scholarly journals The Analysis of Public Funds Utilization Efficiency for Climate Neutrality in the European Union Countries

Energies ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 581
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Dębkowska ◽  
Łukasz Dymek ◽  
Krzysztof Kutwa ◽  
Dariusz Perło ◽  
Dorota Perło ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Utilization Efficiency ◽  
Transport Infrastructure ◽  
Policy Objective ◽  
Public Funds ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Synthetic Index ◽  
Climate Neutrality ◽  
The Eu

The aim of this article was to assess the efficiency of the utilization of public funds for climate neutrality. It was concluded that the data gathered in public statistics are not adapted to current challenges and hinder the direct measurement of climate policy objective implementation progress. Due to that, an innovative approach to public intervention efficiency analysis was proposed for the sake of decreasing CO2 emission in 27 European Union (EU) countries, based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method and soft modeling. Statistical data are derived from the Eurostat database and pertain to the years 2005–2019. It was demonstrated that activity efficiency of the particular EU countries on climate neutrality varied and that together with the increase in public funds spent on environmental protection, the growth of effects in the field of reaching climate neutrality objectives was not observed. The greatest positive impact on achieving climate neutrality objectives was revealed for activities connected with building renewable sources of energy (RES) and there was no correlation detected for expenditures connected with transport infrastructure, which means that public funds used for their construction did not influence climate neutrality. It was established that, in the analyzed period, the decisions on allocating public funds were not taken on the basis of the expected amount of reduction in relation to the volume of outlays. In order to track the reasons for detected inefficiency, 52 projects were analyzed within the case study, which covered 3738 investments in the replacement of heating sources in one region of Poland. It was revealed that the efficiency of those investments varies; however, due to the full availability of data of the acquired results and outlays devoted to them, a synthetic index of efficiency measurement was established that presents the amount of CO2 reduction for EUR 1. When comparing the analyses carried out on macro and micro scales, it was observed that on the scale of the EU, there is a lack of uniform measurements or benchmarks of projects in the field of CO2 emissions reduction. Meanwhile, from the whole EU’s perspective, it should be reasonable to undertake projects with the highest economic efficiency, irrespective of political and geographical aspects. The results obtained should be utilized by decision-makers to elaborate reference methodologies and good practices in order to successfully implement climate objectives and especially the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). What should be established are universal, on the EU scale, measurements and rules for gathering and counting data as well as benchmarks for the particular project types.

Constitutional and Legal Restrictions in the European Union Countries in the Context of the COVID 19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
pp. 92-97
Author(s):  
A. V. Kuznetsov
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
International Law ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
European Union Countries ◽  
Legal Restrictions ◽  
Restrictive Measures ◽  
The Eu

The article examines the norms of international law and the legislation of the EU countries. The list of main provisions of constitutional and legal restrictions in the European Union countries is presented. The application of the norms is described Human rights conventions. The principle of implementing legal acts in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic is considered. A comparative analysis of legal restrictive measures in the States of the European Union is carried out.

scholarly journals Changes in Energy Consumption in Agriculture in the EU Countries

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1570
Author(s):  
Tomasz Rokicki ◽  
Aleksandra Perkowska ◽  
Bogdan Klepacki ◽  
Piotr Bórawski ◽  
Aneta Bełdycka-Bórawska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Correlation Coefficient ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Research Hypothesis ◽  
The Eu

The paper’s main purpose was to identify and present the current situation and changes in energy consumption in agriculture in the European Union (EU) countries. The specific objectives were the determination of the degree of concentration of energy consumption in agriculture in the EU countries, showing the directions of their changes, types of energy used, and changes in this respect, establishing the correlation between energy consumption and changes in the economic and agricultural situation in the EU countries. All member states of the European Union were deliberately selected for research on 31 December 2018 (28 countries). The research period covered the years 2005–2018. The sources of materials were the literature on the subject, and data from Eurostat. Descriptive, tabular, and graphical methods were used to analyze and present materials, dynamics indicators with a stable base, Gini concentration coefficient, concentration analysis using the Lorenz curve, coefficient of variation, Kendall’s tau correlation coefficient, and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. A high concentration of energy consumption in agriculture was found in several EU countries, the largest in countries with the largest agricultural sector, i.e., France and Poland. There were practically no changes in the concentration level. Only in the case of renewable energy, a gradual decrease in concentration was visible. More and more countries developed technologies that allow the use of this type of energy. However, the EU countries differed in terms of the structure of the energy sources used. The majority of the basis was liquid fuels, while stable and gaseous fuels were abandoned in favor of electricity and renewable sources—according to which, in the EU countries, the research hypothesis was confirmed: a gradual diversification of energy sources used in agriculture, with a systematic increase in the importance of renewable energy sources. The second research hypothesis was also confirmed, according to which the increase in the consumption of renewable energy in agriculture is closely related to the economy’s parameters. The use of renewable energy is necessary and results from concern for the natural environment. Therefore, economic factors may have a smaller impact.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT (NOT TAX) OF THE ECONOMY IN THE EU COUNTRIES DUE TO THE PANDEMIC

