Series:Center for the Study of Democracy - CSD Policy Briefs

CSD Policy Brief No. 15: Equal rules and fair competition: effective policies to counter the gray economy and corruption in Bulgaria

CSD Policy Brief No. 15: За еднакви правила и почтена конкуренция: ефективни политики за противодействие на сивата икономика и корупцията в България

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

This policy brief outlines the result of the consultations, which the Center for the Study of Democracy held with representatives of business and government on the feasibility of public-private partnerships in promoting a level paying field in Bulgaria. Its findings seek to inform further discussions with Bulgarian and international stakeholders on the modalities of possible future initiatives in this area on the example of public policy on the grey economy. If the efforts of the Bulgarian government and the business community to reduce the adverse impact of grey economy on the nation’s welfare are to succeed they need to bring on board the experience from successful coalition building for good governance from the non-government sector, based on best international practices. International experience has revealed that there are no easy fixes to pervasive grey economy and corruption. This brief proposes an overview of measures undertaken thus far to tackle the grey economy in Bulgaria and outlines a possible platform for engagement of the business, NGO and government sectors for long-term partnership for leveling the paying field in the country.

More...

CSD Policy Brief No. 18: Better Governance for Sustainable Energy Sector of Bulgaria: Diversification and Security

CSD Policy Brief No. 18: По-добро управление за устойчив енергиен сектор в България: диверсификация и сигурност

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

The Policy Brief focuses on the Bulgarian energy sector, which has historically been and will remain of strategic importance for the country’s economic development and national security, especially in the context of growing EU and Balkan markets. However, recent shifts in the world’s economy, policy, regional dynamics, and geo-political situation are the driving factors necessitating the need to introduce major reforms focused on a transparent, diversified, efficient, and market based energy sector in Bulgaria. Bulgaria needs to actively participate in the European and international energy debate and to address the whole complex of energy related policies.

More...

CSD Brief No. 25: The Green Element in the Sustainable Energy Policies of Europe

CSD Policy Brief No. 25: Екологични измерения на устойчивото развитие на енергетиката в Европа

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

Main purpose of this study is to review and discuss the development of regulation at EU level to guide corresponding national legislation and policies designed to address the challenges of sustainable development, notably those on the environment dimension and as regards to the most relevant economic sector – energy. The paper will briefly examine the development of the idea and strategy for sustainable development in Europe over time, the concrete EU legislation and instruments to facilitate national policies to support such development.

More...

CSD Policy Brief No. 26: Organised Crime and Corruption: National Characteristics and Policies of the EU Member-States

CSD Policy Brief No. 26: Организирана престъпност и корупция: национални характеристики и политики в страните членки на ЕС

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

The European Commission (EC) contracted the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) to analyse the links between organised crime and corruption. The main objectives of the study were to identify: • causes and factors that engender corruption by organised crime (including white-collar criminals); • the scope and the impact of that corruption on society and institutions; • organised crime’s main corruption schemes, the areas or risks they create, and the related differences amongst European Union (EU) Member States (MS); • best practices in prevention and countering corruption linked to organized crime; framework for a future assessment of trends in the link between organized crime and corruption, as well as corresponding counter measures.

More...

CSD Policy Brief No. 28: The Hidden Economy in Bulgaria after the Economic Crisis

CSD Policy Brief No. 28: Скритата икономика в България след икономическата криза

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

Thе policy brief presents the dynamics and the components of the Hidden Economy Index 2010. It also examines the recent trends in the Bulgarian economic development and expected effects on the informal sector. The dynamics of the hidden economy is an important indicator of the state of a country’s institutions as well as of its competitive potential. The hidden economy has a serious impact on private sector activities, the productivity and competitiveness of the workforce, on economic development and growth, as well as the social security and support systems of the country. According to different estimates about a third of the world’s GDP is within the “shadow turnover”. It is argued that the current financial and economic crisis will result in an increase in the hidden economy in most European countries. The recent debt crisis in Greece has exposed drastically the need to better account for and to grasp the implications of the existence on large hidden economy on economic performance. This is even more pressing in the light of achieving Europe 2020 results and calculating each country’s contribution to the European Stability Mechanism and the Euro Plus Pact.

More...

