Contemporary Europe, 2015 (vol. 2015), issue 2

Vývoj vnějších makroekonomických nerovnováh v evropských zemích v souvislosti s probíhajícími integračními procesy

The Development of External Macroeconomic Imbalances in European Countries in Connection with Running Integration Processes

Pavla Bednářová, Vladimíra Hovorková Valentová

Současná Evropa 2015, 2015(2):4-23  

In the course of the last decade, significant and persisting macroeconomic imbalances accumulated which there were one of the main causes of the economic crisis. The aim of the article is to evaluate the development of external macroeconomic imbalances in European countries in the course of the years 2004-2013, and to find out how this development in the member countries of the Eurozone differed from the European countries outside the Eurozone. External macroeconomic imbalances were defined on the basis of Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure (MIP) Scoreboard. Based on the evaluation of the development of individual indicators, it is possible to state...

EU Facilitated Belgrade - Pristina Talks: Analysis of the Impact of Domestic Actors on the Process of Dialogue

Suzan Kodrazi, Daniel Heler

Současná Evropa 2015, 2015(2):24-52  

The aim of this paper is to analyse the impact of the EU conditionality on the domestic developments in Serbia and Kosovo during the process of normalization of their relations. Given the importance of local ownership and involvement in successful application of the EU conditionality, we will attempt to shift the analysis of EU conditionality from the EU perspective on to its domestic implications within the dynamics of the political climates of Serbia and Kosovo using the Schimmelfennig and Sedelmeier's external incentives model as our main theoretical framework. Since any future progress in the EU integration was made conditional on the progress...

Přístup jednotlivců k žalobě pro nečinnost před Tribunálem Soudního dvora EU

Access of Individuals to the Action for Failure to Act before the Tribunal of the Court of Justice of the European Union

Nicole Grmelová

Současná Evropa 2015, 2015(2):53-64  

The access of individuals to the Court of Justice of the EU has been extremely limited. The action for failure to act constitutes one of the instruments that individuals can use directly before the General Court of the Court of Justice of the European Union. This action complements two more tools available to individuals, in particular, the action for annulment and the action for damages. The aim of this paper is to critically assess the use of this action by individuals in practice and to find out whether its definition in primary law corresponds to the settled case-law of the Court of Justice of this EU in this field or whether it has become outdated.

Evropská unie a krize v Sýrii

The European Union and the Crisis in Syria

Radka Havlová

Současná Evropa 2015, 2015(2):65-93  

This article discusses the role of the European Union (EU) in the crisis in Syria. Syria as a part of the Middle East has been historically an important space for Europe and the situation in Syria is very important for the stability in Europe. Despite the fact that the EU disposes of a variety of diplomatic, political, economic, security and humanitarian tools to intervene in the crisis in Syria, the EU has so far not been able to effectively contribute to the resolution of the crisis in Syria. This is partly because the opposition in Syria is deeply fractionalized and the EU is afraid of the rise of Islamism and the Islamic State in Syria after the...

Jeden test nestačí - Střet základních ekonomických svobod a základních lidských práv v judikatuře Evropského soudního dvora

Conflicts of the Fundamental Economic Freedoms and Fundamental Human Rights in the Case-Law of the European Court of Justice

Pavlína Hubková

Současná Evropa 2015, 2015(2):94-104  

Fundamental economic freedoms are the pillars of European integration and are under EU law's protection. However, the European Union currently focuses also on the concepts of respect to humanity and fundamental human rights. A problem may arise when economic freedoms conflict with human rights. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) resolves such conflicts by diverging methods. An analysis of the methods of reasoning shows that the approach of the ECJ is inconsistent. At the same time, it is not possible to insist on the ECJ to use only one standardised method for resolving conflicts. According to the initial setting of the relation between the conflicting...

Európsky parlament a rámovanie zahraničnej politiky EÚ: emancipovaný aktér alebo verný nasledovateľ?

European Parliament and the Framing of the EU Foreign Policy: Emancipated Actor or the Loyal Follower?

Lenka Kováčová

Současná Evropa 2015, 2015(2):105-124  

Following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, as an another milestone of the European integration process, the role of the European parliament has increased, and the area of EU foreign policy has not been an exception. The enhancing of the EP's powers and accountability in the area of the Union's external action regarding political control or budgetary authority, has changed the balance of powers in the institutional framework of the European Union. Although the EP dispose of a few formal competences, its work in the field of democratisation, human rights protection, or external trade policy, leads to the beliefs that the influence of the...

Komparativní výhody zemí V4 a Německa - porovnání sektorů podle míry kvalifikace pracovní síly a technologické intenzity

Comparative Advantages of Visegrad Four Countries and Germany - A Comparison of Sectors According to the Workforce Qualification and Technology-Intensity

Ondřej Sankot

Současná Evropa 2015, 2015(2):125-144  

This article compares comparative advantages of Visegrad Four countries and Germany. Four aggregated economic sectors based on different requirements on the workforce qualification and technology-intensity are being compared. The main aim is to ascertain the degree and speed of changes in V4 export structures towards export of higher value added. According to the executed analysis, there is a gradual shift towards export of higher value added in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia. This shift is characterized by decrease in comparative advantage in labour intensive and low-skill manufactures. Those countries demonstrated also low growth in comparative...

Česká krajní pravice: alternativní evropanství

The Czech Extreme Right: Alternative Europeanism

Antonín Háka

Současná Evropa 2015, 2015(2):145-163  

For centuries, people in Europe realise that Europeanism is a part of their identity. This article focuses on the question of Europeanism and conceptions of european integration of the Czech far right. The results reveal that their attitudes are based either on a completely closed or very closed idea of collective identity. Mass immigration is seen as a threat to both european nations and Europeans. Their stance on EU can be described as a hostile rejection with the emphasis put on the immigration policy which could irredeemably harm the affairs of the nation and race. They offer a completely different and sometimes nebulous form of european integration...