European Administrative Space - Balkan Realities

Abstract

Since the conceptual framework of the European Administrative Space (EAS) in 1990s, at least two convergent trends may be found out.

The first trend refers to EAS operationalisation as instrument and mechanism for assessing the reforms of the national public administrations. Herewith, we refer to the deepness of EAS content, which has become more comprehensive, incorporating the most significant aspects on the public administrations reforms.

The second trend refers to continuous enlargement of EAS area. The limits of this area are not the same with the EU limits and the internal processes of EAS do not have the same intensity as those of the European integration. Therefore, we may assert that the EAS reveals specific developments related to the traditions, history, administrative culture, national identity etc. of every state.

The regional characteristics on the development of public administrations are decisive and the administrative convergence will take them into account.

In this context, the current volume aims to reveal a few Balkan realities on EAS. Of course our approach is far from presenting the whole complexity of the phenomena and processes of public administrations in the Balkan states. The arguments on the above difficulty refer to: different stages for the Balkan states related to the European integration; diversity of the administrative models and cultures in the public administrations of the Balkan states; different levels of economic and social development in the Balkan area.

Even in those conditions, as the reader may conclude after studying the current volume, the ideal of European integration gets closer or gathers the national efforts and actions, incorporating them in a convergent trend related to the EAS principles and values.

The analyses and researches have aimed the following directions: EAS conceptualization and operationalisation in the Balkans; National experiences on the legal, administrative and institutional pillars of EAS; Convergence and Europeanization of the Balkan public administrations as premises of EAS development; Integrating the Balkan traditional administrative values into the EAS concept and practice.

Those major research-oriented directions have represented the pillar for several specialists’ studies and analyses, especially from academia, which have been selected for the actual volume.

The debates on the topics announced have been achieved in the framework of the Workshop: “European Administrative Space - Balkan Realities”, organized by the University of Rijeka on 18 - 19 February 2011.

At the same time, the content of the current volume completes the image of the activities and events organized in the framework of Jean Monnet project “South-Eastern European developments on the administrative convergence and enlargement of the European Administrative Space in Balkan states”, which has received funding from the European Community.

Keywords: european administrative space, administrative convergence, europeanization of public administration, balkan states

JEL Classification: D73