Suchergebnisse

Today, ensuring energy security is one of the key tasks for every state, whether it is a net exporter, net importer or a transit country. With regard to the EU countries, the declaration of energy security as the priority issue of energy policy is largely due to low endowments of their own reserves of hydrocarbon resources and hence a high dependence on the suppliers of energy resources. As it happens, the EU's own natural gas production is able to supply only 35% of the aggregate demand, with the rest being provided by Russia, Norway, Algeria and Qatar. Since about a third of the total volume of gas imports comes from Russia,1 it creates a de facto dominant position of the Russian Federation in the EU gas market. The study of the transportation aspect of energy security of the EU has become a particularly relevant subject since the escalation of the political crisis in Ukraine in 2014-2016. In the current circumstances, there remain uncertainties regarding the prospects of the Russian gas deliveries to the EU countries through the territory of Ukraine and, in consequence, the question of transportation, as a component of the gas market, has become one of the most important on the agenda of the EU on the subject of cooperation with Russia. The problem of energy security becomes even more acute due to the actions of energy companies of the exporting countries, seeking to obtain access to the gas end-user and attempting to acquire equity shares in companies, involved in transportation and sales. These attempts are met with resistance on the part of the supranational agencies of the EU, which is reflected in the adoption of relevant legislative acts. The prospects for maintaining gas exports from Russia are significantly influenced by the vigorous actions of the EU countries on the implementation of energy-efficient technologies and the wider use of renewable sources of energy. Thus, the analysis of potential changes in the strategy of the EU countries in the context of contemporary trends for strengthening the energy security in the gas market is particularly important for improving the export strategy of Russia in this market. © 2017, CA and CC Press AB. All rights reserved.

-The European Union's plan for aiding recovery in member states hit by the coronavirus crisis has been rightly hailed as a major breakthrough for the bloc. But there is much less clarity on the plan's economic aims, its priorities and the content of the contractual arrangements it should entail between the EU and member countries. The plan's main plank, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) is widely seen as a short-term Keynesian stimulus. Although the EU debt is expected to be repaid through contributions from member states, the resulting transfers are often seen, including by national governments, as money from heaven. There has also been controversy over the conditions attached to grants and loans -fuzziness over objectives and overloaded procedures can derail the RRF. The EU needs to provide clarity from the outset and put the plan on the right track. It should acknowledge and emphasise that the main goal of the RRF is not to contribute to immediate relief or a Keynesian stimulus, but to foster structural transformation, especially in less-advanced and harder-hit member states. -The EU should hold back from trying to impose through overall policy conditionality its reform agenda on the member states. Support for digitalisation cannot be conditioned on pension reform. Instead, there should be a narrow-conditionality approach in which reforms that strongly complement intended investments should be identified and bun-dled with that investment. A grant aimed at encouraging decarbonisation in the transport sector, for example, would, be made conditional on the elimination of transport fuel subsidies. Therefore, in national recovery and resilience plans, each bundle of invest-ments and reforms should be focused on the limited set of policy measures that need to be implemented to maximise the impact of EU-financed investment. -Meanwhile, complementarity across objectives should be addressed through a dialogue with each member state on the sectoral allocation of EU funding and the overall architecture of their recovery and resilience plans. As the provider of the funds, the EU has the leverage and legitimacy to be demanding in this discussion. -The EU should emphasise where relevant the cross-border dimension of investment plans and should encourage member states, including financially, to cooperate on the design and implementation of their plans.

