(Anti)corruption and conditionality in the geopolitical enlargement: Ukraine’s EU accession in comparative perspective

This article demonstrates the feasibility of transformational reforms towards Ukraine's accession to the European Union in the context of Russian military aggression. These processes should be based on the realization that there are objective problems and contradictions not only in Ukraine but also in the EU countries are investigated. The EU officially recognizes the systemic crisis of the union and the inevitability of its reforms. The main purpose of the article is to develop theoretical and methodological provisions and recommendations for political and economic transformations in Ukraine in the context of Russia's military aggression and its post-war recovery. Based on the analysis of recent research and publications by well-known economists, the current state of the Ukrainian economy in the context of war, the main directions of political and economic reform of society are examined by the authors. The results thus obtained are compatible with are consistent with certain economic and legal factors that stimulate or constrain the potential of a future agreement on Ukraine's accession to the European Union and Ukraine's access to EU financial instruments aimed at supporting and developing candidate countries. The directions and instruments of assistance to our country that will make Ukraine an attractive place for investment and access to loans and grants from the EU member states are analyzed in the paper. Special attention is paid to the post-war recovery of Ukraine in the context of the international political and economic situation. It has been found that special attention is paid to the realization of the benefits of the candidate status. This step will launch the official procedure of Ukraine's accession to the European Union and reforms in all areas. The positive reforms that have been launched in previous years must be continued. It is concluded that the prospects for further research in this area may include an analysis of the problems associated with reforming the Ukrainian economy towards EU accession, as well as the transformation of Ukraine in the context of Russia's military aggression. Reforms in our country should be coordinated with the changes taking place in the European Union.

The main purpose of the article is to analyse the issue of Ukraine's accession to the European Union in the political discourse of the Visegrad Group and Baltic states' leaders and its impact on the transformation of the EU foreign policy agenda. Based on the analysis of selected speeches delivered by heads of states and governments of the above-mentioned countries, the authors focus on explaining their vision on the need to reform the EU's foreign policy in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Particular attention is paid to the issue of future EU enlargement in the context of Ukraine's potential accession. Furthermore, the research concentrates on the reflection of the proposed vision in the official position of the EU institutions. By doing so, an attempt is made so as to answer the research question on the transformational potential of Central European and Baltic states' leaders in the decision- making process on the EU foreign policy reform.

Ukraine faces a long-standing absence of unity in political, economical, ethnic, cultural, religious, and mental terms. Especially EU- and NATO-related matters suffer from domestic disagreement and infighting over the future external orientation of the country. In 2004, the Orange Revolution brought in a new Ukrainian leadership under President Viktor Yushchenko which put EU and NATO accession right at the top of its foreign policy priorities. But NATO has always been unpopular in Ukraine, especially in the Russian-speaking regions. Nevertheless, NATO standards are to be introduced in all fields of the management bodies of the Armed Forces. European integration has been a key priority of Ukraine's foreign policy already for a considerable period of time; it was not initiated by the Orange leadership after 2005. Russia is still a very important factor in nearly all aspects of Ukraine's foreign and security policy. Moscow is firmly convinced that the entire cooperation between Ukraine and NATO is nothing but directed against Russia. It makes considerable political, economic and diplomatic efforts to undermine Kyiv's rapprochement towards the West. Thus, the Kremlin pursues “integration” plans within the “post-Soviet space” which aim, among other goals, at denying Ukraine's accession to the EU. Taking account of Russia' stance, NATO and EU obviously do not push Ukraine's accession.

