Central EU Research Articles

The targeting of ODA by Central and Eastern European EU donors

ABSTRACT The study analyses the allocation of Official Development Assistance (ODA) by those Central and Eastern European (CEE) donors that are also members of the EU. Using both absolute and relative data from the OECD and UNDP databases for each recipient country, we have established a general trend in CEE EU countries aid provision and identified cases of exceptional donor engagement. The main axis of the study is the analysis of the ODA/HDI ratio, focusing on flows in 2021 and then on 2013–2021 to establish the long-term trend. The result is a positive correlation between the volume of aid provided and the HDI score in each of the perspectives considered. This leads to a surprising trend of increasing aid activity by CEE EU donors as the level of development of the recipient countries improves. The results of the data analysis and the conclusions drawn from the literature suggest that the distribution of CEE EU ODA is much closer to a donor interest model. However, it is possible that this trend may gradually evolve towards a hybrid model, given the surge in ODA spending following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war and increasing external pressure.

Europium‐Based Metal–Organic Framework with N─H···π Interaction and Intramolecular Energy Transfer Mechanisms for Self‐Electrochemiluminescence

AbstractThis work proposes a europium‐based metal–organic framework ([Eu2(HNCP)4Cl4(H2O)2]n, named ZL‐1), featuring dinuclear Eu2(COO)2 clusters as connecting nodes, linked by benzimidazolyl tridentate ligand 2‐(4‐carboxyphenyl)‐imidazo[4,5‐f]‐1,10‐phenanthroline (HNCP) for efficient self‐electrochemiluminescence (self‐ECL). The cathodic ECL emission shows two peaks with a maximum intensity of 7500 a.u.at 0 ∼ −1.8 V in pH 9.0 phosphated buffered solution (PBS) without extra coreactant. The cleavage of N─H bond in benzimidazolyl group can occur under alkaline conditions to generate neutral radical ZL‐1•. After applying voltage, the ZL‐1 can be reduced twice to form ZL‐1Re1•− and ZL‐1Re2•−. Then, ZL‐1Re1•− and ZL‐1Re2•− react with ZL‐1•, accompanied by transferring energy from HNCP to central Eu3+ to produce excited ZL‐1Re1* and ZL‐1Re2* for ECL1 and ECL2 emissions. The local excitation in the HNCP unit is demonstrated with cyclic voltammetry (CV) and stepping pulse ECL. The stimulated and luminous species are confirmed by density functional theory calculations and ECL spectra. This design approach of self‐ECL materials, which coordinated functional ligands with lanthanide metal ions as 3D‐structured MOF, broadened the applications of ECL systems to loose conditions and facilitated mechanistic exploration of ECL processes.

Dual-Ligand Europium-Organic Gels as a Highly Efficient Anodic Annihilation Electrochemiluminescence Emitter for Ultrasensitive Detection of MicroRNA.

In this study, a novel europium dual-ligand metal-organic gel (Eu-D-MOGs) with high-efficient anodic annihilation electrochemiluminescence (ECL) was synthesized as an ECL emitter to construct a biosensor for ultrasensitive detection of microRNA-221 (miR-221). Impressively, compared to the ECL signal of europium single-ligand metal-organic gels (Eu-S-MOGs), the ECL signal of Eu-D-MOGs was significantly improved since the two organic ligands could jointly replace the H2O and coordinate with Eu3+, which could remarkably reduce the nonradiative vibrational energy transfer caused by the coordination between H2O and Eu3+ with a high coordination demand. In addition, Eu-D-MOGs could be electrochemically oxidized to Eu-D-MOGs•+ at 1.45 V and reduced to Eu-D-MOGs•- at 0.65 V to achieve effective annihilation of ECL, which overcame the side reaction brought by the remaining emitters at negative potential. This benefited from the annihilation ECL performance of the central ion Eu3+ caused by its redox in the electrochemical process. Furthermore, the annihilation ECL signal of Eu3+ could be improved by sensitizing Eu3+ via the antenna effect. In addition, combined with the improved rolling circle amplification-assisted strand displacement amplification strategy (RCA-SDA), a sensitive biosensor was constructed for the sensitive detection of miR-221 with a low detection limit of 5.12 aM and could be successfully applied for the detection of miR-221 in the lysate of cancer cells. This strategy offered a unique approach to synthesizing metal-organic gels as ECL emitters without a coreactant for the construction of ECL biosensing platforms in biomarker detection and disease diagnosis.

