Central European Region Research Articles

Financial Factors Explaining Value Migration: Evidence from Central Europe

Abstract The objective of this article is to identify the relationship between financial factors and value migration on a yearly basis. The data cover nonfinancial firms listed on exchanges in Central European (CE) countries from 2016 to 2020. To evaluate the migration of value between industries, the share in the industry migration balance was estimated. Next, averages in three industry terciles, set on the basis of the change in market value added, were calculated and compared using both parametric and nonparametric tests. It allowed us to analyse the economic and statistical significance of the value drivers in the value migration process. The value migration in the largest Central European industries intensified during the COVID-19 crisis. The largest sectors were not negatively affected by the pandemic. It seems that, at least for some industries, there was a positive relationship between the growth of market value and sales profitability, sales growth, and cash levels. The market value drivers did not significantly change in the first year of the pandemic. This study contributes to the recent empirical literature on value changes and fills the gaps in the current research for the Central European region, during the time of the macroeconomic crisis induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The conclusions on the value migration factors may be useful for investors in their decision-making process. Our results can also serve as a valuable reference for managers in the process of defining business strategies, especially during turbulent periods.

Revisiting minority stress theory to understand psychological distress among Czech sexual minorities

Minority stress theory explains psychological vulnerability in sexual minorities; however, data is scarce in the Central and Eastern European region. Combining the minority stress model with the Psychological Mediation Framework, we tested a theoretically developed path model. Participants were 1452 (Mage = 24.9 years) Czech sexual-minority individuals (38.7% gay, 27.1% lesbian, 18.7% bisexual women). The model explained 55.5% of the variance of psychological distress in the overall sample, representing a total effect of 9.75% (p < .001) increase in measurement units by the modeled associations. Within the subsamples, the associations were similar between harassment and rejection, stigma awareness, and rejection sensitivity, as well as emotional dysregulation, rumination, and psychological distress. However, internalized homonegativity was a stronger factor of psychological well-being in gay men and lesbian women than in bisexual women. Bisexual women may have experienced less social support and more emotional dysregulation due to more concealment and rejection sensitivity, respectively. While we confirmed that the minority stress model applies to the Czech context and explained well psychological distress in sexual minorities, our data highlights notable differences between bisexual women who reported highest rates of distress compared to gay men and lesbian women.

Uncontrolled Urban Growth in Western Balkans Territories after the Communist Collapse—a Review from the Spatial Planning Perspective

With the fall of the Communist Regimen in the Western Balkans Region, governance politics regarding urban and spatial planning processes led to significant changes in several territorial aspects. In this regard, several scientific studies and researches have put forward significant regional differences in urban development between cities of the Balkans that have followed very similar trajectories after the collapse of the “communist empire,” considering their willingness and desire to meet European standards - Tirana, Podgorica, Sarajevo are just some examples. Between the several disparities, these territories represent compared to Central and North European regions, massive and uncontrolled urban growth has been verified – catalyzed by liberal governance politics and private companies, without planning experts, and jeopardizing the need to include public participation in the development processes. This situation has led to significant uncontrolled planning and, consequently, to several negative social-economic impacts driven by it. For this reason, the development of a detailed review study considering spatial planning perspectives in the Western Balkans Region is seen as pivotal to understanding the existing planning disparities that affect the sustainable development of this area. Through an exploratory methodology – using both case study approach methods and territorial impact assessment (TIA) - it will be possible to understand how these events occurred and evolved, enabling the development of specific tools and approaches which might help to minimize the cumulative impacts of these processes. Therefore, the outcomes will define guidelines regarding urban planning processes for the main actors responsible for developing new governance measures toward achieving European standards.

