17. 10. 2016 | Albania - Election, Slovenian Development Assistance
On 14 October 2016 Centre for European Perspective has successfully completed the second part of the project “Strengthening the independence of Electoral Bodies” that continues to provide support to the electoral law reform process in Albania based on OSCE recommendations and recommendations prepared by CEP on the basis of two workshops.
The electoral system is one of the key constituents of a democratic and legal state. As Albania is an official candidate for accession to the European Union, strengthening its democratic institutions is of key importance. The next Albanian parliamentary elections will be held in 2017, so this kind of bilateral technical assistance of the Republic of Slovenia received a lot of political, profession and media attention.
The event was opened by President of the Parliament of the Republic of Albania, His Excellency Mr. Ilir Meta and Slovenian Ambassador to Albania Her Excellency Mrs. Lea Stančič.
The event was carried out by: Leferije Luzi, Chairperson Central Election Commission of Albania, Dr. Alenka Verbole, Igor Vučko Director of the National Electoral Commission of the Republic of Slovenia and Ilir Rusmali recognized expert on elections in Albania and Andrej Vrčon Secretary General CEP. The participants discussed about ensuring the operational independence of the Central Election Commission in the light of the current electoral reform, about raising the level of political commitments for free and impartial functioning Electoral Management Bodies. Special attention was paid to the prevention of corruption, gender equality, representation of minorities and to a newly established training centre for the training of members of electoral commissions, and other actors in the electoral processes such as young people and civil society. The workshop was attended by over 40 participant’s including representatives of the election administration, representatives of political parties, representatives of non-governmental organizations working in the field of elections, independent experts and members of the diplomatic corps.
Centre for European Perspective has prepared the project in cooperation with the Central Election Commission of Republic of Albania and the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Albania.
The project is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia in the framework of its International Development Cooperation.
Uspešna izvedba drugega dela krepitev neodvisnosti volilnih organov v Albaniji
Center za evropsko prihodnost je 14. oktobra 2016 uspešno zaključil drugi del projekta »Krepitev neodvisnosti volilnih organov« v okviru katerega nadaljuje s podporo procesom reforme volilne zakonodaje Albanije glede na priporočila OVSE in priporočila, ki jih je pripravil CEP na podlagi dveh izvedenih delavnic v letu 2015.
Izvedba demokratičnih volitev predstavlja temelj demokratične in pravne države zato je za Albanijo kot kandidatko za članstvo v Evropski uniji krepitev demokratičnih institucij ključnega pomena. V Albaniji so v letu 2017 razpisane parlamentarne volitve, zato je tovrstna pomoč Republike Slovenije deležna velike pozornosti politike, stroke in medijev.
Dogodek sta otvorila predsednik parlamenta Republike Albanije njegova ekscelenca gospod Ilir Meta in slovenska veleposlanica v Albaniji njena ekscelenca gospa Lea Stančič.
Delavnico so izvedli: Lefterije Luzi predsednica Centralne volilne Komisije Republike Albanije, dr. Alenka Verbole, Igor Vučko direktor Državne volilne komisije Republike Slovenije, Ilir Rusmali priznan albanski strokovnjak s področja volitev in Andrej Vrčon Generalni sekretar CEP. Razprava je potekala v smeri zagotavljanja neodvisnosti delovanja Centralne volilne komisije v luči trenutne volilne reforme, ter dvigu ravni političnih zavez za svobodno in nepristransko delovanje. Posebna pozornost je bila namenjena preprečevanju korupcije, enakopravni zastopanosti obeh spolov, zastopanosti manjšin in novemu centru za izobraževanje članov volilnih komisij, ter ostalih akterjev v volilnih procesih kot na primer mladih in civilne družbe. Delavnice se je udeležilo več kot 40 udeležencev predstavnikov volilne administracije, predstavnikov političnih strank, predstavnikov nevladnih organizacij, ki delujejo na področju volitev, neodvisnih strokovnjakov, ter članov diplomatskega zbora.
CEP je pripravil projekt v sodelovanju s Centralno volilno komisijo Albanije in Veleposlaništvom Republike Slovenije v Albaniji.
Projekt je financiran iz sredstev za mednarodno razvojno Sodelovanje Ministrstva za zunanje zadeve Republike Slovenije.
2. 10. 2016 | Danube, PR
The Danube Strategic Project Fund is a new facility aiming at supporting the implementation of transnational strategic projects aligned with the objective of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR), with a specific added value at the interfaces between cohesion and enlargement/neighbourhood policy.