Coherence of the business cycles of prospective members of the euro area and the euro area business cycle

Is it beneficial for Central and Eastern European EU Member States to join the euro area? To answer that question, the coherence of the business cycles of six EU Member States and the euro area is analyzed. These countries recently joined (Croatia) or are supposed to join the euro area in the (near) future. The analysis utilizes the synchronicity and similarity measures proposed by Mink et al. (2012). Whereas the synchronicity measure captures whether output gaps have the same sign, the similarity measure identifies differences in cycle amplitudes. It is observed that the business cycles of several countries, notably Romania and Hungary, are out of sync with that of the euro area. The output gap similarity and synchronicity measures for Croatia are also fairly low. However, this also holds for some countries in the euro area.

Pension reforms in Hungary: have they gone too far?

Abstract As a result of unfavorable demographic processes, the pension systems in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) EU countries face significant challenges, which has made the implementation of reforms inevitable in the last decade. Relying on economic theory, this paper analyses the effects of the Hungarian pension reforms in comparison with those of other CEE countries, and discusses the consequences from the point of view of social policy and the sustainability of the pension schemes. We explore the reasons why the reforms in Hungary ultimately did not improve sustainability but rather contributed to dismantling the social care system. Therefore, the Hungarian case provides useful lessons for other countries, and at the same time underlines the importance of automatic adjustment mechanisms. The study pays particular attention to the theoretical analysis of pension indexation because its accurate quantitative effects are far from being sufficiently clarified in the literature, although it is vital for a thoughtful evaluation of pension reforms.

Aquatic macrophyte growth season in Central and Northern European Union and the implications for aquatic macrophyte risk assessments for herbicides.

Under current European Union regulation, the risks to aquatic organisms must be assessed for uses of plant protection products (PPPs) that may result in exposure to the environment. For herbicidal PPPs, aquatic macrophytes are often the most sensitive taxa. For some herbicidal modes of action, macrophytes may be affected only while they are actively growing. For the risk assessment, it is therefore useful to know whether application timings would result in surface water exposure during periods when aquatic macrophytes are actively growing (therefore potentially resulting in effects). Toxicity endpoints, which are based on studies with active growth, may be overconservative in cases where exposure of PPPs will not co-occur with active macrophyte growth. A comprehensive literature search was performed, using systematic and manual approaches, with the aim of identifying the main active growth period for macrophytes in natural freshwater bodies in climates relevant to the Central and Northern zones of the European Union. The results of the searches were screened initially to identify all potentially relevant references, for which a full evaluation was then performed. Reliability was assessed using the principles of the Klimisch scoring system. As part of the full evaluation, growth periods were identified for each macrophyte species studied. Finally, the extracted growth periods were considered together to determine an overall active growth period for aquatic macrophytes representative of the Central and Northern EU zones. Based on this literature review, the active growth period identified for most aquatic macrophyte species representative of the Central and Northern EU zones is April to September. Relating to the regulatory implication of these results, it may be possible to conclude a low risk for aquatic macrophytes if the predicted surface water exposure period for certain PPPs is demonstrated to be outside the periods of active growth. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:1125-1139. © 2023 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

Pest categorisation of Mimela testaceipes.

The EFSA Panel on Plant Health performed a pest categorisation of Mimela testaceipes (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), the striated chafer, for the EU, following a commodity risk assessment of dwarfed Pinus parviflora grafted onto P. thunbergii from China in which M. testaceipes was identified as a pest of possible concern to the EU. M. testaceipes occurs in Japan, northeast China, Far East Russia, South Korea and very likely North Korea. Adults are recognised pests feeding on and damaging the needles of Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica), Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) and Japanese larch (Larix leptolepis) which are important forestry trees where the pest currently occurs. It has adapted to feed on the needles of Pinus species introduced into its native area, such as P. taeda, which is native to southeastern USA although M. testaceipes is not regarded as a significant pest of pines. Larvae are reported to cause root damage to grasses, as well as conifers. Eggs are usually laid in grassy soils by females that develop on conifer species. Larvae develop in the soil feeding on the roots of grasses or conifer hosts. Larvae overwinter in the soil and take 2 or 3 years to develop. In principle soil, host plants for planting and cut branches with foliage could provide pathways into the EU. However, prohibitions on the import of soil and hosts such as Chamaecyparis, Larix and Pinus regulate such pathways into the EU. Nevertheless, certain dwarfed Pinus spp. from Japan are provided with a derogation for entry into the EU. In addition, the host C. japonica is unregulated and could also provide a pathway. Hosts occur in the EU in climate zones that match those where M. testaceipes occurs in Asia. If M. testaceipes were to enter the EU, conditions in central and northern EU are conducive to establishment. Following establishment, impacts on Japanese cedar, Japanese cypress and Japanese larch would be expected; it is possible that M. testaceipes could adapt to feed on Pinus and Larix species growing in Europe. M. testaceipes satisfies the criteria that are within the remit of EFSA to assess for it to be regarded as a potential Union quarantine pest.

