Status and developments of social science research in Central and Eastern Europe: a report to the European Science Foundation

This report was commissioned by the European Science Foundation (ESF) in the framework of the Member Organisation Fora instrument (Member Organisations in Central and Eastern Europe) from the Aleksanteri Institute, the Centre for Russian and Eastern European Studies. The aim of the study was to identify and analyse the situation and challenges in research in Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEs), particularly concerning research conducted in Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) and in the field of social sciences. The main emphasis of the report is on state-run universities. The countries under examination are Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. All these countries are members of the ESF with the exception of Latvia, which was included in the study because it was seen as an integral part of the area under investigation. The respective countries are new members of the European Union (EU). The information on each country is presented in one of the main sections in this report

ANVIL Deliverable 5.1: Report on EU added-value for policy stakeholders

This report constitutes Deliverable 5.1 of the FP7 Security Programme Coordination and Support Action ‘Analysis of Civil Security Systems in Europe’ (ANVIL, Grant Agreement no. 284678). Deliverable 5.1 is a report onwork package 5, which is dedicatedto providingpolicy stakeholders with an EU added-valuecontribution in civil security. The definition of EU added-valuefor ANVIL follows a dual rationale. In administrative terms, the concept means the added-valueof the project itself for civil security policy-making communities in Europe. Simply put, it asks how beneficial the results of this EU-funded project are for the end-users in their everyday practice of drafting civil security and civil protection recommendations. A second definition of EU added-valuedraws on the nature of our study and its content, and explores whether additional EU actions related to crisis management can have a positive impact on the delivery of civil protection at national level. In WP5 we have taken both definitions into consideration. WP5’s final evaluation workshop oscillatesbetween both definitions

The Importance of Foreign Language Skills in the Labour Markets of Central and Eastern Europe: An assessment based on data from online job portals. CEPS Special Report No. 129/January 2016

In a globalised world, knowledge of foreign languages is an important skill. Especially in Europe, with its 24 official languages and its countless regional and minority languages, foreign language skills are a key asset in the labour market. Earlier research shows that over half of the EU27 population is able to speak at least one foreign language, but there is substantial national variation. This study is devoted to a group of countries known as the Visegrad Four, which comprises the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Although the supply of foreign language skills in these countries appears to be well-documented, less is known about the demand side. In this study, we therefore examine the demand for foreign language skills on the Visegrad labour markets, using information extracted from online job portals. We find that English is the most requested foreign language in the region, and the demand for English language skills appears to go up as occupations become increasingly complex. Despite the cultural, historical and economic ties with their German-speaking neighbours, German is the second-most-in-demand foreign language in the region. Interestingly, in this case there is no clear link with the complexity of an occupation. Other languages, such as French, Spanish and Russian, are hardly requested. These findings have important policy implications with regards to the education and training offered in schools, universities and job centres

The V4 railway cooperation – Is there a homogeneous Visegrad Railway Area? –

Th is paper intends to provide a comprehensive overview of the railway policies the Visegrad Group (the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Republic of Poland and the Slovak Republic)2 has followed since its accession to the European Union. On account of their central geographical position in Europe, these four states have numerous strategic, economic, cultural and historical features in common that have provided a solid platform for a joint transport planning based on shared interests