The Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN) took part in the 10th Western Balkans Civil Society Forum, organized in Budva on 13 and 14 May, by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). Bringing together representatives of civil society, social partners, EU institutions, and regional stakeholders, the Forum provided a platform to discuss the state of democracy, rule of law, and socio-economic convergence in the Western Balkans, with a focus on making the EU accession process more inclusive and effective. On behalf of BCSDN, Anja Bosilkova-Antovska, Head of Policy and Advocacy, emphasized that civic space in the Western Balkans is increasingly under pressure, despite formal guarantees of fundamental freedoms. Drawing on BCSDN’s long-standing monitoring through the Monitoring Matrix, she highlighted the critical trends in the civil society environment in the region, from systematic restrictions on basic freedoms to superficial participation of civil society in policy-making. Anja stressed that civic space is a fundamental condition for meaningful reforms and therefore should be treated as a core accession requirement. BCSDN advocates for the introduction of binding civic space benchmarks in the enlargement reports and the accession process, linking serious restrictions on civic freedoms to financial and political consequences for candidate countries – a position that was reflected in the final EESC declaration adopted. Read more here.
Source: BCSDN