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 in Croatia (Volunteers Centre Zagreb in cooperation with the Croatian Youth Network, Zagreb, and ZUM, Pula)
Kosovo (UNMIK): One YOUTH Contact Point should be set up.
The main role of the YOUTH programme Contact Points is to assist the SALTO SEE Resource Centre in enhancing the visibility of and access to the YOUTH programme in the Programme's Partner Countries in South East Europe.
The selected NGOs will be sub-contracted as service providers by the SALTO SEE Resource Centre for a period of in total 6 months, starting on1 April and ending on 31 October 2006, and will receive a small fee to support them in carrying out their tasks as Contact Points for the YOUTH programme.
Candidates must apply by sending the completed "YOUTH programme Contact Point application form" to the SALTO SEE Resource Centre, in which they are asked to describe the nature and experience of their organisation, as well as a proposal of how they would fulfill their role as a contact point for the Programme.
Applications must be sent by post to the SALTO SEE Resource Centre by 25 January 2006 (date of the postal stamp).
The full Call for Applications and the application form can be downloaded under http://www.salto-youth.net/seeStrategy. For more information, please contact the SALTO SEE Resource Centre.

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 States to Japan. These offices are accredit by EURid, a non-profit organisation which has been selected by the European Commission to manage the '.eu' domain name.
How much will this cost? During the 'sunrise' period the basic fee charged by EURid will be of €10. It will cost an additional €35 for public bodies, €45 for trademark holders and €85 for other types of domain names. '.eu' applicants will also need to pay about €100 to their registration office.
Uptil now the most popular domain names are 'hotel.eu', 'travel.eu', but also 'sex.eu', 'jobs.eu', 'casino.eu' and 'music.eu'.

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. Conditionality should be applied effectively, at all stages of the process, in a fair and rigorous way, the Council added, reiterating at the same time its "strong encouragement to candidate countries, and other countries in the Western Balkans, along the road to reform and stability by reconfirming their European perspective." On Croatia, which started EU membership negotiations in October, the Council underlined its commitment to the accession process, and urged the country to make further progress on all the issues identified in the Commission's November report and in the Accession Partnership that has now been agreed. The Council exhorted Turkey to continue its reforms and preparations. And it reminded the Turkish authorities that there would be an EU verification to ensure "a follow-up in 2006 on the progress made on relevant issues" set out in the EU September declaration – a reference to the formal reminders that the EU offered to Turkey on recognising Cyprus and opening up its ports and airspace to accommodate traffic with the island.
Accession Partnerships set out principles, priorities and conditions to focus candidates' preparations for accession, and provide guidance for EU financial assistance. European Partnerships are similar documents, for countries in the Western Balkans as they move towards the prospect of EU membership. Each country is expected to develop a plan with a timetable and specific measures to address the legislative, budgetary and administrative planning priorities of these partnerships, and implementation is regularly monitored by the EU. The partnerships are updated in the light of developments, and successive versions identify new priorities for action adapted to each country’s specific needs and stage of preparation.
The Council also welcomed the Commission’s November road map for the Western Balkans and the progress reports on the countries in the region. It "drew encouragement from the region’s recent progress that the EU’s policies, based primarily on the fair and rigorous use of conditionality and a clear European perspective, were proving effective." And it reaffirmed its longstanding message that the future of the Western Balkans, with its potential candidate countries, lies in the European Union. Each country’s progress towards the EU would depend on how quickly it establishes respect for and protection of minorities, and other requirements of the links with the EU, including full co-operation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the Council confirmed. It particularly urged Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina to build on the positive development of the recent arrest of fugitive Croatian general Ante Gotovina, and to "take decisive action to ensure that all remaining fugitive indictees, notably Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić, are finally brought to justice". The Council also gave its political agreement to European Partnerships with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro including Kosovo.

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/applicationonline/69.html)!

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 expression to their sense of solidarity in Europe and the wider world, as well as supporting the fight against racism and xenophobia.

Promoting a better understanding of the diversity of our common European culture and shared heritage as well as of our common basic values.

Helping to eliminate all forms of discrimination and promoting equality at all levels of society.

