Role of Swiss-Polish Cooperation Programme in development of partnerships between local and regional authorities

Środki finansowe Szwajcarsko-Polskiego Programu Współpracy służyły nawiązaniu i wzmocnieniu kontaktów pomiędzy szwajcarskimi i polskimi władzami lokalnymi i regionalnymi. W priorytecie II w Funduszu Partnerskim wsparto wybrane działania, których celem był transfer wiedzy i dobrych praktyk z samorządów szwajcarskich do polskich w zakresie: ochrony środowiska, oszczędności energii, turystyki, współpracy transgranicznej, opieki społecznej i działań w pionie kultury. Realizacja projektów pozwoliła polskim samorządowcom: poznać nowych partnerów, utworzyć sieci nowych kontaktów, zgromadzić wiedzę i doświadczenia w interesującym ich zakresie, rozstrzygać problemy lokalnych demokracji oraz transponować poznane rozwiązania do polskich warunków.The funds of the Swiss-Polish Cooperation Programme were used to establish and strengthen contacts between Swiss and Polish regional and local authorities. Priority II of the Partnership Fund was aimed at supporting selected activities whose purpose was to transfer knowledge and best practices from Swiss to Polish local governments as regards: environmental protection, energy efficiency, tourism, cross-border cooperation, social and cultural activities. The implementation of the projects has enabled Polish local governments to: find new partners, create networks of new contacts, gain useful knowledge and experience, solve issues of local democracy, and transpose the new solutions to the Polish [email protected] hab. prof. nadzw. Krystyna Gomółka – Wydział Zarządzania i Ekonomii, Politechnika Gdańsk

POLISH-RUSSIAN COOPERATION OF POMORSKIE PROVINCE

        Polish-Russian Cooperation of Pomorskie Province commenced in 1999 and was based on the intergovernmental agreements. The new agreement, executed between the authorities of the Pomeranian Province and Kaliningrad Oblast in 2002, provided for cooperation in many areas. The contacts between the partners were dominated by economic cooperation. The Polish–Russian cooperation stopped with Polish accession to the Schengen zone. Cooperation resumed when in 2011 and agreement on small cross-border traffic was signed and then ratified in 2012

The Russian Federation in European Union Programmes

Since the early 1990s, the European Union has been supporting socio-economic transformations in the former Soviet Union states, including the Russian Federation. Initially, this assistance was provided in the framework of the TACIS Programme, offering long-term, non-repayable aid. In 1991–2006 Russia received EUR 2.7bn for the restructuring of the state enterprise sector, establishment of private companies, state administration reform, telecommunications, nuclear safety and security and environmental protection. Despite severe criticism directed at the implemented programme, emphasising its unclear objectives, lack of awareness of the conditions in which the projects were executed, prolonged completion periods for some projects and lack of evaluation, the European Union continued its financial assistance to Russia since 2007 as part of the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument. The funds available for the programme were earmarked to support political, economic and social reforms, and regional and local development through programmes implemented in two time perspectives: 2007–2013 and 2014–2020. Evaluation of the programmes implemented in 2007–2013 revealed numerous shortcomings in project execution. For example, projects implemented as part of the Arctic Circle-Russia Programme were criticised for weak objectives and only partial completion of some undertakings. Another programme – Karelia–Russia failed to create a joint vision of the region and develop joint investment plans.  The issues indicated as barriers to cooperation between the Russian Federation and Finland included: complicated administrative procedures in Russia and poor command of the English language on the Russian side. No evaluation report was prepared on completion of the South-East Finland–Russia Programme and Lithuania–Poland–Russia Programme. Furthermore, the objectives of the Estonia–Latvia–Russia Programme were not accomplished.  Nevertheless, the European Union decided to continue the assistance to the Russian Federation in 2014–2020 as part of the following programmes: Arctic Circle–Russia, Karelia–Russia and South-East Finland–Russia and to launch four new programmes: Estonia–Russia, Latvia–Russia, Poland–Russia and Lithuania–Russia

Students from Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova at Polish universities

