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This article examines the inner workings of a private company’s participation in the European policy game. The qualitative analysis shows that the promotion of a company’s interests and its positioning at the level of the European Union is not self-evident and results from internal battles in which European public affairs employees play a pivotal role. Under what conditions do the European public affairs employees of a leading multinational firm endorse, manage, and promote an active position in the Brussels’ polity sphere? This article highlights the process by which these ‘professionals of Europe’ adapt to the specific requirements of the EU and mobilise an informal network to contribute to European policy-making. These lobbyists appear as ‘double entrepreneurs’: as entrepreneurs on behalf of both their employers’ interests and the European cause as they place themselves as the auxiliaries of EU civil servants. Maintaining a delicate balance, interest representatives occupy a position of dependence, both on their employer and on the polity field in which they valorise their ‘European institutional capital’. This position allows these social agents to serve as a broker between their employer and the European arena. In doing so, they nurture the porosity between (economic) interests and the public sector, which cuts across the field of ‘Eurocracy’.
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Studying the role of lawyers specialising in competition law, this paper shows that they are essential intermediaries between the European administrative field and the private sector. Using both qualitative (interviews and archives) and quantitative (database) methods, it demonstrates that intermediation activities developed in the late 1980s with the arrival of American law firms, which exported their working methods to Europe. This led to a fierce competition between law firms, which tried to recruit from inside the European Commission. Circulation between the European institutions started to be common and slowly became regulated, a process that gave it legitimacy. While new activities developed for a part of the legal profession, most notably lobbying and intermediation activities, lawyers contributed to blurring the border between the public and the private sphere at the European level. The importance of circulation between the administrative sphere and law firms and the embeddedness between the public and the private sector are thus incentives for overcoming institutional frontiers when studying the European field of power. Because circulation facilitates the development of social networks, common practices, and shared representations, it is essential to maintaining coherence within this ‘weak field’.
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Spor, který se nakonec dostal až před evropskou justici, začal prodejem počítačových zařízení a software na území Německa. Společnost combit Software GmbH založená dle německého práva a podnikající v oblasti informačních technologií (dále jen „Společnost combit“) je majitelem slovní ochranné známky „combit“ , kterou používá pro označování svých produktů.
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European patent infringement rarely stops at geographical borders. More often, infringement takes place simultaneously in several countries. At the same time the actual enforcement of a European patent concurrently in multiple countries of the European Union is rather complex and time-consuming process. The article focuses on the issue of cross-border decisions in cases of European patent infringement. The practice of granting cross-border injunctions by national courts of some European countries was greatly limited by the ECJ's decisions in Roche v. Primus and GAT v. LuK. However, the later ECJ decision in Solway v. Honeywell has clarified that the court of an EU Member State can rule on actions for infringement of several national parts of the same European patent, by multiple infringers in several EU Member States.
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This article examines the relationship between education and occupation over the course of educational expansion. The authors analyse European Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS) data from 2014, 2015, and 2016 from 30 European countries and work with 12 graduated cohorts defined by the year in which they left the education system (2003–2014). They use a multilevel model approach and measure education in both absolute and relative terms. The results show that during the time of educational expansion there was no change in the relationship between education and occupation if education is conceptualised in absolute terms. However, a change in this relationship is visible when education is conceptualised as a positional good. Many previous studies that have posed a similar research question did not consider study field. The results here show that the role of study field changed during this time of educational expansion, with natural science, computer, and IT study fields growing stronger than other fields of study. The authors interpret the strengthening of education as a positional good in reference to the theory of skill-biased technological change.
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EU Member States' electricity grids are interconnected and therefore, electricity policy in one Member State may influence the functioning of electricity systems in the other states. This article analyzes the impact of an EU Member State’s energy policy on the other Member States from the perspective of the right to determinate their electricity mix. The paper argues that the scope of a Member State’s right to electricity mix guaranteed by Article 194(2) TFEU1 is limited considerably. The right of a Member State to decide on the choice of its energy sources and the general structure of its energy supply in the electricity sector is restricted by the same rights of the other Member States.
