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The paper presents the results of the analysis of the current state in waste management of plastic bottles in Germany. A data overview of the differences in recycling policies between different countries in the European Union is presented. The application of twelve different polymeric materials by five different application sectors in Europe shows the predominated usage areas of selected polymeric materials. A detailed insight into the German Dual System (DSD) for plastic recycling is presented, with the reference to the famous label the "Green Dot". The evolution of the recovery rates of packaging in Germany from 1991 to 2014 is presented for glass, aluminium, tinplate, polymers, paper and cardboard and liquid packaging board. It was observed that the plastic recycling rate has risen from ~ 15 % to almost 100 %, i.e. nowadays almost the whole plastic waste is either incinerated or recycled. Current data for PET-bottles return is determined as well, and detailed current information regarding the deposit system is presented. The actual applications and specific data showing the industry sectors that use the PET from recovered bottles are presented.

The question of the legal nature of the European Union (hereafter: the EU) has been left unanswered to date. Determining the legal nature is important for predicting the consequences, limits and ways of action of any organization, including the EU. Today, the EU is most often defined as a sui generis organization. Given the limited analytical value of the term sui generis, it is important to determine its content. For this purpose, it is necessary to analyze, along with the political aspect of the community, the formal and legal ones, which includes the analysis of federal, international and other elements contained in the legal and political system of the EU. Also, a comparison between the formal and political elements of the EU and a typical federal society such as the United States of America will be made, with the aim of determining the specific features of the EU which prevent it from being called "the United States of Europe". The most prominent definitions of the EU offered by prominent theorists will be briefly addressed in this article.

The combustion of fossil fuels for electricity generation, which accounts for a significant share of the world's CO2 emissions, varies by macro-regional context. Here we use multilevel regression modeling techniques to analyze CO2 emissions levels in the year 2009 for 1360 fossil-fuel power plants in the 25 post-Soviet transition nations in Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia. We find that various facility-level factors are positively associated with plant-level emissions, including plant size, age, heat rate, capacity utilization rate, and coal as the primary fuel source. Results further indicate that plant-level emissions are lower, on average, in the transition nations that joined the European Union (EU), whose market reforms and environmental directives are relevant for emissions reductions. These negative associations between plant-level emissions and EU accession are larger for the nations that joined the EU in 2004 relative to those that joined in 2007. The findings also suggest that export-oriented development is positively associated with plant-level CO2 emissions in the transition nations. Our results highlight the importance in macro-regional assessments of the conjoint effects of political and economic integration for facility-level emissions.

International audience ; At the end of 2016, the European Commission proposed to re-launch the common consolidated corporate tax base project (hereafter the "CCCTB"). For a few years now, there has indeed been much politics involved with international companies low effective tax rate: from Brussels, the CCCTB would be a way to fix the international tax system. The CCCTB is indeed expected to contribute to efforts to tackle base erosion and profit shifting ("BEPS"). (1) To keep it simple, it would render more difficult for a multinational corporation to take its profit away from one European Member State and hide it in a tax heaven inside the European Union. This would put an end to the profit shifting going on within Europe. Because when European corporations do not pay taxes, which means for the EU citizens to pay more taxes; alternatively, failing to pay their shares of taxes means less money for hospitals, schools, or research incentives. But probably in order to "sell the project" to multinationals, it also benefit to some extent to this category of tax payers.

Welfare regime is composed of the social and economic policies that are adopted to protect and promote the economic and social well-being of its citizens. While neoliberal principles extend through globalization, welfare regimes have been suffering from this process since policies are developed with the emphasis on individual empowerment rather than collectively shared welfare. While spending a great deal of efforts not to lose its competitiveness, the European Union tries to create an alternative for the structure of its social policies. However, this attempt remains highly vulnerable due to the impact of capitalist economic system on development of EU social policy/model since the beginning of the EU integration process. This article analyzes the roots of underdeveloped social policy in EU history at three stages: explanation of underdevelopment of social Europe from several theoretical paradigms; examination of deep-rooted problems of European social policy within the dynamics of European integration; elaboration of EU modernization process; and clarification of this deficiency with the example of European Social Model deemed as a politically constructed project.