Introduction. Accession to the European Union provides a large number of economic, political, cultural and social benefits. Back in 1994, Ukraine expressed its aspiration to become a member of the EU and is still not a member of the EU. Today our country is a candidate for EU membership. The purpose of the paper is to consider the general stages and criteria of EU accession and to analyze Ukraine's path towards EU accession and future stages of accession. Results. Article 49 of the Treaty on European Union defines the geographical criterion for accession to the EU. Being the largest country in Europe by area, located in its eastern part, bordering the EU member states: Romania to the southwest, with Hungary, Slovakia and Poland to the west - Ukraine undoubtedly meets the geographical criterion. The Copenhagen criteria are: political, economic and membership criteria. As for the Copenhagen criteria, the answer to the question whether Ukraine meets them is currently different among international scholars. In our opinion, indeed, at the current stage of European integration Ukraine has already implemented a number of political conditions, in particular, partially fulfilled the requirement of the European Union to carry out a number of reforms and adapt Ukrainian legislation to the European one. As for the stages of accession to the EU, they are evaluation; negotiations; ratification. Usually, accession is preceded by years of cooperation with the European Union. To express its intention to do so, the state and the Community conclude an international agreement on in-depth cooperation, which provides for an active political dialogue. Negotiations are a process that involves the adoption of established EU legislation, preparations for its proper application and compliance, as well as the implementation of judicial, administrative, economic and other reforms necessary for the country to meet the conditions of accession, known as the accession criteria. After that, the last stage is ratification. Ukraine has successfully passed the first stage and received the status of a candidate state. Conclusion. On February 28, 2022, the President of Ukraine signed the application for Ukraine's membership in the EU - this marked a new stage for our country on the path of European integration. In this regard, close cooperation between Ukrainian officials and representatives of the European Union is currently underway to simplify and speed up the overall lengthy accession procedure. Ukraine will be able to achieve an appropriate level of economic development, high quality of life, make effective and accessible the provision and protection of human rights, implement all aspects of democracy, introduce energy security.

Ukraine's climate policy sets long-term national climate goals and instruments to stimulate the country's decarbonization with the aim of achieving climate neutrality. The article examines the national legislation in this area, which is not internally consistent. Among the most energy-intensive industries, ammonia production occupies a prominent place.In the pre-war period, there were six large ammonia-producing enterprises operating in Ukraine. Currently, two are working, the others are not producing products for various reasons. All enterprises use steam methane reforming technology. The raw material is natural gas. Technologies for the production of "blue" (that is, the use of carbon capture and storage technologies for standard technologies) and "green"(the use of electrolysis due to renewable energy sources) ammonia are beginning to be widely used in the world. The article provides technical and economic indicators of available ammonia production technologies. The aim of the work is to create models for forecasting the development of the ammonia industry in Ukraine, taking into account the carbon adjustment mechanism for imports into the EU and Ukraine's potential accession to the EU, and in accordance with the European Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading System.A two-stage modeling of the development of the ammonia industry in Ukraine is proposed. At the first stage, an optimization model for the preliminary assessment of the necessary investments is proposed, provided that the specified volume of production and the specified specific emissions of carbon dioxide are achieved. At the same time, in addition to technological and economic factors, social factors are also taken into account. At the second stage, a mathematical model for calculating the levelized cost of ammonia production is proposed. The dependence of the cost of allowances for carbon dioxide emissions in the emissions trading system in the European Union was studied. Researches show that the production of "green" ammonia can be competitive only if there is a sharp increase in the price of organic fuels and emission permits in the European Emissions Trading System, as well as a decrease in the price of electricity from renewable energy sources. Keywords:ammonia production, specific emissions of CO2 per ton of ammonia, "blue" ammonia, "green" ammonia, carbon capture and storage technologies.

This article examines the reasons behind the remarkable export performance of transition economies in the last two decades. Following Redding and Venables and Fugazza, we decompose export performance into the gains due to the advantageous access to foreign markets and export gains on the basis of internal supply capacity. We find that size of the economy, inward FDI penetration, most notably in the manufacturing sector, export unit values, denoting the structural changes of CEECs' exports, and the quality of institutions and infrastructure had a significant positive impact on exporting countries' supply capacity, while productivity had a negative impact. The latter is mostly due to unfavourable trends in ULC since EU accession. Unlike in EU-15 and BRIC countries, internal supply capacity is becoming decreasingly important as a basis of CEECs' export performance. At the same time, trends in cost competitiveness are worsening relative to competing countries, while benefits of EU accession have been mostly exploited. This may compromise the CEECs' future export growth.

