Around the Bloc: Polish President Signs Media Makeover Into Law
European Commission ponders disciplinary action; media watchdogs howl over Warsaw’s ‘violation of fundamental EU values.’
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European Commission ponders disciplinary action; media watchdogs howl over Warsaw’s ‘violation of fundamental EU values.’
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Germany’s role in the eurozone crisis is a subject of debate. Does Europe’s largest economy act pragmatically and lend a helping hand to the crisis countries or does its fixation on austerity and structural reforms prevent their discovery? This article discusses this question using the business cycle theory of the Austrian School of Economics as normative benchmark. It is argued that Germany’s insistence on fiscal discipline and market-oriented reforms is basically in line with the normative conclusions of this theory, while the reforms suggested for the monetary system fail to adequately solve the crucial problem which is seen in the high politicization of this sector. It is shown that Germany only partially succeeded in implementing its policy preferences in the eurozone’s anti-crisis policy. This only holds for its claim for austerity and structural reforms, whereas it has not been influential enough to prevent the European Central Bank’s counterproductive ultra-loose monetary policy and its enlargement of power. It is contended that in the eurozone crisis Germany has so far performed the role of a pragmatic rescuer rather than of a merciless tormentor.
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Parliament – an institution of a democratic state – a member of the Union – is not only an authority but also, as in the case of the European Union, the only directly and universally elected representative body of the European Union. The article presents questions related to the essence of parliament and that of a supranational parliament which are vital while dealing with the subject matter. It proves that the growth of the European Parliament’s powers was the direct reason for departing from the system of delegating representatives to the Parliament for the benefit of direct elections. It presents direct and universal elections to the European Parliament in the context of presenting legal regulations applicable in this respect. It describes a new legal category – citizenship of the European Union – primarily in terms of active and passive suffrage to the European Parliament, as a political entitlement of a citizen of the European Union.
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While the granting of rebates is a common commercial practice largely used by dominant and non-dominant firms, the assessment of rebates is one of the most complex and unsettled areas of competition law. In the European Union, the decisional practice of the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union has been harshly criticized as unnecessarily strict, following a form-based approach that sits uneasily with moderneconomic theory. The degree of divergence between US and European case law on the proper legal treatment of loyalty rebates is larger than in almost any other field of international antitrust law. Whereas US jurisprudence has traditionally considered loyalty rebates to be a pro-competitive business practice, the Court of Justice of the European Union has repeatedly held that loyalty rebates are an illegal means of distorting competition.
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According to 26 sub-regions based on TURKSTAT 2 level classification, Bingöl is located at Malatya sub-region. As an underdeveloped city it is covered as “priority development region”, since 1968 enactment. The regional development of Bingöl and her periphery aimed for “Eastern Anatolia Project (EAP)” which is a regional development Project. According to SPO scenarios, if 9% rate of development could be reached in 2011-2020 periods, Bingöl’s income and employment rates should be increased significantly. In this context in region and so in Bingöl, according to the thesis of comparative advantages, main sectors (agriculture and husbandry) have to be protected. The “positive discrimination” rule of public investments budget and EU financial funds in city and region allocation have to be applied and the share of Bingöl’s have to be raised.
More...Wybrane zagadnienia
The aim of this article is to find out whether – and if so – to what extent, provisions included in the Polish constitution are a barrier in the process of harmonization of the Polish law with the EU law and in the process of full achievement of the objectives of the European regulator. Looking for the answer to this question, this paper includes analysis of changes introduced by the Act of the 5th of August 2015 on macroprudential supervision of financial system and crisis management in the financial system. This act transposes the directive No 2013/26/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of the 26 June 2013 on access to the activity of credit institutions and the prudential supervision of credit institutions and investment fi rms, amending Directive 2002/87/EC and repealing Directives 2006/48/EC and 2006/49/EC, to the Polish legal Framework. This act also introduces adjustments of Polish law to provisions included in Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on prudential requirements for credit institutions and investment fi rms and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012. The analysis conducted in this article leads to the conclusion that provisions included in the Constitution of Republic of Poland are a barrier in the process of harmonization and gives opportunity to put forward de lege ferenda implications.
