be effective this policy needs to be more complete in targeting a wider scope of agricultural commodities and more comprehensive in its membership of countries.     

Urban green space availability in European cities

Urban green space (UGS) availability has become an increasingly important aspect of planning and research because of the importance of green spaces for the wellbeing of urban residents. Municipalities across the European Union (EU) use different indicators in this area. Some cities provide per-capita threshold values for urban green space (UGS); some have recommendations regarding the minimum distance to green space while others have no recommendations at all. In this study, we assess green space availability in 299 EU cities according to land use and a population data grid. The results show a diverse picture across the EU. Southern European cities show below-average availability values, which may be explained by their low forest and tree cover and reflect the history of cities in Southern Europe. Comparatively, the above-average availability values in Northern European cities are a result of not only their biophysical conditions and the presence of rich forestland in general but also of Northern European attitudes toward urban living that naturally value having forests close to home.This assessment is complemented by a detailed case study analysis of two European cities ⿿ Berlin, Germany and ſódź, Poland. Results showed that this approach's explanatory power depends on the data used, scale of interest, resolution of data and estimated threshold value. By comparing results using different datasets and threshold values, we discuss opportunities and limitations for developing indicators of green space availability. We conclude that UGS availability is an important indicator to navigate urban complexity to improve human health and wellbeing but is only one component of the intricate social-ecological interactions within cities.     

Commercializing genetically modified crops under EU regulations: objectives and barriers

Agriculture faces serious problems in feeding 9 billion people by 2050: production must be increased and ecosystem services maintained under conditions for growing crops that are predicted to worsen in many parts of the world. A proposed solution is sustainable intensification of agriculture, whereby yields are increased on land that is currently cultivated, so sparing land to deliver other ecosystem services. Genetically modified (GM) crops are already contributing to sustainable intensification through higher yields and lower environmental impacts, and have potential to deliver further significant improvements. Despite their widespread successful use elsewhere, the European Union (EU) has been slow to introduce GM crops: decisions on applications to import GM commodities are lengthy, and decision-making on applications to cultivate GM crops has virtually ceased. Delayed import approvals result in economic losses, particularly in the EU itself as a result of higher commodity prices. Failure to grant cultivation approvals costs EU farmers opportunities to reduce inputs, and results in loss of agricultural research and development from the EU to countries such as the United States and China. Delayed decision-making in the EU ostensibly results from scientific uncertainty about the effects of using GM crops; however, scientific uncertainty may be a means to justify a political decision to restrict cultivation of GM crops in the EU. The problems associated with delayed decision-making will not improve until there is clarity about the EU's agricultural policy objectives, and whether the use of GM crops will be permitted to contribute to achieving those objectives.     

Costs and benefits of freedom from shrimp diseases in the European Union

The growth in penaeid shrimp aquaculture has been mirrored by the emergence of a number of serious diseases, some of which (e.g. white spot syndrome virus - WSSV) spread rapidly across the globe through movement of infected stock. The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) lists six penaeid shrimp pathogens of which three are notifiable in the EU: WSSV (listed as non-exotic to the EU), Taura syndrome virus (TSV) and yellow head disease (YHD) (both listed as exotic). EU Member States (MS) must determine a status for non-exotic diseases (e.g. disease free, unknown, infected). In developing a policy for WSSV, import risk analysis (IRA) can be used to systematically assess the risks of introduction and justify risk mitigation to maintain freedom. OIE guidelines recommend that countries assess the risk of disease introduction via commodities, not listed by the OIE as safe, and apply sanitary measures if necessary. The sanitary measures necessary to maintain freedom from WSSV may not be compatible with current EU animal health legislation. The recent revision by OIE of products listed as safe for international trade strengthens the case for the risks of TSV and YHD introduction into the EU to be assessed. Freedom from WSSV is an important criterion for the development of shrimp aquaculture in the EU. However, in developing disease control policy, governments need to balance the potentially competing interests of all stakeholders, including consumers. Thus economic modelling of the impact of possible sanitary measures on consumer prices of imported products is needed to support decision making. The creation of disease free compartments and post-import risk mitigation for commodities may create the conditions conducive to the development of shrimp aquaculture whilst minimising the costs of maintaining disease freedom.     

