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The EU regional policy pays particular attention to border regions, however, the past decades, underlined also the paradoxical situation surrounding these parts of the EU. Despite the fact that border regions connect Member States' markets into an internal market, and that they mark the natural geographical channels for the free circulation of economic factors, the economic performance of the border regions is generally more modest in comparison with inner territories of the Member States. Recent researches have shown that this contradiction is rooted in specific barriers, which go much beyond the obstacles that are covered by the EU funding treaties in the context of the internal market freedoms. Even though these barriers are also of legal, regulatory and administrative nature and are able to restrict drastically the cross-border interactions, are not explicitly prohibited by the treaties. Therefore, the main question of the paper is how to identify and how to dismantle these legal and administrative obstacles. In line with this objective, the paper conducts a case-to-case analysis to identify the possible forms of obstacles and also scrutinizes the currently deadlocked legislative procedure for establishing a mechanism to eliminate barriers in the border regions (draft ECBM Regulation). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) is a complex system of governance that involves various institutional actors and decision-making processes. The ongoing debate among scholars regarding the most important mode of governance and institutional actor in the EU's development is indicative of the significance of this topic. This paper explores the supranational and intergovernmental approaches to governance. The paper highlights the tension between the community method and intergovernmentalism in the EU institutional framework and explores the various perspectives regarding the locus of power and interest in the EU. Ultimately, this paper aims to provide a nuanced analysis of EU governance and the potential implications for its future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whistleblowing, as concept covering the institutional dimension and its practical manifestations, took different forms in the Western Balkans. Using a rational choice institutionalist definition of Europeanization, the research explores the conceptual framework of whistleblowing and the protection of whistleblowers as an underlining element of rule of law in the European Union. Subsequently, the paper presents the evolution of whistleblowing as element of EU's conditionality in relation to the Western Balkan countries, describing the events, the stakeholders and the role played by EU's conditionality in adopting whistleblowing laws. Case studies covering Serbia, Albania and Kosovo, as three states in different stages of accession to the European Union, analyze the evolution of legislation that ensure the protection of whistleblowers, the timeframe ranging differently for each country due to the moment they first adopted such legislation, searching to understand the role played by European Union's institutions in shaping the development and adoption processes of such legislation. Finally, the paper uses rational choice institutionalism to explain the dynamics within the principal-agent relation and why, as confirmed in literature, certain reforms are not lasting if they do not include elements to enhance their role within the society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of Russian aggression, the electoral infrastructure of Ukraine was destroyed and needs to be restored and improved. Russian aggression not only created many new security and legitimacy challenges, but also actualized those problems that remained unresolved for a long time. Immediately after the end of the war, several election processes await Ukraine, so the objective of the paper is to identify potential threats and search for the most optimal model of administration of future election and referendum processes. During the research, the authors used a number of general theoretical methods and scientific approaches to the study of electoral/referendum legitimization of power and the issue of election administration. The paper contains a detailed analysis of the impact of the Russian aggression and martial law conditions on the post-war election and referendum processes, outlines key security and legitimacy challenges and possible ways to counter them. The results of the study make it possible to divide the main security and legitimacy challenges into three groups: 1) challenges of the election/referendum organization process; 2) threats of the Russian Federation interference in the election/referendum process; 3) challenges of ensuring the principles of democracy, transparency and openness of elections/referendum. The authors of the study proposed a number of practical recommendations that will allow eliminating/minimizing the negative effect of security and legitimation challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world is not any longer as it used to be before the Russian aggression in Ukraine, was the dominant political statement as the war started. war in Ukraine is the most impactful development in post-Soviet international relations and security arrangements in Europe and beyond. Based on the multifaceted impact it had, it can be considered of a global impact. It affected the post-war international order foundations, driving states' and great powers' behaviour changes to reconsider their foreign policy, geo-political and geostrategic objectives. The same can be claimed about the major powers' policies towards the Western Balkans. The Russian assertive and aggressive behaviour, the US further commitment, and the EU revival of the enlargement policy. The paper aims to look at the impact of the war in Ukraine in the Western Balkans as a region and at individual countries. It will try to explore how such developments pushed the major power present in the region, the EU, the US, and Russia to reconsider their policies towards the region, and how this impacted the foreign policies of the Western Ballkan states in turn? The paper will be based on secondary sources, policy papers, documents, reports, media news, and other relevant sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kosovo on its consolidation process confronts many challenges and difficulties. Local self -government which remains a "Conditio Sine Qua Non" for the integration of ethnic groups, simultaneously strengthens democracy and human rights. This research paper aims to enlighten the importance and impact of the local institutions and mechanisms for the representation, inclusion and resolution of political, ethnic and social problems of ethnic groups. In addition, the paper aims to address the relevance of legal and institutional architecture on defending and strengthening ethnic group's rights, accompanied in Kosovo case, by analysis upon the effect of creation of new municipalities on increasing minority's political representation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does civil society in Romania promote democratization? This paper sought to contribute to the debate on the role of civil society in the democratization process in Romania. The study also analysed the constraints of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in their efforts to promote democratisation. The paper made use of role theory to demonstrate how CSOs participate in the democratic process. The study made use of qualitative research from which extensive related literature was used. Data was analysed using content analysis. Research findings established that the activities played by CSOs in promoting and sustaining democratic governance cannot be ignored or taken for granted. The study presented that CSOs seek to promote accountability and transparency in government practices and fight against corruption. The study concludes that CSOs have contributed towards democratic practices. However, CSOs are suffering from an enabling environment to effectively carry out their mandate in promoting the democratisation process. The paper concludes that undemocratic practices such as corruption continue to limit the effectiveness of CSOs. The study recommends that, while CSOs continue to promote the democratization process, the government should not feel threatened by the activities of CSOs, instead should promote an enabling environment for them to promote principles of democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to study Turkey's Europeanisation process. The