European EU Member States Research Articles

JAVNOBILJEŽNIČKI RAZVOD BRAKA U REFORMIRANOM SLOVENSKOM PRAVU

Divorce before Latin-type notaries, as an alternative to court procedure, has been present on the European continent since the early 2000s. Forms of such divorce first appeared in Eastern European countries. However, since 2015 there has been a regulation of the powers of notaries for consensual divorce in the countries of Western and Southern Europe. The last among European countries to prescribe the consensual divorce before notaries is Slovenia, as part of the reform of family and non-contentious law and procedure. In this context, the paper discusses the novelties and basic principles of family court proceedings in the reformed Slovenian law. A special part of the paper contains an analysis of the consensual divorce before Slovenian notaries. The reason for choosing this legal system is the circumstance of the same starting point of development with Croatia, the similarity of these two legal systems, as well as the fact that in these Central European EU member states, reform efforts in one usually follow reforms and results in the other. Then follows an analysis and discussion of notarial divorce from a Croatian perspective, in particular on the circumstances that should be taken into account when considering its regulation, in order to reflect and achieve the prominent advantages. The concluding part of the paper contains some thoughts of the author and his de lege ferenda projections for the Croatian regulation, but also for the states in its neighborhood.

ЦІННОСТІ ДИКОЇ ПРИРОДИ В ПОЛІТИЦІ ЄС ТА УКРАЇНИ

The aim of the article is to study the implementation of wildlife values into the environmental policy of European Union and Ukraine. The research methodology is based on a comparative analysis of the activities of the EU and Ukraine in the protection of wildlife. The study has introduced the essence of the terms "wildlife" and "value of wildlife." The material and nonmaterial value of wildlife, which is currently the most demanded in EU, has identified. The activities of European Union and EU member states in the development of legislative and strategic framework for the protection of wildlife has analyzed. The peculiarity of the European model of wildlife conservation is revealed; it is the formation of strategic directions that are being developed by member-states in accordance with the national specifics. The main shortcomings of the wildlife conservation activities in Ukraine, in particular the lack of a generally accepted and legally enforced definition of “wildlife” has been disclosed. Ukraine’s first steps on this path has been analyzed. Among them – the adoption in 2017 of the law “On Amendments to Some Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Protection of Forests under the Framework Convention for the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians”and the inclusion of 63 plots of ancient forests from ten European countries and Ukraine into the Ukrainian-Slovak-German UNESCO World Heritage Site “Virgin Beech Forests of the Carpathians”. It has concluded that the European integration course of Ukraine requires not only the adaptation of domestic environmental legislation to the EU legal norms, but also the development of a separate environmental policy direction – the protection of wildlife. A number of recommendations have been developed for the main activities that should be carried out within its framework, in particular: the development of an appropriate concepts concerning wildlife and its introduction into domestic legislation, the creation of wildlife sites and the adoption of principles for managing them, the creation of a permanent expert group involving government institutions and civil society, the development of public initiatives, the promotion in the Ukrainian society the values of the wildlife.

Reviewing Pillar 2 regulations: credit concentration risk

PurposeThis paper aims to analyse the recent changes to the Pillar 2 regulatory-prescribed methodologies to classify and calculate credit concentration risk. Focussing on the Prudential Regulation Authority’s (PRA) methodologies, the paper tests the susceptibility to bias of the Herfindahl–Hirscham Index (HHI). The empirical tests serve to assess the assumption that the regulatory classification of exposures within the geographical concentration is subject to potential misuse that would undermine the PRA’s objective of obtaining risk sensitivity and improved banking competition.Design/methodology/approachUsing the credit exposure data from three global banks, the HHI methodology is applied to the portfolio of geographically classified exposures, replicating the regulatory exercise of reporting credit concentration risk under Pillar 2. In doing so, the validity of the aforementioned assumption is tested by simulating the PRA’s Pillar 2 regulatory submission exercise with different scenarios, under which the credit exposures are assigned to different geographical regions.FindingsThe paper empirically shows that changing the geographical mapping of the Eastern European EU member states can result in a substantial reduction of the Pillar 2 credit concentration risk capital add-on. These empirical findings hold only for the banks with large exposures to Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The paper reports no material impact for the well-diversified credit portfolios of global banks.Originality/valueThis paper reviews the PRA-prescribed methodologies and the Pillar 2 regulatory guidance for calculating the capital add-on for the single name, sector and geographical credit concentration risk. In doing so, this paper becomes the first to test the assumptions that the regulatory guidance around the geographical breakdown of credit exposures is subject to potential abuse because of the ambiguity of the regulations.