Introducing a European element into projects which will have a positive impact on youth work at local level.

A key priority is to give young people with less opportunities (from a less-privileged cultural, geographical or socio-economic background, or with disabilities) access to the mobility and non-formal education activities developed within the YOUTH programme (please ask your National Agency for the Strategy for the inclusion of young people with less opportunities into YOUTH).

The European Commission and National Agencies draw up specific priorities each year. We will provide you with more details on the priorities for 2006 as soon as they will have been published. Moreover, individual Programme countries may identify national priorities, too. Please contact your National Agency or the European Commission for further detailed information.

The overall structure of the YOUTH programme promotes crossovers between, and integration of, different Actions:

Action 1 - Youth for Europe:
Youth Exchanges and Youth Encounters offer an opportunity for groups of young people from different countries to meet.

Action 2 - European Voluntary Service (EVS):
Young people aged between 18 and 25 are able to spend up to 12 months abroad as European volunteers helping in local projects in a wide range of fields.

Action 3 - Youth Initiatives:
Through this Action, young people aged between 15/18 and 25 can obtain support to carry out a project at local level. It also aims at providing former EVS volunteers with a concrete opportunity to build upon the expertise and skills acquired during their voluntary service.

Action 4 - Joint Actions:
This Action brings together the SOCRATES (education), LEONARDO DA VINCI (vocational training) and YOUTH (non-formal education) programmes. It provides support for initiatives that build on the complementary nature of these three programmes and others, such as Culture 2000.

Action 5 - Support Measures:
This Action contributes to foster capacity building and innovation and provides a platform to create and strengthen partnerships between youth organisations and to exchange good practice. It also assists in the planning, preparation and use of projects carried out within the framework of the YOUTH Actions 1, 2, 3 and 5 by supporting training, cooperation and information activities.


Applicants
The YOUTH programme primarily addresses young people aged between 15 and 25 who are legally resident in one of 31 European Programme countries: the 25 EU Member States, the EFTA/EEA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) and the pre-accession countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. To a limited extent and under certain conditions, the Actions 1, 2 and 5 of the YOUTH programme are also open to partner organisations from countries in other parts of the world, i.e. "Partner Countries" (Mediterranean Partner Countries, Eastern Europe and Caucasus, South East Europe and Latin America).
The following groups can participate in the Programme:


groups of young people who want to organise a youth exchange or
launch an initiative in their local community

young people who would like to get involved in European
Voluntary Service

ex-volunteers who are looking to build upon their experience

youth organisations

youth leaders

youth workers

project managers or organisers in the field of youth and non-formal education

other non-profit-making organisations, associations or structures.


The applicant may be a group of young people, a non-profit-making non-governmental organisation or association, public authority and others experienced in the field of youth and non-formal education.
European non-governmental youth organisations (ENGYOs), which are based in one of the Programme countries and have member branches in at least eight Programme countries can also participate. They may apply directly to the European Commission or through their national branches to its National Agency.
In order to participate in most types of project co-financed by the YOUTH programme, a partnership must be established with one or more partner(s), depending on the rules prevailing for each Action and varying according to which country the partner(s) come(s) from.

Legal basis
Decision No 1031/2000/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 April 2000.

Community contribution
The Community contribution varies according to the Action of the YOUTH programme and National Agency. Please see also the flat rates and fixed amounts applicable per country for Actions 1, 2, 3 and 5 at europa.eu.int/comm/youth/progr ... (for 2005 only).

Contact
The YOUTH programme is implemented by
The European Commission:
The European Commission is ultimately responsible for its running. It manages the budget and sets priorities, targets and criteria for the Programme on an ongoing basis.
Directorate-General for Education and Culture (DG EAC) Youth UnitRue Van Maerlant 2B – 1049 Brussels
+32 2 299 11 11
+32 2 299 40 38
youth@cec.eu.int
The YOUTH programme National Agencies:
Their primary role is to promote and implement the Programme at national level.
Please find your National Agencies at europa.eu.int/comm/youth/progr ...
The Euro-Med National Coordinators:
For the Mediterranean partners participating in the YOUTH programme via the Euro-Mediterranean Youth Action Programme, the Euro-Med National Coordinators fulfil a similar role to the National Agencies in Programme countries.
Please find them at europa.eu.int/comm/youth/progr ...

