IMPACT This article provides actionable lessons for practitioners in public sector auditing, supreme audit institutions (SAIs), and public financial management authorities. It demonstrates how institutional capacity, reflected in adequate resources, staffing, and strategic planning, is closely associated with broader engagement in Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) related audits. The findings indicate that financial and human resource investments are important enabling conditions for expanding the scope of sustainability-oriented performance auditing, while gender inclusion emerges as an institutional dimension whose role remains complex and context-dependent. For audit leaders, policy-makers, and capacity-development specialists, the article underscores the importance of embedding SDG awareness and inclusiveness into audit strategies, training, and reporting systems. These insights are relevant to SAIs in transitional, developing, and EU candidate countries seeking to align their practices with INTOSAI and IDI guidance and to strengthen public accountability within the framework of the 2030 Agenda.

Persistent spread of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in acute care hospitals in 36 European countries (the CCRE survey): a prospective, multicentre, cross-sectional, epidemiological, microbiological, and genomic surveillance study.

ABSTRACT Audiovisual cooperation is a formally recognized component of the European Union’s (EU) external cultural action, grounded in the EU Treaties and the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions. This article examines audiovisual cooperation between the EU and candidate and potential candidate countries, situating it within the framework of EU enlargement policy. It analyses how the EU employs international agreements, specifically Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAAs) with the Western Balkans and Association Agreements (AAs) with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, as well as its funding tools, to promote legal convergence and foster policy alignment and sectoral integration through partnership. By examining the audiovisual cooperation provisions of the SAAs and AAs under study and the Media strand of Creative Europe, which is designed to enhance the competitiveness of the European audiovisual sector, and drawing on insights from expert interviews, the article explores how the EU seeks to advance a broader, integrated European audiovisual space, with the aim of promoting cultural diversity alongside EU industrial objectives.

This paper explores fuel smuggling and tax evasion by analyzing discrepancies in fuel imports and identifying the factors influencing them. The study analyzes data from 28 European Union member countries and 7 candidate countries over the period 1996–2022, conducting a comparative analysis. The research methodology employs panel data estimation models. The empirical findings suggest that fuel smuggling is positively correlated with the shadow economy index, the nominal tax rate and the tax revenue from excise duties, while negatively correlated with the gap between nominal and effective tax rates, as well as GDP per capita in most specifications. A literature review reveals that no previous study has examined fuel smuggling in relation to crude oil imports while simultaneously integrating the impact of institutional informality. Furthermore, this study serves as a valuable resource for policymakers by providing insights to help reduce fuel smuggling, combat associated tax evasion and ultimately increase tax revenues.

Purpose This paper aims to empirically investigate how a country’s risk factors, including environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk and sovereign risks, influence the earnings volatility of banks in 19 emerging European countries between 2000 and 2023. Design/methodology/approach The study applied Panel-Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) to address heteroskedasticity and cross-sectional dependence. An IV-GMM model was then used to correct for error correlation and handle endogeneity and other flexible error structures. In addition, the Systems Quantile Regression model was used to examine the relationship between earnings volatility (EVOL) and independent variables across various quantiles, offering deeper insights into heteroscedasticity. Findings The study finds an asymmetric effect of the impact of sovereign risk revisions on the financial performance of Emerging Europe banks was found. In fact, while such revisions generally do not have a significant effect, they may have a notable impact under certain conditions or in specific subgroups, such as EU candidate countries. This suggests that upgrades and downgrades might influence financial performance differently, or their effects may vary depending on regional or bank-specific industrial variables. Practical implications Emerging European countries should adopt sophisticated risk management frameworks that integrate sovereign and ESG risks. ESG factors should be included in financial risk assessments, and governments should focus on improving condition of a sovereign’s environmental sustainability, the resilience of their social systems and the effectiveness of their governance. Originality/value This research offers a comprehensive analysis of sovereign and ESG risks on earnings volatility in emerging European banks, highlighting asymmetric effects of sovereign risk revisions and providing policy insights to strengthen financial stability and resilience.

