Publications

Monthly analytical bulletin on Moldova, issued by Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", Chisinau
(in English and Romanian)

EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy has been actively involved in major international network project “Think Global-Act European – The Contribution of European Think Tanks to the French, Czech and Swedish Presidencies (TGAE)”. Under the leadership of Notre Europe and the Fondation pour l’Innovation Politique, leading French think-tanks, the project mobilises a limited number of dynamic European think tanks for the purpose of formulating concrete recommendations on major issues of concern to the French, Czech and Swedish Presidencies.

Monthly analytical bulletin on Moldova, issued by Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", Chisinau
(in English and Romanian)

Monthly analytical bulletin on Moldova, issued by Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", Chisinau
(in English and Romanian)

Proceedings and associated policy papers related to the conference, Populism in Central Europe, organised by the Association for International Affairs (Asociace pro mezinárodní otázky, AMO), a leading independent think-tank in the Czech Republic

Monthly analytical bulletin on Moldova, issued by Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", Chisinau
(in English and Romanian)

This book is a summary of a comprehensive report published by IPA in the autumn of 2007 entitled “Demokracja w Polsce 2005-2007”.

(in English and in Czech)

Enhancing the legislative powers of the European Parliament and the parliamentary organization of the EU system of governance has been seen for a long time as a means to face the EU democratic deficit. In reality, the expectations of providing a superior system of European government have not been met. The citizens’ interest in European elections has been steadily declining since 1979. They can still barely identify a set of protagonists in the developments at a supranational level, let alone endorse their policies. The conference “The European Parliament – Towards Parliamentary Democracy in the European Union?” was aimed at exploring both the academic and the political visions of the future of parliamentary democracy at the European level, as well as the involvement of the national parliaments of EU member states in the process of European governance. Overall, the final debate tackled a much broader spectrum of the issues and visions of the development of European integration.

Monthly analytical bulletin on Moldova, issued by Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", Chisinau
(in English and Romanian)

Electorate: Features and attitudes - Preliminary results of the survey of Georgia’s population, December 1-10, 2007

Monthly analytical bulletin on Moldova, issued by Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", Chisinau
(in English and Romanian)

(In Romanian with summary in English)

In 1998, the Soros Foundation Moldova launched a public opinion poll programme – Barometer of Public Opinion. The programme has been managed by the Institute for Public Policy since August 2000.

This publication examines Polish Foreign Policy between the years 2005-2007. It has been prepared within the framework of the project “Polish Foreign Policy at Crossroads: Towards a New Consensus or Political Competition?”, which is supported by the German Marshall Fund of the US.

(In English and Romanian)

The study “Moldova on the Way to Democracy and Stability: from the Post-Soviet Space towards the World of Democratic Values," published with the support of GMF (German Marshall Fund of the United States of America), seeks to offer its readers the possibility to understand the structure and the character of the security risks facing a society in the period of transition, based on the example of the Republic of Moldova.

Poland’s autumn election followed the collapse of the coalition between the majority Law and Justice Party (PiS) and the Samoobrona Party and the League of Polish Families (LPR) two years before the end of the parliament’s four-year term. The resignation of the government came in the wake of accusations and counter-accusations between the coalition partners of corruption and unconstitutional behaviour. The short election campaign saw, in essence, a continuation of little more than the robust polemics between PiS and the Civic Platform (PO), the main opposition party during the government’s two years in office. The PiS-led
government’s foreign policy played a small part in the campaign, and what debate there was between the main contenders failed to reflect the electorate’s concerns over Poland’s continued involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as plans to site a US missile defence base in northern Poland. The election was fought on the government’s record in combatting corruption and saw a big mobilisation of voters on both sides of the political spectrum around this issue. High economic growth and declining unemployment during its entire term helped to buoy PiS’s support in the election. Ultimately, however, the contest1 was decided by an unprecedented
turnout of young people who voted to reject the government’s traditionalist domestic policies and inherent suspicion of the outside world.

Monthly analytical bulletin on Moldova, issued by Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", Chisinau

(in English and Romanian)

A publication for the Council of Europe and Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe prepared in co-operation with the Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative (LGI) and PASOS (Policy Association for an Open Society) with reports on Local Democracy in Stability Pact Countries since the Zagreb Conference and Fiscal Decentralisation in South-Eastern Europe

(In English and Russian)

‘Quo Vadis, Moldova?,’ published with the help of the European Integration Studies Centre in Lithuania, is a collection of 10 analytical articles which chart the complex changes within Moldova on the path to EU membership.

