Keywords: Enforcing Payments; Labor legislation; Employment Protection Legislation; Transition Economies; Access to Finance; Bureaucratic Obstacles to Doing Business;
More...
Keywords: ethnic hatred; racial hatred; religious hatred; Vranishovski case;
More...
This paper examines what are the difficulties for achieving mobility, applies gap analysis to identify the key problems and at the end provides essential recommendations to institutions on promoting student mobility and encouraging students to broaden their knowledge and skills in other countries. Regarding mobility, this brief will only focus on students using mobility programs that last one or two semesters in other EU countries. The rationale behind this is to explore the progress of the internationalization process of higher education in the country, and in addition provide further guidance to enhance the mobility of Macedonian students.
More...
KEY POINTS * According to the research being done on the issue of hidden economy, its share in Macedonia, depending on the measurement method used, ranges from 24% to 47% of GDP with a tendency to decrease. * The decreasing, but still large unemployment rate (28.4% as of Q2 2014), as one of the most important factors that give rise to hidden economic activities and practices, indicates a crossover from the informal to the formal sector. * The indicators of non-observed economy (NOE) and observed informal employment by the SSO indicate a tendency of decreasing hidden economy and increasing formalization of labor. * Attracting FDIs through improving the business environment, increasing the capacity of the self-employment program of the Employment Agency, and reforming the inspectorates will remain some of the most crucial factors in encouraging the formalization process of labor and businesses and thus decreasing hidden economic activities.
More...
Undeclared work, being one of the main manifestations of hidden economy, becomes the bull’s-eye for many countries focusing on reshaping their social and economic policies in order to tackle this issue, especially since the onset of the economic crisis that hit Europe and the World in 2008. The most recent economic indicators coming from Europe show that this crisis has not concluded and European economies are yet to deal with its mid and long-term consequences. Macedonia and other Western Balkan countries are not exempt from this process, with job creation and policies targeting unemployment (28.2% as of Q2 2014) being a major concern and a focal point of political activity. Low growth prospects in the EU and sluggish economic conditions forecasted in 2014 are also limiting Macedonia’s growth prospects, which at this point are still positive at around 4% GDP growth annually (4.3% as of Q2 2014). In the following period, economic growth will dictate the unemployment rate while regulatory reforms targeted at labor policy, taxation, and inspections will dictate the extent of undeclared economy and, consequently, the risk of poverty and social exclusion that undeclared workers will be subjected to.
More...
Keywords: de-centralization;constitutional amendment;Serbian Constitution;
A public debate on constitutional revision begun even before Serbia’s new 2006 Constitution was declared. Dissatisfied with the constitutional frame for Vojvodina’s autonomy, the province’s autonomists mostly insisted on the issue. At the Third Vojvodina Convention last December they once again emphasized the need for constitutional amendment. Some speakers at the convention even said that autonomy was no longer a frame that could satisfy citizens of Vojvodina. Inability of the ruling coalition to reach a consensus on the draft Vojvodina statute just fueled their frustrations. In addition, the problems hampering parliamentary and governmental proceedings, and the imperative need to buffer political and economic effects of the global crisis brought constitutional amendment to the fore.
More...
Keywords: drug addicts in Serbia;Branislav Peranovic;Nemanja Radisavljevic;
Only two weeks after the Vreme weekly carried the story about brutal “treatment” of drug addicts in the Spiritual Rehabilitation Center Crna Reka Serbia’s public seems to have cleanly forgotten the case. State institutions promptly reacted at shocking scenes of abuse against beneficiaries of the Center broadcast or carried by all the media. Ombudsman Sasa Jankovic filed criminal charges against nine persons for quackery and serious injuries, the Ministry of Healthcare dispatched an inspection to the Center, the Municipal Prosecutor of Tutin initiated investigation against the Center’s manager, Archpriest Branislav Peranovic and his deputy, deacon Nemanja Radisavljevic suspected of brutality and violence, whereas the police begun large scale investigation.
More...
Keywords: Vuk Jeremic;Foreign Policy of Serbia;
The domain of foreign policy best reflects the absence of a strategic concept for the country’s development – characteristic of Serbia’s “inner dynamic” ever since the assassination of Premier Zoran Djindjic. Such “concept free” foreign policy is notably evident in the past three years of Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic’s international and diplomatic activism. Though formally a cadre of the Democratic Party – verbally persisting on Serbia’s “European course” (which secured it victory in presidential and parliamentary elections in 2008) – Jeremic has been wasting his indisputably enormous energy on one cause only: on hindering international recognition of Kosovo’s independence.
More...
