European Crisis Research Articles

Energy, water and economic savings by changing habits of users in twelve schools in Spain

ABSTRACT Energy saving and the development of renewable energies already form part of the daily discourse in our society. Climate change and the environmental problems arising from it affect all of us on the planet. In view of the recent energy supply crisis in Europe and in line with the EU's Sustainable Development Goals, it is necessary to accelerate the ecological transition. This means, among many other things, encouraging energy efficiency and energy savings. This research is based on the EURONET 50/50 max project, which applied a methodology with no upfront capital outlay, but based on changing user habits to save energy in educational buildings. It was carried out in twelve educational centres of the Spínola Foundation throughout Spain. Significant reductions in energy and water consumption were achieved. The maximum reduction obtained in water consumption was 29%, 24% in electricity consumption and 33% in heating consumption. The average reduction in consumption obtained was 13% compared to 11% achieved in the 50/50 max project. It was concluded that, on the journey to optimising our energy consumption, working on patterns of usage is fundamental, raising awareness and involving users in order to give rise to permanent processes over time, gradually reversing climate change.

Tendencies of the evolution of energy resources prices in the context of the factors influencing renewable energy in the Republic of Moldova

The importance and complexity of the energy field worldwide, including for the Republic of Moldova, the problems and challenges that it faces (including and especially in the Republic of Moldova when it comes to security of supply and pricing), have led us to choose this field as an object of research for this research. The perspective of the price regulation mechanism, of the evolution of prices during the last decade, but also in order to present some aspects of energy security (in conditions of energy crisis in Europe), including a presentation of the measures intended by the authorities of the Republic of Moldova for the development of the sector energy sector of the Republic of Moldova will be an important source for those interested in this topic.

ECONOMIC STATE AND PROSPECTS OF INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION OF GREAT BRITAIN AFTER BREXIT

Introduction. The onset of the migration crisis in Europe, triggered by the massive influx of refugee from the Middle East and Africa, escalated further due to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. This complex scenario necessitates a reformulation of migration policies to align with evolving realities. The multifaceted nature of the crisis intertwines political, economic, and humanitarian dimensions, emphasizing the urgency for comprehensive policy adjustments. The aim of this article is twofold: first, to conduct an in-depth analysis of the United Kingdom’s economic landscape following Brexit; considering factors such as trade dynamics, investment patterns, and sectoral shifts. Second, it aims to evaluate the potential pathways for its international collaborations with diverse nations and regions across the globe, emphasizing the significance of forging new trade alliances and diplomatic partnerships in the evolving global context. Methods. Employing a comprehensive approach, this study utilizes analytical, synthetic, and comparative methods, drawing insights from normative regulations, academic research, and statistical data. By examining a wide array of economic indicators, trade patterns, and investment flows, the study provides a nuanced understanding of the post-Brexit economic challenges and opportunities. Results. The research underscores that the United Kingdom, post-Brexit, confronts substantial economic intricacies. On one hand, it can actively engage in renegotiating trade agreements with an array of partners and foster a dynamic regulatory environment. This dual approach holds the promise of cultivating enhanced economic autonomy and broadening avenues for growth. On the other hand, the relinquishment of privileges linked to EU membership might engender challenges in terms of adaptability. The need to diversify trade partnerships while managing potential disruptions remains a pivotal consideration. In conclusion, this study emphasizes the imperative of meticulous analysis and strategic economic planning to actualize effective economic sovereignty and facilitate sustainable advancement for the United Kingdom in the aftermath of Brexit. It calls for a balanced approach that harnesses new global opportunities while addressing domestic economic vulnerabilities. Practical implications. Policymakers in the United Kingdom can utilize the insights provided to shape effective economic strategies that navigate the challenges posed by Brexit. The analysis of potential pathways for international collaborations can guide the country’s diplomatic efforts and trade negotiations with other nations and regions. Businesses operating within the UK can gain valuable insights into the changing economic landscape, helping them adapt, innovate, and explore new markets. Investors and international partners can make informed decisions based on the assessed economic prospects, identifying areas of potential cooperation and growth. Originality and value. This article contributes to the existing body of knowledge by offering a comprehensive analysis of the economic landscape and international cooperation prospects of the United Kingdom post-Brexit. The integration of various research methods, normative regulations, and statistical data enhances the robustness of the study. The article’s originality lies in its dual focus on the economic state and the potential for international collaboration, providing a holistic view of the country’s post-Brexit prospects.

Voters and the IMF: Experimental Evidence From European Crisis Countries.

