EU Principles Research Articles

Protección de los derechos de propiedad de los cónyuges según la legislación ucraniana y de la Unión Europea

Introduction: The protection of spouses’ property rights stands as a fundamental aspect within family law, aiming to safeguard their interests during property disputes and divorce proceedings. This study delves into the nuances of property rights protection under both Ukrainian and eu legal frameworks. Emphasizing the evol-ving legal landscape due to Ukraine’s alignment with eu standards, the research scrutinizes the mechanisms governing property division and dispute resolution.Methodology: Amidst the complexities of divorce proceedings, the analysis reveals disparities between Ukrainian legislation and established European legal norms. Despite efforts to align with EU standards, discre-pancies persist, influenced by unique legal structures and societal factors. Notably, the study underscores the pivotal role of marriage contracts and judicial interventions in safeguarding spouses’ property rights.Results: Recognizing the centrality of property rights within family law, the study advocates for enhanced at-tention to the harmonization of Ukrainian legislation with EU principles. The efficacy of marriage contracts emerges as a cornerstone in empowering spouses to assert control over property matters. Conclusions: Additionally, the research illuminates pathways for protecting family rights through contractual agreements and legal mechanisms, underscoring the imperative of comprehensive legal reforms to ensure equitable property division.

Determinants of energy system resilience

The importance of energy resilience for the EU countries and Ukraine in the context of geopolitical conflicts and challenges caused by Russian aggression is emphasized. The author em­pha­sizes the need to modernize energy net­works, continuous monitoring and analysis of the energy situation. The purpose of the study was to identify the factors that influence energy resilience and the state policy of energy system resilience. It is hypothesized that in times of crisis, state regulation, in particular support for diversified energy sources, construc­tion of efficient energy infrastructure, risk mana­gement systems and transparent regulatory poli­cies, play an important role in ensuring the resilience of the energy system. To achieve the aim of the research, a complex of general scientific and special methods were used such as historical and logical; analyzing factors of energy resilience, statistical aggregation and comparison are used in compiling and analyzing energy resilience indices. Based on such indicators of energy resilience as The Global Energy Vulnerability Index and The Energy Sove­reignty Index, the vulnerabilities of the energy systems of the EU and Ukraine are assessed and their path to energy independence is outlined. The analysis revealed a significant dependence of the EU countries on energy imports, which affects their self-sufficiency, while noting progress in renewable energy, particularly in Denmark, Fin­land, and Sweden. Ukraineʼs position in this ranking is quite low and comparable to European countries such as Slovakia, Poland, and Lithuania, which is a consequence of its dependence on energy imports, as well as low economic resilience and energy efficiency. Most EU countries have achie­ved their performance targets by applying holistic approaches to energy security. The factors affect­ting energy resilience are identified, inclu­ding geopolitical conflicts, availability of energy resour­ces, reliable infrastructure, moni­toring and risk management systems, energy efficient technolo­gies, and transparent regulatory policies. The author emphasizes Ukraineʼs decision to harmo­nize its energy policy with the EU principles, which provides for the update of the Energy Strategy of Ukraine to ensure resilient economic develop­ment and climate neutrality by 2050.

Обострение отношений Польши и ЕС: возможные варианты развития и решения дезинтеграционных процессов

The aim of this study is to analyze the aggravation of relations between Poland and the European Union from 2016 to 2023 and to identify potential development scenarios. The study identifies several forms of disintegration processes within Poland-EU relations, including challenges to the primacy of EU law, erosion of democratic norms, and disputes over national sovereignty. Key actions by both parties aimed at mitigating these processes include dialogue, negotiation, and institutional reform. However, the underlying issue of conflicting national values poses a significant obstacle to resolution. The tensions between Poland and the EU are rooted in divergent interpretations of democracy, the rule of law, and national sovereignty. The EU’s insistence on adherence to its legal and democratic standards clashes with Poland’s perceived defense of traditional national values. Resolving these tensions requires a delicate balance between respecting national sovereignty and upholding EU principles. The effective implementation of these reforms should be deemed satisfactory by the European Commission. Only after aligning Poland’s judicial system with EU standards will the country receive the majority of subsidies, grants, and funds from the European Union, which can then be directed towards supporting national agricultural producers. In conclusion, the aggravation of relations between Poland and the EU underscores the challenges facing European integration. Addressing disintegration processes within the union requires a concerted effort by both parties to reconcile conflicting interests and values. Poland’s commitment to aligning its judicial system with EU standards is essential for restoring trust and cooperation within the union.

