Tomáš Peráček

The European Union is adapting its economic governance to an international environment shaped by geopolitical rivalry, geoeconomic competition and security challenges. Existing research has examined economic security, industrial policy, technological sovereignty and competitiveness largely as separate policy fields, while paying less attention to the common logic connecting these developments. This article addresses that gap by proposing geopolitical adaptive integration as an analytical framework for explaining how external geopolitical and geoeconomic pressures influence the evolution of European economic governance. The study employs a qualitative research design combining document analysis, institutional analysis and comparative policy analysis. The empirical analysis draws on selected academic literature published primarily between 2019 and 2026, together with key European Union policy and strategic documents published between 2021 and 2026. The analysis suggests that European economic governance is no longer guided solely by market integration and regulatory coordination. It now incorporates policies designed to strengthen industrial capacity, reduce external dependencies, protect critical technologies and enhance the Union’s capacity to respond to geopolitical and geoeconomic challenges. These developments preserve the institutional foundations of European integration while redefining its policy priorities. The article contributes to the academic discussion by introducing Geopolitical Adaptive Integration as an analytical framework for interpreting the evolution of European economic governance and for analysing the relationship between integration, security and geoeconomics.

The European Union now routinely leverages economic governance to tackle strategic vulnerabilities caused by geopolitical rivalry, foreign dependencies, and supply chain shocks. This article analyses this shift, exploring how the EU adapts its economic toolkit and what restricts its capacity to act as a geoeconomic power. It builds an analytical framework connecting external pressures, strategic vulnerabilities, policy choices, and institutional barriers. Methodologically, the study combines qualitative document analysis of EU policy frameworks with trade metrics and evidence from the Geoeconomic Interconnectivity Index. The findings show a clear expansion in investment screening, anti-coercion tools, targeted industrial policy, and supply-chain diversification—all aimed at safeguarding core sectors and curbing asymmetric exposure. These steps mark a departure from purely regulatory-market logic towards a hybrid model blending market openness, defensive controls, and capacity-building. Persistent institutional splits, conflicting national priorities, technological gaps, and reliance on foreign markets limit the effectiveness of this transition. Ultimately, the EU’s evolving geoeconomic stance aims not for total self-sufficiency, but for the deliberate, strategic management of interdependence.

Contemporary sustainable development is affected by geopolitical competition, geoeconomic fragmentation and growing strategic uncertainty. These developments challenge conventional assumptions on which sustainability governance is based and raise questions about the relationship between sustainable development, economic security and strategic autonomy. This article examines how geopolitical and geoeconomic transformations are reshaping sustainable development within the European Union and assesses their implications for the future evolution of the European development model. The analysis is based on a qualitative analysis of policies and documents in key EU strategic frameworks, legislative instruments, sustainability reports and the academic literature. Particular attention is paid to the European Green Deal, the European Economic Security Strategy and the Europe 2026 Sustainable Development Report. Sustainable development now depends not only on environmental and social outcomes but also on resilience, secure access to key resources and technologies and the ability to adapt to external disruptions. Economic security and strategic autonomy do not emerge as competing priorities but as enabling conditions for the implementation of sustainability goals. This article argues that sustainability governance in the European Union is undergoing a process of geopoliticisation, in which environmental, economic and strategic considerations are now closely intertwined. Its main contribution is the creation of a framework of sustainable strategic resilience that conceptualises these interactions as mutually reinforcing dimensions of contemporary EU governance.

This article analyses the transformation of the competitiveness of the European Union in the context of geopolitical fragmentation, geo-economic rivalry and the growing importance of economic security in contemporary economic governance. The article argues that the traditional efficiency-oriented understanding of competitiveness, associated primarily with productivity growth, market efficiency and trade openness, is increasingly complemented by a resilience-oriented governance framework that emphasizes strategic autonomy, technological capabilities, economic security and long-term adaptive resilience. Using a conceptually oriented qualitative research design based on interpretive analysis and analytically focused comparison, we integrate knowledge from studies of competitiveness, political economy, geo-economics and European economic governance. The research draws on academic literature primarily available in the Web of Science and Scopus databases, EU strategic documents and legislation, and selected aggregated indicators related to productivity, innovation, trade openness, technological development and sustainability. The findings show that geopolitical fragmentation, supply chain vulnerabilities, technological competition and strategic dependencies are increasingly changing the structural foundations of European competitiveness. Innovation and technological capabilities remain key determinants of long-term competitiveness, but their strategic importance is increasingly linked to resilience, technological sovereignty and economic security. The results also show that the European Union is gradually moving towards a hybrid governance model that combines market openness with strategic coordination, industrial policy and resilience-oriented adaptation. At the same time, significant asymmetries between Member States continue to limit the EU’s ability to adapt in a coordinated manner. The article contributes to current debates on competitiveness by establishing an integrated analytical framework linking competitiveness, resilience, economic security, strategic autonomy and sustainable development in the context of geo-economic transformation.

The article observes the role of criminal norms as structural corrective mechanisms in international investment law, marked by the questioning of the legitimacy of ISDS and the intensification of corporate responsibility requirements. It draws on recent case law and regulatory developments in the fight against corruption, money laundering, transnational fraud and violations of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards. Thus, criminal law norms, which until now functioned exclusively as external repressive instruments, have begun to manifest themselves as factors of rebalancing between investor protection and the public interests of states. Methodologically, the research combines doctrinal analysis, examination of arbitration practice, and evaluation of recent legislative trends. The results indicate the positive effect of criminal law in the structure of investment treaties, contributing to the consolidation of the clean investment standard, the limitation of abuse of rights and the strengthening of the coherence of the fragmented international legal order. The conclusion supports the need to explicitly establish criteria of criminal legality in the assessment of jurisdiction and substance in investment arbitration.

