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For some time, scholars have argued that Western and Eastern Europe differ in terms of the political culture of their unified political communities. Since all the available evidence indicates that political culture is crucial to the economic performance and political stability of individual states, it is important to detect the drivers behind the basic beliefs of citizens, two and a half decades after the fall of communism. The Relevant World Values Survey and the European Values Survey reports repeatedly confirmed that whilst the support for democracy is strong among the citizens of the former communist Eastern Europe, their belief in the vital components of a democratic political culture is weak. It could be argued that some post-communist countries have been less successful in building the "moral infrastructure of democracy" due to the resilient democratic values deficit, based partially upon the political and economic attitudes from the past. In a separate section of this chapter, the results of a survey conducted on a group of students from the Republic of Macedonia are presented and their replies on the dichotomy between autocratic and democratic values are analyzed. By assessing the opinions of the students who had not been born when communism was still alive, it has been concluded that a substantial cultural shift will have to take place if the current system of formal democracy is to be replaced by a more effective one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"The Third Wave" (Huntington, 1991) started in the early 1970s, and embraced a number of Southeast European countries which after 1989 commenced a long venture toward democracy. Two and a half decades away from communism there is almost an agreement among scholars that the transition towards a different social order is now over. Meanwhile, many former communist states in Europe have made advances in accepting democratic practices, whilst most of the Western Balkan countries are witnessing a democratic backlash. Moreover, in some of them a different type of political system somewhere in between democracy and dictatorship, labeled electoral or competitive authoritarianism (Levitsky & Way, 2002) is emerging slowly, but steadily. Although the region in the 1990s has already seen illiberal regimes (such as Yugoslavia and Croatia), democratic recession after almost a quarter of century into the formal democratic enterprise is surprising. By looking at the various indexes that have measured democracy in the Western Balkan countries in the past decade, the authoritarian tendencies are becoming more visible. Though behind this developmental stage a range of factors that influence political, economic and social transformations is involved, the author would argue that the legacy from the countries' communist past has a specific importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contemporary European Union is a decentralized community. The Union's regional policy has a long tradition, which is shaped by common EU legislation. EU regional policy is primarily directed towards overcoming disparities in the economic development of various regions, which has a strong impact on the equalization of the whole EU. Funding for the development of various regions has been constantly increasing. In 2006-2013, 347 billion Euros were allocated to the various regions. EU policy is very dynamic and it is being continuously upgraded. Since enlargement in 2004 and 2007, the transformation of regional policy has become unavoidable because the economic disparities have significantly deepened. Bigger disparities have caused the need for changes in EU regional policy legislation. Most recently, in December 2014, a package of new legislation was adopted, with which a new legal framework was established. It is aimed at providing for a more efficient and effective management of the ERDF, ESF and CH. The new legislation is faced with the numerous of challenges. The goal has been to produce a further simplification of procedures related to regional policy, to strengthen the links of all regional projects with energy efficiency and environmental matters and to enable a more comprehensive use of the economic potential of various regions. This will require stronger cooperation between the EU, the member states, and the regions. The main aim of this chapter is to analyze the new EU regional policy legislation and to highlight its future challenges and perspectives. The paper also includes a SWOT analysis of the potential for the implementation of the new legislation, so as to determine the obstacles and potential for the further strengthening of regional policy. This paper also aims at initializing a wider debate about the future perspectives of this legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What started as the fiscal challenge later exposed dormant structural problems within the European Union, at large. Among the other crucial areas the crisis impacted on was the coherence and content of the EU foreign policy, as well. Surprisingly, the most successful foreign policy project in EU history - EU enlargement has not been seriously harmed by the protracted political turmoil in Brussels. Common EU efforts to preserve the Euro have long overcome the parameters of the economy and have become a catalyst for transforming the overall patterns of the organization. The aim of this chapter is to analyze different options contemplated thus far for the reform of EU foreign policy and their direct dependence upon the changes eventually made on a broader political level. Western Balkan countries are not part of the current debate, but, they will be heavily affected by its outcome. Our