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The Kremlin’s “Civilisational” Alternative?
Russia is a threat to European stability because it has mounted a frontal assault on the treaties, agreements and principles that ended the Cold War and defined Europe as we have come to know it.
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Russia is a threat to European stability because it has mounted a frontal assault on the treaties, agreements and principles that ended the Cold War and defined Europe as we have come to know it.
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The American approach to Europe in general, and to Central Europe in particular is more ambiguous than meets the eye. Europe was obviously downgraded in American foreign and security policy after the collapse of the communist regimes. The new challenges were located elsewhere, especially in the greater Middle East, Central Asia and the Far East. Moreover, the US very soon started to lose its hyperpuissance status (if in reality it ever had it), and a redistribution of power, especially in the economic and political fields, commencing with the rise of countries like China, India or Brazil highlighted the limits of American global power. Though the increasingly vast literature on American declinism seems to be partly unfounded, it is nevertheless true that Washington nowadays has to be more circumspect to cast its weight around in the world. The extension of the zone of democracy and the creation of a Europe “whole, free and democratic” ended with the admission of most of the East and Central European states in the late 1990s and early 2000s and the American-imposed armistice and peace in the Balkans in 1999. The new century then heralded a period of benevolent neglect in US–Central European relations, while under President Obama the region gradually became a “third-order” concern, though Ukraine has put Central Europe back onto the mental map of Washington policymakers again.
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The Eastern Partnership initiative has run a bumpy course during its first five years of existence. It has not yet reached its goal of stabilising the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood, and drawbacks in relation to each of the Eastern Partnership countries might even lead to the conclusion that the partnership no longer exists. The results are far short of what was expected, with many EU member states having lost their interest in the Eastern Neighbourhood. Nevertheless, the Lithuanian presidency of the Council in the second half of 2013 identified the Eastern Partnership as one of its key priorities, aiming to reinvigorate the EU’s relations with its Eastern neighbours. This article discusses the efforts of the Lithuanian presidency to maintain and strengthen EU-Eastern Partnership relations and analyses the extent to which Lithuania has been influential in this regard. In doing so, it assesses three interlinked indicators: (i) Lithuania’s achievement of goals; (ii) the extent to which the achievement of goals can be ascribed to the presidency; and (iii) the political relevance of Eastern Partnershiprelated developments in 2013. The article concludes that the presidency is not usually influential in existing frameworks for cooperation, but does exert influence in establishing and consolidating cooperation between the EU and Eastern Partnership countries in specific policy areas, as well as in providing political backing to push certain measures forward.
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Plus, Putin says U.S. spies backed Islamic rebels in the North Caucasus, and Poland plans to block a Russian motorcycle gang. Around the Bloc is TOL's daily digest of the important, the trivial, the tragic, the weird, and the sober from its coverage region.
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Plus, the Macedonia tapes scandal reveals a twisted media scene, and Poland accelerates its military buildup. Around the Bloc is TOL's daily digest of the important, the trivial, the tragic, the weird, and the sober from its coverage region.
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Plus, Azerbaijan considers Iran’s weapons offer in sign of growing rapport; Turkmenistan bans privately owned satellite dishes. Around the Bloc is TOL's daily digest of the important, the trivial, the tragic, the weird, and the sober from its coverage region.
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Plus, Obama angers Armenians on a historic anniversary, and Kyrgyzstan sees an uptick in underage marriages. Around the Bloc is TOL's daily digest of the important, the trivial, the tragic, the weird, and the sober from its coverage region.
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Plus, Russia claims another Caucasus militant’s scalp, and Ukraine mulls a ban on Communist, Nazi symbols. Around the Bloc is TOL's daily digest of the important, the trivial, the tragic, the weird, and the sober from its coverage region.
