Notion of good faith in European Court of Justice practice as a regulatory instrument for civil matters in the European UnionGeorgiy D. Travin

This article analyses construction and application of the “good faith” concept by the European Court of Justice. Historically having played an important role in the national law of the EU member states the term functions with a similar but not identical purpose on the supranational level within the European Union law. Topicality of the referenced practices is based on the EU’s leading role in the general globalisation and unification of substantive law. After an analysis of the European Court of Justice judgements constructing EU Secondary law provisions which refer to “good faith” the role said construction plays in regulation of civil matters in the European Union as a supranational authority is outlined. Case law on matters concerning consumer protection and intellectual property are analysed and a conclusion on probability of applying foreign practices to Russian law is made.

Analysis of feed in terms of the presence of genetically modified oilseed rape

The labeling of products containing GMOs above 0.9% results from the provisions of the law in force in the European Union. The aim of the study was to evaluate the presence of genetically modified rape in feed used in feeding farm animals in Poland. The research was based on the real-time PCR technique, using primers and event-specific probes. A total of 900 samples were analyzed. The research identified canola line GT73, resistant to glyphosate. Only in 12 samples did the content of this oilseed rape exceed the threshold above which the product must be labeled as containing GMOs. Conducting such controls is extremely important because of the possibility of contamination of feed free from genetically modified organisms, which are increasingly used in animal nutrition.

Dilution Versus Unfair Advantage: Myths and Realities

Recent developments in the commercial marketplace have rendered the classification of trademarks as mere tools for remedying information asymmetry and assuring quality inaccurate. The value of trademarks as communicative tools has increased, and they are now being used by their owners to transmit images, value propositions and associations to consumers in order to drive purchases. However, while this new function of trademarks is a reality that can hardly be ignored, finding a convincing normative justification to legally support its integration into the trademark system remains problematic. Thus, building on the normative justifications advanced by the European Union (EU) to justify extended trademark protection, this paper evaluates the dilutive harm theory, including blurring and tarnishment, in addition to the misappropriation rationale. The paper reviews EU case law in this respect and sheds light on the current muddled state of law in dealing with extended trademark protection. Based on this analysis, the paper offers a workable framework which can be utilized by courts to address cases related to modern trademark functions. The paper concludes that the misappropriation rationale should be the principal ground for extending trademark protection, and that harm resulting from blurring and tarnishment should act as an ancillary for misappropriation claims.

“Everything Will Be All Right!” National and European Identification as Predictors of Positive Expectations for the Future During the COVID-19 Emergency

During the first national lockdown imposed in a Western country to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, many Italians tried to boost their spirits by hanging hand-drawn rainbows with the slogan “Everything will be all right” from their windows. To understand which processes might have nurtured their positive views about the future during the pandemic, the present study (N=846), building upon social identity research, examined the relationships among Italians’ identification with their country and with the superordinate entity of the European Union (EU), trust in the main institutions in charge of managing the crisis (i.e., the Italian government, the EU, and the scientific community), and beliefs that the COVID-19 crisis would eventually result in the improvement of society. Structural equation modeling analyses showed that identification with Italians and Europeans had positive direct associations with positive expectations about humankind. Identification with Europeans was also directly related to positive expectations about Italian leaders and the strengthening of the EU through the crisis. Trust in the Italian government and, to a lower extent, trust in the EU mediated some of these associations. These findings suggest that governments should actively promote national and European identification to help citizens counter the negative psychological impact of the pandemic and maintain positive views of the future.

The Competency Niche: An Exploratory Study

In the era of a turbulent and less-predictable business environment, as confirmed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the ability to efficiently use human resources has become particularly important. There is a need to reduce employees' competency niche, and competency mismatches have become noticeable in the European Union. We performed qualitative interviews (n = 282) to determine the competency niche of employees from private firms in Poland. Results show that employees were passive in identifying their competence needs. Moreover, firms did not use the weak signals methodology to eliminate the competency niche. This novel study found that firms should be more active in identifying employee competency niches by analyzing early signs to be ready for any changes without delays. The findings create a basis for proposing preventive measures, and we point out avenues for future research.

Universal Politics

This book claims that there is a negativity at the core of all social articulations that provides the basis for a universal politics. Drawing principally on the work of Slavoj Žižek, the book suggests that the social is punctured by an impossibility—an incompletion—that, rather than serving as a barrier to politics, lays a foundation for shared struggle. The book thus argues for a negative universality, rooted not in a positive element (e.g., identity-based politics) but a discordant one, so that under our current global capitalist system, solidarity is to be forged on the basis of social antagonism (i.e., shared experiences of exploitation and marginalization). Such a conception of shared struggle avoids the trap of both a neocolonial universalism (e.g., the rights of white men parading as universal rights) and the narrow particularism of identity-based politics. Most importantly, it foregrounds the struggles of the systematically dispossessed and excluded (the permanently unemployed, migrants, refugees, sweatshop laborers, etc.), who stand as symptom of our global capitalist order. The book compares “negative universality” with four competing contemporary versions of universalism—conservative, liberal, postcolonial, and Marxist. It also brings “negative universality” into dialogue with present-day critics of universalism—postmodernists, post-Marxists, queer theorists, decolonial pluriversalists, and new materialists. Finally, it examines what a universal politics might look like today in the context of such key global sites of struggle as climate change, the refugee crisis, the Palestinian question, Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, political Islam, workers’ struggles, the Bolivian state under Morales, the European Union, and Covid-19.

Moldovan- EU Economic Cooperation: The Role and Potential of Agricultural Sector

Agriculture is one of the most important aspects of every country's economy. The Republic of Moldova enjoys a competitive advantage in agricultural output due to its excellent soil and temperate temperature. The Association Agreement between Moldova and the European Union (EU), which was signed in 2014, greatly increased Moldovan producers' access to EU markets. The EU is Moldova's most significant economic partner, accounting for over 70% of the country's exports in 2019. In general, integrating Moldovan food producers into global value chains through supply chain connections with big retailers and exports helps them to scale up, improve productivity, and eventually contribute more to Moldova's economic growth. The developments in Moldova's agricultural and food trade following the establishment of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) with the European Union are examined in this study. The study will look at Moldova's foreign trade activities from the standpoint of agriculture and food goods.