Shanghai Cooperation Organization was founded in 2001 under a Declaration signed by the leaders of five independent states from the territory of former Soviet Union and the President of the People's Republic of China. The Charter, adopted by the organization's member states as their basic document, emphasizes their commitment to strengthen their mutual trust and good-neighborliness and friendly cooperation; to keep and maintain the peace, stability and security of the region; as well as to fight together against all forms of terrorism, separatism and extremism. Although there are significant differences between the member states in almost all matters of social and governmental organization, over its ten-year existence the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has proved its vitality and has become respectable entity not only of the regional but also of international cooperation on the whole. In recent years all main actors of contemporary international relations have tried to establish and develop the cooperation with this important intergovernmental association. What the further development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will be like and where the organization will be positioned within the future world order is difficult to be definitely determined. Apart from the role of the two leading states of this organization - Russia and China, its eventual position will be greatly influenced by other major international factors as well, which, in the era of unstable energy and other forms of security, find the area of Central Asia ever more significant and attractive.
The paper deals with cross-border insolvency protocols as special source of insolvency law. Protocols are agreements between parties in insolvency procedure that deal with many significant questions in order to establish cooperation and coordination between participants. Protocols are used in cross-border insolvency proceedings in order to overcome differences between state legislation that can pose major obstacle for maximization of the value or efficient reorganization procedure. This instrument has special significance in cases of cross-border-group-insolvencies. Namely, in this case every subsidiary is a separate entity, but the preservation of economic value of the group as a whole calls for cooperation between insolvency practitioners and/or judges. The topic is especially interesting having in mind that European Insolvency regulation Recast explicitly mentions the use of protocols as means of cooperation (Recital 49). This will most definitely have broader implications on insolvency laws of civil law countries and it will contribute to wider use of protocols in these countries.
International police and other cooperation is a necessity of the modern world and imperative for the survival of human civilization. The goal of cooperation is that states and the international community unite in opposing crime as the greatest peacetime evil in the world. This is particularly in relation to organized crime, terrorism, and corruption and other most serious forms of crime in contemporary society. Cooperation takes place at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels. Bilateral cooperation mainly has a trans-border character of neighboring countries, while the regional cooperation between states within certain areas such as the SEE region (Western Balkan) or Europe (e.g. Europol). Multilateral cooperation is mainly on a broader level, e.g. in the field of combating terrorism or through universal organizations (e.g. Interpol). International police cooperation in Europe has a long tradition. One part takes place today in this area through the OSCE, with the caveat that this is a global organization that deals with security issues. The Council of Europe is the next organization through which co-operation began in the past and is partly carried out to this day, given that it brings all European countries together (except Belarus). Cooperation is more intensive still throughout the European Union, its forerunners, the current forms of the organization and present mechanisms (EAW- European surrender and arrest warrant).53 The cooperation in the EU, that takes place through Europol as a specialized agency of the Union is especially current, but with minimal operational competencies. In the SEE region, a significant cooperation between countries of the former Yugoslavia and countries in its neighborhood has been achieved. This cooperation is not only based on bilateral and multilateral acts, but primarily regional documents of which the most important are the International Convention on Police Cooperation in SEE and SELEC Convention. According to these and other acts, all the countries in the region have taken part in regional cooperation, since the fight against crime is the common interest of all. This applies in particular to organized crime, terrorism, corruption and other most serious forms of crime. Extremely important shapes, forms and mechanisms of international police cooperation are: exchange of information, joint investigation teams, joint operational actions, liaison officers, contact points, regional centers for police and customs cooperation, joint police stations and others. To recap, international police cooperation in the world today is an expression of anti-criminal solidarity between states and its prospects are clear, because the danger of crime is global and requires a harmonized response at the international level.