article wants to present the history of negotiations between Turkey and the EU, and the EU accession analysis through the case study to observe the development stage in the most relevant domains. Turkey is at the border of the European Union. About the methodology, the paper starts with the theoretical part (from special sources). There are official documents for studying international elements. The paper studies the official Occidental perspective of documents. Through the document analysis, the article is highlighting the relevant aspects from the negotiations for several years, following the progress made in the Turkish state in terms of potential accession to the European Union. In this way, the personal contribution is highlighted. In the context of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Turkey tried to influence the relationship with the European Union to get closer to it. In the context of the war between Russia and Ukraine, Turkey tried to influence the relationship with the European Union to get closer to it. The problem is that the Turkish state has not met all the membership conditions, to close all negotiation domains. To solve this problem, European Union is doing efforts by exposing mandatory requirements and advice relating to the accession negotiation process and the candidate country is trying to fulfil the related rules by negotiating groups and institutions created for membership. Unfortunately, at present, the candidate state is not so interested to integrate into Europe, taking into account a possible alternative to cooperate with Russia and China. Unfortunately, the current crisis put Turkey in a difficult situation. In recent years it can be seen a regression in democracy in the favour of the influence of Islam in government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In present, 4 countries from the Western Balkans have attained the status of EU candidate countries and other two the status of potential candidates. However, there are not so many researches regarding how the official languages of these countries will be incorporated as languages of the EU. Therefore, this article's purpose is to make an overview regarding the new reality in the UE in the context of a possible enlargement of the EU with the Western Balkans countries. This paper is literature-based that examines the current state of the languages spoken in Western Balkans and their relationship with the EU's language services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As regards its position during the Cold War, the Yugoslav Federation under Tito refused to be part of either of the two rival power blocks, adopting a policy of non-alignment. Following the Yugoslav wars and the disintegration of the federation, the Serbian leadership and the citizens apparently have chosen a pro-European path, becoming a member of the Council of Europe and also applying for EU membership. However, within this paper we argue that despite Serbia applying for EU membership and gaining official candidate country status, in the past two decades its foreign policy towards the EU has been rather oscillating, an oscillation that is visible in the official public opinion polls as well. Applying the rational actor/choice model to its foreign policy, we arrive to the conclusion that especially from an economic perspective is more advantageous for Serbian decision-makers and its citizens to collaborate with the EU than with the alternative proposed by the Russian Federation, and in the long run to gain full membership. On the other hand, with regard to language, history, culture, tradition and religion the affinity towards Russia is unquestionable. Furthermore, we have identified various clashes in the EU-Serbia nexus, where the position of the latter was rather critical if not contradictory to that of the Community, such as the constant policy of conditioning, the problem of Christianity and of traditional family values, the Kosovo question, the 2015 migration/refugee crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic and the current war in Ukraine. Accordingly, this study has set as its main objective to examine and to understand the oscillations in Serbia's relationship with the EU, mainly through the lens of the citizens, by undertaking an in-depth quantitative assessment of public opinion polls from the past two decades. It is being argued that despite its official candidate country status and geographic proximity, Serbian citizens see their relationship with the EU mainly in transactional terms, their stance being characterised by a passive alignment to the values and direction set by the European Community, rather than an active engagement. The same attitude could be detected at the level of the vast majority of the Serbian political elite as well, who despite implementing sound reforms for honouring the conditionality set by the Union in the 35 negotiation chapters, refused to vote the sanctions imposed by the EU on Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The refugee crisis in Ukraine generated by the intensity of military actions has highlighted the vulnerabilities faced by state institutions, affected by the large number of foreigners who have sought refuge on the territory of the Republic of Moldova. Both the Member States of the European Union and the Republic of Moldova have seen the security gaps that persist and must be removed. Change is a difficult and time-consuming process, and in the event of a massive influx of foreigners, it requires prompt and effective interventions. Actions in the management of the crisis situation put the authorities of the Republic of Moldova to the test. Thus, taking into account the effects of the refugee crisis in Ukraine, this paper consists in assessing national efforts in the context of the most efficient management of refugee flows seeking protection in the Republic of Moldova. This article aims to highlight the problem of the refugee crisis in Ukraine, the crisis conditioned by the Russo-Ukrainian war. The article also highlights the main issues regarding the granting by the Republic of Moldova of humanitarian aid to refugees from Ukraine, as well as respect for the rights of refugees in the Republic of Moldova. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU and its Member States are currently working on concrete measures to guarantee Europe's security and strengthen the EU's external borders. The war between Russia and Ukraine has created several challenges for border police forces and border security, in general, mainly at the external borders of EU. The recent global threats such as the increase of illegal immigration, the high risks of terrorism and cross border criminality and the war itself created the essential need for exchanging cross-border information in order to prevent, detect, and investigate cross border criminality across Europe and the neighbouring countries. FRONTEX Agency closely monitors the EU's external borders. It also works with Member States to quickly identify and address any security threats at external borders. The Border Guard and the Coast Guard at European level support: managing migration more effectively, safeguarding the principle of free movement of persons, improving EU internal security etc. Strengthening the EU's external borders and cooperation with third countries are some of the concerns expressed by the new EU strategy regarding the Security Union, for the period 2020-2025. The paper is focusing on different issues related to organised crime and security threats aiming at finding out solutions in the context of Frontex operational responses which is serving those multiple purposes to better respond and tackle wide range of threats encountered at the EU external borders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regionalism has become a prevalent feature of international affairs, however the process of regional cooperation and integration has not occurred uniformly across the globe. Despite the global trend, regionalism in the western Balkans is a nascent process that started mainly after the 2000s. This study aims to explore the driving forces in the establishment of various forms of regional cooperation in the Western Balkans and strives to understand to what extent cooperation at the regional level has produced a change in the nature of regional politics? The paper distinguishes between cooperation and integration. Findings primarily show that regionalism in the Western Balkans is promoted process mainly through the EU integration agenda. Out of 30 analyzed regional arrangements, 15 were developed during 2011-2022. This also coincides with