EU Agreements Research Articles

Effectiveness to the Emergency Management in Public Organizations: A Paradigm from a European Civil Protection Mechanism

Every state's priority is public safety. In the modern world, that often needs them to work with other States. This study assesses the role of civil protection mechanisms in effective emergency management operations in public organizations based on the European perspective. Data was collected from 392 different technocrats from government civil protection agencies in Greece using an online questionnaire. The study revealed that civil protection experts positively influence effective emergency management operations in public organizations. The results revealed that early warning systems have an influence on effective emergency management operations in public organizations. Disaster risk forecasting has a positive influence on effective emergency management operations in public organizations. According to the study, crises and catastrophes have compelled the EU to improve civil protection coordination throughout the continent and its ability to conduct operations both inside and outside of Europe. It's not clear whether these cooperative EU agreements are going to succeed because national civil defense organizations aren't always similar and there isn't always enough trust between the organizations involved. This is especially true in light of recent global crises in the EU, such as the refugee crisis, terrorist attacks, and natural. It is important for public organizations across Europe to focus on enhancing early disaster warning systems, the enhancing of civil protection experts and improving disaster planning to promote effective management of emergencies.

Neutralising the ECT Sunset Clause Inter Se

Abstract Following a wave of announcements from major EU Member States withdrawing or considering withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), the European Commission decided to recommend a coordinated withdrawal of the EU and its Member States from the ECT. The European Commission also backs the adoption of a ‘subsequent agreement on the interpretation of the ECT’ between the EU and its Member States that would ‘clarify’ that the ECT and its sunset clause do not apply intra-EU. The sunset clause contained in Article 47(3) of the ECT has been described as a major hurdle in States’ attempt to exit the ECT. However, under an international treaty law analysis, strong arguments confirm the availability of an agreement between a subset of ECT Contracting Parties that would exclude the application of the ECT and its sunset clause in their relations inter se—including the envisaged EU agreement—as a suitable and effective alternative to modernisation of the ECT. Not only does this appear as the most desirable outcome in view of the continuing protection of fossil fuels under the modernised ECT, but such an agreement would also be firmly grounded in public international law.

FREE TRADE OR PROTECTIONISM? TRADE BARRIERS AND TRADE POLICY OF THE EU

For years, a number of researchers have questioned whether there is an implicit impulse for protectionism hidden behind the tariff and non-tariff liberalization clauses put forward in all new EU agreements, as well as in the Union's participation in various formats of multilateral trade negotiations. On the other hand, the introduction of protectionist measures implemented by many countries around the world is increasingly being observed. In order to summarize and clarify these trends in the development and restructuring of the global trade system and the EU's place in it, the article first summarizes some insights from economic theory and empirical research on free trade and protectionism, then it examines the pre-pandemic trade barriers vis-à-vis the EU, and finally it assesses the “new framework” of bilateral and multilateral preferential trade agreements in the EU trade policy.

The Impact of EU and China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment on the Prospects of China's Air Transport Industry

EU and China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) is aimed at setting up a bilateral investment system between China and Europe. Although there are few provisions about air transportation in CAI, it is undoubted that the signing of CAI will have a certain influence on the development of Chinese air transportation industry. This paper makes an analogous analysis of the development process of Chinese and American air transport market. The results show that the aviation market between China and Europe has great potential for development. The study has suggestive significance for Civil Aviation Administration to formulate and enhance the comprehensive strength of China's air transport and innovate policy management.

The Widening of European Union to Post Soviet Countries: Case Study of Bulgaria Acceptance and Ukraine Accession

To be a part of European Union must follow complex procedures. Before joining the institution, candidate countries must meet the Copenhagen Criteria. Then fulfill membership obligations contained in Acquis Communautaire. Once fulfilled, candidate countries can join the institution. However, in contrast to Bulgaria, Bulgaria was unable to fulfill it, but was given the easiness by providing CVM assistance. Bulgaria's acceptance was considered violate the EU agreement, making several members disappointed, especially UK. The peak of UK disappointment occurred in 2016, the UK stated its exit from the EU. Then in 2022, Ukraine in the midst of the Russian invasion applying to join. Without an in-depth administrative review, EU agreed to immediately grant candidate State status. Necessarily, a country which is applying EU, First should be on the waiting list with the status of a potential candidate countries and then second go to next status as a candidate countries, the last is recognize as a member of union. But Ukraine directly jump up to second status.

