Following the Eastern EU enlargement and debates on the Constitutional Treaty, the Black Sea region has received increasing political, public and scholarly attention. This study examines the prospects for and the forms of economic , sectoral/thematic and political cooperation in the area from...

The completion of the fifth enlargement of the European Union (EU) with the accession of Bulgaria and Romania transformed the union into a Black Sea actor. Irrespective of whether we choose not to question the statute of the Black Sea area as a region or attempt to grasp its complexity, it...

The January 2006 gas row between Russia and Ukraine rekindled the energy debate with a particular accent on the need for diversification. The situation characterized by a double monopoly – Russian monopoly on gas supply and Ukrainian monopoly on transit system – was not sustainable. Europe's...

The Black Sea Region (BSR) has emerged as an important intersection of political, economic and security considerations and is now firmly into the attention and policy focus of the European Union and other international organizations. Increased movement of people, terrorist threats, economic...

European marine regions include the north-east Atlantic and Arctic oceans, and the Mediterranean, Black and Baltic seas. Human activities — such as fishing, aquaculture and agriculture — and climate change cause large and severe impacts on Europe's coastal and marine ecosystems. The EU...

This Country Focus discusses the relation between public investment and economic growth in Poland. Theoretical and empirical work has shown that improvements in the quantity and quality of public infrastructure have a positive impact on growth in the medium and, possibly, in the long run. The...

Following several years of low growth Germany is presently enjoying a relatively strong recovery. With unemployment falling at record speed and fiscal consolidation progressing, the upswing is set to continue in spite of uncertainties surrounding the VAT increase of January 2007. This Country...

The Czech financial sector has changed dramatically since transition. In fifteen years, it has developed from a state-owned mono-bank into a privatised bank-based financial system with developing capital and private equity markets. This country focus analyses the development of the financial...

The Environment for Europe process is a political framework for a wide range of initiatives that aim to improve environmental performance across the wider European region. This brochure describes the European Commissionu0092s contributions to the process and environmental co-operation in the...

The study presents an overview of the economic and social developments in the region in recent years. It focuses on a comparative perspective, using Greece as a benchmark for the region. Section II focuses on the basic economic and social facts and trends. Section III examines the quality of...