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Showing posts from 2005

MSc and PhD scholarships in Economics for Candidates from SEE

Application deadline: 27 January 2006 The Open Society Institute (Budapest), Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Staffordshire University Business School are offering 1-year MSc and 4-year PhD scholarships in Economics for qualified candidates form Bosnia-Hercegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Croatia. MSc scholarships are offered in the first fourcountries/regions and PhDs in all six.Details of the scholarship programme can be found on the University's Business School website at http://www.staffs.ac.uk/business . For all further information please contact Mrs. Jenny Herbert at j.herbert@staffs.ac.uk

Training course for trainers in human rights education with young people, 6-15 March 2006, Budapest

Application deadline: 9 January 2006 Organised by the Directorate of Youth and Sport of the Council of Europe, the course aims to develop the competence of trainers in working with human rights education at national and regional level and to enable them to act as trainers or multipliers for human rights education, especially through national or regional training courses and local pilot projects organised by its partners. For more information on the TC please click here

Call for proposals for national and regional training courses in human rights education for 2006

Application deadline: 31 January 2006 The Directorate of Youth and Sport of the Council of Europe has been running a European youth programme on human rights education since the year 2000, aiming to bring human rights issues in the mainstream of youth work practice. This programme is designed to achieve wide synergies between human rights education and youth work in the Council of Europe member states and beyond. The Council of Europe welcomes proposals and expressions of interest from non-governmental youth organisations, other non-governmental and governmental organisations and institutions interested in human rights education with young people. For all further information please click here

SALTO SEE Activities update

Information concerning support activities organised by SALTO SEE in 2006 on our website has been updated. In particular, you can now find calls for participation and application forms for the following activities: Training Course on the financial management of YOUTH programme grantsDates and venue of the activity: 17 - 20 March 2006, Sarajevo (BiH)Deadline for applications: 6 February 2006 National Agency staff training and YOUTH programme evaluation workshop on Cooperation with South East EuropeDates and venue of the activity: 24 - 28 May, Mostar (BiH)Deadline for applications: 20 March 2006 Full information can be found or downloaded under http://www.salto-youth.net/tcsee/

Second Call for YOUTH Programme Contact Points in Partner Countries in South East Europe

Application deadline: 25 January 2006 The SALTO SEE Resource Centre is issuing a second call for YOUTH Programme Contact Points in South East Europe to complement the existing Contact Points which were set up in September 2005. Following a public call for applications in spring 2005, a total of 12 YOUTH programme Contact Points were nominated by the SALTO SEE Resource Centre in consultation with the European Commission, and set up in September 2005 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the fYR of Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro. The SALTO-YOUTH SEE Resource Centre is issuing this second call to invite NGOs from specific regions in South East Europe, which could not be covered after the first call, to apply for this role, in particular: Albania: Up to 3 YOUTH Contact Points can be established in different parts of the country. Eastern part of Croatia (Slavonia,...) : One YOUTH Contact Point should be set up to complement the work carried out by the two already existing Contact Points

Europe scores with the '.eu' !

Did you know that the EU got its own '. eu' internet domain on 7 December? On the eve of the registration day, about 100 000 '.eu' requests had already been registered If you want to know all about this new saga, pay a visit to the Information Society website of the European Commission! A general fact sheet , a technical fact sheet and the Frequently Asked Questions will keep you up-to-date with all the '.eu' news. The registration process will happen in three stages : during the first two months – called 'sunrise' period – the registration of '.eu' names will be reserved to trademark holders and public bodies. From 7 February to 6 April 2006 registration will be open to other applicants, f.i. company names, unregistered trademarks or works of art. Registration will be open to all from 7 April. How can you register? It is a piece of cake. You just need to get in touch with one of the 779 registration offices around the world, from the United

Enlargement strategy endorsed

The enlargement strategy presented in November by the European Commission received strong endorsement from European Union foreign affairs ministers at their December 12 General Affairs and External Relations Council in Brussels. In its formal conclusions, the Council welcomed the Commission’s Communication on Enlargement presented on 9 November 2005, and the reports, recommendations and partnership proposals that accompanied it. At the request of several member states, the EU is planning a major reflection next year on the direction, speed and scope of enlargement, in the context of the broad reflections on the future of Europe. The Commission strategy is a good basis for "a necessary, further discussion on enlargement in 2006", the Council concluded. Meanwhile, careful attention was needed to anchor and develop support for the enlargement process across the EU, taking particular account of the views of EU citizens and the absorption capacity of the Union, the Council said.