The potential role of life cycle assessment in regulation of chemicals in the European union

Scope and Background  This paper presents the preliminary results from an ongoing feasibility study, investigating potential application of elements from the life cycle assessment (LCA) framework in European chemicals’ policy. Many policy areas affect manufacturing, marketing and use of chemicals. This article focuses on the general chemical legislation, especially issues related to regulatory risk assessment and subsequent decisions on risk reduction measures. Method  Current and upcoming chemical regulation has been reviewed and empirical knowledge has been gained from an ongoing case study and from dialogues with various stakeholders. Results and Discussion  LCAs are comparative and more holistic in view as compared to chemical risk assessments for regulatory purposes¹. LCAs may therefore potentially improve the basis for decisions between alternatives in cases where a risk assessment calls for risk reduction. In this process, LCA results might feed into a socio-economic analysis having similar objectives, but some methodological aspects related to system boundaries need to be sorted out. Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) of toxic effects has traditionally been inspired by the more regulatory-orientated risk assessment approaches. However, the increasing need for regulatory priority setting and comparative/ cumulative assessments might in the future convey LCIA principles into the regulatory framework. The same underlying databases on inherent properties of chemicals are already applied in both types of assessment. Similarly, data on the use and exposure of chemicals are needed within both risk assessments and LCA, and the methodologies might therefore benefit from a joint ‘inventory’ database. Outlook  The final outcome of the feasibility study will be an implementation plan suggesting incorporation of core findings in future chemical regulation and related policy areas.     

Mismatches between ecosystem services supply and demand in urban areas: A quantitative assessment in five European cities

Assessing mismatches between ecosystem service (ES) supply and demand can provide relevant insights for enhancing human well-being in urban areas. This paper provides a novel methodological approach to assess regulating ES mismatches on the basis of environmental quality standards and policy goals. Environmental quality standards (EQS) indicate the relationship between environmental quality and human well-being. Thus, they can be used as a common minimum threshold value to determine whether the difference between ES supply and demand is problematic for human well-being. The methodological approach includes three main steps: (1) selection of EQS, (2) definition and quantification of ES supply and demand indicators, and (3) identification and assessment of ES mismatches on the basis of EQS considering certain additional criteria. While ES supply indicators estimate the flow of an ES actually used or delivered, ES demand indicators express the amount of regulation needed in relation to the standard. The approach is applied to a case study consisting of five European cities: Barcelona, Berlin, Stockholm, Rotterdam and Salzburg, considering three regulating ES which are relevant in urban areas: air purification, global climate regulation and urban temperature regulation. The results show that levels of ES supply and demand are highly heterogeneous across the five studied cities and across the EQS considered. The assessment shows that ES supply contributes very moderately in relation to the compliance with the EQS in most part of the identified mismatches. Therefore, this research suggests that regulating ES supplied by urban green infrastructure are expected to play only a minor or complementary role to other urban policies intended to abate air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions at the city scale. The approach has revealed to be appropriate for the regulating ES air purification and global climate regulation, for which well-established standards or targets are available at the city level. Yet, its applicability to the ES urban temperature regulation has proved more problematic due to scale and user dependent constraints.     

Attitudes of European farmers towards GM crop adoption

This article analyses European Union (EU) farmers' attitudes towards adoption of genetically modified crops by identifying and classifying groups of farmers. Cluster analysis provided two groups of farmers allowing us to classify farmers into potential adopters or rejecters of genetically modified herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) crops. Results showed that economic issues such as the guarantee of a higher income and the reduction of weed control costs are the most encouraging reasons for potential adopters and rejecters of GMHT crops. This article also examines how putting in place measures to ensure coexistence between GM and non-GM crops may influence farmers' attitudes towards GMHT crop adoption. Results show that the implementation of a coexistence policy would have a negative impact on farmers' attitudes on adoption and consequently may hamper GMHT adoption in the EU.     

