European Policy
Studies
The key elements of CSD's policy studies in the
field of European integration in 1995 included:
- The project Europe 2000: Bulgaria and the European
Union;
- The Bulgarian Chapters of the Centre for European
Policy Studies in Brussels;
- The translation of the EU White Paper on the
integration of Central and East European countries (CEECs).
I. Europe 2000:
Bulgaria and the European Union
From its inauguration on January 17, 1995 the
project was supported by politicians from across the political
spectrum. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Defense,
the Minister of Trade and other officials from the caretaker
Government attended the ceremony. Also present were key political
figures who later became members of the new government - the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Finance, and the
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade. Thus, under the
auspices of CSD two successive Bulgarian governments with different
political orientation have pledged full support for the
project.
The project's principal achievement was that it laid
the groundwork for a comprehensive examination of the opportunities
and problems of Bulgaria's association to, and eventual membership
in the European Union. The project also analyzed recent
developments inside the Union with regard to the preparation for
the 1996 inter-governmental conference and its bearing on the
integration of CEECs. In addition to the expert analyses, a
dialogue was established in the course of the project between
policy-makers and government institutions in charge of the
implementation, and independent experts, both local and
international. Thus, the project managed to contribute to
increasing the level of available expertise on European integration
issues in Bulgaria.
Among the most telling indicators of the
achievements of the project is the fact that the final report
prepared for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was presented by the
government on a number of events held within the structured
relationship established by the Europe Agreement.
- I. Europe 2000:
Bulgaria and the European Union
-
- Formation of
Working Groups
- Preparation of
Draft Reports
- Expert
Evaluation of the Reports
- Seminars
- Institutional
Contacts and Networking
- Consultations
with Foreign Experts
- II. Bulgarian
Chapters of the Centre for European Policy Studies
- III. Translation
of the EU White Paper on the Integration of Central and East
European Countries
Formation of
Working Groups
The experience and professional skills of the
Project Director, Mr. Stanislav Daskalov, former Minister of
Foreign Affairs and former chief negotiator for the conclusion of
Bulgaria's Europe Agreement, contributed to a smooth start-up of
the work. Seventeen working groups were formed involving over 30
leading Bulgarian experts. CSD's past experience in managing public
policy research projects as well as its broad network of political,
institutional and expert contacts was particularly useful in this
regard. The group leaders were selected among independent experts,
university professors, and government officials, in their personal
capacity. All experts had knowledge not only in their respective
fields but also in the operation, institutional structure,
legislation and jurisprudence of the European Union. The list of
working groups is given below:
Approximation of Legislation, Competition, Right
of Establishment and Intellectual Property headed by Mr.
Chavdar Popov, Attorney at Law, ExLege Consulting, Sofia.
Trade Policy, Foreign Trade Flows, and Free
Movement of Goods headed by Ms. Biserka Benisheva, Counselor to
the Mission of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European
Communities.
Implementation Plan and Monitoring System of the
Europe Agreement headed by Mr. Boyko Todorov, Research Fellow
at the Center for the Study of Democracy.
Foreign Policy and Security headed by Mr.
Todor Tchourov, Ambassador at Large at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, and former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Democratic Process and Human Rights headed by
Dr. Goran Goranov, Professor at the Department of Philosophy at
Sofia University.
Economic Stabilization and Growth, Internal and
External Balances and Macro-economic Framework headed by Dr.
Gancho Ganchev, Deputy Minister of Economic Development, and
Chairman of the Agency for Economic Coordination and
Development.
The Maastricht Criteria in the Context of
Bulgaria's Accession to the European Union headed by Mr. Atanas
Paparizov, Minister of Trade and Foreign Economic Cooperation.
Current Payments and Movement of Capital
headed by Dr. Lyubomir Christov, Advisor to the Executive Director
of the World Bank, Washington, DC.
Structural Adjustment, Research and Technology,
Investment and Standardization headed by Dr. Margarita
Shivergeva, Deputy Chairperson of the Agency for Economic
Coordination and Development.
Agricultural Policy headed by Dr. Sophia
Davidova, Wye College, University of London;
Participation in European Union Programs
headed by Dr. Ingrid Shikova, Associate Director of the Centre for
European Studies, Sofia.
Transport Policy headed by Mr. Kiril Kirov,
Senior Expert at the Economic Bank.
Energy Policy headed by Mr. Slavcho Neikov,
Head of Legal Department at the Committee of Energy.