On 29 March 2017, the UK notified its intention of leaving the EU. This activated the two-year disconnection period foreseen in Article 50 TEU, thus resulting in a default Brexit at the end of March 2019. The firming up of a draft agreement on a transition period to run until 31 December 2020 could provide a longer timescale for the Brexit disconnection, as well as some clarity on the process of disentanglement of the UK's and EU's legal systems. The draft transition agreement of 19 March 2018, updated on 19 June 2018 and still under negotiation at the time of writing (August 2018), provides explicit rules on public procurement bound to regulate 'internal' procurement trade between the UK and the EU for a period of over 15 months. However, the uncertainty concerning the future EU-UK relationship remains, and the draft agreement does not provide any indication on the likely legal architecture for future EU-UK trade, including through public procurement. The draft agreement has thus not suppressed the risk of a 'cliff-edge' disconnection post-Brexit, but rather solely deferred it. The transition is currently not into an alternative system of procurement regulation, but rather into the void. There have also been very limited developments concerning the UK's and EU's repositioning within the World Trade Organisation Government Procurement Agreement (WTO GPA), which creates additional legal uncertainty from the perspective of 'external' trade in procurement markets due to the absence of a 'WTO rules' default applicable to public procurement. Against the backdrop of this legal uncertainty, this paper critically assesses the implications of the 2018 draft transition agreement, both for the re-regulation of 'internal' EU-UK procurement, and for the re-positioning of both the EU and the UK within the WTO GPA, as the basis for their 'external' procurement trade with third countries. The paper concludes that it is in both the UK's and the EU's interest to reach a future EU-UK FTA that ensures continued collaboration and crystallises current compliance with EU rules, and to build on it to reach a jointly negotiated solution vis-a-vis the rest of WTO GPA parties. The paper constitutes a detailed case study that provides insights applicable to other areas of Brexit-related trade re-regulation.

Introduction. Integration has reached its highest level of development in the EU, and particular attention is drawn to the agrarian integration and resolution of these problems at the beginning of the integration process. This in its turn confirms the significant importance of the agrarian sector for the member-states. Although, the majority of this market participant does not trade agricultural products. The growing global food problem, the positive consequences of the CAP for EU integration, the significant importance of the agricultural sector for Ukraine, which is one of the major exporters of some agri-food products, and the existence of a number of regional trade agreements confirm the importance of research of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).Purpose. It is pivotal to explore the importance of the EU CAP for the development of EU integration, its goals and changes, the mechanism, the formation of a common market. In addition, it is a positive experience of the integration group and Ukraine can learn a lesson if manages to analyze the EU's place in the world market of agricultural products. Methods. The methods of theoretical generalization, historical method, method of analysis, comparison, and graphical method were used in the article for revealing the features of the CAP and the EU as an exporter of agricultural products. Results. The research shows the importance of the agrarian integration of the EU (it is confirmed by the CAP) and the impact of the CAP on the development of integration. In the case of enlargement of the EU, difficulties are often caused by agrarian policy. The article analyzes the aims of the CAP, which varied during the group history depending on a number of factors, and it shows its flexibility and compliance with urgent problems. The creation of a common market and the use of appropriate regulatory measures (which can also be used by Ukraine) are analyzed. It is determined that the EU is one of the world's major producers and exporters of agri-food products, and its export share of many product is more than 30% or even 50%.Discussion. In further research it is advisable to focus on the stages and reforms of the CAP and to take into account some new aims CAP for the agricultural policy of Ukraine.

