MINELRES: King Baudouin Foundation: Update about our activities in the Balkans

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Original sender: King Baudouin Foundation <kbs-frb@kbs-frb.be>


King Baudouin Foundation: Update about our activities in the Balkans
September 2007

Background information about our activities in the area of the Balkans
is given below. You can also consult this information on www.kbs-frb.be

If you wish to receive regular updates about all our calls for projects,
events, publications and so on, register for our general e-news at
http://www.kbs-frb.be/code/page.cfm?id_page=152&lang=EN&frommail=1.


TOPICS

European Fund for the Balkans launched

Smart Visa for Students from the Western Balkans: Recommendations for
improving access for WB students to the EU Universities 

Minority Rights in Practice in SEE: DIANET - Regional Workshop on
government-CSO cooperation 

Minority Rights in Practice in SEE: small grants � Research shows
growing support for Roma integration in Bulgaria

Minority Rights in Practice in SEE: small grants - ICDT Policy
recommendations

Minority Rights in Practice in SEE: permanent open call

Temporary Residence Permits (TRP) Brussels Seminar

European Policy Centre (EPC) events



European Fund for the Balkans launched

Hedvig Morvai-Horvath, winner of the 2006 �Winning Freedom (Osvajanje
Slobode) Prize�, has been appointed Executive Director of the new
European Fund for the Balkans. The fund is a joint initiative of the
Robert Bosch Stiftung, the King Baudouin Foundation, the Compagnia di
San Paolo and the Die ERSTE osterreichische Sparcasse Privatstiftung and
is a multi-million-euro initiative designed to support initiatives that
bring the Western Balkans closer to the European Union. The first phase
of the Fund will cover a three-year period and it will be both
grant-making and operational. 
Click here for more details:
http://www.kbs-frb.be/code/page.cfm?id_page=125&id=1163&lang=EN&frommail=1.
For further information, please do contact: Hedvig Morvai-Horvath. 

Smart Visa for Students from the Western Balkans: Recommendations for
improving access for WB students to the EU Universities 

On 25 May 2007 the representatives from relevant European Commission's
DG's met with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development
(ICMPD) and the King Baudouin Foundation to discuss findings of the
Research study �Smart Visa for students from the Western Balkans �
challenges and possible solutions�. The meeting was aimed at clearly
describing status quo regarding the delivery of visa and resident
permits to prospective students from the WB in the EU and selected
countries, highlighting good practice and making recommendations for
change. Following the study conclusions on legal and policy framework
for admission, entry and residence permit regime the aim of the meeting
was to formulate policy recommendations to be presented to and discussed
with the officials from countries covered by this project (Austria,
Belgium, Italy, Germany, Sweden and Slovenia) in the next phase of the
project. 
The recommendations revolve around issues of the need for improved
cooperation between state authorities and universities, the awareness
raising on possibilities for studying abroad and the application of the
"fact tract procedure" offered by the Directive 2004/114/EC on the
"Conditions of admission of third countries nationals for the purpose of
studies, pupil exchange, unremunerated training or voluntary service".
Click here for details:
http://www.kbs-frb.be/code/page.cfm?id_page=125&id=1020&lang=EN&frommail=1.


Minority Rights in Practice in SEE: DIANET - Regional Workshop on
government-CSO cooperation 
A 2-day regional workshop in Durres, Albania (23-24 May) discussed the
interaction between government institutions at all levels and CSOs on
minority rights enforcement in South East Europe. Participants included
CSO and government representatives from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia, as
well as representatives from minority groups, the European Commission,
DG Enlargement and international donors. Key findings focused on the
need for greater transparency and human resource capacity building in
government institutions and closer collaboration between CSOs and
government structures. 
Click here for details:
http://www.kbs-frb.be/files/db/EN/DIANET_Policy_brief%20last.pdf, or
www.dianet.org 


Minority Rights in Practice in SEE: small grants � Research shows
growing support for Roma integration in Bulgaria
A national opinion poll in Bulgaria, followed by discussions covered by
national TV, on the subjects of housing, crime and education, showed
that Bulgarians are generally becoming better informed about
Roma-related issues and more supportive of measures to improve Roma
lives and facilitate their integration. In particular, there was greater
support for helping the Roma to obtain adequate and legal (integrated)
housing, hiring more Roma police officers and integrating Roma children
into Bulgarian schools.
Click here for details:
http://www.kbs-frb.be/files/db/EN/press_DP_II_ENG.pdf.


Minority Rights in Practice in SEE: small grants - ICDT Policy
recommendations
As part of its project on the role of national and ethnic minorities in
the transition process in Central and Eastern Europe and in the Western
Balkans, the International Centre for Democratic Transition (ICDT) has
published its policy recommendations. The recommendations are in two
parts: those destined for national governments in the regions concerned
and those intended for the European Commission and the European
Parliament. 
You can read the document:
http://www.kbs-frb.be/files/db/EN/MiT_ICDT_Policy_Recommendations.pdf.
Click here for details: http://www.icdt.hu/.