Open Data and Composite Procedures: Strengthen the Quality and the Effectiveness of Administrative Activity

Open data allows new experiments in administration, both in terms of activities and organisation. In terms of composite procedures, open data can serve many public interests in new ways, leading to faster and more accurate decision-making (already at the preparatory level), while it remains difficult to ensure effective judicial protection for individuals in shared administration between the EU and the Member States. In this context, procedural guarantees at the decision-making stage should not be neglected, even more if we consider the EU public administration as a platform, offering data as services, exchanging information and data, cooperating, and competing with public and private actors. Relying on the power of data, however, requires resilient rules, based on EU principles as to assure the rule of law, and able to cope with the challenges of the digital transition, as to ensure the “effectiveness” of administrative activities implementing EU law in each Member State.

Age-Inclusive Healthcare Sustainability: Romania’s Regulatory and Initiatives Landscape in the European Union Context

Sustainable healthcare is “healthcare that is economical and has a positive impact on society”. Considering the definition of sustainable healthcare and the increase in life expectancy, the healthcare system is expected to face an increase in presentations addressed to healthcare facilities of older persons with multiple chronic diseases. Age-friendly environments support active living of older persons and healthcare support in their home. Our goal was to assess how the regulatory landscape undertaken in Romania and the ongoing research project initiatives with Romanian partners reflect the concept of age-friendly environments. Romania had a poor overall active aging index (rank 26/28) and a decrease in life expectancy by 1.4 years in 2020, with a high gender gap of 8 years in favor of women. Key findings highlight the integration of EU principles into Romania’s policies, which emphasize inclusivity, non-discrimination, and active aging. Romania’s involvement in European collaborative initiatives is primarily through private associations, lacking representation from governmental structures. National focus in Romania has been on social services for the elderly. The partners in ongoing research projects range from enterprises to universities and research institutes. The majority of ongoing research focuses on assistive technology solutions. The findings underscore the importance of national, regional, and local attention to the environmental and societal aspects of age-friendly initiatives, alongside promoting technology acceptance and adoption.

Mapping EU Externalisation Devices through a Critical Eye

Abstract The purpose of this article is to scope, map and critique EU externalisation devices in asylum law. The article first evaluates the internal dimension of externalisation in EU asylum law, with the Dublin system being an internal device of externalisation supported by the securitisation of asylum law. The article then maps EU border externalisation manifested in border violence and critically discusses judicial responses to it. Finally, the article scrutinises EU externalisation beyond its borders, as realised by the outsourcing of asylum responsibilities or border controls to non-European countries. EU externalisation is here studied in a multi-faceted way, taking stock of devices from across the spectrum of EU asylum law. It is argued that EU externalisation is wholly underpinned by a neo-colonial narrative of emergency and repulsion that is harmful to refugees as it does not sit comfortably with principles of refugee law or EU and international human rights law.

The reform of the Common European Asylum System in the context of the implementation the EU principle of solidarity

