Journal articles on the topic 'International business enterprises – Law and legislation – European Union countries'

An increase in economic globalisation and international trade has amounted to an increase in the number of multinational enterprises that have debt, own assets and conduct business in various jurisdictions around the world. This, coupled with the recent worldwide economic recession, has inevitably caused the increased occurrence of multinational financial default, also known as cross-border insolvency (CBI). The legal response to this trend has, inter alia, produced two important international instruments that were designed to address key issues associated with CBI. Firstly, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (the Model Law) in 1997, which has been adopted by nineteen countries including the United States of America and South Africa. Secondly, the European Union (EU) adopted the European Council Regulation on Insolvency Proceedings (EC Regulation) in 2000. Both the EC Regulation and Chapter 15 adopt a “modified universalist” approach towards CBI matters. Europe and the United States of America are currently the world leaders in the area of CBI and the CBI legislation adopted and applied in these jurisdictions seems to be effective. As South Africa’s Cross-Border Insolvency Act is not yet effective, there is no local policy guidance available to insolvency practitioners with regard to the application of the Model Law. At the basis of this article is the view that an analysis of the European and American approaches to CBI matters will provide South African practitioners with valuable insight, knowledge and lessons that could be used to understand and apply the principles adopted and applied in terms of the EC Regulation and Chapter 15, specifically the COMI concept, the “establishment” concept in the case of integrated multinational enterprises and related aspects.

Practice shows that the Member States of the European Union maintain a diversified range of economic relations with non-EU Member States. A large number of non-EU-based enterprises are carrying on business in the European Union. Conversely, numerous EU-based enterprises are also carrying on business outside the territory of the Union. Accordingly, trade and investment between Member States and non-Member States is nowadays similarly promoted by abolishing or reducing tax or other obstacles to international flows of goods, services and/or investment between the Member States and third countries. One may recall in this regard the large number of economic integration agreements which the Union has concluded over the past decades with countries all around the world, such as countries in Eastern Europe, the Euro-Mediterranean countries and the African, Caribbean and Pacific states and which, to a greater or lesser extent, provide for liberalization of trade and investment between the Union and the respective non-Member State. The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union itself also provides for a substantial degree of economic openness vis-à-vis third countries, particularly by means of the Treaty provisions relating to the free movement of capital. It is this unique legal relationship between the EU Member States vis-à-vis the rest of the world that this article takes as a starting point. It examines and assesses the extent to which the impact on Member States' corporate income tax systems of the liberalization provisions included in the above instruments is similar, or should be similar, to the impact that the free movement provisions included in the Treaty have on Member States' corporate income tax systems in an intra-Union context.

The study focuses on changes made to the Law of Ukraine “On Accounting and Financial Reporting in Ukraine” for the purpose of implementing accounting standards to the European Union directives. The object of the research paper is accounting in Ukraine. The purpose of the study is to analyze the current state and development trends of accounting in Ukraine in the context of the implementation of European legislation. Research methods such as analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, abstraction, idealization and generalization are used to analyze the changes introduced into the Law of Ukraine “On Accounting and Financial Reporting in Ukraine”. Today, Ukraine is moving actively towards the implementation of European legislation into domestic practice, including standards of accounting and financial reporting. Successful implementation of European legislation into domestic accounting practice, first and foremost, requires clarification of differences in accounting and financial reporting. The amendments made to the Law of Ukraine “On Accounting and Financial Reporting in Ukraine” will promote harmonization of national legislation in the field of accounting and financial reporting with the legislation of the European Union countries and the International Financial Reporting Standards. The changes introduced will provide the basis for raising accounting and financial reporting in Ukraine to a qualitatively new level that will enable effective management decision- making by domestic business entities. The results obtained are the basis for accounting and financial reporting in Ukraine, in accordance the norms of the European Union directives. The research results may be used all economic entities in Ukraine in different sectors of the economy.

Unilateral trade preferences granted by industrialized countries are a common and widely used instrument to foster exports from developing countries, thereby stimulating economic growth and alleviating poverty. The European Union (EU)’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) is one of the most generous schemes worldwide, offering tariff preferences for about 6,200 tariff lines to 176 countries. The authors are of the view that the current EU’s GSP scheme contains some fundamental flaws, in particular with respect to the selection of beneficiary countries and the graduation mechanism. The ongoing reform of the EU’s scheme provides a unique opportunity for overhauling the system as such and targeting trade preferences to those countries that mostly need them. The European Parliament being a new player at the table when it comes to trade policy legislation will certainly shape the reform.

This paper explores whether business law reforms in Arab countries have contributed to their economic development, business legal environment and integration into the international market. Using Jordan as an example, it explores the role of law in economic development in the region. The analysis finds that the Jordanian legal reform has led the country to participate in international markets, by incorporating international legal norms into its own legislation. This legislative reform has also contributed to economic development, allowing Jordan to join the World Trade Organization and enter into Free Trade Agreements, such as those with the United States and the European Union. In addition, the paper shows that other Arab countries, such as Saudi Arabia, that reformed their business regulations led them to join the World Trade Organization and to be ranked amongst the top 25 countries worldwide on their business ease. In contrast, other Arab countries which lack law and its enforcement have been reported to be the worst places in the Middle East to do business. As a result this paper suggests that the Arab Middle Eastern countries should continue in reforming their legal system to make it less rigid for business, to create more jobs, increase productivity and ultimately achieve economic growth.

The relevance of the study is based on the development of scientific and technological progress and the expansion of the labor market, including in the framework of international cooperation. Moreover, the introduction of quarantine due to the spread of Covid-19 has led to increased attention to remote work. The aim of the study is to analyze the legal aspects of remote work in accordance with the labor legislation of Ukraine and the European Union, focusing on the concept of remote work, the rights and obligations of remote workers. In our study, we determined that in the European Union, the key points in relation to the rights granted to teleworkers, which the countries parties to the agreement have undertaken to incorporate into their national legislation and collective agreements, are data protection; the voluntary nature of telecommuting; equipment; organization of working time; privacy. The originality of the study is based on more effective ways to improve labor productivity in Ukraine, labor discipline, compliance with labor guarantees for remote work. It is necessary to revise and legislatively regulate the key principles of compliance by employees with labor discipline, providing the employee with proper working conditions, supporting the employer in search of new opportunities to provide employees with work, improving the technical aspects of ensuring the relationship between business and government, responsibility for results and the labor process.

The recent (2003-2013) reforms of the CAP – while bringing it more in line with the applicable WTO legislation – have proved to be insufficient to shield the EU food industry from third countries’ trade defence actions. In particular, two recent investigations carried out by Australia and the United States represent dangerous precedents in the European perspective, since they have targeted for the first time domestic support programs that the European Commission considers to be fully WTO compatible, and that are widely used throughout the Union. The article analyses some of the key features of these investigations and takes note of the elements which are likely to play an important role in future possible actions targeting EU food products.

Tunisia has undergone a legislative evolution in the non-preferential origin field, with the promulgation in 2008 of its new customs code. This article is intended to draw a radioscopy of Tunisian customs legislation concerning the non-preferential origin in order to present its main aspects. In particular, this article first explains the criteria and conditions for obtaining non-preferential origin and, then, the proofs of origin to be presented at customs clearance. The author tries to demonstrate along the article that the provisions adopted by the Tunisian legislator in determining non-preferential origin is based on international standards and best practices, particularly those of the European Union – Tunisia’s first trading partner. However, Tunisia’s trade policy has so far failed to activate the role that non-preferential origin can play in protecting the economy against the unfair practices and dumping applied by some countries.

The paper analyses the provisions of the Commercial Code of Ukraine, comparing them with certain provisions of the Civil Code of Ukraine and separate laws and other regulations. Considering the need to align Ukrainian legislation with the legislation of the European Union countries in legislation regarding the establishment and operation of partnerships, corporate governance, protection of shareholders, creditors and other interested parties, regarding the further development of corporate governance policy in accordance with international standards, including the gradual approximation to the rules and recommendations of the European Union in this area, it is concluded that it is advisable to abolish the Commercial Code of Ukraine by adopting the relevant law, which stipulates all necessary measures to ensure proper legal regulation of relations for the period of preparation of the relevant systemic changes to the Civil Code of Ukraine. It is proved that most of the provisions of the Civil Code of Ukraine are reference or blanket, and therefore have minimal regulatory impact and mostly duplicate the provisions enshrined in other regulations. Based on the analysis of the provisions of the Commercial Code of Ukraine, it is concluded that its provisions, given their minimal regulatory impact on business relations and considering the detailed regulation of these relations in the Civil Code of Ukraine, can be repealed without any reservations. In such settings and in order to simplify the legal regulation of business activity, as well as in view of the obligations of our country (in particular, to bring the Ukrainian legislation in conformity with the legislation of the EU countries in legislation regarding the establishment and activity of partnerships, corporate governance, protection of rights of shareholders, creditors, and other stakeholders, regarding further development of corporate governance policy in line with international standards, as well as the progressive approximation to EU rules and recommendations in this area), the expediency of abolishing the Commercial Code of Ukraine is beyond doubt

Defining the European vector of development of Ukraine in the model of international cooperation as a priority involves the use of European standards in the field of law. This is impossible without careful adaptation work to bring the domestic legal system in line with the system that exists in the countries of the European Union. Recent changes in legislation have been long-awaited and have been a breakthrough in the corporate and financial sectors. The authors aim to carry out a comprehensive analysis of Ukrainian corporate law by comparing the political governance of Eastern Europe, economic and political aspects of the current situation, problems of corporate governance and ways to solve them, and the current stages of adaptation of corporate law in its transformation to the EU’s norms. In February 2018, the European Commission proposed to consider 2025 a possible date for the accession of Serbia and Montenegro, which means recognizing these countries as the first league in the Balkans, even in case the EU Council does not approve this date. The second league was set by the Council in June 2018, when 2019 was marked as a possible conditional date for the opening of accession negotiations with Albania and Macedonia. While the third league is for the accession of Bosnia and Kosovo, for which no date has been set. Negotiations with Turkey have been suspended. For comparison, if we take into account both political and economic indicators, Ukraine is approximately equal to the Balkan states of the second league. The prospect of EU membership has been recognized as the strongest external factor in domestic political change in the countries surrounding the EU. In accordance with the requirements of the Association Agreement with the EU on corporate law (EU Directives No. 2001/34/EC, No. 2003/71/EC, No. 2004/109/EC, No. 2007/14/EC, No. 2007/36/EC, No. 2012/30/ ЕС, No. 2013/34/ЕС, Recommendations of the European Commission No. 2005/162/ЕС and No. 2004/913/ЕС) the Law of Ukraine No. 2210-VIII, the Law of Ukraine “On Limited Liability and Additional Liability Companies” dated February 06, 2018 No. 2275-VIII, amendments to the Laws of Ukraine №514-VI, “On Securities and Stock Market”, “On Business Associations”, the Economic Code of Ukraine, the Civil Code of Ukraine, the Criminal Procedural Code of Ukraine and other laws were made and came into force on July 1, 2021 in the Law of Ukraine No. 738-IX. European integration transformation of Ukrainian legislation in the context of protection of shareholders’ rights was manifested through the implementation of Directive 2004/25/EC in the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Concerning the Simplification of Doing Business and Attracting Investments by Issuers of Securities” dated March 23, 2017 No. 1983-VIII and the Law of Ukraine No. 514-VI. Ukraine’s economy has not yet recovered from the negative effects of the global financial crisis of 2008, the political coup, the national crisis of 2015, the current crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation shows declining dynamics, and changes in Ukrainian legislation are offset, not showing real effect. The harmonization of Ukrainian legislation is complicated by the unwillingness of Ukraine’s business environment to comply with EU rules. Analyzing the activities of the JSC, the dynamics of the securities market, stock market and the transformation of Ukrainian legislation, the initiatives of certain branches of government, we can say that Ukraine is moving in the right direction but not fast enough and forms a country with a real market economy. Therefore, we can conclude that the adaptation of Ukrainian corporate law to EU legislation should be carried out not only in relation to existing EU directives but in accordance with general trends and prospects for the development of European corporate law.

Today, for the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, one of the priority areas of international customs cooperation is cooperation with the customs authorities of other countries on the fulfillment of the terms of current free trade agreements. In this context, the exchange of information on the country of origin of goods moving across the customs border of Ukraine is of particular importance, which is one of the important factors for intensifying trade between Ukraine and the European Union. The Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union defines a number of obligations that Ukraine must fulfill in order to harmonize national legislation with the requirements of the relevant legislation of the European Union. Please note that there are now over 400 аgreements about free trade and preferential trade agreements that reduce customs tariffs on certain goods, provided they meet the specified origin criteria. However, many participants in foreign economic activity ignore the fact that they may claim tariff preferences or are uninformed in determining whether the goods they buy or sell are entitled to preferential treatment. As a result, many international trade participants pay a fee for goods originating in countries that are parties to the Free Trade Agreements, losing a financial advantage over their competitors. However, many exporters also lose business opportunities, and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises are particularly affected. This article is aimed at exploring the main aspects of legal and organizational support for the exchange of information on issues of the country of origin of goods in the course of customs in Ukraine. The author also intends to explore aspects of international cooperation of the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine with other customs authorities in determining the country of origin of goods moving across the customs border of Ukraine. Determine the possibility of further application of the preferential conditions provided for in the Free Trade Agreements concluded with the participation of Ukraine in the prevention, detection, and/or termination of customs-related violations of the origin of goods. Keywords. information, exchange of information, product, country of origin of the product, international trade.