Reprezentacja mniejszości narodowych i etnicznych w parlamencie węgierskim

The paper focuses on the history of the national minority representation in the Hungarian parliament. The old Hungarian Kingdom was traditionally a multicultural country. The half of population did not have Hungarian origin in the 19 th century. The minority issue became the one of most sensitive problems in the period of nation-state building. The situation changed after World War I when Hungary lost two-thirds of its territory. The new Hungary in the interwar period was a relatively ethnically homogenous country with a nationalist political regime. Before 1918, the national minorities had parliamentarian representation based on general liberal electoral rules. The electoral legislation did not know the preferential system of minority representation. The situation was similar also in the interwar period. The leaders of official national minority associations under communist influence represented the national minorities during the period of socialist regime. The issue of minority representation in parliament started to play a very important role after the democratic transition. Despite on the original plans, the new Hungarian electoral legislation did not guarantee special parliamentary representation for national and ethnic minorities. The system of preferential representation was born only in 2011 in the framework of the redesign of the Hungarian electoral law. Currently, the list submitted by the national self-government of concrete national or ethnic minority needs for the achieving of parliamentarian mandate only 25% of ballots, which is necessary for achieving of normal mandate by regular (ideological) political parties. The German minority has achieved this mandate in 2018 and 2022. Other minorities have in parliaments the spokespersons with special consultative status. The Hungarian model is relatively original in the Central European region. It did not recognise the plural electoral law and it distinguish between the small and middle size minorities.

Functional characterization and immunogenicity of a novel vaccine candidate against tick-borne encephalitis virus based on Leishmania-derived virus-like particles

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is a major cause of neurological infections in many regions of central, eastern and northern Europe and northern Asia. In approximately 15% of cases, TBEV infections lead to the development of severe encephalitis or meningitis. The main route of TBEV transmission is tick bites; however, ingestion of dairy products from infected animals (goats, cattle and sheep) is also a frequent cause of the disease. Therefore, vaccination of livestock in virus endemic regions could also contribute to the decrease in TBEV infection among humans. Although few vaccines against TBEV based on inactivated viruses are available for humans, due to high costs, vaccination is not mandatory in most of the affected countries. Moreover, there is still no vaccine for veterinary use. Here, we present a characterization and immunogenicity study of a new potential TBEV vaccine based on virus-like particles (VLPs) produced in Leishmania tarentolae cells. VLPs, which mimic native viral particles but do not contain genetic material, show good immunogenic potential. For the first time, we showed that the protozoan L. tarentolae expression system can be successfully used for the production of TBEV virus-like particles with highly efficient production. We confirmed that TBEV recombinant structural proteins (prM/M and E) from VLPs are highly recognized by neutralizing antibodies in in vitro analyses. Therefore, VLPs in combination with AddaVax adjuvant were used in immunization studies in a mouse model. VLPs proved to be highly immunogenic and induced the production of high levels of neutralizing antibodies. In a challenge experiment, immunization with VLPs provided full protection from lethal TBE in mice. Thus, we suggest that Leishmania-derived VLPs may be a good candidate for a safe alternative human vaccine with high efficiency of production. Moreover, this potential vaccine candidate may constitute a low-cost candidate for veterinary use.

Memories of Dubrovnik’s Global Citizen—Kathy Wilkes

This is a personal memoir about the life, work and courage of Professor Kathleen Wilkes, a Fellow in Philosophy for 30 years at St Hilda’s College, Oxford University. The article traces—and sets out to explain— particularly her links to Dubrovnik and Croatia and the Inter–University Centre since 1981, and supported strongly through the 1980s and even during the 1990s, remaining on-site during the cruel siege of the city when the IUC suffered a devastating fi re. Three key aspects of her life are explored—her work as a significant philosopher of science, her outstanding courage and work in defending academic freedom widely over the East Central European region, and her warm personality and generous friendship. This is why she can be regarded as Dubrovnik’s Global Citizen, the IUC was only too ready and willing to host this conference in her honour.

