Suchergebnisse

A comparative study of housing policy & conditions in five European Union (EU) member states: the UK, Germany, Sweden, Spain, & Slovenia. Similarities & differences are demonstrated in a discussion of the housing regulations enacted in each country & in a series of quantitative tables illustrating: (1) rentals vs private ownership, (2) government-subsidized housing, (3) availability of homes/apartments for rent/ownership, (4) private-government housing agencies, (5) rent control laws, (6) home ownership, (7) average housing standards & quality data (eg, dwelling size & amenities), (8) annual housing unit construction, (9) house/apartment prices, (10) housing affordability index, & (11) housing debt (eg, mortgage debt per capita/GDP). It is concluded that unlike in the older EU members, with clearly detectable trends of housing value appreciation, decline, or stagnation, the housing situation in Slovenia seems to be erratic with illogical price fluctuations that are not explainable in terms of clearly identifiable factors. Adapted from the source document.

Komparation med sammenlignelige lande negligeres som oftest i studier af dansk militær 'aktivisme'. Dette bidrag vil bøde på det i en analyse af Danmarks interventionsparathed med Norge og Polen som baggrundstæppe. Den konkrete situation, der studeres, er krisen vedr. begrænsede luftangreb mod Syrien i september 2013 i kølvandet på regimets formodede anvendelse af kemiske våben i Ghouta. I modsætning til de fleste allierede lod Danmark sig ikke afskrække af den kontroversielle Irak-intervention 10 år tidligere. Danmarks særlige parathed handlede mindre om lokale omstændigheder end om Danmark selv, forholdet til Washington og landets angivelige historiske 'gæld' til USA. Det er imidlertid svært at måle en sådan gæld, ligesom det er en udfordring for superatlantismen, at Danmarks interesser er mere geografisk begrænsede end stormagten USAs.
Abstract in EnglishAlways ready! Danish intervention enthusiasm in comparative perspectiveComparison with similar countries is much neglected in studies of Danish military 'activism'. This contribution seeks to remedy that in an analysis of Danish forces' 'happiness both to travel and to fight', in which Norway and Poland serve as the comparative backcloth. The specific situation under scrutiny is the crisis over limited air raids over Syria in September 2013 in the wake of the regime's alleged use of chemical weapons in Ghouta. As distinct from most allies, Denmark was not discouraged by the controversial Iraq intervention 10 years earlier. The special Danish readiness was less about perceptions of the local conditions than about Denmark itself, its relationship to Washington and an alleged historical 'debt' to the US. However, not only is such debt difficult to measure; a challenge to superatlanticism is also that Danish interests are geographically more delimited than those of the US great power.

This article discusses the recent debate between Jürgen Habermas and Wolfgang Streeck on the relationship between capitalism and democracy in Europe. The article recounts Streeck's analysis of the financial crisis, the transformation of the tax state into the debt state, and the development of the EU towards an international consolidation state, which informs Streeck's call for a retreat from Europe to the nation-state as the last line of defense against neoliberal capitalism. The article proceeds to sketch Habermas's criticism of Streeck's argument, and it illustrates how Habermas' proposal for a reconstitution of the EU as a supranational democracy is motivated by foundational concerns in his critical theory of society. Finally, the article argues that the debate results in an unresolved dilemma: while only a democratized EU can reestablish the supremacy of politics over globalized markets, the EU is more likely to become further entrenched as an international consolidation state.

