Industrial activity in CEE countries: Post-crisis transformation of spatial and functional structure

Given paper deals with the problem of industry structure shifts on the example of CEE countries. The continuous evolution of spatial and functional structure of industrial activity is considered on the level of territorial-production formations. The difference in the external and internal conditions of their development (e.g. before and after global crisis effects spread) is supposed to influence the driving mechanisms of industrial complexation - from modelling to self-organisation. The problem of industrial facilities placement should be also addressed with due regard for contemporary integration trends influencing the scale of cross-border cooperation. Besides that, our investigation is resulted in the determination of the possible structural changes and prospects of the territorial-production formations in CEE in the post-crisis period. These findings are based not only on data analysis but the application of mapping methodology developed in the paper

Aims and Objectives of the “One Belt, One Road” Initiative

China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ initiative puts new emphasis on the development of the system of international relations, and it is expected to contribute to the further displacement of the gravity center of the world economy and the expansion of intercontinental trade flows. Increased attention to the proposed project could be explained not only by its scale and supra-regional territorial coverage, but also with an ambiguous attitude to it in potential member countries, as well as by uncertainty of content, which allows experts to find different interpretations of its goals and objectives. Over time, it becomes increasingly clear that China is seeking to expand the scope of ‘One Belt, One Road’ (OBOR) by the realization of various projects in partner countries, deliberately giving them the initiative for the development of investment proposals. Having succeeded in creating the financial basis of this strategy and reducing the number of possible political risks, the Chinese authorities are rewarded not only with the growing interest to OBOR in the partner countries but also with the increasing competition between them for transportation routes development. This eventually will allow China to control the critical elements of an extensive network of ground transportation in Eurasia, which will be used for the intercontinental trade, especially for deliveries to remote areas of the hinterland (although the prospects to compete with sea transport remain non-obvious). We should not underestimate the other political and economic benefits of OBOR initiative that modestly silenced in official statements and documents. But at the same time while assessing the strategy we should refrain from the alarmist predictions about the formation of a new world order and hegemonic aspirations – at this stage, Chinese authorities consider OBOR as an opportunity to address the crucial problems of socioeconomic development, resource provision and the reduction of regional disparities. Neighboring countries, regardless of their regional ambitions and economic weight, have a chance to take advantage of externalities that will arise during the implementation of the new Chinese project

Request stop: Economies of Central-Eastern and South-Eastern European Countries during the Pandemic

The article considers the COVID-19 pandemic impact on the socio-economic development of the countries of Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. The authors compare the main channels for the spread of the crisis, its depth and duration for the secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy of the above-mentioned countries which characterized by different levels of involvement in world economic relations, the competitiveness of enterprises and the maturity of labor markets. As a result of the analysis of anti-crisis measures, the additional burden on public finances is assessed. It is partially compromised by external borrowing and, in the case of some countries, by receipts from the EU budgetary system and funds. In addition, the authors focus on determining the degree of intraregional differentiation by the dynamics of GDP and employment, turnover in industry and services, gross fixed capital formation, income, savings and expenditures of the population on the basis of quarterly and monthly indicators

New World Order and post-Soviet border issues: an economic potential of the Russian-Ukrainian border region

The dissolution of the USSR resulted in the formation of a new system of interrelations in the post-Soviet space. Among the most crucial problems were border issues between the republics of the former USSR, including the development of local cooperation and economic revitalization of the border areas. Since internal boundaries became external the border regions of the newly independent states transformed their functions from contact to barrier ones. Bilateral relations concerning border issues are still strained in some cases, but the major territory of border zones could be considered potentially favorable for cooperation. The present article is focused on the problems of the economic development of the frontier Russian and Ukrainian regions which were separated by the border in the early of 1990s as well as on the specificity of mutual investments and industrial organization located in the proximity of the common border. The economic potential of the border region is investigated taking into account the events of the Ukraine crisis and the recent developments in the Russian-Ukrainian relations that have radically influenced the prospective of bilateral cooperation

The Problems of Serbian Self-Determination in Foreign Policy: through the Thorns to the “Stars” of the European Union

The article deals with the features of contemporary political development of Serbia, including the main areas of cooperation with the European Union (EU). Since the early 2000s the strategic priority of the country's foreign policy is participation in the European integration process, which is accompanied by support of consistent and pragmatic relations with the other key partners, primarily with Russia. The principle of multi-vector foreign policy has been developed since the fi rst half of the 2010s, but its use is treated with the lack of uniqueness by different social strata and political movements. Mechanisms of acceleration or slowing down the integration process are used by offi cial Brussels depending on the current aims and political conjuncture (for example, to weaken Russian infl uence in the country and in the region). However, despite the success achieved on the path to the EU accession and the favorable dynamics of negotiation process, the level of support of pro-European policy has been decreasing in Serbian society since the end of the 2000s. The main challenges of the near future, in addition to the growth of euroscepticism, include problems of institutional harmonization with the EU and the compliance with the Copenhagen criteria, the enforcement of the Brussels agreement with Pristina, as well as maintaining of balanced foreign policy

