No. 2

Author: Marcela Barčáková

Abstract: Currently, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, also known as COVID-19, is spreading throughout the world. This pandemic currently affects not only the lives of citizens in everyday life, but also the pursuit of the activities of politicians, statesmen or employees of the European Union institutions. In our paper, we have analyzed and described in detail the Presidency of the Council, which is currently chaired by Croatia and what challenges Croatia is currently facing.

Keywords: presidency, Council, Covid-19

Vol. 14, 2020, No. 2, p. 1 - 4

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Author: Marián BUŠŠA

Abstract: This paper focuses on the positioning of supporters of political parties in Slovakia on the socio-economic axis in 2019, immediately after the European Parliament elections. In terms of method we employ secondary analysis of the dataset from the European Parliament Election Study 2019, focusing on Slovak respondents, who expressed they feel close to specific political parties in Slovakia. We then analyse positions of the party sympathizers in socio-economic issues, creating a position on socioeconomic scale for each of them and try to explain their coalition – opposition relationships in relation to it. We argue, that both coalition governments – the one in 2016-2020 and the new one since the March 2020 are ideologically compact in terms of socio-economic positions of their sympathizers. The first one contained parties with the most socialist oriented sympathizers and the second one contains parties with the most pro-market oriented sympathizers in their respective parliaments.

Keywords: socio-economic axis, party sympathizers, left, right.

Vol. 14, 2020, No. 2, p. 5 - 8

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Author: Jaroslav Čársky, Marcel Lincényi

Abstract: The Slovak Republic has been a part of the European Union since 1st of May 2004. During that time, Slovakia has moved significantly forward. The Slovak economy was thriving and kept in good shape. Thanks to Euro funds, many parts and corners of Slovakia have reconstructed. Thanks to cooperation with international organisations, science and research are at a high level, and we can compete in the free market. But nothing could be done if we had closed borders in front of our neighbours. Thanks to the European family, we have become part of the developed world. Many political representatives raise the issue of the Slovak Republic's withdrawal from the structures of the European Union. Many Slovaks are also in favour of the possibility of the Slovak Republic leaving the European Union. The European Union is not perfect, and it has its downsides. On the other hand, the European Union is a good project and, thanks to the European Union, we are a respected country in the international forum. The Slovak Republic should not close itself off from the world if it wants to move forward. In this article, we will focus on the competencies of Members of the European Parliament. We will focus on the election campaign and the results of 2014 and 2019 EU parliament elections.  There are no more slogans in the political campaign. Politicians proclaiming these statements ran for parliament in the European Union as candidates seeking reform. This is also what the election campaign for the European Parliament brings. In this post, we will try to look at the issue of the election campaign for the European Parliament. This work does not claim a comprehensive view of the election campaign for the European Parliament, but we analyse certain aspects of it, in this article.

Keywords: campaign, elections, European Parliament

Vol. 14, 2020, No. 2, p. 9 - 14

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Author: Pavol Hrivík, Richard Klimaček, Matej Mindár

Abstract: The study presents some ideas and opinions on the withdrawal process of the United Kingdom from the European Union (called Brexit) according to Article 50 in the Lisbon Treaty on the EÚ. This process has had deep roots in the British post-war history and, in the end, was initiated by a referendum on this issue in June 2016. Victory of Brexit supporters in the referendum clearly confirmed that Britain refused to join its own future destiny with the Union. The study is discussing some aspects of British in/out-referendum, some Brexit reasons, facts on the Brexit politico-legislative process, further, occurrence of democracy deficit accompanying this process, British Euro-scepticism as a main reason of leaving the Union and, finally, consequences of Britain´s leave by 31 January 2020.

Keywords: European Union, United Kingdom, British referendum, Brexit, democracy deficit, Euro-scepticism, Brexit consequences

Vol. 14, 2020, No. 2, p. 15 - 27

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Author: Marcel Lincényi, Daniel Rabina

Abstract: The research study offers an analysis of the public opinion of the citizens of the Slovak Republic focused on the Slovak presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2016. The study also presents prevailing opinions, attitudes, preferences, and values of the Slovak people in relation to the benefits of the Slovak presidency of the Council of the EU for the Slovak Republic and the European Union. It follows from the survey of public opinion of the Slovak people that despite its ambitions, the Government of the Slovak Republic did not succeed in waking up the interest of the society in the Slovak presidency of the Council of the European Union as it did not resonate in the whole society. The opinions of Slovak citizens on the benefits of the presidency itself are diverse too. While the questioned respondents rather agree with the statement that the Slovak Presidency made Slovakia visible in a positive way, the majority is sceptical concerning the benefits of the Slovak Presidency for the European Union itself.