The aim of this article is to consider the impact of international law and European Union law on legislation of Ukraine in general and on the state governance of economic field in particular. The methods of formal logic are used: analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, generalization. The author analyzes the notion of “international act” and “international treaty” and determines what acts impact to national legislation; synthesizes and generalizes her own vision of the degree of influence of acts of international law on the legislation of Ukraine. Elements of Europeanization of administrative and legal regulation of state governance of economic field is delimited deductively. Conclusions are drawn about the need to change the content of state governance functions in economic field with applying induction. Results and conclusions. The author draws attention to the different status of international acts and international treaties. The Ukrainian state implements the European integration policy and development of its legislation, the systems of state agencies are influenced not only by treaties and acts that have been ratified, but also by those not ratified by the Verkhovna Rada, though approximation to which is being implemented. It is emphasized that the legal personality implemented by the state shall define the enforceable international acts. The analysis of international acts developed by non-governmental organizations (UNIDROIT, UNCITRAL, etc.) suggests that they are mostly of a private law nature and may become a source of regulation in state – business entity relations at the micro level, i.e. those relations in which the state exercises its economic competence by acting as the owner of the property. At the same time, the regulatory framework of state governance of economic activity at the macro level is influenced by international treaties, in which Ukraine participates as authority. International treaties governing state legal relations also contain rules governing certain private legal relationships (trade agreements, double tax agreements, legal aid agreements). The article also highlights one of the trends in the development of administrative law in many European countries, including Ukraine, i.e. the Europeanization of administrative law. The elements of Europeanization of administrative and legal regulation of state governance of economic activity are determined.

Globalization processes around the world affect the activities of economic entities, which in turn leads to changes in their accounting and taxation systems. The article is devoted to the study of the peculiarities of the application of the simplified system of accounting and taxation of agrarian businesses of small businesses in order to identify problematic aspects and areas of state support for their functioning in the context of European integration. A study of the main aspects of the Association Agreement between Ukraine, on the one hand, and the European Union, the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, on the other hand, in terms of accounting and taxation. It is determined that the implementation of domestic legislation to the regulations of the European Union (directives) is tangible for both businesses and individuals. Analytical data on the activities of small busi-nesses in Ukraine, including agricultural enterprises, are presented. The results of the analysis show a decrease in the number of small enterprises for the period 2015-2019. At the same time, the volumes of produced and sold products of small businesses and micro-enterprises are growing, which testifies to the importance of the activities of these businesses. It is determined that the conditions of production and economic activity of business entities are accompanied by constant changes in current legislation, which causes uncertainty in their position in the competitive environment, leads to the risk of transactions and increased tax burden, and as a result – business closure or withdrawal in the shadows. "The current systems of taxation of small businesses are studied and their advantages and disadvantages are identified. The main criteria for assigning business entities to the group of small businesses in the agricultural sector, taking into account the Tax and Commercial Codes of Ukraine, as well as the provisions of the Law of Ukraine "On Accounting and Financial Reporting in Ukraine". The system of taxation and accounting of small agricultural enterprises is studied. It was found that the current situation in agriculture indicates the shortcomings and lack of efficiency of the tax system, which requires scientific and methodological support for a consistent and stable tax policy for this category of taxpayers, the use of tax incentives for small businesses, improving the simplified taxation of small businesses . Examining the organization of accounting for small businesses in the context of European integration, the framework of the feasibility of changes in the accounting system. It is noted that a certain problem is the inconsistency of financial and tax accounting for the formation of a harmonized information product for different groups of users. The opinion is expressed that the fiscal orientation of accounting should be reoriented to the needs of the management system and high-quality information support of stakeholders, including foreign investors. It is noted that the legislation on ac-counting and taxation systems, opening and registration of small and micro enterprises needs to be changed. In order to properly support the development of small business, it is proposed to create favorable conditions for taxation and a clear accounting system: providing information and financial support for the process of business organization and the transition to international accounting standards; organization of the system of training of entrepreneurs and retraining of accountants; streamlining mechanisms to protect the rights of small businesses.

The establishment of a modern European standard corporate reporting system in Georgia, which represents the country's commitment under the "Association Agreement", is, in turn, an important stimulating factor for attracting additional investments, business development, creating new jobs and, ultimately, increasing social well-being. For the introduction of a modern corporate reporting system, one of the most important prerequisites is to bring the national legislation and regulatory norms into compliance with the relevant European regulations. Such is the Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and the Council - "On annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain categories of enterprises" and Regulation N1606/2002 of the European Parliament and the Council of July 19, 2002 on the application of international accounting standards. This regulation establishes that in the member states of the Union, the consolidated statements of open joint-stock companies must be prepared in accordance with international accounting standards. In addition, member states have the right to allow or require the same obligation from closed joint-stock companies. Directive 2013/34/EU establishes that the requirements contained therein shall apply to the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States and shall apply to private and public companies which have share capital or whose owners are enterprises with share capital. The directive contains the definitions of the main concepts, the criteria for determining the size category of enterprises, as well as the list of organizations to be included in the category of Public-interest entity. The accounting standard to be used for each category of entity, the list of mandatorily prepared reports and the rules of their preparation and publication are established. The directive allows the member states to use simplified forms of reporting for small enterprises and provides specific approaches and instructions as to which articles/points should be combined to simplify the reporting forms. On June 8, 2016, the Parliament of Georgia approved the law on Accounting, Reporting and Auditing, however, if we look at the date of entry into force of the Association Agreement (July 01, 2016) and the date of adoption of the law, as well as the deadlines for the implementation of the main obligation defined by this law, we can conclude that Obligations under the association agreement are fulfilled within the relevant time frame. The law, as defining the categories of enterprises, as established the obligation of them to prepare and submit financial statements, as well as to publish them for public stakeholders, for enterprises of the first, second and third categories. And the enterprises of the fourth category have the obligation to submit to the Accounting, Reporting and Audit Supervision Service (SARAS) the statement prepared in accordance with the simplified standard intended for them. The rules of delivery of which to the interested person are established by the SARAS. It should be noted that the regulation of the law of Georgia, regarding the division of enterprises into categories, cannot include all economic subjects, and therefore, some of them remain outside the legal regulations, in particular, individual entrepreneurs who do not belong to the third, second or first category, are not included in the second category either. which does not comply with the requirements of the discussed directive.

In accordance with the legislative framework of the system for regulating liquid and airborne discharges of radioactive substances into the environment in force in the Russian Federation, this system is equally designed to regulate discharges of the radionuclides of both artificial and natural origin. The mechanisms of radiological impact of the discharges of natural origin radionuclides on the environment and population do not have any specificity in comparison with the ones of artificial origin radionuclides. Nevertheless, to date, the law enforcement of the Russian system for regulating discharges of the radioactive substances is applied only in relation to the discharges of the radionuclides of artificial origin carried out by nuclear facilities. At the same time, regulation of the discharges of natural origin radionuclides, in accordance with the safety standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is the best practice in the field of environmental protection, and the levels of radiation exposure, which characterize such discharges, are not low enough to be neglected. Regulation of the discharges of natural origin radionuclides is provided for in the norms of the European Union and is practically applied in the number of countries of the European Union, where the legislation provides for the regulation of activities, in which the raw materials containing radionuclides of natural origin are used, and the types of economic and other activities subject to this regulation are determined. The Russian system of regulation of discharges of the radioactive substances into the environment is built on the same basic principles and criteria that underlie foreign regulation systems, and which are recommended by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The regulatory and methodological base formed to date in the Russian Federation contains all the required legal mechanisms for the regulation of discharges of the radioactive substances from nuclear facilities, is based on the best international practices and fully complies with the standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Abstract. The use of the experience of implementing the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the member states of the European Union (EU) is relevant both for Russia and for other countries of the world interested in the successful development of the agrarian sector of the economy and rural areas. The role of rural areas in achieving national security of countries and regions (food, biological, environmental and other) is increasing significantly due to the current challenges and threats (climate change, COVID-19 pandemic, aggravation of the international situation). The purpose of the study, the results of which are presented in this article, is to scrutinise the special approach implemented under the CAP. This approach is referred to in European law as LEADER/CLLD and refers to a close combination of comprehensive cross-sector interaction with active involvement of local communities in rural development. In the work, analytical and review research methods were used, with the help of which (1) the current (relevant to the research topic) legislation, (2) programs implemented in the EU member states, (3) significant scientific publications were subject to scrupulous study. The result of the work is a review and analysis of the findings and practical recommendations for the future use of the various aspects of LEADER/CLLD in domestic political and economic practice. The application of this approach takes into account the fact that the experience of local residents, combined with the opinions of other stakeholders, can help to better adapt rural development policy to real needs and opportunities, and to form a specific (unique) human capital within the boundaries of rural communities. Human capital includes, in addition to specific skills, (1) the ability to take constructive initiatives, (2) a sense of local identity and ownership, (3) the ability to participate as equals with other partners in defining local development strategies, (4) trust between people, private enterprises, public institutions and sectoral communities interested in successful rural development, formed through constant interaction. Theoretical and practical conclusions regarding the content of LEADER/CLLD initiatives, as well as findings related to the possibilities of introducing tools and mechanisms to support rural areas, implemented directly with the involvement of local communities with financial support from the state, are of scientific novelty.

The key risks and problems in the field of decentralization and formation of united territorial communities in Ukraine in the context of providing transparent and responsible management of utility sector enterprises by local self-government bodies are identified. In the framework of Ukraine’s implementation of the provisions of the Association Agreement with the European Union in domestic practice, the reasonability of reforming the utility sector in Ukraine at the regional level based on the positive experience and best practices of the European countries and on the generally recognized world standards and principles of corporate governance is substantiated. The paper outlines the mechanisms for ensuring the management efficiency of utility sector and for introduction of new standards of transparency and accountability of utility sector enterprises. On the basis of the analysis of the respective provisions of the national legislation the authors conclude that Ukraine has created the legislative preconditions for the transparency and accountability of utility sector enterprises within the territorial communities. However, the changes introduced into the national legislation on accounting and financial reporting, as well as the revision of the Law of Ukraine on Auditing, imposes more stringent requirements for the disclosure of information about the activities of utility companies, recognizing them as companies of public interest and / or as the subjects of natural monopoly within the national market. In order to strengthen the supervision over such enterprises the collegial bodies - audit committees or appropriate supervisory boards - should be established within their management system. The article considers the differences of such bodies’ functioning and the procedural peculiarities of the respective supervisory councils’ establishment that are based on the legislative norm that is of recommendatory nature as for the establishment of such councils for village and city, and for all others - district, region - is of obligatory nature. The paper proves that it is not economically feasible to create supervisory boards within all utility sector enterprises. The author analyzes the competences of the relevant local councils within the national legislation of Ukraine. On the basis of the generalization of the best European experience and practices, criteria for determining the economic justification for the establishment of supervisory boards at domestic utility sector enterprises in Ukraine are proposed. Moreover, the recommendations for local authorities regarding the criteria for the selection of independent auditors (audit firms) for carrying out the statutory audit of annual financial statements of utility sector enterprises are also formulated. The introduction of the proposed recommendations will increase the competitiveness of the utility sector companies of Ukraine compared to the enterprises of private sector of economy, as well as will promote the implementation of international standards and European principles and the best practices of effective management of large corporations in the utility sector of Ukraine.

Most modern free trade agreements (FTAs’) include chapters on a variety of topics such as investment, digital trade, labour, gender, environment and small-medium enterprises. These new issues are often addressed in FTAs’ as there is a lack of development of multilateral rules on these areas at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Further, many of these aspects are non-trade issuesviz. environment, labour, competition policy, and investment. These areas are contentious and often face opposition from the Global South and are frequently excluded from the scope of dispute settlement. Against this background, this article examines the trends with respect to the application of the dispute settlement across recent FTAs’ concluded by certain developed countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK). This article examines recent FTAs’ and categorizes its chapters as follows: (1) Chapters always subject to dispute settlement, (2) Chapters not subjected to dispute settlement and (3) Chapters that have inconsistent recourse to dispute settlement. Accordingly, the article provides a cross country assessment of the FTA chapters with dispute settlement provisions and the rationale behind such divergent practices. FTA, developed, non-trade, dispute settlement, sustainable trade, USMCA, gender, environment, labour, multilateralism.

Introduction. The conceptual foundations of state regulation of critical infrastructure of Ukraine are laid down in the Concept of creating a state system of critical infrastructure protection (2017). The legal basis for regulating this area is established by the Law of Ukraine “On Critical Infrastructure” (2021). Problem Statement. Russia's armed aggression has led to a major destruction of Ukraine's national infrastructure. Approaches to state regulation of its facilities have changed, the real possibilities of their financing at the expense of the state budget have narrowed, and the structure of state borrowings has been transformed. Purpose. To determine the features of state regulation of critical infrastructure of Ukraine in martial law, the main areas of financial support for its postwar recovery, taking into account the experience of member states of the European Union. Methods. Modern approaches to the analysis of critical infrastructure issues of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, specialized agencies of the European Commission are used. Methods of theoretical generalization, retrospective analysis, synthesis, grouping, description, comparison are used. Results. Approaches to state regulation of critical infrastructure facilities in wartime, real possibilities of their financing at the expense of the state budget are revealed. The improvement of the legislation applied in the EU aimed at increasing the sustainability of critical enterprises is analyzed. The main directions of financial support for the restoration and development of critical infrastructure of Ukraine in the postwar period are identified, taking into account the economic and fiscal policy of the EU. Conclusions. Increasing the role of external official creditors in the structure of government borrowing provides the dynamics of financing the urgent needs of the functioning of national infrastructure and addressing issues of social protection. At the same time grants of direct budget support alone cannot cover the state budget deficit in the medium and long term. Solving the problems of financing the restoration of critical infrastructure is possible by providing partner countries with guarantees to their companies to invest in Ukraine under the conditions of effective anti-crisis management.

The growing complexity of the business world, associated with economic and financial globalization, has led to an increase in economic activity between companies and countries, which has given rise to the need to adopt a set of internationally accepted accounting standards, in order to mitigate the different accounting practices between countries and companies. In this sense, the International Accounting Standards Board, IASB, was created, responsible for creating a set of accounting standards with a global scope. The European Union joined the IASB, in the accounting harmonization process, leading to the adoption of the IASB's international standards as from 2005, all listed companies. In Portugal, it was decided to bring the national accounting system closer to international standards. For this purpose, the Accounting Standardization System, SNC, was created by the Accounting Standardization Committee (CNC), which includes a set of accounting standards, based on the international standards of the IASB. Decree-Law No. 192/2015 of 11 September, institutes the Accounting Standardization System for Public Administration in Portugal. This introduction eliminated a problem recognized in the diploma as “fragmentation constitutes a serious problem of technical inconsistency, as it affects the efficiency of the consolidation of accounts in the public sector and entails many adjustments that are not desirable and that question the reliability of the information in headquarters of its integration." Thus, it is referred in the legislation, after “15 years since the approval of the POCP and after having considered the needs of having an accounting system that responds to the requirements of adequate planning, reporting and financial control, the Government decided, through the Decree-Law No. 134/2012, of 29 June, instructs the Accounting Standardization Committee to prepare a new accounting system for public administrations, which is consistent with the SNC and .......