WILDERNESS В ЕКОЛОГІЧНІЙ ПОЛІТИЦІ ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКОГО СОЮЗУ

The article explores the reasons, directions and stages of the wildlife conservation activities which is an important direction of European environmental policy. Author examines the essence of the concept “wilderness” which is used in the official documents of the European Union and EU member states. It has concluded that wilderness is understood as a territory regulated by natural processes, consisting of natural habitats and species, sufficient for the effective ecological functioning of natural processes; it is unchanged or slightly modified and does not undergo changes from the side people, settlements, and infrastructure; its landscape has not undergone any visual changes. The policy of the EU member states concerning the formation of the relevant legislation and practical steps for the creation of protected areas of wildlife are analyzed. It was found that unlike the USA, where in the late nineteenth century the protection of wildlife has stimulated the development of environmental policy, in European Union activities in this area began to develop in the last third of the twentieth century. It was seen as one of the directions of biodiversity conservation within the framework of the regional environmental protection policy. The author concluded that the peculiarity of the European wildlife protection model is the formation of strategic guidelines and development them by the member states in accordance with their national specifics. This leads to a variety of approaches to activities in this the protection of the wildlife. The main disadvantages of the Ukrainian legislation on wildlife conservation as well as problems for its development are revealed. The article state that at the moment, Ukraine has done the first step in the wildlife protection – in 2017, the Law on the protection of virgin forests was adopted. It is concluded that Ukraine’s move to European integration requires not only the adaptation of the national environmental legislation to EU legal norms but also the development of wildlife conservation activities as an important direction of environmental policy.

Absolutna renta gruntowa – ujęcie retrospektywne i współczesne

W artykule Autorzy nawiązują do teorii renty gruntowej ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem renty absolutnej, co do istnienia, której w ekonomii nie ma zgodności. Celem rozważań jest ocena, jak współcześnie kształtuje się renta z tytułu rzadkości ziemi rolniczej w warunkach aktualnych tendencji na rynku ziemi w Unii Europejskiej i dylematów w tym zakresie. Podjęto się przy tym weryfikacji tezy, że konieczne jest odmienne podejście do absolutnej renty z ziemi, uzależniając ją od struktury obszarowej i własnościowej czy celów produkcyjnych gospodarstw rolnych. Obserwowane prawidłowości mogą jednak ulegać zmianom w wyniku wprowadzania lub zwiększania ograniczeń obrotu nieruchomościami rolnymi unormowanych prawem europejskim lub poszczególnych państw członkowskich UE, jak i postulowanych instrumentów wspólnej polityki rolnej.

Small Donors in World Politics: The Role of Trust Funds in the Foreign Aid Policies of Central and Eastern European Donors

The Central and Eastern European (CEE) EU member states have emerged as new donors of international development assistance since the turn of the millennium. The literature has tended to focus on the bilateral components of these policies, and neglected CEE multilateral aid. This paper contributes to filling this gap by examining how and why CEE donors contribute to trust funds operated by multilateral donors. The aim of the paper is twofold: First, it provides a descriptive account of how CEE countries use trust funds in the allocation of their foreign aid. Second, it explains this allocation using data from qualitative interviews with CEE officials. CEE countries make much less use of trust funds than might be expected. This is due not only to the loss of visibility and control over their resources, but also to how CEE companies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) rarely achieve funding successes at multilateral organisations.

Economic Structure and Regional Economic Performance in Advanced Eu Economies

Abstract Recent economic turmoil has revived interest in the quest for sustainable growth. Current economic thinking attaches growing importance to industrial development. The roots of such thinking can be traced back to traditional arguments about the beneficial role of manufacturing for economic growth through horizontal and vertical spillovers to other sectors. These spillovers are of particular importance at the regional level, as such externalities tend to be localized in nature. The objective of this paper is to explore the relationship between economic structure and regional growth in ten Western European EU member states in the post-crisis period. The analysis wishes to answer the question of whether regions with a higher concentration of manufacturing outperform their counterparts with more diverse economic structures. A spatial panel econometric technique is applied in order to distinguish between the intra-regional and inter-regional effects of economic structure, yielding recommendations for policy makers in the field of industrial policy.

