Drug Users in Prison: Norway's Experience and Bulgaria's Challenges

Author(s): Dimitar Markov,Hedda Giertsen,Maria Doichinova / Language(s): English

Publication looks over the situation of drug users in two European countries – Norway, known for its social and welfare-oriented state, and Bulgaria, which since the beginning of the transition from totalitarism to democracy lacks sustainable policies on prisons and drugs. The aim of this work is to comparatively present the penal policy towards drug users and the measures taken for convicted people addicted to narcotic substances, to identify those features which can be transferable and can assist Bulgarian authorities to improve the situation of drug users in and outside the prison. Finally, this research will try to propose concrete measures to be taken both within the penitentiary system and as crime prevention efforts among drug users.

On the Eve of EU Accession: Anti-corruption Reforms in Bulgaria

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

This is the seventh consecutive Corruption Assessment Report providing an overview of the state and dynamics of corruption in Bulgaria and Bulgarian anti-corruption policy. It analyzes the main opportunities and challenges of the anti-corruption process in the context of Bulgaria’s approaching accession to the EU. The report builds on regular monitoring of the spread of corruption, its trends, evaluations of the anti-corruption efforts and initiatives implemented by government institutions and by civil society, as well as a number of suggestions and ecommendations on anti-corruption measures. 2005 marked a reversal of the positive trend in the decline of corruption since 1998, while still emaining at half the level of seven years ago. This development suggests that “soft” anti-corruption measures have exhausted their potential and more effective approaches to counteract and prevent corruption must be found, especially at the administrative and political levels. These should be supported through a corruption monitoring and assessment by civil society of the public sector, articularly the agencies administering EU’s structural funds. The report also refers to external risks which could emerge after Bulgaria’s accssion to the EU.

Институцията омбудсман в Европа и България: правна същност и практика

Author(s): Nora Ananieva,Maria Yordanova / Language(s): Bulgarian

This educational manual is designed for the elaboration and carrying out of specialized courses and programs in Bulgarian universities and schools as well as for everyone who is interested in these scope of issues. Learning about the ombudsman institution's origin, evolution, powers, efficiency and forms would be a necessity for students of law, political sciences and sociology, experts in public administration, individuals studying the mechanisms for human rights protection in the country, etc. The knowledge about the ombudsman institution would also increase the opportunities of individual citizens to defend their rights against omissions, illegal or inappropriate actions, or abuse of power on the part of public administration as well as local self-government authorities and local administration.

Модел за подкрепа на жертви на домашно насилие и насилие, основано на пола

Author(s): Elmira Nesheva,Daniela Kolarova,Rumen Minkovski / Language(s): Bulgarian

Freedom from violence, regardless of its form, is every human being’s fundamental right. The rights to life, liberty and security of person have been regulated in the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as in the European Convention on Human Rights. The purpose of the Victims Support Model is to provide information and to present the currently existing activities, services and departments, which operate in the area of domestic and gender-based violence. The proposed Model accepts that the strong prevalence of the phenomena and the consequences thereof necessitate that it is treated as a public health issue. For this reason, an approach is being proposed, which defines and outlines the roots and the consequences of this problem in Bulgaria, identifies the risk and protective factors, and proposes strategies for effective resolution, including activities on prevention, timely reaction, and follow-up.

Национално изследване на домашното насилие и насилието, основано на полов признак (ДННОПП), и изработване на модел за подкрепа на жертвите на насилие (МПЖН).

Author(s): Slavyanka Ivanova,Miriana Ilcheva / Language(s): Bulgarian

The current brief is based on the results of the National Study on Domestic and Gender Based Violence (DGBV) and Elaboration of Victims Support Model (VSM), developed under Programme Area 29, BG12: Domestic and Gender Based Violence, Measure 3: Research and data collection of the Norwegian Financial Mechanism. The study focused on four main thematic areas connected with DGBV phenomena: factors and causes, scales and prevalence, consequences, and public response. The study revealed that DGBV victimisation is caused by the simultaneous action of three types of factors: factors representing a conflict, violent conflict-resolution models that the perpetrators follow, and lack or blocking of deterrent mechanisms. DGBV re-victimisation occurs when the victims lack both internal and external resources to counteract. The reporting of DGBV prevalence depends on three factors: real occurrence of DGBV, awareness that the experienced acts represent DGBV, and readiness to share this experience with authorities, help providers or researchers.