Since the dissolution of the USSR, students from Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova have been able to study at Polish universities on the basis of bilateral agreements between the Polish government and the governments of the respective countries. The purpose of this article is to analyse the legal basis enabling the citizens of these three countries to obtain education in Poland, analyse the numbers of such students and the principles and procedures they followed to begin studies at Polish universities in 1993–2014. The research hypothesis is as follows: the range of scholarships offered has contributed to an increase in the number of students from Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova at Polish universities. The following research methods were used in this study: analysis of source materials, comparative analysis and statistical data analysis. Analysis of data for the relevant period demonstrated a systematic year-to-year increase in the number of citizens of these three countries arriving to study in Poland. The largest group of students arrived from Ukraine and the smallest – from Moldova. In 1997, the largest share of students of Polish descent was among the students from Belarus, and in 2013 – among the students from Ukraine. The number of government scholarships for Belarusian, Ukrainian and Moldavian students increased, particularly after the launch of the Eastern Partnership. Initially, the greatest number of scholarships were awarded to students from Ukraine, and as of the academic year 2006/2007 – to students from Belarus. Moldavian students received the fewest scholarships. Initially, students from Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova did not undertake paid-for studies. This situation changed after Poland’s inclusion in the EU structures. Starting from the academic year 2006/2007, the number of students undertaking paid-for studies increased systematically, particularly in the case of Ukrainian students. In the case of Belarus and Moldova, the number of scholarship holders and those studying free of charge was higher than the number of students paying for their education. However, the situation was different in the case of Ukrainian students. In 2000/2001, relatively few students undertook paid-for education. In the academic year 2013/2014, the situation reversed. Scholarship holders from Ukraine accounted for a small percentage of students, as did those studying free of charge. Students paying their tuition fees were a predominant group – 76.35% of the total number of university students from Ukraine. Availability of scholarships had a significant impact on the arrivals of Belarusian and Moldovian citizens, but did not contribute to an increase in the number of Ukrainian students

External Security Strategies of Belarus

Under President Lukashenko, three Belarusian national security strategies have been announced: the first in 1995, the second in 2001 and the third in 2011. The first proposal, formulated after Lukashenko’ victory in the presidential elections in 1994, outlined Belarus as a neutral state, unbound to any military block in the absence of external enemies. The direction of the foreign policy pursued by the president of Belarus was reflected in the second strategy, where security against NATO and EU member states was sought in a federal state with the Russian Federation. Under the third national security scheme Belarus was to remain in Russia’s military security system. Nevertheless, an important security factor was considered to be the modernisation of the economy with foreign capital participation and the need to diversify the supplies of fuels, thus reducing the country’s dependence on its earlier partner. The subsequently issued documents: the military doctrine of the State, whose assumptions were published on 20 July 2016, and the Concept of security of the Belarusian state borders for the period 2018–2022, prioritised further development of relations with the Russian Federation and the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation. A new element of the 2019 defence plan is the prevention of external aggression and internal disturbance that contribute to the destabilisation of the state. 

Ukraine’s Energy Security in Strategies

During the independence period, the Ukrainian government has published two energy security strategies. The first strategy was adopted in 2006 and the second one in 2016. Both documents provided a similar definition of energy security. The aims of the first strategy, covering the period 2006–2030, were the restructuring of the fuel and energy complex using new technologies, increase of energy efficiency and ensuring market prices of energy generation and sale. The second strategy was much more extensive and envisaged the implementation of changes in three stages until 2035. The changes proposed in the document are reasonable from the point of view of Ukraine’s energy security. The strategy does not take an explicit position on decarbonisation, although it provides for the modernisation of power plants and closure of unprofitable mines. Some of the goals of the Ukrainian energy sector were only roughly outlined and therefore need elaboration and clear indication of how they would be achieved. The aim of this article is to analyse the reforms and measures provided for in Ukraine’s strategies designed to ensure the country’s energy security. The research hypothesis is as follows: The reforms envisaged in the strategies can effectively contribute to ensuring the state’s energy security. To test this hypothesis, the author formulated the following research questions: 1. How did the two energy strategies define security?; 2. Which elements of energy policy were considered to be the most important in the first strategy document?; 3. What energy security components are listed in the second strategy document?; 4. Were the measures specified in the first and second strategies capable of ensuring the energy security of Ukraine? The applied research methods were the following: literature research, comparison method and content analysis