Tapping the Light Emitting Potential of Chalcogenide Perovskite SrHfS3 via Eu2+ Doping

AbstractChalcogenide perovskites are an emerging family of perovskite materials, which possess excellent optoelectronic properties comparable with halide perovskites, avoiding the drawbacks of toxicity and poor stability. Due to the superiorities of strong light absorption, direct bandgaps, excellent carrier transport abilities, high defect tolerance, robust stability, and non‐toxicity, chalcogenide perovskites have been extensively studied as photovoltaic materials. However, the light emitting potential of chalcogenide perovskites is ignored or less explored. In this work, an Eu2+ doping strategy is proposed to activate the light emitting abilities of chalcogenide perovskite. The synthesized SrHfS3:Eu2+ powder exhibits intense red emission of Eu2+ through the relaxation of 4f65d1 to 4f75d0. The strong interband absorption of SrHfS3, as a distinct character of chalcogenide perovskite, harvests the optical energy and funnels it to the luminescent center Eu2+. Besides, SrHfS3:Eu2+ is characterized by superior semiconducting properties, suggesting its strong potential as suitable emitters in light‐emitting diodes. Moreover, the obtained SrHfS3:Eu2+ powder and its luminescence properties remain stable under ultraviolet irradiation, water, and high temperature testing. The above observations open a new frontier for exploring luminescent chalcogenide perovskites, highlighting their great potential in lighting and displays, rather than being limited to photovoltaic devices.

Exploring the Intrinsic Factors Influencing Return on Assets: A Case Study of the Hotel Industry in Selected EU Countries

Purpose: The main aim of this study was to determine the intrinsic factors (total equity, trade receivable turnover, working capital turnover, long term debt, current ratio, debt to total assets ratio, debt to equity ratio, net sales revenue trend, total operating revenue trend, shareholders' equity trend, cash to total assets, current liabilities to total liabilities) that influence the financial performance of the Hotel Industry in select Central and Eastern European Union countries. Return on Assets (ROA) was used in this study as measure of financial performance. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses panel data fixed effects model to examine dependent variable ROA as measure of the financial performance of select Tourism and Leisure Industry companies from Central and Eastern EU member states. The intrinsic factors were applied as independent variables. The applied panel data fixed effects model in the study was utilised to determine the impact of the intrinsic factors on financial performance. The data were obtained from EMIS data base. Overall data encompassed 614 companies from select eight Central and Eastern EU member states for the period 2015-2022. Findings: The model performed in this study discovered that intrinsic factors including total equity, trade receivable turnover, current ratio, debt to total assets ratio, as well as cash to total assets had a significant impact on the ROA. Total equity, current ratio, cash to total assets have positive impact as opposed to the trade receivable turnover debt to total asset, while years 2020 and 2021 had negative impact on the ROA. Research limitations/implications: This study was limited just on the select eight central and eastern European Union countries; moreover, the database EMIS used for this study lacks certain variables that are frequently used in similar studies. Result confirmed the importance of intrinsic factors and their influence on the financial performance of the leisure industry. Originality/value: This study contributes to the existing body of theory on financial performance through research on the new practitioners’ perception of the intrinsic factors relative to financial performance. There are very few empirical studies which examine financial performance variables in the Central and Eastern European leisure industry. Consequently, this study aims to bridge the gap between the available literature and body of research.

Dual-ligand lanthanide metal-organic framework probe for ratiometric fluorescence detection of mercury ions in wastewater.

