Where Have the Guardians Gone? Law Enforcement and the Politics of Supranational Forbearance in the European Union

Why would a supranational law enforcer suddenly refrain from wielding its powers? We theorize the supranational politics of forbearance– the deliberate under-enforcement of the law– and distinguish them from domestic forbearance. We explain why an exemplary supranational enforcer– the European Commission– became reluctant to launch infringements against European Union member states. While the Commission’s legislative role as “engine of integration” has been controversial, its enforcement role as “guardian of the Treaties” has been viewed as less contentious. Yet after 2004, infringements launched by the Commission plummeted. Triangulating between infringement statistics and elite interviews, we trace how the Commission grew alarmed that aggressive enforcement was jeopardizing intergovernmental support for its policy proposals. By embracing dialogue with governments over robust enforcement, the Commission sacrificed its role as guardian of the Treaties to safeguard its role as engine of integration. Our analysis holds broader implications for the study of forbearance in international organizations.

Digitalization as a Trend of Modern Development of the World Economy

Transformation of economies with the application of information and communication technologies not only strengthens the competitiveness of countries in the international market, but also helps optimize and improve business processes in the international business environment. The purpose of the academic paper is to study the impact of digitalization on the development of the world economy on the example of the economies of the European Union member states. The following methods have been used, namely: analysis, description, generalization, induction, deduction, tabular representation, graphical representation, correlation analysis, systematization and grouping. Results: The positions of the European Union member states that are actively implementing the Digital Single Market strategy have been analyzed. It has been established that according to The Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), Finland, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and Malta have been among the top 5 leaders with the highest level of digitalization of the economy in 2020. Based on the study of The IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking, it has been found that the European Union member states, which are among the top 10 leading countries, such as: Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands, have a high level of ability and readiness to research and implement digital technologies in order to achieve economic transformation and business transformation. The results of the correlation analysis have revealed the interrelationship between the values of Digital single market – promoting e-commerce for individuals and Enterprises that have provided training to develop / upgrade ICT skills of their personnel (%). It has been proved that Sweden, Malta and Estonia show a very high positive correlation, which indicates that these countries are actively implementing digital technologies in the development of economic processes.

Evaluating Labour Market Flexibility Using the TOPSIS Method: Sustainable Industrial Relations

This study evaluates labour market flexibility using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) method. TOPSIS is employed by comparing spatial (i.e., different countries) and temporal (i.e., long-time horizon) terms. Sustainable industrial relations processes are considered in shaping the flexibility of the labour market in 15 European Union Member States from 2009 to 2018. Countries are grouped into classes to provide a basis for benchmarking results against social and employment policies implemented at the national level. A five-step quantitative MCDA method is formulated using published data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The results indicate that the TOPSIS method is an appropriate approach for measuring labour market flexibility internationally. Moreover, in relation to workforce phenomena, the findings show that the method offers the possibility of examining the impact of particular factors related to social and employment policies of a country in terms of sustainable development and socioeconomic growth. The lack of precision tools to forecast the development of national and transnational labour markets—particularly during the COVID-19 era—highlights the importance of such a method for workforce planners and policymakers. Developing sustainable industrial relations in terms of associated national externalities is the motivation of the research.

Unification of gift and inheritance taxes and the protection of taxpayers – the inheritors and recipients of donations

Gift and inheritance tax in the European Union Member States is calculated and charged in numerous ways. In the majority of countries of the European Economic Community it constitutes a separate tax. In several countries it is not charged at all or is part of the income tax. Despite the attempts made by the European Commission to unify the legislation of the Member States in this regard, there has been no success. The article presents the above-mentioned attempts of the European Commission, their results and consequences. It identifies the methods of avoiding a double or even triple taxation on cross-border inheritances or donations. This is of crucial significance also to the Polish citizens who demonstrate higher and higher investment activity in the countries of the European Economic Community and third countries.

THE IMPLICATION OF DEMOGRAPHICS ON THE ROMANIAN PENSION SYSTEM

This paper aims to analyse the influence of the demographical factors on the short-term sustainability of the pension system from Romania. The data used for econometric modelling consisted of panel data for the period 2009-2019 for 8 European Union member states, together with time series data for autoregressive modelling. The following econometrical models were used: random-effects GLS regression and Box-Jenkins (ARIMA). The results emphasize an increasing demographical pressure on the Romanian pension system and the need of pension system reform.

Efficiency of Environmental Protection Expenditures in EU Countries

Environmental protection policy is a widely discussed issue in scientific works. However, special attention should be also paid to the effectiveness of expenditures on environmental protection, and this is the main goal of this paper. The countries of the European Union were selected for this analysis due to the fact that, in recent years, this region has become an informal world leader with respect to the implementation of policy measures in the field of environmental protection. For that reason, the data envelopment analysis methodology was used, which allows the calculation of input-output efficiency for the years 2005–2015. The analysis shows that, among the 30 analyzed countries, the most effective in environmental protection actions is Finland. The hypothesis that higher environmental protection expenditures does not result in better environmental results has been confirmed. Our analysis confirmed the problem of the deteriorating efficiency of environmental expenditures across the selected European Union Member States, caused by increases in spending. This research may contribute to the discussion on environmental protection policy design and its assessment, as well as environmental policy results measurement.

Change Dynamics of Electricity Prices for Households in the European Union between 2011 and 2020

The aim of the article: The aim of the article is to evaluate and analyze the dynamics of electricity prices for households in the European Union member states (EU-27) in the period 2011–2020. The study also focuses on the key components of electricity prices in the countries analyzed. The discussed issues are important from the socio-economic point of view. It refers to the issue of sustainable development, where electricity prices are addressed in relation to the problem of energy poverty of households. Methodology: The study is of a theoretical and analytical character. In addition to the review of available dnational and foreign literature, Eurostat data on electricity prices for households in the EU-27 were analysed. Moreover, the paper presents the application of a selected cluster analysis method, i.e. the k-means method, to assess the situation of the EU-27 countries in terms of electricity prices for households in the analysed period of 2011–2020. Results of the research: The result of the analyses undertaken is a presentation of the share of VAT and other taxes and levies in the price of electricity for households. The analyses showed differences between the countries in the structure of establishing the electricity price for households. Only in three countries (Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia) it was found that there was no share of other taxes and levies in the electricity price. In turn, the applied k-means method contributed to obtaining the division of countries into four groups reflecting the differentiation in terms of the amount of electricity price for households in the period under study.