This diploma thesis deals with the topic of cross-border cooperation of the South Moravian Region. The theoretical part deals with the definition of terms such as region, regional economics, regional policy, and regional development. It also deals with the regional structure of the Czech Republic, NUTS regions or regional policy institutions. The last chapters of the theoretical part are devoted to the possibilities of financing development strategies and cross-border cooperation. The following is a part of the description of standard-specific research called Real estate market analysis in cross-border regions and the designation FAST-S-19-5899 based on which the topic of this work was selected. In the practical part, it characterizes the South Moravian Region and the village Mikulčice specifically described the selected project and its financing. The conclusion is a theoretical proposal of other financing options and an evaluation of the impact that the project has on the development of the region.

This study explores the role of a foreign ministry within the context of diplomacy and regional cooperation, focusing on the delivery of regional public goods. Diplomacy is described as a state of mind, an approach to the conduct and/or management of international relations that emphasises the timeous and pacific application of intelligence and tact in the making and implementation of foreign policy. As the custodian of diplomacy and diplomatic practice within a national government, the foreign ministry constitutes the primary grouping of expertise on international matters, responsible for the execution of foreign policy but also involved in the process of foreign policy making. Regional cooperation is defined as an issue-focused arrangement, in terms of which participating states may cooperate for a joint development project and facilitation of exchange of information or best practices. Within the context of regional cooperation, regional public goods are defined as any goods, commodities, services, system of rules or policy regimes that are public in nature, that generate shared benefits for the participating states and whose production is a result of collective action by the participating states. Arguably, the provision of regional public goods is considered the most effective way for regional economic communities to reduce poverty and to develop economies of scale. As an assumption, this study contends that, because of the need for regional public goods agenda-setting and policy prioritising, and based on the utility of diplomacy, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) plays a central and catalytic role within the Southern African Development Community (SADC). This assumption is described and analysed at the regional strategic level, specifically related to the responsibility of SADC foreign ministries in terms of the management of regionalisation in Southern Africa; and at the national operational level, emphasising the role of DIRCO vis-à-vis the delivery of regional public goods. At the regional strategic level, it was found that diplomacy serves as an institution of regional relations; as an instrument of regional foreign policy; as an administrative function in SADC, specifically related to the responsibilities of foreign ministries; as an instrument in the formulation of regional foreign policy; and as a dialogue between regional actors. At the national operational level, it is evident that diplomacy serves as an institution in DIRCO‟s management of regional public goods delivery; as an instrument within DIRCO‟s participation in the execution of policies towards regional public goods delivery; as an administrative function within DIRCO; as an instrument in terms of DIRCO‟s role towards the formulation of policies towards regional public goods delivery; and as a dialogue between DIRCO and key regional actors in terms of regional public goods delivery. Due to the urgency and priority accorded to the delivery of regional public goods, DIRCO must consider the establishment of a core capability specialising in the technical competencies related to specific programmes within the delivery of regional public goods. / Dissertation (MDiplomatic Studies)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Political Sciences / unrestricted