It is co-financed with funds provided to the European Commission by the European Parliament and the City of Vienna and will be managed by PA 10 of the EUSDR (City of Vienna) in close cooperation with EuroVienna, affiliated entity to the City of Vienna.
Background
The Danube Strategic Project Fund builds upon the experience gained during the implementation of the pilot initiatives START – Danube Region Project Fund and the technical assistance facility TAF – DRP, carried out by the City of Vienna in its capacity as Priority Area 10 “Institutional Capacity and Cooperation” of the EUSDR. Moreover, it refers as appropriate to the results, conclusions and recommendations of the “Socio-economic assessment of the Danube Region”, which was implemented by Priority Area 8 “Competitiveness” and finalised in November 2015.
General and specific objectives of the initiative
The Danube Strategic Project Fund (DSPF) focuses primarily on innovative pre-mature projects which could not be funded so far and respond to the actual needs in the Danube Regions functional area. Moreover, it will provide support for projects and initiatives which do not fit into a programme or funding scheme (or which need a combination of several funding instruments).
The DSPF pays particular attention to projects that:
– Have a strategic impact, especially in view of Enlargement and Neighbourhood policies
– Have connections and/or spill-over effects in the territory covered by the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region
– Include neighboring countries
– Include cross-cutting and/or horizontal measures covering several Priority Areas of the Strategy
– Follow a multi-level governance approach
– Support the establishment of economic and social cooperation
– Foster integration and reconciliation of Danube countries, with a particular focus on the training of young people
A Description of the Initiative can be downloaded: here
A list of the Advisory Board Members can be downloaded: here
28. 9. 2016 | Montenegro - finance, Slovenian Development Assistance
In the period of legislation adaptation for accession to the EU, Chapter 9 – Financial Services, Montenegro needs to pay special attention to technical assistance to the Central Bank of Montenegro.
In the framework of the project: “Assistance to Montenegro in negotiations on accession to the EU-2016” a workshop for the staff of Central Bank of Montenegro will be conducted on 3 and 4 October. The workshop will base on the training of civil servants in the scope of the bank risk management, especially with supervisory requirements and practices of the EU. Seminar participants will learn about the development of European regulations in this area, particularly with the CRD IV and the Guidelines of the European Banking Authority as well as familiarize with many practical examples of functioning of banks and supervisors.
The workshop will be conducted by Rotovnik Thomas, consultant of the Bank of Slovenia.
The project is part of the CEP program activities financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the scope of international development cooperation.
Pomoč Črni gori pri pogajanjih o pristopu k EU 2016 poglavje 9 – Finančne storitve
Črna gora mora v obdobju prilagajanja zakonodaje zaradi pristopa k EU v poglavju 9 – Finančne storitve posebno pozornost nameniti tehnični pomoči Centralni banki Črne gore.
V okviru projekta CEP »Pomoč Črni gori pri pogajanjih o pristopu k EU-2016« se bo 3. in 4. oktobra izvedla delavnica za zaposlene v Centralni Banki Črne Gore. Delavnica bo namenjena usposabljanju javnih uslužbencev z upravljanjem rizikov v bankah, še posebej z nadzornimi zahtevami in praksami EU. Udeleženci seminarja se bodo seznanili z razvojem evropskih predpisov na tem področju zlasti z direktivo CRD IV in Smernicami Evropskega bančnega organa, ter pri tem spoznali številne praktične primere delovanja bank in nadzornikov.
Delavnico bo izvajal Tomaž Rotovnik, svetovalec Banke Slovenije.
Projekt je del programskih aktivnosti CEP, ki jih financira Ministrstvo za zunanje zadeve iz sredstev za mednarodno razvojno sodelovanje.
3. 8. 2016 | HEAT, PR
International staff often operates in unstable and dangerous environments: armed conflict, organised crime, theft, assault, hostage taking, etc. The most important duty of care of states and organisations, sending their personnel to dangerous environments, is to assure their safety and security. Hostile environment awareness training (HEAT) presents a fundamental training for anyone working in risk-associated, insecure or hostile environment.
CEP is this year again organising the intensive four-day course that aims to train professionals to effectively deal with risks-associated and emergency/critical situations while deployed in hostile environments abroad. The training provides a comprehensive approach to the relevant issues in this area and is designed to put participants in stressful situations, preparing them for worst-case scenarios. Simulations of real-life situations complement essential classroom theory. The course is designed for people who are or will be working in a conflict area to understand the required behavioural requirements.
