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Newsletter No. 06 March 22, 2016
EU4BUSINESS Week in UkraineA seminar and round tables on Membership for business support organisations active in lobbying and advocacy took place in Kyiv, Ukraine on 14-18 March, 2016. The main aims of the seminar were to strengthen the institutional ability of the Ukrainian business associations and assist them in the creation of a productive dialogue with the government bodies. Experts Peter Byrne, from Ireland and Mariana Rufa from Moldova presented the experience in the Public Private Dialogue and answered
questions of participants. Anastasia Baklan, was aIso present, and talked about the importance of the use of various communicational channels and web tools for the organisations, that would help them to progress in their field. The business associations, that were present at the East Invest 2 programme, made the unanimous decision to unite in one working group form together the subjects of the upcoming seminars, and, what is most important, to prepare themselves for the meeting with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), that will take place in Ukraine in summer, 2016.From now on, East Invest 2 - Public-Private Dialogue will have video broadcasting from all the 6 countries of the project: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.Contact: Elisabeth Miroshnichenko - [email protected] Gessl - [email protected]
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
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PUBLIC PRIVATE DIALOGUE
NEWSLETTER
EVENT CALENDAR !
Seminar and Round Tables on Membership in BSOs Active in Advocacy and OECD SME Policy SeminarTbilisi, Georgia21-25.03.2016 Venue: Microfinance AssociationContact: Nika Markozashvili - [email protected] Seminar and Round Tables on Membership in BSOs Active in AdvocacyKishinev, Moldova18-22.04.2016 Contact: Alexandrina Robu - [email protected] Seminar and Round Tables on Communication in BSOs Active in Advocacy and OECD SME Policy SeminarBaku, Azerbaijan25-29.04.2016 Venue: Afiyeddin Business Center Contact: Narmin Isparzade - [email protected]
This Newsletter is compiled in the framework of the PPD Activities of the East Invest 2 Programme.
This Programme is financed by the EU.
Newsletter No. 06 March 22, 2016
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People of the Week!
Ludger FischerDr. Ludger Fischer, born in 1957 in Essen, is a German historian on architectural history, philosopher and political scientist. For 13 years he worked for UEAPME, the European umbrella association of SMEs. He was member of the “advisory group on the food chain” of the European Commission, member of the “Stakeholder Consultative Platform” of the European Food Safety Authority EFSA and several other EU-panels on food legislation. For the European Commission he evaluated several SME support projects. In the framework of the EastInvest2-project he is training communication and lobbying techniques. Based on his work as political consultant in Brussels he publishes books on the chemical and physical conditions of cooking as well as on lobbying. Fischer lives in Brussels. Where else?Contact: Ludger Fischer - [email protected]
Zhana Antia
Ms. Zhana Antia is the Head of Training and Consulting Center at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs. She has obtained Master’s degree in Public Administration from Georgian Institute of Public Affairs. Zhana is a Lecturer in Statistics and Project Management with Eight years of experience in Project Management on various positions for different projects funded by USAID, Tempus, Unicef, DAI, MSI and others. She is the member of the Union of Tbilisi Caretakers “Tiflis Hamkari.” Since 2008 Zhana was the research team member in the follwoing researches: “Public Administration in Georgia – Challenges and opportunities” and “Income Tax reform in Georgia.” She is one of the co-authors of the publication “Public Administration in Post-Communist Countries: Former Soviet Union, Central and Eastern Europe and Mongolia” (CRC Press, July 2013).Contact: Zhana Antiai – [email protected]
!Karen ZadoyanKaren Zadoyan is an Armenian lawyer and one of the founders of NGO movement in Armenia. In 1995, he with a group of likeminded law students established the “Armenian Lawyers’ Association” NGO (formerly “Armenian Young Lawyers Association”), which during the next two decades became one of the most influential, well-known, powerful and useful organizations in the legal field of Armenia. The organization recently changed the name to reflect its increasing maturity towards legal and democratic development in the country.He was one of the initiators of the development of NGO Law in Armenia. During the years in NGO sector, he initiated and created networks with involvement of the Civil Society Organizations, such as the Coalition of Organizations providing Free Legal Services; the CSOs’ Anti-Corruption Coalition (with over 70 CSOs).Under his leadership the ALA has implemented a great number of projects aimed to promote the establishment of Armenia as a sovereign, democratic, legal and social state.He is a member of the RA Chamber of Advocates; the Law Foundation of Armenia; European Young Bar Association; USAAA (was the Speaker and Chairman of the Board on rotation basis); Working group “Judicial System” of the Monitoring Committee against corruption. He was a member of Expert Group at the RA Ombudsman; Member of MCA Governing Council. He is the editor-in-chief of http://iravaban.net legal website operated by ALA.Karen Zadoyan was born in Yerevan. He received a Law Degree from Yerevan State University in 1996.Contact: Karen Zadoyan - [email protected]
Newsletter No. 06 March 22, 2016
OECD takes 50 The mission of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is to promote policies
that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.The OECD provides a forum in which governments can work together to share experiences and seek solutions to common prob lems. They work w i th governments to understand what drives economic, social and environmental change. They measure productivity and global flows of trade and investment. They analyse and compare data to predict future trends and set international standards on a wide
range of things, from agriculture and tax to the safety of chemicals.OECD also looks at issues that directly affect everyone’s daily life, like how much people pay in taxes and social security, and how much leisure time they can take. They compare how different countries’ school systems are readying their young people for modern life, and how different countries’ pension systems will look after their citizens in old age.Drawing on facts and real-life experience, OECD recommends policies designed to improve the quality of
people's lives. They work with business, through the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD, and with labour, through the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC). They have active contacts as well with other civil society organisations. The common thread of their work is a shared commitment to market economies backed by democratic institutions and focused on the wellbeing of all citizens. Along the way, they also set out to make life harder for the terrorists, tax dodgers, crooked businessmen and others whose actions undermine a fair and open society. URL: http://www.oecd.org/
Taking Steps to Improve Anti-Corruption Law in ArmeniaSince 2010, Armenian Lawyers' Association (ALA) has been active in fight against corruption in Armenia attaching much importance to anti-corruption reforms. In this scope the priority systematic proposals are Criminalization of Illicit Enrichment and creation of the Independent Anti-Corruption Body. ALA initiated the CSOs’ Anti-Corruption Coalition with over 70 CSOs.Armenia has joint the UN Convention against Corruption, but has not criminalized the action under its Article 20, that is, a significant increase in the assets of a public official that he or she cannot reasonably explain in relation to his or her lawful income.
