Around the Bloc: Kosovo, EU to Ink Association Pact
Ex-Serbian province faces years of difficult negotiations on full EU membership.
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Ex-Serbian province faces years of difficult negotiations on full EU membership.
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The article aims to analyze the issue of respect for human rights as a general objective of the EU’s external action. It does so from a legal and political perspective, starting with a brief overview of the legal framework which firmly places human rights at the centre of the EU’s external relations. The EU’s main policy framework and main external instruments will be subsequently described. The concluding section contains some critical remarks on the EU’s aspiration to establish itself as a global promoter of values, in particular the need to improve the coherence and effectiveness of its human rights external policy. Such a need stems from, among others, a fragmentation of the EU’s competences between supranational economic actions and intergovernmental CFSP as well as the absence of clear and strong EU powers in the area of human rights. The present situation involves a paradox, because, on the one hand, there is a lack of Treaty regulations providing clearly that respect for human rights is a general and cross-cutting component of internal EU policies whereas, on the other hand, under these regulations the protection of human rights is seen as an important objective of the EU’s external action.
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In this article we want to discuss and demonstrate significant values of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina with built-in mechanisms for the preservation and protection of a multicultural society, human and civil rights and freedoms in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Basic documents to highlight the values such as human and civil rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution in Bosnia and Herzegovina, are in fact the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina with all international conventions and declarations which are an integral part of the Constitution and above all laws in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For twenty years, the current desire of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been to approximate to the European legal legacy in order to qualify to become a full member of the EU and NATO. Numerous attempts executed by the ruling parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina mostly ended in failure, and were subject to very frequent excuses of blaming the Dayton Peace Agreement and the Dayton Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We want to show that the reforms and the approximation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European Union is possible without changes to the Dayton Peace Agreement, but with consistent application of the Constitution and of all adopted laws of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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A new integrated information system, based on electronic document, is to be implemented in the Polish Health Care System in 2017. Electronic medical records are the obligatory form of medical documentation in this system. Two crucial elements of this system are: EHR (Electronic Health Record), i.e. defining criteria and standards of electronic medical documentation and constructing a communication system allowing exchange of data and information between various institutions – stakeholders functioning in the healthcare system. IHE XDS (Integrating of Health Enterprise Cross Enterprise Document Sharing), developed specially for usage in healthcare systems, should be implemented in the Polish healthcare information system as both a local and global solution. European Union regulations dealing with electronic public service, openness and interoperability of information systems are important requirements and standards.
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The referendum and the popular initiative as the forms of direct democracy are more and more present in the decision making process within the model of the representative democracy. ‘’Let the citizens be the lawmakers for one single day” is a principle especially current in the European states. Envisaged as a corrective, but not as the substitution for representative democracy, it is both glorified and contested at the same time. From their basic function consisting of the elected politicians control and the wider citizen’s participation in the politics, they can also become a means of the manipulation. The Serbian experience with these political mechanisms is not so different comparing with the average situation- we have more referendums, but less popular initiatives, especially on the local level. The Serbian constitution from 2006. has precised and aggravated the conditions of using of the referendum and popular initiative. On the basis of this constitution was made the draft of law. The proposed solutions are in accordance with the EU recommendations regarding good referendum practice, but they also admit the dilemmas about the setting of the turnout quorum and quorum for acceptance of the referendum decisions.
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The Balkan question is both a historical and a political one. With the coming together of some European countries to form the European Union (EU); it became necessary for these countries to forge head both on the economic and the political fronts. This in essence has accentuated the gains made by these European countries but it has had its attendant ramifications. This notwithstanding, the idea of European integration on the principle of peace, common history, cultural and economic development cannot be fully realised since some sectors of Europe is neutral or isolated. The literature on the nature of such integrations especially the need for the integration of the Balkan regions should continue to be discussed and implemented. This paper however, looks at the literature from a social and political history point of view and projects the necessary turns that Europe has made and the need to come to a useful end in the discourse that leads us to observing or witnessing a united Europe whose socio-economic, political and military complex holds its own against the odds but also for the common good of humanity.
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In their article, the authors presented preliminary results of the surveys concerning the impact of implementation of the aid projects on the region’s economy. They focused their attention on the three problems which, at the same time, determine the study’s structure. In the first part, they brought closer the main problems related to the development of innovative processes in the European economy, indicating, inter alia, implications of the financial crisis of the years 2008-2009. The unfavourable impact of the environment on the growth of the level of Polish enterprises’ innovativeness, the widening bureaucracy and low outlays on the R&D sector in the Polish economy are the issues dealt with in the second part of the article. Despite the extremely unfavourable terms of functioning, owing to enterprise and use of high technologies, the development is, nevertheless, possible, examples of what are some enterprises from the Opole Province. The article is of the research nature and is a part of the report where there were used the analysis of the already existing sources, documentary analysis, and the expert method.
