EU Area Research Articles

SOME ASPECTS OF ACTIONS TO RESPONSE TO EXTERNAL SECURITY THREATS AND CRISES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

The European Union is taking action in various areas of security to improve its ability to respond to crises and increase its resilience to future challenges, so this article examines the evolution of crisis response actions of the European Union countries in the face of challenges and threats in a rapidly changing geopolitical environment in relation to European security. This, in turn, is reflected in the speed of decision-making by the competent associations of the European Union regarding legal regulation that corresponds to the current situation. The authors identify and analyze the main directions of action and response measures of member countries in the legal field. In this context, the authors pay special attention to the consideration of the European Union's security policy in relation to hybrid threats from neighboring states, ensuring cyber security, the use of modern information communication technologies, as well as mediation tools in the prevention of these threats. The authors analyze issues of cooperation between the European Union and the United Nations in the field of peacekeeping and military missions. The authors also touched on the specifics of lessons learned from addressing the consequences of crisis situations and the impact of the EU countries’ integrated approach to responding to crisis situations in the context of the past pandemic, as well as the impact of hybrid threats. The results of this study show that the relevant institutions of the European Union skillfully, promptly and effectively coordinate decision-making on response and management in crisis situations, and as part of improving the anti-crisis management strategy, taking measures to prevent the consequences of crisis situations in the EU area (hybrid threats, illegal migration, terrorism, organized crime, etc.)

From Fortress Europe to Border-Filter: Vulnerability, Biopolitics, and the Management of Migration in Greece and the European Union after 2015

Abstract: Following increased migration flows in 2015, the European Commission (EC) and the Greek government implemented new strategies and legislation to regulate mobility in the EU area. The impact of one of these strategies is especially important. The EC "European Agenda on Migration" was implemented by Greek Asylum Law 4375/2016 and followed up with subsequent legislation. The legislation introduced "vulnerability assessment" as a tool for granting or withholding refugee status based on biopolitical criteria. The border can be seen as a filter that admits, on biopolitical grounds, those supposedly deserving of entry while it excludes those deemed undeserving. The border-filter differs from the perception of Fortress Europe that is popular in activist and other political discourses in much of Europe. The idea of Fortress Europe implies a total absence of migrant mobility and does not correspond to our empirical research findings.

New insights on immigration, fiscal policy and unemployment rate in EU countries – A quantile regression approach

Free movement of production factors in the enlarged EU has led to immigration flows from East to West and from South to North with a significant impact on EU labor markets. Fiscal federalism also determined large immigration flows into EU area and affected unemployment rate in the EU countries. The aim of this paper is to investigate the impact of factors such as number of immigrants, tax on profits, social contributions, economic growth and population growth on unemployment rates in EU area using a panel quantile regression and an PMG-ARDL approach as robustness test during 1991–2020. The results show a positive association between population growth and unemployment rate, whereas the remaining exogenous factors are negatively associated with unemployment rate. Still, social contributions are statistically significant only for upper quantiles. The overall impact of social contribution on unemployment rate is positive as per PMG-ARDL estimations. We have also demonstrated that the immigrant flows impact on unemployment rate is very weak. The factors that are exerting the most significance influence on unemployment rate, are economic and population growth, followed by tax on profits. Findings support policy recommendation in EU area in terms of fiscal policy.

Corymbia citriodora Girdling Aiming Forest Restoration Intensifies the Production of Labile C, N and P in the Soil

ABSTRACT Understanding the effect of different C. citriodora removal management in a Conservation Unit (CU) aimed at forest restoration on the dynamics of the labile and stable fractions of the SOM and to quantify the stoichiometric relationships of these fractions. Soil samples were collected in four areas in the União Biological Reserve (REBIO), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, namely: forest (FF); C. citriodora trees submitted to girdling (GR); C. citriodora trees submitted to the practice of clear cutting and subsequent planting of native species (PL); abandoned C. citriodora trees without management practice (EU). In these samples, the total content of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the air-dried fine earth (ADFE) were determined; in light-fraction organic matter (LFOM) and in the particle size fractions of SOM. It was observed that the C:N and C:P ratios were higher in the EU area and lower in PL in both ADFE and LFOM samples. In EU, lower levels of C, N and P were observed in the SOM particulate fraction. GR favors the production of less recalcitrant and more labile material when compared to EU. The short time (4 years) of implementation of the system in PL directly affects the low production of LFOM; however, this material has high levels of N and P, favoring the low C:N and C:P ratio. EU intensifies the concentration of nutrients in stable fractions in the soil, which can favor the preservation of the soil structure, mitigating its losses.