Turkey is a key partner of the European Union and a candidate country for EU accession. It is also one of the world’s largest agricultural producers. The aim of this study was to assess the scale and changes in Turkey’s fruit production potential and to determine the structure and changes in imports of selected fruits from Turkey to the EU Member States. The analysis covered the period 2012-2023, divided into three four-year subperiods. Data on the area under fruit crops, production (harvest volume), and yields in Turkey were obtained from FAOSTAT, while data on imports of selected fruits from Turkey to the EU were retrieved from Eurostat. Fruit production potential was assessed by examining changes in the cultivated area and yields of selected fruit species across the defined subperiods. Changes were measured using a fixed-base index and a chain index. Over the study period, productivity increased markedly in apple and cherry orchards as well as in banana and date plantations. Higher productivity of the main fruit species (apples and cherries), combined with relatively small changes in cultivated area, contributed to an increase in their production in Turkey. Imports of fruit (CN08) from Turkey to the EU increased by 21% over the period analysed. Citrus fruits, nuts, grapes, stone fruits, melons and watermelons, and berries dominated the import structure. In the event of Turkey’s accession to the EU, further expansion of apple production and a substantial increase in apple harvests could lead to overproduction and a decline in apple prices in an enlarged EU.

Abstract This paper provides a detailed analysis of Albania’s legal framework for foreign and strategic investments within the broader context of the country’s post-communist transition. Following the fall of the dictatorial regime in 1990, Albania faced significant legal and institutional challenges in establishing a free market economy, particularly in regulating and encouraging foreign investment. The development of key legislation—particularly Law No. 7764 (1993) “On Foreign Investments” and its subsequent amendments—shows Albania’s efforts to align with democratic and economic standards, further supported by the 1998 Constitution. With Albania’s designation as an EU candidate country and the start of negotiations to complete the 35 acquis chapters, national authorities have increased efforts to attract foreign investment through strategic legal reforms and international cooperation. Despite these advances, the implementation of investment projects is still hindered by deep-rooted issues, including corruption, clientelism, excessive centralisation of power, and limited fiscal transparency. This study employs a dual-method research approach, combining both qualitative and quantitative data from Albanian and international statistical sources. Through comparative analysis, it evaluates the effectiveness of Albania’s legal tools in promoting investment and examines the legal constraints that affect strategic sectors. The findings highlight the progress made and the persistent systemic barriers to creating a sustainable and transparent investment environment.

This research examines the contemporary policy framework through which the European Union seeks to counter-disinformation, situating this agenda within the broader challenges posed by ongoing democratic backsliding. It focuses on the EU media regulatory architecture and addresses the institutional and normative capacity of candidate countries such as Serbia to achieve alignment. The applied theoretical framework conceptualizes the disinformation within the contemporary processes of democratic backsliding and the growth of autocratization. The analysis further explores the regulatory challenges that arise in the context of current autocratization processes. The study is guided by two central research questions: (1) What are the main challenges associated with defining and implementing counter-disinformation policies within the EU and Serbia? (2) How do differences in political systems shape the respective approaches to countering disinformation? The research design combines theoretical source analysis with descriptive comparative methods. The paper maps the principal obstacles that hinder Serbia’s alignment with the EU’s evolving media regulatory framework. Also, the findings highlight several contextual patterns that characterize the approaches to disinformation across EU member states and Serbia.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are a cornerstone of the Albanian economy, contributing substantially to employment and output. This paper explores the main challenges SMEs face in accessing finance and evaluates the effectiveness of public and European Union (EU)-supported financial instruments, with a particular focus on credit guarantee schemes (CGS) (Bennett et al., 2005). Despite their economic significance, SMEs continue to face financing constraints due to high interest rates, stringent collateral requirements, limited start-up lending, and low trust in financial institutions. The analysis combines descriptive and comparative methods using both primary and secondary data. Primary data were collected through a survey of 300 SMEs — 50 from each of six key sectors (trade, production, agriculture, services, handicrafts, and others) — across six regions with high SME concentrations. Results reveal that 92 percent of SMEs are unaware or poorly informed about CGS, and only 1 percent have received support. Statistical testing shows that company age significantly affects financing choices (χ² significance = 0.025 < 0.05), while company size does not (χ² significance = 0.378 > 0.05), although smaller firms exhibit greater financing needs. The paper concludes with policy recommendations to enhance SME access to finance through improved awareness and more inclusive support mechanisms of CGS.