IMF interventions are often associated with rising political discontent in countries where the Fund intervenes. Studies examining this relationship, however, face the challenge of disentangling the impact of the IMF from the impact of the crisis that triggered the intervention. To address this challenge, we conduct survey experiments in Greece, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain and directly assess how voters evaluate the costs and benefits of an IMF intervention. We find that voters believe that the crisis will more likely be solved when the IMF intervenes, but they are also critical of the corresponding loss of national sovereignty. Because the former consideration, on average, dominates their assessment, IMF interventions increase the support of voters for unpopular economic policies. Nonetheless, cross-country differences suggest that continued public support for intervention hinges on the IMF's ability to deliver on its promise to help resolve the crisis.

UKRAINIAN MIGRATION TO EUROPE AT THE PERIOD OF THE RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR: POLITICS OF REGULATION

Russia’s full-scaled invasion to Ukraine on the 24th of February 2022, which is still on, has become a new challenge for a modern world and has caused more problems to regional and global development as well as provoked colossal forced migration flows of Ukrainian citizens. The migration that according to researchers has no analogues and significantly surpasses all the previous ones. A massive influx of refugees from Ukraine added significant problems to migrant’s crisis of Europe, that was which was caused by the previous colossal influx of migrants from the Middle East and Africa, complicating its humanitarian component. The relevance of the study of these processes is constantly growing and proves that migration is not only a social, political, but also a scientific problem, which requires a significant consolidation of the forces of the scientific community in order to solve the problems caused by these processes. The subject of analysis of this work is the forced migration of Ukrainian citizens and its consequences, provoked precisely by the Russian-Ukrainian war. The article analyzes the theoretical surveys of Ukrainian researchers in the study of Ukrainian emigration to Europe. Its features are determined in comparison with other types of migration. The problems of linguistic, value-cultural, psychological and social adaptation are outlined on the basis of the analysis of the results of sociological surveys and numerous examples of the return of migrants to Ukraine. An analysis of multilateral humanitarian assistance to refugees and the main directions of the EU policy regarding the regulation of migration flows from February 2022 to the summer of 2023 was carried out. A large number of documents that formed the normative and legal basis of the EU migration policy in relation to Ukrainian refugees, as well as cooperation with various institutions of Ukraine, were developed. Different aspects of the consequences of forced migration for Ukraine are defined.

Non-governmental assistance to Ukrainian refugees by Polish society in the aftermath of the escalation of hostilities in 2022

The full-scale war in Ukraine caused the largest refugee crisis in Europe after World War II. Poland was the initial destination for people fleeing the war, causing a rapid influx of several million refugees in just a few weeks. An unprecedented and rapid response of the Polish society in terms of providing assistance to refugees enabled the acceptance of those who decided to stay in Poland Social action that began at the local level and translated into commonly known non-governmental assistance provided the basis and impetus for fostering beneficial connections between Poland and Ukraine, not only on the state level, but especially within the respective populations. The purpose of the article was to explore the forms of assistance offered by the Polish society, the scope of aspects of the refugees’ lives it addressed, and how this was reflected in the mutual perception of Poles and Ukrainians. As a hypothesis, it was assumed that a direct involvement of the Polish society in helping refugees from Ukraine decreased over the course of a year of the full-blown war in Ukraine, with simultaneous high social support for the state’s systemic solutions in this regard. In order to verify the hypothesis, a combination of descriptive, analysis of existing data, comparative and statistical methods were employed.

MEDICAL, LEGAL, PHILOSOPHICAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMICAL PREREQUISITES OF DECREASE OF THE FERTILITY RATE IN EUROPE

During less than a century number of our population halved. Fertility rate in Europe as well as in the whole World decreases constantly. There are numerous prerequisites because of which we can observe an aforementioned tendency. We are emphasizing here namely medical, legal, moral, philosophical and socio-economical ones. Not to underestimate remain postulates that separate a vision that we deserve to reach as a society i.e. equity, equality, personal freedom, zero discrimination etc., and tendencies, biases and prejudices that slow us down every single day and make those goals impossible to reach with our current state of mind. On one hand, there is number of reasons which explain an actual decrease of fertility rate clearly enough. Among them we are emphasizing high level of domestic violence, violence against women, weak abortion legislation which enslaves human rights of women in most of European countries, and, therefore, voluntary or forced sterilization, child-free tendencies, moral traumas, victim syndromes because of personal weakness and inability to do as we/or particularly woman pleases to. Additionally, rich black market of illegal abortions which consequences are often lethal or acutely dangerous for a female reproductive system, alongside with female organs mutilations committed by perpetrators of domestic violence etc, all these prerequisites lead to a visible decrease of the statistics that were mentioned before. However, at the same time, the modernly promoted desire to “live one’s life in full”, to “enjoy life without special responsibilities being husband/wife/parent”, lack of desire to create a family “until the studies will be completed, house will be bought, financial stability will be reached, all dreams will come true and so on, also keeps the idea of family life and parenthood on distance, as individuals want to maximize their happiness and pleasure with minimizing worries and “pains” at the same time. In addition, because of child-free tendency lovers and children’s haters, along with childfree hotels, restaurants, flights and other services make parents actually into outcasts from the other “proper society, that knows how to live this life without worries”. Parents of small children cannot obtain some services, are limited from visiting some places (and most of the times not because of rational reason, but rather in the aim of protecting other people’s tranquillity), experience a high level of moral pain and feeling “non-normal” when their life is different from of those, who “properly knows what and how to do”. At the same time, we shall claim that as long as the parenthood become popular and societally accepted again, and will not be associated with becoming outcasts anymore, and as long as the abortion legislation will not be optimized and become pro-feminine, along with anti-violence practical tools of fighting with perpetrators, we will not be able to talk about successful overcoming of the fertility crisis in Europe.

