curs DREPT anII

8/18/2019 curs DREPT anII

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I. WAR AND ESPIONAGE

1. Read and translate the following text:

THE HUMAN DIMENSION OF CONFLICTS

The issue of refugees

a. Disintegration and globalization

The international community has invested unprecedented effort in responding to the

series of crises that have taken place in the Balkans since 1991. The sheer scale of the

political and military interventions and humanitarian assistance programs has been

marked by an international presence unparalleled elsewhere around the world and a

protracted period of extensive interaction with the Balkan people. The human

consequences of the inhuman forms of conflict that the region have witnessed, have

become carved in the memories not only of the population, but also of thousands of

international workers who have responded to the needs of the Balkan people in the past

decade.

The history of the Balkan people over the past centuries reflects the struggle that

took place in order to integrate the population into the nation state of Yugoslavia. In the

late 1980's, the loss of the control mechanism provided both by Tito and the formerCommunist regime created the opportunity for many local Balkan leaders to reverse the

efforts of the past and pursue disintegration and independence for their respective

provinces and ethnic groups. These internal initiatives came at a time when the external

pressures resulting from the globalization of the world economy were also growing. The

same political leaders who sought independence and an increasingly defensive,

President Milosevic, in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, seized the opportunity to

actively encourage inter-ethnic violence in pursuit of their political ambitions.

The spiralling cycle of harassment, intimidation and fighting between military

forces, militia, neighbors and even relatives led to over 3 million people being displaced

from their homes because of conflict in South-Eastern Europe. It also produced a climatc

in which widespread abuse of both human rights and of the norms of international

humanitarian law could be carried out with relative impunity.


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The response of the international community to the crises in the Balkans has been

confusing. Before the signing of the Dayton Peace Accord in December 1995, there

were a plethora of UN Security Council Resolutions on humanitarian issues, but a

noticeable lack of political investment in finding solutions. After Dayton, this

political-humanitarian confusion shifted to military-humanitarian confusion, with

over-lapping enforcement and consensual mandates and with the military asked to be

simultaneously both belligerent and humanitarian relief actors.

b. Population displacement

Many, among the population, have lost hope in the future of then country of

origin and have attempted to migrate to safer, more prosper ous communities in

Western Europe and elsewhere. In 1998, over 384,000 asylum applications were lodgedin 32 European countries. In 1999, this increased to nearly 458,000 - with Germany

being the largest European recipient country, followed by the United Kingdom.

Switzerland became the third largest recipient country during 1999. Most of the

hosting countries are growing increasingly keen to witness more returns in the year

2000 - especially to Kosovo and to Bosnia-Herzegovina - and fewer asylum seekers

arriving at their borders.

Among the large numbers of people displaced from their homes, the majority of

those still needing solutions have homes in areas where they would be a minority if they

returned. Most countries in the region have produced refugees, have shared the burden of

hosting refugees, or hosted a population of internally displaced persons.


ESPIONAGE

Section 1

That:


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(a) whoever, for the purpose of obtaining information respecting the national defence

with intent or reason to believe that the information to be obtained is to be used to

the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign nation, goes upon,

enters, flies over, or otherwise obtains information, concerning any vessel, aircraft,

work of defence, navy yard, naval station, submarine base, coaling station, fort, battery, torpedo station, dockyard, canal, railroad, arsenal, camp, factory, mine,

telegraph, telephone, wireless, or signal station, building, office, or other place

connected with the national defence, owned or constructed, or in progress of

construction by the United States or under the control or the United States, or of any

of its officers or agents, or within the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States, or

any place in which any vessel, aircraft, arms, munitions, or other materials or

instruments for use in time of war are being made, prepared, repaired. or stored,

under any contract or agreement with the United States, or with any person on behalf

of the United States, or otherwise on behalf of the United States, or any prohibited place within the meaning of section six of this title; or

(b) whoever for the purpose aforesaid, and with like intent or reason to believe,

copies, takes, makes, or obtains, or attempts, or induces or aids another to copy, take,

make, or obtain, any sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blue print, plan,

map, model, instrument, appliance, document, writing or note of anything connected

with the national defence; or

(c) whoever, for the purpose aforesaid, receives or obtains or agrees or attempts or

induces or aids another to receive or obtain from any other person, or from any

source whatever, any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch,

photograph, photographic negative, blue print, plan, map, model, instrument,

appliance, or note, of anything connected with the national defence, knowing or

having reason to believe, at the time he receives or obtains, or agrees or attempts or

induces or aids another to receive or obtain it, that it has been or will be obtained,

taken, made or disposed of by any person contrary to the provisions of this title; or

(d) whoever, lawfully or unlawfully having possession of, access to, control over, or

being entrusted with any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch,

photograph, photographic negative, blue print, plan, map, model, instrument,appliance, or note relating to the national defence, wilfully communicates or

transmits or attempts to communicate or transmit the same and fails to deliver it on

demand to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it; or

(e) whoever, being entrusted with or having lawful possession or control of any

document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic


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negative, blue print, plan, map, model, note, or information, relating to the national

defence, through gross negligence permits the same to be removed from its proper

place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of his trust, or to be list, stolen,

abstracted, or destroyed, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, or by

imprisonment for not more than two years, or both.

Section 2

Whoever, with intent or reason to believe that it is to be used to the injury or the

United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation, communicated, delivers, or

transmits, or attempts to, or aids, or induces another to, communicate, deliver or

transmit, to any foreign government, or to any faction or party or military or naval

force within a foreign country, whether recognized or unrecognized by the United

States, or to any representative, officer, agent, employee, subject, or citizen thereof,

either directly or indirectly and document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blue print, plan, map, model, note, instrument,

appliance, or information relating to the national defence, shall be punished by

imprisonment for not more than twenty years: Provided, That whoever shall violate

the provisions of subsection:

(a) of this section in time of war shall be punished by death or by imprisonment for

not more than thirty years; and

(b) whoever, in time of war, with intent that the same shall be communicated to the

enemy, shall collect, record, publish or communicate, or attempt to elicit anyinformation with respect to the movement, numbers, description, condition, or

disposition of any of the armed forces, ships, aircraft, or war materials of the United

States, or with respect to the plans or conduct, or supposed plans or conduct of any

naval of military operations, or with respect to any works or measures undertaken for

or connected with, or intended for the fortification of any place, or any other

information relating to the public defence, which might be useful to the enemy, shall

be punished by death or by imprisonment for not more than thirty years.

Section 3

Whoever, when the United States is at war, shall wilfully make or convey false

reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the

military or naval forces of the United States or to promote the success of its enemies

and whoever when the United States is at war, shall wilfully cause or attempt to

cause insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, refusal of duty, in the military or naval

forces of the United States, or shall wilfully obstruct the recruiting or enlistment


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service of the United States, to the injury of the service or of the United States, shall

be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than

twenty years, or both.

Section 4

If two or more persons conspire to violate the provisions of section two or three of

this title, and one or more of such persons does any act to effect the object of the

conspiracy, each of the parties to such conspiracy shall be punished as in said

sections provided in the case of the doing of the act the accomplishment of which is

the object of such conspiracy. Except as above provided conspiracies to commit

offences under this title shall be punished as provided by section thirty-seven of the

Act to codify, revise, and amend the penal laws of the United States approved March

fourth, nineteen hundred and nine.

Section 5

Whoever harbours or conceals any person who he knows, or has reasonable grounds

to believe or suspect, has committed, or is about to commit, an offence under this

title shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for not

more than two years, or both.

Section 6

The President in time of war or in case of national emergency may by proclamation

designate any place other than those set forth in subsection:

(a) of section one hereof in which anything for the use of the Army or Navy is being

prepared or constructed or stored as a prohibited place for the purpose of this title:

Provided, That he shall determine that information with respect thereto would be

prejudicial to the national defence.

Section 7

Nothing contained in this title shall be deemed to limit the jurisdiction of the general

courts-martial, military commissions, or naval courts-martial under sections thirteenhundred and forty-two, thirteen hundred and forty-three, and sixteen hundred and

twenty-four of the Revised Statutes as amended.


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Section 8

The provisions of this title shall extend to all Territories, possessions, and places

subject to the jurisdiction of the United States whether or not contiguous thereto, and

offences under this title, when committed upon the high seas or elsewhere within the

admiralty and maritime jurisdiction of the United States and outside the territoriallimits thereof shall be punishable hereunder.