The polycrisis in the European Union has a great influence on the issue of solidarity. The events of recent years demonstrate a significant lack of solidarity within the EU. At the same time, solidarity is one of the principles of the Union’s immigration and asylum policy, as well as one of its key value. For a long time, it was assumed that all member states act in the spirit of mutual solidarity, which should flow from the very fact of a country’s membership in the EU. In other words, international solidarity within the Union is based on voluntariness, which does not require any special mechanism for its implementation. However, in recent years, this presumption has shown its inconsistency, and as a result, the idea has arisen to create a special solidarity mechanism. The migration crisis of 2015 forced the institutions of the Union to start reforming the Common European Asylum System, a key element of which is the creation of an effective solidarity mechanism within the Union. This article is devoted to the study of the transformation of the solidarity principle in the framework of the reform of the Common European Asylum System. The article highlights the main stages of the protracted reform of asylum legislation, reveals the key features of each stage from a solidarity perspective. The author comes to the conclusion that the proposed asylum system in the EU will not become fairer and will not ensure the implementation of the principle of solidarity. At the same time, the reform of the asylum policy could lead to an increase in the centralization of this policy and the expansion of the powers of the Union bodies, which will not make it possible to resolve the current problems and provide solidarity. Thus, solidarity will turn out to be only a tool in the hands of the institutions of the Union for carrying out planned reforms. According to the author, at the moment one can observe the transformation of solidarity within the EU into collectivism, when the interests of the Union are put above the interests of the member states, and the latter are forced to follow a common policy against their will.

Breaching the EU governance by decompression

ABSTRACT This paper introduces the concept of decompression as a specific process of differentiation. Decompression can be anchored as one of the phenomena of non-compliance, representing a distinctive phenomenon, however. Governments or leaders acting in a decompression way are not Eurosceptics and they do not want to reverse the course of integration. We define decompression as a sudden violation of an EU rule by a member state, which leads to immediate disruption of shared trust in a basic EU policy or principle. In the case of a crisis, we can see a ‘compression’, an unexpected crisis-driven demand placed on domestic institutions. Decompression is a relaxation of this pressure triggering the non-application of an EU policy or principle in reaction to changes external to the political equilibrium. It sheds new light on the persistent power of individual politicians to compromise European integration in an unintended way, so far under-reported by the literature.

Tales of creation: advocacy coalitions, beliefs and paths to policy change on the ‘energy efficiency first’ principle in EU

The co-legislators of the EU adopted in July 2023 a revised version of the Energy Efficiency Directive, implying that the ‘energy efficiency first’ (EE1) principle is made legally binding for member states, to apply in policy, planning and investment decisions exceeding euro 100 million each and euro 175 million for transport infrastructure projects. The EE1 principle complements two other guiding principles of EU energy and climate policy: cost-effectiveness and consumer protection. This article analyses the policy process and politics leading to the adoption of the EE1 principle as a legal institute in EU energy and climate policy. Policy core and secondary beliefs of four different advocacy coalitions are identified, and explained what are the paths to policy change. Lines of dispute among the coalitions related to (i) the purpose and meaning of energy efficiency policy, (ii) the size of projects covered (all projects or only very large projects) and (iii) which sectors to be covered (the public sector or both the public and private sectors). The adoption of the EE1 principle as a binding provision follows an ‘external shock’ to the political subsystem of energy efficiency, namely the Paris Agreement and the subsequent adoption of an EU climate law strengthening the EU climate targets for 2030 and 2050. In addition, it is a ‘negotiated agreement’ between the Council and the Parliament, undertaken as a deliberative problem-solving exercise rather than bargaining. The deliberative nature of the negotiations opened for ‘policy-oriented learning’ across belief systems in the subsystem.

Solidarity and the Crisis of Values in the European Union

Looking at Article 2 TEU, this contribution considers that there is an external and an internal crisis of values: the former referring to challenges to EU values coming from individual Member States which prioritize their own agendas and the latter referring to the tension between a liberal and more solidarity-driven understanding of the EU’s foundations as it stems from the very wording of Article 2 TEU. In an attempt to unpack solidarity and offer a better understanding of its nature, scope and legal implications for the EU and its Member States, this contribution proceeds as follows: first, it studies solidarity within a specific methodological and theoretical framework based on a ‘structured network of EU principles’ established by the CJEU in the post-Lisbon era. Second, it operates under the assumption that a holistic understanding of EU solidarity requires us to go beyond the dominant form of solidarity based on the relationship between Member States (‘interstate solidarity’) and to explore the relationships between individuals (‘interpersonal solidarity’). Our key argument is that a larger institutional recognition of ‘interpersonal solidarity’ has the potential to put the social question more squarely on the table and, as such, to enable the EU to better address the polycrisis it is facing. A ‘Scellian approach’ to EU solidarity - which places the person at the heart of the theoretical framework and as the real subject of solidarity is useful to adopt as a source of inspiration in such an endeavour.