Who bears the risk? Incentives for renewable electricity under strategic interaction between regulator and investors

Energy policies for promoting investment in renewable energy sources have become crucial for deploying green energy technologies worldwide. Conventional incentive systems assign risk to either policymakers or investors. In this paper, we combine option theory and game theory to obtain optimal parameters for incentive schemes with different degrees of risk-sharing. We present an empirical application to the Spanish electricity market for 2013, when the Feed-in Tariff scheme was still in force, and for 2019, when Feed-in Tariffs had been completely phased out but before the demand shock caused by COVID-19, the restructuring of market price limits, and the recent energy price crisis in Europe. Our results indicate that there are more flexible systems based on Fixed Tariffs and Premiums that can outperform conventional designs, since they may enable the same investment level to be reached at a lower regulatory cost. In addition, these hybrid schemes permit risk-sharing between both parties. Our results may also be useful for designing incentives awarded through competitive auctions.

The impact of renewable energy generation on energy security: Evidence from the G7 countries

Energy security has been brought into the foreground of political and economic agendas nowadays. However, this variable has been only in very few papers employed as dependent or independent variable. In most research so far, energy security is implied and is proxied by certain variables. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between energy generation from renewable energy sources and energy security in the G7 countries for the period 1980–2018 by using the panel autoregressive distributed lag, panel quantile-on-quantile regression and the Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel Granger causality analyses. The results reveal that there is a uni-directional causal link from renewable energy to energy security in the short-run and generating energy from renewable sources significantly reduces the risks that threaten energy security in the long run. Furthermore, quantile-on-quantile regression estimates indicate that, for the quantile above 0.5 in terms of renewable energy generation, energy security risks are reduced, and secure access to energy is strengthened in the G7 countries. The diverse implications generated by each methodology are particularly relevant today, given the current energy crisis in Europe and the pressing need to increase the share of renewable energy generation to mitigate energy security risks.

The energy crisis in the EU: measures to tackle and their effectiveness

The onset of the 2022 energy crisis, the impact of which is felt by the whole world, and especially Europe, has radically changed the existing mechanisms of the European Union energy policy. It is therefore necessary to assess energy policy’s new directions and implementation measures. After providing a summary of the key reasons for the energy crisis in Europe, the article assessed the new measures and mechanisms, as well as the reasons for their adoption by the European Commission. The article revealed the influence of the actions taken on the state of the energy sector of the European Union, as well as their role in the emergence of disagreements between Brussels and EU member states. Ultimately, it was concluded that the European Union’s response to the energy crisis is insufficient. While there are prerequisites for a continuation of the crisis in 2023, the European Union is primarily pursuing geopolitical goals without addressing the underlying causes of price increases. There is the prospect of increasing pressure on the Commission to intervene more in the electricity market and more effectively support business and households.

Migration Crisis as a Growing Threat to European Security (2015–2023)

