Adoption of European law was a central part of the accession process of new member states of the EU but turned out to be much more difficult than implementation of European Law in the old member states. Problems included not only the amount of European legislation, its dynamic nature and language problems. Literal implementation resulted in diminishing the coherence of national legal rules and structures. In addition, legislation did not take account of national specifics and differences in legal culture. Built-up of working institutions and procedures takes time and efforts and deficiencies add to hampering implementation and application of European law.

Many problems of new member states in the accession process are present in the old member states as well. They may lead to a review of the European legislative process and structural reforms. The pace of legislation should slow down, it should be more reflexive and “re-connect” to the national and local level. Care should also be taken by national legislators in better integrating European law into national law. Structural reform would include strengthening of democratic institutions on a European level including the European court system. This should be accompanied by practical cooperation and mutual exchange.

Prof. Dr. Wiebe studied law at the University of Hannover, Germany, and at the University of Virginia (U.S.A.) where he received the LL.M. degree in 1988. In 2001 he completed his habilitation. Since Sept. 2002 he is a professor on the newly established Chair for Information Law and Intellectual Property Law at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration (www.infolaw.at). Prof. Dr. Wiebe is a member of various academic associations and Vice President of the German Computer Law Association (DGRI e.V.).

Members of New Beginnings, a nonpartisan study group of former senior U.S. officials, academics and other experts on Korea, traveled to Seoul recently to meet President Lee Myung-bak and his top advisors. On April 14, in advance of the Washington visit of President Lee, members of the study group will make public their recommendations for updating and strengthening the U.S.-Korea alliance. Many of the experts, as well as full copies of their reports will be available at the event.

Sponsored by the New York-based Korea Society and Stanford's Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center

Hosted by Don Oberdorfer, Chairman of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University

Arms races among invertebrates, intelligence gathering by the immune system and alarm calls by marmots are but a few of nature’s security strategies that have been tested and modified over billions of years. This provocative book applies lessons from nature to our own toughest security problems—from global terrorism to the rise of infectious disease to natural disasters. Written by a truly multidis­ciplinary group including paleobiologists, anthropologists, psychologists, ecologists, and national security experts, it considers how models and ideas from evolutionary biology can improve national security strategies ranging from risk assessment, security analysis, and public policy to long-term strategic goals.

Terence Taylor is the President and Director of the International Council for the Life Sciences and a former CISAC Science Fellow. He previously served with the United Nations as a Commissioner and Chief Inspector for Iraq on weapons of mass destruction and was a career officer in the British army. He also serves on the U.S. National Academy of Sciences Forum on Microbial Threats and is an adviser to the International Committee of the Red Cross. Mr. Taylor was also a member of the National Research Council Steering Committee on Genomic Databases for Bioterrorism Threat Agents and served as Chairman of the Permanent Monitoring Panel on Risk Analysis of the World Federation of Scientists.

Raphael Sagarin received his Ph.D. in marine ecology in 2001 from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Dr. Sagarin has served as a Geological Society of America congressional science advisor in the office of U.S. Representative Hilda L. Solis. Dr. Sagarin has used his insights as a biologist and policy advisor in his recent work on using biological insights to guide security planning and policy. Based on a short treatment of this topic in Foreign Policy, he organized a working group at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis to explore a wide range of evolutionary insights into security analysis. Comprised of paleobiologists, psychologists, ecologists, anthropologists and security experts, the working group produced the forthcoming University of California Press volume: Natural Security: A Darwinian Approach to a Dangerous World, edited by Dr. Sagarin and Terence Taylor.

The rise of China and India represents both challenges and opportunities for Europe. Rising powers like China and India are challenging the European Union. They will be in a position to shape and influence global agendas and decisions to a greater extent than at present. For both, Europe will remain an indispensable partner since it is a vital source of trade, advanced technology and foreign direct investment. China and India do pose challenges for Europe, but they also provide opportunities since their growth contributes to greater growth worldwide, which means more exports, especially to a swelling consumerist middle class, which will make more demands of European goods, technology, and services.

Rajendra K Jain is Professor of European Studies and Chairperson, Centre for European Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He is Secretary-General, Indian Association for European Union Studies. He has been Visiting Professor at Leipzig and Tuebingen University and at the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, Paris. He is the author/editor of over two dozen books and has published 70 articles/chapters in books. He has most recently published India and the European Union: Building a Strategic Partnership (2007) (editor).