CSD Policy Brief No. 29: Public Trust in the Criminal Justice System – an Instrument for Penal Policy Assessment

CSD Policy Brief No. 29: Общественото доверие в наказателното правосъдието - инструмент за оценка на наказателната политика

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

The policy brief presents the results of a survey of the public trust in the police and the courts in Bulgaria, the public perceptions of the level of corruption in these institutions and the fear of crime in the Bulgarian society. Of all the EU member states, Bulgaria is the country whose citizens are the least satisfied with the performance of the main government institutions. Trust in the main institutions concerned with criminal justice – the police and courts, is low and has remained practically unchanged over the last decade. At the end of 2010, a positive evaluation of police performance was given by less than half of the country’s adult population and barely one in five gave a favorable opinion of the courts. The low public trust in the courts and police can also be accounted for by the high level of corruption in these institutions. It is also conducive to public attitudes of insecurity and the society begins to perceive crime as an inherent part of reality rather than a problem that can actually be addressed. A state’s penal policy can only produce results if sufficient attention is paid to trust, legitimacy, and security. It is therefore recommended to adopt a system of indicators for the assessment of public trust in criminal justice.

More...

CSD Policy Brief No. 30: Practices and Forms of Cooperation between Customs and Border Guards in the European Union

CSD Policy Brief No. 30: Практики и модели на сътрудничество между митници и гранична полиция в Европейския съюз

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

The economic crisis and the increased threats from terrorism, organised crime and illegal migration have brought to light the issue of efficient and effective management of the external borders of the European Union. For Bulgaria it has become even more important with regard to its upcoming accession to the Schengen area.

More...

CSD Policy Brief No. 31: Antimafia – The Italian Experience in Fighting Organised Crime

CSD Policy Brief No. 31: Антимафия: Опитът на Италия в противодействието на организираната престъпност

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

In recent decades the Italian authorities implemented a number of measures and policies as a direct response to the threat of organized crime. These new measures were intended to expand the scope and the number of law enforcement and judicial instruments and were an attempt to complement the conventional approaches, which were no longer effective in light of the persisting mafia influence against public institutions. This is why the Italian experience is specifically valuable for countries like Bulgaria, which are vulnerable to corruption and organized crime.

More...

CSD Policy Brief No. 32: Reinstating the Duty-Free Trade at Bulgarian Land Borders: Potential Setback in the Fight Against Organized Crime and Corruption

CSD Policy Brief No. 32: Възстановяване на безмитната търговия по сухопътните граници: крачка назад в противодействието на организираната престъпност и корупцията

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

Since the early 1990s the duty-free shops along Bulgaria’s land-border crossings were used as a channel for illegal import of excise goods (cigarettes, alcohol and petrol). With the increase of excise and VAT taxes in the second-half of the 1990s, the risk of alcohol and cigarettes smuggling increased rapidly. The duty-free shops gradually evolved into one of the main channels for the smuggling of cigarettes, alcohol, and fuel. At that period, duty free operators existed without a legal regulation but only with a licensing permit from the Minister of Finance. The smuggling was tacitly tolerated from the highest political level.

More...

CSD Policy Brief No. 33: Management and Disposal of Confiscated Criminal Assets

CSD Policy Brief No. 33: Управление и разпореждане с отнети имущества, придобити от престъпна дейност

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

Confiscation of proceeds from illegal activities is a widely applied mechanism in combating organized crime. The introduction and application of this mechanism is defined in several international and European acts, and is motivated by the need to restore social justice. Both the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the UN Convention against Corruption address the disposal of confiscated assets and recommend its use primarily for compensating the victims of crime. A number of European countries have implemented respective measures and mechanisms like: distribution schemes for compensation of victims of crime, financing of programs for fight against drug use, social re-use of confiscated property.

More...

CSD Policy Brief No. 35: Corruption and Anti-Corruption in Bulgaria (2011-2012)

CSD Policy Brief No. 35: Корупция и антикорупция в България (2011-2012)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

The data on the dynamics of corruption used in the current report are the result of the Corruption Monitoring System (CMS), designed and developed by the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) and Vitosha Research. CMS combines significant research and powerful anticorruption advocacy potential. The purpose of CMS is to measure the actual level and trends in the spread of corruption in the country, as well as to identify related public attitudes and expectations. After an improvement in 2010, the level of administrative corruption among the population increased in 2011 – 2012, still placing the country in the group of EU Member States experiencing high levels of corruption. The average monthly number of corruption transactions in 2011 was approximately 150,000. In 2011, a quarter of all citizens who dealt with the state administration had to resort to some kind of irregular payment to receive administrative services. This indicates that corruption is a systemic problem of the Bulgarian society.

More...

