|
2015 Western Balkans Summit, Vienna
The 2015 Western Balkans Summit was the second annual summit of heads of states and governments of Western Balkans. It took place in the Vienna, Austria, following the 2014 Conference of Western Balkan States that took place in Berlin, Germany. This summit forms part of the Berlin Process, a five-year process marked by yearly summits in order to underline the commitment to Future enlargement of the European Union towards the Western Balkans region. Official date of summit is 27 of August 2015. After 2014 conference Günther Oettinger confirmed that the event will be organised annually with Vienna as a host city in 2015 and Paris in 2016. The focus of the Berlin Process is on countries of the region that are not yet members of European Union (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia) with participation of countries who have committed themselves to organise summit meetings (Germany, Austria, France and Italy) and with strong supp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Federal Ministry For Europe, Integration And Foreign Affairs
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (german: Bundesministerium für europäische und internationale Angelegenheiten, abbreviated BMEIA, colloquially ''Außenministerium'') is the government ministry of Austria responsible for diplomatic missions and immigration, the administration of foreign policy, and the maintenance of the country's relations with international organisations, especially the European Union. It oversees the Austrian embassies, consular representatives and other emissaries, and administers the naturalisation process and handles citizenship questions along with the Interior Ministry. Competencies On 1 March 2007 the former Federal Ministry for External Affairs (''Bundesministerium für auswärtige Angelegenheiten'', BMaA) was renamed "Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs" which, as of 1 March 2014, changed to "Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs". It is responsible for a variety of matters concerning Austria’s fore ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burgenland Corpses Discovery
On 27 August 2015, the bodies of 71 illegal immigrants were discovered in a lorry on the Ost Autobahn in Burgenland, Austria. The victims were part of the wave of many thousands of migrants who traveled through the western Balkans in an effort to reach Germany. The borders were opened shortly afterward to allow the influx across. Vehicle The lorry, a Volvo FL 180, involved in the incident belonged to the Hungarian firm of Mastermobiliker Ltd, which had been under bankruptcy proceedings since July 2014. The lorry also bore the logo of a Slovak livestock company, Hyza, where it had previously been owned. The lorry was registered with Hungarian number plates, which officials stated had been registered by a Romanian citizen. The truck – two-axle, with a refrigerated box body and a total mass of 7.5 t hz – was parked in an emergency bay on the A4 east autobahn between Neusiedl am See and Parndorf, about one kilometer after the Neusiedl exit in the direction of Vienna. A wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central European Free Trade Agreement
The Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) is an international trade agreement between countries mostly located in Southeastern Europe. Founded by representatives of Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, CEFTA expanded to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and the UNMIK (on behalf of Kosovo, in accordance with UNSCR 1244). Members As of 1 July 2013, the parties of the CEFTA agreement are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and UNMIK (on behalf of Kosovo). Former parties are Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Their CEFTA memberships ended when they became member states of the European Union (EU). Membership criteria Former Poznań Declaration criteria: * World Trade Organization membership * European Union Association Agreement with provisions for future full membership * Free Trade Agreements ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stabilisation And Association Process
In talks with countries that have expressed a wish to join the European Union, the EU typically concludes Association Agreements in exchange for commitments to political, economic, trade, or human rights reform in that country. In exchange, the country may be offered tariff-free access to some or all EU markets ( industrial goods, agricultural products, etc.), and financial or technical assistance. Overview Stabilisation and Association agreements are part of the EU Stabilisation and Association Process (SAP) and European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). At present, the countries of the Western Balkans are the focus of the SAP. Specific Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAA) have been implemented with various Balkan countries which explicitly include provisions for future EU membership of the country involved. SAAs are similar in principle to the Europe Agreements signed with the Central and Eastern European countries in the 1990s and to the Association Agreement with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southeast Europe
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (alternatively placed in Central Europe), Cyprus (alternatively placed in West Asia), Greece (alternatively placed in Southern Europe), Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Turkey (alternatively placed in Southern Europe or West Asia). Sometimes, Moldova (alternatively placed in Eastern Europe) and Slovenia (alternatively placed in Central Europe) are also included. The largest city of the region is Istanbul, followed by Bucharest, Sofia, Belgrade, and Athens. There are overlapping and conflicting definitions of the region, due to political, economic, historical, cultural, and geographical considerations. Definition The first known use of the term "Southeast Europe" was by Austrian researcher Johann Georg von Hahn ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balkan Civil Society Development Network
