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A new EU global strategy is being formed, as opposed to the European Security Strategy, which no longer corresponds to the geopolitical environment. In accordance with the evolution of security threats at the basis of the Global Strategy, the trends of ensuring unity within the EU and its global leadership, as well as strengthening the EU’s defence capabilities and changing its security approaches are now becoming of vital importance. It is the security structural transformations that currently pose the task of geopolitical repositioning to international actors in the global security system. In the conditions of such restructuring, the role of the EU in resolving international conflicts is given a special place. It is obvious that its classic approaches to conflict resolution have lost their perspective.

The main purpose of the paper is to analyse the role of the European Parliament (EP) in the reconsideration of the EU eastern policy in the light of Russian full-scale military aggression against Ukraine. With the view to reaching the stated objective, the following research tasks are taken into consideration. First, particular attention is paid to the change of the EP approach toward the issue of eastern policy building in the aftermath of the 2019 elections and after the 24 February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In order to define the transformative potential of the EP in the institutional system of the European Union (EU) as regards the eastern dimension of its neighbourhood policy, the analysis covers selected resolutions and recommendations as well as key political addresses delivered by leaders of the EP, European Council and European Commission. Second, the study presents the context of the foreign policy structural competition between the EU and Russia putting particular emphasis on the role of institutions mentioned above in the process of foreign policy-making and on the nature of the EU support for the democratisation processes in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region before the 24 February 2022. Finally, there is made an attempt to evaluate the steps undertaken by the EP in order to reform the EU eastern policy and enhance support for the Europeanisation processes in partner states aimed at democratic transformation of the region.

The article examines the Eastern Partnership (EaP) as the initiative of the European Union (EU) through the prism of the constructivist concepts of soft power, normative power and transformative power. The research focuses on the assessment of the EU’s transformative strength in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus, based on the analysis of declared EU policy goals and instruments and the real results of political reforms in partner countries. The results of the study show that the EaP has little transformative impact and needs further revision. The analysis of empirical indicators in the field of political transformation of the EaP countries shows that since its inception, as well as after the signing of Association Agreements with three countries and the renewal of the European Neighborhood Policy in 2015, no radical changes have been made, and the EU’s influence on the course of reforms has been insignificant. Institutional and geopolitical constraints and challenges that complicate the EU’s ability to influence its eastern neighbours are addressed. The article analyses prospects for strengthening the effectiveness of the EaP in the context of its latest update after 2020.

The aim of this paper is to analyze if the Western Balkan and Eastern Partnership countries converge towards the twenty-eight members of the European Union. The relationships between the selected macroeconomic variables and per capita GDP growth rate are econometrically tested to support this research. The analyzed period is 2004–2017, with two sub-periods: 2004–2008 and 2009–2013. The subdivision is made to test whether the recent financial crisis affected the absolute and conditional convergence process in the analyzed group of countries. The empirical findings support the economic convergence hypothesis. The results show that the recent financial crisis negatively affected the absolute and conditional convergence process, when economic variables are included in the analysis. The negative effects of the crisis on conditional convergence with economic and socio-political variables are not identified. The poorer countries in the analyzed group should do more to attract investment and open their economies, as gross fixed capital formation and economic openness have a positive impact on per capita growth, and keep low inflation or stabilize it, while general government debt and unemployment should be decreased in the examined sample of countries.

Since 2004, when the European neighbourhood policy was established, the European Union has already spent billions of euros to finance the new neighbourhood policies for creating more stable and more cooperative relations with eastern and southern neighbours. However, increased security concerns and challenges, less stable and less prognostic relations seem to have produced the opposite result of what was sought, and so Europe is experiencing a “neighbourhood of crisis”. Did it fail? What strategy has the EU been using within the last 15 years in relations with its neighbouring countries? What specific tools and instruments have been adapted? Did the renewal of European neighbourhood policy introduce any completely new strategic elements? This article examines these questions, focusing on three perspectives suggested by role theory: intentional, interactional and institutional. The study applies qualitative research methodology and claims that the EU has been seeking to transmit not just EU values and standards but also internal institutional practices and modes of EU governance.

