Connecting Eurasia

2020 ◽  
pp. 234-250
Author(s):  
Fabienne Bossuyt ◽  
Irina Bolgova
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Common Interests ◽  
The Common ◽  
Willingness To Cooperate ◽  
The Eu

As China further embarks on implementing its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and remains firmly set on pursuing the ambitious goal of connecting China overland with Europe, the European Union (EU) and Russia - as indispensable stakeholders for this continental connection to successfully materialize – have been developing policy responses to China's initiative that reveal an unexpected willingness to cooperate. In scrutinizing the likelihood of cooperation on connectivity between the EU, China, and Russia in Central Asia, this chapter identifies the common interests between the three sides, and highlights to what extent cooperation between them is possible in Central Asia. In doing so, the chapter points to the main opportunities while outlining the main bottlenecks, which mostly stem from the underlying geopolitical rivalry between these three actors, as well as their diverging beliefs and approaches to connectivity and development.

scholarly journals The European Union and China Foreign Direct Investment Cooperation in the Context of the Belt and Road Initiative

2020 ◽  
pp. 76-93
Author(s):  
D. Potapov
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
The Common ◽  
National Governments ◽  
The Belt And Road ◽  
The Eu

The article analyses the foreign direct investment cooperation between the European Union and the People’s Republic of China under the Belt and Road Initiative. The initiative is proposed by China and is aimed at developing cross-regional transport and logistics infrastructure connecting China with South-East, South and Central Asia, the Middle East, East Africa and Europe. The author examines the history of the initiative and its assessments by international organizations (e.g. the World Bank and the ESCAP UN) and investigates the structure and statistics of the EU-China investment relations, basing on the examples of the most important China’s investment partners (including France, Italy, Germany and the Vishegrad Group countries). The discrepancy between the conditions for the EU and the Chinese investors is highlighted. The author defines and characterizes the major models of the Belt and Road projects’ development, which are used by China in cooperation with the EU Member States. The EU investors in China face restrictions imposed by the national regulation of foreign investments. In particular, the external investors do not have access to the sectors crucially important for national interest and security (e.g. high-tech sectors and mass media). At the same time, Chinese investors’ access to the EU financial markets is not limited, allowing them to become important shareholders in the EU companies and to transfer technologies. It raises concerns within national governments and the European Union itself. The national governments are establishing and adopting screening mechanisms for foreign direct investments and additional regulations to control important sectors and enterprises. At the same time, the EU Member States are developing a common view on the prospects and mechanisms of cooperation with China under the Belt and Road initiative. The EU countries have not yet reached a consensus upon the Belt and Road initiative and the prospects of the EU participation in it, so the author focuses on the strategies of the examined countries. Germany is calling for a common position for all the EU member states and advocates for using the EU-based mechanisms and platforms for cooperation with China. Such demands are also connected with the promotion of a common EU investment screening mechanism in order to protect the Member States’ interests and security. Italy is deepening its cooperation with China through bilateral mechanisms, mainly based on a memorandum of understanding with China on the Belt and Road initiative. France, on the one hand, shares the common interest with Germany regarding the need for the common EU policy towards the Chinese initiative, but on the other hand, the country is deploying new projects with China. The Visegrad Group states are forging their ties with China through bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms and they are interested in the growth of Chinese investment inflows. This undermines the unanimity of policy towards China and the Belt and Road.

scholarly journals European Union integration and the belt and road initiative: A curious case of Serbia

2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 337-355
Author(s):  
Mihajlo Vucic
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
The United States ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Accession Process ◽  
The Belt And Road ◽  
The Eu

The topic of this article is the Serbian foreign policy between its main strategic aims - membership in the European Union, and cooperation with China in the framework of the Belt and Road initiative. Serbia bases its foreign policy upon four pillars - the accession process to the EU and three strategic partnerships with great world powers - China, the United States of America, and Russia. However, the accession process to the EU requires from Serbia to strictly follow its obligations from the Stabilization and Association Agreement, Treaty Establishing the Transport Community, and other treaties signed with the EU which might sometimes conflict with project activities from the Belt and Road partnership process. These obligations relate mostly to competition and environmental protection. The author gives the analysis of the main points of possible conflict and indicates a double standard in the EU approach to the Belt and Road initiative. Then he presents arguments that indicate the Belt and Road can serve as a bridge between candidate countries and the EU internal market. The author concludes that although there exist some structural justifications to EU?s skepticism towards the Belt and Road, the best way to overcome them is to insist on political dialogue on many existing levels between the EU and China, with the aim to exchange information between them on EU rules, policies and standards to make sure Chinese investments and other financial activities in Serbia are in accordance with its accession obligations.