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (11) ◽  
pp. 251-257
Author(s):  
Anzhelika L. Gendon ◽  
◽  
Galina F. Golubeva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Economic Policy ◽  
Labor Market ◽  
Financial Support ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Euro Pean ◽  
Political Decisions ◽  
Positive Factor ◽  
The Eu

The article examines the financial support (not tax) of the economy in the EU countries due to the pandemic. A comprehensive vision of the situation and strategic planning are the foundation of the Euro-pean Union's economic policy. These qualities help to develop comprehensive measures to stabilize the labor market and entrepreneurship in the countries of the European Union in the context of a global emergency. A positive factor is also the fact that in an epidemic situation, political decisions of various states are aimed at introducing socially oriented measures that support their citizens.

scholarly journals THE DYNAMICS OF HORTICULTURAL FARM NUMBERS IN DIFFERENT ECONOMIC SIZE CLASSES AND CHANGES IN THEIR INCOME IN 2007-2017

2020 ◽  
Vol XXII (3) ◽  
pp. 31-41
Author(s):  
Maryla Bieniek-Majka ◽  
Marta Guth
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Agricultural Policy ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Average Change ◽  
Farm Accountancy Data Network ◽  
The Common ◽  
Large Farms ◽  
Economic Size ◽  
The Eu

The aim of this study is to determine changes in the structure of horticultural farms in EU countries in the years 2007-2017 and their incomes and determine the share of subsidies of the Common Agricultural Policy in the income of horticultural farms in studied groups. Horticultural farms from the European Union Farm Accountancy Data Network (EUFADN) of all EU countries were surveyed. A dynamic analysis of the structure of farm numbers in particular groups of economic size (ES6) was carried out, and then the average change in income and the share of subsidies in income within these groups in 2007 and 2017 were presented. As a result of the conducted research, changes in the number of horticultural farms in various groups of economic size were taken into account and the assumptions concerning the decreasing scale of fragmentation of horticultural farms were confirmed by a decrease in the number of the economically weakest groups and an increase in the number of medium and large farms. It was noted that, in the studied groups, the strongest income growths concerned farms with medium or high economic strength, which may mean that income had a significant impact on the process. Moreover, it results from the conducted research that existing institutional solutions additionally supported the tendency to reduce the scale of fragmentation of horticultural farms in the EU-12 due to the fact that the shares of subsidies were higher in groups with higher economic strength.

scholarly journals National Market Protectionist Gambling Policies in the European Union: The Finnish Gambling Monopoly Merger as a Case in Point

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jani Selin ◽  
Matilda Hellman ◽  
Tuulia Lerkkanen
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Systemic Change ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Policy Objective ◽  
Public Funds ◽  
National Market ◽  
The Media ◽  
Gambling Operators ◽  
Human Desire ◽  
Gambling Market