From Life Cycle Assessment to Life Cycle Management

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a widely accepted methodology to support decision‐making processes in which one compares alternatives, and that helps prevent shifting of environmental burdens along the value chain or among impact categories. According to regulation in the European Union (EU), the movement of waste needs to be reduced and, if unavoidable, the environmental gain from a specific waste treatment option requiring transport must be larger than the losses arising from transport. The EU explicitly recommends the use of LCA or life cycle thinking for the formulation of new waste management plans. In the last two revisions of the Industrial Waste Management Programme of Catalonia (PROGRIC), the use of a life cycle thinking approach to waste policy was mandated. In this article we explain the process developed to arrive at practical life cycle management (LCM) from what started as an LCA project. LCM principles we have labeled the “3/3” principle or the “good enough is best” principle were found to be essential to obtain simplified models that are easy to understand for legislators and industries, useful in waste management regulation, and, ultimately, feasible. In this article, we present the four models of options for the management of waste solvent to be addressed under Catalan industrial waste management regulation. All involved actors concluded that the models are sufficiently robust, are easy to apply, and accomplish the aim of limiting the transport of waste outside Catalonia, according to the principles of proximity and sufficiency.     

How to Design a Targeted Agricultural Subsidy System: Efficiency or Equity?

In this paper we appraise current agricultural subsidy policy in the EU. Several sources of its inefficiency are identified: it is inefficient for supporting farmers' incomes or guaranteeing food security, and irrational transfer payments decoupled from actual performance that may be negative for environmental protection, social cohesion, etc. Based on a simplified economic model, we prove that there is "reverse redistribution" in the current tax-subsidy system, which cannot be avoided. To find a possible way to distribute subsidies more efficiently and equitably, several alternative subsidy systems (the pure loan, the harvest tax and the income contingent loan) are presented and examined.     

Human dimensions of wolf (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Canis lupus</Emphasis>) conflicts in Finland

The growth of the Finnish wolf (Canis lupus) population during the last years has highlighted people’s contradictory attitudes toward wolves. The supranational conservation objectives brought on by Finland’s membership in the European Union (EU) and the regional application of the official policy on wolves have led to conflicts. This article is based on the preparation process of the wolf management plan in Finland. As a part of the process, a nationwide hearing was arranged in 2004. Fear of wolves is widespread and even more common in areas with low wolf population. People living in areas where wolves occur feel that they can no longer influence decision making which affects them and that the authorities, conservationists, and the EU do not listen to their opinions. Numerous requests have been made for the legislation and its interpretation, and concessions to these requests would promote consensus and increase tolerance for wolves. Proposed changes include reforming the damage compensation system and formulating a clearer interpretation of the conservation status of wolves. However, it seems impossible to create a policy that would be universally supported. As the wolf question has become more central in environmental policy, the conservation and management of the species have become more complicated, and the cooperation between various interest groups has declined. The wolf conflict could be mitigated by compromises, but because the conflict is value-based, solutions are illusive.     

Precise plant breeding using new genome editing techniques: opportunities,safety and regulation in the EU

