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Ron Asmus, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, liked to say that the Baltic states had to run a marathon to join NATO but could rely on the support of their American 'coaches.' Estonian diplomats have used the word 'babysitter' to describe their American colleagues. While it is true that the result of NATO enlargement was never inevitable, the uncertainties of the process were diminished by cooperation between candidate countries and the forces inside the US who pushed for enlargement. Without delving into their motives, this article traces the role of the US as 'coaches' and 'babysitters' in making the Baltic states' 'run' toward NATO a nearly perfect marathon, despite all the pitfalls and doubts along the way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout history mankind has faced various conflicts motivated by territoriality, natural resources, religion, geostrategic position, the desire to dominate and/or subdue the other, etc. The Carpathian-Danubian-Pontic space was no exception, so I would like to bring to attention the battles fought by Burebista, Decebal, Gelu, Menumorut, Ștefan cel Mare, Vlad Șepes, Mihai Viteazul and the list could go on until The Events of December 1989. Nicolae lorga said that ?a people that does not know its past is condemned to repeat it?. The benefits brought to Romanians by Romania's accession to the E.U. (2007) and the N.A.T.O. (2004), as well as the Romanian people's confidence that a crisis situation could not happen again in our lands, led to the most diverse reactions when The Events in Ukraine escalated (2022) and I would mention with your permission only a few of them, as they were highlighted in the Romanian media: Passport queues [1] to be able to flee the war to another safer area; polls showing that Romanians are no longer willing to defend their state borders in case of conflict [2]; different reactions for Ukrainian [3] and Syrian [4] refugees, etc. An independent analyst of the above mentioned situations would say that it is natural for people to react and that this reaction cannot be unanimous, because we as individuals are also different. The question then naturally arises Why for them ONE is THE GOOD, and for the OTHERS the same people are THE BAD. Are perceptions influenced by a lack of knowledge of history, traditions, culture, values, etc.? Or is it all the result of media and social media activity? Another question that might arise is where do they get their information? Do they have correspondents in the conflict zone? Are they familiar with the reality of the conflict zone? Or does the media pick up a story from a trust and by the snowball method roll it up and each of those who pick up the story personalize it as their own? Is there a possibility that the media in a conflict situation will change its discourse according to certain interests, the involvement of certain actors in the daily life of the media? It is worth examining the situation and why the media are making value judgments and not presenting the situation impartially. Or is there a possibility that the media are paving the way for the power in each state to direct resources according to interests that are not always the most honest? We can remember an area of conflict where opinions are different at a somewhat limited interval. I would draw attention to the Events in Ukraine or as it is known Euromaidan (2013 - 2014) or Events in Ukraine (2022) or Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Euromaidan counted in the protest of citizens following the Ukrainian government's decision to suspend the process of preparation to sign the Association Agreement with the European Union as well as the Free Trade Agreement with the European Union. Started by students, the protests were joined by opposition parties as well as various pro-European groups. As a result of the growing number of protesters on 30 November 2013, the government decided to suppress the movement by using special forces (Berkut or Golden Eagle) and a large number of people were injured, while others took refuge in Michael's Monastery in St Michael's Square. The action to suppress the movement had the opposite effect making the movement even more known among Ukrainians and worldwide, but the events of 30 November 2013 were also a point of change in the direction of the protests turning from pro-European protests to the much increased antigovernment ones. The events in Ukraine in 2022 consist of the invasion of Ukraine, after the Russian president had previously created the administrative regions of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent entities and sent military troops to these areas. These events have led to the escalation of fuel and energy