Abstract. The aim of the article is to examine the relationship between the state, democracy and the Carl Schimitt's concept of the political. That is going to be done by reconstructing the concepts of Schmitt's political theory and finding out whether they can be used to explain the ideology of the new right-wing populism and illiberal democracy. As it turns out, the Schmitt's reduction of the political to the friend/enemy antagonism makes the core of the illiberal democracies' ruling narrative. The Schimtt's understanding of the political doesn't defend the state as a political space but by cancelling of the liberal elements of democracy ruins the state institutions. The analysis shows that Schmitt's notion of the political cannot be used to build effective democratic state institutions. Namely, in his definition of the political, politics actually exists only on the outwards, towards some other nation, some other political unity, but not within the state itself. Keywords: state, the political, Carl Schmitt, illiberal democracy
Listina o temeljnih pravicah Evropske unije predstavlja osrednji dokument varstva temeljnih pravic v Evropski uniji, ki so se razvila skozi prakso Sodišča Evropske unije. Kot deklaracija je bila najprej slovesno razglašena 7. decembra 2000, pravna veljava in status primarnega prava Evropske unije pa ji je bil podeljen devet let kasneje z Lizbonsko pogodbo. Vsebina Listine o temeljnih pravicah Evropske unije temelji na skupnih ustavnih tradicijah in mednarodnih obveznosti držav članic, Evropski konvenciji o varstvu človekovih pravic, socialnih listinah Evropske unije in Sveta Evrope, sodni praksi Sodišča Evropske unije ter Evropskega sodišča za človekove pravice. Kljub temu pa je njena vsebina tudi inovativna in v nekaterih primerih širša. Tako je z Listino o temeljnih pravicah Evropske unije, zagotovljena pravica do azila, kar predstavlja redkost v mednarodnih dokumentih varstva temeljnih pravic. V praksi jo tako Sodišče Evropske unije kot nacionalna sodišča velikokrat uporabljajo na področju migracij in azila. Sodišče Evropske unije igra pomembno vlogo pri harmonizaciji Skupnega evropskega azilnega sistema in zagotavljanju minimalnih standardov varstva pravic prosilcev za mednarodno zaščito skozi interpretacijo skladnosti določb sekundarne zakonodaje Evropske unije na področju azila in nacionalne zakonodaje z Listino o temeljnih pravicah Evropske unije. ; "Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union" represents a core bill of rights document within the European union which developed through the case law of the European Court of Justice. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union was solemnly announced on 7 December 2000 as a Declaration, only becoming legally binding nine years later with the entry into force of the Lisbon treaty, which granted it the status of primary law of the European Union. The contents within the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union is based on the constitutional traditions and international obligations common to member states, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights, Social Charters of the European union, and the Council of Europe, the case law of the European Court of Justice, and the European Court of Human Rights. However, it is also innovative and broader in some cases. Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union provides a right to be granted asylum, which represents a rarity in international instruments of fundamental rights. It is often used in practice by the European Court of Justice and national courts in the field of migration and asylum. The European Court of Justice plays an important role in harmonization of the Common European Asylum System and in setting of minimum standards for protection of the rights of applicants for international protection through its interpretation in compliance of secondary legislation of the European Union and national legislation with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
Abstract. The article considers whether the EU's CSDP missions are a suitable crisis management mechanism for post-conflict situations, along with the EU's relevance in crisis management at all. For this purpose, the EU's biggest CSDP civilian mission EULEX was chosen as a research case study. The research results reveal that EULEX has not implemented its mandate, not met the expectations of security consumers, not made any difference on the ground, and cannot be seen as an example the EU should rely on in its future missions. Further, EULEX shows that CSDP missions suffer from many shortfalls and the EU CFSP from a capability–expectations gap. The article concludes that the EULEX mission does not show the EU's relevance in the crisis management of post-conflict situations.
