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Political campaign began long before the Central Election Commission announced its official start. Party leaders and public officials started the rush in fall 2008, making generous social and economic promises to the public. However, at the moment the battle is given for the hesitant voters which according to social polls account for 40% of the population able to vote. Obviously, the ruling party possesses sufficient communication, administrative and budgetary tools to gain most of these votes. For this purpose the ruling party is considering many tactics,including the economic manipulation of the electoral behavior.
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Russia has sought to undermine common EU energy rules and monopolize markets by promoting two politically driven gas projects: Nord Stream II and TurkStream. The EU push for gas diversification has fallen prey to the private interests of European energy companies, financial institutions, construction firms and industrial behemoths that have benefited from Gazprom-led projects. In this policy brief, the Center for the Study of Democracy sheds light on how the TurkStream gas pipeline perpetuates the CEE dependence on Russian gas amid unnecessary infrastructure spending diverting scarce resources away from productive investments. The project blocks the diversification of gas markets, including by preventing cheaper LNG supply to compete with Russian gas in Europe. The brief calls for a more active role for the EU and the U.S. in developing a robust monitoring and enforcement mechanism to discontinue energy projects that might undermine the security of supply, energy source diversification and the integration of the EU energy markets in its different regions.
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The National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) are supposed to be the member states’ roadmap for achieving the EU’s 2050 ambitious carbon neutrality goal. The policy measures within these strategic documents are meant to reconcile the tension between past path dependency on carbon intensive national energy sectors and economies and the drive towards new green technologies. The Bulgarian NECP reveals moderate progress on energy efficiency, renewable energy and regional power market integration goals. Yet it does not build a strong foundation for enabling a transformational policy path until 2050. Neither does it clearly outline the spill-over effects from the energy sector into all aspects of the economy and society. This policy brief analyses the main elements of the final version of the Bulgarian NECP and proposes targeted policy measures on how to better implement it over the next decade.
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This report discusses the challenges of Serb integration and how best to overcome them in a manner that strengthens Kosovo’s institutions and respects the interests of its Serb community. It surveys the existing, illegal Serbian institutions throughout Kosovo, which differ in several ways between the relatively homogenous northern municipalities and the scattered southern enclaves; most remain in place, with Serbs still reliant on them. In an unintended effect of Serb participation in Kosovo municipal elections in November 2013, many Serb officials now hold offices in both the Serbian and Kosovo administrations.
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The Agreement on the Association/Community of Serb Majority Municipalities marks the cornerstone of discord of the EU-facilitated dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. The General Principles for the establishment of the Association/Community, agreed in August 2015, brought more controversy and caused an unprecedented crisis in Kosovo. Proponents championed it as a tool to integrate northern Kosovo Serbs into Kosovo jurisdiction and advance normalisation of relations between the two states. Yet, the Association has become a complicated matter in practice. Many segments of Kosovo society reject an Association of this kind, the Constitutional Court ruled it to be in violation of the spirit of the Constitution and the government is largely reluctant to implement it until Serbia presents clear plans for withdrawal of the parallel institutions it funds around Kosovo. Kosovo Serbs view an Association from a very practical point of view: a reward instrument for painful integration into Kosovo and a replacement for departing Serbian-funded institutions. Serbs fear the Albanian reactions seen over the last 24 months, feel unwanted in Kosovo and worry that Belgrade will abandon them soon. The Serb community - the party most affected by the dialogue and least included in it - wants the dialogue on normalisation to continue, want the coalition agreement to be adhered to and want a smooth transition from the Serbian to Kosovar system.
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European Reform Agenda (ERA) was introduced as an attempt to increase the attention of the Kosovo Government on pressing issues, related to the Good Governance and Rule of Law; Competitiveness and Investment Climate; Employment and Education. The government recognizes ERA as an important reform generator. Initiated by EU Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR), Johannes Hahn, ERA is also a high-level dialogue between Kosovo and the EU. The document was designed to streamline priority reforms that would improve the performance of institutions and hopefully accelerate the Kosovo’s slow-paced progress toward EU. Yet, almost a year after the launch little was achieved. The institutions were remarkably passive on implementing the priorities and actions. Deadlines in the agenda (action plan) are largely missed. Implementation has slipped for numerous reasons and the process reflects on the weakness of the institutions; lack of will and coordination are key. ERA needs a new momentum; the government should press on the full implementation with a priority and adopt a new timetable.
