Evrodijalog No.1

Biljana SEKULOVSKA-GABER

EUROPEAN UNION-THE HIGHEST POINT OF THE INSTITUTIONALIZING OF THE INTEGRATION PROCESS

Trajan BENDEVSKI

EUROPEAN UNION MEMBERSHIP

Vanco UZUNOV

WHAT ARE THE REASONS FOR INTEGRATION OF MACEDONIA WITHIN THE EU?

Karolina RISTOVA - ASTERUD

DEMOCRATIC CHARACTER OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Dejan MICKOVIC, Aleksandar MATOVSKI

JOINT EUROPEAN FOREIGN AND SECURITY POLICY

Tatjana PETRUSEVSKA

COERCIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION LAW

Vladimir GLIGOROV

EURO IN THE BALKANS

Vlado POPOVSKI

READINESS OF THE BANKS IN MACEDONIA AFTER THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EURO

Review:

LAW OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Summary

EUROPEAN UNION – THE PEAK OF THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF THE INTEGRATION PROCESSES

[Biljana SEKULOVSKA-GABER]

The institutionalization of the integration processes in Europe has gone through two different roads. One is the approach of the economic analysts which is completely skeptical and has all the fears about the repression of the process undertaken. The other approach tries to show that a diversity in the EU is a unique road for preserving the unity. This article definitely belongs to the second group. It shows that the dominance of the EU comes from the economy which produces interdependence and solidarity. That strength has its roots into the globalization, the positive trends in the international trade, the role of technological change, the growth and spread of transnational corporations and the direct foreign investments.
(Full text - Macedonian only)

EUROPEAN UNION MEMBERSHIP

[Trajan BENDEVSKI]

The acceptance of the European countries as members of the European Community had not faced major challenges until the end of 80’s. It was understandable, having in mind the fact that the Western block countries of the divided Europe (and the World as whole), were already showing their interest for. Given the situation, it wasn’t necessary for the foundational agreements, to prescribe precisely the terms and conditions of such membership. Dated that period, only the Turkish membership application has remained unsolved, apart from the fact that its Association agreement has been signed almost 40 years ago, in 1963. Right after the collapse of the socialist formation, the disintegration of the USSR and Yugoslavia, and the separation of Czechoslovakia, most of the former socialist countries have announced their intention to join European Community. Thus, the issue of their acceptance became one of the most debated topics which was of same importance both for the candidate nations, as well as for the European communities and their member states. The prospect of integration of the European continent and the dream of numberless pro – Europeans had to be achieved. However, the membership preconditions and criteria have been precised and complex measures of reformation undertaken, just in order – the Union to be able to function with doubled number of member states. The aim is complete integration of the European continent. Various forms of technical and financial assistance were defined within the Union. The results of those measures are to be seen soon – in 2004 when the most significant enlargement of the European Union is expected. Remaining nations are waiting for their integration in the future as well.
(Full text - Macedonian only)

WHAT ARE THE REASONS FOR INTEGRATION OF MACEDONIA WITHIN THE EU?

[Vanco UZUNOV]

This article deals with the subject of the contemporary international economic relations, brought in the context of the international economic integration in general, as well as with the specific case of the Republic of Macedonia. The case of Macedonia is perceived in the economic integrative context into the European Union. The basic intention of the article is to make a short analysis (or a presentation) of the economic trends which characterize the contemporary world, especially the trend of the regional international economic integration. Amongst the plurality of aspects contained in the subject of regional international economic integration, the article goes into more details in the determinants of the process, as well as with the organizational modes by which it is characterized. The article, of course, has no intention to penetrate into all corresponding issues comprehensively, but it is an attempt to emphasize the starting points which might and, in fact, will be the basic dimensions of the economic integration process of Macedonia towards the European Union.

The article is organized as follows: first the effects (or the outcomes) of the contemporary globalization process are being discussed; next, shortly, the same concerns the features of the regional international economic integration; next, follows a short presentation of the existing position of Macedonia on the world market; finally the framework of the strategic integration route of Macedonia into the EU, brought into, or derived out of, the previous context is touche
(Full text - Macedonian only)

DEMOCRATIC CHARACTER OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

[Karolina RISTOVA - ASTERUD]

