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As a consequence of the new regionalism a marked increase in the number of regional groupings can be observed which makes the preferential relations between states even more complicated & complex. One of such complex relationships, which did not come to being during the third wave of regionalism but was strongly supported by it, is subregionalism -- simply said, overlapping of regional integrations. The aim of this comparative study is to analyze a current state & development of subregionalism within two region-wide integrations -- the European Union (EU) & the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) -- & on the basis of this analysis to compare the effects of this phenomenon in both regions. Some general conclusions enabling an assessment of future development of subregionalism & its impact on regionalism in Europe & Asia are the main outcomes of the comparison. References. Adapted from the source document.

The article deals with the relationship between EU Council Presidency & governmental stability. After reviewing the character of governments assuming EU Council Presidency since the Treaty on European Union has been adopted, the article explores the possible impact of the EU Council Presidency on governmental stability & governmental duration. The article argues that the EU Council Presidency does not have to be executed by a majority government, & that the EU Council Presidency exerts a stabilizing effect. Adapted from the source document.

Die Europäische Union soll um einige weitere Mittelmeerländer - vermutlich um Slovenien, Malta, später auch Zypern und Kroatien - erweitert werden. Das ehemalige Mare nostrum der Römer wird allerdings nie in seiner Gesamtheit in die EU integrierbar sein. Daher die auf der EU-Konferenz in Barcelona getroffene Entscheidung, eine größere Gemeinschaft der Mittelmeerländer ins Leben zu rufen. Folgerichtig befaßte sich die Konferenz mit den Mittelmeerstaaten, mit deren Aufnahme in die EU nicht gerechnet wird. Einige davon (so insb. die Türkei, Ägypten und Marokko) schaffen jedoch schon jetzt Voraussetzungen für eine den gesamten Mittelmeerraum umfaßende Freihandelszone, die vor 2010 gegründet werden könnte. Die wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit soll dann schrittweise durch partnerschaftliche Beziehungen im kulturellen, wissenschaftlichen, politischen und teilweise auch militärischen Bereich ergänzt werden, was zum Frieden in dem gesamten Mittelmeerraum führen dürfte. (BIOst-Hrs)

Simultaneously to the negotiating process the EU has also provided the pre-accession financial assistance to the EU candidate-countries. In this respect, every candidate-country with an ambitious goal of reaching a high development level for all of its regions and hoping to receive support from the structural funds must put a lot of effort into creating an efficient institutional framework that allows the successful management of future EU funding. Namely, the future institutional (full EU membership) ability of managing EU structural and cohesion funds is largely influenced by the capacity to manage the pre-accession assistance programmes. This paper focuses on the institutional challenge of establishing competent authorities at Slovenian national level with responsibility for co-ordination and management of EU regional issues. Accordingly, the main aim of this paper is to analyse the processes of managing the EU pre-accession assistance programmes in Slovenia. ; Simultaneously to the negotiating process the EU has also provided the pre-accession financial assistance to the EU candidate-countries. In this respect, every candidate-country with an ambitious goal of reaching a high development level for all of its regions and hoping to receive support from the structural funds must put a lot of effort into creating an efficient institutional framework that allows the successful management of future EU funding. Namely, the future institutional (full EU membership) ability of managing EU structural and cohesion funds is largely influenced by the capacity to manage the pre-accession assistance programmes. This paper focuses on the institutional challenge of establishing competent authorities at Slovenian national level with responsibility for co-ordination and management of EU regional issues. Accordingly, the main aim of this paper is to analyse the processes of managing the EU pre-accession assistance programmes in Slovenia.

The case study deals with the issue of the European Union as an actor in international relations. While based on an analysis of the first common EU naval military mission, EU NAVFOR Somalia, code-named Atalanta, the article intends to shed more light on how the EU paves the way to its getting recognized as an international actor. The author assumes that the EU aims at facilitating the process in two key dimensions: the virtual (i.e. material) and the intersubjective (i.e. idealogical) dimension. The consultation is meant to contribute to the epistemo-methodological debate about the essence and origins of the international recognition of the EU. Adapted from the source document.

The article deals with the communication policy of the European Union -- specifically, the communication policy of the European Commission. Though the Commission has considered communication policy to be one of its most important priorities in recent years, opinion polls and the behaviour of EU citizens during various elections or referenda show that little progress has yet been made in this field. The authors try to uncover the reasons for this situation by examining the institutional set-up within the Commission's communication policy. In doing so, they base their research on the assumption derived from discursive institutionalism that EU communication policy is characterized by its complex co-ordinative discourse, which limits the potential of its communicative discourse. In order to specify the subject, the authors begin with an overview of current developments in the communication policy and an analysis of the main strategic documents introduced by the Commission. Then, the coordination discourse, first at EU level and second at national level, is explored through the examination of various actors institutionally involved in EU communication policy and the coordination mechanisms present among them. Subsequently, the communication discourse is analysed through research into the communication tools the Commission uses to achieve its goals in the field of communication policy. At the end, the relationship between the two discourses is discussed and potential solutions are proposed. Adapted from the source document.