Abstract. The article deals with the wide range of mechanisms in support of civil society institutions–government interaction in the context of developing and implementing European integration reforms in Ukraine. The authors identified 6 strategic documents and 20 areas of reform related to the process of European integration, as well as the key issues concerning implementation of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. The authors conclude that positive trends are visible in recent decades in the institutional development of Ukrainian civil society, which has become a driving force of the country's European integration aspirations. In this setting, civil society institutions (CSIs) work with government agencies, engage in informal advocacy, conduct monitoring policies, perform and publish policy analysis and recommendations, and work with and lobby international agencies and other actors.
Abstract. The author assesses the relevance and analytical significance of authoritarian liberalism and interprets it as one of the modern conceptual models of ordoliberalism and European integration. The basic concepts of authoritarian liberalism and ordoliberalism emphasise the political and ideological connection between the authoritarianism of the strong state and the economic liberalism of market rationality. As a flexible market-oriented form of authoritarian liberalism, ordoliberalism means a rational strategy for maintaining and promoting the European integration project towards which the market economy and the technocratic elite are moving to contain crises. Due to the presence of the values of political liberalism, pluralism and the rule of law, authoritarianism in this structure is not repressive or monocentric, but subject to democratic criticism in relation to the supranational regulation of European integration. Keywords: authoritarian liberalism, ordoliberalism, market capitalism, democracy, eurocrisis, European integration
Magistrska naloga je posvečena poglobljeni obravnavi evropskih vrednot. Vrednote demokracije, pravne države in svobode na samem začetku evropske integracije niso bile popolnoma pozabljene, niso pa tudi zavzemale osrednjega mesta v razpravah o evropski unifikaciji. Večja pozornost jim je bila posvečena šele v devetdesetih letih, ko jih prvič posredno zasledimo v členu F Maastrichtske pogodbe in nekoliko kasneje v 6. členu Amsterdamske pogodbe. Svoboda, demokracija, vladavina prava in človekove pravice so bile sprva omenjene kot načela Evropske unije in so bile šele z novo terminologijo v 2. členu Lizbonske pogodbe (PEU-Liz) preimenovane v vrednote Evropske unije. V okviru naloge sem raziskala, v katerih evropskih dokumentih zasledimo omembo vrednot, kako so se te vrednote skozi čas razvijale in kakšen je njihov pomen v evropskem prostoru. Nadalje sem vrednote, zapisane v 2. členu PEU-Liz, nekoliko bolj podrobno razčlenila, pri tem pa nisem pozabila tudi na vrednoto miru, ki sicer ni našteta med vrednotami 2. člena, a predstavlja temelj evropskega povezovanja, brez katerega nadaljnji razvoj evropskih vrednot ne bi bil možen. Na koncu sem se poglobila še v zunanjo politiko Evropske unije in preučila, kako evropske vrednote učinkujejo v razmerju s tretjimi državami, ki niso članice Evropske unije. Analizirala sem tako pozitivno kot negativno plat širjena evropskih vrednot pod okriljem univerzalnosti in v tem kontekstu ovrednotila različne teorije o razvoju evropskih vrednot preko skupne in zunanje politike EU. ; This master's thesis is dedicated to an in-depth examination of European values. At the beginning of the European integration, values of democracy, the rule of law and liberty were not completely forgotten, but neither did they occupy a prominent position in discussions on European unification. More attention was paid to them later in the 1990s, firstly indirectly acknowledged in Article F of the Maastricht Treaty and later in Article 6 of the Amsterdam Treaty. Freedom, democracy, the rule of law and human rights were originally referred to as the principles of the European Union and were renamed as values only later in the new terminology of Article 2 of the Treaty of Lisbon (TEU-Liz). As part of my assignment, I reviewed in which European documents we can find the notion of values, how they evolved over time and what is their special significance in the European area. Furthermore, I comprehensively analysed the values laid down in Article 2 of the TEU-Liz, among which I also mentioned the value of peace which, incidentally, is not mentioned in Article 2, but represents the foundation of European integration without which further advancement of European values would not be possible. Finally, I expanded my research into the area of EU common foreign and security policy, where I investigated the impact of proliferation of European values in relation to third countries, states which are not members of the European Union. I analysed positive as well as negative aspects of the spread of European values under the auspices of universality and in this context, I examined the various theories regarding the expansion of European values through EU's common foreign and security policy.