prices, affected the mobility of people and goods and why not everyday life, with the end result that most families have seen their money become more expensive. Each time these events have divided the population, led to the impoverishment of a large mass of the population and those who have suffered from them are children, women and the elderly. In order not to fail into the propaganda of either side of the conflict and to analyse the situation objectively, we must bear in mind that propaganda exists in both democracy and dictatorship. It is worth remembering the situation in which the US administration delivered the war in Iraq to the population, the Nazi regime using propaganda to gain the confidence of the population in the correctness of the ideology promoted. Nowadays propaganda is often camouflaged and promoted through the media and social media. Conflicts in the media sell and make ratings, which can be an excuse for those who resort to rallying to one side or the other, because in the end they will only gain. Like it or not, war propaganda has the same goals every time. First and foremost it will seek to generate a sense of fear, with the aim that once people are frightened of losing their life savings or the risk of losing their lives, they will more readily support armed action. Another part of propaganda is censorship, which can be of three types: direct, indirect and self-censorship. Linguistic distortion is a third type of propaganda and with the help of bad words clear images of the adversary are built up, and with the help of good words people's positive feelings are appealed to. The fourth form of propaganda is the management of feelings through which emotions are controlled and favourable emotions for the party concerned are formed. Lying and deception are also a part of propaganda which uses a mixture of truth, more precisely half-truths and lies, in order to influence the population, and thus it is done repeatedly in order to gain as many followers as possible. Military entertainment as part of propaganda aims to gain as many followers as possible by delivering war films, serials, documentaries to the population, and this can be gained most successfully by delivering war video games to people of all ages. Populism, as part of propaganda, is political behaviour aimed at winning the sympathy of the population. Not least aestheticization is the part of propaganda, whereby the ugly side of an armed/military conflict is presented as much more beautiful and appealing than it really is. I conclude by recalling what the American sociologist Walter Lippmann said "propaganda is that branch of the lie which often deceives friends and never enemies". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an analysis of the European Union (EU) citizen identity in Latvia over a 15-year timeline from 2004 to 2019, examining the ways in which feelings of "Europeanness" have grown among Latvian citizens since the nation's initial accession to the EU. This article contains theoretical, historical, and statistical frames for its analysis. Drawing on Eurobarometer reports and their data annexes published between 2005 and 2019, this paper documents the quantitative evolution of EU identity in Latvia and demonstrates that the EU citizen identity in Latvia has grown in recent years, but that, in certain regards, it still lags in comparison to other EU member states. Specifically, this analysis highlights that the social component of EU identity in Latvia--the "actual" self-description that one is culturally European--lags behind the EU average. This article contributes significantly to the existing body of EU scholarship because of its specific focus on Latvian identity development through the lens of Eurobarometer reports, and because of its selected 15-year timeline, which started with its initial accession to the EU. This article posits that, should the EU identity in Latvia continue to grow and develop in the coming years, then Latvia could--at a time when other nations are suffering from Eurosceptic ideology--elevate the country's social voice in the EU and position itself as truly European, thereby ending Latvia's previous connections to Eastern society and solidifying itself as a Western nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The article presents the discussion on Turkey and the Allied Powers signing the Treaty of Lausanne. Topics include emphasizing the point with reference to specific articles in the Treaty focusing on Turkey and its southeastern neighbors in the 1920s; recipients of Turkish civil and military pensions acquirng under the present Treaty the nationality of a State other than Turkey; and requiring negotiations between the Ankara government and the French and British Mandate authorities.

