"Braća, a ne neprijatelji"

Author(s): Ivo Kolbe / Language(s): Serbian / Issue: 10/1934

Какви су се то неријешиви проблеми убацили између ова два народа, па да им не даду да у једном заједничком прегнyћy покушају nронаћи путеве и средства што воде неком љепшем и пунијем животу? - Јер, зар нијесу ово времена у којима сагоријева народно стрпљење, постављено пред једну мучну непознаницу сутрашњег дана, који се је поредао у слиједу дана пуних одрицаља и пуних патња! .Зар је овим народима довољна трка за обеhањима, што се тако тешко испуњују? Зар дневни бучни говори, параде, музике, и слетови, могу испунити празнине у желуцу, сакрити крпеж дроњака, и унијети топлину у голе домове? И зар се немирној мисли човека може отети право на слободно стварање и слободно суђење?

"Jugoslovanstvo" in mednacionalni odnosi v Jugoslaviji v petdesetih letih 20. stoletja

Author(s): Mateja Režek / Language(s): Slovenian / Issue: 2/2005

In her paper, the author deals with the interethnic relations in Yugoslavia and the phenomenon of Yugoslav integralism in the 1950's. This decade saw the resurfacing of the national question, essential for the preservation of Yugoslavia, which had been underestimated and ignored by the communists for over a decade. This attitude was partly rooted in their conviction that the question bad been definitely resolved with the revolution and the formation of a federal slate, and partly in the fear that a reopening of I be national question might provoke internal conflicts and a disintegration of Yugoslavia. Infatuation with workers' internationalism also played its part. In order to smooth over the interethnic differences they recoursed to the magic formula of "brotherhood and unity" to which was added, in the mid 1950's, the promotion of "Yugoslavism" i.e. an attempt to fashion a (super)ethnic, Yugoslav conscience.

"MALE" MANJINE

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Serbian / Publication Year: 0

