The purpose of the presented research is to assess pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) in European Union countries in 2009 and 2019. The study used a synthetic measure developed using the TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution) benchmark method. This method enables distinguishing classes and ranks of countries depending on the adopted characteristics. Basic measures of descriptive statistics, i.e., average, standard deviation and the coefficient of variation, were used in the analysis of the data set. The main research question addressed in this study concerns the relationship between the level of PEB and economic, demographic, and educational factors—not only on a micro scale but also from the macroeconomic perspective. The research has revealed a wide variety throughout the European Union (EU-27) countries in terms of pro-environmental behaviour. Sweden, Finland, and Denmark top the ranking, while Malta, Greece, Spain, and Romania are at the bottom of it. Northern European countries can therefore be identified as a group that represents a positive benchmark in terms of PEB across the European Union (EU-27). The correlation between PEB and selected economic, demographic, and education-related variables was also investigated. Country-level PEB is correlated with demographic and economic variables, but it is not correlated with education-related variables.

We suggest that the collagenase-anticollagenase system is abnormal in essential hypertension and contributes to cardiovascular remodeling. Increased IMT may be related to the accumulation of extracellular proteins due to altered metabolism of collagen.

The article addresses issues related to measuring poverty and social exclusion in large cities and rural areas of the European Union and examines the essence of these phenomena. It was written on the basis of source literature and statistical data from Eurostat. In the theoretical part, definitions and standards used to assess the analysed social phenomena were presented. The results confirmed that the risk of poverty and social exclusion is higher in rural areas of the European Community. Furthermore, it was noted that in most EU countries relative poverty is higher in rural areas, whereas severe material deprivation and low labour intensity are characteristic of large urban areas.

The paper sets out the key principles for taxation of agriculture in selected European Union countries. The theoretical foundations of tax systems in the context of their functions and features specified as desirable in the literature are discussed. EU agricultural taxation systems are presented in reference to optimisation and tax competitiveness. Some shared features of these agricultural taxation systems were pointed out and their division in two basic models (the British model and the continental model), which was presented taking as example the countries in which these models operate. Taxation of income derived from agricultural business activity is a natural direction of changes in tax systems. The tax policy implemented in the European Union countries in relation to agriculture make use of the principle of tax justice to the highest possible extent. The diversity of the tax rules and structures applied in the EU makes it possible to tax agricultural income without limiting the development potential of agricultural enterprises (farms), and often stimulates them. The form of individual tax systems results from numerous economic, social and political circumstances. Special tax treatment of agriculture is expressed through tax construction elements, e.g. right to deduct the value of generated loss or investment expenditure from taxable income.

The aim of the paper was to present the level of disparities and economic poverty in rural areas of Poland in the period 2010-2016. The adopted research assumption was that a high level of income inequality led to a high level of relative poverty. The research was based on the analysis and synthesis of literature and secondary statistical data from the Central Statistical Office. In the theoretical part, the author presented an overview of inequality and poverty definitions. The research part used descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. The obtained results demonstrate that there is a strong positive correlation between income inequality measured using the Gini index and relative poverty in rural areas. No correlation between variables for the professional group of farmers was observed. It can be thus assumed that an increase in income inequality in rural areas leads to an increase in relative poverty, however this correlation does not apply to households, where the main source of income is agriculture.