Policy Tracker: EU and Russia’s Energy Policy at the Backdrop of the South Stream Pipeline

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

The present paper aims at tracking the development of the South Stream gas pipeline project from the perspectives of the EU and Russia, and in the context of the common EU external energy policy. The EU-Russia energy dialogue has become increasingly complicated since the two natural gas crises in 2006 and 2009, when the gas supply was cut for about two weeks due to a gas pricing dispute between Russia and Ukraine. Until then the energy relations between Europe and Russia have run smoothly as Gazprom had been perceived as a reliable supplier operating under long-term, oil-indexed contracts providing predictability of supplied volumes and prices. For producers such as Russia operating in a glut market, the most important goal was to preserve their market share in Europe. An eventual supply disruption would discredit suppliers and will push consumers look for more viable alternatives.

Healthcare Reforms in Bulgaria: Towards Diagnosis and Prescription

Author(s): Konstantin Pashev / Language(s): English

The paper shows the evolution of this reform path to low compliance by both customers (contributors) and service-providers (contractors with the National Health Insurance Fund), which leads to excessive regulations and control, and crowding out of the private sector. The outcome is a system that is increasingly driven by administrative controls at the expense of market incentives. Based on this analysis it identifies the relevant policy implications and opportunities for moving the stalled health reforms out of the institutional impasse.

Българската конституционна реформа в контекста на присъединяването на Република България към Европейския съюз (2003 – 2005)

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

The report analyzes the Bulgarian constitutional reform (the amendments and supplements to the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria in the period 2003 – 2005) and traces the socio-political factors, which have affected it, where external factors are identified as most crucial. The two phases of the constitutional reform are examined and the determinant role of the external requirements, related to the country’s EU accession negotiations and its overall integration process are discussed. The amending and supplementing constitutional texts dealing with the reform of the judiciary (2003) and Bulgaria’s forthcoming EU membership (2005) are considered in detail.

European Standards and Ombudsman Institutions in Southeast Europe

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

The publication European Standards and Ombudsman Institutions in Southeast Europe presents a summary of the discussion at the International Conference European Standards and Ombudsman Institutions in Southeast Europe held on June 6-8, 2002, in Sofia. The conference was organized jointly by the Center for the Study of Democracy and Friedrich Ebert Foundation and was attended by ombudsmen and representatives of the institution from Sweden, Belgium, Greece, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia and Kosovo as well as experts and representatives of institutions and organizations from Bulgaria actively involved in the process of introducing Ombudsman institution in Bulgaria.

Civic Defender and Local Civic Mediators: Concept Paper and Draft Law

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

The publication Civic Defender and Local Civic Mediators: Concept Paper and Draft Law consists of both a concept paper and a proposal for a draft law for the establishment of the institutions of the Civic Defender and Local Civic Mediator in Bulgaria. It is the result of the extended research work carried out by the Law Program of the Center for the Study of Democracy during the period 1998 - 2002. The concept paper and the Draft law reflect the opinions and recommendations of Bulgarian and foreign experts, politicians, representatives of state institutions and non-governmental organizations provided at the numerous public discussions, meetings and consultations during this time.

Regional Cooperation in Southeast Europe: The Bulgarian Perspective

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

The objective of Regional Cooperation in Southeast Europe: The Bulgarian Perspective is to present an expert analytical response to the political and institutional opportunities that arose due to the institutional arrangements and mechanisms of implementing the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe “on the ground”. The study is the result of a project supported through a grant from the German Marshall Fund of the United States. The commitment of the European Union and other international organizations outlined in the Pact provides a crucial opportunity for accelerated economic and political/social reforms in a stable regional environment and in the context of the accession process. The Pact provides the political and institutional framework of transforming the region into an integral part of the Euro-Atlantic structures. The Pact is a unique platform brining together international organizations and countries from Western Europe and the United States with the states in the region of Southeast Europe. The paper does not provide an exhaustive coverage of Stability Pact project areas - a task completed through various other mechanisms elsewhere – but rather an emphasis of the common approaches still missing in the implementation of Pact objectives, as seen from a Bulgarian perspective. The paper thus opted for highlighting an aspect that could be seen as obvious but whose acknowledgment is not supported by practical measures – the need for common solutions to regional stabilization and development initiated and worked out by the countries themselves. In preparation of the study the Center for the Study of Democracy hosted a Round Table on “Accession to the European Union and the Stability Pact: Obstacles and Opportunities for Bulgaria and the Region.” The meeting was a part of the visit of the Working Group on the Balkan Economies at the United States Council on Foreign Relations, led by Michael Froman, former Chief of Staff at the US Department of the Treasury.

