Around the Bloc: Around the Bloc - Romanian Cabinet Ministers Bounced as EU Presidency Nears
Justice commissioner visits Bucharest to drive home serious concerns over government’s steps to blur the separation of powers.
More...We kindly inform you that, as long as the subject affiliation of our 300.000+ articles is in progress, you might get unsufficient or no results on your third level or second level search. In this case, please broaden your search criteria.
Justice commissioner visits Bucharest to drive home serious concerns over government’s steps to blur the separation of powers.
More...
Problem setting. The urgency of the analysis of the current experience of sociological assessments of the level of trust in social institutions, in particular, the court, is due to the fact that for European countries the paradox of mass consciousness becomes more and more characteristic: confidence in the court decreases even in conditions of increase of efficiency, accessibility, justice of justice, that are recorded according to the results of judicial reform. Requirements and expectations are growing (especially in more educated or socially adapted categories of the population), and, accordingly, there is a probability of inconsistency of pace of reforms and the presence of positive dynamics of trust in court. Recent research and publications analysis. The assessment of trust in the courts as a factor of trust in public authority is at the center of attention of domestic and foreign scholars. These problems were addressed by B. Barber, M. Buromensky, M. King, I. Lavrinenko, V. Lebedev, N. Luhmann, C. Morgner, O. Serdyuk, T. Habriyeva et al. How¬ever, each state is looking for its criteria for monitoring the activities of courts. Paper objective. The purpose of this article is to formulate the main principles of national monitoring of the level of trust in the court and the judicial system on the basis of analysis, firstly, of the most famous international sociological methodologies and, secondly, the peculiarities of the current Ukrainian situation in this area. Paper main body. Trust is a generalized indicator of the norms, attitudes and values that underlie social cooperation, and in public life, trust fosters community unity and community building, and in the economic sphere, it accelerates cooperation and interpersonal exchanges. As a socio-psychological category of trust, it is a characteristic of an open, positive relationship between the parties and reflects the confidence in the honesty and benevolence of the other party with which the trust is in one way or another based on his experience. From this point of view, trust has certain limits based on knowing about the other party that is trusted. Full trust is often identified with faith, because the mechanism of such trust is no longer based on rational principles, that is, on experience and on prediction and prior knowledge of one side of the second and includes irrational motives of the relationship. In social sciences, the level of trust one party can trust in another is measured in the belief in the honesty, charity and competence of the other party. Based on recent research, distrust can be forgiven much easier when interpreted as lack of competence than inadequate benevolence or honesty. The assessment of trust in the court is recognized as a measure of the rule of law (rule of law). This approach is used in a variety of international and national practical tools for assessing democratic regimes. Conclusions of the research. Institutional trust can be considered as a kind of indicator that determines social well-being of the population, in addition, it is an important condition of social communication, through which the consent, understanding and dialogue of the parties is achieved, and it becomes possible to seek new opportunities for further development. The increase of trust in the judicial system of Ukraine is one of the tasks of the judiciary and is outlined in strategic documents of the development of the judiciary of Ukraine in recent years. The level of trust (distrust) of citizens to justice is affected by a number off actors, the most important among which should be called: the quality of legislation, on the basis of which decisions are adopted and substantiated; the quality of the judiciary; the degree of accessibility and openness of justice; coverage of court work in the media; the degree of execution of court decisions. From trust in the court it is necessary to distinguish between the perception of justice by citizens, the level of which is influenced by the ability of citizens to protect their rights in court, the application of the law by the court in an appropriate and effective manner, equality and non-discrimination before the law, the legality of the adopted judgments, the effective struggle of the state with corruption, etc.
More...