SALTO Upcomming Inclusion activities

Inclusion - Breaking the barriers of social and physical disadvantages through voluntary service: a contact making seminar to establish partnerships between the organisations from the EU, and Pre-Accession Countries, that will trigger new volunteer exchange projects, enhancing the young peoples' mobility and promoting their participation and inclusion in the development of civil society. Bulgaria 9-12 March 2006. Course Description Out! - summercamp 2006: Summercamp for young people, aged 16 to 25. The theme will be "Living in a group is not easy". This theme came up due to the many questions OUT! receives about it. Living in society can be difficult, especially when you are gayminded or face some other identity. This can raise even more questions when you are dealing with different cultures. Who am I within an intercultural group? The Netherlands 27 July-8 August 2006. http://www.outinfo.nl - summercamp@outweb.nl

SALTO Inclusion Training Course 'NO Offence' - Apply now -

No Offence , 3-10 April 2006, Belgium (Flanders) - A Training Course for youth workers (social workers, peer educators,...) working with young ex-offenders, offenders who are currently in prison or youth at risk of offending - about how to use the European YOUTH programme as a tool to create meaningful projects for this target group. This course will be organised according to the SALTO Inclusion Quality Charter for organising training courses - check them out online at www.SALTOYOUTH.net/InclusionQualityCharter/ . This way you know what you can expect when applying for a SALTO Inclusion Course, and maybe you can get inspired by this Quality Charter for the training activities that you are organising, to make them (even) better. The SALTO Inclusion Resource Centre organises this TC No Offence, within its strategy to promote the inclusion of a variety of specific target groups with fewer opportunties in the YOUTH programme. Read course description and apply now (www.salto-youth.net/appli

Macedonia – candidate for membership in the European Union

Early today, the European Council in Brussels decided to grant Republic of Macedonia candidate status for membership of EU. The Heads of States and Governments of EU Member States thus recognised the progress that Macedonia has made in meeting the Copenhagen criteria.Following this decision Macedonia has joined the candidate countries Croatia and Turkey.

YOUTH programme - calls for proposals

01.02.2006 (up to 01.11.2006. Deadlines vary according to Action and National Agency.) Budget line / available budget 15.05.01 / 108.445.000 EUR Objectives and supported actions in the field of ENARґs work The YOUTH programme is the EU’s mobility and non-formal education programme targeting young people aged between 15 and 25 years. It offers young people opportunities for mobility and active participation in the construction of Europe. It aims to create a European arena for cooperation in the development of youth policy, based on non-formal education. It also encourages the concept of lifelong learning and the development of skills and competencies which promote active citizenship. The Programme pursues the following objectives: Facilitating the integration of young people into society at large and encouraging their spirit of initiative. Helping young people acquire knowledge, skills and competencies, and recognising the value of such experience. Allowing young people to give free exp

Macedonia should not be held hostage, Denmark says

European liberal leaders have attacked plans to block Macedonia's EU candidate status if there is no budget deal, but showed optimism that a finance breakthrough is near. See more >

Moment of truth

Macedonia, the EU budget, and the destabilisation of the Balkans Executive Summary France has declared that it is prepared to veto the approval of Macedonia’s candidate status, recommended last month by the European Commission. Instead, it has proposed a new debate as to whether there should be any further EU enlargement at all. The United Kingdom has proposed a new budget for the EU that would preclude any serious pre-accession assistance for the Western Balkans for the next 7-year budgetary period. The UK proposal could shut the door on further enlargement just as forcefully as a French veto. Between France and the UK, there is now a distinct possibility that the European Council meeting beginning on Thursday (15th December) will not just deny candidate status to Macedonia, but throw the entire European strategy in the Balkans into confusion. This would be a disastrous policy error. For this reason, ESI is calling on EU member states not to forget their commitments to the countries o

An EU-funded media campaign launched on November 30 will promote activities for young people across the Republic of Macedonia

