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Moldova: Good Grades, but Could Try Harder

Author(s): Anita Sobják / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This section presents how budget support has been used in Moldova. In this country, several budget support programmes were launched in the years 2007–2013. Currently, there is one implemented operation in social assistance, five operations ongoing in the health, water, rural development, energy and justice sectors, and two new ones planned for launch on visa liberalisation and vocational education. The total amount of money planned for these eight operations (including the two newest ones still under preparation) is €332.2 million, of which some 52% has already been disbursed. Sector budget support has been the main EU assistance tool in Moldova, making up about 74% of the overall financial envelope proposed by the National Indicative Programme (NIP) for 2007–2010 (€209.7 million) and approximately half of the budget in the NIP for 2011–2013 (€273.14 million). Such a contribution looks particularly impressive if compared to the state budget of Moldova, of which it represents about 4–5% (the highest contribution among the EaP countries). Moldova has obtained additional resources under the “more for more” principle (€28 million).

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Georgia: A Bright Spark Struggling with the Homework

Author(s): Elżbieta Kaca / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This section presents how budget support has been spent in Georgia. Budget support expenditures amounted to €258 million in 2007–2013 and made up 60% of Georgia’s national budget. This sum consisted of €216 million planned for budget support, including €49 million allocated under the “more for more” rule to some operations and the rest for technical assistance and other grants. In this period of time, 12 programmes were planned, out of which two projects were finalised, six are still under implementation, and four are in the planning process. The majority of the financial resources have been disbursed, as the level of EU conditions met for each tranche hovered around 90%. The EU de-committed only €2.5 million as Georgia had not fulfilled some EU conditions due to changes in the government’s political priorities.

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Armenia: Butter Wouldn’t Melt

Author(s): Konrad Zasztowt / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This section presents how budget support has been used in Armenia. In 2007–2013, several budget support operations were implemented in Armenia for an overall sum of €134.9 million. The programmes have seen 85% of targets achieved on average. Some delays in paying the tranches took place when specific conditions were not achieved. Such cases are not publicized by the EU delegation, probably in order not to strain cooperation with the government. In terms of management, the Armenian Ministry of Economy is the major coordinator, while on the EU side the delegation manages the process, both in its operational and financial aspects, with a staff consisting of 7–8 people. The programming usually takes 1–2 years, while implementation of budget support operations usually lasts 3-4 years. The programmes are helped by a set of all of the usual TA tools.

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Azerbaijan: Just Boxticking

Author(s): Konrad Zasztowt / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

This section presents how budget support has been used in Azerbaijan. The EU has planned relatively modest financial resources for Azerbaijan in the scope of budget support. This is not only due to the fact that it is the wealthiest country in the EaP region and can finance its own ongoing reforms but also because of its limited absorption capacity and the execution of the “more for more” rule. Azerbaijan has oil and gas reserves that provide significant revenue to the budget and it has a relatively stable economy. This, unlike other EaP countries, implies no great interest on the government’s behalf for financial assistance from the EU. Moreover, contractual relations with the EU are not as dense as, for instance, with Georgia or Moldova. Azerbaijan does not aim to integrate economically with the EU, therefore the scope of potential legal approximation is limited. In the years 2007–2013, four operations took place of the overall planned amount of €60 million (which is almost half of all EU assistance planned in Azerbaijan in this period), while only one operation in energy was finalised.

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Slovakia: Coping with the Past, Preparing for the Future

Author(s): Kristián Takáč / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Ensuring an optimal and balanced mix ranks among the top priorities of Slovakia in the field of energy. The composition of the country’s energy mix reflects the ambition of the Slovak government to have a secure supply for affordable and competitive prices, respecting at the same time the aspect of environmental sustainability. Due to substantial investments into nuclear energy and the growing volume of renewable energy (RES), Slovakia stands a good chance to reach by 2020 the 20-20-20 policy goals. According to 2011 data, the shares of various primary energy sources in net domestic consumption (NDC) was the following: natural gas, 26%; nuclear energy, 22%; oil, 21%; coal, 22%; RES, including hydro energy, 9%.

