Research pertaining to the dual-tier political system within the European Union (EU), specifically concerning the genesis and execution of EU policies, has garnered substantial scholarly attention. These inquiries delve into multifaceted dimensions, encompassing institutional dynamics, procedural intricacies, questions of legitimacy, and intricate relational dynamics entailing international diplomacy with other actors within the realm of international law. Nonetheless, a particularly intriguing and underexplored facet remains: the influence of member states’ compliance with the rule of law on the implementation of EU policies, particularly within the realm of energy policy. This article aims to elucidate the nexus between the realization of energy policy objectives in EU member states and fidelity to the rule of law. The conundrum of establishing a correlation between the indicators of environmentally sustainable energy policy and commitment to upholding the rule of law remains uncharted territory within the existing body of literature. Our analysis centers on a dataset derived from publicly accessible sources, reflecting data from the year 2020.

Europe’s ambition to be the first climate-neutral continent and to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 will result in changes to the energy systems of many countries. This overlaps with the principles of circular economy, energy independence, and the continuity of operations enshrined in many national and regional documents. From the above, a scenario based on renewable resources emerges. However, in a country such as Poland, with conventional energy sources and large state participation in the sector, is this feasible? The authors assumed that the urgent need for a turbulence-sensitive analysis of energy sector changes can be met by using a new view, defined by the authors as a matrix of four oceans scenarios. Black, Grey, Red and Green scenarios are determined by the proportion of the state and the local-community sector. Then, assuming the possibility of introducing two of them by 2050—Green (radical) and Red (competitive)—empirical research was carried out on a purposively selected group of experts. The business model of the sector was analyzed in terms of six links that create economic and social value: energy sources, energy producers, transmission networks with infrastructure, energy storage, energy system management and energy consumers. According to experts, development of business model links will be based on the Red scenario. Thus, we get a picture of a model that should be considered by politicians, scientists, as well as a wide audience that absorbs the effects of environmental pollution.

The aim of this article is to identify important factors that determine the strategy of the energy sector. It has been assumed that the determinants of this strategy are goals related to the energy security of a European Union member state and the reduction of environmental pollution and anthropogenic pressures. Therefore, this article uses the method of the strategic analysis of critical success factors (CSFs), applied to the energy sector. As the name implies, in this method, factors that determine energy strategies, relating to the economic, technological, political, social and ecological spheres, were identified. Poland served as a case study. Research was carried out by experts in the energy sector and people working with this sector in order to determine the significance of the most important CSFs related to the energy security strategy. This approach is based on an evolutionary approach to creating a security strategy. The proposed analysis is a new proposal for a sectorial analysis based on the application of benchmarking, taking into account, in particular, the current conditions for the development of the energy sector. Our findings indicate that: European Union countries have different energy strategies, resulting from an evolutionary approach. The member states of the European Union create individual solutions in the field of energy strategies, which are conditioned by many factors, the most important of which are the geographic and physical location of a country on the European continent, economic and social contexts, and environmental as well as political conditions. According to Polish experts, the key success factors in building an energy strategy stem mainly from the economic and political areas, followed by the technological area, while the environmental and social areas are the least important. The authors hope that the article will serve to popularize the use of CSFs in scientific research, which can then translate into improved government policies for the energy sector.

