Search results

This chapter takes a closer look at the integration process of the Western Balkan states. At first we will look at the procedures to join the EU, followed by some general information about the countries of the Western Balkans. Building on this, the path and the current results of the individual countries towards EU membership are reviewed. At the end, a closer look at the Berlin Process shows a concrete example how the individual Western Balkan states work with the EU. This allows an outlook how the enlargement process might continue in the coming years.

In this paper, we analyse and provide an overview of the functions the state aid in Kosovo and demonstrate their compliance with EU rules in fidls of state aid Article 107(3)(b) TFEU. We deal with the level of implementation of state aid rules by Kosovo institutions, especially Kosovo’s Commission for State Aid. We provide an overview of the State of Kosovo in fulfilling its obligation on state aid issues based on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement and others documents, which is a step forward for EU integration. We do this by conducting a comparative analysis of the data collected from both primary and secondary sources to demonstrate the current situation on state aid in Kosovo and determine the most appropriate means to build a strong and efficient National State Aid Commission. Findings from the study show that Kosovo Aid Commission is still in a development phase, and more needs to be done to create an adequate state aid regime. We propose measures to ensure the effective implementation of the state aid law.

The purpose of this research is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the EU's public diplomacy – towards both domestic and external audiences – during times of crisis. The EU's public diplomacy is examined across six major crises: the Eurozone crisis (2008), the Ukrainian crisis (2014), the migrant crisis (2015), the Brexit referendum (2016), the new transatlantic relationship (2017) and the COVID-19 pandemic (2020). The goal of examining these crises in conjunction is to derive policy-relevant insights.

This article adopts a problem-driven approach – the problem being how successful is the EU at public diplomacy during times of crisis – that draws theoretical and empirical insights from Communication Studies, International Relations and EU studies via a “strategic narratives” framework. It situates the EU as a unique public diplomacy actor, one which is becoming more prominent due to the mediatisation of diplomacy, especially driven by the advent of cyberspace.

The article finds that the EU has been experiencing a cycle of crises that have affected the political, economic, symbolic and social foundations of the common project. The EU has had some notable success – such as restoring confidence at the height of the Eurozone crisis – and some notable challenges – such as effectively combatting disinformation. Regardless, the EU has the potential to better manage these and future crises by engaging in an effective public diplomacy strategy that tells a shared European story that informs and inspires people, both domestically and externally.

The article offers an original examination of the EU's public diplomacy response to six different crises. It looks at different types of crises and utilises concepts from different social science perspectives. It offers novel strategic and policy recommendations.

This introduction from Andrea Óhidy and Katalin R. Forray provides a brief overview of the social and educational situation of Roma in the Western Balkan region and the structure of this book. Like in the books Lifelong Learning and the Roma Minority in Central and Eastern Europe (2019) and Lifelong Learning and the Roma Minority in Western and Southern Europe (2020), Roma are here described as a ‘hidden minority’ (Cavioni, 2020, p. 68), because despite the great number and the century-long history of Roma people on the European continent, there is still only limited information and knowledge about them, both in public awareness and scientific research. Although most members of the Roma minority have been living for centuries in their European home countries, their situation is still different from the non-Roma populations: They often suffer from socio-economic disadvantages and hate-motivated harassment and discrimination (EU-FRA, 2020a). This is not only the case in the member-states of the European Union but also in the Western Balkan region. All across Europe, there are Roma groups, which are considered to be the most disadvantaged minority, regarding their health, employment and housing and also in education. To increase their situation, European Union member states have developed common strategies, which play a part in negotiations for an EU-membership status. The so-called Western Balkan states – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia – might join the European Union in the coming years. The social inclusion of the Roma minority and the protection of their minority rights in these countries were formulated as a precondition for their application for EU membership. Therefore, several goals, policies and measures were implemented there to break the ‘vicious circle of poverty and discrimination’ (EU-FRA, 2020b). Participation in education and lifelong learning have become central elements of these political measures for Roma Inclusion. This book examines the education situation of Roma across the so-called Western Balkan region.

Supreme audit institutions (SAIs) examine and supervise the activity of public institutions. The study aims at contributing to the existing literature on public sector audit by providing a classification of 29 European SAIs – 28 national SAIs and the European Court of Auditors (ECA) – based on a broad range of attributes varying from the SAIs' environment to its structure, activity, resources or transparency.

The authors apply quantitative methodology for clustering by means of multidimensional scaling and regressive ordinary least square (OLS) and logistic models.

