Contents
William N. DUNN
IMPLEMENTATION THE MISSING LINK IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
REFORM IN MACEDONIA
Ljube TRPESKI
CHANGE IN THE MONETARY STRATEGY FOR FASTER EU ACCESSION
Magdalena SALDEVA
MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION MECHANISMS FOR
THE EU INTEGRATION PROCESS IN THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
Andrija ALEKSOSKI
INSTRUMENT FOR PRE-ACCESSION ASSISTANCE (IPA)
Vesna ATANASOVA
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION:
MACEDONIAN VIS-A-VIS EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE
Neda MILEVSKA
PATIENTS' RIGHTS AS A POLICY ISSUE IN SOUTHEAST EUROPE
Aferdita HAXHIJAHA-IMERI
GENDER EQUALITY: POLICIES AND COMPARISONS
BETWEEN MACEDONIA AND EU
Zoran VUCEV
CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES FOR THE SOCIALLY
UNINSURED WORKERS IN THE EU
Summary
IMPLEMENTATION THE MISSING LINK IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORM IN MACEDONIA
[William N. DUNN]
IMPLEMENTATION IS A CRITICAL PROBLEM of public administration reform in the Republic of Macedonia and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Implementation is the “missing link” between policies designed to achieve administrative reforms, on one hand, and goals of reform set forth by the European Union and the Organization for European Cooperation and Development. Evidence shows that policy design and implementation are linked vessels; according to the author, the conditions that facilitate and retard the process of implementation - and more importantly, efficiency, equity, democracy and other expected outcomes of implementation - still need to be established. The guidelines for effective implementation outlined in this paper may be helpful in finding the “missing link” in public administration reform in Macedonia and elsewhere.
CHANGE IN THE MONETARY STRATEGY FOR FASTER EU ACCESSION
[Ljube TRPESKI]
Throughout the period following its monetary independence, Macedonia has experienced unsatisfactory performances in the real sector of the economy: low average growth rate and high unemployment rate. At the same time, since the mid – 1990s, Macedonia has maintained low and stable inflation. These divergent tendencies of nominal and real variables point to the need for restatement of the future course of monetary policy. In this regard, the paper deals with the options for a modification in the monetary policy strategy in the near future. Specifically, we focus on the following issues: the goals of monetary policy, the choice between the leading monetary policy strategies (monetary targeting, exchange rate targeting and inflation targeting), and the role of monetary policy in economic growth. On the basis of both economic theory and empirical research, the paper offers tfe policy makers some alternatives for the future implementation of monetary policy.
MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION MECHANISMS FOR THE EU INTEGRATION PROCESS IN THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
[Magdalena SALDEVA]
The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the management and coordination mechanisms for the EU integration process in the Republic of Macedonia and give some recommendations for improvement. The importance of having a wellfunctioning institutional framework for the management of EU affairs during the pre-accession period is critical. The quality of the institutions, structures and procedures created will influence the timetable for membership, taking into consideration the conditions set out in the avis, and the conditions under which membership will be granted, i.e. the extent to which the accession treaty will reflect the real economic and political conditions in the country. The author, having participated in the preparation of numerous crucial documents for the public administration reform, is giving an overview of the current conditions, but also gives recommendations for improvement of the coordination mechanisms in the negotiation process for accession of Republic of Macedonia in the EU.
INSTRUMENT FOR PRE-ACCESSION ASSISTANCE (IPA)
[Andrija ALEKSOSKI]
The Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) Regulation has to be seen in the context of the revision of the External Aid framework of EU for the forthcoming financial perspective from 2007 to 2013 with a purpose to harmonize and simplify (as far as possible) the Community’s external aid instruments. The instrument will focus on two main priorities: 1) helping countries to fulfill the political, economic and acquits-related criteria for membership and to build up administrative and judicial capacity; and 2) helping countries prepare for the EU funds after accession. The Instrument will have five Components: Transition Assistance and Institution Building; Regional and Cross-Border Cooperation; Regional Development; Human Resources Development; and Rural Development. In the light of the current progress of the application of the Republic of Macedonia for EU membership, the author gives an overview of the IPA Regulation, putting accent on the possibilities for financial assistance and cooperation that this instrument opens for the Republic of Macedonia.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION: MACEDONIAN VIS-A-VIS EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE
[Vesna ATANASOVA]
Access to information, particularly government-held information - is “the oxygen of democracy”. Freedom of information laws provide an essential means of engagement for all those directly or indirectly affected by government policy. In the midst of the debate around the draft-law for free access to information, the author of this article gives a chronological overview of the development of the regulative for freedom of information and access to information of public interest, but also compares the experiences of the EU countries with those of Macedonia. At the end, besides the very relevant conclusions, she gives recommendations for undertaking additional activities in the direction of improved implementation of the law, after its endorcement.
PATIENTS' RIGHTS AS A POLICY ISSUE IN SOUTHEAST EUROPE
[Neda MILEVSKA]
The common health and social policy in the EU, despite the differences of the national health systems, is placing the same rights of patients, consumers, users, family members, weak populations and ordinary people at risk. In most of the countries of Southeastern Europe prior to the transition there was no single legislation regulating the rights of patients. In the Republic of Macedonia, the patients’ rights are still regulated only partially and scattered in few legal documents. Through the two alternatives, the author proposes improved implementation of the existing legislation, as well as introduction of new mechanisms for exercising, but also monitoring of the conditions with the rights of this large stakeholders group in the health system.
GENDER EQUALITY: POLICIES AND COMPARISONS BETWEEN MACEDONIA AND EU
[Aferdita HAXHIJAHA-IMERI]
Gender equality issues are dealt with in Chapter 13 (Social Policy and Employment) of the Questionnaire and according to the provided answers there is evident lack of the proper anti-discrimination and equal opportunity legislation. The problem addressed in this paper is that existing national mechanisms for gender equality in the Republic of Macedonia are not functioning effectively thus contributing to widening of the gender inequality in the society. According to the author or this article, the emerging issue is: whether the existing gender equality development policies are sufficient enough to guarantee the real equality of opportunities for men and women and consequently, are they in compliance with EU standards?
CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES FOR THE SOCIALLY UNINSURED WORKERS IN THE EU
[Zoran VUCEV]
It is a common sense fact that the unregistered workforce negatively influences the functioning of the social services and labor market, and it endangers the financing of the social funds used for funding of many essential social programs for the citizens. The intention of this paper is to make an effort in answering the questions, such as: what is this phenomenon? Which category of citizens is involved it? How much this phenomenon is spread and how can we decrease the number of those that do not register certain amount of the labor in order to benefit from evasion of payment of the social contributions? In that sense, the author gives an overview of the current situation in different countries of the EU and he describes the models for reduction or prevention of the phenomenon of unregistered and uninsured workers in Danmark, the Netherlands and France.
Editorial Board
List of involved authors
