This book explores the origins, rationale, problems and prospects of the European fiscal policy framework. It provides the reader with a roadmap to EMU's budgetary framework by exploring its theoretical and empirical foundations, uncovering its historical roots and emphasising its supranational nature. The authors, who have been at the forefront of the academic and policy debate on economic policy in Europe, argue that fiscal policy has always been at the core of the EMU debate. The Maastricht criteria and the Stability and Growth Pact are the most contentious building blocks of EMU's institutional architecture: they have aroused heated controversies between academics and policymakers ever since their adoption. As EMU's budgetary rules undergo their first severe shock, Europe is still searching for its fiscal soul. The book's basic premise is that one cannot fully understand EMU's fiscal framework and the recent debate on its reform without placing them in a historical and institutional perspective and abstracting from the uniqueness of EMU, where sovereign countries retain a large degree of fiscal independence, and monetary policy is entrusted to an independent central bank with the overriding mission of maintaining price stability. Analysing all aspects of EMU's fiscal rules and institutions, this book will strongly appeal to students, academics and researchers of macroeconomic policy and European integration. Policymakers and fiscal policy experts at both national and international levels will also find the book to be of great interest.

Comprehensively presents and discusses the wealth of information about pork products Includes specific details about the processing, quality of final products, and innovative aspects Presents innovative health-oriented approaches to elaborated traditional and commercial pork products Discusses healthier pork meat products that adhere to consumer trends and government recommendations

Food Proteomics: Technological Advances, Current Applications and Future Perspectives addresses many of the food proteomic issues in the industry today. Food proteomics continues to be an emerging field, becoming increasingly important in product innovation, food safety, food quality and health. The book is divided into sections describing the role of proteomics in the field of food science, conceptual background methodological aspects, and bioinformatic tools employed in the field. The book describes proteomic studies collected from the most relevant animal and vegetables species in food production and discusses important food challenges from a proteomic point-of-view. This is an essential and practical reference that provides analytical tools to help introduce technical innovations in the food industry with the latest scientific information useful and accessible to new researchers in the field as well as advanced.

This book analyses the main problems in the functioning of the welfare state and possible actions for its reform. Focusing on the European Union, it looks at the achievements of and challenges to the welfare state as we enter the 21st century. The authors consider the general problem of redistribution and how to make it more efficient, by reducing huge benefits and tax disincentives that individuals encounter in different life periods or life choices. In addition, they analyse issues such as: * economic effects of the welfare state * mechanisms for improving incentives in the welfare state * implications of Economic and Monetary Union for the welfare state * options in pension funding * impact of ageing on the pensions systems in the European Union * detailed projections of social expenditure The Welfare State in Europe will be essential reading for those working in the areas of public administration and finance, European studies, social policy, economics and political science. In its provision of policy suggestions it will also be welcomed by policymakers and government advisers.

This book reviews the role of bioactive compounds in grape seed and their beneficial effects. Among the 11 chapters, the authors also discuss the composition, biological activity, and potential applications of grape seeds in the food industry and the health effects of grape seed extracts. As in other matrices, the presence of bioactive molecules in grape seed is related to several factors like grape varieties, climatic and soil conditions, vinification processes, winemaking procedures, extraction techniques and finally evaluation protocols. Chapter 1 addresses the extraction methodologies to obtain biomolecules of interest from grape seed, from the conventional to the most innovative. Chapter 2 discusses the most important and used methods to evaluate the antioxidant capacity of grape seed. Chapter 3 is focused on how flavonoids could modulate the body homeostasis acting directly on the gastrointestinal tract, explaining their effects on obesity-related pathologies. Chapter 4, using liquid chromatographic and mass detection techniques, centers on flavanols, one of the most important types of polyphenols occurring in grape seed. Chapter 5 complements Chapter 2 in evaluating total antioxidant capacity considering that antioxidant activity is usually due to different antioxidants present in grape seed. Chapter 6 studies the effects of polyphenolic extracts in arterial hypertension and oxidative stress via glutathione-peroxidase. Chapter 7 revises the antioxidant properties of grape seed in the conservation of different meat products and dose effect to increasing the shelf life of these products. Chapter 8 shows the potential application of developing new products with healthier characteristics to garner greater consumer acceptance using grape seed in their formulations. Chapter 9 provides a review of the composition and nutritional value of the majority compounds (fatty acid, amino acid and mineral profile), showing the potential application of the use of grape seed as a food supplement to improve the human diet. Chapter 10 indicates the potent antimicrobial activity of grape seed extract against many different microorganisms due to the presence of flavan-3-ols, inhibiting their growth, and potential applications in the food or pharmaceutical industries or even in the medical field. Chapter 11 is focused on the potential use of bioactive compounds in grape seed extract as a remedy against lipid oxidation of meat products.