Assessing the Integration of Vulnerable Migrant Groups in Ten EU Member States

Author(s): Mila Mancheva,Andrey Nonchev,Slavyanka Ivanova / Language(s): English

This publication presents the results of a comparative monitoring study of the integration policies and outcomes for third-country-national (TCN) women, TCN children and TCN victims of trafficking in ten EU member states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Spain. The study produced findings at two levels of analysis: an in-depth assessment of how migrant integration policies and programmes meet the needs of vulnerable migrant groups, and an assessment of their integration outcomes. Drawing on the analysis of these findings, the publication provides recommendations for improving monitoring mechanisms for migrant integration at the national and EU levels and for elaborating policy approaches for better integration of vulnerable migrants.

Supporting Vulnerable Groups before the State: The Role of Civil Society Organisations

Author(s): Maria Doichinova,Yva Alexandrova,Miriana Ilcheva,Svetla Encheva / Language(s): English

The study analyses the mechanisms for interaction between public institutions and NGOs in supporting four vulnerable groups: persons deprived of their liberty, victims of trafficking in human beings, domestic violence survivors, and persons seeking international protection and other vulnerable foreigner nationals. Furthermore, it identifies trends in the cooperation between institutions and NGOs in assisting these communities. The report sums up the profile of the bodies and organisations involved and identifies problems in their interaction. Instruments for cooperation between public institutions and NGOs in relation to each vulnerable group are reviewed in detail, both on legislative and practical level. Correlations between identified problems and aspects of the interaction between public institutions and NGOs that could help resolve these problems are highlighted. In conclusion, recommendations are made to involve civil society in providing comprehensive support, in particular legal, social and administrative assistance, to vulnerable persons. These recommendations rest on the shared experience and opinions by public authorities and civil society, as well as on applicable foreign models and good practices.

Anti-Corruption Reloaded: Assessment of Southeast Europe

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

Corruption in Southeast Europe has been in the news, in the focus of public debate, and on the policy agenda of national and international institutions so often and for so long that its scrutiny hardly needs to be justified. It is precisely because it has proven to be such an intractable issue that innovative approaches to its understanding – and hence its reduction – are warranted. The EU accession prospects for the countries in the region – though distant – provide an enabling framework for action but it is local stakeholders, and in particular civil society who can bring about sustained progress in anti-corruption. The Southeast Europe Leadership for Development and Integrity (SELDI) has made the in-depth diagnosing and understanding of corruption and governance gaps in the region one of its main priorities, as a requisite condition for its advocacy of knowledge-driven anticorruption policies. This SELDI report fits in the development and implementation framework of the emerging regional anticorruption policy and infrastructure as exemplified by the SEE2020 Strategy’s Governance Pillar run by the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative. Despite some important achievements – mostly with respect to the stabilisation of democratic institutions, the adoption of laws in key anticorruption areas, a reduction in petty bribery and growing public intolerance of corruption – anticorruption and good governance reforms are not consolidated, corruption among elected politicians and judges seems to be increasing and the enforcement of anticorruption legislation is haphazard. Anticorruption policies and institutions in the region will benefit immensely from the adoption of regular and accurate victimisation-survey based tool for measuring corruption and the rate of progress in good governance, similar to the special Eurobarometer on anticorruption, UNODC’s SEE monitoring of corruption and organised crime, and the Corruption Monitoring System employed by this report.

Ситуационна оценка на тенденциите в екстремизма

Author(s): Rositsa Dzhekova,Luděk Moravec,Nadya Stoynova / Language(s): Bulgarian

Violent extremism is one of the major challenges Europe is currently facing. The threat is both external as well as internal as indicated by the rise in home-grown Islamist terrorists, as well as of nationalistic and anti-immigrant movements and far-right aggression. An accurate picture of the spread, nature and trends in the extremist and terrorist activity and actors is paramount to formulating strategic policy approaches and effectively allocating available resources. This publication provides a methodological framework for the establishment of a viable mechanism for monitoring and assessment of the state and developments over time in extremist acts and actors on the national level. The situational assessment is an instrument for systematic collection and analysis of statistical data, open source data and intelligence information pertaining to extremist actors and activities, for the purposes of developing regular situational reports of the spread, nature and trends in extremism and violent radicalisms. Following the application of the situational assessment tool, the publication presents main findings on extremist trends and monitoring capacities in three countries from Central and Southeast Europe: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Greece.

