Baltic Journal of European Studies最新文献

{"title":"Patient’s Cross-border Mobility Directive: Application, Performance and Perceptions Two Years after Transposition","authors":"R. Riedel","doi":"10.1515/bjes-2016-0012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/bjes-2016-0012","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This paper seeks to analyse the directive on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare. Two years after the transposition, it is time for first evaluations of its application, performance and perception. The analysis consists of three major elements: reconstruction of the legal scope and subject matter of the new legislation, conclusions of the evaluative reports monitoring its implementation and performance as well as the public opinion polls revealing the EU citizens’ perception of its details. These three components combined together deliver a picture of the state of play about the pan-European cross-border patients’ mobility. The bottomline conclusions negatively verify the supposition present in some earlier literature on patients’ cross-border mobility that the directive has a transformative potential leading towards the creation of truly competitive pan-European medical market. After two years of its operation, there is still no increased patients’ mobility across EU internal borders observed. As regards the speculations for the future, there are only some weak symptoms identified and they may result in intensified cross-border mobility for healthcare.","PeriodicalId":42700,"journal":{"name":"Baltic Journal of European Studies","volume":"19 1","pages":"58 - 75"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/bjes-2016-0012","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67273211","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Concepts of Trademark Exhaustion and Parallel Imports: A Comparative Analysis between the EU and the USA","authors":"S. Dobrin, Archil Chochia","doi":"10.1515/bjes-2016-0011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/bjes-2016-0011","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The article intends to analyze the closely correlated concepts of trademark exhaustion and parallel imports. The growing importance of these concepts in the current world, especially in the European Union, makes it an interesting research topic, even though the concepts are complicated due to their nature and different actors involved. The authors use comparative approach, concentrating on two world leaders in the field, in order to discover what is the approach of the EU as well as the approach of the USA to the concepts of trademark exhaustion and parallel imports, what are the benefits and weaknesses of these approaches, and analyze why these markets have arrived at certain conclusions.","PeriodicalId":42700,"journal":{"name":"Baltic Journal of European Studies","volume":"6 1","pages":"28 - 57"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/bjes-2016-0011","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67272963","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Alternative Methods of Collective Disputes Resolution in the Czech Republic","authors":"Klára Hamuľáková, Jana Křiváčková","doi":"10.1515/bjes-2016-0014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/bjes-2016-0014","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract On 11 June 2013, the Commission issued the Recommendation on common principles for injunctive and compensatory collective redress mechanisms in the Member States concerning the violations of rights granted under Union law. The main areas where private enforcement of rights granted under Union law in the form of collective redress is of value are consumer protection, competition, environment protection, protection of personal data, financial services legislation and protection of investments. Point 13 of the Recommendation concurrently emphasises that the principles it puts forward relate both to judicial and out-of-court collective redress. The Member States should ensure that judicial collective redress mechanisms are accompanied by appropriate means of collective alternative dispute resolution available to the parties before and throughout the litigation. Point 25 et seq. of the Recommendation then contains special regulations concerning collective alternative dispute resolution and settlements. The purpose of this article is to evaluate if the current legislation on alternative dispute resolution in the Czech Republic meets the principles encompassed in the Recommendation or if radical legal changes need to be adopted.","PeriodicalId":42700,"journal":{"name":"Baltic Journal of European Studies","volume":"6 1","pages":"116 - 96"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67272985","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Political Economics of the New Silk Road","authors":"Balázs Sárvári, Anna Szeidovitz","doi":"10.1515/bjes-2016-0001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/bjes-2016-0001","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract What has now been coined the term XXI Century Silk Road had evolved from a speech given by Chinese premier Xi Jinping in Kazakhstan in 2013. It was initially a plan aimed at promoting the bilateral relations of China and its neighbors; however, the initiative had since then traversed the region’s borders and become a global project. This paper examines the Silk Road Economic Belt initiative in light of Chinese-EU relations. It reviews the initiation of the Silk Road Project and focuses on its political economic analysis through investigating the potential routes the Belt can take, the EU-Chinese trade and investment standings as well as the global political context that the increased cooperation and connection is likely to influence. The paper uses the Modern Silk Road concept as an example of China’s foreign policy in the wake of globalization and the emergence of a new multipolar world order. To set the stage we will begin with a political-economic approach of the New Silk Road. Highlighting the possibilities of Chinese high culture, which accommodate global governance, we state that the Modern Silk Road project is one of its materialized forms. The concept of the New Silk Road (together with the Eurasian Union) denies the previous era of corruption and personality cult and indicates a milestone in the development of China, proving that it is already a globally responsible power (Värk, 2015). Even if transport by land is significantly more expensive than