Section 9

The Act entitles "An Act to prevent the disclosure of national defence secrets,"

approved March third, nineteen hundred and eleven, is hereby repealed.


CYBER WAR VERSUS CYBER ESPIONAGE

Sy Hersh has an excellent article in The New Yorker about much-politicized notion

of “cyber war.” Insightful all around, but the real crux of the story is noting a

distinction between cyber war and cyber espionage:

American intelligence and security officials for the most part agree that the Chinese

military, or, for that matter, an independent hacker, is theoretically capable ofcreating a degree of chaos inside America. But I was told by military, technical, and

intelligence experts that these fears have been exaggerated, and are based on a

fundamental confusion between cyber espionage and cyber war. Cyber espionage is

the science of covertly capturing e-mail traffic, text messages, other electronic

communications, and corporate data for the purpose of gathering national-security

or commercial intelligence. Cyber war involves the penetration of foreign networks

for the purpose of disrupting or dismantling those networks, and making them

inoperable…Blurring the distinction between cyber war and cyber espionage has

been profitable for defense contractors — and dispiriting for privacy advocates.

Cyber war, it turns out, is a ploy used to scare up the body politic, and funnel

funding into lucrative defense contracts. Often, one hears of hacker attacks on things

like our electrical infrastructure. But this is just not possible:

There is no national power grid in the United States. There are more than a hundred

publicly and privately owned power companies that operate their own lines, with

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/11/01/101101fa_fact_hersh?printable=truehttp://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/11/01/101101fa_fact_hersh?printable=true


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separate computer systems and separate security arrangements. The companies have

formed many regional grids, which means that an electrical supplier that found itself

under cyber attack would be able to avail itself of power from nearby systems.

Decentralization, which alarms security experts like Clarke and many in the

military, can also protect networks.

Hersh’s article is well worth reading, a straightforward and level-headed look at the

threats we face, and the once that are more or less fictional.

II. SOLICITORS AND BARRISTERS


The legal profession in England and Wales is divided into solicitors and barristers. The duty of the solicitor is to give advice and to lead the business o the client.He will also have a barrister to care of a specific matter of the client's business. Thesolicitors have the right to a brief council, who will be called in if the situation requires,in order to give specialist advice, to draft documents or to act as advocates in the highercourts. He is the one who will entitle the barrister to act as an advocate in the highercourts.

The solicitors have been usually considered the junior part of the legal profession, but have increasingly become the dominant part of it. They are only admitted

for practice if they complete three stages of training: the academic stage, the vocationalstage and the apprenticeship. The academic stage of training is satisfied by thecompletion of a qualifying law degree containing the six core subjects or by passing theCommon Professional Examination. The six core subjects are Constitutional andAdministrative Law, Contract, Tort, Criminal Law, Land Law and Equity and Trust. Thelast stage consists of a two years apprenticeship to an established solicitor and can beregarded as the clinical stage of training. In this stage, they learn various skills that arenecessary for a solicitor, like managing an office, interviewing clients, writing letters,instructing counsel and handling money. Once admitted, the solicitor is required tomaintain a practising certificate, for which a substantial annual fee is charged.

The governing bodies of the barristers are more complex then those of solicitors.

First of all, in order to become a barrister, it is necessary to become a member of one ofthe Inns of Court, like the Inner Temple, the Middle Temple, Lincoln's Inn or Gray's Inn.Though admission to the Bar is still largely the domain of the individual Inns, the formaleducation of a trainee barrister is centralised through the Inns of Court School of Law,Another governing body for barristers is the Bad Council, which is the barristers' electedrepresentative body.

Like in the case of solicitors, the training of barristers is divided into three stages:academic, vocational and apprenticeship. The requirements of the academic stage are the


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same with those of the solicitors. Barristers work in office, in groups of between twelveand twenty sharing services notably of a clerk, but also secretarial and other services.Each chamber is required to have at least one clerk, who performs the functions of officeadministrator and accountant, business manager and agent. After around ten to fifteenyears in practice, a successful barrister can consider applying for promotion to Queen's

Counsel known as "silk" from the material of which the Queen's Counsel formal gown ismade.The distinction between the two branches of the legal profession is an artificial

one. In fact, there are no tasks exclusive to one branch. Solicitors regularly appear asadvocates in the law courts and sometimes in Crown Courts, which are geographicallyremote from barristers' chambers. Equally, there are many barristers who very seldomappear in the court, spending their time on written opinions on the law. Over the years,there has been debate on the fusion of the two branches of the profession.

Basic vocabulary. Idioms

fusion = the result of fusing; a coalition of ideas, concepts, branches, parties etc.

advice = an opinion or recommendation offered as guide to action,conduct etc.

to draft = to draw the outlines or plan of; to sketch; to draw up inwritten form, to compose

circumstance = a condition, detail, part or attribute, with respect to time, place, manner, agent etc. which accompanies, determins, ormodifies a fact or event; a modifying or influencing factor

senior = more advanced in age or older in standing, superior inage or standing to, of higher or highest degree

to carry out = to put (principles, instruction) in practicetask = piece of work imposedto handle = to manage (thing, person)(to) brief = 1. summary of facts and law points of a case drawn up

for counsel;2. to instruct (barrister, solicitor) by brief, employ

completion = the act of completing; fulfillmentapprenticeship = working for another in order to learn a trade, for

instruction, trainingvocational stage = educational training that provides a student with

practical experience in a particular occupational fieldInns of court = a legal society occupying such a buildingsole = belonging or pertaining to one individual or group to the

exclusion of all others; exclusive practitioner = 1. one engaged in the practice of a profession, occu-

pation;2. one who practices something specified


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clinical = extremely objective and realisticequity = 1. the application of the dictates of conscience or the

principles of natural justice to the settlement of con-troversies;

2. a system of jurisprudence or a body of doctrines and

rules developed in England and followed in the UnitedStates, serving as supplement and remedy the limitationsand the inflexibility of the common law

trust = a fiduciary relationship in which one person (the trustee)holds the title to property (the trust estate or trust property)for the benefit of the other (the beneficiary)

gown = official or uniform robe of various shapes worn by judge, lawyer, clergyman, college

tort = a wrongful act, not including a breach of contract ortrust, which results in injury to another's person, property,reputation, or the like, and for which the injured party is

entitled to compensationSynonyms:to divide = to separateoccasion = opportunityto maintain = to keep upartificial = syntheticto spend = to disburse

III. EMPLOYMENT IN EUROPE

Employment Ocuparea forţei de muncă

VOCABULAR CU MARE FRECVENTAIndustries and Workplaces Industrii şi locuri de muncă to employ a angaja

a firm, a business o firmă, o întreprindere a plant, a factory o uzină, o fabric a steelworks o oţelărie coal-mining minerit (de cărbuni) shipbuilding construcţii navale a shipyard un şantier naval management management, conducere


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to manage, to run a conduce

Employment and Employees Ocuparea forţei de muncă şi salariaţi to train a forma, a pregătivocational training formare/pregătire profesională

skilled calificatunskilled necalificatlabour mână de lucru to qualify for a se califica pentruqualifications calificări a workman, a worker un muncitorthe labour force, the workforce, the staff forţă de muncă, personal a blue collar worker un muncitora white collar worker un funcţionar a technician un technicianan engineer un inginer

an executive un funcţional executiv a job un serviciu, o slujbă, un loc de muncă wages salariu săptămânala salary salariu lunar pay plată, salariu a pay packet, a paycheck (us) un stat de plată, o plată a bonus o primă working conditions condiţii de muncă the working population populaţia activă a job centre o agenţie de plasare (a forţei de muncă)a situation, a post o situaţie, un post a vacancy un post liber, o ofertă de serviciu job-seeking, job-hunting căutarea unui loc de muncă to apply for a candida laan application o cererea C.V. un C.V.to interview a intervieva, a ţine un interviuan interview un interviua self-employed worker un liber-profesionistself-employment activitate pe cont propriuto retire a ieşi la pensie

retirement pensionareearly retirement pensionare înainte de termena pension o pensiea pensioner un pensionar

Ups and Downs Variaţii advanced technology, high tehnologie avansată, înaltă technology tehnologie


