EU FACING CURRENT CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES, CRISIS & CONFLICTS

Authors of articles published in this volumes analyse current EU issues and challenges that the new European Commission will need to face in the coming years, suggesting possible solutions. The authors’ approach seems optimistic, as they emphasize the uniqueness of the European integration processes. They argue that consistent cooperation and solidarity can help solve problems and strengthen the EU’s international position. In the fi rst chapter, Aleksandra Borowicz (Foreign Direct Investment as One of the Factors in Globalisation: Why Does the European Union Need to Pursue an Active Investment Policy?) discusses the current stance of the European Union towards foreign direct investment. The author argues that foreign direct investment is one of the key elements of globalisation; she From the Editors 9 analyses European direct foreign investment and the manner in which it is carried out on the European market. Kateřina Kočí, Alexandra Madarászová and Miloslav Machoň (Examining the EU actorness: Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities) refl ect on the EU’s ability to take action within its space policy, putting particular emphasis on the EU’s negotiating power at the international level. Speaking of investments and innovation, one cannot ignore the relationship between the development of knowledge-based economy and the macroeconomic competitiveness of individual countries. Maintaining competitiveness in an increasingly globalized economy is one of the factors that encourage the EU and its individual Member States to strive to develop knowledge-based economy. Authors Monika Mynarzová and Hana Štverková (Economy Based on Knowledge and Innovation – the Case of European Single Market) present their analysis of the relationship between the development of knowledge-based economy and the macroeconomic competitiveness of countries using the example of the 28 European Union Member States that operate on the single European market. The digital single market, which is one of the examples of integration activities, is the topic explored by Mirela Mărcuţ (Building a Stronger Union – Governing the Digital Single Market). Challenges faced by the knowledge economy require a greater emphasis on innovation, also in less developed regions, in particular the new Member States. Małgorzata Dziembała (Innovation in EU Regions and Supporting it under EU Cohesion Policy) presents a review of innovations in EU regions, including new Member States, and indicates directions of actions that ought to be taken to support innovation as part of the Cohesion Policy, specifi cally on the basis of the experience of the 2007–2013 fi nancial perspective. Ioan Horga (Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) in Central and Eastern European Countries as a tool to build a stronger a Single Market by boosting jobs and growth) Case studies: Eurometropolis Lille and DEBORA Eurometropolis Project) points out an important instrument of EU integration, namely cross-border cooperation between marginalized areas of two or more neighbouring countries. Tadeusz Sporek (The Innovation Policy of Germany at the Turn of the 20th and 21st Century) focuses on innovation and presents an analysis of the most innovative branches of the German economy. In contrast, Anna Masloń-Oracz and Olga Pankiv (The Role of Accelerators in the Development of Start-Ups) discuss the role of accelerators in the development of start-ups, emphasizing the growing importance of the latter. 10 From the Editors The subsequent part of the volume deals with migration and climate policy. In the article entitled ‘The Negative Image of Migration as an Element of Migrants’ Identity’ Rafał Riedel presents general conclusions from a comparative research project carried out in Opole (Silesia, Poland) and Chemnitz (Saxony, Germany). Diego Caballero Vélez and Marta Pachocka (Understanding EU Member States Cooperation within the Asylum Regime during the Migration and Refugee Crisis from an IR perspective) analyse the failure of the Prisoner’s Dilemma and Suasion Game in explaining refugee protection burden-sharing cooperation through a literature review of both game-theory models as well as support an alternative to these theoretical models: the Issue Linkage. The topic of energy and climate policy is discussed in subsequent chapters. Paweł Soroka (Shaping of the Energy Mix by the Member States within the Framework of the European Union’s Energy and Climate Policy) discusses the consequences of implementing the energy mix by the EU and Poland in the light of the EU energy and climate policy for certain energy-intensive industries. Anna Wójtowicz (The New Energy and Climate Framework for 2030 and the Financial Instruments of the EU – Challenges for Poland) analyses the new 2030 energy and climate framework of the EU. Maciej Zalewski examines the matter of regulating hydrological and geochemical cycles in order to boost the sustainable development potential in the face of global challenges. Papers included in the publication refl ect their authors’ own opinions and it is the authors who take full responsibility for their texts. We would like to express our gratitude to all the people and institutions who, through their expertise and fi nancial support, have contributed to the commencement of the present publication. Hereby, we would like to express our most sincere gratitude to the Jean Monnet Chair of European Union at SGH Warsaw School of Economics, Centre for Europe of the University of Warsaw, Department of European Integration Research of University of Gdańsk, University of Economics in Katowice, New Vision University in Tbilisi, Faculty of Administration and National Security of the Jacob of Paradies University in Gorzów Wielkopolski, College of Economics and Social Sciences of the Warsaw University of Technology, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung in Poland, the worldwide network of the European Community Studies Association (ECSA World), including the Polish European Community Studies Association (PECSA), ECSA Moldova, ECSA Romania, ECSA Ukraine, ECSA Georgia.