The author investigates the impact of COVID‑19 and macro-policy adjustment on China’s economic development. The aim is to describe the situation and trend of China’s economic development before and after COVID‑19. The research method is the comparative data analysis. The study shows that in response to COVID‑19, the Chinese government, on the one hand, has accelerated its opening-up, taken the opportunity of fighting against the pandemic to provide medical assistance to and cooperate with other countries, and actively promoted the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and the process of globalization. On the basis of the Belt and Road Initiative and multilateral, regional, and subregional cooperation mechanisms such as the United Nations, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), G20 (Group of 20), and APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), China and the Eurasian Economic Union began to cooperate more frequently and the trade relations between Japan, South Korea, and European developed countries became closer. Meanwhile, committed to building a global interconnection partnership, China actively participates in global economic governance and provides various public products. The Chinese government has proposed “Six Guarantees” on the basis of “Six Stability”. In order to achieve the purpose of stabilizing foreign trade and expanding imports, China has imposed various measures to accelerate the liberalization and facilitation of international trade and investment, such as implementing the new version of the “Foreign Investment Law”, establishing free trade zones, and promoting its experience and organizing international import expositions. Additionally, the Chinese government also implemented targeted fiscal and monetary policies, increased support for enterprises, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, and promoted the construction of “new infrastructure” and innovation of business model, which have formed the driving forces for the transformation of the economic development model in China from traditional business to cloud business, from traditional marketing to live streaming marketing, from traditional sales to online sales. The author concluded thatChina’s adjustment of macro policies in response to COVID‑19 was effective and played an important role in the resumption of production and life, stabilizing foreign trade activities, releasing domestic demand and promoting stable and sustained growth of the economy

Since 2013, at the State Duma initiative, each April Saint-Petersburg has hosted the “Eurasian Economic Perspective” International Forum. This discussion venue for the exchange of opinions by parliament members of the post-Soviet states, with the participation of scientists, representing humanitarian sciences and education, furthers, among other things, the goal of the states’ integration and their economic development. The topic for discussion offered this year was the implementation problems of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Integration as of January, 1, 2015. One of the main integration problems is the problem of unification and harmonization of national legislations of the Treaty countries. The key question of the unification process is separation of powers and competences of the integration organization’s common body and the participating countries’ national bodies. The understanding of the supranational power of the common body is not correct. The integration experience in other unions between the states proves the importance of the sovereignty principle in the integration process. The author provides the analysis of former integration experience. For example, CMEA (Council of Mutual Economic Assistance) united the former Eastern European socialist republics and South-Eastern Asia and was dissolved in 90-ies after the transition of the States — participants to market economy. Notwithstanding its dissolution, CMEA created effective integration instruments on the basis of unification of national legislations: The CMEA General Conditions of Delivery. This instrument of the socialist common market continues to be practiced as model conditions for international contracts. The legal instrument of the International Business Corporation (IBC) has initiated the movement of resources that can be compared to the movement of capital in a free-market world. The CMEA experience has provided basic knowledge of cooperation, which was later used in other integration groups. The article also covers the economic integration of the European Union. It can be useful from the point of view of critics of “federalist” theories on the nature of integration of a group of states. The latter remains, as the authors show, to be subject to the International Law system. It is quite logical, that due to this position of the authors, they pay special attention to the key role of national legislation in the integration process. On the basis of the analysis of the Andean Common Market experience the authors underline the features of integration in the Latin American region. The comparative analysis of international regional unions of states is necessary to make the work of the Eurasian International Economic Union (EAEU) more effective. The Information Law is the technique that provides the diffusion of the most effective models of regulation for the purpose of economic integration. This approach in solving problems of economic integration in EAEU seems to be useful in search of the ways to overcome difficulties of the integration process.

The article analyzes the peculiarities of remuneration of employed persons in the business sector. Compliance of "pay indicators" with the legislative basis of Ukraine - in particular, the Code of Labor Laws of Ukraine No. 322-08 dated 07.23.1996 (ed. dated 08.19.2022) and the Law of Ukraine "On Remuneration" No. 108/95 was determined - VR from 03/24/1995 (edited from 08/19/2022). The social, humanitarian, political and legal orientations of "labor remuneration" in the domestic doctrine of labor are outlined. The genesis of the right to work in Ukraine is analyzed in accordance with the provisions of Art. 43 of the Basic Law of the Constitution of Ukraine. The philosophical and terminological context of the "employer-employee" relationship is considered. The positive and negative aspects of the payment of an employment contract (TD) and a civil law agreement (CPU) are determined in accordance with the labor legislation of Ukraine and the provisions of the Civil Code of Ukraine No. 435-IV dated 16.01.2003 (edited from 01.08.2022). An analysis of the mechanisms for increasing the wages of workers in the developed countries of the world – the EU, the USA, Great Britain, etc. – was carried out. In particular, the precedents of the formation of "salary policy" by the ETUC (European Trade Union Confederation) among the 27 EU member states, the mechanisms for increasing wages and establishing the minimum (marginal) permissible limits of labor remuneration in accordance with the policy of the US Department of Labor (U.S. Department) are outlined. of Labor), features of the formation of the wage and salary policy of Great Britain, which is directed and coordinated by the National Economic Council (National Economic Council). Features of employee stimulation by increasing wages are described. The phenomenon of "work-life balance" (the balance of work and personal life) and the payment policy of enterprises as the root cause of its generation have been studied. The mechanisms of trade union protection of an employed person against systematic violations of labor legislation are outlined –– in Ukraine, the EU, the USA and Great Britain, respectively. The relationship between remuneration and the level of personal motivation of the employee has been proven. The definition of the "job satisfaction scale" (job satisfaction scale) as a psychological constant characteristic of the research-management doctrine of the USA is singled out.

In 2014 after signing the Association Agreement between the European Union and Georgia, a wide range of trade relations has been opened for the state of Georgia and was given the opportunity for the free trade. Chapter IV of the Agreement - "Trade and Trade-Related Issues", the agreement about Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) includes the mechanism of economic integration with the EU and opens its internal market for Georgia. According to the agreement, if the required conditions are achieved, the world’s largest market will be opened for Georgia, which currently unites 28 countries and more than the 500 million customers. Utilizing this opportunity will lead increasing investment flows in the country, the emergence of new enterprises and export products, suppling of safe and harmless products to the customers. This will ultimately have a positive impact on the country's economic growth and the development, nevertheless it is still a distant prospect. In order to receive all the foreseen benefits of the Association Agreement, it became necessary to identify and eliminate problems in the number of areas. According to the agreement, food safety is recognized as a political priority of the European Union. Created program of legislative approximation with the EU includes the fulfillment of commitments and the deadlines, which is an ongoing process. In the years of 2015-2020, in accordance with the DCFTA agreement, 146 legal acts had been aligned with the EU legislation in the fields of food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary. Despite all these achievements, the major challenge for both the regulators and business operators still remains to be the enforcement and putting into effect the EU required standards. As the most products in the EU market are subject to harmonized rules, that protect the consumers, public health and the environment, it excludes the adoption of different national rules - the product made in Georgia must comply with the EU standards. That is why the Georgian business operators have to: introduce internationally recognized systems in the enterprise; adapt to the new regulatory environment; create a harmless, quality and competitive product; attract the European partners and be able to produce the required quantity, which may need to involve the different and modern production technologies. Therefore, it is essential to understand, that using the terms of the agreement do not completely depend on the smooth running of government agencies, as it largely depends on the personal progress of the business operators and the relevant associations. Keywords : Economic integration with Europe, food safety, international commitment, Association Agreement.

The article covers current legal issues on implementing the institution of an authorized economic operator (AEO). The directions for developing the domestic economic and transport legislation are outlined. According to the International Monetary Fund data, supply chain disruptions have become a major challenge for the global economy since the start of the pandemic caused by COVID–19. Shutdowns of factories in China in early 2020, lockdowns in several countries across the world, labour shortages, as well as demand for tradable goods, disruptions to logistics networks have resulted in big increases in freight costs and delivery times. It is noted that the ongoing problems in the supply chain have caused some changes in the development of trade relations of Ukraine with other countries due to its transit state status. The institute of authorized economic operator was established in Ukraine according to the Law of Ukraine «On the amendments to the Customs Code of Ukraine on certain issues of functioning of authorized economic operators» adopted in October 2, 2019. It is emphasized that implementing the institution of the authorized economic operator corresponds to Ukraine’s obligations under the Association Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part. It is noted that more than 80 % of all customs clearance in the EU is carried out by companies with AEO authorization. A resident business entity as a participant of the international supply chain (including manufacturer, exporter, importer, customs representative, carrier, freight forwarder, warehouse keeper) may be authorized economic operators due to multi-stage conformity assessment system. In addition, the current legislation should be updated, in particular relevant provisions of the Economic Code of Ukraine, transport codes and laws in order to provide legal basis for authorized economic operators’ activities as the participants of freight transportation, as well as unifying the legal requirements for the AEO and carriers, freight forwarders, etc.

According to the Concept of Long-Term Social and Economic Development of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2020, in the next few years the imbalance in world trade, as well as capital flows, will continue to increase, which will lead to changes in foreign exchange rates. That is why the final goal is to promote priority national interests in the framework of bilateral and multilateral trade and economic relations with foreign countries. In pursuit of this goal, the following improvement of customs regulation, and export and currency control mechanisms in the Russian Federation will be aimed at reducing barriers to foreign economic activity of innovative enterprises. Achievement of the set goals today is subject to the influence of a constantly changing world and new technologies. New technologies are increasingly penetrating the life of modern society. Meanwhile, the speed of introduction of new technologies is such that point changes in current legislation will gradually nullify the effectiveness of legal regulation as a system. Therefore, the changes today should concern not only the monetary and financial sphere, but also take into account other areas. The article is devoted to the study of crucial problems of implementing modern technologies from the legal point of view. Thus, at the international level, uncertainty still remains over issues of currency and legal responsibility, which is largely due to various legal regulations. Starting in 2018, the new rules for calculating the liquidity of banks and the ratio of borrowed funds to assets will come into full force in the European Union. Several large banks in France, dissatisfied with the policy of the European Central Bank (ECB), even appealed to the European Court of Justice for a change in the rules. According to FxPro analysts’ reports, economic growth in Europe has accelerated slightly, and the ECB is on the verge of abandoning its ultra-easy monetary policy in the direction of neutral and is preparing for further tightening. One of the subjects of the research is the system of monetary relations from the point of view of analyzing the problems of ensuring its stability, including criminal and legal means. The purpose of this analysis is to illustrate how to protect the domestic foreign exchange market and the challenges facing the monetary system today. The article has been prepared on the basis of legal and technical analysis of legal norms, as well as comparative legal and formal logical methods and system analysis methodology. In the authors’ view, this could contribute to a uniform approach to the problem, without which it would be extremely difficult to achieve success. It is concluded that in view of new challenges facing the global economy and the emergence of cryptocurrency, it is necessary to rethink the phenomenon of currency crimes, to study the experience of combating monetary crimes in other countries and to evaluate the common mechanisms for combating currency crimes. However, this approach cannot be considered legitimate insofar as different interpretation of the same term in different branches of legislation does not allow full realization of the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens. After all, branches of legislation do not exist in isolation from one another, but are interrelated. It is concluded that the person conducting proceedings in a case can and is obliged, based on an analysis of the circumstances under consideration, to proceed from a comprehensive assessment of the category used in making the decision as applied to its understanding in aggregate in various branches of legislation. It is also necessary to create a universal state database for judges, prosecutors, investigators, etc., which would allow free cross-sectoral information exchange on the same subject. The new digital economy also requires retraining of civil servants and state employees, including the judiciary branch of government. At the same time, the article deals with the transformation of the legal profession in the future. It is concluded that classical legal education will not sink into oblivion. However, the lawyers of the future will play a slightly different role, namely, they will act as machinists, builders, operators and inventors of a useful model of legal relations for robot judges.

The course of European integration chosen by the state and the further accession of Ukraine to the European Union requires, in turn, the reform of national legislation and the system of authorities, as well as a review of the state's role in the life of public relations, including agrarian ones. In this regard, there is a need to carry out agrarian reform of Ukraine, the main purpose and task of which is to ensure the activity of the national commodity producer, to bring the agrarian sector of Ukraine to the international level, as well as to strengthen the position of Ukrainian products in the world market. However, without the proper involvement of the state, achieving these goals is virtually impossible. That is why the role of the state in ensuring the development of the agro-industrial sector is crucial. At the same time, the state should not interfere in agribusiness, and it is obliged to create only favorable environment for business entities. In this case, it is important to ensure the proper public administration of agrarian legal relations, which in turn creates the need to study the nature of public administration, the purpose and mechanisms of implementation, as well as legislative regulation. At the same time, considerable attention needs to be paid to the study of state support for agriculture, which in recent years has been the main type of state participation in the field of agriculture. Public administration and direct government support for agriculture create the right conditions for agribusiness development, including the opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses to develop. The article explores the concepts of public administration and state support for agriculture, defines their purpose and content. The comparative legal characterization of public administration and state support has been carried out separately, and it has been established that these are different legal categories, but interrelated and interdependent. It is determined that the national legislation of Ukraine does not have definitions of the studied concepts, and therefore one of the directions of reforming the national legislation should be its updating by fixing the concept of public administration, methods, principles of its implementation, etc. The purpose of the study is to compare state support and public administration in agrarian law of Ukraine, to determine common and different characteristics, to establish methods of implementation of state support and public administration, to study the experience of foreign countries on state support and public administration of agricultural producers. The object of the study is the legal relations that arise between the state and other subjects of agrarian legal relations regarding the implementation of public administration and state support of the agrarian sector. The methodological basis of scientific research is represented by the following methods: the method of legal analysis, comparative method, the structural method, the formal legal method. Keywords: public administration, state support, state aid, public administration, agrarian relations, public authorities.

