EU’s Resilience in the Eastern Partnership Region vs Russia’s Hybrid Aggression

The article examines the issues of counteracting the hybrid aggression of the Russian Federation in the countries of the Eastern Partnership. It is stated that European Union has been implementing the Eastern Partnership policy for more than ten years. This implementation has been a resounding success for all, without exception, the six target states. Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia have advanced much more in their European aspirations. However, this does not stop the Russian Federation from further positioning all the states that were once part of the USSR as a sphere of its ultimate influence. Russia is also producing rivalry with the EU for influencing all, without exception, the Eastern Partnership states and even the EU. An overview of academic research analyzing the resilience of the EU in the face of Russia in the context of its impact on the Eastern Partnership countries is set out in this article. Some approaches have been used to define the EU as a “normative power” and Russia’s controversial policy towards neighbouring countries. The examination of the works described in the article concludes that the Russian Federation continues to regard neighbouring states as its sphere of influence, particularly Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia. Moscow considers any attempt by a third party to interfere as an intrusion on its unique field of power. As can be observed from the investigated sources, Russia’s activities are scarcely diplomatic or focused on global democratic norms. In its Eastern Partnership strategy, the EU, on the other hand, utilizes values as a guideline. Simultaneously, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, and Georgia must demand immediate modifications to the Eastern Partnership policy. The potential of EU membership, in particular, must be appropriately explained by Brussels.

Geographical Indications: Eastern Partnership Countries case

In the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries, the subject of geographical indications is particularly important. Although the approach to the subject of GIs in the EaP countries is uneven and differs from country to country, the attention that each of these states pays at the national level to the field of geographical indications cannot be neglect. In countries such as Georgia and Moldova, the development of the GI system is one of the national strategic objectives. This interest is largely due to those economic benefits offered by the implementation of the geographical indications system, especially in countries where the share of the agri-food sector in GDP is significant. Despite the fact that challenges regarding the implementation of the association agreement in the part concerning geographical indications in the EaP countries are quite similar, there are no complex studies regarding the implementation of the geographical indications systems in the Eastern Partnership Countries. The main purpose of this paper is to fulfill the existing gap and to analyze the current situation in the field of GI highlighting best practices but also the vulnerabilities of the GI system in the EaP countries.

Analysis after Brexit: European integration has started in the areas previously blocked by London

The approach to identifying practical problems is in the interaction between the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU), the consequences of the UK's withdrawal from the EU, and ways to overcome them by coordinating national institutes' activities in the UK and the EU. The specific research results that characterize the novelty of the study are as follows: it was found that the UK's withdrawal from the EU is a specific form of manifestation of the global tendency to revive elements of isolationism in international economic relations; it was found that the work of the European Commission and the UK government on further cooperation between the EU and the UK can be used to create models of cooperation between the Eastern Partnership countries and the EU in the future. The aim is to study the theoretical and practical foundations of the European integration of the UK in retrospective and modern times to identify problems of cooperation with the EU, a general analysis of the causes and possible consequences of leaving the EU, prospects for further development.

Regional diversification of the use of agricultural production potential in the EU candidate and the Eastern partnership countries

Diversification of the agricultural production potential often implies the differentiation of the achieved farming productivity due to its effect on the agricultural resources and structural processes. The article aims to examine the diversity of the production potential in the agricultural sectors of the EU candidate countries (CC) and the Eastern Partnership countries (EPC) and its impact on the variety of the achieved productivity, as well as to present changes in the analyzed indicators in the years 2006–2017. A synthetic measure of agricultural development and a linear regression analysis were applied in the article. The research revealed that Belarus may be distinguished with regard to its production potential, as well as the achieved productivity. In most countries (with the exception of Montenegro and Macedonia), an increase in the value of the synthetic measure of the possessed potential has been recorded in the studied period. However, the synthetic measure of the agricultural productivity level displayed an insignificant raise only in half of the countries surveyed.

CRITERIA FOR THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION MECHANISMS IN THE FIELD OF ECONOMIC COOPERATION OF THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP COUNTRIES

The article highlights the criteria for the effectiveness of the implementation of public administration mechanisms in the field of economic cooperation of the Eastern Partnership countries. The main criteria are relevance, cost-effectiveness and efficiency, as a result of which appropriate indicators are proposed. The correspondence of perspective mechanisms of public administration in the sphere of economic cooperation of the Eastern Partnership countries and stages of their realization is proved. Such mechanisms are proposed to include socio-political, legislative, institutional-administrative, financial-economic, information and communication. Accordingly, at the first stage, the priority is to involve effective institutional and administrative mechanisms in public administration in the field of economic cooperation of the Eastern Partnership countries. This will help to improve the clear interaction between the relevant public authorities and local governments. However, given the content of key reforms, all these mechanisms are relevant at this stage. In the second stage, the priority of mechanisms is constantly changing. Therefore, the progress of the observance of the provisions of the Association Agreement and the implementation of the European integration policy in general should be constantly monitored in order to determine the situational priority of the relevant mechanisms. At the third stage, the information and communication mechanism, which is responsible for the level of public awareness, promotes openness, transparency and accessibility of relevant information at various levels for public authorities, etc., becomes especially relevant. Keywords: economic cooperation, Eastern Partnership, public administration, public administration bodies, mechanisms, development.

