Bulgaria managed to maintain political and economic
stability and consolidate further its reforms despite turmoil in
the region in 1998. The crisis limitation measures of 1997
developed into longer term transition policies both domestically
and as regards Bulgaria’s international engagements. Although not
always lacking controversy, key pieces of legislation were
introduced by Parliament laying the foundation for sustained
institution building in the country.
One of the hallmarks of democratic stability in
Bulgaria has been the increased involvement of non-governmental
organizations in the policy making process. Thus, for example, one
of the undoubtedly high points of our work in 1998 was the
formation of Coalition 2000. Launched at the Center’s
initiative, the Coalition process exemplifies CSD’s
“building bridges” policy at its best. The immediate and positive
response to our proposal for anti-corruption cooperation from both
public and private organizations was the reward of years of
persistence in making public-private dialogue a priority of our
reform efforts.
Since its establishment, the Center has constantly
endeavored to preserve and strengthen its independence as
facilitator of a democratic and efficient policy making process.
Nearly ten years later, the successful launch of Coalition
2000 and its international recognition as a model for finding
consensus solutions to difficult policy issues in the context of
transformation, is the apparent fruit of the Center’s commitment to
non-partisanship and wide public outreach.
European integration was another important field in
which the Center has led the way for a more substantial NGO role in
the Bulgarian polity. Long declared as a key foreign policy
priority of the country, in 1998 EU accession preparations became a
crucial component of domestic reforms. By publishing its pioneering
analytical volume Bulgaria and the European Union: Towards and
Institutional Infrastructure CSD made a contribution to policy
formulation and priority setting in legislative harmonization at a
time when the government administration was gathering strength,
although still lacking the adequate policy analysis and formulation
capacity. Through its analytical work, involving both public and
private sector experts, combined with efforts to encourage and
maintain dialogue CSD contributed to establishing a broad base in
society with a stake in the success of the integration process.
The issues that dominated the agenda of our Economic
Program in 1998 related to key areas of transition: the role of
transparency and integrity of governance in economic development
and the modernization of social policies. As regards the latter,
the Economic Program adopted an integrated approach addressing
privatization and social security reform, development of pension
funds and health care reform in parallel.
Bearing in mind that corruption holds back
development and discourages investment, in 1998 the Economic
Program focused on enhancing the awareness, and encouraging the
adoption and practical implementation of democratic values, such as
transparency, trust, integrity, in the economy and the policy
process. Capital markets was one of the fields in which these
objectives were pursued in particular through drafting of
legislation, dissemination and advocacy.
Continuing its focus on the modernization of the
legislation on non-profit organizations, the Law Reform Program
broadened its efforts in this area with an educational aspect. The
development of a comprehensive training course – covering nearly
all key legal and managerial issues – for non-profit organizations
was started in 1998. The course will become part of Master’s
programs at some Bulgarian universities thus further ensuring the
sustainability of the non-profit sector in Bulgaria.
A new area of interest for the Program in 1998 was
the institution of the ombudsman. Essentially a mediator between
the administration and the citizens, the ombudsman is an important
element of a stable democracy. Bulgaria has been slow in
introducing it, and the Law Reform Program has focused on
elaborating the legal basis for its establishment.
Vitosha Research, CSD’s survey research arm, made a
substantial contribution to the introduction of independent
monitoring of public policy. Its Corruption Monitoring
System, whose first results were published in 1998, is an
innovative survey design measuring institutional change by way of
combining quantitative and qualitative studies of the public in
general and special social groups (e.g. public officials,
businesspersons, etc.). The output is a set of comprehensive and
uniquely analytical indexes allowing both government policy makers
and independent pressure groups and NGOs to receive indispensable
feedback on their anti-corruption efforts.
|