CSD-Report 17 - Полицейски проверки и използване на етнически профили в България

Author(s): Tihomir Bezlov,Martin Dimov,Philip Gounev,Nikoleta Yordanova / Language(s): Bulgarian

Between June and December 2005 the Center for the Study of Democracy and Vitosha Research, supported by the Open Society Justice Initiative carried out a study of police stops. The resulting report Police Stops and Ethnic Profiling in Bulgaria examines the use of stops by the Bulgarian police, focusing on the practices of disproportionate stops of members of the Roma ethnic minority. The report also highlights issues related to police abuse during stops as well as crime among in Roma communities. // The study is part of a Europe-wide initiative aimed to map discriminatory police practices across Europe. In addition to Bulgaria, research was carried out in Spain, Hungary and Russia indicating that there is disproportionate treatment of minorities by the police in all these countries. // Police stops are the main point of contact between officers and citizens. Police officers view stops as essential for detecting and preventing crime. Therefore, the appropriate use of this tool is crucial to police efficiency, whereas when used in the wrong way, it could seriously deteriorate the relations between citizens and the police. // The findings and the report were launched at a public meeting of the National Crime Prevention Commission on September 19, 2006.

ТЕНДЕНЦИИ НА ПРЕСТЪПНОСТТА В БЪЛГАРИЯ 2000 – 2010

Author(s): Tihomir Bezlov,Philip Gounev,Alexander Gerganov / Language(s): Bulgarian

The present study examines cime trends in Bulgaria between 2000 and 2010 based on a comparison between surveys of crime victims (National Crime Survey) and police statistics. In addition to overall crime trends data, the report presents data on ten different categories of crime, as well as regional specifics of crime in Bulgaria. Criminal justice and socio-economic data is also analysed in an attempt to explain the observed trends in crime.

Трафик на деца сред уязвими общности

Author(s): Kamelia Dimitrova,Yva Alexandrova / Language(s): Bulgarian

The current report looks at three specific forms of trafficking in persons: child trafficking for begging, for pickpocketing and for sexual exploitation of boys and the way they manifest themselves among Roma communities. The report examines the profiles of victims and discusses the vulnerability factors that make the Roma minority a particular group at risk. The study provides empirical knowledge on the mechanisms of recruitment and exploitation of victims in order to inform identification efforts and counter-trafficking responses. Particular attention is devoted to the policy and measures for assistance of victims. In this field, the report identifies specific gaps in assistance and the way they affect Roma victims in particular, and suggests how child victim assistance could be improved. The active involvement of Roma organisations in the research through participatory methods aimed to gain a deeper understanding of the risk factors involved, bring knowledge back to the communities and support Roma experts’ involvement in counter-trafficking policy and mechanisms.

Моќ од сенка: Проценка на корупција и скриената економија во земјите од Југоисточна Европа

Author(s): / Language(s): Macedonian

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.

Укрепване на правосъдието и правоприлагането в граничните райони

Author(s): Maria Yordanova,Dimitar Markov / Language(s): Bulgarian

The report makes an overview of the general problems and specifics in the detection, investigation and punishment of cross-border crime, i.e. actions, connected with illegal crossing of or illegal transfer of goods across the border. The publication also presents views about the necessary measures – legislative, organizational and technical – for enhancing justice and law enforcement in the districts close to the Bulgarian-Turkish, Bulgarian-Macedonian and the Southern Black Sea borders.

Уязвими групи лишени от свобода: Наръчник

Author(s): Alejandro Forero Cuéllar,María Celeste Tortosa,Klaus Dreckmann,Dimitar Markov,Maria Doichinova / Language(s): Bulgarian

In prison, certain groups of inmates are subject to disadvantages due to specifics of their origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, etc. These groups usually need special treatment, which is not always provided, which leads to unequal treatment and violation of their rights. This handbook examines the situation of such vulnerable groups within the prison systems of Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Lithuania and Spain. Starting from the classification of the UN Handbook on Prisoners with special needs and looking at the different national contexts, the authors identify different groups as vulnerable in different countries. In order to encompass as many groups as possible, their list was extended to include some particularly marginalised groups, such as sex offenders, prisoners with disabilities, etc. Each group is viewed in context, explaining the situations of vulnerability both generally and in the selected countries. From one side, the handbook presents the efforts for compensation of vulnerabilities in every country available in the legislation or provided by prison authorities or other actors. From the other side, it identifies the gaps in the measures and practices, which vary both from country to country and from group to group.

