The European Consensus on Development is a policy statement that commits the European Union to eradicating poverty and building a fairer and more stable world. Recently, they decided to review and update the version of 2006. CONCORD Europe drafted a position paper highlighting their key asks for the new European Consensus based on their full response to the EC Open Public Consultation. This paper is an advocacy tool for CONCORD Europe members and it will be used vis-à-vis the EU institutions and national institutions.More information is available here. Source: Concord Europe
Author: anja
BCSDN annual debate on the state of the enabling environment in which civil society in Enlargement countries operates under the title: “Raising Standards, Declining Trends? Operating Environment for Civil Society in Enlargement Countries” was organized on 7th September in Brussels. The event was organized on the occasion of the presentation of the 2015 Monitoring Matrix Regional Report and its recommendation to the EC. The event brought CSO representatives from Western Balkans to present the key challenges for the civil society operating environment in their countries. The aim was to raise a discussion with the Commission, other EU institutions and stakeholders on how the EU Accession Process…
The topic on the agenda of the scheduled session is deliberation on the Draft analysis of the effects of implementation of the 2014-2016 Strategy for Development of CSOs. Although the President of the Council for Development of CSOs scheduled the session for 12 September, the members of the Council from the ranks of non-governmental organizations did not take part in its work. Representatives of CSOs informed the Council about their decision. As the reason behind it, they stated that none of their demands was met since July 22 when they submitted them in written format to the President of this body.…
A new United Nations report has found that e-government is an effective tool for facilitating integrated policies and public service by promoting accountable and transparent institutions, such as through open data and participatory decision-making, and therefore it has the potential to help support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). More information is available here. Source: UN
The EU Western Balkan enlargement policy has dealt with six European countries which have historically been affected by serious ethnic, political and economic conflicts and aspire to join the EU. The Court assessed whether the Commission’s management of the IPA in the Western Balkans in the key areas of rule of law and public administration was effective and whether it actually did strengthen administrative capacity in the region. In addition, the Court examined the achievements of the EU–Western Balkan political dialogue in strengthening administrative capacity. The report furthermore outlines a set of conclusions and recommendation for the implementation of IPA…
Raising money is part of the struggle for social change, not something that rich people do on behalf of the poor. Money is often seen as a divisive force in society, but as this example shows it can also bring people together to strengthen collective action in ways that are democratic and inclusive. It’s not fundraising per se that constitutes a barrier to democracy and justice, but the ways in which money is raised and spent. By moving away from dependence on large donors and re-focusing on smaller contributions from those who are themselves struggling for change, fund-raising can become…
A new United Nations report has found that e-government is an effective tool for facilitating integrated policies and public service by promoting accountable and transparent institutions, such as through open data and participatory decision-making, and therefore it has the potential to help support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). More information is available here. Source: UN
BCSDN annual debate on the state of the enabling environment in which civil society in Enlargement countries operates under the title: “Raising Standards, Declining Trends? Operating Environment for Civil Society in Enlargement Countries” was organized on 7th September in Brussels. The event was organized on the occasion of the presentation of the 2015 Monitoring Matrix Regional Report and its recommendation to the EC. The event brought CSO representatives from Western Balkans to present the key challenges for the civil society operating environment in their countries. The aim was to raise a discussion with the Commission, other EU institutions and stakeholders…
BCSDN internal Monitoring Matrix sustainability workshop took place on the 5-6 September in Brussels. BCSDN members, those directly involved in the monitoring and the advocacy on the EE, were reflecting on why the Monitoring Matrix was initially created, what was the initial goal and has it achieved its goals. The participants of the workshop also analyzed the environment and what has changed since 2012 – both internally within the network and externally in terms of funding, priorities, operating environment and why is the MM – or something like it – needed now and in the future? BCSDN participants have identified several…
The specific objectives of this call for proposals are to support civil society and human rights defenders working outside the EU in five key areas of human rights corresponding to the five recurring lots of 2014-2017 EIDHR global calls for proposals: Lot 1: support to women Human Rights Defenders and/or Human Rights Defenders working for women’s and girls’ rights where they are the most at risk; Lot 2: support to civil society actions fighting against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Lot 3: support to the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; Lot 4: support…