European Union Response Research Articles

The European Union Response to the Inflation Reduction Act: An Assessment of the European Council System Beyond Crisis

The European Union Response to the Inflation Reduction Act: An Assessment of the European Council System Beyond Crisis

The European Union's Response to the Rule of Law Crisis and the Making of the New Conditionality Regime

The European Union's Response to the Rule of Law Crisis and the Making of the New Conditionality Regime

The Role of European Union in Refugee Crisis on Belarusian Border – European Union in 2021 - 2022

This article aims to analyze the role of the European Union in handling the refugee crisis at the Belarusian-European Union border in 2021-2022. The refugee crisis at the Belarusian-European Union border poses significant challenges for the European Union in various aspects, such as politics, security, and humanity. This research uses a qualitative approach and is then analyzed to explain the evaluation of the European Union's policies, responses, and strategies in responding to this crisis. Through an in-depth study of the policies and actions taken by the European Union, this article outlines the European Union's response to the refugee crisis on the Belarus – European Union border. This includes diplomatic efforts, humanitarian assistance, and security strategies implemented by the European Union to address problems arising from the crisis. In addition, this article also analyzes the challenges faced by the European Union in dealing with this refugee crisis, including coordination between member countries and internal political consequences. This research found that the role of the European Union in the refugee crisis on the Belarus-European Union border is in the form of providing financial assistance to refugees trapped in the border area. The European Union has also facilitated the Schengen forum, which will be held in 2022. The European Union has also closed its border areas due to the interests of national member countries with direct borders, such as Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania. The European Union also imposed sanctions on Belarus because it was deemed responsible for the crisis that occurred.

The EU's Response to the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Invoking Norms and Values in Times of Fundamental Rupture

AbstractThe European Union's response to the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has been widely perceived as unprecedented. This article examines how this could be, considering the long track record of disagreement amongst EU member states over foreign policy vis‐à‐vis Russia. It is argued that whilst the Russian invasion had a decisive impact on member states' security threat perceptions, realist explanations of the EU's forceful response encounter limitations: Germany and France, the EU's most influential powers, were not the drivers of the EU's joint actions during the first months following the invasion, as they struggled to redefine their national security interests. Against this background, this article takes a different perspective. It asks in what kind of intersubjective context the EU's initial response became meaningful and rational, allowing for agreement to emerge amongst the member states on a set of unprecedented measures. This article proposes a theoretical approach that takes into account the role of norms, rationalities and speech acts in a changing context and of social interaction therein. It is demonstrated that, given the dramatic rupture following the invasion, the EU's response in 2022 was embedded in, and structured by, a priori understandings and justifications generated by the EU in response to Russia's war against Ukraine starting in 2014, including normative considerations.

Caught up by Geopolitics: Sanctions and the EU's Response to Russia's War Against Ukraine.

Russia's war against Ukraine unfolded unprecedented geopolitical, economic and energy-related tension in the European Union (EU). Amidst this situation, decision-makers and scholars alike have returned to concepts of geopolitics to reflect the EU's external affairs and its position in the international (trade) system. Indeed, geopolitical considerations help us to understand the sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia. The restrictive measures against Russia and the Russian-controlled areas in Ukraine are, to date, the most comprehensive measures adopted autonomously by the EU. They reflect the EU's geopolitical considerations in carving out a strong response to Russia's military aggression against Ukraine and the unparalleled political and security threat in Europe.