Prerastanje nacionalizma u vladajuću ideologiju neizbežno je zaoštrilo problem manjina. Na etnički izmešanim teritorijama primena načela "jedna nacija jedna država" nije bila moguća bez nasilja nad pripadnicima manjina. Doduše, nasilje nije bilo jednako upereno prema svim manjinama – neke manjine su stavljane u "izlog" i služile su, pre svega, u legitimacijske svrhe režima, dok je protiv drugih mobilisana javnost, a primeri nasilja nad njima tolerisani. Smenom Miloševićevog režima nestalo je straha da će manjine biti ponovo podvrgnute represiji. Budući da su i same u velikoj meri doprinele krahu starog režima, manjine su od nove vlasti očekivale da, u skladu sa deklarisanim ciljevima – integracije zemlje u međunarodnu zajednicu i izgradnje društva gde manjine neće biti tretirane kao javni neprijatelji – stvori novi institucionalni poredak u kome bi na lakši i efikasniji način ostvarivale svoja prava i unapređivale svoje interese. Zakon o zaštiti prava i sloboda nacionalnih manjina, usvojen od strane Savezne skupštine krajem februara 2002. godine, tim zahtevima izlazi ususret, pre svega tako što inovira institucionalni poredak. Najvažnija institucija, Nacionalni saveti, pobudili su veliko interesovanje manjina, jer se preko njih ostvaruje manjinska samouprava u oblastima važnim za očuvanje nacionalnog identiteta manjina – obrazovanju, kulturi, informisanju i službenoj upotrebi jezika. Osim ove, Zakon predviđa stvaranje još dve institucije – Saveznog saveta za nacionalne manjine i Saveznog fonda za nacionalne manjine. Cilj osnivanja prve institucije je očuvanje, unapređenje i zaštira posebnosti manjina i njihovih prava, a druge podsticanje kulturnog, društvenog i opšteg razvoja nacionalnih manjina. Spomenuti zakon je, kao što je poznato, naišao na pohvalne ocene predstavnika međunarodne zajednice, kao i predstavnika manjina koji su učestvovali u njegovoj izradi. No, na račun ovoga zakona izrečene su i vrlo oštre kritike. Interesantno je da u kritikama i razgovorima o spomenutom zakonu nije posebno tematiziran položaj "malih" manjina. Po mišljenju Helsinškog odbora za ljudska prava u Srbiji, Zakon o manjinama više odgovara Bošnjacima i Mađarima, nego Česima ili Nemcima, dakle uticajnijim i velikim, nego malobrojnim manjinama, iako bi bilo posve logično da on više izlazi ususret manjinama koje su, upravo zbog malobrojnosti i oskudnih kapaciteta, daleko više podložne asimilaciji od manjina koje imaju snažnu elitu, izgrađenu infrastrukturu, organizacije, medije i političke partije. Uveren da od brojnosti neke manjine ne zavise i njena prava, Helsinški odbor je pažnju posvetio upravo "malim" manjinama, podrazumevajući pri tome Jevreje, Čehe, Ukrajince, Nemce, Aškalije i Makedonce. U Vojvodini, kao izrazito etnički i kulturno heterogenoj sredini, postoje i manjine koje su malobrojnije od spomenutih. Prema rezultatima prošlogodišnjeg popisa, u Vojvodini je, na primer, registrovan 101 pripadnik vlaške zajednice. No, za razliku od Vlaha ili, pak, Bošnjaka (na popisu je 417 građana deklarisalo svoju pripadnost bošnjačkoj zajednici), pripadnici manjina kojima se bavilo ovo istraživanje čine napore da očuvaju svoj identitet. Osim toga, većina pripadnika ovih manjina živi skoncentrisana upravo u Vojvodini, što se za Vlahe ili Bošnjake ne može reći, jer prvi u najvećem broju žive u istočnoj Srbiji, a drugi u Sandžaku. Izuzetak su Makedonci. Više pripadnika ove manjine živi u centralnoj Srbiji, nego u Vojvodini. Makedonci su interesantni zbog još jednog razloga. Oni su (11.785) najbrojnija od svih gore pomenutih manjina. Zapravo, makedonska zajednica u Vojvodini broji više pripadnika nego sve spomenute manjine zajedno (10.498). Njih smo uvrstili zato što je proces asmilacije pripadnika ove zajednice najdalje odmakao. Recimo, kada je reč o ostvarivanju nekih kolektivnih prava, kao što je pravo na informisanje, Makedonci se nalaze u najnezavidnijoj situaciji, jer nemaju čak ni interna glasila kakvi su, na primer, bilteni. Tek u poslednjih nekoliko godina oni čine stanovite napore da očuvaju svoju nacionalnu posebnost. Jedan od ciljeva ovog projekta je bio upravo to da skrene pažnju javnosti na položaj i probleme sa kojima su suočene "male" manjine, da o nekima od tih problema organizuje javnu debatu i, napokon, naznači određena rešenja. U tom pogledu razgovori sa pripadnicima "malih" manjina pokazali su se kao veoma dragoceni u identifikovanju problema, a rasprave na Helsinškom forumu kao značajne i korisne u sugerisanju određenih preporuka i rešenja. Projekat "Male manjine" elaboriran je u vidu Monitoring missions, Helsinškog foruma i tribina.

"MAPE STEREOTIPA" KAO DUHOVITO-OPAKI PROIZVOD:FOLKLORIZACIJA I KOMERCIJALIZACIJA ETNIČKIH PREDRASUDA U INTERNET PROSTORU

Author(s): Dragana Antonijević,Ana Banić Grubišić / Language(s): Serbian / Issue: 1/2013