‘Formal informality’ in EU external migration governance: the case of mobility partnerships

ABSTRACT External migration has become a site for extensive EU activity, not least in the years following the start of the migration ‘crisis’ in 2015–2016. It has also become a testing ground for forms of governance that are not generally associated with external relations. We term this type of governance ‘formal informality’ as there is the appearance of an EU agreement with a third country but lacking the legal protections or transparency for actions taken under it. The informality associated with tools of governance is potentially problematic when used to bypass the substantive and procedural formalities associated with law, and which in turn ensure transparency and the protection of rights. This article uses the emergence and evolution of Mobility Partnerships between the EU and third countries as a prism to analyse what the moves towards informality mean for the governance of external migration.

External Competence of the EU and International Agreements of the European Union

The subject of the study is the legal personality and external competence of an international organization (integration association) and the European Union itself. The author examines in detail such aspects of the topic as: the concept of the legal personality of an international organization, the concepts of competence and external competence of an international organization, international trade agreements of the European Union in the context of the implementation of external competence, sources of external competence of the European Union, types of competence of the European Union, types of international agreements of a commercial nature of the European Union. Particular attention is paid to the legal sources of the external competence of the foreign trade nature of the European Union and the classification of contracts concluded with a third party of the European Union. The main conclusions of the study are the definition of the legal personality of international organizations and integration associations, legal sources of external competence of an international organization and, in particular, the European Union. A special contribution of the author to the study of the topic and, at the same time, scientific novelty is the classification of international agreements concluded on behalf of the European Union jointly with member states in the context of the specifics of the implementation of its external competence of a trade and economic nature. The recommendation for the Eurasian Economic Union is also a scientific novelty, based on the experience and features, as well as the speed of concluding international treaties by the European Union.

Good neighbourhood as an EU accession criterion for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia?

For the new and future EU candidate countries of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, the path to EU membership is based on the same ?established criteria and conditions?? as for the long-term candidates of the Western Balkans (WB). However, the WB?s EU accession process brought with it additional conditions, such as regional cooperation, reconciliation and good neighbourly relations. The EU?s objective at the time was to encourage the countries in the region to improve relations with their neighbours and to deal with the war legacies through regional cooperation initiatives. This raises the question of how, and to what extent, these additional criteria could become part of the EU integration process of Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia - all countries in conflict with neighbouring Russia. The theoretical background of the analysis is the EU?s actorness and its policy of external governance, expanding its normative sphere of influence to non-EU members. The paper discusses the additional WB conditions and identifies similar preconditions in the relevant EU agreements and documents for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia since 2014. it shows that some of the WB preconditions are used in Eastern European Partner (EaP) countries but are, for now, seemingly less of a priority.

The High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy before the Court of Justice of the European Union

The article discusses the participation of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union (the High Representative) and that of the European External Action Service (EEAS) in proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). It recalls that, while the EEAS, in accordance with its prerogatives, has been accepted as a party mainly in staff cases since its creation, the High Representative itself has only recently asked for leave to intervene in order to protect its institutional standing. By order of 3 March 2022, the President of the Court of Justice allowed the intervention of the High Representative in an inter-institutional case (C-551/21), opposing the Commission and the Council on the question of which institution is allowed to decide who signs EU agreements with third countries. Only two months later, the order of the President of the Grand Chamber of the General Court of 11 May 2022 granted the High Representative leave to intervene in support of the Council in case T-125/22 RT France v Council. These two orders mark a milestone for the judicial presence of the Union’s foreign policy chief. The High Representative can now intervene before the Court in external relations cases which directly affect his institutional prerogatives. The authors submit that the same arguments should also allow the High Representative to bring direct action against other EU institutions or to be challenged in that way in certain constellations.

