Editorial note BJIEP Vol.4/Issue 1

Abstract

BJIEP Vol. 4 / Issue 1
EDITORIAL NOTE
This issue of the Bulgarian Journal of International Economics and Politics contains a number of thought-provoking articles. The first paper presents a groundbreaking study that delves into the complex relationship between cryptocurrencies, tax evasion and environmental concerns. The authors argue that serious regulations should be put in place to reduce tax evasion through cryptocurrency channels so that money from the eco-taxation of cryptocurrencies can be invested in green economies and environmental projects. Against the background of the ongoing Russian aggression in Ukraine, the current issue presents three articles that cover different aspects of the topic. Thus, the second article focuses on the role of the European Union in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and explores the challenges and opportunities facing the EU in its quest to promote peace, stability and democracy in the region. The third article includes an analysis of a current topic – the issue of corruption in Ukraine and its implications for Western support for Ukrainian military efforts against Russia. The author argues that overstressing the problem of corruption carries risks and may have various unintended consequences. The next article deals with a series of EU sanctions against the Russian Federation, analyzing the effects of these sanctions on Russia, as well as the implications of countermeasures by the Russian Federation on the European Union. The final article deals with a specific aspect of migration issues – the acceptance of difference and migrants as bearers of diversity in migrant-receiving countries in Europe.
The Expert’s Insights rubric presents an analysis by Biserka Benisheva, a career diplomat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria. She was the Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to Hungary (2012 – 2016) and Ireland (2003 –2007), Minister Plenipotentiary in the Mission of Bulgaria to the European Community , Brussels, and member of the core team for accession negotiations (2001 – 2003). From 2012 to 2014, she was also the chairman of the Danube Commission, Budapest. Since 2016 Biserka Benisheva is the Director of European Affairs at PanEurope Bulgaria. In her analysis she focuses on the decision-making process within the European Union, exploring the challenges of further transformations for the next political cycle to restore the balance of decision-making power between member states and EU institutions.
In the current issue of BJIEP, the Book Review column is launched with a review of the book Democracia europea y mercado unico: 30 anos del Tratado de Maastricht (European Democracy and the Single Market: 30 Years of the Maastricht Treaty). According to the author of the book’s review, Michele Messina, Professor of EU Law at the Department of Political Science and Law at the University of Messina, the analyses in the book seem to suggest that a lasting evolution of the EU integration process can only be based on fundamental principles or fundamental values of the EU. Democracy, as one of them, is among the most important ingredients for a single European market focused more on social and environmental issues than on economic ones.