EU credible enlargement criteria which conditioned membership to regional cooperation and reconciliation. The study concludes that reginal initiatives are technical in nature and not sufficient to produce a regional community with an embraced regional identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper intends to present the evolution of pandemy of Covid-19 during the year 2021 and its impact upon Romanian society as presented by the Romanian newspaper "România liberă". The online archives of the newspaper "România liberă" present the context in which the pandemy evolved in Romania during the years 2020-2022 with a focus on the year 2021, period which we researched for the present article. The issue of vaccination, the emergence of different varriants of the virus Covid 19, the isolation and endemic fear generated by the mass media campaign which helped and made the citizens aware by the emergence of this virus, were a few coordinates of evolution of public life in the context of pandemy. The restrictions imposed to the population including also the international travelling were bypassed by the fact that the majority of the population took the vaccine and in their case the resistance in front of new varriants of the virus was higher. It was a kind of hybrid interior war that we all passed through but to win the battle means in fact to be stronger than before as individuals. The article intends to present the internal and external context of the evolution of pandemy, with a focus on Romanian case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the internationalisation process and its impact on the aftermath of the state-building of the Bosnian War by looking into aspects of ethnic tensions between the three constituent ethnic groups. The main framework of analysis is focused on the construction of ethnicity in Bosnia and Herzegovina by tackling the following research question from a socio-constructivist retrospection of the war events: "What were the major factors in the internationalisation of the Bosnian War and what were the outcomes of this process?". The major factors identified in this research work are primarily the reaction of the international community and especially the USA's conflict resolution, and on a secondary level, media attention and the humanitarian case with the failure of the peacekeeping safe zones in Srebrenica. In the end, there is an identitarian approach to the new political context in Bosnia and Herzegovina by criticising the formation of ethnically dependent state formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Coalition for Resilience, Development and Prosperity, also known as the National Coalition for Romania, an expression of the current political alliance 2021-2024 between the political parties PNL, PSD and UDMR, has pre-established as a method of governance the political model of the rotary, halfway through the governing mandate, meaning that around May 25, 2023 that the position of the Government be transferred in favor of another prime minister, respectively from the PSD side. This strategy, as it was pre-established, has, in itself, numerous positive effects, which was pursued, one of which consists in ensuring stability and continuity in the implementation of the Government Program and the implementation of the reforms undertaken through the National Recovery Program and Resilience. Correlated with the provisions of art. 135 para. 2 lit. g) from Romanian Constitution according to which "the state must ensure the application of regional development policies in accordance with the policies of the European Union" we will present in this paper certain aspects of a political-administrative nature that replace the application of some principles of organization and operation of the local public administration and territorial and/or county with a role in the good management of public affairs of local communities, including those related to the financing of European funds; In particular, we will refer to certain actions of the mayors of certain municipalities, county seats in Romania, such as: Oradea, Timisoara, Cluj-Napoca and Arad, which aimed to create administrative entities at the regional level in order to streamline and coordinate the actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the countries of the world as well as in the European Union, the continuous growth in life expectancy at birth is accompanied by an increase in retirement age. Comparing these age limits to the expected lifespan for men and women, we find huge differences between the expected years spent alive after retirement. In this paper, we examine one aspect of sustainability of different European pension systems, concentrating mainly on life expectancy and retirement age. On a large sample, we analyse how the governments change the retirement age for men and women and how it relates to demographic factors such as ageing and fertility. Considering that the pension system is also a redistribution mechanism, sustainability can be seen as a trade-off between fairness and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It seems that in the last few years the crises in Europe are at the order of the day, on each country‘s agenda. From an economic crisis to a sanitary crisis and lately a security crisis, the European Union has to face different challenges. Communication in this period is very important in order to keep us safe and to be protected. During the Covid-19 pandemic European Union faced different linguistic challenges (Piller, 2020; Civico, 2021) that caused misinformation or lack of information among the people. As Marco Civico observes, ―People with limited knowledge of the local dominant language may be excluded from information campaigns about measures to contain the spread of Coronavirus and vaccines.‖ (Civico, 2021:2) Linguistic diversity and multilingual communication in European Union is a reality, being one of its main objectives. However, the multingualism is challenging (Czyzewska, 2014) and one of the most important limitations in communication that came with the Covid-19 pandemic is the devaluation of minority and regional languages and the rise of English-centered multilingualism in the communication (Crnic-Grotic, 2020). Our paper will be structured in two main parts. In the first part we will discuss about the difficulties and challenges of multilingualism in European Union nowadays and we will focus on the multilingual communication during emergency situations (Civico, 2021). In the second part we will review the strategies adopted by European Union regarding the multilingualism during the Covid-19 pandemic and we will try to analyze how minority and regional languages were impacted by them. In both situations we will base our research on the official websites of the institutions of the European Union and on studies or articles already written by other researchers and scholars. On the basis of the findings of this review, we will propose a number of conclusions about the causes and consequences of the difficulties related to multilingualism in emergency situations. According to Ingrid Piller, Jie Zhang and Jia Li (Piller & all, 2020:503), Covid-19 crisis is a great lesson for us to open a space for intercultural dialogue and to better integrate the multilingualism in communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After various global crises began to recover, the challenge posed by the coronavirus, the unseen enemy, diverted attention from other issues considered less urgent. The paper will focus primarily on the description of the article by Giorgio Agamben, who is one of the greatest philosophers alive today. The article deals with the way in which science and medicine have become the "religion" of our times, especially in the context of current challenges, such as the pandemic. In the modern West, three major belief systems have coexisted and, to some extent, still coexist Christianity, capitalism, and science. In the history of modernity, these three "religions" have often intersected, coming into conflict from time to time, only to reconcile in various ways, until they have gradually reached a kind of peaceful and articulate coexistence, if not to true and adequate collaboration in the name of common interest. According to Cătălin Raiu, Europe has not only a venerable Christian tradition but also political structures born of or in relation to Christianity. Secondly, the paper is analyzing the right to health, but also to religious freedom, observing the border between the two. Later the paper is observing in the case studies how some countries approached religion during the pandemic. There have been many cases of churches suing the state that closed them, recently in Madrid and California. This topic is a topical one, currently feeling the effects of restrictions on the religious phenomenon in a negative sense. Regarding the methodology, the article starts with the presentation of the context in order to create an overview of the phenomenon (the sources being both general and special, to highlight elements from several areas), but is does not neglect elements of originality resulting from the analysis of the legislation (official sources providing objective points of view through document analysis) and its implementation, but also from case studies (both by examples of good practice and by negative examples). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting with 2003 the European Union turned its interest in developing the borders with the future neighbours at that time, out of which our interest is on Romania-Ukraine border. Since then, several generations of programs financed projects aiming to boost the cooperation between the communities living along the border, also to develop the economic and social life. The paper aim was to determine the interplay between macroeconomic indicators, export, import and gross product, of Romanian and Ukrainian administrative territories. The evaluation of the defined hypotheses showed no statistically significant influence of economic activity of Romanian regions on Ukrainian ones in G1 (Odesa and Tulcea), G2 (Chernivtsi, Botoșani, Suceava) and partially G3 cross-border regions, namely in all cases of Zakarpattia oblast and gross regional product of Ivano-Frankivsk oblast. Maramureș and Satu Mare import were significant for Ivano-Frankivsk export affecting it in different directions, Satu Mare impact was positive, while Maramureș - negative. Therefore, we can assume that Ivano-Frankivsk and Satu Mare had exportimport relations. Maramureș export had negative impact on Ivano-Frankivsk export and import, while Satu Mare influence was not significant. Therefore, we can suppose that Maramureș and Ivano-Frankivsk compete for the same markets. The research results indicate that there is need to increase the efficiency of the cross-border programmes in this area or develop better ones to intensify the positive synergy effect on both Romanian and Ukrainian sides. The paper is first part of a larger study concerning the evolution of this border area before the pandemic period, but after each programming period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the paper is to analyze the progress of the negotiations between these two entities. The objectives of the article are: to present the context of the negotiations, to show the institutions which are involved in the process, to present the debating groups, the lobby and a case from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration from Montenegro, to show the current state of these negotiations (to analyze the most relevant chapters from the process from the European reports), to evaluate. The literature review is related to the significance of the paper explained in the previous work (about candidate countries' negotiations with the EU, in the waves of enlargement starting 1973). Montenegro does not meet the conditions for membership of the EU. All negotiation chapters are not closed. To resolve this issue, the EU works towards revealing the mandatory requirements related to the accession process, while the candidate country is striving to meet its membership conditions by creating the necessary institutions during the process. About the methodology, the paper starts with the theoretical part (from special sources). There are official documents of studying the international elements. This article is analyzing some of the domains from the European Commission reports on Montenegro from 2015 and 2018. I am transforming the content into position documents. They will have the following structure after the analysis: introduction (presentation of the issue, the circumstances), points of agreement, points of disagreement and conclusions (document analysis). The paper has chosen to analyze the European reports related to the accession negotiation, because the information is objective and it shows both sides (EU and Montenegro throw agreement and disagreement points). By using a case from a ministry from Montenegro and lobby groups leads to highlight the Montenegrin point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper illustrates how a traditional Japanese company, Trusco Nakayama Corporation (hereinafter NKC), strategically focuses on culture and talent operations in order to drive business sustainability and innovation. The authors worked directly with NKC executives, business leaders, organizational architects and talent operators to determine the main components and characteristics of their talent strategy and culture development efforts. The paper further describes how key elements of Japanese culture and traditional Japanese business practices were taken into consideration when developing the corporate strategy for value creation and business growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of public policies in the field of national minorities can be dual, namely, to protect the specific (cultural, linguistic, ethnic) identity of people belonging to national minorities, and to ensure harmonious coexistence between majority and minorities, as well as between minorities themselves. Thus, this paper aims to analyses the policies and measures defined at national level in the field of minority integration, as well as European models or regulations with rank of recommendations for Member States. To this end, have been resorted to qualitative methodology instruments as data analysis and case study. According to the OSCE, "to support the integration process, [are needed], policies, to create a society in which diversity is respected and in which all people, including all members of ethnic, linguistic, cultural or religious groups, contribute to building and maintaining a civic, common and inclusive identity". Therefore, the research questions on which the paper focuses, refer firstly to the extent to which Romania has managed to apply minority integration policies, and secondly, what are the European models that Member States could follow in order to ensure an efficient and substantial regulation and application of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of the current paper concerns the (ongoing at the moment) Russian military invasion of Ukraine started on February 24th, 2022, specifically the bargaining failures that led to war, or the exogenous causes of the direct military confrontations between the two sides conventional armed forces after eight years of protracted, low-intensity warfare in Donbas/Eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. The main questions that will guide the research are: (i) why negotiations between the belligerent parties failed before the war; (ii) what can be inferred on war duration and termination from the identified exogenous causes for war. To address these issues, I rely on the game theory literature as the main method of research. From a theoretical viewpoint, I aim for the results of the research to contribute to the academic endeavour of analysing and understanding the causes of the war in Ukraine. The practical relevance of the results will consist of setting the basis for assessing the regional security situation in the Black Sea Region, but also the international security framework in the new context. The main limitation for addressing the proposed subject is the lack of reliable data from the belligerent sides on the prior bargaining process that occurred before the war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper aims to examine and understand the complex influence of green supply chain management practices and drivers on economic, environmental, and operational performance for firms operating in the automotive industry. Sustainability is a trending topic nowadays, but it is important to understand the different aspects of the issue, examine it as a whole, complex system, and at the same time evaluate the efficiency of these factors. The automotive sector was selected, based on its extensiveness, being one of the biggest sectors in the world, especially if we take into consideration its supply chain, and it has a major responsibility regarding sustainability issues. As a first step, all the relevant publications were selected with the help of a systematic literature review. The chosen articles empirically researched the topic in different regions