Byserving dipyridylic acid (DPA) and 2,5-dihydroxyterephthalic acid (DHTA) as the biligands, a novel lanthanide (Eu3+) metal-organic framework (MOF) namely Eu-DHTA/DPA was prepared for specific Hg2+ fluorescence determination. The dual-ligand approach can endows the resultingluminescent MOF with dual emission of ratiometric fluorescence and uniform size. Eu3+ produces intense red fluorescence when activated by the ligand DPA, while the other ligand DHTA produces yellow fluorescence. Under 273nm excitation, thepresence of Hg2+ in the monitoring environment causes an increase in the intensity of the DHTA fluorescence peak at 559nm and a decrease in the intensity of the Eu3+ fluorescence peak at 616nm. Hg2+ effectively quenches the fluorescence emission of the central metal Eu3+ in Eu-DHTA/DPA at 616nm through a dynamic quenching effect. This recognition process occurs due to the coordination of Hg2+ with ligands such as benzene rings, carboxyl groups, and pyridine N in three-dimensional space. Hg2+ was detected by measuring the ratio between two fluorescence peaks (I559 nm/I616 nm) within the range 2-20μM, achieving a remarkably low detection limit of 40nM. The established ratiometric fluorescence method hasbeen successfully applied to the determination of Hg2+ in industrial wastewater ofcomplex composition. The methodplays a crucial role in the rapid and sensitive monitoring of Hg2+ in real environmental samples. The recoveries ranged from 92.82% to 112.67% (n = 3) with relative standard deviations (RSD) below 4.8%. This study offers a convenient and effective method for constructing probes for Hg2+ monitoring, with practical applications in environmental monitoring.

The challenge of managing threatened invasive species at a continental scale.

The European Union's (EU) environmental legislation establishes common measures to prevent the entry and spread of invasive non-native species and to minimize their impacts. However, species that are native to at least one member state but non-native and potentially invasive in others (NPIS) are in limbo because they are neither legally regulated at the EU level nor in most member states. We used the Communication and Information Resource Centre for Administrations, Businesses and Citizens (CIRCABC) raw data on NPIS (317 taxa) to analyze their distribution across the EU and identify which biogeographical regions are the main sources of invasions. We additionally evaluated the conservation challenge posed by NPIS that are threatened within their native ranges. We performed a pairwise analysis summarizing the number of species that are native to a given member state but non-native to another and vice versa. Although distribution patterns of NPIS varied across taxa groups, overall, southern and central EU countries were both donors and recipients of NPIS. Eastern countries were mainly a source, and western and northern countries mostly received NPIS. Around 27% of NPIS were threatened in some of their EU native ranges, which is a challenge for conservation and management because some of them have serious negative effects on European biodiversity, but hitherto remain outside the scope of the EU regulation of invasive non-native species. This highlights an unresolved paradox because efforts to manage species as invasive conflict with efforts to protect them as threatened within the same territory.

Globalization and Pollution in Central and Eastern European EU Countries

Pollution and globalization are current challenges for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), especially in the context of negative effects of globalization on environment. The aim of this paper is to assess the impact of globalization index on CO2 emissions in the CEE countries that joined the EU in the period 2005-2021. The results based on a panel data approach with DOLS/FMOLS estimators confirm the hypothesis that globalization enhances pollution in this region, but a non-linear relationship was validated between CO2 emissions and globalization index. After reaching a maximum level, the CO2 emissions begin to decrease, while globalization enhances. On the other hand, economic freedom and electricity prices in household consumers had a positive impact on pollution. Renewable energy consumption has the capacity to reduce pollution, while higher electricity prices for non-household users discourage economic activities, which contribute to environmental protection. These empirical findings could support policy proposals to reduce pollution in this region.

Decline of pesticide residue on treated crop seeds: An analysis of comprehensive industry data and implications of the current risk assessment scheme for plant protection products.

For plant protection products applied as seed treatments, the risk to birds and mammals possibly feeding on treated seeds must be addressed in the EU to register products for commercial use. One assumption of the Tier 1 long-term risk assessment of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is that residues of pesticides on treated seeds do not decline over time after seeding. Consequently, a time-weighted average factor (fTWA ) of 1 (i.e., no dissipation) is used to calculate residue concentrations on seeds. In contrast, for spray applications, a default dissipation half-life (DT50 ) of 10 days is considered corresponding to an fTWA of 0.53. The aim of this study was to establish a default fTWA for treated seeds based on 29 industry-conducted seed dissipation studies, providing 240 datasets covering different active substances, crops, and regions. For fTWA calculation, two approaches were used: (i) kinetic fitting and (ii) using measured data without kinetic fitting. From kinetic fitting, 145 reliable DT50 values were obtained. Because there were no significant differences in DT50 values between crops and between the central and southern EU, the DT50 data from all studies were pooled. The geometric mean DT50 was 3.8 days and the 90th percentile was 13.0 days, corresponding to 21-day fTWA values of 0.27 and 0.59, respectively. Twenty-one-day fTWA values could be calculated directly from measured residues for 204 datasets. The resulting 21-day fTWA values were comparable with those from kinetic fitting (geometric mean: 0.29, 90th percentile: 0.59). The results demonstrate that residue decline on seeds is comparable with foliar dissipation after spray applications. Therefore, the risk assessment scheme by EFSA should implement a default fTWA < 1.0 in the Tier 1 risk assessment for treated seeds (e.g., either 0.53 as for foliage or 0.59, the 90th percentile fTWA in seeds reported in this study). Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:239-247. © 2023 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

