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Democracy involves popular control over decision-making, and political equality among those exercising that control. In parliamentary democracies, day-to-day control is delegated to elected politicians, who organize themselves in political parties. Globally, political parties have become an important interface between government and the people. Since their establishment, European political parties have enhanced their role(s) within the polity of the European Union. Within the context of multiple challenges to democracy worldwide, and in view of the 2019 European Parliament elections, European political parties are increasingly called upon to represent EU citizens in their work, and ensure an effective connection with people. This Discussion Paper takes a comprehensive approach to understanding the role(s) of European political parties within the polity of the EU. It focuses on how European political parties can (re)connect with EU citizens, and emphasizes the regulatory framework in which European political parties operate. It also provides insights into European political parties' linkage with national political parties, and outreach in relation to EU political actors and citizens. It includes a set of recommendations to advance the broadening, deepening and diversification of avenues and tools for European political parties to connect with citizens.

The article presents the results of fiscal decentralization of Ukraine and the countries of the European Union as a process of restructuring and balancing the specific interests of all entities of redistributive relations, optimizing and improving the structure of the revenue segment of local budgets, and ensuring stable tax revenues through the improvement of the current taxation system. An analysis of the level of fiscal decentralization of the EU countries was carried out on the basis of indicators of fiscal autonomy and fiscal significance of local self-government. In order to increase the role of fiscal consolidation and filling local budgets in Ukraine, the timeliness of budget-tax reforms and their impact on the socio-economic development of the state have been substantiated. The empirical analysis was based on the fiscal rules of the decentralization of European countries that form the systemforming elements of the model of the tax on profits, providing a favorable fiscal space for business, motivating the effective use of budget funds by territorial communities. The target function of the optimization model, which determines the maximization of the fiscal decentralization index of local budgets, is proposed. Fiscal consolidation scenarios and their potential changes in Ukraine's GDP have been developed, subject to the introduction of the tax on withdrawn capital, as an alternative form of the tax on profits.

The enlargement policy of the European Union is known to be one of its best policies, as it has united a continent, stretched the single market and the common policies, thus conforming many aspects of economic and social life in the European countries. The Western Balkan has become, since the dissolution of ex-Yugoslavia, a very important geopolitical region, known also to be the soft belly of Europe. Thessaloniki Summit, held back in 2003, stamped the European perspective on the Western Balkans and declared it as a near future for the region. Since the entering of Romania and Bulgaria in 2007, it has tightened the negotiation rules, pointing out that the Rule of Law is the most important principle and measure of success for the candidate countries. Now, almost seventeen years from the Thessaloniki moment, the EU has stopped the enlargement policy, as the Member States have not found common ground as to open negotiation talks with North Macedonia and Albania. It seems fair to say that the enlargement does not have anymore its geopolitical relevance. It seems that the EU, due to the financial crisis in 2008, and then the migration crisis that followed, has lost its capacity to absorb new member states. However, France, which is starting to play a more central role in the European centerfield, is proposing a new approach to the Western Balkans, presenting a new methodology. The main point of the French proposal is to gradually include candidate countries in the club, by making them achieve certain rights by passing through various phases, seven of them exactly. One of the most important aspects is also the fact that the candidate countries would have access to structural funds, which they do not have today. However, the French proposal isn't peacefully accepted yet, as many countries have objected. From a geopolitical standpoint, how is this affecting Europe and how the Western Balkan region? Are Macron's proposals going to slow down the reform processes, thus endangering all that has been accomplished so far? In terms of common foreign and security policy, and the external action of the EU, can the new methodology play a role? In the context where the EU has to play a more active role in the neighbouring regions, it needs stability and more strength. Will Macron deliver just what is needed or will he turn the situation upside down? Analytical and comparative methods will be dominantly relied upon throughout the paper allowing the author i.e. to draw the arguments supporting or challenging the above mentioned dilemmas and issues raised.

"Offering a fresh view on the EU constitutionalisation process, the new edition of The Tangled Complexity of The EU Constitutional Process presents three main points: the idea of constitutional complexity, the tension between constitutional evolutionism and constitutional constructivism in the process of European integration, and the functional nature of conflicts in the evolution of the EU. Because of its prodigiousness, European law produces consternation among constitutionalists accustomed to traditional patterns of power. Yet, constitutional pluralism is under siege. Populist governments have abused constitutional-pluralistic concepts like those of national identity, and scholars have also criticised constitutional courts for the abuse of the national identity argument provoking a worrying escalation of constitutional conflicts. This book argues that while constitutional conflicts have frequently been depicted as elements of disturbance along the path towards legal coherence, constitutional conflicts are physiological and might even be functional to the development of the European legal order, which should not be understood in a deterministic manner. The new edition expands its scope of application beyond judicial interactions, to consider the role of the parliaments as actors of a complex legal system and will be of particular interest to academics and students in the disciplines of Law, International Relations and Political Science"--

Discusses plans by the European Union to enter into Stabilization and Association Agreements with Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, and the Yugoslav Federation; why it is important for regional security that similar plans be made with regard to Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Rumania, and the Slovak Republic without delay.

This article aims to explain attitudes towards the European Union in Central and East European countries. We propose a model that combines economic and political variables at two levels of explanation: the individual and the national. Using a cross-sectional time series data set compiled from Central and Eastern Euro barometer surveys, we demonstrate that individual attitudes towards domestic economic and political reforms are good predictors of citizens' attitudes towards the European Union in Central and East European countries. Macro dimensions, such as economic and political performance, have an impact on attitudes towards the EU, particularly in candidate countries. Finally, a multiplicative model with interaction effects between the individual level and the macro level suggests that attitudes have a stronger impact if the domestic conditions are good. If the country is in bad shape, the attitudes are less relevant. ; Ця стаття прагне пояснити ставлення до Європейського Союзу в Центральній та Східній Європі. Ми пропонуємо модель, яка поєднує в собі економічні та політичні змінні на двох рівнях пояснення: індивідуальному і національному. Використовуючи дані перетину тимчасових рядів, складену за допомогою результатів барометру обстежень у Центральній та Східній Європі, ми покажемо, що позитивне ставлення до окремих внутрішніх економічних і політичних реформ є добрими провісниками позитивного ставлення громадян до вступу до Європейського Союзу в Центральній та Східній Європі. Такі макропоказники, як економічна і політична діяльність, мають вплив на ставлення до ЄС, особливо в країнах-кандидатах. Нарешті, мультиплікативна модель з ефектами взаємодії між індивідуальним рівнем та макро рівнем припускає, що відносини мають більш сильний вплив на вступ до ЄС за сприятливих внутрішніх умов. Якщо країна знаходиться в поганому стані, ставлення є менш суттєвим.

The European Union / Manoranjan Dutta -- A constitution for Europe / Manoranjan Dutta -- The European Union (EU) : the challenges ahead / Manoranjan Dutta -- The EU and USA / Manoranjan Dutta -- The EU : a learning model / Manoranjan Dutta -- Historical progression of the European Union / Manoranjan Dutta -- The theory of supranational macroeconomics / Manoranjan Dutta -- European Central Bank and the euro : theory of optimum currency area revisited / Manoranjan Dutta

Insolvency mechanisms and the operation of shipping companies : financial aspects -- Legal interaction between insolvency and maritime law -- Opening of cross-border insolvency proceedings -- The treatment of maritime securities -- Insolvency and limitation of liability for maritime claims