The author systematically examines one of the important issues of information — establishing the market price. He introduces the concept of «search» — where a buyer wanting to get a better price, is forced to question sellers. The article deals with various aspects of finding the necessary information.

Economics of Information

The four Visegrad states — Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia (until 1993 Czechoslovakia) and Hungary — form a compact area between Germany and Austria in the west and the states of the former USSR in the east. They are bounded by the Baltic in the north and the Danube river in the south. They are cut by the Sudeten and Carpathian mountain ranges, which divide Poland off from the other states. Poland is an extension of the North European plain and like the latter is drained by rivers that flow from south to north west — the Oder, the Vlatava and the Elbe, the Vistula and the Bug. The Danube is the great exception, flowing from its source eastward, turning through two 90-degree turns to end up in the Black Sea, forming the barrier and often the political frontier between central Europe and the Balkans. Hungary to the east of the Danube is also an open plain. The region is historically and culturally part of western Europe, but its eastern Marches now represents a vital strategic zone between Germany and the core of the European Union to the west and the Russian zone to the east.

Economy and Society

Between Facts and Norms: Contributions to a Discourse Theory of Law and Democracy

Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1111/j.1468-2508.2007.00619.x

Hearing the Other Side: Deliberative versus Participatory Democracy.

This thesis examines the law and practice of official secrets in order to appraise whether and how they restrict democratic oversight and fundamental rights in the European Union. It provides a systematic and in-depth analysis of what the rules of official secrets are, who establishes them and how they work in practice. It critically evaluates whether the EU primary law commitment to openness is safeguarded and examines the constitutional changes and democratic implications arising from secrecy. The research provides a legal inquiry based on forty original interviews as well as an analysis of theoretical works on secrecy and democracy. It seeks to highlight the adaptation of constitutional structures to an administrative practice that has legally thrived outside EU primary law.

/pdf/secrecy-and-oversight-in-the-european-union-the-law-and-365vmktw5h.pdf

Secrecy and Oversight in the European Union. The Law and Practice of Classified Information

In the COVID-19 pandemic, whistleblowers have become the essential watchdogs disrupting suppression and control of information. Many governments have intentionally not disclosed information or failed to do so in a timely manner, misled the public or even promoted false beliefs. Fierce public interest defenders are pushing back against this censorship. Dr Fen and Dr Wenliang were the first whistleblowers in China to report that a new pandemic was possibly underway, and ever since, numerous other whistleblowers around the world have been reporting on the spread of the virus, the lack of medical equipment and other information of public interest. This paper maps the relevant whistleblowing cases in China, the USA and Europe and shows that many whistleblowers are initially censored and face disciplinary measures or even dismissals. At the same time, whistleblowing during the COVID-19 pandemic has drawn public attention to the shortcomings of institutional reporting systems and a wider appreciation of whistleblowers as uniquely placed to expose risk at early stages. Ultimately, whistleblowing as a means of transparency is not only becoming ever less controversial, but during COVID-19 it has become the “remedy” to censorship.

/pdf/truth-distancing-whistleblowing-as-remedy-to-censorship-2px55q6emb.pdf

Truth distancing? Whistleblowing as remedy to censorship during covid-19

The European Union Whistleblower Directive: A ‘Game Changer’ for Whistleblowing Protection?

After decades in a culture of secrecy, ever since the Maastricht Treaty the European Union has made efforts to establish transparency as a fundamental principle of European governance. Yet, to what extent is the EU actually transparent? This paper explores new ground by approaching transparency from its flip side. It addresses secrecy and how secrecy operates in practice through the system of classification of documents. Focusing on Europol, an EU law enforcement agency and an important security actor which facilitates Member States to safeguard security through exchange of sensitive information, this paper provides an in-depth inquiry of who is the main actor for classifying documents and what are the implications for such state of affairs. It draws on Europol’s legal framework and enriches the discussion with empirical work by looking at the practice.

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID2256317_code1636539.pdf?abstractid=2256317

Unveiling the Power over Europol's Secrets

For Vincent Ostrom access to information was a self-evident condition for realisation of polycentric governance. The analytical framework that supports this Volume positions access to information as a polycentric prerequisite, explaining more explicitly why it is a necessary condition for the achievement of institutional essentials that characterize polycentric systems. Whilst the literature on polycentric governance makes references to the relevance of access to information, a more in-depth analysis is lacking. Often information exchanges are only portrayed in passing when looking at polycentric governance systems such as in regulatory networks or capital markets. This chapter seeks to remedy this gap by offering observations on the role, requirements and effects of access to information as a polycentric prerequisite generally and for polycentric governance in the EU specifically.

Vigjilenca Abazi

Papers

Secrecy and Oversight in the European Union. The Law and Practice of Classified Information

Truth distancing? Whistleblowing as remedy to censorship during covid-19

The European Union Whistleblower Directive: A ‘Game Changer’ for Whistleblowing Protection?

Unveiling the Power over Europol's Secrets

Access to information in polycentric governance