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The article deals with the development of the concept of state neutrality in international relations since the 19th century, by using different theoretical approaches and historical examples. The text also analyses the statuses of several contemporary European states which are being considered as neutral, or which are striving towards neutrality. Based on that, the author brings forward the conditions necessary for a state to be internationally recognized as that of having permanent neutrality, in the post Cold War era.

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The author points to the influence of the United Nations on the development of contemporary international law. He also deals with the impact of objectives and principles of the UN Charter as well as with the emergence of new tendencies and changes in the classic system of international law.During the second half of the 20th century international relations and processes that characterised them, this above including the Cold War and decolonisation, have contributed to the change in the nature of the international community in the early 21st century exerting their influence on the position of states.

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The goal of this article is to explore the complexity of the EU Council’s functioning from the angle of its working bodies functioning. COREPER, the EU Council’s best known coordinating body, is the iceberg of the whole network of committees and working groups and is importantforthe understanding ofthe so-called EU “commitology“ phenomena. European integration process led to the proliferation of different kind of working groups. Characteristic of Council’s working groups is development of specific functioning focused to compromise as the basis for decision making, which is confirmed by empirical research. On the other hand, these bodies, as the Council itself, reflect the standing contradiction between supranational and national aspects of EU decision making.

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The first decade of the 21st century has made us witnesses the worst economic crisis unlike any seen before since the Great Depression. Although it initially seemed a simple problem of liquidity that culminated at the time, over the years has been discovered the real reasons of the crisis that has hit the world economy and they are increasingly refer to serious deficiencies and unsustainability of the existing financial system as a whole. Economic downturn resulted in lower than expected fiscal revenues, while the other side, expenses increased as a result of a large fiscal intervention in orderto stabilize the financial and banking sector and boost aggregate demand. The latest budget projections indicate the growing fiscal imbalances on a global scale as well as unsustainable imbalances in the global economy in general. Creating a credible strategy for getting out of the crisis, policymakers are faced with an extraordinary challenges. European Union member countries are now implementing an economic recovery plan that represents the most ambitious effort ever to align their economic policies. Although the crisis has put a serious burden on the economies and the budgets of the Member States, the European Union, implementing number of common measures, has managed to avoid the collapse of the financial system.

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This work aims, sixty three years afterthe Hague Congress which was the foundation for Europe as we know it today, to explain how the ideas of European unity were channeled, and to explain Yugoslav role in it. Yugoslav representatives, the émigrés, took a very active participation and tried to focus the other delegates’ attention towards the difficult position of the peoples’ behind the Iron curtain. Article also deals with the workings of the Hague Convention itself, Ideas that were presented, and with the results that stemmed from its workings, especially the Council of Europe.

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Being marked either by dominating superpower or by forced balance of dichotomous block division, periods of modern history are for sure the result of various and very complex international political and economic relations. Replacing of these periods had been defining last six decades and has been stipulating specific complexity in actual states’ interaction. According to the authors, changes of the global relations’ flows have affected on rhythm of the organized criminal activities’ trends having in mind possible causality of the ratio between essentially strategic nature of politically economic issues and tactically operational core of illegal matters, worldwide. As examples of illicit actions regarding their intensity, numerous forms, institutional adaptability and high degree of caused social danger, in the article are going to be analyzed terrorism, illicit drug trafficking, money laundering, trafficking in human organs and illegal migration, as well as governmental and nongovernmental responses presented through projects of international organizations of INTERPOL and World Justice.

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The paper analyses the ethno-demographic development of members of national minorities in Serbia with special reference to the last period between the two censuses (1991-2002), bearing in mind the turbulent political and economic changes that occurred at that time. It is pointed to the negative trends in population growth, basic demographic structures as well as to the great significance of the ethnocentric migrations that have changed the ethnic picture of Serbia and undoubtedly marked the 1990s. The specific disposition and ethnic homogenisation of national minorities give special weight and significance to the minority issue. Taking into account the fact that Serbia is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural state regulation of the position and protection of minority rights as well as good inter-ethnic relations are indispensable for achieving stability and democratic development of Serbia and the Balkan region.