Keywords: European Union, Presidency, Slovak Republic, survey, public opinion, citizens, opinions

Vol. 14, 2020, No. 2, p. 28 - 36

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Author: Miroslav Řádek

Abstract: For this reason, too, people began to gather, and as a result, the specialization of individuals began to thrive on securing certain tasks for society as a whole, and led to the subsequent emergence of crafts. With the enlargement of communities, the company automatically encountered some problems that needed to be addressed.
In many cases, state institutions have not ensured the kind of life citizens hoped for. This has led some citizens to start to feel disappointed about reality. A perfect example is Greece, which has undergone various changes in social systems throughout its history. It is this knowledge that contributed to the fact that Greek thinkers often used this knowledge in their works. After experience with so many forms of organization of society, they thought what harmed social development and what, on the contrary, benefits.
The most famous philosophers of Plato and Aristotle were among those who did not consider the society and its establishment ideal. It was reflected in what bothers the society and poses questions about how such an ideal establishment should work. As part of their work, they summarized policy knowledge and structured the individual establishments, assigning certain characteristics to them and outlining their views on whether this was a suitable or inappropriate type of establishment based on the vision of their ideal state.
The positions of Plato and Aristotle differed in this. While Plato believed that the individual was supposed to contribute to the benefit of the whole society, Aristotle considered the individual's personal happiness to be an important contribution to society.

Keywords: Plato, Aristotle, democracy, state

Vol. 14, 2020, No. 2, p. 37 - 40

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Author: Pavol Struhár

Abstract: After the new government of Róbert Fico in 2016 was designed, fight against extremism became its political priority. This
paper deals with legislative and institutional changes in the fight against extremism since the Programme Statement of Fico´s government was approved by parliament and thus the new government gained the confidence of its members.  
First part of the paper deals with the concept of militant democracy, what is the theoretical basis of the fight against extremism in the Slovak republic. Then it examines the political attitudes of previous governments to fight against extremism since the first adoption of Conception to Combat Extremism in 2007. The last part focus on institutional and legislative changes in the anti-extremist agenda since 2016. We found out that important changes have been done in the Criminal Code and even more in Code of Procedure, what led to reinforcement of personal capacity, education and material equipment of its crucial actors. From this point of view, year 2020 will be crucial, either because of adoption of the new government's programme statement for 2020-2024, as well as the Conception of Combat to Extremism, which will replace the outdated Conception for years 2015-2019.

Keywords: Militant democracy. Extremism. Fight against extremism. Criminal Code. National Criminal Agency.

Vol. 14, 2020, No. 2, p. 41 - 45

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Author: Vladimír KOVÁČIK

Abstract: The Slovak Republic has the opportunity to implement the EU Structural Funds since 2004, when it joined the EU. The area of research and development support in Slovakia has long been underestimated. The EU Structural Funds make up the most significant part of R&D expenditure in Slovakia The main objective of this article is to analyse the impact of the implementation of EU Structural Funds on the construction, support and development of research infrastructure within all three programming periods in the Slovak Republic. To achieve the objective, the methods of analysis, synthesis, deduction and induction have been used. In the shortened programming period 2004-2006, this area was only partially supported by the EU Structural Funds and R&D did not form a full priority for this type of funding. In Slovakia, in 2007 - 2013, the R&D Operational Program was the dominant source of funding for research, development and innovation from the EU Structural Funds, in particular by supporting the development of research infrastructure. The research and development potential in Slovakia can be fully developed in the current programming period 2014-2020 by the OP R&I.

Keywords: EU Structural Funds, Research Infrastructure, Operational Program, Programming Period, Research, Development and Innovation, Implementation of Projects

Vol. 14, 2020, No. 2, p. 46 - 57

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