With No Deliberate Speed: The Segregation of Roma Children in Europe

The Roma have faced overwhelming discrimination throughout their history with Roma children facing particularly egregious discrimination. Roma children are frequently segregated from non-Roma students in schools through Central and Eastern Europe. While not legally institutionalized, the segregation experienced by Roma children is comparable in scope to that experienced by African American children through the 1950s and 1960s. This article looks at the failure of anti-discrimination measures, both at the national and at the EU level, to substantively reduce discrimination against Roma children in education, and argues that critical race theory provides the necessary context for understanding why the European Union and individual EU Member States continue to fail in this respect, despite numerous national and supranational measures aimed specifically at the Roma. The article reviews EU anti-discrimination measures, European case law, and national case law in light of critical race theory, arguing that it is not the measures themselves that are at issue, but, due to systemic discrimination, their enforcement. Three suggestions are offered: first, at a grassroots level, impact litigation needs to be used more widely before national courts to bring attention to the systemic issues and to have a broader impact on social policy. Second, from a top-down perspective, the European Court of Justice and the European Commission need to become more involved in ensuring that the provision of the Race Equality Directive are enforced. Finally, more international pressure needs to be brought to bear upon the European Union regarding the systemic discrimination against the Roma.

Közvetlentőke-befektetések a kelet-közép- és kelet-európai EU-tagországok között

Közvetlentőke-befektetések a kelet-közép- és kelet-európai EU-tagországok között

Getting organized to beat Babel in multilingual service encounters: The European Network for Public Service Interpreting and Translation (ENPSIT)

People are on the move, coming in from beyond the borders of the European Union and circulating within it. Our major cities in particular are rapidly becoming “super-diverse” communities with many different (cultural) minorities. Many immigrant groups are, at least in the initial phase of their residence in a new community, often unable to communicate effectively in the official language. This poses important challenges for public service providers, who ought to be able to ensure equal access to their services to anyone who requires them. Yet, not all public service providers in Europe are prepared or equipped to operate in such a multilingual environment, and in many countries both comprehensive policies and structural funding are still lacking. As a result, public service interpreting and translation are available and made use of very unevenly. Following earlier initiatives to put public service interpreting and translation (PSIT) on the agendas of the European Commission and EU member states, such as the report drawn up by the European Language Council’s Special Interest Group on Translation and Interpreting for Public Services (SIGTIPS) in 2011, more recently the European Network for Public Service Interpreting and Translation (ENPSIT) was founded. Its main aims are to have the right to high-quality language assistance in service contexts officially recognized, and to see the development of (harmonized) public service interpreter and translator training, assessment and accreditation across the EU. This paper sketches (i) the societal framework within which PSIT provision is organized, (ii) how ENPSIT wishes to deploy strategies to influence European and national policy-making as well as foster excellent PSIT training and quality assurance, and (iii) how the fight for optimal communication in public services is not, nor should be, restricted to improving PSIT.

Defining Minimum Income (and Living) Standards in Europe: Methodological Issues and Policy Debates

Minimum income protection is gaining new significance in European social policy. In an effort to promote social inclusion, the European Parliament has called on the European Commission and EU Member States to guarantee the minimum right to social safety nets. The Commission has been considering, in the context of the Europe 2020 strategy, the possibility of setting minimum standards for social protection. It is timely then to survey the debates surrounding minimum income standards for Europe and some of the different technologies available for setting reference budgets. A European needs-based (minimum) social protection floor should help guard against poverty and exclusion, but there can be no ‘one size fits all’ in Europe. For it is equally clear that higher social standards of protection may be required by citizens in more affluent parts of Europe. How can such distinctions be made, and what are the challenges arising from doing so?

Towards hypermedia campaigning? Perceptions of new media's importance for campaigning by party strategists in comparative perspective

This paper analyses strategic thinking around election campaign communication in a rapidly evolving media environment, characterized by the rise of digital communication channels and online social networks as new tools of political campaigning. Using an expert survey with campaign managers of 68 political parties within 12 European nations, representing both old and new EU member states, the study investigates the perceived importance of different types of communication platforms in meeting campaign objectives, especially with regard to differences between new and direct modes of campaigning in comparison to traditional campaign channels. The attributed significance to these various channels is then analysed against a range of variables on macro (country) level as well as meso (party) level. The results suggest that while some differences can be observed in regard to the perceptions of particular types of social media between individual strategists working for parties as well as between strategists working in new and old EU member states (e.g. Facebook is seen as more important in younger democracies), overall we can see a relatively high level of homogeneity in the perceived importance of campaign communication in the sample. The data point to the embedding of new communication platforms within election campaign strategies across most nations and parties; this indicates that the move towards ‘hypermedia' campaign style, integrating both old and new campaign tools and communication platforms, is now becoming a standard feature of professional campaigning strategy in Europe.

