The focus of this article is systemic change in Europe: structural transformation which affects East-West relations at four levels: Atlantic, Western European, Eastern European, and all-European. The durability of the present status of Europe split between the two superpowers is drawn into question. Dynamic processes in the context of a widespread desire for a new 'political Europe', particularly in terms of 'historical normalization' between Western and Eastern Europe (excluding the Soviet Union as a separate entity) will contribute to structural change in European-American and European-Soviet relations. The ideal of a restructured 'organic' Europe is seen as especially prominent among the 'successor generation' in Western as well as in Eastern Europe. The process of systemic transformation is discussed in terms of three models: strictly 'bipolar' Europe in the 1950s, the considerably altered situation in the early 1980s, and a 'prescriptive' all-European model for the end of the 20th century, as a viable 'structure of peace'. Key concepts in these models are 'balance' and 'symmetry'.
Pest control by natural enemies (natural pest control) is an important regulating ecosystem service with significant implications for the sustainability of agro-ecosystems. The presence of semi-natural habitats and landscape heterogeneity are key determinants of the delivery of this service. However, to date, synthetic and consistent indicators at large scales are lacking. We developed a pan-European, spatially-explicit model to map and assess the landscape potential to sustain natural pest control. The model considers landscape composition in terms of semi-natural habitats types, abundance, spatial configuration and distance from the focal field. It combines recent high-resolution geospatial layers with empirical results from extensive field surveys measuring the specific contribution of different semi-natural habitats to support insects flying enemies providing natural pest control. The resulting maps facilitate a comparison of the relative biological control potential of different areas and show that currently a large proportion of high-productive agricultural areas in Europe has low potential. The obtained indicator can inform the formulation of policies and planning strategies aimed at increasing biodiversity and ecosystem services and can be used to assess trade-offs between different services. Potential fields of application include the Common Agricultural Policy and the EU Biodiversity Strategy, in particular the implementation of Green Infrastructure.
Pest control by natural enemies (natural pest control) is an important regulating ecosystem service with significant implications for the sustainability of agro-ecosystems. The presence of semi-natural habitats and landscape heterogeneity are key determinants of the delivery of this service. However, to date, synthetic and consistent indicators at large scales are lacking. We developed a pan-European, spatially-explicit model to map and assess the landscape potential to sustain natural pest control. The model considers landscape composition in terms of semi-natural habitats types, abundance, spatial configuration and distance from the focal field. It combines recent high-resolution geospatial layers with empirical results from extensive field surveys measuring the specific contribution of different semi-natural habitats to support insects flying enemies providing natural pest control. The resulting maps facilitate a comparison of the relative biological control potential of different areas and show that currently a large proportion of high-productive agricultural areas in Europe has low potential. The obtained indicator can inform the formulation of policies and planning strategies aimed at increasing biodiversity and ecosystem services and can be used to assess trade-offs between different services. Potential fields of application include the Common Agricultural Policy and the EU Biodiversity Strategy, in particular the implementation of Green Infrastructure.
Establishing the European border police model, adopting the European principles for the control and protection of the state border, harmonizing the regulations with those that exist in the EU become an imperative for all those who want to join the EU. At the same time this is preferable if we take into account that the cooperation among different national police organization would be easier and more effective if it is based on the same or very similar structural, operational and training/education criteria. But if the system of common attitudes and beliefs already exists (represented in the European police culture), this process will go much easier and faster. In addition, the existence of the common cultural bases is necessary as far the legislation is concerned since the cultural differences can lead to different ways the law is enforced. In order to reach the European police culture, the border police officers from various countries should be given an opportunity to exchange their knowledge and experience, to learn one from another and one with another. One of the ways to achieve that is the joint training. The institutionalized joint training is a good starting point as far as the different training systems' harmonization is concerned, but the essential requirements are to create a common curriculum and establish common training standards. Namely, the harmonization of different training systems means that we need to determine common core of tasks, skills and issues that need to be addressed by basic and specialized border police training. Only this can make police training programs compatible. In order to achieve this, we should answer the following question: What kind of knowledge and skills (competencies) should a graduate acquire from the training program? Our ultimate goal should be that every border police officer, trained at any national training centre in Europe, is able to perform his duties efficiently anywhere along the European borders. In other words, if we talk about police training, we should seek to establish common training standards. Training standards should be defined using benchmarks of best practices elsewhere. Furthermore, the defining of common training standards is closely connected to the development of the core curriculum for all border police officers in Europe. The establishing of common training standards and the development of a core curriculum are a necessary prerequisite for the international border police