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 of the Balkans, and their vital interest in lasting stability in the region on the eve of Kosovo status negotiations. At the EU summit this week, member states should take the follow steps:
1. They should send a clear signal to the Western Balkans that the promise of Europeanisation is real, by extending candidate status to Macedonia as was recommended by the European Commission. They should confirm that the membership criteria remain the same, and that countries will be treated fairly and objectively according to their progress in undertaking the required reforms.
2. They should ensure that the foreign policy component of the forthcoming EU budget contains sufficient resources to extend pre-accession assistance to all of the states of the Western Balkans before 2013. The budgetary implications of this step are not great, but its significance in locking the region into a virtuous circle of reform and development cannot be overstated. To deny this assistance to the region for another seven years would risk throwing away the vast European investment in the Balkans over the past decade – ultimately, a far more costly approach.

Suspending enlargement
In the wake of the failure of referenda in France and the Netherlands on the new European constitution this summer, a range of prominent European politicians called for a freeze on enlargement. It wasn’t that the citizens of either country had voted against enlargement. In fact, in opinion polls, very few had listed enlargement as a factor in their vote.1 However, amid a widespread sense that Europe’s internal affairs were in disarray, enlargement became a convenient scape-goat. This was particularly true in France. Following the Dutch referendum Dominique de Villepin and Nicolas Sarkozy, today Prime Minister and Interior Minister, quickly announced that any further enlargement needed to be “suspended”.2 Their opposition was qualified by a recognition of the need to honour existing commitments to the candidates Bulgaria and Romania, and the impending candidature of Turkey and Croatia. Although the countries of the Balkans had also been promised ‘a common European destination’ for many years, they were now lumped into the category of ‘new commitments’ – to the dismay of people in the region. Other voices from the European corridors of power were quick to reassure Balkan publics. The vision of enlargement remained alive, Balkan politicians were told by EU Commissioner Olli Rehn, EU High Representative Javier Solana, and envoys in the region such as High Representative Paddy Ashdown in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Over the next few months, a series of small breakthroughs reinforced the notion that the accession process was still moving forward. Talks on Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAA) were cleared to begin with both Serbia and Bosnia. The long-stalled SAA talks with Albania began once again to pick up. These were not major steps in themselves; SAAs are little more than trade agreements and they bring few new benefits. But they sent an important political signal since they are the very first steps on the road to full EU membership. The EU affirmed its commitment to address the gap between the Western Balkans and its neighbours. Electorates across the region were reassured that supporting progressive, pro-Europe policies was a sound investment. Unfortunately, news from the EU Foreign Minister’s meeting in Brussels this week suggests that the sceptics are winning the political argument. 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. The result would be one that many observers – including ESI – have warned against repeatedly in recent years: the consolidation of a Balkan ghetto in the heart of Europe.

