The European Commission, as the guardian of the treaties, has a powerful tool of infringement procedure to enforce the EU Member States to comply with European commitments. In some cases, the...Show moreThe European Commission, as the guardian of the treaties, has a powerful tool of infringement procedure to enforce the EU Member States to comply with European commitments. In some cases, the infringement dies down soon after it is initiated, and in other cases, the Member States and the Commission solve their disputes in the European Court of Justice. Most commonly, procedures are related to one specific legislation type – directives – due to their binding, but flexible nature to interpret laws negotiated at the supranational level. The non-compliance stems from a variety of reasons, some connected with Member States` inability, others – with the unwillingness to implement. However, how do these reasons relate to the process of infringement procedures? This thesis brings light to the political nature of the topic to reveal the motives behind the Commission`s actions to escalate or give up infringements. While substantial financial and administrative challenges of the Member State are viewed as a temporary hiccup for implementation, the Commission does not tolerate purposeful delay to align domestic preferences and administrative coordination with European provisions. Interestingly, the thesis reveals an important role of informal negotiations between the Member States and the Commission before the start of official infringement procedures. Finally, the thesis concludes that the Commission aims to assure that every EU citizen has access to the same opportunities, and infringement procedures allow it to do exactly that.Show less
The purpose of this study is to gain insights on how the causes of the EU-Belarus border crisis are framed by Belarusian state-controlled media by answering the research question: in what ways do...Show moreThe purpose of this study is to gain insights on how the causes of the EU-Belarus border crisis are framed by Belarusian state-controlled media by answering the research question: in what ways do Belarusian state-controlled media use framing tactics in their reporting to explain the EU-Belarus border crisis? This research employs qualitative thematic analysis on 32 selected articles from two major Belarusian news outlets to explain how the frames are constructed and what framing techniques are used. This research found that four major meta-narratives can be distinguished, that are supported by several frames: the EU has caused the crisis itself; the EU, Poland and the Baltic states have something to gain, the West has caused the crisis due to involvement in the Middle East; and the US and NATO want war in the region as to weaken Russia. Four additional frames support these meta-narratives: violence; human rights; nazi’s in the military; and Belarus as a victim. This research found that the Belarusian statecontrolled media construct narratives that support meta-narratives through which the conflict can be seen and understood. Reasoning devices in combination with the framing tactics of one-sided reporting, omittance of information and disinformation are used in constructing these frames and narratives.Show less
Since the end of the Cold War industrial relations (IR) in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), on top of inherited ideological-institutional legacies from the Soviet era, have undergone significant...Show moreSince the end of the Cold War industrial relations (IR) in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), on top of inherited ideological-institutional legacies from the Soviet era, have undergone significant structural changes that are widely believed to have diminished organized labor’s power and significance. According to leading political economy and IR approaches, the pattern is the most pronounced in what are referred as neoliberal Baltic states, featuring among the weakest labor movements across CEE that are resembled in lagging behind IR regimes institutionalization, trade union density and collective bargaining coverage. However, when we turn our focus to the public sector explicitly, the manner and degree in which IR regimes have changed across CEE varies in ways that stand in tension with broad widely accepted labels, leading to mistaken ideas. To prove the inconsistency of the exaggerated regional patterns and typologization, this research will assess a strange case of relatively substantive, but varied public healthcare and education organized labor performance in the past few years in Lithuania, discussing both external and internal factors that make up the capacity of trade unions.Show less
Lithuania gained more energy independence from Russia after building the Floating Storage Regasification Unit Independence (FSRU Independence) in Klaipėda in 2014. Diversification meant that...Show moreLithuania gained more energy independence from Russia after building the Floating Storage Regasification Unit Independence (FSRU Independence) in Klaipėda in 2014. Diversification meant that Lithuania being solely reliant on Russian energy changed and therefore, possibly Russia’s foreign energy policy towards Lithuania as well. This could indicate that Russia might not have used its well-known energy weapon in Lithuania’s domestic energy politics after 2014. This study therefore has as research question: What elements of Russia’s foreign energy policy has Russia used with regard to Lithuania’s domestic energy politics since 2014? The research argues that Russia has not effectively or not at all resorted to using elements of its foreign energy policy with regard to Lithuania’s domestic energy politics after 2014. Russia rather has attempted to reduce Lithuania’s larger leverage over Russia than Russia had on Lithuania in the last few years. Clearly, the identified elements of Russia’s foreign energy policy were not applicable after Lithuania’s diversification of energy and therefore, Russia should probably resort to new foreign policy tools in the future in case if it is willing to influence Lithuania’s domestic energy politics again.Show less
When analyzing anti-trafficking, one has to consider the latency of the crime and the effect of it on a given system. Often, the numbers that are collected can never be representable of the whole...Show moreWhen analyzing anti-trafficking, one has to consider the latency of the crime and the effect of it on a given system. Often, the numbers that are collected can never be representable of the whole situation of trafficking in the EU and elsewhere. Human trafficking is a crime that is very difficult to see and police due to the nature of the lack of information associated with it. Prevention of THB is of key importance due to the fact that mostly, all different key actors in anti-trafficking policy deal with the repercussions of the crime. Similarly, further difficulty arises from the fact that human trafficking cases often involve different countries, jurisdictions and definitions of the crime.Show less
Despite the extensive literature on the democratisation in the post-Soviet region, little effort has been dedicated to the issue of historical institutional legacies. Many designs stress national...Show moreDespite the extensive literature on the democratisation in the post-Soviet region, little effort has been dedicated to the issue of historical institutional legacies. Many designs stress national-level variation in performance and therefore cannot easily explain the differences among the countries emerging from the former Soviet Union. This paper uses process-tracing in a case study of the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to test the variable of institutional legacies as a possible causal mechanism that aids the transition from authoritarian rule to consolidation of democracy. The analysis aims to contribute to the post-communist democratisation literature by extending the scope to new, unexplored cases and by stressing the importance of pre-communist historical legacy factor for modern institutional design. The analysis finds that the restoration of democratic institutions has pushed the character of the states toward consolidated democracies. Lasting effective governance, with the possible exception of citizenship laws, has in due course been achieved as the character of democratic values has survived Soviet homogenising polices. The conclusion proposes an analysis to measure significant variation between cases with regard to strength of legacy and strength of democratic consolidation in the post-Soviet region and predicts a correlation between these variables.Show less
