Functional Borders and Sustainable Security: Integrating the Balkans in the EU IBEU

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Functional Borders and Sustainable Security
Integrating the Balkans in the EU (IBEU)

• Presentation for 3rd Call Kick-off Meeting
• 13-14 March, 2003
• Brussels
• The Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign
  Policy (ELIAMEP)
• Ruby Gropas

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IBEUs priorities and objectives

• Objectives
• Provide insight on the changing nature of borders
  and security in the Balkans
• Understand aspects and types of social and
  economic interaction within and among
  post-communist Balkan societies
•  
• Guiding hypotheses
• Define functionality of borders
• What are functional borders in the Balkans and
  what functions do they fulfill for society and
  the economy?
• What are considered functional borders by the EU
  and what is the EU attempting to project into the
  region?
• These two perspectives and approaches may be very
  different.
• How can they be adapted and applied to work in
  the Balkans so as to
• Create positive social capital restructure the
  informal sector promote regional co-operation
  and a growth-generating migration
• Integrate the Balkans into the European Union

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IBEUs case studies

• 4 cross-border and interdisciplinary case studies
  on the roots, nature and inter-dependencies
  between
• Networks of trusted social relations and
  dimensions of social capital
• Informal economic transactions and behaviour of
  non-compliance with regulatory frameworks
• Trade flows, banking, infrastructure projects and
  regional co-operation
• Demand and supply driven migration effects on
  home and host countries

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Clustering potential

• RESEARCH ELEMENTS OF IBEU
• Integration and association as a means to create
  conditions for sustainable peace and economic
  development
• Cross-border co-operation security implications
  and aspects of border management
• Types and nature of cross-border interactions
  conducive to region building and regional
  co-operation
• Contribute to an inter-disciplinary understanding
  of security based on civil-society building,
  social cohesion and institution (re)building
• Understand nature and mechanisms that fuel the
  informal sector, impact on SEE, cross-border
  relations and integration with EU identify paths
  to reform or improve conditions for formal
  business

• RELEVANT PROJECTS
• EUBORDERCONF
• EUBORDERCONF
• EXLINEA
• ELISE
• INFOREC

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Expected results relevance

• Expected results
• Deeper understanding of the political economy
  and society of the Balkans
• Suggest policy recommendations towards a dynamic
  and inclusionary approach to borders in and with
  the region
•   Relevance
• The EU has
• -Invested financial, technical, human and
  political resources and instruments to
  reconstruction, stabilisation and association
  (SAP, CARDS, etc) that are being called to
  respond to the regions challenges
• -Committed itself to the regions future
  integration in the EU
• Economic and social tensions in the region have
• -Immediate effect on Europes overall security
• Direct consequences on the EUs external borders
  
• Understanding the roots of these challenges and
  supporting mechanisms is necessary to
• (Re)formulate appropriate policies for the region
• Lessons learnt for future EU intervention
  reconstruction (Iraq, etc.)

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ANNEX IBEU Consortium

• Coordinator The Hellenic Foundation for European
  and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)
• The London School of Economics (LSE)
• The Vienna Institute for International Economic
  Studies (WIIW)
• Istituto per lEuropa Centro-Orientale e
  Balcanica, University of Bologna (IECOB)
• The Institute for Market Economics, Sofia (IME)
• The Centre for Liberal Strategies, Sofia (CLS)
• The Romanian Academic Society (SAR)