Centre for Contemporary Politics

Centre for Contemporary Politics
Центар савремене политике
Formation May 2012.
Founder Nemanja Todorović Štiplija
Founded at Belgrade, Serbia
Type Regional policy think thank
Headquarters Belgrade
Region
Western Balkans
Methods Organization of various events and activities; publishing; analysis;
Official language
Serbian
English
President
 Nemanja Todorović Štiplija
Program Director
 Nikola Burazer
Executive Director
 Nikola S. Ristić
Subsidiaries European Western Balkans

The Centre for Contemporary Politics (Serbian: Центар савремене политике) is an independent, non-governmental and non-profit organization founded in Belgrade in May 2012. The centre is a think tank focused on a range of fields, including reforms of the political system, foreign affairs and security, as well as protection of human and minority rights. The Centre for Contemporary Politics aims to foster reforms and Serbia's European integration process as well as regional stability and cooperation.[1] In order to achieve this, the centre engages in various activities, such as organizing forums, PR activities, youth training camps, maintaining the political portal European Western Balkans, etc.

The centre's office is located in Belgrade, Serbia.

Structure and mission

Nikola Todorović Štiplija is the centre's President. Its Program Director is Nikola Burazer, and Nikola S. Ristić is Executive Director.[2] The Centre for Contemporary Politics engages in the following activities in order to realize its goals:

Projects

The organization had been involved in several activities in various fields.

European Western Balkans

The centre owns and runs a portal, European Western Balkans (EWB), which aims to report on the European integration processes of several Western Balkan countries (Serbia, Croatia, BiH, Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo[a]), conduct interviews and publish various texts. As part of the project, the organization maintains a network of various persons and experts from across these countries as well as EU member states.

National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and European Integration

Through its portal EWB, the centre has actively monitored the work of the Committee for European Integration of the National Assembly of Serbia and the Joint Committee of the European Parliament and National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia for stabilization and association from April to October 2015. The centre financed the project using its own funds.[3]

Clear on Europe

The center organized a conference, ″Clear on Europe″, which took place in Belgrade on October 20, 2015. The conference addressed the Belgrade-Priština dialogue and integration into the EU. The conference was organized in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and its participants were Serbian MPs as well as representatives of the non-governmental sector and the media. The conference was opened by Axel Dittman, German ambassador to Serbia. Other participants included Joanna Hanson, researcher at the London School of Economics, Marko Đurić, director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, the deputy of the Kosovar Government President Branimir Stojanović, Ilir Deda, Kosovar MP, etc.[4]

One of the panels brought together Serbian and Kosovar liaison officers Dejan Pavićević and Valdet Sadiku.[5] Participants of the event were Borislav Stefanović, former representative of the Belgrade-Priština dialogue, and Vjosa Osmani, Committee for European Integration in the Kosovar Parliament. They voiced different opinions about the admittance of Kosovo into the UNESCO. Stefanović proposed that Kosovo should be part of international organisations, but not the UNESCO, because it would not be able to protect the Serbian heritage, while Osmani asserted that membership in UNESCO will "directly impact on improving standards in the field of education, protection of cultural monuments."[6]

As part of the conference, the centre published a preview of the Belgrade-Priština dialogue in Serbian and English.[5]

Youth and EU

In January 2016, the centre used funds provided by Erasmus+ to organize a training course about institutions of the EU and European Integration for young participants from Italy, Spain, Belgium, Slovakia, Croatia, Albania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Turkey. The participants visited the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and the EU information centre.[7][8] They also participated in a simulation of the work of the European Parliament in the building of Municipalitie Stari Grad. It was the aim of project to prepare young workers and empower the involved organizations to debate, discuss and promote EU citizenship, European values, integration, enlargement, to engage in the active participation of citizens in the EU and decision making processes within the EU.[9]

Debates about the European future of Serbia

In partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, the centre has published interviews regarding the future of the Western Balkans with key representatives of the German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the European People's Party (EPP) since May 2015.[10] So far, they have conducted over 20 interviews with various people related to the integration of the Western Balkans, including Sebastian Kurz, Jadranka Joksimović, Peter Sørensen, Samuel Žbogar, David McAllister, Majlinda Bregu, Johannes Hahn, Mladen Ivanić, etc. Furthermore, the EWB website features various op-ed pieces and articles written and published by a range of experts in the same field.[11]

Notes

^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the Brussels Agreement. Kosovo has received formal recognition as an independent state from 111 out of 193 United Nations member states.

Reference

  1. ↑ "centarsavremenepolitike.rs". centarsavremenepolitike.rs. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  2. ↑ "Naš tim". Centar savremene politike. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  3. ↑ "Narodna skupština Republike Srbije i evropske integracije". centarsavremenepolitike.rs. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  4. ↑ Gedošević, Lana (20 October 2015). "Ditman: Nemačka za otvaranje poglavlja". Blic. Blic. Blic. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Razumljivo o Evropi – Konferencija & publikacija Pregled dijaloga Beograda i Prištine". Centar savremene politike. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  6. ↑ "Stefanović i Osmani oprečno o dijalogu Beograda i Prištine". Danas. Danas. Danas. 21 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "Mladi iz 10 zemalja Evrope posetili EU info centar". Eu Info. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  8. ↑ "Vlerat europiane bashkojnë të rinjtë në Beograd". MAPO (in Albanian). Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  9. ↑ "Mladi i Evropska unija (Youth and EU)". Centar savremene politike. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  10. ↑ "Debate o Evropskoj budućnosti Srbije". Centar savremene politike. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
  11. ↑ "Portfolio". European Western Balkans. European Western Balkans. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
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