Golden Passports in the EU: Is the End Near?

Immigration has been a much-debated topic across the European Union (“EU”) member states and institutions for a large part of the 2010’s. Debates surrounding immigration to the EU have not subsided entering the new decade, not withstanding the current COVID-19pandemic. In her recent State of the Union speech, Ursula von der Leyen, the newly-appointed EU Commissioner, addressed a controversial, albeit overlooked, facet of the immigration regime of several EU member-states: the issue of so-called “golden passports.” Countries such as Malta, Cyprus, and Bulgaria all run investment-for-passport regimes that have raised concerns, and in some cases, have led to high-profile criminal investigations. Commissioner von der Leyen briefly, yet strongly, condemned the practice by implying that it goes against European values, primarily the rule of law. This post was originally published on the Cardozo International & Comparative Law Review website on October 19, 2020. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above

Traditional house names as part of cultural heritage

Traditional house names are a part of intangible cultural heritage. In the past, they were an important factor in identifying houses, people, and other structures, but modern social processes are decreasing their use. House names preserve the local dialect with its special features, and their motivational interpretation reflects the historical, geographical, biological, and social conditions in the countryside. This article comprehensively examines house names and presents the methods and results of collecting house names as part of various projects in Upper Carniola

Efficiency of a new internal combustion engine concept with variable piston motion

This paper presents simulation of working process in a new IC engine concept. The main feature of this new IC engine concept is the realization of variable movement of the piston. With this unconventional piston movement it is easy to provide variable compression ratio, variable displacement and combustion during constant volume. These advantages over standard piston mechanism are achieved through synthesis of the two pairs of non-circular gears. Presented mechanism is designed to obtain a specific motion law which provides better fuel consumption of IC engines. For this paper Ricardo/WAVE software was used, which provides a fully integrated treatment of time-dependent fluid dynamics and thermodynamics by means of onedimensional formulation. The results obtained herein include the efficiency characteristic of this new heat engine concept. The results show that combustion during constant volume, variable compression ratio and variable displacement have significant impact on improvement of fuel consumption

Projekti zbiranja hišnih in ledinskih imen na Gorenjskem

Several projects collecting oeconyms and microtyponyms have been carried out in Upper Carniola in recent years. The Northwest Upper Carniolan Development Agency plays a vital role in this research. The main purpose of these projects is to preserve disappearing intangible cultural heritage and create an extensive collection of dialectology material. This article presents collection methods and the results to date, the attitude of the local people, and a sample database of the material collected.V zadnjih letih je na Gorenjskem potekalo in še poteka več projektov zbiranja hišnih in ledinskih imen. V njih ima najpomembnejšo vlogo Razvojna agencija Zgornje Gorenjske. Glavni namen zbiranja je ohranitev nesnovne kulturne dediščine, ki izginja, a se hkrati ob zbiranjih ustvarja tudi bogata zbirka dialektološkega gradiva. Prispevek prikazuje načine zbiranja in dozdajšnje rezultate, odnos domačinov in primer podatkovne zbirke zbranega gradiva

Sodobne evropske migracije in Slovenija

The migration pressures from Eastern Europe and the Western limiting measures. The role of Central European countries as checks on the migration waves from the East. The situation of Slovenia in relation to the migration pressures from the East and the refugee currents from the Balkans; Slovenia's limited emigration possibilities and the principles of Slovene immigration policy. Some basic points for future migration research.Migracijski pritiski z Vzhoda Evrope in zahodni omejitveni ukrepi. Vloga  srednjeevropskih držav kot zadrževalcev migracijskih valov z Vzhoda. Položaj  Slovenije v zvezi z migracijskimi pritiski z vzhoda in begunskimi tokovi z  Balkana; njene omejene emigracijske možnosti in načela slovenske imigracijske politike. Nekatera izhodišča za prihodnje migracijske raziskave