A cooperation between states in criminal cases is carried out in order to achieve the goals of justice and may exist at the stage of pre-trial investigation, trial, as well as after the entry into force of a court decision (sentence, ruling). Forms of international cooperation in the investigation of criminal cases are quite diverse. The main ones are: providing legal assistance, which consists in carrying out procedural actions, because during the investigation and trial of criminal cases there is often a need to gather evidence abroad by questioning defendants, victims, witnesses, experts, conducting searches, examinations, court inspections, seizure and transfer of items, delivery, and forwarding of documents, etc.; extradition of persons for criminal prosecution or for the execution of a court sentence; arrest, search and confiscation of proceeds of crime (states undertake to cooperate in the investigation of money laundering; assist in the investigation and take appropriate measures: to freeze bank accounts, seize property to prevent its concealment; confiscate proceeds of crime or property, value of which corresponds to the value of income, etc.). The normative basis for the international cooperation in the investigation of criminal cases is the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters dated April 20, 1959; the Criminal procedural code of Ukraine; Methodical recommendations of the General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine; Order No. 223 “On the organization of the work of the Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine in the field of international legal cooperation” dated September 18, 2015. The legal basis for international cooperation in criminal matters is the current bilateral and multilateral international treaties of Ukraine, the binding nature of which has been approved by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Among the multilateral international agreements, there should be noted the European conventions on criminal justice: the European Convention on the Extradition with two additional protocols to it, the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters with an additional protocol to it, the European Convention on the Transfer of Proceedings in Criminal Matters, The Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons with an additional protocol, The European Convention on the Supervision of Conditionally Sentenced or Conditionally Released Offenders, the Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure, and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime and the European Convention on the International Validity of Criminal Judgements. In addition, the Commonwealth of Independent States has the 1993 Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Matters and its 1997 Protocol; within the framework of the United Nations, there is the Convention on Transnational Crime of 2000, together with two Protocols thereto. These multilateral international agreements establish a uniform sphere of cooperation between law enforcement and judicial authorities in relation to all European countries. Today, the most effective is the method of “SWOT-analysis”, which is currently recognized in the scientific community as one of the most popular tools in strategic planning of social processes, including in the investigation of criminal cases. Although the type of analysis is still considered by most scientists as Bohomolova Ye., (2004) a method of marketing research of enterprises in the market in the context of business practice, the object of “SWOT-analysis” can be as legislation, the practice of its application and prospects of their improvement, and materials of criminal cases. Methodology. Achieving the purpose of this publication is ensured by the use of cognitive philosophical, general scientific and special methods, among which the main are analysis and synthesis, comparative law method, which allow to identify prospects for the use in criminal cases of the method of “SWOT-analysis”, which is currently recognized in the scientific community as one of the most popular tools in strategic planning of social processes. Methods of grammatical review and interpretation of legal norms have helped to identify gaps in the legislation governing the investigation of criminal cases, in particular in the field of economics, and to develop proposals for its improvement. Practical importance. International cooperation in criminal proceedings is an organizationally complex process, which requires the use of effective and efficient methods to perform the tasks of criminal proceedings, respect for the rights and freedoms of all participants in the process, including not violating a reasonable time in the investigation. To date, science has developed many methods of analyzing the law, the practice of their application, and identifying ways to improve legislation, taking into account the results of forecasting the prospects for society and the state. To ensure a high level of quality of criminal investigations in the framework of international cooperation, it is necessary to choose the one that will give the most effective results and allow to formulate the most optimal proposals in a particular criminal case and the practice of their application. An attempt to solve this problem is presented in this study.

The subject of the research. The level of the economy of any country depends on its scientific, technical, innovative potential. It determines the country's place in the global economy, the competitiveness of industries and enterprises. One of the important factors of innovative growth of the country's economy is the development of the field of intellectual property. The subject of the research is the analysis of the main indicators of the national intellectual property system of Ukraine and the study of the main trends of its development. The purpose of the article is to study the economic, market, legal aspects of the functioning of the field of intellectual property that form its potential, development and scientific substantiation of the directions of development of the national intellectual property system of Ukraine. The methodologyof the work. A systematic approach and methodologies of economic, statistical, economic and mathematical analysis are used to study the trends of the main factors influencing the potential and development of the intellectual property system of Ukraine. The results of the work. The article describes the dynamics of the main indicators of the functioning of the intellectual property sphere, the country's ratings in the international system for the protection of intellectual property rights. It has been determined that the effectiveness of such a system depends on many factors, the main of which are: compliance of the regulatory framework; development of the infrastructure of national and international systems of intellectual property legal protection; effectiveness of training and advanced training of specialists; level of financial support for its activities. The field of application of the results of the study of the main trends in the global, national innovation market and the national intellectual property system will allow for a more accurate adjustment of the direction and strategy of the development of the sphere and also identify the most problematic issues to bring the domestic legislation closer to the provisions of the association agreement with the European Union. Conclusiins. An effective structure for the protection of intellectual property rights is a solid foundation for the innovative development model of Ukraine, its modernization and global competitiveness. The study revealed, on the one hand, a significant growth potential in the field of intellectual property, on the other hand, an insufficient level of growth compared with the leading countries of the world. The key constraints for the development of innovation in Ukraine are the political and business environment, as well as the weak infrastructure of the market for innovation and creative work. The following are the next areas of development strategy for the field of intellectual property of Ukraine: the scientific and technological development of society; the implementation of European standards in the field of intellectual property with national legislation; elimination and systematization of existing contradictions. The results of the study indicate that the problem of using the potential of intellectual capital in the formation of an innovative development model has considerable scientific interest and requires further research.

The freezing of economies due to the COVID-19 pandemic caused damage not only on the sales side but also on the labor market due to the outflow of staff from companies specializing in the organization of meetings. The return of the meetings industry sector to the development path will involve skillful change management, including in the area of competencies and skills. To inventory and assess the competencies of employees in the meetings industry, this study was carried out among specialized enterprises in the meetings industry in Poland, Hungary, and Ireland, on samples of two research groups, i.e. the Director General (CEO) and operational employees based on questionnaires and individual in-depth interviews (IDI). The obtained results allowed to establish the hierarchy of self-assessment of own managerial competencies, assessment of the competencies of the CEO by the employees, areas of increasing team competencies, and areas of staff development in the sector shortly, contributing to the recovery from the pandemic crisis. Raising the competencies and qualifications of employees is perceived as one of the most powerful tools for overcoming the pandemic crisis, obtaining 68% positive indications among CEOs in Poland, 77% indications in Hungary, and 84% in Ireland. In all analyzed countries, the meetings industry is indicated as a strategic product of the tourist market. Among the planned long-term actions aimed at overcoming the pandemic crisis, increasing employee competencies is perceived as an opportunity for the companies operating the meetings industry sector (90% in Poland, and 80% in Hungary and Ireland). AcknowledgmentThis study was done in frames of the project “Vocational competences in MICE sector” co-financed in frames of European Union program Erasmus + as part of the program The Dialog for Transformation, Erasmus+, 2020–2021.

Introduction. The amount of energy resources generated from the introduction of alternative energy is increasing every year, nevertheless this problem is increasingly being researched by scientists, economists and ordinary people seeking to improve the environment around the world. This is a very pressing issue for European countries. As a potential member of the European Union, Ukraine also intends to significantly increase its energy resources from alternative energy. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has been acting in the same direction since 2003 when the Law of Ukraine «On Alternative Energy» was adopted and has constantly been amending them, the last of which is dated July 11th, 2019 [1]. However, accounting for alternative energy is a new topic of research, therefore it requires a systematic approach to the formation of accounting policies; a number of interconnected accounts of the Charts of Accounts of assets, capital, liabilities and business operations of enterprises and organizations; and application of appropriate software. Analysis of recent research and publications. Problems of alternative energy development were considered in the works of Ishchuk L., Kinash I., Lishchuk V., Lishchuk M., Moskovchuk A., Nikolaeva A., Pyrih S. and accounting and analysis are investigated in the works of Derii V. A., Zadorozhnyi Z.-M. V., Krupka Ya. D. However, the accounting aspects weren’t considered in detail, thus, in this regard, the topic of our study is relevant. The purpose of the study is to formulate a systematic approach to accounting and its automation in alternative energy enterprises in order to develop proposals for improving the efficiency of their activities. Methods. The article uses general scientific and specific research methods to study the systematic approach to accounting and its computerization in alternative energy enterprises. A situational analysis of alternative energy development is carried out. The graphical method was used to reflect the ratio of energy from the sun, biomass, wind (in percentage terms) for ten years in Ukraine. Topical problems of energy in Ukraine and in the world through the use of induction and deduction methods are revealed. The modeling method for the formation of the accounting system in small enterprises of alternative energy production has been applied. Results. A systematic approach to accounting for alternative energy is very important as it’s a significant segment in the set of activities. The Law of Ukraine “On Alternative Energy” and International Standards or National Accounting Standards and Financial Reporting Standards do not refer the specificities of accounting and reporting on energy receipts from alternative energy sources. In this regard, we propose in the Law of Ukraine “On Alternative Sources” to separate the section for accounting and reporting, as it is done in Article 26 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Electricity Market” [2]. In our opinion, in the Chart of Accounting it is advisable to replace the name of the sub-account 203 «Fuel» with the name «Natural and energy resources» with the corresponding analytical accounts 2031 «Cold water», 2032 «Hot water», 2033 «Electricity of own production», 2034 «Electricity purchased» , 2035 “Natural gas purchased”, 2036 “Biofuels”, and 2037 “Other renewable natural and energy resources” [3]. In addition, we believe that the government should encourage the development of small businesses, consulting and design services that would provide individual homeowners with the opportunity to equip themselves with alternative energy facilities. In this regard, it is necessary to develop an optimal model of accounting system for small alternative energy enterprises. In the segment of accounting and reporting automation, we propose companies to search for new software that will replace the Russian software “1 C Accounting”, because this software requires additional modules. In addition, this software is very risky due to the political situation in Ukraine. Hence, we believe that it is necessary to give priority to the improvement of domestic software. Prospects. Further scientific research can be developed to detail the features of accounting, reporting and control in small alternative energy enterprises. The level of readiness for the use of Ukrainian accounting and reporting software products, in particular in the alternative energy segment, as well as the formation of a unified network with the bank and investors, should be discovered.

The purpose of the article is to present effective anti-crisis management measures to bring enterprises out of the crisis situation and improve their financial and economic security. The subject of this study is the financial and economic security of an enterprise during a crisis. Methodology. Using the historical and comparative methods, the author analyzes the events of recent years and analyzes the impact of external factors on the formation of the crisis state of an enterprise. The economic and statistical method made it possible to analyze the scale of damage caused by the Russian Federation to the state of Ukraine during almost nine years of active hostilities in violation of such principles of international law as the principle of non-use of force or threat of force; the principle of sovereign equality of states; the principle of equality and self-determination of peoples; the principle of peaceful settlement of international disputes; the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of states; the principle of peaceful cooperation; the principle of fulfilling international obligations in good faith; the principle of inviolability of borders; the principle of territorial integrity of states; the principle of universal respect and protection of human rights; and to see what level of crisis the terrorist state of the Russian Federation has spread in the largest country of the European Union, namely Ukraine. Using the philosophical dialectical method, the author analyzes the very phenomenon of crisis in the broad sense of the word and finds a way to respond to the challenges of the crisis. Results. This study assesses the benefits that have contributed to the development of economic relations with countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe. The losses suffered by the Ukrainian economic system due to the destructive processes of the crisis are analyzed. The author examines the peace formula approved by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which provides for the implementation of measures aimed at shaping peace in the European space and correcting the mistakes made by officials of the terrorist state of the Russian Federation, which led to terrible consequences; the author analyzes the achievements of this peace formula and determines how much benefit and lives it has already brought. The practical significance lies in the definition of reorganization as one of the best anti-crisis management measures that can bring an enterprise out of a crisis. In particular, attention is drawn to the effectiveness of rehabilitation measures that can restore the solvency of an enterprise. In turn, taking into account the established practice of attracting investment capital as a means of improving the economic activity of an enterprise, the author analyzes the risks of losing property and non-property assets in the event of adverse conditions and proposes to create a mechanism for investment guarantees, which consist in preserving assets by the investor in the event of adverse market fluctuations. The scientific novelty lies in the proposal to amend the current legislation to guarantee the safety of the rehabilitation procedure to the investor by mitigating the risk of loss of invested assets in restoring the enterprise's solvency.