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Croatia: On the Southern Flank

Author(s): Ana-Maria Boromisa,Dariusz Kałan / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Croatia significantly differs from many Visegrad countries in terms of its gas security. First of all, natural gas is not the most important component of Croatia’s energy mix, accounting for only 28% of the total energy supply, significantly less than oil and its derivatives (70%). Total consumption is only 3 bcm, two times less than Slovakia’s and around four times less than Poland’s or the Czech Republic’s. Second, the country has a relevant amount of domestic natural gas production. Currently, this ranges between 1.9–2.5 bcm annually, which meets around 70% of total demand. Gas is taken from 17 on-shore and nine offshore fields. Proven reserves are estimated at 23.6 bcm, though if production is kept at current level, this is sufficient for only about 10 years. Although this significantly reduces import dependency, there are serious doubts as to whether in the future this beneficial share of domestic sources can be maintained.

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Изкуствен интелект и асиметрични войни, водени от Русия

Author(s): Yordan Ivanov Bakalov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

Artificial intelligence is the future of all humanity, and by betting on AI, Russia sees itself in direct geopolitical competition with the US and China, but it lags behind in science and development in this area. Politically, the Russian government is unlikely to dramatically increase investment in emerging technologies, given the country's old hydrocarbon-based extractive economy. For Russian strategic thought in foreign policy, information warfare is an integral part and the line between conventional and asymmetric warfare is blurred. In order for Europe and the US to cope with the new type of hyper-war caused by AI, a dynamic model of countering asymmetric threats must be developed. Governments, large non-profit organizations should also invest in research that will assess the short-term and long-term consequences of the use of AI.

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Войната в Украйна и използването на оръжия от ново поколение

Author(s): Petar Yordanov Nenkov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

The color revolution in Ukraine started in 2013. Gradually, the tension escalated into armed clashes between Euromaidan supporters and the law enforcement authorities, which led to a coup in Kyiv. The eastern provinces of Ukraine, inhabited by a Russian-speaking population, declared against the violent change of power. In Donetsk and Luhansk, separatist republics were established. The authorities in Kyiv sent troops to quell their rebellion. On March 16, 2014, a referendum was held on Crimea's accession to Russia. On February 24, 2022, the armed forces of Russia invaded Ukraine. In hostilities, both sides use modern weaponry. The supplies of military equipment from NATO and the EU to the government in Kyiv are not stopping. Thus, the military conflict in Ukraine became internationalized and turned the country into a testing ground for weapons of the latest generation.

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Ancheta

Author(s): Adâm Anavi,Pia Brînzeu,Ioan Buduca,Corina Ciocârlie,Livius Ciocârlie,Andrei Corbea,Șerban Foarță,Mandies György,Ilie Gyurcsik,Viorel Marineasa,Adrian Marino,Mircea Muthu,Virgil Nemoianu,Alexandru Paleologu,Vasile Popovici,Ion Simuț,Monica Spiridon,Vladimir Tismăneanu,Daniel Vighi / Language(s): Romanian Publication Year: 0

Investigations by: Anavi Adam, Pia Brînzeu, Ioan Buduca, Corina Ciocârlie, Livius Ciocârlie, Andrei Corbea, Șerban Foarță, Mandies György, Ilie Gyurcsik, Viorel Marineasa, Adrian Marino, Mircea Muthu, Virgil Nemoianu, Alexandru Paleologu, Vasile Popovici, Ion Simuț, Monica Spiridon, Vladimir Tismăneanu, Daniel Vighi.