Multinational enterprises are continuously in search of investment opportunities to grow their businesses. For over two decades South Africa, being one of the economic powerhouses of Africa, has been one such target for global investors. A company planning to invest in South Africa will attempt to identify the most appropriate way to do so, for tax and non-tax reasons. However, tax consequences are one of the main factors influencing the decision of an investor. While certain companies choose to invest directly into the target country, the majority choose to set up a holding company outside of the investor country. Such a company is known as an intermediary holding company and is defined as a company which is interposed between a shareholder and its foreign subsidiary. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the best manner, for tax purposes, in which a foreign company would invest into South Africa, either directly or indirectly through an intermediary holding company. Should the intermediary holding company option be selected, the company will then need to select the country in which to base its intermediary holding company. Tax havens are commonly used as a base for intermediary holding companies, however, these may not be the most advantageous option in all cases. Literature on intermediary holding companies and tax havens is reviewed and thereafter the study analyses and compares the tax efficiency of a hypothetical UK company investing into South Africa using different options. The options available to the UK Company which are compared, include investing directly into South Africa or investing indirectly through an intermediary holding company based in either Cyprus, Mauritius or the Netherlands, all of which are commonly used as bases for intermediary holding companies. The comparative study on the different intermediary holding company options is performed based on the domestic tax laws of each country as well as the effects of the double tax agreements in force between these countries and other tax jurisdictions. Thereafter, the most tax efficient intermediary holding company option is compared to the tax efficiency of direct investment by the UK Company and a conclusion is reached on which is the best manner for such a company to invest into South Africa, for tax purposes. AFRIKAANS : Multi-nasionale ondernemings is voortdurend op soek na nuwe beleggingsgeleenthede ten einde besigheidsgroei te bewerkstelling. Internasionale beleggers sien Suid-Afrika nou al vir meer as twee dekades as ʼn toetreepunt tot geleenthede in Afrika, vanweë Suid-Afrika se status as een van die ekonomiese reuse in Afrika. Maatskappye wat beplan om in Suid-Afrika te belê sal ondersoek doen om die beste moontlike beleggings manier te vind. Talle besigheidsredes, waarvan belastingimplikasies een van die hoofoorwegings is, sal die faktore wees wat ʼn potensiële belegger se besluitneming beïnvloed. Terwyl sommige maatskappye verkies om direk in die beleggingsland te belê sal die meeste maatskappye eerder in ʼn houermaatskappy buite die beleggingsland belê. So ʼn maatskappy staan bekend as ʼn intermediêre houer maatskappy en word gedefinieer as ʼn “tussenganger” maatskappy wat as geleibuis optree tussen die aandeelhouer en die buitelandse filiaal. Die hoofdoel van hierdie studie is om ondersoek in te stel na die beste metode, vanuit ʼn belastingoogpunt, vir ʼn buitelandse maatskappy om in Suid-Afrika te belê. Dit kan óf direk óf indirek deur middel van ʼn intermediêre houer maatskappy gedoen word. Indien die intermediêre houer maatskappy opsie gekies word, moet die maatskappy ook die land kies waarin die intermediêre houer maatskappy opgerig gaan word. Lande wat bekend is as belastingtoevlugsoorde word dikwels gekies om intermediêre houer maatskappye op te rig. Dit is egter nie in alle gevalle die mees voordeligste metode nie. Literatuur oor intermediêre houer maatskappye en belastingtoevlugsoorde word nagevors, waarna hierdie studie die belastingeffektiwiteit van ʼn hipotetiese Britse maatskappy, wat in Suid-Afrika belê, ondersoek deur gebruik te maak van verskillende opsies. Die opsies wat beskikbaar is en ondersoek sal word sluit in, direkte belegging in Suid-Afrika en belegging deur van ʼn intermediêre houer maatskappy gebruik te maak in Cyprus, Mauritius of Nederland. Al die vooraf genoemde lande is algemeen bekend daarvoor dat dit gebruik word om intermediêre houer maatskappye op te rig. Die verskillende intermediêre houer maatskappy opsies word met mekaar vergelyk, deur die belastingimplikasies van plaaslike belastingwetgewing van elke land, asook enige dubbele belastingooreenkomste van krag tussen hierdie lande en ander regsgebiede, te oorweeg. Die mees effektiewe intermediêre houer maatskappy opsie word dan vergelyk met die belastingeffektiwiteit van direkte belegging deur die Britse maatskappy. ʼn Gevolgtrekking word gemaak oor die metode wat die mees effektiefste belastinggevolge inhou vir ‘n Britse maatskappy wat in Suid-Afrika belê. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Taxation / unrestricted

Anfangs war die Nervosität groß. Aber schon nach den ersten Begrüßungsworten war klar, hier kommen Fachkollegen zusammen, die nur die sprachliche Barriere trennt, nicht die fachlichen Kompetenzen. Bald schwirrten Begriffe wie Informationskompetenz, Credit Points, Open Access, E-Learning, EBSCO, PRIMO, Aleph... durch den Raum. Was hier beschrieben wird, sind Erinnerungen an den ersten Workshop, der zwischen BibliothekarInnen der Universitätsbibliotheken Chemnitz, Plzen und Ústí nad Labem im Oktober 2009 in Chemnitz stattfand. Dieser Workshop hat eine lange Vorgeschichte.

The subject-matter of this master thesis is cross-border healthcare in the European Union. It describes the history and development, but focuses mainly on the current legal framework represented by Regulation No 883/2004, and mainly Directive 2011/24 on the application of patients' rights in cross-border health care. The aim of the master thesis is to thoroughly analyse the current legal framework with a focus on patients' rights, to examine the impact of the Directive, to explain an issue of overlap between the Directive and Regulation, and to evaluate the transposition of the Directive in the Czech Republic. To achieve this aim, it is necessary to examine the topic with respect to the historical and political development of the European Union and to the case law of the European Court of Justice. The thesis is divided into four chapters. First of which concerns European Union competences in health law, explaining the history of incorporating health law provisions into the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, as it is called today. This historical development is important for understanding the issue of cross-border healthcare. The second chapter is mainly focused on the important case law of the ECJ concerning patients' rights. Although initially I will discuss the development in...