Социално-икономически ефекти от публичните инвестиции за приобщаване на ромите в Каварна

Author(s): Yva Alexandrova,Slavyanka Ivanova,Anna Ivanova / Language(s): Bulgarian

The aim of the current report is to provide new data and insight on the social and economic effects of public investments in Roma communities from a human development perspective. Its objective is to establish the effects of a wide range of public investments made by Kavarna municipality in the mostly-Roma neighbourhood of Hadji Dimitar, between 2004 and 2014. The investment covered areas such as housing and infrastructure, healthcare, employment, income, poverty and social exclusion, justice and crime, and political participation. It reviews a range of indicators with the aim of establishing the effects of these investments on the social and economic development of the neighbourhood and its residents, both Roma and non-Roma. It also looks beyond the neighbourhood to provide a comparative perspective on a national level. The data presented here is derived from a variety of sources and covers a range of indicators. Every effort has been made to ensure the use of similar indicators and definitions as previous household surveys, notably the UNDP/FRA study, and the NSI, however, the results are not directly comparable due to the difference in survey methodologies, samples and scope. The data presented should be taken as an indication of trends and tendencies. The lack of concrete data on the initial investments, the inputs and relevant baseline indicators has also challenged the quantifying of the contribution of individual public investments. Different investments have had different impact on the development of the neighbourhood and reducing the distances with the Bulgarian residents. This impact has been established by looking at the results obtained from a specialised household survey conducted among 300 Roma and non-Roma households in the Hadji Dimitar quarter of Kavarna in 2015. The relevance and impact of these changes is analysed through comparison with the national averages for the whole population and the averages for Roma nationally. It is also measured against the investments to establish a positive correlation between the effect and the investment where such data exists.

Употребяващите наркотици в затвора: опитът на Норвегия и предизвикателствата пред България

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

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.

Why Do Countries Break Up? - The Case of Yugoslavia

Author(s): Vladimir Gligorov / Language(s): English

The book deals with the violent and inconclusive break up of Yugoslavia. The author relies on the rational political choice approach to construct an explanation that (i) given the preference of the exYugoslav nations for ethnic justice over individual liberties and rights, and (ii) given the influences of the long terra ethnic strategies and rivalries, the legacy of the four decades of communist rule, and the complexities of the post-socialist transformation process, the break up of their common country was what it took the Yugoslav nations to try to realize their political preferences. In Chapter 1 the process of “Balkanization” is discussed. First, the theory of constitutional choice is criticized. It is shown that the assumptions (stated and unstated) on which the theory is founded are not mutually consistent. Second, it is argued that that makes the idea of self-determination inoperable and self-destructive. Yugoslavia was founded on the principle of self-determination; it has been dissolving in accordance with the same principle. Third, the illusive idea of individual and ethnic identity, of the “self”, in the Balkans is described and analyzed. Fourth, the implications for the failure of any constitutional idea to be accepted as legitimate in Yugoslavia are drawn. In Chapter 2 the process of the discovery of liberalism during the communist rule is discussed and the reasons for its failure given. All the classical liberal ideas were discovered in Yugoslavia in conflict with the socialist principles; they failed to play a key role in the transformation of the country because they did not arise from an idea of a Yugoslav state. In Chapter 3 a “straightforward explanation” of the break up of Yugoslavia is given. It is argued that the state did not break up for economic reasons (as a way to get out of socialism), but for the following two reasons: (i) independent ethnic state is the long term strategy of Serbs and Croats (the two dominant Yugoslav nations); (ii) political preferences came to dominate the economic ones in the process of transformation. Given the goals and the preferences and given the facts of the ethnic configuration, the break up of Yugoslavia was inevitable and it inevitably had to be inconclusive. In Chapter 4 the contribution of the communist legacy is discussed and the record of individual and collective rights left in the ex-Yugoslav states is reviewed. It is shown that none of the newly established states has achieved a significant increase in those rights and is far from any ideal of a liberal state. In the conclusion, the idea that “Balkans are different” is rejected and it is argued that the failure of the principles of civic rights and international order to be respected and implemented will invariably lead to the same set of outcome. In that the importance of the case of Yugoslavia lies.

Država, politika i društvo u Bosni i Hercegovini – Analiza postdejtonskog političkog sistema

Author(s): Damir Banović,Saša Gavrić / Language(s): Bosnian

Državna struktura Bosne i Hercegovine u međunarodnoj stručnoj literaturi smatra se kompleksnom i nefunkcionalnom. nerijetko, ova država se zbog administrativne podjele naziva“monstrumom“ ili “haotičnom demokratijom“. a unutar Bosne i Hercegovine i samo stanovništvo je skeptično u odnosu na državu i njene strukture. stoga političari zahtijevaju radikalne reforme, kojima bi država bila uređena kao centralistička, federalna ili decentralizovana država. većina tih zahtjeva je nerealna, budući da ih je nemoguće usuglasiti, tako da nema konsenzusa o budućnosti Bosne i Hercegovine i njenoj unutrašnjoj strukturi. [...]