In this paper Dr. Ceslav Ciobanu, an eminent economist and Moldova's former ambassador to the United States, Mexico, and Canada, examines regional conflicts in the Balkans and in secessionist regions of ex-Soviet countries, such as Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia, Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan, and Transnistria in Moldova, and discusses their implications for wider relations between Russia and the West.

Parlamentul în afara Parlamentului

Activitatea parlamentarilor în Bucureşti şi în circumscripţii

(in Romanian; abstract in English)

This report has been prepared on the basis of research on the Integrated Regional Operational Programme (IROP) using the EU structural funds in the budget period 2004–2006. The research was carried out by the Institute of Public Affairs in 2006. The main conclusion from the study is the conviction that the management system of the IROP does not sufficiently prevent political and administrative corruption.

(In Russian)

Annual report of the non-profit organisation Strategia, based in St. Petersburg, and its activities during the course of 2006. It contains reports on all major events and programmes; the role of the regional ombudsman and human rights, anti-corruption measures, transparent budgeting, public policy development and the development of public policy centres.

This report was prepared within the framework of the research
project of the Institute of Policy Studies, funded by the Human
Rights and Governance Grants Program (HRGGP) of the Open
Society Institute. The nationwide survey of the Georgian population
aimed to assess public attitudes and the level of satisfaction
of the population in relation to public goods and governmental
policies - concerning issues on poverty and economy, social
protection, health, education and corruption, public participation,
human rights, media freedom, and infrastructure development. It
assessed public perceptions and expectations with regards to these
issues, the degree of popular participation in dealing with the most
important problems of Georgian society, the level of trust toward
different social institutions and the popularity of authority figures.
It also examined public attitudes towards democracy, the political
situation and the external orientation of the country as well as
examining the value system and preferences of the population.

(available only in Albanian and in Macedonian)

What is our money spent on and how? The answer can be found in the long-awaited Budget Guide prepared in cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

The Guide contains chapters on;

• budget substance and structure
• budget procedures (preparation, adoption and execution)
• budget monitoring.

The guide also explains the role of citizens in the process.

(Published in Armenian and English)

Having accumulated rich experience in the sphere of Track Two Diplomacy (T2D - Unofficial or Public Diplomacy) projects, ICHD signed a contract with the EURASIA Foundation to evaluate T2D projects implemented in Armenia since 2001. The projects were devoted to Armenian-Turkish reconciliation and implemented with the sponsorship of various international organizations, including US agencies.

Indeks otvorenosti Društva - hrvatska 2006

(in English and Croatian)

The Open Society Index is a project initiated by OSI-Croatia, with the vision of developing a reputable theoretical framework and appropriate methodology for monitoring the process of opening of society in a specific country and a number of countries and societies simultaneously. The methodology and product itself are a result of Croatian experts and OSI-Croatia’s staff effort.

Published by Routledge in co-operation with the Center for Policy Studies and the Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation at the University of Warwick

Edited by Diane Stone and Christopher Wright

Publication date: September, 2006

ISBN: 0 415 41282 X, hardcover / 0-415-41650-7, paperback
Series: Routledge/Warwick Studies in Globalisation
Extent: 288 pages
Price: GBP 65 / GBP 20
Availability: Order from Routledge

This timely book offers the first critical retrospective of World Bank policy reforms and initiatives during the past decade. The World Bank Group is viewed as one of the most powerful international organizations of our time. The authors critically analyze the influence of World Bank policy and engagement during the past decade in a variety of issue areas, including human rights, domestic reform, and the environment.

(in Latvian only)

Authors: Linda Austere, Janis Ikstens, Inese Voika

The purpose of this biannual report is to analyse the corruption situation and anti-corruption measures in Latvia on a regular basis.

The main focus of the third issue is on the corruption of political parties and possibilities to reduce this corruption in Latvia. Authors of the report analyse prospects of minimising political corruption before the 2006 parliamentary elections in Latvia as well as the structural factors, which account for the corruption of political parties.