The purpose of the article is to reflect the features of the ongoing migration crisis in Europe, its impact on the legal and institutional foundations of the European Union, the relations of the EU countries, the prospects for European unity. It is obvious that the causes of the migration crisis have changed little in recent years. Despite a certain stabilization of the situation in the Middle East, especially, in Syria, many millions of Arabs, Afghans, Africans still intend to move to what they consider to be a prosperous Europe. Millions of Ukrainian citizens have recently been added to them. At the same time, in the context of the ongoing crisis of the neoliberal model of globalization in the context of the rivalry of the great Powers, the migration challenge has acquired unprecedented acuteness and significance of an existential threat to European security. In 2022, European countries and supranational institutions of the EU signed their inability to adequately respond to the new aggravation of the migration crisis, which seems to have acquired a permanent, stable, and extremely destructive character. All attempts to curb illegal migration flows have proved futile and have created new problems, including in the relations of the EU member States. This is especially convincingly evidenced by the experience of Italy, which enjoys increased attention from migrants and refugees. Largely due to the aggravation of the problem under consideration in September 2022, the center-right coalition won the parliamentary elections in this country. The new government headed by Giorgia Meloni, faced with the migration crisis, is in search of optimal mechanisms for its settlement. Relying less and less on supranational institutions, it seeks to pursue a nationally oriented policy, without regard to Brussels. In the humanitarian activities of the institutions of the “global society” in the person of the NGOs, the Italian authorities note exclusively malicious, selfish, even criminal motives and defiantly refuse to cooperate with them. All this confirms the failure of the EU migration policy and testifies to the intensification of the erosion of European solidarity in the sensitive security sphere for the EU. On this basis, there is a clash of many interests, both “European solidarity” and the ability of the EU supranational structures to fend off new challenges to European security without violating the agreements reached on fundamental human rights are being tested.

The modern Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (AAC) plant of today for a sustainable tomorrow

AbstractAAC, already produced since the 1920's, has been subject to continuous innovation and evolution over the history of its product life. The same applies to the AAC production process. Recently, the need for innovation has become more apparent than ever, driven by a serious energy crisis in Europe, combined with an increasing shortage of available labor and an increasing awareness of workers safety. Since the 70's, Aircrete Europe founding roots were highly involved in driving innovation in the AAC industry, with an emphasis on AAC panels. In every project designed by Aircrete top‐class innovation and the highest level of sustainability are always a top priority and are considered already from the very early design phase. As a result of this, Aircrete factories can be operated with the highest level of automation and energy‐saving initiatives to ensure higher operator safety, larger operating efficiency, and a minimized carbon footprint. This paper outlines how decades of experience from being involved in its own AAC operations result in how Aircrete can design a factory that is not only able to meet today's highest safety, regulatory, and environmental standards but is also future‐proof for the anticipated global trends in the industrial manufacturing and construction markets.

Tekushchaya volna populizma kak faktor krizisa identichnosti v Evrope

The wave of development since approximately 2012 was the manifestation of contemporary identity crisis in Europe. The low efficiency of EU crisis management had led the sense of insecurity which has already pervaded among communities combined with the sense of distrust toward political system impact the existing systematic identity. The populist wave in the past decade was the very consequence of this identity crisis.

Arising calls for national sovereignty in times of European crises and the political Zeitenwende

The recent periods of multiple crises go hand in hand with calls for more national sovereignty. Drawing on data provided by the Manifesto Project, this contribution seeks to study empirically how widespread the wish to ‘take back control’ is reflected through political parties all over Europe. We show that although ‘sovereignist’ issues across EU member states were not among the political top priorities in the past, parties’ issue emphasis has increased in the shadow of the last decade’s multiple crises. On top of that, we argue that sovereignist aspirations have the potential to further increase alongside upcoming international challenges. In particular, events such as the Russian-Ukrainian war and the declared Zeitenwende may raise calls for more national sovereignty.

Politics, psychoanalysis, and large group identity

Since Freud's contributions, psychoanalysis has devoted attention to group phenomena in the field of politics. Volkan and Kernberg stand out today for providing conceptual tools for analyzing political reality. Politicians' work has historically included a share of group manipulation, but today a strong trend towards populism is emerging from the right and the left. This offers a unique opportunity to examine in detail how leaders often promote primitive group dynamics, close to borderline personality organizations. The war in Ukraine offers an opportunity for a psychoanalytic exploration of unconscious conflicts. Some leaders' biographies and actions may offer clues, as well as group phenomena that express the need to protect a valuable identity. The current situation has generated an identity crisis in Europe and beyond. Autocratic tendencies have become stronger and we have lost leaders who sustained a more adult, less primitive European identity. The possible solutions lie in the abandonment of infantile maximalist positions and the adoption of a painful, frustrating, slow – and healthy – integrative attitude, perceiving nuances and shades of gray, both in our own group and in that which we consider Other. Psychoanalysis has the responsibility to put its knowledge at the service of society, also in politics.

Energy Crisis in Europe: The European Union’s Objectives and Countries’ Policy Trends—New Transition Paths?

