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Integrated report on corruption and trafficking in women

Author(s): Nadya Stoynova,Atanas Rusev,Maria Yordanova / Language(s): English

Trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation is a criminal business of transnational nature, ranking third after narcotics and arms trafficking in generating huge amounts of illegal profit. THB in all its manifestations is a dangerous crime that results in significant psychological, emotional, financial and often physical harm to victims, representing a serious violation of human rights. Despite the seriousness of the crime, law enforcement and criminal justice authorities across the world encounter various problems in investigating and punishing perpetrators. One important barrier is corruption, which – as with other criminal enterprises – is a significant facilitating mechanism.

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Corruption and trafficking in women: The case of Bulgaria

Author(s): Tihomir Bezlov,Maria Yordanova,Nadya Stoynova / Language(s): English

Corruption is an important facilitating mechanism for human trafficking. The link between the two crimes is especially relevant in countries like Bulgaria, which traditionally have had very levels of trafficking. Corruption is believed to be one of the key instruments adopted by organised criminal groups to avoid detection and obstruct counter-trafficking efforts. Although the use of corruption is often mentioned along with human trafficking, few studies have empirically explored the factors and mechanisms behind this nexus.

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Anti-Corruption Policies Revisited: WP9 Organised crime and impact on vulnerable groups (ANTICORRP Integrated Report)

Author(s): Salvatore Sberna,Alberto Vannucci,Tihomir Bezlov,Dimitar Markov,Maria Karayotova,Ana Hećimović,Iva Nenadić,Munir Podumljak,Péter Gyimesi,Szidónia Nagy,Boróka Pápay,Zoltán Szántó,István János Tóth,Edona Krasniqi / Language(s): English

This integrated report investigates the link between political corruption and organised crime, by examining the modalities, resources and strategies used by criminal groups to govern and/or capture the market of political corruption. On the one hand, the report looks at the infiltration of organised crime in three main policy sectors where public spending and regulations play a pivotal role: public procurement, the privatization of public services, and management of EU funds. Alongside this, the report also analyses the criminal penetration of electoral politics, by evaluating the influence that criminal organisations can achieve in electoral arenas. As a result, the report provides a general assessment of policy regulations, legal countermeasures and practices adopted to prevent and combat organised crime, especially in interaction with political corruption. The report is drawn from data collected in five European countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo) across the above themes, and includes two more countries for the assessment of anti-organised crime legislation and initiatives (Albania and Georgia). The methodology involves both extensive and intensive strategies of investigation. A quantitative assessment of the crime and politics nexus is based on the Organised Crime & Corruption (OCC) events database, in which events data about the link between criminal groups and political corruption have been gathered and assembled1. A qualitative assessment involves in-depth understanding of the mechanisms of corrupt exchanges, presented as single case studies conducted in the countries covered by this study, inclusive of primary and secondary sources (interviews, legal proceedings, academic and policy-oriented reports). Data collection and analyses were conducted by five institutions across Europe (EUI, CSD, BCE, IKS, PSD).

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Анализ на правната рамка на подпомагането на избрани уязвими групи при взаимоотношенията им с институциите

Author(s): Miryana Ilcheva,Dimitar Markov / Language(s): Bulgarian

Within the framework of the initiative Civic organizations: a Guarantee for Equal Rights of Vulnerable Groups before the State of the Center for the Study of Democracy the legal analysis of the relations with institutions of four selected vulnerable groups – prisoners, persons, seeking special protection, and refugees, victims of trafficking and domestic violence – outlines the most common judicial and administrative procedures, in which they are involved. The elements of the proceedings are looked at, as well as the options to challenge the decisions of state authorities and the legal and practical mechanisms, by which NGOs can participate. Notably, in a number of areas the state relies substantially on civic organizations, while in others the relationship of institutions and NGOs is still being built.

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CLEAN FUTURE. Anti-Corruption Action Plan for Bulgaria. Monitoring. Corruption Assessment Indices

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

The Anti-Corruption Action Plan has been developed within the framework of the Coalition 2000 process with the purpose of becoming part of the social agenda as a broadly approved system of measures and actions for curbing the extremely dangerous social phenomenon of corruption. The Anti-Corruption Action Plan gained credit as a document, which was often referred to in Bulgaria and used in other countries as a model for mapping out national anti-corruption priorities. In the words of George Soros, the Bulgarian anti-corruption plan is the most comprehensive and ambitious document of its kind.