Facing the challenges: social policy in Poland after 1990

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

Polish social policy is changing not only in the material sense but also on the level of public consciousness. This concerns not only citizens, but also researchers and policy makers. Social policy in Poland after 1990 has its own specificity. One of its features are the lack of clear direction of development and the constant need for amendments. Unsurprisingly, diversity of approaches can be also found on the cognitive level, although it is not reflected in all sets of studies. This regards not only ideological differences and various appraisals of the same facts, but also the often underestimated domination of particular paradigms. The latter can be discerned in this monograph as well, as the effect of the authors’ provenance and the widespread approval of certain ways of thinking about and analyzing particular fields of social policy. The monograph has been divided into two parts. The first consists of the general studies of changes that took place on the institutional level and in public consciousness. The second part focuses on evaluating changes that occurred in particular fields of social activity which are strictly connected with the state’s social policy. The selection of those fields and the dissimilarity of approaches should encourage the reader to reflect upon thevariability of importance of material and consciousness factors in evaluating social policy (Józef Orczyk, Foreword).

Conferinţa de cercetare în construcţii, economia construcţiilor, urbanism şi amenajarea teritoriului. Rezumate ale lucrărilor

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

Includes abstracts of the papers presented in the research conference on constructions, economy of buildings, architecture, urban and territorial development.

Case studies in emerging markets: Management, business, finance, marketing

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

The book contains a series of eight long case studies on various business issues in emerging markets (for instance Polish, Chinese, Nigerian). The authors focus on a variety of topics from marketing, through business operations, finance, leadership, innovation, business development, internationalization and decisions to human resources management. Also, the perspective of the analyzed issues is varied, in the initial case studies, the microeconomic approach dominates, then the mezoeconomic and macroeconomic approach. The team of authors included both academics, with extensive teaching experience in English-speaking studies, and business practitioners whose practical knowledge allows them to explore contemporary business challenges in emerging markets. We are putting this book in the hands of lecturers and students of economics, finance, and management, believing that it will be a source of inspiration, discussion and will allow to better explore contemporary business. At the same time, we hope that by offering this book, we are filling a gap in the publication market, which has been dominated by case studies dedicated to well-known companies, well-known brands, and mature markets.

Има ли достатъчно Европа и съюз в Европейския съюз?

Доклади от третата международна конференция на катедра „Европеистика“, Философски факултет, СУ „Св. Климент Охридски“, май 2016 г.

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

This book presents reports from the Third International Conference of the European Studies Department, Faculty of Philosophy at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. The conference was organized in May 2016 with the support by Hanns Seidel Foundation. The participants discussed in their reports contemporary issues of the EU related to the political course of the union, the socio-economic implications of the recent crisis, the recovery process, trade and economic cooperation with external partners as well as prospective for EU’s expansion.

Европейският съюз след 2020 г. – нова Европа в нов свят

Доклади от Шестата международна научна конференция на катедра „Европеистика“, Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“, Катедра „Европеистика“, „Жан Моне“ Център за високи постижения.

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

This book presents reports from „EU Post 2020 – New Europe in a New World“, Sixth International Scientific Conference of the European Studies Department, Faculty of Philosophy at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence. The conference was held in May 2019 with the support of Hanns Seidel Foundation and Erasmus+ programme.

Niepewność zatrudnienia wśród pracowników na przykładzie banków

Author(s): Jerzy Kaźmierczyk / Language(s): Polish

Głównym celem monografii jest identyfikacja i pomiar powiązań niepewności zatrudnienia z wybranymi aspektami pracy (stresem, zaangażowaniem organizacyjnym i subiektywnie postrzeganą efektywnością pracy, z uwzględnieniem wpływu takich mediatorów organizacyjnych jak zaufanie i relacje interpersonalne oraz wpływu postrzeganej zatrudnialności i kontroli nad pracą). Przeprowadzono pogłębioną analizę literatury przedmiotu, opartą na blisko 700 pozycjach dotyczących niepewności zatrudnienia na gruncie ekonomii i finansów. Badania autorskie pozwoliły zapełnić część luk, zarówno tych dotyczących technik i metod badawczych, jak i samego meritum niepewności zatrudnienia. Badanie empiryczne przeprowadzono wśród pracowników polskich banków na dużej próbie badawczej ponad 2400 osób, co jest istotne ze względu na brak do tej pory takich badań w Europie Środkowej i Wschodniej. To pierwsza w Polsce praca całościowo traktująca zagadnienie niepewności zatrudnienia (przyczyny, skutki, metody pomiaru, subiektywna niepewność zatrudnienia, ilościowa i jakościowa niepewność zatrudnienia). W warstwie empirycznej bazuje na bankach, jednak zarówno rozważania teoretyczne, jak i wnioski w dużym stopniu mają charakter uniwersalny i mogą zostać wykorzystane w odniesieniu do niepewności zatrudnienia w innych sektorach gospodarki.