The aim is to promote tolerance under the banner “together for youth”. The EU will provide €900,000 over the next 18 months for the project, which is managed by the European Agency for Reconstruction. “Youth projects are very important for a country already on its way to reaching European standards and values,” said the country's prime minister, Vlado Buckovski, at the campaign launch in Skopje. “This campaign is an excellent opportunity to show the full potential of our young generation and to ‘Europeanise’ it in its way of thinking and acting.” The campaign will include television spots, billboards, posters, brochures and other materials, targeting people aged 15–24, and will spotlight the most pressing issues faced by the country’s youth. “This project will contribute to the improvement of inter-ethnic understanding and collaboration among young people throughout the country,” said the EU Special Representative and Head of the European Commission Delegation to the country, Erwin

EU member states are due to decide during December on whether to grant candidate status to the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Olli Rehn, European Commissioner for Enlargement, lent his strong support on December 8 to the Commission's proposal that it should be considered a candidate, but without any date set for the start of negotiations. And the EU-former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting in Brussels on December 5-6 also backed the idea, arguing that it would "not only encourage the country to achieve further results in the reform process, but also strengthen stability in the region and send a clear message that progress made is rewarded". Meanwhile, the Austrian Presidency of the EU – which will run from January to June 2006 - has already included the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in its priorities.

See who's giving, who's getting grants in your field.

Strengthen your search for funds with the Foundation Center's Grants for Children & Youth. Descriptions of 28,930 recent grants of $10,000 or more Over $3.2 billion in distributed grants Grants from 1,029 foundations This new Guide is a great resource for grantseekers who focus on any of these areas: adolescent parent services adult/child matching programs child development children's museums child welfare, including adoption, foster care, and prevention of child abuse neonatal care pediatrics and children's hospitals pregnancy counseling and prevention programs prevention of youth violence and rehabilitation for youth offenders scouting organizations youth centers and clubs youth development Easy-access indexes help you quickly find the information you need. The subject index helps you locate funders for your specific project...the geographic index shows which grantmakers fund programs in your state or country...and the recipient index allows you to track grants awarde

First issue of „Bulletin Europe“ - Прв број на Билтенот Европа

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The Secretariat for European Affairs has started to publish “Bulletin Europe” , in the line with the efforts to inform the public administration, local self-government and the wider public about the process of integration of the Republic of Macedonia in the European Union. Bulletin Europe will be published on a monthly bases on Macedonian language and will be distributed to the public administration and the units of local self-government.The Secretariat for European Affairs also prepares electronic edition of the bulletin in Macedonian and English. These issues will be accessible for the entire Macedonian public via internet, and will be distributed to the EU bodies and institutions, international organisations, embassies, think-tanks and international media. If you want to be added to the distribution list, please register at the following link: contact@avis.gov.mk Секретаријатот за европски прашања почна да издава гласило со име Билтен Европа како дел од напорите за информирање на д

Definition of Lobbying

The text here below is the first chapter of a paper entitled ‘Comparative Lobbying Practices: Washington, London, Brussels written by Mr. Conor Mc Grath, Lecturer in Political Communication and Public Affairs at the University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland. The value of this presentation is that it is based on research as well as on the interviews conducted by the author. In the national context in particular, lobbyists are often seen in a negative light as “pullers off strings” to influence politics out of the public eye. In Brussels on the other hand, in as far as they are playing a constructive role, lobbyists are appreciated as experts. The lobbyist bringing good ideas and convincing arguments to the table is likely to receive undivided attention and positions himself as a proactive partner assisting in solving the problem at stake. Admittedly, there is a problem of definition. Today people in the industry are ‘European Public Affairs Specialists’, ‘EU Public Affairs

European Policy Summit: Bringing the Balkans into Mainstream Europe, 8 December 2005, Belgium

This high-level international event, the sixth in a series of yearly events on reconstruction and economic development issues in South East Europe, will be held at the Palais d'Egmont in Brussels on Thursday 8 December 2005. The Summit will offer an ideal opportunity to debate the future of the Balkans before an audience of EU policymakers, government representatives, business leaders, NGO representatives, academia and members of the international press. The debates will be organised around three main questions: Are the Balkans becoming part of the European Economy? Which Balkans countries are headed for EU membership? What are the dos and don'ts of Balkan reconstruction and development? Please click here to see the full programme of the summit and download the registration form. The registration form has to be returned either by fax on 02 738 75 97 or by email at info@friendsofeurope.org . For more information please click here or contact the organizers at +32 2 737 91 45 o