European Integration and Countering Hybrid Threats: Challenges and Prospects

The relevance of the article’s topic is determined by the non-standard nature of the challenges and threats of today. In the modern world, hybrid threats have become a major challenge for European countries, the European Union, and the world as a whole. Hybrid warfare encompasses various forms and types of aggression that are used to influence a country’s domestic politics, public opinion, and government activities. Hybrid threats are complex and multifaceted phenomena that require a comprehensive and systemic approach to counter them. They can target different spheres of life, such as politics, economy, culture, the information space, and others. Since they have an unpredictable nature, countering them requires the development and implementation of modern strategies and effective tools at both the national and supranational levels. The European Union must develop an effective strategy to counter hybrid threats that would allow it to protect its citizens and prevent the further expansion of these threats. Therefore, the process of Eurointegration is an important element in countering hybrid threats for countries and the region as a whole. The European Union provides significant support in combating hybrid threats, including through cooperation and coordination with member countries. One important element of Eurointegration is the alignment of legislation and security standards among countries. This helps reduce risks and enhance protection against hybrid threats. Collaboration in the field of cybersecurity is also a crucial component of Eurointegration. The development and implementation of joint strategies and tools enhance the effectiveness of countering hybrid threats at the regional level. Furthermore, Eurointegration can assist countries in developing and implementing new strategies and tools to counter hybrid threats, including through financial and technical support. This will enable more effective combat against these phenomena and ensure the security of countries and the region as a whole. The EU’s approach to defining and addressing hybrid threats is outlined in the «Joint Framework on Countering Hybrid Threats - European Union Response» (2016), «Increasing Resilience and Strengthening the Capacity to Address Hybrid Threats» (2018), and the EU Security Strategy (2020). The integrated system for countering hybrid threats encompasses a wide range of measures at both the member state and supranational EU levels, including early detection, analysis, raising awareness, building resilience, prevention, crisis response, and consequence management.

Insurgency and Terrorism in Africa. Main Lines of Action of the European Union. Case Study: Central African Republic, Mali and Niger

"This article examines the main causes of insecurity on the African continent by attempting to identify the structural factors. Starting from these, the study examines and proposes a series of generic EU action lines for an integrated response. The work aimed to answer the following questions: What are the structural factors of insecurity in Africa? What lines of action should the European Union adopt? Is the action in the security sector sufficient? The methodology used was the comparative analysis of similar phenomena in the three mentioned countries. Process tracing and document analysis techniques were also used to determine causality and similarities. The findings indicate that violent extremism, inter- and intra- community conflict, climate change, population growth and poor governance are exacerbating instability and fragmentation on the African continent. Moreover, armed conflicts have become internationalized due to the involvement of external actors such as Russia and China, even if their strategies are different and complementary in nature. In this context, the main axes of the European Union's response must be subordinated to diplomacy and political dialogue, support for socio-economic development and the strengthening of the security sector. These measures should be complemented by coordinating the actions of like-minded actors and articulating appropriate strategic communication actions. Keywords: insurgency, terrorism, extremism, actions, European Union, security, dialogue. "

SOLIDARITY IN EUROPEAN UNION LAW AND ITS APPLICATION IN THE ENERGY SECTOR

AbstractThis article explores the meaning of solidarity in European Union (EU) law in the context of the energy sector and the ongoing energy crisis. Energy provides a powerful and topical sectoral example of the fundamental role and diverse functions of solidarity in EU law. In itsOPALruling in 2021, the Court of Justice of the EU established that energy solidarity constitutes a legally binding principle of EU energy law that should inform EU institutions and the Member States in their energy decisions. This article adds to legal scholarship on solidarity in three ways. First, it further develops the understanding of the ambiguous solidarity concept in EU law through the lens of the energy sector. Secondly, it contributes to the emerging body of energy law scholarship that seeks to advance the discipline of energy law by focusing on its doctrine rather than on its substantive developments. Finally, it provides a timely and novel analysis of the EU's recent emergency responses to address the acute energy crisis from the point of view of solidarity.

The Polish–Belarusian Border Crisis and the (Lack of) European Union Response

Abstract This article addresses the migration crisis on the Polish–Belarusian border. The authors believe that the actions of the Polish authorities violated the requirements set by human rights standards, including the obligations arising from Poland’s membership of the EU and the Council of Europe. This is confirmed not only by legal doctrine and the reports of non-governmental organisations, present on the ground despite all the restrictions, but also by interim-measure orders issued by the ECtHR against the Polish government. In the first part of the text, the authors summarise the situation, recalling the most important events that took place on the Polish–Belarusian border. The second part discusses the most important obligations of the EU arising both from the treaties creating it and also from the secondary legislation adopted on their basis. The juxtaposition of the EU’s actual response and the obligations written on paper may lead to the conclusion that the EU’s actions are insufficient under EU law. Relying on the texts of legal acts and other available information, the authors argue that the EU’s actions, in a certain amount of compromise with political interests, even detract from its credibility as an organisation that also aims to protect human rights externally.