Communications Policy headed by Dr. Krastyo
Mirski, Vice President of the Committee of Posts and
Telecommunications of Bulgaria, and Vice Chairman of the Council of
the International Telecommunications Union.
Free Movement of Services headed by Dr. Anton
Pashov, Chief Expert at the Institute of Trade of the Bulgarian
Ministry of Trade.
Human Resources, Social Policy and Movement of
Workers headed by Dr. Yordan Christoskov, Social Policy Advisor
to the President of the Republic of Bulgaria.
Environmental Policy headed by Mr. Yordan
Uzunov, Deputy Minister of the Environment.
Home Affairs headed by Mr. Evgeni Palyov,
Attorney at Law.
Preparation of Draft
Reports
The working group topics were chosen to reflect all
major areas covered by the Europe Agreement between Bulgaria and
the European Union and to provide, inter alia, a basis for placing
the work on the implementation of the Europe Agreement in a wider
perspective. It was also considered important that the reports
follow a similar structure and approach in order to provide a basis
for a comprehensive accession document in the future.
Considering the importance of the process of
approximation of laws, a strong emphasis was placed in the reports
on identifying the status of the respective sectors and on
examining the status of Bulgarian legislation from the perspective
of the acquis communautaire. Particularly useful in this regard was
the White Paper of the European Union which presented an overall
view of EU legislation relating to the internal market and provided
the necessary reference for the reports.
Expert Evaluation of the
Reports
Evaluations of the reports prepared by the working
groups were considered an important supplementary activity in a
public policy research project. The purpose of these evaluations
was twofold: to expand the range of expertise available to the
project and to ensure bi-partisan political assessment of the
research approach and findings. The evaluations were car carried
out by a small group including the project coordinator, the leader
of the working group and two to three outside experts and
policy-makers. Twenty-four Members of Parliament, numerous
government officials, and independent experts participated in the
formal evaluation of the research carried out by the working
groups. The evaluation group discussed the approach and findings of
the reports, and provided recommendations for the expanding and
deepening of the analysis from the point of view of the
implementation priorities. The result was an improved organization
of the reports with respect to both structure and policy
recommendations.
Seminars
As 1995 marked the beginning of practical work with
respect to the implementation of the Europe Agreement and the
development of an accession strategy, the Center for the Study of
Democracy wanted to encourage an informed public debate as a part
of this policy-oriented project. Thus, in addition to the work on
the reports, CSD held a number of seminars at which the initial
findings of the working groups were presented with the purpose of
discussing the adopted approaches. The seminars also aimed at
attracting support for the project, and encouraging discussion of
key implementation issues among policy-makers and experts, as well
as the broader public. The following seminars were organized in the
course of the project:
Developing a National Security and Defense
Concept
Held on May 3-5, it was organized jointly with the
Center for National Security Studies at the Ministry of Defense.
The seminar was attended by Members of Parliament, Government
officials, Bulgarian and foreign experts, and representatives from
NATO. The seminar discussions and presentations were particularly
beneficial for the working group on foreign policy and national
security since they focused on the European dimension of Bulgaria's
foreign policy and its implications for membership in the European
structures and the mechanisms for political cooperation.
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in the
Context of Bulgaria's EU Accession Strategy
The seminar took place on June 19, and identified
the steps to be taken in order to reform central and local
government capabilities, and parliamentary mechanisms. The seminar
was organized jointly with the Institute for Human Rights in Lyon,
France. The Director of the Institute, Ms. Pascale Boucaud, and Mr.
Jean-Christophe Bas, Program Director of the Aspen Institute, Lyon,
France, made presentations on the criteria adopted by the EU in
this area as well as relevant EU legislation. The seminar was
attended by the Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on
Human Rights and Religious Freedoms, advisors to the President of
Bulgaria, and other policy-makers and experts.
Approximation of Bulgarian Law to European Union
Legislation
Held on June 26, the seminar discussed the long-term
priorities of Bulgaria's legislative program in view of the
integration process and identified the need for development of
legislation on economic reforms, especially in the field of
commercial law. The seminar was attended by the Deputy Minister of
Foreign Affairs, the President of the Bulgarian Patent Office, and
other policy-makers and experts.
Foreign Policy and National Security in the
Context of Bulgaria's Accession to the European Union
The seminar, held on June 29, discussed the security
aspects of Bulgaria's association with the political structures of
the EU. It was attended by the Chairman of the Parliamentary
Committee on Foreign Policy, the Deputy Minister of Foreign
Affairs, a former Prime Minister, heads of Departments at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other policy-makers and
experts.