Антикорупционни политики срещу завладяването на държавата

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

In the tenth Corruption Assessment Report, the Center for the Study of Democracy provides an overview of the state of corruption and anticorruption in Bulgaria in 2013 – 2014. The report is produced within the framework of the Southeast Europe Leadership for Development and Integrity initiative (SELDI), which provides a comparative perspective for nine countries in Southeast Europe (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey). The report’s findings are based on the state-of-the-art Corruption Monitoring System, and are complemented with recommendations on anti-corruption policies. The report argues that Bulgaria needs bold institutional anti-corruption reforms and personal commitment at the highest level in the judiciary and the executive to tackle state capture and wide-spread administrative corruption.

Monitorimi i Ekonomisë së Fshehur në Maqedoni: Tendencat dhe Opsionet e Politikave

Author(s): Ana Mickovska-Raleva,Emil Shurkov / Language(s): Albanian

Macedonia features in many discussions as a country with high hidden economy. The European Commission has repeatedly voiced its concerns in its regular country reports about the size and proliferation of hidden economy practices. Hidden employment or undeclared work in Macedonia is of particular concern to the authorities, provided the very high and stubborn levels of official unemployment and low employment levels. However, most studies and research on the matter involve a high level of ambiguity, as they refer to specific narrow outcomes of the hidden economy, usually towards a specific point in time, with dynamics being difficult to trace. The current report, prepared jointly by the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) and the Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM), Macedonia proposes a methodology that would allow the tracing of the dynamics of the hidden economy and its components (e.g. hidden turnover, hidden employment, etc.) over time. This would make possible for the Macedonian government and its European partners to follow the impact and assess the effectiveness of their policies for tackling the hidden economy. Estimates suggest that the hidden economy size in Macedonia ranges from 24% to 47% of its GDP according to different measurement methods. The current report indicates that the percentage of hidden salaries remains the most acute concern, with the employment income of some 40% of Macedonian employees being at least partially undeclared. Moreover, 7% of all Macedonian employees work without a contract, and are not being paid any social security contributions whatsoever. The interviewed business representatives confirmed wide scale violations of the Labour Code. Over half of those respondents claimed that signing contracts with ‘hidden clauses’ (not accounting for the full remuneration paid out) were commonplace in their sector. Moreover, large-scale tax evasion seems to continue to pose a serious problem for the Macedonian economy and social system as the government tries to adjust them in order to be compatible with the principles of the market economy without imposing too extensive erosion of the social fabric and the existing social benefits. Tax avoidance is especially widespread among the poorest members of the society, which makes the underprivileged especially vulnerable as they may find themselves being criminally prosecuted for unpaid taxes or charged with paying large penalties. VAT returns are provided back to companies with significant time lags and represent additional burden for companies which are part of the formal economy. The issuance of cash register receipts also remains an issue, as only less than a half of the respondents claimed that they always received receipts when buying groceries. The situation is similar with the purchase of services.

Moć iz senke: Procena korupcije i skrivene ekonomije u Jugoistočnoj Evropi

Author(s): / Language(s): Serbian

The current report, prepared by the Southeast European Leadership for Development and Integrity (SELDI) — the largest indigenous good governance initiative in SEE — makes an important contribution to the regional approach to anticorruption. It provides a civil society view of the state of corruption and comes in the wake of the 2014 SELDI comprehensive assessment of the various aspects of the legal and institutional anticorruption environments of nine SEE countries. In 2016, SELDI followed up on these assessments with an update of corruption monitoring and a special focus on state capture in the energy sector and the corruption–hidden economy nexus. The report underscores the need for broader political action for reform, which seems blocked or narrowing across the region. Inside pressure for such action has been suffocated by economic necessity and/or ethnic divisions, and the ossification of political and economic establishments. Outside pressure, delivered mostly by the European Union has been seen as wanting in relation to the size of the problems in the past couple of years due to a succession of internal and external crises. The authors underline that in none of the countries in the region has there been a clear sustained policy breakthrough in anticorruption though efforts to deliver technical solutions and to improve the functioning of the law enforcement institutions, mostly with support from the EU, have continued and even intensified in some cases. This has led to further slow decline in administrative corruption levels but at the expense of waning public support for reforms and of declining trust in national and European institutions.

Космет – Гордијев чвор

Author(s): / Language(s): English,Serbian

Serbian Law in Transition – Changes and Challenges

Author(s): Monika Milošević / Language(s): English

Freedom of Expression, Association and Entrepreneurship in a Captured State: Macedonia in 2015

Author(s): Ana Blazheva,Viktorija Borovska,Kalina Lechevska,Jordan Šišovski / Language(s): English

Слобода на изразување, здружување и претприемништво во заробена држава: Македонија во 2015

Author(s): Ana Blazheva,Viktorija Borovska,Kalina Lechevska,Jordan Šišovski / Language(s): Macedonian

Истражување за разбирањето и познавањето на граѓаните на човековите права и механизмите за заштита при нивно прекршување

