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The paper begins by considering the difficulties which are confronting the process of European integrations. The reluctance of the European Union to pursue its politics of enlargement, which has lately become visible in several vetoes blocking the start of accession negotiations, has provoked disappointment in the countries which are candidates for membership or on their way to becoming it. Among them are a few states of our region, which seem to be doomed to remain at the periphery of Europe. At the same time, the European Union is faced with the old problem of its own, the so-called democratic deficit. This paper seeks for a perspective in which these difficulties on both sides could be dealt with. It discusses three paradigmatic ways of representing Europe, which serve as a basis for different strategies of legitimizing the European Union. The first of them is idealist, since it elevates Europe to the rank of a philosophical concept which transcends the empirical definition of Europe as just one continent among others. This view reflects the representation of Europe as a unique, privileged part of the world and assumes that the rest of humanity should accept and pursue Europe's fundamental values. The second, more realistic conception envisages the European Union as an empire which is legitimized in terms of de facto arguments, such as the estimates of the costs of renouncing the Union, which would allegedly surpass those of its survival and continuation of the integration process, or by the need of preserving peace. A critical examination of these ways of legitimizing Europe reveals their factual unfoundedness and ideological character. The heritage of colonialism looms behind the idealist view of European supremacy, while the concept of the European Union as a sort of benevolent empire has paternalistic implications. The last part of the text, dealing with the problem of the European civil war (theorized by Carl Schmitt and Ernst Nolte), suggests that these shortcomings could be addressed in a conception of European politics which would not aim at pacifying or neutralizing conflicts but, on the contrary, at exposing the very conflictual component of politics. The example of ancient Greek democracy shows that preventing the civil war does not consist in eliminating all conflicts from politics but rather in their transposition to a superior level or their sublimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents an innovative economy - bioeconomy and explains the role of geography education in its development. The aim of the bioeconomy is to develop low-emission economies focused on developing the primary sector (agriculture, fishing, forestry), food security and sufficiency, encouraging the use of biomass in industry, protecting biodiversity and the environment (European Commission, 2012). The shift from the traditional linear model of economy to the bioeconomy entails a move away from fossil resources and toward bio-renewable resources as well as a transition from a linear to a circular economy. Alongside entrepreneurs, the government/policies, scientific institutions, and international cooperation, formal, non-formal and informal education of every stakeholder in this economic area plays a key role in the development of the bioeconomy. The primary goal of this paper is to emphasize the role of geography education in and for the development of circular economy (bioeconomy), which is an aim of the Republic of Croatia defined by Development Direction 3, "Green and Digital Transition" (National Development Strategy 2030, 2020.). The secondary objectives of this paper are to analyse general theoretical features of the bioeconomy as well as employment and turnover structure in the EU bioeconomy sectors, with a special emphasis on the situation in the Republic of Croatia. The results of the work show that the Croatian bioeconomy is only in the initial cycle of its development. The Geography curriculum for primary schools and grammar schools (2019) contains a significant number of educational outcomes that concern energy sources, climate and climate change, ecosystems, biodiversity and the development of smart cities. Adopting these outcomes may contribute to the acquisition of competencies necessary for the development of new approaches of more innovative economies. The research was conducted using quantitative and qualitative methods. The analysis of the curricular content, especially the elaborations of outcomes geared toward a further development of the bioeconomy, is the basis for shaping professional development training for geography teachers to enable a more innovative and efficient management of the learning and teaching of these contents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of the paper is the role of the court in the burden of proof in civil proceedings. Although the burden of proof is primarily on the parties, the role of the court in civil proceedings dictates that it undertakes actions that will enable the parties to gather all legally relevant facts, propose and produce evidence to prove those facts. Considering the intention of Bosnia and Herzegovina to become a member of the European Union, and that it needs to harmonize the law with the law of the European Union, in addition to the domestic law, the law of the European Union is analyzed in the paper. The goal of the research is to show how the court acts in relation to the burden of proof, what are its powers and how the court's actions reflect on the legal position of the parties. The aim of the research was reached by applying, first of all, the normative method by which the law of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the European Union was studied and examined. In addition to this method, the paper used a synthesis method based on which the basics of the burden of proof were pointed out in order to understand its nature and a deductive method on the basis of which the research was started, based on general knowledge about the burden of proof. Based on the research, it was found out that in Bosnia and Herzegovina the parties are obliged to present procedural materials and when the court finds that an individual party did not present legally relevant facts or did not prove them, the court may not ask questions that would influence