Although the new international economic order (NIEO) has mostly been assessed as a failure, its ideas still seem relevant in today's crisis environment. The new context clearly shows that the existing liberal international order is ineffective and calls for deep changes like in the times of the developing countries' fight for the NIEO. The article considers whether its principles remain of relevance today, which ones have been amended and which should be newly introduced, all based on NIEO-related lessons. Dilemmas between international law or a rules-based order as a framework for global governance and whether the proposed new inclusive global economic order is to be based on values (and if so, which) are evaluated. Keywords: new international economic order, new inclusive global economic order, rules-based order, values, principles, international law, global governance, lessons
The great restructuring of power in the Christian West at the beginning of the second millennium did not change the meaning of the notion of Europe as inherited from the previous two centuries. Rather, it brought forth new concepts to describe the unity of Western Christians, thus marginalizing "Europe" as a potential bearer of collective identity. Foremost among those new unitary concepts was Christendom -- a concept closely linked with the rise of the papal monarchy & the launching of the First Crusade as the pope's own war. By analyzing 11th-century sources & literature connected with the First Crusade, the author shows that the term Europe -- used merely in its geographical sense or in connection with the ancient myth of Europa & the legend of Japheth -- had little relevance for the practical & spiritual concerns of that age. Adapted from the source document.
Abstract. The author assesses the relevance and analytical significance of authoritarian liberalism and interprets it as one of the modern conceptual models of ordoliberalism and European integration. The basic concepts of authoritarian liberalism and ordoliberalism emphasise the political and ideological connection between the authoritarianism of the strong state and the economic liberalism of market rationality. As a flexible market-oriented form of authoritarian liberalism, ordoliberalism means a rational strategy for maintaining and promoting the European integration project towards which the market economy and the technocratic elite are moving to contain crises. Due to the presence of the values of political liberalism, pluralism and the rule of law, authoritarianism in this structure is not repressive or monocentric, but subject to democratic criticism in relation to the supranational regulation of European integration. Keywords: authoritarian liberalism, ordoliberalism, market capitalism, democracy, eurocrisis, European integration
The paper discusses the characteristics of modern American presidential political rhetoric with special reference to Barack Obama's speeches in which he addressed the highly publicized killings of black Americans. Three of the analysed speeches contain Obama's rhetorical reaction to the judicial decisions not to indict the police officers responsible for the killings, while one speech gives his immediate reaction to the mass murder of black parishioners by a white supremacist. The study is based on the discourse-linguistic analysis of attitudinal meanings and their functions, which are conceptualized as evaluative frames. Evaluative frames are used to highlight different kinds of discourse participants through judgments of behaviour, attributions of emotions and evaluations of semiotic phenomena and objects. The theoretical framework for the different categories of evaluative frames is based on the theory of news framing and theory of evaluative language within systemic-functional linguistics. The findings of the analysis show that Obama uses an interplay of positive and negative evaluations of different kinds to transcend racial categorizations and avoid a direct attribution of blame. When he acknowledges the continuing relevance of the racial divide in US society, he often applies evaluative frames in such a way that they unify rather than divide the discourse participants on both sides of the divide. ; The paper discusses the characteristics of modern American presidential political rhetoric with special reference to Barack Obama's speeches in which he addressed the highly publicized killings of black Americans. Three of the analysed speeches contain Obama's rhetorical reaction to the judicial decisions not to indict the police officers responsible for the killings, while one speech gives his immediate reaction to the mass murder of black parishioners by a white supremacist. The study is based on the discourse-linguistic analysis of attitudinal meanings and their functions, which are conceptualized as evaluative frames. Evaluative frames are used to highlight different kinds of discourse participants through judgments of behaviour, attributions of emotions and evaluations of semiotic phenomena and objects. The theoretical framework for the different categories of evaluative frames is based on the theory of news framing and theory of evaluative language within systemic-functional linguistics. The findings of the analysis show that Obama uses an interplay of positive and negative evaluations of different kinds to transcend racial categorizations and avoid a direct attribution of blame. When he acknowledges the continuing relevance of the racial divide in US society, he often