European Union and otherness: The case of BalkansThe aim of this paper is to analyze the relation between the EU and the Balkans in the process of othering. The main research question raised here is in what way and to what extent the Balkans as Other was used in the process of the EU identity construction. The EU is perceived as a discursive self-construction establishing its own distinct identity against Others. It is thus argued that the Balkans identity has been dis- cursively constructed in opposition to the EU identity. Through the discursive process, by virtue of asymmetry of power, the EU self-constructed its identity by stigmatizing the difference of the Balkans — Other. The paper starts with the clarification of some conceptual premises concerning Self, Other and the concept of Otherness. It then focuses on the Balkans as Other in the process of EU identity construction. Finally, the Western Balkans as Other is also examined in the process of othering. Due to the asymmetry of power in the EU — Self and Balkans/Western Balkans—Other relation and the ability of the EU to impose the constructed dominant representa- tions, this relation is about inclusion and exclusion, superiority and inferiority. Unia Europejska a inność. Przypadek BałkanówNiniejszy artykuł ma na celu przeanalizowanie relacji pomiędzy Unią Europejską a Bałkanami w procesie stwarzania inności. Zadając główne pytanie badawcze, autorka docieka, w jaki sposób i jak dalece Bałkany jako Inny zostały wykorzystane dla budowania tożsamości Unii Europejskiej. Unia postrzegana jest jako dyskursywna autokonstrukcja ustanawiająca własną odrębną tożsamość w relacji do Innych. Zatem można dowodzić, że tożsamość bałkańska jest konstruowana dyskursywnie w opozycji do tożsamości unijnej. W tym dyskursywnym procesie, wobec asymetrii władzy, UE sama stworzyła swoją tożsamość poprzez stygmatyzowanie różnicy Bałkany – Inny. Artykuł najpierw objaśnia niektóre założenia pojęciowe odnoszące się do "Ja" i "Innego" oraz pojęcie "Inności". Następnie koncentruje się na Bałkanach jako Innym w procesie konstruowania tożsamości UE. Wreszcie analiza obejmuje Bałkany Zachodnie jako Innego w procesie powstawania inności. W obliczu asymetrii w relacji Unia Europejska jako JA -- Bałkany/Bałkany Zachodnie jako Inny oraz faktu, że UE ma możność narzucenia skonstruowanych dominujących wyobrażeń, relacja ta obejmuje włączenie i wykluczenie, nadrzędność i podrzędność. [Transl. by Jacek Serwański]

Problematic aspects of Regulating online streaming Television under European Union Law In the Master's thesis 'Problematic Aspects of Regulating Internet Television under European Union Law' the new type of television – internet television – is analysed. In the thesis the notion of 'internet television' means not only linear services but also non-linear and video-sharing platforms. As of this moment, the institutions of EU negotiate the new project of amendments to the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which is considered to be a suitable way to regulate the audiovisual market of the EU in the light of technology convergence. In the first part of the thesis the notion 'internet television' is analysed. Having in mind that there is no exact notion of internet television in the EU laws, the author takes into account the notions suggested by the international organizations (ITU, OECD). These notions are compared with the similar ones established in the EU laws. In this chapter the features of every type of internet television are compared in the light of EU law and relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The second chapter deals with the net neutrality issues. Net neutrality has a crucial role in the provision of internet services. As of today, Net neutrality is considered as one of the most debatable topics of technology. Because of that, the main arguments of both sides are presented in the thesis, together with the comparison of regulations considering neutral internet rules in both USA and EU. In the third part the author discusses the geographic blocking (geoblocking). The geoblocking practice is analysed together with the operating principles concerning it. It is worth mentioning that even though the geoblocking is mostly familiar with the relationships happening in the private sector, the abovementioned practice can also be used in order to ensure the public interest. In this chapter the circumvention of geoblocking is discussed in the light of several scopes – international treaties, EU law and the terms of services introduced by the providers of the online content. In the last chapter the country of origin principle is discussed. The country of origin principle is considered as a fundamental provision of the digital single market of the EU. However, due to the technology convergence, this principle is questioned whether it is a suitable regulatory mechanism. There are several alternatives introduced to this principle.