the party to present and prove legally relevant facts. In the law of the European Union, in the procedure for issuing the European payment order and the European small claims procedure, the court is obliged to take actions that will influence the plaintiff to prove legally relevant facts, which is to the detriment of the defendant. Such behavior leads to inequality between litigants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper begins by considering the difficulties which are confronting the process of European integrations. The reluctance of the European Union to pursue its politics of enlargement, which has lately become visible in several vetoes blocking the start of accession negotiations, has provoked disappointment in the countries which are candidates for membership or on their way to becoming it. Among them are a few states of our region, which seem to be doomed to remain at the periphery of Europe. At the same time, the European Union is faced with the old problem of its own, the so-called democratic deficit. This paper seeks for a perspective in which these difficulties on both sides could be dealt with. It discusses three paradigmatic ways of representing Europe, which serve as a basis for different strategies of legitimizing the European Union. The first of them is idealist, since it elevates Europe to the rank of a philosophical concept which transcends the empirical definition of Europe as just one continent among others. This view reflects the representation of Europe as a unique, privileged part of the world and assumes that the rest of humanity should accept and pursue Europe's fundamental values. The second, more realistic conception envisages the European Union as an empire which is legitimized in terms of de facto arguments, such as the estimates of the costs of renouncing the Union, which would allegedly surpass those of its survival and continuation of the integration process, or by the need of preserving peace. A critical examination of these ways of legitimizing Europe reveals their factual unfoundedness and ideological character. The heritage of colonialism looms behind the idealist view of European supremacy, while the concept of the European Union as a sort of benevolent empire has paternalistic implications. The last part of the text, dealing with the problem of the European civil war (theorized by Carl Schmitt and Ernst Nolte), suggests that these shortcomings could be addressed in a conception of European politics which would not aim at pacifying or neutralizing conflicts but, on the contrary, at exposing the very conflictual component of politics. The example of ancient Greek democracy shows that preventing the civil war does not consist in eliminating all conflicts from politics but rather in their transposition to a superior level or their sublimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to show the forgotten importance of humanistic foundations, which have been replaced by an expanded materialistic concept within social communities, for the survival of humanity. The materialistic concept is an important instance for the realization of a pleasant life, but its satisfaction, of man as a physical and spiritual unity, does not bear the mark of a truly fulfilled and quality life towards oneself and others. The European Union, with the goal of establishing peace in the world, which is unquestionably necessary, began its construction with materialistic elements that, due to the primary task, were supposed to build one thanks to humanistic foundations. The accelerated flow and expansion of social communities, and in this case, especially in the period of the 21st century through virtual reality, is persistently moving us away from the possibility of seeing what is at the base. Therefore, the healing of the social community, the European Union, should be born from a review of the elements and steps of its own construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the issue of using genetic tests for insurance purposes. After introductory remarks, the paper provides an overview of various international and European legal sources both on data protection in general, and on the protection of data from genetic tests. The paper then researches into different solutions proposed by comparative law concerning the use of data from genetic tests for insurance purposes. Some solutions explicitly ban the use of genetic tests for insurance purposes (France, Austria, Portugal, Croatia), while others adopt a more liberal approach, allowing for its use (the USA, the UK, Germany). It is concluded that personal data protection does not exclude the possibility using data from genetic tests for insurance purposes, which proves the need for a common EU approach to the issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the impact of the tax-benefit system on work incentives in Croatia and Slovenia. Unemployed and inactive persons and their hypothetical transitions to employment are considered. As the main indicator of work incentives, the participation tax rate (PTR) is estimated, as it represents a portion of additional income that is lost because taxes increase and benefits decrease in transition of a person from non-employment into employment. Unlike previous research, which was made for both countries on hypothetical data, in this paper for the first time the calculations and analysis of PTR are based on survey data, which for both countries gives a realistic picture of the situation in the field of work incentives. The analysis is carried out on data and the tax-benefit system for 2017, and the main tool used is EUROMOD, a tax-benefit microsimulation model for the EU countries. The results show that the average PTR in Croatia is of a moderate size of 31.3%, while in Slovenia it is 11.3 percentage points higher. People with higher number of dependent children and those with lower level of market income obtained by other household members are more likely to have a high PTR in both countries, and in Croatia people with only primary education will also have it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regardless of the earlier assumptions about the obsolescence of the classic federal theory, the paper emphasizes the contemporary significance and relevance of federalism. Europe is the epicentre of modern federalization processes, not only when