IMPACT OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY ON THE DIGITAL ECONOMY

Purpose. The article explores the impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and their role and place in the dynamics of the digital economy. The aim of this research is to assess the impact of the digital economy on GDP per capita in EU countries. Methodology. Analysis of ICT as a key factor in enhancing economic growth through the implementation of digital technology opportunities. Panel data from Eurostat and the World Bank covering EU countries from 2014 to 2021 were used for analysis. A correlation analysis was then conducted between variables, and the model was relevant for forecasting. Results. The number of studies on the impact of Information and Communication Technologies on the economic growth of countries has increased in recent years. However, there is still no assessment of the real GDP impact on the level of household Internet access in the EU area. Studying this gap in the literature allows us to draw conclusions about the implications for stakeholders regarding more effective implementation of the digital agenda. Scientific novelty. The digital economy, measured by Internet, mobile phone, and fixed broadband access, influences the economic growth of a country. This, in turn, depends on the level of technology measures covering the digital economy. ICT positively influence the development of countries' economies and can be used as tools by stakeholders. These agents should generate policies that enhance ICT technological infrastructure, digital empowerment of the population, and greater access to ICT. The GDP level model is presented as a function of Internet access for households in the EU area along with a short-term forecast for this index. It is shown that investments in ICT infrastructure are indispensable for the development of a strong knowledge- and digital technology-based economy. Practical significance. The research results will help in identifying opportunities and levers of influence for governmental institutions and other socio-economic systems on the impact of digital economy development processes on GDP per capita in EU countries.

A Geospatial Decision Support System for Supporting the Assessment of Land Degradation in Europe

Nowadays, Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) is on the political agenda as one of the main objectives in order to respond to the increasing degradation processes affecting soils and territories. Nevertheless, proper implementation of environmental policies is very difficult due to a lack of the operational, reliable and easily usable tools necessary to support political decisions when identifying problems, defining the causes of degradation and helping to find possible solutions. It is within this framework that this paper attempts to demonstrate a new valuable web-based operational LDN tool as a component of an already running Spatial Decision Support System (S-DSS) developed on a Geospatial Cyberinfrastructure (GCI). The tool could be offered to EU administrative units (e.g., municipalities) so that they may better evaluate the state and the impact of land degradation in their territories. The S-DSS supports the acquisition, management and processing of both static and dynamic data, together with data visualization and on-the-fly computing, in order to perform modelling, all of which is potentially accessible via the Web. The land degradation data utilized to develop the LDN tool refer to the SDG 15.3.1 indicator and were obtained from a platform named Trends.Earth, designed to monitor land change by using earth observations, and post-processed to correct some of the major artefacts relating to urban areas. The tool is designed to support land planning and management by producing data, statistics, reports and maps for any EU area of interest. The tool will be demonstrated through a short selection of practical case studies, where data, tables and stats are provided to challenge land degradation at different spatial extents. Currently, there are WEBGIS systems to visualize land degradation maps but—to our knowledge—this is the first S-DSS tool enabling customized LDN reporting at any NUTS (nomenclature of territorial units for statistics) level for the entire EU territory.

Экономические стратегии ЕС 2020-2024: цели и показатели

The paper discusses the EU Strategy 2020-2024 created in 2019. There are analyzes the Strategy plan and Management Plan EU, Economic forecast EU, the hierarchy of General and Specific objectives, Activities with results, indicators and targets to achieve the goals and systems for implementing the Strategy for the EU in the paper. The analysis used EU Commission work programme, Strategic Plans 2020-2024 EU Commission, Management Plans EU Commission for the current reporting year (2024), Annual activity report. It is a system of documents of Departments and executive agencies (Directorate General, Executive agency and Service) of the EU Commission, whose competence and area of activity are related to the implementation of EU economic policy. The analysis is based on the plans and reports of The Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN) of the European Commission: Strategic plan, Management plan, Annual activity report, Annual work programme. It is shown that the EU is pursuing a proactive policy regarding digitalization, climate neutrality and a number of other goals to achieve competitiveness in the global market. The system of macroeconomic indicators of the Economic Forecast underlies the formation of plans of all The Directorate General of the EC. Activities are described in results, indicators and targets to achieve the stated General and Specific objectives 2020-2024. The final values of the main macroeconomic indicators for the current period are not justified and the forecast indicators for the period until 2025 remain almost unchanged. An analysis of the added value of the EU economy by industry shows the instability of the structure of the EU economy for the period 2020-2023.