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an order o comandă an order book un carnet de comenzia robot un robot productive productiv productivity productivitate

to compete with sb. a concura cu cinevacompetition concurenţă competitive competitivecompetitiveness competitivitateovertime ore suplimentareshort-time working şomaj parţial part-time working lucru cu jumătate de normă/ cu normă

redusă temporary employment angajar e temporară

Consequences Consecinţe

a job loss pierderea unui serviciuto axe/shed (jobs) a reduce, a desfiinţa (locuri de muncă) redundant concediatto make redundant, to lay off a concediaa redundancy, a lay-off o concedierea redundancy payment o indemnizaţie de concediere a closure, a shut-down o închidere (a unei unităţi de lucru) to create a creaa creation o creare

Unemployment Şomaj unemployed, on the dole şomer, în şomaj out of work, jobless fără loc de muncă to register a se înscrieto be eligible for, to be entitled to a avea dreptul lato claim sth. a-şi pretinde un drept a claimant un beneficiarunemployment benefit ajutor de şomaj income support alocaţie suplimentară a job seeker's allowance o alocaţie acordată unei persoane în

căutarea unui loc de muncă

a school-leaver un tânăr abia ieşit de pe băncile şcolii to issue figures a publica cifreto adjust a ajusta, a corectaan adjustment o ajustareseasonal distortion variaţii sezoniereto retrain a (se) reconvertiretraining reconversiea scheme un plan


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a course un stagiu

EXPRESIIa low-paid job o slujbă prost plătită a dead-end job o slujbă fără viitor

to work overtime a lucra peste program, a face oresuplimentare performance-related pay plata în funcţie de rezultateto go out of business a-şi înceta activitatea driven out of business constrâns să-şi înceteze activitatea to give notice to sb. a da preaviz cuivato give a new job to sb. a oferi cuiva un alt posta temporary employment agency o agenţie de plasare a forţei de muncă care

oferă locuri de muncă temporare a seasonally-adjusted figure o cifră actualizată în funcţie de variaţiile

sezoniere

to massage figures a ajusta cifreto attend a crash course a urma un curs intensivon-the-job training pregătire profesională permanent

VOCABULAR COMPLEMENTAREmployment and Employees Ocuparea forţei de muncă şi salariaţi an apprentice un ucenicapprenticeship uceniciea craftsman un artisan, un meşteşugar a workshop un atelieran industrial estate o platformă industrial a factory hand un muncitora casual worker un muncitor cu ziuathe labour market piaţa forţei de muncă a graduate un absolvent de universitatea skill o calificare, competenţă (tehnică) a shift un schimb, o echipă de lucru to engage, to take on, to hire a angajaa prospect o perspectivă a career o carieră secure stabil, sigur

job security siguranţa locului de muncă fringe benefits diverse avantaje perks avantaje secundarea share option o opţiune pentru cumpărare de acţiuni profit-sharing participare la profitflexible flexibilflexibility flexibilitatea workaholic un împătimit de munca sa, o persoană


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obsedată de muncă to skive a lucra de formă, a se face că lucrează moonlighting muncă la negru

Ups and Downs Variaţii

work-sharing împărţirea unui singur post între mai mulţiangajaţi turnover fluctuaţie a muncitorilor (în producţie) natural wastage pierderea angajaţilor prin pensionări sau

prin plecări voluntare voluntary redundancies plecări voluntare compulsory redundancies concedieri (obligatorii)to refurbish, to revamp a renova, a repune pe picioarea refurbishment, a revamp o renovare, o repunere pe picioareto computerize a informatizacomputerization informatizare

to automate a automatizaautomation automatizarerobotisation robotizareto relocate a schimba sediulrelocation schimbare de sediu

Consequences Consecinţe to restructure a restructurarestructuring restructuraremanning levels efectiveovermanning suprapersonal, personal angajat inutilto run down a reduce activitateaa run-down o reducere de activitateto streamline, to slim down a raţionaliza (producţia) a pay-off o indemnizaţie de concediere a development area o zonă de conversie

1. Read and translate the following article:

Barclays set to shed 1,000 jobs

by Helen Dunne, Banking Correspondent

Barklays Bank, which unveiled record pre-tax profits of £2.08 billion last month, isexpected to announce today plans to shed about 1,000 branch managerial and clerical* jobs through voluntary redundancy. A week ago, it said that 500 jobs were to be cut in its12 regional offices - about one in four.


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Branch managers are expected to issue "personal invitations" to staff in back-officefunctions to join a "voluntary early-leavers' scheme". It is understood that the bank doesnot expect compulsory redundancies.About two-thirds of the job losses are likely to be among administrative and secretarialstaff. The rest will involve managerial positions. Nearly all the losses are due to

technology.UNIFI, the staff union, is expected to react angrily if it thinks specific staff are beingtargeted. It is also likely to contrast the job losses with record profits and may askBarclays to carry out an overtime survey to ensure that staff do not work excessive hours.Barclays has shed 18,500 jobs since 1990 as technological advances meant that somefunctions could be carried out more efficiently with fewer staff.It now employs 66,000 in branch banking and recently rewarded them with one-off* bonuses averaging £1,400 in recognition of their part in its profit-making.The Daily Telegraph, March 25, 1996

1. Choose the right explanation for each of the following words (with asterisks in the passage).1. clericalA. in the office B. in the Church C. in the sales department2. one-offA. unreasonable B. exceptional C. regular

2. Say whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).1. It was a bad year for Barclays.2. There is a sharp contrast mentioned in paragraph one.3. Compulsory redundancies are usually looked upon as the better solution.4. Most of those leaving back-office jobs will end up in retirement.5. The reason behind the decision is clearly stated.6. The staff union thought a number of jobs could be saved.7. Barclays has reduced its workforce by more than a quarter since 1990.

3. The words in bold face have been scrambled. Put the letters 1 back into the rightorder.Philips, the troubled Dutch electronics giant is tugnict up to 15,000 jobs in its second bigrestructuring this decade. The pourg, which has been forced to set daise 1.2bn guilders(Ł459M) to cover the restructuring tocss, blamed its problems on the unexpected depth ofthe recession. Jan Timmer, Philips' dinrespet, who took over three years ago toimplement an initial restructuring involving the sols of more than 45,000 jobs, saidrenewed cuts were anceysers.The Independent, March 5, 1993


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4. Fill In the eleven lines across the grid with translations of the corresponding Romanianwords. This will give you the answer to number 12 in column D.1. funcţionar 2. primă 3. fără loc de muncă

4. şantier naval 5. conducere6. pensionare7. ore suplimentare8. a se înscrie9. alocaţie 10. personal11. inginer12. concurenţă

2. Read and translate the following article:

"I can't afford to lose my job.

Others would take it."

by Jojo Moyes

Dean Smith, 31, earns £3.20 an hour. This is 20p more than when he started at hiscompany nearly three years ago - and 70p and hour more than many of the jobsadvertised where he lives.Mr Smith is a security guard at a leisure complex outside Manchester. He gets noovertime and works up to 60 hours a week, mostly evenings. "I've been doing mainlyunskilled jobs since I left school. I'm married with three children and this fits in withchildcare," he said.He recently escaped a mass redundancy of employees who had been with the companyfor less than two years by threatening to go to an industrial tribunal. "I can't afford to losemy job. There's always plenty of people out there who would take it." Although Mr Smithlives in Manchester, he is often sent to other complexes at Preston or Chester. He is givenan extra hour's pay, but no travelling expenses. In his last pay cheque, he took home £93after tax for 34.5 hours. Money is deducted for his 15-minute tea break."The worst thing about the job is the unsocial hours. I have to work every weekend. Theother day made me come all the way in to show this lad around on my night off - they paid me for one hour at £3.20. But if I say anything they'll just cut my hoursdown," he said.(Mr Smith asked that his real name not be used because he feared it would affeet his job)

The independent, September 9,1996

1

234

56

89

D

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Exercises:

1. Choose the appropriate endings for the following statements.Bearing in mind the local employment market, it could be said that, when he started at hiscompany, Dean Smith was

really well-paid. badly paid.comparatively well-paid.Dean Smith had been doing unskilled jobs forA. a long time.B. a short time.C. three years.Because of the hours he had to work, Dean's childrendidn't see him.saw little of him.spent a lot of time with him.