During the last 2-3 decades regional competitiveness became one of the key concepts used in regional social-economical analysis. Another related term, competitiveness of an economical branch, economical sector or particular industry, is used as an indicator of great importance for the position of the products or services of a specific sector on a market which is more and more crowded. Taking into account the importance of the above mentioned terms, especially the importance granted to them by the Lisbon Agenda, and the fact that a bigger and bigger share of the Gross Domestic Product of a nation is achieved in the field of public services, this work tries to analyze the extent, at the level of the Romanian society, of the contribution of public services of general concern to the emergence and development of regional competitiveness poles, and also the way some services from the category mentioned could become themselves competitiveness poles at European and Romanian economy level.
More...
This paper focus on the analysis of the impact of investments in IT industry in the general frame of globalization and the drafting of a model for evaluation so that to address the subject of the theoretization of possible measures and efforts in strategic resource consumption for growing of IT competitiveness. To reap the gains from globalization it is necessary to undergo a process of adjustment as factors of production – such as investment capital – towards the ITC applications. The extent by which e-Government will make a difference and add value is seen as dependent on three factors: strong leadership, management of the ‘digital divide’, and well managed innovation.
More...
The aim of this paper was to obtain qualitative information from the decision-makers in Bucovina in order to identify their attitude in terms of tourism promotion and their level of information regarding promotion, tourism and tourists. We set four objectives: analyzing the level of awareness regarding the benefits provided by tourism for the municipality and the locality; identifying the level of information regarding the range of services available for tourists in the localities where the mayors carry out their activities; determining the attitude of the decision-makers vis-à-vis promotion and identifying the perceptions of the interviewees regarding the place of promotion in tourism development. The research method we used is qualitative research, namely the in-depth interview.
More...
The article goal is to reveal the necessity of strategies in order to increase the responsibility level of local public administrations and to settle the obligation imposed to the administrative and territorial units to launch public debate topics needed for the regional development, in which the civil society should also participat. The credo of our debates is that the state is equally fundamented on the protection of the personal rights and liberties, no matter to whom it refers to. In art.1 point 3 from the Romanian constitution there is instituted as a constitutional principle the fact that „Romania is a democratic and social state, where the dignity of the man, the rights and the liberties of the citizens, the free development of the human personality, the justice and the political pluralism represent supreme values, in the spirit of the democratic traditions of the Romanian people and the ideals of the Revolution from December 1989 and all these are guaranteed”.
More...
The European public procurement system has a major role in ensuring the efficient spending of the public money and in promoting economic competitiveness. The legislative bases of the system are represented by harmonized European regulations, which aim to facilitate the application of the principles and freedoms enshrined in the EU Treaties. This paper presents the main aspects of the reform of the European public procurement system, aiming to make the procedures for awarding public contracts more transparent and open to all European companies and to streamline public spending for the procurement of goods, services and works.
More...
An ever increasing feature of public office is the way in which the recruitment and training of civil servants are controlled by legislation. Civil servants are a basic component of public administration but they are also important for labor law because civil service relations have the characteristics of an employment relationship and also specific features resulting from the rules of public law. The relevant expression of the interferences between public and private law for civil servants is recruitment and training. The originality of this article lies in the multidisciplinary character, combining elements of labor law, administrative law and human resources management, character reflected in the bibliography used. Another merit of this study is that the authors correlated the provisions of various laws: Constitution, Labor Code, Law no. 161/2003 on the transparency in exercising public dignities and public functions, Government Ordinance no. 137/2000 regarding the prevention and sanction of all discrimination forms, Government Ordinance no. 129/2000 concerning adults’ professional training.
More...
The term of informational society arose from the necessity to accurately denote the society's transformation, generated by the rapid development of information and communications technology. Through the extremely rapid growth of the quality of e-businesses and communication services, the society went through a drastic change process due to the access liberalization to information and communications, thus becoming an information society, practically an e-society. For governments and public administrations informational society means more efficient, transparent and rapid public services, less expensive and closer to the needs of final consumers, whether we are talking about citizens or enterprises, thus facilitating their e-interaction with public authorities. Sustainable development must take into account the perspective of the society's structure and to re-launch and reorganize on this basis the management of resources.
More...