Promotion and implementation of Polish mining investments in foreign markets on the example of Latin America

Foreign investments are essential in deepening economic relations between the EU and Latin America. As Latin America is fortunate enough to have deposits of metals that have become particularly desirable due to the green industrial revolution, it remains one of the dominant directions of exploration and investment in the mining sector. To intensify cooperation within the mining industries based on their complementarity, common goals, and shared values, the EU-Latin America Mineral Development Network Platform was established for all entities relevant to the mining sector, not only authorities but also businesses (including SMEs) and scientific and research units. To create a common European understanding of best practices in the processing and mining of raw materials in terms of social, environmental, and economic performance, voluntary EU principles for sustainable raw materials have been developed. Moreover, many EU countries working on updating or implementing (Poland) mineral policies, and more and more EU and Polish mining companies have been reporting non-financial aspects and impacts on local development, also in foreign countries. At the end of 2022, the European Commission proposed a Critical Raw Materials Act: securing the new gas & oil at the heart of our economy initiative to enhance the diversification and supply of critical raw materials to Europe. So far, the largest Polish foreign investment is a copper mine in Sierra Gorda in Chile, owned by KGHM Polska Miedź SA together with the Japanese Sumitomo Group (from February 2022, Australian mining group South32). Even according to KGHM CEO, Marcin Chludziński, the Sierra Gorda mine had needed restructuring and now is a demanding but very satisfying project. KGHM reported that the revised EBITDA for 2021 was the highest and achieved PLN 10.3 billion (ca EUR 2.3 billion) year on year (+56%) and for the first time, Sierra Gorda began to pay off its liabilities towards the owners. Moreover, the mine received an award in the category of large producers awarded by the State Mining Association in Chile (SONAMI). In addition to mining activities in the field of exploration and exploitation of deposits, Poland is developing cooperation in technology (mining machinery) and education. To ensure sustainable extraction of raw materials additional skills are required, in particular in the area of management and social sciences. The aim of the paper is to analyze and identify factors and best practices enhancing international cooperation and the environmental sustainability of minerals in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on the example of Polish investments in Chile. The analyzed case studies in a broader context, including the EU and Polish mineral policy, allow for the development of certain recommendations and tools for the promotion of foreign investments in the mining industry.

A spatial justice perspective on EU rural sustainability as territorial cohesion

AbstractTerritorial cohesion is a guiding set of EU principles to achieve sustainable development. However, evidence suggests that within and across rural and peripheral regions in particular, prosperity and social and economic wellbeing continue to lag behind other regions. The aim of this article is to examine how a spatial justice perspective can provide new development insights on rural sustainability. Introducing a spatial justice perspective to a sustainability/territorial cohesion view of rural development, this article explores the scope for alternative framings of rural sustainability based on more place‐based, context‐specific socio‐spatial relations and processes. Drawing on interviews with EU‐based stakeholders mainly representing rural‐based NGOs, it identifies changing values and priorities about rural sustainability linked to notions of spatial justice and fairness. The findings illustrate an evolving local‐level emphasis on rural sustainability as a phenomenon less focused on economic growth and as much on achieving social equity, with associated capacity to frame and agree locally relevant sustainability goals in an inclusive and respectful way.

What Can Privacy Mean in Data-Driven Societies?

The purpose of this article is to present the basis for building trust within the European Union, through which the authors illustrate the importance of the protection of personal data as a fundamental requirement in both the EU and its Member States’ legal environments. In addition, the authors have examined the Chinese Social Credit System, which by its design and operation is not primarily focused on building trust and is therefore not the most appropriate solution for building trust. The authors conducted a SWOT analysis comparing the EU and Chinese principles to achieve their objectives. They also conducted interviews with people who have personal experience with the Chinese credit point system. Based on the results obtained, they sought to justify their basic hypothesis that this type of credit system could not be applied within the EU.