Problematic aspects of Regulating online streaming Television under European Union Law In the Master's thesis 'Problematic Aspects of Regulating Internet Television under European Union Law' the new type of television – internet television – is analysed. In the thesis the notion of 'internet television' means not only linear services but also non-linear and video-sharing platforms. As of this moment, the institutions of EU negotiate the new project of amendments to the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which is considered to be a suitable way to regulate the audiovisual market of the EU in the light of technology convergence. In the first part of the thesis the notion 'internet television' is analysed. Having in mind that there is no exact notion of internet television in the EU laws, the author takes into account the notions suggested by the international organizations (ITU, OECD). These notions are compared with the similar ones established in the EU laws. In this chapter the features of every type of internet television are compared in the light of EU law and relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The second chapter deals with the net neutrality issues. Net neutrality has a crucial role in the provision of internet services. As of today, Net neutrality is considered as one of the most debatable topics of technology. Because of that, the main arguments of both sides are presented in the thesis, together with the comparison of regulations considering neutral internet rules in both USA and EU. In the third part the author discusses the geographic blocking (geoblocking). The geoblocking practice is analysed together with the operating principles concerning it. It is worth mentioning that even though the geoblocking is mostly familiar with the relationships happening in the private sector, the abovementioned practice can also be used in order to ensure the public interest. In this chapter the circumvention of geoblocking is discussed in the light of several scopes – international treaties, EU law and the terms of services introduced by the providers of the online content. In the last chapter the country of origin principle is discussed. The country of origin principle is considered as a fundamental provision of the digital single market of the EU. However, due to the technology convergence, this principle is questioned whether it is a suitable regulatory mechanism. There are several alternatives introduced to this principle.

Problematic aspects of Regulating online streaming Television under European Union Law In the Master's thesis 'Problematic Aspects of Regulating Internet Television under European Union Law' the new type of television – internet television – is analysed. In the thesis the notion of 'internet television' means not only linear services but also non-linear and video-sharing platforms. As of this moment, the institutions of EU negotiate the new project of amendments to the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which is considered to be a suitable way to regulate the audiovisual market of the EU in the light of technology convergence. In the first part of the thesis the notion 'internet television' is analysed. Having in mind that there is no exact notion of internet television in the EU laws, the author takes into account the notions suggested by the international organizations (ITU, OECD). These notions are compared with the similar ones established in the EU laws. In this chapter the features of every type of internet television are compared in the light of EU law and relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The second chapter deals with the net neutrality issues. Net neutrality has a crucial role in the provision of internet services. As of today, Net neutrality is considered as one of the most debatable topics of technology. Because of that, the main arguments of both sides are presented in the thesis, together with the comparison of regulations considering neutral internet rules in both USA and EU. In the third part the author discusses the geographic blocking (geoblocking). The geoblocking practice is analysed together with the operating principles concerning it. It is worth mentioning that even though the geoblocking is mostly familiar with the relationships happening in the private sector, the abovementioned practice can also be used in order to ensure the public interest. In this chapter the circumvention of geoblocking is discussed in the light of several scopes – international treaties, EU law and the terms of services introduced by the providers of the online content. In the last chapter the country of origin principle is discussed. The country of origin principle is considered as a fundamental provision of the digital single market of the EU. However, due to the technology convergence, this principle is questioned whether it is a suitable regulatory mechanism. There are several alternatives introduced to this principle.