The City of London has long attracted much academic and popular attention. However, little research has been done on the relationship between the City and the European Economic Community in the 1970s and 1980s, despite the accession of the United Kingdom in 1973. Based on archival material from central and commercial banks in the UK and France, this article explores the relationship between the City and the EEC, from the accession of the UK to the EEC in 1973 to the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, which was meant to be the year of the completion of the single financial market. The article explores two areas: the influence of the City on EEC financial regulation, and how this influence was exerted. It pays particular attention to two committees chaired by the Bank of England, the City Liaison Committee and the City EEC Liaison Committee, and to British banks. The article argues that if the EEC played a part in the formalisation of British banking regulation, the City also played a key role in shaping EEC plans for financial regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1995 Treaty concerning the accession of Finland and Sweden to the EU makes some express exceptions for their domestic legislation vis-à-vis EU legislation regarding some aspects of traditional reindeer husbandry carried out by the Sámi people. However, other fields in the EU law lack an express regulation concerning reindeer husbandry and this has led to much controversy. In Sweden, legislation on EU Natura 2000 areas identifies reindeer herders as stakeholders among many others, i.e. it does not as such address the Sámi as indigenous people. In Finland, the Act on Metsähallitus was amended in 2016 to be in compliance with EU trade laws; however, the new Act does not recognise any special status of the Sámi as indigenous people, giving rise to concerns especially with regards to reindeer husbandry. The extension of Protocol No 3 to the Accession Treaty to other matters by a unanimous vote of the Council could be a solution to protect Sámi's reindeer husbandry vis-à-vis EU legislation. Simultaneously, EU legislation should be interpreted in the light of the relevant rules of international law concerning indigenous peoples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's Protocol of Accession to the WTO in its subparagraph 15(a)(ii) allowed the WTO Members to treat China as a non-market economy; however, post December 11, 2016, the situation has changed as the concerned subparagraph has expired, and thereby has created a situation of uncertainty in relation to China's market economy status. This article will first shed light on topics such as non-market economies (NMEs) and the legal rules concerning them under the WTO regime. Secondly, it will focus on the history and evolution of the non-market economy methodologies under the national regimes of the European Union and the United States. Lastly, China's main trading partners' reactions tothese developments post-December 2016 are discussed.This article concludes that none of the provisions in China's Protocol of Accession makes it obligatory for the other Members to afford a market economy status to China after December 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beginning shortly after the regime change in December 1989, the process of rapprochement between Romania and the European Communities was a long and difficult one. In order to acquire the status of a Member State, our country had to prove the fulfillment of both the accession criteria set out mainly at the meetings of The European Council in Copenhagen and Madrid, as well as the punctual conditionality highlighted during the accession negotiations. All this involved severe adjustments of political, legal, social, economic nature and not only. Due to the possible effects that the radical change in the factual situation might have in the afore mentioned spheres, Romania supported the necessity of inserting in the Accession Act certain transition periods so to facilitate the accommodation to the status of Member State of the Communities and subsequently, of the European Union. Our study focuses on the transition periods that we have previously referred to, which we will examine from the perspective of the Act of Accession and the doctrine of specialty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accession negotiations of Belarus to the WTO are unusual since, due to its obligations in the Eurasian Economic Union, WTO accession is not expected to impact its tariffs or formerly substantial trade-distorting agricultural subsidies. Nonetheless, we estimate that WTO accession will increase welfare by 9.9% of consumption in Belarus. We show that inclusion of: (i) foreign direct investment; (ii) reduction in non-discriminatory barriers against services providers; and (iii) our model with imperfect competition and endogenous productivity effects together produce estimated gains eleven times larger than a model of perfect competition with only cross-border trade in services. Our analysis is enabled by our production of a data set on both discriminatory and non-discriminatory barriers in services and their ad valorem equivalents. Based on a new data set on labour productivity by sector and type of ownership, in our central model, we estimate that privatisation will increase welfare by 35.8% of consumption. We find substantial variance in the estimated gains from privatisation depending on model assumptions, but all the estimates of the impacts of privatisation indicate substantial welfare gains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The two central issues in China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) were its economic size and the large role the state had played in economic decisions – the treatment of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) as central to addressing the latter point. While the Protocol of Accession imposed obligations on China that went beyond what was required of other WTO members, it has not been effective at resolving concerns about Chinese SOEs. This demonstrates, in part, the limitations in using the WTO as a vehicle to promote economic reform. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Bulgaria signed the European Union accession treaty in 2005. Accession caused an increase in the volume of inward foreign direct investment flows (IFDI). We analyse World Bank BEEPS firm-level data for 2007 to understand the characteristics and performance of foreign firms in Bulgaria. Regression analysis reveals that foreign firms are larger, have lower capital-to-labour ratios, are more likely to export and are more likely to locate in Sofia. However, foreign firms have had limited success in Bulgaria. They do not exhibit higher sales growth and, in manufacturing, carried out lower capital investment in machinery than domestic firms. The numbers of visits from tax officials is the same for domestic and foreign firms in manufacturing, and lower for foreign firms in the service sector. However, firms with higher exports-to-sales ratios and higher absolute sales were subjected to a higher number of visits from tax officials. These findings suggest that a range of institutional challenges remain for foreign firms in Bulgaria. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents information on the consequences of the accession process for Belarus into the World Trade Organization (WTO). Particular focus is given to topics including negotiations to accede to the WTO due to improvements in market access, the impact of liberalizing barriers on foreign services suppliers, and the outputs of the business sectors.