The article aims to assess a change in the EU’s soft power in the Western Balkan and Eastern Partnership states in the light of the crises the bloc has undergone in recent years. Generally agreeing with the common argument that the EU’s attractiveness for those countries has decreased, the author challenges the popular wisdom that such a decrease is likely to reverse those states’ pro-EU foreign policy orientations. To prove it, the author applies Joseph Nye’s and Alexander Vuving’s “power currencies” approach to operationalize soft power, considering the bloc’s attraction as a combination of “brilliance” (the actor’s relationship with its work), “benignity” (the actor’s relationship with other actors) and “beauty” (the actor’s relationship with values and ideas). Elaborating on the crises’ influence on each of these currencies, the author shows that their lessening, first, has mainly taken place in absolute rather than relative terms, so the EU’s attractiveness remains strong compared to that of its competitors, and second, it has primarily affected the bloc’s soft power potential rather than its actual behavior towards the target countries.

This contribution asks whether sub-regional integration projects such as the Visegrád Group may be understood as mechanisms for pursuing one Group member’s national interests while it stands at the European Union’s helm. I assess this question based on the case of the first Visegrád Group member to assume the EU Council presidency: the Czech Republic. Examining three specific policy areas – the reinvention of the EU’s Eastern neighbourhood policy; the strengthening of EU energy security; and the incorporation of a stronger human rights and external democratisation approach into EU foreign policy – this case study presents a mixed picture. It confirms the potential of the Visegrád Group to be a vehicle for furthering the national preferences of one Group member while it holds the rotating EU Council presidency. Whether or not this potential is fully realised will depend primarily on the degree to which the interests of the four Visegrád countries converge.

Innovation is a concept that is more and more often used as a solution for increased competitiveness and economic development, either at organizational level or at a national one, but how is it created and what are the factors involved in the cycle education-innovation-economic and social development? This article intents to clarify the above mentioned cycle and provide an insight on what innovation means and what are its components, especially from a macroeconomic point of view. The results show how important innovation and other components like education are for the national and global economic development.

The aim of this paper is to analyze the convergence process among former Socialist countries, the Central and Eastern European (CEE), Western Balkan and Eastern Partnership countries. The relationships between the selected macroeconomic variables and per capita GDP growth rate are econometrically tested to support this research. The analyzed period is 2004-2016, with two sub-periods; 2004-2008 and 2009-2013. The subdivision is made to test if the recent financial crisis affected the absolute and conditional convergence process. The empirical findings support the economic convergence hypothesis. The results show that the recent financial crisis negatively affected only the absolute convergence process. The negative effects of the crisis on conditional convergence are not identified. The poorer countries in the analyzed group should do more to attract investment, as gross fixed capital formation has a clear positive impact on per capita growth in the examined sample of countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the prospects and challenges of energy cooperation between the European Union (EU) and Turkey within the context of the Eastern Partnership (EaP). Part of the EaP agenda is to advance energy cooperation between the EU and the partner states, particularly regarding the diversification of import routes. As an energy corridor between the EU and the hydrocarbon-rich Caspian states, Turkey is a strategic asset for European energy security. Turkey also has economic ties and political capital in the Caspian region that can help the EU reach out to its eastern partners. Despite robust incentives for cooperation, however, the EU-Turkey energy partnership has so far failed to meet mutual expectations. This article argues that this is primarily due to the inability of the two actors to credibly commit to regional energy cooperation. Commitment problem stems from two factors. First, the predominance of national energy interests over communal ones undermines credible commitment. The variation in energy needs of Member States prevents the EU from acting in unison in external energy policy. Similarly, Turkey also prioritizes its own energy security, particularly in its relations with suppliers, which undermines cooperation with the EU. Second, the EU and Turkey hold divergent perspectives on the potential political payoffs of energy cooperation. Turkish decision makers are convinced that energy cooperation warrants palpable progress in Turkey’s accession while most EU actors appear hesitant to establish a direct connection between energy and accession.