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The Hidden Economy in Bulgaria (General Public), November 2004

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

In the period November 18-29, 2004, Vitosha Research conducted a national representative survey of the "hidden economy" in the country, covering 959 respondents aged 18 and over. The survey employed the method of the face-to-face interview.

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България и Eвропейският съюз: околна среда и екологична политика, 1995

Author(s): Yordan Uzunov / Language(s): Bulgarian

On 1 February 1995 the European Association Agreement (EAA) of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union (EU) entered into force. In a special Declaration on this occasion, the Bulgarian Government noted that the Agreement corresponds to the priority national interests for integration into the European structures, stating explicitly that the European orientation is a top priority for Bulgaria.

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Критериите за конвергенция от Маастрихт в контекста на бъдещото присъединяване на България към Европейския съюз, януари 1996 г.

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

In this analysis, only those aspects of the Treaty establishing the European Union and the practice of its implementation, which are directly related to the preparation for accession of the central and eastern European countries, in particular the Republic of Bulgaria, will be considered. Relations between the European Union and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe will be mainly in European agreements that have a direct bearing on the content and scope of the measures to be taken in preparation for accession. This work will be limited to the economic aspects of accession and will not affect the issues of political dialogue, the common foreign and security policy and cooperation in the area of home affairs and justice.

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ДОБРО УПРАВЛЕНИЕ И ЕНЕРГИЙНА СИГУРНОСТ В БЪЛГАРИЯ. Policy Tracker: Енергийната политика на ЕС и Русия – предизвикателства и перспективи при спирането на газопровода „Южен поток“

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

The present paper aims at tracking the development of the South Stream gas pipeline project from the perspectives of the EU and Russia, and in the context of the common EU external energy policy. The EU-Russia energy dialogue has become increasingly complicated since the two natural gas crises in 2006 and 2009, when the gas supply was cut for about two weeks due to a gas pricing dispute between Russia and Ukraine. Until then the energy relations between Europe and Russia have run smoothly as Gazprom had been perceived as a reliable supplier operating under long-term, oil-indexed contracts providing predictability of supplied volumes and prices. For producers such as Russia operating in a glut market, the most important goal was to preserve their market share in Europe. An eventual supply disruption would discredit suppliers and will push consumers look for more viable alternatives.

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Българските малки и средни предприятия и участието им в усвояването на структурните фондове на Европейския съюз. Презентация

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

After Bulgaria joins the EU in 2007 the country will receive access to the Structural Funds (SF) and the Cohesion Fund of the European Union (EU), which are the main instruments for reducing the economic and social disparities within the Union. The effective management of these proceeds entails good knowledge of the EU Funds’ requirements and thorough preparation at national, regional and local levels both by the public and private sectors, including the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In 2000 in Lisbon, the European Commission and the EU Member States agreed upon the ambitious goal that by 2010 the European Union would have to become the most dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world . The instruments and mechanisms to achieve this goal have been outlined in the Lisbon Strategy of the EU. In 2005, an interim review on the progress of the Lisbon Strategy was done, based on which it was concluded that the Union was falling behind in some of its basic parameters, and that the gap between the EU and the leading innovative world economies of the United States and Japan was broadening.

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Доклад за оценка на корупцията 1999

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

Limiting corruption in Bulgarian society calls not only for institutional and legal measures but also for establishing the rule of law. In this sense, it is of crucial importance to foster a political and economic culture based on trust and respect for public institutions, on transparency and openness in the actions of public administration, and the will to achieve stability and predictability of the economic and social environment. Coalition 2000 is an initiative of Bulgarian non-governmental organizations which was launched in the Spring of 1997 aimed at limiting corruption in Bulgarian society through a partnership between state institutions, non-governmental organizations, and individual personalities, who developed and have been implementing an Anti-Corruption Action Plan, Corruption Monitoring System, and an anti-corruption public awareness campaign. The Corruption Assessment Report 1999 follows the structure and approach of the Action Plan adopted by the Policy Forum of Coalition 2000 in November 1998. It presents a general evaluation of the state and dynamic of corruption in Bulgarian society and of the efforts to counteract it in 1999.

