Search

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 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 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 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]