Europium(III) Ion-Based photoluminescence complexes of Indole-Derivative β-diketone dominated by ancillary ligands

One pot reaction of β-diketone EIFD, EuCl3·6H2O and ancillary ligand yield a sequence of five luminescence β-diketone EIFD europium complexes, including Eu(EIFD)3(H2O)·CH2Cl2 (1), Eu(EIFD)3(DMSO) (2), Eu(EIFD)3(DMF)·CH2Cl2 (3), Eu(EIFD)3(phen)·CH2Cl2 (4) and Eu(EIFD)3(bpy) (5) (EIFD: 1-(1-ethyl-1H-indol-3-yl)-4,4,4-trifluorobutane-1,3-dione, phen = 1, 10-phenanthroline, bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine,). The molecular crystals reveal five mononuclear structures with the central Eu(III) ions of seven/eight coordination configuration furnished by three EIFD ligands and ancillary ligands for complexes 1–5. All the five complexes display room-temperature strong characteristic photoluminescence emissions of Eu(III) ions. The coordination environment of Eu(III) ion is a crucial factor in the optical performance of the complex. Herein, the way to introduce of oxygen and nitrogen ancillary ligands plays an important role in characteristic photoluminescence. The luminescence lifetime and quantum yields of the complexes can vary essentially by substituting the solvent molecules with oxygen and nitrogen ligands, leading to a strong luminescence intensity, as observed experimentally.

The empowerment of Ukrainian nursing: a call to action for Central European EU countries

The empowerment of Ukrainian nursing: a call to action for Central European EU countries

Pest categorisation of Takahashia japonica.

The EFSA Panel on Plant Health performed a pest categorisation of Takahashia japonica (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Coccidae), the Asian string cottony scale, for the EU. This insect is native to Japan, and it is now established in many countries in Asia. It was first recorded in the EU (Italy) in 2017 and has also been found in Croatia. It is not listed in Annex II of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072. It is polyphagous, feeding on broad-leafed trees and shrubs assigned to 25 genera belonging to 17 families. Host plant species commonly found in EU include maple (Acer spp.), alder (Alnus japonica), silkworm mulberry (Morus alba), black mulberry (Morus nigra), quince (Cydonia oblonga), walnut (Juglans regia), cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera), apple (Malus domestica) and citrus (Citrus sp.). Climatic conditions and availability of host plants in southern and central EU countries have allowed this species to establish and spread. Impact in cultivated hosts including citrus, mulberries, quinces, apples, plums, forest trees, as well as ornamental plants, is anticipated. Phytosanitary measures are available to reduce the likelihood of entry and further spread. T. japonica meets the criteria that are within the remit of EFSA to assess for this species to be regarded as a potential Union quarantine pest.

State Aid Impact on Central and Eastern Europe Economies

State aid is a fairly common phenomenon in the European Union, and, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of companies receiving state aid has even increased. However, scientific research confirms that, depending on the macroeconomic, political and social situation as well as on industry specifics, state aid can have a dual effect - positive or negative. To date, there is no clear answer to the question of what impact and under which conditions state aid has on national economies in the long run. This article contributes to filling a gap in the literature because to date researchers have focused on the cases of large, heavily populated European Union countries, but the research into the impact of state aid on the Central and Eastern EU economies, where the level of state aid as percentage of GDP is higher than the EU average, is still scarce. In addition, the mixed results obtained in previous studies caused confusion over the effects of state aid and its relevance for economic development. In our research, we applied correlation analysis, Granger causality test, ARDL, PTR models and evaluation of multipliers for the analysis of the panel data set representing 11 Central and Eastern EU countries over a 20-year period (from 2000 to 2019). We found that state aid does not promote economic development in most Сentral and Eastern EU countries under certain conditions in the long term. This paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the state aid-economic development relationship at the national level in the Central and Eastern Europe and has implications for policy makers.