In the era of globalization, the attraction of foreign investments has become an important factor in promoting the economic growth of countries. Investors are constantly looking for favorable conditions for investing their capital, which involves a combination of several important factors. The investor, who is focused on getting the maximum profit with the minimum cost, before making an investment decision, will study the investment environment of the host country, the proximity to large key markets, the barriers to entry from the host country to international markets, the availability of production and energy resources, the level of political and economic stability, the number of labor force, qualifications, etc. .sh. In terms of investments in the modern world, two types of trends have been identified: 1. High-tech investments, which are mainly located in developed countries, due to the developed country's intellectual resources, key market and good opportunities for business development, and 2. Investment, which is focused on obtaining maximum profit at the expense of cheap resources and labor force, and there is no or minimal technical innovation in it. It is important for the state to attract such direct foreign investments, which will not only be focused on making profits, but will also ensure the raising of the qualifications of local staff, the introduction of technological innovations, and the social protection of employees. Thanks to the economic reforms implemented after the post-Soviet upheavals, Georgia has become an attractive place for foreign investment, however, due to the shortage of labor force and low qualifications, investments focused on cheap resources and labor force are entering the country more than high-tech ones. The entry of relatively large, high-tech investments is hindered, in addition to the scarcity of the country's workforce and relatively low qualifications, the low level of energy independence, the territories occupied by the Russian Federation of Georgia, the generally politically and economically unstable region (Tskhinvali, Abkhazia, Karabakh regions), the aggressive state - the Russian Federation. Neighborhood and high probability of potential armed conflicts. The positive factors that make Georgia attractive for foreign investors are a favorable geopolitical location with land access, moderate natural and climatic conditions, low level of corruption, less bureaucratic and simple legislation compared to other countries, high level of harmonization of national legislation with international legislation, with the European Union in 2014 and in 2017 Free trade agreements signed with China, which allow a foreign investor to export products produced on behalf of Georgia to two of the world's largest markets without any problems. Due to the fact that one of the most important factors of production - "capital" - is needed to develop the economy, and the country does not have it at this stage, attracting foreign investments is a vitally important task for the economic growth of Georgia. In developing countries like Georgia, the level of domestic savings is relatively low. In addition to this, apart from the banking system, there is no stock market. In the period 1996-2021, a total of about 23.12 billion dollars of investment came into Georgia. The first and only investor country in 1996 was Ukraine with 3753.45 thousand US dollars. In the following years, significant investments were made in Georgia from the USA (1.81 billion USD), the European Union, CIS countries and Great Britain. According to the latest data, foreign investment has entered Georgia from 74 countries, which is almost 2 times less than the number of countries with which Georgia has trade relations (export-import). Since 2003, the growth of investments had an irreversible character, however, the 2008 world economic crisis and Russia's military attack on Georgia sharply reduced this figure, and it took 6 years to restore the pre-war figure. In addition, since 2017, foreign investments in Georgia have been characterized by a decreasing trend. Pandemic year 2020 was particularly notable in terms of investment decline. Despite the fact that after the signing of the Georgia-EU association in 2014, foreign investments should have increased due to the desire to access the EU market, until 2017, their volume was decreasing. In 2017, in the history of independent Georgia, the largest level of foreign investments - 1.98 billion USD was recorded. In the same year, the agreement on free trade between Georgia and China was signed, which should also increase foreign investments due to the desire to access the Chinese market, although the country has not returned to the level of foreign investments made in 2017. On December 31, 2013, the Organic Law of Georgia "On Economic Freedom" adopted in 2011 entered into force. The law, on the one hand, regulates the limit of the amount acceptable from taxpayers - in case of the desire to increase the tax rates of income, profit, VAT and import taxes, citizens' consent is required through a referendum, and on the other hand, the amount of spending of collected taxes is controlled by the limits of the established macroeconomic parameters. After the implementation of this law, the tax burden of taxpayers was not supposed to increase, but the government took advantage of the loophole in the law and in 2017 the excise duty rate was sharply increased on cars (the excise duty on right-hand drive cars was doubled), fuel and tobacco products. The property tax has also been increased, since it does not belong to the general state tax. Since January 1, 2017, when the Estonian model of profit tax came into force, the state budget received about 500 million GEL less. To make up the deficit, either government spending had to be cut, or debt had to be incurred, or taxes had to be raised. In 2017, the government's expenses increased by 800 million GEL, we took on a debt of 400 million GEL, and the excise and property tax rates were also increased, according to which if the family had an annual income of more than 40,000 GEL, they would have already paid property tax on the car. As of May 2021, the foreign debt has increased to 24.8 billion GEL and has already violated the macroeconomic parameter written in the Law on Economic Freedom, according to which the government's debt cannot exceed 60% of GDP. From 2011, when the law was adopted, until 2013, when the law entered into force, the volume of direct foreign investments did not increase, on the contrary - it even decreased, although this can be blamed on the caution caused by the change of government in 2012. - Investors are likely to observe the possibility of a change in the country's political vector. When the law came into force in December 2013, that is, in fact from 2014, the volume of investments increased by leaps and bounds, and this dynamic continued until 2017, when taxes were increased. Since 2018, the volume of direct foreign investments has dropped almost to the level of 2011. Based on all of the above, we believe that in order to attract foreign investments, Georgia should make maximum use of those competitive advantages that will attract the attention of foreign investors. The country, which has historically been a corridor of regional and world importance, has yet to fully utilize its transport function.

Purpose. The purpose of this study is to identify the causes of economic policy failure in general and agricultural policy failures in Albania in particular. At the same time, the very concept of policy failure is a matter of our interest. To achieve our goal, we have conducted a basic literature review. The most important aspect of interest in the study is the investigation of two cases where agricultural policy in Albania has failed. Methodology / approach. To conduct the study we use several methods: a review of general literature in relation to government policy failure; review of specific literature regarding farm size and cooperation; review of national policy or strategic documents regarding agricultural and rural development in general and farm size and cooperation in particular; review of national statistical evidence about farm size and cooperation in Albania, and data from international sources such as The Global Economy. Results. The study is based on the widely recognized evidence that the concept of failure is multidimensional and not uniquely defined. The study contributes to identifying and summarizing some of the main causes of policy failures. Government policies generally fail when intervention leads to inefficient allocation of resources and an overall decline in people’s well-being when they do not increase production, productivity, or revenue, or when society does not achieve the policy objectives set. Policy failures are generally related to the weakness of institutions. Institutions are weak when they fail to perform effectively the three basic functions that are commitment, coordination, and cooperation. In the case of agricultural policies in Albania, the study analyzes the extremely low level of collective action and the small size of farms, which has remained almost the same and fragmented throughout the 30–year period of economic and social transition. Strong institutions responsible for drafting and implementing legislation and developing policies, characterized by the professionalism and high performance of their staff, are the only guarantee for achieving the policy objectives for sustainable agricultural development and accelerating the process of Albania’s integration into the European Union. Originality / scientific novelty. The literature points out that: (1) government effectiveness, (2) rule of law and (3) weak control of corruption are the root causes of all policy failures, including agricultural policy failures. We analyze the data on these indicators for Albania and some other countries in the Western Balkans region and try to draw conclusions about their impact on the two policy failures we are interested in, which are the serious lack of collective action in the agricultural sector and the small size of farms in Albania. No previous research has been focused on agricultural policy failures, at least in Albania. Practical value / implications. The study may be useful for the discussion and evaluation of the impact of policies, and performance of related institutions in Albania. It emphasizes not only the need of reforming these bodies but also suggestions for future research on policies and their effectiveness in Albania and beyond.

Purpose. The purpose of this study is to identify the causes of economic policy failure in general and agricultural policy failures in Albania in particular. At the same time, the very concept of policy failure is a matter of our interest. To achieve our goal, we have conducted a basic literature review. The most important aspect of interest in the study is the investigation of two cases where agricultural policy in Albania has failed. Methodology / approach. To conduct the study we use several methods: a review of general literature in relation to government policy failure; review of specific literature regarding farm size and cooperation; review of national policy or strategic documents regarding agricultural and rural development in general and farm size and cooperation in particular; review of national statistical evidence about farm size and cooperation in Albania, and data from international sources such as The Global Economy. Results. The study is based on the widely recognized evidence that the concept of failure is multidimensional and not uniquely defined. The study contributes to identifying and summarizing some of the main causes of policy failures. Government policies generally fail when intervention leads to inefficient allocation of resources and an overall decline in people’s well-being when they do not increase production, productivity, or revenue, or when society does not achieve the policy objectives set. Policy failures are generally related to the weakness of institutions. Institutions are weak when they fail to perform effectively the three basic functions that are commitment, coordination, and cooperation. In the case of agricultural policies in Albania, the study analyzes the extremely low level of collective action and the small size of farms, which has remained almost the same and fragmented throughout the 30–year period of economic and social transition. Strong institutions responsible for drafting and implementing legislation and developing policies, characterized by the professionalism and high performance of their staff, are the only guarantee for achieving the policy objectives for sustainable agricultural development and accelerating the process of Albania’s integration into the European Union. Originality / scientific novelty. The literature points out that: (1) government effectiveness, (2) rule of law and (3) weak control of corruption are the root causes of all policy failures, including agricultural policy failures. We analyze the data on these indicators for Albania and some other countries in the Western Balkans region and try to draw conclusions about their impact on the two policy failures we are interested in, which are the serious lack of collective action in the agricultural sector and the small size of farms in Albania. No previous research has been focused on agricultural policy failures, at least in Albania. Practical value / implications. The study may be useful for the discussion and evaluation of the impact of policies, and performance of related institutions in Albania. It emphasizes not only the need of reforming these bodies but also suggestions for future research on policies and their effectiveness in Albania and beyond.

Problem setting. Despite the ramifications of national legislation on entrepreneurship and real activity on a significant scale of small and medium-sized businesses, as well as a significant amount of research in this area, there are problems that reduce the effectiveness of business results and encourage improvement as a regulatory framework. and mechanisms of the national model of entrepreneurship. The ways to implement the principle of freedom of entrepreneurial activity in the system of innovation law remain unclear. The purpose of the article is to identify problems that reduce the efficiency of entrepreneurial activity and search for options to improve the existing regulatory framework in the field of innovation, as well as ways to implement in the national model of economic experience of advanced countries. Analysis of recent researches and publications. A comparative analysis of the results of research by scientists from Georgia (T. Anasashvili, D. Bridze, B. Bolkhvadze, I. Margalitadze), Belarus (E. Voronko, V. Panashchenko), Kazakhstan (S. Moroz) with the conclusions and suggestions of Ukrainian scientists: A. Brevnova, P. Bubenko, D. Zadykhailo and others is carried out. Article’s main body. In the context of the global economic crisis, the most effective ways out of it are two main directions. The first, global, is due to the unification of states into economic unions and the development of common mechanisms for economic development. And the second, local, is based on a detailed study of international best practices and its implementation in national models of innovative development. A systematic analysis of the national regulatory framework with the legislation on entrepreneurship of other countries gives grounds for concluding that it is formed on similar conceptual principles, in particular with regard to consolidating the principle of “freedom of enterprise”. The Doing Business survey periodically determines the ranking of countries in the world regarding freedom of enterprise. The assessment is based on the arithmetic mean of ten control indicators: the process of business registration, the mechanism of connection to energy supply, the process of property registration, credit system, existing tax mechanisms, the degree of investor protection and more. In connection with the unsatisfactory state of development of the economy of Ukraine, attention is focused on ensuring the activities of small business on these criteria in countries that are consistently ranked in international ranking research. In particular, Georgia, China, New Zealand, Singapore and others. Conclusions. The plans of the Ukrainian authorities to further harmonize the legislation in the field of small business with European standards, to carry out in-depth tax reform and to carry out manifestations of illegal pressure on business deserve support. In order to accelerate the process of improving the legal framework for entrepreneurship and effective mechanisms for innovation, the conclusions of international experts should be used more widely. The recommendations of international rating agencies on the need to adopt a realistic strategy for the development of small and medium-sized businesses (entrepreneurship), improve the regulatory framework in the field of lending to small and medium enterprises and improve their access to existing forms of financing, development of entrepreneurship and real action should be implemented. the principle of freedom of its conduct in the field of innovation.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the conformity of the regulation of air transport activities of Ukraine with the requirements of the European Union to the candidate countries and the determination of priorities for the development of Ukraine in the field of civil aviation. Systematization of the questionnaire made it possible to determine its general and profile content blocks: air transportation; airport management; provision of air navigation services; aviation insurance; aviation security; aviation security; ensuring environmental friendliness of air transport activities; participation in international activities; social protection of aviation personnel; administrative capacity of air transport. A meaningful analysis of the profile blocks shows the positive dynamics of bringing the requirements for flight operation in the civil aviation of Ukraine into compliance with the international requirements for aviation safety, the introduction of appropriate procedures for Ukrainian aviation enterprises and objects of aviation activity by incorporating the relevant directives and regulations of the European Union into the Air Code, Aviation Rules of Ukraine and other regulatory documents. The latter allowed Ukrainian air carriers that have a valid operator's certificate, issued in accordance with the requirements and procedures for flight operation in civil aviation, approved by the State Aviation Service of Ukraine, to continue unhindered passenger and cargo flights, including in EU countries, under martial law conditions and bans on the use of Ukrainian airspace by civil aircraft. A conclusion was drawn on the expediency of ensuring the further development, adoption and implementation of aviation rules of Ukraine in accordance with the standards and recommended practice of the International Civil Aviation Organization, regulations of the International Air Transport Association, the European Association for the Safety of Air Navigation ("Eurocontrol"), the European Aviation Safety Agency, others international aviation organizations and taking into account the legislation of the European Union in the field of civil aviation.

The article studies the peculiarities of formation of competitive advantages of land use in such countries of the European Union as France, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Hungary, Lithuania, Italy, Belgium, etc. It has been found that in European countries private ownership of land dominates, A soil conservation and conservation programme is in place, free consultations on rationalization of land use, prevailing leasing relationships, successful development of the land market, functioning of land use is based on the activities of highly specialized farms, operating financial support for enterprises maintaining competitive positions in the market, operates a specialized land protection legislation, there is a concept of the economy. It has been found that special factors on which the competitive advantages of land use depend are the acquisition of new competencies in the implementation of production; the use of new competitive technologies; Implementation of innovations to increase production efficiency; application of progressive competitive advantages; effective use of existing production resources. It has been determined that the competitive advantages of land use in Ukraine in the current conditions should include ensuring a balanced distribution of land between economic entities and sectors of the national economy; strengthening the integration of science, Education and production; restoration of production capacity and knowledge-intensive production in the economic space; rehabilitation of transport infrastructure and logistics; Updating existing production capacities; supporting international business cooperation; harnessing new knowledge and experience and developing business technologies for land operators. The marked competitive advantages in their implementation can ensure a high standard of living of the population, as well as will stimulate the achievements of economic entities in competitiveness in the world space.

For the effective functioning of the industrial and economic complex of the country in the conditions of martial law, it is necessary to form an effective system of management of investment activities. In order to increase investment attractiveness, enterprises must provide financial statements that are understandable to investors and meet international standards. This will allow the investor to make balanced management decisions, introduce investment resources into production, and contribute to the creation of high-tech products, innovative developments and new jobs. Financial reporting of enterprises involved in investments in Ukraine in the conditions of European integration is a powerful information base for effective management decisions, therefore it is given attention by scientists and practitioners. The article reveals the problematic aspects, reflects the role of financial reporting of enterprises in attracting investments to Ukraine in the conditions of European integration, and defines the prospects for its development. Creating conditions for attracting investment resources in the conditions of European integration remains an urgent task for domestic business enterprises. Cooperation between domestic business entities and European businesses contributes to technical rearmament, development of innovative technologies, expansion and reconstruction of production. This cooperation is possible not only in the field of trade, but also in the field of transport, in the field of energy, IT technologies, environmental protection, and in the scientific field. The accumulation of investment resources will allow solving not only the socio-economic problems of domestic regions, but also contribute to the increase in turnover, increase in production volumes, creation of competition and new jobs. Obtaining the status of a candidate for the European Union requires Ukraine to fulfill a number of conditions. All aspirations of Ukraine to integrate into a single economic space cannot be fulfilled without appropriate changes in legislation, regulatory and legal provisions regarding accounting and financial reporting, which highlighted the true and fair financial condition of the enterprise and its financial results.