The development of sustainable smart cities is closely linked to the implementation of artificial intelligence in urban services, which opens up new possibilities for efficient resource management, improving the quality of life and strengthening the participation of citizens. At the same time, the question arises as to how legal and strategic frameworks can support the use of artificial intelligence in a way that contributes to environmental, social and economic sustainability in line with the objectives of the European Union. The aim of this scientific study is to examine the interdisciplinary use of artificial intelligence, data management and sustainability at the European Union level, including support instruments such as regulatory initiatives and funding programs, and to assess their implementation in relation to smart cities. Methodologically, the research is based on a legal analysis of key European and national documents, supplemented by descriptive statistics and visualizations of indicators of digitalization and urban sustainability. In the scientific study, we use the methods of synthesis, comparison and abstraction. The results suggest that the legislative and support framework of the European Union can be a significant impetus for the transformation of individual smart cities, but requires effective coordination and strategic management at the level of local governments. The research highlights the need for an integrated legal-managerial approach that will enable the full use of the potential of artificial intelligence in supporting sustainable urban development of cities.

The main objective of our scientific study is to examine the justification for the existence of custom as a source of international law, as today’s dynamic era is gradually pushing unwritten sources of law into the background. International custom is one of the last sources of international law, which is unwritten, general and therefore binding for all subjects of international law. Since it is an unwritten source of public international law, a number of questions arise in connection with the emergence, requirements and application of international custom. The focus of the research is the issue of international custom, pointing out application problems, statements of international judicial authorities as well as the mutual relationship between an international treaty and international custom. When examining this issue, we relied on the available relevant professional and scientific literature as well as case law using appropriate scientific research methods. The results of our study indicate that, despite suggestions to eliminate custom as a source of international law, legal custom has its irreplaceable place both in the sources of international law and in the decision-making activities of courts and other bodies.

The aim of this review scientific study is to analyse existing scientific literature examining the development of smart cities in the context of effective public administration and digital connectivity in the European Union, with a particular focus on the impact and regulation of artificial intelligence as a key factor in the sustainable transformation of cities. This scientific study also includes an analysis of the scientific treatment of major European initiatives, such as the concept of effective public administration, WiFi4EU, free mobile roaming, Industry 4.0, automated and autonomous vehicles, which together form the framework for digital infrastructure and connectivity in the European Union. Using a combination of analytical, synthetic, comparative and deductive methods, the research examines the interrelationships between these initiatives, their common goals in promoting technological interoperability, social inclusion and environmental sustainability, as well as the challenges they face in terms of governance, ethics and data protection. We primarily analyse freely available scientific literature included in the Web of Science and Scopus databases from 2018 to the present, as well as European Union legislation and European court decisions related to the topic under investigation. The result of our research is a comprehensive overview of scientific literature on the current state of legal regulation of selected components of smart cities, as well as the identification of gaps and opportunities in the management of AI-based smart city systems. Our recommendations also include a proposal for conceptual directions for the development of sustainable, legally compatible and ethically managed digital ecosystems in the European Union.

Investing from a financial point of view is an activity focused on the placement and distribution of the investor's free funds with the aim of their future appreciation, or obtaining income resulting from the subsequent difference in the price of the security. When trading this commodity, it is necessary in the Slovak Republic to use several contract types contained in the Securities and Investment Services Act. The most important contract type is the contract on the portfolio of securities, which is used by securities traders. This contract or, however, the activities included in this contract consist of four contracts regulating the procurement of the purchase or sale of a security, its custody and management. For this reason, we devote our attention and main goal to an in-depth examination of selected contracts as well as activities that together form a contract on the management of a portfolio of securities. We use selected scientific research methods such as critical analysis, synthesis, deduction and comparison as well as scientific and doctrinal interpretation. The material of our scientific study consists of the Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council on securities trading, the Securities Act, the Commercial Code, the Civil Code, professional literature as well as judgments of Slovak and Czech courts. The results indicate that the development of the securities portfolio management contract is stuck in time, as the legislation, among other shortcomings, does not allow an electronic conclusion of this contract.

The issue of legal easements is a relatively rarely discussed topic among the professional public, and yet, even today, legal easements create space for the development of smart cities. Legal easements are restrictions on property rights that arise directly from the law, which means that the possible disagreement of the owner of the property concerned is irrelevant. The aim of this scientific study is to provide, based on a study of legislation, case law, and professional and scientific articles, sufficient information on this legal institution, which has its basis in the Civil Code. The scientific study also examines in detail the issue of legal easements and their role in the context of sustainable land use and infrastructure development in smart cities. In the study, we test the stated hypothesis that “Legal easements, as a legal instrument, effectively promote sustainable land use and infrastructure development in smart cities by enabling the integration of renewable energy, eco-mobility and green infrastructure without negatively impacting property rights, thus contributing to reducing conflicts between private property and public interest”. We use a number of scientific methods of research to analyse the current legal situation and the possibilities for the application of legal easements in the context of smart cities, including legal analysis, the comparative method, the method of synthesis, deduction, and historical interpretation. In particular, the methods in question were used to examine, historically describe and compare the current legislation on easements and their use in the management of urban space and infrastructure. The main results of the research include a detailed overview of the current legal status of easements and their limitations, which affect the possibilities of their application in the conditions of smart cities. The results suggest that if easements are effectively implemented they can make a significant contribution to optimising space, regulating access to public services, and protecting natural resources. This tool has the potential to enhance the quality of life in cities and promote sustainable urbanism through adaptive planning and management of urban space.