Search

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]

The article assesses what determines the role played by legislators in committees when analysing international treaties. Employing Qualitative Comparative Analysis with an original dataset, the investigation covers the case of the Protocol of Accession of Venezuela to the Southern Common Market and the period in which it passed through the Brazilian National Congress. We find that belonging or not to the ruling coalition upstages other confounders. [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]

Copyright of Journal of Oriental Studies (Al-Farabi Kazakh National University) / Kazahskij Nacional'nyj Universitet Imeni Al'-Farabi Vestnik Seriâ Vostokovedeniâ is the property of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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 Parties may, by unanimous agreement, invite any other European State in a position to further the principles of this Treaty and to contribute to the security of the North Atlantic area to accede to this Treaty. Any State so invited may become a Party to the Treaty by depositing its instrument of accession with the Government of the United States of America. The Government of the United States of America will inform each of the Parties of the deposit of each such instrument of accession [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]

The aim of the study is to look at the various forms of cross-border cooperations which were created along the Hungarian-Romanian border after the transformation period. The specific chronological evolution of cross-border co-operations provides the framework for the analysis. One of the most crucial aspects of the classification of cross-border co-operations is that they vary significantly in their nature. Therefore, the approach includes geographical, historical, local, regional, economic, social and human aspects leading to the creation of a complex model for the Hungarian- Romanian border region. The study compares the advantages and disadvantages of twin settlement relations, euroregions, EGTCs and project-based co-operations in order to find the most effective cross-border co-operation form. The decades after the change of regime are the years of recovery from the negative historical heritage and the years of discovery of new types of relations. The years of EU accession constitute very important milestones in this respect since more opportunities were opened for the two countries for more thorough co-operation. The study presupposes that the transformation years and the accession years were the chief drivers in this process culminating in the financially secured project-based cross-border co-operations. The model proposed for the Hungarian-Romanian border region therefore builds on elements related to border theories. How can the various cross-border co-operation forms affect border interpretation? How do they affect the dividing or connecting role of borders? What is the most effective method to overcome the negative aspects of borders? Which co-operation fields are the most relevant in the strengthening of cross-border co-operations? Who are the chief actors in this process? How do the two countries manage cross-border cooperations on the various (local, regional, national, and civil, institutional, governmental, political, etc.) levels? The author intends to provide a model based on the synthesis of the advantages and disadvantages of the various cross-border co-operation forms in the Hungarian-Romanian border region in order to find the most effective form of crossborder co-operation. [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 Joint Standing Committee on Treaties has recommended that Australia accede to the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements. The Convention seeks to ensure uniform treatment of 'exclusive' jurisdiction agreements internationally, and is in force in the European Union, Singapore and Mexico. This article considers the effect that the Convention will have on Australian courts' treatment of exclusive jurisdiction agreements, which will largely be positive, and analyses Australia's proposal for the Convention's implementation. It also identifies shortcomings of the Convention and the proposal for its implementation, and recommends refinements to that proposal. The article concludes by underscoring the problems in the existing law that accession will not redress, some of which could and should be remedied in the legislation which will implement the Convention. [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]

Copyright of Revista Chilena de Derecho is the property of Revista Chilena de Derecho and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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 Opinion 2/13 the CJEU declared that the draft Agreement for Accession of the EU to the ECHR is not compatible with primary EU law, based on a number of objections. This article presents the Opinion and divides the Courts objections in three categories: concerns which are misconceived and should not have been raised by the CJEU at all; concerns for the CJEU's own jurisdiction which are more persuasive, but whose importance is exaggerated by the Court; and concerns to preserve a different standard of fundamental rights protection in EU law derogating from the minimum standard of the Convention--a radical (and unjustified) objection, which cannot be mended by simply modifying the Accession Agreement and which makes accession next to impossible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accession to the World Trade Organization differs from that of other international organizations in one major aspect: The WTO may prescribe more stringent rules of conduct for acceded members, based on individual accession negotiations. These country-specific rules are set out in the protocols of accession and now form a significant part of WTO law. However, questions concerning the legality and legitimacy of such rules remain unanswered. Legally, accession protocols effectively modify the rules of conduct contained in the WTO multilateral trade agreements, but the legal basis for so doing remains unclear and the relationship between accession protocols and the WTO agreements undefined. Normatively, differential treatment of acceded members derogates from the WTO principle of nondiscrimination, but does so without proper justification. Confusion over the legal nature of accession protocols and a lack of clear rationale for the country-specific rules have led to problematic jurisprudence, creating uncertainty in the rights and obligations of acceded members vis-à-vis other members of the WTO. This Article aims to resolve the conundrum of WTO accession protocols by systemically and comprehensively addressing these questions. Building upon existing literature, the author takes a broader comparative and historical approach to an examination of the legality and legitimacy of WTO accession practice. On the question of legality, the Article proposes that WTO accession protocols be best characterized as subsequent practice of an international organization modifying its underlying treaties, and on that basis defines the relationship between accession protocols and the WTO agreements. On the question of legitimacy, the Article identifies the lack of reason and transparency in the accession rules as the main issues, and critiques the "entry fee" theory offered by a WTO panel as justification for all accession rules. The Article then makes suggestions on what should and can be done to mitigate the deficit of legitimacy created by WTO accession practice. [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.

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]

This article examines two questions: (1) whether the Production Sharing Contract in oil and gas sectors between different countries should be considered as an international agreement or a private agreement; and (2) how to formulate uplift in the PSC which contains the value of equity for investors and the State. In the Production Sharing Contract, there is problem of setting the tax on oil and gas sector particularly uplift policy relating to the taxation of income in the state revenue sources. This issue is related to the return of controversy of operational costs recognized by the contractor (cost recovery claim). This tax controversy gave rise to uplift that is only levied on oil and gas State owned Enterprises contracting partners in the scheme of the Joint Operating Body, especially in the old fields with advanced technology (Enhanced Oil Recovery). The controversy is related to the declining production and increased production costs that are recognized by the contractor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Court of Justice of the European Union's issuance of Opinion 2/13 regarding the European Union's (EU's) accession to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in accordance with Article 6(2) of the Treaty of the European Union (TEU). Autonomy and the Eu principle of mutual trust are addressed, along with judicial review in the EU and exclusive jurisdiction. EU law and several legal cases are examined, as well as the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.