Assessing the effects of hard and soft infrastructure on traditional vs supply-chain trade: the case of Central and Eastern EU member states (CEMS)

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to assess the role of hard and soft infrastructure in trade, distinguishing between traditional trade and supply-chain trade. Using factor analysis, we construct four aggregate trade facilitation indicators where we measure hard infrastructure as physical and ICT infrastructure, while soft infrastructure accounts for border efficiency and institutional efficiency. For traditional trade, we use bilateral trade data from UN Comtrade. Supply-chain trade is measured in terms of domestic value-added (DVAFX) embodied in foreign gross exports and foreign value-added (FVA) embodied in domestic gross exports obtained from Eora MRIO database. We use panel data regression analysis with an empirical model specification based on a gravity model and covering the 2000–2019 period. We estimate model with the Poisson Pseudo-Maximum Likelihood Estimator (PPML). To control multilateral trade-resistance terms (MRT), we included reporter and partner fixed effects along with country pair fixed effects. The results confirm a statistically significant relationship between hard and soft infrastructure and trade. ICT and border efficiency have the strongest impact on both types of trade. Supply-chain trade responds most intensely to improvements in institutional efficiency. Results imply that ICT infrastructure and border efficiency might hold even greater importance for CEMS’s traditional and supply-chain trade.

Analysis of banking sector stability using the taxonomic measure of development

Motivation: The stability of the financial system means that the entire system performs its key functions properly. It is a prerequisite for sustained economic growth. Maintaining stability of the banking sector is of particular importance for the firmness of the financial system, as it plays a key role in financing the economy, transmission of monetary policy impulses, and monetary settlements. Therefore, in the context of financial security, it is extremely important to analyse the banking stability. Aim: Assessment of the stability of banking sectors of the Central and Eastern European EU Member States and a comparative analysis and classification of the CEE countries in terms of selected indicators characterising the stability of their banking sectors using the model method of linear ordering, i.e. the Hellwig’s method. The analysis will verify the thesis whether banks in countries of lower national income (according to the World Bank’s classification) perform worse in terms of stability than banks in countries of higher national income. To illustrate the situation in the field of banking sector stability more clearly, the authors presented the dynamics of all variables considered from the point of view of the analysis (dynamics were presented for 2015 and 2019 in relation to the base year, which was assumed to be 2011). Results: A multivariate analysis was used in the comparative analysis of banking sectors development in Central and Eastern Europe. For this purpose, the development pattern method was used so that a synthetic indicator of the development of the banking sector with regard to its stability was calculated. Based on the proposed measure of development, a ranking of the Central and Eastern European EU Member States was prepared for 2019. It should be emphasized that the thesis outlined in the article was not empirically confirmed, namely, banks from countries of lower national income (according to the World Bank classification) did not have much worse results than banks from countries of higher national income.

Agricultural Development in European Union: Drivers, Challenges and Perspectives

Globalisation of world trade, consumer-led quality requirements and EU enlargement are the new realities and challenges facing European agriculture today. The changes will affect not only agricultural markets, but also local economies in rural areas. The future of the agricultural sector is closely linked to a balanced development of rural areas. The Community dimension in this relationship is therefore clear: agricultural and rural policy have an important role to play in the cohesion of EU territorial, economic and social policy. With over 56 percent of the population in the 27 Member States of the European Union (EU) living in rural areas, which cover 91 percent of the territory, rural development is a vitally important policy area. Farming and forestry remain crucial for land use and the management of natural resources in the EU’s rural areas, and as a platform for economic diversification in rural communities. The strengthening of EU rural development policy is, therefore, an overall EU priority. The European Union has an active rural development policy because this helps to achieve valuable goals for the country sides and for the people who live and work there. The policy is funded partly from the central EU budget and partly from individual Member States' national or regional budgets. Theoretically, individual EU Member States could decide and operate completely independent rural development policies. However, this approach would work poorly in practice. Not all countries in the EU would be able to afford the policy which they needed and many of the issues addressed through rural development policy do not divide up neatly at national or regional boundaries. Also, rural development policy has links to a number of other policies set at EU level. Therefore, the EU has a common rural development policy, which nonetheless places considerable control in the hands of individual Member States and regions. The EU’s rural development policy is all about meeting the challenges faced by our rural areas, and unlocking their potential.