scholarly journals Challenges for Security and Defence Cooperation in Central Europe: Will the EU be able to manage the crisis in the EU periphery?

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (54) ◽  
pp. 195-222
Author(s):  
Jaroslav Ušiak ◽  
◽  
Dominika Trubenová ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Security ◽  
The Past ◽  
Security Challenges ◽  
Gradual Development ◽  
Defence Cooperation ◽  
Visegrad Group ◽  
The Eu

Europe has undergone various security changes in the past and needs to prepare itself for managing the present and future security challenges appearing on the horizon. Within Central Europe, we can see a significant change in its security orientation and a gradual development by continuous involvement in security initiatives such as the current EU-led PESCO. This article aims to show the present Visegrad Group (V4) interest in maintaining an autonomous European security, as well as to analyse the current possibilities and security capabilities of Central European countries. The V4 countries are an important part of NATO and the European Union, even though they are small to medium-sized countries with limited security capabilities. Participation in the creation of collective security under NATO has a stable, several-year position in the countries, but the European Union is on the rise in its security agenda, and that is assumed by the V4 countries with its participation in EU initiatives such as PESCO and the integrated involvement of the V4 in ongoing military projects.

scholarly journals Following Continuity and Change: Italy’s View on European Neighborhood Policy Towards Ukraine

2017 ◽  
pp. 186-208
Author(s):  
Victoria Vdovychenko ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Security ◽  
Eastern Partnership ◽  
Continuity And Change ◽  
Reality Check ◽  
Security Challenges ◽  
European Neighborhood Policy ◽  
Hybrid War ◽  
The Eu

Current EU economic and security challenges on the territory of the EU’s ‘ring of friends’ open a new page of its history influencing European security and stability framework of development. Therefore, it’s crucial to understand circumstances that favored to the catalyst progress of unstable neighborhoods. The article presents an analysis of the Italy’s position towards European Neighborhood Policy and the Eastern dimension of this policy – Eastern Partnership. A special interest is focus on its view towards Ukraine, being a reality-check for the European Union officials after the Revolution of Dignity, the illegal annexation of Crimea and the hybrid war of Russia. This article is presenting the ideas that ENP was created by the EU as an instrument for the democratization which couldn’t prevent conflicts in the geopolitically diverse regions. Italy, being one of the founding members of the European Union, was reluctant advocate a balanced approach towards the neighborhood regions. It merely focused on the Southern dimension of the ENP, almost taking apart Eastern Partnership. In the first part, the article demonstrates the development process of the ENP with a special attention that it coincided with the EU 5th enlargement preparation. This dualism influenced on the ENP tailoring and subsequent implementation. The second part focuses on the of the Italy’s opinion development from ENP launch till 2009 when its Eastern dimension – Eastern Partnership – was introduced. The third part analyzes Italy’s perception of Eastern Partnership and its attempts to reschedule EU’s attention to the South flank of the ENP in the post-Crimea annexation period.

scholarly journals PARADIGMS OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION PROCESSES IN THE EU, VISEGRÁD GROUP, AND UKRAINE

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svitlana Rostetska ◽  
Svetlana Naumkina
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
European Integration ◽  
European Countries ◽  
European Region ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Security ◽  
Central European ◽  
Central European Region ◽  
Visegrad Group ◽  
The Eu

The scientific interest of the development of the theory and practice of cooperation of Central European countries of the Visegrád Group in the context of modern European integration processes is important for developing and implementing the strategy of foreign and domestic policy in European countries and Ukraine at the modern stage. At the beginning of the XXI century, under the changes in the geopolitical situation on the European continent, the countries of Central Europe (full members of the European Union) build a new operating system of international relations and accordingly continue to delegate some of their powers to suprastate institutions of the EU. The purpose of this scientific study is to determine paradigmatic aspects of European integration processes, modern threats arising in the EU, prospects for the interaction of EU countries, and to form a new format of cooperation of Ukraine and countries of the Visegrád Group. The aim of the creation of the alliance of the Visegrád Group (1991) was the desire to contribute to the construction of European security architecture and economic cooperation through the effective cooperation within European institutions. The whole activity of the Visegrád Group is aimed at strengthening stability in the Central European region. Risks in the economic sphere and strengthening of Euroscepticism are considered traditional for the EU functioning. In view of signing the Rome Declaration in 2017, the EU threats and challenges for the short-term (2018–2020) include: hybrid consequences of the aggression of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, European migrant crisis, a series of terrorist acts in European cities, unpredictable policy of the newly elected US president D. Trump in relation to the European security system, strengthening the position of far-left and far-right political forces in European states, Brexit and its consequences, in particular, risk of domino effect in other member countries of the Union. Therefore, we consider it appropriate to carry out system analysis of key relevant challenges and threats to the EU for 2018–2020 and to consider interconditionality and interdependence of problems that may affect the EU future. Given the defined trends, development and economic stability of each state are strategically important, however, special attention in this context should be paid to the analysis of the development of large countries of the European Union, such as Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. V4 countries are characterized by sustainable economic growth. If to analyse the Visegrád Four as a single national state, then the Visegrád Group is the fifth largest economy in Europe and the 12th in the world. The authors consider it too simplistic to define the essence of the Visegrád alliance only as a consolidation of the efforts of Central European countries for the sake of “returning to Europe” through Euro-Atlantic integration. In the modern dimension of events, the interaction format V4 + Ukraine is much more complex and more promising than it appears. Since joining NATO and the European Union in 1999 and 2004 by the Visegrád Group (i.e. Central European countries) geopolitically changes the status of the Central European Region, transforms bilateral and multilateral relations of Central European countries – full members of the EU with Ukraine. Moreover, this changes the system of relations within the Visegrád Four, as well as with other member states of the European Union.

