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The national and regional energy security of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries has become a hot topic of discussion in the EU recently, focusing the attention of experts, policy makers, and the general public on ongoing and future energy projects but also on the features of energy governance in these countries. The interruption of gas supplies to Europe as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian pricing dispute in 2009, the continuing Russian-Ukrainian crisis after the annexation of Crimea, and the EU-Russia controversies regarding the South Stream pipeline project, as well as Gazprom’s non-compliance with the EU regulations in several anti-trust cases in the past few years are the major cornerstones that shape the CEE energy security framework and policy options as the region remains heavily dependent on Russian oil, gas, and nuclear technology. At the same time, the fragile democratic traditions in the CEE countries, the existing networks of political protectionism and economic oligarchy, and the opaque business practices nurtured by corruption and links with organized crime, have been reinforced by the negative implications of Russian economic and geo-political influence. Russia has exploited its dominant position in the energy market and its long-term links with certain political and economic groups to shape political decisions across the region according to its own interests, but often to the detriment of the home country consumers. The current review of energy security risks in four selected CEE countries, two energy poor – Bulgaria and Serbia, and two energy-resourced– Romania and Ukraine, assesses the factual situation per se and the transparency and accountability of energy policy governance in the region.
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Every Saturday for a period of two months, from the beginning of April till the end of June 1992, sessions organized by the Belgrade Circle were held at the Student Cultural Centre in Belgrade. At these sessions, ten in all, intellectuals, members of the Belgrade Circle and their quest – distinguished writers, scientists, artists, journalists, film and theatre directors, architects, actors, interpreters – expressed their own views of another, radically different Serbia. In times of anguish and affliction, the meetings, attended by a large assembly of listeners experiencing a kind of moral purification, were nonetheless imbued with a frail hope that there still might be a chance for a turn in events. With a desire to present ideas, opinions and sensations shared by the participants of the Belgrade Circle sessions to a much larger audience, the reading public, and to preserve them, because of their merit, in a more lasting form, discussions of over eighty intellectuals were compiled to form this book. In the meantime, the overwhelming disaster has reached its climax: »The Bosnian War«, still raging with no feasible way out as yet, exploded and blazed up like fire. The Belgrade Circle participants, distressed and abashed at the display of all those real or imagined evil deeds, so eagerly reported by the portentous heralds of death voiced hitherto often deeply hidden and silent feelings and thoughts about their burdensome disgust at the plague gripping and afflicting us all. Each participant contributed in his or her own way – rigorous scientific analysis, artistic susceptibility, eyewitness accounts, or simply. A public-minded desperate wail – to the shaping of one new, public opinion, the one that stirred in that sad Spring of ’92 and rebelled against the general fear, animosity, devastation, extermination, ethnic cleansing, forcible population exchanges... All those responsible and public-minded citizens, holding different political opinions, some members of various political parties, with incomparable personal experiences, varied professional interest and often of »objectionable« national origin, showed, however the will to insert tolerance among the basic principles of a humanized way of fife. But, in spite of the pronounced differences, their common aim, discernable in each and every speech imported to the audience, was to finally establish a community based on simple but as yet still unattainable ideals such as peace, freedom, tolerance and justice in place of degrading political, national and religious exclusiveness. Participants focussed their attention on various aspects of the problem: some analysed the roots of hatred and evil; some indicated the disastrous consequences of irresponsible national myth revivals; others warned of menaces yet to come unless we see reason in time. Some were stern, others witty and others still perhaps too prone to pathos, but they were all deeply concerned, and, as it unfortunately turned out, correct in predicting subsequent events. Therefore, individuals who take no notice of current, official policy and who have for a long time now tenaciously refused to render their talent and knowledge to the needs of the authorities, gathered round a project titled »Another Serbia«. Instigating a state of war and providing alleged erudite justification for the necessity of mutual extermination in the name of some noble goals, vague even to the very massacre executors, must not and cannot be the vocation of anyone who considers him or herself an »intellectual«, or earns a living acting as one. Hence, all session participants had but one desire: to mark out a path that may lead into a more promising future, to another, different, better and happier Serbia. »Another Serbia« soon became the synonym of resistance to fabricated lies, nationalistic madness, criminal war, a fascist