The Regime of International Investment in the Light of New EU Economic Agreements

Abstract By the term "regime" of international investment, we mean the fundamental principles and rules that constitute the regulatory framework for the investment of nationals or companies of one State in the territory of another. This regime comprises two components, the first of which relates to the establishment of foreign investment / investors in the host State and the second, and most important, covers their subsequent treatment by its public authorities. Such principles and rules are laid down in the new EU economic agreements, some of which constitute comprehensive Free Trade Agreements containing a chapter on foreign investment establishment liberalization (EU-Japan, EU-South Korea, EU-Australia, EU-New Zealand), others which also have comprehensive scope, contain a chapter on both investment liberalization and investment protection (EU-Canada CETA, EU-Mexico) while others are stand-alone investment agreements as they exclusively rule the protection of the investments of one party's nationals or companies in the territory of the other (EU-Singapore IPA, EU-Vietnam IPA, EU-Japan IPA). These EU agreements contain reformed investment protection rules that are not present in the existing Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs). A key common feature of the above agreements, especially in the field of protection/treatment of foreign investment/investors, is the establishment of rules seeking to clarify some critical concepts in order to reduce the margins of discretion of both parties and their investors in the interpretation and application of rules adopted. In this context, the texts clarify, first of all, the notion of investment and investor to make clear who are entitled to invoke the provisions of the agreements to claim protection against the practices of the authorities of the host Party. It is clear that the so-called ‘shell’ or ’mailbox’ companies are not protected. The agreements also define more clearly and precisely on the one hand the concept of fundamental standards of treatment (non-discrimination, fair and equitable treatment, physical security, protection against expropriation, possibility to transfer and repatriate funds relating to an investment) and on the other hand the cases in which the authorities of the Contracting Parties are in breach of these standards. The aim is to avoid unfounded complaints against measures which do not, however, constitute a breach by the authorities of the obligations arising from the provisions of the agreements. The pursuit of creating a secure legal environment for foreign investors and their investments ultimately involves the creation of a permanent, objective, independent and impartial dispute resolution system. JEL classification numbers: K33, F02, F21. Keywords: European Union, International Agreements, Investment liberalization, Investment Protection.

The UK’s Agri‐food Trade Policies One Year On From Brexit

SummaryIn January 2021 the UK left the EU. Brexit was ‘done’. One year later the shape of Global Britain’s agri‐food trade policies is somewhat clearer. The core EU agreements are a Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), and a Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. The protocol meant that Northern Ireland remained in the EU’s Customs Union and Single Market, and in the UK’s Customs Union. It has caused considerable political controversy within Northern Ireland. Implementing these agreements – particularly sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) controls – has proved problematic for traders, and politically controversial. The UK’s new Global Tariff, for products that do not enter on a preferential basis, largely replicates the prohibitively high tariffs on meat, dairy and sugar, the UK inherited from membership of the EU. It has successfully ‘rolled‐over’ FTA agreements the EU had negotiated with over 70 trading partners. New FTAs have been negotiated with Australia and New Zealand. These open‐up the UK’s market to imports of beef, dairy products and sugar, to the chagrin of UK farmers, but the potential benefit of consumers. Existing EU suppliers to the UK face increased competition, and loss of market share. Further trade liberalisation is likely to increase the downward pressure on UK farmgate prices, feeding through to lower consumer prices.

To the issue of legal enforcement of provisions of legal acts of the Commission of the EU by national courts of Ukraine

The scientific article is devoted to the analysis of actual state of legal enforcement of provisions of legal acts of the Commission of the EU by judicial bodies of Ukraine. It is specified that explicit legal obligation conferred on national Ukrainian judicial and other national state bodies to apply provisions of the EU’s acquis is absent at all. Nevertheless, taking into account provisions of the Association agreement between Ukraine and the EU, an effective adaptation of valid and future Ukrainian legislation in line with requirements of the EU’s acquis is impossible without an active legal enforcement activity of Ukrainian courts. Analysis of the relevant practice of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and courts of general jurisdiction showed that current legal enforcement level of provisions which are contained in legal acts of the Commission of the EU and Association agreement between Ukraine and the EU is unsatisfied due to the several reasons. The problem of absence of the common approach both on doctrinal and legislative levels regarding the possibility of provisions of the Association agreement between Ukraine and the EU to create direct effect for individuals and legal entities has a negative impact on the legal enforcement level of provisions of legal acts of the Commission of the EU. It is emphasized that one of the main problems of judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and courts of general jurisdiction which causes insufficient legal enforcement level of legal acts of the Commission of the EU and Association agreement between Ukraine and the EU is considered to be the absence of an explicit legal basis that provide judges with an opportunity to freely apply provisions of the EU secondary legislation when legal disputes arise, especially in the event of conflict between provisions of national legislation and valid provisions of the EU secondary legislation. Summarizing, the author believes that it is possible to solve the mentioned-above problems when Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine drafts and enacts legal act that will explicitly specify legal basis and legal mechanisms for courts to apply provisions of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU and the EU secondary legislation.