Zadolževanje in razdolževanje je trenutno zelo aktualna tema tako v Sloveniji, kot tudi v svetu. V magistrski nalogi smo raziskali, kako so se zadolževala in razdolževala slovenska gospodinjstva in podjetja v obdobju 2004 -2015 in trende primerjali s trendi v državah EU. Podatki kažejo, da so slovenska gospodinjstva približno polovico manj zadolžena kot gospodinjstva ostalih članic Evropske unije. Čisto drugačna pa je situacija v sektorju podjetij, saj so slovenska podjetja v krizo vstopila z visoko stopnjo zadolženosti. Opazne so tudi bistvene razlike v strukturi financiranja slovenskih in tujih podjetij. Na osnovi raziskave ugotovljamo, da so se slovenska gospodinjstva in podjetja pred krizo bolj zadolževala od subjektov v ostalih članicah Evropske unije in kasneje začela izvajati proces razdolževanja. ; Indebtedness and deleveraging is currently a very topical issue in Slovenia, and as well in the world. In this Masters thesis we have researched indebtedness and deleveraging for Slovenian householders and companies in the period 2004-2015 and compared this trends with trends in other European Union states. The data show that Slovenian householders are approximately 50 % less overindebted then hoseholders in other European Union states. Quite different is situation in the corporate sector, where Slovenian companies entered the crisis with high debt levels. We also noticed significant differences in the financial structure of Slovenian and foreign companies. Based on our research we established that before the crisis Slovenian householders and companies were borrowing more like householders and companies in other states of the European Union, and started with proces of deleveraging much later.

Pravica državljanov, da sodelujejo pri opravljanju javnih zadev, je eno od tistih demokratičnih načel, ki bi moralo biti skupno vsem državam sodobnega sveta in je zapisana v uvodu Evropske listine o lokalni samoupravi (MELLS). To načelo lahko najneposredneje uresničujemo na lokalni ravni.Prenos pristojnosti, odgovornosti in finančnih virov iz države na organe lokalnih oblasti (lokalne skupnosti) je demokratičen proces (fiskalne) decentralizacije. MELLS je mednarodna pogodba, veljavna tudi v Sloveniji. Občine so v Sloveniji temeljne enote lokalne samouprave, torej predstavljajo tisto raven oblasti, ki je najbližje državljanom. Odgovorne so za zagotavljanje široke palete javnih dobrin in storitev. Z nalogo preverjamo skladnost veljavnega sistema financiranja lokalnih skupnosti (občin) v Sloveniji z osnovnimi usmeritvami iz teorije (fiskalne) decentralizacije ter z načeli MELLS. Pri tem proučujemo področje pokrivanja stroškov nalog občin, njihovo strukturo ter stopnjo medsebojne povezanosti med računsko dodeljenimi sredstvi v okviru mehanizma primerne porabe in zbranimi podatki o stroških po občinah. Na teh podlagah želimo ugotoviti, ali sistem financiranja lokalne samouprave, ki je v veljavi v Republiki Sloveniji, izpolnjuje načelo sorazmernosti virov sredstev z nalogami, ki jih lokalne skupnosti izvajajo. Glede na rezultate lahko ugotovimo, da so načela MELLS zadovoljivo vgrajena v pravni red države. Odstopanja pa ugotavljamo na finančnem področju, kjer načelo sorazmernosti ni ustrezno upoštevano. V obdobju 2010 do 2014 občine niso bile ustrezno financirane glede na njihove naloge. Povprečni stroški na prebivalca so v tem obdobju povprečno za 1,8 odstotka višji od virov na osnovi zakonsko določene primerne porabe. Občine so odvisne predvsem od dohodnine, kot deljenega davka, stopnja avtonomija glede lastnih davkov in njihovih stopenj je nizka. Odhodki občin so se v proučevanem obdobju v povprečju zmanjšali za 6 odstotkov, vendar pa skrbi, da je glavni vzrok tega zmanjšanja v znižanju investicijskih odhodkov za 17,2 odstotkov in investicijskih transferov za 21,8 odstotkov, tekoči odhodki so se znižali za 1odstotek, povišali pa so se transferni odhodki za 4,6 odstotka. Skupaj so se tekoči stroški, ki se upoštevajo pri izračunu povprečnine v razmerju 2014/2010 zvišali za 1 odstotek, sama povprečnina pa se je znižala za 2,5 odstotka. To dokazuje, da se je bistveno poslabšala naložbena sposobnost občin, kot najpomembnejši element izvajanja razvojnih nalog občine. Obseg dodeljene primerne porabe po občini pa se je v povprečju zmanjšal za 1,14 odstotka, in zaostajal za dejansko občinsko porabo. Skupna zadolženost občin je sprejemljiva in znaša 899,2 mio EUR, kar pomeni 2,41odstotka BDP, v skupnem dolgu države pa 2,8 odstotkov. Delež občinskih investicij v skupnem BDP je narastel na 2,4 odstotkov BDP. Občine so investicije