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We are at the threshold of the new assignment of EU funds for the period of 2014-2020. An aim of considerations is to present the effects and opportunities of the use of financial means by entrepreneurs. In her article, the author presented the most important programmes from the European Union. She undertook an attempt to determine the interest in EU funds in the new perspective. She examined the entrepreneurs’ sentiments related to the new approach to assigning financial means and to the impact of their decisions on firms’ development. In her work, the author took into account findings of the surveys conducted in the sector of small and mediumsized enterprises. The surveys analysis allows concluding that in the new financial perspective entrepreneurs will apply with a greater determination for EU funds. The survey findings may serve as an example for other business entities. The article is of the research nature.
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This paper compares the foreign policies of the Republic of Croatia towards the regions of Latin America and the Middle East, aiming to identify the similarities and the differences. During the 1990s Croatia was primarily interested in diplomatic recognition and the establishment of diplomatic relations. In the period of 2001-2012 Latin America and the Middle East were not able to contribute to the achievement of main foreign policy goals – membership in NATO and the EU – so they stayed out of the interests of foreign policy creators. We argue that Croatia has not established a defined foreign policy towards the mentioned regions, and that political significance of a particular Latin American and Middle Eastern country was determined by its economic importance (Croatian export) and in the case of Latin America by the size of the diaspora. The first section briefly outlines the first decade of Croatian foreign policy (1991-2001) and the second section focuses on the empirical assessment of the determinants of Croatian foreign policy toward the countries of Latin America and the Middle East during the period ranging between 2001 and 2012. Bilateral relations between Croatia and Latin American countries are good but not developed. The reason for this is the geographical distance of Latin America and perception of low significance of majority of the countries, and that will not change. On the other hand, there is no correlation between economic and diplomatic importance of Middle Eastern countries for Croatia. Therefore, Croatia’s foreign policy towards these countries was not guided by economic incentives.
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In this article, the author explains and describes the level and models of regionalization of the different European countries, as well as theoretical and practical differences between notion of regionalization and notion of decentralization. Within this text Constitutions and relevant Laws comprising legal norms on regionalization and decentralization issues of the following European countries were analysed and presented: Italy, Belgium and Spain. The example of the countries that remained absolutely centralized were mentioned in this paper too (Greece, Iceland, Ireland...). The necessity for a comparative analysis of legislative framework, which in some European countries regulate the subject matter of regionalization and decentralization, has arisen due to the fact that the main political parties of the Republic of Serbia recently have started public debate about possibilities for future regionalization and decentralization of the Serbian unitary state. Although comparative analysis presented within this paper contribute to the future process of legal drafting of Serbian regulations that would prescribe the model of regionalization of the Republic of Serbia, it is necessary to stress that automatical takeover of any foreign model and simple copying of foreign laws, without taking into account about specific needs of the Republic of Serbia and conditions in which is its political system, can lead only to creation of ideal theoretical model that would not have a big chance to be efficiently applied in practice. Due to above explained reasons, on the occasion of defining strategical starting points for the development of modern legal framework regulating regionalization of the Republic of Serbia, it is necessary to take into account and fully accept the characteristics of Serbian state, Serbian culture and legal tradition. Besides that, the reform of the legal framework regulating regionalization and decentralization should be observed and treated as the essential part of the more comprehensive reform process of the reform of Serbian Constitutional System.
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Small island state in the Mediterranean is an example of highly developed environment which has succeeded in maintaining a low crime rate -the lowest in the European Union. In this paper an effort is made to explain the state of crime in Malta, which is achieved with simultaneously mild penal policy of the courts and one of the lowest rate of sentenced persons in Europe. What is more interesting, it is a country with a very permissive attitude in approving the asylum to illegal immigrants. The most important reason of this condition is the solidarity of members in the community which acts as a strong preventive factor.
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Legal framework regulating the prohibition and sanctioning of doping in sport in the EU countries is a very interesting topic for research, because of the variety of legal, organizational and financial problems that have to be solved in order to organize and establish effective and efficient mechanism for counteraction of doping in sport. Nowadays, more than ever before in the history, laws and regulations in the most of the European countries treat doping in sports and activities related with production and trafficking of doping substances as a crime. In recent years, it is widely accepted that sport doping is only a part of the wider problem of drug abuse within modern societies. The relation between the international drug trade, doping substances trade and organized crime is obvious. The convergence of doping in sport and organized crime demands a new approach to research and fight against that phenomena. During the past thirty years, all of the EU member states enacted the laws and regulations that have placed a ban for usage of doping substances and methods in sports. Such a laws and regulations comprise variety of sanctions and preventive measures for the sportsmen and sportswoman whose sports activities are involved in doping substances trafficking, smuggling and usage. Besides that, all of the EU countries (except Belgium) ratified the Council of Europe Convention against doping. The new legal framework regulating the prohibition and sanctioning of doping in sport in the Republic of Serbia has been created after the enactment of Anti-doping Law in November 2005. The passage of the new legislative framework regulating the work and jurisdiction of the Antidoping Agency of Serbia was a decisive step in the process of strengthening state capacities aimed at creation of organizational framework needed for systematical fight against doping in Serbian sport. Now, a more challenging and difficult task lies ahead state and sports organizations. That task is a proper implementation of the new regulatory framework and its harmonization with EU legal standards.