basic assumption is that regardless of the transformations that may be made, EU enlargement policy towards the Western Balkans is going to stay. We would argue that this is because the region can be integrated without substantial EU resources being applied, and also because Western Balkan countries have weak capacities to fundamentally affect the pillars of the future Union once they are admitted in it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today Europe has different pension systems. According to the history of forming, there are some based on the Bismarck model, like in central and southern Europe; and others on Beveridge's model, like in UK, Ireland, Netherlands and Cyprus; and those based on the Scandinavian model in the Scandinavian countries. In the past two decades there are pension reforms that are conducted in the eastern European countries based on the World Bank model. Most Western European countries did not reform their pension systems. In the past two decades they have made only adjustments but not reforms. Some countries of the EU, like Greece, France, Spain and Portugal, have problems with the financing of their pension systems and also they have worker strikes over this issue. Conversely, Netherlands, UK, Sweden, Ireland and Denmark do not have those kinds of problems. The question is what is the difference in the pension models that makes the models of some countries to be more sustainable and others not. What are the differences in the models? On the one hand, some models can provide better solutions for the elderly population and, on the other hand, some models are not enough suitable for the future retirees. If we know that the EU is a market that is based on the freedom of movement of capital, goods and labor force, the question is, if EU countries do not have similar or connected pension systems, do we have a problem with freedom of movement of the labor force within the EU? In a time of crises, it is notable that in the USA, for example, the equality of the pension rights made it easier for the people to move from one region to another and to mitigate the effect of the crisis. Is it possible to have the same situation in the EU? Do we have to think of a Pan European Pensions System? What will be the features of that kind of system? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) nowadays is facing the most severe debt crisis. While Germany is rebounding very successfully from the economic recession Ireland, Greece and Portugal are faced with significant difficulties. The prospect of the single currency is drowning as a result of the debt and default fears that put a question mark over the whole EU. This paper critically assesses the widely used projections of the EU and appropriateness of different budgetary strategies in order to sustain the fiscal balances and stability of the Euro. This paper suggests that there are three possible solutions for "rescuing" the Euro. First, for the EU to continue with the strong enforcement of the rescue scheme. This is a serious step, having in mind that the burden of adjustment of the budget deficit will be inherited in future generations. Countries need to achieve higher rates of growth and stability in the medium term in order to cover today's losses. Second, elimination of the countries which are not in compliance with the Maastricht rules. If the countries stay, they won't have control over their monetary policies. If they leave the Euro zone, that will lead to an increase of the interest rates on a higher level than today. Either their citizens will face large declines in their living standards as their currency falls against the Euro or they will be demanding larger increases in wage that will lead to high inflation. There are two sides of the solution, and neither of them is easy. Third, exit of Germany from the Euro zone or the division of the Euro zone into two sub-regions (one with a strong currency and the other one with an adjustable exchange rate). All the solutions are in favor of further sustainability of the Euro. But in modern market economies, market powers make the final decision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to examine the factors influencing worker's job satisfaction aside the conventional factors, in the vein of the basic cultural values and beliefs, and then to put this into a comparative perspective for the South-Eastern European countries (SEE) and for Macedonia, in particular. Cultural values are grouped into traditional vs. secular-rational values and survival vs. self-expression values. The main result from the study is that cultural heritage exerts considerable impact on job satisfaction in SEE with some determinants -- like the importance of work, religion and family -- exerting stronger influence in South- Eastern Europe than in Central-Eastern Europe (CEE) and in western Europe. However, cultural values are found to affect job satisfaction in Macedonia with less pronounced significance. Mainly traditional cultural values are found important in the Macedonian case, while from the survival group only trust is found to likely affect job satisfaction, and with the effect being likely stronger than in the case of SEE, CEE and western Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU aims to achieve a high level of consumer protection for its products and services. The sphere of consumer rights has an impact on the identity of internal market, which with almost 500 million consumers, is one of the largest in the world. The EU legislation sets up general safety regulation for services, foodstuff and non food products. The Treaty on the functioning of the European Union promotes a high level of consumer protection and underlines the importance