http://eupi.osi.bg http://eupi.osi.bg/cgi-bin/e-cms/vis/vis.pl?fc=s1p70n44 07.01.2012 The economic and financial crisis of Europe, as serious as it is, is not the ultimate or even the defining threat to the European project – it is only one of its faces, according to a new report by the Open Society Institute – Sofia . The report is based on the newly released Catch-Up Index that measures the performance of 35 countries – the EU member states, the candidate and potential candidate countries across four categories: Economy, Quality of Life, Democracy and Governance. Each category is measured by 47 indicators using standardized scores from 0 to 100 (lowest to highest), allowing for further observations and analysis to be made. The cracks within Europe are much more diverse and run deeper than the economic crisis suggests. Europe is very much divided along different levels of democracy and good governance, quality of life and economic performance.These divergences separate the European countries into six distinct clusters of states with similar characteristics. The placement of a European country in a cluster may be fundamentally more important than their membership of “political groups” such as the Eurozone.“The North–South division is gradually replacing the East–West rift and is signaling that the post-Cold War legacy is all but superseded by new factors. There is a new reality in Europe, but at the same time there are older historiccultural patterns – that can be traced back as far as the age of empires – that are visible on the new map of the continent drawn from the index findings”, said lead researcher Marin Lessenski. Fri, 06 Jan 2012 17:50:39 +0300 http://eupi.osi.bg/cgi-bin/e-cms/vis/vis.pl?fc=s1p70n43 8.12.2011The European leaders are meeting on December 9, 2011 in order to forge a common solution to the debt crisis in Europe – or as doomsayers predict – witness a disaster of catastrophic proportions. A new EuPI policy brief puts forward the opinion that the crisis in Europe is not only a debt crisis and there are multiple forces at work here – so the responses could not include only economic and financial measures. “The Combo Meal that Europe Should Rethink: The Debt Crisis as a Crisis of Governance?” claims that: - The exposure of a European country to the crisis seems to depend on both its debt level and its governance performance as there is a specific interplay of the two factors. - The debt ceiling of 60% of GDP of the Maastricht criteria cannot be a universal measure and the safe debt level ceilings seem to be country specific, defined by particular debt to governance ratio of a country. - Countries with poorer governance performance are closer to the danger zone even in case they have low debt levels. - The crisis in Europe is not only a debt crisis and there are multiple forces at work here – so the responses could not include only economic and financial measures. Based on the “debt vs. governance” assumption, the policy brief identifies the “proximity” of a country to a crisis, the probability of country reaching a crisis debt level and outlines the maximum debt ceilings each country can withstand before plunging into a serious trouble. Finally, the brief puts forward recommendations within a matrix for developing country-specific recovery packages. The policy brief is based on findings of the forthcoming Catch-Up Index of the Open Society Institute – Sofia. Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:03:00 +0300 http://eupi.osi.bg/cgi-bin/e-cms/vis/vis.pl?fc=s1p70n42 30.11.2011A new report of OSI-Sofia provides a review of available information on the basic characteristics of Bulgarian labour migration, as they evolved over the last few years, in an attempt to establish how and to what extent labour migration is influenced by the transitional arrangements restricting access to the labour market of certain EU Member States. The report says that Bulgaria is still one the poorest countries in the European Union, hence emigration to Western Europe remains an attractive solution for part of the population. However, the appeal of emigration is gradually declining, as unemployment rate in Bulgaria is now comparable to Western European levels, while differences in income have decreased: in the 1990s per capita income in Western Europe was 4 times higher than that in Bulgaria, while one decade later this ratio is 2.5 measured by purchasing power parity. As a result, emigration of Bulgarians has gradually declined. Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:38:33 +0300 http://eupi.osi.bg/cgi-bin/e-cms/vis/vis.pl?fc=s1p70n41 29.09.2011 Bulgaria and Romania played for either a victory (full membership) or a draw (phased-in membership) for Schengen entry in 2011, but so far they suffer defeat after defeat. The Council of the EU on September 22, 2011 failed again to grant entry of Bulgaria and Romania into Schengen due to the unwavering opposition of the Netherlands and Finland. But there are wider ramifications of these events that have to be considered and a new EuPI policy brief looks into these issues:- The opposition to enlarging Schengen is part of the list of stalled large-scale projects that come to define the EU and keep it moving. The EU is reconfiguring as certain states are trying to keep to peers and to isolate from members they consider problematic in some aspect – to their financial stability (in the Eurozone) or their security (in the Schengen). - The EU may be having a major problem as key states do not respect the rules they have written themselves and even if – assumingly – they have a point, the changes should be properly and orderly debated and introduced. The current Schengen situation left the bitter taste of arbitrary decisions. - Bulgaria and Romania have to more convincingly deal with corruption and crime as their image of problematic countries leave them vulnerable to criticism, but at the same time they have to insist on the obvious fact that the existing Schengen criteria have been met and they are not fairly treated. Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:08:47 +0300 http://eupi.osi.bg/cgi-bin/e-cms/vis/vis.pl?fc=s1p70n40 19.09.2011 A new EuPI policy brief by Georgi Angelov looks into the issue of changing public attitudes and perceptions about the Eurozone enlargement and the euro as an anchor of stability. According to the latest data of a public opinion poll by the Open Society Institute – Sofia, there is a growing strong majority in Bulgaria, which is opposing the entry into the Eurozone and replacing Bulgaria’s lev with the euro. There is even firmer position against Eurozone membership if Bulgaria has to participate with substantial funds in saving Western European countries. In public perceptions the euro might be turning from a source of stability into a source of burdens. Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:45:52 +0300 http://eupi.osi.bg/cgi-bin/e-cms/vis/vis.pl?fc=s1p70n39 08.09.2011The year 2011 proved tough for the European Union, shattering the foundations of two of its main integration projects – the common currency and its free-travel zone. While the Eurozone has been under tremendous pressure for some time now, another major achievement of Europe – the Schengen area has entered the fray, with some members closing down borders and others refusing the planned enlargement of newcomers Bulgaria and Romania. An opinion poll of the Open Society Institute – Sofia, released in August 2011, sought the answers to the question of the impact of the delay on public attitudes in the country. The findings show that:- Most of Bulgaria’s citizens agree with the EU actions and consider that the delay of Bulgaria’s membership has not been unfair; - The majority agrees with the informal arguments for delaying membership – the problems of Bulgaria with corruption, organized crime and reform of judiciary; - The delay of Schengen membership will not influence voters’ preferences at autumn 2011 elections, despite previous polls showed as many as 30% of the respondents claimed Schengen decision may change the way they vote. Thu, 08 Sep 2011 17:36:25 +0300 http://eupi.osi.bg/cgi-bin/e-cms/vis/vis.pl?fc=s1p70n38 25.07.2011 At the backdrop of worsening financial and economic news from Europe - especially from its Southeastern part - Moody’s agency upgraded Bulgaria’s sovereign rating. In a new EuPI policy brief, Georgi Angelov, Senior Economist with OSI-Sofia looks into the significance of the event, drawing broader conclusions and recommendations. He says that: • Moody’s upgraded Bulgaria’s rating for the first time in five years and Bulgaria has now the highest rating in the Balkans;• This is the first step in distinguishing Bulgaria from the problematic countries in the region and Europe; • The increase of the credit rating was delayed with an year because of the increased deficit in the spring of 2010; This could be compensated by faster elimination of the deficit and reforms; • The rating of Bulgaria is still low so further efforts are needed and not complacency; Georgi Angelov puts the bar for Bulgaria even higher by claiming that “It is not enough to compare the country with the other countries in the region – Bulgaria needs to reach the level of the leading new member states and even to pursue the levels of the leading countries in Europe.” Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:13:23 +0300 http://eupi.osi.bg/cgi-bin/e-cms/vis/vis.pl?fc=s1p70n37 17.06.2011An EuPI international conference, held on June 14, 2011 discussed the issue of Schengen accession of Bulgaria and Romania beyond the immediate technical membership criteria to include the broader context of the EU and its neighboring regions. The agenda and the format of the conference was a response to the lack of clarity about the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to Schengen, even after the two countries met the announced technical criteria for membership. You can find a synthesis report here. Fri, 17 Jun 2011 11:54:06 +0300 http://eupi.osi.bg/cgi-bin/e-cms/vis/vis.pl?fc=s1p70n36 03.06.2011 Assya Kavrakova, Program Director of the European Policies and Civic Participation Program and EuPI of OSI-Sofia made a presentation on “Media Freedom – the Findings of the Catch Up Index”. The presentation was part of the international conference “Media freedom and the Challenges of Democratic Development in the Countries of Central and Eastern Europe”, organized by the Council of Europe, Fondation Robert Schuman, Organisation internationale de la Francophonie on 30-31 May 2011 in Sofia Bulgaria. Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:45:09 +0300 http://eupi.osi.bg/cgi-bin/e-cms/vis/vis.pl?fc=s1p70n35 11.05.2011 A new EuPI policy briefs by Bernard Rorke, Director of International Research and Advocacy, Roma Initiatives Open Society Foundations, debates the merits and shortcomings of the recently developed EU Framework for Roma Integration by 2020. But the policy briefs not only discusses but also offers specific recommendations on several key areas, including on approaches to combat racism and xenophobia, the mechanisms for consultation, coordination and participation, the proposal to draw a crisis map a Europe-wide crisis map, to identify and survey those micro-regions where communities are hardest hit, combating the multiple discrimination faced by Romani women, Racism and xenophobia as well as the critical area of education. Wed, 11 May 2011 11:33:27 +0300