European Union and otherness: The case of BalkansThe aim of this paper is to analyze the relation between the EU and the Balkans in the process of othering. The main research question raised here is in what way and to what extent the Balkans as Other was used in the process of the EU identity construction. The EU is perceived as a discursive self-construction establishing its own distinct identity against Others. It is thus argued that the Balkans identity has been dis- cursively constructed in opposition to the EU identity. Through the discursive process, by virtue of asymmetry of power, the EU self-constructed its identity by stigmatizing the difference of the Balkans — Other. The paper starts with the clarification of some conceptual premises concerning Self, Other and the concept of Otherness. It then focuses on the Balkans as Other in the process of EU identity construction. Finally, the Western Balkans as Other is also examined in the process of othering. Due to the asymmetry of power in the EU — Self and Balkans/Western Balkans—Other relation and the ability of the EU to impose the constructed dominant representa- tions, this relation is about inclusion and exclusion, superiority and inferiority. Unia Europejska a inność. Przypadek BałkanówNiniejszy artykuł ma na celu przeanalizowanie relacji pomiędzy Unią Europejską a Bałkanami w procesie stwarzania inności. Zadając główne pytanie badawcze, autorka docieka, w jaki sposób i jak dalece Bałkany jako Inny zostały wykorzystane dla budowania tożsamości Unii Europejskiej. Unia postrzegana jest jako dyskursywna autokonstrukcja ustanawiająca własną odrębną tożsamość w relacji do Innych. Zatem można dowodzić, że tożsamość bałkańska jest konstruowana dyskursywnie w opozycji do tożsamości unijnej. W tym dyskursywnym procesie, wobec asymetrii władzy, UE sama stworzyła swoją tożsamość poprzez stygmatyzowanie różnicy Bałkany – Inny. Artykuł najpierw objaśnia niektóre założenia pojęciowe odnoszące się do "Ja" i "Innego" oraz pojęcie "Inności". Następnie koncentruje się na Bałkanach jako Innym w procesie konstruowania tożsamości UE. Wreszcie analiza obejmuje Bałkany Zachodnie jako Innego w procesie powstawania inności. W obliczu asymetrii w relacji Unia Europejska jako JA -- Bałkany/Bałkany Zachodnie jako Inny oraz faktu, że UE ma możność narzucenia skonstruowanych dominujących wyobrażeń, relacja ta obejmuje włączenie i wykluczenie, nadrzędność i podrzędność. [Transl. by Jacek Serwański]

Problematic aspects of Regulating online streaming Television under European Union Law In the Master's thesis 'Problematic Aspects of Regulating Internet Television under European Union Law' the new type of television – internet television – is analysed. In the thesis the notion of 'internet television' means not only linear services but also non-linear and video-sharing platforms. As of this moment, the institutions of EU negotiate the new project of amendments to the Audiovisual Media Services Directive, which is considered to be a suitable way to regulate the audiovisual market of the EU in the light of technology convergence. In the first part of the thesis the notion 'internet television' is analysed. Having in mind that there is no exact notion of internet television in the EU laws, the author takes into account the notions suggested by the international organizations (ITU, OECD). These notions are compared with the similar ones established in the EU laws. In this chapter the features of every type of internet television are compared in the light of EU law and relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The second chapter deals with the net neutrality issues. Net neutrality has a crucial role in the provision of internet services. As of today, Net neutrality is considered as one of the most debatable topics of technology. Because of that, the main arguments of both sides are presented in the thesis, together with the comparison of regulations considering neutral internet rules in both USA and EU. In the third part the author discusses the geographic blocking (geoblocking). The geoblocking practice is analysed together with the operating principles concerning it. It is worth mentioning that even though the geoblocking is mostly familiar with the relationships happening in the private sector, the abovementioned practice can also be used in order to ensure the public interest. In this chapter the circumvention of geoblocking is discussed in the light of several scopes – international treaties, EU law and the terms of services introduced by the providers of the online content. In the last chapter the country of origin principle is discussed. The country of origin principle is considered as a fundamental provision of the digital single market of the EU. However, due to the technology convergence, this principle is questioned whether it is a suitable regulatory mechanism. There are several alternatives introduced to this principle.