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The aim of the article is to identify the extent to which the price index in the EU countries was shaped by changes in indirect tax rates. In order to ensure the comparability of data, the analysis was based on the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) and the harmonised index of consumer prices at constant tax rates (HICP-CT). Six countries with the biggest difference between the HICP and HICP-CT were selected for an in-depth analysis of changes in VAT and excise duties: Romania, Hungary, Greece and the Baltic countries. The study covered the 2007–2016 period. On the basis of the study one can conclude that the structure of the tax system with a high proportion of indirect taxes equips fiscal authorities with tools to influence the prices.
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The aim of the article is to analyze the practice of reporting tax expenditures in member states of the European Union in the context of transparency of fiscal policy. It also attempts to answer the following questions: is it possible to include reports on tax expenditures prepared in EU countries in the budgetary procedure, and how would this contribute to increasing the transparency of fiscal policy? The study on tax expenditures in the context of transparency of fiscal policy was carried out based on literature studies, an analysis of legal regulations applicable in the European Union as well as an analysis of statistical data published by Eurostat, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund.
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The aim of this research paper is to evaluate the position of Germany, includingthe federal government and the parliamentary opposition, as regards the migration crisis in the European Union in the years 2011‑2016. The first part of the article presents the course of the migration crisis in the presented time period. The second part discusses the evolution of the position of the governing coalition and the parliamentary opposition in Germany towards the first phase of the crisis in the years 2011‑2014. The third part has been dedicated to analysing the position of the federal government and the parliamentary opposition towards the second phase of the crisis in the years 2015‑2016. The fourth part presents the influence of the German government on the reform of the immigration and asylum policies, as well as the dynamics of the migration crisis in the European Union in the years 2015‑2016. The author formulates a research hypothesis that the federal government did not control the migration crisis in the European Union but rather acted impulsively, thereby contributing to its deepening.
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This paper deals with basic concepts, problems, and perspectives of idea of community with the aspect of science. This paper explains those trends of this idea in science during history until Second World War, and new trends in new conceptual base of European future.
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In the case of the European Union (EU), constitutionalisation refers to the process of deepening of legal integration in the EU, through which the EU was transformed from an international organisation into a sui generis entity based on a ‘constitutional charter’. Constitutionalisation occurred through crystallising and approving principles such as supremacy, direct effect and autonomy, which were inaugurated by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and applied to the relations of Union law towards national legal systems of member states. This paper deals with the topic of new tendencies with regard to the relationship between international law and European Union law, especially having in mind the judgment in the Kadi case, where it appears the ECJ initiated the process of asserting the supremacy and autonomy of EU law against the international legal order. The author offers an explanation of this shift through the Solange argument, developed by the German Constitutional Court within the framework of constitutional pluralism, envisaged as a tool in defining and defending the core constitutional principles and values of a political community.
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While assessing the scope of and pace of transition of coal-dependent regions one should not only focus on regulatory developments but to a much bigger extent on technological progress that enables substantial cost reduction of alternative energy sources. The transition has to also take into account macroeconomic and social impacts and choose the most rational path given geopolitical considerations. Judging from other countries’ experience, transition away from coal in electricity gene-rations takes decades rather than years, and should be managed in a way that does not compromise the security of supply and consumer cost issues.
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This paper presents elements for a successful approach to addressing Horizon 2020. Horizon 2020 is the EU programme offering funding for research and innovation projects. Investing in such projects in turn secures a smart, sustainable and inclusive economic growth. The programme covers all the stages, from basic research to market penetration, and has a total value of slightly over EUR 70 billion. The investment instrument’s main goals are strengthening Europe’s global competitiveness, making it the best in the world-class science, eliminating obstacles that hinder innovations to get quickly in the market and changing the way in which the public and private sectors work together. Despite the fact that the program has a simple structure and requires less red tape than its predecessor (the Seventh Framework Programme – FP7), the applicants still face a lot of challenges when applying with their projects. The paper’s aim is to address these challenges and to offer solutions. Primary data were collected by using the technique of surveying by e-mail. We carried out the survey by sending the e-mail to Slovene recipients of funds for Horizon 2020 and, subsequently, to Italian ones. The quantitative research results indicated that the application’s success in Horizon 2020 is largely influenced by the financial projection, the knowledge of EU policies, the proposal design, as well as the proposal elements – contents, importance of the process of individual proposal elements, past experiences, partner organization, referrals and coordinators.
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