Several new plant breeding techniques (NPBTs) have been developed during the last decade, and make it possible to precisely perform genome modifications in plants. The major problem, other than technical aspects, is the vagueness of regulation concerning these new techniques. Since the definition of eight NPBTs by a European expert group in 2007, there has been an ongoing debate on whether the resulting plants and their products are covered by GMO legislation. Obviously, cover by GMO legislation would severely hamper the use of NPBT, because genetically modified plants must pass a costly and time‐consuming GMO approval procedure in the EU. In this review, we compare some of the NPBTs defined by the EU expert group with classical breeding techniques and conventional transgenic plants. The list of NPBTs may be shortened (or extended) during the international discussion process initiated by the Organization for Economic Co‐operation and Development. From the scientific point of view, it may be argued that plants developed by NPBTs are often indistinguishable from classically bred plants and are not expected to possess higher risks for health and the environment. In light of the debate on the future regulation of NPBTs and the accumulated evidence on the biosafety of genetically modified plants that have been commercialized and risk‐assessed worldwide, it may be suggested that plants modified by crop genetic improvement technologies, including genetic modification, NPBTs or other future techniques, should be evaluated according to the new trait and the resulting end product rather than the technique used to create the new plant variety.     

A hierarchical Bayesian approach to modeling embryo implantation following in vitro fertilization

In vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) is considered a method of last resort for treating infertility. Oocytes taken from a woman are fertilized in vitro, and one or more resulting embryos are transferred into the uterus, with the hope that at least one will implant and result in pregnancy. Successful implantation depends on both embryo viability and uterine receptivity. This has led to the development of the EU model for embryo implantation, wherein uterine receptivity is characterized by a latent binary variable U and embryo viability is characterized by a latent binomial variable E representing the number of viable embryos among those selected for transfer. The observed number of implantations is the product of E and U. Zhou and Weinberg (1998) developed a regression formulation of the EU model in which embryo viabilities are independent within patients. We extend their methodology to a Bayesian hierarchical framework that allows for correlation between the embryo viabilities and gives explicit characterization of patient-level heterogeneity. When some subjects have zero implantations, the likelihood for the hierarchical EU model is relatively flat and therefore using prior information for key parametersis needed. This provides a key motivation for adopting a Bayesian approach. The model is used to assess the effect of hydrosalpinx on embryo implantation in a cohort of 288 women undergoing IVF-ET because of tubal disease. Hydrosalpinx is a build-up of fluid in the Fallopian tubes, which sometimes leaks to the uterus and may reduce the likelihood of implantation. The EU model is well suited to this question because hydrosalpinx is thought to affect implantation by reducing uterine receptivity only. Our analysis indicates substantial subject-level heterogeneity with respect to embryo viability, suggesting the utility of a multi-level model.     

Trends in Austrian Resource Efficiency: An Exergy and Useful Work Analysis in Comparison to Material Use,CO2 Emissions,and Land Use

In the past few years, resource use and resource efficiency have been implemented in the European Union (EU) environmental policy programs as well as international sustainable development programs. In their programs, the EU focuses on four resource types that should be addressed: materials, energy (or carbon dioxide [CO₂] emissions), water, and land. In this article, we first discuss different perspectives on energy use and present the results of a long‐term exergy and useful work analysis of the Austrian economy for the period 1900–2012, using the methodology developed by Ayres and Warr. Second, we discuss Austrian resource efficiency by comparing the presented exergy and useful work data with material use, CO₂ emissions, and land‐use data taken from statistical sources. This comparison provides, for the first time, a long‐term analysis of Austrian resource efficiency based on a broad understanding thereof and evaluates Austrian development in relation to EU and Austrian policy targets.     

Is urban green space per capita a valuable target to achieve cities’ sustainability goals? Romania as a case study

Urban green infrastructure is considered to be a key element in improving quality of life and creating an appropriate framework for sustainable cities. The most used quantitative indicator to assess urban green infrastructure is urban green space (UGS) per capita. This papeŕs aim is to analyze whether UGS is a valuable target to achieve cities’ sustainability goals. We used Romania as a case study, which should meet the target of 26 m² of UGS per inhabitants in all cities. Aerial images were used to extract the surface of the UGS categories for a sample of 38 cities in Romania. We compared our data with three other databases (National Institute of Statistics, Environmental Protection Agencies and Urban Atlas) to check for differences. To understand the contribution of geographic and socio-economic factors to the dynamic of the UGS per capita in Romania’s cities, we used a multiple linear regression. To identify differences between cities in terms of their proportions of UGS, multiple correspondence analysis was performed. We found significant differences between the surface of UGS reported by the administrative offices and that resulting from the spatial analysis. The process of reporting UGS data currently has methodological and perspective shortcomings. Moreover, the density of the built-up space, the proximity to major transport infrastructure, the cities’ founding period and the geomorphology criteria are important predictors for the UGS. The target of 26 m² of green area per inhabitant in all Romanian cities is not feasible and it should consider the cities’ characteristics, if you want to achieve sustainability goals. Urban green planning should focus more on the development of urban green infrastructure models that are adapted to each type of urban area.     