applies evaluative frames in such a way that they unify rather than divide the discourse participants on both sides of the divide. ; The paper discusses the characteristics of modern American presidential political rhetoric with special reference to Barack Obama's speeches in which he addressed the highly publicized killings of black Americans. Three of the analysed speeches contain Obama's rhetorical reaction to the judicial decisions not to indict the police officers responsible for the killings, while one speech gives his immediate reaction to the mass murder of black parishioners by a white supremacist. The study is based on the discourse-linguistic analysis of attitudinal meanings and their functions, which are conceptualized as evaluative frames. Evaluative frames are used to highlight different kinds of discourse participants through judgments of behaviour, attributions of emotions and evaluations of semiotic phenomena and objects. The theoretical framework for the different categories of evaluative frames is based on the theory of news framing and theory of evaluative language within systemic-functional linguistics. The findings of the analysis show that Obama uses an interplay of positive and negative evaluations of different kinds to transcend racial categorizations and avoid a direct attribution of blame. When he acknowledges the continuing relevance of the racial divide in US society, he often applies evaluative frames in such a way that they unify rather than divide the discourse participants on both sides of the divide. ; The paper discusses the characteristics of modern American presidential political rhetoric with special reference to Barack Obama's speeches in which he addressed the highly publicized killings of black Americans. Three of the analysed speeches contain Obama's rhetorical reaction to the judicial decisions not to indict the police officers responsible for the killings, while one speech gives his immediate reaction to the mass murder of black parishioners by a white supremacist. The study is based on the discourse-linguistic analysis of attitudinal meanings and their functions, which are conceptualized as evaluative frames. Evaluative frames are used to highlight different kinds of discourse participants through judgments of behaviour, attributions of emotions and evaluations of semiotic phenomena and objects. The theoretical framework for the different categories of evaluative frames is based on the theory of news framing and theory of evaluative language within systemic-functional linguistics. The findings of the analysis show that Obama uses an interplay of positive and negative evaluations of different kinds to transcend racial categorizations and avoid a direct attribution of blame. When he acknowledges the continuing relevance of the racial divide in US society, he often applies evaluative frames in such a way that they unify rather than divide the discourse participants on both sides of the divide. ; The paper discusses the characteristics of modern American presidential political rhetoric with special reference to Barack Obama's speeches in which he addressed the highly publicized killings of black Americans. Three of the analysed speeches contain Obama's rhetorical reaction to the judicial decisions not to indict the police officers responsible for the killings, while one speech gives his immediate reaction to the mass murder of black parishioners by a white supremacist. The study is based on the discourse-linguistic analysis of attitudinal meanings and their functions, which are conceptualized as evaluative frames. Evaluative frames are used to highlight different kinds of discourse participants through judgments of behaviour, attributions of emotions and evaluations of semiotic phenomena and objects. The theoretical framework for the different categories of evaluative frames is based on the theory of news framing and theory of evaluative language within systemic-functional linguistics. The findings of the analysis show that Obama uses an interplay of positive and negative evaluations of different kinds to transcend racial categorizations and avoid a direct attribution of blame. When he acknowledges the continuing relevance of the racial divide in US society, he often applies evaluative frames in such a way that they unify rather than divide the discourse participants on both sides of the divide. ; V prispevku so obravnavane značilnosti sodobne ameriške predsedniške politične retorike s posebnim poudarkom na govorih Baracka Obame, s katerimi se je odzval na uboje temnopoltih Američanov. Trije od analiziranih govorov vsebujejo Obamov odziv na sodne odločitve, ki so zavrnile obtožbo policistov, odgovornih za uboj, v enem od govorov pa se je odzval na množični umor temnopoltih faranov s strani belega skrajneža. Študija temelji na analizi jezikovnih kategorij vrednotenja, ki so pojmovane kot okviri vrednotenja. Okviri vrednotenja udeležence v diskurzu osvetlijo s presojami vedenja in pripisovanja čustev ter z vrednotenjem predmetov in pojavov. Koncept okvirov vrednotenja temelji na spoznanjih teorije medijske komunikacije in teorije jezika vrednotenja v sistemsko-funkcijskem jezikoslovju. Ugotovitve analize kažejo, da Obama uporablja preplet pozitivnih in negativnih vrednotenj različnih vrst, da bi presegel rasno kategorizacijo in se izognil neposrednemu pripisovanju krivde. Raziskava pokaže tudi, da Obama rasne razdelitve pogosto uokvirja tako, da udeležence na nasprotnih straneh poenoti z istim okvirom.