There is no Open Science without infrastructure and science community

This paper focuses on the role of national-level infrastructure in promoting open science principles, with a specific emphasis on Slovenia. It presents the latest measures implemented within the country to facilitate open science practices.The first part of the paper explores the specific measures adopted in Slovenia to promote open science. It highlights the ongoing development of regulations to implement scientific research following open science principles. The Slovenian Scientific Research and Innovation Activities Act (ZZrID) and the Resolution on the Slovenian Scientific Research and Innovation Strategy 2030 (ReZrIS30) strongly emphasise open science and encompass various measures. The paper discusses the accessibility of research data addressed by the ZZrID and the Decree on the implementation of scientific research work in accordance with the principles of open science. Furthermore, it outlines upcoming actions in education and infrastructure solutions, as outlined in the Open Science Action Plan.The second part of the paper delves into the role of the Academic and Research Network of Slovenia (ARNES), the Slovenian national research and education network (NREN). ARNES has played a pivotal role in the construction of two new national data centres dedicated to the permanent storage of research data. The paper analyses the benefits of these national solutions, which enhance infrastructure accessibility, simplify researchers' work, and provide a more efficient and secure environment for research organisations to store their data. The development of data storage services and the construction of data centres take into consideration existing best practices and collaboration with researchers and research organisations. The solutions offered by the data centres will support existinguniversity repositories and align with the objectives outlined in the Open Science Action Plan. The integration of research funding and evaluation services into a centralised platform will be thoughtfully considered, taking into account the requirements of the research community. A key objective is to enable the implementation of services and infrastructure in accordance with OpenAIRE, where ARNES will play a pivotal role. As a mandated organisation in the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) and being in touch with best practices in the EU area as an NREN, ARNES is well-positioned to contribute to this endeavour.The paper also highlights the broader objective of improving research quality, efficiency, and responsiveness within the national open science ecosystem. It discusses the establishment of the Slovenian Open Science Community (SSOZ) as part of the tripartite European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) event, making Slovenia one of the pioneering countries in the European Union. The SSOZ, along with Slovenian representatives in the EOSC, has already addressed challenges related to the permanent preservation of research data, which will be comprehensively discussed in relation to the new data centres and associated activities.Additionally, there is a growing demand for education on repository usage and infrastructure upgrades. The Slovenian Open Science Community serves as a unifying platform for all major universities and research institutions in Slovenia, fostering collaboration among its members. It encompasses participants from various initiatives, such as the NI4OS project, which aims to promote the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) at a regional level. Furthermore, the community includes stakeholders from the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) and similar European and institutional initiatives dedicated to advancing open science principles.Drawing from the experience of the case study, the paper critically highlights how the national infrastructure can simplify researchers' work. It emphasises the role of data centres in fostering sustainable and long-term data storage solutions aligned with the principles of open science. As an NREN, ARNES already manages public research infrastructure and offers solutions that facilitate research, such as data sharing and access to EuroHPC's supercomputing infrastructure. The establishment of new data centres by ARNES will significantly enhance the infrastructure for open science in Slovenia, providing primary conditions for implementing open science principles in research work. The implementation of planned professional training programs focused on utilising the infrastructure, along with workshops on open science organised by the Central Technical Library at the University of Ljubljana specifically for researchers in Slovenia, will serve as essential catalysts for enabling research activities that align with the principles of open science. With the infrastructure in place, these initiatives will empower researchers with the necessary knowledge and skills to embrace open science practices effectively.

Can environmental taxes decrease final energy consumption in the old and new EU countries?