The mail-order sales of medicinal products in the light of the EU principle of the free movement of goods

The provisions on EU freedoms contained in article 28-66 of the Treaty on the Functioningof the European Union are of key importance from the point of view of achieving the Unionsobjectives related to the proper functioning of the internal market. At the same time, thereare areas of shared competence between Member States and EU bodies. One of them ishealth policy, aimed at protecting and improving public health. The lack of full harmonizationof regulations concerning the activity of pharmacies that are public health facilities results innon-uniformity of national systems. There is a problem as to whether national regulations thatintroduce certain restrictions in the field of cross-border trade in medicinal products can beconsidered as violating the basic principles related to the functioning of the internal marketof the European Union.The analysis of the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice allows to conclude that EU law precludesnational regulations providing for a complete ban on mail-order sales of medicinal productsby online pharmacies. Such legislation constitutes a measure having an effect equivalentto a quantitative restriction within the meaning of article 34 of the Treaty on the Functioningof the European Union and thus are contrary to the Unions free movement of goods. In thelight of the jurisprudence formulated by the Court, restrictions on mail-order sales may onlyapply to medicines subject to medical prescription, if such restrictions are justified by theprotection of human life and health and are appropriate to ensure the achievement of the setgoal and do not go beyond what is necessary to achieve it.

How Many Appeals Does Effective Judicial Protection Require?

In Randstad, the Court of Justice was improperly called to arbitrate competence conflicts amongst Italy's highest courts. Specifically, the Court was asked whether the EU principle of effective judicial protection required a third level review of decisions giving – or, rather, not giving – effect to substantive EU law provisions. While the somewhat hands off take on the principle of effective judicial protection was more than appropriate on the facts of the case given the residual procedural autonomy of the Member States, the judgement and – to some extent – the more demanding opinion of the Advocate General raised questions as to what limits are placed on that autonomy by the principle of effective judicial protection.

Das Entsendegesetz: Suendenfall Oder Loesung Des Arbeitslosigkeitsproblems?

In March 1996, the Bundestag introduced a minimum wage law for the German construction business in order to protect native workers from low wage competition by posted workers from other EU countries. This Entsendegesetz (Posted Workers Act) was backed formally by the EU Posted Workers Directive of December 1996. This paper analyzes the economic and political background of the law as well as its impact on the German construction business according to economic theory and provisional empirical evidence from similar protective measures taken in the U.S. The effectiveness of the law is seriously limited by practical and conceptional problems, like resource constraints in control, shifts from legal to illegal employment, or compatibility with basic EU law and principles. Moreover, since the central problems of the German construction business are structural, one cannot expect much of a relief for the labor market of native workers. Since the Entsendegesetz seems therefore only justifiable in the short run in order to smoothen structural adjustment and to avoid political unrest and xenophobia, it should not be extended.

Are national institutions implementing European Union funds part of the EU institutional system sensu largo? Observations from the perspective of Poland

The measure of the efficiency of any international organization is its institutions equipped with appropriate powers and executive apparatus. The European Union, like other international organizations, has its own structures that form a kind of institutional system. Practice shows that the elements that make up this system sensu stricte are not self-sufficient, which means that their work for the implementation of EU policies often requires the involvement of the national institutions of member states. This kind of practice is characteristic of the implementation of EU cohesion policy. The questions therefore arise: whether and on what basis do national institutions implementing EU funds in member states become part of the institutional system of the European Union sensu largo? and what effects does this have on the system of implementation of European Union funds? The article analyzes the concept of the EU institutional system sensu largo. It also discusses the special significance of the principle of subsidiarity for the functioning of the EU institutional system. It concludes with a reconstruction of the "subsidiarity" of the institutional system of the European Union and points out its national consequences. The author's thesis is that national institutions implementing EU funds are part of the institutional system of the EU sensu largo through the implementation of the EU principle of subsidiarity, which in turn causes certain consequences for the Polish system of implementing EU funds. The article was written using a dogmatic and descriptive method.

