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This paper outlines the importance of the studies of EU external perceptions in the Asia-Pacific region in the times of global multipolar redesign and an ongoing eurozone sovereign debt crisis. It links understanding of the concepts of EU external images and EU international 'branding' to the conduct of the EU's foreign policy. The paper also details the methodology of the transnational comparative research project 'The EU in the Eyes of Asia Pacific' which informs all contributions to this Issue. The paper then presents those contributions which explore EU external perceptions in nine Asia-Pacific locations, members of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) process: China, Japan, South Korea, India, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, and Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of rail transport is the key to the integral development of the entire European transport system. In 2010, consultations were started to discuss the proposal of the European Commission for merging various EU directives relating to railway transport. In 2011, the European Transport White Paper was published; the paper lays down the transport policy for the current decade with a perspective up until the years 2030/2050. The principles of the White Paper are compliant with the general ideas of the Commission. Both of these documents see the strengthening of supervision at the national level as the key issue for improving the competitiveness of the rail sector; require the separation of ownership and using the first best infrastructure pricing solutions. The authors find that the following questions must be answered in order to implement these ideas: 1) how to allocate supervisory functions between the state and infrastructure manager; 2) which would be the best way for realising the unbundling of rail activities; 3) how can the sustainability of railways be ensured while using marginal cost pricing in the situation where formal transport policy does not allow state support for rail transport. The authors seek answers to these questions by comparing the situation in the Nordic and Baltic countries, as these two groups of countries illustrate two diametrically different approaches to the possible solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several reforms aiming to strengthen budgetary discipline in the European Union have been implemented since the outbreak of the European debt crisis. Arguably the most important one is the Fiscal Compact, which stipulates that each signatory country must enshrine in domestic legislation an upper limit on the structural budget deficit, that is, the deficit after cyclical and other temporary factors have been excluded. This paper analyses the contents of the Fiscal Compact and discusses challenges for its implementation and efficacy. The conclusion is that the Fiscal Compact may be challenging to implement and enforce because the rules are very complex and require complicated calculations that are subject to very large forecasting uncertainty. The Fiscal Compact could, however, lead to a stronger national commitment to fiscal prudence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the end of the cold war, the European Union's (EU's) global aspirations and capabilities have grown. This shift has seen the EU becoming an increasingly integral part of the international arena, both economically and politically. However, there has been a notable geopolitical shift in recent years towards the growing importance of Asia. New Zealand, geographically distant but traditionally culturally aligned with the EU, the nation that has traditionally enjoyed close economic, political and social relations with the EU but is increasingly focused on Asia, presents a unique perspective on this perceived realignment of power. This paper offers a unique perspective on the effectiveness of the EU's international outreach. Using international relations' 'small state theory' as an analytical tool, the paper draws on a series of longitudinal elite interviews conducted with New Zealand's political, economic, civil society and media elites over a decade. The paper qualitatively and quantitatively assesses whether the EU remains perceived as a relevant, important global actor in the eyes of New Zealand's elite. The paper makes a number of observations. Firstly, as a small state, New Zealand's foreign policy focus has tended to be preoccupied with economics and this preoccupation has meant a notable shift away from Europe. Second, although over the course of the interviews negative discussions about the EU's Common Agriculture Policy decreased, on the other hand there was increasingly less discussion about the EU's potential and a more concerted discussion about the importance of Asia to the New Zealand's economy and future. There are a number of reasons to account for this changing perception towards the EU, however, the internal friction currently facing the European Union and eurozone was consistently noted. Finally, although over time the interviewed elites believed that the EU's importance is diminishing, this acknowledgement was often made with regret. