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№060: Polish-Mexican Cooperation—Where Does Poland Stand?

№060: Polish-Mexican Cooperation—Where Does Poland Stand?

Author(s): Kinga Brudzińska / Language(s): English

Keywords: Mexico; Poland; bilateral relations; Central Europe; Eastern Europe; Europe; international cooperation; North America

Poland and Mexico have unexplored potential for cooperation. Mexico, which has outperformed Brazil in economic growth for the last two years, has a highly open, emerging market with strong links to the rest of the world, including a free trade agreement with the EU. Furthermore, the reforms planned by the new administration, in particular in the energy sector, may result in Mexico’s oil and gas industry opening up to foreign participation. At the same time, Poland is improving its economic and political standing in the EU and is looking for closer cooperation with Latin America.

№058: Energy and Meat: Towards Better Polish–Saudi Relations

№058: Energy and Meat: Towards Better Polish–Saudi Relations

Author(s): Kinga Brudzińska,Patrycja Sasnal,Bartosz Wiśniewski / Language(s): English

Keywords: Poland; Saudi Arabia; bilateral relations; Central Europe; Eastern Europe; economy; Energy; Europe; Middle East; Middle East and North Africa

Poland and Saudi Arabia share a counterintuitive commonality of features and interests. Both are regional “middle powers,” and Poland’s energy poor but agriculturally strong economy makes it surprisingly compatible with the energy rich, agriculturally weak Saudi Arabia. Yet bilateral relations between these nations leave a lot to be desired. There are at least three domains in which relatively little effort could bring much progress in releasing the potential of these relations.

THE PENITENTIARY-HOSPITAL AT BELGRADE

THE PENITENTIARY-HOSPITAL AT BELGRADE

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Serbia; prison; Belgrade; KPD Bolnica; quality of life; security; lawfulness; social resettlement; outside world contact; personnel;

The conditions of life and work of the entire personnel should be improved by increasing their pay and providing other incentives for their committed, conscientious and lawful work; Funds should be provided to improve the vocational training of medical personnel through attendance of seminars in the country and abroad, subscription to professional journals, etc; The security personnel should undergo urgent and comprehensive instruction about psychiatric diseases and addiction and the best methods of dealing with such patients; The security personnel should undergo training to overpower aggressive prisoners quickly and humanely.

THE PENITENTIARY AT PADINSKA SKELA

THE PENITENTIARY AT PADINSKA SKELA

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Serbia; prison; Padinska Skela; KPZ; quality of life; security; lawfulness; social resettlement; outside world contact; personnel;

Guided by international rules, and in view of collected data, we think that the admission criteria should include the personality factor, for in practice insistence on educational degree shows to be an insufficient and unsure criterion with respect to the personality factor. Hence sensitivity training or some new education in those terms is necessary. Also, in view of the purpose and objective of enforcement of criminal sanctions, the prison personnel should be encouraged all the time to enrich their knowledge, and professional skills, by attending courses aiming at mastering new skills and knowledge, counselling and positive style management courses; Organise workshops and training programs in skills and knowledge of the constructive conflict resolution; Educate personnel and engage experts of various profiles for the treatment of special categories of prisoners.

Russian sanctions against Moldova. Minor effects, major potential

Russian sanctions against Moldova. Minor effects, major potential

Author(s): Kamil Całus / Language(s): English

Keywords: Russia; sanctions; Moldova

Russia has been Moldova’s main trade partner and Russian capital has accounted for a large part of its foreign investments, dominating in the energy and the banking sectors. Moreover, Russia has been a key job market for Moldovan expatriate workers. In the economic sphere, this is making Moldova unilaterally dependent on Russia. Moscow has been attempting to exploit this situation to put pressure on the authorities in Chișinău for quite some time.In recent months Russia has increasingly used instruments for exerting economic pressure on Moldova, as a means of responding to the current authorities’ pro-Western policy. A key element of this policy was Moldova’s signing on 27 June 2014 of the Association Agreement with the EU (which came into force on 1 September 2014). Over the last year, Russia has implemented a number of import restrictions on Moldovan goods. The aim of the Russian actions is to fuel social disappointment, and ultimately – to prevent the pro-European coalition currently in power from winning the parliamentary elections scheduled for 30 November 2014. Another aim might be to convince the Moldovan authorities to suspend the implementation of the Association Agreement – a plan openly put forward by Vladimir Putin during the CIS summit in Minsk on 10 October 2014.