East East Programme: Partnership Beyond Borders

Application deadline: at least three months before a project is due to begin The East East Program: Partnership Beyond Borders is one of the initiatives implemented by the Open Society Foundation in London (a registered UK charity). The program supports international exchanges that bring together civil society actors to share ideas, information, knowledge, experiences, and expertise and to support practical actions that result from that networking. The programme provides financial and human resources that enable civil society actors to build and/or strengthen resources and expertise, share best practices/lessons learned in social transformation, collaborate on innovative solutions to common challenges, create and/or strengthen international advocacy coalitions. The program gives priority to long-term initiatives with clear goals and realistic potential for effecting positive change, for example, by empowering marginalized and/or vulnerable sectors of society, promoting cultural, ethnic

Conference "Balkan Caucasus Programme", 18-22 December 2005, Macedonia

Community Development Institute - Tetovo starts with implementation of the Balkan Caucasus program. This initiative of collaboration and building partnership between the Balkan and Caucasus region started in November 2002 during the discussion among the participants from the Balkans and Caucasus at the DLP forum organized by the Community Development Institute (CDI) - YIC. In August 2003, at the conference "Building Balkan and Caucasus NGO network" organized by the project partners, a declaration has been signed and the principles for further collaboration were established. The objectives of the programme are: to establish links and to forge more effective cross border collaboration between young leaders and NGOs from the Balkan and Caucasus countries; to provide training for the DLP alumnus and Balkan Caucasus NGO network Members in mediation and negotiation skills to be used in their further youth work; to create a comprehensive data base about methods, tools and case studi

Training Course "Adventure Education", 8 - 15 July 2006, Luxembourg

Application deadline: 10 January 2006 National Agency of the YOUTH programme from Luxembourg has published a Call for participants for the Training Course "Adventure Education", that will take place at the Youth Hostel Lultzhausen, Luxembourg, 8 - 15 July 2006.The Training Course will touch practical aspects of Youth Work through workshops, presentations, information space, exchange of experience, discussions, learning by experience, intercultural learning. The participants will have the opportunity to present their personal, professional and cultural backgrounds. They will also have the opportunity to share experiences about their work with young people and to see how to transfer their experiences of adventure education to the reality of their everyday work with young people. Working language of the TC: English. Objectives to provide a general introduction to theory and practice of experiential education, to enable participants to implement outdoor projects in their organisa

New website exposes recipients of EU farm support

A Europe-wide network of investigative journalists will today (1 December) launch a website with detailed information about the end-recipients of EU farm support.Last year, the European Union spent €43.5 billion on agriculture, more than 40 percent of the whole EU budget. But in most countries information on who gets the money is kept secret. The new website, FarmSubsidy.org is for the first time offering the public easy access to this information. Интересен WEB за тоа која земја колку пари добива од фондовита на ЕУ за земјоделство.

EU Visas and the Western Balkans

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International Crisis Group (ICG) said in a report published on Tuesday that EU should re-examine the current visa policy with regard to Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro including Kosovo and allow free circulation to the EU for students, professors, researches, businessmen and journalists. See more >

EU states divided over future status of Kosovo

EU member states disagree on the final status of Kosovo, with one diplomat characterising the situation as a "cacaphony of opinions" coming out of European capitals See more >

Grants

GRANTS, FUNDS AND PROGRAMMES BY EU POLICY

ECOFIN (Budget) Council Conclusions 24 November 2005

Main Results of the Council The Council held a conciliation meeting with a delegation from the European Parliament to examine the EU's draft general budget for 2006. Despite major progress in bringing positions closer together, representatives of the two institutions were unable to reach total agreement at this stage, and the Council postponed its second reading of the draft budget. The Council adopted without discussion joint actions providing for the establishment of an EU police advisory team in Macedonia until next June, and continuation until the end of 2007 of the EU police mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Statement by the Presidency on the failure to reach agreement on the 2006 Budget Read the full text (provisional version): Provisional Conclusions: ECOFIN (Budget) 24 November 2005 (PDF, 189 KB)

Eight countries are waiting in the wings to join the European Union.

