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Introduction: the author examines the effectiveness of the procedure under Article 267 TFEU before the national courts in the Slovak Republic in practice. The article deals with the practice of the CJEU on cases in which there was preclusive plea made by the courts of general jurisdiction in the Slovak Republic. In terms of primary law and practice of the CJEU, the national courts are obliged to cooperate with the CJEU to carry out the duties assigned to them in order to ensure that the interpretation and application of EU law be held in compliance with the Treaties. The author summarizes the decisions delivered by CJEU in 267 TFEU cases in which the courts of general jurisdiction in the Slovak Republic seek to ascertain the legal situation before CJEU. Methods: there have been used general scientific methods, such as analysis, comparison; as well as the formal and legal method. Results: the author analyzes the application of EU law by the national courts in terms of the preclusive plea procedure in the Slovak Republic. Conclusions: on the basis of the information provided in the paper, it appears that the national courts in some cases, do not know the practice of the CJEU on the desirable level, or do not have sufficient information about EU law. In addition, there is a very frequent withdrawing application by a national court that fails to identify and evaluate the legal and factual context of the case.

How are processes of political development structured across space and time by preexisting institutions? This article develops a spatiotemporal theory of institutional change by analyzing the evolving infrastructural power of the European Union's legal order using geospatial methods. Specifically, the authors theorize that the pattern and pace of the domestic spread of EU law has been shaped by preexisting state institutions—particularly by the degree to which national judiciaries are hierarchically organized. To assess this claim, the article compares patterns of domestic judicial enforcement of EU law across France (a unitary state with a centralized judiciary), Italy (a weaker unitary state with a centralized judiciary), and Germany (a federal state with a decentralized judiciary). Developing a geospatial approach to the study of legal integration and historical institutionalism more broadly, the authors leverage an original geocoded data set of cases referred to the European Court of Justice by national courts to visualize how the subnational penetration of Europe's supranational legal order is conditioned by state institutions.

Two years ago, in a submission to the World Trade Organisation, China – which is currently struggling to contain its own string of ASF outbreaks – justified its decision to ban Polish pork on the basis that ‘despite Poland’s implementation of control measures it had not effectively blocked ASF from spreading’. [...]EU member states would currently have the same power (or lack thereof) to limit UK imports if ASF reached the UK. Linda Dixon, a Pirbright Institute research scientist whose focus is on ASF, described as ‘absolutely disproportionate’ the decisions of some non-EU countries to ban imports of pork from affected EU member states.

What will be the long-run economic effects of the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union—informally known as Brexit? Compared with remaining in the European Union, there will inevitably be higher trade costs with the rest of Europe, which accounts for about half of all U.K. trade. This will mean lower trade and foreign investment, and thus lower average U.K. incomes. These trade costs will arise from some combination of tariff and non-tariff barriers, and will be larger if there is a “hard Brexit,” whereby the United Kingdom would leave the Single Market and trade under World Trade Organization rules, rather than a “soft Brexit” option of staying in the Single Market (like Norway). Calculations using a standard multicountry, multisector, computable general equilibrium model show welfare losses of 1.3 to 2.6 percent, but dynamic models that incorporate productivity effects suggest that these could rise to 6.3 to 9.5 percent. Brexit’s supposed benefits—such as lower immigration, better regulations, and more trade deals with non-EU countries— would do little or nothing to offset these losses. It seems unlikely that voters were fully aware of the magnitude of these costs at the time of the vote.

This paper aims to connect innovation procurement (IP) in Europe, particularly in relation to mission-oriented innovation and the Sustainable Development Goals, with an analysis of the space sector, especially in view of the direction recently taken by the European Union (EU), the interactions between public and private actors, new competitive dynamics, and economic planning in this field. The analysis begins by introducing the new EU space programme and examining the principles that underpin it, with particular attention to the available financial instruments. It will then present critical analyses on two fronts. On the one hand, it will argue that the space sector serves as a prime testing ground for IP. Public sector-driven innovation is expected to have a considerable impact on the growth and development of the European economy. On the other hand, it will offer some critical remarks concerning the inherently ‘innovative’ role of public procurement in shaping the future of European space policies, given the latest market and geopolitical dynamics. The paper will conclude with an examination of concrete cases: the development of the IRIS2 infrastructure and a procurement case-law involving the new EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA).