Chychkalo-Kondratska I.B. Model for Ukraine's Integration into Europe in the Frame of the EU-Ukraine Free-Trade Area Operation / I.B. Chychkalo-Kondratska, N.V. Bezrukova, V.A. Svichkar // Topical questions of contemporary science: Collection of scientific articles. – Aspekt Publishing, Taunton, MA, United States of America, 2017. - Р. 90-95. ; The objective of this article is to analyze potential effects of the UA-EU free trade area formation on business, households and the public sector, and to determine further areas of cooperation between our state and the European Union. The article deals with advantages and threats of the UA-EU free trade area formation. It proves that the free trade area operation will facilitate competitive capacity of the domestic enterprises and the national economy in general. ; Метою даної статті є аналіз потенційних наслідків формування зони вільної торгівлі Україна-ЄС з позицій комерційної діяльності та громадського сектору, а також визначити подальші напрямки співпраці між нашою державою та Європейським Союзом. У статті розглядаються переваги і загрози формування зони вільної торгівлі. В статті доводиться, що вільна торгівля сприятиме конкурентоспроможності вітчизняних підприємств і національної економіки в цілому

Throughout history the Mediterranean has continuously been at the centre of international relations. The end of the Cold War led some pundits to believe that the Mediterranean would be marginalized in global relations. The enlargement of the European Union towards the east, the rise of China in Asia and the emergence of India and Brazil as leading economic developing countries further cemented this perception. Yet the process of globalization has not shifted international attention away from the Mediterranean. Three decades since the end of the Cold War it is clear that the Mediterranean remains an essential strategic theatre of operation linking Europe, North Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and the Black Sea together. Anyone questioning the strategic relevance of the Mediterranean in contemporary international relations must be careful not to confuse the rise of China and the Asia Pacific in general with a diminishment of the Euro-Mediterranean sphere of influence. While the East-West dynamic pattern of relations and the North-South dynamic pattern of relations continue to shift in different directions, the physical importance of the Mediterranean as a geo-strategic waterway remains a constant. ; N/A

The food production system throughout the European Union, which includes farm production, harvesting, transport, processing, storage, marketing and consumption, is vast, complex and open. The high volume of trade in fresh vegetables and fruits contributes to the vulnerability to contamination, whether by accident or intent. Outbreak investigation is critical to understanding the sources of contamination and the steps required to minimize it. The fact that much of the trade in these commodities is international makes it critical that mediation efforts and cooperative research cross national barriers, just as the pathogens do. Enhancing the biosecurity of food production requires assessment of the following: how is the food production system currently organized, in what ways might it be vulnerable to contamination, either accidental or deliberate, what are the primary factors that would allow discrimination between deliberate vs. accidental outbreaks, how can the epidemiological and surveillance systems in Europe be strengthened to shorten outbreak response and mediation times, how can implicated fresh produce be traced to its source, and what forensically valid subtyping method(s) is/are available for detection and discrimination of associated foodborne pathogens.

The combustion of fossil fuels for electricity generation, which accounts for a significant share of the world's CO2 emissions, varies by macro-regional context. Here we use multilevel regression modeling techniques to analyze CO2 emissions levels in the year 2009 for 1360 fossil-fuel power plants in the 25 post-Soviet transition nations in Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia. We find that various facility-level factors are positively associated with plant-level emissions, including plant size, age, heat rate, capacity utilization rate, and coal as the primary fuel source. Results further indicate that plant-level emissions are lower, on average, in the transition nations that joined the European Union (EU), whose market reforms and environmental directives are relevant for emissions reductions. These negative associations between plant-level emissions and EU accession are larger for the nations that joined the EU in 2004 relative to those that joined in 2007. The findings also suggest that export-oriented development is positively associated with plant-level CO2 emissions in the transition nations. Our results highlight the importance in macro-regional assessments of the conjoint effects of political and economic integration for facility-level emissions.

The combustion of fossil fuels for electricity generation, which accounts for a significant share of the world's CO2 emissions, varies by macro-regional context. Here we use multilevel regression modeling techniques to analyze CO2 emissions levels in the year 2009 for 1360 fossil-fuel power plants in the 25 post-Soviet transition nations in Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia. We find that various facility-level factors are positively associated with plant-level emissions, including plant size, age, heat rate, capacity utilization rate, and coal as the primary fuel source. Results further indicate that plant-level emissions are lower, on average, in the transition nations that joined the European Union (EU), whose market reforms and environmental directives are relevant for emissions reductions. These negative associations between plant-level emissions and EU accession are larger for the nations that joined the EU in 2004 relative to those that joined in 2007. The findings also suggest that export-oriented development is positively associated with plant-level CO2 emissions in the transition nations. Our results highlight the importance in macro-regional assessments of the conjoint effects of political and economic integration for facility-level emissions.

