Passive Freedom of Education: Educational Choice in Flanders and The Netherlands

According to the ECHR, parents have the right to have their children educated in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions. In this contribution, we examine how this passive freedom of education is granted in the Belgian (Flemish) and Dutch education systems, which are both characterised by substantial funding of non-governmental (mainly Christian) schools. In order to do so, we will have a closer look at the diversity between denominational schools as well as to the diversity within these schools, with a particular focus on their school identity and their policy concerning Religious Education (RE). In addition, attention will be given to the organisation of RE classes in governmental schools, which is also considered a means to guarantee the passive freedom of education. Our analysis brings us to the conclusion that, in spite of a similar legal and financial framework, the Dutch constellation is currently best able to guarantee passive freedom of education for all in today’s secularised, pluralistic context.

A Comparative Financial Ratio Analysis Between Conventional and Islamic Banks in GCC

Banking framework establishes the central mainstay of any economy. Banks functions as monetary conduits between sectors that have abundance reserves and those that are in deficiency. The historical backdrop of banking in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) traces all the way back to 1918 with the foundation of the primary bank in Bahrain. The territorial financial evolution is attributable to oil abundance and loaning business that spotlights on building, land and client advances. Throughout the long term, the financial framework worldwide has advanced in its contributions to suit the changing customer requests. One of the essential determinants of this change came about because of the strict convictions of individuals bringing about the remarkable development of Islamic Banking System. The prevalence of these banks are in nations with critical Muslim populace like Iran, Pakistan and Sudan but not limited to them. Islamic banks work under Sharia standards of hazard sharing and premium preclusion as appeared differently in relation to customary banks that purchase cash-flow to pool assets and offer cash-flow to produce revenue pay or benefit. This paper applies banks' endogenic elements identified with their monetary record and pay explanation and utilizing an aggregate of 24 financial ratios relating to the banks’ performance and seeks to thoroughly analyze the same among customary and Islamic banks. This examination clarifies the design, activity and the board of traditional banks in the GCC combined with the working of Islamic banks. The paper likewise intends to decide the beneficial and proficient banks among the chosen sample. The study incorporates 20 institutions, similarly dispersed among Islamic and customary banks utilizing information between the time of 2014 - 2017. The example is comprehensively ordered dependent on benefit ratios, proficiency ratios, asset indicator ratios and risk ratios. Further sub categorization is done to show up at an aggregate of 24 ratios. An independent T-test is used to determine a substantial ratio between Islamic and conventional banks.

Between national interests and European values: towards the theory of Principled Intergovernmentalism

The aim of the article is to theorise on the role of principles as important variables influencing European politics. Recent European-related events, including but not limited to the immigration crisis, international economic and political competition on a global scale (as well as relations with third parties such as Russia and the United States), prompt us to revise liberal intergovernmentalism as proposed by Andrew Moravcsik at the beginning of 90s last century. The study is based on the analysis of four cases: immigration crisis, posted workers directive, multiannual financial framework post-2020, and relations with Russia concerned energy security. The article puts forward an idea that principles, which European institutions and national governments refer to (such as the principle of solidarity or the principle of the rule of law) have been successfully instrumentalised by a range of actors (major governments, as well as European Commission acting on their behalf) to the greatest benefit of the most powerful governments in Europe

A Crucial Decade for European Digital Sovereignty

The current decade will be critical for Europe’s aspiration to attain and maintain digital sovereignty so as to effectively protect and promote its humanistic values in the evolving digital ecosystem. Digital sovereignty in the current geopolitical context remains a fluid concept as it must rely on a balanced strategic interdependence with the USA, China, and other global actors. The developing strategy for achieving this relies on the coordinated use of three basic instruments, investment, regulation, and completion of the digital internal market. Investment, in addition to the multiannual financial framework (2021–2027) instruments, will draw upon the 20% of the 750 billion recovery fund. Regulation, in addition to the Digital Governance Act and the Digital Market Act, will include the Data Act, the new AI regulation, and more that is in the pipeline, leveraging the so-called Brussels effect. Of key importance for the success of this effort remains the timing and “dovetailing” of the particular actions taken.

Doing Business and capital flight: role of financial development

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of financial development on the Doing Business and capital flight contagion. And further, this study determines the threshold beyond which financial development reduces capital flight. Design/methodology/approach A two-step system generalized methods of moment empirical model with linear interaction between Doing Business and financial development was estimated. This study used data on 26 countries over 12 years (2004–2015). Findings The main results indicated that, although Doing Business had a significant positive effect on capital flight, the interactive term had a significant adverse effect on capital flight. This outcome suggests that to reduce capital flight, a well-reformed and efficient business environment should be embedded with an efficient, stable and well-developed financial sector. In addition, the authors found only South Africa has a robust financial framework beyond the threshold of 0.383, whereas Congo, Rep., Rwanda, Malawi, Sierra Leone and Congo, Dem. Rep. had the weakest financial system and sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. Research limitations/implications This study recommends that policymakers should initiate policies that would enhance financial development. Originality/value This study’s main contributions are that the authors estimated the threshold beyond which financial development helps the business environment reduce the rate of capital flight. Further, the authors have shown that financial development is a catalyst to propel the deterioration powers of the business environment against capital flight. Also, the authors have estimated the long-run effect of the variables of interest on capital flight.