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Bosna i Hercegovina se suočava s teškim posljedicama političkih previranja u regiji u posljednjih 20 godina i s negativnim učincima ekonomske krize koja je pogodila cijelu Europu. Loša gospodarska situacija, karakterizirana visokim stopama nezaposlenosti, sporim ekonomskim rastom te visokim deficitima platne bilance, rezultirala je daljnim zaostajanjem Bosne i Hercegovine i ostalih zemalja regije u odnosu na ostale razvijenije zemlje članice EU-a. Bosna i Hercegovina i ostale zemlje regije su, kao ključni cilj u prevladavanju gospodarskih problema i postizanja stabilnosti, identificirale što skorije punopravno članstvo u EU. Ostvarenje realne konvergencije ovih zemalja zahtijeva provedbu temeljitih i dubokih gospodarskih i političkih reformi. Svrha istraživanja provedenog u radu je pobliže objasniti pojam realne konvergencije, prikazati kretanje ključnih makroekonomskih pokazatelja u Bosni i Hercegovini i ostalim zemljama regije te identificirati potencijalne učinke članstva u EU na smanjenje razvojnih razlika.
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In Oliari vs. Italy, the European Court of Human Rights decided that a state which fails to draft and vote on legislation that would recognize the status of family life union to stable emotional unions of samesex couples through a civil form of union with relevant rights and obligations, violates the rights protected by Articles 14 and 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. BiH should adopt and implement laws on same-sex partnership in all three jurisdictional units in charge for marital and family affairs (Republika Srpska, The Federation of BiH and Brčko District) which would legally recognize same-sex partnerships and define the rights and obligations arising from cohabitation of two persons in a samesex partnership (with a particular focus on social and economic rights). EU should address the issues of same-sex partnership in accession countries in the early stages of the process since the EU’s leverage is the highest during the pre-accession period.
More...Stručna analiza usklađenosti
Diskriminacija je u pravnom sustavu Bosne i Hercegovine zabranjena na ustavnopravnoj razini, prvenstveno Ustavom BiH, zatim različitim međunarodnim ugovorima te nacionalnim zakonodavstvom, uključujući posebice Zakonom o zabrani diskriminacije. Ustav BiH u članku II: Ljudska prava i temeljne slobode nakon popisa prava navodi da se uživanje prava i sloboda utvrđenih tim člankom ili međunarodnim sporazumima koji su popisani u Dodatku I Ustava osigurava svim osobama u Bosni i Hercegovini, bez diskriminacije na bilo kojoj osnovi, poput spola, rase, boje kože, jezika, vjere, političkoga ili drugog mišljenja, nacionalnoga ili socijalnog podrijetla, pripadnosti nacionalnoj manjini, imovine, rođenja ili drugoga statusa. Glede međunarodnih ugovora posebno mjesto u ustavnopravnom poretku BiH ima Europska konvencija za zaštitu ljudskih prava i temeljnih sloboda (EKLJP). Ustav BiH u članku II: Ljudska prava i temeljne slobode navodi da Bosna i Hercegovina i oba entiteta osiguravaju najvišu razinu međunarodno priznatih ljudskih prava i temeljnih sloboda, a potom se posebno ističe da se prava i slobode utvr- đeni u Europskoj konvenciji za zaštitu ljudskih prava i temeljnih sloboda te njezinim Protokolima izravno primjenjuju u Bosni i Hercegovini i imaju prvenstvo pred svakim drugim zakonodavstvom.