it comes to the European Union, but also a number of European countries such as Belgium, Spain and the United Kingdom. The paper points out the fundamental distinction between the classic and modern federalism, which has its origin in the fact that federal systems 'arise' differently as a result of opposite processes of federalization and that in this sense we can distinguish between classic "integrative" and modern "devolutive" federalism. The basic assumptions of the paper are that 1) these two federalism patterns originally differ in the character of the basic constitutive act of the federal union with regard to the subject of creating a federation, and 2) because contemporary federations are "federal states without a federal foundation" this difference is not noticeable today. On the contrary, it has largely disappeared, and in this way, the difference between classic and modern federalism is actually bridged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first legal regulation of the accounting of insurance companies began as early as 1978, the directives were changed due to alignment with the needs of presenting insurers' financial information. The latest Solvency II directive represents the legislative framework for the overall operation of insurance companies and reinsurance companies in the European Union. It entered into force at the beginning of 2016. Although it is not exclusively an accounting directive, it introduced a market-consistent valuation of assets and liabilities through the balance sheet, with the aim of adequate capitalization taking into account all the risks taken, which would result in the desired profitability. The first Regulation on the application of international accounting standards was adopted in 2002. Its goal was the adoption and use of international accounting standards in the community to harmonize financial data, and ensure a high level of transparency and comparability of financial statements, and thus the efficient functioning of the community's capital market and the internal market. International accounting standards were developed by the International Accounting Standards Committee, whose intention was to develop a single set of global accounting standards. As a member of the International Association of Accountants, Bosnia and Herzegovina is obliged to apply international accounting standards. In the paper, we will discuss the emergence of regulations governing the accounting and financial reporting of insurance companies, the position of Bosnia and Herzegovina in international accounting organizations, and its readiness to apply all EU accounting regulations for insurance companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designated bodies in the European Union are working to establish the connection between COVID-19 disease and the workplace and/or specific branch of economy. It is a complex interdisciplinary matter (from the aspect of health protection and safety at work) involving recognition of COVID-19 as originating at work, in addition to the issues as to whether it is an occupational disease or injury at work, according to the national criteria implemented in individual countries. Furthermore, it needs to be established whether the disease is an occupational disease or an injury at work, irrespective of its origin at work. How different EU countries regard these issues varies from country to country. Both health care workers and workers in other branches of economy are exposed to the risk of contracting SARS CoV-2 virus and developing COVID-19 disease, depending on the category of risk. Of interest here is the professional work and high-risk professions, given the epidemiologic, clinical, medical history and indirect evidence. What is of essence is the exposure to the risk at work. Evidence must be non-ambivalent and far more specific than that proving injury at work or disease related to work (clinical manifestation, lab results, hygiene and other tests, serious complications, specific symptoms, duration of symptoms, their intensity, and other diagnostic procedures). The procedures are complex, for they involve businesses, workers and deadlines, all prescribed by the heterogeneous norms of each state. To enforce definitive standard guidelines, given the current COVID-19 pandemic situation, the EU needs to bring forth a set of uniform common criteria for recognizing COVID-19 as an occupational disease. These criteria are the focus of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the relationship between income inequalities and redistributive preferences. The objectives have been: determine to which degree income inequalities are associated with redistributive preferences, which are the correlates of redistributive preferences on the macro level and which mechanisms of redistribution have been preferred by citizens in the EU countries. Aggregated data from two special Eurobarometer surveys (2010 and 2018) were used as the data source on redistributive preferences, while macro-statistical indicators were taken from the Eurostat database. Bivariate correlational analyses, linear regression and the cluster analysis were used for data processing. A general finding is that redistributive preferences are high in almost all EU countries. It seems that an increase of income inequalities is not the key factor of high redistributive preferences, but it is the perception of income inequalities and the sensitivity of citizens towards income inequalities. Citizens in the EU countries often incorrectly perceive the level of inequalities in society and their place on the income scale. The respondents from post-socialist countries have a larger “aversion” towards income inequalities and want a stronger role of the government in the redistribution and social life. Inhabitants of the EU countries support all key mechanisms of income redistribution (taxes, education, social protection and minimum wage), but they give the largest support to the tax system and the progressive taxation of the wealthy, while there are a lot of suspicions regarding fully free education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the concept of consular and diplomatic protection of citizens of the European Union and aims to present how the protection of citizens of the European Union in foreign countries is regulated in legal framework. With