of the world and based on that, five distinctive green supply chain practices and three different drivers were defined. The selected practices are eco-design, internal environmental management, green purchasing, customer cooperation, and green logistics, while the drivers are investment recovery, institutional pressure, and normative pressure. As a second step, with the help of meta-analysis, it concluded, that the usage of these practices and the influence of these drivers lead to better firm performance in the long term, although the contribution is diverse. The result of the analysis shows that green purchasing and internal environmental management are the most influential of the selected practices, while investment recovery is the most relevant driver in sustainability efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU is the world’s largest donor of development aid, responsible for providing about half of the global development assistance. The unique position of the EU in the international development system is that it is both a bilateral donor, providing aid directly to developing countries, and a multilateral organisation, coordinating the national aid policies of its Member States. This is due to the structure of the EU’s specific area of multi-level interaction, the so-called shared competencies between Member States and EU institutions. Thus, the planning and implementation of the EU’s external action is the result of two processes: first, arrangements at the Member-States level, and second, joint decisions at the level of Community institutions. The EU member countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) play a rather similar yet limited role in EU development policy. This is due to two factors: (1) similar aid delivery focused on multilateral channels and the concentration of aid on countries in the nearest neighbourhood, and (2) a relatively low commitment of both financial and human resources. This distinguishes them sharply from Western European countries and puts them in the position of catch-up countries in the field of international development assistance. The article outlines the main areas of involvement of CEE member states in development assistance. It addresses two basic problems: first, the issue of building a community-based and coherent EU development policy, and second, the gap in engagement between Western EU Member States and Eastern countries. Thus, based on a comparative method, an attempt was made to show their performance against other EU Member States, as well as to explain their relatively low involvement in international development assistance. Reference is also made to the humanitarian and refugee crisis in Ukraine, showing its most important activities related to large-scale humanitarian assistance. The paper is based on a synthetic summary and interpretation of available data on the latest trends in development assistance and a review of the subject literature. It allowed to demonstrate the relevance of the studied issue in the context of recent changes, especially caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, firstly, the rules, institutional and treaty framework of the EU development assistance were explained, secondly, the changes that occurred in EU development policy in 2018–2021 and thirdly, the real contribution of EU institutions and Member States in development cooperation was shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The differences between political, legal, market and social systems, along with stereotypes and tensions are putting pressure on cross-border areas unbalancing the cross-border regions. Therefore, in view of smart use of public and private funds, national or European, the governance of the cross-border (CBC) areas can be approached related to the networks of public and private actors. They bring together social systems based on similar or different values, partly dependent on the national level. This paper is part of a wider research aiming to analyse in a multidisciplinary frame the economic development poles from the Romanian border areas and to identify milestones for building a viable strategy in cross-border regions. A specific objective was to identify the relevant actors, which could be involved in building a development strategy for a cross-border region and their role in an institutional system. A result that meets this objective is a simple theoretical model for the institutional structure of actor networks which are involved in the elaboration of the strategy. The first part of the paper is describing this result, including a visual representation, recommended actions for national, regional and local levels, structure of a recommended working group, recommendations for an efficient cooperation for the development strategy of the CBC region (CBC-R) and premises for a good partnership. Further we propose a theoretical model of a roadmap for the communities along a border with decisional will for building a common development strategy of a CBC area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a first step in the elaboration of a PhD thesis on the same topic and aims at analysing the role of cultural heritage in international relations, mainly at the level of the European Union and the EU Member States. From the analysis of existing scientific works in this field, from the observation of the policies and programmes of the European Union, as well as the initiatives of the Member States, a close link has been observed between this vast concept "heritage" and the development of international relations with other communities, states and other international actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The language spoken by a community of people is a complex system of linguistic signs formed during the historic coexistence. The emergence of a language is a large process and it can't be determined exactly the beginning, even if the specialists establish always a starting moment. The Romanian language passed during the history through several stages of evolution and maturity. In the last Century, the Romanian language entered in its Modern Age, characterized by stability. However, there are important changes, influenced by the French and Italian languages at the begging of the XX Century and English language at the end of the XX Century. The aim of our paper is to describe and analyse the different stages of the Romanian language in the last 100 years and how it was influenced by the major events that Romania went through. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European integration process has already played an important role in reducing the negative consequences of territorial, legal, and administrative discontinuities in border regions and in developing the socio-economic potential of crossborder areas in the EU. This is primarily within the scope of cohesion policy and is well reflected in financial tools such as INTERREG. The aim of this paper is to present the main areas of financial support under cross-border projects within the framework of INTERREG in the EU-15 Member States in 2000-2020. The paper consists of two main parts, the first of which introduces the issue of cross-border cooperation in Europe with a special focus on the INTERREG programme, followed by an analysis of INTERREG Cross-Border Cooperation projects implemented in the EU-15 in the analysed period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researches related to borders, border regions and cross-border cooperations in Europe have undergone substantial changes throughout history. The focus of the theoretical approaches shifted not only as a matter of time but also depending on the geostrategic position of the nation states, state borders and border regions. The study of the theory of borders and border regions has been pushed into the background for a long time. It was mostly due to the widely accepted notion that all borders and border regions were unique. The processes and events of history and economic life, nevertheless, proved that there are many similarities between each border region. As a result of this, the harmonisation of the activities in the border regions was started, and the facilities for cross-border co-operations began to improve. The co-operation along the certain border regions, however, differed in many respects. Consequently, researches and studies related to the individual borders may be compared and categorised on the basis of the nature of the co-operation. In addition to the historical perspective of the theoretical development of borders, the paper concentrates more thoroughly on the second half of the