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The paper presents the results of a research project carried out in Łódź and the Łódź region under EU grant Diversity Improvement as a Viable Enrichment Resource for Society and Economy. The research was conducted in various institutions dealing with foreigners in Poland and in the region, in enterprises employing immigrants (public, for-profit and not-for-profit), and in voluntary organizations with which such persons are involved. The purpose of the project was to find out if there is an effectively functioning model in Poland and in the region for Third Country Nationals (TCNs) integration, and if any practices have been adopted to support their equal treatment and effective valorization of their skills, knowledge and competence. The presence of TNCs in the Łódź region is only marginal. They are mostly staying in Łódź and its metropolitan area. Their nationality structure has been found to be similar to that of the country as a whole – the most numerous are immigrants from Ukraine (25% of the total number of immigrants), Belarus and other former socialist countries, and from Asia (Chinese constituting 10% of their total number). The majority of the immigrants are employed in positions which do not require high qualifications. Those staying in the Łódź region are mainly working in manufacturing, construction and trade, depending on their country of origin. In view of the present demographic situation of the aging Polish society and considering external factors such as the war and economic crisis in Ukraine, an increased inflow of TCNs should be expected.
More...Expert Analysis on Alignment
Discrimination in the legal system of Bosnia and Herzegovina is prohibited at the constitutional level, primarily by the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by various international treaties and national legislation, including in particular the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination. Article II of BiH Constitution: Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms after the list of rights, states that the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in that Article or in international treaties listed in Annex I of the Constitution is ensured to all persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina, without discrimination on any grounds such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with an ethnic minority, property, birth or other status.
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In this article, we discussed a definition of propaganda and overviewed the evolution of this phenomenon in the 20th–21st centuries. There is no single approach towards what is propaganda. Therefore, the Authors of this article use the definition of propaganda introduced by Garth Jowett and Victoria O’Donnell: “Propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behaviour to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist”. Within this article we look at how propaganda works, what are its main characteristics and goals. We conclude that the model introduced by Jowett and O’Donnell may be applied in the research of interstate informational campaigns. Considering the structure of Russian propaganda, the proposed model adaptation divides it into three stages: the analysis of situation, process and results. The first stage involves the analysis of the propagandist and one’s context of propaganda. The main goal is to realise how propaganda is spread, what kind of an ideological approach it employs and what are the aims of propagandist. The analysis of a situation includes the fundamental aspects of the main propaganda target. Therefore, this analysis provides a good base for further research. A well done first phase analysis provides sufficient assumptions on new case research in the future and a repeated analysis of the first phase is only needed if one of the main objects has changed. The main objective of the second stage is to find a specific case of propaganda and information warfare. It is also important to trace the targeted audience. This significantly contributes in recognising and evaluating the techniques used by a propagandist and how the targeted audience react to them. The steps of process analysis may be repeated in order to investigate a new propaganda campaign. The third stage is dedicated to analysing the state after the informational attack. It is important to evaluate the strategy that was taken to counter any of the propaganda and damage that was dealt to the state. Received results are important in formulating the map of propaganda. This article suggests a propaganda research model to analyse Russian propaganda in Lithuania. However, the model still requires a case-study grounding; therefore, further studies should be conducted in this regard.
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Potrebno je govoriti o strahu od rata jer je to običan, nesvladiv i ljudski osjećaj koji se odražava, na svim stupnjevima političkih i strateških ljestvica, u ponašanju civila i vojnih lica, muškaraca i žena, političara i poslovnih ljudi, pripadnika viših slojeva i uopće naroda. Strah od smrti zbog neimaštine ili ranjavanja, u osnovi svih ovih strahova sigurno nije racionalan osjećaj, ali svakako predstavlja osnov za sve racionalne političko-ekonomske manipulacije.
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The article addresses the issues of the banking union from point of view of Poland faced with a dilemma whether to join its structures, in particular were presented: the target elements of the project Economic and Monetary Union, regulations and major elements of banking union, the ECB’s supervision, the arguments for and against the Polish accession to banking union. Presented challenges for banking union, indicates the advantages and disadvantages of proposed solutions, opportunities and threats arising from the accession to the Polish banking sector. It is hypothesized that at the current stage of development of the banking union, accession to it is disadvantageous for Poland and contain uncertainty.