Despite the harmonisation process within the EU area, there are many economic and political differences among European countries in promoting energy policies. Moreover, the status of implementation of environmental tax reforms in the new EU countries is very different from that in the old EU countries, and the economic and environmental impacts of such taxation are diverse. The objective of this paper was therefore to investigate whether the role of environmental taxes in reducing final energy consumption is the same in old and new EU countries. The analysis was conducted for 16 old and 11 new EU member states over the period 1995–2020 using Pooled Mean Group (PMG) and Mean Group (MG) estimators. The results indicate that environmental taxes have a negative long-term impact on final energy consumption in both groups of countries. However, this impact is much smaller in the new EU countries. Moreover, economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions increase final energy consumption. These results also suggest that in order to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, the new EU countries need to apply some stringent regulations and introduce further institutional and environmental reforms that support increasing the share of clean energy sources in the energy mix.

EU or Euro Area Crisis? Studying Differentiated Integration as an Idea Structuring Elite Perceptions of the Sovereign Debt and the COVID-19 Crisis

ABSTRACT After the sovereign debt crisis, scholars concluded that euro area member states (EAMS) and non-EAMS embarked on diverging paths of integration. Yet, their united response countering the economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis contradicts the path-dependency argument. This article takes an ideational approach. It demonstrates that the different crisis outcomes regarding differentiated integration (DI) in Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) coincide with variations of how DI influenced elite crisis perceptions as an idea. While policymakers perceived the sovereign debt crisis as a currency area crisis with threats and spillovers applying to EAMS, they interpreted the COVID-19 crisis as a health emergency threatening all EU member states. These differences in elite crisis perceptions facilitated different outcomes regarding DI despite unchanged economic and fiscal circumstances among EAMS and non-EAMS. The findings challenge deterministic assumptions on the self-reinforcing nature of DI in EMU and establish DI as an idea structuring elite perceptions.

Police and criminal justice co-operation after Brexit

ABSTRACT The article will evaluate the current state of UK-EU police and criminal justice cooperation and its implications for UK criminal justice policy. The article will place current developments within the broader historical and constitutional context of the ambivalent UK participation in the EU area of criminal justice before Brexit and highlight the significance of criminal justice and police practitioners in shaping UK European policy in the field. The article will map the constitutional evolution of the UK position in the field and assess the relevance of pre-Brexit challenges to the post-Brexit era. Looking at both how UK policy has been influenced – and has in turn influenced – EU criminal justice policy, the article will evaluate the provisions of the TCA and focus on key current challenges, including the constitutional constraints underpinning UK participation in EU police and criminal justice structures after Brexit, the challenge of regulatory divergence in the field (in particular regarding data protection) and the development of mutual trust and credible benchmarks of collaboration (including compliance with European human rights norms) after Brexit.

Energy utilization area under Complex q-rung orthopair fuzzy soft information

<abstract> <p>The utilization of energy (EU) encompasses technologies aimed at discovering more effective methods for using electricity across various sectors, including residential, commercial, industrial, and transportation. Energy is an integral aspect of modern society and a driving force behind many processes in the universe. This paper aims to introduce a new concept, the Complex q-rung Orthopair Fuzzy Soft Relation (CqROFSRs), achieved through the Cartesian product of two Complex q-rung Orthopair Fuzzy Soft Sets (CqROFSSs). The proposed model has the capability to effectively capture and model graded imprecision and vagueness, which are commonly encountered in human interpretations. It provides a parameterized mathematical framework for ranking-based fuzzy modeling of two-dimensional paradoxical data. The theory integrates the CqROFS with the parametric structure of soft sets to achieve this purpose. Moreover, the utilization of complex numbers imbues these structures with the ability to effectively address phase-related and multidimensional challenges, thus conferring them with unparalleled power in managing ambiguity. Furthermore, we delved into various types of relationships, providing corresponding examples, which led to the establishment of accurate outcomes. The CqROFSRs framework is inclusive, encompassing both membership and non-membership degrees with regard to time duration. Additionally, the use of CqROFSRs techniques in selecting the optimal EU area for a daily living has been demonstrated, empowering individuals to make informed decisions and obtain verified results through the score function. To clarify the distinction, a comprehensive comparative analysis was conducted between the proposed concept and previous concepts.</p> </abstract>

Slot Postponements as Extraordinary Circumstances of EU261

This article deals with one aspect of Regulation 261/2004, namely the exemption of its Article 5(3) regarding compensation payments, particularly in case of slot postponements by Air Traffic Management (ATM). These ATM decisions can exempt airlines from compensation payments. However, opinions differ in the legal literature and case law as to when this is the case. The article examines the current opinion, especially in the German-speaking EU area, comments on the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union(CJEU) and the pending reform proposals on regulation. passenger rights, extraordinary circumstances, ATM decision

Estimating antimicrobial resistance burden in Europe—what are the next steps?