The Role of Provenance for the Projected Growth of Juvenile European Beech under Climate Change

European beech is one of the most common tree species in Europe and is generally suggested to play even more of a prominent role in forestry in the future. It seems to have the potential to partially replace Norway spruce, as it is less sensitive to expected warmer and drier conditions. It is, however, not well known in which regions these new plantings would be particularly favourable and if specific provenances may be better adapted to the new conditions than others. Therefore, we estimated the potential early height growth under climate conditions in 2040–2060 for 20 beech provenances across a region covering the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This Central European region is expected to experience considerably drier and warmer conditions in the future. For this exercise, we implemented a new neural network model developed from height growth information obtained from the open-access BeechCOSTe52 database. The simulations are driven by past and future climate data obtained from the WorldClim database of historical climate data and future climate projections. Simulations revealed that provenances originating from drier regions performed on average significantly better than those from regions with good water supply. Moreover, provenances originating from drier regions had a particularly large advantage in the relatively arid regions of Central Czechia and Southern Slovakia. We can also confirm that all provenances showed a high phenotypic plasticity of height growth across the whole investigated region.

Social Innovation Approaches to Support Integration of Non-EU Migrants in Rural Central Europe: lessons learned, conclusions drawn

In recent years, many rural regions of Central Europe have witnessed a massive inflow of non-EU nationals, turning them into new migration destinations (NDMs). The majority of these regions were not prepared for this change and international migration became a hot-button topic. However, as the negative consequences of demographic change are getting more prominent in rural Central Europe, these regions should search for new ways to stimulate the integration of newly-arrived migrants. This can be done with the help of “social innovations.” This paper provides a literature overview on the aforementioned topics, as well as an analysis of the results of the Arrival Regions Project (Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE) that tested nine different social innovation approaches to support the integration of non-EU nationals in rural Central Europe. The results of the project confirmed that social innovation approaches are an effective and easy-toimplement way to support integration of non-EU nationals living in rural Central Europe.

The Strength of Religious Lifeworld: The Impact of Social Spaces on Religious Values in Central and Eastern Europe

This study explores the role of social spaces in the religious worldview in the Central and Eastern European region through a comprehensive study of values spanning nearly three decades. The analysis focuses on the differences between the values of religious and non-religious people in different social spaces during this period. Drawing on the insights of the spatial turn, the study provides a new way of understanding the impact of social spaces on the emergence of religious values. For the first time, the analysis attempts to verify the influence of social spaces on the emergence of specific religious values using a representative database. The research on the four waves of EVS interprets the values of the religious and non-religious along the lines of their relationship to norm violations. The analysis points out that religious worldview does not appear equally in different spaces of society. The research proved in a novel way that in the social space of production and administration, in the systematic organization of society, religious people do not have significantly different values in this region. On the other hand, the values of the religious, which are different from those of the non-religious, are expressed in values that can be linked to the social space of lifeworld. All these findings can give a new direction to quantitative and qualitative research on religion, which now includes aspects of spatiality.

Digital Transformation in Food Supply Chains in Central and Eastern Europe

The phenomena of technology and digitalization have developed rapidly most recently, leaving traces in all branches of industry. With the prevalence of Industry 4.0 and with digitalization being on the rise, companies have expanded more and more successfully. Thus, in addition to global supply chains, their own supply chains have also started to develop considerably. The aim of our research is to discover the factors characterizing the digital transformation of companies in the Central and Eastern European region. This article assesses the conditions, key drivers, and barriers of digital transformation and the benefits expected by companies operating in the agricultural and food supply chains. The research is based on a questionnaire survey of over hundred companies. From the answers, models were created to each group of questions by using factor analysis. The results show that the most important motivating factors are quality improvement, market pull, and technological push impacts. The barriers identified are largely consistent with those reported in the contemporary literature. Companies expect benefits mostly from “sales and customer relations”, followed by “logistics and marketing”, and “production and sourcing”.