scholarly journals The 3 Seas Initiative: Post-Pandemic Awakening

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 24-29
Author(s):  
Lyubov Shishelina ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Stages Of Development ◽  
Central European ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
New Association ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Visegrad Group

The article provides an overview of the evolution of the idea of The Three Seas from its beginnings till the 2021 summit. According to the author, one of the impulses to its creation was the global confrontation that arose after the events of 2014 in Ukraine. This is felt notwithstanding the fact that this country is not yet a member of the project that celebrated its fifth anniversary in 2021. Today, this idea of uniting States in the space from the Baltic to the Black and Adriatic Seas, as well as when it originated, is actively supported by USA. In addition, the author shows how the attitude towards this program on the part of Germany and the European Union has changed significantly over the past six years. In fact, during this time, from Poland's attempt to realize its historical Central European ambitions, the initiative has transformed into a prototype of a new Central Europe, as an integral part of the Transatlantic community. In addition to the stages of development, the author examines the problem of the functionality of the new association, as well as its competitiveness with other regional entities, such as the Visegrad Group, the Central European Initiative, Slavkov Interaction, Chinese 17+1 initiative, etc. As a result, she comes to the conclusion that each of these structures, being an expression of the historical desire of the peoples of the region for rapprochement and finding a new role in Europe and the World, plays its own party and can compensate for the others, depending on the world situation.

scholarly journals HARMONIZATION OF ECONOMIC AND LEGAL MECHANISMS FOR DEEPENING EU-UKRAINIAN RELATIONS

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 174
Author(s):  
Oleh Predmestnikov ◽  
Vitaliy Gumenyuk
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Economic Regulation ◽  
Domestic Investment ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Security ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
Technical Requirements ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Eu

The policy of Ukraine for the establishment and development of relations with the European Union began in 1993, was carried out all the years of Ukraine’s existence, and received intensive deepening with the beginning of the formation of an international treaty – the Association Agreement, which includes a list of legal, social, economic, and technical regulations, and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), in 2014 and its final signing in 2017. Political and economic objectives of the Agreement are of fundamental importance to the future of both Ukraine and the whole European region. The political goal is to implement European standards on the territory of Ukraine. This implies the introduction of fundamental European values, namely democracy, rule of law, respect for human rights and the standards of the European security system. The Agreement does not foresee membership in the European Union, however, does not exclude such an opportunity in the future. The economic goal is to help to modernize the Ukrainian economy by expanding trade volumes with the EU and other countries, as well as reforming economic regulation mechanisms in line with the best European practices. Subject to the improvement of the business climate, Ukraine will become attractive for foreign and domestic investment for further production for export to the EU and other markets of the world. Harmonization of standards and European regulations has become a much more important process than the fulfilment of strictly technical requirements and underlies the introduction of effective governance without corruption. In the process of harmonization of interaction, an adaptive institutional mechanism was formed (the highest level – annual Summits; the key coordinator is the Association Council, consisting of members of the Council of the European Union and members of the European Commission, and members of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine; the level of operational coordination – the Association Parliamentary Committee, which includes members of the European Parliament, representatives of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and the Civil Society Platform; in order to coordinate processes on the territory of Ukraine, the Ukrainian government has introduced a few supervisory committees and commissions). The harmonization of the economic aspect of the mechanism has been determined in solving issues of openness of markets for duty-free import from Ukraine in April 2014, obtaining a visa-free regime with the EU, abolishing export-import tariffs, implementing European technical standards for food safety, phytosanitary norms, competition policy, service provision, and public procurement policy. The issues of further deepening of relations include a review of the terms for the introduction of regulations and legislative provisions before their actual implementation, stabilization of financial and economic processes in the country, and further development of democratic values and social institutions.

Part VI Global Approach of State Aid Law—WTO Law and EU Trade Defence Instruments, 2 Anti-subsidy Law and Practice of the European Union

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kreuschitz Viktor ◽  
Nehl Hanns Peter
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Global Approach ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
The Past ◽  
Export Subsidies ◽  
Very High ◽  
Over Time ◽  
The Eu

This concluding chapter explores EU's anti-subsidy instruments, which are designed to address subsidization by other WTO members. After a hesitant start, the EU since 1995 has progressively used the AS instrument to act against subsidization by third-country governments. While initially focusing on relatively clear-cut export subsidies, over time the EU has more and more also countervailed domestic subsidy programmes. This is clearest in the AS cases initiated against China during the past five years, where the majority of the countervailed programmes have consisted of domestic subsidies. In this context, it is important to note that the findings of specificity reached by the EU in cases concerning China are largely based on the use of facts available, resulting from the imposition of very high burdens of proof on the Chinese government that domestic subsidies in fact are not specific.