Dr. Claus-Dieter Ehlermann from the European
Commission (middle), Mr. Jorgen Mortensen from CEPS (left) and Dr.
Ognian Shentov at the CEPS Bulgarian Chapter meeting in
June.
These public events, including the Bulgarian garian
Chapters of the Centre for European Policy Studies, described in
greater detail below, were attended by over 200 government
officials, Members of Parliament, politicians of different
political orientation, and independent experts. On the whole, the
events provided a forum for discussion among administration
officials, politicians and experts of the strategic issues raised
by the implementation task. As a result, the discussions
contributed to laying the foundation of an appropriate
implementation strategy as well as to raising the general public
awareness, through broad media coverage of these events, of the
purpose, scope, and urgency of the implementation task.
Institutional Contacts and Networking
During the course of the project, CSD held a series
of consultations with various ministries and government agencies on
the status of the implementation of the Europe Agreement. These
were aimed at identifying the institutional set-up with regard to
implementation, and the sectors requiring most urgent
attention.
CSD also maintained regular contact with the
implementing agencies and informed them about the progress of the
project. In this respect, contact with the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, as the agency responsible for the implementation of the
Europe Agreement in general, was considered of primary importance.
A breakfast meeting with Mr. Georgi Pirinski, Minister of Foreign
Affairs, and the working group leaders was held on May 17. At the
meeting, Mr. Pirinski was briefed on the progress of the project.
Mr. Pirinski informed the participants about the priorities of the
government in the field of European integration.
The regular contacts with the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and the Delegation of the Commission of the European
Communities in Sofia contributed to the successful accomplishment
of the work.
Consultations with Foreign Experts
In addition to the organization of public events and
the evaluations of the working group reports, CSD contacted a
number of experts from the European Union to consult the working
groups in their research. CSD held consultations with Ambassador
Gunnar Riberholdt, former Permanent Representative of Denmark to
the European Union, during his visit to Sofia in March. The
consultations were an excellent opportunity to draw from Ambassador
Riberholdt's first-hand experience in the preparation and carrying
out of accession negotiations.
The input of foreign experts - especially those with
practical experience in association negotiations such as Ambassador
Riberholdt - is deemed indispensable for the later stages of the
work on the project.
II. Bulgarian
Chapters of the Centre for European Policy Studies
On June 13, CSD together with the Centre for
European Policy Studies (CEPS), Brussels, held the Third Bulgarian
Chapter entitled The Enlargement of the European Union to the
East: Political Preconditions for Efficient Market
Integration.
This policy forum brought together prominent
European experts and Bulgarian Members of Parliament and government
officials to discuss EU economic convergence criteria for Bulgaria
and the implications for Bulgaria of the White Paper of the
European Union. The guest speaker was Mr. Claus-Dieter Ehlermann,
former Director General of DGIV in charge of competition. On the
following day, the policy forum was followed by a seminar Financial
and Budgetary Implications of the Enlargement. The seminar was an
expert meeting with the purpose of discussing the macroeconomic
aspects of the enlargement.
The Fourth Bulgarian CEPS Chapter was held on
December 14 and was hosted by the Minister of Justice,
Mr. Mladen Tchervenyakov. The topic of the Chapter was The
Political and Institutional Aspects of the Approximation of
Bulgarian Law to EU Legislation. Guest speakers from the EU
were Mr. Willem van Eekelen, former Secretary General of the
Western European Union and Ms. Bridget Czarnota, Head of the
Technical Assistance Information Exchange Office of the European
Commission, and former Head of the Task Force for the preparation
of the EU White Paper on integration of the CEECs.
III. Translation of
the EU White Paper on the Integration of Central and East European
Countries
Using the resources and experience acquired under
the project Europe 2000: Bulgaria and the European Union,
the Center for the Study of Democracy translated into Bulgarian the
White Paper
of the European Union on the integration of the Central and East
European countries into the internal market of the Union.
Follow this link
for the translation of the White Paper, and this one for the translation of the
Appendix to the White Paper. Intended as a general reference
document to facilitate the work of implementing agencies in the
associated countries, the White Paper is a key document in the
process of approximation of laws. Leading project experts were
involved in the editing of the different sections of the Paper with
a view towards achieving an adequate rendering into Bulgarian of
the terms and logic of the document. This project was completed in
conjunction with the Law Reform and Comparative Law Program of CSD.
The Bulgarian translation was officially presented at the Fourth
Bulgarian Chapter of CEPS hosted by the Minister of Justice.
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