The EU’s GM crop conundrum: Did the EU policy strategy to convert EFSA GMO guidance into legislation deliver on its promises?

Efforts by the EU to improve its regulatory framework for importing GM food and feed have done nothing to make the process easier and more predictable for applicants. Subject Categories: Biotechnology & Synthetic Biology, Economics, Law & Politics, Plant Biology

The first genetically modified (GM) crops were introduced more than two decades ago and have been planted globally on more than 190 million hectares (ISAAA, 2020), a surface area larger than all the arable land in the EU. Thousands of risk assessments have consistently concluded that they are as safe as conventional crops in regard to human and animal health (Smyth et al, 2021) and many countries have been growing GM crops for years. Despite political commitments to innovation and investments into research (EC, 2010), the EU is still lagging behind in adopting this technology on a wider scale owing to diverging views among its member states, the European Commission (EC) and the European parliament. Various attempts to resolve this tension by legal and regulatory means have created the most cumbersome and byzantine regulatory system for GM crops in the world. The Implementing Regulation (EU) No 503/2013, meant to ease the regulatory process, has made things even more complicated.

Various attempts to resolve this tension by legal and regulatory means have created the most cumbersome and byzantine regulatory system for GM crops in the world.

A major conundrum for the EU is the need to import large quantities of protein‐rich crops such as soybean to supply the continent’s livestock industry with high‐quality feed.In the light of the current Russia–Ukraine situation, which has added a layer of instability to already tense markets, the importance of the global agricultural market to ensure food security is even more pronounced.Given the high adoption rate of GM crops outside the EU, most of these imported commodities inevitably contain GM crops. Under EU law, food and feed products that contain or were produced from GM crops need an import authorisation by the European Commission (EC), which is a lengthy, costly and unpredictable process.In 2002, the EU set up a centralised review system under Regulation (EC) 178/2002 (the General Food Law Regulation) and an independent scientific body to conduct this review: the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). EFSA is responsible for performing the risk assessment for food and feed regulated products, including GM crops; their advice “opinion” is used by the EC to draft a decision whether or not to authorise import. EU member states then vote whether or not to follow the EC’s draft decision. To date, not a single GM product has received a qualified majority decision for authorisation. The EC then makes the final decision based on EFSA’s risk assessment.There are many reasons why the member states disagree, mostly owing to political and economic agendas. Some members with a large and important agri‐food sector tend to vote in line with EFSA’s opinions, while others consistently vote against authorisation or abstain their vote mainly for political reasons. This ongoing disagreement has made it very difficult to establish an EU‐wide policy for agricultural biotechnology.

…the continuous proliferation, update and reinterpretation of EU requirements means that studies that were conducted in compliance with the guidelines at a particular time may no longer comply with changed requirements…

     

Global patterns of city size distributions and their fundamental drivers

Urban areas and their voracious appetites are increasingly dominating the flows of energy and materials around the globe. Understanding the size distribution and dynamics of urban areas is vital if we are to manage their growth and mitigate their negative impacts on global ecosystems. For over 50 years, city size distributions have been assumed to universally follow a power function, and many theories have been put forth to explain what has become known as Zipf's law (the instance where the exponent of the power function equals unity). Most previous studies, however, only include the largest cities that comprise the tail of the distribution. Here we show that national, regional and continental city size distributions, whether based on census data or inferred from cluster areas of remotely-sensed nighttime lights, are in fact lognormally distributed through the majority of cities and only approach power functions for the largest cities in the distribution tails. To explore generating processes, we use a simple model incorporating only two basic human dynamics, migration and reproduction, that nonetheless generates distributions very similar to those found empirically. Our results suggest that macroscopic patterns of human settlements may be far more constrained by fundamental ecological principles than more fine-scale socioeconomic factors.     