How cautious should we be? The role of the precautionary principle in the regulation of sewage sludge in Sweden

Drawing a line between what constitutes a potentially hazardous waste and what is instead a possible resource is complicated. A case in point is the use of sewage sludge, whose use not least in agriculture, has long been subject of debate. In Sweden, the issue has been investigated for possible legislative changes four times in the past decades. The latest of these investigations propose to introduce either a total or a partial ban on agricultural use of sewage sludge. In this paper, the legality of these proposals is analyzed with particular focus on their compatibility with the precautionary principle and the EU principle of free movement of goods and services, using a traditional legal method. The analysis indicates that a partial ban may well be considered proportionate to the risks that the use entails for human health and the environment, whilst a total ban would likely be found in breach of EU law, despite the scope for Member States to take stricter measures than prescribed by secondary legislation.

Combined differentiation in European defense: tailoring Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) to strategic and political complexity

ABSTRACT Sustaining meaningful defense cooperation in Europe is made difficult by defense-industrial fragmentation, a multiplicity of institutional frameworks, divergent strategic cultures and domestic opposition to integration. The European Union’s recent foray into defense integration incorporates multiple forms of differentiation to overcome these barriers, with Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) characterized by selective membership, external participation, and project-based clustering. Such “combined differentiation” offers an instructive example of how EU practices and principles can contribute to meaningful defense collaboration, even though Brussels is often thought a weak actor externally. It also illustrates how distinct forms of differentiation can be embodied within a single structure to accommodate complexity in strategic preferences. Using the example of PESCO, this article shows how “combined differentiation” has emerged as a response to the nature of the European defense landscape and how debates between member states about how to respond to specific challenges have brought about further differentiation over time.

Agrarian potential of Ukraine under post-Maidan crisis and armed conflict: factors and patterns of regional unevenness

Problem Statement. Regional socio-economic development is characterized by diversity and multifacetedness and is stipulated with different impacts of factors. Ukraine has a pronounced spatial asymmetry of socio-economic development of regions; therefore, it is an important case for study of various components of regional unevenness. In the present context of post-Maidan crisis and armed conflict, study of uneven development of agrarian potential in Ukraine is becoming increasingly important, whereas it is important to assess and monitor the agrarian potential of regions for economic and food security of the country and regions. Research Methodology. The research focuses on assessment of the agrarian potential development of Ukraine’s regions in 2015 and 2018, rather than on an empirical comparison of the agrarian potential development of regions before and during the post-Maidan crisis and armed conflict. A hierarchical model for assessing the development of the agrarian potential of Ukraine's regions has been elaborated. Based on the factor analysis results, the individual influence of each factor on the development of the agrarian potential of regions was determined. Using the method of ranking and Kohonen Self-Organizing Mapping, the changes in the uneven development of the agrarian potential of Ukraine’s regions during the post-Maidan crisis and armed conflict period were investigated, and the trajectories of the development of this potential were revealed. This paper aims to identify the regional patterns of agrarian potential development and determine the factors that influenced its regional unevenness during the post-Maidan crisis and armed conflict. Results. The research results prove a spatial asymmetry and an increase in regional divergence in the agrarian potential development. The impact of socio-economic and production factors was revealed to grow and the impact of natural resources and macroeconomic factors on the agrarian potential development of the regions was revealed to weaken. The trajectories of agrarian potential development of the regions are determined; they are typified in nine types of trajectories of the agrarian potential development of the regions of Ukraine during the post-Maidan crisis and armed conflict. Recommendations are given on the regional policy in the agrarian sector of Ukraine in order to mitigate the uneven development of agrarian potential in the regions. Given that Ukraine is facing the problem of inconsistency of the institutional environment with the needs of agropotential development, it is very important to implement the institutional transformations, which should focus on harmonization of state and regional policy for the agrarian sector with EU principles.