EMPIRICAL TEST OF THE INTEGRATION POTENTIAL OF UKRAINE’S COMPETITIVE POWER IN THE EVENT OF POSSIBLE ACCESSION TO THE EU

The foreign trade deficit is an important problematic area for all countries, and it is the main cause of the current account deficit and the economic crises. It is useful to frequently analyze the level of these deficits. In this study, the presence of convergence among the EU member and candidate countries in terms of the foreign trade balance was analyzed with second-generation panel data analysis methods, operating under cross-sectional dependence, by using data from the 2000-2019 period. In the study, firstly the existence of cross-sectional dependence among the countries was analyzed and it was found that there was cross-sectional dependence among the countries included in the panel. In this study, firstly, CADF and HK panel unit root tests were carried out in order to test the existence of each country group's convergence to their group average; then in the country groups other than EU candidate countries, i.e., in the 36-country panel, in the EU28, EU15, and EU13 countries, it was determined that there was a convergence towards their own group means in terms of the foreign trade balance. Furthermore, the convergence of the country groups to the group average of the EU15 was tested by CADF and HK methods; and it was determined that the 36-country panel, the EU28, EU13 countries, and the EU candidate countries tend to converge towards the foreign trade balance of the EU15. Finally, the convergence of EU candidate countries to the EU13's foreign trade balance average was tested by CADF and HK methods, and according to the CADF tests, the EU candidate countries were unable to converge to the EU15 countries were also not able to converge to the EU13 countries. However, according to the HK test results, it was determined that the foreign trade balance of the 8 EU candidate countries converged to the foreign trade balance of the 13 countries that became members of the EU later. The robustness check was performed by using Fisher ADF, Fisher PP, LLC, and IPS panel unit root tests, and the results obtained were found to be consistent.

This Occasional Paper reviews financial stability challenges in countries preparing for EU membership with a candidate country status, i.e. Croatia (planned to accede to the EU on 1 July 2013), Iceland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Turkey. It follows a macro-prudential approach, emphasising systemic risks of financial systems as a whole. After recalling that some EU candidate countries went through a pronounced boom-and-bust credit cycle in recent years, the paper identifies current challenges for the bank-based financial sectors as mainly stemming from: (i) high or rising domestic credit risk; (ii) unhedged borrowing in foreign currencies; and (iii) strains related to the euro area debt crisis, which is impacting the EU candidate countries via a number of channels. The main channels of transmission of the euro area debt crisis to the EU candidate countries operate via: (i) trade and foreign direct investment; (ii) an increased market focus on sovereign risk; and (iii) “deleveraging”, e.g. via a decline of external funding to local subsidiaries of EU parent banks. A macro-stress-test exercise performed by the national authorities of the EU candidate countries in February 2012 suggests that large capital buffers can absorb a shock to credit quality stemming from a drop in economic activity in the EU and renewed strains from the euro area debt crisis. With respect to supervisory practices, the paper finds that the EU candidate countries have made good progress, but some gaps with respect to international and EU standards remain.

The European course of Ukraine and the beginning of negotiations on its membership necessitate the implementation of the EU acquis into national legislation. One of such requirements is to amend the criminal law policy of Ukraine regarding the establishment of liability for human trafficking and bringing its principles closer to the requirements of a series of EU acts, including the Directive No. 2011/36/EU. The absence of the possibility of applying criminal sanctions to legal entities in connection with human trafficking in Ukrainian legislation is a drawback that will prevent Ukraine from obtaining EU membership. In this regard, the purpose of this study was to examine the forms of legal liability of legal entities for trafficking in human beings in the laws of EU Member States and candidate countries and to develop proposals for amending Ukrainian legislation to bring it into line with the requirements of Directive No. 2011/36/EU. The study employed the following methods: methods of analysis and synthesis, comparative legal method, and questionnaire method. The study analysed and summarised the legislation of all EU Member States and EU candidate countries in terms of establishing liability of legal entities for trafficking in human beings; the study also examined the specific features of criminal law means and forms of establishing such liability of legal entities in the above countries (in criminal codes, in separate regulations, or in the absence of such a provision). As a result of the analysis of the empirical base, the study concluded on the necessity of establishing the possibility of holding legal entities liable for trafficking in human beings in the current criminal legislation of Ukraine and proposed several options for implementing the requirements of Directive No. 2011/36/EU. The practical value of the findings lies in the fact that the legislators can further use one of the described options and amend the Criminal Code of Ukraine, enabling not only the application of criminal law measures to legal entities in connection with human trafficking, but also the fulfilment of the EU requirements and acquisition the EU membership for Ukraine

Flexicurity and Employee Participation in Workplaces during the Crisis: Turkey Compared to the European Union

As climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time, the legal and economic issues of global environmental security deserve high praise. In the area of industrial competitiveness, where the negative effects of global climate change include floods and droughts, forest fires, and rising sea levels, climate change is highly problematic. Climate impacts affect public and private agricultural infrastructure (including the coastal zone), resulting in lost productivity and increased costs for agriculture. The article applies climate change on a global scale in the form of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to determine how the mixtures and emissions of any one entity affect other areas (e.g., individual, community, company or country emissions). Exploring the theoretical and practical premises of climate change as a complex phenomenon, the novelty of this article is that it examines the current framework of the environmental-legal concept, not just the political implications of the legal framework. The research aim of the article lies in two dimensions: the European Union's current climate change policy framework (the climate and energy package, a set of climate change strategies and related policies targeting EU candidate countries); recent environmental operations in Ukraine as an EU candidate country under extraordinary conditions. This article examines recent changes in climate legislation and climate policy in EU member and candidate countries, as well as other highly developed countries, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and China. Focusing on the impact of the EU Climate and Energy Package (2020 and 2030), this article examines the main implications of EU climate legislation regulating the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and promoting the role of renewable energy in global energy consumption and energy efficiency in general. As a result of this study, this analysis offers multifaceted conclusions based on the interaction of a number of current administrative acts on climate change and environmental policy on a global scale.

The main objective of this research is to determine and evaluate the multidimensional poverty and human development in Turkey in comparison with the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries which is called Transition Economies. For this purpose, in this study, human development and multidimensional poverty in Turkey were examined in comparison with the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. In this study, carried out through comparative relation scanning model and literature model, the sample group was established the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries with Turkey. The research data was collected through Human Development Index (HDI) and Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) developed by UNDP. The findings from this study revealed that CEE countries which are the member of EU have higher human development rate than EU candidate countries and CIS countries. In addition, Turkey has the highest rate of GNI per capita and poverty as well as the lowest education index in comparison with the other EU candidate countries. In this study, these results is tried to be analyzed in the lights of index data and potential effects of the existing differences between countries.

This paper analyses the processes of Europeanisation of foreign policy in EU member and candidate countries and focuses on their comparison through the Greek and Turkish examples. It firstly presents a theoretical framework on the concept of Europeanisation with respect to the foreign policy realm in the EU. The paper, secondly, differentiates between the Europeanisation processes of foreign policy in EU member and candidate countries, and argues that these two processes can be compared by analysing Greek and Turkish foreign policies towards each other since 1999, when Turkey was declared as a candidate country to the EU. The Turkish and Greek cases are, thus, taken as mirror examples of the Europeanisation processes in EU member and candidate country foreign policies. The paper concludes the result of such a comparison is that these processes in member and candidate countries bear more similarities than differences.

CO2 emissions, economic growth, energy consumption, trade and urbanization in new EU member and candidate countries: A panel data analysis

The impact of innovation activities on the performance and competitiveness of firms, industries, and nations has been a matter of considerable interest over the past few decades. The existing empirical work has widened our knowledge of the complexity of the innovation process and its impact on the ability of firms to compete. This study investigates how knowledge spillovers generated through firms? innovation activities affect the ability of their industries to compete in terms of quality. The data from the Community Innovation Survey 2006 for several EU member and candidate countries that have recently become available are combined with other EU-wide datasets to create an industry database containing information on innovation activities and performance at industry level. A simultaneous equations framework is used to examine the interdependencies between knowledge spillovers, innovation activities, quality upgrading, and the market share of industries from the selected countries in the single European market. The results of the investigation provide support for the relationship between innovation, quality upgrading, and market share of industries, and point to several types of spillover which are relevant for the competitiveness of national industries in EU member states.

Aim: The article aims to compare the approaches to sustainable tourism in Poland and Serbia. It ana­lyzes current consumer trends in the European Union, Poland (as an EU member), and Serbia (as an EU candidate country). The article presents the objectives of both countries’ latest available tourism devel­opment strategies. An attempt is made to indicate the desired directions of action in the near future from the perspective of changing expectations of tourists, environmental challenges, and the assumptions of the sustainable development concept. Methods: The methods included desk research (analysis of documents and public policies), content analysis (analysis of the websites of national tourism develop­ment agencies), and case studies (indicating specific actions). Results: The analysis of sustainable tourism development in Poland and Serbia indicates significant similarities, but also differences resulting from the political and institutional context. As an EU member, Poland systematically implements the recom­mendations resulting from a set of political initiatives under the common name of the European Green Deal and the industrial strategy published as the Transformation Path for Tourism, emphasizing the devel­opment of low-emission, digital tourism and supporting local communities. In the process of integration with the EU, Serbia is taking actions similar to EU standards, developing tourism based on natural values and cultural heritage. Conclusions: Both in Poland and Serbia, there is a growing interest in sustainable tourism among consumers and changing trends in the expectations of tourists. Environmental challenges, such as excessive pressure from mass tourism, loss of biodiversity, waste generation, and the effects of climate change, require an integrated approach and intersectoral cooperation; in this context, the assumptions of the circular economy are also relevant. This is necessary to balance economic develop­ment and the protection of natural resources. Poland and Serbia have significant potential for developing sustainable tourism but face different challenges. Poland should focus on reducing overtourism and better managing tourist traffic, while Serbia should invest in tourist infrastructure and environmental protection. Supporting innovation and ecological education for tourists and local communities is crucial.