Introducing a temporal DPSIR (tDPSIR) framework and its application to marine pollution by PET bottles.

Environmental governance is highly sensitive to temporal dynamics, due to the ever-accelerating rate of technological changes, the cumulative nature of environmental impacts and the complexity of multi-level environmental policy processes. Yet, temporality is generally only implicitly included in frameworks used for describing or assessing policy response in the broad context of social-ecological systems, such as the widely used Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework. As a result, the application of such frameworks often does not give due attention to questions of temporality, with potential negative impacts on attaining environmental goals. The current work proposes to modify the DPSIR framework to explicitly incorporate temporal aspects. We suggest two extensions of the common framework to account for time lags and allow for early response through a "response shift-left" mechanism. The potential of the modified framework-temporal DPSIR (tDPSIR)-to shed light on these temporal aspects is demonstrated through analysis of the European Union's response to pollution of the marine environment by plastic bottle waste. The analysis emphasizes the pronounced time lags between the initiation of this anthropogenic pressure and effective governance capable of curbing emissions. We discuss how tDPSIR can be applied to a range of environmental issues to populate databases of time lags in environmental governance, which, in turn, can be analysed for systemic patterns and chains of causality.

The European Union Response Against Covid-19 Pandemic on Maritime Transport

The European Union joint maritime policy is a wide approach of all European Union policies linked with the sea. This policy is based upon the idea that by coordinating all activities linked with oceans, sea and coasts, the European Union would benefit higher rates of yields by its maritime space with a smaller mass of impact on environment. The joint maritime policy aims at strengthening the so-called ‘blue economy’, which includes all the economic maritime activities. The maritime transport plays a fundamental role and will continue to do so at world and European trade. In economic terms 77 percent of European foreign trade and 35 percent of that between European Union countries happen through the sea. This is the key reason because the maritime transport represents a core part in the international supply chain. Even with the decline of this activity in maritime sector due to Covid-19 Pandemic, a significant increase is foreseen in the next 10 years. To face challenges of Pandemic, the European Union took few measures that are linked with the health security, repatriation and maritime traveling ways of passengers and other persons on the boards. This article seeks to analyze the response that European Union and its institutions have provided to the situation through recommendations and regulations to normalize an important sector for the future of the Union.
 
 Received: 26 September 2022 / Accepted: 29 November 2022 / Published: 20 December 2022

Should We Continue EU Cohesion Policy? The Dilemma of Uneven Development of Polish Regions

The European Union and the whole world are facing the problem of increasing income and wealth inequalities at the country and regional levels. Inequalities are a severe obstacle to sustainable and balanced growth. Politicians perceive this problem by trying to implement different types of development models. The cohesion policy is the European Union's response to the development differences between countries and regions. It is clearly defined that development has to be sustainable and inclusive, which is reflected in the objectives of all leading EU development strategies. The aim of this paper is (1) to examine how effective the EU cohesion policy is in reducing regional disparities (2) to assess that the main cause of regional disparities is the misallocation of human capital. The authors base their study on the regions of Poland, estimating the state of their human capital and innovation between 2004 and 2018. We examine the effectiveness of cohesion policy using functional data analysis—the Wilcoxon test, which was used for the first time for this type of issue. The current question is whether to help metropolises and large cities, which will entail the development of smaller units, or whether to try to increase the rate of development of smaller and economically weaker territorial units in the first place.

Explaining the response of the ECB to the COVID-19 related economic crisis: inter-crisis and intra-crisis learning

ABSTRACT The economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have placed a renewed strain on the economic governance of the European Union (EU). The European Central Bank (ECB) was a key player in the EU's response to the crisis induced by the pandemic. This paper adopts a theoretical approach focused on policy learning to explain how and why the ECB responded to the crisis in 2020–2021. By drawing on speeches, newspaper articles and interviews with policy-makers, the paper finds that the ECB was able to rely on earlier crisis experiences in the euro area in forming its response to the pandemic crisis. Although the sovereign debt crisis and the pandemic crisis had both similarities and differences from one another, the ECB was able to engage in inter-crisis and intra-crisis learning. Its learning concerned objectives, instruments as well as an awareness that timely and forceful response was crucial, so that the member states and other EU institutions had time to act.