Erasmus+ je program Evropske Unije (EU) na področju izobraževanja, usposabljanja, mladine in športa, ki omogoča mednarodno učno mobilnost. Tako Evropska komisija kot akademski strokovnjaki velikokrat navajajo Erasmus+ za uspešen primer evropske integracije in kot spodbujevalec evropske identitete. To magistrsko delo s pomočjo interpretativne paradigme poskuša osvetliti presečišče med teorijo evropskih integracij, vrednotenjem programa Erasmus+ in osmišljanjem evropske identitete. Analiza EU dokumentov je pokazala, da termin evropska identiteta izrazito nekonsistentno uporabljen znotraj upravljavskih organov EU. Poleg tega se je pomen evropske identitete, kakor jo je navzven predstavljala Skupnost, od sedemdesetih let prejšnjega stoletja naprej izrazito spreminjal. Prvotni zunanje-politični pomen je zamenjalo vrednotenje evropske identitete v odnosu do nacionalne države. Raziskave na področju vplivov programa Erasmus+ (oziroma mednarodne mobilnosti) na izgradnjo evropske identitete sicer prinašajo zelo različne rezultate, skoraj vse pa pesti problem metodološkega nacionalizma. Učinki programa Erasmus+ so sicer pozitivni, vendar težko ovrednoteni, saj so se od začetkov programa leta 1987 do danes drastično spreminjali. Opazna je neoliberalna logika prostega pretoka delovne sile v smislu spodbujanja mednarodne mobilnosti in posledično izgrajevanja konkurenčnega trga delovne sile na katerem štejejo kompetence posameznika/ posameznice. ; Erasmus+ is the European Union's (the EU) programme in the fields of education, training, youth and sport, which enables international learning mobility. Both the European Commission and academic experts often cite Erasmus+ as a successful example of European integration and as a facilitator of a European identity. This thesis seeks to illuminate the intersection between the theory of European integration, the evaluation of the Erasmus + programme and European identity. This is done with interpretive paradigm. An analysis of the EU' documents has shown that the term European identity is used in a highly inconsistent way within the EU's bodies. In addition, the meaning of European identity, as initially represented by the Community, has changed markedly since the 1970s. The original meaning reflected the foreign policy aspirations of the Community ; later this was replaced with the emphasis of European identity in relation to the nation-state. Research in the field of measuring the impact of the Erasmus+ programme (or international mobility) on the construction of the European identity brings a variety of results. The common problem of such research is the one of methodological nationalism. The effects of the Erasmus+ programme are positive, but difficult to evaluate, as they have changed drastically since the beginning of the programme in 1987. The neoliberal logic behind the free movement of labour is noticeable, especially in the light of boosting international mobility to create a competitive labour market, where one's competencies are all that matters.
Skrajno desne ideje so v evropskem prostoru prisotne že stoletja. Včasih zaradi določenih situacij pridejo na plano, v kratkem pa potem tudi izginejo. Evropska unija, ki se je izgradila na pogorišču skrajnih idej in sistemov, se je ponovno srečala s težko situacijo. V letu 2008 je staro celino zajela svetovna finančna kriza, ki je do temeljev pretresla dotedanjo uspešno evropsko integracijo in pri tem obudila skrajne ideje. Finančni krizi je po nekaj letih sledila migrantska, ki je že tako težko situacijo naredila še težjo. V določenih državah so se začele prebujati skrajne populistične in nacionalistične ideje, ki so krivca za nastalo situacijo iskale znotraj Evropske unije, v njenih institucijah in migrantih, ki so zaradi različnih razlogov prihajali v varno Evropo. Vzpon skrajno desnih strank je imel v posameznih državah različne motive, zakaj je stranka prišla na oblast oz. je imela v državi velik pomen. Vprašanje, ki se pojavlja ob trenutni situaciji v Evropski uniji, je, kako bodo skrajne ideje vplivale na nadaljnjo integracijo oz. dezintegracijo Evropske unije. ; Far-right ideas have been present in the European area for centuries. Certain situations cause them to emerge every now and then, before they disappear again not long after. The European Union, which was built on the ruins of radical ideas and political systems, is once again facing this menacing threat. In 2008, the old continent was hit by the global financial crisis, which shook the so far very successful European integration to its core and began to awake certain extremist notions. After a few years, the financial crisis was followed by the migrant crisis, which had since only exacerbated the situation. Populist and nationalist ideas, which were starting to resurge in some European countries, were looking for a scapegoat for the new state of affairs in the European Union and within the walls of its institutions and migrants, who were arriving into safe Europe for various reasons, made for a perfect target. The rise of far-right political parties had different motives in individual countries, regardless whether a particular party seized power or simply grew in prominence. The question that the European Union is facing at the moment is how these extremist ideas will influence further integration or disintegration of Europe.
