News and updates from BCSDN and the region
On 7 June, The European Commission has announced today €1.5 million in humanitarian aid to address the increasing needs of refugees, asylum seekers and migrants stranded in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This brings Commission humanitarian funding to €30.5 million to address the needs in Western Balkans since the start of the refugee crisis. EU humanitarian aid
Read more →On 2 May, the European Commission released its communication on the Multi-annual Financial framework (2021-2027). Despite the ever-changing environment for development aid, the communication sets out that €123 billion, representing approximately 10% of the total EU budget, is allocated to external action. CONCORD, the European Confederation of development NGOs, welcomed the budget dedicated to external
Read more →When foreigners give money to political organizations, both the donor and the recipient often become suspect. Governments around the world that fear criticism, oppose human rights, or otherwise reject the agendas of these groups are increasingly trying to ban foreign backing of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Ron Krebs and James Ron of the University of Minnesota
Read more →Civil society and the ability to exercise the core civic space freedoms have been under threat for many years. This challenge has been the focus of much study and diagnosis. The more complex question, however, is what can be done in response. In late 2016, the Government of Sweden commissioned the Swedish International Development Cooperation
Read more →The European Union will deploy a new financial weapon next week to try to rein in what Brussels sees as illiberal nationalism rising in the east of the bloc and threatening its democratic foundations. A big electoral triumph on April 8 for Victor Orban in Hungary and a battle to save the independence of courts
Read more →Since 2008, the Civil Society Facility (CSF) has supported 633 organisations in the region and 136 EU-based organisations, through 362 projects. The global objective of the evaluation was to assess the performance of the financial support provided by the CSF in EU pre-accession assistance — supporting civil society in candidate and potential candidate countries —
Read more →As the European Union and member states are busily designing the next EU Multiannual Financial Framework, development cooperation does not seem to have a place in the plan. The MFF will shape the priorities of the EU’s official development aid until at least 2027. This is a vital opportunity for the EU to honor its
Read more →While slogans like “think globally, act locally” have been around for decades, still so much decision making about philanthropy and development aid happens by stakeholders outside them. Even those funders that care deeply about championing local leadership and initiatives often struggle with giving up power. This paper intends to address this struggle with real-world examples.
Read more →Over a seven-year period (2014-2020), the EU dedicated 51.8 billion Euros to its external action. A large share of this funding – 32 billion – is disbursed through nine different thematic and geographic external financial instruments and a Common Implementing Regulation. The current architecture of the instruments lacks strategic and overarching vision and is managed by
Read more →Though philanthropic flows are relatively modest compared to official development assistance (ODA), their contribution is substantial in certain sectors, according to a new OECD report. For the first time, Private Philanthropy for Development uses global, comparable data to analyse how private foundations are supporting development. According to the report, private foundations provided USD 23.9 billion
Read more →European countries have seen over 3.8 million people seeking asylum in its territories between 2013 and 2016. In response, Europe has developed several plans, agreements and policy Frameworks on Migration. The EU has also established a number of cooperation agreements with third countries, highlighting the importance of “addressing the root causes behind irregular migration to
Read more →On 13 March, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) hosted the 4th Annual Meeting of Donor Coordination for the Western Balkans in Brussels. The meeting aimed at raising the donors coordination in the region to a higher level of communication and provided an opportunity for the beneficiaries and donors to exchange information on the actual needs,
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