After the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, the countries of Western Balkans are slowly establishing mutual economic cooperation, and are struggling with their participation in international trade flow with the usage of international marketing instruments. This significantly decreases their opportunities to accelerate economic development and to improve their competitiveness in the time of new crisis caused by Covid-19 pandemic. Small markets and interstate administrative barriers in the Western Balkans hinder the establishment of new and development of existing enterprises, and cause an outflow of creative human resources. Therefore, it is necessary to promote innovative possibilities of removing barriers for faster circulation of goods, people and capital. The implementation of new models of international marketing could significantly contribute to the intensification of mutual economic cooperation, internationalization of business and attracting foreign investment which are accompanied by the spillover effect. As a result, one could expect the improvement of national economies' competitiveness, increase of exports and gross domestic product and improvement of population living standards. ; Zemlјe Zapadnog Balkana posle raspada bivše Jugoslavije vrlo sporo uspostavlјaju međusobnu privrednu saradnju i zaostaju sa uklјučivanjem u međunarodne privredne tokove, uz pomoć instrumenata međunarodnog marketinga. To značajno umanjuje njihove mogućnosti ubrzanja privrednog razvoja i unapređenja konkurentnosti u uslovima nove ekonomske krize, izazvane pandemijom kovida-19. Mala tržišta i međudržavne administrativne barijere zemalјa Zapadnog Balkana koče osnivanje novih i razvoj postojećih preduzeća, te uzrokuju odliv kreativnih lјudskih resursa. Stoga je potrebno promovisati inovativne mogućnosti uklanjanja barijera za bržu cirkualciju robe, lјudi i kapitala. Primena novih modela međunarodnog marketinga mogla bi značajno doprineti intenziviranju međusobne privredne saradnje, internacionalizaciji poslovanja i privlačenju stranih investicija koje prati spilover efekat. Kao rezultat toga, moglo bi se očekivati unapređenje konkurentnosti privrede ovih zemalјa, povećanje izvoza, povećanje bruto domaćeg proizvoda i standarda stanovništva.
To magistrsko delo analizira obrambno sodelovanje držav višegrajske skupine s poudarkom na sodelovanju na področju obrambne industrije in sodobne obrambne trgovine med državami. Čeprav se zdi, da je višegrajska skupina zelo povezana in trdna zveza držav, se v literaturi pojavljajo prav nasprotna mnenja. Četudi so vsem državam skupine skupne težave zaradi zastarele vojaške opreme in potrebe po modernih oborožitvenih sistemih ter kljub obetavnim izjavam politikov, je sodelovanje na tem področju zelo skopo. Obrambne industrije višegrajskih držav so čedalje bolj vpete v proizvodne procese zahodnih vojaških multinacionalnih korporacij, politični odločevalci višegrajske skupine pa še vedno niso pripravljeni izdatno podpreti iskrenega sodelovanja med državami, kot na primer skupnih dobav. Četudi lahko pri analizi obrambnih sektorjev skupine zaznamo celo vrsto strukturnih problemov, pa se obrambna trgovina višegrajskih držav ujema z njihovo zunanjo in varnostno politiko. To ujemanje samo po sebi ne izključuje ostalih težav v obrambnih industrijskih sektorjih, ki ovirajo sodelovanje držav, služi pa kot nadaljnji dokaz, kako so obrambno-industrijski sektorji držav tesno povezani z njihovo zunanjo in varnostno politiko. ; This master thesis analyses the defense cooperation of the Visegrad group countries with specific focus on the collaboration initiatives in the defence industry sector and ongoing arms trade relations among the countries. While the Visegrad group seems a coherent and a solid group of countries, many experts on this field argue quite the contrary. Despite the common issues regarding the obsolete military force, the need for newer or modernized weapon systems and, above all, the political declarations promoting the defence industry cooperation among the group countries, there have been little steps taken apart from the promising rhetoric. The countries' defence industries are progressively more involved in the work process of the Western defence corporations, while the political decision makers are still not really keen on genuine cooperation such as common acquisition of arms in intra-group level. While a whole set of obstacles for the deeper cooperation can be identified, foreign and security directions of the countries resemble the trade relations in the arms market. Although this matching as such does not necessarily prove that the group's foreign and security policies solely and by itself negatively contribute to the closer defence industry cooperation, it serves as another proof how the defence industrial complex is tightly connected to one country's foreign and security policy.