In: Lex localis: revija za lokalno samoupravo ; journal of local self-government ; Zeitschrift für lokale Selbstverwaltung, Volume 6, Issue 4, p. 489-525
The local geodetic service systematically provides information that is relevant to the implementation of the strategic policies of the sustainable development & rational management of space, municipality environment & wider local communities. It is also important as a public service for supplying data to the professional & interested public in their further work, as well as for providing information at the state level & within the framework of the European integrations. The paper explains why the institute of the local geodetic service differs in individual local communities. The central part of the paper deals with some additional possibilities of using the services from the area of the local geodetic service. These services can essentially contribute to better political decisions of local communities in making strategically relevant decisions. Adapted from the source document.
Evropska sosedska politika (v nadaljevanju ESP) je politika urejanja odnosov s sosednjimi državami EU, ki jim ni bilo ponujeno članstvo v EU. Na Južnem Kavkazu, kjer so po letu 1991 nastale države Azerbajdžan, Gruzija, Armenija, se je sosedska politika okrepila po letu 2003, ko se je spremenila politična struktura v Gruziji in, ko se je s pridružitvijo Romunije in Bolgarije EU širila še bolj proti vzhodu. Velik del »evropeizacije« te regije temelji na širjenju pojma EU »kot edino pravega« razvoja družbe s pomočjo človekovih pravic in svoboščin, demokracije, liberalizacije, urejenega pravnega reda in prostovoljnega skupnega sodelovanja ter na postopni integraciji teh držav v politični, pravni in gospodarski red EU. V magistrski nalogi iščem odgovor na vprašanje ali je ta način promocije evropskih vrednot učinkovit za povezovanje z vsemi sosednjimi državami ali pa utegne imeti negativne posledice v odnosih z njimi. S pravno, gospodarsko in politično analizo evropske sosedske politike v Armeniji, Gruziji in Azerbajdžanu, spoznavanjem njenih prednosti in slabosti, ugotavljam perspektive za prihodnji razvoj. Za oblikovanje ključnih vidikov povezovanja je pomembno poznavanje zgodovinskih, etničnih, geografskih, kulturnih in političnih razlik ter poznavanje problematike območij z velikim varnostnim tveganjem kot so Gorski Karabah, Južna Osetija in Abhazija. Države Armenija, Azerbajdžan in Gruzija se nahajajo na pomembnem območju, kjer se prepletajo geostrateški interesi Rusije, ZDA, Turčije, Irana in v zadnjem času tudi Kitajske. EU se srečuje z novimi izzivi, med katerimi vedno večjo vlogo igra njena sosedska politika do tretjih držav. Ker je v primeru Južnega Kavkaza splošno zaznati obširnost evropskih virov, t. j. dogovorov in politik (pridružitveni sporazumi, sporazumi o partnerstvu in sodelovanju, finančni instrumenti, Vzhodno partnerstvo, Sinergija Črnega morja, sporazumi po sektorjih), v nalogi ugotavljam, ali bi bilo potrebno vzpostaviti enotnejšo in s tem preglednejšo sosedsko politiko do vsake posamezne države. ; The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is an instrument for governing relations with the EU's neighbourhood countries which are not to become members of the EU. In the South Caucasus, where Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia declared independence in 1991, the ENP was strengthened after 2003 with change of political structure in Georgia and after EU's enlargement further to the east with joinder of Romania and Bulgaria. A big part of Europeanisation of this region is based on promotion of the EU's values as being »the only right way« of developing societies, through strengthening human rights and liberties, democracy, liberalisation, the rule of law, voluntary cooperation and gradual integration of these countries into the EU's political, legal and economic framework. In this master's thesis I am looking for an answer to a question whether such way of promoting European values will result in cooperation with all the neighbouring countries or whether it might bring negative consequences in the EU's relationship with them. With legal, economic and political analysis of the ENP in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan and with identification of the ENP's advantages and disadvantages, I am trying to find possibilities for its further development. Understanding historic, ethnic, geographic, cultural and political differences and understanding problems coming from areas considered major security risks, such as Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia and Abkhazia, is important for developing key areas of cooperation. Countries Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia are located in the important area where geostrategic interests of Russia, USA, Turkey, Iran and recently China intersect. The EU has been facing new challenges, one of them being the increasing importance of its policy towards the neighbouring countries. As there has been a significant amount of European sources, such as arrangements and politics (e.g. association agreements, partnership and cooperation agreements, financial instruments, Eastern Partnership, Black Sea Synergy, sectoral agreements) in the South Caucasus, I am discussing in this thesis whether there should be a more unified and consequently more transparent neighbourhood policy for each partner country.