Summary of the ‘Protection of Future Generations in Central Europe: Good Practices and Developments at Constitutional Level and Current Challenges in the Legal Order’ Conference Organized by the Central European Academy of the University of Miskolc as Part of the Central European Professors’ Network 2022

On November 24, 2022, the Central European Academy organized a high-profile international conference entitled ‘Protection of Future Generations in Central Europe: Good Practices and Developments at Constitutional Level and Current Challenges in the Legal Order’ as part of the Central European Professors’ Network 2022. The conference was the coronation of the one-year cooperation of several researchers from seven countries of the Central European region (Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia), who were conducting research under the guidance of János Ede Szilágyi on the topic of the constitutional framework for the protection of future generations and the environment. The most significant outcomes of the research include a book titled ‘Constitutional Protection of the Environment and Future Generations – Legislation and Practice in Certain Central European Countries’ to be published in January 2022; several scientific articles and dissemination events; as well as two international conferences, one of them being the present event. The research group for the constitutional framework for the protection of future generations and the environment is one of the five research groups currently working under the aegis of the Central European Professors’ Network 2022. This contribution summarizes the presentations at the conference and reflects on the work of the research group.

Review of sunlight exposure of buildings in Central Europe climatic conditions

The sunlight exposure represents one of key parameters of indoor climate comfort. The evaluation of sunlight access into buildings is based on a methodology of European standard EN 17037. The methodology is focused on specification of an insolation time which would comply with requirements for the sunlight expo sure of permanently occupied spaces like houses and residential buildings as well as schools or hospitals. The sunlight exposure evaluation is recommended to be between 1st February and 21st March. The specific date from the interval can be selected for individual evaluations. This is a relatively long period of days in which the insolation could vary meaningfully.The aim of this study is to evaluate how the sunlight exposure might be changed in the recommended standard period in dependence on the geographic locality and climatic conditions in the Central Europe region. It depends on the sunlight time and specific design situations as well as shading obstructions. The review of the sunlight exposure is determined. The review results can perform information about design possibilities for the sunlight exposure in real buildings in the given climatic locality.

Diplomasi Ekonomi Indonesia: Hongaria sebagai Pintu Gerbang Pasar Prospektif di Eropa Tengah dan Timur

Indonesia and Hungary have long established good relations, which is reflected in economic relations, including trade, investment, and tourism. These sectors’ performance is a very important indicator for measuring the success of Indonesia's economic diplomacy with Hungary. This study uses descriptive statistical analysis quantitative methods concerning the bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Hungary in the field of economic cooperation and is followed by an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). This paper aims to examine the bilateral relations that exist between Indonesia and Hungary in the field of economic cooperation, especially but not limited to the trade, investment, and tourism sectors as part of economic diplomacy in the last ten years (2013- 2022). The result of this study shows Hungary has the potential as a gateway as well as a new prospective market for Indonesia. To make Hungary a gateway for Indonesia's economic diplomacy in the Central and Eastern European Region, collaboration from the penta helix or multi-stakeholders is needed including the government, business people/practitioners, academics, communities, and the media.

Assessment of the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances analysis under the Stockholm Convention – 2018/2019

The comparability of laboratories for the analysis of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) was assessed in the fourth round (2018/2019) of a series of interlaboratory assessments coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in support of the Stockholm Convention quality assurance activities as to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) laboratories reporting data under this Convention. The participating laboratories were asked to analyse PFAS concentrations in a test solution of the target compounds, in the four core matrices of the global monitoring plan (GMP), human milk, human plasma, an air extract, and water, and in a sediment and a fish matrix. 39 participating laboratories submitted PFAS data for one or more test materials. The majority of the participating laboratories originated from the Asia-Pacific region, and from the ‘Western European and other groups’ (WEOG). Only one laboratory from the group ‘Latin America and Caribbean’ (GRULAC), and two from the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region submitted results. None of the African laboratories submitted data. The coefficients of variation (CVs) varied from 7% to 24% (mean 14%) for the test solution. Mean CVs for all matrices, except for the human plasma test material (18%), were above the satisfactory limit of 25%. The highest mean CV was found for human milk (61%). In total 1457 z-scores were assigned of which 64% were satisfactory (|z| < 2). Instrumentation used was mainly high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), in combination with various mass spectrometric (MS) techniques, in most cases tandem MS (MS/MS). Additional PFAS beyond perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which are listed at the Stockholm Convention POPs list, as well as water as a matrix for PFAS only and human plasma were added as a service for the laboratories.