When there was a mass redundancy in his company, Dean Smith put up a fight for himself.accepted it.wasn't concerned.His employershad to take strict regulations into account.could easily make life difficult for Dean Smith.didn't take advantage of the situation.

2. Complete the words in the following sentences. Each box represents one letter.Earning only Ł3.20 an hour. Dean Smith had a O job.He received 20p more than he started, which means he had an N (or aI) in his wages.Jobs are sometimes advertised in newspapers. They are to be found in theL ads.Overtime is usually paid over and above the normal A for the job.If an employee feels he can lose his job from one day to the next, it means he has no jobE.The time Dean Smith spent on his tea break was not N in his paidworking hours.To combat low wages, some people campaign for the introduction of a I wage.


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IV. RECRUITMENT IN THE U.E.


EU employment issues and r ights

You are entitled to be recruited under the same conditions as nationals of the country

in which you are seeking work. You cannot be asked to meet any additional

requirements. This means that you can apply for any job vacancy advertised in any

EU country, including public sector jobs. However, certain public service posts may

be restricted to nationals of a particular country where the job in question involves

safeguarding public order or the interests of the state.

Recogni tion of diplomas

The EU has set up systems for recognising diplomas and training that enable you to

make full use of your training and skills in another EU country. The basic principle

is that if you are qualified to exercise a profession in your home country, you are

qualified to exercise the same profession in any other EU country.

A general system of recognition of qualifications that is applicable to most regulated

professions has been put in place across the EU. So, if you wish to work in a

profession (as a teacher, lawyer, engineer or psychologist, for example) that isregulated in the country of employment, you must apply for recognition of your

qualifications in that country. The authorities have four months in which to reply. If

they consider that your training is significantly different in terms of duration or

content from that given in the host country, you may be asked to obtain either

additional professional experience completing your training, or to take a training

course or to take an aptitude test.

If you are a doctor, a general nurse, a dentist, a midwife, a vet, a pharmacist or an

architect, your national qualifications are in principle recognised automatically.

If your profession is not regulated in the country in which you wish to work, no

recognition of your qualifications is required.

Job seeking

If you are unemployed, you have the right to live in another EU country for a

"reasonable period" of time in order to look for a job. In the absence of a definition


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of "reasonable period", most EU countries are now operating a six-month period,

though you are advised to check the exact situation with the national authorities of

the EU country in which you are looking for work. However, no matter how long

you have to look for a job, you cannot be asked to leave the country if you can prove

that you are genuinely looking for a job and that you have a real chance of findingone. For example, you still have interviews or tests to attend.

You can register at employment agencies and centres without being resident in the

country in which you wish to work and you will be given the same help to find work

as nationals of that country.

If you are drawing unemployment benefit in one member state, you may continue to

draw benefit from that same country for up to three months after you move to

another member state. This is provided that you have been available to the

employment services in the country where you have been drawing unemployment

benefit for at least four weeks. The agency paying your unemployment benefit will

issue you with Form E303. As a job seeker, you must take this form to the

employment services in the country in which you are seeking work. If you do not

find work, you must return to the first country within three months, otherwise you

will lose your right to unemployment benefit.

Employment r ights

As an EU national working in another EU country you have the right to live there.

For a stay of over three months, this right is confirmed by the issuing of a residence

permit to EU nationals.

You are subject to the same working conditions as nationals of the country you are

working in as regards, for example, pay, dismissal, hours of work, maternity leave

and health /safety at work. You are also subject to the same conditions as nationals

of the host country with regard to the principles of equality between men and

women.

Workers posted to another EU country

You have certain specific rights if you are a "posted" worker, (that means, you workfor a limited period of time in a member state other than the one where you normally

work). If you are to be posted for a period of more than a month, your employer

must inform you in writing, before you leave, of your pay and working conditions

while you are abroad.


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You will usually remain affiliated to the social security system of your country of

origin.

As regards taxation of your income, the tax convention concluded between member

states of the EU usually means that the salary of a posted worker can be taxed in the

country where you normally reside. One of these conditions is that the time spent byyou in the member state to which you are posted should not exceed 183 days over a

12 month period. However, you should contact the tax authorities of the member

state concerned.

Freedom to provide services

You may choose to offer your services in another EU country without establishingyourself there permanently. If you comply with the rules of the profession or trade thatapply in your own country, you can, in principle, offer those services anywhere else inthe EU. You can travel to assist clients located in another EU country or you can

provide paid services from your country of residence without travelling there.

V. THE BANKING INDUSTRY IN THE EUROPEAN

COUNTRIES


The effects of regulatory reform on competition in the banking industry

IN THE LAST 20 years, European countries have implemented numerous regulatorychanges affecting the banking industry, motivated by the need to achieve the level ofharmonization required for the establishment of a single, competitive market for financialservices. A fundamental step in this process was the implementation, in the early 1990s,of the Second Banking Coordination Directive, which defined the basic conditions for the provision of the so-called Single Banking License. Prior to the enforcement of the new

regulation, cross-border expansions were subject to the authorization and subsequentcontrol of the host country, as well as to capital requirements. Under the current regime,in contrast, banks from European Union (EU) countries are allowed to branch freely intoother EU countries. It is common opinion that the Second Banking CoordinationDirective has represented the most significant deregulation in European banking in recenthistory. By removing substantial barriers to entry, the new legislation was specificallyaimed at generating significant improvements in the competitive conditions of financialmarkets.


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However, during the last decade European banks have also experienced a significant process of consolidation, as indicated by a substantial decrease in their number in manycountries (Table 1). (1) In keeping with the structure--conduct--performance hypothesis,one would expect negative effects on competition, especially considering thatconsolidation has mostly taken place within individual countries--relatively few genuine

cross-border bank mergers have been observed in Europe. Note that the recent wave of mergers can be viewed as the incumbents' response to the potential threat of foreign entry generated by the deregulation. Banks may consolidate inthe attempt to reap efficiency gains, which, if realized, would enable them to lower prices, thereby deterring foreign entry and consequently yielding overall pro-competitiveeffects (see, e.g., Berger et al. 2000). However, it is well known that the empiricalevidence about scale economies in banking is inconclusive; the evidence available forEurope suggests that the efficiency gains from consolidation have been relatively smallso far . Thus, consolidation could simply have been driven by the need to grow larger andconsequently more difficult to be acquired.The overall impact of these developments--deregulation and consolidation--on bank

competition is therefore a priori ambiguous. The existing literature has in generalindicated that competition among European banks has only improved modestly as a resultof deregulation. However, this evidence is often anecdotal, or based on qualitativesurveys or on cross-country comparisons of aggregate time series data. Several studieshave performed more sophisticated analyses; however, in general their focus is not on thetiming of changes in competition and on their determinants.In order to address these issues, in this paper we analyze the Italian banking industry overthe 1984-1997 period. We focus on Italy for several reasons. First, the data set at ourdisposal for that country is unusually rich, comprising balance sheet information onvirtually all Italian banks (about 900 on average each year) over a sample period of 14years. This allows us to identify the local market where each bank conducts most of its business and to perform the investigation at a level of depth typically unattainable bysimilar studies. Second, the Italian banking system is one of the largest in the EU, rankingthird after Germany and France in terms of asset size. Moreover, the previouslymentioned consolidation and deregulation processes are not the only common featurescharacterizing the Italian and the other main European banking systems in recent years:reductions in staff costs, an indication of potential efficiency improvement, and anexpansion in the branch network have been recorded in several other countries. Inaddition, one can observe common trends toward a greater incidence of non-residentclaims and liabilities over total assets, pointing to a pattern of increased openness, and anincreasing importance of non-interest-based income. Our results should therefore shedlight on the effects of deregulation on a banking system that shares key characteristicswith other large European banking industries.


The Islamic Economic System and Europe


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A few reflections regarding Iqtisaduna by Ayatullah Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-SadrMuhammad Baqir al-Sadr's work Iqtisaduna ("Our Economics") is constituted by acomparison between different economic systems, namely capitalism, Marxism andIslamic economy in the light of the author's conception of these systems.

