In 2000, the European context of Bulgaria's
transition to democracy and market economy was expanded with the
effective start of the work of the Stability Pact for Southeastern
Europe. From Bulgaria's perspective, the Pact is expected to
overcome one of the main impediments to Bulgaria's successful
European integration - regional instability.
Thus, for CSD's European Program 2000 was a year of
added efforts to provide an important analytical and networking
link between the priorities of regional development and EU
accession.
I. Facilitating Dialogue
On Febuary 24, 2000 the Center
for the Study of Democracy hosted a meeting with Ambassador Michael
Sahlin, Coordinator for Enlargement Issues and Bilateral
Integration Support, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, who
delivered a lecture on Sweden's Support for the EU
Enlargement, attended by representatives of Enterprise
Development Fund, UN in Sofia, Privatization Agency, Sofia
Municipality, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bulgarian Stock Exchange, Open Society
Foundation, the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company, World Bank
Mission in Sofia, Ministry of Finance, and other Bulgarian and foreign
institutions.
Ambassador Sahlin stated Sweden's support for
Bulgaria in its ambitious and commendable undertaking to join the
European Union. He further outlined the priority issues of the
process of EU enlargement: how the process of enlargement could be
combined in the future with its deepening; the involvement of the
Balkans and other East European regions; finding a proper security
and stability solution while having in mind the considerable
economic differentiation and factors of increasing heterogeneity
by adding 28 member-countries more; the need of a comprehensive
institutional reform which is to be reviewed at the
Inter-Governmental Conference; the risk of allowing different
membership pattern by categorizing the candidates in several
groups; finding proper solution of future problems including the
public opinion originating of the enlargement; the Security Pact
issue, etc. Finally, he summarized Sweden's position and future
active role towards the enormous task of Europe's response to
globalization.
Participants expressed support to the ideas outlined
above and Ambassador Sahlin answered their questions regarding the
eventual shaping up of a new policy in EU in respect of the
differentiation; the priorities and forms for supporting
Bulgaria; the balance between the political will for extending
negotiations with other countries and the fulfillment of the
Copenhagen criteria; rendering support to the Ombudsman
Institution in this country, etc.
On May 31, CSD hosted a meeting on the Social
Profile of Ethnic Groups, which was initiated by the No. 2
Diplomatic Club -an initiative of deputy chiefs of diplomatic
missions in Sofia. Dr. Teodora Noncheva introduced a study
Social Profile of the Ethnic Groups in Bulgaria, analyzing
the incidence and peculiarities of poverty among ethnic groups,
focusing on Romas and Turks. She outlined the major social and
economic characteristics of these groups, the poverty profiles,
the manpower characteristics and access to labor market.
Dr. Antonina Zhelyazkova, Director of the
International Center on Minority Issues underlined the lack of
scientific approach of Bulgarian governments so far in solving
these problems and its negative impact on Bulgarian minorities for
the years to come. She further outlined the prospects, programs
and practices launched by the Minority Issues Center and aimed at
the ethnic groups' integration and re-socialization in society.
During his recent visit to Bulgaria Lord
Dahrendorf, Member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom, and
former Director of the London School of Economics and former Warden
of St. Anthony's College at Oxford University, paid a visit to the
Center for the Study of Democracy. Mr. Boyko Todorov, Program Director and Dr. Maria Yordanova, Head of CSD
Law Program, informed Lord Dahrendorf of the latest areas of
activity of CSD. Issues discussed included the judicial system in
Bulgaria and its relation to the executive authorities and the
promotion of democratic reforms and legal environment beneficial
to the countries in transition. The regional aspects of legal
reform were particularly highlighted. In 1992, CSD translated and
published in Bulgarian
Reflections on the
Revolution in Europe by Lord Dahrendorf, and the following
year published The Modern Social Conflict: An Essay on the Politics of Liberty in
Bulgarian.
Lord Dahrendorf emphasized the importance of
building an independent judiciary and its role to strengthen the
potentials of the newly established democracy in Bulgaria and the
region of Southeast Europe. Discussion focused, among other things,
on the Southeast European Legal Development Initiative (SELDI) (see
below) launched in 1999 with the overall aim to contribute to the
building of the rule of law and democratic institutions in the SEE
countries. Lord Dahrendorf was invited to become member of the
International Steering Board of SELDI.
II. Policy Studies
In 2000, CSD started an initiative to develop a
number of policy reports on the implications for Bulgaria of the
Stability Pact for Southeast Europe. The objective of the project
is to develop the expert analytical response to the political and
institutional opportunities that arose due to the institutional
arrangements and mechanisms of implementing the Stability Pact "on
the ground".
The commitment of the European Union and other
international organizations outlined in the Pact provides a crucial
opportunity for accelerated economic and political/social reforms
in a stable regional environment and in the context of the
accession process. The Pact provides the political and
institutional framework of transforming the region into an integral
part of the Euro-Atlantic structures. The Pact is a unique
Euro-Atlantic platform brining together international organizations
and countries from Western Europe and the United States with the
states in the region of Southeast Europe.
The project intends to provide an analytical
response to the challenges facing Bulgaria in the context of the
Stability Pact as a new platform for Euro-Atlantic cooperation with
the countries in Southeast Europe.
