No 7 (121) (2023)

Over the past decades, the European Union has formed several formats of integration with the third countries, which are considered as forms for external differentiation. The EU seeks to streamline relations with partners by linking access to its internal market with obligations to dynamically adapt their national legislation to EU norms and rules. These actions can be viewed through various theoretical frameworks: Europeanization, differentiation, institutionalism, external management and others. The purpose of the article was to study the peculiarities of relations between Switzerland and the EU at the present stage, due to the Alpine republic’s refusal of the draft bilateral Institutional Agreement, which assumed the deepening of the institutional structure and greater automation in the implementation of EU law into the national law of the Swiss Confederation. The country's leadership's refusal to ratify the agreement confirms that the idea of preserving national sovereignty and the principle of direct democracy for Switzerland turned out to be more important than the economic benefits of deepening integration with the EU. Thus, taking into account the experience of the United Kingdom, not each of the EU's close partners is ready to sacrifice their national powers in exchange for benefits from deeper access to the EU market. This happens largely due to the internal traditions and economic potential of the partner states.

In 2022-2023 The European Union and its Member States have set themselves the task of taking advantage of the benefits of global regulatory leadership to form a qualitatively new regulation for the exploration and use of outer space and celestial bodies, primarily for commercial purposes, which would turn into a common international standard regulating space activities. Relying on legal instruments, systematic institution-building and enforcement oversight it strives for, the EU expects to overcome its accumulated technological gap, restore its companies to high international competitiveness and establish itself as a global space player of the first magnitude. Based on the generalization of a large array of the latest regulations, program and strategic documents adopted and prepared by the EU, the author analyzes what has already been done to solve this problem, what is being done for the future.

The article analyses the development of the conflict between Brussels, on the one side, and Poland and Hungary, on the other side, in 2023. The causes and consequences of the emergence of new problems, as well as the existing ongoing proceedings on the rule of law are considered. The contradictory process of this confrontation is not new to the European agenda, but every year the number of pan-European projects and initiatives vetoed by Warsaw and Budapest increases with the aim of persuading Brussels to make concessions on certain issues and mitigate the effect of imposed financial penalties, which the EU is also using more actively to force the two countries to follow in the wake of common political rules. The events in Ukraine, as well as the global agenda, very often directly affect relations within the EU, giving Poland and Hungary more room for maneuver in defending their identity and their own vision of the future of European integration. It is concluded that at this stage the confrontation has intensified and led to decisive measures on both sides. Despite this, the parties, as before, are doomed to seek compromises and negotiate.

The Baltic Sea is an extremely important maritime region for Russia from the point of view of the realisation of interests in the field of maritime transportation. The Baltic Fleet bases are also located there. Civil vessels and warships of the Russian Federation enjoy here the relevant rights granted to them under international maritime law, and above all, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The paper shows how some Baltic countries interpret its norms and provisions quite broadly in favor of their national interests in the field of national security. Special concerns, on their part, are raised with regard to various types of naval activities within their exclusive economic zones, where freedom of navigation must be respected. This right is now valid in the waters of the Viro Strait, as part of the Gulf of Finland. Recent statements by some countries about the need to tighten the shipping regime cannot lead to its closure. The study focuses on the legal status of the Baltic Straits. The analysis shows that the order of passage through them may differ fundamentally in peacetime and during international armed conflict. The article highlights the position of non-regional countries, primarily the United States, on freedom of navigation in the Baltic. The research reveals that this position does not always contradict Russia's interests, even in the conditions of the existing confrontation.

