Power Utility Re-regulation in East European and CIS Transformation Countries (1990-1999): An Institutional Interpretation

This paper analyzes the process of power utility re-regulation in Eastern Europe and the CIS during the decade of systemic transformation (1990-1999); in particular, it explores reasons why early attempts to introduce competition-oriented reform models have not succeeded. We discuss advantages and disadvantages of various reform models from an institutional economic perspective. The approaches to and results of power sector reform in Eastern Europe are assessed; quantitative indicators are wholesale and retail prices, cost coverage ratios, investment levels, and the degree of unbundling and privatization. The paper concludes that a gradual approach to reforms may have been appropriate for the first years of systemic transformation, but that today, ten years later, there is no reason to delay market-oriented reforms any longer.Power sector, institutions, transition, Eastern Europe

Potential for Nordic-Baltic security cooperation: shared threat perception strengthens regional collaboration

All the Nordic and Baltic states are concerned about the deteriorating security situation in northern Europe. Most of all, military tensions in the Baltic region engender a collective threat perception vis-à-vis Russia. The pressure to respond is boosting a historically rooted security cooperation between the Nordic and Baltic states. A shifting of priorities is becoming apparent within the institutional cooperation, which is moving from a forum of exchange towards a shared framework of action. The countries involved are responding to traditional military threats and new security challenges with intensified and innovative cooperation. This problem-driven Nordic-Baltic security cooperation could also serve as a model for other regional formats, such as the Visegrád Group. (author's abstract

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Between military non-alignment and integration: Finland and Sweden in search of a new security strategy

Alarmed by the Ukraine crisis and Russia's military activity in the Baltic Sea region, Finland and Sweden are currently engaged in an intensive debate about their national security. Faced with a changing threat scenario, there is growing doubt in both countries about their current defence capabilities. Questions are also being asked about the security policy course pursued since the end of the Cold War, with calls for higher military spending and NATO accession being the reflex response. However, corresponding initiatives would need to be embedded in a comprehensive and coherent security and defence strategy. Various options for cooperation exist at bilateral, regional and European level and could comprise key elements of this strategy.(Autorenrefrat

Nordic Europe after the Brexit vote: the five Nordic countries are reassessing their relations with the EU

The UK's EU referendum is making waves in the Nordic countries. The vote could give a boost to Euro-critical parties across the region. However, it seems unlikely that EU members Denmark, Finland and Sweden will head for the exit in the foreseeable future or that non-members Norway and Iceland will loosen their ties with the EU to any significant extent. Nonetheless, with the UK's exit, the Nordic countries face the prospect of losing one of their key allies within the EU and will be compelled to rethink their positions in and towards the Union. There are already initial signs of adjustment - based on sometimes shared and sometimes divergent priorities. If the five countries are able to capitalise on their commonalities, Nordic cooperation in the context of an EU-27 may well gain traction. (author's abstract

The Periodic System of Metal Clusters - a Tool for Deriving Various Forms of »Cluster-Matter«

A simple modified jellium model permits calculation of all the magic numbers of large metal clusters MN up to N = 1432 in excellent agreement with experimental data. This success justifies further conclusions to be drawn from this model; (1) the calculated aufbau principle enables construction of a Periodic System of (alkali metal) Clusters (PSC); (II) this PSC, strictly speaking a Periodic System of »giant atoms«, is a powerful tool for predicting the reactivity of free electron-like metal clusters; (III) the formation of cluster dimers is discussed exemplarily in detail in excellent agreement with experimental and theoretical experience; (IV) various forms of cluster-matter are outlined in relation to new materials; (V) a great deal of work has to be done to confirm a number of unconventional predictions: new experiments and new calculations are highly desirable

Seeking renewed relevance: institutions of Nordic cooperation in the reform process

Institutionalized Nordic cooperation is currently facing doubts about its political significance. Lately, the Nordic countries Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have experienced tensions and open differences of opinion which have hampered cooperation within the joint organizations. Against this background, the intergovernmental Nordic Council of Ministers, in particular, is currently undergoing a reform process aimed at re-establishing its political relevance. Although it is increasingly being institutionalized, particularly with regard to EU issues and sensitive political topics such as migration, Nordic cooperation is only gradually being substantially strengthened. Nevertheless, this realignment has the potential to secure the cooperation’s future political relevance. Old and new bilateral and multilateral partnerships could contribute to this, especially those with Germany and the Baltic states. (Autorenreferat

Options for Transporting Russian Gas to Western Europe: A Game-theoretic Simulation Analysis

This paper examines the perspectives of Russian gas exports to Western Europe and the strategic options of the CIS gas transiting countries, namely Ukraine and Belarus.The development of a new transit corridor through Belarus (the Yamal-Europe pipeline), depriving Ukraine of its former monopoly, has modified the situation profoundly. The thrust of the paper is an analysis of the strategies that Ukraine and Belarus may pursue in transiting Russian gas: non-cooperative duopoly, cooperative duopoly, and individual or collective cooperation with Russia. Using a demand function for Western European gas imports from Russia, we estimate prices and quantities for gas transit, the expected profits for Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, and the resulting import prices for Western Europe.The results indicate that Ukraine suffers a loss of several hundred million USD annually from the market entry of Belarus, Belarus has an incentive to increase its gas transit capacity to at least 56 billion cubic meters, and Russia's profits increase, in particular when it unites its gas sector with Belarus and Ukraine, a strategy pursued by Russia's Gazprom presently.F or Western Europe, all scenarios indicate an increase in welfare through the new pipeline, but also an increasing importance of gas imports from Russia.