The influence of French constitutionalism on the Polish legal order is still present in the studies and analyses of the doctrine of constitutional law. Indeed, the French constitutional tradition forms part of the European legal heritage to which the founders of Polish statehood readily referred. The present text outlines the main thoughts and ideas which, over a period of more than two hundred years – from the second half of the 18th century to the present day – have influenced the constitutional shape of the Polish state either by way of recapitulating or negating various institutional solutions.
This paper's objective is to study the impact of the war in Ukraine on the Eastern policy of the European Union. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to highlight this policy's position in the overall international activity of the EU, as well as its characteristic features, main goals, instruments, and two components: the strategic partnership with Russia and the Eastern Partnership (EaP). The substantive part of the paper contains an analysis which, taking into account the implications of the war in Ukraine, is intended to justify three research hypotheses. They concern: the complete failure of the strategic partnership with Russia, then the serious crisis of the EaP and, finally, the possibility of achieving success in the Eastern policy in the form of Ukraine's accession to the EU. As indicated in the conclusion, this would provide the European Union with a permanently strong position in Eastern Europe.
The present paper aims to analyse and compare the preconditions for implementing hydrogen strategies in the Visegrad countries. This study attempts to verify that hydrogen policies are going to be implemented at different rates, thereby delaying their introduction. It is extremely important to assert this claim in the context of the energy crisis, the war in Ukraine, and the European Union's aspirations to achieve low-carbon economy goals and energy self-sufficiency policies at both the national and EU levels. Furthermore, the study attempts to provide answers to the following research questions: firstly, does the hydrogen policy have a realistic chance of being implemented in the Visegrad region? Secondly, will it be implemented in the indicated form and extent of cooperation?
Ukraine has played an extremely important role in ensuring the energy security of Central European countries over the years, mainly due to its position as a transit state. Past energy crises (2006, 2009) have affected the perception of the country in Europe and led to Russian-German energy projects that reduce the level of regional security (e.g., Nord Stream 1, Nord Stream 2). In Poland, various political parties (Law and Justice, Civic Platform, the Left Party, Polish People's Party) have referred differently to regional cooperation and the function Ukraine might offer in this type of process. In this context, the aim of the article was to analyse the political thought of selected Polish parliamentary parties regarding the importance of Ukraine in ensuring the energy security of Central European countries during Russia's armed attack on Ukraine in 2022. The starting point of the analyses was the general thesis that political parties in Poland treated Ukraine as a key state in efforts to limit the negatively perceived energy policy of the Russian Federation in the region.
This concise paper explores the intricate relationship between thedynamics of the European Union and Russia's interests in Europe, emphasizingthe advantages perceived by Russia in a weakened EU. The paper is comprisedof three sections: firstly, it examines the collapse of the Soviet Unionand its impact on newly independent states, establishing the geopoliticallandscape. The subsequent section traces Russia's foreign policy leading tothe 2022 conflict with Ukraine, with a focus on Ukraine's pivotal role as a geopoliticalflashpoint. The final section explores the dynamics of the Russia-Ukraine war, specifically addressing the European Union's role in security.The paper concludes by addressing the 2022 escalation, marked by Russia'sfull-scale invasion of Ukraine, highlighting the imperative of understandingUkraine's status as a geopolitical flashpoint. Overall, the paper contributes toa nuanced comprehension of the evolving geopolitical landscape, its implicationsfor regional stability, and international relations.
This article seeks to investigate the birth and evolution of the European Political Community – a pan-European multilateral coordination format that has emerged at the initiative of France and in reaction to the Russian full-scale military aggression in Ukraine. The analysis draws on official speeches, think-tank briefs, and the Author's participatory observation conducted during international expert meetings held in early 2023. It is argued that the EPC is still a "moving target" in the early stage of development, where both its objectives and structure are not yet fully defined. From a Polish perspective, it has so far sent a key strategic message to Russia and can serve as a vehicle to re-engage with the United Kingdom or Turkey. But it should not be used as yet another ENP-style waiting room for candidates seeking EU membership.
Cohesion policy has a significant influence on the form of investments in cities. This refers, in particular, to states that participate in cohesion policy and those that do not have a significant own development policy. The paper presents the results of the analysis of the possibilities to support towns and cities and their functional areas in the 2021-2027 financial framework in the context of the previous approach of the European Union to the development of urban areas and solving their problems. It is worth noting that the Euro-pean Union has wide experience in this area, dating back to the URBAN Pilot Projects and URBAN initiatives. The author also analyses the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine on the potential support for cities in the 2021-2027 perspective. The proposed conditions and instruments were also referred to the needs of towns and cities and the challenges that they are currently facing.
The article concerns the cooperation of NATO's eastern flank countries in support of war-torn Ukraine. The aim of the discussion is to show the actions of the B9 countries, implementing the ideas and tasks of defence diplomacy, undertaken during the first year of the war (24 February, 2022 – 24 February, 2023). This support took place in several key areas: political, diplomatic, military, and humanitarian. It was of fundamental importance for maintaining the functioning and stability of Ukraine and its fighting capabilities, especially in the early period after the Russian Federation's invasion. The author tried to verify the following: how was Ukraine supported in practice? Did all B9 countries equally and with the same level of commitment provide assistance in all the identified areas? What factors could potentially strengthen or weaken the B9 countries' involvement in implementing the ideas of defence diplomacy in Ukraine? The analysis was based on current data and materials made available over the past year in the media and on the Internet.