For nearly two decades, Georgia has been struggling to develop its democratic political party system. Step by step, progress has been made and new challenges addressed. But what are the prospects for the future? What is the current situation of the political party system and how can it be improved so that it contributes to a vibrant democracy?

This essay presents the basic outline of the situation in the media field in Slovenia and draws attention to certain trends that reduce journalists’ (media) autonomy.

(In Russian)

Annual almanac following previous publications in 2004 and 2005, dedicated to the development of Public Policy in Russia as well as the institutions that promote it, such as Public Policy Centres. Special attention is given to varying forms of co-operation within local communities in several of the larger regions of Russia.

The publication also looks at the development of public policy centres beyond Russia's borders in the CIS and Eastern Europe.

Between April 13 and 25, 2004, the Institute for Public Affairs conducted a survey that mapped the social and political climate in Slovakia before the upcoming 2006 parliamentary elections as well as basic patterns of electoral behaviour.The data were gathered by the FOCUS agency through its network of trained interviewers from a representative sample of 1,242 Slovak citizens older than 18, using the method of face-to-face interviews.The survey was supported by the Open Society Foundation.

The outcome of the Belarusian elections of March 19, 2006 opens up the prospects of a prolonged struggle between Lukashenka’s dictatorial regime and the forces of democratic opposition and politically awakened parts of the civil society. In view of the brutal repression of protesters against the fraudulent elections and anyone daring to challenge the regime, the question arises as to what will be the best tactics and strategies for pro-democracy activists and their supporters in the West.

A publication by the Economic Research Center, Baku, Azerbaijan, Scientific editor: Vugar Bayramov, Technical editor: Samir Aliyev

This document summarises the results of the CIVICUS Civil Society Index Shortened Assessment Tool (CSI-SAT) application in the Russian Federation, carried out by the CSI implementing partner in Russia, the St. Petersburg Center for Humanities and Political Studies “Strategy” (“Strategy” Center). The project was carried out from June 2003 through December 2005 as part of the international Civil Society Index (CSI) project coordinated by CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation. The CSI is a comprehensive needs assessment and action-planning tool for civil society actors at country level, which is currently being implemented in more than 50 countries around the world.

In the late 1990s and the beginning of following decade, the Czech government designed and implemented an innovative industrial restructuring program for eight of the country’s most significant, distressed manufacturing companies, as part of a plan to address the widespread financial insolvency of many of the Czech Republic’s largest industrial companies and the need to bail out, recapitalize and privatize some of its largest banks.

The National Property Fund represents a case of how to accomplish privatisation without derailment by scandals or other substantial problems. The Slovak case traces the evolution and environment of the National Property Fund (NPF), which was, and still is, the key element of the privatisation process in Slovakia.

Building democracy requires both top-down and bottom-up efforts. In transitional democracies this is a number one imperative. To enhance such efforts in Armenia, a post-Soviet transitional country, a prominent Armenian think-tank, the International Center for Human Development (ICHD), initiated a pilot project on citizens' participation in local government budget policy development.

This report in English provides an overview and analysis of labour market trends in Moldova. It highlights the problems caused by the shift from a centrally planned economy to a free market model.

This paper is the result of a complex study undertaken by the Institute for Public Policies (IPP) and developed on two tiers. On the one hand, it aimed at identifying the citizens’ opinions on a range of major topics regarding Romania’s foreign policy and the international political arena, and on the other, it was meant to examine - by comparison - the citizens’ responses in relation to the opinions of certain personalities who belong to the Romanian political elite.

The report, "Legislation and control mechanisms of political parties’ funding: Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Ukraine," is part of the project, "Strenghtening Democracy in South-East Europe through Responsible Control of Political Parties Funding," and is compiled by the Institute for Public Policies (IPP) in Bucharest with the financial support of Open Society Institute (OSI), through the assistance program for institutes and associations of public policies members of the Policy Association for an Open Society network (PASOS) and of Open Society Foundation (OSF), through the East-East Partnership Beyond Borders Program.

The 2005 Bulletin of LSLG

Bестник Центра правовой поддержки местного самоуправления - 2005)

(available only in Russian)

A publication by the Center for Legal Support to Local Government, Moscow (available only in Russian)

Open Society Index is a project initiated by the OSI-Croatia, with the vision of developing reputable theoretical framework and appropriate methodology for monitoring the process of opening of society in a specific country and a number of countries and societies synchronously. The methodology and product itself are a result of Croatian experts and OSI-Croatia’s staff effort.