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Global Directions of Scientific Studies in Contemporary Public Administration: IIAS/IASIA International Congress in Bahrain
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The purpose of this article is to identify interference that prevents to manage alcohol-related harm. Article analyses the purpose of alcohol control policy and it‘s connection with alcohol-related harm, and alcohol retail licensing. Article is based on scientific literature, law acts and statistical data. The main conclusion is that the definition of alcohol control policy purpose is not clear and the meaning of it is not connected with reduction of alcohol-related harm. It is necessary to revise and redefine the purpose by relating it with criminality prevention, safety in neighbourhoods and roads, reduction of social harm in private sphere. Now, the priority is given to the technical regulation of retail and production. Alcohol control policy obliges local authorities to pursue only the administrative function – retail licensing. Local governments also have powers to form the alcohol control policy, for example, limit the time and places of selling alcohol. This function is recommendatory, so only a few local governments use it. City councils are not obliged to pursue the alcohol control policy and it‘s monitoring. Regulation of retail licensing is related with technical requirements for the quality and safety of alcohol. It‘s also connected with requirements for selling surroundings and debts for budgets of national and local governments. Whether the license will be suspended or abolished depends on violation of technical requirements and conditions that are written in license. It is not connected with criminality, noise or other alcohol-related harm. Prohibition of selling liquor for under-age and intoxicated persons is connected with reduction of alcohol-related harm, but sanctions are only for selling alcohol to under-age persons. Licensing is not used enough to discipline the sellers. More powers must be given to police in order to make bigger influence on retail licensing process because now the police is allowed to control only the criminality and the violation of public order that is made by intoxicated persons. It also controls liquor selling to under-age persons but it has no powers in retail licensing.
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Over the financial crisis, the ability of authorities to manage crises both domestically and in cross-border situations has been severely tested. The financial crisis exposed many problems within the global financial system and in the way it was regulated and governed. Financial market regulators did not accurately identified the risk of the banks taken in securitization procedures and did not estimated the losses that could appear in case of the systemic crisis. This led to chaotic bank crisis resolution and extraordinary financial cost suffered by Member States. Hence, the taxpayers were called upon billions of euro to recapitalize the banks in order to prevent the contagion risk. These failures of efficient prudential supervision and lack of regulation in banking restructuring and resolution has led to a need to create a banking union in the European Union which should assure the sufficient capital requirements of the banks and harmonized deposit guarantee scheme, also creation of the single supervisory mechanism and (single) banking recovery and resolution mechanism. Some of the legislative initiatives are agreed, others are under negotiation processes and an important single resolution mechanism proposal is still under in drafting process. As for public policy of the European Union the most important legislative procedures are single supervisory mechanism (SRM) and banking restructuring and resolution (RRD). The said proposals will centralize the prudential supervision in the hands of European central bank and provide harmonized approach on bank rcoery and resolution mechanisms. However, the centralization of the prudential supervision within euro-zone and non-euro zone member states that are willing to join the SSM will have a significant impact on the national public administration systems. Therefore, there is a need of scientific analysis of this phenomena. Hence, the article considers possible positive and negative the implications of the SSM and RRD on national public administration systems and stresses the main problematic issues (efficacy of centralized supervision, funding of the resolution, institutions that could be a resolution authority). The author stresses that in overall the RRD proposal will enforce the structured and also more efficient supervision and would definitely reduce the risk of spending taxpayers’ money in banks’ resolution. As regards to SSM, the author claims that the centralized model could be efficient only in cases where the domestic supervisory institution provides the sufficient know-how for the European central bank.
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The right to petition is one of the measures to identify citizens participation in legislative process. On one hand this article is aimed at giving a retrospective view of the implementation of right to petition in Lithuania. On the other hand, its aim is to identify general trends of application of petition institute in Lithuania. The research is grounded on the social researches which were carried out during the years of 2004 – 2012. It is also based on the work experience of Commission of Petitions in Lithuania’s Parliament. The research shows that the right to petition is more effective to individual persons compared to other regulations in the field of legislative initiatives. The analysis confirms assumption that citizens have a different conception of right to petition than it is formulated in Lithuania’s Law on Petitions. Petitions are perceived as one of the instruments to express their opinion, but not as an instrument of legislative initiatives. This situation requires one of the possible solutions - either to make a regulatory change, or to implement educational programs that enable people to use the right of petition more effectively. The data of work experience of Commission of Petitions in national Parliament shows that legal awareness of applicant is increasing, but also observed a negative trend to abuse a right to petition.
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