Largely relying on the 2004/07 enlargement process and the soft power of the values and norms that were incorporated as normative principles in its accession conditions, the European Union has successfully supported the peaceful development, democratisation and economic marketisation of post-communist East Central Europe and the Baltics. However, the EU’s impact on developments in the other two regions of post-communist Europe – the Western Balkans (WB) and six post-Soviet Eastern Partnership (EaP) states – has been less positive by far. The paper argues that the primary reasons for the EU’s less successful impact on developments in the WB and EaP countries should be sought in the EU's decision to stop using the enlargement process as the main instrument for promoting and spreading EU values and norms to candidate countries following the completion of the 2004/07 enlargement round. While the EU had persistently refused to include the EaP states in the enlargement process until very recently, the enlargement process for the WB states since 2007 has primarily been used to address stability–security challenges in the region and advance related foreign policy goals and priorities of E Member States

The article examines the European Union enlargement process in 2025, focusing on the assessment of progress made by candidate and potential candidate countries for EU accession, in particular Montenegro, Albania, and North Macedonia, based on the European Commission’s annual reports. The study analyzes the implementation of the European Commission’s recommendations within the framework of negotiating clusters, evaluates the pace of reforms and their compliance with EU criteria, and highlights the role of financial instruments, such as the Western Balkans Growth Plan, in stimulating reforms and preparing countries for EU membership. The article presents key information on Montenegro’s progress, which has made significant strides in negotiations, opening and provisionally closing several chapters, and receiving financial support to continue reforms. The achievements of Albania are analyzed in detail, including the opening of six negotiating clusters, implementation of judicial reforms, combating corruption and organized crime, and the prospects of completing negotiations by 2027. The situation of North Macedonia is discussed, emphasizing the need to implement constitutional amendments, strengthen the rule of law, combat corruption, and ensure alignment with the EU’s common foreign and security policy.The article also highlights the role of the European Commission’s annual monitoring in systematically assessing the progress of candidate countries, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and formulating recommendations for further reforms. It is emphasized that the EC reports serve as an important tool for preparing countries for EU membership, ensuring transparency and predictability in the enlargement process, and supporting the integration of Western Balkan countries into the EU’s economic and legal framework. The article analyzes practical aspects of financial support through the Western Balkans Growth Plan and evaluates the effectiveness of mechanisms controlling reform implementation, underlining the importance of maintaining a steady pace of reforms to achieve successful EU membership. The article also pays particular attention to the analysis of the interrelation between political and economic aspects of reforms in the candidate countries. The impact of internal political stability, the effectiveness of state institutions, and anti-corruption policies on the pace of EU standards implementation is examined. Emphasis is placed on the importance of a comprehensive approach that combines legislative changes, strengthening of the judiciary, and the implementation of socio-economic reforms, as the successful integration of these factors largely determines the readiness of countries for full EU membership.

This paper explores major political and socio-economic indicators of the countries candidate to the European Union (EU) membership. The aim of the study is to expose which countries are ahead or behind others and in which areas countries are better or worse ranked. The study uses a quantitative research method based on the collection and assessment of figures and statistics in significant economic, social and political areas and assesses these data in respect to EU’s Copenhagen and Maastricht Criteria. Additionally, the study further evaluates these countries’ international indexes to expose a comprehensive analysis and sheds light to where countries need to progress to reach higher scores and provides them a roadmap to improve their socio-economic and political results. Thus, the study mixes quantitative and comparative methods to evaluate the socio-political and economic indexing of the ten countries, discusses the findings from the EU membership perspective and provides them policy recommendations.

