With the Treaty on European Union, signed in 1992, the Union set for itself the objective of establishing the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), ultimately including a single currency. Sustained convergence in economic performance and close co-ordination of Member States’ economic objectives, set out in a timetable, were key elements of this process. Convergence towards low rates of in...

The issue of convergence has received considerable attention within the European Union over the past decade. Convergence on key economic dimensions was a clear objective of Ireland's entry into the European Community and is now central to the admission aspirations of the current applicant countries. In this paper I outline key aspects of Ireland's economic convergence and explore the implicatio...

Abstract Objectives Data on consumption of penicillins in the community were collected from 30 EU/European Economic Area (EEA) countries over two decades. This article reviews temporal trends, seasonal variation, presence change-points and changes composition main subgroups penicillins. Methods For period 1997–2017, data penicillins, i.e. β-lactam antibacterials, (ATC group J01C), aggregated at...

Abstract Objectives Data on antibiotic consumption in the community were collected from 30 EU/EEA countries over two decades. This article reviews temporal trends, seasonal variation, presence of change-points and changes composition main groups. Methods For period 1997–2017, data antibiotics, i.e. antibacterials for systemic use (ATC group J01), community, aggregated at level active substance,...

Abstract Objectives Data on cephalosporin consumption in the community were collected from 30 EU/EEA countries over two decades. This article reviews temporal trends, seasonal variation, presence of change-points and changes composition main subgroups cephalosporins. Methods For period 1997–2017, data cephalosporins (i.e. first-, second-, third- fourth-generation cephalosporins; ATC J01DB, J01D...