The aim of this article is to conceptualize the role of Central European (CE) chief justices and explore whether they have managed to become autonomous actors after the fall of communism. We do so by focusing on Slovakia, which was the first country in Central Europe that experienced a semi-authoritarian regime in the mid-1990s, adopted a Euro-model of the judicial council during the EU accession, and features a formally powerful Chief Justice. Based on the analysis of the turnover in Slovak Chief Justices since the 1990s, we argue that Slovak Chief Justices have not become fully autonomous actors, despite the Euro-model of the judicial council and EU membership, as Slovak politicians still consider the position of the Chief Justice strategically important and are willing and able to interfere with them. More specifically, selection of the Chief Justice has become an arena for political battle between external pressures from the politicians and oligarchs and internal sectoral interests from within the judiciary. So far, Slovak political leaders always managed to install their own Chief Justice informally, although they have been challenged by coalitions formed among representatives of the judiciary. This has had severe repercussions for the rule of law in Slovakia, especially during the era of Chief Justice Stefan Harabin. Beyond Slovakia, recent examples of ousting and dismissing chief justices in Hungary and Poland, even if sometimes blocked, show that also in other CE countries some political leaders consider chief justices an important element of their strategy to contain the judiciary and to rule by law. In order to understand this wide-scale problem, we identify seven factors that affect the role of the Chief Justice in the post-communist Europe. This set of factors should encourage others to study Chief Justices from comparative perspective.

Neo-nationalist parties emerged victorious in Hungary and Poland after the financial crisis as a political consequence of disenchantment with the neoliberal approaches ushered in by EU accession and subordinate economic integration. This article analyses, in a comparative perspective, the strategies adopted by the governing neo-nationalist parties in Hungary and Poland with regard to trade unions and industrial relations as part of their broader political-economic projects.

The Politics of EU Accession: Ideology, Party Strategy and the European Question in Hungary , by Batory, A. ( Manchester and New York : Manchester University Press , 2008 , ISBN 9780719075285 ); 176 pp. , £56.99 hb . With the five-year anniversary of the EU's 2004 eastern enlargement approaching, there is renewed interest in the new Member States, with a number of books due for publication over the coming year. As such, Agnes Batory's book is a timely publication which, now that the ‘dust’ of the ‘big bang’ enlargement has settled, leads the way in demystifying the politics of EU accession in the new Member States. Batory provides us with a competent analysis of the attitudes Hungarian political parties have held on the notion of Europe and the EU from the early transition period through to the successful referendum on Hungary's accession to the EU in 2003. A number of questions are dealt with in this analysis, including what is perhaps the most interesting aspect of the book – how Europe and EU accession influenced inter-party relations and coalition building. The book is divided into eight chapters with a separate introduction and conclusion. There is a logical division between the chapters, with chapter 1 providing a clear outline of the conceptual framework Batory employs. Chapters 2 and 3 provide some of the historical background on the development of the political party system in Hungary and of the various political parties in terms of their formation and ideological development. Chapters 4 and 5 deal primarily with public attitudes towards Europe and its influence upon the relationship between the political parties and their electoral base. Chapters 6 and 7 look at the issue in terms of how it has impacted on government in Hungary, focusing on the contest between parties in government and those in opposition and the relationship between parties in government coalition. Finally, chapter 8 looks back at the referendum on EU accession with a detailed examination of the campaigns, and the main arguments for and against accession, as well as the final outcome of the referendum in light of the low turnout (45.62 per cent). This book is a welcome addition and will be useful to a variety of groups, including those with an interest in EU enlargement, political parties or Hungarian studies. While Batory is quite clear from the beginning that the book is a study of only the accession period, the reader cannot help but feel a little short-changed that, in fact, the book only provides the first half of the story, particularly in light of what has happened since 2004. As Batory proves, EU accession was an undoubted ideological driving force for Hungary's political parties, but how has this changed post-2004? Does it have the same influence on party development, or are other issues, such as nationalism, becoming even more prevalent? Putting a positive spin on this sense of disappointment, Batory has set a standard and her book provides a clear background and framework for the development of a wider research agenda.

