Keywords: Centre for Advanced Study; CAS; CAS-Sofia; Newsletter; CAS Newsletter; CAS Newsletter 2003
Articles, pictures and interviews can be reprinted only with the consent of Centre for Advanced Study Sofia (CAS - Sofia). Any citations should be duly acknowledged.
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Keywords: CSD Policy Briefs; Center for the Study of Democracy; Hidden Economy; Southeast Europe
According to the authors of the policy brief, not declaring in full or partially economic activities in SEE remains widespread in virtually all areas of government – permissions and licenses, labour contracts, social security, taxes and custom duties. It signals a persistent gap between formal and informal institutions and lack of coherent enforcement of rules. Corruption pressure is higher towards those engaged in the hidden economy. At the same time their susceptibility to corruption is also higher, confirming the institutional incongruence. The immense diversity of the scale (from 19 % in Croatia to 81 % in Kosovo), prevailing patterns (no written contracts in Turkey, non-payment of health care contributions in Kosovo, envelope wages in FYR of Macedonia and Bulgaria, non-formalised business in Albania), formal vs informal wage average (higher formal wages in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Turkey and lower in Kosovo and Bulgaria) requires country specific tailor-made policies and sequencing of reforms.
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Keywords: BiH; EU membership; progress report; agriculture; constitution; judicial system; minorities; rights; Slovakia;
The purpose of this updated report is to review the European Union’s (EU) evolving approach to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in assessing fulfillment of EU membership conditions. In particular, this report is concerned with the following questions: How have EU requirements for BiH changed over time, if at all?, and; Have priorities evolved, and, if so, how? The European Commission “has drawn detailed conclusions regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina… based on the technical analysis contained in… the annual EU Progress Reports for accession-bound countries.” These Progress Reports are technical in nature, but are nonetheless collective assessments generated by a committee of diagnostic evaluators. Apart from the political and economic situation, the Progress Reports “review Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capacity to implement European standards, that is, to gradually make legislation in key policy areas more compatible with European legislation and standards.” As such, they are a useful barometer of progress made not only in reform, but also expectations and requirements.3 They provide a useful annual baseline to consider both the status of the country in question in its reform and accession preparations, as well as the EU’s expectations for the country in question. In an effort to answer the above questions, the author has analyzed the annual EU Progress Reports for Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2005 – 2013. These reports break down EU requirements by topic and sector. They are published with a nearly identical structure year after year, which facilitates comparison. The following five areas are examined: Agriculture, the Constitution, the Judicial System, Education, and Minority Rights and Protection. These sections were chosen for their link to constitutional reform issues—specifically those identified as crucial for EU accession (justice, agriculture, constitution)—as well as broader human rights issues related to BiH as a post-war, transition state (education, minority rights).
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Keywords: US military engagement; NATO’s eastern flank; NATO; OTAN;
The Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 put a stop to the gradual scaling down of US military engagement in Europe, a policy that the United States had pursued since the end of the Cold War. The Russian-Ukrainian conflict became a watershed for the US perceptions of European security as Washington started to see the threat of a conflict between Russia and a NATO member as more probable. The United States decided that – despite the mounting challenges in the Pacific region and its involvement in conflicts in the Middle East – it had to invest more in European security. The US has stepped up the intensity of joint drills with the allies and the activities of its forces in Europe. However, its support for the allies has been subject to various limitations and should be treated as a political signal to Moscow, rather than an element in a broader strategy. The future of the policy of strengthening the eastern flank will depend on the outcome of the US presidential elections in November and on developments in the bilateral relations between Washington and Moscow.
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Keywords: Public law; VSTVM HJPC; constitution; judges; candidates; selection; selection procedure; selection models: BiH; evaluation;
The selection procedure of judges and prosecutors represents a key competence of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia & Herzegovina (HJPC) and the quality of the selected candidates reflects directly to the quality of the judiciary of Bosnia & Herzegovina as a whole. In this sense, the HJPC issued new regulations concerning the selection procedure introducing a new examination which has to be taken by all candidates for a position within the judiciary. The initial intent of a such examination seems to be a fair and transparent selection procedure based on measurable criteria. But introducing an another exam could also have negative side effects and even effects contrary to those who are intended by such an exam. Prosperous candidates for judge or prosecutor positions have already undergone an examination procedure called ”Bar Exam“ which qualifies them, with the relevant work experience, according to the Law on the HJPC, for positions in the judiciary. The concept of the new exam is the very same as the concept of the Bar Exam regarding the knowledge that is to be tested. There is no orientation to practical issues, relevant skills, psychological test and similar. In this regard, there is also the problem of the legal associates who are performing judge tasks and issue decisions in full judge capacity at courts (at least in the Federation of B&H) but who would be treated by the new examination as all external candidates.