This article provides a comprehensive study of the concept of Good Governance and its implementation in Ukraine’s public administration. It explores the universal framework of the eight pillars of UN ESCAP as a global benchmark, and the twelve principles of democratic governance developed by the Council of Europe as mandatory standards for EU candidate countries. The analysis highlights the updated SIGMA 2023 framework, which introduced 32 principles and more than 270 sub-principles, emphasizing resilience, sustainability, and the extension of governance standards to regional and local levels. In parallel, the OECD recommendations on public integrity are examined, shifting the focus from isolated anti-corruption measures to the cultivation of a systemic culture of integrity, accountability, and evidence-informed policymaking. The empirical dimension is addressed through the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI 2.0), which in 2025 adopted an absolute scale and recalibrated historical data to assess governance quality more consistently. Ukraine’s performance demonstrates progress in government effectiveness and political stability, largely due to digitalization and institutional adaptability, while stagnation persists in rule of law and corruption control. The Ukraine Facility 2024–2027, with a €50 billion budget, is analyzed as a strategic roadmap linking EU financial support to the implementation of 69 reforms in governance, finance, judiciary, and digital transformation. A special focus is placed on academic integrity as an ethical foundation of governance, ensuring the formation of a new administrative elite committed to transparency, fairness, and responsibility. The study identifies systemic challenges-corruption, wartime constraints on transparency, Soviet administrative legacies, political instability, and social exclusion-while offering recommendations for harmonizing legislation, strengthening integrity checks, expanding digital inclusiveness, and embedding evidence-based policymaking. The findings confirm that the synergy of international standards and academic integrity provides Ukraine with a resilient governance model essential for post-war recovery and European integration.

Book Review: Immigrant Integration in Southeast Europe CoşkunLaura Elina. (2025). Immigrant Integration in Southeast Europe: Policy and Outcomes in EU Member States and Candidate Countries. London: Routledge, pp. 246, $56.99.

ABSTRACT This article extends politicisation theory by incorporating external interference as a causal factor measured across three dimensions: polarization of opinions, intensity of debate, and public resonance. We develop an ideal-typical causal process of politicization in which authority transfer is the primary driver, conditioned by country-specific economic and cultural contexts, with external interference acting as an intervening variable. Using analyticist process-tracing and a multi-method empirical approach, we examine Russian interference in Moldova’s October 2024 referendum on amending the constitution to designate European integration as an irrevocable national policy. We ask to what extent external interference amplifies political contestation of EU accession in candidate countries. Our findings show that Russian interference intensified an already polarised domestic environment marked by economic and socio-cultural divides, thereby increasing politicisation across all three dimensions. The article contributes to a more nuanced understanding of politicization processes through the inclusion of external actors.

Education and mobility have become central pillars of the European Union’s strategy for promoting integration and influence beyond its borders. This paper investigates the impact of international student exchanges on Europeanization and soft diplomacy, taking Albania as a case study. By analyzing the Erasmus+ programme through a documentary and analytical approach, the study explores how academic mobility operates as a vehicle for transmitting European norms, values, and institutional models in candidate countries. Drawing on official EU reports, national statistics, and existing literature, the paper identifies Erasmus+ as a dual instrument educational and diplomatic that contributes to both individual transformation and institutional alignment with EU standards. The analysis highlights how participation in Erasmus+ strengthens students’ European identity, intercultural competence, and perception of the EU as a normative power, while also influencing domestic higher education governance through policy learning and adaptation. However, persistent challenges remain, including unequal access, limited institutional absorption, and weak mechanisms linking returnee alumni to national academic development. The findings emphasize the strategic role of educational diplomacy as a bottom-up process of Europeanization that extends the EU’s soft power in the Western Balkans. The paper concludes by underlining the relevance of Erasmus+ as a catalyst for shaping pro-European social attitudes and enhancing Albania’s integration trajectory. Received: 13 October 2025 / Accepted: 16 December 2025 / Published: January 2026

