Perhaps one of the most important challenges that the EU is currently facing is that of building public support for the Union project as the economic crisis develops, confidence in the EU future is weakened and member states turn to their own boundaries. Therefore, this research aims at identifying the public opinion on the economic future of the European Union in the particular context of the euro crisis, given the fact that utilitarian considerations represent a key driver for the Europeanization process. At the same time, we compare expert opinions about the impact of the crisis on the future of the European Union, as well as the perceptions of ordinary people. To accomplish the research goals, we conducted expert interviews with 11 of the most prominent economic experts in Romania and a national survey (N=1002). The study supports the perspective that citizens’ opinions about the economic evolution of the European Union are largely based on their sociotropic and egocentric economic assessments. The crisis influences the perspectives on the EU, but only by tempering optimism, turning it into a moderate view. This result can be extended to other Central-Eastern states as well, due to their resembling paths. Also, experts indicate various scenarios when referring to the impact of the crisis on the EU’s future, but beyond the variations, the prospects are neither optimistic, nor pessimistic, but rather moderate.

Keywords: European Union, economic crisis, euro, the EU’s future, Central and Eastern Europe, Europeanization

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The paper analyzes the international context in which negotiations between the European Union and United States on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership have been launched in July 2013. This context includes both the repeated failures of the Doha Round negotiations as well as the previous attempts and achievements of the European Union and United States to create a transatlantic partnership. The author considers that the current circumstances are more favourable for the successful finalization of the transatlantic partnership but, at the same time, stresses the sensitive issues that may delay or divert the negotiations. The paper concludes that there are many possible immediate positive consequences on economic growth and creation of jobs of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership as well as a high potential to expand its implementation in North America through NAFTA and in some other countries that have free trade agreements with either the European Union or the United States.

Keywords: Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, free trade area, European Union, United States, TAFTA, NAFTA, economic integration, post-Doha Round negotiations, globalization

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The present paper aims to develop a critical approach on one of the most urgent energy security challenges: the Arctic region. Until recently, it was considered to be a frozen desert, upon which no one raised any legal demands or interests. The global warming, the technological development and the increased need for energy resources had transformed the frozen High North into a very hot spot, where states like US, Canada, Norway, Denmark or Russia started an energy race that threatens to escalate. The Arctic became a strategic area given its opportunities: besides the energy resources, new commercial routes could become available for a longer period of time. But, due to legal uncertainties, the lack of coherent and direct legal procedures of international law, the Arctic game is an open one, in which any state can intervene and ask for a solution that is suitable for its interests. This aspect complicates even further the already unstable region. Some of the actors see the region as an international area, as a common good, where everyone has the right to explore or exploit, while the rim states see the Arctic in sovereign rights terms. Therefore, the game tends to complicate as non-rim players (the EU, China, Japan, NATO and South Korea) want to intervene in the region and try to influence its development.

Keywords: Arctic, game theory, non-rim states, zero sum game, win-win game

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This paper analyzes possible incidence of pending Croatian EU accession that is to take place on the 1^st of July 2013, on the labour migration from Croatia to the European Union. We apply panel data estimators using the data on emigration from 18 EU countries into Germany (which is the EU country with the largest share of ex-Yugoslav and Croatian migrants) in order to construct possible scenarios of Croatian migration to the EU.
Three scenarios of migration - pessimistic, realistic and optimistic - are drawn and the sensitivity of estimated coefficients on migration from Croatia into Germany during next 25 years is further discussed in detail. We conclude that, similarly to hypothetical Turkish accession, Croatian EU accession is not going to cause massive migration inflows.

Keywords: international migration, EU enlargement, Croatia, panel data, seemingly unrelated regressions

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The following paper will focus on the issue of the Hungarian minority protection in Slovenia. The first section introduces the Hungarian national minority, its main features and historical evolution. The second one gives a historical view on the practice of minority protection towards Slovene Hungarians, from Communist Yugoslavia to the ‘Europeanization’ process in the country. Further on, the level of minority protection will be analysed both at theoretical and empirical level: firstly, through the theoretical analysis of the legal status of the Hungarian minority, taking into account five main headings (education, use of language, political participation, cultural life, information and the media); secondly, through the results of a field research carried out among minority members, in order to find out the nature and extent of possible discrepancy between theory and practice. The main research hypothesis is that Slovenia has established a successful model of minority protection in what regards the Hungarians. This statement is to great extent confirmed by the analysis of minority policies and legal provisions and, with some specifications, by the analysis of opinions and feelings of ‘qualified witnesses’ belonging to the Hungarian community.

Keywords: Hungarians, integration, minority, protection, Slovenia

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