reference to Article 46 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, the paper seeks to illustrate how Article 46 is institutionally implemented and what is its practical significance for EU citizens. The term "EU citizenship" is clarified, with a brief historical overview and understanding of EU statehood through the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty, as well as the rights that emanate from such status of individual, with a focus on consular protection. The paper seeks to answer the question of an effective legal framework regarding consular protection of EU citizens with reference to relevant EU regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First of all, this paper tries to explain the principles of the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/67 of April 27 2016, which entered into the force on May 25 2018. Special attention was given to the territorial scope, and the influence on third countries, considering that the changes introduced by the Regulation are among the most important and at the same time the most controversial. Of course, this aspect of the Regulation is particularly important for Bosnia and Herzegovina, having in mind the obligations arising from the Stabilization and Association Agreement and the general economic, political and security orientation towards the European Union. Furthermore, in this paper, relation between protection of personal data and the right to privacy is considered, in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation and the Convention on Human Rights as well as Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and in a very concise form relevant practice of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Finally, this article suggests that, even though the Regulation is considered to be one of the most important and complex parts of the European Union legislation, which touches different spheres of life and society, and therefore the rights, respect for fundamental human rights and consistent application of the Convention in significant part results in respect for fundamental principle and essence of the Regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nautical tourism is a selective type of tourism that has proven to be extremely important for the economy of all European economies. Like tourism, nautical tourism is not an official industry, so we will not fi nd it in the National Classification of Activities (NKD), but its subactivities can be recognized at least to some extent. The NKD changes that occurred in 2007 somewhat obscured the sources of the nautical tourism subtype, but the insights and lines of development for researchers remained recognized. Accordingly, when assessing the importance of nautical tourism, observed from the aspect of official NCEA activities, this fact should be taken into account because it contributes to the official assessment of the achieved effects. Its effects are multiple, so indirect effects are estimated to be between 3-5 times higher in value than direct ones. In nautical tourism, the marina business is tied to the rental of vessels, and it could be said that these two business activities are in symbiosis, because they record a high degree of interdependence. However, the profiles of their business, as well as market performance, are significantly different, but this does not diminish their connection. Precisely this fact is important due to certain changes in the classification of nautical tourism, which will be only sporadically indicated in this paper. The special importance of the subtype of nautical tourism, especially in the conditions of the Croatian economy, has a strong SME character. It is this fact that is the key to this research. Therefore, SME (Small & Medium Entrepreneurship) character of marina business, observed from the research aspect, is interesting, because through the analysis of the business system one can recognize the level of SME development at the macro level. That is, in order for SMEs to develop, the concept according to which they are developed is important, which is proving to be a key problem in the conditions of economies in transition. The influence of the state, its role, the way of setting up the system according to which SMEs develop shows significant differences in economies in transition as in the developed economies of the European Union. Therefore, in this research, the Croatian and German systems will be analyzed, from which, in addition to important insights, it will be possible to conclude about the differences in the development of SME thinking, which is a key factor of in the development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is, among other things, to explore and explain the basic characteristics of directives as binding secondary sources of European Union law, by placing special emphasis on the transposition of directives into the national legal systems of the member states. The said is completed in an effort to clarify even further to the professional public the basic methods used by lawmakers when transposing directives. In conclusion, for the subject of our research, it is important that the process of transposing directives into the legal systems of the member states is additionally portrayed as a very demanding job in the context of selecting methods of achieving the goals contained in this legal act of the European Union whose legal nature still stands even in the post-Lisbon period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this article is to establish whether in the European Union and Croatia there has been a decrease in the number of citizens who identify themselves as citizens of the European Union, and what are the elements that contribute to the dynamics of creation of the European identity. The reason for exploring this particular topic is the growth of populist narratives in the European Union that potentially led to the UK's exit from the European Union. However, unlike the usual political analysis of the concept of European identity, the article tries to provide an interdisciplinary insight. The first part of the article provides an overview of the theories of collective identity in psychology and anthropology. Psychological identity theories are interpreted through social and cultural psychology. Anthropological theories of identity are divided into