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Making Democracy Deliver in the Western Balkans

In 2018 the EU, NATO and the countries from the Western Balkans have a unique chance to reinvigorate the Euro Atlantic perspective of the region. The European Commission has rightly prioritized the rule of law and security, including hybrid threats, in its new Enlargement Strategy. The accession of Montenegro to NATO and the opening up of EU accession prospects for Serbia and Montenegro have been a strong signal for political engagement with the Western Balkans. more »

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EVENTS

Improving the situation of victims of crime and the co-operation of stakeholders
Practical skills of institutions for working with victims of crime and of domestic and gender-based violence need to be improved. This is the conclusion reached by the participants in the two-day training held by the Center for the Study of Democracy. more »

Unified Standards for Forced Return Monitoring in Bulgaria
Bulgaria is one of the 26 Member States of the EU (without Ireland and the United Kingdom), which are bound by the Directive 2008/115/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on common standards and procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals. Article 8 (6) of the Directive introduces an obligation for all member states to create an effective system for forced return monitoring. more »

Countering Malign Russian Influence and Propaganda in Moldova
In the last years Russia has reinforced the use of media propaganda and disinformation as one of its major instruments for exercising malign influence over national internal and foreign policies in the Central and Eastern European countries, in favor of the Kremlin’s economic and political interests. more »

Decentralisation and democratisaion of Bulgaria’s energy sector: reaching EU’s main energy and climate goals
Lack of consistency in the field of energy policies, insufficient administrative capacity as well as heavy administrative and tax burdens are among the main obstacles preventing Bulgaria to unlock its huge potential for the decentralization of electricity generation. These were some of the points outlined by the speakers in the “Decentralisation and democratisaion of Bulgaria’s energy sector: reaching EU’s main energy and climate goals” round table. more »

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	Energy Security Hidden economy Organised crime Security Anti-corruption Radicalisation and terrorism Fundamental rights

SURVEY
	Bulgaria’s International Competitiveness 2018 more »
CSD IN THE MEDIA
	"The Center for the Study of Democracy, based in the capital, Sofia, outlined in a report last year a portrait of a state so riddled with graft that one in five adults, or 1.3 million people, were thought to have taken part in a corrupt transaction, such as paying or receiving a bribe." Bulgarian Journalist, Host of Anticorruption TV Show, Is Raped and Killed, New York Times, 8 October 2018
QUOTABLE
	"Frauds became more complicated in order to hide criminal activities. … Fifteen years ago, if we were investigating, we would find that the criminal inserted one artificial fake company in the sub-contracting chain. Today, if we were to check the same structure we would find six, eight or ten levels of sub-contractors, including off-shore companies. We must follow the cash-flow and this means we have to adapt ourselves also to the new modus operandi. This is why it is very important for us to use innovative methods to investigate, to detect but also to prevent fraud and corruption." Amira Szönyi, Head of Unit Agricultural and Structural Funds II, OLAF, during the International Conference: Standing Up To State Capture: Innovative Methods to Investigate Fraud and Corruption in EU Funding for Agriculture, Sofia, 13-14 September 2018 more »