The article represents the identification of problems in the field of personnel support of the economic complex of Ukraine, and the search for ways to solve them, studying the prerequisites for increasing the effectiveness of management decisions, strengthening executive discipline and responsibility using state control, etc. Based on the analysis of literary sources and existing experience, the causes of their occurrence are determined, ways and means of their prevention are proposed, and due to this, the effectiveness of economic reforms in the context of Ukraine's accession to the EU is increased. Increasing the efficiency of the specified measures is proposed at the expense of improving personnel policy, ideological-educational and innovative-management levers. Solving the problem of preventing violations is considered as one of the directions of increasing training and retraining of personnel, developing the national economy, and generally strengthening economic security in the state. The idea is that due to the mentioned factors, it is possible to ensure not only the appropriate scientific and professional, patriotic level of personnel, prevention of abuses, peace in society, as well as stable functioning of the national economy of Ukraine, which can make it competitive in EU conditions. The research was carried out in the post-war period's conditions of reformation processes in the management sphere. To prevent shortcomings in the functioning of state administration due to the factors mentioned above and due to information uncertainty, to increase the level of quality of management decisions, it is advisable to form a model of practical application of modern information technologies, which includes a developed system and methods of assessing the actual and optimal financial and economic state of the national economy using the developed integral indicators, implement in practice new means of monitoring and diagnosing the economic condition of enterprises, institutions, and organizations operating in the state, as well as at the state level. Keywords: management, personnel, reforms, control, ideology, enterprises, stability, strategy, efficiency, economic activity, transformational society, European Union.

The article represents the identification of problems in the field of personnel support of the economic complex of Ukraine and the search for ways to solve them, studying the prerequisites for increasing the effectiveness of management decisions, strengthening executive discipline and responsibility using state control, etc. Based on the analysis of literary sources and existing experience, the causes of their occurrence are determined, ways and means of their prevention are proposed, and due to this, the effectiveness of economic reforms in the context of Ukraine's accession to the EU is increased. Increasing the efficiency of the specified measures is proposed at the expense of improving personnel policy, ideological-educational, and innovative management levers. Solving the problem of preventing violations is considered as one of the directions of increasing training and retraining of personnel, developing the national economy, and generally strengthening economic security in the state. The idea is that due to the mentioned factors, it is possible to ensure not only the appropriate scientific and professional, patriotic level of personnel, prevention of abuses, peace in society, as well as stable functioning of the national economy of Ukraine, which can make it competitive in EU conditions. The research was carried out in the post-war period's conditions of reformation processes in the management sphere. In order to prevent shortcomings in the functioning of state administration due to the factors mentioned above and due to information uncertainty, to increase the level of quality of management decisions, it is advisable to form a model of practical application of modern information technologies, which includes a developed system and methods of assessing the actual and optimal financial and economic state of the national economy using the developed integral indicators, implement in practice new means of monitoring and to diagnose the economic condition of enterprises, institutions and organizations operating in the state, as well as at the state level. Keywords: management, personnel, reforms, control, ideology, enterprises, stability, strategy, efficiency, economic activity, transformational society, European Union.