Amidst the ongoing European energy crisis, the EU has proposed a legislative package to enhance gas independence from Russia, diversify energy supplies, and increase renewable energy targets. However, the urgency for energy security has led some countries to prioritise gas independence over decarbonisation, potentially sacrificing or delaying EU targets. Considering this framework, this article contributes to the body of knowledge by examining the electricity mix of the six most significant EU countries in terms of generation capacity, considers their alignment with 2025 energy transition goals, and analyses the latest legislative trends to evaluate their compatibility with EU objectives. The findings from these analyses indicate that EU members are currently prioritising gas independence, which has led to re-starting or extending the lifespan of coal-fired power plants and an increasing interest in nuclear energy as a low-carbon alternative. These findings have significant implications as they reveal how countries are being steered away from their pre-crisis energy transition paths, resulting in the formation of new perspectives for both the short and long term.

The Unprecedented Natural Gas Crisis in Europe: Investigating the Causes and Consequences with a Focus on Italy

The energy prices in Europe have in recent years surpassed unprecedented thresholds and varied in unexpected ways compared to previous years. This paper presents a study of the fuel markets in Italy, supplemented by insights from Sweden. Italy is heavily dependent on natural gas. The results show that natural gas demand changed only slightly in the period 2017–2022, but prices started to increase at the end of 2021. Notable spikes occurred at the beginning of the events in Ukraine, even though the baseline was already three times higher than the average price from 2017 to 2019. Distinct dynamics can be identified with the increase in demand for power generation, contrasted with a decrease in industrial natural gas demand after August 2022. The trends in coal and wood chip prices are consistent with those of natural gas, while oil prices appear to be less correlated. Additionally, events such as CO2 trading and the launch of the Fit for 55 program by the EU show some correlation with the trend in natural gas prices during 2021. Interestingly, the origin of the increase in natural gas prices during 2021–2022 cannot be simply attributed to the mismatch of supply and demand or any singular external event. This paper aims at starting a discussion on the topic by proposing some explanations.

Europeans’ support for refugees of varying background is stable over time

Protracted global conflicts during the past decade have led to repeated major humanitarian protection crises in Europe. During the height of the Syrian refugee crisis at the end of 2015, Europe hosted around 2.3 million people requesting asylum1. Today, the ongoing war in Ukraine has resulted in one of the largest humanitarian emergencies in Europe since World War II, with more than eight million Ukrainians seeking refuge across Europe2. Here we explore whether repeated humanitarian crises threaten to exhaust solidarity and whether Europeans welcome Ukrainian asylum seekers over other asylum seekers3,4. We conducted repeat conjoint experiments during the 2015–2016 and 2022 refugee crises, asking 33,000 citizens in 15 European countries to evaluate randomly varied profiles of asylum seekers. We find that public preferences for asylum seekers with specific attributes have remained remarkably stable and general support has, if anything, increased slightly over time. Ukrainian asylum seekers were welcomed in 2022, with their demographic, religious and displacement profile having a larger role than their nationality. Yet, this welcome did not come at the expense of support for other marginalized refugee groups, such as Muslim refugees. These findings have implications for our theoretical understanding of the drivers and resilience of public attitudes towards refugees and for policymakers tasked to find effective responses to the enduring stress on the asylum system5–8.

Techno-economic analysis of residential building heating strategies for cost-effective upgrades in European cities

The energy crisis in Europe requires cost-effective evaluations of residential heating strategies to reduce costs and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. This research studied different heating systems in China and Europe. Based on heating energy surveys, simulation models were developed and further expanded for European cities. Monte Carlo analyses were conducted to understand the heating demand and utility costs in Rome, Madrid, and Athens. The sensitivity analysis found that electrifying heating systems with heat pumps can reduce household heating costs and mitigate European cities' dependence on natural gas. However, the high upfront investment may hinder the cost-effective deployment of high-performance heat pump systems. Building envelope retrofits can also provide plausible energy savings despite relatively long payback periods. Financial incentive analyses were conducted to quantify how fiscal measures can improve technologies' techno-economic performance. Finally, the paper provided policy recommendations on future building cost-effective retrofits and heating electrification in Europe.

Public discourse on refugees in social media: A case study of the Netherlands

Social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, are starting to become places where people present and evaluate various events. Moreover, these websites influence value perception of their users and readers. The article discusses the refugee crisis in Europe and initiatives like ‘Refugees Welcome Netherlands’ and ‘Refugees Not Welcome Netherlands’ that have been launched to help or oppose refugees. It aims to analyse the formation of the discourse on refugee integration in social media in the Netherlands and its impact on individuals’ attitudes towards refugees. The article uses statistics, images and social media posts to provide deeper insights on the topic. The study also highlights Dutch government’s approach to refugees and their integration and Government’s concern about growing intolerance towards immigrants. The study is relevant to shed light on how political decisions and public opinion condition refugee integration processes in the host society.