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OECD at 50 and beyond
• Today, we are focused on helping governments around the world to:!• Restore confidence in markets and the institutions that make them function.!• Re-establish healthy public finances as a basis for future sustainable economic growth.!• Foster and support new sources of growth through innovation, environmentally friendly ‘green growth’
strategies and the development of emerging economies.!• Ensure that people of all ages can develop the skills to work productively and satisfyingly in the jobs of
tomorrow.
Newsletter No. 06 March 22, 2016
In 2015, an anti-corruption body headed by the Prime Minister and in composition of a number of ministers was formed. Only two places were allocated for CSOs. However the CSOs were against such development and boycotted the tender for participation in such council and thus they are still empty. Whereas ALA has proposed a model where the Council should be independent and operate on the basis of the relevant law.ALA has initiated and implemented analysis on the possibilities to criminalization of illicit enrichment and creation of the independent anti-corruption body and submitted the results to the Government and proposed to apply the recommendations in the development of the 2015-2016 Anti-Corruption Strategy of the RA. The RA Anti-Corruption Strategy and Its Implementation Action Plan for 2015-2018 was adopted in September 2015, and includes provisions for conducting analysis on criminalization of illicit enrichment and introduction of an effective independent institutional anti-corruption body. In addition illicit enrichment has been criminalized in the New Draft Criminal Code.Having the aim to solve the above mentioned problems, on 23 September 2015, the RA Ministry of Justice and the CSOs’ Anti-Corruption Coalition signed a joint statement On the Establishment of the Government – Civil Society Anti-Corruption Working Platform and the Anti-Corruption Working Groups.Contact: Karen Zadoyan - [email protected]
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This Programme is financed by the EU.
PUBLIC PRIVATE DIALOGUE Newsletter Compiled by: Yeva ZeynalyanMobile: +374 99 07 00 32E-mail: [email protected]
A Precondition of Better RegulationIn Brussels lobbyists do not hide in back rooms. What kind of people are lobbyists? They contribute to political decisions with their expertise. What all Europeans from Finland to Cyprus is allowed or forbidden, lobbyists contribute to the decisions. They are almost never seen in the media. This creates fear. What are they working on? And who is working there? Are the lobbyists pulling the strings? Brussels is definitely Lobby country. That means in the European legislative procedure lobbyists muscle in a lot. From scandal perspective this can be complained and lamented. One can even see it as the end of democracy. On the other hand one can accept this fact as an advantage for democracy. One can actually welcome it. I welcome it as a breakthrough for democracy. I always praise to lobbying. It is a Public Private Dialogue of all interested groups of the society to enhance the legislative procedure. In the next newsletters of the PPD-network I will explain some of the techniques of lobbying. It is an exiting field of work.Contact: Ludger Fischer - [email protected]
This Newsletter is compiled in the framework of the PPD Activities of the East Invest 2 Programme.
EU4Business week GeorgiaCecilia Malmstroem met with Georgian Businesses to discuss intensification of economic relations between Georgia and the EU. Impressive success stories were presented: Kiwis produced in Georgia for the EU market (not only) in highest quality, Chateau Mukhrani's high quality wines finding its ways to the EU through Marks's & Spencer and TBC Bank financing the Georgian economy. Around 70 participants from big business, foreign companies, institutions and diplomatic missions had an animated discussion with Mrs. Malmstroem and the Georgian Prime Minister. It was a pity that no SME Organisations were present at the event dispite the fact that SME support and SME contribution to economic growth and internationalization of the Georgian economy was mentioned as a high priority.Contact: Nika Markozashvili - [email protected]