This article presents a comprehensive study of the economic criteria for EU accession for candidate countries, with a specific focus on their market economy performance. The Copenhagen criteria, formulated in 1993, continue to serve as the fundamental basis for assessing a country’s readiness to integrate into the European Union. The economic dimension, which includes the existence of a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competitive pressure within the EU internal market, is of particular importance. The aim of the study is to generalize theoretical approaches and conduct a comparative analysis of the market readiness of candidate countries based on a wide range of international indices. The research draws upon data from authoritative sources such as the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI), Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), Financial Development Index (FDI), Labour Market Indicators (ILO, OECD), Human Development Index (HDI), Global Innovation Index (GII), Education Index (UNESCO), and Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). The criteria are systematized into five core characteristics: quality of economic governance, macroeconomic stability, functioning of goods and services markets, functioning of the financial market, and functioning of the labour market. Based on these indicators, a rating matrix has been developed for nine EU candidate countries (Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Turkey), enabling an objective assessment of their compliance with EU market economy standards. The findings show that Montenegro, Georgia, and Serbia lead in most categories, while Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina lag behind due to significant institutional and structural challenges. The practical relevance of this study lies in its applicability to the formulation of targeted economic reform strategies, institutional capacity building, and alignment with EU standards. The proposed methodological approach may serve as a basis for future academic research and policy support for the EU integration process.

Goal – The main goal of this study is to conduct a comparative analysis of the level of financial exclusion in EU states and candidate countries in 2023. Research methodology – The research procedure consisted of the following steps: a study of literature, review of databases, verification and investigation of data, visualisation of the selected measures on financial exclusion in the countries under analysis and it results. Score/results – The study reveals that there is no noticeable relation between the membership in the EU and the level of financial exclusion. It follows that EU membership is not an automatic guarantee for financial inclusion. Furthermore, the analysis revealed a differentiation within the group of candidate countries but also among EU member states. Additionally, it follows that poor geographical outreach does not always have a negative impact on the use of financial services. Originality/value – The value of the paper is related to the comparative analysis of the selected group of countries: such analysis, including two dimensions of financial inclusion, which are geographical outreach, and the use of financial services was not conducted so far.

The long-standing battle in securing tax revenues in the European Union has led to the adoption of the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD) as a key tool to combat tax avoidance. The measures aimed to restrict the abuse of tax laws by including both Specific AntiAbuse Rules (SAARs) and General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR). This article explains GAAR under ATAD and examines its implementation challenges in Southeastern Europe (SEE), assessing compliance levels across EU members and EU candidate countries. We employ an in-depth legal analysis of corporate tax laws and procedural tax rules to assess the level of conformity. It varies from full compliance to partial implementation of substance-over-form rules to no GAAR at all. Despite economic and institutional capacity limitations, some of SEE non-EU countries demonstrate a more ambitious trajectory in legal formalization of GAAR, at time matching or even surpassing certain EU member countries in the implementation of the key provisions. However, this ambition remains at odds with their enforcement capacities. Cross country comparison and evaluation based on scores for selected GAAR criteria suggest that EU membership does offer a seat at the table, but it does not guarantee robust compliance with GAAR requirements.

SP0111 Pediatric Rheumatology in the Balkan Area

The tax wedge is a significant part of total labour costs, which creates a difference between the gross wage and the net take-home pay. The tax wedge receives much attention in research, since it is perceived that high labour tax wedge has detrimental effects on labour market outcomes and causes higher levels of unemployment. The paper addresses the following issues: the effects of an increase or decrease of tax wedge on the labour market; the tax burden on labour in the Republic of Macedonia and the reductions of personal income tax and social contributions rates; an international comparison of the tax wedge and the position of Macedonia. A hierarchical cluster analysis was performed on 43 countries (OECD and EU members and EU candidate countries), resulting in three groups of countries classified according to their tax wedge, employment rate and unemployment rate. We found that OECD and EU countries can be classified into two groups, one with high tax wedge, high unemployment rate and low employment rate, and the other one with opposite characteristics. Macedonia belongs to the third group of countries with poorest labour market outcomes, while the average tax wedge is somewhere between those of the other two clusters. The results can serve the professional and scientific public in analyzing the labour market flexibility; as well as the relevant state institutions and policy makers, in conceptualization of appropriate policies aimed at changing taxes that burden wages. .