Macedonia and the French veto
At a recent international conference in Skopje, politicians from Sarajevo, Belgrade, Pristina and Tirana underlined that people across the region are watching Macedonia’s progress through the accession process to determine whether the door to EU membership remains open.3 The decision to be made at this weekґs European Council meeting is viewed as determining not just the candidature of Macedonia, but the entire EU policy towards the Western Balkans. If Macedonia is refused, the usual diplomatic reassurances about an eventual European future for the region are going to sound hollow indeed. Macedonia represents one of the European Union’s most impressive foreign policy successes. It has moved within a short period away from the brink of ethnic war, implementing even the most challenging provisions of the Ohrid Peace Agreement. To support this process, the EU deployed all of the instruments in its Common Foreign and Security Policy: an EU Military Mission, an EU Police Mission, an influential EU Special Envoy, a European Agency for Reconstruction and, above all, a credible promise of eventual EU accession. These efforts are widely recognised as having laid the foundations for a lasting peace. Importantly, among the EU member states, it was France that played the most prominent role in supporting the EU engagement in Macedonia. France contributed the largest number of troops to the EU Military Mission. It seconded the largest number of officers to the EU Police Mission. A former French Minister of Defence, Francois Leotard, played a crucial role at the Ohrid peace talks as EU envoy. Another French politician, Robert Badinter, became the most influential European voice on constitutional reform.4 The first EU Special Envoy was a French diplomat, Alain Le Roy. In early 2004, Macedonia submitted its application for EU membership. In November 2005, the European Commission assessed Macedonia’s application against the same set of criteria that it had applied to all previous applicants.5 At the political level, it concluded that Macedonia is a functioning democracy with stable institutions which broadly guarantee the rule of law and human rights. Its implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement has contributed to major political and security improvements. At the economic level, the Commission found that Macedonia has taken “important steps towards establishing a functioning market economy”. While it is not yet able to withstand the competitive pressures of the European single market, it has set in place a process of economic reform which, if pursued to its conclusion, would eventually enable it to do so. While a number of important reforms are still underway, particularly to the electoral system, the Commission concluded that Macedonia “is well on its way to satisfy the political criteria” set down by the EU for new members. The Commission also found that Macedonia has begun the process of adopting and implementing the EU legal framework (acquis communautaire). As with all candidates, it will require an enormous amount of work over the coming years to complete this process. However, the Commission concluded that there had been sufficient progress to warrant the grant of candidate status. As the Commission pointed out, candidate status is a political recognition that Macedonia is on its way towards EU membership, and opens the way for an intensification of EU support to help it meet its remaining obligations. In its assessment, the Commission was following exactly the procedures and criteria laid down for all membership applications. These procedures embody the principle affirmed by the European Council in Thessaloniki in June 2003: “the pace of further movement of the Western Balkan countries towards the EU lies in their own hands and will depend on each country’s performance in implementing reforms.” The transparency and consistency of this process has always been its strength. The assessment of applicants was known to be rigorous and fair and, until now, Commission recommendations were always accepted by the European Council. This meritocratic approach to the accession process has won the EU considerable credit in the region. Now, however, it appears that the process has become hostage to political considerations that have nothing to do with Macedonia’s progress in implementing reforms. In a bid to forestall opposition, Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn was reassuring sceptics in advance of this week’s Foreign Ministers’ meeting that candidature for Macedonia did not mean an automatic start of membership talks. Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot proposed granting candidate status, but laying down stringent new conditions before negotiations could begin. According to him, “It should be clear that the next step could be very far away.”6 However, with the threat of a French veto, it appears that even this hollowed-out candidate status may be withheld. It is a bitter irony that it is France that is threatening to block Macedonia’s progress. 7 The country that suffered the largest number of peace-keeping casualties during the 1990s is now perceived as the main obstacle to the region’s European aspirations. The French position is not against Macedonia as such – one of the smallest and easiest countries for the EU to absorb – but against the entire enlargement agenda. Behind the scenes at this week’s meeting of EU foreign ministers, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy posed the question: “Is this the right moment, when everyone knows that the EU doesn't have the solutions to the challenges posed by the current enlargement, neither institutionally nor financially?” The French Foreign Minister offered two justifications for the threatened veto. One is that no new commitments on enlargement can be made until there is an agreement on the EU budget for 2007-2013, and it is clear that the resources to support further enlargement are available. The second argument is that EU public opinion would simply not tolerate a “political signal” indicating that a “new wave of enlargement” is about to begin. The first argument is distinctly unconvincing. Macedonia has a population of 2 million – approximately half that of the Turkish capital, Ankara. Its GDP represents a tiny 0.04 percent of the EU’s own GDP. If Macedonia were offered the same level of support that was provided to previous candidates, this would involve an increase in annual assistance from €45 million8 to €54 million. This is small change by EU standards – less, for example, than the EU’s contribution to the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina. If France is looking to rein in costs for the coming budget period, EU assistance to Macedonia is hardly the place to start. The second argument is equally unconvincing, but carries more disturbing implications for the Balkans. It seems unlikely that a European public which has just come to terms with the opening of negotiations with Turkey would see Macedonia as the beginning of a ‘new wave’ of enlargement. In fact, measured against the yardstick of Turkish or Romanian accession, bringing the Western Balkans (with a total population of less than 20 million without Croatia) into the European Union looks eminently achievable. It would also be a natural extension to a decade of EU engagement in the region. But if the French Foreign Minister is correct, and public opinion in some EU members is now indeed implacably opposed to any new enlargement, then this suggests the need for a complete U-turn in EU policy towards the Balkans. It would not simply be a matter of waiting a year for the budget quarrel to blow over. There is no reason why domestic politics in France would be more open to further enlargement in a year’s time, on the eve of a Presidential election, than it is now. The goal posts would not merely have moved; they would have been snatched away altogether. The signal this would send to the Balkans would be devastating. It would mean that the EU was reneging on commitments solemnly undertaken at Thessaloniki, and that the SAA process had been nothing but an elaborate charade. If Macedonia, which concluded an SAA four years ago and has successfully dealt with the legacy of ethnic conflict, is now rebuffed, what prospects are there for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia or Kosovo, which are far behind Macedonia? A negative decision this week would leave the EU and its members without credibility or leverage in the region. It would be ill-placed to contain the fallout from an eventual decision on Kosovo final status. It would pull the carpet from under the feet of all those Balkan politicians who have staked their political future on Europeanisation. It would represent an extraordinary self-inflicted defeat to a decade of European efforts in the region.