Corruption Assessment Report 1999

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

Limiting corruption in Bulgarian society calls not only for institutional and legal measures but also for establishing the rule of law. In this sense, it is of crucial importance to foster a political and economic culture based on trust and respect for public institutions, on transparency and openness in the actions of public administration, and the will to achieve stability and predictability of the economic and social environment. Coalition 2000 is an initiative of Bulgarian non-governmental organizations which was launched in the Spring of 1997 aimed at limiting corruption in Bulgarian society through a partnership between state institutions, non-governmental organizations, and individual personalities, who developed and have been implementing an Anti-Corruption Action Plan, Corruption Monitoring System, and an anti-corruption public awareness campaign. The Corruption Assessment Report 1999 follows the structure and approach of the Action Plan adopted by the Policy Forum of Coalition 2000 in November 1998. It presents a general evaluation of the state and dynamic of corruption in Bulgarian society and of the efforts to counteract it in 1999.

Privatisation Funds - the Bulgarian Model, 1997

Author(s): Mira Prohaska / Language(s): English

The privatisation funds are specific investment companies. In this sense as the first representatives of this type of economic entity they will have their own importance for capital market development in Bulgaria. In their role as instruments for 'mass' investment their establishment is associated with the application of the programme for mass privatisation. In addition, the privatisation funds are a separate group of issuers which will supply the capital market with "goods" (their own shares - although at the initial stage they are a little immobile) of which the quality will be determined by the funds' successful performance.

Unemployment, Poverty, Social Security: the Bulgarian Experience, June 1993

Author(s): Georgi Shopov / Language(s): English

The rapid pace of political and economic changes over the last three years have faced Bulgaria with a great variety of challenges. The transition to a democratic society and a market economy, which is taking place under a deepening economic crisis, has caused - or, rather, made obvious - a number of acute problems. Against this background, unemployment and poverty proved to be the social problems with the highest conflict-generating potential.

Privatization and Foreign Debt Conversion in Bulgaria

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

Postprivatization Behavior of Enterprises in Bulgaria, 1994

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

DG Enlargement Guidelines for the Support to Civil Society in the Enlargement Region

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

The enlargement countries face a range of challenges, especially in fields such as the rule of law, corruption, organised crime, the economy and social cohesion. Civil Society actors and organisations can make a substantial contribution to addressing many of these through their lobbying, advocacy and oversight activities at national, regional and local level. When it comes to democratic governance and the rule of law and fundamental rights, including freedom of expression & association and minority rights, they can create demand for enhanced transparency, accountability and effectiveness from public institutions and facilitate a greater focus on the needs of citizens in policy-making. The DG Enlargement Guidelines on the EU enlargement support to civil society are elaborated following online and national consultations. The consultations process will continue until the end of August 2013.

THE HIDDEN ECONOMY IN BULGARIA (General Population), December 2002

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

The main goal of the research project outlined in the present paper is to initiate systematic monitoring of the size and dynamics of the hidden economy in Bulgaria (HEM). The project envisions conducting a series of representative surveys of the country's adult population and of the business sector at three-month intervals. This will make it possible not only to examine the dynamics of the problem, but also to collect reliable information about the differences in the attitudes of the general population and the business community to the manifestations and reasons for the development of the hidden economy in this country.

Public Opinion on Non-Governmental Organizations in Bulgaria

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

A representative national survey was conducted by Vitosha Research in the month of December 1996 with the aim of registering popular attitudes to NGOs in Bulgaria. It was conducted between 1-14 December, 1996 by the personal interview method with the participation of 1,561 respondents aged over 18. Two-stage cluster sampling was used. In the first stage 250 constituencies (clusters) were randomly selected from the list of constituencies in the last parliamentary elections of 1994, and the second stage consisted in randomly selecting 7 respondents out of each cluster. The sample included 176 clusters in towns and cities and 74 clusters in villages.