CSD Policy Brief No. 36: Educational integration of refugee and asylum-seeking children: the situation of Bulgaria and the experience of other European countries

CSD Policy Brief No. 36: Образователната интеграция на деца бежанци и търсещи убежище: ситуацията в България и опитът на други европейски страни

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

This analysis represents the results of a specialised study of the educational integration of refugee and asylum-seeking children (RASC) in the Member States of the European Union, conducted in 2011 by the Center for the Study of Democracy within the framework on the INTEGRACE project. With regard to Bulgaria, the main approaches, mechanisms and deficiencies in the system for educational integration of RASC were presented and recommendations for its improvement were given.

More...

CSD Policy Brief No. 37: The Hidden Economy in Bulgaria: 2011 – 2012

CSD Policy Brief No. 37: Скритата икономика в България: 2011 – 2012 г.

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

The deep penetration of hidden economic activities in Greece and other peripheral Eurozone members – a development which is at the epicenter of the continuing Eurozone debt crisis, has demonstrated that accurate understanding of the dynamics of the hidden economy is essential for improving public and private sector management. In the case of Bulgaria, an assessment of the hidden economy is an issue of particular importance as the country is facing serious challenges in all of its aspects – gray, black and informal economy. It is even more pressing in the light of the country’s current low level of competitiveness and its aspirations for participation in the European stability and sustainable growth initiatives such as Europe 2020 and the Euro-Plus Pact. The hidden economy in Bulgaria has decreased in 2011 – 2012 among both businesses and the population. Yet, the registered gains are modest. Deep structural labor market problems and long-term business environment issues continue to constitute favorable conditions for the development of hidden economic activities in Bulgaria.

More...

CSD Policy Brief No. 38: Improving policy and programs for assistance and reintegration of child victims of trafficking in Bulgaria

CSD Policy Brief No. 38: Подобряване на политиката и програмите за подпомагане и реинтеграция на деца – жертви на трафик в България

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

This brief presents the main conclusions related to Bulgaria from a comparative study of support programs and reintegration of children - victims of trafficking in the six member states of the European Union, conducted in 2011 and 2012. The survey was carried out by the Center for the Study of Democracy within the project ARECHIVIC in collaboration with partner organisations from Austria, Italy, Slovakia, Hungary and Sweden. With regard to Bulgaria the main approaches, mechanisms and deficiencies in policies and programs for the reintegration of children - victims of trafficking are presented and some recommendations for their improvement are suggested.

More...

CSD Policy Brief No. 39: The Bulgarian Economy: Competitiveness 2013

CSD Policy Brief No. 39: Българската икономика: Конкурентоспособност 2013

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

In 2013, Bulgaria is one of the countries that have seen a decline in their competitiveness according to IMD’s World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY). The country is ranked at 57th position – 3 places below the position achieved in 2012 – 54th. This is the lowest ranking of Bulgaria since its inclusion in the yearbook in 2006 and it is almost 20 places lower than its highest achievement in 2009 – 38th place. In 2013, only 3 countries lag behind Bulgaria in the IMD ranking – Croatia, Argentina and Venezuela and all of them ranked lower than Bulgaria in the previous edition of the yearbook, as well. Countries like Greece and Ukraine both of which ranked below Bulgaria in WCY 2012 move up to 54th and 49th respectively. There are no significant changes in the ‘winners’ trend in WCY 2013. The USA has regained the No.1 position due to a rebounding financial sector, an abundance of technological innovation and successful companies. The 5 main challenges which Bulgaria faces in improving its competitiveness are: • Modernise public administration to increase evidence-based efficiency and regulatory quality; • Reduce administrative costs and provide EU funded incentives for innovation and entrepreneurship; • Strengthen the judiciary to tackle corruption and reduce business uncertainty; • Reform the governance of the energy sector to preserve cost competitiveness, diversify gas supply, and improve energy efficiency; • Tackle hidden economy and related labour market inefficiencies.

More...

CSD Policy Brief No. 40: Bulgaria's Energy Security Risk Index

CSD Policy Brief No. 40: Индекс на рисковете за енергийната сигурност на България