The Politics of Trade and Turkish Foreign Policy

The paper is devoted to the process of Ukraine's integration into the European Union, namely, to the analysis of the historical path, comparison of opinions of domestic and foreign experts, and forecasting of possible economic and legal disadvantages and advantages. The authors analyze the economic and legislative provisions of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union. The authors emphasize that international integration processes are currently having a significant impact on the functioning of not only regional and state systems, and the establishment of a new international order, but also on the internal policies of individual communities and countries and the daily life of each citizen. The authors note that the opinions of domestic and foreign experts on Ukraine's integration into the EU differ, reflecting different perspectives and interests. Domestic experts may focus on potential economic and political benefits, such as increased trade opportunities, access to EU funding, and increased stability. Conversely, foreign experts may take into account factors such as geopolitical considerations, regional security implications, and the impact on EU cohesion and enlargement capacity. By comparing these perspectives, a comprehensive understanding of the benefits and challenges can be achieved. The author concludes that Ukraine's accession to the EU is a complex decision that requires a thorough analysis of all possible consequences and benefits for the country. Ukraine's integration into the European Union is a consequential decision with wide-ranging implications. The historical path, opinions of domestic and foreign experts, and an assessment of economic and legal factors are crucial for understanding the potential consequences. By carefully weighing the pros and cons, considering the interests of the country and its citizens, and seeking expert advice, Ukraine can make an informed decision that maximizes the benefits and minimizes the disadvantages of EU integration.

This chapter shows how the onset of EU leverage began to transform the dynamics of LGBT activism in Poland but not in the Czech Republic. The arcs of activism now began to reverse, with the Polish movement strengthening as the Czech one fragmented and deinstitutionalized. In Poland, EU accession helped reframe homosexuality from a question of morality to one of European law and human rights. Polish activists also exploited the opportunity to broker between the national government and the EU regarding the implementation of EU norms. While EU conditionality helped achieve progress, especially regarding antidiscrimination policy, it also set the stage for hard-right political backlash from 2004 to 2007. In the Czech Republic, by contrast, EU accession hardly touched the politics of homosexuality. It sparked no hard-right backlash and was not taken up by rights activists as a tool of brokerage. Instead, Czech activists devoted most of their energies to a project for which the EU accession process offered no leverage, same-sex partnerships, and largely ignored the area for which it did, antidiscrimination policy.

ABSTRACT. This contribution summarizes outcomes of research produced within framework of EU Lifelong Learning Programme Jean Monnet's BRIDGE project and focuses on research dissemination in field of economic governance that must be considered by Central and Eastern European countries in EU context. The topics mentioned above became core of this special issue of Economics and Sociology journal.Prior to EU enlargement, EU accession and subsequent Euro adoption were viewed as a solution to economic problems such a lack of fiscal discipline, high inflation expectations, volatile exchange rates, and a lack of efficient investments into RD or Slosarcik, 2011).With regard to above, Professor Dunkwart Rustow (who is often called the father of transitology) states that after transformation of society towards democracy there has to be final habituation phase where gradually rules of democracy become a habit (Rustow, 1970). This process is usually supposed to take life span of one generation. Oliver Williamson, a 2009 Nobel Prize laureate and a specialist on economic governance, also estimates that this process might take some time, perhaps more than one generation (Williamson, 1985).The present graduates were already born after fall of Iron Curtain however question arises whether societies of Central and Eastern Europe have already finalized this phase and are fully established democracies with functioning market economies (Baldwin et al., 1997). Some researchers think that this phase has not yet been reached. Thence, more indepth research focused on external and internal factors (such as political culture and path dependence, lack of political debate, weak civil society, corruption, clientelism in political parties, EU crisis, influence of Russia, etc.) that prevent fully completed transformation (Koudelkova et al., 2015) is still in need to be done thoroughly.1. Pitfalls of transition and EU accessionThe main slogan of year 1989 was back to Europe. With collapse of Soviet block and emerging of new democratic countries in Central and Eastern Europe, accession to EU became ultimate task and widely-supported idea across all strata of societies. The EU accession processes that included harmonization of laws and regulations, as well as implementation of Acquis Communautire accompanied transition and transformation processes. These two were not always identical and specifics of countries of CEECs played a certain role in both processes sometimes leading to distortions and unfavorable results.The question now arises whether economic transition and EU accession were successful and whether they influenced present development in CEE countries and their attitudes towards further integration of EU. The EU is finding itself at a turning point, on one hand economic governance is deepening whilst on other hand support of citizens and support of some member states is fading. …