Estimating antimicrobial resistance burden in Europe—what are the next steps?

Do fiscal councils reduce fiscal policy procyclicality?

ABSTRACT Using a panel of 35 advanced economies over the period 1990–2020, we investigate the effect of fiscal councils and their individual characteristics on fiscal policy. We find that the response of fiscal policy was procyclical; however, fiscal councils with enhanced remit, strong independence and accountability, and sufficient resources can mitigate procyclicality. A series of robustness checks revealed that the ability of fiscal councils to mitigate fiscal policy procyclicality is particularly relevant in the EU and euro area countries, in countries with weak governance and in particular in the period after the Global Financial Crisis. The results are robust when accounting for the likely endogeneity between fiscal councils and fiscal procyclicality.

Energy Efficiency in Urban Context: An Overview of European-Funded Projects with the Analysis of an ELENA Case Study

According to the European Union, buildings are responsible for around 40% of CO2 emissions in the EU area. For this reason, the new regulatory framework Clean Energy for All European Package (2019) supports policies to reduce emissions by increasing energy efficiency in buildings. This is the prosecution of a long-standing policy, which in the past has mainly influenced public authorities, but also aggregations of private bodies and the realization (or renovation) of large strategic investments that impacted and changed the fruition of buildings and relevant infrastructures. The paper aims to offer an overview of the European funds dedicated to the Energy Efficiency initiatives in the past few years, distinguishing funds for financing the project itself and funds for the financing of technical assistance. The overview introduces the analysis of a case study related to technical assistance projects in the Energy Efficiency field, i.e., the European Local Energy assistance (ELENA) Fund; findings connected to the case studies are the main contribution of this paper. The analysis helps to interpret the performance of the funds and to detect the gap between the financing procedures and the subsequent operational implementation of the projects. The case study highlighted critical aspects regarding the potential mismatch between the purpose of the fund and operational barriers in the realization of the initiatives. Such evidence can contribute to helping policy makers redesign and correct funding schemes and, moreover, in evaluating them with a complete information set.

Spillover Network among Economic Sentiment and Economic Policy Uncertainty in Europe

We explore the directional spillover network among economic sentiment indicators and the economic policy uncertainty (EPU) index from Europe. We derive our results by fitting the directional spillover index approach to the monthly frequency data of eleven European countries, economic sentiment indicators and the European EPU index, spanning from 1 January 1987, to 1 February 2019. The empirical results indicate that the economic sentiment indicators of the largest European economies (Germany, France, and Italy) spillover with each other the most. The economic sentiment indicators of Germany and France most strongly influence the EU and Euro area economic sentiment indicators. The economic sentiment indicators of France and Italy have the most influence on the European EPU index, while the latter has the strongest influence on the economic sentiment indicators of Germany and France.

Swiss dental studies in comparison. A data collection of the Swiss graduating classes from the years 2015-2018 compared to the EU

The aim of this publication is to draw a comparison between dental studies in the EU and in Switzerland. For this purpose, Swiss students from the graduation years 2015-2018 were surveyed about their practical training. These results could be compared with figures from the EU. Of the 34 treatments compared, 26 were performed more often by Swiss students. In addition to the comparison with the EU area, it was also possible to determine that over two-thirds of the students felt well-prepared for the world of work. However, the students wished for more in-depth training in the areas of fixed prosthetics as well as surgery.

European fiscal reform preferences of parliamentarians in France, Germany and Italy

Using data from a unique survey of members of parliaments in France, Germany and Italy in 2018, we estimate the effects of three dimensions on EU and Euro Area fiscal reform preferences: nationality, political ideology and populism. We predict and confirm that a German populist party on the right is most opposed to a more developed European fiscal union, while a non-populist politician on the political left in France or Italy is most integrationist. Furthermore, the relative position of French and Italian policymakers is issue dependent and the left dimension outweighs the German dimension in two out of seven reform issues. Finally, populism intensifies the polarizing impact of national interests.

Health-care provision for displaced populations arriving from Ukraine

Health-care provision for displaced populations arriving from Ukraine