The article discusses the biannual update on national legislation and case law for the implementation of international humanitarian law (IHL) from January to June 2016. Topics include the importance of the biannual update in implementing IHL and in providing information on efforts by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Advisory Service, the accession and ratification of IHL treaties, and the implementation of IHL in various countries like Liberia, Mauritius, and Peru.

The integration of the Protocol of Accession of China into the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement and its annexes is subject to great debate. The area of anti-subsidy law is, however, largely exempt from scientific discussion. With respect to the use of alternative benchmark methodologies in the process of calculating the amount of subsidy, the relationship between general and China-specific legislation - Article 14 ASCM and Section 15 (b) CAP - is deemed satisfactorily provided for in China's Accession Protocol. But recent WTO Appellate Body jurisprudence allowing alternative benchmarking in general WTO anti-subsidy law has upset this relationship enormously - and then abandoned it. The expected surge of countervailing duties prompted by the 2016 expiry of alternative methodologies in Chinese WTO antidumping law will rather sooner than later confront WTO judiciary with the question: which is China's applicable anti-subsidy law on price comparability of today? This article contributes to answering this question by bringing together Section 15 (b) CAP and Article 14 ASCM and tracing the applicable legal framework. Comparing both provisions in their present shapes also touches upon another issue: is the reluctance to invoke Section 15 (b) CAP still justified? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union's actions in the western Balkans region is guided by the principles which have inspired its own creation, development and enlargement. Nevertheless, the countries of the region area are still impatiently waiting for a confirmation of the Thessaloniki Agenda conclusions in the new Enlargement Strategy for 2010/2011, which will have a strong impact on the region's further integration dynamic. There is a unique stance among all the countries of the region that it is necessary to lobby for a faster Integration track, requiring all potential candidate countries promptly to understand the manners and rules of functioning of the complex EU system. In that sense, western Balkan countries have, to different extents, developed lobbying networks. Each country needs to create the institutional set up for lobbying, registers of professional lobbyists and codes of conduct for lobbyists, with a full understanding of the relevant machinery of decision-making, which will help them to influence the process concerning the enlargement dynamic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the early effects of Mongolia's accession to the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA). The Gravity model is employed in this study to analyze the effects of key factors that affect trade costs for land-locked Mongolia. In addition, the Spearman's rank correlation of revealed advantage (SRC) and Trade intensity index (TII) are used to identify the Mongolian export products suitable for the APTA market. The paper concludes that Mongolia would be able to increase its trade flow for the APTA market after its accession to the regional trade agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recently issued Opinion 2/13, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that European Union (EU) accession to the European Convention on Human Rights on the basis of the current Draft Accession Agreement would be incompatible with the EU Treaties. This article examines the impact of Opinion 2/13 on European fundamental rights protection. It argues that the concerns for EU law autonomy expressed in the Opinion for the most part are unwarranted and that the Court, through the use of classic constitutionalist language, seeks to position EU law as the superior European fundamental rights regime. The article furthermore argues that the Opinion, in both form and substance, is in line with the pattern of the Court opting for a more autonomous EU approach to fundamental rights adjudication following the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty and that this development gives rise to serious concerns about the effectiveness and coherence of fundamental rights in Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a biannual update on national implementation of international humanitarian law (IHL) from January to June 2015. Topics mentioned include the four priorities of the International Committee of the Red Cross's Advisory Service on IHL, universal participation in IHL and other related treaties, and a table that outlines the total number of ratifications of and accessions to IHL treaties and other relevant related international instruments as of the end of June 2015.

The author evaluates justification of the Custom Union Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. Integration makes it possible to reduce custom service costs, eliminate anti-dumping investigations, and stimulate domestic production. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the success of the European Parliament (EP) elections in May 2014 during the 2013 in setting the agenda for the selection of the next Commission President and in continuing to dominate the complicated legislative process. It further reviews the institutional implications of Croatia's accession. It discusses Croatia's accession following the institutional impact of central and eastern enlargement in 2004-2007 and the views of Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, on the same.

Accession protocols are unique legal instruments in the World Trade Organization (WTO) legal system. With the increasing numbers of new Members joining the WTO, the number of accession protocols is also on the rise. However, due to the ambiguous legal status of the accession protocols in the WTO legal system, the disputes relating to the understanding and application of the provisions in accession protocols are frequently taking place. Because accession protocols concern the fundamental trade interests of new Members, their status in the WTO legal system is of great importance. The WTO Ministerial Conference and General Council should therefore fulfil their statutory duties in such a way as to mitigate potential challenges posed by the possible legal uncertainty of accession protocols in pursuing the aims of the multilateral trading system, in adhering to and promoting WTO principles and rules as well as the basic principles of international law and in particular situating accession protocols appropriately within the overall WTO legal framework. Specifically, this article proposes that the WTO Ministerial Conference and General Council should properly address the relationship between accession protocols and the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization and its annexes. Such action will help to safeguard the legal rights and interests of the new WTO Members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the results of the Russian-U.S. working group on the Iranian nuclear issue that was established in November 2013. It cites the goal of the group to support the positive dynamics of the process of negotiations between Iran and P5+1 and contribute to reaching of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Iranian nuclear program. The group has also found the obsolete core of the Tehran research reactor and the need to accelerate Iranian accession to the World Trade Organization.