The main purpose of this article is to assess the relationship between populism and immigration in the European Union. Based on an literature review on the current state of populist movements in the EU as well as on the findings of a comparative fieldwork conducted in five European countries (Germany, France, Italy, Greece and the Netherlands) between mid-March and late-May 2017, the article seeks to understand and explain the relevance of the debates on migration, refugees, mobility and Islam on the rise of extreme right-wing populism.1 The article starts with the depiction of the very substance of the populist rhetoric in Europe vis-à-vis migrants and refugees, which is based on the reiteration of a Manichean understanding of the world polarizing the public between "us" and "them". Then, the content of the right-wing populist rhetoric will be analysed further looking at the social-economic, political and cultural drivers of populist extremism, the resentment against diversity, multiculturalism, Islam, immigration and mobility among the supporters of populist parties in five selected European countries.

International audience ; At the end of 2016, the European Commission proposed to re-launch the common consolidated corporate tax base project (hereafter the "CCCTB"). For a few years now, there has indeed been much politics involved with international companies low effective tax rate: from Brussels, the CCCTB would be a way to fix the international tax system. The CCCTB is indeed expected to contribute to efforts to tackle base erosion and profit shifting ("BEPS"). (1) To keep it simple, it would render more difficult for a multinational corporation to take its profit away from one European Member State and hide it in a tax heaven inside the European Union. This would put an end to the profit shifting going on within Europe. Because when European corporations do not pay taxes, which means for the EU citizens to pay more taxes; alternatively, failing to pay their shares of taxes means less money for hospitals, schools, or research incentives. But probably in order to "sell the project" to multinationals, it also benefit to some extent to this category of tax payers.

Capital pensions recently are gaining influence in developed countries and are losing influence in Central and Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria. At the same time Bulgaria is part of the European Union and has to follow common activities and initiatives. Policy of the European Commission is to support and to urge the development of the capital pensions. This is relevant action for Bulgaria because the pension replacement rate is very low and the public pension system is under pressure of huge cash deficit. In 2011 the European Commission started discussion for implementing pan-European personal pension product (PEPP). This creates opportunities for member states. The paper deals with the position and readiness of Bulgaria to participate in the process of the latter implementation. Addressed are issues like why is necessary unified personal pension insurance, what is the current situation, what are the tendencies, what is the role of capital pensions in the whole system in Bulgaria. The study searches answers to questions such as whether this product is necessary and what will be the impact for Bulgarian pension system.

The European Union (EU) faces a double crisis: both economic and environmental, which has brought into stark relief the question of whether climate change mitigation and economic growth are mutually exclusive. Is saving the environment a 'luxury' reserved for wealthy countries, with less affluent countries being too poor to be green? We seek to address this important and timely question using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to analyse the causal relationship between economic growth and stability, and the expansion of renewable electricity shares among the European Union's (EU) 28 member states during the recent economic recession (2008-2013). Our paper, analyses the recent economic and financial crisis and its effects on sustainability transitions, and establishes a new indicator for progress in renewable electricity transitions in the context of Europe's 2020 targets. It therefore extends the 'sustainability as a luxury' debate to include renewable energy. The analysis reveals an ambivalent picture of the role of wealth in renewable energy transitions (RET) in Europe. Indeed, driven by the EU's common renewable energy targets, the findings suggest that RETs are promoted both because, and in spite of the means.

The interwar secularist-religious clashes across Europe were often perceived as a conflict between religious and scientific worldviews. The interactions and tensions between religion and science are analysed in this article through an examination of the impact of medicine on the secularist project of Russian communism. According to Marx, the religious consciousness was tantamount to the 'sigh of the oppressed creature'. Soviet physicians diagnosed the believer as a sufferer, as someone plagued by chronic 'religious feelings'. Small wonder then that a fixed association between religiosity and morbidity could arise. Under these premises Soviet physicians felt predestined to do direct battle with every form of ecclesiastically determined phenomenon as a health risk factor or manifestation of disease. By using various sources of specialist medical and atheist discourse, this contribution seeks to conceptually understand this confluence of health and atheist propaganda, secularization, and healing in terms of a 'medicalization of religious faith' in the early Soviet Union. It will address the various fields of discourse within the Soviet pathologia religiosa, that is, constructions of religion and religiosity as pathological phenomena particularly within psychiatry.