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Three US Aid Agencies Set up Balkan Trust for Democracy
(AP, Seeurope.net - 03/04/03; USAID, German Marshall Fund - 02/04/03)
Three US agencies pledged Wednesday (2 April) to provide $25m in aid to several countries in Southeast Europe, in support of efforts to strengthen democracy. The Balkan Trust for Democracy project will disburse grants to eligible organisations and institutions in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the province of Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania, and Serbia and Montenegro. Headquartered in Belgrade, it will become fully operational this summer.
The initiative is the product of a public-private partnership between the USAID, the German Marshall Fund (GMF) and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. In a joint statement, the three agencies said that while Southeast European countries "have made great strides in establishing democracies, there is still work to be done to finish the complex transition from communism."
"The Balkan Trust for Democracy represents a long-term commitment . to help these countries meet their goals of democratic consolidation and membership in NATO and the EU," the statement said.
Funding will go to NGOs, local and regional governments, educational institutions and the media. It will be provided within the framework of two principal programmes financed by the Balkan Trust.
Under the first, Linking Citizens with Government, grants will be awarded for projects fostering connections between citizens and governments, to monitor the work of the government and to promote public awareness about citizens' rights and responsibilities.
The second programme, Co-operation and Collaboration, will support cross-border co-operation projects seeking to promote political and civil society development essential to long-term stability across the region.
From the $25m available to the Trust, nearly $2m in grants will be awarded each year to eligible groups and organisations.
"The Balkan Trust for Democracy will serve as a model of how public and private institutions can join together to help support good governance and civil society engagement throughout the world," said USAID Administrator Andrew S Natsios.
USAID and the GMF are each contributing $10m to the joint initiative. The Mott Foundation is providing the remaining $5m. The GMF is setting aside an additional $2m to cover the Trust's administrative expenses. By design, USAID funds will last for ten years; afterwards, the Trust will continue operating with funds from the GMF and other donors invited to join as the initiative becomes operational.
"The Mott Foundation believes that this initiative will be a cornerstone for achieving the vision that we have for the region -- stable and productive democracies and engaged citizenry throughout the Balkan peninsula," the statement quoted Mott Foundation President William S White as saying.
C 2002 Southeast European Times
http://www.setimes.com/html2/english/030404-SVETLA-001.htm

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EC Director General Eneko Landaburu visits Romania
Mr. Eneko Landaburu, Director General for Enlargement in the European Commission, will pay a two-day visit to Bucharest on 21-22 January 2003. Mr. Landaburu will meet the Romanian President, the Prime Minister and a number of ministers to discuss the next steps in the accession process. He will also visit EU-funded projects in Focsani and Buzau.
News Date: January 17th 2003
Full information: Download
Source: Delegation of the European Commission in Romania

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EU funds further reform of the child protection sector
The National Authority for Child Protection and Adoption and the Delegation of the European Commission in Romania have launched the EU - PHARE Programme 2001 “Strengthening and Diversification of the Child Welfare Activities in Romania”, which will continue the reform of the sector undertaken under the previous PHARE Programme. The programme will focus on the development of alternative services leading to the closure of large institutions, particularly those housing infants (leagans) and children with special needs (camine-spital). The total budget allocated to the programme is 10 MEURO, of which 7.5 MEuro will go to the “Children First” grant scheme, 1 MEuro to the continuation of the public awareness campaign “A children’s home is not a home” and 1.5 MEuro for technical assistance to the NAPCA.
News Date: November 21st 2002
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Source: Delegation of the European Commission in Romania

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EU helps Romania to achieve the European standards for the health insurance system
The Romanian social system stepped ahead towards achieving the EU standards for health insurance with the closure of the EU financed twinning project “CONSENSUS III”. The project, in value of 1 MEURO, was carried out by the Romanian Ministry of Health and Family, through the National Health Insurance House, in partnership with the German Ministry of Health, through AOK Bundesverband – The Federal Association of Health Insurance Funds.
The project helped Romanian Health Insurance System to increase its efficiency and sustainability by:
- Developing a viable and effective administrative capacity within the National and District Health Insurance Houses, including a sustainable training capacity;
- Maximising the operational efficiency of the National Health Insurance House (NHIH) an District Health Insurance Houses (DHIHs) through clarifying roles and harmonising the relationship of the institutions;
- Establishing a Co-ordination Unit for Continuing Training (CUCT) to develop, deliver and maintain training activities.
News Date: November 22nd 2002
Full information: Download
Source: Delegation of the European Commission in Romania