Anti-crisis management of Ukrainian enterprises takes place in difficult institutional conditions, which is confirmed by international experts and analytical studies of the World Bank Group. It is determined that Ukraine’s indicators are several times lower than those indicators in OECD high-income countries and European countries (Doing Business 2020). The purpose of the study is to substantiate the theoretical and methodological foundations of crisis management and develop practical recommendations for the transformation of crisis management in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Ukraine on bankruptcy procedures. Approaches to the selection of types of crisis management are generalized. The types of crisis management that have been transformed under the influence of the Code of Ukraine on bankruptcy procedures are identified. The Code of Ukraine on bankruptcy procedures defines the features of anti-crisis management of the enterprise in the event of a crisis. Thus, changes in current legislation lead to the need to transform crisis management and take into account changes in the basic provisions of the legal support of business. The Code of Ukraine on bankruptcy procedures determines the possibility of reorganization before the opening of bankruptcy proceedings and court proceedings (disposal of property, reorganization and liquidation). The Law of Ukraine “On restoring the debtor’s solvency or declaring him bankrupt” and the Code of Ukraine on bankruptcy procedures are generalized and the existence of changes in the current legislation that produce a change in anti-crisis management of the enterprise is determined. The process of reorganization requires special attention and study before the opening of bankruptcy proceedings, when the management of the enterprise is obliged to: inform the founders about the presence of signs of bankruptcy; to hold a meeting of the founders and ensure the decision on reorganization; develop a remediation plan and liquidation analysis; convene a meeting of creditors and also submit to the commercial court the approved reorganization plan for approval. The scheme of sequence of carrying out of reorganization before opening of proceedings in bankruptcy case is constructed.

The purpose of this study was to describe the current state of tax control over transfer pricing in Ukraine. Analysing the effect of war and martial law on the tax system on the whole and transfer pricing as well, I would like to say that the situation shook the system, but nevertheless, it managed to rehabilitate itself and survive, in turn, standing on wartime slats. The practical significance of the study lies in the complex analysis and evaluation of the current situation of the transfer pricing processes taking place in Ukraine. For Ukraine, in practice, the experience of European countries and case law can be found, which have formed a number of important and progressive legal positions and conclusions to improve control in the field of transfer pricing. The practical novelty of the obtained results consists in a comprehensive analysis of the impact of transfer pricing on the current state of tax management in general. While the EU countries and the UK introduce additional temporary taxes on excess profits on electricity production between 2021 and 2023, as well as on excess profits received from activities in the oil, gas, coal and oil refining sectors, Ukraine introduces an income tax for all companies in any industries in the amount of 2% of the turnover, in order to keep the business afloat. In particular, I would like to note the effectiveness of the work within the framework of the EU4PFM international project, which made it possible, even in wartime, not only to preserve the achievements of pre-war times, but also to start the development of new software products and OECD support for the harmonization of Ukrainian legislation with EU norms in the context of the further integration of Ukraine into the European Union. The main goal of this work is to determine the effectiveness of transfer pricing in Ukraine today, as well as to assess the development prospects for Ukraine in this direction.

On 24 June 2022, the Contracting Parties of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) finalized discussions on the modernization of the treaty. After fifteen rounds of negotiations, an agreement in principle was reached to be adopted by the Energy Charter Conference on 22 November 2022 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.1 The ECT, adopted in 1994, establishes a legal framework that aims to promote international cooperation in the energy sector.2 It has a membership of 53 countries primarily from Europe and Central Asia, as well as the European Union (EU) and the European Atomic Energy Community. In recent years, the ECT attracted widespread public attention due to its impact on states’ environmental and climate policies. Particularly, the treaty’s provisions on investment protection, with investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) at the centre, allow foreign investors in the energy sector to challenge adverse state action before international arbitration and claim compensation for measures affecting their business activities. Fossil fuel investors have increasingly used the ECT to challenge environmental and climate measures, such as phasing out coal-fired power generation, banning offshore oil drilling in coastal areas, and prohibiting gas fracking projects. Such cases have fuelled concerns regarding the abilities of governments to roll-out large-scale climate action. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that international investment agreements (IIAs) like the ECT could ‘be used by fossil-fuel companies to block national legislation aimed at phasing out the use of their assets’.3 With some of these damage claims running into billions of euros, the ECT enables fossil fuel investors to offload the costs and risks associated with their affected assets onto society at large in the face of necessary climate action. This would go, in the words of the editorial board of the Financial Times, against the ‘heart of the capitalist social contract’ and the ‘ability of markets to deal adequately with the challenge of climate change’.4