The Open Society Index measures and evaluates the societal openness as a political, economic and social prerequisite for building democratic, pluralistic and fair society, regarding assurance of human rights to each member of the society. It is built as an integrative index based on level of openness in six key dimensions such as education, rule of law, media, economic rights and entrepreneurship, transparency and degree of democracy of political processes, minorities, each of them described by selected criteria of openness. These processes are evaluated through five criteria: inclusiveness, access to information, freedom to express opinion and possibility for public debate, capacity to change, and responsibility (individual and social). The research is carried out on a year to year basis, by using methodology that enables temporal and spatial comparisons: experts' pool, based on selection committee, web survey, public opinion poll, case studies, based on expressed experts' opinion, monitored horizontally (various countries and societies) and vertically (each particular country through time).

Application of the Index can contribute to the following processes in society:

- Intensifying the process of democratization
- Strengthening the participation of citizens in decision-making
- Creating vision of an open society in the respective country
- Creating strategies for change in particular areas of society.

The current need to strengthen civil initiatives has been intensified in some countries by the processes of preparation to accede to the European Union, but also by the long-term presence of serious problems related to the slow development in many countries around the world. In the process of developing civil society in the countries in transition, inclusiveness, or the ability to act in society, is of the utmost importance. The implementation of the Open Society Index is intended to be applied in different countries/societies - transitional countries and emerging democracies, post-conflict societies, EU candidate countries, newly independent states and countries of Western democracies.

The purpose of this study, a joint effort by the Ministry of Defence of Serbia and Montenegro and the Jefferson Institute, in Belgrade, is to analyse the current state of strategic research in the Ministry of Defence, to assess its strengths and weaknesses and to propose a new research body based on the best practices of similar institutes in other democratic countries.

ICPS Newsletter #23 (415), 7 July 2008,
a publication of the International Centre for Policy Studies, Kyiv, Ukraine
(in English and in Ukrainian)

ICPS Newsletter #22 (414), 30 June 2008,
a publication of the International Centre for Policy Studies, Kyiv, Ukraine
(in English and in Ukrainian)

(in English and in Romanian)

The development and modernisation of the Republic of Moldova is an issue, which has constantly been on the agenda of authorities, civil society and international community in the recent years. In terms of the practical impact, the participation of civil society in the design, improvement and implementation of development policies is still rather limited, for some objective or subjective reasons.

The project State of the Country Report 2007: civil society’s contribution to development policies and good governance in the Republic of Moldova, implemented by the Independent Analytical Centre EXPERT-GRUP with the contribution of the representatives of a number of analytical and educational institutions, attempted to provide some solutions to the problems specific to the process of design of development policies in the Republic of Moldova.

Newsletter from the International Centre for Policy Studies, Ukraine

(In Romanian with summary in English)

In 1998, the Soros Foundation Moldova launched a public opinion poll programme – Barometer of Public Opinion. The programme has been managed by the Institute for Public Policy since August 2000.

(In English and Romanian)

The study “Moldova on the Way to Democracy and Stability: from the Post-Soviet Space towards the World of Democratic Values," published with the support of GMF (German Marshall Fund of the United States of America), seeks to offer its readers the possibility to understand the structure and the character of the security risks facing a society in the period of transition, based on the example of the Republic of Moldova.

Newsletter of the International Centre for Policy Studies, Ukraine.

(In English and Russian)

‘Quo Vadis, Moldova?,’ published with the help of the European Integration Studies Centre in Lithuania, is a collection of 10 analytical articles which chart the complex changes within Moldova on the path to EU membership.

(In English, Russian and Romanian)

This report provides a monthly selection of key socio-economic indicators for Moldova.

This report provides an overview of Budget Legislation and Laws that Regulate State and Local Budgets in Ukraine.

(In Serbian only)

This is a report on an expert roundtable discussion about challenges and opportunities for alternative energy in Kosovo.

In this paper, Elshad Mikayilov, assesses the role of shared tax transfers as a source for municipal financing in Azerbaijan. In particular he argues that tax sharing will improve the fiscal capacity of local governments and thus promote their local autonomy.

