Capacity of Phare and structural funds absorption: pre-accession versus post-accession

The capacity of structural funds absorption is a priority for the member states of the European Union which accessed the EU in 2004 and 2007, but slowing rates of the absorption capacity of these funds were noticed in comparison to the absorption rates of pre-accession funds. Within the context of “pre-accession versus post-accession” analysis, we present the gradual flexibilization of the process of EU funds absorption, the transfer of responsibilities for funds management towards the member states, as well as the differences between the two financing instruments used by the European Union function of different coordinates. The accession of the new member states from Central and Eastern Europe testimonies for the efficient ways of conditioning the aid for modernization offered to these countries, creating a reference framework whose coordination by proactive measures should continue during the post-accession period too. The success of the positive conditionality during the pre-accession period should be preserved by focusing on endogenous aspects specific to the assumption of responsibility for structural funds absorption by every new member state.Absorption capacity, positive conditionality, structural funds, European funds, new member states

Absorption of the structural funds in Romania

The European structural policy was directed towards consolidating the specific objectives of narrowing the regional disparities, an ample process of negotiation for the allocation of the structural funds to the new member states, Romania included. In Romania there is a need to disseminate the positive practices of EU member states in implementing the structural policies, and an urge to evaluate the progress in absorbing the structural funds and to identify the adequate measures to remedy the deficiencies noticed in the operational programs. This study gives an overall image of the allocation of structural funds for the new EU member states, Romania included, describes the absorption of the structural funds in Romania in 2009 and reviews the blockages and the solutions proposed for the absorption of these funds. The standard pattern of analysis which we used is a radiography of the actual situation, but further investigations are needed in order to identify the optimal solutions to accomplishing better results in the absorption of structural funds in Romania.European Union, absorption capacity, structural funds, administrative capacity, Romania

Quality Educational Services in University: Self-Evaluation Using Quality Indicators

This paper seeks to help us answer following aspects: The University could be able to offer good educational services? Are these services at higher standards? It suggests how we can identify strengths and areas for improvement, report on standards and quality and draw up plans for action. All those involved in the provision of services may have a role to play: the staff as a whole, the “head teacher”, senior managers, individual teams, departments or stages, parents and others with a stake in our schools, the education authority.educational services; university self-evaluation; higher education management; quality indicators.

Politici de incluziune a romilor în statele membre ale Uniunii Europene

The aim of the study is to offer to decision-makers the necessary data regarding European policies of social inclusion for the Roma, with focus on the practices which have shown a positive impact in the fields of education, employment, housing and health, and to accompany the analysis with policy recommendations for a more efficient and effective action in promoting Roma inclusion. The second chapter, Social Inclusion Policies at the European Level: Mainstreaming versus Targeting offers a brief historical overview of the European policy framework within which social inclusion was conceptualised and its corresponding policies were articulated, along with preoccupations with the situation of the Roma, defined as a European minority subject to centuries-long discrimination. It reminds the reader the definition of „social inclusion” mentioned in European documents and connects the development of the concept and its corresponding social policies to the discourse on the risks of poverty and social exclusion, which can be found already in the 1984 documents of the Council of European Communities. The first part of the chapter presents the emergence and evolution of the Lisbon agenda (2000) and the Open Method of Coordination in the Domain of Social Policies (OMC) that became operational soon after, along with the main indicators aimed to measure the extent and depth of poverty and social exclusion in EU member states, i.e. the Laeken indicators and the currently employed AROPE indicator. It discusses the role of the European Platform against Poverty and Social Exclusion, launched in 2010 as part of the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable development that fosters social inclusion. The Platform aims to stand for a political commitment of EU member states to promote social innovation and more efficient use of European funds for the objectives of social inclusion. Recently, the European Commission also recommended adding a series of social indicators (i.e. the rate of long term unemployment and the neither-in-work-nor-in-education rate among the youth) in the monitorization of the European common market. [...

Raising the participation age in historical perspective : Policy learning from the past?

The raising of the participation age (RPA) to 17 in 2013 and 18 in 2015 marks a historic expansion of compulsory education. Despite the tendency of New Labour governments to eschew historical understanding and explanation, RPA was conceived with the benefit of an analysis of previous attempts to extend compulsion in schooling. This paper assesses the value of a historical understanding of education policy. The period from inception to the projected implementation of RPA is an extended one which has crossed over the change of government, from Labour to Coalition, in 2010. The shifting emphases and meanings of RPA are not simply technical issues but connect to profound historical and social changes. An analysis of the history of the raising of the school leaving age reveals many points of comparison with the contemporary situation. In a number of key areas it is possible to gain insights into the ways in which the study of the past can help to comprehend the present: the role of human capital, the structures of education, in curriculum development and in terms of preparations for change

Good Practices in Social Economy in Greece and in Other States of the European Union

The purpose of the book is to place, as well as possible, the social economy within the integrative European policies for social inclusion and to supply examples of good practices from Greece and from other member states of the European Union. The book consists of four sections. The first section presents the main coordinates of the European policies for social inclusion, correlated with the specific initiatives of the social economy. The second section describes the main features of the good practices in the social field, clarifies the importance and role of social economy structures evaluation and monitoring using methods of scientific research and shows the results reported by other studies on the good practices in social economy. Chapter three discusses the indicators used to show the good practices across the European Union. Based on the common grid of indicators used as reference framework, eight of the best practices identified in Greece and in other European countries are described. The chapter highlights the importance of the most usual resource used by the described best practices – the social capital – and brings arguments to the circular relation with the social economy, while giving some directions to develop the formula which activates the potential of this form of social economy. Chapter four supplies a set of recommendations on how to capitalise on the gathered experience, by setting broad directions for the subsequent development of the social economy. The EU regulations on social economy are presented, as well as the links between the social economy and EU policies. The book end with an appendix drafting the picture of the European structures involved in the field of social economy, both at the European and at the national level, whose purpose is to provide more knowledge to the interested reader