Bulgaria and Romania have signed accession treaties and are set to join in 2007 or 2008. Croatia and Turkey started accession talks on 3 October 2005. Turkey could complete them in 10 years, Croatia in five. The other four Balkan countries have been told they can join the EU one day, if they meet the criteria. These include democracy, the rule of law, a market economy and adherence to the EU's goals of political and economic union. Candidates for EU membership

Pre-register now for the International Summer University Macedonia 2006

In the summer of 2006, the Academic Training Association (ATA) togetherwith the Universities of Skopje, Bitola, Tetovo and the SEE Universitywill organise the second International Summer University in Macedonia. It is not possible yet to apply for the Summer University, but you canpre-register now by entering your name and email address on www.academictraining.org We will then inform you by email as soon as theregistration procedure opens. The ISUM 2006 will offer 20 intensive 3-week courses in Law, Economics, Business Administration, Public Administration, Education Science andTeacher Training. Courses will be taught in English and successfulparticipants will receive an official ECTS-compatible "Summer University Certificate". Next to the academic courses, cool parties, weekendexcursions, field trips, sports tournaments, and debates will be organisedfor all participants! Don't miss your chance for a great summer - visit www.academictraining.org and pre-register for the

Education, training and youth Grants and loans

Education and training programmes Youth Programme Promotion of Active European Citizenship

THE PROGRAMME OF CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES

The Programme of Confidence-building Measures (CBM) in civil society was established following the first Council of Europe Summit held in Vienna in 1993. The upsurge of problems concerning majority-minority relations in specific countries has revealed the need to back up legal standard-setting and intergovernmental co-operation by implementing specific initiatives in particular fields in close co-operation with the majority and minority communities concerned. The CBM Programme is the only assistance and co-operation programme of the Council of Europe that provides subsidies to civil society projects. The Programme’s budget for projects is each year considerably increased by voluntary contributions from member States. The CBM Programme is designed to improve tolerance and understanding between communities and to defuse possible tensions between different communities in order to break down the barriers that divide them, both within member or applicant States as well as across borders. Th

Round-table meeting "Balkans and EU"

A round-table meeting entitled "The Balkans and the European Union" will take place this weekend in Bucharest with participation of 10 countries from the region, including representatives of NGOs and foundations.The meeting will focus on regional co-operation, security-related issues, EU integration process, and EU's role in Kosovo status talks.The event was organized by the Project on Ethnic Relations (PER).The PER was founded in 1991 to encourage the peaceful resolution of conflicts in the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe and the Russian Federation.

EU states lose grip on climate change targets

Further efforts are needed to tackle climate change, the UN has warned in a fresh report, with greenhouse gas emissions in many EU states rising instead of decreasing.The Bonn-based United Nations Climate Change secretariat in a report released on Thursday (17 November) warned that the western world is losing its grip on the climate change problem. UN researchers found that overall in the industrialised world, greenhouse gas emissions were down 5.9 percent in 2003 compared to the 1990 levels.But the UN report says a large part of the reductions were achieved in Central and Eastern Europe in the early 1990s, as heavily-polluting industry stemming from the communist era were shut down as these countries restructured their economies.Richard Kinley, acting head of the UN climate change body, said: "What we see is that the emissions from developed countries as a group have been stable in recent years and not decreased as they did in the early 1990s. Moreover, greenhouse gas projections

The importance of education

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What is education ? Is it maybe a kind of a polite gentleman that softly puts fair-plays manners into greedy human beings ?(… This time the first glance over the topic is given to me by a short article from The Economist: how Europe fails its young , attacking the state-of-the-art of Europe’s higher education….)Definitely education is much more than gentlemen. It regards the fundamentals of a nation, an area or a macro-region, that could strive them to improvements, both cultural and economical.Will there be an European Education System ?I hope and I envisage a time when not only credits are changeable, as now, but when the entire system will move from the same political view: a common financial independence, a variegated degree of freedoms: to get funds, to choose his own research fields, to set up specific academic paths. To be updated and gain competitiveness.

2006 European Youth Campaign for Diversity, Human Rights and Participation

"All Different - All Equal" This campaign will be organised by the Council of Europe and the European Youth Forum. In 2006, activities linked to the themes of the campaign will be given priority for EYF funding. For more information, consult the Youth web site: www.coe.int/youth

The European flag – symbol of Europe's common values and unity

The European flag – symbol of Europe's common values and unity At a ceremony in Strasbourg today to mark the 50th anniversary of the European flag, the leaders of the major European institutions said that the flag, which represented the shared values of the Council of Europe and the European Union, was the symbol of a continent-wide unity that transcended national frontiers. The ceremony was brought to a close by twelve children, who placed the twelve stars on a giant flag spread out on the lawn of the Palais de l'Europe. (more ...) Video of the event Photo gallery Radio and TV Spots Special file

Coyte Magazine

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A magazine on issues around "Youth-Training-Europe", published once or twice a year. Its main target group is trainers and leaders of youth organisations. It contains articles written by experienced youth workers and specialists on issues of European-level youth worker training. More...