Abstract. The article aims to explore factors that influence respondents' intentions to accept and use mobile advertising by proposing an extension of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) with perceived enjoyment, perceived irritation, and personalisation. To identify the factors affecting the acceptability of mobile advertising, the intentions and behaviours of respondents regarding mobile advertising are reviewed. The study was conducted in Pakistan by using online survey. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was applied to examine the sample size of 446 respondents. The findings revealed certain crucial factors (such as effort expectancy, performance expectancy, perceived enjoyment, perceived irritation, and personalisation) that can affect respondents' intentions to accept mobile advertising. Also revealed was the relationship between respondents' intentions to accept and use behaviour regarding mobile advertising. It is established that respondents expect more personalised promotional messages to be shown to them in line with their needs and preferences. Here, advertisers must pay attention to the contextual relevance of the ads while noting the element of irritation that can be felt among consumers, as such ads create negative attitudes and intentions towards mobile advertising. Keywords: mobile advertising, consumer intentions, use behaviour, unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), Pakistan.
V magistrskem delu obravnavam vlogo tiskovnih agencij v javni sferi v procesu poročanja o izstopu Velike Britanije iz Evropske unije oziroma brexitu. Vloga agencij je, da zagotavljajo zanesljive informacije, ki jih nato mediji posredujejo svojim občinstvom, kar omogoči oblikovanje javnega mnenja. Proučujem vpliv dejavnikov velikosti tiskovne agencije in njenega bruseljskega dopisništva, velikosti države izvora agencije ter relevantnosti brexita za državo izvora in njene državljane na izpolnjevanje vloge tiskovne agencije v javni sferi. Analiza pogovorov z bruseljskima dopisnikoma Slovenske tiskovne agencije (STA) in britanske tiskovne agencije z mednarodno razsežnostjo Reuters ter uradnikom Evropske unije kaže, da vsi trije dejavniki vplivajo predvsem na dostopnost informacij. To pa vsaj do določene mere vpliva tudi na izpolnjevanje vloge tiskovnih agencij v javni sferi, saj lahko novinarji z boljšim dostopom svojim naslovnikom zagotavljajo več in bolj zanesljive informacije. Oba dopisnika sicer trdita, da ustrezno izpolnjujeta to vlogo. V raziskavi sem ugotovil tudi, da s tem, ko novinarja o Uniji ne poročata samo z nacionalnega vidika, ampak tudi z evropskega, prispevata k vzpostavljanju evropske javne sfere. ; This master's thesis examines the role of news agencies in the public sphere when reporting about Great Britain leaving the European Union (Brexit). Their role is to provide reliable information to the media which pass it to their audiences, what enables forming of the public opinion. I study the impact of factors of size of the news agency and its Brussels' bureau, size of the country of origin of the agency and the relevance of Brexit for the country of origin and its citizens on fulfilling news wire's role in the public sphere. The analysis of interviews with Brussels' correspondents of Slovene Press Agency (STA) and British Press Agency with international comprehensiveness Reuters and with an EU official shows that all the three factors impact the journalist's access to the information. To some extent this also impacts the fulfilling of news agencies' role in the public sphere. Namely, journalists with better access to the sources can provide more information that is also more trustworthy to their recipients. Correspondents of STA and Reuters both carry out this role, in their opinion. I have also found out that they both report about the EU from the European perspective and not just from the national perspective, which means that they contribute to the forming of the European public sphere.