The Role of Language in Nation-Building within the European Union

Europe is home to a vast array of indigenous languages, not to mention numerous immigrant languages. European Union (EU) acknowledgement of “national” languages as official languages results in a privileged status for these languages vis-à-vis the minority languages with which they cohabit. This support prevents hegemony by a single language such as English, yet the EU simultaneously undermines these national languages domestically by promoting their minority language competitors. This paradox can only be understood by examining the developing model for European identity whereby identity is viewed as variable and multi-faceted, rooted in multilingual facility and the absence of a single, monolithic source of identity. If the project of creating a European identity is viewed as nation-building,it is central to consider how the issue of language diversity is addressed at the European level. The paper begins by discussing the concept of national identity and the central role that language plays in its determination, as well as what modern conceptions of language planning bring to this process. After exploring the European language terrain, the paper considers whether the EU can even be said to have a language policy. The discussion focuses on multilingual education programs, the treatment of minority languages, and the issue of languages spoken by immigrant populations. Having presented these conceptual tools and policy surveys, an analytical framework is introduced that situates the nation-building process in relation to the creation of a common European identity.     

“Working the System”—British American Tobacco's Influence on the European Union Treaty and Its Implications for Policy: An Analysis of Internal Tobacco Industry Documents

Background

Impact assessment (IA) of all major European Union (EU) policies is now mandatory. The form of IA used has been criticised for favouring corporate interests by overemphasising economic impacts and failing to adequately assess health impacts. Our study sought to assess how, why, and in what ways corporations, and particularly the tobacco industry, influenced the EU''s approach to IA.

Methods and Findings

In order to identify whether industry played a role in promoting this system of IA within the EU, we analysed internal documents from British American Tobacco (BAT) that were disclosed following a series of litigation cases in the United States. We combined this analysis with one of related literature and interviews with key informants. Our analysis demonstrates that from 1995 onwards BAT actively worked with other corporate actors to successfully promote a business-oriented form of IA that favoured large corporations. It appears that BAT favoured this form of IA because it could advance the company''s European interests by establishing ground rules for policymaking that would: (i) provide an economic framework for evaluating all policy decisions, implicitly prioritising costs to businesses; (ii) secure early corporate involvement in policy discussions; (iii) bestow the corporate sector with a long-term advantage over other actors by increasing policymakers'' dependence on information they supplied; and (iv) provide businesses with a persuasive means of challenging potential and existing legislation. The data reveal that an ensuing lobbying campaign, largely driven by BAT, helped secure binding changes to the EU Treaty via the Treaty of Amsterdam that required EU policymakers to minimise legislative burdens on businesses. Efforts subsequently focused on ensuring that these Treaty changes were translated into the application of a business orientated form of IA (cost–benefit analysis [CBA]) within EU policymaking procedures. Both the tobacco and chemical industries have since employed IA in apparent attempts to undermine key aspects of European policies designed to protect public health.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that BAT and its corporate allies have fundamentally altered the way in which all EU policy is made by making a business-oriented form of IA mandatory. This increases the likelihood that the EU will produce policies that advance the interests of major corporations, including those that produce products damaging to health, rather than in the interests of its citizens. Given that the public health community, focusing on health IA, has largely welcomed the increasing policy interest in IA, this suggests that urgent consideration is required of the ways in which IA can be employed to undermine, as well as support, effective public health policies. Please see later in the article for the Editors'' Summary