financirale predvsem z lastnimi viri (55 odstotkov), s sredstvi EU (24 odstotkov) in z zadolževanjem (5 odstotkov), s sredstvi države pa 16 odstotkov investicij. Glede na določila iz nove finančne perspektive EU za obdobje 2014 - 2020 se bistveno zmanjšujejo možnosti in sredstva za sofinanciranje občinskih investicij, kar bo imelo posledice za zmanjšanje občinskih investicij. Če teh virov ne bo možno nadomestiti, lahko pričakujemo iz tega naslova negativni vpliv na BDP države in razvojnih razlik med občinami. V primerjavi z obdobjem 2007 do 2009 ugotovimo povečanje trenda negativnega razkoraka sredstev primerne porabe in stroškov za izvajanje nalog občin. To kaže na to, da je potrebno izboljšati obstoječi model financiranja. ; The right of citizens to participate in the conduct of public affairs is one of those democratic principles which should be common to all countries of the modern world. And this right is also enshrined in the introduction of the European Charter of Local Self-Government (MELLS). This principle can be most directly exercised at local level, through democratically elected local authorities. The transfer of powers, responsibilities and financial resources from the state to local authorities (local communities) is the democratic process of (fiscal) decentralization. The exercise of MELLS affect the financial relationships between the central and local authorities, since it is necessary to provide such funding of local communities that these will be effective and sufficiently independent in satisfying the public needs of the local population and increasing prosperity of society as a whole. Municipalities in Slovenia are basic units of local self-government. The thesis checks compliance of the current system of funding local communities (municipalities) in Slovenia with the basic guidelines of the theory of (fiscal) decentralization and the MELLS principles. The area of covering the costs of municipal tasks is being discussed, their structure and the degree of interconnection between the allocations in the framework of the mechanism of statutory spending and the data collected on the costs of the municipalities. Based on the results we can conclude that the MELLS principles are satisfactorily integrated into the legal system of the country. However, deviation is observed in the financial sector, where the principle of proportionality is not observed. In the period from 2010 to 2014 the municipalities had not been adequately funded according to their tasks. The average cost per capita in this period is by 1.8% more than the resources on the basis of statutory spending. Municipalities depend mainly on income tax and the rate of autonomy regarding their own taxes and their rates is low. In the observed period, expenditure of municipalities on average decreased by 6%, worrying is the fact that the main cause of the decrease is in the reduction of capital expenditures by -17.2% and capital transfers by - 21.8%, the current expenditure decreased by -1% while the transfer expenses increased by + 4.6%. Together, the running costs that are taken into account when calculating the lump sum in proportion 2014/2010 increased by + 1%, and the lump sum itself decreased by 2.5%. This demonstrates that the investment capacity of municipalities significantly worsened and this is the most important element of the implementation of the development tasks of the municipality. The volume of statutory spending of the municipality dropped by 1.14%, and lagged behind the actual municipal budget. The total indebtedness of municipalities is acceptable and amounts to 899.2 million euros which represents 2.41% of GDP, and 2.8% in the total debt of the country. The share of municipal investments in total GDP has increased to 2.4% of GDP. The municipalities financed the investments from its own resources (55%), EU funds (24%) and debt (5%), with funds from the state 16% investment. According to the provisions of the new EU financial perspective for 2014-2020, the opportunities and funding for co-financing municipal investments is significantly reducing, which will have implications on the reduction of municipal investments. If these resources will not be possible to replace, we can expect a negative impact on the country's GDP and developmental differences between municipalities. In comparison with the period 2007 to 2009, an increase in the trend of negative gap has been noticed between the statutory spending and the cost for carrying out the tasks of municipalities. This shows the need to improve the existing model of financing.