Doktorska disertacija preučuje specifično usmeritev mednarodne ekonomije, in sicer področje politik razvojne pomoči. Znotraj tega vsebinskega okvirja smo se osredotočili na njeno učinkovitost predvsem zaradi aktualnosti problematike kot številnih s tem povezanih globalnih izzivov. Razvojna pomoč, kot osrednja tematika disertacije, predstavlja temeljni koncept, s katerim države poskušajo razreševati razvojne razlike v svetu. Preučevanje učinkovitosti razvojne pomoči je v okviru ekonomskih znanosti zelo perspektiven koncept, predvsem zaradi dejstva, da je prepad med razvitimi državami globalnega severa in globalnega juga večji kot kadarkoli, dosedanje študije, kot tudi modeli razreševanja pa niso ponudili učinkovitih rešitev za spremembe oz. izboljšanje trenutnega stanja. Vse omenjeno smo preučevali na skupini držav Afrike, Karibov in Pacifika (AKP) iz dveh glavnih razlogov. Prvič, ker je velika večina držav v skupini dolgoletnih prejemnic razvojne pomoči, in drugič, ker omogoča dobro podlago za preučevanje, saj v njo spadajo tako najrevnejše podsaharske države, kot tudi otoške države, ki so v zadnjih letih doživele hiter gospodarski napredek. Struktura disertacije temelji tako na teoretičnem kot tudi aplikativnem delu. V prvem delu, tako predstavimo temeljne teoretične pojme iz razvojne ekonomije odnosov sever-jug, zgodovino sodelovanja držav AKP-ja z različnimi mednarodnimi akterji in teoretične opredelitve razvojne pomoči in njene učinkovitosti. Drugi del je namenjen aplikativni raziskavi učinkovitosti politik razvojne pomoči. Države skupine AKP smo tako razdelili v dve skupini. V skupino A, kjer so tiste, ki so prejele več razvojne pomoči, in skupino B, kjer so tiste, ki so prejele manj. Predpostavljali smo, da so države, ki so prejele več razvojne pomoči, naredile večji razvojni napredek. Njihov napredek smo preučevali na petih ekonomskih in socialnih razvojnih indikatorjih: BDP na prebivalca, obseg izvoza blaga in storitev, smrtnosti otrok do petega leta starosti, rast pričakovane življenjske dobe in število migracij. Na podlagi pridobljenih rezultatov za posamezno področje smo nato generalno sklepali ali so politike razvojne pomoči dosegle svoj namen, torej ali so bile učinkovite. Iz vsebinskega vidika je disertacija izvirni doprinos k ekonomski znanosti pri preučevanju problematike sedanjega sistema podeljevanja razvojne pomoči in posledično njene učinkovitosti, raziskovanja razvojne problematike v državah skupine AKP ter predlogom razreševanja sodobnih izzivov mednarodnega razvoja. Prav tako zapolnjuje vrzel pri preučevanju koncepta mednarodnega razvoja s kvalitativnimi metodami raziskovanja, saj so obstoječe raziskave izrazito kvantificirane. Ker je disertacija napisana v slovenskem jeziku je tudi prispevek k maloštevilni literaturi na tem področju in k nadaljnjem raziskovanju mednarodne razvojne problematike in s tem povezanih globalnih izzivov. ; This PhD dissertation studies a specific direction of international economics — the field of development aid policies, and focuses on its efficiency, mainly due to the relevance of the issue, since it is associated with numerous global challenges. Development aid, as the central theme of this dissertation presents the underlying concept, with which countries attempt to resolve developmental differences around the world. Studying the efficiency of development aid in terms of economic sciences is a very promising concept, mainly due to the fact that the gap between the developed countries of the global South and the global North is larger than ever, and current studies, nor resolution models, offered any effective solutions for changing or improving the current state. All of the above was studied on the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) for two main reasons: Firstly, because the vast majority of these countries is a long-term beneficiary of development aid and secondly, because this provides us with a sound foundation for studying, including both the poorest Sub-Saharan countries and island states, which experienced rapid economic development in recent years. Thus the structure of this dissertation relies on both theory and application. The first part presents the fundamental theoretical terms from developmental economics, North-South relations, the history of cooperation among ACP countries with various international players and theoretical determination of development aid and its efficiency. The second part is intended for applied research of the efficiency of development aid policies. ACP countries were divided into two groups, group A with those receiving the most development aid and groups B with those receiving the least. We presumed that countries that received the most development aid made the most progress. Their progress was studied according top five economic and social indicators of development: GDP per capita, exports of goods and services, mortality of children under five years of age, growth in life expectancy and the number of migrations. Based on data retrieved for specific fields, we generally presumed whether development aid policies had achieved its purpose – if they were efficient. From the substantive aspect, this dissertation is an original contribution to the science of economics in its study of the problems in the existing system for distributing development aid and consequently its efficiency, to research of development problems in ACP countries and to proposals for meeting the modern challenges of international development. It also fills the gap in the study of the concept of international development through qualitative research methods, since existing research is extensively quantified. Since this dissertation is originally in Slovenian, it also adds to the scarce literature in this field and to future research of international developmental issues and the global challenges they bring.
