Considerations on the Infringement Procedure against Romania

This paper is a study of the infringement procedure, as it is regulated at EU level. Thus, we first analyze the existing legal framework on the matter. The implementation of this procedure in various Member States of the European Union and its consequences are then presented. Last but not least, the article refers to a series of aspects regarding the fields in which the procedure was directed against Romania since its integration into the EU. The purpose of the essay is to present in detail Romania's situation regarding the violation of EU’s law.Thus, a comparative presentation throughout time of the number of such proceedings launched against the Romanian state was made.A relevant case in which Romania was tried and convicted was also presented in detail.The large number of cases launched in 2021 highlights the delays registered by Romania on the matter. The measures ordered by the Romanian government through the elaborated the Annual Transposition Plan-2021must be carefully and systematically implemented. Romania could also consider and effectively apply the examples of good practice from the other EU’s member states. The historical and the comparative methods used in this presentation reveal both the similarities between the application of this procedure in the EU Member States under review as well as the differences and its succession in time. The article is important not only for the scientists, but also for the practitioners to dispose all the necessary measures that are required.

Prioritizing health information for national health reporting - a Delphi study of the Joint Action on Health Information (InfAct)

Background Health information (HI) strategies exist in several EU Member States, however, they mainly focus on technical issues and improving governance rather than on content-related priority setting. There is also little research available about national prioritization processes underlying HI development for policy support in the EU. The aim of this study was to broaden the knowledge base on HI prioritization strategies and to encourage expert exchange towards good practice models. A specific focus was put on HI produced for national health reporting, this being a crucial tool for policy advice. Methods We conducted a literature search to identify published and grey literature on national HI prioritization. This was followed by a two-round Policy Delphi study, where we explored which processes and methods exist in EU Member States and associated countries for the prioritization of HI collection. In the first round, information about these processes was gathered in semi-structured questions; in the second round, participants were asked to rank the identified approaches for desirability and feasibility. The survey was conducted online; participants were recruited from the membership of the Joint Action on Health Information (InfAct – Information for Action). Results 119 experts were contacted, representing 40 InfAct partner institutions in 28 EU Member States and associated countries. Of these, 28 experts responded fully or partially to the first round, and six to the second round. In the first round, more than half of the respondents reported the existence of structured HI prioritization processes in their countries. To prioritize HI, a clear preference was given in the second round for a formal, horizontal process which includes different experts and stakeholders. National public health institutes were named desirable key stakeholders in this process, and also desirable and feasible coordinators for stakeholder coordination. Conclusion Health information prioritization methods and procedures reflect the heterogeneity of national public health systems in European countries. Mapping, sharing and ranking prioritization methods and procedures for “good practices” provides a meaningful basis for expert knowledge exchange on HI development. We recommend to make this process part of a future sustainable EU health information system and to use the information gathered in this project to initiate the development of a guidance “Good Practice HI Prioritization” among EU Member States and associated countries.

Health data collection methods and procedures across EU member states: findings from the InfAct Joint Action on health information

Background Health-related data are collected from a variety of sources for different purposes, including secondary use for population health monitoring (HM) and health system performance assessment (HSPA). Most of these data sources are not included in databases of international organizations (e.g., WHO, OECD, Eurostat), limiting their use for research activities and policy making. This study aims at identifying and describing collection methods, quality assessment procedures, availability and accessibility of health data across EU Member States (MS) for HM and HSPA. Methods A structured questionnaire was developed and administered through an online platform to partners of the InfAct consortium form EU MS to investigate data collections applied in HM and HSPA projects, as well as their methods and procedures. A descriptive analysis of the questionnaire results was performed. Results Information on 91 projects from 18 EU MS was collected. In these projects, data were mainly collected through administrative sources, population health interview or health examination surveys and from electronic medical records. Tools and methods used for data collection were mostly mandatory reports, self-administered questionnaires, or record linkage of various data sources. One-third of the projects shared data with EU research networks and less than one-third performed quality assessment of their data collection procedures using international standardized criteria. Macrodata were accessible via open access and reusable in 22 projects. Microdata were accessible upon specific request and reusable in 15 projects based on data usage licenses. Metadata was available for the majority of the projects, but followed reporting standards only in 29 projects. Overall, compliance to FAIR Data principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) was not optimal across the EU projects. Conclusions Data collection and exchange procedures differ across EU MS and research data are not always available, accessible, comparable or reusable for further research and evidence-based policy making. There is a need for an EU-level health information infrastructure and governance to promote and facilitate sharing and dissemination of standardized and comparable health data, following FAIR Data principles, across the EU.

