Publications

The current events in Ukraine and Russias stance, as well as the reactions of the EU are viewed differently in the countries of southeast Europe, thus causing discord. Albania and Montenegro, as the only nonmember-states clearly voiced their pro-European positions in order to set a sign for their Euro-Atlantic integration.

Migrants contribute to development globally. The potentials are vast through money transfers alone, however the diaspora also contributes to the development of the origin countries. The positive effects of migration do not occur by themselves, but only when certain conditions are fulfilled. These must be carefully designed in cooperation with the origin countries. Fair opportunities for labor migration, effective protection of migrants' rights and consequent efforts to stop wage dumping and other risks.

Social policy has always been one of the most important topics for Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung due to the fact that the capitalist market economy always tends towards social exclusion and needs to be regulated by strong social correctives. The past two decades have brought painful experiences to South-Eastern European societies following the end of socialism, during which time socio-economic inequality and poverty has increased dramatically through the introduction of the capitalist market economy.

The history of the European Union is sustained by the fascinating idea of peace and freedom in a united continent. In 2012 the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, which was both recognition and a challenge. However, it is also true that these days one often hears the EU mentioned in connection with the word "crisis" . When the unregulated financial markets collapsed in 2008 the lending banks were bailed out by the state.

The Media Barometers facilitated by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) are self-assessment instruments to gauge the status of freedom of expression and of the media in a national context. Such assessments have been undertaken in various countries in Africa since 2004 and in Asia from 2009. In September 2011, the Balkan Media Barometer (BMB) was initiated in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a pilot project for Southeast Europe and the rest of the continent. In 2014, the second Balkan Media Barometer was developed for BiH, given that the original plan – as envisaged in the basic concept – was to repeat this panel discussion every two to three years. The same was done in other parts of the world so that development of the situation could be observed…

This book is a sociological portrait of young people in present-day Bulgaria – twenty-five years after the beginning of the Change and seven years after the country’s accession to the European Union. The path passed since 1989 is the result of the aspirations and efforts of several generations. Although social reality does not match the bravest expectations of the first postcommunist generation or the requirements of today’s youth, it has created a qualitatively new environment for young people making their life choices. At the crossroads to adulthood, Bulgarian youth feel free to choose from a much wider array of opportunities than their parents and grandparents, even though today the risks to youth transitions are much greater too.

This study focuses on a socio-demographic category which is crucial to any country’s future: youths. Public or private speeches on youths are both enthusiastic and passionate (i.e., “youths are our future!”, “it is youths who started the Revolution!” etc.), and less flattering (i.e., “youths nowadays are good for nothing!”, “youths were different back in the day [better, more hardworking, more diligent...]”, “generation gap”, etc.). Politicians often tend to remember youths especially during election campaigns. During the most recent elections for the European Parliament and the presidential elections in Romania we could see that politicians stopped pretending to be interested in youths, thinking that since youths donot usually come to…

The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung is committed to the goals of social democracy and the ideals of the labour movement. The 150th anniversary of the SPD on 23 May 2013 provides the occasion for the Academy for Social Democracy to look back on the history of social democracy in the Social Democracy Readers series. This is the first English-language edition of this Reader. It is offered as a helping hand for political decision-makers and opinion formers in the more than 100 countries in which the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung promotes democracy and development, and contributes to peace and security.