IntroductionIn the year 2000, a group of likeminded individuals got together and convened the first annual World Barista Championship in Monte Carlo. With twelve competitors from around the globe, each competitor was judged by seven judges: one head judge who oversaw the process, two technical judges who assessed technical skills, and four sensory judges who evaluated the taste and appearance of the espresso drinks. Competitors had fifteen minutes to serve four espresso coffees, four cappuccino coffees, and four “signature” drinks that they had devised using one shot of espresso and other ingredients of their choice, but no alcohol. The competitors were also assessed on their overall barista skills, their creativity, and their ability to perform under pressure and impress the judges with their knowledge of coffee. This competition has grown to the extent that eleven years later, in 2011, 54 countries held national barista championships with the winner from each country competing for the highly coveted position of World Barista Champion. That year, Alejandro Mendez from El Salvador became the first world champion from a coffee producing nation. Champion baristas are more likely to come from coffee consuming countries than they are from coffee producing countries as countries that produce coffee seldom have a culture of espresso coffee consumption. While Ireland is not a coffee-producing nation, the Irish are the highest per capita consumers of tea in the world (Mac Con Iomaire, “Ireland”). Despite this, in 2008, Stephen Morrissey from Ireland overcame 50 other national champions to become the 2008 World Barista Champion (see, http://vimeo.com/2254130). Another Irish national champion, Colin Harmon, came fourth in this competition in both 2009 and 2010. This paper discusses the history and development of coffee and coffee houses in Dublin from the 17th century, charting how coffee culture in Dublin appeared, evolved, and stagnated before re-emerging at the beginning of the 21st century, with a remarkable win in the World Barista Championships. The historical links between coffeehouses and media—ranging from print media to electronic and social media—are discussed. In this, the coffee house acts as an informal public gathering space, what urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg calls a “third place,” neither work nor home. These “third places” provide anchors for community life and facilitate and foster broader, more creative interaction (Oldenburg). This paper will also show how competition from other “third places” such as clubs, hotels, restaurants, and bars have affected the vibrancy of coffee houses. Early Coffee Houses The first coffee house was established in Constantinople in 1554 (Tannahill 252; Huetz de Lemps 387). The first English coffee houses opened in Oxford in 1650 and in London in 1652. Coffee houses multiplied thereafter but, in 1676, when some London coffee houses became hotbeds for political protest, the city prosecutor decided to close them. The ban was soon lifted and between 1680 and 1730 Londoners discovered the pleasure of drinking coffee (Huetz de Lemps 388), although these coffee houses sold a number of hot drinks including tea and chocolate as well as coffee.The first French coffee houses opened in Marseille in 1671 and in Paris the following year. Coffee houses proliferated during the 18th century: by 1720 there were 380 public cafés in Paris and by the end of the century there were 600 (Huetz de Lemps 387). Café Procope opened in Paris in 1674 and, in the 18th century, became a literary salon with regular patrons: Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot and Condorcet (Huetz de Lemps 387; Pitte 472). In England, coffee houses developed into exclusive clubs such as Crockford’s and the Reform, whilst elsewhere in Europe they evolved into what we identify as cafés, similar to the tea shops that would open in England in the late 19th century (Tannahill 252-53). Tea quickly displaced coffee in popularity in British coffee houses (Taylor 142). Pettigrew suggests two reasons why Great Britain became a tea-drinking nation while most of the rest of Europe took to coffee (48). The first was the power of the East India Company, chartered by Elizabeth I in 1600, which controlled the world’s biggest tea monopoly and promoted the beverage enthusiastically. The second was the difficulty England had in securing coffee from the Levant while at war with France at the end of the seventeenth century and again during the War of the Spanish Succession (1702-13). Tea also became the dominant beverage in Ireland and over a period of time became the staple beverage of the whole country. In 1835, Samuel Bewley and his son Charles dared to break the monopoly of The East India Company by importing over 2,000 chests of tea directly from Canton, China, to Ireland. His family would later become synonymous with the importation of coffee and with opening cafés in Ireland (see, Farmar for full history of the Bewley's and their activities). Ireland remains the highest per-capita consumer of tea in the world. Coffee houses have long been linked with social and political change (Kennedy, Politicks; Pincus). The notion that these new non-alcoholic drinks were responsible for the Enlightenment because people could now gather socially without getting drunk is rejected by Wheaton as frivolous, since there had always been alternatives to strong drink, and European civilisation had achieved much in the previous centuries (91). She comments additionally that cafés, as gathering places for dissenters, took over the role that taverns had long played. Pennell and Vickery support this argument adding that by offering a choice of drinks, and often sweets, at a fixed price and in a more civilized setting than most taverns provided, coffee houses and cafés were part of the rise of the modern restaurant. It is believed that, by 1700, the commercial provision of food and drink constituted the second largest occupational sector in London. Travellers’ accounts are full of descriptions of London taverns, pie shops, coffee, bun and chop houses, breakfast huts, and food hawkers (Pennell; Vickery). Dublin Coffee Houses and Later incarnations The earliest reference to coffee houses in Dublin is to the Cock Coffee House in Cook Street during the reign of Charles II (1660-85). Public dining or drinking establishments listed in the 1738 Dublin Directory include taverns, eating houses, chop houses, coffee houses, and one chocolate house in Fownes Court run by Peter Bardin (Hardiman and Kennedy 157). During the second half of the 17th century, Dublin’s merchant classes transferred allegiance from taverns to the newly fashionable coffee houses as places to conduct business. By 1698, the fashion had spread to country towns with coffee houses found in Cork, Limerick, Kilkenny, Clonmel, Wexford, and Galway, and slightly later in Belfast and Waterford in the 18th century. Maxwell lists some of Dublin’s leading coffee houses and taverns, noting their clientele: There were Lucas’s Coffee House, on Cork Hill (the scene of many duels), frequented by fashionable young men; the Phoenix, in Werburgh Street, where political dinners were held; Dick’s Coffee House, in Skinner’s Row, much patronized by literary men, for it was over a bookseller’s; the Eagle, in Eustace Street, where meetings of the Volunteers were held; the Old Sot’s Hole, near Essex Bridge, famous for its beefsteaks and ale; the Eagle Tavern, on Cork Hill, which was demolished at the same time as Lucas’s to make room for the Royal Exchange; and many others. (76) Many of the early taverns were situated around the Winetavern Street, Cook Street, and Fishamble Street area. (see Fig. 1) Taverns, and later coffee houses, became meeting places for gentlemen and centres for debate and the exchange of ideas. In 1706, Francis Dickson published the Flying Post newspaper at the Four Courts coffee house in Winetavern Street. The Bear Tavern (1725) and the Black Lyon (1735), where a Masonic Lodge assembled every Wednesday, were also located on this street (Gilbert v.1 160). Dick’s Coffee house was established in the late 17th century by bookseller and newspaper proprietor Richard Pue, and remained open until 1780 when the building was demolished. In 1740, Dick’s customers were described thus: Ye citizens, gentlemen, lawyers and squires,who summer and winter surround our great fires,ye quidnuncs! who frequently come into Pue’s,To live upon politicks, coffee, and news. (Gilbert v.1 174) There has long been an association between coffeehouses and publishing books, pamphlets and particularly newspapers. Other Dublin publishers and newspapermen who owned coffee houses included Richard Norris and Thomas Bacon. Until the 1850s, newspapers were burdened with a number of taxes: on the newsprint, a stamp duty, and on each advertisement. By 1865, these taxes had virtually disappeared, resulting in the appearance of 30 new newspapers in Ireland, 24 of them in Dublin. Most people read from copies which were available free of charge in taverns, clubs, and coffee houses (MacGiolla Phadraig). Coffee houses also kept copies of international newspapers. On 4 May 1706, Francis Dickson notes in the Dublin Intelligence that he held the Paris and London Gazettes, Leyden Gazette and Slip, the Paris and Hague Lettres à la Main, Daily Courant, Post-man, Flying Post, Post-script and Manuscripts in his coffeehouse in Winetavern Street (Kennedy, “Dublin”). Henry Berry’s analysis of shop signs in Dublin identifies 24 different coffee houses in Dublin, with the main clusters in Essex Street near the Custom’s House (Cocoa Tree, Bacon’s, Dempster’s, Dublin, Merchant’s, Norris’s, and Walsh’s) Cork Hill (Lucas’s, St Lawrence’s, and Solyman’s) Skinners’ Row (Bow’s’, Darby’s, and Dick’s) Christ Church Yard (Four Courts, and London) College Green (Jack’s, and Parliament) and Crampton Court (Exchange, and Little Dublin). (see Figure 1, below, for these clusters and the locations of other Dublin coffee houses.) The earliest to be referenced is the Cock Coffee House in Cook Street during the reign of Charles II (1660-85), with Solyman’s (1691), Bow’s (1692), and Patt’s on High Street (1699), all mentioned in print before the 18th century. The name of one, the Cocoa Tree, suggests that chocolate was also served in this coffee house. More evidence of the variety of beverages sold in coffee houses comes from Gilbert who notes that in 1730, one Dublin poet wrote of George Carterwright’s wife at The Custom House Coffee House on Essex Street: Her coffee’s fresh and fresh her tea,Sweet her cream, ptizan, and whea,her drams, of ev’ry sort, we findboth good and pleasant, in their kind. (v. 2 161) Figure 1: Map of Dublin indicating Coffee House clusters 1 = Sackville St.; 2 = Winetavern St.; 3 = Essex St.; 4 = Cork Hill; 5 = Skinner's Row; 6 = College Green.; 7 = Christ Church Yard; 8 = Crampton Court.; 9 = Cook St.; 10 = High St.; 11 = Eustace St.; 12 = Werburgh St.; 13 = Fishamble St.; 14 = Westmorland St.; 15 = South Great George's St.; 16 = Grafton St.; 17 = Kildare St.; 18 = Dame St.; 19 = Anglesea Row; 20 = Foster Place; 21 = Poolbeg St.; 22 = Fleet St.; 23 = Burgh Quay.A = Cafe de Paris, Lincoln Place; B = Red Bank Restaurant, D'Olier St.; C = Morrison's Hotel, Nassau St.; D = Shelbourne Hotel, St. Stephen's Green; E = Jury's Hotel, Dame St. Some coffee houses transformed into the gentlemen’s clubs that appeared in London, Paris and Dublin in the 17th century. These clubs originally met in coffee houses, then taverns, until later proprietary clubs became fashionable. Dublin anticipated London in club fashions with members of the Kildare Street Club (1782) and the Sackville Street Club (1794) owning the premises of their clubhouse, thus dispensing with the proprietor. The first London club to be owned by the members seems to be Arthur’s, founded in 1811 (McDowell 4) and this practice became widespread throughout the 19th century in both London and Dublin. The origin of one of Dublin’s most famous clubs, Daly’s Club, was a chocolate house opened by Patrick Daly in c.1762–65 in premises at 2–3 Dame Street (Brooke). It prospered sufficiently to commission its own granite-faced building on College Green between Anglesea Street and Foster Place which opened in 1789 (Liddy 51). Daly’s Club, “where half the land of Ireland has changed hands”, was renowned for the gambling that took place there (Montgomery 39). Daly’s sumptuous palace catered very well (and discreetly) for honourable Members of Parliament and rich “bucks” alike (Craig 222). The changing political and social landscape following the Act of Union led to Daly’s slow demise and its eventual closure in 1823 (Liddy 51). Coincidentally, the first Starbucks in Ireland opened in 2005 in the same location. Once gentlemen’s clubs had designated buildings where members could eat, drink, socialise, and stay overnight, taverns and coffee houses faced competition from the best Dublin hotels which also had coffee rooms “in which gentlemen could read papers, write letters, take coffee and wine in the evening—an exiguous substitute for a club” (McDowell 17). There were at least 15 establishments in Dublin city claiming to be hotels by 1789 (Corr 1) and their numbers grew in the 19th century, an expansion which was particularly influenced by the growth of railways. By 1790, Dublin’s public houses (“pubs”) outnumbered its coffee houses with Dublin boasting 1,300 (Rooney 132). Names like the Goose and Gridiron, Harp and Crown, Horseshoe and Magpie, and Hen and Chickens—fashionable during the 17th and 18th centuries in Ireland—hung on decorative signs for those who could not read. Throughout the 20th century, the public house provided the dominant “third place” in Irish society, and the drink of choice for itd predominantly male customers was a frothy pint of Guinness. Newspapers were available in public houses and many newspapermen had their own favourite hostelries such as Mulligan’s of Poolbeg Street; The Pearl, and The Palace on Fleet Street; and The White Horse Inn on Burgh Quay. Any coffee served in these establishments prior to the arrival of the new coffee culture in the 21st century was, however, of the powdered instant variety. Hotels / Restaurants with Coffee Rooms From the mid-19th century, the public dining landscape of Dublin changed in line with London and other large cities in the United Kingdom. Restaurants did appear gradually in the United Kingdom and research suggests that one possible reason for this growth from the 1860s onwards was the Refreshment Houses and Wine Licences Act (1860). The object of this act was to “reunite the business of eating and drinking”, thereby encouraging public sobriety (Mac Con Iomaire, “Emergence” v.2 95). Advertisements for Dublin restaurants appeared in The Irish Times from the 1860s. Thom’s Directory includes listings for Dining Rooms from the 1870s and Refreshment Rooms are listed from the 1880s. This pattern continued until 1909, when Thom’s Directory first includes a listing for “Restaurants and Tea Rooms”. Some of the establishments that advertised separate coffee rooms include Dublin’s first French restaurant, the Café de Paris, The Red Bank Restaurant, Morrison’s Hotel, Shelbourne Hotel, and Jury’s Hotel (see Fig. 1). The pattern of separate ladies’ coffee rooms emerged in Dublin and London during the latter half of the 19th century and mixed sex dining only became popular around the last decade of the 19th century, partly infuenced by Cesar Ritz and Auguste Escoffier (Mac Con Iomaire, “Public Dining”). Irish Cafés: From Bewley’s to Starbucks A number of cafés appeared at the beginning of the 20th century, most notably Robert Roberts and Bewley’s, both of which were owned by Quaker families. Ernest Bewley took over the running of the Bewley’s importation business in the 1890s and opened a number of Oriental Cafés; South Great Georges Street (1894), Westmoreland Street (1896), and what became the landmark Bewley’s Oriental Café in Grafton Street (1927). Drawing influence from the grand cafés of Paris and Vienna, oriental tearooms, and Egyptian architecture (inspired by the discovery in 1922 of Tutankhamen’s Tomb), the Grafton Street business brought a touch of the exotic into the newly formed Irish Free State. Bewley’s cafés became the haunt of many of Ireland’s leading literary figures, including Samuel Becket, Sean O’Casey, and James Joyce who mentioned the café in his book, Dubliners. A full history of Bewley’s is available (Farmar). It is important to note, however, that pots of tea were sold in equal measure to mugs of coffee in Bewley’s. The cafés changed over time from waitress- to self-service and a failure to adapt to changing fashions led to the business being sold, with only the flagship café in Grafton Street remaining open in a revised capacity. It was not until the beginning of the 21st century that a new wave of coffee house culture swept Ireland. This was based around speciality coffee beverages such as espressos, cappuccinos, lattés, macchiatos, and frappuccinnos. This new phenomenon coincided with the unprecedented growth in the Irish economy, during which Ireland became known as the “Celtic Tiger” (Murphy 3). One aspect of this period was a building boom and a subsequent growth in apartment living in the Dublin city centre. The American sitcom Friends and its fictional coffee house, “Central Perk,” may also have helped popularise the use of coffee houses as “third spaces” (Oldenberg) among young apartment dwellers in Dublin. This was also the era of the “dotcom boom” when many young entrepreneurs, software designers, webmasters, and stock market investors were using coffee houses as meeting places for business and also as ad hoc office spaces. This trend is very similar to the situation in the 17th and early 18th centuries where coffeehouses became known as sites for business dealings. Various theories explaining the growth of the new café culture have circulated, with reasons ranging from a growth in Eastern European migrants, anti-smoking legislation, returning sophisticated Irish emigrants, and increased affluence (Fenton). Dublin pubs, facing competition from the new coffee culture, began installing espresso coffee machines made by companies such as Gaggia to attract customers more interested in a good latté than a lager and it is within this context that Irish baristas gained such success in the World Barista competition. In 2001 the Georges Street branch of Bewley’s was taken over by a chain called Café, Bar, Deli specialising in serving good food at reasonable prices. Many ex-Bewley’s staff members subsequently opened their own businesses, roasting coffee and running cafés. Irish-owned coffee chains such as Java Republic, Insomnia, and O’Brien’s Sandwich Bars continued to thrive despite the competition from coffee chains Starbucks and Costa Café. Indeed, so successful was the handmade Irish sandwich and coffee business that, before the economic downturn affected its business, Irish franchise O’Brien’s operated in over 18 countries. The Café, Bar, Deli group had also begun to franchise its operations in 2008 when it too became a victim of the global economic downturn. With the growth of the Internet, many newspapers have experienced falling sales of their printed format and rising uptake of their electronic versions. Most Dublin coffee houses today provide wireless Internet connections so their customers can read not only the local newspapers online, but also others from all over the globe, similar to Francis Dickenson’s coffee house in Winetavern Street in the early 18th century. Dublin has become Europe’s Silicon Valley, housing the European headquarters for companies such as Google, Yahoo, Ebay, Paypal, and Facebook. There are currently plans to provide free wireless connectivity throughout Dublin’s city centre in order to promote e-commerce, however, some coffee houses shut off the wireless Internet in their establishments at certain times of the week in order to promote more social interaction to ensure that these “third places” remain “great good places” at the heart of the community (Oldenburg). Conclusion Ireland is not a country that is normally associated with a coffee culture but coffee houses have been part of the fabric of that country since they emerged in Dublin in the 17th century. These Dublin coffee houses prospered in the 18th century, and survived strong competition from clubs and hotels in the 19th century, and from restaurant and public houses into the 20th century. In 2008, when Stephen Morrissey won the coveted title of World Barista Champion, Ireland’s place as a coffee consuming country was re-established. The first decade of the 21st century witnessed a birth of a new espresso coffee culture, which shows no signs of weakening despite Ireland’s economic travails. References Berry, Henry F. “House and Shop Signs in Dublin in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries.” The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 40.2 (1910): 81–98. Brooke, Raymond Frederick. Daly’s Club and the Kildare Street Club, Dublin. Dublin, 1930. Corr, Frank. Hotels in Ireland. Dublin: Jemma Publications, 1987. Craig, Maurice. Dublin 1660-1860. Dublin: Allen Figgis, 1980. Farmar, Tony. The Legendary, Lofty, Clattering Café. Dublin: A&A Farmar, 1988. Fenton, Ben. “Cafe Culture taking over in Dublin.” The Telegraph 2 Oct. 2006. 29 Apr. 2012 ‹http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1530308/cafe-culture-taking-over-in-Dublin.html›. Gilbert, John T. A History of the City of Dublin (3 vols.). Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, 1978. Girouard, Mark. Victorian Pubs. New Haven, Conn.: Yale UP, 1984. Hardiman, Nodlaig P., and Máire Kennedy. A Directory of Dublin for the Year 1738 Compiled from the Most Authentic of Sources. Dublin: Dublin Corporation Public Libraries, 2000. Huetz de Lemps, Alain. “Colonial Beverages and Consumption of Sugar.” Food: A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present. Eds. Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari. New York: Columbia UP, 1999. 383–93. Kennedy, Máire. “Dublin Coffee Houses.” Ask About Ireland, 2011. 4 Apr. 2012 ‹http://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/history-heritage/pages-in-history/dublin-coffee-houses›. ----- “‘Politicks, Coffee and News’: The Dublin Book Trade in the Eighteenth Century.” Dublin Historical Record LVIII.1 (2005): 76–85. Liddy, Pat. Temple Bar—Dublin: An Illustrated History. Dublin: Temple Bar Properties, 1992. 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Pitte, Jean-Robert. “The Rise of the Restaurant.” Food: A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present. Eds. Jean-Louis Flandrin and Massimo Montanari. New York: Columbia UP, 1999. 471–80. Rooney, Brendan, ed. A Time and a Place: Two Centuries of Irish Social Life. Dublin: National Gallery of Ireland, 2006. Tannahill, Reay. Food in History. St Albans, Herts.: Paladin, 1975. Taylor, Laurence. “Coffee: The Bottomless Cup.” The American Dimension: Cultural Myths and Social Realities. Eds. W. Arens and Susan P. Montague. Port Washington, N.Y.: Alfred Publishing, 1976. 14–48. Vickery, Amanda. Behind Closed Doors: At Home in Georgian England. New Haven: Yale UP, 2009. Wheaton, Barbara Ketcham. Savouring the Past: The French Kitchen and Table from 1300-1789. London: Chatto & Windus, Hogarth P, 1983. Williams, Anne. “Historical Attitudes to Women Eating in Restaurants.” Public Eating: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 1991. Ed. Harlan Walker. Totnes: Prospect Books, 1992. 311–14. World Barista, Championship. “History–World Barista Championship”. 2012. 02 Apr. 2012 ‹http://worldbaristachampionship.com2012›.AcknowledgementA warm thank you to Dr. Kevin Griffin for producing the map of Dublin for this article.