Meje med državami članicami Evropske unije na nek način obstajajo le še na papirju – prebivalci Evropske unije lahko delamo v drugih državah članicah, podjetja pa na primer lahko poslujejo v drugih državah članicah pod istimi pogoji kot poslujejo domača podjetja. Notranji trg Evropske unije tako ponuja številne priložnosti podjetjem, ki želijo razširiti svoje poslovanje izven meja svoje države ter s tem izboljšati svoj položaj na zelo konkurenčnem trgu. Priložnosti, ki jih prinaša notranji trg Evropske unije, pa spremljajo izzivi in ovire, za katere je potrebno znanje in viri, tako finančni kot človeški, da se premostijo. Zaradi omejenosti sredstev so mala in srednje velika podjetja bolj izpostavljena izzivom ter se težje spopadajo z ovirami kot pa velika podjetja. Dejstvo, da so skoraj vsa podjetja v Evropski uniji mala in srednje velika podjetja, nalaga ustvarjalcem poslovnega in zakonodajnega okolja veliko odgovornost – malim in srednje velikim podjetjem, še posebej pa mikropodjetjem, je potrebno zagotoviti trg, na katerem lahko enakovredno nastopajo skupaj z velikimi podjetji. Znaten delež malih in srednje velikih podjetij v Evropski uniji je mnenja, da je prav zakonodaja tista, ki predstavlja najvišjo oviro pri njihovem poslovanju. Za zagotovitev skladnosti z evropsko oziroma nacionalno zakonodajo morajo nameniti velik delež svojih virov, kar nedvomno vpliva na njihovo poslovanje in konkurenčnost. Zavedajoč se izjemnega pomena malih in srednje velikih podjetij za evropsko gospodarstvo, Evropska komisija s svojimi predlogi, akti, ukrepi ter programi zmanjšuje administrativna bremena ter na ta način poskuša zagotoviti enakovredne konkurenčne pogoje za vsa podjetja, ne glede na njihovo velikost. Na vseh korakih cikla specifičnega akta/politike se posebno pozornost namenja malim in srednje velikim podjetjem, še posebej pa mikropodjetjem, ter administrativnim bremenom. Tako se že pri prvotnem načrtovanju pobude, ko Evropska komisija objavi t.i. časovnico, naredi preliminarna ocena potencialnih vplivov pobude na mala in srednje velika podjetja. Preden pa Evropska komisija dejansko predlaga nov predlog, se naprej skozi javno posvetovanje posvetuje z relevantnimi deležniki in oceni možne posledice predloga - to naredi s tako imenovano oceno učinka, ki je obvezna za najpomembnejše pobude in pobude z daljnosežnimi posledicami. Sama ocena učinka je del »MSP testa«, v okviru katerega se, med drugim, naredi natančna analiza učinkov predlagane pobude na mala in srednje velika podjetja. V oceni učinka je posebno poglavje namenjeno tudi analizi administrativnih bremen oziroma administrativnih stroškov, ki bi nastali s sprejetjem pobude, ki se ocenjuje. Rezultati te analize in »MSP testa« omogočajo podlago za odločitev, ali bodo mala in srednje velika podjetja morala upoštevati vse obveznosti, ki izhajajo iz pobude, ali bodo morebiti iz določenih obveznosti izključena oziroma bo za njih veljal blažji režim. Med samim izvajanjem posamezne pobude oziroma po koncu njenega izvajanja Evropska komisija z vrednotenjem redno ocenjuje uspešnost, učinkovitost, ustreznost in dodano vrednost ukrepov Evropske unije. V okviru Programa ustreznosti in uspešnosti predpisov – REFIT, ki je bil uveden z namenom narediti zakonodajo Evropske unije kakovostnejšo in lažjo, se izvajajo korektivni ukrepi obstoječe zakonodaje, vrednotenja in preverjanja ustreznosti, ter razveljavitve obstoječe zakonodaje, ki ne služi svojemu namenu. Ne glede na vse napore in ukrepe Evropske komisije za zmanjšanje administrativnih bremen še vedno obstajajo zakonodajni akti, ki so za mala in srednje velika podjetja, še posebej pa za mikropodjetja, zelo obremenjujoči. Leta 2012 so mala in srednje velika podjetja v javnem posvetovanju identificirala deset zakonodajnih aktov Evropske unije, ki so za njih najbolj obremenjujoči - Evropska komisija je v zvezi z identificiranimi akti, kjer je to možno, že ukrepala. ; In a way, borders between the Member