With Slovenian development assistance, capacity-building activities in financial investigations will continue in North Macedonia between 4 and 7 July 2023.
In the framework of the project “Support in Chapter 24 – Financial investigations”, consultations and workshops will be held for the institutions responsible for financial investigations in North Macedonia. During consultations and workshops, Slovene experts from the Specialised State Prosecutor’s Office, the Financial Administration and the Police will share their experience in dealing with real-life cases with their Macedonian colleagues.
Activities are funded by the Republic of Slovenia through its International Development Cooperation Programme and implemented in cooperation with the State Prosecution, Financial Administration, Ministry of the Interior, and the Police of the Republic of Slovenia.
On 14-15 June 2023, in the framework of the “Support in Chapter 24 – Financial investigations”, project meetings were held in Skopje with representatives of the interested professional and international community in North Macedonia. Meetings were held at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the OSCE Mission in Skopje, and the Development Cooperation Section of the Embassy of Sweden, which currently holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU. During the meetings, the interlocutors were presented with information on activities carried out since 2019 with Slovenian development assistance in North Macedonia in the field of capacity building of the Macedonian institutions responsible for financial investigations, the challenges they are facing on the way to improving their results, the changes and progress they have already achieved in the framework of the project, as well as the ones that are still ahead of them on the path of European integration.
The meetings with the international community were followed by discussions with legal expert Prof. Dr Vlado Kambovski, President of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, on the changes and adjustments to the legislation that are needed in North Macedonia to conduct financial investigations more effectively according to EU criteria and standards.
The meetings with the interested professional and international community were also an opportunity to discuss the possibilities of cooperation and networking in the implementation of Slovenian development assistance programs aimed at Macedonian institutions to prevent illicit financial flows as effectively as possible, to accelerate activities to confiscate the proceeds of crime and property of illegal origin, to combat the illicit arms trade and, more generally, to fight all forms of organized crime and corruption in North Macedonia as successfully as possible, as any progress the country makes in these areas will naturally be mirrored beyond its borders.
Photo: Meeting with the representatives of UNODC and the Swedish Embassy in Skopje.
Activities are funded by the Republic of Slovenia through its International Development Cooperation Programme and implemented in cooperation with the State Prosecution, Financial Administration, Ministry of the Interior, and the Police of the Republic of Slovenia.
Global experts and practitioners increasingly warn that the phenomenon of disinformation should be viewed through a security lens. Malignant actors recognize and abuse the capacity of disinformation to undermine democratic processes and practices, erode the trust of the population in public institutions, and create tears in the social fabric of societies. While every country in the world faces the challenge of disinformation, Western Balkans is among those regions that have proven particularly vulnerable and often a target for foreign actors. 74% of Western Balkan citizens consider disinformation a security threat.
The Project Strengthening Societal Resilience and Countering Foreign Perpetrated Disinformation organized a capacity-building training in Portorož on 6-8 June for representatives of Western Balkan governments, media and civil society to foster joint work on countering this threat.
About forty participants took part in the two-and-a-half day long training dedicated to exploring the building blocks of comprehensive and holistic national defence mechanisms in countering disinformation. Renowned experts from across Europe and the US taught the participants how to verify information, detect and react to disinformation, and establish a whole-of-society response model. Progressing from theory to practice, participants used their new knowledge and tools during practical exercises and tailor-made simulations of disinformation event scenarios.
The objective of the Project is to assist the Western Balkan partners to create national response mechanisms to counter foreign-perpetrated disinformation. The training provided space for national and regional cross-sectoral working group discussions that will feed into national recommendations and other activities developed within the Project.
The project is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia through development cooperation funds.
On 14-15 June 2023, in the framework of the “Support in Chapter 24 – Financial investigations” project meetings with be held in Skopje with representatives of the interested professional and international community in North Macedonia.
The meetings will be aimed at presenting the activities implemented with Slovenian development assistance in North Macedonia in the field of financial investigations and the progress that the Macedonian institutions responsible for financial investigations within the framework of the project are pursuing and achieving on the path toward full EU membership.
Activities are funded by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Republic of Slovenia through its International Development Cooperation Programme and implemented in cooperation with the State Prosecution, Financial Administration, Ministry of the Interior, and the Police of the Republic of Slovenia.
Russian aggression in Ukraine, China’s strive not only for economic but for political influence, and authoritarian regimes questioning international order may create a challenge to transatlantic economic leadership. On the one hand, the Russian war in Ukraine has established grounds for the further consolidation of the EU and NATO alliance, including moving to joint procurements, speeding up green financial packages, and reviewing regulations on economic dependencies on semiconductors, raw materials, and hydrocarbons (oil and gas) supplies. At the same time, the global economy is going through a technological shift with digitalization and the growth of the intangible economy, e.g., stock of patents, brands, R&D, and software, defining much of the productivity growth in modern economies. As Europe and the US remain the central sources for this shift, they are perfectly positioned to harness it and create a new wave of globalization.
Concurrently, a Europe that is not afraid to receive ideas, technologies, and people from the rest of the world, a Europe without fear of technological change and capable of taking risks to fight climate change and support social diversity and economic prosperity, would be a dynamic Europe that we need, confident in its capabilities and with public policies that promote exchange and competition.
All in all, if Europe and America can find the (common) ground for establishing the policies and rules that will guide new commerce and concretize their strategic partnership, they can increase their capacity to generate new prosperity and stand up against new aggressions by malevolent regimes.
What will the digital economy of the future look like?
Is the EU’s strategic autonomy the right answer to achieve its “long-term” industrial and technological ambitions?
What competitiveness policies should the EU pursue to ensure higher economic growth?