Expert evaluation network delivering policy analysis on the performance of Cohesion policy 2007-2013. Year 3 – 2013. Task 1: Job creation as an indicator of outcomes in ERDF programmes. Bulgaria.

Author(s): Ruslan Stefanov,Daniela Mineva,Plamen Shalafov / Language(s): English

In March 2014, DG Regional Policy at the European Commission published a report on Bulgaria's progress on the job creation as an indicator of outcomes in ERDF programmes and an evaluation report on the achievements of the Cohesion policy in Bulgaria. The two reports were prepared by CSD experts in the framework of the Expert Evaluation Network delivering policy analysis on the performance of the Cohesion Policy 2007 - 2013. The first report provides an overview of the methodology, data reporting and wider use of the indicator ‘job creation’ for monitoring the impact of the Structural Funds. The second report reviews all supported areas by the Cohesion Policy in Bulgaria and in particular the assistance provided by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The report is based on statistical and financial data and interviews with representatives of the Managing Authorities of Operational Programmes (OPs). The text describes the progress under the OPs and the impact of the financed projects. The report presents the main conclusions drawn from the OPs evaluations and foregrounds the remaining challenges to Bulgaria.

Expert evaluation network delivering policy analysis on the performance of Cohesion policy 2007-2013. Year 3 – 2013. Task 2: Country Report on Achievements of Cohesion policy. Bulgaria.

Author(s): Plamen Shalafov,Ruslan Stefanov / Language(s): English

In March 2014, DG Regional Policy at the European Commission published a report on Bulgaria's progress on the job creation as an indicator of outcomes in ERDF programmes and an evaluation report on the achievements of the Cohesion policy in Bulgaria. The two reports were prepared by CSD experts in the framework of the Expert Evaluation Network delivering policy analysis on the performance of the Cohesion Policy 2007 - 2013. The first report provides an overview of the methodology, data reporting and wider use of the indicator ‘job creation’ for monitoring the impact of the Structural Funds. The second report reviews all supported areas by the Cohesion Policy in Bulgaria and in particular the assistance provided by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The report is based on statistical and financial data and interviews with representatives of the Managing Authorities of Operational Programmes (OPs). The text describes the progress under the OPs and the impact of the financed projects. The report presents the main conclusions drawn from the OPs evaluations and foregrounds the remaining challenges to Bulgaria.

ОБЩЕСТВЕНИ НАГЛАСИ КЪМ ИНСТИТУЦИИТЕ ОТ ТИПА “ОМБУДСМАН”

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

This focus group is part of a research project aimed at promoting human rights in Bulgaria and in particular establishing the institution of the Ombudsman. The main focus of the focus group was to obtain reliable information about the perceptions, expectations and recommendations of the surveyed persons regarding institutions of the type of ombudsman.

Корупционни индекси на Коалиция 2000, Ноември 2001

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

In the period 04.10.2001 г. - 20.10.2001, Vitosha Research conducted its survey concerning the corruption among the population in Bulgaria. The study is part of Coalition 2000's Corruption Monitoring System.

Корупционни индекси на Коалиция 2000, Март 1999

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

In the period 06.02.1999-20.02.1999, Vitosha Research conducted its survey concerning the corruption among the population in Bulgaria. The study is part of Coalition 2000's Corruption Monitoring System.

Електронни инструменти за ефективно управление на наказателни дела в отделни страни - членки на ЕС

Author(s): / Language(s): Bulgarian

In recent years, public authorities have begun to adopt several statutory reforms to incorporate ICT into everyday tasks of judicial systems’ actors. In the European sphere, the concept of e-justice has been mainly developed in justice administration. This publication provides comparative analysis of current practices of justice record keeping and the electronic tools for measuring the judicial system performance in Finland, Belgium, Greece, Italy, Spain, Germany, and England and Wales as well as an overview of the introduction of ICT in the judiciaries of Bulgaria and Poland.