holocaust, senseless destruction of villages and cities. Thanks are also due to the daily newspaper »Borba« which regularly reported on the Belgrade Circle Saturday sessions, and published a number of contributions presented there... We hope that the Another Serbia we all aspire to be easily discernable in the collection of essays presented in this book. The reader who hopes to find traces of at least some political program will be gravely disappointed. At present, when politics have poisoned the very soul of so many men of letters and knowledge, and when, among the most violent oppressors, in the ranks of all mortal enemy groups, one finds so many proud bearers of scientific degrees, who may actually be designated as men of unmerited and easily squandered reputation, it has become somewhat indecent to praise »intellectual pursuits«. The Belgrade Circle was, however, founded early in 1992 with the aim of retrieving dignity – another dangerous quality! – to public speech and conceived plans of action for the benefit of truth. We do not take an elitist position and stand indifferently above the crowd. On the contrary, being deeply involved and concerned, we place ourselves in its midst. The Association of Independent intellectuals insists upon its main goal, as declared in the program, namely, to bring together »critically oriented public figured who wish to unite their own civil and intellectual engagements with those of other, basically similarly oriented people«. That is why the Belgrade Circle will continue to »promote ideas, deeds and activities that affirm the values of a democratic, civil and plural society...« The Belgrade Circle will »encourage free and critical thought in all spheres of public life. It will support and help institutions and individuals who resist violence and animosity, and who plead for dialogue and for the survival of culture as the only humanly valid way of life«. Fine speeches? Maybe. Nevertheless, the Belgrade Circle has already, and despite many organizational and financial hardships, as well as ugly and unjust abuse from people who should have been, by the very nature of their vocation, in our ranks had they not knuckled under the burden of a more noble – national to be sure – mission, gained an undeniably high reputation. The words uttered with the aim of promoting »Another Serbia« and presented in this book to serve at testimony to the existence of a number of sensible people, shrewd and brave enough to resist suffocation by overwhelming absurdity, were not the only »weapon« used by Belgrade Circle members. They had also an active part in numerous civil and peace movements and events, thus contributing to the establishment of critical public opinion in Belgrade and Serbia: let us recall, for instance, the sad candles and our wake in the park, with souls colder than the Belgrade frost, while one of the past infernal wars – God, which one was it? – was raging out there somewhere; let us recall the »Black Band«, »Yellow Band«, »Student Protest ‘92«, and our endeavours to bring the people of Hrtkovci (»Srbislavci«) to reason; let us recall our guests from Pljevlja, Montenegro, Bosnia... All the time we were just launching our unhappy and, we believe, noble, though perhaps futile venture the very first participant said: let the Belgrade Circle begin it’s work! We hope that by offering this book to the public we have already come a long way.
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Celem artykułu jest próba oceny znaczenia uczestnictwa Polski w jednolitym rynku europejskim dla wybranych uwarunkowań mobilności edukacyjnej i zawodowej młodych Polaków. Zasadniczą tezą jest natomiast stwierdzenie, że udział Polski we wspólnotowych programach edukacyjnych zwiększa szanse młodych ludzi na rynku pracy.
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Es ist das Jahr 1912. Im Südosten Europas erreichte der schleichende Zerfall des Osmanischen Reiches seinen Höhepunkt. Nationale Staaten wurden errichtet. Es herrschte ein chaotischer und kriegerischer Zustand. Für die von Albanern bewohnten Gebiete bestand die Gefahr nicht nur darin, den Interessen der Grossmächte, sondern viel mehr auch den territorialen Gelüsten der neuen Nationalstaaten wie Serbien, Montenegro, Bulgarien und Griechenland ausgesetzt zu sein. In dieser Phase gelang es nach jahre-langen Widerständen und Bemühungen auch den Albanern, einen eigenen Nationalstaat ins Leben zu rufen. Dies geschah am 28. November 1912.
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Česká středoevropská zahraniční politika vstupovala do roku 2009 s uspořádanými vztahy se všemi partnery a s nadstandardní komunikací s partnery visegrádskými. Blížící se unijní předsednictví ještě více aktivizovalo středoevropskou bilaterální i visegrádskou diplomacii. S několika výjimkami „uspořádanost vztahů“ ovšem také znamená mizivou náplň bilaterální agendy a zaměření středoevropské politiky na multilaterální témata, zejm. NATO a EU. Česká středoevropská politika si z let minulých přinesla defi cit v podobě dlouhodobě chybějícího politického strategického zadání či politické diskuse, která by mohla vést k identifikaci strategičtějšího pohledu na středoevropskou politiku, přesahující čistě resortní a exekutivní pohled (přičemž i resortní pohled MZV je roztříštěný a snoubí v sobě často protichůdné názory jednotlivých tematicky či geograficky orientovaných odborů). Ve středoevropské oblasti nebyla v průběhu roku vypracována žádná obecnější strategie. Chybějící politický zájem je ovšem širším jevem, souvisejícím s obecným nezájmem o zahraniční politiku. Politický nezájem byl na exekutivní rovině částečně vyvažován intenzivním zapojením nejvyšších exekutivních činitelů do středoevropské diplomacie.