of activities and measures in the field of consumer rights. According to the Treaty, consumer protection shall be taken into account in defining and implementing other EU policies and activities. This papers aim to elaborate on the situation in the sphere of consumer protection and to give some recommendations for further activities. Also, the paper aims to initiate a wide process of debate about the consumer policy and legislation. The importance of the subject justifies it. Beside high level of protection, the European Commission annually receives more than 1500 notifications of unsafe products. With the intention to create better protection, The Commission proposed a new Directive on consumer rights, that shall merge four existing directives. The Republic of Macedonia as a candidate state has been making efforts to improve its legislation and activities in the field of consumer protection. The last European Commission progress reports comments on the present situation in the field on consumer protection. In the future, Macedonia has to continue with the activities in the area of consumer protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks an answer about the level of awareness of green economics/green jobs as a concept for sustainable growth among the young population in Europe. In order to provide a basis for sustainable growth we take into consideration the essential issues. Green economics is an emerging field of economics combining knowledge from the natural sciences and economy, thus offering unique insights into four areas: climate changes mitigation, businesses, political and moral. The conclusions refer to the future needs for building awareness and creating a solid base for knowledge sharing on sustainable development issues among the young population. In addition, recommendations for inclusive policy dialogue to facilitate such growth are part of the focus as well. The research group targeted 30 people from five European and one African country between 18 to 25 years of age. A method using qualitative research combined with exploratory research has been used for this survey and its analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the advocates of the common EU identity, many people and scholars do believe that the EU will not ultimately prevent them from being French, German, Polish, and so on. It is almost impossible to avoid recognition of the opposing phenomenon of common identity, growing ethnocentrism, particularly when the EU is seen from the perspective of the smaller countries and cultures. Many of them seem sincerely concerned about the prospects of the effective preservation of their cultural specifics within the EU common socio-cultural context, if ever fully established. We argue that contemporary corporate management theory and practice can offer several concepts and cases that can lead to the desired achievement of a common identity, while not suppressing the individual goals, values and cultural identity of the EU member states. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the project of future Europe, by presenting an insight into the set of best-practices in the cross-cultural management within a selected group of big corporations, that can almost in their original form be transposed onto the areas of social life and politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In international trade, countries should use their relative comparative advantages. They should specialize in production and export of goods and services that compete with a lower relative cost of production in other countries and to exchange those products for other products for which home manufacturing would be more expensive. That is the theory of David Ricardo, one of the founders of classical political economy. Although it is set back in 1817, today that theory forms the basis for explaining the benefits of international trade, i.e. the incentives and motives of national economies to trade with each other. At its core lies the model of perfect competition. This model is the basis for today's advocacy for free trade within the EU, trade with no tariffs and no other restrictions. The end result of the Ricardo model of comparative advantage leads to a gradual flattening of product prices which are traded between economies based on comparative advantages. If there is free trade between foreign countries, it is clear that the products will move from areas with lower prices, to areas with higher prices. The realization of such a theory today is a plan within the EU. However, the practice opposes these fundamental values of Ricardo's theory because: - The model of perfect competition, to which EU aspires, practically does not exist today because today in the EU market structures that restrict competition prevail; - The model does not explain how countries that trade with each other will establish a balance in the trading price; - The model does not explain how to overcome the problem of different tastes of consumers in different countries; - The model does not explain how to reduce transport costs as barriers to foreign trade. Eliminating such weaknesses will upgrade Ricardo's theory and make it valid in current economic conditions. That way it could really be effective in realizing the vision of a "Europe without borders". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a time of increasing debates regarding the future of the European Union and Europe in general, the questions regarding ways to promote common identity gain in popularity. In such a time, the responsibility of the educational systems to provide answers to those pressing issues becomes very important because education can serve as a tool for promoting tolerance and understanding as well as a drive towards commonality and togetherness. In order to do so the educational interventions need to be carefully planned and based on a well developed paradigm. However, such paradigm is still not well defined. Therefore, this paper will start by exploring the Social Identity Theory to provide a baseline understanding on how identity is conceptualized and developed. It will then move towards discussing the educational paradigms aimed at promoting multicultural education in different contexts. By doing so, the paper will try to provide a unique cohesion of different approaches to promoting mutual identity. As a result, the paper will try to uncover certain conclusions from each paradigm that can be of help when trying to design a program that can help in promoting a common European identity through education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the fact that multiple ideologies and different social models exist in the world today, with different consequences, it appears crucial for the EU to develop and sustain its model of economic and social regulation. This paper focuses on the way the European Union develops its social model in the forthcoming decades. Different models in EU member states mean that it is not possible to have a unique model so the paper will look at what the general approach should be. This work is divided into the following sections; the first section contains the theoretical approach to the social model and defines it; the second part is devoted to the European current social politics and the way the EU has been working in the field of social politics; and the third part looks more closely at the changes going on in the EU, focusing on the problem of globalization and new trends, especially into the way families and intimate relations are changing. This is important because individuals, lifestyle and the changing nature of the family are crucial for social politics. The fourth part is devoted to the new trends and expectations, especially after the Lisbon Agenda and economic crises, and to finding out the possible consequences they can have for the social model of the EU. A theoretical approach is combined with the available data so the full notion of the problem can be presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union finds itself in a paradoxical situation: The Lisbon Treaty is supposed to provide it with new impetus and institutional capacity for becoming a global power, however, confronted with current events in world politics, the bloc seems to be more disunited than ever. Regardless of a 60-year long process of integration, citizens still seem to identify more with their nation-states than with the European Union, all the more so under the auspices of the current economic crisis. For a long time, analysts and politicians thought that a "permissive consensus" among the citizens would allow the elites to push forward the integration process step by step. However, since the rejection of the Constitutional Treaty through the French and Dutch population, this no longer seems to be the case. The paper explores the central themes of the debate around a European identity, discusses the different propositions and concepts put forward by intellectuals and academics, and examines their current relevance. It scrutinizes the relation between national and European identity, pointing out that the nation state and the European Union are ultimately competitors for sovereignty and identity. Thus, a political identity of the European Union can only grow if the member states renounce more of their sovereignty [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we examine the imagining of Europe as manifest in several plays written in the late 1990s and early 2000s by two prominent Balkan dramatists - Goran Stefanovski and Biljana Srbljanović. Specific attention is paid to two tropes: Fortress Europe, and Europe as a dystopian society. The analysis signals an emerging agency of the local subject who has moved from frustration with imputed Balkanness and exalting in view of the European project to an attitude of scorn for western hollowness and critical deliberation on a common future for Europe and the world. The conclusion is that at the core of this vision lies a Balkan discontent with the enforced acculturation within the western paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changing concept of security threats after the Cold War and their likely eruption in the neighbourhood of the European Union made the EU member states more aware of their global responsibilities. However, the difficulties that come along with the role of a global actor could be seen in the EU position in the events unfolding in the Western Balkans, specifically in the recent Kosovo case. Having learned from previous experience in Bosnia and Macedonia the way the EU deals with this case will be a good sign of its maturing foreign and security policy as well as its leadership qualities. This article looks at the EU's potential for having global leadership with a strong foreign and security policy and makes an analysis of its disadvantages and likely improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European identity, as a common value, consists of diverse philosophical, historical and cultural elements, which are based on historical roots and are continually being supplemented with new elements. It is an identity, like any other collective identity, which is trying to produce unity in diversity. The values of identity are often expressed through a number of its objectives and principles such as: peace, democracy, freedom, equality, justice, prosperity, human rights, social cohesion and environmental protection. Collective identity