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Defence date: 25 February 2008 ; Examining Board: Professor Friedrich Kratochwil, European University Institute (Supervisor) Professor Ole Wæver, University of Copenhagen (External Supervisor) Professor Michael Merlingen, Central European University Professor Pascal Vennesson, European University Institute ; First made available online 4 June 2015. ; This thesis enquires into the making of European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) from the perspective of the actors endorsing and contesting the policy. By identifying the political milieu of the policy, it seeks to problematise the established depiction of ESDP and delineate the framing involved in designing and implementing the policy. I thus advance the argument about the all-pervading character of the political and I stipulate the value of micropolitical analysis for unpacking broad political arrangements. In order to trace security practices enacted through the policy, I explore in depth two instances of ESDP operations and a case of strengthening the UNIFIL forces to Lebanon via an EU initiative. I conclude that the ESDP has proven transformative both within the EU internal system of governance and vis-à-vis the EU's international positioning. The former involves the rise of domestic politics engendered by the interplay of institutional identities and conceptions of achieving EU security. The latter exposes the shift in the international role assignments wherein the EU becomes a deputy of the US and a saviour of the UN's reputation.

Economic growth and competitiveness of the country depend on the logistics efficiency. The article assesses the efficiency and level of logistics development based on the international ratings analysis in the Eurasian Economic Union countries (EAEU) which have close trade relations with Kazakhstan. The indices of efficiency and effectiveness of logistics development, as well as their components are being analyzed. Differences and trends in their changes are revealed based on the comparative analysis of the logistics efficiency index of the countries with the highest indicators and the countries of the EAEU. The problems of logistics development are considered and the directions for increasing the efficiency of logistics development in the EAEU countries, including Kazakhstan, are justified. Recommendations are proposed to improve the efficiency of logistics. ; peer-reviewed

The paper deals with the brain drain phenomenon (rational minds migration), displayed inside the European Union, in close correlation with European tax competition. Speciality literature from the countries of the European Union deals with great responsibility the migration process of the specialists, numerous studies being dedicated to this phenomenon. Through the present paper we aim to study this correlation and the evaluation of the implications for the member states of the European Union, by elaborating a model by means of which there are tested the correlations between different variables and the quantification of the taxation effects upon the brain drain phenomenon. The model is an adaptation of the so-called "Model of the Brain Drain and human capital formation" elaborated by Mountford (1997) by which there are described the different researched variables: brain gain, brain drain, migration competition and tax competition. Obviously, the scenarios may be different from country to country depending on the different values of the two key factors taken into account: migration probability and considerable differences of technological capacity. ; peer-reviewed

"Starting from the 1980s, competitive pressures and the ideology of competitiveness have shaken and transformed traditional models of development, public policy, and governance in Europe. This edited book carries out a comprehensive, interdisciplinary, and innovative analysis of the relationship between competitiveness and solidarity in the contemporary European Union. It offers an original contribution to the scholarly debates on the current developments and challenges of welfare states, social and economic policies, and forms of governance in the European Union. Bringing together an international team of cutting-edge scholars in social sciences and humanities, this book sheds light on the conceptual richness and policy relevance of these relationships, pointing to important avenues to make the European Union more economically successful and socially fairer. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of European Union studies and, more broadly, of EU Law, Public Policy, Economics, Sociology, Political Science, Geography, and Contemporary History"--

This note provides an account of the major milestones in the evolution of the economic governance in the European monetary union, assessing the reforms in governance frameworks of the EMU from 1997 up to mid-2013. It mainly focuses on the post-2010 reforms, where the financial crisis and the ensuing sovereign debt crisis exposed the weakness of the economic governance framework of EMU in Europe. It also highlights the on-going proposals for further coordination and cooperation that have been brought forward but still require agreement among Member States. The note suggests that while the commitment shown to introduce stricter fiscal rules and enhanced surveillance was a necessary step forward for sustaining the credibility of the single European currency, further reforms focusing on deepening European integration are still needed. ; N/A