The European Union's responses to the COVID-19 crisis: How to fight a pandemic with the internal market.

In a liberalized market economy, states tend to purchase supplies required for producing publicly funded services, such as healthcare, from the markets instead of producing them themselves. The availability of critical supplies thus becomes a question of supply-side availability and supply chain management, and therefore their availability is conceptualized in terms of security of supply. The European Union's security of supply policy has focused on energy and security and defence. Security has primarily been sought from the markets, while the purpose of EU law has been to establish these markets and to guarantee their functioning. During the COVID-19 pandemic the European Union has sought to secure the availability of medical supplies by relying on a variety of internal market measures: free movement law, State aid law, competition law and public procurement law have all been used in this effort. Collectively these measures have aimed at securing the functioning of the markets and thus the availability of necessary supplies. Following the crisis, the European Union is now adopting a broader policy perspective to security of supply. However, this is still carried out mainly through internal market competences and by relying on the markets as the source of security.

The European Union's Response to Covıd-19 as an Existential Threat

The European Union's Response to Covıd-19 as an Existential Threat

Combating Disinformation in the European Union: Legal Aspects

Today, both Ukraine and European countries are subject to disinformation and foreign intervention in their domestic policies. Each democracy no matter its geography experiences its distinct vulnerabilities and respectively, reactions to foreign interference. It should be stated, the immediate responses to such challenges in most Western countries have been rare and sluggish, hampered by legal constraints and bureaucracy, and furthermore, they lacked a real political awareness of the problem or proof of its further impact. Foreign actors are increasingly using disinformation strategies to influence public debate, stir controversy and interfere in democratic decision-making. Responding to these new challenges, the European Commission has introduced a set of actions and tools to better regulate the digital ecosystem of the media and its participants, in particular, the formation and improvement of the legal framework to combat disinformation in the European information space. The researcher’s focus revolves around the European Union’s comprehensive approach to vigorous combating misinformation. The research data prove that since 2015, the EU has adopted a number of regulations to counter this information threat and the potential effects of foreign interference. In particular, in 2016 the EU adopted a document “Joint Framework on countering hybrid threats, a European Union response”, and “Action Plan against Disinformation”, respectively in 2018. These documents provide a baseline for understanding the diverse types of challenges other countries face and how they are addressing them. Consequently, a number of initiatives and projects of the European institutions, and the first worldwide self-regulatory “EU Code of Practice on Disinformation” issued in 2018 on a voluntary basis, have become main pillars of the EU. The Code identifies issues related to ensuring the transparency of political advertising, strengthening efforts to close active counterfeits. accounts, enabling users to report misinformation and access various news sources, while improving the visibility and reliability of authoritative content; enabling the research community to monitor disinformation on the Internet through access to these platforms, compatible with the confidentiality signed by the largest Internet platforms and social media (Google, Facebook, Twitter and Mozilla) in the framework of WMC self-regulation activities. It should be noted that the implementation of the “European Union Code of Practice on Countering Disinformation” has yielded ambiguous fruits. Self-regulation was the first logical and necessary step, but few stakeholders were fully satisfied with the process or its outcome, significant challenges remain for building trust through industry, governments, academia and civil society engagement.

The European Union Confronts COVID-19

Abstract Issue The politics of European Union (EU) health policy are also the politics of European integration. Debate about EU policies always entails debate about the appropriate role and powers granted to the EU. Description From some angles, the EU looks more like a federation (ex EUA), deeply entrenched in its citizens' lives. It has a powerful shared culture among leaders and strong, entrepreneurial, and statelike political institutions. Its legal system is entwined with member state law to such an extent that member state courts have driven legal integration and change as much as EU institutions, both in general and in health. From another angle, it still looks like an international organization (ex WHO) or a regional trade block (ex Mercosur). We ask what policy a member state might make, but, in the case of the EU, many ask if the EU should have a policy at all. Should it respond, and, if so, how and to whose benefit? Results Like international organizations or confederations, though, the EU responds primarily to and is shaped by the demands of its member states. They have actively maintained this dichotomous structure so as to prevent transfer of power and loss of sovereignty. Member states ultimately determine the direction of the EU, and they have supported EU expansion only when they require a “European rescue of the nation state”. Lessons The EU's weak public health and social policy responses to the crisis reflect this effort on the part of member states to limit its role over the decades, whereas the major expansion in its role over the summer of 2020 reflects the perceived interests of member states, which now seek another European rescue of the nation state. Main messages This crisis of COVID-19 leave behind a different EU. Between the redefinition in salience, resource, and law of public health, shared European actions and the development of EU debt for member states, it is likely that a step forward promoted integration in health and beyond.

