2013 Book Launch

               Economic & European Perspectives of Western Balkan Countries 
                                               written by Dr Slavica Penev
                          Institute of Economic Sciences, University of Belgrade

A seminar at LSEE on 7 May 2013 presented a new book on “Economic and European Perspectives of Western Balkan Countries”. The book was written by Slavica Penev, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Economic Sciences, Belgrade, with the assistance of Milica Travica, Head of Financial Market Analysis Unit, Banca Intesa, Belgrade. It was published by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, which has supported a programme of regional cooperation among parliaments in the Western Balkans through a Network of Parliamentary Committees for Finance and Economy.

The report is the outcome of a three-year regional programme initiated by the foundation to strengthen parliaments’ role in promoting competitiveness and economic growth in the region. The report analyses recent economic and regulatory reforms in the region and role of the parliaments in this process. A roadmap has also been developed and agreed by the stakeholders in the six participating countries outlining the country and regional goals to be achieved by 2015.

Alex Romaniuc, a representative of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, spoke about the role of the Foundation in the making of the report.

Dr Fikret Čaušević, Department of Economics, University of Sarajevo also addressed the seminar, which was chaired by Dr Vesna Bojičić Dželilović of the Human Security and Civil Society Research Unit at the Department of International Development, LSE.