Opis
The Polish Quarterly of International Affairs jest anglojęzycznym kwartalnikiem Polskiego Instytutu Spraw Międzynarodowych poruszającym kwestie Europy Środkowej i Wschodniej. Poprzez publikowane w nim artykuły dotyczące współczesnych wydarzeń, stanowi forum do analiz i debat na temat spraw międzynarodowych. Każde wydanie zawiera zbiór autorskich artykułów poddanych ocenie „peer review”, a także recenzje książek. The Polish Quarterly of International Affairs is the English language journal and has a Central and Eastern European focus. It provides a forum for the analysis and debate of international affairs through a collection of original, peer reviewed articles on a contemporary theme. Spis treściPaweł Tokarski The Challenge of Eurozone Reforms in a Time of Uncertain Economic Prospects The autumn 2014 brings widespread fear that the crisis in the eurozone may reescalate. A truism is to say that its main drawbacks have not been solved. The problems with the banking sector in the EU are far from solved and the need to clean up bank balance sheets. The necessary process of private sector deleveraging will continue to have an adverse effect on economic activity. The public finances of several eurozone economies are in poor condition. In three out of four of the largest eurozone economies, the general government gross debt-to-GDP ratio is increasing. Several Member States still face considerable structural challenges and the sustainability of economic models will have to be reconsidered, not only in countries such as Greece, Cyprus, Spain, Italy or France but also in Finland. After Standard & Poor’s stripped Finland of its triple “A” rating in October 2014, the only members of this exclusive club in the eurozone remained Germany and Luxembourg. Peter Becker Reinforced Economic Policy Coordination as Crisis Prevention in the Eurozone What is needed mostly is to stabilise economies and to improve economic policy coordination in the EU. Not only do the Member States have to get their budgets in order, they also have to reform their national economies so that they become competitive again. However, this should not become a decision between austerity versus growth or between demand-side versus supply-side economics. It is obvious that Europe needs both, along with sustainable fiscal policies of all Member States, which goes hand in hand with incentives for sustainable growth. Almost all European economies need structural reforms to strengthen their growth potential, to recover domestic demand and to make labour markets more robust. The task for European policy is, hence, to develop real European economic policy reform to tackle weaknesses in some economies, to generate growth, to create more and better jobs, and finally to guarantee the coherence of the European Union as a whole and the democratic legitimacy of these reform measures. Endre Domonkos Hungary’s Perspective on the Banking Union and Remarks on the Possibility of Eurozone Accession The objective of this essay is to analyse the position of the Hungarian government towards the banking union. In order to better understand the official standpoint of the cabinet, it is necessary to make a brief overview related to the possible introduction of the euro in Hungary. As far as the country’s preparedness for the adoption of the euro is concerned, several internal factors (fulfilment of the Maastricht convergence criteria, pursuance of credible and responsible economic policy that promote sustainable economic growth and macroeconomic stability, etc.) and external ones (the structural problems of some eurozone countries and the extended and modified rules of the Stability and Growth Pact and the Euro Plus Pact) have to be taken into account if a responsible decision about accession to the eurozone is to be taken. Only with wide consensus between the participants in the country’s economy and society and considered, balanced economic policy can Hungary reap the possible benefits of the adoption of the common currency. Olivér Kovács A Systemic Narrative of Hungarian Eurozone Accession This paper attempts to contribute to a better understanding of why a more systemic approach is needed when it comes to Hungary's eurozone accession. This study first dwells on the issue of its macroeconomic instability from a regional perspective by devoting attention to its "lagging" phenomenon, which requires a more holistic approach in supporting Hungary's eurozone accession process. Then it broadens the research canvas by emphasising that the challenges Hungary is facing today imply that the role of governance and the quality of the state are heavily appreciating. It argues that a prerequisite of eurozone accession is governance that is engaged in fostering public sector innovation in addressing old and new challenges with supporting sustained growth and development. Jozef Stískala TARGET 2 and the Risks for the National Bank of Slovakia The objective of this paper is to clarify the rea