Each year the Commission adopts its "Enlargement package" - a set of documents explaining its policy on EU enlargement and reporting on progress achieved in each country. "The European Council granted Serbia the status of candidate country in 2012. The Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between Serbia and the EU entered into force in September 2013. Accession negotiations were launched in January 2014. The first four negotiating chapters were opened during the reporting period, ...
Each year the Commission adopts its "Enlargement package" - a set of documents explaining its policy on EU enlargement and reporting on progress achieved in each country. "On 1 April 2016, the EU-Kosovo* Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) entered into force. This is the first contractual relationship between the EU and Kosovo, acomprehensive framework for closer political dialogue and economic relations. Kosovo* has faced serious domestic challenges, which have hampered EU-related ...
Each year the Commission adopts its "Enlargement package" - a set of documents explaining its policy on EU enlargement and reporting on progress achieved in each country. "The Stabilisation and Association Agreement between Montenegro and the EU entered into force in May 2010. The European Council granted the status of candidate country to Montenegro in December 2010. Accession negotiations were opened in June 2012. EU and NATO accession are the two key foreign policy priorities of Montenegro. ...
Each year the Commission adopts its "Enlargement package" - a set of documents explaining its policy on EU enlargement and reporting on progress achieved in each country. "The EU initiated in December 2014 a renewed approach to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which provides for the re-sequencing of the conditionalities in order for the country to progress towards the EU and address the socio-economic challenges it faced. Following the adoption of a written commitment to reforms by the Bosnia and ...
... Science, the agency has extended responsibilities, including being the coordinator of the national contact points for Horizon 2020 and managing the national database on research, infrastructure and PhD/research publications. On integration into the European Research Area, bilateral memoranda of understanding were signed with Austria, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. On the Innovation Union, the government adopted decisions establishing the Innovation Fund and a voucher scheme, but they have yet to be implemented. Chapter 25: Science and research. The EU provides significant support for research and innovation. All Member States can benefit from the EU’s research programmes ...
... neighbourly relations, thus supporting political stabilisation and economic opportunities. BACKGROUND Enlargement process The current enlargement agenda covers the countries of the Western Balkans and Turkey. Accession negotiations have been opened with candidate countries Turkey (2005), Montenegro (2012) and with Serbia (2014), but not yet with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (a candidate country since 2005) nor Albania (candidate status in 2014). Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo are potential candidates. For detailed findings and recommendations on each country see: Strategy Paper: http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/key_documents/2016/20161109_strategy_paper_en.pdf Albania: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-16-3636_en.htm Bosnia and Herzegovina ...
RCC-led regional Working Group on Open Science comprised of officials from Ministries in charge of science from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo*, Montenegro, Serbia and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia got invited to attend regular meetings of the National Points of Reference of the EU member states in early October this year and this meeting was the first time ever that the RCC and representatives from the region could actively take part in the work of this forum. RCC ...
The draft report, presented at the SEE 2020 Governing Board meeting held on 30 May 2016 in Pravets, Bulgaria, reflects the status of implementation of the RCC’s SEE 2020 Strategy. The report was a subject to final consideration of the SEE 2020 Programming Committee at their meeting on 29 September 2016. Please read also "the South East Europe 2020 – A review of progress", an article by Sanjin Arifagic, RCC’s Coordinator of SEE 2020 Strategy published on 29 September 2016. ...
The South East Europe 2020 Strategy (SEE 2020) was adopted by the ministers of economy of seven South East European economies on 21 November 2013. Inspired by the EU’s 2020 Strategy it seeks to boost prosperity and job creation and to underscore the importance of the EU perspective to the region’s future through coordinated cooperation across a number of important policy dimensions. The adoption of SEE 2020 was a clear recognition by the national governments of the need for a ‘change of gear’ ...
EUROCON is a major international forum for the exchange of ideas, theory basics, design methodologies, techniques and experimental results between academia, research institutions and practitioners from industry. It has achieved a considerable success during the past 16 editions in all fields of electrical and electronic engineering, ICT and computer science covered by IEEE Societies. The technical program includes plenary sessions (invited keynote lectures), regular technical ...