V obsežni raziskavi smo identificirali ključne sektorje gospodarstev držav EU. Sektorske multiplikatorje smo lahko izračunali za 16 držav članic EU(Avstrijo, Belgijo, Češko, Nemčijo, Dansko, Finsko, Francijo, Veliko Britanijo, Grčijo, Irsko, Italijo, Litvo, Nizozemsko, Poljsko, Portugalsko in Slovenijo). Medtem ko ni bilo možno izračunati sektorskih multiplikatorjev za 12 držav članic EU(Bolgarijo, Ciper, Estonijo, Hrvaško, Latvijo, Luksemburg, Madžarsko, Malto, Romunijo, Slovaško, Španijo in Švedsko), ker matrike niso imele definiranega inverza. V analizi smo ugotovili, da so najbolj odporni na krizo sektorji, ki so v daljšem obdobju v opazovanem gospodarstvu imeli največji vpliv na povezanost za nazaj in povezanost za naprej. V obdobju od leta 2001 do 2011 smo analizirali ključne sektorje v opazovanih 16 državah članicah EU. Ugotavljali smo podobnosti in razlike v spreminjanju medsektorskih povezav in s tem strukture gospodarstva v državah članicah Evropske unije. Identificirali smo tiste sektorje, ki so najbolj pripomogli , da so opazovane države članice Evropske unije čim prej okrevale po gospodarski in finančni krizi. ; In a large study, we identified key sectors of the economies of the EU. Sectoral multipliers, we can calculate the 16 EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Finland, France, Great Britain, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Slovenia). While it was not possible to calculate the sectoral multipliers for the 12 EU Member States (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden), whereas the matrix did not have defined inverses. In the analysis, we found that the most resistant to the crisis sectors over a long period of observation economy had the greatest impact on the integration of back and forward integration. In the period from 2001 to 2011 were analyzed for key sectors in the observed 16 EU Member States. We seek to determine similarities and differences in changing cross-cutting links and the structure of the economy in the Member States of the European Union. We have identified those sectors that have most contributed to the observed Member States of the European Union as soon as possible to recover from the economic and financial crisis.
The "integration of Europe" is, among other things, a huge ideological undertaking. Part of that undertaking entails the appropriation of history for the political project of building a "European Union." One aspect of that appropriation of history is the rooting of Europe as a political community in historical times & places where Europe as such did not exist. Popular among such ideological constructs is presentation of the Carolingian Empire as the predecessor of contemporary, united Europe. By analyzing early medieval usages of the word Europe, the author argues that it is unwarranted to speak of any clear "idea of Europe," in the Carolingian period or, in turn, to portray the Carolingian Empire as the "first Europe" & a potential model for today's "integration of Europe.". Adapted from the source document.