The article analyses intercountry imbalances of socio-economic development in the European Union. The subject of the study is to check the validity of the hypothesis of convergence (rapprochment of levels) of development in the conditions of integration. Methods applied include graphical visualisation of data and statistical calculations using the compound interest formula transformed for the purpose of clarifying the hypothesis. The proposed method makes it possible to increase the predictive value of the study. The graph shows a stable gap between the catching-up countries and the average level of EU welfare (GDP per capita), with an insignificant reduction during periods of crisis. The number of years required for catching-up countries to pull up to the average level is calculated, taking into account the real growth rates of well-being in the period 2004-2022. The average convergence period exceeds 25 years, which proves its low probability. Most of the catching-up countries are unable to reach the average level of EU welfare in the foreseeable future, even with a hypothetical additional withdrawal of financial development assistance from the EU budget by an amount equivalent to one or two percent of national GDP per capita.

The article is devoted to the consideration of the interests of the European Union in the Arctic and Northern Europe from the point of view of threats to the security of the Russian Federation. The military sphere remains outside the scope of this study. As the main source of information about potential threats, the authors considered the EU Arctic strategy as a whole, and similar documents of individual Nordic countries. In addition, the statements of local politicians and public figures were analysed, as well as the real actions carried out by the leadership of these states and territories in relation to Russia. It was concluded that the interests of the European Union in the Arctic and Northern Europe do not pose any serious threat to Russia's security outside the military sphere. Most of the methods of pressure on our country have already been used, and further actions will potentially have a greater negative impact not on Russia, but on those states and territories of the region that will undertake them. Nevertheless, the spread and recognition at the world level of European standards and requirements in the field of nature protection, mining and green energy can lead to troubles for the Russian economy. In addition, there are risks in case of imposing sanctions by the Faroe Islands and of Norway's blockade of the Svalbard archipelago.

The article analyzes the problem of social inequality in modern society on the example of the countries of the European Union. The main challenges of social transformations are considered using the concept of risk society. The possession of one or another type of capital in the social field (mostly related to talents and skills) generates differences and, ultimately, existential inequality, when some people have the opportunity to live in an inclusive society, while others do not. In this regard, modern states face the question of what new challenges are created by the previous forms of social inequality in the context of technological shifts. It is concluded that the combination of new and old inequalities with technological transition has led to the emergence of a new risk associated with what can be called civil exclusion by analogy with social exclusion. This risk is associated partially with the displacement of a part of society from the production of a common goods or products. The main challenge of modern society has become the formation of a deeply divided society, where citizens differ not only in terms of income, but also in their skills, abilities, opportunities for self-realization in professional, creative, technological senses. Civil rejection also leads to the correction of democratic mechanisms, within which those dissatisfied with the new way of life are marginalized.

The article continues the study of the role of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR A.A. Gromyko in the formation, development and maintenance of security policy, its principles and structural elements. The relevance of the article is determined by the importance of strategy and strategic thinking in modern foreign policy and diplomacy, their influence on interstate cooperation, the evolution and manageability of international relations. The subject of the article is to study the participation of A.A. Gromyko in preparation for the conference on security and cooperation in Europe in 1972-1973. This circumstance determined the chronological framework of the study. They are limited to 1972 and 1973. In some cases, the author uses materials from 1974 and 1975. The article consists of three subsections. The first subsection deals with discussions about the timing of the conference and the creation of organizational structures necessary to ensure its successful functioning. The second subsection analyzes the «red lines» of A.A. Gromyko - the conditions that must be met for the participation of the USSR in the conference. The third subsection characterizes the approach of A.A. Gromyko, aimed at overcoming potential conflicts and preventing the expanded interpretation of security advocated by Western countries. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the analysis of the approach of A.A. Gromyko about the relationship between the concepts of «peaceful existence», «independent elements of detente», «sovereignty» and their inclusion in the substance of European security. The author confirmed his earlier hypothesis that A.A. Gromyko of plan «B» in case the conference on security and cooperation is postponed. The sources of the article are published documents of the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, the use of which can be explained methodologically. It was important for the author to conduct the analysis on the basis of the foreign partners' assessment of the statements made by the Soviet Foreign Minister during official negotiations (outer reflection). The author's reasoning should be understood in the context of his earlier article in the journal.