What is the effect of European Union (EU) enlargement on differentiated integration? And is it driven by the relative bargaining power of old and new member states or by the equal or even preferential treatment of weaker candidates? This article analyses differentiation in EU treaty and secondary law across the EU's six enlargement rounds. It shows that exemptive differentiation privileging the new member states has been more frequent than discriminatory differentiation. Whereas there is some evidence that poorer new members suffer more strongly from discrimination, most of the variation in differentiation across new member states is explained by differences between enlargement rounds. In addition, the EU grants poorer candidates more time to fully adopt the EU acquis. The analysis suggests that bargaining between old and new member states over differentiation is constrained by the equal and even preferential treatment of weaker candidates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the many changes introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon, one of the most significant ones is the introduction of a new EU exclusive competence concerning foreign investment, as part of the common commercial policy. The exercise of such competence has given rise to several controversial issues, in particular as regards the status and the future of Member States Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) concluded before the attribution of this new competence to the EU. This article considers whether Member States BITs can be safeguarded by an application by analogy of Article 351 TFEU, in the same manner as pre-accession agreements. The analysis will include but extend beyond Regulation No. 1219/2012, which attempts to provide a sound legal regime of a transitory period only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing countries like India are under international pressure to sign a legally binding emissions treaty to avert catastrophic climatic change. Developing countries, however, have argued that any international agreement must be based on historic and per capita carbon emissions, with developed countries responsible for reducing their emissions first and funding mitigation and adaptation in other countries. Recently, however, several scholars have argued that Indian government climate change discourses are shifting, primarily by recognizing the 'co-benefits' of an alignment between its development and climate change objectives, and by displaying increasing 'flexibility' on mitigation targets. This study investigates the factors driving shifting Indian discourses of climate change by conducting and analyzing 25 interviews of Indian climate policy elites, including scientists, energy policy experts, leading government officials, journalists, business leaders, and advocates, in addition to analysis of articles published in Economic and Political Weekly (a prominent Indian policy journal), and reports published by the government and other agencies. Our analysis suggests that India's concerns about increasing energy access and security, along with newer concerns about vulnerability to climate change and the international leadership aspirations of the Indian government, along with emergence of new actors and institutions, has led to plurality of discourses, with potential implications for India's climate change policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the impact of the tax requirements in one country – the Republic of Macedonia - on EU integration processes. It focuses on international double taxation and its effects at the global level. In addition, it emphasises some specific aspects relating to international bilateral treaties on avoiding double taxation as a means of overcoming the problems of international double taxation in the Republic of Macedonia. The wider context implies the need for an open approach in the Republic of Macedonia, while the article also addresses the introduction of a marketoriented economy and accession to the European Union. Here, the implementation of a flat tax regime in the Republic of Macedonia takes on additional interest since it might be seen to be obstructive to the processes of EU harmonisation and integration. Furthermore, some of the agreements set out limitations on taxation that seem to be in contravention of EU directives in the area of corporate taxation and, therefore, need to be re-thought as the Republic approaches EU membership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses aspects of Romanian Armed Forces' accession to the North-Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Topics discussed include the author's military involvement and leadership on a military mission to Albania in 1997, the integration process in the NATO alliance procedures and system, and the flexibility of NATO in the security environment.

The article presents a discussion on the participation of the Romanian Armed Forces in the North-Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Topics discussed include the approval of the proposed amendments for the completion of NATO membership process in October 2003, and the commitment of Romania in NATO's Partnership for Peace programme and operations such as the NATO Operation Active Endeavour and Unified Protector.

The article looks at the 1934 accession of the U.S. to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) agency of the League of Nations, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, focusing on American women who played an important role in advocating for the U.S. to join the ILO. It profiles the work of ILO employee Alice Squires Cheyney; U.S. Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins, and Mary Anderson, head of the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau.

Analysis of the consequences of power balance disturbance in the Central-Eastern Europe after the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact and regaining sovereignty by states remaining under the dominance of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics after World War II leads to recognizing Poland's accession to NATO as Poland's indisputable diplomatic success providing it with a new instrument serving to implement its raison d'état and strengthen its independence. The membership determines the long-range perspective of Poland's perception as a stable state on the international stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at the realignment of issues, interests, and motivations in the eastern Mediterranean involving a member country of the European Union (EU), Greece, a candidate country, Cyprus, and an aspiring candidate country, Turkey, by utilizing the concept of Europeanization. Topics discussed include the Cyprus-EU accession negotiations, the December 1999 Helsinki European Council, and Mediterranean politics. Also mentioned are the Annan Plan and the Cyprus-EU accession treaty.