A process of consultation was initiated by the CSD
with a number of leading Bulgarian think tanks and with foreign
partners. After careful consideration a pool of experts from
governmental institutions, non-governmental organizations, the
business community and other public and private bodies were
identified. They were approached and invited to participate in the
development of the reports. As a result of the initial
consultations, three task forces were set up to produce the three
background documents detailing the practical implications for
Bulgaria of the three Working Tables of the Stability Pact. An
outline structure of the reports which was agreed includes:
Working Table I
(Human rights and democratization)
- Human Rights
and Minorities
- Media, including
regulation of broad
- Gender equality
-political and legal aspects of the issue in the context of the
Stability Pact
- Parliamentary
cooperation
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Working Table II
(Economic aspects)
- The regional approach
for economic development of SEE
- Potentials to
strengthen the market economy in SEE
- Regional
cooperation as a factor for the integration of the SEE countries to
the European structures
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Working Table III
(Security)
- nternal state
development of the SEE countries
- Potential
security risks for the region
- Possible
initiatives for Bulgaria in the field of security and
defense
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In view of better tailoring the recommendations
contained in the policy reports to the logic of the respective
working tables, project experts undertook a number of
consultations with US and European institutions, including the
Stability Pact office. The project experts took part in a number of
meetings of the relevant Working Tables in order to carry out
consultations on the latest development. The reports will be
published in the course of 2001 in both English and Bulgarian.
III. Southeast European Legal Development Iniatiative (SELDI)
Started in 1999 by the Center for the Study of Democracy and the International Development Law Institute (IDLI) (www.idli.org),
the Southeast European Legal Development Initiative (SELDI) (www.seldi.net) received its first
practical implementation in the course of 2000. Two of its main
components - anticorruption and judicial reform - received support
as part of the priorities of the Stability Pact for Southeast
Europe. Other priority areas for SELDI are the establishment of
legal centers in the SELDI countries on trade issues and the
establishment of a Distance Learning Center.
1. First SELDI Conference
On April 7, 2000, the
first conference of the Southeast
European Legal Development Initiative (SELDI) with donors and
international organizations was held in Rome hosted by IDLI. The
conference was intended to acquaint the international community and
donor organizations with the overall objectives and specific
projects of SELDI. It was attended by representatives of various
international organizations, foreign embassies, multilateral and
bilateral donor agencies, representatives of the Italian government
and others.
Opening presentations by Michael Hager,
Director of IDLI, Minister Giuseppe Cipolloni, Vice
Coordinator of the Stability Pact at the Italian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, and John Tennant, Deputy Assistant
Administrator, Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, US Agency for
International Development emphasized the importance of building
the rule of law in the Southeast of Europe, in particular in the
context of the Stability Pact. Speakers highlighted the key role to
be played by non-governmental organizations in this process,
specifically in the Southeast European Legal Development Initiative
(SELDI). Minister Cipolloni reiterated the commitment of the
Italian government to the stability and development of Southeast
Europe, and expressed its support to SELDI. This support is the
continuation of years of collaboration between IDLI and the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The relevance of SELDI's
focus on corruption is evident in the role of corruption in
making possible cross-border organized crime and thus regional
insecurity.
Speakers stated the important contribution SELDI
with its focus on anticorruption, judicial reform and the legal
aspects of international trade will make to the development of the
region. Speakers recognized the need for going beyond
country-specific efforts towards region-wide cooperation networks,
particularly as regards issues of democratic governance, and the
proactive role to be played by NGOs in such networks.
2. Coalition Building and Monitoring for
Anticorruption In Southeast Europe
In September, practical work was started on the
anticorruption component of SELDI. The first phase of the project
Coalition Building and Monitoring/or Anti-corruption In
Southeast Europe was launched in the countries of Albania,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania and
Yugoslavia. The first phase was intended to carry out diagnostics
and assessment of corruption in SEE, including the development of a
background document analyzing the regional corruption issues as a
basis for a Regional Anticorruption Action Agenda.
A pilot round of corruption monitoring and training,
including on monitoring and coalition building, of partner
organizations from the region took place on December 8-9 at the
CSD. The workshop Coalition Building and Monitoring for
Anticorruption in Southeast Europe was as introductory event
for the project partners. Implementing a corruption watchdog is
one of the main areas where NGOs could have a crucial role in
promoting the rule of law and ensuring good governance. The
training was intended to introduce non-governmental organizations
in the region to the use of monitoring instruments for the purpose
of implementing a corruption watchdog system. The skills
transferred to the participating NGOs focused on the ability to
structure the process of a watchdog system. NGO representatives
were trained on three main components of this system: significance
for the role of NGOs in the reform efforts, design and management
of the process, and utilization of results.
Allow me to take this opportunity to
congratulate the Center for the Study of democracy and the
International Development Law Institute for an initiative that
appears to be both potentially effective and timely in
contributing to achieving stability in Southeast europe.
Piter Stek
Executive
Director
World Bank
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In both policy analysis and dissemina-tion of
results, and facilitating the policy dialogue CSD's European
Program has been providing an indispensable public service in the
field of European integration. In this, the Program meets an
apparent need in Bulgaria and thus its efforts would be even more
relevant now that the country enters a crucial period of accession
negotiations.
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