Value Alignment and Public Perceived Legitimacy of the European Union and the Court of Justice

The present study aims to extend research on the role of values for the perceived legitimacy of legal authorities by focusing on (1) supranational legal authorities and (2) a broad range of values. We examine how (alignment between) people’s personal values and their perception of the values of the European Union (EU) are related to perceived legitimacy of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) and the EU more broadly. Inspired by moral foundations theory, we distinguish between individualizing (i.e., “democracy”, “liberty”, and “fairness”) and binding values (i.e., “rule of law”, “respect for national authority”, and “respect for tradition”). An online survey was conducted in six EU member states (N = 1,136). A factor analysis confirmed a two-factor model (individualizing vs. binding values) for both personal values and perceived EU values. Four regression models were run for each of the value factors, including personal values, perceived EU values, and their interaction, on each of the outcomes (i.e., perceived CJEU and EU legitimacy). Perceived endorsement by the EU of both individualizing and binding values predicted higher legitimacy perceptions of the CJEU and EU. Furthermore, personal binding values had a negative effect on perceived EU legitimacy when participants perceived the EU to weakly support binding values, but a positive effect when the EU was perceived to strongly support binding values. The results suggest that value alignment plays an important role in perceived legitimacy of the CJEU and EU, and that better representing binding values might be a strategy to improve perceived EU legitimacy.

The Applicability of Process-Orientation to Software Development Projects

The progress in the digital single market (DSM) has been acknowledged as one of the 10 political priorities by the European Commission since 2015. It could contribute € 415 billion per year (GDP) to the economy of the 28 EU Member States and create hundreds of thousands of new jobs. Nowadays, the ICT sector and the European Digital Agenda have declared it as one of the seven pillars of the Europe 2020 strategy. In order to speed up the development of new information technology and its commercialisation, it is necessary to increase software quality aimed at accelerating and improving technology transfer, taking into account process quality management. The aim of this article is to give an overview of a new approach to producing an additional value of the software development projects to improve the technology transfer process.

Fiscal sustainability and low interest rates: what an indicator can(’t) tell

The indicator that is commonly used to assess the long-term fiscal sustainability of public finances in EU member states (“S2”) is also defined if government borrowing rates are assumed to be permanently lower than the growth rate of GDP. Under these circumstances, however, it no longer provides a reliable orientation for fiscal policy. I illustrate these findings based on simulations prepared for the Fifth Sustainability Report published by the German Federal Ministry of Finance. In addition, I discuss the interpretation of the indicator in a low-interest environment and the assumption that relevant interest rates may continue to be low if there are substantial challenges for fiscal sustainability, e.g., through demographic ageing.

