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Aufbauend auf dem Zivilmachts- und Normative-Power-Ansatz und vor dem Hintergrund der aktuellen Ukraine-Krise mochte der Beitrag einen Aspekt beleuchten, der in der bisherigen wissenschaftlichen Debatte unterbelichtet, fur die Aussen- und Sicherheitspolitik der EU aber von enormer Bedeutung ist: dass namlich eine auf die Etablierung von Normen, Regeln und Werten ausgerichtete Politik zu Veranderungen im internationalen System fuhren kann, die von Dritten als geostrategische Bedrohung wahrgenommen und mit Mitteln klassischer Machtpolitik beantwortet wird. Oder in anderen Worten: Eine norm- und wertegebundene Aussenpolitik kann, wenn sie besonders erfolgreich ist, zur geostrategischen Herausforderung werden Based on approaches of civilian and normative power the article elaborates on a particular problem exposed by the current Ukrainian crises that has largely been neglected in the literature: A foreign policy aiming at the establishment of values, norms and rules might lead to changes in the international system, which could be perceived by other actors as a geostrategic threat. And, in turn, this perception might lead them to actions inspired by strategies of traditional power politics. In other words: Europe's success as a normative power may turn into a geostrategic challenge. Considering this challenge is not just of relevance for academic debates, but also for the further development of EU's foreign and security policy. Adapted from the source document.

In response to the article Das Regieren jenseits des Nationalstaates und der Mythos einer 80 Prozent Europaisierung in Deutschland (Governing beyond the nation state and the myth of a 80 percent Europeanization in Germany) in which they aim to prove that the influence of the European Union on German legislation is overrated. First of all, the thesis is not sustainable with exact analysis. Their basic idea, often expressed in literature but at the same time rarely examined in a profound way, bespeaks a considerable overvalue of scientific debates on Europeanization processes. The concrete transformation however exhibit problems that objectifies the research results: a reduction of the 80 per cent thesis, an incomplete collection of possible impulses as well as fade-out of important effects of Europeanization in German legislation. Furthermore, the argumentation relies exclusively on databases that are not completely transmissible to answering the authors research question. O. van Zijl

Against the backdrop of the current EU crisis after the referenda in France, the Netherlands and Ireland this article reflects on the legitimacy problem of the European Union. It is argued that input and output legitimacy are provided in a particular way by the supranational and national level, which creates a specific legitimacy problem for the EU. The present pattern of input- and output legitimation, so the hypothesis, does not correspond adequately to the current challenges. Instead, the governance structures of the European multi-level system result from path dependent developments, rooted in the beginning of integration process. In the light of the changing context and conditions for creating legitimacy these path-dependencies lead the EU into a kind of "legitimacy-trap," from which it is hard to escape. Adapted from the source document.

The combination of emigration & internal migration from peripheral areas to larger cities has crucially changed & shaped societal & spatial structures in Albania during the post-communist era. Some peripheral regions within the country itself suffer from extreme depopulation, resulting in partial abandonment of settlements. At the same time, the country's central region experiences an unregulated, hardly controllable influx of migrants, who frequently foster close connections with their regions of origin. Even in the case of emigration, connections & relations with one's home country are rarely completely cut off. Manifold backlashes of migration on regional & local development can thus be observed in Albania itself. This includes, for example, remittances of respectable amounts, which help families to secure their livelihood & often serve as seed capital for entrepreneurial independence as returnee's business. There is even evidence of effects on the country's cultural landscape through a kind of rent seeking mentality; for in those regions where the amount of private remittances from abroad received by households is high, the areas of fallow agricultural land are particularly large. Adapted from the source document.

Germany's abstention on Resolution 1973 by the UN Security Council derives from the very fundamentals of its foreign policy. Nevertheless, during the Libyan crisis the EU has shown its capacity to adopt common policies on sanctions in the humanitarian field, with German involvement. The development of the EU's security and defense policy can only be built around low-intensity military missions, and agreement between Paris and Berlin. Adapted from the source document.