Gagauzia: growing separatism in Moldova?

Gagauzia: growing separatism in Moldova?

Author(s): Kamil Całus / Language(s): English

Keywords: Gagauzia; Moldova

On 2 February, the regional authorities in Gagauzia - an autonomous region of the Republic of Moldova - carried out two simultaneous referenda. In the first, local residents were asked to declare their support for the country’s integration either with the EU or with the Moscow-led Customs Union (CU); the second referendum sought their opinion on the draft law "On the deferred status of the Autonomous Region of Gagauzia". Under the proposed legislation, if Moldova were to lose its sovereignty (for example, through the unification of Moldova and Romania, or even as some politicians have argued, through Moldova’s further integration with the EU), the autonomous region would automatically become the independent Republic of Gagauzia. As expected, the outcome of the vote has shown overwhelming support for both the CU and for the draft law. According to the figures released by Gagauzia’s Central Electoral Commission, 98.5% of the voters supported Moldova’s integration with the Customs Union, while 98% voted in favour of the ‘deferred independence’ bill. Support for closer integration with the EU was marginal, reaching just over 2%. Despite the one-sided outcome of the referendum, there is no reliable evidence to suggest that the ballot was rigged. It should also be noted that voter turnout was very high, reaching about 70%. Representatives of the Moldovan Central Electoral Commission, however, believe that the figure may have been artificially inflated by excluding many of the voters currently residing abroad from the count.

Syrian Refugees in a Slum Neighbourhood: Poor Turkish Residents Encountering the Other in Önder Neighbourhood, Altındağ, Ankara

Syrian Refugees in a Slum Neighbourhood: Poor Turkish Residents Encountering the Other in Önder Neighbourhood, Altındağ, Ankara

Author(s): Tahire Erman / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Ankara; Syrians; refugees; migration; Turkey;neighbourhood;

The significance of space/place in the experiences of people is recognized and theorized in the literature, pioneered by Henri Lefebvre (1991). People not only are affected by the place they live in, but also, as active agents, they can create their own place. In this process, spatial clustering, either voluntary or forced, may have an enabling effect both in economic and cultural terms in the former, or create conditions of exclusion and poverty in the latter (Marcuse, 1997). The clustering of rural-to-urban migrants on the peripheries of big cities as they build their gecekondus is well-documented in the Turkish context (e.g. Karpat, 1976; Gökçe, 1993; Erman, 2012), with some attention paid to its gendered outcomes (Erman, 1998). Today we are witnessing a new phenomenon in Turkey, which is about the clustering of people of a different nationality such as Syrian refugees in the slum/gecekondu neighbourhoods of Turkish cities.

MARKETING INNOVATIONS IN THE SMES IN BULGARIA AND ICELAND

MARKETING INNOVATIONS IN THE SMES IN BULGARIA AND ICELAND

Author(s): Lina Anastassova,Atanas Luizov / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Bulgaria; the European Union; innovation; companies

According to the World bank data, Bulgaria has one of the lowest levels of productivity in the European Union (large expenditure of resources, low cost efficiency etc.) and one of the reasons for this state is the weak innovation activity of the Bulgarian companies

WRITTEN COMMENTS BY THE EUROPEAN ROMA RIGHTS CENTRE CONCERNING SERBIA (Regarding EU Accession Progress for Consideration by the European Commission during its 2014 Review)

WRITTEN COMMENTS BY THE EUROPEAN ROMA RIGHTS CENTRE CONCERNING SERBIA (Regarding EU Accession Progress for Consideration by the European Commission during its 2014 Review)

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

Keywords: Serbia; Roma; human rights; forced evictions; housing; education; discrimination; violence; evaluation;

1. Anti-Discrimination 2. Education 3. Housing and Forced Evictions 4. Anti-Roma Violence

Selected issues in forensic techniques

Selected issues in forensic techniques

Author(s): Zbigniew Dąbrowski,Marek Błędowski,Magdalena Zubańska,Sławomir Zubański,Radosław Nawotka / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Penitentiary - Reformatory for Women in Požarevac

Penitentiary - Reformatory for Women in Požarevac

Author(s): Ljiljana Palibrk,Milena Jerotijević,Aleksandra Bezarević,Ivan Kuzminović / Language(s): English

Keywords: penitentiary-reformatory for women; Požarevac; rights; relationship between the staff and prisoners; hygiene; kitchen; food; health service; violence; social and family ties; professional training;