Mednarodno sodelovanje držav članic Evropske unije je izrednega pomena za učinkovito delovanje Unije. Predvsem pa je ključnega pomena za kakovost življenja ljudi znotraj držav članic. Eno izmed pomembnejših področij sodelovanja, ki zagotavlja kakovost življenja in varnost državljanov, je sodelovanje med policijami držav. Dotično sodelovanje ni samo pomembno, ampak že kar nujno glede na globalne razsežnosti kriminalitete. Države članice priznavajo varnost svojih državljanov kot eno od glavnih vrednot in pravic. Z namenom zaščite te pravice in omejevanja kriminalitete je Evropska unija sprejela razne instrumente, ukrepe in pravne okvire na področju mednarodnega policijskega sodelovanja. Pomembno je tudi delovanje raznih agencij Evropske unije, katerih namen je krepitev in usmerjanje sodelovanja med policijami držav članic. Primeri tovrstnih agencij so na primer Europol, Interpol, Sirene, Frontex, odbor COSI, SEPA, CEPOL itd. V nalogi je predstavljena tudi vloga in delovanje Slovenije v omenjenih agencijah ter njene aktivnosti na področju policijskega sodelovanja. To poteka na različne načine in na raznih področjih. Načine, oblike in področja sodelovanja sem poskušala predstaviti na primeru policijskega sodelovanja med Slovenijo in Italijo. ; The international cooperation of the Member States of the European Union is of utmost importance for the effective functioning of the Union. Above all, it is crucial for the quality of life of people within Member States. One of the most important areas of cooperation that guarantees the quality of life and the safety of citizens is the cooperation between the police of the countries. The cooperation in question is not only important, but rather necessary, given the global dimension of criminality. Member States recognize the safety of their citizens as one of the main values and rights. In order to protect this right and to limit criminality, the European Union has adopted various instruments, measures and legal frameworks in the field of international police cooperation. It is also important that the various European Union agencies work to strengthen and direct cooperation between the police of the Member States. Examples of such agencies include Europol, Interpol, Sirene, Frontex, COSI, SEPA, CEPOL, etc. The paper also presents the role of Slovenia in these agencies and its activities in the area of police cooperation. This is done in a variety of ways and in various fields. I tried to present ways, forms and areas of cooperation in the case of police cooperation between Slovenia and Italy.
Doseganje ciljev trajnostnega razvoja (Sustainable Development Goals – SDG) bo zahtevalo več sredstev, kot jih imajo države trenutno na voljo, kar predstavlja izziv predvsem v državah, ki imajo sicer hitro, a hkrati ne vključujočo se gospodarsko rast. Gospodarska rast namreč ne pomeni nujno razvoja, kljub temu pa vpliva na to, koliko uradne razvojne pomoči (Official Development Assistance – ODA) mednarodne skupnosti bo država prejemnica prejela. Nekatere gospodarsko hitro razvijajoče se države tako na eni strani dobivajo vse manj ODA, hkrati pa ostajajo dom najrevnejšim predelom sveta. Ta pojav kliče po novih oblikah in načinih financiranja ter novih pristopih. Prostor se odpira zasebnemu kapitalu na čelu z zasebno filantropijo, ki je, predvsem v državah v razvoju, močno v porastu. Filantropija se na eni strani pojavi kot akter, ki ima velik potencial, da v veliki meri zapolni (in že zapolnjuje) vrzel pri dosegi SDG, na drugi strani pa ni zavezana slediti splošnim sprejetim smernicam trajnostnega razvoja (od držav). To filantropiji omogoča, da svoje delovanje usmerja na podlagi lastnih interesov, ki pa bodisi sovpadajo bodisi nasprotujejo skupnim ciljem trajnostnega razvoja. Regulacija na tem področju je šibka, pogosto se soočamo s pomanjkanjem razumevanjem delovanja filantropskih organizacij kot tudi s pomanjkanjem informacij o njihovih finančnih tokovih. Hkrati pa se je treba zavedati, da je z naraščajočim se zasebnim premoženjem v mednarodnem razvojnem sodelovanju in potrebo po dosegi SDG bolj kot kadarkoli prej pomembno razumeti obseg, potencial in vpliv filantropskih organizacij tako pri dosegi SDG kot v tradicionalnih odnosih v mednarodni skupnosti. ; Reaching Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) demands more resources than are currently available to many states. This is a particular problem in developing countries, which are experiencing fast but not inclusive economic growth. Even though economic growth does not necessarily bring development, it remains a standard which defines how much international Official Development Assistance (ODA) a country receives. As a consequence, some countries with rapid economic growth are receiving less and less ODA, while still including some of the poorest parts of the world. This calls for new approaches and sources of financing to aid in development, and opens the door to private capital, including private philanthropy, which is especially important in developing countries. While philanthropy is seen as having a lot of potential with regard to pursuing SDG, it is not obliged to follow the same guidelines for sustainable development that have been adopted by state organizations. This enables philanthropic projects to act in their own interests, which may or may not coincide with the SDG agreed for a particular place. Moreover, regulation in this field is weak, and it is often unclear how specific philanthropic organizations operate. These facts, together with the growing amount of private wealth directed towards international development and the need to reach SGD, mean that it is more important than ever to understand the scope, potential and influence of philanthropic organizations in terms of both SDG and the changes we are seeing in traditional relations among members of the international community.