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the outbreak of the 2008/2009 global financial crisis, the economic balance between the traditional developed economies and the emerging ones has changed drastically, including that between the European Union and China. While the EU and its Member States are preoccupied by the eurozone debt crisis, stagnant economic growth and high domestic unemployment, China raised as the world's second largest economy and one of the quickest growing consumer market. This paper explores the change in perception of the EU as an economic actor in the eyes of Chinese mainstream news media and national elites under such context. It argues that the strategic partnership could improve only if the two sides understand the mutual perception clearly. It is found that China has increased its leverage for bargaining vis-à-vis the EU as well as the capacity to give some help to the EU. Although the image of the EU as an economic powerhouse has been slightly weakened, it did not turn the heavily trade-oriented EU-China relations more comprehensive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European Union (EU) was founded to strengthen European integration through purely economic cooperation while disregarding human rights. However, throughout its existence the EU has been challenged to take a stand on human rights. In fact, the application and promotion of human rights has increased significantly in recent years, especially during the last 15 years, mainly thanks to the establishment of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in 2000. Through the selected cases concerning emergency medical services, this paper examines how the arguments of the European Court of Justice have eventually been shifting from purely economic ideology towards more human rights based approach. However, the article essentially argues that the full potential of human rights to support the claims that are inherently economic in their nature has not yet been utilized and therefore the essential aim of the Charter to strengthen human rights protection in the EU remains unachieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the analysis and forecasting of energy security risk index for eleven European countries (the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, and Ukraine for the period 1992-2016). Nowadays, energy security plays an important role in guaranteeing the national, political and economic security of the country. A literature review of different approaches to defining energy security gave the possibility to consider the regression model of energy security risk index assessment, which takes into account the levels of economic, technical and technological, ecological, social and resource components. This step was proceeded with clusterization of the analysed countries in three groups according to Energy Security Risk Index. Based on this approach resource-mining countries (Denmark, Germany, Norway and the UK) were grouped in Cluster I, while Ukraine occupied the last Cluster III. The next division in five clusters supported the indicated allocation. Finally, we calculated the forecasts of energy security risk index based on data of 1992-2014. It allowed realizing the perspectives of energy market for the nearest future, particularly for Ukraine, which needs development of a new strategy of energy security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to explore how the EU policy on Ukraine evolved in the run-up to the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius in November 2013. In particular, it looks into the preparations leading to the signature of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. Thereby it contributes to better understanding of the EU policy debate related to the associated negotiations with the Eastern Partnership countries. Prior to the Vilnius Summit there were high expectations that signature of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement would become a key deliverable of the summit. After the EU had postponed the signing of the agreement due to Ukraine's backsliding in democracy for several times, the process gained new momentum in 2013. It is suggested that exogenous factors, such as Russia's increasing pressure on Ukraine, contributed to consolidating the EU position. However, at the last minute Ukraine suspended its signature of the agreement at the Vilnius Summit. While Ukraine's domestic developments and Yanukovych's deals with Russia can be blamed for this fiasco, the EU Member States take a large share of responsibility. Lack of creativity to find a way out of the deadlock, as well as lack of the political will on the part of EU leaders to fight for Ukraine explains why the Association Agreement turned out as a missed opportunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article will show major dimensions in the experience of EU Member States that could be shared with the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries. The framework of the study is the EU concept of trade unions in social dialogue and social partnership in the public sector. This study outlines the concept of social dialogue as a core element of industrial relations and will focus on industrial relations specifically in the public sector. The authors have elaborated the approach to industrial relations and social dialogue taking into account comparative approach to definitions provided by international institutions such as ILO and OECD, as well as institutions in the EU and Latvia. Latvia is also a case study for Eastern Partnership countries as these countries and their trade unions are in a transition period from socialist structures to structures that possess liberal economies. Trade unions in these countries are members of the International Trade Union Confederation. The major transformation that trade unions underwent from being part of the socialist system and becoming an independent institution since Latvia regained independence in 1991 has been studied. The paper discusses the current developments related to the position of Latvian Free Trade Union Federation in the system of decision-making process related to the public administration management. Finally, the prospective role of trade unions in the EU and in Latvia is analysed and possible revitalisation of trade union is discussed. This approach could be applied to the Eastern Partners of the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses images of the European Union (EU) existing in the discourse of the Russian news media, the general public and the Russian elites. The EU's actions in the countries of Russia's "near neighbourhood" and "far neighbourhood" were among the leading topics, showing high interest in the intensive Russia-EU political relations. The data of this paper comes from a year of monitoring of three daily newspapers, face-to-face interviews with political, business, media