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Доклад за оценка на корупцията 2001

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

Limiting corruption in Bulgarian society calls not only for institutional and legal measures but also for establishing the rule of law. In this sense, it is of crucial importance to foster a political and economic culture based on trust and respect for public institutions, on transparency and openness in the actions of public administration, and the will to achieve stability and predictability of the economic and social environment. Coalition 2000 is an initiative of Bulgarian non-governmental organizations which was launched in the spring of 1997 aimed at limiting corruption in Bulgarian society through a partnership between state institutions, non-governmental organizations, and individuals, who developed and have been implementing an Anti-Corruption Action Plan, Corruption Monitoring System, and an anti-corruption public awareness campaign. The Corruption Assessment Report 2001 follows the structure and approach of the Action Plan adopted by the Policy Forum of Coalition 2000 in November, 1998. It presents a general evaluation of the state and dynamic of corruption in Bulgarian society and of the efforts to counteract corruption in the year 2001.

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Доклад за оценка на корупцията 2002

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

Coalition 2000 is an initiative of Bulgarian non-governmental organizations launched in the spring of 1997 with the aim to counter corruption in Bulgarian society through a partnership between state institutions, non-governmental organizations and individuals, who developed and have been implementing an Anti-Corruption Action Plan, a Corruption Monitoring System, and an anti-corruption public awareness campaign. The Corruption Assessment Report - 2002 follows the structure and approach of the Action Plan adopted by the Policy Forum of Coalition 2000 in November 1998. The Report contains a general evaluation of the state and dynamics of corruption in Bulgarian society and of anti-corruption efforts in the year 2002.

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Доклад за оценка на корупцията 2003

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

Countering corruption in Bulgaria needs to go further than institutional or legislative measures and be aimed at creating the kind of political and economic culture which is built on trust in public institutions, transparency and accountability of all actions of the public administration and a determination to achieve a stable and predictable economic and social environment. Coalition 2000 is an initiative of Bulgarian non-governmental organizations launched in the spring of 1997 with the aim to help restrict corruption in Bulgarian society through a partnership between state institutions, non-governmental organizations and individuals, who developed and have been implementing an Anti-Corruption Action Plan, a Corruption Monitoring System, and an anti-corruption public awareness campaign.The Corruption Assessment Report – 2003 follows the approach of the Action Plan adopted by the Policy Forum in November 1998. The Report contains a general evaluation of the state and dynamics of corruption in Bulgarian society and of anti-corruption efforts in the year 2003 emphasizing the anti-corruption dimensions of judicial reform in Bulgaria.

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Hidden Economy Indexes in Bulgaria 2002-2015: Results and Methodological Notes

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

The current document presents the methodology for calculation of the Hidden Economy Indexes in Bulgaria among the population and the business, as well as the results of the surveys for the period 2002-2015. Hidden economy surveys in Bulgaria have been carried out by the Center for the Study of Democracy and the market and social research agency Vitosha Research since 2002. Based on data from these surveys, a system of synthetic measurements in the form of composite indices for assessment of the hidden economy was developed. The reason for choosing these particular indicators was to reduce the multiple aspects of the hidden economy phenomenon to a manageable number of illustrative and easy to interpret the indices. The survey questions and sub-indexes, which form the Business Hidden Economy Index and the Index of the Hidden Economic Activity of the Population, are presented in the document. The authors underline the difference between the terms official economy (legal and reported), informal economy (legal, yet unreported), illegal (black) economy (illegal and unreported) and undeclared (gray) economy (legal, formally registered, yet unreported). The last three form the composite term hidden economy.

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Индекси на скритата икономика в България 2002-2015: резултати и методологически бележки

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

The current document presents the methodology for calculation of the Hidden Economy Indexes in Bulgaria among the population and the business, as well as the results of the surveys for the period 2002-2015. Hidden economy surveys in Bulgaria have been carried out by the Center for the Study of Democracy and the market and social research agency Vitosha Research since 2002. Based on data from these surveys, a system of synthetic measurements in the form of composite indices for assessment of the hidden economy was developed. The reason for choosing these particular indicators was to reduce the multiple aspects of the hidden economy phenomenon to a manageable number of illustrative and easy to interpret the indices. The survey questions and sub-indexes, which form the Business Hidden Economy Index and the Index of the Hidden Economic Activity of the Population, are presented in the document. The authors underline the difference between the terms official economy (legal and reported), informal economy (legal, yet unreported), illegal (black) economy (illegal and unreported) and undeclared (gray) economy (legal, formally registered, yet unreported). The last three form the composite term hidden economy.