The author of this paper addresses the issue of democracy in the EU, understood as a right of the citizens to participate in practicing of political power through the institutions of a given political system. In this respect, it is argued that the European Union’s democratic image on the international stage is problematic. According to the author, the history of the EU, starting with the founding treaties of 1951 and 1957 to the Treaty of Nice of 2000, show that the EU-democracy relationship is a relationship of gradual and constant democratization of EU, not of a normatively imposed democratic political system. Special analysis is made of the state of democracy in the EU framework after the Treaty of Amsterdam of 1997 entered into force and both as a internal and external political phenomenon. In this respect, the analysis is focused on the position and the competences of the European Parliament, the relevance of the democratic principle as fundamental principle of EU, and the relevance of the democratic principle as membership criterion, included in the so-called “Copenhagen criteria” and Article 49 of the Treaty of EU. Finally, the paper addresses the meaning and the perspective of democracy in the EU. It is pointed out that the processes of deepening and widening of the EU can not co-exist with further existence of the democratic deficit, which undermines their success and legitimacy. The perspective is seen in changes such as the ones included in the Treaty of Nice of 2000.
(Full text - Macedonian only)

JOINT EUROPEAN FOREIGN AND SECURITY POLICY

[Dejan MICKOVIC, Aleksandar MATOVSKI]

Joint European Security and Foreign Policy (ESFP) is a concept that is for a long time present within the EU agenda. Its practical realization became reality in the last decade of the twentieth century. Due to the process of integration, the greatest part of the national, economic, trade, social, and even political authorities were under the EU umbrella. These factors necessitate the need for creating the “second pillar” that would support the position of EU towards the other factors in the world. Security threats that came from the disintegration of the communist block were the main reason for creating the European Security and military structures and for harmonization of joint performance on the international scene. The key catalyst that speed up these European ambitions are wars in former Yugoslavia. Those wars only confirmed the weakness of the EU regarding this area and the fear that USA would not be always present when need for that occurs. The main outer factors that influence the formulating of the ESFP are Trans-Atlantic relations, relations between Russia and USA, condition on the Middle East, Mediterranean area and Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union. Although there is still potential conflicts, institutional relations on political and military level should be expected to remain stabile and complementary. Approach to the command structures of NATO would additionally speed up the efforts of creating the operative frame of SBI and would multiple their capabilities during the completion of the scheduled missions. Realization of the SBI concept depend on its priority in the EU political agenda, level of the investments, and dynamics of consolidation of security in the Europe. SBI could be operative around 2010-2020 but it depends on the level of investments and on the dynamics of the structuring and equipping. Besides the fact that there is no chance for accomplishing the operational readiness till the set time limit (2003), part of the set tasks could be performed as a minor operations. Those tendency would be supported by the need of showing at least declarative operational readiness of the forces in order political and economic funds invested could be justified.
(Full text - Macedonian only)/

COERCIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION LAW

[Tatjana PETRUSEVSKA]

The analyses of the process of enforcement of European Community Law is one of the issues on the basis of which could be evaluated the functioning of Community legal order as a whole. This article, firstly, “builds” the necessary terminological apparatus in order, secondly, to be able to present an outline of the object(s) of breach of the Community Law, of the subject(s) of the relevant illegal activities, of the regular procedure on the occasion of the enforcement of Community Law divided into successive phases, analyzing concrete provisions embodied in the distinctive founding treaties of the three European communities.
(Full text - Macedonian only)

EURO IN THE BALKANS

[Vladimir GLIGOROV]

German mark or dollar is preferred to the local currencies everywhere in the Balkans. Thus, private persons and businesses have more or less irrevocably chosen euro (or dollar) as their currency. However, public preferences differ. With some atypical exceptions, the existence of some kind of a central bank is preferred to full euroisation. The latter is the consequence of the preference for high levels of public expenditures and of the fact that wages are by and large not indexed to the euro (or to the dollar). Therefore, the choice of the exchange rate regime has to be supplemented with the appropriate wage policy and fiscal policy. Euroisation is not a substitute for those policies and is not necessarily constraining the private and the public agents to adopt the once that are consistent with it.
(full text - Macedonian only)

READINESS OF THE BANKS IN MACEDONIA AFTER THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EURO

[Vlado POPOVSKI]

Republic of Macedonia is a small and open country in transition. Since it’s monetary independence it went through various external shocks. It should harmonize it’s strategy and look for it’s future within the EU and EMU. This is stressed after the Agreement for stabilization and association with the EU that was signed last year. After many negotiations, arrangements and harmonization of the different levels of the economic growth between the countries and the EU, project EMU has finalized the idea of the implementation of the EURO as the only currency since January 1st 2002. These are the reasons, because of which in the period of convergence of Macedonian economy towards the EU standards it is convenient to perform independent monetary policy to a possible level. Because of the narrow trade connections between Macedonia and EU and because of the long term decision for joining the economic integration, it should be made targeting of the exchange rates of the denar in the term of the EURO. For the Republic of Macedonia the most convenient is to accept the mechanism of the currency exchange rates known as ERM2 (Exchange Rate Mechanism 2). After the complete convergence of the performances of the real and finance sector with those of EU, it is possible the EURO to be introduced as a parallel currency.
(full text - Macedonian only)