Sadr's point of departure in his work can be regarded as ideological, however it is beyondquestion a scholarly method with footnotes, with a usual account of sources and the textenables the reader to follow the author from his reasoning to the conclusions he draws.The point of departure that Sadr presents above all is the fact that there is no otherframework within which to find solutions to the problems of backwardness in Muslimcountries with the exception of the framework of the Islamic economic system. Furtherreasoning regarding this standpoint constitutes a dominant feature of Iqtisaduna.Another important element is the reasoning about what the Islamic economic systemimplies and its position in proportion to economic systems like capitalism and Marxism.Sadr establishes the fact that it is not possible to choose the same methods used byEuropeans in the building-up of their modern economy. The Islamic world has tried two

economic systems developed by Europeans: market economy based on the capitalisticideology, and planned economy based on the socialistic ideology. The results weren'tencouraging. (The author uses the notion Marxism and socialism alternatively. Thedistinction between these two notions isn't always clear and, in several cases, they can beunderstood as synonymous notions).The author points out that it is not possible to just withdraw an economic system from itshistorical and social context and apply it in a society with totally different conditions. Heemphasizes the fact that there are close links between, on the one hand Marxism andcapitalism, and on the other hand European traditions and social conditions. Theseeconomic systems cannot be applied in societies based on religion. Not even if religionwas suddenly abolished in an Islamic society would that be possible since ethics,traditions and institutions were formed by a centuries old Islamic influence.It is easy to agree with Sadr's opinion about Marxism in that it is an ideology applicablein European conditions in the first place. This becomes obvious when one studiesMarxian analyses that were for example carried out by Soviet researchers. It concernsawkward attempts to find "the Asian way of production" in Muslim societies. In view ofthat, Islam is often presented in deprecating wordings in these studies. (Brattlud, Asa -Samuelsson, Jan: Islam English folkrorelse. Muslimer i Svenskt Samhallsliv. Skelleftea.

Sadr presents political and psychological aspects that go against the application ofMarxism and capitalism in Muslim societies. The Ummah must base its modern revivalon a social organization and culture whose origin is not related to the countries of thecolonialists. Why? Well because there is a psychological dislike to methods, ideas andinstitutions that are directly associated with Europe. This in itself worsens the possibilityof applying these methods successfully.Sadr describes Europe as a unit. Likewise, non-Muslim writers perceive the Muslimworld as a unit. Generalizations like "Islam" and "Europe" are of course uncertain incertain contexts. However they can be regarded as being conventional within the framesof scientific literature that concerns these fields. See for instance Bernard Lewis: Islamand the West, New York 1993, as well as other works by Lewis.


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When Sadr tries to capture what denotes a typical European human being, he becomesmore ideological than scientific. "Europeans always look at the earth, not at heaven".Pious Catholics in Spain for example or Italy would certainly lift their eyebrows beforesuch a description. The author also means that Europeans are freedom-lovers, both in a positive and a negative sense, in that they strive after freedom from moral responsibility.

The European has also a tendency of perceiving existence as a struggle situation. This has been expressed in European science and philosophy through Darwinism, the classstruggle of Marxism and the struggle between contrasts in the Hegelian viewpoint. Butfor someone who perceives the presence of God in the creation, that is to say Muslims,the perspective is different. The interest for material advantages is not so dominant.According to Sadr, the interest for individual and moral freedom also gets impaired. Sadrwants to show here that Muslims and Europeans are generally constituted by twodifferent types of human beings without further explaining why so is the case. Thereasoning constitutes a link in the author's argumentation that the European way ofthinking cannot successfully be applied in Islamic conditions.A few conclusions can be drawn from Sadr's apprehensions. First of all, it follows from

the author's reasoning that the Islamic economic system can barely work in Europe forthe same reasons that economic systems like Marxism and capitalism cannot completelywork in Islamic conditions. Another question is, in my opinion, whether individualIslamic economic institutions, like the Islamic bank, can work in a non-Islamic contextlike Europe. One can object to this question by claiming it is not correctly formulated.Europe can simply not be considered as a non-Islamic context. Nowadays, Europeembraces several considerable Islamic minorities even though their influence on the political process is humble. As a matter of fact millions of Muslims live in Europe. Morethan 300,000 Muslims live in Sweden alone which counts a relatively small population(Samuelsson, Jan: Islam i Sverige, Stockholm, 1999). These Islamic population groups inEurope should be considered as a sufficient basis to establish more Islamic banks inEurope. The question can be asked in a different way. An economic institution like anIslamic bank attract non-Muslims and in addition to that work in a satisfactory way evenfor non-Islamic customer? If this is the case, one cannot by reason exclude the opposite,at least in principle, namely that individual institutions within the capitalistic or Marxianeconomic system could work in an Islamic context.Some debaters within the field of Islamic economy have vindicated that an Islamic bankcannot work well in a non-Islamic economy. In issues in Islamic banking, Leicester 1983,M. N. Siddiqi vindicated that the Islamic bank could only be successful in countrieswhere the interest institution was forbidden and where interest proceedings were a penalaction. However, this doesn't seem to be the most common opinion. Most Islamiceconomists and persons conversant with the legal system in Islam think that it is both possible and recommendable to act even in countries where Islam has little influence. It isalso considered that Islamic banks can successfully compete against institutions based oninterest and even attract customers who are not Muslims. For instance, the managementof A Baraka Turkish Finance House in Istanbul stands for such an opinion.Another observation from Sadr's reasoning is whether other reasons than those mentionedcan be at the bottom of his dissociation from Marxism and capitalism as Europeansystems. Such a theological, and perhaps also psychological reason with elements from amagical thinking, is what I would like to call "the conception of the European contagion".


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Bernard Lewis points out that the Islamic habit, historically provable in several cases, todefine innovation (bidah) as deviation from tradition. Tradition is regarded as being goodand as containing God's message to mankind. Therefore, deviating from tradition is a priori something negative.A particularly repudiable variation of bidah is when one imitates the unfaithful person's

habits. A tradition attributed to Prophet Muhammad says that "whoever imitates people becomes one of them". It has sometimes been interpreted as follows: whoever enters theunfaithful person's habits and behaviors commits a heretical action and an action oftreason towards Islam, in other words one becomes unfaithful himself.This interpretation was done frequently by persons conversant with the Qur'an in theOttoman Empire in order to stop certain phenomena like scientific innovations, as forinstance the apparition of printing technique and new medicines that originated fromEurope. The perception that everything that was European was a priori evil, with a fewexceptions like weapon technique, contributed undoubtedly to the destruction of theOttoman Empire. However, such a conclusion is very probable with regard to thefounded distrust that exists towards the western world within considerable Muslim

population groups. Crusades and colonialism, together with not the least aggressiveAmerican interventions in the Muslim world in modern times, has prepared Muslims to behold what the western world stands for with skepticism.Political vigilance towards the West is one thing. From an Islamic perspective, it is wellfounded and essential. If this skepticism influenced the will to acquire special knowledgefrom West within the scientific fields, the price would be high from an economic point ofview.For economic and political reasons various writers have often taken pains to findsimilarities or differences (from separate motives, often of a political nature) between theIslamic economic system and certain other economic systems.Comparisons have been made with systems based on market economy and plannedeconomy. Political leaders, like the former president Nasser in Egypt, have tried to pointout certain similarities between socialism/communism and Islam while the leadership inSaudi Arabia has tried to point out the differences between these systems. The destructionof the Soviet Empire has made certain leaders in the Islamic world less prone toemphasize similarities between socialism and Islam. If there is any tendency today, in theIslamic world, regarding comparisons between Islamic economy and other economicsystems, it is in my opinion that the Islamic economy tends to be described, either as aunique system independent from capitalism and socialism, or as the golden mean between the two extremes/poles capitalism and socialism.Although Sadr obviously perceives the Islamic economic system as a unique system, theargumentation itself often tends to follow the fact that this system constitutes what onecan call the golden mean. Communism and capitalism are perceived as two antipodeswith Islam between them. Islam gets characterized as the rational mean between twoirrational extremes. Here are a few examples: When it comes to ownership, the polesocialism stands for collective owning only while the pole capitalism stands for privateownership. As the rational mean, Islam stands for both collective and private ownership.When it comes to economic freedom, the pole socialism stands for no economic freedomwhile capitalism stands for total economic freedom. According to Sadr, Islam here standsfor economic freedom but with limitations. "Islam took a middle stand, banning some


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kinds of profit like the usurious and permitting some others like the commercial profit."Moderation, balance, adequate are notions that have been applied and experienced asideals in several Islamic contexts. This is quite obvious in the Islamic medical history.The good life leading to physical and spiritual health is characterized by adequate sleep,adequate food, adequate sexuality, adequate work and adequate prayers. Take for

example Prophet Muhammad's attitude against exaggerated praying at the expense ofsocial life. In his description of the Islamic economic system, Sadr can be seen asreferring to this traditional adequate/moderation/balance - notion.Muslim writers usually claim that Islamic economy can be seen both as a unique systemand the golden mean between capitalism and socialism although one of these twostandpoints is emphasized more than the other.It is, from a logical philosophical point of view important to emphasize the fact that thereis a big difference between these two ways of describing Islamic economy. Thestandpoint that the Islamic economy is a totally unique system implies that the difference between Islamic economy and the capitalistic and socialistic system is basically of aqualitative nature. The standpoint that the Islamic economy constitutes the golden mean

implies that the differences in comparison to socialism and capitalism are in the first place quantitative (more collective ownership - less collective ownership, moreindividual freedom less individual freedom, etc.).Muslim writers usually claim that Islamic economy can be seen both as a unique systemand the golden mean between capitalism and socialism although one of these twostandpoints is emphasized more than the other.