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

Energy security is of critical importance to Bulgaria. The biggest identified threat to Bulgarian national security is poverty, and in particular energy poverty. Bulgaria’s non-transparent energy sector seriously undermines the country’s economic development. Establishing regular sound monitoring mechanisms on energy security could be key for adequate policy-making in the area. The Index of U.S. Energy Security Risk Indicator (IESRI), developed in 2012 by the Institute for 21st Century Energy at the American Chamber of Commerce shows that since 1980, Bulgaria has had one of the worst energy security risk index scores both nominally and compared to the OECD averages and was ranked in 73rd place in 2012. Its scores over the period averaged about 158% higher than those for the OECD. Bulgaria’s energy security risk index increased since 2010. This recent deterioration relative to OECD averages is based on the energy expenditure volatility of the Bulgarian economy that according to IESRI has increased more than 10 times in the last 3 years (since 2009), reaching in 2012 one of the highest levels since 1980). Among the main risk factors to Bulgaria’s energy security is its high dependence on fossil fuels import, in particular in the gas sector. The very high concentration of the Bulgarian gas market (monopoly of supply and distribution) provides ample opportunities for rent-seeking. Bulgaria’s involvement in various national, smaller regional, and large international projects can reduce the risks to its energy security if it is based on clear-cut prioritization of preferred options following sound and transparent cost-benefit analysis.

More...

CSD Policy Brief No. 41: Crime trends 2012 – 2013

CSD Policy Brief No. 41: Динамика на конвенционалната престъпност 2012 – 2013 г.

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

In 2012 there was a sharp increase in both the number of victims and the number of crimes compared to 2011. These trends take place in the context of a 10-year drop in crime rates. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) statistics of registered crimes in 2012 showed the opposite trend - a 6% drop from 114,781 in 2011 to 107,828 registered crimes in 2012. This difference is explained by the rising level of unregistered crimes that are not part of the official statistics. Victims of crime in South Central and South Eastern regions of the country are least likely to report crimes to the police. These areas are also characterized by high levels of crime victimisation.

More...

CSD Policy Brief No. 50: Overcomming institutional gaps to tackle illicit financing

CSD Policy Brief No. 50: Финансирането на организираната престъпност: институционални мерки за противодействие

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

The EU legal framework requires that all Members States criminalise the financing of organised crime. According to the provisions of Article 2 (a) of the Council Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA of 24 October 2008 on the fight against organised crime ‘’Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to ensure that one or both of the following types of conduct related to a criminal organisation are regarded as offences: (a) conduct by any person who, with intent and with knowledge of either the aim and general activity of the criminal organisation or its intention to commit the offences in question, actively takes part in the organisation’s criminal activities, including the provision of information or material means, the recruitment of new members and all forms of financing of its activities, knowing that such participation will contribute to the achievement of the organisation’s criminal activities.” Nevertheless, criminal justice authorities in Members States rarely make use of these provisions.

More...

CSD Policy Brief No. 53: Assessing the Integration of Vulnerable Migrant Groups in Ten EU Member States

CSD Policy Brief No. 53: Оценка на интеграцията на уязвими групи мигранти в 10 страни-членки на ЕС

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

The EU has played an influential role on Member States and their integration policies, albeit to varying degrees. EU standards have been vital in moving Member States towards the formulation of national integration strategies, which have taken into account the Common Basic Principles of Immigrant Integration and the Zaragoza indicators. The process of developing migration and integration management institutions and the correspondent data collection systems has become more apparent under the influence of EU standards and regulations in all ten Member States. The Zaragoza set of indicators in migrant integration are only a minimum list of indicators and States are encouraged to collect and analyse further data according to their specific composition of the migrant population and the legal and policy framework. The use of indicators gives policy actors a lasting perspective and evidence base for policy planning. The availability of these indicators is therefore a starting-point for more shared learning across the EU and evidence based policy making, implementation and monitoring. The setting up of national integration indicators can be seen as a positive development in Austria, Belgium and soon Italy as it helps provide an evidence base for policy monitoring as well as policy making in these countries.

More...

CSD Policy Brief No. 54: Child Trafficking Among Vulnerable Roma Communities

CSD Policy Brief No. 54: Трафик на деца сред уязвими ромски общности

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Bulgarian

Trafficking in persons is a lucrative crime and a gross human rights violation, which affects all EU Member States. Trafficking in children merits special attention of anti-trafficking efforts as children are especially vulnerable to trafficking, re-trafficking and victimisation and the number of children trafficked throughout the EU is on the rise. Investigation, protection and prevention measures for child trafficking are especially needed as the exploitation of children and violation of their rights have dramatic negative effects on children and society as a whole. While there is some empirical evidence on trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation of women, other forms of trafficking have not drawn attention of researchers, academics and policy makers. This means that victims of exploitation fall outside the radar of identification and thus cannot access the available assistance. Having this in mind, a consortium of seven partner organisations3 sough to explore three specific under-researched forms of child trafficking in order to contribute to the knowledge on how and why children fall prey to exploitation. The three forms studied are child trafficking for the purpose of begging exploitation, child trafficking for the purpose of pick-pocketing and child trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation of boys.

More...