EU Policy Towards Small and Medium Enterprises in the Eastern Partnership Countries as an Instrument of Political Influence

The paper deals with the problem of investigating strategies and experience of the European Union which it employs to strengthen its political influence in the Eastern Partnership countries by means of working with business sector. The author analyses statistical data, official EU position and programme documents, funding data. Institutional and constructivist approaches are employed to study the processes and results of EU policies. The study covers the period between 2009 and 2020, and investigates aims, instruments, funding, KPI of the EU in dealing with business communities of Eastern Partnership countries. The author gives an overview of a range of opinions in expert discussions concerning the humanitarian influence of the EU. The conclusion is drawn that the scale and forms of EU interventions and funding for particular country are conditioned by the level of political relationship with its government. The bulk of funding (more than 60%) is directed not to loans or subsidies to SMEs, but to humanitarian (i.e. “soft power”) projects focusing of particular groups – entrepreneurs, active youth, regions, officials, etc. EU humanitarian penetration into focus countries of EP creates an infrastructure, social organizations and groups, which could be utilized to political ends.

Boosting the EU’s soft power in Eastern Partnership countries

In 2009 the Eastern Partnership (EaP) was established, through which the EU formalised its relationships with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova. The EU’s objective was to deepen cooperation; contribute to these countries’ economic, political and social development; and improve stability in the region. In the past decade the EU has achieved varying degrees of closer cooperation as well as seeing considerable progress in terms of development in the EaP countries. At the same time, Russia, considering the EaP countries to be within its sphere of influence, has tried to undermine the partnership through means of disinformation and hybrid warfare. This requires the EU to further boost its soft power to counter Russia’s destabilising policy in the region. This article outlines the development of the EaP and its achievements, examines Russian influence and disinformation in the region, and finally, points out possible measures to boost EU soft power to address the Russian challenge.

Transboundary subparts of groundwater bodies (GWB) and transboundary monitoring network of the Republic of Belarus and the Ukraine - developed under the European Water Initiative Plus for Eastern Partnership Countries (EUWI+)

<p>The EU-funded program European Water Initiative Plus for Eastern Partnership Countries (EUWI+), which is the biggest commitment of the EU to the water sector in the EaP countries, helps Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine to bring their legislation closer to EU policy in the field of water management, with a main focus on the management of transboundary river basins. It supports the development and implementation of pilot river basin management plans, building on the improved policy framework and ensuring a strong participation of local stakeholders.</p><p>In 2019, with the support of EUWI+, groundwater experts from Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus identified transboundary groundwater bodies (GWBs) in the Dnipro River Basin of Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus. In total eight (3 unconfined and 5 confined) transboundary GWBs in Ukraine were identified as transboundary linked with six GWBs in Belarus. As some of these GWBs are significantly large, follow-up studies in 2020 aimed at identifying those sub parts of the GWBs which are subject to transboundary groundwater interaction. Finally, on both sides of the border, transboundary corridors at a distance of 50 km from the state border were identified as sub-zones of the existing large GWBs. This distance was chosen to capture the recharge areas of the zone of active water exchange (watersheds) and the areas of groundwater discharge (river valleys).</p><p>The investigated transboundary territory is located in Polissia, a zone of excessive moisture, where the GWBs are mainly recharged by precipitation - the unconfined GWBs all over the whole territory, the confined GWBs at places where shallow water-bearing rocks occur. In the transboundary zone, the regional recharge area is located in the Ukrainian Shield; most of the aquifers are recharged on its slopes. The direction of groundwater flow is from the Ukrainian Shield towards the artesian basins in Belarus. </p><p>The Ukrainian part of the territory, where the confined aquifers are recharged, is characterised by minor anthropogenic pressures - very low population density and no large industrial enterprises. Therefore, impacts from the Ukrainian side on the GWBs in Belarus are limited. In contrast, the border area in the Republic of Belarus is one of its most developed industrial regions.</p><p>The analysis showed that the groundwater monitoring network in the Ukrainian 50-km transboundary zone has practically been destroyed due to long-term underfunding and it requires substantial restoration. In Belarus, the monitoring network is quite representative and requires some improvements; in some GWBs  the monitoring network is unevenly distributed and in some GWBs, the number of monitoring wells is insufficient</p><p>Within this study a comprehensive set of analytical material on geological-hydrogeological, hydrogeochemical, hydrodynamic aspects of the study area was collected, a number of open issues were identified, which will substantially contribute to the development and harmonization of not only the groundwater monitoring system of the transboundary territory of the Pripyat and Dnieper river basins in Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus, but also the groundwater monitoring system of the countries as a whole.</p>