Minority Rights in Practice in SEE: permanent open call
In addition to strategic grants, the Foundation occasionally supports
proposals for advocacy and policy initiatives to be implemented at
regional and European level (e.g. public awareness campaigns,
conferences, policy events and cross-border projects). 
Such projects are part of a permanent open call. 
Initial contact may be made by a letter of enquiry, which should include
a brief description of the project and the range of funding required.
Applicants whose projects are short-listed are then sent a detailed
application form to complete. 
Further information about the guidelines can be obtained from Fabrice de
Kerchove <dekerchove.f@kbs-frb.be>, Project Manager, at the King
Baudouin Foundation or on our website.


Temporary Residence Permits (TRP) Brussels Seminar
The King Baudouin Foundation and the International Organisation for
Migration hosted a 2-day seminar on 12-13 June 2007, to assess the
implementation of anti-trafficking policies and particularly the
legislation on TRPs for victims of trafficking. Six SEE countries are
participating in the TRP project: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia. In
their introduction, Gerrit Rauws, Director of the KBF, and Bernd
Hemingway, of IOM Brussels, both commented on higher standards set by
some SEE governments than those in some EU Member States.
Sessions covered the state of play of European policy on human
trafficking and particularly differences in the implementation and
approaches adopted by Member States and SEE countries. There was general
agreement about the need for better monitoring, information sharing and
training of appropriate personnel, but above all the need for more
cross-border trust and cooperation. 
You can read the report:
http://www.kbs-frb.be/files/db/EN/TRP_seminar_Report+Links.pdf. 


European Policy Centre (EPC) events

Carla Del Ponte assesses eight years at the ICTY (05/07/07)
Carla Del Ponte, Chief Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal
for the former Yugoslavia, told an EPC Policy Briefing organised with
the Swiss Mission to the EU that attaching conditions to starting
negotiations for EU membership has been the most effective tool in
getting countries to work with the Tribunal. Ms Del Ponte urged the EU
to �maintain a principled and consistent position� on Serbia and not to
sign a Stabilisation and Association Agreement without the arrest and
transfer of Ratko Mladic. She said both the Tribunal and the EU wanted a
stable and reconciled Western Balkans after the crimes of the 1990s. 
You can read the report:
http://www.epc.eu/en/er.asp?TYP=ER&LV=293&see=y&t=2&PG=ER/EN/detail&l=&AI=732.


Serbia and the EU: latest developments and prospects (25/06/07)
Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic told a joint EPC-King Baudouin
Foundation Policy Briefing that the new Serbian government is committed
to domestic reform and European integration. He described the new
Serbian government as pro-reform and pro-European and welcomed the
resumption of Stabilisation and Association Agreement negotiations. He
predicted that Serbia would be ready to join the EU by 2011, although he
acknowledged that the coming months would be difficult because of a
�heavy electoral year� in Serbia.. He also reiterated the government�s
tough line on independence for Kosovo. 
You can read the report:
http://www.epc.eu/en/er.asp?TYP=ER&LV=293&see=y&t=2&PG=ER/EN/detail&l=&AI=723.


Equal protection? Approaches to counter-trafficking in the EU and the
Balkans (14/06/07)
The institutional framework for protecting victims of trafficking is
better in the Balkan countries than in many EU Member States, speakers
told a joint EPC-King Baudouin Foundation Policy Dialogue. They cited
the �empty promises� to stem trafficking made by EU governments and the
ensuing gap between adoption and implementation of international norms.
The fight against trafficking requires practical steps such as setting
up anti-trafficking structures, specialised units, national action plans
and reporting, whilst measures to protect victims of trafficking should
include giving legal status and the right to live and work in the EU. 
You can read the report:
http://www.epc.eu/en/er.asp?TYP=ER&LV=293&see=y&t=2&PG=ER/EN/detail&l=&AI=716.


Teaching history: the path towards reconciliation in the Balkans
(09/05/07)
Teaching a �joint� history of the Balkans region can play an important
part in the reconciliation process, preventing nationalists from using
their own interpretation of past events to feed future conflicts and
helping students to understand other viewpoints, speakers told a Policy
Dialogue organised by the EPC with the King Baudouin Foundation and the
Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe. Despite lack of funds and
complaints from some that it is too soon to teach history jointly,
several projects are actively encouraging such teaching by producing
textbooks and other materials on the basis that history should be
�pluralist and tolerant�. 
You can read the report:
http://www.epc.eu/en/er.asp?TYP=ER&LV=293&see=y&t=2&PG=ER/EN/detail&l=&AI=704.



The King Baudouin Foundation sincerely thanks the Belgian National
Lottery and all those who have supported its efforts with their
generosity.

For practical details: 
please e-mail: info@kbs-frb.be or telephone: +32 70 233 728

King Baudouin Foundation 
rue Brederodestraat 21 
B-1000 Brussels
Tel : +32 2 511 18 40 
fax : +32 2 511 52
21

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