‘All is not yet lost here.’ The role of aspirations and capabilities in migration projects of Ukrainian migrants in Poland

ABSTRACT The paper contributes to the literature on migration within and into the Central and Eastern European region by showing the evolving character of Ukrainian migration to Poland and the different aspirations accompanying the migrants when deciding to leave their country of origin. The paper explores ‘migration’ and ‘general life’ aspirations that Ukrainian migrants pursued through migration and shows their role in migration projects that, along with their capabilities, impact the process of integration and integration outcomes. I draw on in-depth interviews with migrants from Ukraine who plan to circulate, settle in Poland, return to Ukraine or move to another country. The results indicate that the general aspirations of the research participants encompass better income, employment in line with education and settlement, while the most significant capabilities consist of legal status, translating human capital into labour market opportunities and language proficiency. Finally, the study revealed the combination of the instrumental and intrinsic dimensions of Ukrainian migrants’ mobility that go beyond economic rationality.

CZEXWED: The unified Czech extreme weather database

A crucial step in developing a strategy against natural hazards is the analysis of weather extremes in the past. Due to the multiplication of their impacts when occurring in a larger area, we strongly recommend not evaluating the extremes only at individual sites but assessing regional extreme weather events. The presented Czech Extreme Weather Database (CZEXWED) comprises six types of extreme events, namely, heat waves, cold waves, air temperature drops, windstorms, heavy precipitation events, and heavy snowfalls. To date, it covers the period 1961–2020. To minimize methodological differences in the process of evaluating various types of extreme weather events including compound events, we employed the weather extremity index (WEI), a universal indicator based on the evaluation of return periods of relevant variables. Each event is characterized not only by the WEI value but also by its spatial extent and duration.Heat and cold waves in Czechia generally reach higher WEI values than other types of extreme weather because they usually affect larger areas. The number and extremity of heat waves are increasing significantly, while the opposite may be true for cold waves and windstorms. Air temperature drops defined by declines in daily maximum air temperature are frequent in the warm half-year, but three of four top events occurred in January. Windstorms and heavy precipitation events prevailed in the cold and warm half-years, respectively, but weaker events of these types also occurred during the opposite season. A comparison of CZEXWED with event lists from the wider Central European region shows that Czech and Central European extreme events correspond well with each other.

Security Dimensions of Geopolitical Initiatives in the Сentral and Еastern Еurope Region

From 2014 till today one can observe the process of reshaping of the existing system of international relations, the transformation of approaches to the resolution of military and political conflicts of both individual states and international organizations, the formation of new military-political alliances and blocs. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the security potential of some recent geopolitical initiatives in the region of Central-Eastern Europe, in particular, the Central European Initiative, the Three Seas Initiative and the Lublin Triangle. Central European Initiative was founded in 1989 in Budapest. It was created in order to develop the cooperation of the member states in the sphere of politics, economy and culture. The main purpose is their inclusion in the European integration processes. Currently, there are 9 EU member states from CEI member states, which makes possible establishing of the effective interaction and partnership relations between them and the states that have declared their will to join the EU. The Three Seas Initiative (or Trymorja (Three Seas), also known as the Baltic-Adriatic-Black Sea Initiative) appeared on the geopolitical map of Central and Eastern Europe in August, 2016 in Croatia, Dubrovnik. The main goal of Trymorja is to develop the economy and enhance closer cooperation between the regions of Central and Eastern Europe. The Lublin Triangle was created on July 28, 2020 “with the aim of strengthening political dialogue, trust and strategic partnership between Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine in the field of security and defence, supporting the development of economic cooperation and cultural exchange”. All before mentioned initiatives support Ukraine in its struggle against Russia. Their participants condemned the Russian invasion and cooperate for protection of the international order and law. While CEI and Trymorja are more economic initiatives, Lublin Triangle has a strong security component. The last one is important under conditions of the open war in Europe. In contemporary conditions the role of such regional initiatives is growing and they are creating the new architecture of international order.