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The Berlin Process is a German-led European initiative whose goal is to facilitate regional cooperation between the Western Balkans Six (WB6) countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia – with a view to help them fulfill criteria to join the European Union (EU). Launched by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in 2014, its most important component is the so-called “Connectivity Agenda”, which first aimed to link the WB6 together in the fields of transport and energy, and later expanded into youth exchanges and economic connections. Summits in Germany, Austria, France and Italy helped establish communication between Balkans leaders, and design several infrastructure projects and new regional initiatives. Yet, ahead of the next 2018 Berlin Process Summit in London, many pressing issues remain intact, and cooperation between WB6 governments has not improved much.
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This paper examines the last election from a general perspective highlighting the development of a democratic system on one hand, and the political party system on the other. Firstly, it gives a general background on Kosovo’s organization of elections and the political system, coupled by a brief overview of prominent challenges that this system faces. Secondly, the paper moves to discuss the overall progress of the elections, including legal problems, information dissemination to citizens, issues with the administration of election results, and other aspects. Both these aims are pursued through following the principles of independent research and respect for the rules of public policy writing.
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This report presents an overview of the state of the rule of law and the judiciary in Kosovo, divided into two parts. The first section gives an overview of the key challenges to the effective rule of law, with a focus governance of the judiciary. It delves into the structure and role of the monitoring bodies of courts and prosecution services, the state of judicial independence, and the mechanisms for transparency and accountability. It then moves onto practical issues, such as disciplinary procedures, structures to curb corruption and training and capacity building systems. The section finishes with an overview of the judicial integration of the north of Kosovo, the efforts to reduce the backlog and the Functional Review of the Rule of Law. Equally important, the second section addresses court administration and the performance of the administrative staff. It reviews the size and structure of the courts, the budget of the judicial sector, the effects of the wider education system on the judiciary, the status of the Administration, the existing rules for hiring and performance evaluation, and the decentralization process. The section closes with an analysis of the ongoing judicial digitalization.
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This report evaluates and identifies possible paths and areas for improvement for rule of law and judicial development under the EU’s planned flagship initiative and corresponding support mechanisms. The analysis and recommendations are based on an assessment of the current state of the rule of law and judicial institutions and of the progress and pitfalls of EULEX. As it prepares to fully dismantle, domestic institutions must prepare to take the driver’s seat, while collaborating early on with the EU to determine the implementation plan for new initiatives.
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The reports in the "Euromonitor" series aim at independent and objective monitoring of the implementation process of the Republic of Moldova - European Union Action Plan. The actions adopted and implemented by both signatories of the Plan will be monitored quarterly. The action plan is a complex document, structured in 7 chapters, which provides for the implementation of about 300 actions, some defined more or less precisely, others very ambiguous. Unable to monitor such a complex document, the authors of "Euromonitor" focused on priority actions, identified in the Action Plan itself.
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The reports in the "Euromonitor" series aim at independent and objective monitoring of the implementation process of the Republic of Moldova - European Union Action Plan. The actions adopted and implemented by both signatories of the Plan will be monitored quarterly. The action plan is a complex document, structured in 7 chapters, which provides for the implementation of about 300 actions, some defined more or less precisely, others very ambiguous. Unable to monitor such a complex document, the authors of "Euromonitor" focused on priority actions, identified in the Action Plan itself.
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The reports in the "Euromonitor" series aim at independent and objective monitoring of the implementation process of the Republic of Moldova - European Union Action Plan. The actions adopted and implemented by both signatories of the Plan will be monitored quarterly. The action plan is a complex document, structured in 7 chapters, which provides for the implementation of about 300 actions, some defined more or less precisely, others very ambiguous. Unable to monitor such a complex document, the authors of "Euromonitor" focused on priority actions, identified in the Action Plan itself.
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The reports in the "Euromonitor" series aim at independent and objective monitoring of the implementation process of the Republic of Moldova - European Union Action Plan. The actions adopted and implemented by both signatories of the Plan will be monitored quarterly. The action plan is a complex document, structured in 7 chapters, which provides for the implementation of about 300 actions, some defined more or less precisely, others very ambiguous. Unable to monitor such a complex document, the authors of "Euromonitor" focused on priority actions, identified in the Action Plan itself.
More...