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The Nordic Council is an organisational forum of the Scandinavian states and their autonomous regions. It is the oldest regional partnership in Europe with the role of interparliamentary cooperation. The substantive institutional activities include economy, ecology, culture, sustainable development, and climate change. The Nordic Council of Ministers was established in the context of interstate cooperation and was conceived as a complement to the engagement of the Nordic Council. The member states of the observed collectivity combine similar historical foundations, social realities, and development orientations. The indigenous paradigm of the institution’s functioning can represent a model applicable to other territorial groupings in the world. The paper specifically examines the relations of the countries of the given group, members of the European Union (EU), towards the countries of the Western Balkans subregion. In the previous period, the position of the Autonomous Region of Greenland, as part of sovereign Denmark, has been of essential international importance due to the claims of the United States of America (US) administration to take over that territory. We note that the aforementioned councils have not yet explicitly stated their position on the current issue.

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In 2004/2005, the Serbian Orthodox Church decided to establish the Permanent Representation to the European Institutions in Brussels, following the example of other European Orthodox Churches. However, although the Holy Assembly of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church’s decision to appoint a permanent representative remains in effect, the office’s activities have been largely dormant for several years. This paper analyses the potential benefits the reactivation of the Church’s representation in Brussels could bring. It particularly focuses on advocacy regarding Kosovo and Metohija and access to European funding mechanisms. Nevertheless, certain challenges are evident, primarily related to the broader political landscape on the European continent and the inter church dispute between Moscow and Constantinople. The research methodology includes an analysis of the European Commission’s annual reports on Kosovo and Metohija (compared with the U.S. State Department reports) for the period 2015 to 2024, along with other relevant EU documents. It also incorporates an interview with Archimandrite Danilo Ljubotina, the long‐standing permanent representative of the Serbian Orthodox Church to the European institutions. Firstly, the analysis reveals specific shortcomings in the European Commission’s reporting on the status of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija, which may serve as a focus for future advocacy efforts. Secondly, the research highlights potential opportunities available to the Serbian Orthodox Church through project‐based funding. It is thus concluded that the reactivation of the Church’s representation in Brussels would yield positive outcomes for the Serbian Orthodox Church, despite its current strategy of maintaining a delicate balance.

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Judicial independence is one of the key facets of the rule of law; promoting the rule of law at the international and national levels is a goal of Target 16.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals. Financial independence of judges is one of the important guarantees of their independence. It is therefore unsurprising that compensation for judges’ work has been addressed in various international soft law instruments, where the standards formulated by European professional organisations of judges are of particular interest for all European countries. These standards, although formulated in soft law documents, are incorporated into the norms and practices of the European Union and its Member States and, by extension, are relevant for European Union candidate countries. This development is further underscored by the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which has first established a clear general obligation on the part of the European Union Member States to respect the independence of their national courts and has subsequently consistently held that judges’ compensation is an important element of their independence. Utilising the comparative and normative methods, the paper first outlines how the European standards of financial independence of judges are interpreted and applied in European Union law. Then, the author analyses in more detail the judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union in case C‐272/24 HZ v Tribunalul Galați, where the issue of compensation for judges’ overtime work is discussed. Finally, the author highlights the potential implications of the aforementioned judgement for the legal system and practice in Serbia.

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The right to information is one of the key rights of the accused and an integral part of the right to defence in criminal proceedings. As an important guarantee of the right to a fair trial, this right of the defendant in criminal proceedings is also recognised at the level of the European Union (EU). The paper presents a brief analysis of the provisions of the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of Europe of May 22, 2012, on the right to information in criminal proceedings. Although it is an older legal act, its analysis is significant in the process of harmonising criminal procedural law with EU law. The aim of the work derives from its subject and is reflected in the fact that the right to information is viewed in the context of the right to defend the accused in modern criminal proceedings.