Keywords: Vojvodina; Serbian decentralization;
When will Vojvodina’s draft statute find its way to republican MPs? The answer to the question spoke of various deadlines – firstly it was March, then May and now the summer extraordinary session of the Parliament1 and even early autumn 2009.2 Asked about it, Bojan Pajtic, president of the provincial government, said lately, “I wouldn’t prognosticate since we have finished our job. The responsibility for it is now on republican institutions.”
More...
Keywords: impact of economic crisis on Serbia;
In a way, the global economic crisis sobered up the entire world – and Serbia to some extent. First of all, it laid bare the country’s dramatic economic situation. Serbia is still wasting its modest transitional potential on the delusion that its aspirations towards Bosnia-Herzegovina are viable. Against the backdrop of global turmoil and reshuffle Serbia can count on the support from EU and US only -- and the more so since it has established strong economic ties with the former. Besides, EU channels Serbia towards reforms meant to strengthen its economy in the long run and turn it competitive at the world market. The ruling coalition realized all this at long last – in those circumstances it has been leaning towards EU though faced with strong obstruction from the conservative bloc.
More...
Keywords: transitional justice;Srebrenica;
This year the world marked the anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide with more consideration than before. This only logically follows the messages sent to the region, and particularly to Serbia over past months. US Ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina Charles English said, “The world failed to act, failed to protect the innocent of Srebrenica…The massacre was a stain on our collective consciousness.” Having hesitated for 20 years the EU – and US in the first place – finally realized that there could be not stability in the Balkans without a stable Bosnia-Herzegovina. In a few months only, the new US administration’s engagement in the Balkans produced visible results – and they are mostly visible in the new dynamics in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
More...
Keywords: Serbia and NATO; Serbia between East and West;
Notwithstanding the persistent anti- NATO propaganda Serbia’s membership of NATO has become the most important geostrategic agenda that is being daily discussed notably by the so-called expert circles. Several crucial domestic and international factors have contributed to such intensified discussion. At home, the global economic and financial crisis pressurizes the incumbent government to rationally decide the country’s geostrategic orientation. Such rational decision would simultaneously open Serbia the avenues of EU assistance in overcoming economic and social problems.
More...
Keywords: Serbia and European Unione; Serbia and NATO;
Ever since it consolidated its pro-European course the Serbian cabinet has been confronted by the anti- European and anti-West “alliance” aware that such development posed a threat to its ideological concept. Namely, it feels threatened by the process forcing Serbia to put an end to the national and state question – i.e. to give up its territorial aspiration towards Bosnia-Herzegovina in the first place.
More...
Keywords: Serbia and Russia;
Belgrade hasn’t had much opportunity to host notable heads of state over the past two decades. Ex-Yugoslavia’s disintegration and Serbia’s role in the process – as constants at the international agenda – have only logically brought to Belgrade high officials of many countries, organization and institutions, but high-level visits were truly rare events. No doubt that the visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is significant in this context. This is testified by the interest of media people in the Serb-Russian summit: some 600 reporters covered the meeting between Tadic and Medvedev. This was the fist Serb-Russian summit meeting since Serbia’s independence in 2007. As for President Medvedev, this was the first time he was given a chance to address a parliament of another country in his capacity as the head of the Russian Federation.
More...
In the second half of 2009 violence in Serbia was among key topics prevailing in the media and political circles alike. Despite the fact that neo-Nazi and “patriotic” organizations, wellorganized groups of football fans and other movements ideologically close to them are here both main promoters and executioners, the public discourse often turns a blind eye to those clearly defined actors and refers to “extremists” or, generally, to “violence” as such and “the violent character of the Serbian society.” Given that no relevant researches have dealt with the activities of afore-mentioned organizations so far, the only relevant insights into the phenomenon of violence can be obtained from media reporting and actions taken by governmental authorities on the one hand, and reports by domestic NGOs and international human rights organizations on the other.
More...
Keywords: Republika Srpska;Serbia and BiH;
Regional stabilization depends on consolidation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. As the basis for Bosnia’s political arrangement the Dayton Accords have proved insufficient since and need to be upgraded so that the country can function normally. The international community has been aware of that for some time now and treating the Dayton Accords as an unfinished process.
More...
Keywords: Kosovo elections 2009:
Local elections in Kosovo of November 15, 2009 – the first elections organized by Kosovo authorities after independence declaration – resulted in a new, major quality in the overall situation. Despite the pressure from Belgrade, a part of the Serb community in Central Kosovo – considerable beyond all expectations – participated in the elections and won authority over some of the municipalities in which Serbs are in majority.
More...
Keywords: church and state in Serbia;church and nation;
The funeral of Patriarch Pavle was more than a burial of a church dignitary. The entire obsequial scenario – including memorial ceremonies – was above all designed to demonstrate national unity and show that the entire Serb nation was mourning as one.
More...