International Law Enforcement, Judicial Cooperation and Criminal Investigations under the New EU and UK Cooperation Agreement: What Are the Implications for Data Sharing, Mutual Legal Assistance and Extradition?

International Law Enforcement, Judicial Cooperation and Criminal Investigations under the New EU and UK Cooperation Agreement: What Are the Implications for Data Sharing, Mutual Legal Assistance and Extradition?

Raising Awareness of the EU, European Values and Georgia's Association Agreement with the EU in Ethnic Minority Areas and IDP settlement -- on the Example of Jean Monnet's "European Learning Triangle" project at Caucasus University

In the context of European Integration of Georgia, great importance is attached to the knowledge and expectations of the population, including the ethnic minorities, regarding Georgia’s integration in the EU and implementation of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement. According to the surveys taken by various organizations, the popular mood in Georgia is positive where the EU-integration is concerned. Although the interest towards the association is substantial it does not rely on the specifics and dynamics of the bilateral relations. Mostly, the information the people get from the TV is superficial. One option to raise the popular awareness is to implement the Caucasus University Erasmus + Jean Monnet “Triangle Effect of European Studies at Schools” (TEESS) project and share the university knowledge of European Studies with public schools. The project aims at raising awareness of the European integration, the Association Agreement and DCFTA in the regions densely populated by the IDPs, namely, the school children, teachers and their families. The workshops staged in the Georgian, Russian, Armenian and Azeri public schools in the capital Tbilisi and the towns of Akhaltsikhe and Marneuli partly attended by the IDPs made the scarcity of the information and the interest evident. The discussions showed that most of them realized the importance of the EU support to Georgia. We suggest a different planning of the information campaign targeted at sharing the European values and generally the EU-Georgia relations, on the one hand and better instruction in the Georgian language in the regions populated with the ethnic minorities. That is what “The European Association Process in Georgia”, a quadri-lingual textbook published within the frameworks of the Caucasus University “Erasmus +” Jean Monnet project funded by the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia is targeted at. We suppose stepping up the project activities by adding elements of informal education and last but not the least, closer involvement of public agencies and institutions.

Quantifying Brexit: from ex post to ex ante using structural gravity

Exploiting changes in the geography of economic integration in Europe, this paper quantifies the effects of Brexit from ex post to ex ante using structural gravity. By isolating the directional treatment effects of EU agreements for the UK, the analysis reveals important heterogeneity across agreements, sectors, and within pairs. We find that these directional effects matter for the size and distribution of the welfare effects of Brexit—the withdrawal of the UK from EU agreements resulting into a return of trade costs to the situation quo ante. We make this point with the help of a modern multi-sector trade model that is able to capture inter- and intranational production networks. In line with other papers, the welfare costs of Brexit are higher in the UK than in most other EU countries. However, heterogeneity tends to attenuate overall costs while giving rise to substantial heterogeneity between EU27 members and sectors. A scenario that could shift bargaining power eliminates asymmetries in the costs of Brexit as soon as the UK fully liberalizes its market.

Politics of trade protection in an autocracy: Evidence from an EU tariff liberalization in Morocco

Although non-tariff measures (NTMs) have surpassed tariffs as the most prevalent instrument of trade protection globally, our knowledge of what drives these NTMs is extremely limited. This paper sheds light on the political determinants of non-tariff protection using a rich empirical setting in Morocco. Taking advantage of a bilateral EU-Morocco trade agreement that resulted in an across-the-board tariff cut and a subsequent rise in NTMs, we use a difference-in-differences regression framework to show that sectors with close prior political connections to the royal family received disproportionately higher levels of non-tariff protection after the EU Agreement than unconnected sectors. We also demonstrate that, in the wake of the EU-induced tariff cut, connected sectors were mainly compensated through technical barriers to trade that depend on administrative oversight and are vulnerable to political influence.

