Publications

The divided situation in the region has not substantially been improved over the past few years. This applies to both sides of the social partnership. On the trade-union side there is but little change. In Albania, the two trade union federations grew closer and are cooperating on resolving important issues. Bosnia-Herzegovina, however, did not yet see the formation of a trade union confederation between the unions in the Federation and the Republika Srpska.

The enlargement* of the EU from 15 to 25 states, on 1 May 2004, has been a spectacular success, pointing to the enormous transformative power of the prospect of European integration. Now that the Central and East European Countries (CEECs) have been accepted as new member states, only seven South East European countries remain outside the Union.

The enhancement and development of internal party democracy and democratically functioning party organizational structures are burning issues within the consolidating democracies of South Eastern Europe. Autocratic political leaders and the inability of parties to adequately absorb people's needs in their policies are major factors behind a growing crisis, reflected in declining voter participation in elections.

The regional office of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) in Zagreb, in cooperation with the office of FES in Bulgaria, organized a workshop in Sofia inApril 2004 on the issue of public administration on the local and regional level. The results are presented in the publication Reforming local public administration. Efforts and Perspectives in South-East European Countries. During the workshop, experts from various countries from South-East Europe and from Germany compared and discussed different approaches and reform steps in the region concerning public administration on the local level.

In the context of the Stability Pact for South-East Europe and in cooperation with the national institutions, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) initiated in spring 2001 a regional project “Local Self-Government and Decentralization in South-East Europe”, focusing on the situation and the reforms of self-government and decentralization in the countries of the region. The project covers Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, and Slovenia.

The two-day conference, entitled “Shaping A Common Security Agenda For Southeast Europe - New Approaches And Shared Responsibilities”, took place on September 5 and 6 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The conference covered some of the key aspects of the future of Southeast European (SEE) security in the context of EU and NATO enlargement. More specifically, the objectives of the conference were to address three major issues.

The regional office of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), in Zagreb in cooperation with the Budapest office of FES, organized in Budapest in October 2003 a workshop on the issue of public services on the local and regional level. The results are presented in the publication Reforms of Public Services: Experiences of Municipalities and Regions in South-East Europe. During the workshop experts of various countries from SouthEast Europe compared and discussed different approaches in the region for the provision of public services to citizens on the local level.

The publication Economic Development on the Local and Regional Level is the result of a workshop held in Zagreb in March 2003, organized by the Zagreb office of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES). During the workshop, experts of the various countries of South-East Europe discussed the question of what a local government can do for its own economic development and the development of the region. Experience shows that the development of each local unit is unique, even though the juridical framework and regulations are the same for all units within a single country.