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Zaledwie w ciągu trzech lat odkąd Sopot po raz pierwszy wprowadził tzw. budżet obywatelski(BO) w roku 2012, w dziesiątkach miast w całej Polsce stał się on jednym z najbardziej popularnychinstrumentów partycypacji mieszkańców w kwestiach zarządzania częścią budżetumiejskiego.W tym samym czasie zaszły również dwa bardzo ciekawe, acz odwrotne procesy. Z jednejstrony zauważyć można zjawisko przeistaczania się jawnego sceptycyzmu władz samorządowychwzględem idei budżetu obywatelskiego w niespodziewany hurraoptymizm. Z drugiejstrony natomiast, część z początku optymistycznie nastawionych społeczników i aktywistówmiejskich, nierzadko lobbujących za wprowadzeniem budżetu obywatelskiego we własnymmieście, przeszło do najbardziej krytycznie nastawionej grupy mieszkańców, argumentująciż zaangażowanie w budżet partycypacyjny odciąga uwagę od pełnego budżetu miejskiego.
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Although Transnistria, in exchange for meeting certain conditions, was allowed to benefit from the free trade agreement that Moldova signed with the EU, there are plenty of obstacles which could derail the deal. The business community in the breakaway republic is eager to enjoy the fruits of the DCFTA but is reluctant to shoulder the price of necessary reforms, the outgoing leader of the separatist enclave could undermine the agreement for electoral reasons, Russia might be tempted to test the EU’s resolve to defend its trade-related norms, and Moldova could erect bureaucratic barriers for producers from the left bank of the Nistru River. In the light of these many risks, the EU should persistently encourage all sides to stick to their commitments while averting disputes that would undermine enforcement of the DCFTA in Transnistria in a timely manner.
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Australia has a long history of immigration, including accepting refugees. Over the years, it has developed mechanisms and instruments that aim not only to help people in need but also to provide for the country’s stability and prosperity. However, in recent years some elements of Australia’s refugee policy, especially its approach towards the so-called boat people, have come under fire. Nevertheless, the solutions implemented by Australia should be part of the EU’s efforts to find ones useful for dealing with its current migration crisis.
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Following the 2015 national election in Turkey the AKP, for the first time since coming to power in2002, failed to win enough votes to form a majority government. Since the election the AKP has giventhe impression that it is attempting to form a coalition government, but in reality the party has beenemploying a number of tactics in order to increase its share of the vote in preparation for a snapelection. These tactics have mainly revolved around increasing the nationalist vote and damaging themain Kurdish party. However, these manoeuvres have increased polarisation in Turkey and haveresulted in an escalation of the conflict with the Kurds. Worryingly, it has become evident that the AKPaims to win power in the next election at all costs.
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The diplomatic conflict that exists between the government in Baghdad and the Kurdish RegionalGovernment impacts relations of both authorities at the international diplomatic level. As the case ofPolish-Iraqi relations demonstrates, meaningful and effective involvement with the KRG is obstructedand sometimes impossible because of the ongoing Baghdad-Erbil conflict and the continuous possibilityof the KRG seceding from Iraq. With the dynamics of Iraq changing post Maliki, it is important forthese diplomatic relations to change accordingly, both internally and externally, in order to protect theterritorial integrity of Iraq.
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Although it happens rarely, national governments, including those of EU countries, do sometimes hire foreign experts. In Ukraine, employing Georgians from former president Mikheil Saakashvili’s administration seems to be a logical move. His presidency’s biggest successes were the establishment of well-functioning police and an efficient fight against corruption, something both of which Ukraine badly needs. Other foreigners, including renowned experts such as Ukrainian American Natalie Jaresko and Lithuanian Aivaras Abromavičius, responsible for economic recovery, may be successful but face extremely difficult tasks. As all these figures are affiliated with the West in one way or another, their failure would be interpreted by pro-Kremlin media as a collapse of President Petro Poroshenko’s policies (perceived by Russia as a Western project).
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Over the course of the last 50 years, migration to the United States has transformed from Europeanto Latin American, and predominantly Mexican. Increased legal migration from Latin America has beencoupled with increased unauthorised entries from the region. The major challenges facing U.S.policymakers concern their ability to prevent unauthorised entries and the repatriation or integration ofthose already in the country. With decreased legal and unauthorised immigration rates, Poland has lostthe potential to affect U.S. migration policymaking. Hence, it is worthwhile to assess whether thelimited benefits stemming from visa-free travel to the U.S. would justify the increase in invested politicalcapital required to secure one of Poland’s traditional foreign policy goals.
