25. 10. 2017 | PR, ROSE
After the introductory activities in the field of informing and educating of the key stakeholders involved in the exchange of eInvoices, “Readiness Of Slovenian E-Invoicing” (ROSE) Action continues to develop new Slovenian standard for eInvoices and exchange hub for eInvoices sent in the EU standard.
New Slovenian standard for eInvoices only a month after announcement of the EN 16931 in the Official Journal of the EU
The European Commission announced the European standard EN 16931 with an executive decision on 16 October 2017. While Slovenian businesses currently use the standard eSlog 1.6, ROSE Action will upgrade the standard in accordance with the recently announced European standard to the new version eSlog 2.0. In order to do so, ROSE Action partners are concluding the preparation of the XML scheme of the new standard and mapping tables between the two standards (1.6 and 2.0), mapping tables for eSlog 2.0 and two eInvoicing syntaxes complyiant with the European standard EN 16931. eSLOG 2.0 documentation will be prepared in Slovenian and English language for software solution and services providers to enable integration of the new eSLOG standard into their solutions.
Exchange hub for the exchange of eInvoices for contracting entities
The Exchange hub will be implemented to support contracting entities, which up until now weren’t obliged to receive eInvoices. The hub will allow organizations to receive and to send eInvoices in eSLOG 2.0 and in other syntaxes for which mapping tables will be prepared in Activity of upgrading of the Slovenian national eInvoicing standard to eSLOG 2.0. It will enable also the visualization of the eInvoice and will be linked to the eInvoice recipients’ entity database. The system will be open in order to enable integration into various ERP systems, accounting programs, and other software solutions.
Educational activities and awareness raising
Since the relatively new European Directive 2014/55/EU brings some new obligations for the European public service providers, ROSE Action aims to approach informing and education of the subjects, affected by the new legislation, in a very active manner. We have already announced the first educative workshops around Slovenia, the first two will take place on 24 November 2017 in Novo mesto and on 29 November 2017 in Murska Sobota. Workshops aim to address the content of the European Directive on eInvoicing in Public Procurement and technical solutions that will enable receipt of the eInvoices in EU standard in Slovenia.
In order to inform the interested audiences and stakeholders in a comprehensive manner, the ROSE Action webpage was recently updated and can be accessed at www.roseslovenia.eu. It offers information on the upcoming reforms and follows the activities of the ROSE Action.
The topics above were discussed at today’s 5th Steering Board meeting of the ROSE Action, a Connecting European Facility Action, co-financed by the European Union and implemented by the Public Payments Administration of the Republic of Slovenia, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, ZZI d.o.o., Mojdenar IT d.o.o. and Centre for European Perspective.
Read this article in Slovene language.
20. 10. 2017 | Danube, PR
The 6th Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) that took place on 18-19 October 2017 in Budapest, jointly organised by Hungary (current Presidency of the EUSDR), the European Commission and the Danube Transnational Programme, concluded with intense discussions and future challenges in the post 2020 period.
Under the title ‘A secure, connected and prospering Danube Region’, the Forum emphasised different challenges related to energy security, transportation development, clean connectivity issues and financing opportunities.
On the first day, ministers in charge of the EUSDR adopted a joint statement setting out principles and priorities for the future – regional energy security, infrastructure development and clean connectivity, which can be boosted with an optimised use of EU funds. The plenary session on the second day was followed by DTP Capitalization Workshops, each dedicated to one of the 12 thematic poles. Main objective of the capitalization strategy is to connect projects with similar objectives and target audiences to have greater outreach and reach a critical mass of people interested in the topic. Thematic Pole 11 workshop, Participatory and Local Governance, that is closely connected with the targets of the Priority Area 10 of the EUSDR, discussed a problem of measuring participatory governance. A problem of collecting evidence is one of the main bottlenecks. The workshop was led by pole leader Blaž Barborič, that is managing Attractive Danube project, followed by AgriGo4Cities and RARE project representatives and a key note speaker dr. Janez Nared from Anton Melik Geographical Institute, who shared rich experiences from their various projects. Priority Area 10 coordinators together gave an input on how to build inclusive approaches as well as they briefly reported on their activities. In the scope of Funding opportunities for the pillars of the EUSDR, Priority Area 10 collaborated in presenting financial prospects for the Pillar IV, Well-Governed Danube Region.
Lastly, the Forum closed with a challenging debate on Macro-Regional Strategies in post 2020 context that was discussed by representatives of all 4 macro-regions and European Commission. Presidency wheel was handed over to Bulgaria who will preside and coordinate EUSDR activities one year.