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Smuggling of persons (migrants) is one of the more serious forms of cross‐border organised crime, which not only threatens the security of the Member States of the European Union (EU) but also the lives and fundamental human rights of migrants. EU regulations oblige the Member States to criminalise any intentional facilitation of the unauthorised entry, transit, or residence of aliens when committed for the purpose of obtaining material benefit. European legislation also requires stricter punishment for more serious forms of migrant smuggling, such as acts committed within an organised criminal group, endangering the life or health of migrants, or involving inhuman or degrading treatment. For more serious forms of human smuggling, the introduction of deterrent penalties is required, which implies stricter prison sentences and expanded confiscation of assets obtained through human smuggling. Accepting the EU\'s demands for stricter punishment for human smuggling is particularly important for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, as both countries are located on the so‐called \"Balkan migrant route\", which makes them particularly exposed to the activities of organised smuggling networks and an increased risk of committing serious crimes related to illegal migration.

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The consolidation of capital, as well as its internationalisation, i.e., the interconnection of capital, is a common cause of balance sheet consolidation. A large share of European, or, in general, global capital is under the umbrella of related companies, and as such, capital is constantly increasing. Professional accounting regulations have been changed and upgraded over time in accordance with the real needs of the accounting profession. Various methods of balance sheet consolidation and their harmonisation with international accounting standards are presented in this paper. The authors explore different methods that can be used to consolidate financial statements. Their similarity with international regulations, which include both European standards and rules, as well as accounting practice, is particularly emphasised. The analysis concludes that the suitability of certain methods depends on a multitude of factors faced by business entities, which aim to respond to the requirements set by the internal legislative regulations of countries that prescribe financial reporting.

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Food safety is one of the most significant challenges in modern society, as it directly affects public health, consumer confidence, and market stability. Each segment of the food chain, from raw material production through processing and distribution to consumption, requires systematic control and application of quality standards. This paper analyses the theoretical and practical aspects of food safety in Serbia and the international community, with special emphasis on regulations, inspection, and quality control mechanisms. The paper focuses on the concept and importance of food safety, the role of quality control, and the principles of the HACCP system (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), as well as the function of inspection in ensuring the healthiness of products. A separate section is devoted to international regulations, including Codex Alimentarius guidelines, European regulations, and practical guidelines for standards implementation, emphasising the harmonisation of the legislation of the Republic of Serbia with the law of the European Union (EU). The author concludes that food safety is a multidisciplinary and strategically important area in which the application of standards, quality regulation, and proactive practice can significantly contribute to consumer protection, the development of the domestic food industry, and international competitiveness.

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The Digital Single Market (DSM) is a key component of the European Union (EU) strategy to transform one of the world’s largest economic areas into a free and competitive digital space. The EU has begun the fight for a greater share in the digital world with the adoption of the “Europe fit for the digital age 2020” strategy. To strengthen strategic autonomy and create a single digital market, the EU will provide, through the Commission, practical guidelines and legal regulations that will be incorporated into the internal legal systems of Member States in the coming period. At the same time, it influences the candidate countries. Adapting to the digital age means that by 2030, the EU will make the necessary efforts to strengthen its digital sovereignty. Accordingly, the Council of European National Top‐Level Domain Registries (CENTR), as an association of European national top‐level domain registries, aims to provide its members with a forum for information exchange while respecting the cultural and historical differences of local Internet communities. Therefore, in the context of the activities of this organisation, this paper discusses Directive (EU) 2022/2555, also known as the NIS2 Directive. The Directive (NIS2), which has the formal title “Directive on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union”, is an act that sets equal, harmonised requirements for cybersecurity throughout the Union. For candidate countries, such as Serbia, NIS 2 is relevant in the framework of alignment with the EU acquis, as well as chapters related to information society, digitalisation, security, and preparation of critical infrastructure for EU accession. Consequently, this paper provides insight into the impact of this directive on Serbian legislation, as the authors believe it to be of particular importance for the digital transformation of Serbian society.

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This paper aims to examine the relationship between public interest, whistleblowing, and data confidentiality protection through a comparative analysis of European Union (EU) law and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). The research is based on the thesis that whistleblowing is one of the key mechanisms of democratic control. However, its legal nature is not fully encompassed in the EU normative framework, especially in terms of the substantive concept of public interest. Methodologically, the paper combines a normative analysis of Directive (EU) 2019/1937 and Directive (EU) 2016/943 with a doctrinal analysis of significant ECtHR judgements. The results show that, in the EU, the public interest arises only implicitly, through a violation of EU law, while the ECtHR develops a substantive test that includes the assessment of the public interest, the good faith of the whistleblower, the gravity of the violation discovered, the effectiveness of internal whistleblowing mechanisms, and the existence of a causal link between the whistleblowing and the retaliation. Case law, therefore, functions as a material corrective to the Directive, especially in cases of disclosure of confidential, business, or state secrets. The conclusion of the paper indicates that for the legal system of the Republic of Serbia, which lacks precise criteria for determining the public interest, the jurisprudence of the ECtHR is of crucial importance for the uniform and effective protection of whistleblowers.