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New available software’s and new ways to disseminate it equals new legal issues. This article is meant to point out a few possible problems regarding Open Source/Free Software (OS/FS) and to introduce European Union Public License (EUPL).
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The presented text draws attention to the structural causes, which make it extremely difficult to create a meaningful social dimension of the European Union. These include, for example, the ideological shift of social democratic parties to the right, the contractual adjustment of the European integration favouring the free market, and social nationalism of EU member states. Therefore, the factual validity Jürgen Habermas’s thesis that only a united Europe could face the neoliberal pressures of globalisation is also being questioned. Although this argument is normatively valid, the EU is in fact a neoliberal and elitist project. So the EU still has the potential to develop its social model, but this potential is not fulfilled — which can be demonstrated by the use of its soft power (or lack thereof ) to regulate global trends.
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Security issues very often have the effect of being a driving force for the integration of communities. This is unquestionably true for the European Union (EU), which has seen entire populations move under the lens of security considerations. The relationship between migration1 and security became increasingly entwined, to the point that some disciplines of political science, chiefly migration studies and security studies, structured themselves around each of them. In that sense, we are getting closer and closer to the point of internalisation of international relations (security topics) and internationalisation of internal political order, because of external concerns. Moreover, in the field of social sciences, a certain reference has argued that migration issues were securitised against the backdrop of European integration. Some scholars, essentially those who claim to be representatives of Critical Security Studies, have indeed shown the slow process from politicisation to the securitisation of migration issues presented as a security threat. Among them is Didier Bigo (France), who is a major leader of an extremely prolific research program.
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This article examines the referendum that was held on September 18, 2014 in Scotland. The referendum asked a simple question, “Should Scotland be an independent country.” Although the No vote prevailed, pro-independence support reached its highest point in recent history. The outcome of the referendum is examined in relation to the politics of identity. In particular, the decline in British identification among some parts of the electorate. Voters with a strong Scottish identity and weak British identity were significantly more likely to support independence. However, voting patterns were also substantively shaped by economic factors.
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This article deals with the influence of Russia on the region of the Western Balkans. The influence has recently been growing especially because of increased economic presence of Russia in the region and common or close political interest of Serbia, Republika Srpska and Russia. The article explains motive of close cooperation of Russia with the region, shows political analyses of the local authors who deal with political or economic issues of the region, points out the most interesting messages stemming from political meetings of Russian and Western Balkans politicians and presents main Russians economic investments. The conclusion of the article summarizes a general overview of the issue which arises from political and economic data and analyses presented in the article.
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There have been numerous discussions over the last decade concerning the current and future role of small states in the European Union enlargement process. Th ere have also been a number of ideas involving a common European identity within the context of the development and reform of the European Union. These ideas are based on varying elements of common identity, whether they exist or not. It is not all that easy, however, to determine whether a common European identity actually exists. Th is article will attempt to demonstrate certain possibilities for preserving (small) state national identity in the European Union alongside the creation of a new, common European identity. There are also certain elements of national identity defined by various theories within the framework of the European Union. The Eurobarometer indicates, however, that the idea of a common European identity, which could be as intensive as a national one, is less than feasible. One can consequently argue that national identity still matters, within small states as well. The process of globalization will change the role of national identities and will in all probability strengthen supranational identities. National identities will still, however, be quite important due to their strong roots in society. Each country, particularly small ones, will still have to manage its identity wisely, otherwise the possibility arises of becoming lost in sea of additional identities.
