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AbstractThis article uses the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) to consider the soundness of recent reforms to raise the age of retirement. Findings indicate that physical health and cognitive performance deteriorate with age and have negative effects on the employment rate of the 50–54 age group. The impact of poor cognition is lower than that of ill health, and both have greater effects on employment than on hours. This being said, at most, health and cognitive decline explain 35 per cent of observed work reduction. This hints at a sizeable underused work capacity among elderly Europeans.

RésuméL'auteur utilise l'Enquête sur la santé, le vieillissement et la retraite en Europe (SHARE) pour analyser le bien‐fondé des réformes récentes visant à relever l'âge de la retraite. Il constate que la santé physique et les capacités cognitives se dégradent avec l'âge, ce qui abaisse les taux d'emploi des 50‐54 ans. L'effet de la cognition est moins fort que celui de la santé. En outre, ces deux éléments influent plus sur l'emploi que sur les heures travaillées. Cependant, ils expliquent au plus 35 pour cent de la réduction du travail observée. La capacité de travail des seniors européens semble donc largement sous‐utilisée.

To a Polish reader, Venezuela is far away, despite the globalized world in which we live. The same is true in reverse: few Venezuelans know where to locate Poland on a map of Europe. However that fact does not prevent us from taking this opportunity to – by using the cont of this volume – build bridges between the two countries. There can be several pillars upon which to build, the most important of which is the common Catholic religious culture that we share. A historical tour will help explain the importance of Catholic education provided in the educational institutions dependent on the Catholic Church.

AbstractThis research aims at investigating the effect of firms' environmental policies on the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) in order to catch capital markets' reaction towards corporate environmental commitment and effectiveness in reducing carbon emissions. We refer to the European market and analysed a sample of companies listed on the Stoxx Europe 600 Index during the timeframe 2014–2018. Our results show that capital markets have become particularly sensitive to environmental issues and therefore reward environmentally virtuous firms with a lower after tax WACC. We also argue that this effect is prominent for both high emitting and low emitting industries.

The role of duels changed a lot throughout history. Based upon observations, most duels resulted from personal grievances. Duels were present even in the mid-20th century in Hungary. In the 20th century, duels were one of the greatest dilemmas of justice. The public opinion accepted duels, but the legal profession condemned them, mainly because of the possible negative consequences. In my study, I will present most of the legal provisions for duels both in Hungary and in Europe, the ethical Code of duels, and the most important lawyers, opinions on duels. Finally, I will explain the main reasons that had led to the decline of duelling.

Abstract
The Covid-19 pandemic has made interdependence globally relevant. Communication channels provide us with technological advances; they can make our lives easier, but they can also bring us viruses. In this session, we aim to explore the impact of Covid-19 on relationships between states and other global actors. To what extent will the pandemic affect international relations? What role will emerging actors such as large corporations, pressure groups or multilateral organizations take on? What impact will the possible reconfiguration of global relations have on Europe, but also on the world? This article aims to analyze the consequences of Covid-19 in our societies.

Abstract
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a strategy initiated by Chinese government that seeks to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks with the aim of increasing commercial exchange, stimulating economic growth and improving regional integration. The BRI comprises a Silk Road Economic Belt and a 21st century Maritime Silk Road. The initiative defines five major priorities, namely policy coordination, infrastructure connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and people-to-people bonds. The BRI has been associated with large investment programs in infrastructure projects. It is also an increasingly important umbrella mechanism for China's bilateral trade with BRI partners.

The article analyzes the historical Silk Road in its long-term development. It entails reflections on the knowledge of Eastern global interactions providing a long-term contextual framework for Eurasia as a single continent. Eurasian globalization influenced the interactions of regions from China and India, through Western Asia, the Middle East, Eastern and Northern Africa and the Mediterranean, and the south of Europe. An important role was played by the Silk Road, as the main historical long-term network of global interactions and communication, which is now being echoed in the new current global initiatives, particularly the Belt and Road Initiative, which updates the historical Silk Road.

Based on a new dataset, this article explains a turn towards Euroscepticism by regionalist parties from the early 2000s. Our findings point to the effects of cross-dimensional ideological linkages – positions adopted on the centre-periphery and left–right dimensions – and of an increasing formal regional involvement in European Union affairs without actual influence, which leaves regionalist (and especially secessionist) parties frustrated with the European Union multi-level system. Our findings substantiate the argument that regionalist parties are strongly supportive of economic integration but less supportive of political integration. They are also in line with the fall of the 'Europe of the Regions' thesis.

Some 10-15 million members of the Roma minority live in Europe; an estimated 6 million are citizens of the European Union. It was not until the 1990s that European Union institutions began treating Roma as an ethnic minority deserving of human rights protections. Concerns about mass migration of Roma from Eastern European countries where they face severe discrimination was one of the reasons the EU included protections for Roma among the conditions that candidate countries had to meet to qualify for consideration in its most recent rounds of enlargement. Those EU efforts have overlooked similar discrimination and neglect in western member states.

AbstractRussian actions since 2007 appear increasingly to constitute a realist approach to international affairs. Russia appears to be behaving as a rising power, attempting to become a regional or global superpower. Essential to this pursuit, a state must gather information strategically. We examine one feature of strategic information gathering, called a test, a state action that asserts power but also garners information as it elicits a global response. Through a test framework, we provide a realist explanation to understanding Russia's foreign affairs and its pursuit of power in the near abroad, Western Europe, Middle East, Asia, and foreign elections.

L'instauration de la politique commerciale communautaire ne fut pas sans incidence sur la politique de détente menée par la France en Europe de l'Est. Elle imposa en effet de négocier de nouveaux types d'accords économiques qui excluaient désormais les affaires commerciales. L'enjeu, pour la partie française, fut donc de conserver et de développer un vecteur d'influence qui échappât à la supervision de la CEE, à travers la coopération industrielle. Mais, paradoxalement, la diplomatie française fut aussi conduite à défendre les prérogatives commerciales de la Commission, face aux revendications roumaines, mais aussi face aux initiatives de ses partenaires ouest-européens.

This paper studies the convergence of self-employment by gender in the European Union, through tests for the order of integration and cluster analysis, in order to investigate the occurrence of two types of convergence: between genders and among European countries. The paper makes two contributions to the literature: (1) theo-retically, it provides useful insights into the macroeconomic determinants of self-employment; (2) methodologically, it uses unit roots, fractional integration and clus-ter analysis to assess convergence. The empirical results point at mixed evidence of convergence, but with clear differences between the core and the periphery of Europe.

The supply of entrepreneurial finance in Europe is constrained by the geographical fragmentation of its capital market. The need to facilitate more cross-border investing by business angels – the main source of early stage finance–is recognized. A study of business angels on the island of Ireland identifies three constraints on cross-border investing: (1) lack of information on cross-border investment opportunities; (2) the preference of angels to invest locally; and (3) tax incentives that are only available for investments in the angel's own country. Increasing cross-border investment requires mechanisms that build relationships between business angels in different countries.

The 7th EMB Forum took place online on 23rd October 2020. It provided an opportunity to further reflect on the role of big data in advancing marine science to support recent policy developments, namely the European Green Deal, the EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy, and the development of a Digital Twin Ocean (DTO). 192 participants from Europe and further afield were present, representing academia, government, industry, and NGOs. Experts gave presentations and participated in panel discussions, with audience interaction. This document is a summary of the discussions, and full recordings of the sessions are available on the EMB YouTube Channel.