ESG체제에 따른 유럽연합의 대응과 동향 -기후위기 대응과 지속가능한 사회로의 전환을 중심으로-

‘호주에서 발생한 대형 산불로 코알라의 30%가 사망하였습니다.’, ‘50도를 웃도는 살인적인 폭염으로 양식장 조개들이 대량 폐사하였습니다.’, ‘기록적인 폭우가 쏟아져 이재민이 발생하고 침수 피해가 속출하고 있습니다.’ 등의 언론 보도는 이제는 어렵지 않게 접할 수 있는 슬픈 일상이 되었다. 그저 환경보호 포스터로, 학교의 사생대회 주제로 북극의 빙하가 녹아 북극곰이 살 공간이 없어졌다는 이야기가 실제로 피부에 와 닿고 있는 것이다. 자연재해가 천재지변으로 여겨지던 시절과 달리 우리가 접하는 슬픈 일상의 대부분은 산업과 자본주의에 기인한 인재로 받아들여지고 있다. 기후변화로 발생하는 일련의 자연재해는 이제 ‘불운’이 아닌 ‘인재’라는 점을 사람들이 인식하고 있는 것이다. 더 이상 부정할 수 없는 현실 속에서 전 세계가 기후위기 대응을 위해 움직이고 있으며, 기후 변화에 악영향을 미치는 국가를 기후 악당 국가, 기업을 기후 악당 기업으로 낙인찍으며 변화를 도모하고 있는 중이다. 최근 이러한 변화의 중심을 장식하고 있는 것이 ESG다. 그 자세한 내용의 이해 여부를 떠나 사람들은 ESG라는 단어에 수없이 노출되고 있으며, 기업은 갑자기 떨어진 ESG라는 우박을 피하려 여러 종류의 장비들을 펼치고 있다. ‘자본주의의 대전환’이라고 불리는 ESG가 과연 무엇이기에 기업이 이렇게 긴장하고 전 세계가 들썩이고 있는 것일까? ESG란 환경, 사회와 지배구조를 뜻하는 각 단어의 영문 첫머리를 딴 약어로 기업의 非재무적 성과를 평가하는 지표를 말한다. 유럽연합은 이 ESG를 법제화하여 기업의 고삐를 쥐려고 하고 있으며, 이를 통해 기후위기 대응의 선도적 위치를 점하려고 하고 있다. 즉, ESG를 제도화 및 체제화하여 탈탄소사회로의 가치 사슬을 재편하고 기후위기를 주도적으로 대응하려고 하는 것이다. 이에 따라 본 논문은 유럽연합의 ESG체제를 분석하고 기후위기 대응을 위한 우리나라의 ESG체제의 안착방안을 제시하고자 한다.

Civilian CSPD Missions as European Union's Response to International Crises: Selected Aspects of Crisis Management

This article provides an overview of EU Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions’ crisis management achievements and challenges since 2003, in connection with the European External Action Service (EEAS), the Civilian Planning and Conduct Capability (CPCC) Directorate, and their respective roles. The analysis describes and evaluates the changes in the overall political and security context and the EU’s approach, suggesting some of the consequences in the launch and implementation of civilian CSDP Missions. The article also discusses the evolution of the EU’s integrated approach to external conflict and crises, and its cooperation with other security actors. The concluding remarks compare achievements and shortcomings of ongoing missions against their mandates and objectives, outlining some selected EU initiatives which aim at improving the EU’s performance in crisis management situations.

The European Union's response to the pandemic crisis: from the NextGenerationEu to the vaccination plan

The European Union's response to the pandemic crisis: from the NextGenerationEu to the vaccination plan