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Ukraine broke out into civil war in 2014, with the Russian absorption of Crimea and with the restlessness and attacks of Russian militias in eastern Ukrainian regions such as Luhansk and Donetsk. The violence took over 3000 lives, and an additional 296 died during the shooting down of the Malaysian commercial airliner in mid-July of the year. Keys to understanding the tragedy and outlining steps for the future include a focus on authoritarian leadership, ethnic conflicts, and the role of outside powers. Victor Janukovych exemplified the authoritarian leadership style after his election in early 2010. The event that initiated the demonstrations in Kiev was his decision to stop working towards potential membership for Ukraine in the European Union and his acceptance of the Russian offer of $25 billion in assistance. This decision activated the key ethnic conflict in Ukraine as well, for he represented the Russian minority in a nation with an ethnic Ukrainian majority. Reactions by outside powers were immediate, as Russia provided support for the separatists in both Crimea and eastern Ukraine. At its Wales Summit in early September, NATO set up a new Rapid Reaction “Spearhead” Force of 4,000 troops, a move that followed relocation of troops from Italy to the Baltics and Poland. Thus, authoritarian leadership, ethnic conflict, and mobilization by outside powers constituted the key elements of the crisis as well as the items needing attention by the political community in the future.
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The European Neighborhood Policy is the youngest of the EU common policies. It is meant to cover its eastern and southern neighbors and result in the creation around of the EU of a so-called ring of friends — consisting of stable, prosperous and democratic neighbors. One of the purposes of the ENP is helping the governments of neighboring countries in the process of their political and economical reforms by offering them the benefits of closer relationship with the EU and its member states. The ENP replaces a one-size-fits-all approach in the EU’s external relations by a flexible and differentiated approach that takes into consideration the specific needs, potential, expectations and possibilities of neighboring countries. Most of the EU member states have the economical, political and social relations with the neighboring countries. With that in mind, they put stress on developing different dimensions of the European Neighborhood Policy. In the last few years the competition between the eastern and southern dimensions of the ENP has become clearly visible, involving the main actors on the European political stage.
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The article focuses on Slovenia’s unique historical and geopolitical position, which makes the country a highly unusual EU (Central East European – CEE) member state and determines its stance on the EU’s energy policy with respect to the USA and Russia. It pursues the research question: how does Slovenia balance between the EU energy policy framework and its particular national energy interests related to Russia and the USA? Conceptually, the article builds on the Europeanization of foreign policy applying the downloading path to Slovenian external energy policy via three indicators: the increasing salience of the European political agenda, adherence to common (EU) objectives, and internalization of EU membership and its integration process. It employs a method of statistical data and content analysis of documents and secondary sources within two case studies of energy projects, namely the South Stream involving Russia, and long-term use of nuclear energy for electricity production involving the USA. The results substantiate that Slovenia has managed to balance between its energy-related national interests and the EU energy framework by formulating and legitimizing the former within the EU policy framework. However, the second case reveals that the open EU legal framework on the member states’ choice of nuclear energy cooperatives is a notable limitation to Europeanization due to the tendency for interests in national foreign policy and domestic politics – both performed by the government – to drift away from general EU values. In the conclusion, the article identifies two important implications arising from the case of Slovenia as a stress test of the EU’s external dimension of energy policy.