The dog barks

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Throughout the prolonged spasm of rioting in France, now in its 17th day, one dog which has been strangely silent is the European Union. Quick to give its opinion – wanted or not – on any manner of issues, it has refrained to commenting, much less offering anything like criticism.Now, that silence is broken. El presidente Barroso has leapt into the foreground, not of course criticising France but actually offering money - €50 million, "to help it tackle problems in its suburbs that have provoked unrest”.According to Reuters , Barroso revealed his offer on Europe 1 radio, stating that the main challenge facing France in dealing with impoverished suburbs was to create youth employment, "The best social politics is to create employment," he said. "When you have 60 percent of youths unemployed in suburbs it is a problem." Interestingly, Barroso said he had offered to make the funds available in a letter to Villepin on Friday. "If the French authorities want to

Balkans moving forward…

by Brussels Gonzo The European Commission released its annual reports on enlargement yesterday, including a recommendation that Macedonia be recognised as an EU candidate . Eagerly anticipated (including by Doug Muir a few weeks back ), but also pretty stunning given the difficulties the region has had, and given the general perception of enlargement fatigue. However in my view this piece of good news is put in the shade by this morning’s Guardian story about likely Bosnian constitutional reform . Apparently a deal brokered by the Americans, but lubricated by the prospect of EU entry, “would give Bosnia the ’normal’ trappings of an integrated, non-ethnic parliamentary democracy: a national parliament with full legislative powers, central government and cabinet enjoying full executive power, and a titular head of state”.

Macedonia backed as EU candidate

The European Commission has recommended that Macedonia become a candidate country for EU membership. Macedonia will be the third ex-Yugoslav republic to gain candidate status, after Slovenia - an EU member since 2004 - and Croatia. The Commission did not set a date for starting entry talks with Macedonia, leaving that to December's EU summit. It said Turkey could now be termed a functioning market economy but said it had to do more to respect human rights. EU officials say that politically, Macedonia is an incredibly positive story, but that it still has a long way to go in terms of the economy and the public administration. Weak and divided The country stepped back from the brink of civil war in 2001, after the EU and Nato helped broker an agreement between ethnic Albanian rebels and the majority Slav population. "Only a few years after a major security crisis, the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia today is a stable democracy and a functioning multi-ethnic state," a

Olli Rehn – Candidate status as recognition for the accomplished

The EU Commissioner for Enlargement, Olli Rehn visited Macedonia on 10 November 2005. On the meetings with the highest Macedonian authorities, the Commissioner elaborated the Opinion and the European Partnership Report and evaluated the progress that Macedonia has made and presented recommendation for what has to be done.“You’ve got a one-way ticket”, Rehn agreed with the comment of the Prime Minister Vlado Bučkovski, regarding EC’s recommendation to the EU Council to grant Macedonia status of candidate country for EU membership. The opinion is that Republic of Macedonia has stabile and functionate, democratic institutions respecting their competences and cooperating with each other.Rehn stated that submitting the application was the right step that contributed the process.“EU family will be incomplete as long as the Western Balkan countries remain outside it”, said Commissioner Rehn, reminding that those were his words during his first visit to Macedonia, one year ago.“Twelve months l

Project: “Human rights and freedoms in South-Eastern Europe – problems and solutions”

  COUNTRY REPORT ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS REGARDING YOUNG PEOPLE IN MACEDONIA INTRODUCTION Stability and respecting of human rights and freedoms are the base of developing an democratic country. The power that moves the country toward progress is youth. Everything that concerns the young people in each society has essential impact on the progress of that society. The situation in the region, considering the human rights and freedoms is not on a satisfying level. According to the information of the World Audit Organization (www.worldaudit.org) Macedonia is ranked at 70th position in the worldwide democracy rating (out of 149 observed states in the world). Only 6 other European states (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Moldova, Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine) are ranked lower. In respect of the corruption issue Macedonia in ranked 98th. (in this area only one European state is ranked lower than Macedonia-Albania). As regards the issue of freedom of information, Macedonia is ranked