enables any society to establish the necessary cohesion for living together in solidarity and mutual assistance, without erasing the differences among its members. The European Union aims, through its accession to the Union, to meet these ambitious values in the lives of their peoples. It is a challenge and there will be a need to engage all forces and resources in order to build a strong European identity. The concept of European identity has been introduced into political discourse and the European agenda during the last three decades. It has also been the subject of a number of treaties and official documents. The concept of European identity is problematic itself but it is still at the centre of the debate in Europe. While the European Union crashes interstate border and tries to establish the European Society, European citizens and European identity; at the same time, it tries to reconcile the diversity of national identity under the common name - European identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European identity has been the topic of a significant volume of research. Scientists focus on different identity aspects in an attempt to measure the establishment or viability of an EU identity. This paper, however, is going to take a different stance on the issue. It will take one of the basic theories on the components of national identities (ascribed vs. voluntarist components, Jones and Smith) and use it as a magnifying glass to examine those components. The theoretical framework will be enhanced by the findings on the role of symbols in generating national identities. The coupling of these two theoretical propositions would provide the apparatus needed for the examination of the degree to which the specific components are established and developed. The main thesis of the paper is that there is no single European identity to be studied. On the contrary -- there are numerous variations. There are, however, two lines which signify that division. On the one hand, there is a clear-cut division line between old and new member states. Therefore, I claim that the European identities in old and new member states clearly vary. The validity of this statement will be studied through the examination of identity components in Belgium, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) and Bulgaria. On the other hand, there are significant variations among old member states themselves. The EU identity in Belgium is most probably different from the one in the UK. The comparison between data on the components of identities shall verify the truthfulness of the supposition. After ascertaining the variations between components in the three countries, the paper will briefly elaborate on possible causes for those variations. The conclusion will summarize the findings of the research and make proposals for possible further approaches to strengthen the EU identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protracted crisis in the European Union has substantially augmented lingering euro-skepticism on the continent. Member-countries are desperate to restore the legitimacy of the organization, while descending perceptions about values of the EU integration model among candidates and would be members are real. Inward-looking EU is less engaged in imposing conditionality which has been for more than a decade a main instrument in exporting democracy. With the EU gravitational effects largely absent, nationalistic and populist sentiments are gaining ground in some parts of the Western Balkans, advocating alternatives to European integration as a regional gate to globalization. What does the past record of several Eurasian regional organizations imply about their potential to serve as sustainable alternatives to the European Union? Can the regional trends in the wider Euro-Asian area eventually open up alternative perspectives for some of the Western Balkan countries trailing back on their European path? In this article, the performances of a few regional organizations in Eurasia in several domains will be analyzed applying the comparative method. The aim of the paper is to depict a different genesis and civilizational background and emphasize structural flaws and comparative weaknesses of these organizations to the European Union, especially in the area of political and cultural values underpinning their engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the countries on the continent, the EU constitutes the most important foreign policy context. The non-military character of the organization and the soft power of its political and economic stability are highly attractive for small entities. Through institutional integration they are able to avoid marginalization in international affairs at the same time as preserving their national identities. Once inside, small member-countries are more easily able to exert influence beyond their borders than by staying out and performing individually. There is no dilemma that the foreign policy of the Republic of Macedonia should be to strive for full-fledged membership of the EU in order to compensate for its substantial 'traditional deficit' of power. However, in the last two years some tendencies in the foreign policy of the country have deviated from the traditional patterns of the so-called double integration agenda (EU and NATO). The ultimate aim of this paper is to expose the structural weaknesses of multi-vector foreign policy when applied by countries with the size and capacities of the Republic of Macedonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A preface to the publication which contains papers read at the sixth international conference on European integration in Skopje, Macedonia on May 19, 2011 is presented.