Conveyor hitch:The influence of COVID-19 pandemic on industrial production in CEE and SEE countries in 2020–2021

The article deals with the COVID-19 pandemic impact on the industry of Central-Eastern and South-Eastern European countries in 2020–2021. The authors analyze the features of the active phase of the crisis, recovery growth and aftershocks in the industrial production of the given countries, and also determine the internal and external factors of strengthening the intra-regional heterogeneity of industrial systems and differentiation in the development trajectories of individual industries. The particular attention is paid to the participation of industrial enterprises of the CEE and SEE countries in the processes of global value chains transformation, triggered by the implementation of TNC strategies to increase their resilience. On the example of several industries (automotive, electronics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals manufacturing) the authors describe the differences in the nature of the “coronacrisis” impact on production activity and show the main risks for national companies due to the policy of “European industrial autonomy” (including those related to changing positions of given companies in production chains, backshoring and other forms of industrial relocation, ensuring the stability of supplies of raw materials and components)

Probing the innermost regions of AGN jets and their magnetic fields with radioastron. I. Imaging BL LACERTAE at 21 μm as resolution

We present the first polarimetric space very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) imaging observations at 22 GHz. BL Lacertae was observed in 2013 November 10 with the RadioAstron space VLBI mission, including a ground array of 15 radio telescopes. The instrumental polarization of the space radio telescope is found to be less than 9%, demonstrating the polarimetric imaging capabilities of RadioAstron at 22 GHz. Ground-space fringes were obtained up to a projected baseline distance of 7.9 Earth diameters in length, allowing us to image the jet in BL Lacertae with a maximum angular resolution of 21 μas, the highest achieved to date. We find evidence for emission upstream of the radio core, which may correspond to a recollimation shock at about 40 μas from the jet apex, in a pattern that includes other recollimation shocks at approximately 100 and 250 μas from the jet apex. Polarized emission is detected in two components within the innermost 0.5 mas from the core, as well as in some knots 3 mas downstream. Faraday rotation analysis, obtained from combining RadioAstron 22 GHz and ground-based 15 and 43 GHz images, shows a gradient in rotation measure and Faraday-corrected polarization vector as a function of position angle with respect to the core, suggesting that the jet in BL Lacertae is threaded by a helical magnetic field. The intrinsic de-boosted brightness temperature in the unresolved core exceeds K, suggesting, at the very least, departure from equipartition of energy between the magnetic field and radiating particles.This research has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness grant AYA2013-40825-P, by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (projects 13-02-12103, 14-02-31789, and 15-02-00949), and St. Petersburg University research grant 6.38.335.2015. The research at Boston University (BU) was funded in part by NASA Fermi Guest Investigator grant NNX14AQ58G. Y.M. acknowledges support from the ERC Synergy Grant >BlackHoleCam-Imaging the Event Horizon of Black Holes> (Grant 610058). Part of this work was supported by the COST Action MP1104 >Polarization as a tool to study the Solar System and beyond.> The RadioAstron project is led by the Astro Space Center of the Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Lavochkin Scientific and Production Association under a contract with the Russian Federal Space Agency, in collaboration with partner organizations in Russia and other countries.Peer Reviewe

RadioAstron Space VLBI Imaging of the jet in M87: I. Detection of high brightness temperature at 22 GHz

We present results from the first 22 GHz space very-long-baseline interferometric (VLBI) imaging observations of M87 by RadioAstron. As a part of the Nearby AGN Key Science Program, the source was observed in Feb 2014 at 22 GHz with 21 ground stations, reaching projected $(u,v)$-spacings up to $\sim11\,$G$\lambda$. The imaging experiment was complemented by snapshot RadioAstron data of M87 obtained during 2013--2016 from the AGN Survey Key Science Program. Their longest baselines extend up to $\sim25\,$G$\lambda$. For all these measurements, fringes are detected only up to $\sim$2.8 Earth Diameter or $\sim$3 G$\lambda$ baseline lengths, resulting in a new image with angular resolution of $\sim150\,\mu$as or $\sim20$ Schwarzschild radii spatial resolution. The new image not only shows edge-brightened jet and counterjet structures down to submilliarcsecond scales but also clearly resolves the VLBI core region. While the overall size of the core is comparable to those reported in the literature, the ground-space fringe detection and slightly super-resolved RadioAstron image suggest the presence of substructures in the nucleus, whose minimum brightness temperature exceeds $T_{\rm B, min}\sim10^{12}\,$K. It is challenging to explain the origin of this record-high $T_{\rm B, min}$ value for M87 by pure Doppler boosting effect with a simple conical jet geometry and known jet speed. Therefore, this can be evidence for more extreme Doppler boosting due to a blazar-like small jet viewing angle or highly efficient particle acceleration processes occurring already at the base of the outflow.Comment: 27 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Search for anomalous Wtb couplings and flavour-changing neutral currents in t-channel single top quark production in pp collisions at root s=7 and 8 TeV

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