The European Union’s New Green Deal generates changes in the socio-economic development of regions. An element of this change is the transformation of the regional profiles of the energy portfolio towards more pro-ecological ones. The aim of this article is to identify the conditions and reasons for the transformation of the energy portfolio of the Eastern Poland macroregion, and to define the directions of the energy portfolio evolution caused by the need to implement the goals of the European Green Deal by 2030, in order to consequently develop the forecast energy portfolio for the Eastern Poland macroregion. It has been assumed that the energy transformation of the Eastern Poland macroregion will be implemented through gradual transformation of the energy portfolio towards dispersed sources of local and civic energy. The research is based on both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The qualitative research was carried out on the basis of the diagnostic survey method with the use of the proprietary questionnaire as well as with the analysis of the content of strategic documents of the voivodships included in the Eastern Poland macroregion. The basis for the preparation of research questions was the extended PEST method which stands for: political, economic, socio-cultural, technological. Research efforts were focused on developing an energy portfolio for the region using the assumptions of the Boston consulting group matrix (a strategic planning tool). The originality of the conducted research consists in the adaptation of the BCG matrix to the development of the forecast energy portfolio and the preparation of a proposal for the aggregated energy portfolio of the Eastern Poland macroregion. The obtained results indicate that the macroregion’s energy portfolio is diversified, though with the key significance of conventional sources. It is predicted that by 2030, the following sources will change their positions within the portfolio for the Eastern Poland macroregion: solar energy, wind energy and bioenergy. However, it will retain the character of a “youth wallet”.

The problem of international cooperation for sustainable development in the areas of environmental protection, economics, energy and public goods is a well-known scope of research, which can be classified as a classic canon of analysis in this domain. There is an explicit lack of research in the area of security, particularly in those aspects relating to objectives 8 and 16 of Agenda 2030, referring to combating the crime of human trade. The aim of the publication is to analyse the dynamics of international cooperation for the implementation of sustainable principles in the fight against human trafficking, undertaken in the context of the diagnosis of its effects for the implementation of sustainable principles with the use of resources (created and implemented standards), cooperation structures (global international organisations and their Member States) forming a system of international cooperation, the directions of which are determined by security needs. The article shows the evolution of international law in this area, the cooperation of selected international structures and its effects, as well as the dynamics of change resulting from statistics indicating the directions of implementation of objectives 8 and 16 of the sustainable development of the Agenda 2030. To achieve the objective, the assumptions of institutional theory were applied. The analysis was made using historical, comparative methods and analysis of source documents. The analysis presented in the article allows us to conclude that after the adoption of the Agenda 2030, the dynamics of international cooperation in the analysed area has increased, which is reflected in the new impetus given to the implementation of provisions enshrined in international law and required actions undertaken by member states - signatories of the act. Combating the crime of trafficking in human beings takes place within the framework of a diagnosable multifaceted institutional formula expressed in a detailed division of tasks and competences, allowing for coordination at the global level of preventive and operational actions to combat this practice. Global international cooperation for sustainable development in the area of combating trafficking in human beings in the 21st century is implemented in a systemic way and brings results which provide better and better prospects for effective combating of this crime, thus meeting the assumptions and objectives 8 (p. 8.7) and 16 (p. 16.2) of the Agenda 2030.

Objectives: The aim of this article is to present the concept of building state resilience in the social dimension, with an emphasis on the role of communities and institutions in crisis management processes. The authors analyze how the modern approach to public security incorporates society’s capacity for adaptation, recovery, and cooperation in crisis situations. The is aims to identify key factors supporting the development of social resilience, particularly in the context of Poland's security policy. Material and methods: The article is baased on analysis and qualitative methods, integrating various theoretical and practical approaches in crisis management and resilience theory. It also applies theoretical comparison concerning concepts such as social capital theory, constructivism, resilience theory, and crisis management theory. Strategic documents and legal acts are also analyzed. Results: State social resilience depends both on institutional actions and civic engagement. A crucial factor is the integration of social initiatives with the crisis management system and support for citizen involvement in crisis planning and response. Civic education also plays an important role, enhancing social awareness and readiness to act in emergency situation. Conclusions: Security policies aimed at building resilient societies should focus on effective crisis management systems, critical infrastructure protection, and civil defense mechanisms that support, rather than replace, individual citizen responsibility. Accordingly, these efforts must go beyond traditional military, legal, or diplomatic tools and extend into education and training systems. Through this, it becomes possible to reshape public awareness and even redefine national identity in terms of how security is perceived and enacted.