Balkan accession and the EU budget
A French veto on Macedonia is not the only problem facing the Western Balkans at this summit. The budget proposal presented by the United Kingdom9 is just as serious a threat – even if the enlargement question is far from the minds of its authors. The proposal would leave the EU without the means to prepare another round of enlargement. Usually a vocal supporter of Turkish and Balkan accession at the diplomatic level, the UK budget proposal represents a silent reversal of EU strategy in the region. Downward pressures on funding for the Western Balkans have been building for some time. The Commission presented its financial proposal for the period 2007-2013 in early 2004.10 The Commission proposal was unwelcome news for the Balkans, for a number of reasons. Reading between the lines, it implied that the Commission was not planning on offering serious pre-accession assistance to most Balkan states until 2010, and did not see them achieving membership until around 2020 at the earliest. In the meantime, assistance levels in 2007 would slip below 2004 levels, leaving the potential candidates to fall further behind their neighboursUnder the current UK proposal, the position has worsened dramatically. The UK budget effectively precludes any substantial pre-accession assistance to the Western Balkans for the entire 7-year budget cycle. To understand why this is the case one needs to take a closer look at the proposal. In the EU budget, pre-accession assistance is part of the foreign policy budget, under the heading ‘The EU as a Global Partner’. The Instrument of Pre-Accession (IPA) comes alongside a number of other instruments, including the Neighbourhood Policy (ENPI), the development assistance budget and three crisis response instruments. Under the original Commission budget proposal, the budget for foreign policy was set at €92.1 billion, with pre-accession assistance (IPA) taking €14.1 billion. Under the UK proposal, the foreign policy budget falls to €50 billion. Assuming that the allocation across the foreign policy budget lines remains the same, this would leave only half as much (€7.6 billion) in the pre-accession pot for the 7-year period, or just under €1.1 billion per annum. Of this sum, Turkey with its population of 67 million and as a candidate already negotiating with the EU necessarily consumes the lion’s share. As a benchmark, the ten candidates that acceded in 2004 and the current candidates Bulgaria and Romania all received pre-accession assistance at the rate of €27 per capita. It has always been assumed that, because of its size, Turkey would begin at a lower level. In its 2004 proposal, the Commission suggested a gradual increase in support to Turkey towards the level received by previous candidates over the 7-year budget cycle. But even assuming that Turkey receives only 40 percent of the benchmark (€11 per capita), with no increase over the budget period, this would consume €740 million (two-thirds) of the annual IPA funds. As a candidate, now also engaged in membership negotiations, Croatia already receives an annual allocation of €120 million, which will also continue until it becomes a member (presumably at least four years away). This would leave an annual allocation of only €285 million for Albania, Bosnia, Macedonia, Serbia-Montenegro and Kosovo. This comes to €14 per capita, half the level of support of any previous pre-accession process.The implications of the UK budget proposal for the Western Balkans are stark. The kinds of assistance given to Bulgaria and Romania since 2000 - a full seven years before their projected accession - to prepare for membership and to implement the acquis will not even begin in the Western Balkans until after 2014. The budget makes it extremely difficult even to contemplate offering the most important pre-accession tools – notably the instruments which support agricultural and rural development, infrastructure and human resource development – to the Western Balkans during the next funding cycle. This leaves membership a very distant prospect indeed. However, the accession process is not infinitely elastic. The EU cannot credibly ask the countries of the region to mark time for another decade or more, until the EU is more favourably disposed to further enlargement, while wanting to increase its influence. The resulting frustration – particularly in Kosovo and Serbia - could strengthen dangerous political currents, threatening the achievements of a decade of peace-building. At the economic level, it would condemn the region to remaining a ghetto of underdevelopment and instability surrounded by EU member states. The budget proposal is also incompatible with the idea of a stronger EU role in a post-status Kosovo.