and civil society representatives and a public opinion survey. This analysis observed that both partnership and competition exist in Russia-EU political relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) has faced not only the international financial crisis, but also the European banking and the sovereign debt crisis. A lack of efficient regulations and supervision were a serious cause of recent developments. As a reaction, the EU finally implemented a framework covering both micro- and macro-prudential policies. Measures such as the new capital requirements, the deposit guarantee schemes, the green paper on shadow banking and, most importantly, the new approach for a macro-prudential supervision are headed towards crisis prevention. However, the challenge is to define regulations enhancing financial stability, which, at the same time, do not prevent institutions from generating reasonable financial risks and do not reduce growth. In that regard, the presented measures still have deficits which have to be faced. Furthermore, coordination between various authorities and the European Commission remains another challenge [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The euro crisis created a possibility for the violation, in one way or another, of the one basic condition of the European Union (EU) and the European Monetary Union (EMU)—that each Member State is responsible for the condition of its public debt. This has introduced the need to discuss the next possible steps of adjustment to this new policy request. The old macroeconomic trilemma states that no country can enjoy at the same time free capital flows, stable exchange rates and independent monetary policy and its impact on creation of the monetary policy of the EU is a starting point of the article. Then there is the EU impossibility trilemma, which means that the three general rules of the euro area—that every Member State is responsible for its public debt, there is no co-responsibility of other members of the euro area and the no-monetaryfinancing rule—could not be applicable at the same time. This means that in developing a certain new set of institutions, which are targeting the change of basic general economic policy rules, the regularities of economic activities render only a certain combination of tools effective. The paper discusses the possible choices that are determined by applied arrangements, private and public agents' reactions to them and by the general conditions for policies applied on national and the EU level. The set of possible new regulations will determine the basic features of the EU in the future, though this process may have several possible outcomes. Estonia's position in this discussion and the impact of possible EU level outcomes on Estonia's economic policy is examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a consequence of the international crisis in 2008-2009, the role of exports in economic growth came into focus in most countries. Exports of EU Member States gained momentum from 2010 onward but with certain changes in their structure and direction. In several countries, the turn towards non-EU areas, such as China or Latin America was part of the state export strategy. On the one hand, our article describes these foreign trade strategies and their institutional framework of the Iberian, Baltic and Central European governments, detecting possible similarities. On the other hand, we analyse recent export data. This way we can get a picture on the structure and direction of exports of periphery economies and this can be compared to the aims of the given states. Our hypothesis is that there is a gap between the reality and the intentions of the governments. The size of this gap varies and is influenced by certain factors such as the different involvement of multinational companies in foreign trade or the different economic structure of these countries. In our paper we list which countries adopted a government strategy and with what aim. We provide a short literature review on state trade promotion policies and discuss these policies and their institutions in the Baltic, Visegrád and Iberian countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on current problems of human rights constitutional provision, protection and implementation in Ukraine in the context of the reforms aimed at Eurointegration. The aim is to brief in the historical aspects of the development of ideas and concepts of human rights in Ukraine, focus on the human rights provision of the active Constitution projected through the ongoing reforms and to expose the correlation between the rights enshrined and their actual implementation. The existing and possible future problems related to the regulation and realization of human rights in Ukraine's reform process are considered. The article reflects the problem of the value approach to human rights, which is directly related to the low level of legal culture and the insufficient level of development of civil society Ukraine. The work also analyses the amendments that have been made to the Constitution since the independence. While presenting the latest developments and drafts regarding the addressed issues, we try to look deeper into the problem, far beyond the formal and procedural concerns, addressing social and cultural barriers in understanding the importance and necessity of the problems under consideration not only by the leadership of the state but also by ordinary Ukrainians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors of the article continue the scientific discourse on the role and significance of bicameralism for building a modern democratic legal state. The main arguments of supporters and opponents of bicameralism have been analysed, given the complicated development of Ukrainian institutional framework and discussions over the European Committee of Regions evolution. The authors of the article attempt to supplement the list of arguments that exist in modern legal literature in favor of Ukraine's transition to bicameralism. The