The European Union (EU) has shown considerable interest in receiving the Western Balkan countries into the EU, as did the mentioned countries show considerable interest to join the EU. Although this is a historically very turbulent region, the EU has clearly, unambiguously and unanimously expressed the political attitude towards the Western Balkans:"The Future of the Balkans is in the European Union". In addition to goodwill, the EU is also ready to assist in this process but also each country must do its part of the job in the accession process. The very process of EU accession means defining and meeting necessary criteria for potential new EU members, as well as the process of accession negotiations for the full membership of the new member states. The main objective of this article is to indicate which expansion criteria or Copenhagen criteria will be the most critical to achieve for Bosnia and Herzegovina(B&H), as one of the Western Balkan countries, in the process of access into the EU. In the process of meeting Copenhagen criteria, unlike other Western Balkan countries, B&H shows the least success. In our research, Bosnia and Herzegovina has a problem primarily by satisfying political Copenhagen criteria and then meeting economic and legal criteria. The lack of meeting Political Copenhagen criteria is found primarily in the absence of political consensus in B&H, which stems from the special features of the Government in Bosnia and Herzegovina (two entities and Bosnia's three main ethnic populations). With the lack of political unity in B&H, it is not possible to establish stable institutions that ensure democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights and the right to protect minorities (Sejdić and Finci case, corruption, non-transparent elections, nondependent media and labour unions) Fulfilling the Copenhagen Economic Criteria - a functioning market economy is also dependent on political influence (which is also fractured). The economy of B&H is structurally unregulated and is based on the processing of basic raw materials without the high-tech industry in order to deal with the competition of the European Single Market. During the research, the used scientific methods (analysis and syntheses, descriptions and classifications, historical and comparative, induction and deduction, and quantitative analysis) showed that it would be most difficult to achieve the political and economic Copenhagen criteria for the above reasons.

As Malta's term to lead the EU Presidency between January and June 2017 is under way, the main political issues that are on the political agenda and that are ultimately discussed by the EU citizens are the immigration crisis and Brexit. Both issues are undermining the foundations of the European Union and had stalled the EU project of becoming stronger and more unified, at least for the foreseeable future. There is another fundamental issue that is a growing concern amongst the EU member states, that of detachment between the political class, the public administrations and the citizens. Although this issue is now defined as a major challenge to the EU, there is no clear focus on how to overcome this problem. Dealing with such a massive task is not easy especially when considering the long list of factors and the continuum of stakeholders at play. One silent reform that could bring a real change in the day-to-day lives of EU citizens is the way public services are offered and managed. Public services are expected to meet the aspirations and the needs of the various spectra of groups within a society in a timely manner. Red tape and bureaucracy have become commonly used 'buzz words' and such a perception is weakening the good work done by the respective public administrations of the EU member states. A holistic performance management approach incorporating Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) could be the answer to streamline and improve the quality of public services while strengthening the efficiency and effectiveness in the way the services are offered to the citizens. This document was prepared between September 2016 and March 2017. It includes a literature review (Section 1) and an analysis of a survey conducted with all the European Commission and EU member states (Section 2) regarding the implementation and use of KPIs. The questions asked are detailed in the Appendix. The aspiration of the authors is that the theoretical and practical underpinnings outlined in this document be a channel to bring the citizens closer to the public administrations, the political class and ultimately the European Union. ; peer-reviewed

The United Kingdom's departure from the European Union will have implications for the European Parliament. Seventy-three of its 751 members are elected in the UK. Brexit offers a political opportunity to reform the allocation of seats to member states. The European Parliament is a highly unequal parliament - large countries are underrepresented while small countries are overrepresented. This is desired in the EU treaties. But the EU treaties also emphasise the importance of equality and equal treatment of citizens by EU institutions. Inequality of representation in the European Parliament has been criticised as reducing its democratic legitimacy. The European Parliament itself has called for increased "electoral equality," or enhanced equality of representation. We explore different options for reform and their implications for equality of representation and distribution of seats to countries. We do so within the constraints set by the EU treaties. One option would be simply to drop the 73 seats currently occupied by MEPs elected in the UK. However, this would increase the inequality of representation in the European Parliament. We also consider other pragmatic options but they would not yield significantly different outcomes. Alternatively, the allocation of MEPs to member states could be reconsidered with a view to reducing the inequality of representation within the constraints set by the EU treaties. We use two measures of inequality and perform a mathematical optimisation. By one measure of inequality of citizens' representation, the European Parliament would shrink to 639 MEPs. By the other measure, it would shrink to 736 MEPs. Inequality can be reduced by around 25 percent, making the parliament somewhat more comparable to the levels of inequality of representation seen in the British and French national parliaments. The European Parliament would still be twice as unequal, however. We also consider the idea of a transnational list, an option that would require treaty change, and offer an online tool to explore other options that would require treaty change. At a time of a shrinking EU budget and high levels of scepticism about the legitimacy and efficiency of EU institutions, Brexit offers an opportunity to reform the European Parliament to address some of the criticisms. However, we note that only a change to the EU Treaties would enable changes to make the European Parliament comparable to national parliaments in terms of equality of representation.