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2007 confirmed by the European Parliament as accession date
Baroness Nicholson succeeded today in her efforts to incorporate the target date of January 1st, 2007, for Romania's entry into the European Union, in the report on enlargement passed overwhelmingly by the European Parliament.
Following the vote in Strasbourg, Baroness Nicholson declared: "This inclusion of the target date is of vital importance to Romania at this crucial moment. It signifies a true recognition of her sterling efforts and actual progress made on her journey to accession to the European Union."
Baroness Nicholson also expressed warm gratitude to her colleagues from all political groups in the European Parliament who swung behind her to provide this encouraging message to Romania.
Amidst a monumental parliamentary session, where Members of Parliaments from the candidate countries took part yesterday in a debate on enlargement, Baroness Nicholson also commended the Danish Presidency and European Commission for their support and leadership in this historic enlargement process and added, "If Romania follows faithfully the Commission's new and excellent roadmap and has the support of the Commission, the Council of Ministers and Parliament, she can reach the target date, not by right but by her own achievement."
News Date: November 20th 2002
Full information: Download
Source: Delegation of the European Commission in Romania

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SAPARD
The Government has sacked Mr. Stefan Mitrache the director of its agency SAPARD (agency responsible for the control of the pre-EU membership subvention for agriculture) for bad management and a conflict of interests.

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Data interchange network paves way for an enlarged Europe
Administrations in the Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland, Romania and Slovenia will be able to exchange data with EU Member States' back offices on how to supply e-government services, apply EU law and enforce single market rules following a European Commission decision on 20 June.
The decision opens the way for them to participate in DG Enterprise's Interchange of data between administrations (IDA) project, whose 23.6 million euro work programme was approved by the Commission on 4 June. IDA participation rules will be set out in a memorandum of understanding to be signed by the countries in the
near future.
The Commission says that stepping up data exchange will accelerate candidate countries' take-up of the EU's 'acquis communautaire' legislation before they formally join the Union, helping to safeguard security, freedom and justice in an enlarged Europe.
Similar memoranda are also expected to be signed with Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania and Turkey once 'remaining national constitutional and procedural difficulties with the memoranda texts have been ironed out,' the Commission says. Malta and Slovakia are expected to follow in a matter of months.
Following candidate countries' accession to the IDA programme in 2002, a challenge for 2003 will be the efficient networking of administrations in an enlarged Europe. To prepare the ground for this, candidate countries are already involved as observers in a number of IDA working groups of national experts in areas such as network security and e-government portals. Information days and other events have also been organised.
Contact Person : For further information, please consult the following web address: http://europa.eu.int/ISPO/ida/jsps/index.jsp?fuseAction=home

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Different European NGOs met for the first time on Thursday with Convention Vice-President Jean Luc Dehaene, at the initiative of the European Parliament Economic and Social Committee, with the aim of putting forward their views on the workings of the Convention. The Forum was established in the Laeken Declaration in order for the debate to be broadly based and involve citizens.
Link to article:

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Plea for Central Europe river clean-up
The cyanide spill two years ago highlighted the problem
By Nick Thorpe, BBC
Tirgu Mures, Romania
Environmentalists from four Central European countries have called for governments in the region to co-operate more closely to clean up badly polluted rivers. Meeting in the Romanian city of Tirgu Mures, delegates from Romania, Hungary, Ukraine and Slovakia urged regional leaders to seek help from the European Union to reverse the damage to rivers in the Carpathian basin. A cyanide spill from a goldmine in northern Romania drew attention to the extent of the problems two years ago, but scientists say little has been done since to prevent serious accidents happening again.
Problems discussed include the waste from abandoned and still functioning mines and the serious deforestation of river valleys in Romania and the Ukraine. Everyday industrial practices also provoked criticism - such as the intensive extraction of gravel from several rivers. Few towns and cities in the region have more than rudimentary sewage facilities, adding another burden to rivers with weakened natural cleaning mechanisms. Working together Scientists from the participating countries have been cooperating closely for the past decade, and the conference in Tirgu Mures was a chance to plan new projects. But they are now calling for similar level of cooperation between the governments of the region to develop an integrated approach to a complex ecosystem. They are also seeking help from the European Union and other international agencies to repair some of the damage.