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Secvențe ale memoriei

Author(s): Stefan Zweig,Robert Musil,Joseph Roth,Milan Kundera,Eugène Ionesco,Danilo Kiš,Czesław Miłosz,György Konrád / Language(s): Romanian Publication Year: 0

Această selecție a fost realizată încercând de a schița o idee sau mai degrabă, de a surprinde un spirit, spiritul Europei Centrale. Am apelat astfel la textele marilor autori. Ei au desigur primul cuvânt. Fragmentele sunt alese deopotrivă din opere de ficțiune, memorialistice, eseistice sau programatice; Kakania romanescă a lui Musil, manifestul politic/cultural al lui Milan Kundera, memoriile înflăcărate ale lui Stefan Zweig. Un tablou compozit, susceptibil de a fi eclectic : opinii diverse, lansate în momente diferite, de pe poziții la fel de diferite. Premisa noastră este însă căfiecare dintre ei invocă de două ori Europa Centrală. O dată, ni se vorbește despre ea, ca obiect al reflecției sau al evocării literare, a doua oară, în spiritul ei, ca exponent al unei matrici culturale vagi, dar care poate conferi unitate acestei diversități.

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EURASIA – THE GEOPOLITICAL AND GEOSTRATEGIC BET OF THE 21st CENTURY

Author(s): Silviu Neguț / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Eurasia, the super continental mass that holds the largest share in the world`s size, population and economic power, has become the main region of interest on the planet. Within it, several geopolitical - geostrategic areas/regions have been mainly configured with great relevance (each with its actors/players - including some from outside this area - and with its problems/interests), such as North-East Asia, Central Asia, South-East Asia, Middle East, the Indian Ocean, Western Pacific, South China Sea, East China Sea, the Black Sea, the Arctic Ocean, etc. The first two decades of the 21st century, in addition to the spectacular economic assertion of some particular Asian countries, have increased the dynamism and complexity of the security environment around the world, largely due to some events that previously occurred in Eurasia: The Georgia war (2008), Russia`s takeover of Crimea (2014), US President Donald Trump`s unsuccessful attempts to ease relations with North Korea, China and Russia, tensions in the Middle East, the contradictory effects of the “greatest geo-economics project of the 21st century” - the New Silk Road), etc. Here, too, the game takes place between the two great present and future powers, the United States and China, and this game depends, or at least is influenced by other Eurasian actors.

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Încercare de istorie semantică

Author(s): Jacques Le Rider / Language(s): Romanian Publication Year: 0

Noțiunea istorică și geopolitică de Mitteleuropa1 nu corespunde unei realități geografice care poate fi clar definită. Ea păstrează prin însăși natura sa contururi vagi și variabile, potrivit cu împrejurările. Așa cum nota recent un eseist german : „în mica mea bibliotecă mitteleuropeană, pot să găsesc argumente pentru a exclude din acest spațiu Noul-Brandenburg, la fel ca și Ucraina și Macedonia. Dar găsesc și argumente pentru a include fără restricție Noul-Brandenburg și Skopje în Mitteleuropa. Imprecizia și fluctuațiile contururilor fac parte integrantă din utopie. (...) Istoricul maghiar Péter Hănak spunea : «Mitteleuropa nu se poate defini decît în raport cu estul și cu vestul și în funcție de relația pe care o întrețin aceste două extremități ale continentului».

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Europa centrală. Între helvetizare și balcanizare?

