Institutionalization of Regional Policy and the Regional Institution System in Serbia

This study summarizes aspects of Serbian regional policy with special focus on regions and the development of the regional institutions. The study emphasizes the importance of the issue in the Republic of Serbia in 2010, with the ambition to join the European Union. With the enactment of the new Law on Regional Development and the legal framework five NUTS 2 regions were created. The Ministry of Economy and Regional Development is responsible for the institutional coordination of the regional policy. Regional Development Agencies are at the intermediate level of institutional hierarchy. After the regionalization of Serbia, the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina remained a whole and unified NUTS 2 region with complex and developed regional institutions

The role of human resources on the economy: a study of the Balkan eu member states

In this paper we analyze the impact of the quality of human capital on the main economic indicators of South-Eastern Europe countries [SEE] at the NUTS 2 level. The subjects of this research are the human capital indicators of regional competitiveness. The quality of human capital depends largely on the age structure of the population and the quality of education. Those regions, which have the highest percentage of the working-age population and highly educated people, are able to achieve higher productivity and gain a competitive advantage over other regions. As main indicators of the quality of human capital we identified: population; persons aged 25-64 with tertiary education attainment; students in tertiary education and participation of adults aged 25-64 in education and training and human resources in science and technology. As main economic indicators, we identified: regional gross domestic product; employment and income of households. The aim of this paper is to determine whether there is a correlation between the indicators of the quality of human capital and economic indicators. As a main methodology we have used the correlation coefficient which shows interdependence of the analyzed indicators. As part of our analysis, we consider only EU member states that belong to the SEE countries: Slovenia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece. We conclude that in all countries there is a high multiple correlation coefficient between the indicators human resources in science and technology, number of students and employment.This paper is the result of the project No. 47007 III funded by the Ministry for Education, Science and Technological Development of Republic of Serbia

The EU’s New Black Sea Policy- What kind of regionalism is this? CEPS Working Document No. 297/July 2008.

After the accession of Bulgaria and Romania in 2007 the European Union moved quickly to fill an obvious gap in its vision of the regions to its periphery, proposing the ‘Black Sea Synergy’. The EU shows a certain degree of commonality in its approaches to each of the three enclosed seas in this region – the Baltic, the Mediterranean and now the Black Sea. While the political profiles of these maritime regions are of course very different, they naturally give rise to many common policy challenges, including those issues that are based on the technical, non-political matters of regional maritime geography. This paper sets out a typology of regionalisms and examines where in this the EU’s Black Sea Synergy is going to find its place. While the Commission’s initial proposals were highly ‘eclectic’, with various examples of ‘technical regionalism’ combined with ‘security regionalism’, there is already a diplomatic ballet in evidence between the EU and Russia, with the EU countering Russia’s pursuit of its own ‘geopolitical regionalism’. The EU would like in theory to see its efforts lead to a ‘transformative regionalism’, but the lack of agreement so far over further extending membership perspectives to countries of the region risks the outcome being placed more in the category of ‘compensatory regionalism’

Defining region

Regional studies are right in the center of scientific and political discourse at the moment; regional issues acquire special significance in the countries with a transition economy. However, there is still no clear definition of the term “region”. Due to its multifaceted nature, it certainly has natural, cultural, economic, political, and social dimension. At the same time, this term occupies a wide range of phenomena from small parts of countries to huge continental interstate formations. The goal of this paper is the analysis of various theoretical and methodological approaches to the definition of the region. We have brought different approaches, from the classical school to the New Economic Geography. The latter considers the region as a unit of space for economic activities. Thus, the region becomes a multidisciplinary object of research within the framework of economic theory and economic geography. In Europe, the integration processes put the region on the forefront of economic policy. The issues of regional policy are equally important in the light of the economic modernization processes taking place in Russia and Serbia. This article also summarizes the experience of regional studies of Serbian and Russian schools. The results can be used in further theoretical and applied research, writing theses in the field of economics and economic geography

Macro-regions: regional integration within and beyond the EU

This paper focuses on three European macro-regions: the Baltic Sea Region (BSR), the –revamped- Benelux, and the Danube Region (DR). It makes a comparative analysis of these three schemes of regional integration within (and in some cases beyond) the EU. The paper discusses literature on differentiated integration as well as literature on (old and new) regionalism and territorial governance. It develops an analytical framework which involves various aspects of differentiation/regionalization: time, matter, drivers for differentiation and /or regionalization, membership, institutions, decision-making, and modes of governance. Through desk-research (policy documents, websites, and earlier research) the framework is applied to the three macro-regions at hand. The analysis leads to the conclusion that the macro-regional strategies for the BSR and DR are almost identical, that the Benelux is different from the other two macro-regions, but that there also is some convergence, with the Benelux becoming more open and process-oriented, and the BSR and DR being effectively institutionalized by the EU. Rather than being a threat to European integration, the macro-regional strategies of the EU have essentially strengthened its position

Trade in Southeast Europe : recent trends and some policy implications

Trade liberalisation in Southeast Europe (SEE) has been strongly promoted by the European Union (EU) in recent years, as part of its initiatives aimed at stimulating regional cooperation among the SEE countries. The Stabilisation and Association Process launched in 1999 for the five countries of the so-called western Balkans - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, FYR Macedonia and Serbia and Montenegro - explicitly requires the implementation of regional cooperation as a condition for speeding up the process of EU integration. In the area of economic cooperation, trade liberalisation has become one of the principal instrument for promoting these objectives. A Memorandum of Understanding on Trade Liberalisation and Facilitation was signed on 27 June 2001 in Brussels by the Foreign Trade Ministers of SEE countries, which envisaged the conclusion of bilateral free trade agreements. The paper analyses recent trends in trade of the SEE countries. Some general features of the SEE region in 1989 are first presented (section 2). The impact of the political and economic events of the 1990s on trade relations among the SEE countries is then considered (section 3). Trade patterns of the SEE countries over the last five years are analysed in some detail (section 4). Some controversial issues raised in recent debates on trade liberalisation in SEE are also discussed, explaining why interpretations sometimes differ (section 5). The main conclusions and some policy implications are given at the end (section 6).Trade flows, Trade liberalisation, Economic integration, Regional cooperation, EU policies towards Southeast Europe

Economic regional and cross-border cooperation in the South-East Europe for the purpose of its faster integration in the European Union

Territorial borders of the future European Union imply an integration of the South-East Europe into the EU political and economic structures. Such “map of the European Union” should represent the “European perspective” to the countries of the South-East Europe. At the present time, no-one can foresee when exactly shall countries of the South-East Europe join the EU, however the conditions that must be met are more-less well known and harmonized within the European Commission. Given the political and economic structure of the South-East Europe area, it is primarily “attractive market” for many European producers, as well as for future European investors. To achieve that, it is necessary to create the pre-conditions in the countries of the South-East Europe. Thus, it is necessary to intensify the regional cooperation between the countries in this region, wither by establishing the “classic free-trade zone” or by liberalization of trade through the network of bilateral contracts on free trade. The cross-border cooperation programs should link up all assistance that would be, for this purpose, coming from the EU. The primary goal of this paper is to research the possibilities and priority-areas of the economic-regional and cross-border cooperation in the South-East Europe in the context of its faster integration in the EU, as well as from the perspective of the optimal synchronization of this cooperation with political and economic strategy fo the EU toward these countries. As it is well known, re-unification of the continent is the joint goal of all citizens of the Europe. Key words: cooperation, South East Europe, European Union