From Convergence to Deep Integration: Evaluating the Impact of EU Counter-Terrorism Strategies on Domestic Arenas

With the 2001 EU Action Plan and the 2005 EU Counterterrorism Strategy, the European Union has unfolded a roadmap for counter-terrorism measures and an itinerary of actions to be undertaken by the Member States. In some respects, the EU strategies, flanked by the Action Plans in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, as well as more concrete forms of cooperation such as the adoption of the EU Arrest Warrant, the Member States have been encouraged to use the same conceptual apparatus, to adopt the precautionary logic (pre-terrorism), and to adopt similar organizational models (multi-disciplinary cooperation) and tools (surveillance, public-private cooperation, etc.). This may have led to a level of convergence between the national counter-terrorism approaches, in line with what the Action Plan on Organized Crime in 1997 sought to achieve by demanding from Member States that they would adapt their national structures. The number of policy-impulses that has emanated from the EU Counterterrorism strategy and ensuing policy documents has been rather numerous. Moreover, this article seeks to take stock of whether all proposals have led to the full adoption and implementation of instruments. The article assesses whether the EU strategies have encouraged ‘deep integration’ between the Member States in terms of a common threat assessment, pooling resources, sharing intelligence, mutual legal assistance in anti-terrorist investigations, creating joint investigation teams and transferring suspects between Member States. The primary focus of this article will be on levels of legal convergence between six Member States.     

Principles of the Ukrainian social welfare system in the context of European integration

At the stage of the development of a new social welfare system in Ukraine, it is important to investigate all possible models and develop recommendations for the implementation of the most effective ones. The relevance of this paper lies in the study of the legal framework that operates in Ukraine and the possibilities of its improvement and consolidation into a more specific regulation. The purpose of the research was to study the principles of the social welfare system in Ukraine and to study foreign practices of the social welfare system. Within the framework of this study, the existing systems and models of social welfare systems in different countries were analyzed. The study identifies the most positive examples of social welfare policy for implementation in the current legal framework to improve and enhance the quality of social services in Ukraine. The analyzed foreign practices helped to identify the most effective models of social security. It was concluded that with the successful redistribution of funds, the introduction of a system of audit and control of social assistance financing, as well as being guided by foreign experience, Ukraine will be able to build a social welfare system that would satisfy all of the existing social needs of citizens.