Author(s): Radu Enescu / Language(s): Romanian Publication Year: 0

Curînd după terminarea celei de a doua conflagrații mondiale, a avut loc la Geneva o conferință în care s-au reunit intelectualii marcanți ai Europei, care au discutat și s-au confruntat asupra viitorului bătrînului nostru continent. „Vedetele” acestei reuniuni au fost filosoful german Karl Jaspers, care reprezenta valorile democrației occidentale, și esteticianul Georg Lukăcs, care tindea să ilustreze pretinsa superioritate a țărilor răsăritene în drum spre socialismul ce le-a dus la inevitabila catastrofă. La acest conclav academic Jaspers i-a spus franc lui Lukăcs: „Dumneata dorești balcanizarea Europei, eu doresc helvetizarea ei”. Desigur, în 1946 cînd totul era încă fluid, cînd Estul nu se statornicise în tiparele rigide ale stalinismului importat cu forța,Jaspers preconiza un model posibil. Azi, actualitatea a devenit acută. Prin helvetizare, gînditorul german nu înțelegea o helvetizare a Europei în cantoane, ci o confederalizare a unor state independente, cu specificul lor, dar păstrînd anumite valori fundamentale ca libertatea, valoarea existenței individuale, respectarea drepturilor minorităților, societatea civilă consolidată, dreptul imprescriptibil la proprietate și last but not least relații civilizate între state și indivizi. Nu represiune, nu un naționalism tribal și xenofob, nu domnia bunului plac, la latitudinea unor comitagii autoinvestiți cu puteri absolute și capricioase. Jaspers afirmase odată că spiritualitatea europeană se întemeiază pe trei piloni de bază : profunzimea gîndirii elene, claritatea spiritului juridic roman și patosul eroic al profeților ebraici. într-un fel, preocupat de continuitatea axiologică a temeiurilor adînci ale Europei,Jaspers, în intervenția sa de la Geneva, pășea pe urmele istoricului elvețian Jakob Burckhardt, originar din Basel, o urbe ce reprezintă o Europă abreviată istoric și geografic, o Europă în miniatură. Burckhardt era acut interesat de crizele istorice, întrucît o fisură provoacă discontinuitatea, amenință umanismul, cu valorile sale culturale, zestre axiologică față de care istoricul din Basel manifesta mai mult decît o preocupare științifică, era angajat existențial vizavi de această Europă, eréde legitimă a umanismului clasic. Depășirea crizei rezidă în restaurarea continuității și în statuarea perenității valorilor culturii europene.

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„Europa centrală” între teorie și practică

Author(s): Mircea Anghelescu / Language(s): Romanian Publication Year: 0

De o atenție insuficientă s-a bucurat, din partea istoriei noastre culturale, revista L'Europe Centrale care a apărut la Praga, în limba franceză, începînd din toamna anului 1926. Publicată săptămînal de un comitet de redacție în spatele căruia se afla probabil Ministerul de Externe cehoslovac, revista intenționa să promoveze înțelegerea și colaborarea dintre țările zonei europene respective, dînd substanță și coerență colaborării unor entități statale ieșite, în cea mai mare parte, din ruinele vechilor imperii: Cehoslovacia, Iugoslavia, Polonia. O spune clar un Cuvînt înainte din primul număr al revistei : „Scopul nostru esențial este de a face cunoscute popoarele Europei Centrale și de a lucra, după modestele noastre puteri, la apropierea lor”. în locul termenului și al conceptului german de Mitteleuropa, această nouă diplomație — nu fără concursul celei franceze -încearcă să introducă o nouă viziune, o nouă coerență și, bineînțeles, o nouă aranjare a intereselor. Din această nouă alcătuire a hărții diplomatice central-europene, la care vor mai colabora pe plan cultural reviste ca „Europäische Revue” a prințului Rohan sau „Revue de l’Europe du Sud-Est” a Centrului de Studii și Cooperare Balcanică de la Paris (de inspirație românească : președinte — Dimitrie Drăghicescu, secretar și director al revistei — M. Bădescu), au ieșit și Mica înțelegere și Alianța Balcanică. Cu toată lipsa lor de eficiență în fața amenințării ruso-germane, ele sînt mărturia că țările Europei Centrale și, nu în ultimul rînd, România -înțelegeau pe atunci să se organizeze ; primul pas trebuia făcut în domeniul cel mai deschis acestui fel de colaborare: în cultură.

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III. Tragedia Europei Centrale - Tragedia europei centrale

Author(s): Milan Kundera / Language(s): Romanian Publication Year: 0

1. în noiembrie 1956, cu puțin înainte ca artileria să-i distrugă biroul, directorul Agenției Maghiare de Știri a transmis întregii lumi un telex disperat ce anunța începerea atacului sovietic asupra Budapestei. Depeșa se încheia cu următoarele cuvinte : „Murim pentru Ungaria și pentru Europa”.