scholarly journals CONSIDERING GENERAL LEGALAND TREATYBASES OF COOPERATION BETWEEN EUROPEAN UNION AND CENTRAL ASIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 263-267
Author(s):  
G.R. Absattarov ◽  
◽  
M.F. Shamilov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
Regulatory Framework ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Asian Region ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Common Interests ◽  
The Eu

For almost three decades of partnership, Central Asia has become of a great strategic importance to the European Union due to the geographic location of the region between Asia and Europe and mutual common interests in cooperationissues. Based on this study on the evolution of the development of relations between the EU and the countries of the Central Asian region, carried through political, legal, economic and humanitarian mechanisms, the author gives an attempt to research the formation of the regulatory framework of this cooperation, based under legal acts, documents and agreements between parties.

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 Finland’s Africa Strategy

2021 ◽  
pp. 32-37
Author(s):  
Elena Boldyreva ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Foreign Affairs ◽  
The European Union ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
Northern Country ◽  
Common Interests ◽  
The Common

The article analyzes Finland’s strategy towards Africa. The relevance of this topic does not raise doubts in the light of the growing interest not only of Finland, but also of the European Union as a whole in Africa, especially the countries of the Sahel. Finland’s strategy was adopted almost simultaneously with the EU’s strategy and can be considered as an integral part of it. The article analyzes the publicly available documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, which are relevant both to the policy of this northern country in relation to the continent as a whole and to individual African countries. The aim of the strategy is to set realistic but ambitious goals for Finland’s policy towards Africa, based on the common interests of Finland and African countries, to define the main directions of Finland’s policy towards Africa and to define concrete actions to achieve them. In addition, it is necessary to pay special attention to strengthening political and economic relations and expand cooperation in various forms. Thus, the research carried out can be useful for a better understanding of one of the most important directions of Finnish foreign policy today.

Policy-Making in the European Union

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
National Level ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Policy ◽  
Theoretical Approaches ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Common ◽  
Key Events ◽  
The Eu

Policy-Making in the European Union explores the link between the modes and mechanisms of EU policy-making and its implementation at the national level. From defining the processes, institutions and modes through which policy-making operates, the text moves on to situate individual policies within these modes, detail their content, and analyse how they are implemented, navigating policy in all its complexities. The first part of the text examines processes, institutions, and the theoretical and analytical underpinnings of policy-making, while the second part considers a wide range of policy areas, from economics to the environment, and security to the single market. Throughout the text, theoretical approaches sit side by side with the reality of key events in the EU, including enlargement, the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, and the financial crisis and resulting Eurozone crisis, focusing on what determines how policies are made and implemented. This includes major developments such as the establishment of the European Stability Mechanism, the reform of the common agricultural policy, and new initiatives to promote EU energy security. In the final part, the chapters consider trends in EU policy-making and the challenges facing the EU.

scholarly journals Belt and Road Initiative: Five Years on Implementation and Reflection

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Biliang Hu
Keyword(s):  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Belt And Road Initiative ◽  
Agenda 2030 ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
World Economic ◽  
Common Interests ◽  
The Common ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Belt And Road ◽  
World Development

This article summarizes the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which was carried out 5 years ago. To date the basic institutional framework has been set up, some key infrastructural projects launched; joint development zones established and supporting systems have been set up to ensure the smooth infrastructure development of BRI. This article also explains the important factors why China proposed and implemented the initiative: accelerating world economic growth particularly for the developing countries, promoting economic globalization, improving global governance, and supporting UN Agenda 2030 for sustainable development. Based on the 5 years’ experience of the Belt and Road implementation, the initiative reflects correctly the mega trend of world development and global cooperation, as well as the common interests of China and other relevant participating countries. A promising future for the initiative is most likely; however, careful feasibility study for investments is required to manage debt risk well for both the investors and the receivers of the investments.

scholarly journals Agriculture and agricultural policy in the European Union

2012 ◽  
Vol 49 (No. 2) ◽  
pp. 62-66
Author(s):  
D. Ahner
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Agricultural Policy ◽  
Common Agricultural Policy ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Common ◽  
Eastern European Countries ◽  
Agenda 2000 ◽  
The Eu

The paper deals with the particular stages of development of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the last forty years. The process and impacts of CAP reforms are analyzed for the particular production industries of agriculture. The paper also presents a detailed description of Agenda 2000 and mid-term review of the Common Agricultural Policy in 2002 that brought about many proposals for the future working of CAP after accession of Central and Eastern European countries.

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