La condicionalidad UE en la lucha contra la corrupción en la administración pública rumana
This paper analyses the European Union pressure in the fight against corruption in the Romanian public administration, using as basis of analysis the evaluations of the European Commission until 2007 and the reports of the post-accession stage, issued in the period 2007-2012, under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism.
Post-Accession Conditionality Support Instrument for Continuous Pressure?
The establishment of a Cooperation and Verification Mechanism for monitoring Bulgaria’s and Romania’s progress in the areas of judiciary and fight against corruption not only confirms the evolutionary nature of EU conditionality, but introduces a new feature, that of post-accession conditionality. More than three years after accession, neither Bulgaria nor Romania have managed to tackle the remaining issues and the scrupulous monitoring mechanism is still maintained. What are the main features and limitations of post-accession conditionality? Why does the effectiveness of EU conditionality deteriorate after accession? The article outlines a conceptual framework for comparative study of pre-accession and post-accession conditionality. On the basis of a stage-structured conditionality model, it discusses the transformations of the main elements of conditionality before and after accession and argues that the absence of accession advancement rewards combined with toothless explicit threats for sanctioning non-compliance produce very weak negative incentive structure which undermines the effectiveness of post-accession conditionality. The study, which draws on extensive interviews with senior EU officials and examination of key EU documents, highlights the growing application of differentiated and targeted conditionality and concludes with a reflection on the future of the mechanism and its implications for the ongoing enlargement of the Union with countries of the Western Balkans and Turkey.
Ancient hematoma: a unifying concept for a post-traumatic lesion mimicking an aggressive soft tissue neoplasm.
We describe the clinicopathologic features of four cases of ancient hematoma occurring in the tensor fascia lata and perifascial tissue that clinically and radiologically mimicked aggressive soft tissue neoplasms. The lesions arose in three men and one woman, aged between 31 and 61 years. In three cases, an injury to the affected site had been noted 18 months, 19 years, and 20 years beforehand, respectively. At presentation, these deep-seated and enlarging lesions were highly suggestive of soft tissue sarcomas. Three lesions were treated by excision of an intramuscular or perifascial mass; in one case, repeated incomplete excisions were performed. Grossly, in three cases a well-circumscribed, fusiform mass with a soft cystic center and a fibrous pseudocapsule was described. Histologically, blood clot, fibrin, and predominant amorphous debris were seen in the central cavities; in three cases, the fibrous pseudocapsule contained clumped, eosinophilic, amorphous debris surrounded by a prominent xanthogranulomatous inflammatory infiltrate with numerous, multinucleated, foreign body-type, giant cells. Additionally, cholesterol clefts, areas of hemorrhage and dystrophic calcification, hemosiderin deposits, and cellular scar tissue were seen. Follow-up information revealed no evidence of recurrence or secondary infection in the three cases treated by local or wide excision; in the case in which incomplete excision was performed, continuous symptomatic growth was noted. Pathologic features of ancient hematomas are similar, if not identical, to those hematomas described previously as calcific myonecrosis, chronic expanding hematoma or posttraumatic cyst of soft tissues; we propose instead the term ancient hematoma. The reason for the commonly very long delay between the initiating trauma and presentation is uncertain.