2. The history of EU institutions:

2021 ◽  
pp. 27-47
Author(s):  
Renaud Dehousse ◽  
Paul Magnette
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Institutional Change ◽  
Current Phase ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Past ◽  
Constant Change ◽  
History Of ◽  
Five Phases ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Ideas And Institutions

EU institutions have frequently been reformed since the origins of what is now the European Union (EU), and particularly so over the past twenty years. This chapter explains why and how this quasi-constant change has taken place. It begins by identifying five phases in this history: the founding, consolidation, relaunch, adaptation, and the current phase of reaction to functional challenges. The chapter then assesses the respective weight of state interests, ideas, and institutions in the evolution of EU institutions. In retrospect, institutional change in the EU appears to have followed a functionalist logic, leading to complex compromises that, in turn, prompt regular calls for ‘simplification’ and democratization.

scholarly journals Agricultural performance in the V4 countries and its position in the European Union

2018 ◽  
Vol 64 (No. 8) ◽  
pp. 337-346
Author(s):  
Szabo Luboslav ◽  
Grznar Miroslav ◽  
Zelina Michal
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Farm Income ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Production Factors ◽  
Agricultural Performance ◽  
Farm Accountancy Data Network ◽  
Visegrad Group ◽  
The Eu

The paper is devoted to an analysis of the development of agrarian farms in Visegrad Group (V4) countries, primarily in terms of results and the most important production inputs of production factors and their efficiency in the period from 2004 to 2013 based on the EU Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). The results of the analysis show that if farms in the V4 countries want to achieve the same performance as developed countries, they must invest more in purchasing intensification factors and adjust the structure of assets production specification. It will be necessary to stop the reduction in the numbers of livestock and to strive for growth in gross farm income, mainly through the processing of agricultural raw materials.

“Ruled Britannia”: Metaphorical Construction of the EU as Enemy in UKIP Campaign Posters

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 188-209
Author(s):  
Andrew S. Ross ◽  
Aditi Bhatia
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Exit Strategy ◽  
The Past ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Eu Membership ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Eu

The sweeping tide of populism across the globe has given rise to isolationist sentiments that call for the closing of national borders and a return to nativist roots. This has been most evident in Britain in terms of the controversial vote to exit the European Union (EU) during the 2016 referendum (to Leave or Remain) and more recently with the lead up to a general election and mounting pressure on the government to implement an exit strategy. The most vocal proponent of the “leave” movement was the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), reframing the debate on EU membership in terms of invasion and oppression. This paper focuses on precisely this discursive construction of the EU by analyzing UKIP campaign posters through application of Bhatia’s Discourse of Illusion framework on three levels: historicity (use of the past to justify the present or predict the future), linguistic and semiotic action (subjective conceptualizations of reality made apparent through metaphorical rhetoric), and degree of social impact (emergence of delineating categories through ideological narrative).

Introduction: The State of Democracy 20 Years on

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacques Rupnik ◽  
Jan Zielonka
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Democratic Transition ◽  
The State ◽  
New Democracies ◽  
The European Union ◽  
East Central Europe ◽  
East Central ◽  
The Eu

The countries of East-Central Europe (ECE) embarked on a democratic transition in 1989 were proclaimed consolidated democracies when they joined the European Union (EU) in 2004. Today most of the new democracies are experiencing “democratic fatigue” and some seem vulnerable to an authoritarian turn. The EU, seen as the guarantor of the post-1989 democratic changes, is experiencing an unprecedented economic, financial, and democratic crisis with the combined challenges of technocracy and populism. The article explores the different approaches to the study of democracies in ECE, their specific features and vulnerabilities, and tries to provide an interpretation of the premature crisis of democracy in ECE in a broader transeuropean context.

The eu-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement – A Successful Attempt to Protect Vietnam’s Environment While Pushing for Economic Integration?

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 208-222
Author(s):  
Heidi Stockhaus
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Economic Integration ◽  
Free Trade Agreement ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Past ◽  
Successful Attempt ◽  
Trade And Investment ◽  
The Eu

The new free trade agreement with the European Union will bring Vietnam’s economic integration to a new level once it enters into force. In the past, the associated economic growth has led to environmental deterioration due to inappropriate regulations and poor enforcement. Currently, environmental problems are visible everywhere and attract the attention of citizens as well as lawmakers. The new free trade agreement establishes a framework for sustainable development in the context of trade and investment. The relevant provisions aim to maintain Vietnam’s right to regulate for the targeted protection level, require the country to take measures to mitigate the pressure on the environment, and open the door for cooperation with the European Union. However, it remains to be seen, whether these provisions balance the risks associated with the increase in trade and investment through the free trade agreement.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document