Upgrading Energy Efficient Housing and Creating Jobs: It Works Both Ways

The European Commission and EU member states have prioritised the renovation of the existing housing stock as a means of achieving their energy-efficiency targets. As buildings account for 40% of Europe’s energy consumption and much of this is used in the residential sector a major breakthrough could be realized here. Despite the fact that energy saving targets have been prioritized in EU and national policy programme’s, progress is slow. The actual rate and extent of renovations are by fare not enough to achieve the targets. Although the necessity of energy savings is acknowledged by institutional investors in housing, housing associations, individual homeowners and occupants, it appears to be difficult to get sufficient support for energy efficiency renovations. The current economic situation is an additional barrier preventing large scale investments in energy renovating the housing stock. This article connects the realisation of energy efficiency goals with the creation of jobs in the EU. The shift from new-build to renovation will have considerable effects on employment in especially the construction industry and the qualifications required by the workforce. Studies show that for every €1 million investment in the existing building stock in the form of energy renovation work, 12 to 17 new jobs could be created. Potentially this could lead to may new jobs. However, there are many uncertainties in these calculations. Are these direct or indirect jobs, what sectors would benefit, are these jobs created within the EU and what would be the net effect on the labour market? Nonetheless these uncertainties, the positive employment effects will prevail. A new and ambitious investment programme in the housing sector could not only improve the energy performance of the sector but create 100.000’s of valuable jobs at a time when these are seriously needed.

Возобновляемая энергетика в ЕС: смена приоритетов

The article analyses the EU policies of promoting renewable energy sources (RES), including the role of state subsidizing and the change of EU policy in 2013. First EU actions in this area were implemented in late 1990s. In mid 2000s the European Commission developed integrated approach of the encouragement of renewables. Promotion of RES was integrated with other areas of the EU energy policies in the framework of the Climate and Energy Package in 2007. The paper evaluates EU achievements and development of particular types of RES in the EU in 2000s. A comprehensive comparative analysis of the cost of different types of RES and the use of incentive measures in the European Union and EU member states is carried out. The conclusion is made that despite the impressive technological progress the renewable energy, with rare exception, is still uncompetitive with the traditional sources of energy in terms of costs. A large-scale state support was the reason for the rapid development of renewables in the EU. Article investigates distorting effects of RES subsidies on the market price of electricity. Feed-in tariffs, investment grants, quotas and tax benefits were the most widespread forms of direct and indirect RES subsidies in the EU. During the economic crisis, these subsidies have become a heavy burden for the budgets of the EU countries and population. Now the EU is modifying its strategy on RES in order to reduce the volume of subsidies. In 2013 European Council substantially changed the priorities of the EU energy policies: instead of «sustainable energy» it accentuated the need to provide a “competitive energy”. Strategic decision to reform the existing methods of RES subsidizing and to develop an «economically reasonable» support scheme was made. The reduction of subsidies will inevitably lead to a sharp reduction in the rate of growth of renewables and the failure to achieve previously agreed EU targets.

Cohesion Policy and the Evolution of Regional Policy in Central and Eastern Europe

The paper considers the extent to which domestic regional policy in the Central East European EU member states has been ‘subsumed’ into cohesion policy approaches. It acknowledges that directions of domestic regional policy change vary with processes of EU policy transfer, adaptation, emulation or resistance. This variation occurs across time and across member states. Crucially, the paper argues that interaction between cohesion policy and national regional policy systems also varies according to different regional policy components. Drawing on research from across the member states, the analysis breaks policy down into a number of key dimensions (objectives, instruments, spatial targeting and governance) and assesses the interaction between EU and domestic approaches and agendas.