Measuring governance performance, in particular of different countries, is indispensable for increasing its effectiveness, efficiency and quality. There were developed many such indicators, but they are rather unilateral. The WGI, launched in 2008 by the Forum for a new World Governance and covering 179 countries of the world, made up of 5 aggregate indicators, is possibly the first attempt to build such a complex and in the same time practical index. Unfortunately, the WGI wasn’t updated since 2011, although it would be very useful both for theoreticians and practitioners. We propose an alternative index – the SGI, calculated for 151 countries in 2010 and 155 countries in 2015, made up of 10 sub-indexes. Both the WGI and SGI aren’t perfect, but are good analytical tools for governance actors / players. While the WGI is based on the idea of sustainable development, the SGI suggest smart development focused on knowledgeintensive factors. Considering this paper’s limitations, we selected a sample of 6 countries and 7 regions for comparison and exemplified 10 best and 10 worst performers for both indexes. We concluded that top performers are the most developed countries, in particular Scandinavian ones, while the least developed African and Asian states have the poorest ranks. On the other hand, a weak score even of a sub-index may result in losing overall leadership, as in case of the USA or Japan. Moreover, negative phenomena, like wars or crises, can make countries bottom performers, e.g., Afghanistan or Syria.
More...
The article presents the results of tax debt public management methods research on the basis of experience of Ukraine State Fiscal Service work. It was found out that during the analyzed period the most efficient methods of tax debt management are such methods as sending a tax claim, deferred payment (delay of payment) of taxes and dues, and collecting money from debtors’ accounts. According to the results of tax debt public management methods analysis, recommendations were given on increasing their application efficiency with the aim of stabilization of the budgetary and taxation system in the state.
More...
Considering the indisputable cultural vocation of the Italian context and, in general, given the prominence of the cultural aspect as a factor of influence on many other elements that interact with human actions, this paper considers a fourth pillar joining the three traditional sustainability dimensions (environment, economic, social): cultural sustainability. Local governments have a specific role in implementing sustainability (as highlighted in the Local Agenda 21) and the expense represents an important financial indicator to understand public commitment to sustainability. These elements (the financial role of local government and cultural sustainability) are the starting point for this paper that analyzes the financial commitment of Italian local governments in the cultural sector. The models used shows that cultural expenses are related to the average income of the residents, while they are not related to the cultural heritage of the municipality territory. The empirical results allow the Author to draw some conclusions and to identify some aspects that form the basis for further research.
More...
Administrative-territorial structure of Ukraine is far from being the one that is aimed at providing even social-economic development and promoting prosperity in its regions. The system of local government doesn’t meet the needs of Ukrainian society. Not only it doesn’t grant getting essential public services and having equal opportunities in justice but also doesn’t provide the creation and maintaining of the favorable living space for the development and self-realization of the human. After “the revolution of dignity” Ukraine embarked on public administration and local government reform. The research supports an idea that transformations in Ukraine may be achieved with local solution. Strengthening the capacity of local communities is the only way to empower people. European Union provides constant advice, expertise and financial support to Ukraine. The main aim of this article is to investigate EU policy toward promoting local democracy in Ukraine and analyze the EU activities in democracy-building as well as to present the different challenges that EU facing within implementation of the Association Agreement.
More...
Building a sustainable city model comprising an integrated waste management system has become an indispensable choice, also in the light of increasingly stringent regulatory constraints.The core point of the paper is the implementation of a zero waste strategy in a small municipality in Sicily. Given that only the unceasing participation of citizens may ensure the persistence over time of such a policy, accountability process works letting citizens approach directly the end-results of their ongoing good practices. By building up a SD model framed by a DPM chart, it is possible to figure out how disclosure of public saving resulting from the decreasing amount of waste piled up in the landfill, has boosted along the period 2011-2015, a virtuous cycle intended to cope with the citizens claims about environmental care and lower tax burden level.
More...
