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The massive expansion of the North Atlantic Organization and the European Union to the former communist countries of Central and Southeastern Europe, but also the Baltic States, have made the geopolitical dynamics of the continent change extensively in the past 20 years. Therefore, integration experience of these countries confronted with the manner of acting of countries such as Norway reveals the changes that occur in the international arena. This article attempts to identify and emphasize through comparative analysis the specificity of Norwegian security and defense systems, correlating this with Norway`s behavior in the international arena. The first part of the paper contains a brief overview of the similarities and differences between the East and the North, both peripheral regions of Europe in the 90s, attached to the European Project by northern and eastern dimensions. The second part of the paper describes the current geopolitical context in the neighboring regions of Norway and Oslo`s foreign and security opportunities. This part includes comparative studies of Oslo`s areas of actions and its state capacity and tools to preserve and create new regions, and thus regional objectives. And finally, the last part is a Norwegian defense policy analysis with perspectives over the cultural environment and social background generated by, in the context of these particular northern policies dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transversal studies on emerging European communication are quite few in number, while the approach to the policies and strategies launched by the European Commission ever since 2005 is still very specific or contingent. Our aim is to conduct a comprehensive study on what are still the early stages of the concept of 'emerging European communication'. The article investigates four programmatic documents of the European Commission, the White Paper on a European Communication Policy, the Action Plan to Improve Communicating Europe, the Plan D for Democracy, Dialogue and Debate, and the Strategy Europe 2020, as well as one resolution of the European Parliament, Journalism and new media - creating a public sphere in Europe, all describing the new European communication policy. The analyzed key-directions relate to the reference point of all these debates and initiatives - the Eurobarometer, an unbiased tool of sociological measurement, which fully confirms the communication breakdown between European citizens and the institutions which represent them - the 'favorable' premise of a communication policy for the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the European legislative act establishing the conditions of compensation to victims of violent crimes committed in another Member State than that of the victims residence. The research has led to the identification of some provisions which will cause some difficulties both in practice and in enunciation of scientifically critical observations. The study is useful for theorists and practitioners and also for the European legislator. The scientific contribution of this research is given by the critical remarks and future law proposals made in order to improve the complex activity to compensate the victims of all kinds of crimes, not just of violent crimes, as required by the legislative act in question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Reflection in the Media of the European Construction Process. The paper explores how the model of European society is shaped and promoted through mass media. In analyzing the current context of the evolution of European construction and the institutional space of the media, I focused on two issues - (i) an analysis on three levels, namely national, transnational - within EU, and the EU's external relations as an entity, and (ii) within the aforementioned analysis, the study of four comprehensive and significant elements for the reflection in the media of the European construction: - At the national level, the functioning of UBB Radio that has as main goal to promote the core values of the EU and to make public the construction processes of the Union. - At the transnational level - within the European Union, the reflection in the media of an important event in the life of the EU - the second referendum for the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland, as presented by five important TV news channels: BBC World News, France 24, Deutsche Welle TV Europe, Euronews and CNN International Europe. - At the European Union level, the promotion of the Union, of the European values, through a Franco-German TV station with a special media profile and a particular role, namely channel Arte. - At the EU's external relations level, the way the EU outlines itself as a global economic player, as a landmark of culture and civilization, and as a geopolitical, military and international security actor, as illustrated in the news bulletins of five important TV news stations, namely CNN International Europe, Al Jazeera English, CCTV News, Russia Today and Euronews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper makes o short review over the main aspects of drug compensation in EU. There are mentioned the procedures of including medicines in the compensation system according to the European legislation and comparative situations in EU countries in regard to the length of negotiation process to obtain the compensation, the modality and percent of compensation. We may conclude that there isn't a unitary policy of compensation in the EU countries, differences being significant and dictated by every country by itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a period of hectic diplomatic activity for breathing a new life into the project of European integration and bouncing it back after the economic crisis came to threaten its credibility, Romania is bound to take an active role in the ongoing discussions on the future of Europe. The deliberations that have been going on for the past few months advance now along several lines and aim at creating a banking union, a fiscal union, an economic union and a political union. Each of them taken separately and all of them taken together will alter fundamentally the governance structures of the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]