"Maps of stereotypes", whether they are made for commercial purposes created by Bulgarian designer Yanko Tsvetkov or have been created by anonymous authors, has become extremely popular in Cyberspace in the last two years. They are transmitted via e-mail communication or via social networks and the web pages which host this kind of maps attracts millions of visitors. Their intended humor has it vicious side: in the form of joke they provide folklorized prejudices about nations and states, and at the same time they cemented them as fixed images, ethnic labels and essentialized notions in consciousness and conception of the numerous Internet audience. From the multicultural perspective and its necessity for negotiating the diversity of identities who are supposedly susceptible of change, these stereotypical maps by utilizing cleverly constructed notions express the complete opposition: the characteristics of the people and of the state of a particular historical and political period are essencialized, offering as a "truth" the point of view of the sender without the possibility of the message recipient to respond in other ways than to press the "like button" or to show "silent" revolt or, even, by creating the "contra-map" with similar humorous and vicious content. In this paper we will examine the phenomenon of so called maps of stereotypes and ascribed notions of Serbia within political and geographical territory of former Yugoslavia and the Balkans.

"Немачко удружење Адам Беренц" и ревитализација етничког идентитета Немаца у Апатину

Author(s): Aleksandar Krel / Language(s): Serbian / Issue: 3/2010

At the time of the violent interethnic conflict in the former Yugoslavia, ethnic Germans in Serbia became publicly active for the first time after decades of "ethnic mimicry", founding ethnic German societies. It is through these societies that the process of revitalization and (re)construction of their ethnic and cultural identity has been taking place. There are about a dozen such societies active in Vojvodina today, one of them being the Adam Berenz German Society in the town of Apatin. The paper looks at the conceptualization and symbolization, analysis of ethnic strategies and presentation of modalities by means of which the Apatin association seeks to preserve and revive certain specific ethnic and cultural elements of the German ethnic community.

"Ханска Украйна - Мукатаа Томбасар" (края на XVII-XVIII век)

Author(s): Alexander Sereda / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

The aim of the paper is to explore the region of Northwest Black Sea lands in the early 17th-18th centuries, in the context of the Ottoman and Crimean administrative and territorial structure; the political preconditions for the formation of Khan Ukraine - special administrative and territorial unit with the Ukrainian-Kazakh population under Crimean governance; the organization of the economical and fiscal district "Muqataa Tombasar" in the framework of Khan Ukraine. It presents the defter (register) of the revenues and expanses in Muqataa Tombasar and localizes the settlements and their population in the Northwest Black Sea region.

#17 Police Stops and Ethnic Profiling in Bulgaria

Author(s): Tihomir Bezlov,Martin Dimov,Philip Gounev,Nikoleta Yordanova / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2006

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.

#32bg Радикализация в България: заплахи и тенденции

Author(s): Rositsa Dzhekova,Mila Mancheva,Maria Doichinova,Lyubomira Derelieva,Tihomir Bezlov,Maria Karayotova,Yavor Tomov,Dimitar Markov,Miryana Ilcheva / Language(s): Bulgarian / Publication Year: 2016

The phenomena of radicalisation today develop and change at high speed, with their extreme forms manifested globally. The destructive dimensions of (violent) Islamist or right-wing radicalisation have become dramatically visible in Europe posing serious challenges to European societies at large. This report aims to address a knowledge gap with regard to how and to what extent internationally observed radicalisation processes are manifested in Bulgaria. Four different forms of radicalisation are investigated, including Islamist radicalisation, right-wing and left-wing radicalisation, as well as football hooliganism. The report provides policy makers and the expert community with a systematic overview of the main risks to which the Bulgarian society is exposed, as well as of the main actors and ideas, the repertoire of actions and the groups at risk associated with radicalisation. The report outlines recommendations for improvement of the policy and institutional response with regard to radicalisation by way of monitoring and prevention measures as well as multi agency collaboration and community engagement.

#34 Monitoring Radicalisation: A Framework for Risk Indicators

Author(s): Rositsa Dzhekova,Mila Mancheva,Nadya Stoynova,Dia Anagnostou / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2017

Radicalisation processes impacting on disaffected and indoctrinated persons and the later involvement of some of them in acts of terrorism are of growing concern for European citizens, their governments and the wider international community. Addressing this threat requires effective prevention policies which some EU member states have been proactive in developing. Effective policies need reliable diagnostic tools designed to identify individuals and groups who might pose a threat. The publication provides a review of existing approaches and tools to identifying, monitoring and assessing radicalisation in Europe and beyond. It further offers a conceptual framework of radicalisation risk and vulnerability indicators and their interpretation as a basis for developing early-warning mechanisms for frontline practitioners in countries which are yet to develop specific prevention and counter-radicalisation policies. The target group of the guide are policymakers at national and EU levels, as well as practitioners directly involved in the prevention of radicalisation in Central and Eastern Europe and beyond.