Atmospheric conditions favouring extreme precipitation and flash floods in temperate regions of Europe

Abstract. In recent years, flash floods have repeatedly occurred in temperate regions of central western Europe. Unlike in Mediterranean catchments, this flooding behaviour is unusual. In the past (especially in the 1990s), floods have been characterized by predictable, slowly rising water levels during winter and driven by westerly atmospheric fluxes. Here, we explore potential links and causes between the recent occurrence of flash floods in central western Europe to extreme precipitation and specific atmospheric conditions. We hypothesize that a change in atmospheric conditions has led to more frequent extreme precipitation events that have subsequently triggered flash flood events in central western Europe. To test this hypothesis, we compiled data on flash floods in central western Europe and selected precipitation events above 40 mm h−1 from radar data (the RADOLAN “Radar-Online-Adjustment” dataset from the German Weather Service). Moreover, we identified proxy parameters representative of extreme precipitation favouring atmospheric conditions from the ERA5 reanalysis dataset. High specific humidity (q) in the lower troposphere (q≥0.004 kg kg−1), sufficient latent instability (convective available potential energy (CAPE) ≥ 327 J kg−1), and weak wind speeds between 10 m a.g.l. and 500 hPa (WS10m-500hPa≤6 m s−1) proved to be characteristic of intense rainfall that can potentially trigger flash floods. We relied on linear models to analyse 40 years worth (1981–2020) of atmospheric parameters as well as related precipitation events. We found significant increases in the atmospheric moisture content and increases in atmospheric instability. Parameters representing the motion and organization of convective systems remained largely unchanged in the considered period (1981–2020); however, the number of precipitation events, their maximum 5 min intensities, and their hourly sums were characterized by large interannual variations, and no trends could be identified between 2002 and 2020. Our study shows that there is no single mechanistic path leading from atmospheric conditions to extreme precipitation and subsequently to flash floods. The interactions between the processes involved are so intricate that more analyses which consider other potentially relevant factors, such as intra-annual precipitation patterns or catchment-specific parameters, are required.

Who Was Buried at the Petit-Chasseur Site? The Contribution of Archaeometric Analyses of Final Neolithic and Bell Beaker Domestic Pottery to the Understanding of the Megalith-Erecting Society of the Upper Rhône Valley (Switzerland, 3300–2200 BC)

Abstract The Petit-Chasseur megalithic necropolis is a key archaeological context for analyzing the social and ideological changes at the end of the Neolithic in the Alpine region of Central Europe. The link between the funerary monuments and settlement sites was established by means of ceramic archaeometric analysis. Domestic pottery from settlement sites were thoroughly characterized using multiple spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. Twelve ceramic fabrics were identified along with three types of clay substrate: illitic, muscovitic, and kaolinitic. Reconstructed paste preparation recipes largely involved the tempering of the raw clays with crushed rocks or coarse sediments. Types of raw material were not picked up randomly but were selected or avoided due to their particular compositional properties and attest to the exploitation of glacial, gravitational, eolian, and fluvial deposits. Compositional correspondence between ceramic grave goods and domestic pottery allowed identification of a link between the megalithic tombs and settlement sites, thus providing new data contributing to the investigation of the social dimension of monumental burials. Ceramic grave goods were revealed to be intertwined with the social instability affecting the 3rd millennium BC communities of the Upper Rhône Valley.

Assessment of financial health of service sector companies in the Central European region

Assessment of financial health of service sector companies in the Central European region