Anti-EU Backlash from Below or Above? Public Opinion in Central and Eastern Europe Prior to the 2015 Migration Crisis

Relations between Brussels and Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) worsened during and after the 2015 migration crisis. In order to see to what extent CEE citizens contributed to and/or resonated with this new state of affairs, this paper investigates public opinion before the migration crisis in seven CEE EU Member States. We inquire whether the main issues of the rift (CEE political elites’ opposition to following EU decisions and immigration and their emphasis on sovereignism, nationalism, Christian Europe and historical traumas) could also be traced to public stances towards these issues before the migration crisis. We used the ISSP National Identity module conducted in 2013 and 2014 in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia and Slovenia. The results show that opposition to EU supranationalism was not linked to ethnic nationalism and religious identity (except in Hungary). Contrary to political elites, who emphasised the cultural threat posed by migration, public opinion was more concerned with the economic threat. Moreover, the perception of cultural threat was not linked to opposing EU supranationalism in any of the countries. However, particularly support for sovereignism (in almost all the countries), but also pride in national history (in some countries) correlated negatively with support for EU supranationalism. The results suggest that political elites can bypass public opinion to construct an anti-EU climate, however not out of thin air. The conditions for such a process were present in Hungary with its emerging transnational cleavage, which shows the importance of cleavages in studying Euroscepticism.

THE POTENTIAL OF TOURIST AND RECREATIONAL CLUSTERS IN EUROPEAN SPACE

Assessment of the potential of tourist and recreational clusters and objects of tourist activity remains relevant and still underdeveloped direction in tourism. The article aims to consider the peculiarities of the formation of the regional protentional of tourist and recreational clusters of the member state of the European Union. The methodological paradigm of the formation of potential of tourist and recreational clusters and a technique of its estimation based on systematics of tools and components, which essentially expand a network of the tourist and recreational industry, are substantiated. Methods of hierarchical classification were used. Results and interpretation of the study consists of the components of the competitiveness index for determining the regional level of potential of tourist and recreation clusters in countries in the areas of travel and tourism are presented. Indicators of competitiveness of the regional potential of tourist and recreational clusters are determined. The indicator of the integrated level of efficiency of the formation of regional protentional of tourist and recreational clusters offered. The number of tourists and recreational clusters on the EU member states has been determined. The share of regional potential of tourism and recreation clusters in terms of their total contribution to national income is calculated, as well as the average growth of national income from the projected value of regional potential of tourists and recreation clusters in EU member states.

CONDITIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ON WORK AND OTHER CERTAIN LEGAL SOCIAL, TECHNOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC ISSUES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

The European Union is in the initial phase of managing the conditions for the growth of artificial intelligence. Assuming that the above-mentioned electronic technology of the future should be trustworthy, guarantee the safety of its users and develop under human leadership, the Union should be able to convince the Member States of the necessary need for all interested parties to apply modern electronic technologies in practice while respecting European values, principles and human rights. The above common goal, extremely important for the future of European societies, and a uniform unified strategy for achieving it, binds the EU Member States. The above statement applies to all EU Member States, including those with above-average ambitions to become European leaders in the use of artificial intelligence for economic and social development. Considering that the European Union is competing with the USA and China, it is justified to ask whether the strategy of the development and use of artificial intelligence intended by the European Union will enable the achievement of the above goal?

Wizyta Josepa Borrella w Moskwie

Josep Borrell’s visit to Moscow was a substantial political failure of the EU’s diplomacy still it was not an accident neither a surprise. The EU’ policy towards Russia has been based on illusions and the European wishful thinking since the very beginning of the mutual relations that started in 1991-1993. The Borrell’s visit to Moscow rather showed the nature of the Russian attitude towards the EU than produced it. Russia prefers to act within the “great powers concerto” i.e. to deal with both - the leading EU member states (Germany, France) and the non-EU great powers (UK, USA) and not with the EU institutions and representatives who are not respected neither treated seriously in Moscow. There is a deep division within the EU between the Eastern flank member states whose perception of Russian threat is strong and well founded and the western and southern countries the political interests and priorities are focused on other problems. Russian capacity to corrupt the numerous prominent members of the European political class makes the EU policy vis a vis Russia even less coherent and realistic. The article shows the history of the EU-Russia relations in the last 30 years and proves the fiasco of the Borrell’s visit to Moscow was not just an accident still a logical consequence of the ill based EU policy towards Russia.