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Motivation: Sustainable development is a concept of development that arouses keen interest of various entities, is unprecise in many of its assumptions, undoubtedly applicable for the contemporary civilisation as well as the future generations, with effects difficult to measure and interpret, and constitutes a considerable research challenge. The research on the sustainability level of particular countries or regions have still been insufficient, as well as, due to varying research methods and research scopes, difficult to compare and causing difficulties in clear determination of the scale and progress in implementing the assumptions of this concept of development. Aim: To evaluate the level of sustainable development in European Union countries in 2009 and 2018 with the application of the taxonomic method. Results: In the vast majority of European Union countries, the value of the synthetic sustainable development indicator was higher in 2018 as compared to 2009. Only in the case of three countries the value decreased. The improvement of the indicator was driven mainly by the economic aspect. When evaluating the sustainable development level of European Union countries in 2009 and 2018, it may be claimed that each time the majority of countries noted a low level of sustainable development: a low and very low synthetic sustainable development indicator was demonstrated by 67% and 56% respectively of the entities under evaluation. In the group of countries with a very high aggregate indicator, the changes in 2018 as compared to 2009 were not significant; only the Netherlands and Slovenia were in the group of countries with a high synthetic sustainable development indicator (in 2018 — with a very high indicator). Certainly, it should be seen as positive that the group of countries with a very low aggregate indicator shrank considerably: from 17 in 2009 to eight in 2018. Among the countries representing that group in 2018 were only those which belonged to it also in 2009. As results from the conducted analysis, the countries which have attained a very high or high level of sustainable development maintain this status
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Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is a complex state union and belongs to the so-called "sui generis" states. In Bosnia and Herzegovina today, there are 13 Constitutions and the Statute of Brčko District, which de iure is not a Constitution, but de facto it is. It is in this context that the legislative power in Bosnia and Herzegovina, that is, the Republic of Srpska, should be viewed. Namely, legislative power at the level of BiH is exercised through the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Republic of Srpska legislative power is exercised by the National Assembly, in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina legislative power is exercised by the Assembly of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 10 Cantonal Assemblies, and in Brčko District by the Assembly of Brčko District, depending on how and in what manner the division of competences was carried out between the joint institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the one hand, and the entities, that is, the Republic of Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the other hand.The harmonization of the existing legislation of BiH took place and is taking place in two ways: with the aim of creating certain conditions and assumptions for enabling complete freedom of movement of persons, goods, services and capital throughout the territory of BiH, in accordance with the Constitution of BiH, on the one hand, and simultaneous harmonization of this legislation with the law of the European Union in order to create conditions for entering this market, and harmonization with the law of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
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Motivation: Studies on the impact of the Eastern enlargement on economies of the EU15 indicate that the new member states could not be a significant engine for development processes. However, this does not exclude that the Eastern enlargement and acceding countries could have a significant impact on the mechanisms of the development of the EU15. If we consider Eastern enlargement as a Schumpeterian innovation, its longterm effects should be evident in the way creative destruction affects economic development. Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the impact of the Eastern enlargement on the economic development of the EU15 in the context of creative destruction. In particular, the aim of the empirical analyzes was to determine whether and to what extent the enlargement of the EU was a factor modifying the impact of creative destruction on the development of “old” members countries, and to identify the role of the new member states in these processes. Results: Econometric analysis confirmed that creative destruction influenced economic development in the EU15, and that Eastern enlargement was a factor modifying the relationship between creation, destruction, and the rate of change of GDP per capita. The Eastern enlargement has mobilized two opposing forces. The “internal” force resulting from market selection in the EU15, which after 2004 became an active component of creative destruction, contributing however to a lower rate of change in GDP per capita. The “external” force, related to the mechanism of transmission of impulses within the grouping: synergy effects from destruction in new member countries were a catalyst for the development processes of the EU15, and synergy effects from creation were inhibitors for these processes. In the context of our research the “development leaders” can be considered the largest beneficiaries of Eastern enlargement in the EU15
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This article offers the first ever comparative analysis of the involvement of V4 parliaments in the sphere of European Union (EU) affairs. Its underlying research objective is to determine what conditions V4’s parliamentary participation in various EU-oriented activities such as domestic scrutiny of the government’s EU policy, the political dialogue with the Commission, the Early Warning System for subsidiarity control, and the green card initiative. Based on the actual scrutiny output, parliamentary minutes, and data from questionnaires, we address the questions: (1) To what extent domestic legislatures act as autonomous as opposed to government-supporting actors in these arenas? (2) Do they mostly act as EU veto players, or try to contribute constructively to the EU policy-making process by bringing alternative policy ideas? (3) What are their motivations for engaging in direct dialogue with EU institutions in addition to domestic scrutiny? and (4) How MPs envisage their own EU-oriented roles? While the article reveals that V4 parliaments mostly act as gatekeepers in the sphere of EU affairs, it also casts a new light on the previous literature findings related to the EU-oriented performance of the Czech and Polish lower chambers. We conclude that, generally, V4 parliaments refrain from fully exploiting their relatively strong formal prerogatives in EU affairs—a fact that can be partly explained by the composition of their ruling majorities.
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