Author(s): Viktorija Borovska,Kalina Lechevska,Ana Blazheva / Language(s): Albanian,English,Macedonian

Deliberation: The Path of Dismantling the #StateCapture in Macedonia. Policy Reflections on Macedonia 2016-2018

Author(s): Katerina Kolozova,Gordan Georgiev / Language(s): English

Novi zov rata u Siriji i bosanskohercegovački kontingent stranih boraca

Author(s): Vlado Azinović,Muhamed Jusić / Language(s): Bosnian

Odlazak građana Bosne i Hercegovine na ratišta u Siriju i Irak, i posebno mogucnost njihovog povratka u zemlju, nisu najozbiljnija niti najneposrednija opasnost po njenu sigurnost. U državi koja opstanak duguje mirovnom sporazumu u koji je ugrađen temeljni spor oko kojeg je vođen rat (1992-1995) – treba li ona biti jedinstvena ili podijeljena – postoje znatno prisutniji sigurnosni rizici. Ova nerazriješena dihotomija, kroz nastavak rata (još uvijek) nenasilnim sredstvima, presudno određuje politicku, društvenu i ekonomsku dinamiku te izravno smanjuje kapacitet države da djelotvorno odgovori na gotovo svaki izazov. Odlasci na strana ratišta nisu izravna posljedica te dinamike. Oni su lokalizacija globalnog fenomena, kojem domaci kontekst ponekad pogoduje, ali su i rezultat drugih procesa koji se ovdje odvijaju skoro četvrt stoljeća. Za to vrijeme Bosna i Hercegovina je od zemlje destinacije za putujuce strane borce postala zemlja njihovog porijekla. Atlantska inicijativa je sredinom 2015. godine objavila istraživanje u kojem je pokušala objasniti ovaj fenomen. Godinu dana kasnije, cini nam se kako je saznanja do kojih smo tada došli neophodno dopuniti novima. Prije svega promjenom hijerarhije motiva koji navode na odlaske, a onda i posljedicama koje je ta promjena proizvela na sadržaj i dinamiku ovog procesa. Zbog toga i dopunjeni naslov ovog istraživanja – Novi zov rata u Siriji i bosanskohercegovacki kontingent stranih boraca.

Оценка на заплахите от организирана престъпност в България 2020

Author(s): Atanas Rusev,Tihomir Bezlov,Mois Faion,Mariyan Sabev,Stefan Ralchev / Language(s): Bulgarian

The 2020 Bulgarian Organised Crime Threat Assessment is the third in a series of studies which, on an annual basis, canvasses the state, volume and structure of the major criminal markets. The report also captures the trends related to organised crime over the period 2017–2019. The present assessment relies on data for 2019 covering fourteen criminal markets which can be grouped under three basic headings: Traditional organised criminal markets – human trafficking and the market for sexual services, human smuggling, automobile theft, extortion racketeering and usury. Excise duty and VAT crimes – illegal trade in tobacco products and in fuels, as well as VAT fraud. Emerging criminal markets – EU funds fraud, illegal trade in pharmaceuticals, cybercrime, electronic payment systems fraud, telephone fraud and illegal logging. The study reviews the key trends in recent years as well as the structure of each criminal market, and describes the major schemes used by organised criminal groups. Researchers have attempted to gauge the damages that organised criminal groups inflict to individual victims and to society as a whole, as well as to calculate the volume of criminal revenues. Based on data and expert opinion analysis, the report outlines the possible developments of the criminal market and the relevant responses to them, and lists a number of recommendations designed to minimise the damages from organised criminal activity.

The Migration Conference 2020 Proceedings: Migration and Integration

Author(s): / Language(s): Turkish,English

This is the first volume of the Proceedings of The Migration Conference 2020. The Migration Conference 2020 was held online due to COVID-19 Pandemic and yet, in over 80 parallel sessions and plenaries key migration debates saw nearly 500 experts from around the world engaging. This collection contains contributions mainly dealing with migration and integration debates. These are only a subset of all presentations from authors who chose to submit full short papers for publication after the conference. Most of the contributions are work in progress and unedited versions. The next migration conference is going to be hosted by Ming-Ai Institute in London, UK. Looking forward to continuing the debates on human mobility after the Pandemic.

Европейският енергиен съюз: състояние и перспективи

Author(s): Svetla Boneva,Ivan Tsvetanov,Atanas Atanassov,Ivaylo Toskov / Language(s): Bulgarian

The main objective of this project is to conduct an in-dept analysis on the main dimensions of the European Energy Union as well as to formulate recommendations on the benefits that Bulgaria could derive from its membership in this union and how in particular our country could materialize these benefits. To achieve these goals, we have completed the following research tasks: 1) An overview of the contemporary foreign and Bulgarian specialized economic literature in the relevant field has been conducted; analysis and summarization of the theoretical research in the European Energy Union field; 2) Analysis of the EU energy policy development which led to the establishment of the European Energy Union; 3) Overview of the strategic EU documents pertaining to the European Energy Union; 4) Analysis of the applicable legislative acts regarding the European Energy Union in Bulgaria and the coherence of this legal framework with the European law. Analysis on the national and the European legal framework of the European Energy Union.