#35 Situational Assessment of Extremist Trends

Author(s): Rositsa Dzhekova,Luděk Moravec,Pavlína Bláhová,Jan Ludvík,Libor Stejskal,Dia Anagnostou,Dimitris Skleparis,Nadya Stoynova / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2017

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.

#48 Two Boats in the Mediterranean and their Unfortunate Encounters with Europe’s Policies towards People on the Move

Author(s): Leonhard Den Hertog / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2012

This paper examines two recent events in which people on the move making their way from Libya to Europe across the Mediterranean were either abandoned to die at sea or ‘pushed back’ (Hirsi case). It argues that these two cases are not incidental or isolated but rather part of a broader situation of concern in the Mediterranean. The paper highlights this situation and also connects it to Europe’s response to migratory flows during the Arab Spring. On thebasis of independent reports, case law and first-hand accounts, it attributes these tragedies to two fundamental structural deficiencies in Europe’s approach to people on the move in the Mediterranean: 1) a general lack of accountability, among the most salient of which are thelack of legal clarity for SAR (search & rescue) and disembarkation obligations as well as alack of monitoring of what actually happens in the Mediterranean and 2) a lack of solidarity amongst European states as well as across the Mediterranean. The paper then goes on to propose recommendations to correct those cross-cutting deficiencies.

(005) MEETING MEDVEDEV: THE POLITICS OF THE PUTIN SUCCESSION

Author(s): Andrew Wilson / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2008

Dmitry Medvedev’s election on 2 March 2008 offers EU leaders a new chance to overcome their disunity and put their uncertain Russia policy on a better foundation. Whatever his personal inclinations, Medvedev will be unable to behave like a democrat in his first years in office. EU leaders should cautiously welcome the new president’s election, but must wait and see whether Medvedev proves a willing interlocutor who can deliver. They should refrain from the foolish enthusiasm they displayed when the sober and coherent Putin succeeded the ailing Yeltsin in 2000. Instead they should test Medvedev with specific demands over energy policy, Kosovo, and Iran.Medvedev, a lawyer by training, has often been depicted as a “liberal”. Considering the alternatives and his own record, he may well be one of the better options to succeed Vladimir Putin, the outgoing autocratic president. Yet Putin will be looking over Medvedev’s shoulder as prime minister. In the cut-throat world of Russia’s clan politics, Medvedev needs Putin to “protect” him from the “siloviki” -- past and present members of the KGB/FSB. The new president starts in a position of weakness, as he lacks a strong clan of his own. A Putin-Medvedev double act would not be Russia’s first “cohabitation”. A similar deal was done when power passed from Yeltsin to Putin in 2000. Putin eventually broke free and became his own man when the siloviki triumphed over the former Yeltsinites during the Yukos affair in 2003. In time, Medvedev may do the same. Russia’s real power transition is likely to happen sometime after the election, if and when the new president puts his mark on the system. The time to assess Medvedev will be then.

(025) THE SPECTRE OF A MULTIPOLAR EUROPE

Author(s): Ivan Krastev,Mark Leonard,Dimitar Bechev,Jana Kobzova,Andrew Wilson / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 2010