cooperation. Without such a common denominator, it would be hard to remove obstacles disturbing the successful police cooperation process. The fact is that at this moment we are still far from the so-called European border police training model, although the necessity for that is explicitly stated in many documents and international initiatives. What is missing is more knowledge, ideas and sources of integration. Therefore, the necessity for the European border police academy is explicitly stressed in this paper the institution which will unite all efforts regarding the harmonization of the European models for the border police training, the organization which will induce a great number of the European countries to join the common project - creating the border police training system for the 21st century. ; Uspostavljanje evropskog modela granične policije, usvajanje evropskih principa kontrole i zaštite državne granice i harmonizacija propisa s onima koji postoje u Evropskoj uniji postaju imperativ za sve one koji teže priključenju Evropskoj uniji. To je i poželjno ako se ima u vidu da će saradnja iz- među policijskih organizacija različitih država biti mnogo lakša i efektivnija ako su one zasnovane na istim ili sličnim organizacionim strukturama, procedurama postupanja i standardima policijske obuke i obrazovanja. Polazeći od toga, predmet ovog rada jeste približavanje (harmonizacija) različitih modela obuke pripadnika graničnih policija. U radu se polazi od toga da izgrađen sistem zajedničkih kulturoloških osnova oličen u evropskoj policijskoj kulturi čini proces harmonizacije (približavanja) različitih modela obuke pripadnika graničnih policija lakšim i bržim. U vezi s tim, u radu se ukazuje na značaj zajedničke obuke za izgradnju evropske policijske kulture i sprovođenje procesa harmonizacije. Kako približavanje (harmonizacija) različitih sistema obuke podrazumeva da treba da odredimo koji su suštinski zadaci, znanja i veštine koji treba da budu uzeti u obzir prilikom koncipiranja osnovne i specijalističke obuke pripadnika granične policije, u radu se ukazuje i na značaj uspostavljanja zajedničkih standarda obuke i izrade zajedničkog kurikuluma. Činjenica je da smo u ovom trenutku još daleko od tzv. evropskog modela obuke granične policije, iako je takva neophodnost izričito navedena u mnogobrojnim dokumentima i međunarodnim inicijativama. Ono što nam nedostaje jeste veći stepen inte- gracije resursa, znanja i ideja. Zbog toga se u ovom radu ističe neophodnost stvaranja Evropske akademije za obuku pripadnika graničnih policija, ustanove koja će objediniti sve napore ka harmonizaciji (približavanju) evropskih modela obuke pripadnika granične policije, i koja će animirati veliki broj ev- ropskih država da uzmu učešće u zajedničkom projektu - stvaranju sistema obuke granične policije za 21. vek.
Using the Central and Eastern European model of capitalism, this paper compares the market economies of the Western Balkan countries to the postsocialist European Union member states. It analyzes the main institutional areas of a socio-economic system such as product markets, innovation system, financial system, labor market and industrial relations, social protection and the educational system. The comparison of institutional systems does not provide an unambiguous answer to the question of whether the Western Balkan market economies fit into the model. There are many similarities between the institutional arrangements of the two regions, and the differences seem to be a consequence of delayed reforms rather than of an alternative model. However, the question of whether the current differences will be institutionalized or whether they will create a new normality—a new, distinct model of capitalism—remains open.
The successful completion of political, institutional and social transformation, which accompanies the new democracies of East Central Europe, urgently requires the establishment and consolidation of new forms of social security, called to ensure the sustainability and durability of reforms. By explaining the path of extrication from state socialism, this study aims to: a) compare different social policy theories and to elaborate new ones; b) identify the patterns of the welfare state's transformation in Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia, at the national and EU level; c) investigate the attitudes towards social inequality in the European region; and d) explore the impact of social transfers in seven Central and Eastern European countries (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic and Slovenia). This research also aims to highlight the factors responsible for institutional change and democratic consolidation and to identify the prospects for the successful implementation of future welfare state reforms. This investigation identifies the emergence of a peculiar Eastern European model of solidarity coming from the fusion of pre-communist (Bismarck social insurance), communist (universalism, corporatism and egalitarianism) and post-communist features (market-based schemes), and maintained together by a strong support for redistributive policies. Finally, this book examines the challenges that modern welfare states are facing, such as the acceptance of a new welfare consensus, globalization and the Europeanization of national social policies. It concludes by reflecting on how Eastern welfare states will fit in the future EU welfare regime.
The introduction of a new model of territorial development based on a bottom-up approach appears to be an entirely new process in the formerly communist countries of Central Europe. However, the ongoing process of Europeanisation in these countries is acting as a catalyst for the transmission of this model of endogenous development, a model whose principles are to highlight the specific advantages of each territory and to foster the initiatives taken by decentralised actors. 'Territorial governance' is a notion that sums up these new patterns of public policies that are in keeping with a multi-level environment. At the crossroads of European and national policies with bottom-up initiatives, taken by local stakeholders (local representatives, project managers, etc.), new patterns in territorial resetting are also appearing as part of the change in territorial governance. How does such a transfer of model take place and what effects does it imply? This paper is aimed at analysing the reception of this European model of local development by local actors and their ability for social learning.