... agree on rule of law as a legitimizing principle for the exercise of state authority, there is no uniform European standard for institution-building or monitoring activities by the EU in this area. With focus on the reform of the judiciary in five case study countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia, this empirical research investigates the EU's transformative power with regard to the effectiveness of rule of law and judicial sector reform in its infancy. It analyses the depth and limitations of EU rule of law promotion in the Western Balkans and presents policy recommendations intended to address ...
... Development and Innovation Facility (WB EDIF) which provides a range of complementary financial instruments and support services to SMEs in the Western Balkans The European Investment Fund (EIF) has selected South Central Ventures (SCV) to manage ENIF via offices in Belgrade (Serbia), Zagreb (Croatia), and Skopje (former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia). Investments are made in SMEs ranging from seed to early growth stage, in innovative sectors which show a high potential for growth, with a particular focus on Information and Communications Technology (ICT). The fund contains a dedicated 'seed pocket' focusing exclusively on pre-seed and seed companies across the region ...
Macedonian Chamber of Information and Communication Technologies - MASIT is a volunteer, non-profit chamber of commerce. The chamber was founded in 2000 as an initiative of the top fifteen Macedonian IT companies and was operating as an Association within the Economic Chamber of Macedonia. In April 2007, on the Annual Assembly of MASIT, the legal transformation of MASIT from Association to Chamber of commerce was agreed. Today, MASIT is the voice of the Macedonian ICT industry. The chamber represents companies of the ICT sector in Macedonia including: software and IT services companies, hardware companies ...
... would increase employability of new graduates. The conference was a follow up on the last Ministerial meeting of the Western Balkans Platform on Education and Training (WB PET) in July 2015, where the six Ministers of education from the Western Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia) agreed to support the establishment of a regional network of alumni. Around 90 participants, including students and alumni, National Erasmus+ Offices from the six countries of the WB PET, and representatives of youth organisations, attended the conference in Podgorica and discussed the modalities and next steps ...
The existence of a national or regional Research and Innovation Strategy for Smart Specialisation (RIS3) is the 'ex-ante conditionality' for the use of European Structural and Investment Funds to support R&I. This report by a group of independent experts examines the contribution of RIS3 to the Europe 2020 Growth Strategy in the wider context of research and innovation policies. https://ec.europa.eu/research/regions/pdf/publications/ris3_report-082015.pdf Günter Clar, Patries Boekholt, ...
The call is addressed to scientists and researchers that work in academic and research institutions in the region of South Eastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. More specifically these are (in alphabetical order): Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Egypt, FYR of Macedonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Turkey. The project proposals should address open research topics in specific fields of Life Sciences, Climate research, and Digital Cultural Heritage. Via this call VI-SEEM opens possibilities for regional scientists from the selected scientific fields to have access to ...
The Western Balkan countries do not have an advocacy strategy aimed at promoting and speeding up their EU accession. Although there is growing awareness of the need for such a strategy, it has transpired that the WB government institutions have only communication strategies targeting specific groups within their national borders: decision makers and initiators/multipliers of public awareness of the EU accession process, youth, or opponents of integration. However, these strategies have not ...
The Western Balkan 6 (WB6) Advocacy Group which was established on 29 September 2016, launched the portal www.wb6.info in order to better communicate with its target groups and interested public. CSOs from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, FYR of Macedonia and Serbia have initiated the forming of this group to facilitate and accelerate the accession of the entire region to the European Union. One of the Group's main priorities will be to change the region's negative image. Its aim is to alert to the relevance of the Western Balkans ...
WB6 Advocacy Group is an initiative of Western Balkanthink tanks coming from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, FYR of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, aimed at accelerating and facilitating the European Union enlargement towards the Western Balkans. Established in September 2016, the Group grew out of two successive projects– the European Integration of the Western Balkans: Can the Visegrad Countries Serve as Role Models, Belgrade, 2015, which was ...
Youth is often perceived throughout the Western Balkans as the generation of citizens that should play the role of the agent of change in the region. Considering the embedded potential, regional youth cooperation is on the spotlight of the ‘Berlin Process’ and officially materialized during the Paris Summit 2016, with the signature of the joint declaration on the establishment of the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) of the Western Balkans. With the intention of maximizing RYCO’s role, ...