Demokratični deficit je že več desetletji stalnica akademskih razprav o Evropski uniji. Vsebina raziskovanj se je skozi čas bistveno spremenila, ohranja pa se temeljna misel, da se demokracija v Evropski uniji sooča z velikimi težavami. Zaupanje Evropejcev v Evropsko unijo je nizko, podobno velja tudi za občutek povezanosti z njenimi organi, zato je očitno, da so spremembe nujno potrebne. Z vsako večjo reformo pride do sprememb, ki bistveno vplivajo na razmerja moči med evropskimi institucijami in na njihov odnos do Evropejcev. Najvidnejše spremembe v zadnjih desetletjih so krepitev moči Evropskega parlamenta, ki se je razvil v vplivno institucijo, uvajanje institutov neposredne demokracije in druge reforme, ki jih je prinesla Lizbonska pogodba. Napredek pa je, žal, na drugi strani uravnotežen s pojavom mehanizmov in institutov, ki demokratična varovala zaobidejo. To so na primer ukrepi, ki so bili sprejeti kot odziv na dolžniško krizo evroobmočja in v velikem delu sploh ne spadajo med formalne pristojnosti Evropske unije. V svojem magistrskem delu sem analiziral in kritično ovrednotil procese, ki so bistveno vplivali na ključne organe Evropske unije, njihove spreminjajoče se medsebojne odnose ter predvidene učinke aktualnih reform. Pregledal sem širok izbor literature preteklih desetletji in predstavil različna teoretska izhodišča, na podlagi katerih avtorji skušajo opredeliti in analizirati demokratični deficit in z njim povezane tematike. Ključna ugotovitev mojega magistrskega mojega dela ni le, da so aktualne reforme premalo ambiciozne in demokratičnega deficita ne morejo odpraviti, ampak predvsem da demokratični deficit ni le kategorija akademskih razprav, temveč je zelo močno politično orodje in odločilno usmerja razvoj Evropske unije. Demokratični deficit je zato stalnica evropske demokracije in ne more nikoli biti povsem odpravljen, saj se ob razvoju Evropske unije vedno znova pojavlja v drugačnih oblikah, ki terjajo nove reforme in kritične analize akademikov, intelektualcev, državljanov, politikov in vseh drugih zainteresiranih strani. ; The democratic deficit has been a constant of all academic research on the European Union for the past few decades. While the scope of the research has changed considerably, the basic idea remains the same – democracy in the European Union is in serious trouble. Europeans' trust in the EU is low and the same goes for their connection with European institutions, therefore it is clear that changes are required. Every major reform alters the balance of power between European institutions and their relationship with European citizens. The most visible changes of the past decades are: the empowerment of the European parliament that has been transformed into an influential institution, the introduction of instruments of direct democracy and other reforms brought upon by the Treaty of Lisbon. Unfortunately, progress is balanced out by the emergence of various mechanisms and instruments that surpass all democratic checks and balances. For example, the measures that were adopted as a response to the European debt crisis were mostly not based on formal competencies of the EU. In my Master's thesis I analysed and critically evaluated the processes that crucially influenced the most significant European institutions, their ever-changing relationships and the anticipated effects of the current reforms. I examined a substantial body of literature from past decades and presented diverse theoretical starting points that the authors use to define and analyse the democratic deficit and related topics. The most significant finding of my Master's thesis is not only that the current reforms lack ambition and cannot eliminate the democratic deficit, but also that the democratic deficit is more than just a category of academic research and can often act as a strong political tool that decisively influences the development of the European Union. Therefore, the democratic deficit is a permanent element of European democracy and can never be fully eliminated as it always reappears in new forms that require constant reforms and critical analysis by academia, intellectuals, citizens, politicians and other stakeholders.