transportation by sea, the New Silk Road may have significant advantages: It may take only two weeks, saving potentially a week in shipping time, and diversify China’s dependence on sea transport that could reduce the importance of its regional diplomatic conflicts. Already these aspects show that the purpose of the Modern Silk Road is basically not to explore cost-efficiency but to contribute to the establishment of a new, multipolar world order. The fact that the Modern Silk Road is a supply-driven concept in spite of the historical one underlines this argument. Even if politics dominate, henceforward directing the economic activities, we will nonetheless examine the China-Eastern European relations through the lenses of trade and investment as well. After the initial analysis and description of the Silk Road Economic Belt as a tool of Chinese foreign policy, the paper goes on to examine the potential routes the railway takes from China to Europe. It reviews the trade and investment ties that the two entities share and assesses how this initiative contributes to the rise of Europe and China beside the USA. Lastly, it outlines how various regional and global powers are affected by the renewal of the Silk Road.","PeriodicalId":42700,"journal":{"name":"Baltic Journal of European Studies","volume":"6 1","pages":"27 - 3"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/bjes-2016-0001","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67272213","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Internal Security Package and Its Potential Impact on the EU–Turkey Relations within the Scope of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms","authors":"V. A. Oğuşgi̇l","doi":"10.1515/bjes-2016-0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/bjes-2016-0004","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Being one of the core values of the European Union, human rights have been centrally located in the European Union-Turkey relations especially since the country gained the candidate status in 1999. In human rights practices, the actor who comes to the forefront most on behalf of the state against the citizens whose rights must be protected is the police force. Therefore, the security practices enforced by the police form a huge part of human rights practices in the state and thus play a decisive role in Turkey’s relations with the Union. This article presents an evaluation of the so-called ‘internal security package’, which has just passed into law, and its potential impact on European Union-Turkey relations. The package includes specific amendments regarding the police duties and authorities, which unarguably affect human rights practices in the country. As the Union lacks a uniform norm relating to the security practices the package in question contains, the answer to the question will be sought by screening two sources: EU progress reports on Turkey and relevant ECtHR decisions, which provide definite judgements regarding the threats and risks posed by the package under discussion.","PeriodicalId":42700,"journal":{"name":"Baltic Journal of European Studies","volume":"6 1","pages":"69 - 94"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/bjes-2016-0004","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67272369","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Moldovan Media Talk in the Aftermath of the 2015 Riga Eastern Partnership Summit","authors":"Onoriu Colăcel","doi":"10.1515/bjes-2016-0009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/bjes-2016-0009","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The delegation of the European Union to Moldova takes upon itself the task of making the case for the Association Agenda between the country and the EU. The European foreign policy in the borderlands of the Union is carried out against the background of the war in Eastern Ukraine. A war of words is being fought in Moldovan media as well. Mostly on Romanian-speaking TV, Pirkka Tapiola, the EU ambassador, is among those who lead the way. At a time of renewed Western concern about Eastern Europe, the media presence of the EU in Moldova reveals anxieties about the future: once again, the former Soviet republic seems to be teetering on the brink of Russian control. The breakaway region of Trans-Dniester and the prospect of default are the two main concerns that the EU mission has to address while speaking the language of European politics in a country battered by corruption, high inflation, and unemployment. The discourse of Pirkka Tapiola, Head of the EU delegation, is an exercise in spokesmanship, which seems to underplay the seriousness of the situation. According to opinion polls conducted recently, the avowedly pro-Russian parties would win the next election. In hindsight, it is possible to surmise that the pro-EU parties pulled off a political coup by deferring the costs incurred during the mandates of the previous government coalitions. Parties whose constituencies are declining stayed in power, while better alternatives have developed: the new names that can be found on the right wing of the Moldovan political spectrum show that their electorate is ready to embrace the goal of European accession once again.","PeriodicalId":42700,"journal":{"name":"Baltic Journal of European Studies","volume":"6 1","pages":"192 - 206"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/bjes-2016-0009","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67272686","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mitigating the Risk of Fraud in Documentary Letters of Credit","authors":"H. Alavi","doi":"10.1515/bjes-2016-0006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/bjes-2016-0006","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Despite the fact that documentary letters of credit (LC) are meant to facilitate the process of international trade, their specific characteristics may increase the risk of fraud while being used as the method of payment in the process of international transaction. Many factors like exclusive use of documents, geographical distance, absence of efficient prosecution, the diversity of legal system at the global level and restricted application of fraud rule can be considered as reasons for LC fraud. While billions of dollars are lost annually due to fraud in the course of LC operations, such vulnerability can result in reducing the global popularity of documentary letters of credit as the main method of payment used in international trade. Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that fraud risk management is an unexplored territory in the practice of documentary letters of credit operation. Existing research tries to fill the gap in the study on comprehensive methods for mitigating fraud risk in operations with documentary letters of credit by using risk management theory in order to answer the question of how to manage fraud risk in LC transactions? In a quest to answer the research question, the paper is divided into two parts: the first part is dedicated to preventive measures while the latter explores responsive measures of an enterprise to manage fraud risk in LC transactions.","PeriodicalId":42700,"journal":{"name":"Baltic Journal of European Studies","volume":"6 1","pages":"139 - 156"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/bjes-2016-0006","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67272715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Making a Mark—Time Changing Politics from Estonia: An Alternative Idea for the British, Bulgarian and Estonian EU Presidency","authors":"Dirk-Hinnerk Fischer","doi":"10.1515/bjes-2016-0008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/bjes-2016-0008","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Estonia is famous among politicians for its e-Governance policies. One core ingredient for this progress is the abolishment of outdated technologies and standards as this kind of legacy policy slows down the innovation process. This short paper adapts the Estonian approach towards legacy policy and proposes a political symbol initiated by the EU Presidency Trio of the United Kingdom, Bulgaria and Estonia. The entire topic was inspired by the motivation of the Estonian government to use the presidency to make a mark for Estonia. The twice-yearly occurring process of introducing and disabling the summertime, is not only annoying but has also almost exclusively negative impacts. Meanwhile, the summertime itself comes with many aspects of questionable impact and even opposing empirical results, but it also has some generally agreed upon positive influences. This paper takes side against the process of changing times, but does not take position for one of the possible solutions. This short article shall only inform and show the possibilities in regard to the summer time, the EU presidency and the political symbolism of celebrating the centenary of the First World War.","PeriodicalId":42700,"journal":{"name":"Baltic Journal of European Studies","volume":"6 1","pages":"175 - 191"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67272600","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Right for Regional Integration Organisations to Protect Democracy: Legitimacy at the Regional Level?","authors":"Katrin Nyman-Metcalf, Ioannis Papageorgiou","doi":"10.1515/bjes-2016-0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/bjes-2016-0002","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Recently there have been several examples of different regional integration systems intervening to prevent unconstitutional events. The interventions can be based on explicit powers or be developed in response to events. This happens despite most regional integration systems having economic cooperation rather than explicit democratisation aims. Organs that issue laws or take constraining decisions must have a clear right to do this and a basis for exercising power-in other words, be legitimate. Where legitimacy comes from is debated, but as most countries today are democracies or purport to be, it somehow emanates from the people. National governments have a higher degree of legitimacy than regional integration organisations, possibly except the European Union. Regional integration organisations have to prove their legitimacy. The article examines if, to what extent, and on what basis regional integration systems have the right to exercise an independent role on the global stage. Legitimacy is a precondition for effective application of decisions of the organisation. Given the frequent lack of strong enforcement mechanisms, the question of legitimacy becomes even more important. With strong legitimacy, decisions taken by the regional integration organisation will be followed to a large extent even despite absence of effective enforcement mechanisms.","PeriodicalId":42700,"journal":{"name":"Baltic Journal of European Studies","volume":"6 1","pages":"28 - 47"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/bjes-2016-0002","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67271906","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Towards Tourism Sustainability: General Aspects and Empirical Evidence of the Italian Experience at Decentralized Level, with Specific Reference to Sicily","authors":"S. Cassar, S. Creaco","doi":"10.1515/bjes-2016-0005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1515/bjes-2016-0005","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Even though the concepts and observations underlying sustainability are not a novelty, sustainable development was given impetus and made popular in 1987 by the Brundtland Report. This report introduced development policies and strategies that acknowledged the importance of resource and environmental constraints and the limitations imposed on growth patterns. Although sustainable development proved difficult to define and make operative, the concept was progressively applied to those economic sectors which had major detrimental effects on income, employment and wealth. Sustainable tourism was effectively one part of the effort to take full account of the current and future economic, social and environmental impacts of the sector, addressing the needs of visitors, industry, environment and host communities. After reviewing the main questions referring to the environmental, economic and social aspects of tourism development, this paper tries to identify a balanced indicator showing the impact of tourist accommodation facilities and related infrastructure in Sicily in terms of the three fundamental pillars of sustainability. Based on this indicator, the ranking of the nine Sicilian provinces is provided. In a wider perspective, the proposed approach is applied to make a comparison of tourism sustainability in Sicily and in other Italian regions.","PeriodicalId":42700,"journal":{"name":"Baltic Journal of European Studies","volume":"6 1","pages":"138 - 95"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1515/bjes-2016-0005","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67272427","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}