ИКОНОМИЧЕСКА НАУКА, ОБРАЗОВАНИЕ И РЕАЛНА ИКОНОМИКА: РАЗВИТИЕ И ВЗАИМОДЕЙСТВИЯ В ДИГИТАЛНАТА ЕПОХА - ТОМ I

Author(s): / Language(s): English,Bulgarian,Russian

The Jubilee International Scientific Conference on the "Economic Science, Education and the Real Economy: Development and Interactions in the Digital Age", held on 11 – 12 May 2020, is dedicated to the 100th anniversary оf the University of Economics-Varna. Against the background of the cultural and economic rise from the end of the XIX and the beginning of the XX century, on May 14, 1920 the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Varna decides to open a Higher School of Commerce in the city. This marks the beginning of higher economics education in the country. For the period of its existence the university has trained over 155,000 specialists with successful self-realization in the country and abroad. Today, more than 8,000 Bachelors, Masters and Doctorates from 52 countries study in 27 Bachelor's, 29 Master's and 16 Doctor‟s programs. One hundred years for a Bulgarian university is a remarkable anniversary. Some European universities have a much longer history, but when we give assessments, we must always consider the historical context. From this point of view and within the post-liberation period, 100 years of existence, for a Bulgarian university, is a remarkable achievement. The University of Economics – Varna is one of the oldest universities in Bulgaria and the university is rightly proud of its history. The Jubilee International Scientific Conference is focused on digitalization and all those profound transformations it causes in the economy and society. The theme of the conference has been chosen in the period preceding the outbreak of the global coronary virus pandemic. This is important to note because the current economic situation has changed dramatically. As a result of the state of emergency and the imposed social isolation, the economies all over the world have entered a recession. The business, our social and cultural lives have come to a standstill. The economic crisis that has begun is unprecedented both in its cause and most likely in its scale and scope, and it is currently confronting us with specific economic problems. But we believe in science and medicine, in the human mind and intelligence, and we have no doubt that the epidemic will be brought under control and sooner or later the world will return to normal. Then the fundamental determinants of economic activity shall start to operate, one of which is the ongoing process of digitalization. The present economic situation has confronted us with specific economic problems, but it has also shown in a clear and unequivocal way how important new technologies are in modern life, in particular in the conditions of emergency and social distance. It is in these conditions that all our communication, the opportunity for public institutions to continue with their work, online university and school education, etc. rest on digital technologies today. This conference has also been made possible by modern technology. The crisis, from a certain point of view, has given a new impetus to the digitalization of society. In the context of current events and the explanations given above, the topic of the conference is focused on the long term development of the economy and society as a whole. The scientific event aroused considerable interest. The conference was attended by 340 scientists, researchers, lecturers, PhD students and students from 23 Bulgarian and 15 foreign universities and research organizations from Germany, Lebanon, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Serbia, Croatia and Ukraine, as well as representatives of business and various institutions. Plenary reports of the conference have been presented by: Prof. Evgeni Stanimirov PhD - Rector of the University of Economics – Varna, "Quo vadis, education?", Prof. Daniela Bobeva PhD, Institute for Economic Research at BAS, "Costs and Benfits of Euro Adoption in Bulgaria: lessons Learned from the Long Path of Bulgaria to the Euro' Mr. Plamen Rusev PhD, one of the successful alumni of the University of Economics-Varna, Executive Chairman of the Webit Foundation and a member of the Board of Directors of Endeavor Bulgaria, addressed the plenary session with a speech on "Bulgaria – a platform for creating global initiatives." The proceedings covers 263 reports, in 4 volumes. The range of prob lems in the reports is wide, in line with the idea of the scientific forum: to analyze the manifestation of digitalization not only in business and econo my, but its social, institutional and legal aspects, as well. A very important part of the conference is the reports that examine the impact of digitalization on education and science.

Съединението прави силата

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

This book presents reports from ‘United We Stand Strong’, the Fifth International Conference of the European Studies Department, Faculty of Philosophy at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. The conference was held between 31 May and 1 June 2018 with the support by Hanns Seidel Foundation. The collective book is а result of a project by the European Studies Department at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, The Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence in teaching and research on the Europeanisation of the countries of Southeast Europe (2016-2019), co-financed by the Erasmus+ program.