Newsletter from the International Centre for Policy Studies, Ukraine.

Newsletter of the International Centre for Policy Studies, Ukraine.

(In English and Macedonian)

In this paper the authors show that participants in the Macedonian pension scheme are encountering high opportunity costs. In order to overcome this problem the authors make a list of recommendations. In this way they hope the participants will be able to choose funds with a clearly defined investment strategy (according to their ‘prospect’). This will create large incentives for improved efficiencies in investment management and performance because the retirement plans will be offered purely on a competitive basis.

Newsletter from the International Centre for Policy Studies, Ukraine.

Report on the Bulgarian Economy in 2006 published by the Center for Economic Development summarizes economic development of Bulgaria covering six major economic areas. Macroeconomic Dynamics of Bulgarian economy is the first area examined by the report. This section gives an overview of the business climate in Bulgaria including following macroeconomic issues - GDP, industry, services, private sector, exports & imports, current account, FDI and employment. Second section of the report is focused on the ESTAT Index of Business Climate where issues such as business environment and quality of education are considered. Section on Economic Policy covers following policy areas – enterprise policy, public finance, social & health policy, and environmental policy. Fourth section of the report focuses on Bulgarian Financial Sector particularly dealing with the banking sector, insurance sector and market capital. Section called Main Economic Sectors covers the economic development of individual sectors; namely energy sector, transport, construction and real estate, high technology, tourism and agriculture. Last section of the report EU Structural Funds and Regional Policy explains to what extent the economic system of Bulgaria is prepared to absorb money from structural funds.

(In English and Romanian)

This report examines the background to the problems of gas supply in relation to the Russian monopolist, Gazprom. In particular it highlights the role of the Moldovan authorities, who agreed to a gradual handover of control over the gas pipe transit routes and distribution networks to Gazprom.

It is not surprising that economies in this part of the world should see an explosion of a wide-scale market for bureaucratic services intermediaries, facilitating informal relations between businesses and state authorities. This report seeks to understand, explain, and set out the dimensions of this “intermediaries’ boom.”

Newletter of International Centre for Policy Studies, Ukraine

Newsletter of the International Centre for Policy Studies, Ukraine.

Newsletter of the International Centre for Policy Studies, Ukraine.

The following is a report about the involvement of the rural population in community life in Romania.

In order to discover the main tendencies within the area of research several objectives were formulated;

• To identify the level of public involvement in community life for the rural communities selected

• To discover the main factors that lead to public involvement
• To identify and measure the level of trust in local administration institutions and activities

Newsletter of the International Centre for Policy Studies, Ukraine.

Newsletter of the International Centre for Policy Studies, Ukraine.

The goal of the project, supported by the EURASIA South Caucasus Cooperation Project, was to compare national policy papers on social policy and employment in South Caucasus countries to European policy papers, conventions and recommendations of the Council of Europe and European Union. Following this, a draft plan of state policy development for the next three years was to be drawn up in compliance with the relevant European standards and norms to reflect the countries political priorities.

Newsletter of the International Centre for Policy Studies, Ukraine.

Because Ukraine must meet international commitments to the WTO and bilateral negotiations and faces economic restructuring challenges, state aid is becoming a priority area for policy formulation in this country. We have attempted to assess the level of tax exemptions in key economic sectors and quasi-fiscal activities in the energy sector.

By relocation, we understand not only moving some business processes or business units from Central European countries into Ukraine, but also the involvement in this transfer of investors from other countries, for whom Ukraine may be a better investment choice than Central Europe. This second concept is not about physically moving commercial operations, but about deciding to launch new ones in a different location.

КАКО ЕКОНОМИЈАТА ВО ГОСТИВАР ДА СТАНЕ УСПЕШНА?

SI TË BËHET E SUKSESSHME EKONOMIA NË GOSTIVAR?

The research was conducted in the period from April 2005 to June 2006 and encompassed detailed desktop research (review of studies, analysis, books, and analyses of statistical data) as well as qualitative interviews, using participatory research methods, with around 130 stakeholders – businessmen, representatives of the local administration, owners and employees in private enterprises, directors and civil servants, guest workers and ordinary citizens.