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to investigate the ß-convergence process between European Union member states in the period 2000-2014 and identify channels of that process. The paper attempts to illustrate if the investigated group of countries experienced convergence because of capital accumulation, technological catching-up or via both mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach: The framework used to test the relative strength of neoclassical and technological catching-up as convergence driving forces combines the neoclassical and endogenous representations of the economic growth process. The tests are conducted with the use of cross- sectional as well as panel data analysis, including the proper methods of estimation. Findings: The paper provides evidence for the presence of the ß-convergence process among European Union countries in the period 2000-2014. The obtained results confirmed that in the analysed period, both channels of convergence (neoclassical and technological) occurred in the group of 27 EU member states. The technological mechanism seemed to be more important than the neoclassical one, especially between the 'new' EU countries. In the group of 'old' EU members no evidence of technological channel convergence was found. The preliminary survey on the existence of productivity convergence in the analysed groups confirmed its existence in the EU-27 and EU-12 group. Results for the EU-15 group were ambiguous. Research limitations/implications: As the results obtained for the EU-15 group were slightly different depending on the research method used, in the future, it would be advisable to carry out an additional study using an alternative research method. Moreover, further research on these issues should be explored towards much more accurate analysis of the productivity convergence and its impact on the real convergence process in the analysed groups of countries. Originality/value: The paper is an important step, giving direction to studies on determinants of the real convergence process in the EU. According to the obtained results, technological channel, not capital accumulation, is the driving force of the converge process in the European Union. It might be an important signal for the future convergence policy pursued at the national and European level. The policy concentrated on the dynamics of capital seems not to be effective enough to increase the speed of the convergence process between European Union member states in the future.

Over the last two years Russian and European Union, as well as Russian and Lithuanian relations became the worst since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia's annexation of Crimea peninsula and aggression in Eastern Ukraine has made a serious impact on relations with Russian and for security of the European Continent. After all, not so long ago EU and Russia was strategic partners, developed common projects and was preparing to renew a Strategic Partnership Agreement. However at this moment EU is imposing economic sanctions on Russia. At that time Moscow even not trying to accomplish Minsk agreement. Lithuania–Russia relations was consistently complicated. In 2004 Lithuania's accession to the EU made a possibility to influence and increase one's role in EU-Russian relations by using Foreign policy instruments - Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). To some purpose Lithuania is the country which criticizing Russia's actions the most in the EU. In this thesis is trying to find out Lithuanian role in forming the EU common Foreign and Security policy against Russia during the crisis in Ukraine. The aim of the thesis – by using European integration theories to analyze Lithuanian role of the formation of the EU common Foreign and Security policy against Russian Federation in 2014-2015. The first part of the thesis is written about the European integration theories. By using these theories in this thesis is trying to present the main ideas and postulates of the European integration. The second part of the thesis is written about the Common Foreign and Security Policy historical development. Also in this part of the thesis is identifying the national States role in CFSP decision making. It is important to mention that in this part of the thesis is trying to find out why the EU Common Foreign and Security Policy is not that effective and common. The third part of the thesis is written about Lithuanian foreign policy towards Russia since 1990 to present day. Also in this part is analyzing the main three phases of the Lithuanian foreign policy towards Russia. The last part of the thesis is analyzing Lithuanian representatives in the European Parliament, President Dalia Grybauskaitė and Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius official discourse towards Russia in 2014-2015.