Makroregionalne strategije Evropske unije (EU), kot orodje kohezijske politike, predstavljajo celosten okvir, katerega namen je reševanje skupnih izzivov, ki se pojavljajo na določenem geografskem območju. Državam članicam EU, kot tudi tretjim državam, je tako omogočeno skupno spopadanje s težavami in večji izkoristek skupnih potencialov. Naloga temelji na predpostavki, da sodelovanje držav Zahodnega Balkana (ZB) znotraj makroregionalnih strategij pripomore k njihovemu lažjemu vključevanju v EU. Namen naloge je proučiti usklajenost makroregionalnih strategij EU in širitvene politike EU ter prispevati k razumevanju zunanje dimenzije kohezijske politike. V teoretičnem delu naloge opredelim ključne koncepte s področja zunanjepolitičnega delovanja EU. V empiričnem delu najprej preverim koherentnost makroregionalnih strategij EU in širitvene politike z vidika ciljev in sredstev teh politik. Nato s primerjalno analizo koherentnost teh dveh politik merim z vidika napredka držav ZB pri pristopnih poglavjih glede na posamezna vsebinska področja makroregionalnih strategij. Usklajenost ciljev in sredstev makroregionalnih strategij in širitvene politike, možnost koriščenja znanja, pridobljenega na podlagi sodelovanja znotraj makroregionalnih strategij pri pristopnem procesu držav ZB ter ne nazadnje viden napredek pri pristopnem procesu pokaže, da makroregionalne strategije krepijo pristopni proces držav k EU. ; The European Union's (EU) macro-regional strategies, as the cohesion policy tool, represent an integrated framework aimed at addressing the common challenges that arise in a given geographical area. This allows EU Member States, as well as third countries, to tackle problems together and make greater use of their common potential. The thesis is based on the assumption that the participation of the countries of the Western Balkans (WB) within macro-regional strategies helps to facilitate their integration into the EU. The aim is to examine the coherence between EU macro-regional strategies and the EU enlargement process and to contribute to the understanding of the external dimension of the cohesion policy. In the theoretical part of the thesis, I define key concepts in the field of EU foreign policy action. In the empirical part, I first check the coherence of the EU macro-regional strategies and enlargement policy in terms of goals and means of these policies. Then with a comparative analysis I measure the coherence of these two policies in terms of progress of WB countries in accession chapters according to individual content areas of macro-regional strategies. The coherence of the goals and means of macro-regional strategies and enlargement policy, the possibility of using the knowledge gained through cooperation within macro-regional strategies in the accession process of WB countries and last but not least visible progress in the accession progress show that macro-regional strategies are strengthening EU accession process.
V Ukrajini so se leta 2014 po seriji različnih notranjih političnih kriz na vzhodu države, v regiji Donbas, pojavila separatistična gibanja, katerih pripadniki so za regiji Doneck in Lugansk zahtevali odcepitev od države. Začetnim protestom je sledil konflikt, ki ga že od vsega začetka zaznamuje prepletanje delovanja različnih vpletenih strani: upornikov na eni in ukrajinske oblasti na drugi strani, kot tudi mednarodne skupnosti. Na eni strani sta Evropska unija in NATO, ki si zadnji dve desetletji na različne načine prizadevajo za integracijo vzhodnoevropskih držav. Na drugi strani je Ruska federacija, ki je še vedno izrazito povezana z republikami nekdanje Sovjetske zveze in nanje tudi močno vpliva. Širjenje vplivov iz EU in ZDA oziroma zahoda na splošno v teh državah domnevno ogroža ruske interese in interese proruske struje v Ukrajini. Magistrsko delo prikazuje zgodovinski razvoj Ukrajine in zapletene družbene, gospodarske in politične razmere, prisotne v državi, ki pripomorejo k razumevanju razvoja in poteka konflikta. Temu sledita analiza medijskega poročanja in vloge medijev v razvoju konflikta in političnogeografska analiza konflikta ter njegov vpliv na širše dogajanje in odnose v Evropi in svetu ; After a series of various internal political crises in eastern Ukraine in 2014, separatist movements appeared in the Donbas region, demanding secession of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The initial protests were followed by a conflict marked throughout by the intertwining actions of the various parties involved: the rebels, the Ukrainian authorities as well as the international community. On the one hand, there is the European Union and NATO, striving for the integration of Eastern European countries over the last two decades. On the other hand, there is the Russian Federation, still strongly connected with the republics of the former Soviet Union and exerting a strong influence on them. Supposedly, the growing influences of the EU, the US and the West in general in these countries pose a threat to the Russian interests and the interests of the pro-Russian movement in Ukraine. This master's thesis presents the historical development of Ukraine and its complex social, economic and political conditions, shedding light on the development and course of the conflict in the country. It then provides an analysis of the role of the media in the development of the conflict, as well as a political geographic analysis of the conflict and its impact on the events and relations on European and global level.