The Self-employment of Women in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan has a population of more than 10 million, of which women accounted for 50% in 2020. At the same time, 93% of Azerbaijan's citizens describe themselves as Muslims. Since the beginning of independence, Azerbaijan has been a secular state by virtue of Article 48 of the Constitution, which guarantees the freedom of worship, choice, or nonpractice of religion and the freedom of expression of one's own views on religion. This article aims to assess the changes in the self-employment of women in Azerbaijan through a deductive analysis of data and observation of changes in the structure of resources based on generally available macroeconomic data. This study focuses on the situation of women on the Azerbaijani labour market over the two decades of the 21st century. The numbers of economically active women, including those in employment and the unemployed, and economically inactive women are specified. Further, the government's legal and financial policy in respect of women's self-employment is analysed. The author determines what percentage of companies were set up by women and in which sectors and locations

Energy security of Polish consumers in 2004-2021

Theoretical background: Energy security is one of the most important components of economic security. It is influenced not only by access to energy sources and the economic situation of the state and the individual consumer. The authors adopted the definition of energy security of an individual consumer as included in the UN report. It states that the energy security of an individual consumer is guaranteed when the average consumer has access to energy at all times, in various forms, in sufficient quantity and at a reasonable price, with the simultaneous development of support mechanisms for socially and economically sensitive consumers, and after implementation of independent mechanisms for resolving disputes with the energy company, which eliminate or at least alleviate the economic advantage of the enterprises.Purpose of the article: The main aim of the paper is to present the impact of macroeconomic indicators of the Polish economy on the energy security of Polish consumers with a minimum and average monthly income. Detailed objectives include determining the possibility of purchasing by consumers with such income, diesel oil, Pb95 gasoline, LPG, electricity, heat and present changes in the energy security of individual consumers in the analyzed period (i.e. 2004–2021).Methods: The study covered Poland, country which joined the European Union in 2004. The period of the analysis described the years from 2004 to 2021. The source of the collected information was a review of the literature on the subject and statistical data. Descriptive, tabular and graphical methods, constant dynamic indicators were used for the analysis and presentation of the results.Main findings: The last two decades of the 21st century have brought Poland a number of positive socio-economic changes. The Polish economy noted that inflation remained at the level of National Bank of Poland’s expectations, increased trade, a marked decline in unemployment and rising wages, and thus a general increase in the quality of life as well as energy security of the individual consumer. The authors assumed that in the years of 2004–2021 the consumer had good access to energy, heat and other fuels. The supplies of energy resources were ensured by long-term contracts, including the Yamal contract, and the demand for heating coal was satisfied with the raw material largely mined in Poland. Heat, mainly in large clusters of people, was generated by coal-fired power plants. This raw material was also used by power plants. For heating their houses, individual consumers – mainly in the countryside – used gas or oil.Theoretical background: Energy security is one of the most important components of economic security. It is influenced not only by access to energy sources and the economic situation of the state and the individual consumer. The authors adopted the definition of energy security of an individual consumer as included in the UN report. It states that the energy security of an individual consumer is guaranteed when the average consumer has access to energy at all times, in various forms, in sufficient quantity and at a reasonable price, with the simultaneous development of support mechanisms for socially and economically sensitive consumers, and after implementation independent mechanisms for resolving disputes with the energy company, which eliminate or at least alleviate the economic advantage of the enterprises.Purpose of the article: The main aim of the paper is to present the impact of macroeconomic indicators of the Polish economy on the energy security of Polish consumers with a minimum and average monthly income. Detailed objectives include determining the possibility of purchasing by consumers with such income, diesel oil, EU 95 gasoline, LPG, electricity, heat and present changes in the energy security of individual consumers in the analyzed period (i.e. 2004-2021).Methods: The study covered Poland, country which joined the European Union in 2004. The period of the analysis described the years from 2004 to 2021. The source of the collected information was a review of the literature on the subject and statistical data. Descriptive, tabular and graphical methods, constant dynamic indicators were used for the analysis and presentation of the results.Main Findings: The last two decades of the 21st century have brought Poland with a number of positive socio-economic changes. The Polish economy noted that inflation remained at the level of National Bank of Poland’s expectations, increased trade, a marked decline in unemployment and rising wages, and thus a general increase in the quality of life as well as energy security of the individual consumer (UN Report, 2000). The authors assumed that in the years of 2004-2021 the consumer had good access to energy, heat and other fuels. The supplies of energy resources were ensured by long-term contracts, including the Yamal contract, and the demand for heating coal was satisfied with the raw material largely mined in Poland (Musiałek, 2020), (Rogus, Mazanek, Maczuga,  2019).  Heat, mainly in large clusters of people, was generated by coal-fired power plants (Urban, Dzikuć, 2013). This raw material was also used by power plants (Olkulski, 2014). For heating their houses, individual consumers mainly in the countryside used gas or oil