The diploma thesis deals with a case of cross-border cooperation in the European Union, namely the cross-border cooperation of health emergency services in the Šumava Euroregion. The research focuses mainly on how this cooperation has been arranged and how the European integration theory can be applied to this case study. The diploma thesis analyzes the role of different actors, what contracts were needed for the cross-border cooperation, how the negotiationof the project took place, where the initiative for this cross-border cooperation originated or what complications occurred. The topic of cross-border cooperation of health emergency services is a practical example of European integration and therefore it also includes the study of cross-border cooperation of regions in the European Union, the role of EU funds for regional development and last but not least the EU health policy. The thesis is based on the theory of European territorial integration, which is characterized by the disappearance of the border and suppression of the unilateral orientation of the state inland. Furthermore, there are related theories of regional development and new regionalism. It also works with the theory of shared sovereignty, which inevitably comes with deeper integration. The theme of the diploma theses is time...

Within the EU the cohesion policy and encouragement for cross-border cooperation has becomemore important over the years. And in the academia, there has been a lot of research about thesekinds of cooperation. However, there have been few studies of cross-border cooperation regarding underpinning factors for successful cross-border cooperation. This study aims to create a theoretical model for factors that influence the success of such cooperation. This model is later applied to the cross-border cooperation between Västerbotten and Örnsköldsvik in then orthern Sweden and the tree counties of Österbotten in Finland, which is called Kvarkenrådet. The main purpose of this study is to find out whether Kvarkenrådet is a successful cross-border cooperation by applying the theoretical model on Kvarkenrådet:s cooperations. To answer the aim on the study two personal interviews have been conducted with the director of Kvarkenrådet Mathias Lindström and the president of the bord Lennart Holmlund and later the empirical results from the interviews is compared to the theoretical model of factors that influence cross-border cooperation. The result showed that all the factors in the theoretical model could be identified in Kvarkenrådet. Except from the factors in the theoretical model. The conclusion of this study is that Kvarkenrådet is a successful cross border cooperation that is built on many different factorson different level.

For the first time in history, more people in the world live in urban areas than in rural areas. Almost half of this world urban population now live in metropolitan areas, which are becoming central spaces of world economic and social activity, and where major global challenges happen and should be tackled. Metropolitan areas are defined by urban spaces of integrated mobility flows and markets, but also by high institutional fragmentation and political decomposition. This fragmentation interferes in decision-making processes leading to difficulties for the design and implementation of adequate responses to metropolitan problems. In this context, the study of how metropolitan areas should be governed is gaining relevance in the field of urban studies, among other fields. The normative debates about metropolitan governance has been framed by three traditions. From the 60s to the late 80s these debates were restricted to the ‘old regionalism’ dialectics between the metropolitan reform and public choice scholars. More recently, new regionalism recognize in flexible and cooperative governance instruments the most effective way to deal with metropolitan problems. From this perspective metropolitan areas are governed by complex governance relations between diverse actors through multiple and concurrent instruments, in the form of policy networks, voluntary cooperation, strategic planning, and so on. The Öresund Region is a metropolis that spans from eastern Denmark to southern Sweden, and includes cities such as Copenhagen and Malmö. While it has been largely referenced and praised as an example of cross-border metropolitan area, there is little evidence on how it is governed or which are the main governance instruments or who are the actors involved in the policy-making process. Taking an original approach to the study of metropolitan governance, this paper represents a first attempt to identify and understand the main features of metropolitan governance in the Öresund Region as a system, in a polycentric and multilayered crossborder metropolis. The results suggest that metropolitan governance in the Öresund Region is very ambiguous, with several agents acting in different and non-coincident scales, strongly focused in hard policies and development policies in contrast to social and environmental policy areas. Also, there are persistent barriers to cross-border governance despite the favorable context. And finally, there is a relevant democratic governance deficit, in terms of social actors’ participation and involvement in the metropolitan decision-making process. These first results recommend to go forward with further research in this issue. Particularly to grasp about governance networks operatives, policy-making processes, and citizens’ political orientations to, ultimately, propose improvements for a more effective, comprehensive and democratic governance in the Öresund metropolitan region.