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With the new “Space Act” proposal, the European Union (EU) called on member states to adopt a unified and harmonised legal framework for space activities, with a focus on security, resilience, and sustainability. This focus covers space traffic, ecology, and cybersecurity for critical infrastructure to give greater impetus to the space economy and strategic autonomy of the EU. Essentially, the Commission initiated the adoption of the Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Safety, Resilience and Sustainability of Space Activities in the Union on June 25, 2025, which provides for the replacement of fragmented national legislative solutions with common rules for operators, thus ensuring safe and uninterrupted access to space services while encouraging technological innovation and creating a single market for performing space activities that should contribute to strengthening the global competitiveness of the European space economy.

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Geoblocking represents a key technological solution in the contemporary digital environment, enabling territorially limited use of copyright‐protected subject matter on the Internet. Through this effect, the traditional concept of the territoriality of copyright is maintained and reinforced within the digital sphere. Given that virtual space is inherently unlimited and does not recognise the concept of state borders, geoblocking constitutes one of the central mechanisms for preserving the functional role of copyright. Geoblocking is particularly prevalent on online platforms for the streaming of audiovisual content. In addition to serving as a mechanism for protecting the territorial scope of copyright, it simultaneously contributes to the fragmentation of the European Union’s internal market. In essence, its application allows distributors to secure territorial exclusivity of licences and ensure the economic viability of investments in the production of audiovisual content. In recent years, a substantive debate has been conducted within the institutions of the European Union regarding the effects of geoblocking on the Digital Single Market. The EU has directed its efforts towards reducing unjustified geoblocking through the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2018/302. However, this regulatory framework does not cover the audiovisual services sector. Specifically, the Regulation does not apply to audiovisual services, including cinematographic content, nor to services whose principal purpose is to provide access to sports broadcasts based on exclusive territorial licences. Summa summarum, within the current normative and technological framework, geoblocking continues to retain the role of a key mechanism for preserving the territorial scope of copyright in the digital environment. Although burdened by certain functional limitations, it remains an indispensable instrument for the enforcement of copyright under conditions of global content availability and for maintaining the economic sustainability of licensing copyrighted works in national markets.

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Health is a fundamental human right, recognised by numerous international, regional, and national legal instruments. In most countries, including the world’s largest economy, the United States of America, its implementation is currently far from being realised. Today, however, Cuba is demonstrating that the right to health must and can be realised not only through the harmonisation of national legislation with universal legal standards, but also through the development of national medicine and medical practice, the results of which can be applied effectively and on a wider international scale. In this regard, the improvement of cooperation between European countries and Cuba in the field of medicine and medical research could establish new standards of conduct that affirm the universal right of people to health.

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Over the past ten years, we have witnessed the rapid development of the Internet and digital technologies. All new technical achievements have enriched people’s lives, but they have also brought numerous dangers, especially for children. Unlike adults, children are at much greater risk of various types of inconvenience, abuse, exploitation both in the digital and real world. States and international organizations are taking various measures to protect children from the dangers lurking on the Internet. The paper discusses the decision of the European Commission to establish an expert group that serves as a Network for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse. The Network is tasked with assisting the Commission in the preparation and implementation of policies and measures to prevent the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. It also coordinates between the Commission, Member States, relevant researchers, field officers and other stakeholders on issues related to the implementation of Union legislation, programmes and policies in the field of the protection of children’s rights in the digital and offline worlds. The analysis also pays attention to other European Union (EU) initiatives aimed at protecting children’s rights both online and offline, and discusses the importance of this Network for the Republic of Serbia. The paper concludes that the EU is taking the necessary measures to protect children from the dangers and manipulations brought about by new and increasingly sophisticated technology.