This article investigates whether the Energy Community founded in 2005 has contributed to the peace and reconciliation process in Southeast Europe. The analysis is mainly informed by sociological institutionalism, which contends that institutions may change actors' perceptions, identities and interests. By analyzing cooperation within the Energy Community we seek to trace whether the continuous interaction among the members has led to changes in their mutual perceptions and hence helps to overcome historical burdens. The empirical analysis focuses on two critical cases of cooperation: The handling of Kosovo's independence declaration in February 2008 and the management of the gas crisis in January 2009. The case studies suggest that the Energy Community has indeed facilitated important trust-building processes and genuine cooperation in Southeast Europe. Adapted from the source document.

Since the recent gas disputes between Russia & Ukraine energy security has shot to the top of the EU's agenda, including the call for a common external energy policy. The role of the EU in international energy relations is thereby often framed in geopolitical terms. Not denying the relevance of geopolitics, this article focuses on the EU as an "exporter of norms." In contrast to most contributions written from an "external governance" perspective, the article is however primarily concerned with the way in which the EU attempts to reproduce its institutional set-up & seeks to shape energy governance structures outside its territory. Drawing on the concept of "milieu goals" developed by Arnold Wolfers (1962) it is argued that the EU acts as a "transnational polity-shaper." The concept of polity-shaping is then analyzed with regards to the recently founded Energy Community. Adapted from the source document.

"Urspriingliches Ziel der Europaischen Nachbarsęhaftspolitik (ENP) war der Versuch einer Neuausrichtung der europaischen Aufienpólitik nach der Osterweiterung. Denn die Erweiterungspolitik umfasste, zumindest seit den Beitrittsantragen Spaniens, Portugals und Griechenlands, nicht nur den Aspekt der Weiterentwicklung des europaischen Integrationsverbundes, sondem war immer auch ein - wenn nicht gar das erfolgreichste - Instrument europaischer AuBen- urid Sicherheitspolitik. Sowohl bei den Siiderweiterungen der 1980er Jahre ais auch bei der Osterweiterung 2004/2007 war die Begleitung und Unterstutzung der Transforraationsprozesse; in den ehemaligen autoritaren bzw. kommunistischen Regimen zur F6rderung von Sicherheit und Stabilitat in den an die Europaische Union angrenzenden Regionen eines der bestimmenden Motive. In der Tat lasst sich riickblickend sagen, dass "die: Beitrittsperspektive die Reformkrafte in den betreffenden Landem deutlich gestarkt und zur Uberwindung von bestehenden Problemen beigetragen hat."(.)

The German EU presidency is confronted with a number of challenges in the first half of 2007: first, there is the quest for a solution to the constitutional crisis; second, there is the need to make strategic decisions in a number of important EU-policy fields; & third, Europe must find the ways & means to cope with international crises in Africa & the Near & Middle East. Also, there are still unresolved problems in Europe's backyard, the Western Balkans, where the most challenging task will be conducting a civilian ESDP mission in Kosovo as the successor to the UNMIK. One of the difficulties is that a number of important EU member states have become weak players on the European stage because of domestic problems, upcoming general elections or difficulties in forming a government. It is against this backdrop that many hopes rest on Germany, which is seen at present as the central actor in shaping European politics. The German presidency will have to explore the lines of consensus on the constitutional issue & deal with the question of a common European energy policy, which has moved to a top priority on the EU's agenda due to the most recent Russia-Belarus gas & oil dispute. One approach for securing European energy demands would be making the energy issue a part of the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), the reorientation of which is already on the European agenda as it is. Should the German government also be able to beef up the European economic & social policy & strengthen cooperation among member states in justice & home affairs on issues such as terrorism, trans-national crime & migration -- issues where European citizens have deep concerns & high expectations towards the EU -- the presidency could achieve a real success in advancing European integration. Adapted from the source document.