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Keywords: Kaliningrad; Russia
Due to the integration to the European Union Poland and Lithuania intend to introduce overall visa obligation for the Russian citizens. Currently the Russians entering Poland may present at the border a voucher, an invitation, or an AB stamp, which entitles them to business travels. Lithuania maintains visa reliefs for the inhabitants of Kaliningrad and the Russians travelling from and to the enclave. The decisions encounter an opposition on the Russian side, which is of the opinion that the activities will result in the isolation of the enclave. This is why Moscow insists on the maintaining of a visa free movement between the enclave and the rest of Russia. The recent statements made by President Putin on the EU-Russia summit meeting in Moscow (May 29) and the Council of Baltic Sea States summit meeting in Petersburg (June 10-11) show a significant hardening of the Russian position on this matter. President Putin has even made the whole of the Russian relations with the European Union conditional on the resolving of the Kaliningrad problem according to the plans of Moscow. During the last few weeks not only the Russian politicians were making statements on the Kaliningrad issue but also representatives of the Polish, Lithuanian and Western authorities, as well as the EU officials. So far, the last ones have definitely rejected the possibility of adopting any rules going beyond the framework of the Schengen provisions towards Kaliningrad. The debate that has sparked off around the issue of Kaliningrad is mostly based on a series of unfounded assumptions, which are commonly regarded as obvious. Undoubtedly they make the rational resolving of the enclave problem even more difficult. In this text the author has attempted to identify and straighten out these "mythical" elements of the discussion, and next to set a possible course of further action.
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Keywords: BiH; FBiH; RS; judiciary; law: suspended sentence; penal policy; prosecution policy;
The author deals with the analysis of the number of suspended sentences (over 70%) in the structure of the imposed criminal sanctions in the judicial system of BiH. High statistics of suspended sentencing does not come from mild penal policy but is indicative of a problem inherited in the traditional model of prosecuting daily crime that generates good statistics and poor results, while neglecting more serious and larger criminal operations. The author advocates for a change in modus opperandi of the prosecution, shifting its focus from daily crime, but not neglecting it, towards a planned approach to large crime with higher social harm. Such shift would entail the adoption of carefully crafted yearly plans whose implementation would be a parameter for measuring the work of Public Prosecutors offices.
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Keywords: North Macedonia; international relations; diplomacy; EU integration; OSCE; Euro-Atlantic integration;
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Keywords: police forces; UN; international police missions; Western Balkan; EU;
The existence of a police component in UN peace operations is not a novelty. It goes back half a century ago and was first introduced in the Congo in the 1960’s. Embedding police components in UN missions became more extensive at the end of the 90’s, when different types of it (support of country security reforms, advice, monitoring etc.) were incorporated in all UN Security Council approved missions after 1999.
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Keywords: Family; family policy; policy reforms; changes in family policy; governance; childcare; parenting; human resources; parental leave; maternity leave; legislative changes; stimulating birth rate; preschool care;
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Keywords: National Commitments; Compliance; Future of the Kyoto Protocol; UN climate change;
Among the many unresolved issues on the agenda of the forthcoming UN climate change negotiations in Cancún is the issue of what will happen to the Kyoto Protocol, since at present, there will be no targets for green house (GHG) emissions from developed countries under the Protocol beyond 2012. To illuminate this aspect of the Protocol, this Policy Brief looks closer at the nature of the commitments and the compliance regime under the Kyoto Protocol. We argue that the compliance regime of the Protocol is not as robust as many of the Protocol’s supporters might think.
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Keywords: refugees in Turkey, EU-Turkey-agreement;
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Keywords: Turkey-EU-agreement on refugees; refugees in Aegean;
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Keywords: Transnistria-conflict;
This study aims to evaluate the discussions on the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict in 2016. The analysis addresses, in particular, the events related to the meeting of 2-3 June 2016 in Berlin in the format "5 + 2" and the reaction of the participants and Moldovan civil society compared to the results obtained. The issue of the Transnistrian conflict is an important topic on which the modernization process of the state of the Republic of Moldova depends very much. However, despite some measures to relaunch the negotiations in the "5 + 2" format, we find an attitude of distrust on the part of some representatives of the state but also of the civil society towards the negotiation process. Considering the mentioned problems, we notice a concern of the Moldovan society towards the evolution of the negotiations and the results that could be obtained. This state of affairs highlights the risks of resolving the Transnistrian conflict for the modernization and democratization of the state of the Republic of Moldova. The principle of "red lines" launched by civil society conveys the idea of pressure on the Moldovan authorities in the "5 + 2" format to make them make unilateral concessions and incompatible with the rules and principles of international law could seriously harm the future status of the region Transnistrian within the Republic of Moldova.