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In open economy migration is a natural process. However, constantly growing immigration flows to the EU countries pose certain challenges for host countries. In 2015, over 1 million people – asylum seekers, refugees and other immigrants – crossed the border of the EU. In addition, there is a significant movement from less developed to more developed countries within the EU. This process causes citizens’ discontent of some host countries, as well as the fear of economic, social, political and security instability. In order to achieve integration of immigrants and seeking to formulate a successful migration policy it is appropriate to determine factors influencing society’s attitudes towards immigrants. During the last decade this topic is relevant in the political and scientific field; however, there is a lack of systematic research carried out integrating not only economic but also demographic, cultural, political and religious factors influencing society’s attitudes. In this research we employed a logistic regression model to estimate factors that increase or decrease the probability for a positive attitude towards internal and external immigrants in the EU. As a source for raw data we used the European Social Survey Database. The research results revealed that society’s attitude towards internal EU immigrants was more positive compared with that towards external immigrants. Factors increasing the probability for EU citizens to possess a positive attitude towards immigrants are higher education level and sufficient income. The influence of these factors does not differ much regarding internal and external immigrants. We estimated that women, families with children, people that live in cities and young generation are the members of society that have the most positive attitude.
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In the paper we investigate differences in the skills mismatch in the new and old EU member states. We look at the influence of their different socio-economic characteristics, in particular age and educational attainment, on the level of skills mismatch and link these to the patterns of economic development, in particular the economic transition in Central and Eastern Europe. The results of our analysis show that workers in the NMS compared to the EU-15 have a higher risk of under skilling and a lower risk of over skilling in all age groups. The differences between the two sets of countries are larger for older workers and smaller for younger ones. This indicates that there may be a gradual convergence of the skills match patterns on the European labor market for younger generations and educational levels.
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For more than ten years (since 2004) the Republic of Lithuania is a member of the EU and is realizing its economic and trade relations with other foreign countries, and regulating customs duties according to the requirements of the EU Common Commercial Policy. However, in the recent years foreign trade (in particular – exports of goods) remained one of the main factors which increased an economic growth (recovery) in the Republic of Lithuania after the global economic crisis of the world, which began in 2008. In this context, the search for new markets and expansion of trade relations with new trade partners in Asia became essential in order to diversify the structure of the national economy and avoid dependence on traditional trade partners, such as Russia. Taking into account this strategic goal, the article seeks to answer a question whether an existing foreign trade regulation system ensures the status of Lithuania as an attractive partner of foreign trade with East Asian countries (Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore) and what regulatory instruments (customs duty rules and procedures) should be used on the national level to ensure cooperation with these countries. In order to answer this problematic question, the first chapter of the article overviews general tendencies in Lithuanian foreign trade with the countries of East Asia, while the second chapter is dedicated to describe regulatory regime for import customs duties on the national level (in line with the major provisions of the EU Common Commercial Policy). The practical problems and obstacles to international trade are presented in the third chapter and are illustrated by the examples of case law, which was formed in disputes relating to the decisions and actions of Lithuanian national customs authorities for the period from 1 May, 2004 (since entry to the EU)).
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Htjeti ući u trag ≪Europi≫ znači pokušati razumjeti onu povijesnu moć koja danas najizrazitije oblikuje i mijenja naš svijet. Ipak Europa nije, čisto zemljopisno, nekakva razgraničiva količina zemlje. Tako gledana, ona je samo privjesak Azije. Već zemljopisno Europa je samo zbog toga jedan kontinent, jer ona je više od zemljopisne oznake. ≪Europa≫ nije identična sa ≪Zapadom≫, naprotiv! Europa ima dvoja pluća, dok ≪jednokrilni Zapad≫ (ako se ne primjenjuje kao ideološki borbeni pojam) označava zapadno-latinsko kršćanstvo i germanske narode. Iznimke kao Poljska i Mađarska to potvrđuju. Zato će i europsko ujedinjenje u 2004. godini – iznimka kao Grčka ostaje poput opasnog sjećanja na veće jedinstvo – obuhvatiti činjenično samo ≪Zapad≫. Ali Europa znači više.
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