Report 2003
With 42 journalists killed, 2003 was the worst one for the profession since 1995. In Central and Eastern Europe journalists have to face draconian and archaic legislation in terms of slander. In spite of this the ten countries that are to integrate the EU on 1st May have respected the freedom of the press. However the situation is still unstable in Serbia Montenegro where censorship was imposed after the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, and in Romania, where journalists investigating into affairs of corruption or who critize the party in power encounter difficulties. 2003 was particularly difficult for journalists in Belarus where three people are in prison with sentences including hard labour for having "insulted the president." In spite of major reforms adopted with the perspective of joining the EU, in Turkey, in practice journalists who criticize the government or the army as well as pro-Kurd journalists are still submitted to abusive ! judicial proceedings.

NATO in the East
In "NATO's Eastern Agenda in a New Strategic Era", the latest publication by F. Stephen Larrabee for RAND, the author shows that NATO has to face various challenges in this area of the world: consolidate the democratic transition in Central and Eastern Europe, guarantee the security of the Baltic countries, develop a post-enlargement strategy towards the Ukraine, deepen relations with Russia, commit itself in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Call for contributions
The Romanian Journal of Society and Politics

The editors of the Romanian Journal of Society and Politics are inviting you to submit papers for its 7th issue.

RJSP is accepting high quality research papers from all fields of social sciences.  Interdisciplinary approaches and contributions from disciplines outside the social sciences are welcome as long as they address issues of relevance to contemporary Romanian politics, culture, or society.  For each issue RJSP accepts a diversity of contributions, regardless of the main theme of the issue.  These contributions can be research articles, reviews, discussion pieces and review articles on a variety of subjects.

However, every issue aims at focusing on a particular theme. The 7th issue is focused on Moldova v history, past and present, Romanian v Moldovan relations, Romanians in Moldova, Moldovans in Romania, culture, politics, geopolitics, economics, federalization, European Integration, Eastwards or Westwards? etc

Deadline for submissions: 15 February 2004

Publication expected: end of May 2004

All contributions should be sent by e-mail at the following address:
politics@home.ro
For more info on RJSP please visit us at: http://www.srsp/rjsp.html

Razvan Grecu
Invisible College,
Romanian Society of Political Science
Tel: (+40) 723. 631. 512
E-mail: razvanclau@yahoo.com

Report - Code for the conduct of social-research in the  European Union

The RESPECT project, funded by the European Commission, invites scholars to comment on a professional and ethical code for the conduct of social-research in the European Union.

The RESPECT guidelines are intended to form the basis of a voluntary code of practice covering the conduct of socio-economic research in Europe. They are based on a synthesis of the contents of existing codes, together with current legal requirements in the EU. This document is designed as a summary of the principles involved. The purpose is not to create new requirements or restrictions on the conduct of research, but to spread existing good practice, enabling the development of a European Research Area with common standards that are transparent and universally agreed. Such common standards are a prerequisite for the development of a European market in socio-economic research, in which research can be commissioned and partnerships entered into on the basis of clear mutual understandings and expectations.

The draft code is available at http://www.respectproject.org/code/ and comments can be submitted online.

For any further information, please contact: Hilary Williams, Project officer, hilary.williams@employment-studies.co.uk

CfP: Valachian Journal of Historical Studies

"Valachian Journal of Historical Studies"  http://www.rhp.ro/valachian/

1. Where the Europe ends: the Europe in-between as an outsider or insider of the Old Continent?
2. The Europe in-between in the French politics and culture during the Modern Age
3. The Europe viewed from the margins
4. Eastern Europe as a frontier of the Old Continent
5. The other in the in-between Europe during the modern age
6. The Balkans: a space of convergence or conflict? The changing images of a European space

Valachian Journal of Historical Studies is a new review based in Targoviste, Romania, which aims, besides publishing articles wrote by already consecrated academic or research staff, at promoting the new generation of young historian writings and their new vision in the field of political, cultural, economic, social, ideological medieval, modern and contemporary history.
Although edited and published in Romania, this review envisages, from the very beginning, to focus on the history of a larger region, Europe, or at least Europe in-between as part of the European continent, and its share in the world history.  It aims to attract the interest of worldwide contributors who are welcome to publish their articles in English, French, German and Spanish in this biannual review.
The contributors are expected to send their contributions till December 15th, 2003 for the first issue, and May 15th, 2004 for the second issue. From then on the deadline will be set on those days.
The articles are expected to have the following format: Times New Roman, characters 12, top 2,54; bottom 2,54; left 3; right 3; header and footer 1,25. By end of the text will be added the references.