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.

With its plan to assign 600 million euros through the European Neighbourhood Instrument for Eastern Partnership countries, the European Union intended to increase the efficiency of institutions, attenuate social problems, and create an environment that fosters economic growth and human well-being in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. A few scholars have criticized the amount of funding and planned initiatives of the European Neighbourhood Instrument as insufficient and suggested that in order to foster cooperation and support reforms in its Eastern Partnership countries, more action should be taken. In times when European Commission budget is under constraints of consolidation and increase of aid for supporting European Neighbourhood countries is hardly possible, alternative solutions for tempering social problems need to be assessed. Various scientists, philanthropists and entrepreneurs see social entrepreneurship as a tool for solving social problems in a sustainable way where business thinking is being combined with non-profit philosophy. Contrary to government support and intervention for solving social problems, social entrepreneurship is already being used as tool that initially addresses joint needs--solve social problems and create revenue that provides much needed income for sustainable business initiatives. This paper analyzes the concept of social entrepreneurship, examples where social entrepreneurship is solving social problems, and mechanisms that can foster these phenomena. The aim of this paper is to examine different mechanisms of how governments can foster the creation and development of social entrepreneurship. Unique survey data derived from a project examining social entrepreneurship in Europe is used. It is concluded that by adopting mechanisms proven in various developed countries, the Eastern Partnership countries can stimulate social entrepreneurship, thus attenuating social problems and creating environment that fosters economic growth and the wellbeing of people

The paper aims at analyzing the circumstances and objectives of the regional integration in the context of global development. The EU is one of the most influential and important actors of the global world, which represents one of the most developed examples of the regional integration. During the development, the EU went through the several stages on enlargement. Even nowadays, without having targeted to the reactive new member in foreseen future, the EU continues the process of integration of adjacent regions by setting goals and priorities through different forms such as the European Neighborhood, the Eastern Partnership, Association Agreements, various types of Trade agreements. The Eastern Partnership which represents the EU's eastern neighborhood consisting by former soviet republics has steadily gone up with integration: 1. Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine have already signed the Association Agreement (AA) including Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas (DCFTAs) with the EU and now these countries work on further progress in terms of the Implementation of AA/DCFTA; 2. Armenia and Azerbaijan are seeking new framework to up-grade their relationship with the EU, Belarus created EU Belarus Co-ordination Group and acts within the Single Support Framework program for 2017-2020. The evolution of EaP countries' trade data evidently show the changes and growing dynamics in the region. The obvious increasing tendency of trade volumes predicts for further success in the future after the DC FTAs are enacted fully for some countries and/or other trade facilitation measures are utilized fully for others. A new approach to the economic growth also suggests that benefit from economic growth supports poverty reduction, widely spreads across sectors and affects the majority of the labor force and hence, rise the welfare of the population. In this context, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) appears to be a useful tool to achieve this overwhelming goal. In the difficult business climate prevailing in most of the EaP countries, the role of the EU support could include raising awareness on CSR and supporting the implementation of relevant standards in the enterprises that are benefiting from the EU assistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tries to shed some light on factors influencing the positions of the new member states of the EU on Eastern Partnership in its initial phase. It utilises an analytical approach developed by Copsey and Haughton (2009) and argues that the two most important factors affecting positioning of newcomers towards the initiative are: perceived size and geography. While the new members were especially keen to support their immediate neighbours, they were using a common policy towards these countries to increase their presence and influence in the region since the initiative helped them to deal with neighbourhood issues they were not able to solve on their own. The paper suggests an amendment to the theoretical approach and proposes an assumption explaining positioning of the member states towards the third countries that better reflect the empirical evidence than the original framework. Moreover, the research showed that Poland differed from the rest of the new EU countries, was much more active and influential and rather resembled the old members. However, due to its not very positive image (caused by its assertive approach and strong effort to play a prominent role within the EU) its influence within the EU was limited and, therefore it proposed the Eastern Partnership together with Sweden that held a much better image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]