This study evaluates the digital innovation performance of European Union (EU) members and candidate countries by applying a novel integrated multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach. Specifically, the IDOCRIW method is employed to determine objective weights for digital innovation indicators derived from the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024 report, while the CRADIS method is utilized to assess and rank country performance. The research incorporates indicators directly related to digital innovation, including ICT use, software spending, mobile app creation, GitHub activity, high-tech and ICT exports, mobile application creation, e-participation, and university–industry collaboration. The results highlight significant disparities in digital innovation performance among the analysed countries. Cyprus, Ireland, and the Netherlands emerged as the top performers, whereas Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Georgia ranked lowest. The integrated model provides a robust and transparent framework for comparative innovation analysis, offering valuable insights for policymakers aiming to enhance digital innovation capacity.

Abstract Gender equality has evolved significantly over time, shaped by social movements, legal reforms, and cultural change. Historically, gender roles limited women’s access to education, employment, and political participation. Over centuries, activists and reformers challenged these restrictions, leading to major milestones such as women’s suffrage, expanded labor rights, and legal protections against discrimination. Despite progress, gender inequality continues to exist globally, particularly in areas such as wage equity, leadership representation, and access to education. This paper examines the historical evolution of gender equality, key movements that advanced it, and ongoing challenges in achieving full equality. Gender equality is a fundamental principle of the European Union (EU) and a core requirement for countries seeking EU membership. Albania, as an EU candidate country, has undertaken significant legal and institutional reforms to align its national framework with EU gender equality standards. This paper examines the concept of gender equality under EU law and analyzes Albania’s progress in harmonizing its legislation and policies with EU requirements. While Albania has made notable advancements, particularly in legal alignment and political representation, challenges remain in implementation, enforcement, and social attitudes.

This paper analyses the impact of agricultural subsidies using traditional quasi-experimental research design that combines genetic matching procedure with regression analysis and causal forests, an adaptation of the random forest algorithm of Breiman (2001) for treatment effect estimation. The study is based on a structured orchard farm survey conducted in Albania, an EU candidate country. By employing both traditional and machine learning methods, the comparative methodological approach represents a notable contribution by enhancing the robustness of the findings, while highlighting the advantages of the random forest algorithm. The research results indicate that policy support significantly increased on-farm investments by approximately 4.7 million ALL (representing a 39% increase relative to the sample average investment for the analysed period), and direct apple revenues by about 2.48 million ALL (a 29% increase relative to the sample average revenue). Moreover, the policy had a substantial impact on altering the variety cultivation structure - beneficiary farmers replaced lower-quality apple varieties with higher-quality, market-demanded varieties, while non-beneficiaries showed no significant changes in their variety structure. As a result, the policy support enabled beneficiary farmers to better align their production structure with market demand, potentially boosting their future competitiveness.

The proper and effective transposition of the European Union's environmental Directives into national legal frameworks is a sine qua non condition for states aspiring to EU membership, directly influencing both their progress toward accession and the preservation of their natural heritage. A comprehensive analysis of how the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) has been transposed into the legislation of the Republic of Moldova reveals significant shortcomings that undermine both legal compliance and the practical feasibility of implementation. This article provides an in-depth examination of Law No. 94/2007 on the ecological network, identifying critical gaps in the definition of fundamental concepts, biodiversity assessment procedures, monitoring and reporting obligations, and the management of private land. Through a rigorous comparative approach that juxtaposes national legislation with the requirements of Article 6 of the Habitats Directive, this study proposes solutions for aligning Moldova's legal framework with the standards of the EU environmental acquis. The analysis is grounded in a meticulous review of legislative texts, aiming to place Moldova's challenges within the broader context of the EU accession process for candidate countries.