In recent years, the study of street-level bureaucracy has been developed as a major interest in diverse types of research on public policy, management, public administration, and politics. The scholars are particularly concerned with understanding discretion of street-level bureaucrats and finding useful means of measuring the impact of government on people. In this sense, on the one hand the paper describes and analysis strategies and mechanisms that street-level bureaucrats develop in order to deal with the strains imposed by internal and external context, and on the other hand presents the evaluation of the social workers from the street-level bureaucracy perspective and the impact of the mechanisms developed by street-level bureaucrats on clients. From a methodological standpoint, and taking into consideration the theoretical and normative framework from Romania, the research relies on comprehensive and systematic search of the vast literature on street-level bureaucracy and document analysis. Further, in order to complete the missing data the authors use the Law no. 544/2001 on free access to information of public interest for gathering information.
More...
The author raises the issue of current legal and financial aspects of international cooperation between local self-government units. Self-governmental cooperation that reaches across borders is sanctioned by the Polish Constitution, acts of international law – including the European Charter of Local Self-Government, ratified by Poland, as well as the European Framework Convention of Cross-Border Cooperation – and Polish legislation.International cooperation between units of local self-government is an important element of the EU policy of regional development, especially in terms of strengthening social, economic as well as territorial cohesion of the EU.Euroregions are a legal-administrative form of transborder cooperation between local self-governments and local communities. Their existence is based on agreements concluded directly between units of local self-government or associations of such units that belong to at least two states. In Poland there are currently 17 euroregions that join self-governments of Poland and those of other neighbouring states.One of the basic legal and financial instruments that underlie international cooperation of local self-government units of the EU is Interreg Initiative. The author also discusses the perspectives of international cooperation of local self-government units, particularly in the light of redefining the social and economic cohesion policy of the EU as well as new financial perspectives for the 2007-2013 budget.
More...
Austrian federalism is a result of a contest between centrifugal and centripetal forces. The federal principle was introduced into the constitution in 1920. Since then central competency's has been extensively Interpreted, limiting the role of the nine provinces. The legislative, judicial, and executive power belong in fact to the central organs, and so does the right to collect the income resulting from taxation. The constitution guarantees the participation of the provinces in the central government through the presence of the representative of provincial chairmen in the central executive power, and by a two chamber structure of Parliament in the legislature. The competency of the central council is practically reduced to the right of objection. In spite of the strong centralizing features of the Austrian federal structure the provinces continue to find new forms of collaboration and are involved in "co-operative federalism". Austrian provinces tend to realize some independent activity in terms of foreign policy on the basis of private law. The cooperation between border provinces and neighbouring countries, such as the "Alpe -Adria" community is legally based on private administration and makes not part of the international activity of the Austrian government.
More...
The automotive industry in Silesia province is becoming more important. It is influenced by many factors among which one of the most important are political activities of the self‑government authorities in Silesia province together with government administration. For example, the element of political activities was “The regional contract for the Katowice province” and Silesian Region Development Strategy. As the result of this activity, the Katowice Special Economic Zone was established, what was clearly affected and continues to affect the creation of new ones and the expansion of existing plants related to the automotive industry. For example, they are Fiat Auto Poland, Opel, Isuzu, Magneti Marelli. The development of this branch of industry is a great opportunity for a big technological leap and restructuring of the economy for Silesia province and for Poland.
More...
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, response to hazards (of natural or anthropological origin) and accidents (natural, technical/technological and other) is provided by forces and subjects in the protection and rescue system. Outcomes of accidents in Bosnia and Herzegovina show that there are numerous problems in the organization and operation of public administration bodies and operative services in charge of prevention, response and recovery. Root causes for this state of affairs should not be sought solely in human resources and lack of material resources, but also in the administration process and its operationalization through management of the system for rescue and protection of people and property in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
More...
Savet za borbu protiv korupcije (u daljem tekstu Savet) tokom svog rada obradio je više stotina predstavki koje se odnose na nepravilnosti u procesu privatizacije, o čemu je Vladi Republike Srbije podneto preko četrdeset izveštaja tokom proteklih deset godina.
More...