Suchergebnisse

The article looks into the process of "building" the monetary union of the EU member-countries and the creation of the European currency, EURO. Following the lengthy negotiations, the Euro-system era commenced on 1 January 1999, when the Euro was launched, marking the beginning of the third phase of the monetary union. At first, EURO will be virtual money and function as a dual currency, and only in 2002 will it get its physical form for everyday usage. In the first half of that year, local currencies will be replaced by the Euro in eleven EU countries that have satisfied the stringent criteria of "suitability" for joining the monetary union. (SOI : PM: S. 69)

The essay first highlights certain basic features of the attitude of the European immigrant countries towards the new (migrant) ethnic minorities in their midst, the attitude that at the same time is indicative of the existence of various forms of ethnicity in the development of the European nation-states. The differences in the individual "national responses" regarding the existence of new ethnic communities reflect these differences in the understanding of the ethnic/national identity of individual countries. The author then goes on to deal more specifically with the presence of the Muslim population in West-European countries, the population that - perhaps more than any other group of "aliens" - is torn between the Westeuropean practice of ethnic and increasingly cultural discrimination, and a belief in liberalism and pluralism. ln connection with this, the role of Islam and the "Muslim" identity in the Muslim communities in West- European countries is analyzed. (SOI : PM: S. 108)

Croatia, together with some thirty countries is waiting to be admitted into the World Trade Organization. The membership in WTO-u is the first step in the membership in CEFTA and one of the overture steps in joining the European Union. Apart from the undeniable benefits that the WTO membership brings, there are numerous pitfalls and sacrifices facing Croatia which at the beginning may have a detrimental effect on some sectors of economy. Among the sectors most vulnerable to global competition is the sector of agriculture and food production. Its position on the local market will be significantly weakened, since it is uncompetitive even at the present level of protective tariffs. The central issue in the negotiations for admitting a country or a group of countries into this organization are protective tariffs in this sector. There is no doubt that Croatia will in reasonable time have to reduce these protective measures to the level required by the WTO. What is that going to mean for Croatian agriculture? To what extent is Croatian agriculture (un)prepared to meet these demands? Which are the possible consequences, regarding the strategic importance of agriculture for any country, Croatia being no exception to the rule? (SOI : PM: S. 112)

More than a decade has passed since the momentous events of 1989 that changed the world order and redefined the geopolitics of Central Europe. This is just the right moment to assess the results of these changes and discuss the future of that region. Based on the past comparative studies or those currently going on, we may say that Central Europe differs from the post-communist East (the former Soviet Union) and the South-East (the former Yugoslavia with the exception of Slovenia) and Albania. First, Central-European states overthrew their communist regimes earlier and in a more decisive manner than the USSR; second, the economic transformation of Central Europe, though not completely smooth, is nevertheless much smoother than the transformation of the member countries of the CIS; third, the post-communist societies differ in the pattern by which their systems of social stratification have changed after the collapse of their communist regimes; fourth, there are big differences between the Central-European post-communist states, including the Baltic states on the one hand, and the CIS members and Serbia/Montenegro-Yugoslavia on the other regarding their international orientation. The author highlights three significant events that are going to leave their trace on the regional geostrategic situation: NATO's eastern expansion, NATO's campaign against SKY and the election of Vladimir Putin for president of Russia. The regional geopolitical picture may become more stable with closer ties between the states of Central Europe and Germany. (SOI : PM: S. 11)

In numerous European countries, majority nations and national minorities that live in them, aware of the complexity of relations between majorities and minorities in the ethnic sense, and the ensuing dangers, have engaged in mutual accommodation and compromise, thus fashioning certain models of coexistence. Constitutional provisions of European states prove that there is no single model of the recognition of the rights of national minorities. Still, European states may be divided into three groups. The first group includes those states which advocate the constitutional principle of the integral nation and refuse to recognize any other ethnic origin of their citizens. The second group comprises those states which do not divide its ethnic communities into majority and minority ones, which practically means that they do not recognize the category of the national minority; they protect the ethnic identity of their members by dividing their equal citizens by the languages they use. The third group includes those countries which recognize the notion of the majority nation and national minorities. This group has elaborated the provisions regarding the rights of national minorities, particularly the protection of their national, cultural, religious and linguistic identity, with major differences in the scope of individual rights. (SOI : PM: S. 84)

The Croatian Constitution belongs into the category of pioneer constitutions in the Eastern European countries and its content-related achievement cannot be appraised outside the context in which it has been merged. Unlike some other Eastern European constitutions, it does not include the context of transitional experience. Consequently, the author analyzes the 1991 Croatian Constitution via several foci of comparison: The Preamble culture in the introductory article, Basic provisions and fundamental values provision, fundamental human rights, constitutional court, and others. In the conclusion, the author claims that the Croatian Constiuition is a solid foundation for developing today's type of constitutional state. (SOI : PM: S. 55)

In this paper, the author deals with some institutional and structural elements of the emerging European post-cold war security environment. In the early 1990s, at the level of institutionalization of European security, a plethora of institutions came into being whose purpose has been to gradually incorporate the former communist states into an integral security structure. Also, international security was formalized in international organizations covering Europe. Thus one of the key challenges to the European security system has been the need for melding its central components into a consistent system. The author also describes some current processes and developments within the European security setting that will shape the European security structure in the future as well. This setting has been and will undoubtedly be affected by various international (regional and global) and national factors in the European economic, political, and security space as well as by the joint efforts of European states (their leaders) and international security organizations to provide common security in Europe. The author concludes that the European international system today includes many organizations and institutions that, with an appropriate division of labour and cooperation, may help set up a common and integral European security system which would efficiently ensure the security of individual states as well as the security of entire Europe. (SOI : S. 55)

EU's agrarian policy has always been - and remains - a complex issue of the Unions overall economic policy. Although agrarian policy was at first central for the Union and served as a cohesive and integrating factor, in time it became a bone of contention, a source of conflicts and feuding within the Union. Solving the problem of agrarian policy on the eye of the third millennium is one of the Union's priorities. The problems of agricultural subsidies in the Union, its eastern expansion and the demands of the WTO, are far from being easy tasks. Besides, agrarian policy is not solely an economic matter, but also a social (particularly rural), ecological, cultural, and political problem. The problem of agriculture has always been considered a political problem and resolved as such. (SOI : PM: S. 70)

If the functioning of the fiscal system implies the functioning of democracy, then the interest in its smooth operation is understandable. Particularly important is its segment concerning the financing of local government and selfgovernment Wellregulated relations between the state and local conununities is the basic prerequisite of economic, social and any other development. The decentralization of the fiscal system in the Republic of Croatia is one of the barriers standing in the way of achieving these goals. The crucial question is onlv which is the acceptable degree of the decentralization, economically and politically. The experiences of other European countries may serve as a basis for regulating the fiscal relations among the higher and the lower levels of goverrilnent. The central government should retain only those responsibilities that cannot be carried out by the units of local government and selfgovernment. (SOI : PM: S. 206)