Connecting I’ve moved house on the weekend, closer to the centre of an Australian capital city. I had recently signed up for broadband, with a major Australian Internet company (my first contact, cf. Turner). Now I am the proud owner of a larger modem than I have ever owned: a white cable modem. I gaze out into our new street: two thick black cables cosseted in silver wire. I am relieved. My new home is located in one of those streets, double-cabled by Telstra and Optus in the data-rush of the mid-1990s. Otherwise, I’d be moth-balling the cable modem, and the thrill of my data percolating down coaxial cable. And it would be off to the computer supermarket to buy an ASDL modem, then to pick a provider, to squeeze some twenty-first century connectivity out of old copper (the phone network our grandparents and great-grandparents built). If I still lived in the country, or the outskirts of the city, or anywhere else more than four kilometres from the phone exchange, and somewhere that cable pay TV will never reach, it would be a dish for me — satellite. Our digital lives are premised upon infrastructure, the networks through which we shape what we do, fashion the meanings of our customs and practices, and exchange signs with others. Infrastructure is not simply the material or the technical (Lamberton), but it is the dense, fibrous knotting together of social visions, cultural resources, individual desires, and connections. No more can one easily discern between ‘society’ and ‘technology’, ‘carriage’ and ‘content’, ‘base’ and ‘superstructure’, or ‘infrastructure’ and ‘applications’ (or ‘services’ or ‘content’). To understand telecommunications in action, or the vectors of fibre, we need to consider the long and heterogeneous list of links among different human and non-human actors — the long networks, to take Bruno Latour’s evocative concept, that confect our broadband networks (Latour). The co-ordinates of our infrastructure still build on a century-long history of telecommunications networks, on the nineteenth-century centrality of telegraphy preceding this, and on the histories of the public and private so inscribed. Yet we are in the midst of a long, slow dismantling of the posts-telegraph-telephone (PTT) model of the monopoly carrier for each nation that dominated the twentieth century, with its deep colonial foundations. Instead our New World Information and Communication Order is not the decolonising UNESCO vision of the late 1970s and early 1980s (MacBride, Maitland). Rather it is the neoliberal, free trade, market access model, its symbol the 1984 US judicial decision to require the break-up of AT&T and the UK legislation in the same year that underpinned the Thatcherite twin move to privatize British Telecom and introduce telecommunications competition. Between 1984 and 1999, 110 telecommunications companies were privatized, and the ‘acquisition of privatized PTOs [public telecommunications operators] by European and American operators does follow colonial lines’ (Winseck 396; see also Mody, Bauer & Straubhaar). The competitive market has now been uneasily installed as the paradigm for convergent communications networks, not least with the World Trade Organisation’s 1994 General Agreement on Trade in Services and Annex on Telecommunications. As the citizen is recast as consumer and customer (Goggin, ‘Citizens and Beyond’), we rethink our cultural and political axioms as well as the axes that orient our understandings in this area. Information might travel close to the speed of light, and we might fantasise about optical fibre to the home (or pillow), but our terrain, our band where the struggle lies today, is narrower than we wish. Begging for broadband, it seems, is a long way from warchalking for WiFi. Policy Circuits The dreary everyday business of getting connected plugs the individual netizen into a tangled mess of policy circuits, as much as tricky network negotiations. Broadband in mid-2003 in Australia is a curious chimera, welded together from a patchwork of technologies, old and newer communications industries, emerging economies and patterns of use. Broadband conjures up grander visions, however, of communication and cultural cornucopia. Broadband is high-speed, high-bandwidth, ‘always-on’, networked communications. People can send and receive video, engage in multimedia exchanges of all sorts, make the most of online education, realise the vision of home-based work and trading, have access to telemedicine, and entertainment. Broadband really entered the lexicon with the mass takeup of the Internet in the early to mid-1990s, and with the debates about something called the ‘information superhighway’. The rise of the Internet, the deregulation of telecommunications, and the involuted convergence of communications and media technologies saw broadband positioned at the centre of policy debates nearly a decade ago. In 1993-1994, Australia had its Broadband Services Expert Group (BSEG), established by the then Labor government. The BSEG was charged with inquiring into ‘issues relating to the delivery of broadband services to homes, schools and businesses’. Stung by criticisms of elite composition (a narrow membership, with only one woman among its twelve members, and no consumer or citizen group representation), the BSEG was prompted into wider public discussion and consultation (Goggin & Newell). The then Bureau of Transport and Communications Economics (BTCE), since transmogrified into the Communications Research Unit of the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA), conducted its large-scale Communications Futures Project (BTCE and Luck). The BSEG Final report posed the question starkly: As a society we have choices to make. If we ignore the opportunities we run the risk of being left behind as other countries introduce new services and make themselves more competitive: we will become consumers of other countries’ content, culture and technologies rather than our own. Or we could adopt new technologies at any cost…This report puts forward a different approach, one based on developing a new, user-oriented strategy for communications. The emphasis will be on communication among people... (BSEG v) The BSEG proposed a ‘National Strategy for New Communications Networks’ based on three aspects: education and community access, industry development, and the role of government (BSEG x). Ironically, while the nation, or at least its policy elites, pondered the weighty question of broadband, Australia’s two largest telcos were doing it. The commercial decision of Telstra/Foxtel and Optus Vision, and their various television partners, was to nail their colours (black) to the mast, or rather telegraph pole, and to lay cable in the major capital cities. In fact, they duplicated the infrastructure in cities such as Sydney and Melbourne, then deciding it would not be profitable to cable up even regional centres, let alone small country towns or settlements. As Terry Flew and Christina Spurgeon observe: This wasteful duplication contrasted with many other parts of the country that would never have access to this infrastructure, or to the social and economic benefits that it was perceived to deliver. (Flew & Spurgeon 72) The implications of this decision for Australia’s telecommunications and television were profound, but there was little, if any, public input into this. Then Minister Michael Lee was very proud of his anti-siphoning list of programs, such as national sporting events, that would remain on free-to-air television rather than screen on pay, but was unwilling, or unable, to develop policy on broadband and pay TV cable infrastructure (on the ironies of Australia’s television history, see Given’s masterly account). During this period also, it may be remembered, Australia’s Internet was being passed into private hands, with the tendering out of AARNET (see Spurgeon for discussion). No such national strategy on broadband really emerged in the intervening years, nor has the market provided integrated, accessible broadband services. In 1997, landmark telecommunications legislation was enacted that provided a comprehensive framework for competition in telecommunications, as well as consolidating and extending consumer protection, universal service, customer service standards, and other reforms (CLC). Carrier and reseller competition had commenced in 1991, and the 1997 legislation gave it further impetus. Effective competition is now well established in long distance telephone markets, and in mobiles. Rivalrous competition exists in the market for local-call services, though viable alternatives to Telstra’s dominance are still few (Fels). Broadband too is an area where there is symbolic rivalry rather than effective competition. This is most visible in advertised ADSL offerings in large cities, yet most of the infrastructure for these services is comprised by Telstra’s copper, fixed-line network. Facilities-based duopoly competition exists principally where Telstra/Foxtel and Optus cable networks have been laid, though there are quite a number of ventures underway by regional telcos, power companies, and, most substantial perhaps, the ACT government’s TransACT broadband network. Policymakers and industry have been greatly concerned about what they see as slow takeup of broadband, compared to other countries, and by barriers to broadband competition and access to ‘bottleneck’ facilities (such as Telstra or Optus’s networks) by potential competitors. The government has alternated between trying to talk up broadband benefits and rates of take up and recognising the real difficulties Australia faces as a large country with a relative small and dispersed population. In March 2003, Minister Alston directed the ACCC to implement new monitoring and reporting arrangements on competition in the broadband industry. A key site for discussion of these matters has been the competition policy institution, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and its various inquiries, reports, and considerations (consult ACCC’s telecommunications homepage at http://www.accc.gov.au/telco/fs-telecom.htm). Another key site has been the Productivity Commission (http://www.pc.gov.au), while a third is the National Office on the Information Economy (NOIE - http://www.noie.gov.au/projects/access/access/broadband1.htm). Others have questioned whether even the most perfectly competitive market in broadband will actually provide access to citizens and consumers. A great deal of work on this issue has been undertaken by DCITA, NOIE, the regulators, and industry bodies, not to mention consumer and public interest groups. Since 1997, there have been a number of governmental inquiries undertaken or in progress concerning the takeup of broadband and networked new media (for example, a House of Representatives Wireless Broadband Inquiry), as well as important inquiries into the still most strategically important of Australia’s companies in this area, Telstra. Much of this effort on an ersatz broadband policy has been piecemeal and fragmented. There are fundamental difficulties with the large size of the Australian continent and its harsh terrain, the small size of the Australian market, the number of providers, and the dominant position effectively still held by Telstra, as well as Singtel Optus (Optus’s previous overseas investors included Cable & Wireless and Bell South), and the larger telecommunications and Internet companies (such as Ozemail). Many consumers living in metropolitan Australia still face real difficulties in realising the slogan ‘bandwidth for all’, but the situation in parts of rural Australia is far worse. Satellite ‘broadband’ solutions are available, through Telstra Countrywide or other providers, but these offer limited two-way interactivity. Data can be received at reasonable speeds (though at far lower data rates than how ‘broadband’ used to be defined), but can only be sent at far slower rates (Goggin, Rural Communities Online). The cultural implications of these digital constraints may well be considerable. Computer gamers, for instance, are frustrated by slow return paths. In this light, the final report of the January 2003 Broadband Advisory Group (BAG) is very timely. The BAG report opens with a broadband rhapsody: Broadband communications technologies can deliver substantial economic and social benefits to Australia…As well as producing productivity gains in traditional and new industries, advanced connectivity can enrich community life, particularly in rural and regional areas. It provides the basis for integration of remote communities into national economic, cultural and social life. (BAG 1, 7) Its prescriptions include: Australia will be a world leader in the availability and effective use of broadband...and to capture the economic and social benefits of broadband connectivity...Broadband should be available to all Australians at fair and reasonable prices…Market arrangements should be pro-competitive and encourage investment...The Government should adopt a National Broadband Strategy (BAG 1) And, like its predecessor nine years earlier, the BAG report does make reference to a national broadband strategy aiming to maximise “choice in work and recreation activities available to all Australians independent of location, background, age or interests” (17). However, the idea of a national broadband strategy is not something the BAG really comes to grips with. The final report is keen on encouraging broadband adoption, but not explicit on how barriers to broadband can be addressed. Perhaps this is not surprising given that the membership of the BAG, dominated by representatives of large corporations and senior bureaucrats was even less representative than its BSEG predecessor. Some months after the BAG report, the Federal government did declare a broadband strategy. It did so, intriguingly enough, under the rubric of its response to the Regional Telecommunications Inquiry report (Estens), the second inquiry responsible for reassuring citizens nervous about the full-privatisation of Telstra (the first inquiry being Besley). The government’s grand $142.8 million National Broadband Strategy focusses on the ‘broadband needs of regional Australians, in partnership with all levels of government’ (Alston, ‘National Broadband Strategy’). Among other things, the government claims that the Strategy will result in “improved outcomes in terms of services and prices for regional broadband access; [and] the development of national broadband infrastructure assets.” (Alston, ‘National Broadband Strategy’) At the same time, the government announced an overall response to the Estens Inquiry, with specific safeguards for Telstra’s role in regional communications — a preliminary to the full Telstra sale (Alston, ‘Future Proofing’). Less publicised was the government’s further initiative in indigenous telecommunications, complementing its Telecommunications Action Plan for Remote Indigenous Communities (DCITA). Indigenous people, it can be argued, were never really contemplated as citizens with the ken of the universal service policy taken to underpin the twentieth-century government monopoly PTT project. In Australia during the deregulatory and re-regulatory 1990s, there was a great reluctance on the part of Labor and Coalition Federal governments, Telstra and other industry participants, even to research issues of access to and use of telecommunications by indigenous communicators. Telstra, and to a lesser extent Optus (who had purchased AUSSAT as part of their licence arrangements), shrouded the issue of indigenous communications in mystery that policymakers were very reluctant to uncover, let alone systematically address. Then regulator, the Australian Telecommunications Authority (AUSTEL), had raised grave concerns about indigenous telecommunications access in its 1991 Rural Communications inquiry. However, there was no government consideration of, nor research upon, these issues until Alston commissioned a study in 2001 — the basis for the TAPRIC strategy (DCITA). The elision of indigenous telecommunications from mainstream industry and government policy is all the more puzzling, if one considers the extraordinarily varied and significant experiments by indigenous Australians in telecommunications and Internet (not least in the early work of the Tanami community, made famous in media and cultural studies by the writings of anthropologist Eric Michaels). While the government’s mid-2003 moves on a ‘National Broadband Strategy’ attend to some details of the broadband predicament, they fall well short of an integrated framework that grasps the shortcomings of the neoliberal communications model. The funding offered is a token amount. The view from the seat of government is a glance from the rear-view mirror: taking a snapshot of rural communications in the years 2000-2002 and projecting this tableau into a safety-net ‘future proofing’ for the inevitable turning away of a fully-privately-owned Telstra from its previously universal, ‘carrier of last resort’ responsibilities. In this aetiolated, residualist policy gaze, citizens remain constructed as consumers in a very narrow sense in this incremental, quietist version of state securing of market arrangements. What is missing is any more expansive notion of citizens, their varied needs, expectations, uses, and cultural imaginings of ‘always on’ broadband networks. Hybrid Networks “Most people on earth will eventually have access to networks that are all switched, interactive, and broadband”, wrote Frances Cairncross in 1998. ‘Eventually’ is a very appropriate word to describe the parlous state of broadband technology implementation. Broadband is in a slow state of evolution and invention. The story of broadband so far underscores the predicament for Australian access to bandwidth, when we lack any comprehensive, integrated, effective, and fair policy in communications and information technology. We have only begun to experiment with broadband technologies and understand their evolving uses, cultural forms, and the sense in which they rework us as subjects. Our communications networks are not superhighways, to invoke an enduring artefact from an older technology. Nor any longer are they a single ‘public’ switched telecommunications network, like those presided over by the post-telegraph-telephone monopolies of old. Like roads themselves, or the nascent postal system of the sixteenth century, broadband is a patchwork quilt. The ‘fibre’ of our communications networks is hybrid. To be sure, powerful corporations dominate, like the Tassis or Taxis who served as postmasters to the Habsburg emperors (Briggs & Burke 25). Activating broadband today provides a perspective on the path dependency of technology history, and how we can open up new threads of a communications fabric. Our options for transforming our multitudinous networked lives emerge as much from everyday tactics and strategies as they do from grander schemes and unifying policies. We may care to reflect on the waning potential for nation-building technology, in the wake of globalisation. We no longer gather our imagined community around a Community Telephone Plan as it was called in 1960 (Barr, Moyal, and PMG). Yet we do require national and international strategies to get and stay connected (Barr), ideas and funding that concretely address the wider dimensions of access and use. We do need to debate the respective roles of Telstra, the state, community initiatives, and industry competition in fair telecommunications futures. Networks have global reach and require global and national integration. Here vision, co-ordination, and resources are urgently required for our commonweal and moral fibre. To feel the width of the band we desire, we need to plug into and activate the policy circuits. Thanks to Grayson Cooke, Patrick Lichty, Ned Rossiter, John Pace, and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments. Works Cited Alston, Richard. ‘ “Future Proofing” Regional Communications.’ Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Canberra, 2003. 17 July 2003 <http://www.dcita.gov.au/Article/0,,0_1-2_3-4_115485,00.php> —. ‘A National Broadband Strategy.’ Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Canberra, 2003. 17 July 2003 <http://www.dcita.gov.au/Article/0,,0_1-2_3-4_115486,00.php>. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Broadband Services Report March 2003. Canberra: ACCC, 2003. 17 July 2003 <http://www.accc.gov.au/telco/fs-telecom.htm>. —. Emerging Market Structures in the Communications Sector. 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MLA Style Goggin, Gerard. "Broadband" M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture< http://www.media-culture.org.au/0308/02-featurebroadband.php>. APA Style Goggin, G. (2003, Aug 26). Broadband. M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture, 6,< http://www.media-culture.org.au/0308/02-featurebroadband.php>