The EU’s ‘unipolar moment’ is over. In the 1990s, the EU’s grand hope was that American hard power would underpin the spread of European soft power and the integration of all Europe’s powers into a liberal order – embodied in NATO and the EU – in which the rule of law, pooled sovereignty and interdependence would gradually replace military conflict, the balance of power and spheres of influence. However, the prospects for this unipolar multilateral European order are fading. The dilemma facing the European Union in its own continent is somewhat similar to that faced by the US at a global level. The EU can do little to prevent Europe’s evolution from a unipolar to a multipolar order; but it can do a lot to shape the relations between its emerging poles. The new approach would take advantage of a political opening created by Moscow’s desire to modernise and Turkey’s search for a regional role, and recast the continent’s institutional order for a world in which Europe is increasingly peripheral and in which a weak neighbour can be as frightening as a strong one. It would be the first step towards creating a trilateral rather than a tripolar Europe: a new institutional order in the continent that (to paraphrase Lord Ismay) keeps the EU united, Russia post-imperial and Turkey European.

(In)effective Planning Capacity of CSDP Missions: Comparative Analysis of EULEX Kosovo and EUFOR Althea

Author(s): Ivana Bostjancic Pulko / Language(s): Serbian / Issue: 2/2017

Tis paper evaluates the planning capacity of two Common Security and Defence (CSDP) missions (EULEX Kosovo and EUFOR Althea) in order to assess the efectiveness of CSDP planning process. Both missions sufer due to partial interests within the EU and low positioning of CSDP on political agendas of the member states. Compared to NATO, EU missions’ political control is more much detailed once the mission is deployed. CSDP planning architecture has been considerably reformed since the inception of the frst missions in 2003, however the supervision by the member states is still present in all phases of restructuring and implementation. EULEX planning process includes a well elaborated lessons learnt process, however the implementation of the fndings on the operational level is rather weak whereas EUFOR Althea profted mostly from the access to NATO planning assets. CSDP missions are political missions and their efectiveness seems to be of secondary importance to the EU member states.

(Ne) budi ovca

O etničkoj diskriminaciji u BiH

Author(s): / Language(s): Bosnian / Publication Year: 2013

(Ne) budi ovca: o etničkoj diskriminaciji predstavlja izabrane analize objavljene na web portalu koalicije Jednakost (www.jednakost.ba), u okviru koje organizacije koje su njen dio imaju za cilj ukidanje etničke diskriminacije konstitutivnih naroda i Ostalih na cijelom prostoru Bosne i Hercegovine. Formalna i faktička diskriminacija u ostvarivanju ličnih i političkih prava, a dalje i kulturnih, ekonomskih i socijalnih, utječe na samorealizaciju i samostalnost svih individua koje žive na prostoru Bosne i Hercegovine. Sloboda i jednakost, bez obzira da li se one ostvaruju individalno ili kroz kolektiv, neotuđiva su ljudska prava i ne trebaju biti ovisna od drugog kolektiva ili pojedinaca_ki. U prvom dijelu brošure predstavljene su analize pozicije Ostalih u dijelovima pravnog i političkog sistema Bosne i Hercegovine, dok je drugi dio fokusiran na široke posljedice etničke diskriminacije u Bosni i Hercegovini. Tekstovi naglašavaju potrebu uvođenja principa jednakosti kako za konstitutivne narode, tako i za pripadnike_ice koji_e se ne izjašnjavaju kao konstitutivni narodi, odnosno pripadaju grupi Ostalih; moguće modele njihove reprezentacije u političkom sistemu Bosne i Hercegovine; oblastima u kojima i dalje na normativnom nivou postoji etnička diskriminacija, te model Brčko distrikta Bosne i Hercegovine kao potencijalno dobrog modela političke participacije i uključivanja svih segmenata društva u proces odlučivanja. Drugi dio brošure fokusiran je na primjere etničke diskriminacije na pojedinim nivoima vlasti; potrebi suočavanja sa prošlošću kao osnovi za gradnju povjerenja; etničkim podjelama u obrazovanju i njihovim posljedicama na etničke manjine; diskriminaciji u medijima, ekonomiji, kao i drugim oblastima života. Analize, iako obrađuju kompleksne pravne i društvene probleme Bosne i Hercegovine, razumljive su i osobama kojima pitanje etničke diskriminacije Ostalih i nije oblast posebnog interesovanja, ali je njen cilj da na jedan inovativan i provokativan način aktualizira sveprisutnu etničku diskriminaciju u Bosni i Hercegovini.