What should our next steps (future policies) be to ensure that our strategic partnership can reap the benefits of the emerging ideas-based economy, trade in services, and ideas?
Joining us to discuss these questions are:
❖ Jovita Neliupšienė, Deputy Foreign Minister of Lithuania
❖ Jaka Repanšek, Chair of the Strategic Committee on Digital Regulation and Environment of the Slovenian Digital Coalition
❖ Marta Poslad, Head of Public Policy, Central and Eastern Europe, Google
❖ Fredrik Erixon, Director of ECIPE
Moderated by: Dr Rolandas Kačinskas, Foreign Policy Advisor to the Speaker of the Seimas
Join us for a discussion live or on social media, as the discussion will be streamed on INFOBALT’s and CEP’s Facebook profiles.
Europe and the world are going through a profound geopolitical realignment. Our digital future has thus become not only a question of economic growth and prosperity but also a geopolitical one. The war in Ukraine has shown, once again, how important it is for the EU and the US to take the lead in promoting certain shared values, which are based on human rights, democratic accountability, and respect for the rule of law.
The two-panel event will feature a discussion with the Former Presidents of Slovenia and Latvia and their reflections on current geopolitical developments, opportunities for strategic partnership – military cooperation, and the future role of the East and the United States in shaping security dynamics. The second panel will explore the digital dimension of the strategic partnership within the European Union and address the potential for collaboration in areas such as digital innovation and the development of emerging technologies and future digital transformation.
Ustanova – Center za evropsko prihodnost (CEP) razpisuje delovno mesto:
IZVRŠNEGA DIREKTORJA
Na razpisano delovno mesto bo imenovan kandidat, ki izpolnjuje naslednje pogoje:
– državljanstvo države članice Evropske unije,
– univerzitetna izobrazba ali najmanj visoka strokovna izobrazba s specializacijo oz. magisterijem /druga stopnja/ ekonomske, družboslovne ali pravne smeri (VII/2)
– najmanj 10 let delovnih izkušenj,
– vsaj 4 leta izkušenj s poslovodenjem, organizacijske sposobnosti ter primerne komunikacijske veščine,
– izkušnje na področju vodenja, prijavljanja in upravljanja mednarodnih projektov,
– znanje slovenskega in angleškega jezika na višjem nivoju (B2) ter dodatnega tujega jezika,
– usposobljenost za delo z računalnikom v okolju windows.
Kandidat mora ob prijavi predložiti:
– življenjepis na obrazcu Europass s točnimi opisi del in nalog, ki jih je doslej opravljal,
– dokazila o izpolnjevanju razpisnih pogojev,
– vizijo dela CEP na 1–2 straneh za obdobje 4-letnega mandata.
Popolna prijava kandidata mora vsebovati vse zgoraj zahtevane elemente.
Prednost pri izbiri bodo imeli kandidati z izkušnjami na mednarodnem področju in kandidati s podrobnim poznavanjem predpisov s področja mednarodnih odnosov in drugih področij delovanja ustanove. Zaželeno je, da imajo kandidati izpit B kategorije.
Uprava CEP bo izbranega kandidata imenovala za izvršnega direktorja CEP za dobo 4 let. Izbrani kandidat bo sklenil pogodbo o zaposlitvi za določen čas. Delo se opravlja na sedežu Ustanove CEP, Grajska cesta 1, 1234 Mengeš.
Kandidati naj pošljejo prijavo z vsemi zahtevanimi elementi na elektronski naslov [email protected] (veljavnost prijave ni pogojena z elektronskim podpisom) ali v zaprti ovojnici z oznako »NE ODPIRAJ – Prijava na razpis delovnega mesta direktorja CEP« na naslov:
Ustanova – Center za evropsko prihodnost
Uprava
Grajska cesta 1
1234 Mengeš
Rok za prijavo je 15 dni od dneva objave razpisa na Zavodu RS za zaposlovanje. Upoštevane bodo vse popolne prijave oddane v roku in ki bodo pravočasno prispele na enega od zgoraj navedenih naslovov ali bodo najpozneje zadnji dan roka za prijavo poslane s priporočeno pošto.
Kandidati bodo o izbiri obveščeni v roku 15 dni po odločitvi o izboru.
Izrazi, zapisani v moški slovnični obliki, so uporabljeni kot nevtralni za ženske in moške.
Disinformation being false information deliberately spread to deceive people or secure economic or political gain, is becoming more dangerous by the year. 83% of Europeans believe disinformation presents a problem for democracy. They believe different groups of society should take responsibility to counter them. Among them are journalists, national authorities, and citizens (Euronews). Representatives of those groups and sectors (media, governments, and civil society organisations) from 6 Western Balkan countries will meet in Portorož for capacity-building training from the 6th to the 8th of June 2023.
The training will build upon the theoretical foundations participants gained at the last conference in November 2022 in Bled. The training titled ‘Detect & React’ will equip participants with tools to timely and effectively verify information, detect disinformation, and potentially debunk them.
It is organised in the scope of the project “Strengthening societal resilience and countering foreign perpetrated disinformation in 6 Western Balkans countries”, which was launched in 2020. It aims to enhance resilience and boost regional cooperation against disinformation with a whole-of-society approach, which is the distinguishing feature of the project. At this training, we will address another critical dimension: the collaboration of different levels of governance, meaning local, national, and regional, and get an even broader and more holistic overview of this dangerous phenomenon. Speakers from across Europe and wider will join us and share their expertise.
All our work should long-term lead to establishing national mechanisms for countering disinformation in each country (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia).
The project is funded by the National Endowment for Democracy and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia through development cooperation funds.
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