twentieth century. Comparing the focuses of border theories reveal that the accelerating integration process in the early 1990s led to a shift more and more eastward, and regionalism, and more specifically cross-border regions, appeared as a new research area providing a basis and scope for several studies and researches. The researches related to crossborder co-operations affect a great variety of disciplines, thus, a complex conclusion may be only drawn with the evaluation and combination of the existing research trends. Most authors apply either a multi-, inter- or transdisciplinary approach during their research activities. Nevertheless, it may be established that most papers published on the topic are rooted in only a few disciplines. The influential power of time and (geographical) space is explained with the help of a comparative analysis of existing models and finally a complex model is suggested for the better understanding of the functional role of cross-border cooperations in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human security discourse has mostly been concerned with a deontological approach to security. In this paper I consider a more basic foundation for human security, where the response to insecurities of the other is mediated by a critical hermeneutical ethics. In this way the paper aims to supplement the standard conception of human security, so as to take account of the phenomenological treatments of an ethics of action, and to give more prominence to the hermeneutical appropriation of the language of evil, of the unfamiliar other and the teleological quest for justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will carry out a detailed study related to the change of borders that occurred in Romania and Ukraine from the end of the First World War to the Second World War. In order to understand the territorial changes, the proposal will focus on examining how the borders of both territories with the main Peace treaties were left after the First World War. But undoubtedly the most important issue in this paper is the analysis of the border situation between the two countries after the Second World War. In this sense it is of vital importance to know the contacts that took place with the great powers of the war for the development of the events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to analyse the evolution of the borders in Central and Eastern Europe in the last 100 years. Thus, this paper intends to answer several questions. Why the national and cultural criterion has been referred to in marking out the borders at the end of the World War I, and how much has this model succeeded to ensure peace and prosperity of the people living here in the last century. Why the national-cultural criterion and less the geo-political criterion has been challenged by the states unsatisfied by the new borders marked out in Central and Eastern Europe? How was it possible that inquiry opinions occur in Central and Eastern Europe, exceeding the interwar splitting on borders, which have become actual only at the end of the century? We are heading towards a maturation of the concept on open borders in Central and Eastern Europe or towards a recurrence of splitting? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In modern globalized world cross-border cooperation is an instrument of establishing and promoting of good neighbourhood relations between the adjacent regions and countries in general. Development of cross-border cooperation has come a long way from simple contacts between the relatives and acquaintances on different sides of the border to more elaborated and advanced forms, which correspond to requirements and needs of present days. Cross-border clusters, industrial parks and zones, partnerships, networks, Euroregions, European Groupings for Territorial Cooperation, etc. use various instruments provided by cross-border cooperation in order to promote healthy and friendly environment and improve living standards, entrepreneurship conditions and socio-economic development in general at cross-border territories. Ukraine has recently gained new momentum for the development of economic, social and political relations between Ukraine and the EU, and especially their adjacent border regions, due to signing the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. In this context the paper researches the problems of economic system's adaptation to new rules and terms stipulated by Association Agreement, in particular different mentalities of the residents of border regions, asymmetry of border territories' development, differences in legislation, lack of infrastructure, poor development of innovative technologies, low awareness of local population about the possibilities of cross-border cooperation, etc. The paper deals with the wide range of marketing, organizational and financial instruments to be used to overcome the above-mentioned problems. In particular, joint promotion of cross-border region, branding, crowd funding, crowdsourcing have proved to be efficient marketing instruments facilitating cross-border cooperation worldwide. They also contribute to promotion of Association Agreement and research of its obstacles. Special attention is also paid to Euroregions, European Groupings for Territorial Cooperation and European Cooperation Groupings as the forms of cross-border cooperation, which currently have most perspectives for efficient functioning in Ukraine. The authors analyze the role of financial instruments of cross-border cooperation development in the EU, which cover Ukrainian regions, in establishment of economically and socially sound environment at Ukrainian border territories and bringing them closer to the neighbouring regions of EU member states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"The knowledge-based economy" is an expression coined to describe trends in advanced economies towards greater dependence on knowledge, information and high skill levels, and the increasing need for ready access to all of these by the business and public sectors. The development of a knowledge economy is a key priority for innovative progress and for ensuring the country‟s competitiveness through the efficient use of intellectual resources and human capital. Our paper is focused on the influence of human capital in providing innovative development and the formation of knowledge economy, to develop measures for its formation, accumulation, preservation, reproduction in order to increase national competitiveness at the world market. The foundation of the knowledge economy is productive knowledge and quality education that contribute to the intellectual capital embodiment into productive activities. A detailed analysis of the current state and problems of the innovation and human capital spheres has been carried out, international ratings have been analyzed and the place of Ukraine in them is determined in the article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wider extended academic concern regarding the decision-making system that the EU is and should be using, a voting frame rediscussed in the Brexit context and whose modification proposals are usually widely debated, this paper focuses on a peculiar aspect of the intra-institutional decision-making process, i.e. on what was known as the weighted votes component of the qualified majority voting used in the EU Council. What was the logic of establishing this system, how did it develop and why the member states decided to abandon it? These are the main questions to whom the article will answer, with the aim to indicate that the current modified Lisbon system, despite its alleged improvements in terms of legitimacy, transparency and adaptability to enlargement waves, offered a new QMV definition that is still locked in the blocking minorities safety nets of the EU power politics game. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Rohingya Muslims, an ethno-religious minority group from Myanmar, are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. The atrocities committed by Myanmar security forces against the Rohingya, including mass killings, sexual violence and widespread arson, are considered crimes against humanity. The global community has reacted against these persecutions and described the situation as a case of ethnic cleansing, even genocide. This paper will try to examine the facts that led to these oppressions, the reasons behind the Rohingya's loss of citizenship under the 1982 Citizenship Law and its consequences. It will also present their long history of severe discrimination, the numerous restrictions they were subject to and the unimaginable horrors they have experienced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article aims to tackle the issue of gamification of smart cities from a cyber-security point of view. More specifically, the analysis is going to focus on the transportation sector and its effects over the security of the individuals, economic operators and states. Firstly, the article is going explain the concepts are being employed throughout the paper like: critical infrastructure, gamification, smart city and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS). Secondly, the analysis is going to focus on the needs and main benefits that smart cities bring to the life quality of its citizens, thus cause and effect. After establishing the current status quo, the analysis is going highlight the security vulnerabilities that can arise from using ITS and the gamification technics in smart cities especially in the case of IPT since it is part of the critical infrastructure of that state. Taking into consideration the benefits and the costs, the analysis is going to be finalized with recommendations regarding possible ways to reduce the cyber security related costs for transportation gamification at the level of the European Union. In order to be able to develop the recommendations, the following research questions are going to be addressed: Which is the impact of smart cities and gamification in Europe? How should the EU dealing with its cyber-security vulnerabilities especially in the transportation field? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As far as an increasing number of scientists are warning us about the destructive potential of climate change, humanity is facing a tremendous technological revolution. Also, the potential of new technologies to decrease the carbon footprint is significant, but the transition is highly dependent on people's choices and behaviour. This is why, a new way of motivating people around the world emerged: gamification. But, as good and innovative this idea seems to be, as many concerns it rises. Because the focus is mainly on technology, in this paper I will analyse the process of gamification through the lens of the digital divide. The concept was first used in the 1990s to describe the social and economic gap that emerged between those who had access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and those who did not. Today it is mainly focused on the possibility that people would become even more marginalized due to the lack of basic skills and the impossibility to afford the new technologies on the market. Consequently, my research question is: "Is it possible that the introduction of gamification in the field of transportation increases the digital divide". I will try to answer this question by analysing what categories of people are targeted by gamification in transportation services and which are those that could be excluded. Also, my approach is not limited to a specific country or global area, but is considering gamification and digital divide at an international level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a paper based on my PhD thesis "The history of the Jews from Romania and Hungary (1945-1953) in the Romanian and Hungarian Historical Writings". From the consultation of the edite bibliography that we put at the basis of the present study it results that we have studied of an appreciable literature dedicated to the study of Jewish phenomena after the Second World War, published in Romania and Hungary. Written by Romanian and Hungarian historians, some of Jewish origins, the edite bibliography reveals us a series of particularities of the evolution of Jewish community during communist period in Central Europe. The sources of oral history allow us to give new insights on a community on fighting for the coming out from the tragedy of Holocaust, the adaptation to the newly political economical realities of the area, but also for the prezervation of identity. Thus were questioned 8 members of the Jewish Community of Oradea, who either them or members of their family members were returned from deportation with the view of the early postwar years in Oradea and their welcoming back in the community near the Crisul Repede River. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussions about the use of soft power and its influence on foreign affairs have developed a lot in recent years, especially due to the great complexity characterizing the international scene and relations. In this context we can all agree on the importance of finding the best solutions to the present problems and hybrid threats at the international level. Using soft power in order to „build bridges" between international actors may represent one of the most efficient ways in order to find those solutions to the common problems. Therefore, in the present paper we will try to analyze and establish what is the impact soft power can have when it comes to making a foreign policy decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to investigate the global democratic decline and examines specific indicators and qualitative data released by major research bodies around the world (Center for the Future of Democracy, Freedom House, The Economist Intelligence Unit, Idea International). It focuses on the status of democracy, quality of democracy and citizens' satisfaction with democracy. An overall conclusion is that the world experiences the worst democratic decline from the past two decades. Furthermore, a closer analysis is being completed for the United States of America situation with the purpose of understanding the democratic erosion from 2016-2020. The current research concludes with a series of recommendations regarding the social polarization, the spread of disinformation and the ultraconservative movements, and improvements needed for the overall health of democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union as a global actor has received a growing boost in recent decades. Somalia is the country that has captured more attention in the last ten years as it remains as a Failed State. The phenomenon of piracy and terrorism led the EU to intervene in 2008 for the first time. In order to stabilized the region Brussels has launched three different missions: EU Navfor Atalanta, EUTM Somalia and EUCAP Nestor-Somalia. This paper presents a detailed analysis of the three missions to draw conclusions about the successes and failures of the EU presence in Somalia a decade later. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses a current problem facing the government and Moldovan society, namely changes in the migration process in diaspora communities, both in terms of government policies and in terms of practical implementation of these policies. EU policies encourages the governments to actively pursue their efforts through the United Nations the issue of migration and strengthening the Diaspora to occupy an important place on the international agenda for the human rights of migrants are guaranteed under an international legislative framework and that shared administration migration processes between countries of origin and host countries to contribute to economic and social development. For this motive, in this article the concept of inclusion and migration will be mobilized to analyze the social reality of Moldavians migrants in UE. The second part of this paper is to present the social reality of Moldavians immigrants within the enlarged Europe, specifically by examining the migration experiences, the personal stories and perceptions about then. In order to measure to what extent borders and mobility is affecting immigrants' identity; this paper explores the construction of immigrant identity through the interaction with the host society analyzing social situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the Brexit process shows, questions on how to preserve and create sustainable peace and friendly relationships in conflict-ridden border regions have come to the fore in the debate of European integration. In a theoretical context of differentiated Europeanisation that acknowledge the dynamics between centralization, functionality and the territorial dimension, this paper explores the mechanisms that may foster more peaceful and harmonious relationships between neighbouring communities in crossborder relations. Building upon historical evidence, on how the breakup of the union between Sweden and Norway in 1905 evolved from a very hostile climate, close to war, to what is now commonly understood as a "border of peace," we identify important mechanisms that may be of general interest in similar cases