The authors' results show that SAIs from veteran EU member states (MSs) are more similar amongst them and the same applies to SAIs from Nordic countries, Baltic countries, Western Mediterranean countries and Eastern countries. The authors also perform additional analysis focussing on currently relevant issues such as gender equality, age, environment or the sustainable development goals (SDGs), concluding that the younger the institutions' staff, the more transparent the institutions are. The authors also find that more transparent SAIs report on environmental audits, more prone to cover the SDGs in their audits.

The research is limited in purpose and scope because data cover only Europe. Given the limited number of observations (29), it does not have prospective purposes but only explanatory ones. The authors' findings are interesting for researchers because they offer original insights on public audit in Europe and cover matters of current interest such as environment, transparency or gender equality.

The research is also of interest for public auditors because it offers them information that may help them improve their activity and find institutional synergies, as the dataset is available to public auditors.

From a social view point, the paper shows that public auditors perform work on topics of interest for the citizens.

The dataset compiled for the research offers extensive data and a wide variety of attributes defining European SAIs and may offer future opportunities for research from different perspectives.

All supply chains must address waste management since it is a crucial step toward a sustainable world. This article aims to analyze the potential of blockchain technology in waste management by focusing on the textile sector, which is one of the polluting industries. The study's main objective is to realize businesses' waste management practices and sustainability initiatives and then to comprehend how practitioners perceive the implementation of blockchain technology to waste management.

The waste management procedures and actors' perceptions of blockchain technology are examined using a qualitative study approach that adopts an in-depth interview methodology. The collected data is analyzed by a qualitative analysis software (e.g. MAXQDA).

Findings of the study show that blockchain technology is still in its infancy and needs to be communicated to the actors of the sector. The technology has low potential due to the barriers it faces during the development phase. However, it is considered to be an important technological development for the textile sector stakeholders.

This study is important to notice at what stage the waste management practices and how to develop better with modern technologies like blockchain. Blockchain technology has essential potential for supply chains, but sustainability concerns are becoming a major issue to be solved. Waste management is therefore an important subject to be analyzed and provided with innovative solutions that will contribute to sustainability efforts. To the author's best knowledge, this is the first attempt to comprehend the potential of blockchain in the textile industry in terms of waste management.

The built environment is taking enormous leaps towards its digitalization. Computer-aided tools such as building information modeling (BIM) are found in the forefront of this evolution, playing a critical role in creating the foundations for the upcoming development of smart low-carbon cities. However, the potential of BIM is still untapped – links will need to be created among the available and forthcoming methodologies under one integral operational system. The purpose of this paper is to present an integrated BIM-based life cycle-oriented framework for achieving sustainable constructions at the pre-construction phase. The developed framework represents an example of the approaches that the construction industry will need to adopt to integrate the different tools under an integrated smart city context.

The methodological approach follows the development of four same-volume different-configuration three-dimensional BIM designs, which are coupled with life cycle assessment (LCA) tools for establishing sustainable building design.

The results of this paper indicated that the choice of building design and shape can play a significant role in reducing the embodied energy and embodied carbon of buildings, achieving a reduction of up to 15% compared to a reference building of same volume and gross floor area.

The originality of this paper is found in its approach application by coupling three-dimensional BIM models with LCA data, the use of reinforcement detailing in an nD BIM study and the employment of country-specific LCA databases.

In the context of debates on the role of social partners in shaping anti-crisis policies, the article explores the developments of social dialogue in Poland following the outbreak of the pandemic. The central research question is whether the crisis has helped to revitalise social dialogue or has it further revealed its weaknesses that were apparent before it.

The paper is based on the combination of literature review and the analysis of primary data derived from 22 expert interviews with the representatives of trade unions, employers and ministries collected in 2020–2021 in four essential industries (education, health care, social care and logistics).

The analysis suggests that the pandemic led to reinforcement of “illusory corporatism” in Poland, deepened mistrust among social partners and triggered a shift to informal channels of influencing policymaking. The weakness of the social partners and the strong position of the right-wing populist government meant that fears of recession and a health crisis were insufficient to develop “crisis” corporatism. While business interests were represented better than labour in policymaking, limited labour-friendly outcomes have been achieved as a result of workers’ mobilisation and unilateral decisions of the government rather than tripartite social dialogue.

Based on original empirical research, the article contributes to the discussion on the impact of the crisis on social dialogue under patchwork capitalism. It points to the role of strong governments and informality in circumventing tripartite structures and the importance of essential workers’ mobilisation in response to the lack of social dialogue.