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Keywords: Anthropology; Inter-ethnic relations; ethnicity and economics; Stigmatized ethnicity; gender inequality;
By summing up the literature of social anthropology the article provides a broader perspective on the proposed theme. It is especially important that by translating this study Romanian readers have the chance to get acquainted with a small segment of the scientific activity of the researcher. The study of stigmatized ethnicity, gender inequality and precarious work signed by Enikő Vincze, professor of anthropology and gender studies at Babeş-Bolyai University, is a text based on research into social exclusion, multiple discrimination in an East European context, with a look focused on Roma women. Activist research along with the involvement of the researcher in the work of several civic organizations provides a new insight into the current scientific field.
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Keywords: The child's right to support; Proceedings for support; Execution of court decisions; Criminal offense of failure to provide support; Social protection;
Ova studija je nastala u okviru projekta “Alimentacija - pravo svakog djeteta i obaveza svakog roditelja”. Nosilac projekta je Sigurna ženska kuća, a saradnici su Centar za ženska prava i SOS telefon za žene i djecu žrtve nasilja Nikšić. Projekat je finansiran od strane EU posredstvom Centra za građansko obrazovanje (CGO) i Građanskih inicijativa (GI). Studija se sastoji iz šest dijelova, uključujući zaključke i preporuke. U prvom dijelu je dat pravni okvir, u drugom uporedna analiza zakonodavstva, dok je u trećem prikazana analiza stanja u praksi o pojavi nedavanja izdržavanja. Nadalje, četvrti dio studije sadrži analizu parničnih, izvršnih i krivičnih postupaka pred Osnovnim sudom u Podgorici, te odluka donesenih u toku 2013. godine. Primijenjena je “desk” metoda koja podrazumijva prikupljanje podataka iz postojećih resursa, te rezimiranje i sintezu takvih podataka kako bi se stekao detaljniji uvid u problematiku i dobili objektivni nalazi. Nadalje, radi sveobuhvatnijih saznanja korišćena je i metoda studije slučaja, pa je u ovom istraživanju prikazana studija slučaja klijentkinje Sigurne ženske kuće, koja se, nakon izlaska iz višegodišnje nasilne veze, susrela sa problemom neplaćanja izdržavanja za maloljetnu djecu. U dijelu koji se tiče ostvarivanja prava na zakonsko izdržavanje pred Osnovnim sudom u Podgorici korišćena je statistička metoda. Svrha realizacije ovog istraživanje je da se stekne bolje, potpunije i opsežnije saznanje o problemima i poteškoćama sa kojima se susreću zakonski/e zastupnici/e djece u toku ostvarivanja prava na izdržavanje. Takođe, rezultati ove studije će predstavljati osnove za pokretanje inicijative za izmjene i dopune zakona i policy rješenja kojima bi se u krajnjem omogućila efikasna i efektivna naplata obaveznog zakonskog izdržavanja. Cilj nam je da rasvijetlimo problem, ukažemo na moguća rješenja, te pokušamo da utičemo na usvajanje konkretnih mjera kako bi u konačnom riješili ili makar umanjili problem nedavanja zakonskog izdržavanja.
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Keywords: Serbia; wojna; Ukraina; Rosja
W ostatniej dekadzie politykę zagraniczną Belgradu determinowały kluczowe dylematy dotyczące kształtu państwa, m.in. kwestia Kosowa oraz dążenie do balansowania między głównymi aktorami obecnymi na Bałkanach – Zachodem, Rosją i Chinami. Serbskie elity starały się rozgrywać i równoważyć wpływy tych graczy w celu czerpania korzyści zarówno dla siebie, jak i – częściowo – dla państwa. Inwazja Rosji na Ukrainę istotnie zmniejsza ich pole manewru. Znalazły się one pod presją Zachodu, który chce, by Belgrad prowadził politykę zagraniczną zgodną z jego linią oraz ograniczał powiązania z Moskwą. Mimo symbolicznych gestów wsparcia wobec Kremla serbskie władze zdają się coraz bardziej świadome, że rosyjski potencjał ochrony ich interesów maleje. Choć w niektórych obszarach Moskwę może zastąpić Pekin, to ostatecznie przyspieszy i pogłębi się zbliżenie Serbii ze strukturami zachodnimi.
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