VI. CORRUPTION IN THE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES


Tax evasion. bribery and corruption

The evasion

Business organizations have the same motivation to avoid paying their taxes asindividual citizens. But there is one essential difference between individual and corporatetax payers: because the latter have vastly more political influence, they are able to obtain

specific industry - by industry tax breaks and loopholes to make most corporate taxavoidance completely legal. The bewildering complexity of the tax laws is a major ally ofcorporate tax dodgers. It often takes years of litigation to determine if a new corporate taxstrategy is legal or not. As a result, most corporations are shielded from criminal prosecu-tion even when their actions are apparently intended to defend the Government.

Br ibery and corruption


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Bribery is a universal phenomenon with roots that stretch far back into humanhistory. The code of Hammurabi, created by the king who founded the first Babylonianempire, held that if a man was bribed to give false witness against another, he must bearthe penalty imposed in the case. An edict by one Egyptian Pharaoh proclaimed the performance of his judicial duties. References in Greek and Roman laws, as well as in the

Bible, show that bribery was condemned with harsh penalties in other ancient societies aswell.Many criminologists classify individual bribery case on the basis of the intended

target. Thus, they distinguish bribery directed at private firms and individuals from bribery directed at government employees. From a sociological standpoint, however, itmakes more sense to include in bribery the payoffs made to win private business, for themotivations and modus operandi of the offenders are often identical. Accordingly, wewill distinguish between commercial bribery intended to promote sales or obtainconfidential business information, and political bribery, intended to influence government policy.

The concept of commercial bribery is a more recent legal development. And

although it is often condemned, many more people are willing to brush it off as a normal business practice that causes little real harm. Supporters of this position argue that thetotal amount of money paid out in bribery cases is relatively small and has little effect onthe average consumer. Critics charged that even if the total amount of money involved incommercial bribery is small, the practice creates a climate of corruption and disrespectfor the law and gives major corporations with vast financial resources an unfairadvantage over their smaller competitors in the USA. When firms attempt to buy sales fortheir products, their first targets are often the purchasing agents who are paid to makesuch decisions. Corporate payoffs are often made through dummy firms set upspecifically to act as conduits for illegal transactions. Under this arrangement, the parentcorporation can write off bribe money as a legitimate business expense and claim it knewnothing about the payoffs.

Sometimes, businesses distribute payoff money through sale agents. Becausemany multinational corporations find it difficult and expensive to set up an office inevery country in which they do business, they often employ local sales agents who knowthe people involved in making major purchases. Such agents also provide an excellentconduit for the distribution of bribe money, as they know who is likely to accept bribesand what kind of inducements they prefer. In addition, the use of local sale agents allowsforeign multinationals to avoid direct involvement in the illicit payments.

Regarding political bribery and corruption, there are special-interest groups thatuse a host of different techniques to bend the government's actions to their ends. Despitetheir corrosive effects upon the democratic process, many of those techniques arecompletely legal. The most popular legal method of purchasing political influence is stillthrough campaign contributions. Recent restrictions on direct corporate contributions to political candidates have created some problems and led to many illegal attempts to skirtthe law.

Corporations sometimes provide free services directly to sympathetic candidates,in the hope that such assistance will be less obvious than illegal monetary contributions.Other corporations make large loans to candidates that may or may not be paid back, or


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secretly pay campaign expenses by shifting part of a candidate's advertising bills to theirown accounts.

Corporations have not always been content to operate through such indirectmethods, and there have been numerous relations of direct corporate payments to financeelection campaign.

BASIC VOCABULARY. IDIOMS

tax payer = 1. a person who pays a tax or is subject to taxation;2. a temporary building that yields rent sufficient only to pay the

taxes on the property on which it standsdodger = 1. a person who changes position suddenly as to avoid a blow or

get behind something;2. a shifty person, especially one who persistently evades a

specific responsibility (taxdodgers)

loophole = 1. a small or narrow opening, for looking through;2. a means of escape or evasion, a means of evading a rule, lawto shield = 1. to protect (someone or something) with or as with a shield;

2. to serve as a protection for;3. to hide or conceal; to protect by hiding

payoff = the payment of a salary, debt, wagecorruption = 1. the act or state of corrupting or being corrupted;

2. perversion of integrity;3. dishonest proceedings

(to) purchase = 1. to acquire by the payment of money or its equivalent; to buy2. to influence by a bribe;3. acquisition by the payment of money or its equivalent;

buying,or a simple act of buying

dummy = a representation or copy of something, as for displaying toindicate

appearance; counterfeit, fictitiousinducement = 1. act of leading or moving by persuasion or influence a state of

mind, action;2. something that induces, motivates, persuades

to skirt = to avoid, to go around the edge of, or keep distant from


Drugs

Adolescence is typically a period of experimentation, irrespective of parenting skills andinfluence. Cannabis is the most common illegal drug used by teenagers, with around one


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in five having tried it at least once. Parents typically worry about their child becomingdependent on drugs such as methamphetamines (speed and ice), ecstasy, heroin andcocaine. However, the more likely threat to any teenager’s health is the use of drugs suchas alcohol and tobacco.

There is no way to guarantee your child will never take drugs, but you can reduce the possibility of your teenager experiencing drug problems in a number of ways.

Reasons for taking drugsTeenagers use drugs for similar reasons that adults do – to change how they feel becausethey want to feel better or different. Reasons may include:

Socialising with friends, peer pressure or the need to feel part of a group Relaxation or fun Boredom Curiosity, experimentation or wanting to take risks

To escape from psychological or physiological pain.Commonly used drugsAlcohol, cannabis and tobacco are the three most commonly used drugs among teenagers.According to the National Drug Strategy Household Survey of Australians aged 14 – 19years, in 2007:

74 per cent had tried alcohol and just over one in five (20.9 per cent) weredrinking alcohol on a weekly basis.

One in five (20 per cent) had tried cannabis. Just over 12 per cent had tried tobacco and just over seven per cent smoked on a

daily basis. Just over two per cent had tried amphetamines for non-medical reasons. Six per cent had tried ecstasy. Two per cent had tried inhalants – such as petrol, glue and solvents. Two per cent had tried cocaine. Just 0.3 per cent had tried heroin.

Cannabis as a ‘gateway’ drug Many parents are concerned that if their child tries cannabis, it will only be a matter oftime before they progress to other drugs, such as amphetamines and heroin. However,there is no evidence to support the theory that cannabis is a ‘gateway’ drug thatautomatically leads to the use of other drugs.

Preventing drug useThere are no parenting skills or behaviour that guarantee a child will never touch drugs.However, parents and guardians can reduce the possibility of a child experiencing drug problems in a number of ways.

Suggestions include:


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Foster a close and trusting relationship with your child from an early age andsupport and encourage positive behaviour.

Model appropriate behaviour such as drinking moderately, not smoking and notusing illicit drugs.

Establish agreements and guidelines about what is acceptable behaviour around

alcohol and drugs. Encourage a healthy approach to life including good foods, regular exercise andsports.

Encourage your child to have more than one group of friends. Allow your child to practise responsibility and develop good decision-making

skills from an early age. Keep yourself informed about drugs and educate your child on the dangers of

drug use. Do not exaggerate or make information up. Have open and honest discussions about drugs.