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Volunteers advise follow-up to UN International Year

VOLUNTEER FORUM EVALUATES ACTIVITIES OF
UN INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF VOLUNTEERS, ADVISES FOLLOW-UP
GENEVA, 21 November 2001 - An international gathering of volunteer experts wrapped up Wednesday with a message to the United Nations General Assembly on support for efforts to encourage volunteer action at the close of the UN International Year of Volunteers 2001 (IYV).

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MONITORING THE EU ACCESSION PROCESS: JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE
Judicial Independence in Romania

Executive Summary
Romania has taken some important steps towards consolidating democracy and embracing the rule of law. The 1991 Constitution and new legislation have settled the main features of judicial authority and proclaimed the independence of judges. However, significant obstacles to the realization of a fully independent
judiciary remain, including insufficient separation of powers, intrusive involvement of the executive in judicial affairs, inadequate funding and control of the funding process, endemic corruption, and a persistent lack of respect for the principles of a legal culture supportive of the rule of law.

Weak Commitment to the Rule of Law
The decisions taken by many of Romania 's judges, legislators and members of the executive do not evince a consistent commitment to the principles of judicial independence. Despite formal safeguards, judges are not effectively protected from political
manipulation. During the first months of 2001, leading officials in the Government have repeatedly attempted to influence judges 'decisions in particular cases. For many, including judges, these efforts raise very serious concerns about the Government 's intentions in the area of judicial independence.

Excessive Involvement of the Executive
Most of the problems affecting the judiciary share a common feature: the excessive involvement of the executive in the affairs of the judiciary. Much of this involvement is entrenched in law, and is the single most significant structural problem facing the
judiciary. Some of the most significant issues are briefly noted below:

Separation of Powers
The judiciary 's separate role is proclaimed in law, but is ill-defined in practice, where its functions often overlap with those of the prosecutorial office -which is controlled by the executive. The judiciary has no independent legal representative in its relations with the other organs of the State; it has to rely on bodies such as the Ministry of Justice.

Military Courts
In addition, large areas of jurisdiction fall not under the regular courts, but under the separate system of military courts, which also tries cases involving the police and which responds to the imperatives of the military hierarchy. As a consequence, the ability of the judiciary to play a role in curbing excesses in the executive is severely hampered.

Budget Authority
The judiciary in Romania has almost no independent authority over its own budget process, which is in the hands of the Ministry of Justice. Although there is no evidence that this budgetary control has been used to exact political compliance, the very possibility may act as a limit on the judiciary 's willingness to assert its independence.

Compensation and Work Conditions
Historically low compensation has improved considerably in recent years, although significant discretion in determining overall compensation threatens judges 'independence. Moreover, working conditions remain at a very low standard, hampering the effective administration of justice and encouraging corruption.

Appointments and Promotions
The executive 's involvement in the appointment, evaluation, and promotion of judges may impair their independence. In particular, justices of the Supreme Court and judges of the Constitutional Court seem vulnerable to political influence.

Enforcement of Decisions
Enforcement often takes a very long time. There is a poorly developed procedural framework, and some officials in charge are reportedly corrupt; reforms privatizing enforcement are too recent to be fully assessed.

Corruption
There is a widespread public perception that the judiciary is corrupt. The procedures employed in Romanian courts themselves -such as the very limited recording of proceedings -often do little to protect against corrupt practices or to allow for their subsequent discovery.

Full pdf report available at www.eumap.org/reports/20/642

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The Foundation for the Promotion of the Information Society in Romania (FPSIR) initiated an action of collecting technical books, to found the first technical library in Drobeta Turnu Severin (details will be available soon)