(Ne)primerljive razmere v čeških in slovenskih deželah v zadnjih letih Taaffejeve vlade

Author(s): Andrej Pančur / Language(s): Slovenian / Issue: 2/2005

In the paper, the author describes political and ethnic similarities and differences between the Czech and Slovene lands in the Habshurg monarchy in the early 1890's. He concludes that the Czech-German and the Slovene-German relations in these lands were fatally overloaded with a reciprocal sense of threat and ethnic disregard. Such interethnic conditions inevitably became a breeding ground for recurrent conflicts, aggravating the existing political situation and obscuring the diametric differences between the Slovene support for natural law and the Czech support for stale law.

(Ne)uspjeh učenika Roma i Hrvata u mješovitim razrednim odjelima

Author(s): Goran Lapat,Jelena Gornik / Language(s): English,Croatian / Issue: 11/2017

Marking is a very complex process and a tool for assessing a student’s knowledge. In order for the marks to be genuine indicators of student knowledge, teachers ought to take into consideration all the factors exercising an impact on students during the teaching process. Marks are objective and real when reached on the basis of knowledge evaluation and checking by using various methods. The data have shown that the number of Romany students enrolled in primary schools has increased. Nevertheless, the trend of their leaving primary school at the age of 15 is still significant. Deprived life environment, lack of elementary learning conditions, lack of support from parents and the wider community, low level of acknowledgement of education, and lack of knowledge of the teaching language are the reasons for the achievement of Romany students in primary education not equalling the results achieved by other students. The authors have researched whether Romany students and Croatian students achieve the same results on a sample of eighth-grade students in seven primary schools in the County of Međimurje. The research has shown that Romany students achieve considerably worse results than Croatian students in a mixed class. The reason lies not in the quality of teaching or the teachers, but rather in the environment these students originate from; it is therefore necessary to elevate the level of education of their parents, as well as their awareness of the importance of education as a prerequisite for achieving a higher level of life quality.

(Бивша Югославска) Република Северна Македония на кръстопът в търсене на идентичност(и)

Author(s): Ivan Vinarov / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 3/2019

The current research aims is to rise the current questions about the identity of the Macedonians. Its implementation clarifies the essence of the term "identity" and the process of social engineering in Macedonia. Further content analysis of media information and statistics from indices of international organizations is used. The main conclusion is that a paradoxical process is being developed – a transformation of the past in order to restructure the future in a different way

(Н)и овде (н)и тамо: Етнички идентитет Срба у Мађарској на крају XX века

Author(s): Mladena Prelić / Language(s): Serbian / Publication Year: 2008

(С)поделена природа? Природно наследство и местно развитие в един регион от българо-сръбското пограничие

Author(s): Ivaylo Markov / Language(s): Bulgarian / Issue: 1/2017

The article is focused on a border region between Bulgaria and Serbia which is geographically dominated by Ruy Mountain (whose ridge is the boundary between Bulgaria and Serbia) and the valley of Erma river forming two huge defiles along its way in this mountainous region – the Lomnishko defile (in Bulgaria) and the Poganovsko defile (in Serbia). The micro region (from natural and geographical point of view) shared until 1919 several cultural, social and economic characteristics (from an anthropological point of view), thus forming a common historical and geographical entity. The demarcation of the boundary between Bulgaria and Serbia as a result of the Treaty of Neuilly split the region between the two countries. The border regime, which was rigid and impermeable through the whole second half of the 20th century, made the zones on the both sides of the border well guarded, but industrially underdeveloped periphery. With the opening of the border in the period after 1989 and especially with the intensification of the European integration processes the character of the Bulgarian-Serbian border is undergoing changes and is gradually turning into a bridge for diverse trans-border initiatives. A great deal of these initiatives are connected with the well preserved ecology of the region, which is evaluated at present as a treasure by the local authorities and communities who believe it to be an important resource and instrument for the overcoming of the peripheral position of the region.