Get an insight into the Forum in the gallery below:
19. 10. 2017 | BIH - Entrepreneurs, Kosovo - Entrepreneurs, PR
The Center for European Perspective (CEP) will continue its work to support the development of an integrated start-up ecosystem in the countries of the Western Balkans. With the new project, which is financially supported by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, CEP, in addition to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, will spread its activities to Albania, Montenegro, Macedonia and Serbia.
The main aim of the project titled ‘Establishing an Integrated Start-up Ecosystem in the Western Balkans’ is to establish, consolidate and integrate the start-up ecosystem in the Western Balkans, focusing on start-up entrepreneurs and young people with innovative business ideas. The cooperation between young entrepreneurs in the Western Balkan region is insufficient, very poorly connected and not systematically stimulated, although this is exactly that what young entrepreneurs want. The same derives from CEP’s previous experience and the cooperation with young entrepreneurs from BiH and Kosovo over the past years, which was financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia in the scope of international development cooperation.
The project will be implemented from October 2017 to the end of March 2018. CEP will conduct a series of promotional activities, educational events and will support establishment of a strong network of key start-up stakeholders in all countries in the Western Balkans.
Read this article in Slovene language.
18. 10. 2017 | Montenegro - finance, PR
Three experts from the Bank of Slovenia hold a two-day workshop and advise colleagues from the Central Bank of Montenegro in Podgorica on how to harmonize the area of banking supervision and regulation with the requirements of the EU acquis. In the accession negotiations with the EU, the area is covered by Chapter 9: Financial services.
The two-day advisory workshop (17–18 October 2017) is carried out in the framework of the CEP’s project “Assistance to Montenegro in negotiations on accession to the EU 2017”. The workshop’s main focus is the banking supervision and regulation, in particular the methodology for banking supervision and the instructions for the supervision bodies.
The project is part of the CEP program activities financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the scope of international development cooperation.
Read this article in Slovene language.
18. 10. 2017 | PR
Balkan SAYS – Security Architecture Youth Seminar is a youth oriented international security seminar.
Its mission is to connect students and young professionals who will discuss important security topics with distinguished speakers and search for fresh views and new solutions to the most pressing issues of the Balkan region. While the Western Balkans is continuously coming closer to higher levels of cooperation and integration in the Euro-Atlantic region, some of the most fundamental security and structural questions remain unsolved. Parts of the Western Balkan region remain highly unstable, nationalism and extremism are once again gaining the momentum, there is still lack of a true reconciliation and peace building process is still to be concluded. While indeed we can observe commendable steps forward, towards a more prosperous future of the region, highly supported by international community and international organisations working in the region, many open questions remain unsolved. The lasting historic grievances and disputes of the region have most recently showcased due to the increased pressure of the migration crises in Europe.
The Balkan SAYS seminar is offering a platform for youth from the region and beyond to meet and exchange views and opinions, build a mutual trust and understanding, expand the knowledge on important security, political and economic topics of the region, promote the values of security, peace and democracy, and present new ways of tackling the discussed issues. It provides an opportunity for young professionals to openly discuss the security and stability in the region and collaborate with international colleagues in order to find creative and unique solutions based on research and analysis under the mentorship of reputable experts.
Meliha Muherina, Project Manager at CEP, moderated a round table on “Nationalism and religious fundamentalism as the source of extremism in the Western Balkans” with Matteo Pugliese, OSCE Special Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office on Youth and Security, Armina Mujanović from Democratization Policy Council and prof. dr. Mitja Žagar from University of Ljubljana as panelists.
In the Western Balkans, nationalism and religious fundamentalism remain a pervasive force, resulting in clashes over disputed territory. Ethno-religious nationalist identities “religisized” politics, thus portrayed social and political problems, but especially national differences in religious terms. Religion is frequently of intrinsic importance in the development and maintenance of the national identity as a false absolute, and consequently, may provide justification for extreme measures. While the region in general has made a tremendous progress in the past decade, it seems especially inflammatory discourse continues to divide nations and societies. Such discourse finds its way not only through political manifestations and provocations but also through other means, such as sport competitions. We can observe that many of the old wounds remain open. Nationalistic ideas often based also on religious divisions can be a powerful tool in a hand of populistic political leaders and can lead to extremism. This not only endangers the peace process achieved until now, but it also questions the future of the Western Balkans. Following questions were further on addressed through the debate:
- What can be done to reverse effect of the nationalist tendencies in the region and which threats are most urged to be addressed?
- How to engage young people to be actors of change? What is the role of the youth and how do they perceive nationalism and religious fundamentalism?
- What can international community do to help cure the nationalist agendas?
- Would economic development steer the conversation away from nationalist agendas?