of cross-border hostility. Of particular importance to us is how the relationship between neighbouring communities between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland may develop in the event of Brexit, and if a "hard border" between the two countries will be realized. In a report to the Irish Central Border Area Network (2018), individuals on both sides of the Irish border speaks of fear what will happen after Britain has left the European Union. As the voices from the survey shows, many people fear that old conflicts will rise again, and that the European identity connected to the EU-membership will be replaced by the old national and religious identities, leading to the conflict to erupt once again. Even if we empirically focus on a particular border region the aim is to contribute to the general debate on how functionally differentiated border-regions in Europe may adopt different strategies on how to develop safe and sustainable neighbourhoods. We use a methodological approach that, as Bartolini (2005), distinguish between "boundaries", as an analytically concept narrower than "borders". Boundary identifies both territorial groups as well as membership groups. This term allows actual physical frontier of historical states that relates to centralized politics of territorial jurisdiction and sovereignty. Our approach is multidisciplinary in the sense that we acknowledge that political science may benefit from historical knowledge. The case of the breakup of the union between Sweden and Norway shows that former enemies can evolve to friendly neighbours. The history of the border region between Sweden and Norway is marked by wars and conflicts from the middle ages up to the 20th century. In 1814, Norway was forced in to a union with Sweden. In 1905, the Norwegians held a referendum on secession from the union and the anti-unionist side won a landslide. This victory led to a crisis with military rallying at both sides. After negotiations in the late summer 1905, the Swedish government agreed to a breakup of the union. Following some critical events, as the Second World War, Norway joining theNATO and Sweden became a member of the EU, the border is today perceived as "a border of peace" with mutual gains from both sided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of international organisations during the bipolar world and at its ends, and the progressive political development of the European Union, both challenged a particular approach of the new international or regional policies of the European Union. Hence, the multilateral cooperation gradually substituted bilateral cooperation at the international level, even though States were not always well prepared and disposed to accept the new method and its results. In its turn, the EU has substituted the bilateral with multilateral cooperation and negotiations in some of its regional programmes and is actually using multilateral cooperation to apply its policies and to achieve some of its international or regional objectives. It is the case for the Eastern Partnership, which is using the multilateral cooperation as a negotiation instrument between the EU and Eastern Partnership beneficiary states. The characteristics of multilateral cooperation (the multitude of involved actors, the multitude of interests, variables and solutions, its multi-level way to develop, etc.) make difficult the assessment of the progress and the specific role of the involved actors. This paper will focus on the EU's formal tools in the process of multilateral cooperation and highlights both the significance and limits of multilateral cooperation and of multilateral negotiations in the regional context of the Eastern Partnership, as the role of the EU as one of the parts of the process of multilateral cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the perception of border. It is widely believed that the border of European Union is dividing Europe from non-European space. It contributes in developing of European identity versus the identity of „others? or non-European countries. Through source analysis I will try to focus on the concept of border and see if it contributes to homogenization of the space. Does the border of European Union create particular perception around the European space?! To what extent are economic and border policies of European Union making member states similar in a way and how do members themselves perceive their role in transnational organization?! Non-European countries try to include themselves in this alliance of advanced states thinking they gain particular privilege by being the members of European Union. After creation of European Union non-member states started to perceive the border as the obstacle or the divider rather than unifier. Even if member states might perceive the union as homogeneous entity to some extent, other non-member countries view the border as divider of spaces and definition of Geographic Europe. Could it be that political border created special perception around the organization which influenced the idea towards European Union among Non-EU states?! The paper will try to see if the border perception influences the perception of whole European Union. Article will try to also look into the problem of homogenous perception of organization and the concrete tools introduced to achieve the similar level of understanding among the member states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trafficking continues to be a very serious problem in Albania. Not much attention has been paid to addressing trafficking issues in Albania. Among the victims of trafficking, children are the most effected due to their vulnerability and the incapability to understand the danger of trafficking and to value importance of their fundamental human rights. On the other hand, children are not fully competent to determine and safeguard their interests. They rely on adults regarding many aspects of life. Cases of children exploited in terrible situations for labour and sexual purposes serve as a strong motivation for responsible stakeholders to take and implement successful strategies. Despite the commitment of state to combating this phenomenon, trafficking of children is still flourishing. Considering the increasing number of children is being trafficked, this paper aims to analyse the push factors that contribute to child trafficking in Albania. Trafficking is a very complicated form of exploitation that is influenced by economic, social and cultural factors. However, there are factors common to trafficking and other specific factors depending on different situations that the children face individually. Common factors are national or local ones referring to poverty, unemployment, lack of education, health and social services, inadequate legislation, corruption etc. While individual ones refer to dysfunctional families, domestic violence, culture and social norms etc. The study is based on qualitative method. The results of this study are also analysed in relation with the contemporary international literature on trafficking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This scientific paper is devoted to developing ways and models of converting the labour migrants cost into the internal investment resources of United Territorial Communities, taking into account their new functions and powers. The article analyses current data on the main aspects of Ukraine's international labour migration, namely: the number of migrants, their main employment areas, the largest recipient countries of labour migrants and donor regions, the amount of remittances and savings of migrants. Considering the results of the research on the amount of cash flows, the availability of savings and the desire of many migrant workers to return to Ukraine, it can be argued that they have a huge potential to become one of the largest domestic investors of the United Territorial Communities. Therefore, migrants have resources, and UTCs have considerable authority to attract these resources. The authors present a scheme for forming an investment cluster of united territorial communities, the basis of which is the process of interaction between community leadership, academics and experts of higher education institutions, administrative services centres and migrant workers as potential domestic investors. The implementation and effective functioning of this model will create incentives for migrants to return and benefit from productive usage of their resources, as they will be able to earn enough income to keep families and create jobs for other residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]