Centre for Civic Education (CCE) organised a presentation of analysis “Facts and prejudice – financing of non-governmental organisations and political parties in Montenegro from public funds” on 19 February 2016 in Podgorica. Keynote speakers at the conference were Daliborka Uljarević, executive director of CCE, Ana Novaković, executive director of Centre for development of non-governmental organisations (CRNVO), Nikola Djonović, programme coordinator at CCE, Boris Marić, senior legal advisor at CCE and Željka Ćetković, programme associate. The conference gathered 40 representatives of civil sector, political parties and state institutions which invested efforts through constructive discussion in order to provide contribution and create…
Author: anja
A comparative review of policy and legislation framework for youth participation in the Balkans was conducted within the implementation of the project Balkan regional platform for youth participation and dialogue, implemented by The European Association for Local Democracy (ALDA),and the Balkan Local Democracy Agencies (LDAs) in 5 targeted countries in the Balkans (Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia). The purpose of the comparative review is to gather evidence on existing policies and practices in the youth field in the countries concerned, and to identify challenges in the implementation processes regarding youth participation in order to inform the future…
In April last year, 70 CSOs, in an open letter to the Government, urged that a new director should be appointed as soon as possible in order for the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society could continue its work regularely. After almost a year since the resignation of Ivana Ćirković, on 17th February 2016, the Government of the Republic of Serbia appointed Žarko Stepanović as the new director of the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society. Civic Initiatives have expressed their support to the Government for this decision. In the past period, the committed staff of the Office have ensured the continuity of the work and resumed…
As of 31st of January 2016, in Slovenia were registered 26.931 civil society organisations, of which 23.795 associations, 2.876 (private) institutions and 260 institutions. This is 36 more than on 31st of December 2015, when there were 26.895, of which 23.778 associations, 2.857 (private) institutions and 260 institutions. In recent years, the number of CSOs increases to around 530 per year. In September 2012, registered were 22.490 associations, 2.324 (private) institutions and 251 institutions. All registered CSO’s are not necessarily also active. In accordance with the established practice, for active are considered those whose annual reports are published at the Agency for Public Legal Records and Related…
At the conference “Bell of change”, held in Sarajevo on the 2nd of February, the Center for Promotion of Civil Society (CPCD) called on the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina to urgently establish functional mechanisms for dialogue with the citizens, stressing the importance of mobilization of all capacities in BiH for speeding up the EU accession process by increasing the participation of the civil society and interested public. The conference was held in the premises of the Parliamentary Assembly of BIH, with the aim for CSOs to put organized and articulated pressure on the Council of Ministers to…
From 9th through 12th February, 2016, TACSO Regional Office organized the “Advanced Training on Advocacy and Lobbying for representatives of the regional Framework Partnership Agreements (FPAs) supported by the EU under the IPA Assistance” in Skopje, Macedonia. The aim of the training was not only to build up capacities of participating networks and CSOs, but also to encourage them to become active stakeholders in promoting democracy by taking concrete actions as a direct effect of the training intervention. Circa 50 representatives of CSOs from seven countries of the Western Balkans and Turkey, who were attending the training, were divided into three groups…
The Balkan Trust Fund (BTD) has initiated the Belgrade (and Balkans) Chapter of the GMF Young Transatlatic Network (YTN) Programme specifically geared toward young professionals 35 years old and younger. The network aims to strengthen transatlantic relations by offering the next generation of leaders opportunities to engage critically on core challenges facing Europe and the United States, as well as new issues posed by the increasing geographic reach of transatlantic cooperation. YTN’s convening consists of regular lunch and evening discussions featuring leaders from the realms of politics, business, and civil society engaged in transatlantic relations.In addition, YTN organizes a variety of networking events to…
On behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the British Embassy Podgorica has opened a call for Bilateral Programme Fund (BPF) and Bilateral Programme Budget (BPB) project bid submissions for the next financial year (April 2016 to March 2017). The Embassy seeks project proposals in line with the following objectives: 1) Political, economic reform and rule of law interventions to help Montenegro meet the standards of Euro-Atlantic integration; 2) Promoting effective functioning of democratic institutions; 3) Addressing the causes of discrimination and violence against vulnerable groups; and 4) Encouraging better informed public discourse through advancing freedom of expression and professional standards in the media. Successful applicants…
The MAXCAP Working Paper No. 18 “Judicial Reform in Turkey and the EU‘s Political Conditionality: (Mis)Fit between Domestic Preferences and EU Demands” by Meltem Müftüler-Baç has been published. The paper investigates the process of judicial reform in Turkey in the last 15 years, with a focus on the reversal of such reforms since 2013. It aims to explore this (mis)fit and the extent to which the EU’s credibility in its membership conditionality mattered in terms of Turkey’s path of reforms. The key proposition in the paper is that the EU’s lack of credibility combined with increased domestic material costs of…
This EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy paper assesses the current state of play in the process of EU enlargement in the Western Balkans. It examines ways of accelerating the process, asking the question whether the EU and the Commission in particular possess appropriate tools to deal with the ‘complicated’ candidate countries in a complex international reality. The paper argues that, although the recent changes in the Commission’s approach to candidate countries are positive, there is more to be done to re-energize the process and encourage domestic reforms in these countries. The Commission needs to regain the role of key driver…