The South-East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) was launched in 1996, however, its functioning is an ongoing research phenomenon. This regional cooperation format includes all 13 states of South-East Europe. It was established as a forum of political dialogue and consultation, where regional issues could be addressed at the highest level. One of the objectives of the SEECP was security cooperation. The aim of this article is to analyse the role of the SEECP in maintaining security in the region of the Western Balkans. This article argues that since 1996, the SEECP has been evolving and is becoming an important format of regional cooperation in South East Europe, however, it plays a limited role in maintaining the military security of the post-conflict states of the Western Balkans. From the point of view of the members of the SEECP, military security and peace could be obtained through the integration of the participants of the SEECP, in particular those located in the Western Balkans, with the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The article also shows that establishing the SEECP did not eliminate tensions and riots based on ethnicity in some states of the Western Balkans and so, the SEECP still has a lot to do in the matters of reconciliation and good-neighbourliness. The article is based on primary and secondary source analysis, case study method comparative analysis, and the historical method.
This article is a review of basic information on health policies and an introduction to the issue of their design and implementation in the Balkans. The purpose of this article is to discuss the general characteristics of health policies in the Balkans, the challenges and opportunities related to their determination, and implementation in the region and selected countries. The materials used in the preparation of the article are international publications and source documents regulating the issues raised in selected countries as well as studies of the International Health Organization. The methods used in the course of the work were analysis of source documents and data analysis. The work resulted in an article that concisely introduces the reader to the complex issue of health policies in a region still recovering from the armed conflict of the 1990s. The analysis of this issue indicates a deep differentiation of the undertaken activities and financing tools while emphasizing the similarity and often commonality of solutions. This is due to the level of development of individual countries, their economic capabilities, and the degree of advancement in integration processes with the European Union.
The aim of the publication is a comparative analysis of the migration crisis of 2015 and 2022, with particular emphasis on refugee policy in Turkey and Poland and in the broadly understood context of the European Union. Embedded in the interdisciplinary field of European Studies, the article is based on the assumption that the dynamics and scale of migration flows in 2022 distinguish this crisis from the events of 2015, and the neighborly location of Ukraine influenced a different assessment of the situation than it was in the case of conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa or the Middle East. The cultural and ethnic proximity of Ukrainians has played a key role and is reflected in EU legislation regulating their status as displaced persons. The conclusions highlight the trend in Turkey and EU countries to renationalise refugee protection measures, the temporary nature of which is becoming a common standard. The research is based on the legal-dogmatic method, institutional analysis, comparative method and discourse analysis, using appropriate research techniques.
Russia's aggression against Ukraine in February 2022 caused Europe's largest influx of war refugees to the European Union after World War II. This is unprecedented in many aspects, covering primarily the Central and Eastern Europe, which historically have been countries of emigration rather than migration. Against this background, grassroots initiatives and civic actions taken in Poland, local government bodies, state authorities, as well as the Catholic Church are considered. The key challenges and problems in supporting migrants from Ukraine are interpreted in terms of the theory of resource mobilization and the concept of "new social movements".
Mass immigration is one of the biggest challenge currently facing the European Union (EU). In retrospect, it can also be seen that it caused dissonance between the member states not only of the EU, but also of the V4 and revealed their lack of solidarity. The changes taking place in Central and Eastern Europe, which began in 1989, mainly included the internal and foreign policy of the four countries that make up the V4, i.e. the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. 2015 is considered to be the beginning of the crisis, but the number of immigrants and refugees arriving in Europe has already increased. The aim of the article is to indicate the multifaceted activity of the V4 and the position towards migration. The key issue that needs to be answered will be the prospect of further activities of the V4 in the face of new threats such as the migration crisis. The article uses a comparative and systemic method.
The aim of the article is to analyze the possibilities of using blockchain technology at the local government level. The analysis of the literature on the subject and the case study method were used to assess the potential of using the blockchain. Solutions already existing, observed and successfully implemented in other countries were investigated. Using the case study method, four implementation areas have been identified, namely: supporting election processes, functioning of the administration, cybersecurity and efficient functioning of the supply chain. The diagnosis carried out in relation to the progress of works in Poland indicates significant problems and challenges, including the lack of coherent actions at the central government level. The use of blockchain technology is incidental in the Polish local government. The possibility of improving and accelerating the work should be noticed in the activities of the European Union, which for several years has been adopting solutions aimed at intensifying the implementation processes.
The role of courts in the protection of individual and the so-called judicial lawmaking are theoretical issues of a major importance for legal practice (law application), as they concern the answer to the question of what a judge when the statutory provisions, in the opinion of the court, are outdated or insufficient in relation to the factual situation being resolved, due to ongoing alterations in social relations. The aim of the study is to point out the role of administrative courts in protecting the rights of children of same-sex couples. Contemporary phenomena operating on a European scale, such as open borders and migrations, pluralism of lifestyles, or the development in infotech and biotech (also medical technologies), are reflected in legal relationships regulated by various branches of law, including the norms regulating cases falling within the scope of cognition of administrative courts. They are also, inter alia, a source of problems in the title area related to the interpretation of such norms. Case-law can play an important role in both dynamically interpreting the law within social realities, unifying practice and rising the awareness of rights protection. The title subject is presented in the light of European law – primarily in the light of standards and principles of law, the sources of which are: traditions of European states and national law, inter- and supranational regulations and case-law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). It is worth noting that, as far as EU law is concerned, there has been no harmonisation or unification at the community (or Convention) level in this area due to lack of delegation the relevant competences to the European Union by the Member States. According to the principle of conferral, the Union can only act within the scope of its competence and has only as much competence as the Member States have conferred on it. Thus, all matters not explicitly indicated as EU competences remain under the autonomous regulation of the Member States. However, these title matters fall – indirectly – within the scope of the norms provided for by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights – ECHR). The paper shows that administrative courts – which as a rule are to pass conservative and formalistic judgements – are able to refer to the value of flexibility in the law application, when it is necessary to grant protection to the rights of children of same-sex couples.