What's New

News and updates from BCSDN and the region

EU Media Platforms: Further Protections for Journalists and Media Freedom Needed in Democracy Shield

The International Press Institute (IPI) and Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) have welcomed the EU Democracy Shield initiative and the European Parliament’s Special Committee’s Rapporteur’s draft report published on 21 January, and call for concrete implementation plans. They acknowledge the initiative’s strong focus on media freedom, journalist safety, and Anti-SLAPP measures, while stressing that political

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CASE Coalition 2025 SLAPPs Report: Democracy in the Dock

Abusive lawsuits aimed at silencing journalists, activists, and other public watchdogs continue to rise across Europe, according to the 2025 Annual SLAPPs Report by the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) and the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation, despite the EU’s new Anti-SLAPP Directive entering into force in May 2024. The report records 167 new SLAPP

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The Cost of Non-Enlargement Would Exceed the Cost of Accession

In a report adopted on 28 January, the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) frames EU enlargement as a strategic investment in the Union’s security and stability, warning that delaying enlargement risks creating geopolitical grey zones vulnerable to malign influence. The cost of non-enlargement would exceed the cost of accession. The report reaffirms that

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Albania: Criminal Code Amendments to Must be Strengthened to Ensure Full Decriminalisation of Defamation

The International Press Institute (IPI) has joined media freedom and journalist organisations in calling for the full decriminalisation of defamation in Albania, stressing that recent amendments to the Criminal Code, while a positive step, fall short of European standards. Approved on 21 January by the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs and Public Administration, the amendments

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Kosovo: YIHR Civic Education Activity Targeted After Municipal Education Directorate Statement

A civic education activity organised by the Serbian CSOs- Youth Initiative for Human Rights (YIHR) at “Xhevdet Doda” High School in Prishtina has sparked controversy following a public statement by the Municipality of Prishtina’s Directorate of Education. The session focused on the Kosovo Specialist Chambers—an institution established by the Assembly of Kosovo—and was conducted with

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European CSOs Call to the European Commission: Reverse the Withdrawal of the ECBA Directive

A coalition of civil society, non-profit, and philanthropic organizations has urged the European Commission to reverse its decision to withdraw the Directive on European Cross-Border Associations (ECBA). The Directive, approved by the European Parliament in March 2024, would allow associations operating in multiple EU countries to be recognised across borders under the same conditions as

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Serbia: European Parliament Mission to Serbia Highlights Tensions Over Reforms and Enlargement

A European Parliament fact-finding mission visited Serbia from 22–24 January to assess the political crisis, EU-related reforms, and democratic standards. During meetings in the National Assembly, pro-EU opposition parties called on the EU to remain actively engaged, urging conditionality linked to reforms, including the use of EU Growth Plan funds, and advocating for free and

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New Toolkit Guides Donors Toward High-Impact and Resilient Philanthropy

The Center for High Impact Philanthropy has released its annual 2026 giving toolkit, offering practical, year-round guidance for individual donors and professional grantmakers seeking to maximise the impact of their philanthropy. The toolkit outlines what high impact giving entails and presents four overarching strategies applicable across causes and regions. To illustrate these approaches in practice,

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The Stories for Change Festival: Where Community Power Took Centre Stage

A global online festival, organised by the Global Fund for Community Foundations (GFCF) as part of the Giving for Change programme, brought together nearly 300 community leaders, activists, filmmakers and human rights defenders to reflect on the power of community philanthropy amid shrinking aid, rising geopolitical tensions and overlapping crises. Speakers emphasised that community philanthropy

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