Office: Silviu Miloiu, "Valahia"; University of Targoviste, Faculty of Humanities, Stancu Ion St., No 33-35, Targoviste 0200, Romania
E-mail: Miloiu_S@yahoo.com
Web page: www.rhp.ro/Silvium

The Next Europe: Southeastern Europe after Thessaloniki
Summary
The European Council and the Balkan Summit in Thessaloniki failed to deliver the necessary consistent implementation strategy for the European integration of the Balkans. At the same time, the euphoria related to the successful completion of Eastern enlargement seems to nurture the illusion that this role model of integration suffices to cope with the stability risks and the developmental deficits of the Balkans. In their latest analysis that looks beyond the political statements of Thessaloniki, the Bertelsmann Foundation and the Center for Applied Policy Research champion a rethinking and renewal of Balkan strategies. The arrangement should contain as many pre-accession instruments as practicable, as much stabilisation policy as needed and as much economic-development assistance as possible. Since 2000, the Bertelsmann Foundation and the Center for Applied Policy Research have studied potentials and limitations of a "European perspective" for the Western Balkans. Integration strategies were assessed and designed in cooperation with the Planning Staff of the German Foreign Ministry and leading think tanks from the region. On the basis of the conclusions from Thessaloniki, the paper analyses the regional state of affairs and identifies strengths and weaknesses of current European Balkan policies.
Download the 8-page paper "The Next Europe: Southeastern Europe after Thessaloniki" from: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/balkan_forum/files/

We would like to announce the newest PER report "The  Romani "Mahalas" (Neighborhoods) of Southeastern Europe: Politics, Poverty, and Ethnic Unrest." The full text is available on PER's Web site at www.per-usa.org.

Prospects for Further (South) Eastern EU Enlargement: from Divergence to Convergence?
by Vladimir Gligorov, Mario Holzner and Michael Landesmann
wiiw Research Reports, No. 296, June 2003
38 pages including 11 Tables and 16 Figures
available in hardcopy (EUR 22.00) or PDF (EUR 20.00)
For Abstracts see www.wiiw.at Publications

WORLD BANK CALLS ROMA POVERTY CRITICAL IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE
A World Bank report identified "the complex cycle of Roma poverty" as "one of the most critical remaining issues on the agenda of countries of Central and Eastern Europe as they prepare for European Union (EU) membership," according to news agency accounts. The report, released on June 24, comes just ahead of a conference in Budapest on the subject, co-sponsored by the World Bank, the Open Society Institute, and the European Commission.
According to Agence France Presse, World Bank President James Wolfensohn said that the conference "could very well mark a turning point for the Roma. " He welcomed the "new-found awareness that the Romany issue should be seen not only in terms of human rights and discrimination, but also as a core economic and social-policy issue. Europe must not leave the Roma behind." According to the report, nearly 80 percent of Roma in Bulgaria and Romania live on less than $4.30 a day, while in Hungary, which is expected to join the EU in 2004, 40 percent of Roma live on that income.
The Roma are the fastest-growing minority in the region where their population is estimated at between seven and nine million people. This is the first time that the World Bank has addressed the plight of the Roma, and its level of concern with a minority is also unprecedented.

The Center for Policy Studies at the Central European University is pleased to announce the web publication of three new conference reports:

The Nation-building Versus State-building in the Balkans
Lessons Learned conference was held at the CEU in November 2002.  It was organized by the Nation-State Research Group of the Blue Bird Agenda for Civil Society in South-East Europe Project and the CPS and brought together scholars and policy makers to discuss the development of the Balkans as a region. The conference was a fruitful exchange of views and discussions on how such factors as institutions, the international context (such as the EU integration process), economic performance, minority mobilization and the dynamics of ethnic relations contribute to the stability and democratization of the multiethnic states of the Balkans.
http://www.ceu.hu/cps/bluebird/eve/eve_statebuilding.htm

Understanding Xenophobia in Eastern Europe
Workshop was held at the CEU in June 2002 and was organized by the CPS in cooperation with the Humanities Center. The workshop included an in-depth analysis of the growth of xenophobia in Eastern European over the past decade, explored the meanings of various manifestations of xenophobia, as well as provide a  critical examination of traditional and innovative methodological devices. Participants discussed cutting edge research revealing the relationship between xenophobic tendencies and the overall level of intolerance in society, and between the legitimacy of public xenophobic rhetoric and the levels of everyday xenophobic practices.  The workshop also addressed the major policy relevance of comparative social research to the topic.
http://www.ceu.hu/cps/eve/eve_xenophobia.htm
 

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