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the whole of Bulgaria. The Balkan Peninsula is bordered by the Adriatic Sea in the northwest, the Ionian Sea in the southwest, the Aegean Sea in the south, the Turkish Straits in the east, and the Black Sea in the northeast. The northern border of the peninsula is variously defined. The highest point of the Balkans is Mount Musala, , in the Rila mountain range, Bulgaria. The concept of the Balkan Peninsula was created by the German geographer August Zeune in 1808, who mistakenly considered the Balkan Mountains the dominant mountain system of Southeast Europe spanning from the Adriatic Sea to the Black Sea. The term ''Balkan Peninsula'' was a synonym for Rumelia in the 19th century, the European provinces of the Ottoman Empire. It had a geopolitic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Freedom Of Expression
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognised as a human right in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights law by the United Nations. Many countries have constitutional law that protects free speech. Terms like ''free speech'', ''freedom of speech,'' and ''freedom of expression'' are used interchangeably in political discourse. However, in a legal sense, the freedom of expression includes any activity of seeking, receiving, and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used. Article 19 of the UDHR states that "everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference" and "everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Policy Analysis
Policy analysis is a technique used in the public administration sub-field of political science to enable civil servants, nonprofit organizations, and others to examine and evaluate the available options to implement the goals of laws and elected officials. The process is also used in the administration of large organizations with complex policies. It has been defined as the process of "determining which of various policies will achieve a given set of goals in light of the relations between the policies and the goals." Policy analysis can be divided into two major fields: * Analysis existing policy, which is analytical and descriptive – it attempts to explain policies and their development * Analysis new policy, which is prescriptive – it is involved with formulating policies and proposals (for example: to improve social welfare) The areas of interest and the purpose of analysis determine what types of analysis are conducted. A combination of two kinds of policy analyses ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prosperity
Prosperity is the flourishing, thriving, good fortune and successful social status. Prosperity often produces profuse wealth including other factors which can be profusely wealthy in all degrees, such as happiness and health. Competing notions of prosperity Economic notions of prosperity often compete or interact negatively with health, happiness, or spiritual notions of prosperity. For example, longer hours of work might result in an increase in certain measures of economic prosperity, but at the expense of driving people away from their preferences for shorter work hours. In Buddhism, prosperity is viewed with an emphasis on collectivism and spirituality. This perspective can be at odds with capitalistic notions of prosperity, due to the latter's association with greed. Data from social surveys show that an increase in income does not result in a lasting increase in happiness; one proposed explanation to this is due to hedonic adaptation and social comparison, and a fai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Job Creation
Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the reference period. Unemployment is measured by the unemployment rate, which is the number of people who are unemployed as a percentage of the labour force (the total number of people employed added to those unemployed). Unemployment can have many sources, such as the following: * new technologies and inventions * the status of the economy, which can be influenced by a recession * competition caused by globalization and international trade * policies of the government * regulation and market Unemployment and the status of the economy can be influenced by a country through, for example, fiscal policy. Furthermore, the monetary authority of a country, such as the central bank, can influence the availability and cost for money through ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Fund For The Balkans
The European Fund for the Balkans ( Serbian Cyrillic: Европски фонд за Балкан; abbreviation: EFB) is an organisation based in Belgrade. It was founded in 2008 as a joint initiative by the Robert Bosch Stiftung, the ERSTE Foundation, the King Baudouin Foundation and the Compagnia di San Paolo in order to support countries from the former Yugoslavia during their EU association process. The EFB coordinated the Civil Society Forum within the framework of the Berlin Process. On its 10th anniversary of the foundation launched the Declaration of a European Balkans Partnership, a document signed by numerous Balkan actors which calls for more engagement by the EU in the former Yugoslavia to complete the region's socio-economic transformation. Declaration was authored by Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG) who consulted Balkans state officials, representatives of European Union, representatives of civil society and renowned experts and intellectuals. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo Canton, East Sarajevo and nearby municipalities is home to 555,210 inhabitants. Located within the greater Sarajevo valley of Bosnia, it is surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of the Balkans, a region of Southern Europe. Sarajevo is the political, financial, social and cultural center of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a prominent center of culture in the Balkans. It exerts region-wide influence in entertainment, media, fashion and the arts. Due to its long history of religious and cultural diversity, Sarajevo is sometimes called the "Jerusalem of Europe" or "Jerusalem of the Balkans". It is one of a few major European cities to have a mosque, Catholic church, Eastern Orthodox church, and syn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Freedom Of Expression")