HEAT intends to:
• improve participants’ knowledge about multiple threats present in hostile environments as well as how to deal with them in an effective manner;
• rehearse and practice safety and security procedures accordingly with the specific threat;
• trigger individual skill dealing with different stressful situations;
• trigger group dynamics dealing with multiple stressful situations.
The training consists of five modules. Activities include lectures, guided discussions, role plays and simulations. Trainees will be talking about being deployed in hostile environment (threat awareness and management of various threats, etc.), medical help (vaccinations, personal hygiene, and first aid), orientation, communications (GPS, radio, satellite phone) and off road vehicles driving. Practical activities and field simulations will be dedicated to practicing newly gained skills and will intentionally expose trainees to situations they are likely to encounter on a mission.
Training is organised by the Centre for European Perspective in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Slovenia, Slovenian Police and Slovenian Armed Forces.
DATE and LOCATION
Training will be held between 25 and 28 October 2016 at the Police Training Centre Gotenica located in the south-eastern part of Slovenia, 60 km from Ljubljana Airport. Gotenica is a training village with the capacity of hosting 150 people with all needed training facilities as well as full board accommodation for all participants.
REGISTRATION
Please register by using the application form below.
Note: All participants need to have a valid driving license in order to drive 4×4 vehicles.
In order to acquire more information please contact Ingrid Omahna ([email protected]; +386 (0)1 560 86 11).
LANGUAGE
The language of the course will be English.
COSTS
Training fee: 1.200,00 € (tuition fees, course material, full board accommodation).
Local transportation to Gotenica for trainees from other countries will be organised by CEP.
2. 8. 2016 | Danube
At the end of the year 2010 European Commission adopted the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) that aims to deepen the cooperation of 14 countries in the Danube region. These are Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Moldova and Ukraine. Countries are very diverse – EU members, candidate countries, potential candidates as well as countries from the European Neighbourhood Policy. Despite the different statuses, the listed countries share common geographical area, history and part of the cultural heritage and therefore connection seems especially reasonable in the field of environment protection, ensuring prosperity and strengthening of the Danube region.
Strategy is covering 11 priority areas and each priority is coordinated by two partner countries (PA means priority area):
PA 1A Mobility – Waterway
PA 1B Mobility – Rail-Road-Air
PA 2 Energy
PA 3 Culture & Tourism
PA 4 Water Quality
PA 5 Environmental Risks
PA 6 Biodiversity, landscapes, quality of air and soils
PA 7 Knowledge Society
PA 8 Competitiveness
PA 9 People & Skills
PA 10 Institutional capacity and cooperation
PA 11 Security
Slovenia is coordinating two priority areas, PA 1B that aims to improve mobility and intermodality – rail, road and air as well as PA 10 – Institutional Capacity and Cooperation that plans to step up institutional capacity and cooperation in the field of civil society, local/regional administration, urban areas and youth. CEP is coordinating PA 10 with Austria.
In first years of the implementation of the Strategy Slovenia was in PA 10 represented by Centre for Excellence in Finance, while from 1.1.2017 coordination will be delegated to Centre for European Perspective. On the Austrian side, City of Vienna is responsible for the management of PA 10 and has been part of the Danube Strategy from its beginning. Partners have for the upcoming three years together developed projects that will be implemented to contribute to better cooperation in the region, promotion of the Strategy and European Union as a whole. Our work will be focused on facilitation of better participation of young, raising awareness on importance of coordination in the Danube region, search for solutions for better collaboration on local and regional levels as well as capacity building of actors and structures of the civil society.
Centre for European Perspective is proud to be taking over the role of a coordination and has already started intensively preparing with participation at the 5th Annual Forum of the Danube Strategy in Bratislava (http://www.danube-forum-bratislava.eu) and at 11th meeting of the PA 10 in Bucharest on November 15th.
More information about the Strategy for Danube region can be obtained at http://danube-region.eu, while priorities and activities of the PA 10 are presented at http://www.danube-capacitycooperation.eu/.