Culture, Geography and Institutions: Empirical Evidence from Small-scale Banking

In this article, I explore one of the channels through which culture may directly affect economic activities. I find evidence that common cultural heritage has a statistically and economically significant effect on cross‐border bank loans (even after geographical closeness and institutional convergence have been taken into account) flowing from Austria's local and regional banks to clients residing in one of the neighbouring Eastern European EU member states. To compile formal statistical evidence that common culture plays a role in cross‐border bank lending, I developed a new instrument of cultural distance that measures Austria's cultural proximity to its neighbouring Eastern European countries.

Central and eastern European industrial relations in the crisis: national divergence and path-dependent change

This article assesses the effects of the recent economic crisis on industrial relations in the central and eastern European EU Member States. The analysis is based on the theoretical framework of three types of central and eastern European capitalism: neoliberal, embedded neoliberal and neocorporatist (Bohle and Greskovits, 2012). The article introduces the individual articles of this issue, arguing that the impact of the crisis on collective bargaining processes and institutions is shaped by economic and political factors and, above all, by the institutional setting of industrial relations. Trade union responses are explained by the varying use of two strategic sources of power: participation in formal collective bargaining (institutional power) and a strengthening of the membership base (membership power). Despite considerable differences between countries with regard to these factors, recent developments in collective bargaining have tended to be path-dependent and have resulted in a further shift of the region’s industrial relations towards neoliberalism.

Changing Development Prospects for the Central and Eastern European EU Member States

One of the fundamental goals of European integration is to provide less-developed member states opportunities for convergence and strengthen economic and social cohesion. Before the crisis the convergence process was impressive in the new member states. This success raises the question of how the institutions of the new EU member states match the institution types previously worked out for the old member states, and whether they resemble any of the broadly accepted four models of capitalism (Anglo-Saxon, Nordic, Continental European and Mediterranean) or represent a new type of model. Empirical analysis suggests that an independent Central and Eastern European model is eligible for existence. The characteristics of the model may be derived from three main factors: the lack of capital, weak civil society and the impact of the European Union and other international organisations influencing the new member states. FDI inflow could help to reduce the lack of capital. The success of convergence can be explained through the reconfiguration of the value chain after the collapse of communism by companies located in Continental and Northern Europe. These companies located their assembly activities in Central and Eastern Europe, and these countries could integrate not only within the EU but also within the world economy through increased investment and productivity. Although this convergence model has its limits, it provided sufficient space for the Central and Eastern European countries to develop, due to their low initial GDP levels. During the crisis the convergence has slowed down. The forthcoming period makes some changes in the convergence model necessary. The reduction in the private sector savings-investment gap is unavoidable. Savings must be used more efficiently than in the past. These suggestions are known in literature. However, two other important factors should also be taken into consideration. Failing to bridge the current productivity gap between foreign and domestic companies makes catching-up impossible. Population ageing and increased net migration from the Central and Eastern European countries has reached the level which demolishes their economic potential and destabilizes their societies in the medium and long run. These issues mean severe challenges on both national and European level.

Fishing in the Same Pool? Export Strengths and Competitiveness of China and CESEE in the EU-15 Market

We investigate the impact of China as a global competitor on the trade performance of the ten Central, Eastern and Southeastern European EU Member States (CESEE-10) in the EU-15 market. The paper takes a comprehensive approach as we analyze export growth, export market shares, extensive and intensive margins and the dynamics in the number of joint trade links (Dynamic Trade Link Analysis) from 1995 to 2010. According to our findings, the most contested markets are those for capital goods and transport equipment. Overall, competition between CESEE-10 and China intensified as a result of their outstanding competitiveness and the continuous deepening of already existing trade relationships, while cutthroat competition has not materialized. While this suggests that the CESEE countries pursue a suitable export strategy, diversification of production toward promising new industries and markets remains essential, not least because the EU-15 market is projected to grow at a slower pace in the longer run.

Workshop: Use of “read-across” for chemical safety assessment under REACH

Read-across has generated much attention, since it may be used as an alternative approach for addressing the information requirements under REACH. Experience in the application of “read-across” has undoubtedly been gained within the context of the 2010 registrations (>1000tonnes/annum). Industry, European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and EU Member States all conceptually accept read-across approaches but difficulties still remain in applying them consistently in practice. A workshop on the ‘Use of Read-Across for Chemical Safety Assessment under REACH’, organised by ECHA with the active support of Cefic LRI was held on the 3rd October 2012 to gain insight on how ECHA evaluates read-across justifications, to share Industry experiences with read-across approaches and to discuss practical strategies to help develop scientifically valid read-across for future submissions.