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The presented work examines the changes and the effect of foreign direct investment during the period under review. The change in the indicators, the conditions of work, the discovery of new opportunities for activity in Bulgaria.
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In 2021, we have witnessed significant changes in European law regarding the treatment of cross-border transactions from companies to consumers within the country. The main reason for this is the widespread multinational business, which is gaining more and more popularity and is developing even more dynamically. Pursuing its national interests, the European state seeks stricter regulation of trade in your territory, as this has a direct impact on the functioning of its economy. Member States of the Union shall be subject to value added tax in respect to uniform rules governing the treatment of transactions. They enjoy, on the one hand, the obligation to acquire VAT on all goods admitted to trading on European markets and, on the other hand, the calculation of tax revenues to the budget of that country in which the goods are used. As part of the acceleration of international transactions is e-commerce, based on the global operation of multiple sites, portals and platforms – the so-called electronic interfaces, harmonized with the Bulgarian tax laws, which allow the implementation of the relations between the participants from different countries. A key role for business, however, is played by several major web platforms, which are visited by millions of users and create a favorable environment for starting a business. Amazon, Ebay and Etsy stand out with the most significant influence among them. New changes have been introduced in tax legislation and new obligations for those who manage electronic interfaces, which in determining transactions "facilitate" the delivery of goods and are considered suppliers of these goods, although they import only intermediaries between sellers and buyers. The conditions under which the obligations are fulfilled, which are imperatively presented in the VAT Act and the Regulation on the Implementation of the Low Union 2019/2026. They are related to the application of new special VAT regimes, which are characterized by complete documentation of all deliveries.
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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to present the changes to the EU customs regulations adopted by the European Commission on May 17, 2023. Design/methodology/approach: Author describes the previous and existing customs codifications from 1992 and 2014. Afterwards, he analyses the reasons for undertaking work on the current reform of the customs union and underlines the work of project groups. Finally, the author presents the structure of the new Customs Code, indicating the most important proposed changes. Findings: The provisions reforming the customs union are a response to situations in recent years,such as Brexit, the pandemic, the increased number of tasks of customs authorities resulting from non-tariff regulations and the massive development of e-commerce. Moreover, they are to prepare the customs service for new challenges, including the centralisation of the most important IT systems and the creation of the EU Customs Agency. Additionally, these provisions are intended to ensure the implementation of the principle of acting as one.
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This report aims to show the prospects and the possible directions of economic cooperation of the Balkan countries, respectively, its positive impact on European integration- those processes in the region. Using data provided by the World Bank and the UN we will follow for the same period the state of the economies of the Balkan countries and factors influencing their development. IN the report does not include Turkey, as there are no data for its European part. The questions we will seek answers to are - whether there are good practices in these countries according to the examined indicators, whether the exchange of experience from regarding these practices can have a beneficial impact on prosperity in region and whether good cooperation with EU member states would contribute brought about the European integration of the other countries.
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The world changes rapidly due to discoveries and innovations in the field of technology. The interests of the BRICS countries and their common goals intersect to move towards new global economy and to lay the foundations of a multipolar international system. In order to accomplish such a goal, the BRICS group faces the challenge of conducting organizational activities. The significance of the ‘five’ countries in the world economy increases with their joint efforts as a geopolitical group. The economic success of the five states ensures their active role in the UN, IMF, WB, WTO. The present study aims at demonstrating how the historical geopolitical change takes place highlighting its real and objective reasons related both to the development of the world economy and the alteration in the structure and fundamentals of international relations in the 21st century with the emergence of new political economic organizations and alliances.
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In the report, the analysis was carried out through a set of indicators that characterize the economic condition and convergence of the CEE countries with the Eurozone. The study covers the period from 2000 to 2022, using official statistical data from Eurostat. The indicators used in the study have been selected on the basis of their importance for the socio-economic development of each country and the EU, and to ensure that the information on this indicators is as complete as possible, i.e. that there are no gaps in some national statistical series.