International security debates surrounding the European Union (EU) energy supply challenge commonly invoke the need for more EU hard power - e.g. getting tough on Russia or engaging directly with other exporters. This article investigates whether what might be labelled 'soft power with a hard edge' instead amounts to a consistent policy strategy for the EU. The central argument is that the EU has turned a weakness into strength, and developed a set of tools that sharpen the way soft power is exercised in the energy sector. The article explores how soft power affects companies that 'come and play' on the EU market: the rules of the Single European Market (SEM) and how they affect external firms. It also assesses the long reach of the SEM: both the gravitational 'pull' the SEM exerts in the 'near aboard', and the EU's 'push' to facilitate the development of midstream infrastructure and upstream investment. The conclusion is that the EU regulatory state is emerging as an international energy actor in its own right. It limits the ways states like Russia can use state firms in the geopolitical game; and it exports its model into the near abroad, thus stabilizing energy supply and transit routes.

The article is aimed at studying the model of Ukraine's integration into the Digital Single Market, analyzing the achievements and challenges of digitalization of Business-State-Community. The article examines the process of Ukraine's integration into the Digital Single Market of the European Union, which is a strategically important stage for strengthening the position of the national economy in the context of global digital transformation. This process opens up new prospects for Ukraine, in particular, access to modern technologies, the development of electronic services and increased competitiveness in the global market. At the same time, integration into the EU digital space requires solving complex tasks, including infrastructure renewal, introduction of innovations, and adaptation of national legislation to European standards. The main benefits of this process are analyzed, such as improving access to digital markets, facilitating bilateral trade and stimulating the development of the IT sector. Particular attention is paid to the role of e-commerce as a key driver of economic growth. The article considers the opportunities provided by e-commerce to Ukrainian enterprises to enter the EU markets, as well as the positive impact of this segment on consumers due to the increase in the range of services and goods. Among the important aspects of integration, the issues of cybersecurity, which are becoming more and more relevant in the face of modern challenges, are considered. Ukraine, which is already facing persistent cyberattacks, needs to increase the level of protection of critical in- frastructure, State databases and personal information of citizens. Furthermore, integration into the EU digital market includes the introduction of digital identity, which is a prerequisite for ensuring secure access to digital services. The authors underline the importance of harmonization of legislation for compliance with European standards in such key areas as personal data protection, e-commerce, digital taxation and regulation of the telecommunications market. The relevant changes are aimed at creating a favorable environment for businesses and citizens, stimulating investment and improving interaction with partners in the EU. Despite the noticeable progress in digitalization, Ukraine faces a number of challenges that hinder full integration into the Digital Single Market. In particular, these are cyber threats related to the ongoing military aggression, as well as digital ethics issues that require the development of clear rules and standards for the responsible use of technology. The problem of the digital divide between different regions of the country, which affects the availability of digital services for citizens and businesses, is considered separately. An important aspect is the support from the European Union, which includes financial, technical and expert assistance in implementing reforms and rebuilding infrastructure destroyed by the war. Without this support, it will be difficult for Ukraine to achieve rapid integration into the EU's Digital Single Space. The article also emphasizes that success in this process depends on the coordination of actions of the government, business and interna- tional partners. Ukraine's integration into the EU Digital Single Market is not only a strategic task, but also an important step towards ensuring economic stability, technological development and integration into the European community on the principles of transparency, innovation and security.

We examine the impact of formal standards on trade in global value chains (GVCs) in Europe. Using a gravity model approach for panel data, we estimate the influence of national, European and international standards on trade in value-added and gross trade flows within Europe. We find that national standards on their own hamper trade in European value chains while European and international standards foster trade. European standards have greater influence on trade in inner-European value chains whereas international standards have positive effects on imports into Europe from third countries. European standards therefore reduce information asymmetries between market actors in the value chains of the European Single Market. International standards serve as a means of global communication between international trade partners. In addition, we find a positive effect of an interaction term between national and European standards in European value chains confirming the necessity of national standardization. Furthermore, we consider our findings not only within international political economy's theoretical literature regarding the governance of GVCs but also, the subsequent policy implications of our findings in terms of economic growth and development.

The European Single Market created a common market for millions of Europeans. However, 30 years after its introduction, it appears that the benefits of the common European project are occasionally being questioned at least by some parts of the population. Others, by contrast, strive for deeper integration. Against this background, we empirically gauge the growth effect that arose from the Single Market. Using the synthetic control method, we establish the growth premium for the Single Market overall and for its founding members. Broadly in line with the predictions made by Richard Baldwin at the onset of the Single Market project, we find significantly higher real GDP per capita for the overall Single Market area of around 12–22 %. In comparison, smaller EU Member States seem to have benefited somewhat more compared to larger countries. The estimated growth effects underline the case for further deepening and broadening the Single Market where possible.