A Differential Approach to Energy Policy? Explaining the Prevalence of Market-based Energy Policy Instruments in Central and Eastern Europe

Economic sustainability plays an important role in shaping conditions for economic growth and social development. The importance of answering the question about the level of sustainability of family farms results from the fact that the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, apart from exceptions (e.g. the Czech Republic and Slovakia), are characterized by a fragmented agrarian structure. Hence, the main goal of this article was to answer two questions: 1) whether the countries of Central and Eastern Europe differ in the level of economic sustainability of small family farms; and 2) whether the same socioeconomic factors impact similarly on the level of economic sustainability of small family farms from countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The study was based on surveys conducted in small family farms: in 2018 from Poland (672 farms) and in 2019 in four other countries (Lithuania; 999 farms, Romania; 834 farms, Serbia; 523 farms, Moldova; 530 farms). The publication includes a critical analysis of the literature, structure analysis and correlation analysis. The results show the occurrence of large differences between the economic sustainability of small family farms from the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The research indicates that the larger the area of a small-scale family farm, the greater its economic sustainability. The productivity of these farms increases with their economic sustainability. The results also prove a negative relationship between the age of the farmer and the economic sustainability of their farm in all analysed countries. These trends were found in all analysed countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The results of the analyses support the conclusion that agricultural policy instruments aimed at increasing the economic sustainability of small family farms should lead to: land consolidation, a decrease in the age of farm owners through generational changes, and a decrease in employment in agriculture, which would lead to a reduction in labour input in the agricultural sector.

Download Full-text

Governing the memories of communism in Central and Eastern Europe: policy instruments and social practices

European Politics and Society ◽

10.1080/23745118.2016.1269437 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Pascal Bonnard ◽

Cécile Jouhanneau

Keyword(s):

Eastern Europe ◽

Central And Eastern Europe ◽

Policy Instruments ◽

Social Practices

Download Full-text

The Political Economy of EU Climate and Energy Policies in Central and Eastern Europe Revisited: Shifting Coalitions and Prospects for Clean Energy Transitions

Politics and Governance ◽

10.17645/pag.v7i1.1786 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 124-138 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Stefan Ćetković ◽

Aron Buzogány

Keyword(s):

Eastern Europe ◽

Energy Policy ◽

Voting Behavior ◽

Central And Eastern Europe ◽

Recent Literature ◽

Clean Energy ◽

Energy Policies ◽

Climate Policies ◽

Regional Position ◽

Council Of Ministers

The countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have commonly been regarded as climate and energy policy laggards blocking more ambitious EU decarbonization targets. Although recent literature has increasingly acknowledged the differences in national positions on energy and climate issues among these states, there has been little comprehensive evidence about their positioning on EU climate and energy policies and the domestic interests which shape government preferences. The article addresses this gap by tracing the voting behavior of six CEE countries (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania) on EU energy-related legislation in the Council of Ministers between 2007–2018. The article shows that the contestation of energy policies, particularly of climate-related legislation, in the Council of Ministers has increased over time and that these six CEE countries have indeed most often objected to the adoption of EU legislation. The CEE states do not, however, have a common regional positioning on all EU energy policies. Voting coalitions among the six CEE countries differ substantially across energy policy areas. The lack of a common regional position and changing national preferences have enabled the adoption of a relatively ambitious EU Energy and Climate Package for 2030. The differences in national voting patterns are explained by the evolving interests and the ability of key domestic political and economic actors to adapt to and explore benefits from the ever-expanding EU energy and climate policies.

Download Full-text

Towards energy policy corporatism in Central and Eastern Europe?

Interest Groups & Advocacy ◽

10.1057/s41309-021-00138-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Brigitte Horváthová ◽

Michael Dobbins ◽

Rafael Pablo Labanino

Keyword(s):

Eastern Europe ◽

Energy Policy ◽

Policy Making ◽

Central And Eastern Europe ◽

Policy Coordination ◽

Institutional Setting ◽

New Wave ◽

The Czech Republic ◽

Organized Interests ◽

The Government

AbstractThis paper contributes to our understanding of interest intermediation structures in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and, specifically, whether, which, how and to what extent organized interests are incorporated into policy-making processes. Unlike previous studies primarily focusing on patterns of economic coordination (Jahn 2016), we focus on energy policy-making in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia. We address the extent to which these energy interest intermediation systems are gravitating towards a more corporatist policy-making paradigm and whether corporatist arrangements have been dismantled in view of the new wave of national conservatism in CEE. We offer a complex operationalization of corporatism based on concrete indicators and present the results of a survey of energy interest groups operating in the region. It covers questions regarding interest intermediation between the organized interests and the government, regulatory authorities as well as the degree of policy coordination and political exchange with the state and between rivalling organizations, enabling us to derive a “corporatism score” for each national institutional setting and discuss them in the light of Jahn’s (2016) corporatism rankings for the region. We show that—despite striking differences—at least rudimentary corporatist interest intermediation structures have emerged with some variations of pluralism and statism in all four countries.

Download Full-text

The United States on the Three Seas Initiative

Rocznik Instytutu Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej ◽

10.36874/riesw.2019.3.5 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 17 (3) ◽

pp. 79-92

Author(s):

Adrian Chojan

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Eastern Europe ◽

Energy Policy ◽

Security Policy ◽

Central And Eastern Europe ◽

The United States ◽

Donald Trump ◽

Foreign And Security Policy ◽

The U.S

In this paper, the U.S. stance under the administration of President Donald Trump with regard to the Three Seas Initiative (TSI) is analysed. It shows the importance of Central and Eastern Europe in U.S. foreign and security policy, concluding that the Americans treat the TSI as an instrument for achieving their own goals, especially those in energy policy.

Download Full-text