States of the European Union remain to exist only on paper – for example, citizens of the European Union can work in other Member States, while enterprises can do business in other Member States under the same conditions as domestic enterprises. The internal market of the European Union offers numerous opportunities to enterprises which want to expand their business outside their country's borders and thereby improve its position on the very competitive market. Opportunities that internal market of the European Union brings are accompanied by challenges and barriers for which know-how as well as financial and human resources are needed to overcome them. Due to lack of resources, small and medium-sized enterprises are more exposed to challenges and face more difficulties with overcoming barriers, in comparison with large enterprises. The fact that almost all enterprises in the European Union are small and medium-sized enterprises imposes a great responsibility on creators of the business and regulatory environment – a market on which small and medium-sized enterprises, and especially micro-enterprises, will be able to equally compete with large enterprises must be ensured. A significant share of small and medium-sized enterprises in the European Union shares the opinion that legislation represents the highest barrier to conduct business. They have to allocate a great share of their resources in order to ensure compliance with European and/or national legislation, which undoubtedly impacts their operations and competitiveness. Being aware of the immense significance of small and medium-sized enterprises for the European economy, the European Commission is reducing administrative burden with its proposals, acts and programmes. In this way, the European Commission is trying to ensure a level playing field for all enterprises, regardless of their size. On all steps of a cycle of a specific act/policy, special attention is paid to small and medium sized enterprises, especially to micro-enterprises, and administrative burden. It starts with the planning of the initiative, when the European Commission publishes a roadmap, in which a preliminary assessment of initiative's potential impacts on small and medium-sized enterprises is done. Furthermore, before the European Commission actually proposes a new proposal, it first evaluates its possible consequences with a so-called impact assessment, which is obligatory for the most important initiatives and for initiatives with far-reaching consequences. The impact assessment is also a part of a "SME test", in the context of which a detailed analysis of initiative's impacts on small and medium-sized enterprises is conducted. Moreover, a specific chapter is dedicated to the analysis of administrative burden and administrative costs, which would be incurred with the adoption of the respective initiative. Results of the analysis and of the SME test represent a basis for a decision whether small and medium-sized enterprises will be included in all obligations, deriving from the initiative, or whether they will be excluded from certain obligations or will they be a subject to a milder regime. During the implementation of a specific initiative or at the end of its implementation, the European Commission regularly assesses the effectiveness, efficiency, relevance and added value of the European Union's measures. In the context of the Regulatory Fitness and Performance programme – REFIT, which was introduced with the intention of making the legislation of the European Union lighter and of greater quality, corrective measures of existing legislation, evaluations and fitness checks, as well as repeals of existing legislation which is not fit for its purpose, are carried out. Despite the efforts and measures of the European Commission to reduce administrative burden, legislative acts, which are very burdensome for small and medium-sized enterprises, still exist.