Unlocking the Balkan ghetto
While the threat of a French veto on Macedonia is undermining the principle of a meritocratic accession process, the UK budget proposal is undermining the EU commitment to helping the countries of the Western Balkans through the accession process. It amounts to locking the gates of the Balkan ghetto and throwing away the key for the next budget period. If there is one lesson that European policy makers should have learnt from the past decade, it is that they ignore the problems of the Balkans at their peril. Instability in the heart of Europe carries inevitable costs for the whole of Europe, whether in the form of refugees, reconstruction bills, trans-national crime or damage to the EU’s global credibility. The EU and its members have spent vast amounts of time, resources and political capital on stabilising and rebuilding the region. Much of this has been short-term assistance delivered through ad hoc, post-conflict structures, from reconstructing destroyed housing to monitoring police forces. This kind of support has helped put the region back together in the wake of catastrophic conflict. What it has not yet done is address the vast legacy of social and economic underdevelopment which lies at the heart of political instability in the Balkans. The accession process has the potential to pick up where post-conflict assistance left off, and bring the Balkans permanently within the European sphere of stability and prosperity. The promise of eventual accession underlies all of the EU’s peace-building efforts over the past decade. Within the region, it is the only vision capable of competing successfully with the destructive political currents that are the inevitable legacy of war. Now, for reasons that have nothing to do with progress in the region, the vision of a European future for the Balkans is on the verge of collapse. In the name of minor budget savings or short-term political advantage, Europe’s leaders may be on the point of abandoning a vital EU foreign policy interest, and consigning the Balkans to a very uncertain future. 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 of the Balkans, and their vital interest in lasting stability in the region. At the EU summit this week, the member states should take the follow steps:
1. They should send a clear signal to the Western Balkans that the promise of Europeanisation is real, by extending candidate status to Macedonia. They should confirm that the membership criteria remain the same, and that countries will be treated fairly and objectively according to their progress in undertaking the required reforms. It may be appropriate to task the Commission with reviewing Macedonia’s progress in addressing the outstanding political concerns (in particular concerning its electoral processes), prior to a later decision on the opening of negotiations.
2. EU member states should ensure that the foreign policy component of the forthcoming EU budget contains sufficient resources to extend the full package of pre-accession assistance to all of the states of the Western Balkans. The budgetary implications of this step are not great, but its significance in locking the region into a virtuous circle of reform and development cannot be overstated. To deny this assistance to the region for another seven years would risk throwing away the vast European investment in the Balkans over the past decade – ultimately, a far more costly approach.

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 Fouere. “It will do so”, he added, “not by lecturing to young people, but by involving them in discussion and action on the issues, which they themselves identify as important. The values which this project promotes are fundamental values of the EU.”

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 awarded to organizations similar to your own.
Grants for Children & Youth is one of 12 new-edition Grant Guides published by the Foundation Center. Click here to see all available Grant Guide titles.