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CONTRASTO ALL’ESTORSIONE ORGANIZZATA: L’ESPERIENZA ITALIANA

Author(s): Elena Sciandra,Antonio Iafano / Language(s): Italian

Extortion racketeering is a crime which spans all sections of society, poses threats to the well-being of local communities and impairs the growth and development of business. No country is immune to it, although it varies across time, space and economic context. Extortion can be perpetrated by single offenders, or it can be part of more complex criminal schemes. In this sense, the case of Italy is typical because Italian mafias systematically resort to extortion racketeering.

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Корупционни индекси, Резултати от сравнително изследване в Албания, България и Македония, Февруари 2000

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

The main results from the first comparative survey of the public opinion on corruption conducted in Albania, Bulgaria, and Macedonia in January 2000 are presented in this material. The survey was conducted with the cooperation between Vitosha Research with Center for the Study of Democracy, Albanian Center for Economic Research, Albania, and Forum – Center for Strategic Research and Documentation, Macedonia. The survey is based on a Corruption Monitoring System of Coalition 2000 which was created by Vitosha Research and is an initial step towards implementation of a Regional Corruption Monitoring System.

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Локални инициативи срещу корупцията

Author(s): / Language(s): Bulgarian

This brochure represents an attempt to analyze and summarize the activities and results of the first stage of the Small Projects program of Coalition 2000. Following a competition held in the beginning of 1999, thirteen non-governmental organizations, most of them based in different Bulgarian town and cities, were included in the first pilot stage of the program. They include: 'Civic Council in Razgrad' Citizens Coalition, 'Stefan Stambolov' Bulgarian Youth League - Smolian, Center for the Study of Political Processes - Shoumen, 'Lecturers' NGO - Plovdiv, 'Revived Civil Society' Regional Association - Pleven, InfoEcoClub - Vratza, Black Sea Legal Community - Bourgas, 'Sexaginta' Open Education Youth Center - Rousse, as well as the Sofia-based Christian Revival Movement, the Corruption-free Society Association, the Association of Young Lawyers, the Foundation for Entrepreneurship Development, and the Bulgarian Association for Fair Elections and Civil Rights. Within a time frame of three months (April - June 1999) they conducted activities covering the whole spectrum of the anti-corruption campaign: participation in the Clean Future Public Awareness Campaign, local government monitoring, establishment of anti-corruption structures, using different instruments to expose and curb corrupt practices in the respective municipalities.Despite the fact that such a short time frame does not enable the potential of the Coalition 2000 local initiatives to be fully utilized, the experience accumulated during that time can be used to map out future spheres, forms of organization, and instruments in this new part of Bulgarian reality. This is why the brochure focuses on the practices which seem most promising for our future work. It will continue with the second stage of the Small Projects 1999-2000 program within whose framework a permanent cooperation structure will be established with local NGOs as part of the Coalition 2000 process. In a structural respect the pamphlet consists of two main sections. The first contains analyses of the pilot stage of local initiatives conducted by Coalition 2000 experts. The second section presents the so-called "best practices", as well as some sociological studies conducted by our local partners. With the stipulation that these are initiatives in their pilot, i.e. experimental, stage we recommend them as already tested instruments which could effectively be used to accomplish the goals of anti-corruption activity. A List of Activities under the Small Projects program of the 13 NGOs is appended.

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Енергийна (не)сигурност: решението на българския парламент за Южен поток засилва рисковете пред националната енергийна политика. Медийна бележка

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

The decision of the Bulgarian Parliament from 4 April 2014 to adopt at first reading the amendments in the Energy Law, which grants South Stream special status highlights the lack of logic in the national energy policy and compounds the impression that public interest is not the driving force behind the proposed changes. The decision and the manner, in which it was taken, reveal some of the most serious problems in Bulgaria’s energy policy in terms of bad governance and corruption.The adopted amendments at first reading to the Energy Law demonstrate yet again the risks of state capture by third-party interests, which do not correspond or even contradict the public interest. The real problems, which Bulgarian society faces on a daily basis, such as energy poverty, high energy prices, and low diversification and energy efficiency receive only a fraction of the attention, in terms of institutional and policy-making focus, compared to projects such as South Stream. What is even more alarming is that the recent actions of the ruling majority take place in the context of increasing geostrategic insecurity and danger of confrontation, which further exacerbate the risks deriving from such decisions.

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