If you suspect your child is taking drugs

There are no specific signs or behaviour that can tell you that a person is definitely usingdrugs. Uncharacteristic behaviour such as mood swings, a drop in schooling performance,different friends and a changed appearance may indicate drug use – but they could alsoindicate other issues that are not drug related.

If you suspect your child is using drugs:

If possible, don’t react on your first impulse give yourself time to think. Resist the urge to snoop or search your child’s room or belongings for evidence. Research drugs so that you have the facts. Raise your concerns calmly with your child when you both feel relaxed. If your child is taking drugs, don’t issue ultimatums. Try to educate your child on the health and lifestyle risks. You may have to accept that an older teenager will not stop taking their drug, no

matter what you say. If your child gets into trouble with the police or has to go to court, support them

but let them cope with the consequences such as paying their own fines.


Customs team seizes £50 m cocaine cargo by Stewart Tendle

Customs and police investigators yesterday seized 250 kg of cocaine worth £50 millionwhich was hidden in a consignment of fresh flowers.In a classic «sting»* operation, undercover officers posed as British buyers for the drugand travelled to Colombia. The Colombians also sent negotiators to meet them in Britain.


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According to one report, Greater Manchester police borrowed £2 million to show theColombians that the undercover men were acting in good faith.The cocaine arrived from Amsterdam^ ast week and is the largest single importation ofthe drug by air. Its seizure at Manchester airport marked the end of a four-month customsoperation codehamed Begonia. The haul* was found in six boxes among a cargo of

flowers. Neither the exporter nor the importer of the flowers knew what they concealed.Once the consignment landed, armed police and customs officers moved in to awarehouse* and arrested two Colombians. A national intelligence drive* is currentlymonitoring possible Colombian drug infiltration. The national criminal intelligenceservice in London has established a database of suspicious sightings in Britain with thehelp of local police forces, immigration officials and customs officials.Pat Cadogan, an assistant chief investigator, said yesterday: «We have broken an attempt by a major cocaine importer to set up a distribution network in the North West ofEngland. We must have destroyed their credibility in the UK and a seizure of this kindmust be a major setback for them.»The Times, January 18, 1994

Exercises:

1. Choose the right explanation for each of the following words (with asterisks In the passage).stingA. very aggressive B. meant to deceive C. very costlythe haulA. the amount paid B. the amount seen C. the amount seizeda warehouseA. a place for storing goodsB. a place for lodging peopleC. a place for growing flowersa drivea journey by cara united effort, a campaigna private road

2. Say whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).The police and customs had simply waited for the drugs to arrive.The traffickers were suspicious at first.The drugs were sent straight from Colombia to Britain.The codename for the operation was well chosen.The exporter and the importer were in league with the traffickers.The fight against drugs involves close cooperation between different organisations.Only the representatives of the traffickers were arrested.Mr Pat Cadogan was pleased with the result.

3. Read the article again and find the following.


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Two synonyms for «shipment».An adjective showing there was nothing unusual about the operation.A word revealing that part of the investigations involved computers.A synonym for «to establish».A common way of expressing near certainty.


Taxation

Tax fraud

There exist both a legal and an illegal means by which corporations can pay lowertaxes or avoid paying taxes. Tax evasion8 is the illegal way. It is the deliberatedefrauding9 of the Inland Revenue (Great Bri-tain), the Internai Revenue Service (US) or

the Tresor Public (France) by making false tax returns or withholding

10

relevantinformation regarding taxable income, whether revenue or capital. Tax evasion is aserious criminal offense11 and the fines and punishment can be heavy.

Tax avoidance, on the other hand, is a legal, and complex, system of minimizingtotal taxation liabilities. Opportunities exist for minimizing total taxation because mostFinance Acts, while attempting to cover all con-tingencies12, inevitably leave loopholes13 which may be legitimately ex-plored and used by persons wishing to reduce their tax burden. The next file, in fact, takes a close look at one such opportunity, the tax haven.

4. Key:

Frauda fiscală

Întreprinderile dispun de două mijloace, unul legal şi unul ilegal, pentru a plătimai puţine impozite sau pentru a le evita. Frauda fiscală este metoda ilegală. Ea constă înînşelarea deliberată a fiscului făcând declaraţii false de impozit sau ascunzând informaţiiutile despre veniturile impozabile, fie că este vorba despre cifra de afaceri sau desprecapital. Frauda fiscală este un delict grav; amenzile şi alte sancţiuni pot fi foarte mari.

În schimb, evaziunea fiscală este o cale legală şi complexă de a minimalizaimpozitele şi taxele (datoriile fiscale) ce trebuie plătite. Există posibilităţi de a minimalizatotalitatea impozitării pentru că, deşi marea parte a legilor financiare încearcă să ia înconsiderare toate situaţiile neprevăzute, ele lasă în mod inevitabil în legislaţia fiscalălacune care pot fi studiate din punct de vedere legal şi folosite de către cei care doresc sălimiteze presiunea fiscală. De fapt, următorul dosar va examina o posibilitate de acest fel, paradisul fiscal.

Impozite şi fiscalitate Fraze tip


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Typical Sentences

1. Every domestic corporation in the US must file an annual tax return with the InternaiRevenue Service.

2. US corporations are required to make estimated tax payments.

3.

US corporations have deductions for business expenses and losses.4. We are too heavily taxed. The tax code should be overhauled14 from top to bottom.5. Lately an audit15 has been performed on their company.6. The Internai Revenue Service has assessed him $100,000 in back taxes.7. The firm made fraudulent claims for expenses they did not incur.8. We find it unusual that our products should be charged a VAT of 33% when they are

not considered luxury items in our country.9. The new tax law closes the loophole we have enjoyed for the past threeyears.

Translation:

1.

Fiecare societate americană trebuie să facă o declaraţie de impozite anuală la centrulde servicii pentru impozite.2. Societăţile americane sunt obligate să-şi achite taxele estimate. 3. Societăţile americane beneficiază de reduceri pentru cheltuieli de afaceri şi pentru

pierderi.4. Avem impozite prea mari. Ar trebui revizuit complet codul impozitelor.5. Societatea lor a făcut recent obiectul unei verificări fiscale. 6. Fiscul a evaluat la 100 000 de dolari restanţa sa de impozit. 7. Întreprinderea a pretins în mod fraudulos existenţa unor cheltuieli pe care de fapt nu le

făcuse. 8. Considerăm anormal faptul ca produsele noastre să fie taxate cu un TVA de 33%

deoarece la noi nu sunt considerate articole de lux.9. Noua lege fiscală suprimă lacuna legislativă de care profităm de trei ani.

VII. POLITICS IN THE EUROPEAN COUNTRIES


Central European Identity in Politics

The "Central European identity in politics" is a difficult topic to discuss for two

reasons. First, the concept of Central Europe and, therefore, also the concept of a

common identity, are somewhat elusive; second, while there are some positive


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traditions in Central Europe's political history, there are also features that are

problematic.

If we want to avoid the intricacies of defining Central Europe culturally, including the problematic notion of "Mittleeuropa," we may want to look at Central Europe in light of

the planned enlargement of the European Union. In doing so, we can define CentralEurope as currently consisting of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, andSlovenia. Traditions and cultures of those five countries are predominantly Western.With regard to religious traditions, all of them are rooted in Western types ofChristianity-Catholicism or Protestantism. Each of them was for shorter or longer periodsof time part of what could be described as "the German cultural, political, andgeographical space."This area, unlike that occupied by some West European countries, did not have a strongtradition of political democracy before the new states of Central Europe came toexistence in 1918. The Hapsburg Empire was in its last days a constitutional monarchy,where some elements of parliamentary democracy were at work, but, otherwise, the

political culture of the Hapsburg state was not a model of tolerance and politicaltransparency. In fact, the tradition of "Rechtstaat", based on inflated bureaucraticinstitutions, is much more pronounced in the legacy of the Hapsburg state than traditionsof political democracy.It is also important to note that not all countries that today constitute the notion of CentralEurope were entirely part of the Hapsburg monarchy. For example, Poland's identity isnot entirely Central European in that it is also a Baltic country, whose northern regionshave natural ties with Scandinavia. Poland is also the only new prospective member thatcan be considered "a big country", or a country aspiring to the status of a European power. Therefore, Poland is likely much more than other Central European countries to pursue its own "European agenda."Slovenia, although a very small country of only two million people, has three differentidentities that are going to play a role in its contributions to the EU. First, it is a CentralEuropean country with long historical ties to Austria and the German-speaking space ingeneral. Second, some regions in Slovenia were in the past parts of Italy. Third, Sloveniais also partly a Balkan country-although the Slovenes do not like to be described as such. Negative traditionsThe entire Central European region has suffered, in the last 100 years at least, from muchturmoil--which has resulted in a degree of instability of political and economicinstitutions. The region has also been fairly isolated from the mainstream of world politics. In the 19th century, this happened owing to the region's association with theHapsburg Empire that in itself was a rather provincial European power. In the second halfof the 20th century the countries of Central Europe were under Soviet dominance. Thishas had a number of negative consequences that Central European countries are copingwith still today. 1. The archaic political institutions that the countries of Central Europeinherited from the Hapsburg empire (and in the case of Poland also from Prussia), did notget many opportunities in the 20th century to modernize. Even in the interwar period,when the countries of Central Europe were on their own, they continued to suffer from alack of both strong democratic institutions and strong democratic culture. At the sametime, they suffered from cumbersome bureaucracies and a lack of effective governance.


