For economic and environmental reasons, the present and future of the environment is not sustainable. While European countries agreed on a “Green Europe Plan to address those issues, each country has 
a different method how to apply it. The main goal of this text is to evaluate the preparedness of each country and the projects implemented which should increase the attainability of “Green Europe“ Plan. The article is focused on V4 countries (Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland) as they have strong relationships. The European Green Deal serves as the European Union’s climate and climate neutrality plan that covers all areas of the economy. Climate change, adverse weather conditions, high ocean temperatures can have 
a very dire impact on nature and people, leading to higher costs not only for the European Union’s economy. However, these climate threats can be combated or at least mitigated, for example by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and thus achieving climate neutrality, which is precisely the aim of the European Green Deal.
 

This article focuses on the history of actions taken by various countries, organizations, and scientists from around the world. The most crucial part is to understand the beginning of the process called ‘climate crisis’ and the statements from world’s biggest polluters and power leaders. One the one hand, countries like the United States and China are the ones who are the most responsible for the current situation that the world is in. On the other, it is necessary to look more closely at the EU’s statements about climate change and the reason for the slow climate diplomacy followed by legal actions that never had any sanctions. Nevertheless, the importance of European Union and its role in the process of creating a place for discussion can’t be denied. It is said by many climate researchers that the lack of punishment for countries who were not fulfilling obligations to key documents such as the Paris Agreement from 2015 is one of the biggest reasons for the overall failure of the joint actions to stop climate destruction. The main problem was, and still is, based around how to combine industrial growth with ecologically-friendly methods. There should be no higher value than the state of the world’s health but clearly for some, money is the bigger virtue. By reading this article, the author encourages the reader to change their perspective on how to earn, spend, and invest money so that the environment can thrive.

The European Union (EU) has been facing multiple crises recently, e.g. migratory crisis, structural crisis etc. Thus, the process of European integration is at a crossroads. In such turbulent times the questions of common values, standards and their place in the policies have arisen. In the paper, the main focus is put on the analysis of the place of EU values in the Cohesion Policy and impact of current socio-economic challenges on its future shape. The paper is of analytical character and it is based on secondary data, legislation and track of the integration process based on press-releases complemented by author’s participation in the process of implementation of the policy in Poland (advisory role to the executive bodies, expertise etc.). Therefore, this article may be treated as a policy-debate paper.

The aim of this paper is to present the potential of a new award procedure of public procurement, which is from 18 April 2016 innovation partnership, in the context of successful competition with USA as well as to identify the challenges connected with this procedure. Public administration is the biggest purchaser and may create a huge market for innovative products, works and services. Innovation partnership according to Directives 2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU is an award procedure which allows to establish a long-term partnership between the contracting authority and economic operators for the development and subsequent purchase of a new, innovative product, service or work which is not yet available on the market. Although, despite the potential of public procurement to spur innovation, the implementation of innovation partnership, has been limited due to considerable challenges associated with the application of innovation procurement in practice. The biggest challenges are associated with the threat of infringement of State aid, intellectual property rights or adjusting the provision of Public Finance Law.

The Economic Community of West African States is a progressive integration organization, as well as an important trading partner for the EU. Their trade relations are traditionally very close. The product structure of their mutual trade flows is affected by existing economic differences. The EU exports to ECOWAS countries, especially manufactured goods, while ECOWAS countries export primary commodities to the EU market. The EU tries to promote transformation of productive capacities of less developed ECOWAS countries. This should boost the product diversification of their merchandise exports, and thus improve the stability of their export revenues, which is necessary for their inclusive and sustainable growth and development. The EU intends to base their trade relations on the Economic Partnership Agreement establishing a free trade area. However, it has not come in force yet. The aim of this paper is to analyse the product structure of ECOWAS exports to the European Union and to identify basic shifts in this structure for the 1995–2016 period. Conclusions of the paper are based on a review of relevant official documents, scientific sources, as well as on own analysis of statistical data concerning ECOWAS-EU trade flows.