earlier and postmodern anthropological interpretations. The focus of the article is on interpreting the European identity through arbitrarily selected psychological and anthropological elements. The methodological part of the paper covers the analysis and interpretation of statistics based on the Eurobarometer Standard series of longitudinal surveys. When analyzing data, a distinction is made between, on one hand, the European Union and, on the other hand, the country of Croatia. The results of the analysis indicate the growth of a hybrid form of identity consisting of national identity in the first place and European identity in the second place. Furthermore, citizens of the European Union consider that their local, national or rural, level is closer to their identity. Finally, the elements that govern the dynamics of European identity development are not the same for all EU citizens and depend on the wider socio-political situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first rules on public procurement were adopted in the thirties of the twentieth century. They had a role to protect the local economy. Procurement of goods and services consisted of unilateral requisitioning food any military supplies for the armed forces. After world war II, depending on the chosen political system, one state maintained prewar rules on public procurement, while others gathered around the idea of creating a European Union (hereinafter: EU), public procurement rules regulate the right of the EU. Public procurements represent the process of procurement of goods, services and works by contracting authorities. The main characteristics of public procurement are to provide customers what they need, when they need and at the best value for money. Public procurement has a significant share in the GDP of each country in the total public expenditure, as well as its effective implementation for each country an important issue. The paper set out the essential elements of the institute of public procurement in the period of creation, development to the present role and importance of the concept of the institution of public procurement, and individual examples of interpreting the provisions of the institute od public procurement through the case-law of the European Union (hereinafter: ECJ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prohibited agreements as an unauthorized form of competition in competition law in our country are regulated by the Law on Competition of Bosnia and Herzegovina ("Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina", No. 48/05, 76/07 and 80/09, hereinafter referred to as BiH Competition Law), and it is the same regulated issue of the appearance of these agreements, the permissible exemptions, the consequences of prohibited agreements, the procedure of initiating and conducting the proceedings, and establishing the existence of prohibited agreements as well as sanctions for the same. These agreements are also called monopoly agreements. The BiH Competition Law is almost entirely in line with EU regulations in this area, and this compliance stems from the fact that harmonization used the technique of "rewriting" European legislation. The subject of this paper is the presentation and analysis of legal sources of prohibited agreements as an unauthorized form of competitive action in competition law at the level of the European Union and at the level of Bosnia and Herzegovina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to analyze administrative dispute procedure in national legislation and to point out arising issues relevant for the integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the European Union. Firstly, the current implementation of the administrative dispute is going to be analyzed, followed by detection of problems in the execution of administrative decisions in BH. In addition, problems in the execution of administrative decisions in the light of Article 6 paragraph 1 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms will be accentuate through the national case law as well as the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. Aforementioned aimed at finding solutions for number issues in administrative dispute procedure in Bosnia and Herzegovina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significance and specialty of professionalisation of public administration stems from its basic components where the performance of jobs based on professional qualifications and abilities, in accordance with legal regulations and conditions based on objective criteria for entry and promotion in the service, appears as a prerequisite for creating the administration what citizens want. Recalling the present tendencies in the public administration, the paper presents a complete overview of professionalisation as a contemporary tendency. Its basic components were defined and processed, and it was determined that it comprised education, expertise, functionality and motivation. Establishing SIGMU as a joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union in order to strengthen the foundations for improved public governance and thus support socio-economic development through capacity building of the public sector, strengthening horizontal governance and implementing public administration reforms, can be followed by the activities of the European Union contribute to the significance of public administration professionalisation. In that sense, through the adoption of European standards of civil law, SIGMA defined the criteria for which officers should be: professional, professional, accountable, susceptible and bound by statutory regulations. In addition, the activities that contribute to its development can be followed through other documents adopted by SIGMA, as well as through the Recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. There are different modalities for the definition and status of the status of civil servants among the member states, but the merit system is accepted as the basic principle of employment and promotion. In this sense, the professionalisation of public administration in the European Union is a unique standard with various variations in its implementation in order to create an administration that will be able to respond to all challenges posed before it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]