The European Union's role in the region and in the world is changing rapidly due to several internal dynamics and external crises and challenges. EU's project of integration remains a role model for peace and stability in the region and beyond. The EU Integration has emerged as a shared key priority for the EU institutions and Western Balkan countries that are in different trajectories of the accession process due to several dynamics and developments within the Western Balkan countries, regional dynamics, and enlargement skepticism among EU member states. While a comprehensive academic thinking exists about the EU's enlargement policy at its approach to this region, this study aims to understand the internal/regional dynamics in the EU integration path of Western Balkan countries through an overview of their history of integration as well as the EC Progress Reports (2022) for each country. It combines theoretical and empirical knowledge to offer a descriptive analysis of internal and regional dynamics in the Western Balkans affecting their EU integration paths.

AbstractAgainst the backdrop of persistent climate change and deteriorating environmental pressure, this study integrates financialization, human capital, and energy security risks to provide new insight into decoupling carbon emissions from economic growth. The study employs annual panel data on the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries for the period of 1990–2019. The research employs the C‐S ARDL approach and the Tapio decoupling index to assess the decoupling status of the BRICS countries. In addition, this study applies the recently developed Juodis, Karavias, and Sarafidis Granger noncausality test for robustness. The findings offer compelling evidence of an inverted U‐shaped curve, aligning with the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. Consequently, the results confirm the decoupling of carbon emissions in the BRICS nations. Furthermore, the Tapio decoupling elasticity index confirms different carbon decoupling statuses among the BRICS. The results show expansive negative decoupling for Brazil, weak decoupling for India and China, and strong decoupling for Russia and South Africa. In terms of policy, achieving strong decoupling status in the BRICS requires that financial institutions' lending and investing strategies align with environmental objectives. In addition, human capital development policies such as increased spending on education should be vigorously pursued to empower people to lead sustainable development projects.

The present paper presents a study on the in-plane shear performance of solid clay brick masonry walls reinforced with near-surface mounted twisted steel bars. Masonry assemblages were fabricated representing those used in masonry-concrete buildings such as those found in Lisbon, built during the decades of 1930–1950. Solid clay bricks laid in Flemish bond using cement-lime blended mortar were used in the construction of fifteen wallette specimens. Three reinforcement layouts were applied on both faces of the wallettes, namely: grid (vertical + horizontal bars), vertical-only, and horizontal-only. Three unreinforced and nine reinforced specimens were subjected to diagonal compression tests. Three other unreinforced specimens were subjected to axial compression tests. The effectiveness of the proposed strengthening solution was discussed. The findings indicate that the proposed strengthening solution substantially increased the shear strength and greatly improved the ductility of the masonry wallette assemblages, pointing to its interest in practice. Although the number of tests performed is significant (considering its complexity), it should be noted that the representativeness of the results could be improved by performing more tests. The incorporation of results from other studies (in progress within the RESIST2020 research project), namely, regarding the walls out-of-plane behavior, will allow for a more complete characterization of the benefits of the reinforcement solution.

This study explores the seismic behavior of masonry buildings in close proximity to a fault rupture as compared to those located farther away. It takes into account the distinctive features of near-fault ground motions, such as forward directivity and the fling effect, which have the potential to cause significant earthquake-related damage. The study employs a dataset comprising 100 earthquake records, which represent both near-fault and far-fault ground motions and conducts an analysis of nineteen masonry buildings with varying typologies. Analytical models for each of these buildings are constructed using experimental data concerning the quality of masonry materials. Nonlinear static and dynamic analyses are carried out to evaluate the buildings' capacity to withstand seismic deformations and the extent of damage incurred. The findings indicate that near-fault ground motions exert a more significant influence on the dynamic response and result in greater damage to masonry structures when compared to far-fault ground motions.

Abstract The discourse on transitional justice and coming to terms with the past following 32 years of regime change in post-communist Albania continues to cause further polarization within society. The timeline of nearly thirty years has been fueled by extreme debates and harsh statements which have resulted in the division of society in two camps of public judgment-the communists and the anti-communists. The number of studies conducted on the impact of transitional justice on democratic backsliding is quite limited, and similarly, there is a paucity of research on the correlation between transitional justice and polarization within the country. Albania’s transitional justice dynamic can be better understood by contextualizing it in terms of regime change and consolidation, which would bring significant insights. The primary objective of this paper is to concentrate on the theoretical and conceptual framework of transitional justice, and to discuss its primary differences in how it deals with the past. In the second part of the paper, a detailed analysis of the discourse of the elite will be presented, aimed at addressing the fundamental question posed in this paper, which is “to what extent has the political domain utilized TJ to polarize society”?

Introduction: The study is focused on the analysis of the energy performance of mass-housing residential buildings in Albania and further evaluation of the opportunities for energy retrofit of these buildings. Currently, in Albania, energy performance evaluation is mandatory for newly constructed buildings, but there are no approaches that would address the existing building stock. Methods: The goal of this study is to evaluate apartment buildings of the communist period in Tirana and Shkodra and apply a number of passive and active retrofit strategies, which are appropriate in the Mediterranean climate conditions. Results and Discussion: Improvement of thermal conductivity and energy balance can be achieved through the additional insulation of the buildings’ walls and roofs and window replacement, installation of photovoltaic panels and energy-efficient lighting. The application of passive strategies reduces energy losses in Tirana by 56% and in Shkodra— by 57%. Conclusions: Installation of photovoltaic panels can meet cooling and lighting demands during the warm period; however, their contribution during the wintertime is insufficient to satisfy heating demands.

Abstract Online marketplaces’ expansion has completely transformed the way in which products and services are traded, benefiting both consumers and companies in a variety of ways. However, the decentralized nature of online markets, the problem of market domination, and the growing use of big data in digital marketplaces, has brought many difficulties related to competition law. Further complicating matters is the growth of platform-to-business (P2B) partnerships. This manuscript discusses recent competition cases involving online platforms and offers an outline of the difficulties faced by competition authorities in dealing with competition concerns in digital markets. The specific applicability of Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to concerns involving digital platforms will be thoroughly examined. There will also be discussion of potential fixes for the concerns mentioned. The study outlines the raised concerns and offers potential solutions. Thus, it will provide a glimpse into a potential future strategy that the European Union competition authorities, including the Commission and National Competition Authorities, may adopt about online platforms.