challenges of European integration for Ukrainian parliament as a unitary actor have been highlighted. The authors substantiate the thesis that the formation of the second (upper) chamber does not threaten the Ukrainian unitarianism, but will contribute to further diversification of state power and at the same time increase the stability of the government in terms of a consensual, pluralistic democracy and semi-presidential government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the Association Agreement (AA) between the EU and Ukraine. It argues that this agreement constitutes a new legal framework which has the objective to establish a unique form of political association and economic integration, characterised by three specific features: comprehensiveness, complexity and conditionality, and to promote EU values into the legal systems of Ukraine. The article studies substantive and procedural means of promotion and protection of EU values in the AA. The article scrutinises objectives, institutional framework and mechanisms of enhanced conditionality and legislative approximation in the AA. In addition, the means to protect EU values (the EU's response to security conflicts in Ukraine) are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rising concerns about the spread of cross-border criminal networks and transnational terrorism have transformed the international security arena into a more diverse, fragmented, diffused, less visible and hardly predictable one. Thus, (in)security is more mobile and remote than some decades ago. The establishment of an integrated European security area requires efforts to develop common standards and joint practices in terms of harmonisation of legal systems, advanced integration of security measures and tools, coherence of procedures and shared operational methods of law enforcement. The article discusses the main integration trends, challenges and options of internal security reforms in the European Union (EU) from legal, technological and operational advancement perspectives. It is argued that some harmonisation of criminal law as sharing and pooling of sovereignty has been achieved on the supranational level. The approach of supra-territoriality development is proposed in terms of shared security space management, where enhanced functional needs towards discursive coherence by copulative regulations and technological measures can be innovated to overcome some obstacles in the EU's security integration and achieve further operational success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being one of the core values of the European Union, human rights have been centrally located in the European Union-Turkey relations especially since the country gained the candidate status in 1999. In human rights practices, the actor who comes to the forefront most on behalf of the state against the citizens whose rights must be protected is the police force. Therefore, the security practices enforced by the police form a huge part of human rights practices in the state and thus play a decisive role in Turkey's relations with the Union. This article presents an evaluation of the so-called 'internal security package', which has just passed into law, and its potential impact on European Union-Turkey relations. The package includes specific amendments regarding the police duties and authorities, which unarguably affect human rights practices in the country. As the Union lacks a uniform norm relating to the security practices the package in question contains, the answer to the question will be sought by screening two sources: EU progress reports on Turkey and relevant ECtHR decisions, which provide definite judgements regarding the threats and risks posed by the package under discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The delegation of the European Union to Moldova takes upon itself the task of making the case for the Association Agenda between the country and the EU. The European foreign policy in the borderlands of the Union is carried out against the background of the war in Eastern Ukraine. A war of words is being fought in Moldovan media as well. Mostly on Romanian-speaking TV, Pirkka Tapiola, the EU ambassador, is among those who lead the way. At a time of renewed Western concern about Eastern Europe, the media presence of the EU in Moldova reveals anxieties about the future: once again, the former Soviet republic seems to be teetering on the brink of Russian control. The breakaway region of Trans-Dniester and the prospect of default are the two main concerns that the EU mission has to address while speaking the language of European politics in a country battered by corruption, high inflation, and unemployment. The discourse of Pirkka Tapiola, Head of the EU delegation, is an exercise in spokesmanship, which seems to underplay the seriousness of the situation. According to opinion polls conducted recently, the avowedly pro-Russian parties would win the next election. In hindsight, it is possible to surmise that the pro-EU parties pulled off a political coup by deferring the costs incurred during the mandates of the previous government coalitions. Parties whose constituencies are declining stayed in power, while better alternatives have developed: the new names that can be found on the right wing of the Moldovan political spectrum show that their electorate is ready to embrace the goal of European accession once again. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fast development of ICTs pose new challenges to the European Union and its Member States. Every EU country has its own policies regarding technology transfer, ownership of state e-services, and the possibilities how the state-owned or licensed e-service could be exported. Taking into account the free movement of goods, the EU has created a platform to cooperate and export IT solutions. However, the lack of preparedness of infrastructures, legislation and stakeholders for cross-border exchanges poses a threat to IT transfer and should be taken into consideration in the EU as well. In the coming decades the number of outsourced ICT solutions, strategically important ICT solutions, public services and critically important information exchange platforms developed on behalf of the states, will grow exponentially. Still, digital development is uneven across the EU, they grow at different speeds and the performance is quite splintered. There are legal provisions which are outdated and therefore impede technological cooperation and export of IT solutions. A Member State may restrict the ICT licensing based on national security and policy reasons and the ownership of intellectual property might pose a threat to technology transfer or further development of the IT solution. There are examples of strategically important export of ICT solutions, the experience at which can be expanded to cover other EU Member States. Strong collaboration would enable mutual learning from past experiences along with the opportunities for better use of technology. Parallels can be drawn with military technology transfers, as the policies and legal framework was first developed and mostly used with them. This introduces a question of what are the conditions for exporting strategically important ICT solutions from one Member State to another, given that there is no common legal framework developed yet, and who should decide whether to transfer or not? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the context of the evolution of the European Union's association agreements as transformative tools beyond the organizational boundaries, this article seeks to develop an account for understanding legislative and regulatory approximation mechanisms as the essential elements for the exercise of the Union's normative and regulatory impact. It therefore distinguishes between both concepts and provides a legal and political science explorations of what the legislative and regulatory approximations are, and what are their substantial rationale and procedural features in the context of 'gradualist' convergence approach enshrined in the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) signed Association Agreements on 27 June 2014 with Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine. The Association Agreement (AA) is the EU's main instrument to bring the countries in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) closer to EU standards and norms. For the citizens of the EaP countries to benefit from these agreements, a more in-depth knowledge of the EU and the EU Member States is required to be reflected in a comparative approach to European Union studies. We examine these implications on the need to expand and adapt, the content and approach to research and teaching European Union studies, with the transdisciplinary approach becoming increasingly dominant, becoming a modern tool for research in social sciences. This contribution aims to offer insight into the implementation of transdisciplinarity in the methodology of education and research as it is determined by current increasing global challenges. This approach should serve as a means of integrating a number of main goals as part of learning, teaching and research processes: strengthening employability of young people and preparing them for citizenship. We discuss the need for modernizing European studies in the EU Member States that could serve as an example for the EU Eastern Partnership countries. We conclude that the theoretical approach to European and related studies of other disciplines and their practical implications should always be transdisciplinary in nature and benefit from direct in-situ exposure and should be fully integrated in university curricula [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU's cultural initiative 'the European Capital of Culture' (ECOC) includes high identity political aims. It requires the designated cities to introduce and foster local, regional, and European cultural identities. In addition, the cities have used the designation as an opportunity to promote national cultural identity. Audiences of the ECOC events recognize and interpret different kinds of representations of territorial cultural identities from what the cities have to offer in culture. However, the contents of these interpretations vary drastically in the ECOCs. The article discusses whether the competence of interpreting the representations of territorial cultural identities is related to some social determinants of the audiences. Based on a questionnaire study conducted in recent ECOCs-Pécs (Hungary), Tallinn (Estonia), and Turku (Finland)-the study indicates that, for example, education, source of livelihood, and active cultural participation impact the interpretations of the representations of territorial cultural identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article approaches the current economic crisis from an historical perspective, analyzing the building of the monetary integration and the common currency. The process is explained through pointing out its effects on the European integration and outlining the positive and negative consequences of the introduction of a common currency in the European Union. The investigation continues with a general outlook of the current situation of the countries which were more affected by the current crisis--Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Cyprus. What all these countries have in common is the necessity of extra funding in a context of austerity, plus some national particularities. The author proposes an expansion in the public spending as the only reliable way to stimulate European economies in the crisis. As the introduction of the euro meant the end of the monetary independence for the Member States, an innovative solution is proposed--the creation of an Economic Government in the union in order to transfer funds from wealthier states to the countries in trouble. It is presented as a necessity for the states in crisis, a necessity for the wealthier states, and a must for the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]