A rapidly growing globalized and digitalized gambling industry has compelled European jurisdictions to take action in order to secure some level of gambling market control, to secure public funds from gambling, and to protect citizens from gambling-related harm. This study concerns the market protectionist endeavour to merge three gambling operators into one state-owned monopoly in Finland in 2017. The justification of the systemic change is analysed in key policy documents and media reporting that discerns the political narratives that nudged the monopoly merger from the idea stage to its completion. Within the narratives, the merger is presented as necessary due to the threats of market intrusion by foreign gambling operators and the likelihood of an internal system implosion framed by European Union (EU) law. The worries expressed in the studied materials plug into a general zeitgeist of globalization. The justifications of the systemic change presuppose the inevitable determination of the change and an innate and constant human desire to gamble. Critical views on the merger were introduced in the media at a late stage, stressing the role of the media as a facilitator and manufacturer of political consent. The study demonstrates how market protectionist justifications can, through the maintenance of a regulated gambling market, assure preservation of national public funds obtained from gambling in the EU. The official gambling policy objective of securing public health played a secondary role in the process.RésuméLa croissance fulgurante de l’industrie du jeu, mondialisée et numérisée, a incité les autorités européennes à prendre des mesures afin d’assurer un certain contrôle sur ce marché, de garantir les fonds publics provenant du jeu et de protéger les citoyens des dommages liés au jeu. Cette étude porte sur la tentative protectionniste de la Finlande de fusionner trois exploitants de jeux d’argent en un monopole d’État en 2017. On analyse les raisons justifiant le changement systémique dans des documents politiques clés et des reportages dans les médias en mettant en évidence le contenu narratif politique qui a conduit à la fusion du monopole, depuis la naissance de l’idée jusqu’à sa concrétisation. Dans ce contenu narratif, la fusion est présentée comme une nécessité en raison des menaces d’intrusion par des exploitants de jeux étrangers et la probabilité d’une implosion du système interne encadré par le droit de l’UE. Les inquiétudes exprimées dans les documents analysés cadrent avec une tendance généralisée à l’égard de la mondialisation. Les fondements qui sous-tendent ce changement systémique présupposent l’inévitabilité du changement et un désir inné et constant de jouer chez l’être humain. Les points de vue critiques sur la fusion sont présentés tardivement dans les médias, ce qui confirme le rôle des médias comme facilitateur et créateur de consentement politique. L’étude montre que les justifications protectionnistes du marché peuvent, par le maintien d’une réglementation du marché des jeux, garantir l’apport de fonds publics nationaux générés par les jeux de hasard dans l’UE. L’objectif officiel de la politique en matière de jeu visant à protéger la santé publique a joué un rôle de second plan dans le processus.

scholarly journals National fiscal frameworks in the post-crisis European Union

Equilibrium ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 623-642
Author(s):  
Agata Szymańska
Keyword(s):  
Public Finance ◽  
European Union ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Fiscal Rules ◽  
Agglomerative Clustering ◽  
Clustering Method ◽  
Public Finances ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Fiscal Frameworks

Research background: The latest economic and financial crisis has seriously injured European Union Member States, affecting the condition of their public finances. In the face of the crisis, the EU made a special effort to increase the effectiveness of national fiscal frameworks, e.g. by improving the compliance with legislation. The post 2009 reforms were aimed at providing a solid economic foundation for the national fiscal frameworks, especially in the high-debt euro area countries. Purpose of the article: The goal of this research is twofold. Firstly, it aims to provide an outline of the national fiscal governance in the EU. Secondly, the paper analyzes the changes in the core measures of fiscal governance in the EU between the crisis period and the year 2016 (due to the latest available data) and investigates the similarities in the progress made by the 28 EU countries in restoring balance in public finance. Methods: To achieve the goal, the literature review and the analysis of core elements of national fiscal frameworks are provided. In the empirical section the grouping method for all 28 EU countries based on the Ward's agglomerative hierarchical clustering method is employed. The study uses data derived from the AMECO database (in the case of fiscal data) and the European Commission thematic data for quality indexes of particular elements of fiscal governance (numerical fiscal rules, medium-term budgetary frameworks and independent fiscal institutions). Findings & Value added: This paper contributes to the literature by, on the one hand, attempting to analyze changes in main fiscal governance measures and, on the other hand, by assessing their link with public finance through employment of the agglomerative clustering method. Based on the results, the conclusion about the importance of the improvement in fiscal frameworks is provided. The analysis shows that countries with better national fiscal framework achieved better results in public finances regardless the macroeconomic conditions.