For the past ten years, the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia has been monitoring and identifying violations of human rights of marginalized groups accommodated in various institutions, where their fundamental rights have been partially or entirely limited. After several visits to all prisons, during which the HCHRS has, based on a previously established methodology, ascertained the state of affairs, followed by a systemic monitoring of the changes in the execution of criminal sanctions, the new project aims to identify violations of rights of vulnerable groups among the prison population. Having in mind that the prison system is reforming at a slow pace and that many aspects are contingent on changes in the society and in other state sectors, the Monitoring of the Prison System Reform in Serbia 2011 focuses on the most prominent problems which threaten fundamental human rights of persons sentenced to prison or to educational measures, belonging to one or more categories of the so called sensitive groups. For this reason, the comprehensive methodology used in previous reports has given way to observance of existing rights which the abovementioned persons cannot realize fully or to some degree, in spite the pronounced social or individual need for such rights to be engendered in the case of these particular groups.

Centre for European Policy Studies. Highlights 2014-15

Centre for European Policy Studies. Highlights 2014-15

Author(s): Edmond Alphandéry,Karel Lannoo,Daniel Gros,Kerstin Born-Sirkel,Sally Scott / Language(s): English

Keywords: European Union; policy making; eurozone governance; economy; economic policy; economic development; energy; climate change; environmental policy; international relations; foreign policy; trade; security;

At a time when nearly everyone has an opinion on the challenges facing Europe, CEPS is proudly continuing its 30-year mission of providing sound policy advice built on rigorous research. Our researchers help to shape policy by bringing academic discipline to the policy debate. We tackle the big, long-term questions and not just what’s fashionable at any given moment. At a time when many policy-makers are forced to focus on the immediate challenges, this is more important than ever. The European Union is in the midst of setting policy directions for years to come – on the future architecture of bank supervision, on eurozone governance, on migration. Our research is crucial in ensuring that policy builds on solid evidence.

Consumption

Consumption

Author(s): Daniel Drápala / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: consumption of rural farms; agrarian production; rural population; farmers; villages and small towns;

The economy of rural farms aimed at agrarian production was quite a limited and changeable system in the form in which it emerged during the Middle Ages and the Modern period. Unexpected events, such as wars, basic catastrophes, bad weather, and poor harvests weakened the economic balance and farming for many peasants and could even plunge them into material misery. In bad years, official statements and texts written by rural residents mention the lack of foods and raw materials and increasingly high prices that limited the availability of goods for the less-wealthy inhabitants.

Contextualizing Refugee NGOs in Izmir

Contextualizing Refugee NGOs in Izmir

Author(s): Denise Tan / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Turkey; Izmir; NGO; migration; refugees; humanitarian aid;

Izmir became popular throughout the last few years as one of Turkey’s refugee hotspots. Located next to several Greek islands hundreds of thousand refugees entered the metropolis in search for smugglers, who would organise their refuge across the Mediterranean Sea. According to UNHCR, over 350 000 refugees have arrived at Greek islands next to Izmir’s coast during September and October 2015, when I collected the ethnographic material for this study (UNHCR, n.d.). Thus, over three hundred thousand people must have transited the city within these two months alone. However, this number doesn’t include all those refugees, who have settled in Izmir or who are somehow stuck there. In autumn 2015, refugee NGOs estimated this number between 67,000 to 100,000 and counting. Most of these refugees were not registered, living on the streets in Basmane or in substandard flats or rooms in different districts around the city. While state or city authorities seemed to be overtaxed in regard to these large numbers of refugees, more and more associations which can be classified as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) emerged starting to work on the issue of immigrants and refugees. NGOs are recognized as civil society actors per excellence, which act within the sphere between the household and the state (Akkaya, 2012, p. 59). Though, what are these partly new established civil society associations actually doing on the ground and in interaction with refugees? How can these NGO practices be situated within refugees’ daily needs and struggles? Furthermore, what other support systems are helping refugees to organize their new lives in their host country?

AFGHANISTANI IMMIGRANTS SEEKING PEACE IN VAN

AFGHANISTANI IMMIGRANTS SEEKING PEACE IN VAN

Author(s): M. Fuat Levendoğlu / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: migration; afghanistani immigrants; peace; illegal migration; Van; security;

Illegal migration of humans from Asian countries, such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Tajikistan, Iran, Syria and Bangladesh moving towards the West and Europe is the most important and the greatest movement of people of our era. On considering the areas through which the movement of migration passes in addition to the starting and finishing points of this movement, we observe continuous movement, journey of problems and challenging stories of migration. Those migrations which start illegally and which end illegally are also an area of unearned income for human smugglers.