CEP prevzema aktivno vlogo v Podonavski makroregiji
Evropska komisija je konec leta 2010 sprejela Strategijo za Podonavje, katere namen je poglobljeno sodelovanje 14ih držav v Podonavju. To so Nemčija, Avstrija, Češka, Slovaška, Madžarska, Slovenija, Romunija, Bolgarija, Hrvaška, Srbija, BiH, Črna gora, Moldavija in Ukrajina. Partnerske države so zelo raznolike – članice EU, članice kandidatke, potencialne kandidatke in države, s katerimi ima EU odnose v okviru Evropske sosedske politike. A kljub temu države delijo geografsko področje, zgodovino in tudi del kulturne dediščine, zato se zdi povezovanje smiselno še posebej na področju varovanja okolja, zagotavljanja blaginje in krepitve Podonavja.
Strategija vsebinsko pokriva 11 prioritet, vsako prioriteto pa skupaj koordinirata dve partnerski državi (PA je kratica za ‘priority area’, prednostno področje):
PA 1A Plovne poti
PA 1B Mobilnost – železnica-cesta-zrak
PA 2 Energija
PA 3 Kultura in turizem
PA 4 Kakovost vode
PA 5 Okoljska tveganja
PA 6 Biotska raznovrstnost, krajine, kakovost zraka in prsti
PA 7 Družba znanja
PA 8 Konkurenčnost
PA 9 Ljudje in veščine
PA 10 Institucionalna zmogljivost in sodelovanje
PA 11 Varnost
Slovenija tako koordinira dve področji, prednostno področje PA1B, ki se ukvarja z izboljšanjem prometne povezanosti regije in področjem PA 10 – Institucionalna zmogljivost in sodelovanje, katerega glavni namen je izboljšanje administrativnih kapacitet države in sodelovanja na področjih civilne družbe, lokalne/regionalne uprave, urbanih področij in mladih. Področje PA10 CEP koordinira skupaj z Avstrijo.
V prvih letih izvajanja strategije je Slovenijo v PA10 zastopal Center za odličnost v financah (CEF), s 1.1.2017 pa koordinacijo prevzema Center za evropsko prihodnost. Na Avstrijski strani je za vodstvo PA10 določeno mesto Dunaj, ki je del podonavske strategije že od samega začetka. Partnerja sta za prihodnja tri leta skupaj oblikovala projekte, ki jih bosta izvajala in s tem prispevala k boljšemu sodelovanju v regiji, promociji strategije in Evropske Unije kot celote. Delo bo osredotočeno na omogočanje boljše participacije mladih, ozaveščanju pomembnosti sodelovanja v Podonavski regiji, iskanju rešitev za boljše sodelovanje na lokalnem in regionalnem nivoju ter povezovanju in opolnomočenju akterjev in struktur civilne družbe.
Center za evropsko prihodnost s ponosom prevzema vlogo koordinatorja in se je na delo dobro pripravil, tudi z udeležbo na 5. letnem srečanju Podonavske regije, ki je potekalo v prvih dneh novembra v Bratislavi (http://www.danube-forum-bratislava.eu/) in 11. srečanja PA10 področja v Bukarešti, 15. novembra 2016.
Več o Podonavski strategiji je dostopnega na http://danube-region.eu/, prioritete in aktivnosti področja PA10 pa so predstavljene na http://www.danube-capacitycooperation.eu/.
15. 10. 2015 | HEAT, PR
Centre for European Perspective and Folke Bernadotte Academy are within the framework of Europe’s New Training Initiative for Civilian Crisis Management (ENTRi) organizing a Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT) at the Police Training Centre Gotenica between 19 and 23 October. Training is organized in close cooperation with Slovenian Police and Slovenian Armed Forces.
Crisis management mission’s representatives or other personnel travelling and working in highly volatile environments around the world are exposed to variety of risks and occupational hazards when performing their duties. All large international organizations, be it the UN, the OSCE or the EU as well as non-governmental organizations or researchers face a common challenge in the field: the safety and security of their representatives. It is therefore of great importance to implement a specific training, which focuses on variety of security risks as well as challenges of these environments. Equipping civilian personnel with the basic awareness tools on how to deal with them is part of the duty of care of both sending Organizations and recruiting States. Training curriculum of the HEAT training therefore provides a comprehensive coverage of the relevant issues and is complemented with real-life simulations confronting key issues of such environments.
19 representatives of various international organizations and of 14 different nationalities will attend the training, which is largely composed of field exercises. Four days will be dedicated to their safety and security preparedness, which will be tested in an all-day complex field training exercise on the last day.