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Europa și cortina de fier

Author(s): Mircea Eliade / Language(s): Romanian Publication Year: 0

Nimic mai supărător decît provincialismul marilor culturi. „Comment peut-on être Persan?” este o exclamație tipică a provincialului blazat de apartenența sa la o Mare Cultură. Există și astăzi occidentali cumsecade pentru care Europa se oprește la Rin sau cel mult la Viena. Geografia lor este prin excelență sentimentală ; pînă la Viena au ajuns ei în călătoriile lor de nuntă. Mai departe începe o lume stranie, uneori agreabilă, dar nesigură ; puriștii aceștia sînt ispitiți să descopere sub pielea rusului faimosul tătar de care li s-a vorbit la școală. în ceea ce-i privește pe balcanici, cu ei începe, li se pare, inextricabilul ocean etnic al indigenilor, care se prelungește pînă la Australia...

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CYBERGEOPOLITICS AND CYBERGEOSTRATEGY – EMERGING STUDY FIELDS

Author(s): Marius-Cristian Neacşu,CHICIUC Ioana-Andreea / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

For some time now, mankind has entered a new phase of evolution, with physical space (land, sea, air, cosmic) being doubled by the virtual one, cyberspace – the global network of interconnected information technologies – and geopolitics and geostrategy could not fail to take into account this new phase in the evolution of history, with the emergence of subfields such as cybergeopolitics and cybergeostrategy, with some authors already anticipating cybernetocracies or cyber powers. It should only be added that cyberspace can be both an environment for the 'new' power (the geopolitical logic being the same) and a weapon – the cyberweapon (the use of cyberattacks as a geostrategic tool). The aim of this study consists in identifying the main components (definition, subject matter, terminology) of the two emerging areas, namely cybergeopolitics and cybergeostrategy. The results of this qualitative research are based on the critical analysis of the specialized literature, in order to summarize the specific phenomenology and to theorize the concept of cybergeopolitics and its derivates.

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WHY VALUES MATTER IN THE GLOBAL STRUGGLE FOR POWER. KEY IMPLICATIONS FOR EURO-ATLANTIC SECURITY

Author(s): Cristina Bogzeanu / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

International environment becomes increasingly competitive and conflict prone. The present paper argues that political values subsumed to liberal democracy are an important component of the current global struggle for power and its purpose is to emphasize and argue the major importance of value-based cohesion for Euro-Atlantic actors, as well as the main challenges in this respect. In order to do so, the analysis is framed within the theories of power transition and security community as, together, they reflect both the manner in which values can act as a motivation for conflict and their function as a bond making the members of a security community able to pursue their interest in a conflicting international environment.

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NUCLEAR GEOSTRATEGY OF THE POST-COLD WAR ERA

Author(s): Marius-Cristian Neacșu,Silviu Neguţ / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The use of nuclear energy has changed the world's geopolitical and geostrategic landscape irreversibly, distinguishing another attribute of "high power", namely that of nuclear power, which not only means the possession of a nuclear arsenal but also trade in civil nuclear technology (nuclear reactors for electricity generation) placing the selling state and the buyer in a geopolitical relationship. What's new? The emergence of a new nuclear military power, China, perceived as a "growing tiger", and new exporters of civil nuclear technology, Russia and China, which now concentrate 2/3 of reactor construction in the world after the long period of the Cold War when the global civilian nuclear energy market was dominated by the US.

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TURKISH INTERVENTION IN SYRIA AND GEOSTRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS ON THE EUROPEAN UNION

Author(s): Andrei-Cristian Moraru / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Operation "Peace Spring" is an event of major importance in understanding the relationship between Turkey and Syria, the future relations between the two states and the European and international community. Turkey's design of a security zone has created stability for the state in question and destabilized the entire region at the societal level. Thus, the instability generated is a vulnerability for European and international security and can be exploited by countries that oppose the democratization process or countries that have political and financial interests in that area. In today's society, disinformation is a real risk, being a measure implemented by many state and non-state actors in order to achieve security objectives. The phenomenon is also present in the current case study, playing an important role in the evolution of regional instability. The implications for the European Union security stem from soft-power influences in the collective minds of imperialist states that threaten the continent, the continued disinformation of policymakers, and the influence of decision-making in democratic states. The Operation set a precedent for the current military conflicts in the vicinity of Romania, being visible the intention of the Russian Federation to create a "safety zone", following the recent expansion of democratic and societal values.

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