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The term “Supply Chain” can be described as the whole network of businesses and individuals which are collaborating in order to produce and distribute a final good or service. The whole system is affected if one part of it is malfunctioning. The study aims to analyze the impact of Brexit on supply chains in the United Kingdom based on a literature review and personal reflection on the topic. The research indicates that Brexit has been the most significant impact on the supply chains in the United Kingdom, foremost due to delays and red tape following the 2021 Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). Many businesses had to find new suppliers to reestablish supply. Strategies used to decrease the adverse effects include supplier diversification and nearshoring (transferring business operations closer to home). Unfortunately, a lot of companies continue to search for ways to enhance the efficiency and resilience of their supply chains.
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The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted in 2015 by all United Nations Member States to address the need for sustainable development that would address the economic, political and environmental challenges facing our society. This Agenda produced a set of 17 universal goals measured by 169 specific goals. In our work, we aim to highlight the level of these indicators for Albania and Bulgaria, evaluating the differences between the countries and comparing them with the EU-27 (Europe) sustainability indicators, which plays the leading role in the implementation of the SDGs. Although the 2 countries are geographically close and with similar historical paths, our study suggests significant differences due to the influence of various economic and social factors.
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This research aims to identify the impact of sustainable production on the development of international business. The research focuses on the global shift towards sustainability and its impact on business in various directions. Analyze the importance of sustainable production in achieving successful and sustainable international business development by building a structural model using the structural modeling method and testing the validity and quality of the models. The impact of sustainable production includes environmental, economic, and social factors, and the development of international business is adopted by attracting customers and investors, product quality and building the reputation of the brand, The research reached a set of conclusions and recommendations and the research hopes that the results and recommendations will contribute to enhancing awareness of the importance of sustainability and encouraging more companies to adopt sustainable production practices in the context of international business.
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Consumption of aquatic food has increased worldwide in recent decades. Although most countries in Southeastern Europe have a much lower per capita demand for fish and fishery products compared with global and European levels, they are following the general trends. Domestic production is insufficient to meet existing demand, and the region is integrated into the global seafood market. The paper outlines the links between human consumption of aquatic organisms in the region and the global seafood trade. The supply of internationally sourced products has environmental impacts beyond the countries studied, raising questions about the sustainability of the sector and its environmental footprint. The study also examines the gap between domestic supply and demand for seafood and its impact on the region’s trade and environmental position.
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The user journey is a pivotal concept in marketing that evolves and adapts amidst technological, economic, and behavioral shifts. This paper aims to present practical models for user journey planning, exploring their influence and subsequent utilization by companies exporting their products. Specifically, it delves into Bulgarian companies and their strategies to plan and implement exports to EU member states. Interviews have been conducted with marketing managers exporting from Bulgaria to the EU. The framework identified in the analysis is employed, detailing the various approaches companies opt for. The paper concludes by outlining areas for further analysis regarding companies’ decisions related to elements of the user journey in international sales.
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In May 2023 the European Commission presented the legislative package of the reforms of the EU customs code. The Commission’s proposal, responding to current challenges in the global trading system, has been the most ambitious reform in the EU customs union’s history since its beginning. The general purpose of the chapter is to identify the main changes to the EU’s customs code resulting from the reforming package. The analysis is based on the texts of legislative proposals prepared by the European Commission that yet must be adopted within the EU’s legislative process. The conducted analysis reveals that the reforming package includes new instruments and solutions that would transform the Union Customs Code to a more digital, integrated and efficient system. The presented proposals include among others the creation of the EU Customs Data Hub and the EU Customs Authority that will create the institutional and operational framework of the renewed EU’s customs system. The proposed legislation provides also for new regulations referring to e-commerce, including the new status of ‘deemed importer’ and modified treatment of goods ordered online from outside the European Union. The UCC reform is also part of a strategic shift within the EU’s Common Commercial Policy towards a more open, sustainable, and assertive trade policy.
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I have been asked to present at this opening panel some historical background information on the European neutrals in the Cold War. As we will talk more specifically about the experiences of individual neutral states tomorrow, I will mainly focus here tonight on the ideological and systemic conflict between the superpowers and on what this meant for the practice of neutrality during the period from 1945 to 1989.
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I will make an attempt to briefly present the key determinants and content guidelines of the Yugoslavian non-aligned policy, but also to indirectly indicate the contact points and differences between this policy and the concept of neutrality itself. After a period of uncritical glorification, followed also by euphoric satanization of the non-aligned concept, finally the time has come, based on relevant archive material, to provide real answers, at least to some elementary questions in this field. Some of them are: if this policy was in fact desired or forced; how difficult was it to prompt sometimes unwilling partners who were not belonging to neither of political-military blocks to cooperate, and finally, why Yugoslavia distanced itself from Europe and connected to far away and unknown civilizations.
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