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

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 државната администрација, локалната самоуправа и јавноста за процесот на интеграција на Република Македонија во Европската унија. Билтенот Европа ќе излегува еднаш месечно и печатената верзија на македонски јазик ќе се дистрибуира во државната администрација и до општините.Секретаријатот ќе подготвува и електронско издание на македонски и англиски јазик. Овие изданија ќе бидат достапни до целата македонска јавност, а ќе се дистрибуираат и до институциите и телата на ЕУ, до меѓународни организации, амбасади, истражувачки центри и медиуми.
Заинтересираните може да бидат вклучени на листата за дистрибуција доколку се регистрираат на следниов линк: contact@avis.gov.mk

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 Professionals’, ‘Government Relations Officers’, ‘Business Communications Officers’, ‘Corporate Affairs Managers’, ‘Specialist Public Affairs Consultants’ probably taking into account that ‘lobbying’ is not more than 15% of what needs to be done. The rest of the time is taken up with monitoring, analysis, networking, strategy formation and a healthy dash of informed guesswork about likely future developments.
See more >

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 or +32 2 738 75 97 (fax).

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, and social diversity; managing the impact of social, economic, and political change; making information accessible and available to the public; encouraging public engagement and empowerment in civic dialogue.
In 2005 the East East Program: Partnership Beyond Borders launched a Subprogram for European Integration. This subprogram will prioritize cooperation among new EU member states, candidate and potential candidate countries, and the EU eastern neighbours. The subprogram is open to Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, and Ukraine.
Application InformationThe East East Program: Partnership Beyond Borders is implemented by the Soros foundations. Applications are received and reviewed by these foundations. For more information, please contact the appropriate East East Program coordinator in the Soros foundation in your country.
Fore more information please click here or contact Geszti Judit, Program coordinator, at geszti@soros.hu.

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 studies used in the Balkans and Caucasus countries by the youth political leaders for confidence building measures.
The participants are welcomed to propose topics of their interest within the frame of the program described. In general, the topics will cover the following issues:
Youth building peace and intercultural dialogue.
Integration processes and inter-ethnic stability.
Multiethnic society - advantages and disadvantages. Lessons learned.
Case studies.
Issues of common interest and possibilities for joint approach and collaboration.
The training component of the introductory event will cover the following topics: "Negotiation and mediation skills". Total number expected to take part at this meeting, including the participants, local staff members,speakers, translators and others is 40 people.
The target audience will be young leaders; DLP alumnus and BC network members from the Balkans and the Caucasus.
Working language of the conference is English. The travel expenses and accommodation will be covered by the organizer.
The application form is available upon request.
For more information please click here or contact the Community Development Institute Macedonia (www.mic.org.mk). Contact person: Sreten Koceski, tel. +389-70-250-286, e-mail sreten@mt.net.mk.

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 organisations and within the YOUTH programme,
to help contact making between youth workers and youth leaders from the different countries involved,
to share and learn from different experiences and work realities in the different countries,
to enable participants to improve their knowledge and their future work concerning adventure education,
to put questions and find answers to adventure education,
to promote co-operation between youth workers, to initiate projects in the YOUTH programme.
Number of Participants
They are expecting around 23 participants:
7 participants from different Partner Countries of Eastern Europe and Caucasus ( Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine),
6 participants from different Partner Countries of South East Europe (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro, including UNMIK Kosovo)
3 participants from Belgium (Flemish, French and German speaking Communities),
1 participant from France,
1 participant from Germany,
1 participant from the Netherlands and
4 participants from Luxembourg.
Profile of Participants
Priority will be given to applicants:
who come from organisations with a certain knowledge and/or interest of adventure education and want to improve them,
who have the will to set up projects with partner countries and programme countries while using adventure education,
be in a good physical condition and willing to participate in sports activities,
have an organisation commitment/support.
Costs
Board and lodging will be provided and paid by the European Commission. Travel costs will be reimbursed.
Application procedure
All applicants must apply by filling in this application form and sending it back by 10 January 2006 to the SALTO Resource Centres or the different Agencies involved. Participants from Partner Countries (South East Europe, Eastern Europe and Caucasus) must send their application form to the SALTO-Centre in charge of their region. Participants from Programme countries (Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands) must send their application to their National Agency.
For more information and contact details please consult the official Call for Participants and Programme of the TC.

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.