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In some of those countries, such as Czechoslovakia, a democratic regime prevailed, inothers it was quickly replaced by semi-authoritarian rule.2. In all Central European countries, political elites were weak throughout the 20thcentury, as they did not have enough time to develop. For example, in Czechoslovakia political elites were replaced or altered in 1918, 1938, 1939, 1945, 1948, 1968-70, 1989,

and 1992. As a result, the ability to govern effectively has been weakened to some extent.3. There was a lack of reliance on transparent parliamentary mechanisms even duringthose periods when Central European countries were not under authoritarian rule. Manyimportant decisions were reached through cabinet politics and behind-the-scenes deals.Even in Czechoslovakia, the country which was considered the best working democracyin the region, an extra-parliamentary institution called the Big Five (leaders of the five biggest parties) decided on the most important matters and the parliament just rubber-stamped those decisions.4. A succession of authoritarian forms of government and semi-democratic regimesforced intellectuals throughout the region to substitute for politicians in politicaldiscourse. Intellectuals, cultural figures in particular, played a political role, directly or

indirectly, that goes far beyond what is common in established democracies. This had both negative and positive effects.5. The creation of both nation states and true national identities was delayed in the regionin comparison with Western Europe. Nationalism and a tribal mentality have played amuch stronger role in most Central European countries than in developed Westerncountries. Owing to the artificial freezing of the development of national identities underthe communist regimes, nationalist sentiments continue to be stronger in some CentralEuropean countries than in the West even today.6. The fact the Central European countries were isolated from the mainstream of world politics for a long time contributed to a degree provincialism that exists with varyingintensities in all Central European countries.7. The region that-if we apply Churchill's remark about the Balkans to Central Europe-"has produced more history than it can digest," still has to reckon with so many historicalinjustices and traumas which make mutual communication sometimes difficult.Positive legacyThe tragic political history, combined with a great cultural and intellectual legacy, hassignificantly strengthened the role of some segments of civil society in Central Europe. Infact, Central Europe suffers from a strange paradox. It has given the world many of itsleading philosophers, artists, writers, musicians, and intellectual figures, but it has produced very few outstanding politicians in the last one hundred years.Politicians coming from the region, whose names are instantly recognizable beyondCentral Europe, are very few: Tomas. G. Masaryk, Bruno Kreisky, Vaclav Havel, LechWalesa.At the same time, intellectuals, who were during various periods of the 20th centuryforced to join the dissident ghettos or allowed to operate only semi-officially, madeimportant contributions to political thinking. Owing to them, political democracy (and previously the fight for political democracy) is now inherently linked to the notion ofcivil society. In fact, it was the political philosophy of leading dissidents from Poland,Hungary and Czechoslovakia which in a way revived in Western thinking the notion ofcivil society as an important basis of any democracy. Another important legacy is the


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notion that democracy should not be taken for granted. In some ways, the value systemsupporting democracy in Central Europe is much less ambiguous and relativistic than in"tired" Western societies.Central Europe is also a region of multiple ethnic and cultural identities that, despitemutual conflicts, have had to learn how to coexist. The modern Slovak democracy is a

good example of a democratic coexistence and cooperation between a majority nationand large ethnic minorities.The region's collectivist traditions have had both positive and negative consequences. Onthe one hand, the spirit of egalitarianism makes it difficult to introduce some elements ofa vigorous market economy. On the other hand, it also promotes solidarity, which hasnow become one of them most important features of modern European democracies.Political philosophiesThe Central European region does not have strong traditions of the liberal right. Duringthe last period of the Hapsburg Empire and between the two world wars, the politicalright in various Central European countries was often populist, nationalistic, and at timessemi-fascist. It emphasized more tribal paradigms than the liberal individualism common,

for example, in Anglo-Saxon countries. At the same time, the political left, with theexception of Czechoslovakia, was also not modeled on Western ideas of socialdemocracy. Even leftist parties were often tainted with nationalism.These traditions, it seems, are playing an important role in the creation of political partysystems after the fall of communism. In all Central European countries, liberal partiesquickly disappeared or become very small. In some cases, such as the Czech Republic orHungary, they transformed themselves into traditional conservative/populist groupingsexploring nationalist themes.Paradoxically, the democratic left parties--which in Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia werecreated form the former communist parties--have in some cases promoted market reformsand modernization along EU lines more vigorously than the right-of-center parties. Thismight have been partly caused by the fact that in the beginning the reemerging politicalright lacked the skills and management competency that people who had in the past beenassociated with the communist parties had been able to acquire. In some cases, however,it seems that the increasingly conservative ideology of right-of-center parties was at fault.The Identity of Central Europe in PoliticsGiven all of the traditions discussed above, it is clear that the identity of Central Europe,and its contribution to pan-European politics, is a rather mixed bag. On the one hand,Central Europe can, once it has become part of it reinvigorate the EU. Central Europe'snotions of civil society and the importance of human rights can in some ways mitigate therelativist tendencies present in today's Western democracies.At the same time, Central Europe needs to overcome some of its less positive legacies,especially its weak political institutions, ineffective governance, and a degree of provincialism. Membership in the European Union is an excellent opportunity tomodernize the region's institutions and elevate political discourse to Western standards.In some ways, Central Europe can also serve as a useful bridge between the West and theEast, as it understands both cultures.


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The British Parliament

The Parliament is the legislative body in any country's political system. In Britain,the Parliament consists of two Houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The House of Lords is the highest Court of Appeal in Britain and it is lead by theLord Chancellor, who is also the head of the judiciary. The House of Commons is lead bythe Speaker, who has the role of announcing the members of parliament who want tomake a speech with the phrase: "I call upon the honourable member for ...", naming theconstituency for which the man is a member.

The number of parliamentary constituencies in Britain is 640 and each of thesecontains between 60.000 and 100.000 electors. People are allowed to vote in Britain overthe age of 18.

The job of the members of Parliament in Britain is to take care of the generalrunning of the country as a whole. A member of Parliament (M.P.) is also directlyresponsible to his constituents, who are usually helped by them in problems of bureaucracy and injustice at a local government or even at ministerial level. The link between the member of Parliament and his constituents is very close, meaning that awell-liked candidate from the area may take away votes from his opponent, even thoughthe latter belongs to the party which has the greatest support. This situation is even morerelevant at the by-elections, caused by the resignation or death of a member, than in thecase of general elections, where everybody wants his party to win as many seats as possible, so that it might form the basis of the next government.

The general elections in Britain are held every five years, except the cases whenthe Prime Minister wants to make the elections sooner.

The main role of the Parliament is to make laws and this is done in the followingway: the Government and the opposition send bills before the Houses of Parliament,which debate them and reach a decision, in favour or against that bill. Usually, the bill isimproved by the Houses of Parliament and passed on to the Queen. The bill only becomes a law when the Queen agrees on it and gives the Royal Assent to it.

In Britain, the members of Parliament have also posts in the Government and invarious departments and Ministries. So, they also have the power in the administration ofthe country, besides that of making and approving laws in the Parliament. The mostimportant one is the Cabinet, which is a committee of advice for the British PrimeMinister.

The Parliament is also the place where the administration can be criticised, or theGovernment policies ca

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