The Eastern Partnership of the European Union, launched in 2008 on the initiative of Poland and Sweden, has the characteristics of a very complex policy addressed to three Eastern European countries – Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine, and to three South-Eastern European countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The complexity of relations rises from the geographical, historical and geopolitical backgrounds. At the same time, these relations are imbued with various complications of internal and external nature. Considering these unusual, but present, complications, the article makes a retrospective of adopted acts that refer to the Eastern Partnership: The Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council “Wider Europe – Neighbourhood: A New Framework for Relations with our Eastern and Southern Neighbours” and the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council “Eastern Partnership”. A Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy: “Shared Vision, Common Action: A Stronger Europe” brings a new impetus in the framework of cooperation relations between the European Union and Eastern Partnership states. The relations are scrutinised through the prism of the neighbourhood policy and the Eastern Partnership policy. Positive and less positive results are revealed, accompanied by inherent challenges; all these serving as a kind of food for positive thinking in building resilience in the Eastern Europe. Relevant matter-of-fact examples are given from all Eastern Partnership countries and the way to discuss them. Open conclusions provide issues to be re-visited (revised) and several recommendations.

International migration is not a new phenomenon. However, because of a growing number of people coming from less developed countries to the more developed ones migration has become a serious challenge creating a need for new approaches how to cope with it. International migration can be interpreted in light of both positive and negative consequences. Migration from Sub-Saharan countries to the European Union Member States has been seen by populist politicians and thus the media as a threat for European future. Therefore, most migrants coming to Europe are considered by general public to be economic migrants looking for better living conditions. However, unacceptable living conditions in many Sub-Saharan countries can be understood as violations of basic human rights and thus these immigrants have to be regarded as refugees. The aim of the paper is to describe trends in the number of asylum applicants coming to the EU Member States from Sub-Saharan Africa, and to assess if the prospects for better economic well-being can explain differing number of asylum applicants registered in the EU Member States. Conclusions are based on a review of relevant academic literature as well as on own statistical analysis done for the 2008–2017 period.

Th e paper is focused on the future of the EU, the lessons learned from its own experience, and its role in the geographical area of Africa, Mediterranean, and Europe. Th e conceptual framework is based on the Th eory of Economic Integration, the Th eory of Optimum Currency Areas, the Th eory of European Monetary Unifi cation, and the Economic Integration in the developing countries. Th e paper illustrates EU’s rich experiences on issues such as legitimacy and security, monetary union, real convergence, social cohesion, and fiscal union. Additionally, the paper argues that one of the main strategies of the EU is the development of the so-called “vertical” dimension, to build a strong regional integration North-South to ensure greater security and economic development.

The paper explores the characteristics and the significance of the European Union’s eastern border in regular and irregular migration processes considering that migration is on the top of the European Union’s agenda as well as of the United Nations. It focuses on problematic and positive aspects of migration issues at the eastern border of the European Union. The investigation pays attention to European acts on migration policy and law, eastern border countries and neighbours of the European Union; it analyses dimensions of the European Union’s eastern border, migration challenges of the eastern border route, enhancement of migration management at the eastern border through the use of diverse instruments such as the European neighbourhood policy, the Eastern Partnership, the European Union–Russia relations, the Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy and the Eastern Borders’ Risk Analysis Network. Migration at the eastern border of the European Union is also marked by the concepts of “Schlechtegranzen” and “Rechtegrenzen”. The results and conclusions point out relevant issues that are peculiar to the eastern border of the European Union in terms of migration challenges and migration management.

The article focuses on the relationship between the EU and other states situated on the European continent. The EU has to deal with various groups of states, which are characterised by different attitudes towards the Union. Some of them seek membership in the future, whereas others do not need it, but would like to engage in closer economic cooperation. Besides, growing regional powers aspire to play a significant role in Europe’s development, which is why they strive for equal partnership with the EU. The mail goal of the paper is to find the best models of cooperation between the EU with the aforementioned groups of European countries.