This dissertation applies a variety of quantitative methods to European electricity market data to enable us to detect, understand, and eventually mitigate market imperfections. The empirical data indicate that market power and barriers to cross-border trade partially explain today’s market failures. Briefly, the five key findings of this dissertation are: First, we observe a decoupling between German electricity prices and fuel cost, even though British electricity prices are largely explained by short-run cost factors. Second, we demonstrate that rising prices of European Union emission allowances (EUA) have a greater impact on German wholesale electricity prices than falling EUA prices. Third, we reject the assumption of full integration of European wholesale electricity markets in 2002-2006; for several pairs of countries, the weaker hypothesis of (bilateral) convergence is accepted (i.e. efforts to develop a single European market for electricity have been only partially successful). Fourth, we observe that daily auction prices of scarce cross-border transmission capacities are insufficient to explain the persistence of international price differentials. Empirically, our findings confirm the insufficiency of explicit capacity auctions as stated in the theoretical literature. Fifth, we identify inefficiencies in the market behavior for the interconnector linking France and the United Kingdom (UK), for which several explanations, including market power, may be plausible.

Gegenstand der Arbeit stellten die deutsch-polnischen und deutsch-tschechischen Euroregionen dar. Sie wurden als ein offenes System betrachtet, das sich aus den in Wechselwirkung stehenden Elementen zusammensetzt: Raum, Grenze, Netzwerk und Umfeld. Diese ganzheitliche, intertemporale Betrachtung der Euroregionen ermöglichte es, dieses komplexe Phänomen besser zur verstehen, Erkenntnisse zur Bedeutung, zum Typus und zu Perspektiven der deutsch-polnischen und deutsch-tschechischen Euroregionen zu gewinnen sowie die gestellten Hypothesen zu überprüfen und zu verifizieren. Die Untersuchungen zur Rolle der deutsch-polnischen und deutsch-tschechischen Euroregionen bezogen sich insbesondere auf die Ermittlung der Bedeutung euroregionaler Netzwerke für die Grenzräume, bei gleichzeitiger Berücksichtigung der Wechselwirkungen mit anderen Elementen des euroregionalen Systems. Hierzu wurde eine Bilanzierung und Evaluierung der bisherigen Arbeit euroregionaler Netzwerke durchgeführt und die Wechselwirkungen analysiert. Im Rahmen der typologischen Untersuchungen wurde nachgewiesen, dass die deutsch-polnischen und deutsch-tschechischen Euroregionen, trotz bestimmter Abweichungen, einen einheitlichen Typus verkörpern. Des Weiteren hat sich herausgestellt, dass die deutsch-polnischen und deutsch-tschechischen Euroregionen sich hinsichtlich der institutionellen, netzwerkrelevanten Aspekte in einer der Entwicklungsphasen westeuropäischer Euregios befinden. Nicht zutreffend ist jedoch diese Aussage in Bezug auf die räumlichen Aspekte. In Anlehnung an die Untersuchungsergebnisse zum evolutionären Charakter der euroregionalen Netzwerke und die bevorstehenden Veränderungen wurden auch die Perspektiven der deutsch-polnischen und deutsch-tschechischen Euroregionen aufgezeigt und anschließend Vorschläge zur Weiterentwicklung und Effizienzsteigerung der euroregionalen Netzwerke erarbeitet. / Theme of the work represented the German-Polish and German-Czech euroregions. They were regarded as an open system, that consists of the in an interaction standing elements: space, border, network and surroudings. All these elements are interdependent. This holistic and inter temporal consideration of the euroregion allowed a better understanding of this complex phenomenon. Besides this, knoweledge concerning importance, type and perspectives of the German-Polish and German-Czech euroregions was acquired and the thesis could be checked and verified. The research of the role of the German-Polish and German-Czech euroregions refered to the verification of importance of the euroregional networks for borderline. The interaction was regarded at the same time with other elements of euroregional system. There was conducted balancing and evaluation of actual euroregional network’s work and analysed the interaction. Following the results of basic analyses was done a typological consideration of those euroregions. It was showed due to exsiting differences and the specific charasteristics the German-Polisch and German-Czech euroregions are of a seperate type.The hypothesis claiming that the German-Polish and German-Czech euroregions represent a development’s phase of the Western European Euregios is only acceptable in the view of the institutional aspects. In the scope of this analysis it was shown that German-Polish and German-Czech. The research’s results of evolutional character of the euroregional networks and forthcoming changes were unlocked the perspectives of the German-Polish and German-Czech euroregions. The proposals for further progress and effective elevation of euroregional network were processed.