Management of Videoconferencing: Challenges and Strategies

Management of Videoconferencing: Challenges and Strategies

Author(s): Libor Štěpánek / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Videoconferencing; management of videoconferencing; higher education; managing resources; quality of courses;

The author looks at key issues facing managers in establishing effective videoconferencing courses in higher education. The issues highlighted are of a practical nature, but ones which cannot be ignored by those in charge of managing resources, including creating the right physical space, looking at timing and intercultural questions, and making proper use of both physical and human resources. This chapter provides an overview and helpful checklist to maximise the added value and quality of courses for all stakeholders.

REAL ECONOMY - Quarterly Review of Economy and Policy - 2011-21

REAL ECONOMY - Quarterly Review of Economy and Policy - 2011-21

Author(s): Ana Popa,Adrian Lupuşor,Alex Oprunenco,Elena Culiuc,Dumitru Budianschi / Language(s): English

On the brink... The dire straits of the ruling coalition have been no secret for quite some time. This fall has been expected to turn out a torrid political season (see our predictions in MEGA no.4). And indeed, after a relatively calm August, abounding in routine bellicose political declarations, the thunder stroke. The raider attacks against several Moldovan banks, including the biggest “Moldova Agroindbank”, made a mockery of Moldova’s efforts at justice and economic reforms and, ultimately, of the country’s European aspirations. Behind the splendid facade of “success story of Eastern Europe” transpired the same old brutal reality of Moldovan political and business life. Indeed, in a country where property of middle and big business (if this is not ‘court’ business) is not protected, what should an ‘average Joe’ expect? In short what these latest events mean?

Foreign Policy Insight, Issue 2015 - 03 (Special Issue)

Foreign Policy Insight, Issue 2015 - 03 (Special Issue)

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English

Keywords: Polish-Ukrainian relations; Russian-Ukrainian conflict; Economic development;

Ukrainian-Polish affairs: challenges and opportunities

Financing research and development around the world, in Southeast Europe and in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Financing research and development around the world, in Southeast Europe and in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Author(s): Fikret Čaušević / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: research and development (R&D); financing; world; Southeast Europe; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Economic Complexity Index;

This paper analyses the financing of research and development, starting from the global and regional contexts and moving on to the specifics of such investment in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first section presents an analysis of the global context and of the 10 highest investing countries, as well as a breakdown of the sources of such financing by sector. Based on the most recent data from UNESCO, which were for 2018 at the time of writing, South Korea and Japan invested most in research and development in relative terms, while the US and China did so in absolute terms. The second section contains a comparative analysis of investment in research and development by the countries of Central and Southeast Europe. This group is led by Slovenia, followed by the Czech Republic and Hungary. The third section is dedicated to the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina and certain factors affecting the country’s very low level of spending on research and development. The fourth section presents a number of successful examples of investment by Bosnian companies in key branches of industry where the country has achieved above-average results for the Southeast European region, as well as very good export results, as measured by the Economic Complexity and the Product Complexity indices.

Factors influencing the success in companies in Hungary based on managerial opinions by focus group interviews – Best practices and time management

Factors influencing the success in companies in Hungary based on managerial opinions by focus group interviews – Best practices and time management

Author(s): Erzsébet Gyopár Csapai,Gábor Szabó-Szentgróti,Szilárd Berke / Language(s): English / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: SME; strategic management; best practices; leadership; success;

The success in business is always a priority in every nation, because the companies are the basis of the economic life, the GDP producers. The fluctuation is very high, there are appearing and disappearing very frequently. However, there are some, who can function for a long time, producing profit and contributing to the local, regional or even national development. What is the ‘secret formula’, which makes them successful? What could be behind the numbers, tables, and diagrams? Our research tries to look behind the scene to find this formula, building on the human factor. We are asking Hungarian managers and entrepreneurs to show us how are they organizing the operational activities, how can they organize their times, which practices are working and what they would like to change. We ask them to formulate the idea of success and to describe the traits that characterizes the successful leaders. The results of the research will give us the opportunity to draw a “success thinking map”, which will contain those directives, managerial company philosophy describer thoughts, managerial habits and technics, which raise or could raise to the front line the most successful companies.