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The Paris Climate Conference to be held in December may be the last chance to deliver a globalagreement on tackling climate change. One issue that could be a game-changer for the negotiationsand one that is inevitable to achieve global climate goals is so-called climate finance. The existingframework does not provide enough predictability and capacity to limit global warming to a maximumof 2°C. A clear mechanism for gathering public funds from developed countries and the inclusion ofprivate investments is needed to secure reliable post-2020 climate actions.
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While actively contributing to NATO exercises and operations that confirm Turkey’s commitmentto the Alliance, Ankara has also actively avoided cooperating with the Western political andeconomic efforts to curb Russian aggression in Ukraine. Turkey’s low-level involvement, shaped bysecurity concerns, economic needs, yet at the same time its consolidating dependence on Moscow,and its optimistic opportunism, increasingly raise concerns about possible prospects of a Turkish pivotaway from the Euro-Atlantic community. But even while distancing itself from NATO, it may be inTurkey’s interests to rebalance its policy by supporting the stability of Ukraine and closer cooperationwith the EU.
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Bulgarian households pay the lowest price of electricity in Europe in absolute terms. Price increases are inevitable to cover costs of new investments in production and transmission. Bulgaria has signed binding agreements within the European Union to achieve 16% of final or energy consumption from renewable energy sources (RES) by 2020, which will bring further pressure on prices for final consumers. Are Bulgarian households ready to foot the bill of more expensive electricity? How much more are they willing to fork out of their budget for green energy? A mere 13% of Bulgarian households are willing to pay extra for clean energy. Of those 82.5% would only bear a modest increase in their electricity bills – with up to 10%. Willingness to pay a ‘green energy premium’ is directly linked to the level of income. Low income households support cheaper although ‘dirtier’ energy. 63% of the population has used wood for heating, which remains the cheapest energy source. This shows that sustainable development through RES is not readily supported by Bulgarian consumers and there is a need of economic stimuli and campaigns to activate people and businesses in that direction. The Bulgarian government needs to balance carefully between new investments and the effects of price increases on socially and energy vulnerable members of society.
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The study was commissioned by the Ministry of Environment and Water. The purpose of the survey is to establish the attitude of the citizens - in the country and in certain villages - to the separate waste collection and on this basis to make proposals, whose realization contributes to the successful introduction of this practice in Bulgaria.
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The aim of this policy vision is to offer arguments for Serbia's proactive integration into the EU's Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) through the implementation of the Battlegroup concept in the period running up to 2020. In the following text, we will first present a short overview of the CSDP and the concept of EU Battlegroups. Next, we explain why it is in the interest of the Republic of Serbia to participate in EU Battlegroups as soon as possible. Special attention is directed to arguments which explain why the creation of a Western Balkans Battlegroup before 2020 is in the interest not only of Serbia and her neighbours, but also of the EU as a whole. Finally,a four-phase model for the inclusion of Serbia into an EU Battlegroup is presented. The model encompasses (1)a preparation and observation phase(2010-2012), (2) an adaptation phase (2013-2015), (3) a phase of advanced participation, planning and preparation (2016–2018) and (4) a phase of development of initial operational capability and the formation of the Western Balkans Battlegroup (2018–2020).
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A bad film might include such features as unconvincing actors, a predictable plot, forced lines, unnecessarily explicit love scenes and a nonsensical ending. In which case Serbia’s foreign policy during the state of emergency, declared in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, looks like a multiple winner of the Golden Raspberry award. Maladjusted to the new circumstances, she remained silent when she should have spoken out, spoke the wrong lines at the wrong moments, stammered and overacted only to come to the expected unhappy end – on bad terms with her most important international partners and in a firm embrace with those who are unpredictable.
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This paper gives us brief overview of the nature of China’s investments in the Western Balkans energy sector. The article was originally published on The Berlin process – information and resource centre.
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This article will show how extremist religious movements can destabilize a sovereign state. In this case, we are talking about the Boko Haram movement, which is portrayed as a destabilizing factor in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in the West African region.
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In the context of current conflicts and changes in the international environment, European Union sanctions are becoming an increasingly frequent topic in the domestic public. In this article, we show you what EU restrictive measures mean, who they apply to, and how they are established.
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