Временные иммигранты из Украины во время членства Польши в ЕС

The aim of the study is to determine the number of immigrants from Ukraine who came to Poland for a defiite time period in the years 2004–2017, as well as the occupations in which they engaged. The research hypothesis of the study is that the more job offers in Poland, the more Ukrainians came to Poland. It was verified by the following research questions: Which documents enable Ukrainian immigrants to come for a defiite period of time?; How many Ukrainians arrived legally in Poland in the years 2004–2017? What occupations were undertaken by the citizens of Ukraine staying in Poland for a definite period?; On what principles did they undertake employment in Poland?; What are the jobs that the Ukrainians are most likely to occupy? Analysis of the data revealed that the number of Ukrainian citizens coming to Poland for a defiite period of time in 2004–2016 was increasing. More than one third were students entering education at Polish universities. A majority of the citizens of Ukraine who came to Poland did so in search of work. A signifiant part of them had previously obtained work permits. The number of companies wishing to employ Ukrainians was increasing every year. Ukrainian citizens were usually employed as skilled workers or in elementary occupations. Those holding managerial or executive posts were in the minority. Only few Ukrainians practised the profession of a lawyer, nurse or midwife. The statistics provided by the Provincial Labour Offie in Warsaw confim the fact of Ukrainians taking up legal employment in agriculture, processing industry, construction, transport, warehousing and services. Almost half of the Ukrainians were employed under specific work contracts, far fewer under contracts for services, and only ten percent had a contract of employment. The second group of workers from Ukraine consisted of persons doing illicit work. Polish employers frequently hired Ukrainians without reporting it to the relevant institutions, because this way they did not have to cover social insurance costs, and the penalties for such practice are relatively low. A specific group of workers were students from Ukraine. More than half of them were working, chiefly as casual employees.Целью статьи являлсяподсчёт количества иммигрантов, которые прибыли в Польшуиз Украины на временное проживаниев 2004–2017 г.г., а также предоставление характеристикиих занятости. Исследовательская гипотеза статьи (чем больше было возможностей найту работув Польше, тем больше украинцев приезжало в эту страну) была проверена посредством нахождения ответов на следующие вопросы: на каких юридических основах граждане Украины могли приезжать в Польшу на временное проживание; сколько украинцев приехало в Польшу легально за период 2004–2017 г.г. на временное проживание; чем они занимались в Польшe; на каких условиях и какого типа работу выполняли чаще всегограждане Украиныв Польше; кем работали чаще всего украинские студенты в Польше? В ходе анализа материалов было определено, что количество приезжающих в Польшу на временное проживание граждан Украиныв 2004–2016 г.г. постоянно увеличивалось. Более чем 1/3 этой группы составляли студенты, начинающие обучение в польских вузах. Чаще всего граждане Украины приезжали в Польшу в поисках работы. Значительная их часть предварительно получила разрешение на работу. Количество предприятий, заинтересованных трудоустройством украинцев, с каждым годом росло. Граждане Украины чаще всего работали квалифицированными работникaмиили разнорабочими. Менее многочисленной была группаработниковна руководящих должностях и лиц, являющихся членами правления фирм. Небольшое количество украинцев работало в юридической и медицинской сфере. По статистикe Воеводского Управления Занятости в Варшаве подтверждается, что легально украинцы работали в областях: сельского хозяйства, в переробатывающей промышленности, в строительстве, в транспорте и прискладировании, а также в услугах. Почти половина украинцев работала на основании договора на конкретную работу, на многоменьше ихработало на основании договора-поручения, а только одна десятая часть – на основании трудового договора. Вторую группу работников из Украины составляли лица, работающие нелегально. Польские работодатели сравнительно часто трудоустраивали украинцев нелегально, поскольку в этом случае не платили высокой ставки обязательного социального страхования, а размер штрафа за нелегальное трудоустройство был сравнительно низкий. Специфической группой работающих лиц являлись студенты из Украины. Больше половины студентов выполняло разовую работуили подрабатывала