Publications

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.

The project executed from May 2001 to May 2002 gave the chance to 60 young people to experience the charms of intercultural learning. We are proud to have been able In the project to see young people becoming active citizens and reflecting deeper on the realities and the challenges of the future of the Balkan countries. The established Bosporus Group - Tirana and Bosporus Group - Skopje rises the hope for new cooperation activities on the Balkans and evergoing learning possibilities for Youth.

Within its regional project Conflict prevention and integration politics — Promoting multiethnic coexistence, Friedrich Ebert Foundation began, in 2000, collecting material in order to edit a hand-book in the German language "Verdammt zur Marginalitat? Die Roma in Rumanien" ("Doomed to marginalization? The Roma in Romania"). This handbook came out of print in April 2001. By consent with the regional offices of FES in South-Eastern Europe, in spring 2001 a catalogue of questions was drafted. It was distributed to the offices and, after several reviews, on the basis of 8 questions, the present handbook was prepared, ready for print in English and German in summer 2002.

The publication on National Minorities in South-East Europe. Legal and Social Status at Local Level is the result of a workshop in Belgrade/Yugoslavia in May 2002, organised by the Zagreb office of Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) in the frame of the regional project of FES "Local Self-Government and Decentralization in South-East Europe". In the context of the Stability Pact for South-East Europe and in co-operation with national institutions the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung has initiated a regional project to analyze the situation and the reforms of self-government and decentralization in the countries of the region, covering Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Romania, and Hungary.