THE USE OF SOLAR ENERGY IN CROATIA

The Europeans are still facing extraordinary challenges and uncertainties in their daily lives to the extent that all efforts will still focus on protecting citizens and overcoming the crisis. The COVID-19 poses a challenge to Europe on a historical scale. At the request of Heads of State or Governments, the European Commission has presented a comprehensive package combining the future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and specific recovery efforts within the next generation EU (NGEU). The EU's Next Generation Fund (NGEU) represents the European Union's recovery package to support Member States affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund was approved by the European Council on July 21, 2020, and is worth €750 billion. The NGEU fund covers the period 2021 – 2023 and will be linked to the regular EU budget (MFF) from 2021 to 2027. The comprehensive NGEU and VFO packages are projected to reach €1,824.3 billion. Most of the investment relates to the reforms and investments regarding green and digital transition. To achieve the European Green Plan and the next generation EU plan, policies related to clean energy supply in the economy, industry, general production and consumption, infrastructure, transport, agriculture, construction, etc., need to be reconsidered. In the light of all the above mentioned, and to achieve the green and digital transition, one of the significant areas in Croatia is the use of renewable energy sources, especially solar energy, which will be discussed in more detail in this paper.

A Research on Stress Testing Approach Towards Evaluating Credit Risk of a Financial Institution

The stress testing methodology should be implemented and applied to the entity's overall financial system at least annually, and if the organization operates in a volatile economy, it should be performed at least twice a year. Finally, managers should include regular training and development sessions for relevant employees of their organization to be fully informed and more informed and informed, considering the evolving science, theory and practicality of a discrete range of stress testing mechanisms that can be appropriately applied to overall financial framework and system of multiple financial institutions and banks. In addition, stress testing is essentially a methodology that collects and analyzes certain future macro-prudential and micro-prudential economic drivers and indicators, the primary purpose of which is to assess the future financial and economic well-being, level of growth and status quo of a financial institution, bank, organization, credit institution or economy or the nation as a whole. In addition, several of these reviews were specifically focused and incorporated into the paper, which substantially and broadly discussed and summarized the importance, feasibility and implementation and conclusions of different stress testing approaches for financial institutions and banks, especially in European and Chinese countries. region. with the primary intention of assessing the future financial and economic well-being, level of growth and status quo of a group of financial institutions, banks, organizations, credit institutions or the economy or the nation as a whole. In addition, several of these reviews were specifically targeted and incorporated into a paper that substantially and broadly discussed and summarized the importance of the feasibility and implementation and conclusions of different stress testing approaches for financial institutions and banks, especially in European and Chinese countries. region. with the primary intention of assessing the future financial and economic well-being, level of growth and status quo of a group of financial institutions, banks, organizations, credit institutions or the economy or the nation as a whole. In addition, several of these reviews were specifically focused and incorporated into the paper, which substantially and broadly discussed and summarized the importance, feasibility and implementation and conclusions of different stress testing approaches for financial institutions and banks, especially in European and Chinese countries. region. the level of growth and status quo of the financial institutions, banks, organizations, credit institutions or the economy or the nation as a whole. In addition, several of these reviews were specifically focused and incorporated into the paper, which substantially and broadly discussed and summarized the importance, feasibility and implementation and conclusions of different stress testing approaches for financial institutions and banks, especially in European and Chinese countries. region. the level of growth and status quo of the financial institutions, banks, organizations, credit institutions or the economy or the nation as a whole. In addition, several of these reviews were specifically focused and incorporated into the paper, which substantially and broadly discussed and summarized the importance, feasibility and implementation and conclusions of different stress testing approaches for financial institutions and banks, especially in European and Chinese countries.

The European response to the COVID-19 crisis at the regional level and its effects on the shaping of the new European Cohesion Policy

This paper focuses on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and its repercussions on the EU’s Cohesion Policy. We will analyse the regional and territorial problems created by the COVID-19 crisis and the influences it had on the new developments of the Cohesion Policy. The evolution of the Cohesion Policy will be addressed, particularly the development of conditionality. The developments on the European Multiannual Financial Framework and the regional policy following the recent developments of the European response to the COVID-19 crisis and the new role of Regions will also be examined. The aim of the paper is to identify and characterise the effects of the pandemic on the European Regions and its repercussions for the development of the new Cohesion Policy and its governance model. The need for a more flexible Cohesion Policy and the opportunities afforded to the Regions and the evolution of the European Union Multilevel Governance Framework, that come from the recent developments on the proposed European Recovery Plan are also reflected

Capacity Development of Local Self-Governments for Disaster Risk Management

The objective of this research was to examine the capacity development of local self-governments in the field of disaster risk management (DRM). This quantitative research examines the degree of implementation of strategic, legislative, and institutional frameworks, as well as the capacity of local authorities to apply related policies through five analytical scopes: (1) degree of preparedness and legal framework; (2) financial framework; (3) policy aspects; (4) cooperation and partnership; (5) communication. The ability of municipalities and towns to respond to disasters was also analyzed and compared. In this paper, our initial hypothesis was that the effective implementation of the concept of DRM policy in towns of Serbia requires the continual strategic, tactical, and operational transformation of the public administration and public management system in order to strengthen the capacity of local self-governments for disaster prevention, preparation, response, and recovery. This multimethod research was conducted over the period of 2014–2017 and included the following two target groups: (a) heads of disaster sectors in local self-government units (mayor) and (b) employees of the DRM sector in local self-government units. The results of this research will enable decision makers to successfully respond to challenges and help to improve the capacity of local self-governments and public local administrations within the scope of DRM in the Republic of Serbia, based on the principles of prevention and proactive action, coordination, cooperation, partnership, and responsibility.