PRECONDITIONS TO FULLER CROATIAN INTEGRATION IN EU TOURISM

2005 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-167
Author(s):  
Romina Alkier
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Moderate Rate ◽  
To Come ◽  
Market Relations ◽  
The Eu

In the coming years, the number of tourist trips from and within the European Union can be expected to grow, as a result of ongoing integration processes, and also because it is becoming simpler and cheaper to travel. According to the WTO, tourism will grow at a moderate rate of four per cent annually in average, and by 2020 the number of tourist arrivals worldwide will reach 1.6 billion, of which 717 million tourist arrivals will be to Europe. Out of this number, more than half a million will be to present-day EU countries. Given the EU’s continuing enlargement, clearly this number will continue to increase, and with it the global importance of the EU. The EU’s tourist policy in the years to come will increasingly become better, more imaginative and more efficient. Regardless of the unchanging subsidiary principle, this policy will continue to develop, gradually adapting to new opportunities. The principles of the sector tourist policy are already being carried out in practice by all EU members, and any country aspiring to become a part this association will not only need to incorporate these principles, but respect them as well. Croatia is one of the countries which has embraced this orientation in tourism and it is aiming to address this “European challenge” at the level of market relations, taking efforts to avoid the pitfalls and threats of tourism marginalisation, given the harsh competition and protectionist measures existing within the EU.

Grexit and Brexit: Incidents, accidents and wake-up calls on the bumpy road of European (dis)integration

2020 ◽  
pp. 096977642097061
Author(s):  
George Petrakos ◽  
Alexandra Sotiriou
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Maastricht Treaty ◽  
Policy Agenda ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Policy Integration ◽  
The Real ◽  
Eu Policy ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
The Eu

Almost 30 years since the Maastricht Treaty and 20 years since the introduction of the euro, it is clear that the European Union (EU) has lost its appeal to wider constituencies and citizen groups that realize that the promises for convergence and prosperity have not been delivered. Rising dissatisfaction and Euroscepticism (expressed both in the ballot box and in Eurobarometer reports) is evident even in traditional pro-EU countries of the European core. As this long decade comes to an end, incidents (or accidents) like these ones, either in the form of open discontent, or in the form of rising populism, will exert pressure on the EU policy agenda that will either increase the frequency of deadlocks and inefficiency in policy making or will eventually lead to an honest effort to address the roots of these phenomena. This paper examines the drivers behind these two incidents (and the ones that may follow) and the limits of the current market and policy integration arrangements in the EU, arguing that a new policy agenda addressing the real weaknesses of the Union is inevitable if disintegration is to be avoided. Luckily enough, some elements of this new policy agenda may already be here.

scholarly journals An AHPSort II Based Analysis of the Inequality Reduction within European Union

Mathematics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 646
Author(s):  
Álvaro Labella ◽  
Juan Carlos Rodríguez-Cohard ◽  
José Domingo Sánchez-Martínez ◽  
Luis Martínez
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Discussion Section ◽  
Academic Literature ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Agenda 2030 ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Proper Analysis ◽  
The Eu

Nowadays, sustainability is an omnipresent concept in our society, which encompasses several challenges related to poverty, inequality, climate change and so on. The United Nations adopted the Agenda 2030, a plan of action formed of universal Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs) and targets, which countries have to face in order to shift the world toward a sustainable future. One of the most relevant SDGs since the onset of the financial crisis in 2007 has been the so-called reduced inequalities, which consists of dealing with the inequality of opportunities and wealth between and within countries. However, reducing inequalities depends on many heterogeneous aspects, making it difficult to make a proper analysis that evaluates the European Union (EU) countries performance of this goal. In this study, we introduce a novel approach to evaluate the inequalities in EU countries based on a sorting a multi-criteria decision-making method called AHPSort II. This approach allows to obtain a classification of the EU countries according to their achievements in reducing inequalities to subsequently carry out a deep performance analysis with the aim of drawing conclusions as to the evolution of inequality in them along the years. The results are consistent with the main international organizations’ reports and academic literature, as shown in the Discussion Section.

Disparity in the structure of certified organic farms in the European Union

2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 34-48
Author(s):  
Lidia Luty
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Organic Farms ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Spatial Approach ◽  
Certified Organic ◽  
The Eu

The main objective of this article is to present the differences in the structures of certified organic farms in the European Union (EU) countries within 2005—2013, using dynamic and spatial approach. The method of vectors elimination was used in a study. The analysis showed that changes in the structure of organic farms in the EU countries were not always reflected in the structure of their areas. More significant changes occurred in the structure of farm number, in particular with regard to the countries which joined the European Union in 2004. In 2013 it was possible to distinguish five groups of EU countries that are similar to each other in terms of structure of number and six — in terms of the structure of area. In the majority of EU countries, organic farms covered the area over 10,0 ha.

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