Mostly in its Backyard: Security Provisions in EU Economic Agreements

AbstractEconomic agreements concluded between the EU and third parties increasingly take on security matters, such as counter‐terrorism, nuclear proliferation and international criminal law. Highlighting the remarkable variation in the presence and content of these security non‐trade issues (SNTIs), we argue that it is best explained by the EU's intensity of foreign policy interests vis‐à‐vis its partners. Specifically, different stakeholders have divergent views on this matter: some advocate strong linkage between trade and security, while others prefer to tackle these issues separately. We expect the former perspective to determine the content of economic agreements when the partner is in the EU's backyard. The latter perspective will dominate in negotiations with more distant partners. We test these expectations with a new data set of SNTIs in EU agreements. Employing quantitative methods and controlling for several alternative explanations, we find ample support for the theoretical framework.

Brexit and Canada: Stopgap Solutions for the EU–Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) or a New Beginning?

This article investigates how Canada’s trade with the EU-27 and the UK might be affected by Brexit. As the transition period foreseen in the 2019 UK Withdrawal Agreement has ended, the EU and the UK are no longer one customs area. The EU–Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), like other EU agreements, has ceased to apply to the UK. Henceforth, the policies and legislation of the UK and the EU-27 will invariably diverge. Taking into account both the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement as well as the Canada UK Trade Continuity Agreement concluded in late-2020, the article shows that the agreements reached, while providing immediate stopgaps for some of the fallout of Brexit, also represent potential for a new departure.

The Accession Negotiation Chapters between Montenegro and the European Union

The aim of the paper is to analyze the progress of the negotiations between these two entities. The objectives of the article are: to present the context of the negotiations, to show the institutions which are involved in the process, to present the debating groups, the lobby and a case from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration from Montenegro, to show the current state of these negotiations (to analyze the most relevant chapters from the process from the European reports), to evaluate. The literature review is related to the significance of the paper explained in the previous work (about candidate countries’ negotiations with the EU, in the waves of enlargement starting 1973). Montenegro does not meet the conditions for membership of the EU. All negotiation chapters are not closed. To resolve this issue, the EU works towards revealing the mandatory requirements related to the accession process, while the candidate country is striving to meet its membership conditions by creating the necessary institutions during the process. About the methodology, the paper starts with the theoretical part (from special sources). There are official documents of studying the international elements. This article is analyzing some of the domains from the European Commission reports on Montenegro from 2015 and 2018. I am transforming the content into position documents. They will have the following structure after the analysis: introduction (presentation of the issue, the circumstances), points of agreement, points of disagreement and conclusions (document analysis). The paper has chosen to analyze the European reports related to the accession negotiation, because the information is objective and it shows both sides (EU and Montenegro throw agreement and disagreement points). By using a case from a ministry from Montenegro and lobby groups leads to highlight the Montenegrin point of view.

АНАЛІЗ ОКРЕМИХ НАПРЯМІВ ЕКОНОМІЧНОГО СПІВРОБІТНИЦТВА УКРАЇНИ ТА ЄС

The article considers the issues of economic cooperation between Ukraine and the EU, in particular such important ones as cooperation in the agricultural and transport industries. The main directions of cooperation between the states for the past period are covered, the analysis of foreign economic relations of Ukraine with the EU is carried out, the dynamics and volumes of export-import of Ukraine with the EU are analyzed, including in the context of its specific types. Problems of demand for domestic goods and services in the EU markets during the COVID-19 pandemic have been identified. The role and significance of the intensification of Ukraine's foreign economic relations with the EU are substantiated. As a result, emphasis was placed on the need to further intensify Ukraine's economic cooperation with the EU, the introduction of effective mechanisms for optimizing and harmonizing Ukrainian legislation in the framework of integration into the European Economic Area. After a long process of ratification by EU countries, the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU entered into force in full (2017). After that, a long time has passed, during which Ukraine and the EU are conducting economic cooperation in a new format. Analyzing certain types of such cooperation, it is possible to determine the real results that have resulted from the European integration aspirations of the Ukrainian people, embodied in the above-mentioned Association Agreement with the EU and subsequent international agreements. Analysis of the current state of economic cooperation between Ukraine and the EU in terms of individual areas shows the need to intensify further work at the international and national levels to overcome the problems faced by the studied industries today, for the second year of quarantine restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ukraine and Europe. due to the prolonged military aggression of the Russian Federation and Eastern Ukraine and the annexation Crimea. Due to all these factors, the focus should be on creating the most favorable conditions for overcoming the negative effects on the development of Ukraine's international economic cooperation, including with the European Union.