News and updates from BCSDN and the region
A new analysis by the EU System for an Enabling Environment for Civil Society (EU SEE) highlights the growing global use of “foreign agents” legislation to restrict civic space, limit access to funding and undermine the legitimacy of CSOs. Drawing on evidence from 86 countries through the EU SEE Early Warning Mechanism, it shows how
Read more →Seventeen years after introducing rules on public participation in lawmaking, Slovenia continues to fall short on ensuring transparent and inclusive legislative processes. According to newly published data, the current government adopted 1,945 laws, regulations, and rulebooks, but only 659 proposals (33%) were open for the required 30-day public consultation period. Compliance was particularly low in
Read more →A new report, Putting Out Fires till They Burn Out, examines how feminist and LGBTQI+ organisations in the South Caucasus and Western Balkans sustain their work amid war legacies, authoritarianism, economic insecurity, and shrinking civic space. Drawing on 87 interviews conducted between 2022 and 2024, alongside ethnographic research and grants analysis, the report argues that
Read more →A broad coalition of civil society, media freedom, and human rights organisations has expressed concern over the public targeting of Kristina Voko, Executive Director of BIRN Albania, by Albanian MP Ardit Bido following her intervention during a parliamentary hearing. The signatories argue that a legitimate contribution concerning the legal obligations of the public broadcaster was
Read more →In a major interview published by EUobserver, Natacha Kazatchkine, Secretary General of the European Civic Forum (ECF), warns that a coordinated effort — including through the European Parliament’s EPP-driven Scrutiny Working Group on NGO financing is starving civil society of funding, legitimacy, and space to defend democratic values. Kazatchkine identifies three converging threats: legislation targeting
Read more →A coalition of ten press and media freedom organizations — coordinated by the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) has written to EU Ministers for European Affairs calling for the suspension of EU funds to Serbia in response to an accelerating spiral of violence against journalists. The letter documents a 367% increase in physical attacks on
Read more →A recently published analysis by BCSDN member CNVOS offers a detailed, fact-based rebuttal to government proposals to abolish the national Fund for the Development of NGOs, following a minister’s statement that 1% income-tax donations could replace it. The analysis demonstrates that the fund — which has distributed EUR 69 million to 558 organizations and leveraged
Read more →CSOs and human rights advocates have raised concerns over proposed provisions reportedly included in Türkiye’s upcoming 12th Judicial Package. According to reporting by Kaos GL, a leading Turkish LGBTI+ rights organisation and media platform, the draft would introduce new restrictions affecting LGBTI+ individuals, including changes to gender affirmation procedures and provisions that rights groups argue
Read more →The Basic court in Montenegro has rejected a lawsuit filed by Andrej Vučić, brother of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, against the media outlet Vijesti over its reporting on Sky ECC communications connected to ongoing organized crime investigations. The court found that the journalists acted with due professional care, that the reporting was based on material
Read more →CSOs in North Macedonia are calling on Members of Parliament not to support proposed amendments to the Law on Games of Chance and Entertainment Games, warning that the changes could seriously undermine the financial sustainability of organisations providing essential support to vulnerable communities. Organisations including the Network for Protection against Discrimination, the Gender Equality Platform,
Read more →A newly adopted proposal in Romania to amend the Law on Associations and Foundations is raising serious concerns among CSOs over growing restrictions on freedom of association and privacy. The draft law, approved by the Senate on 18 May, would require associations and foundations to publicly disclose donor identities and introduces severe sanctions, including suspension
Read more →Recent political developments in Slovenia are raising growing concerns among CSOs over increasing hostility, intimidation, and political pressure targeting independent civic actors. Following the March 2026 parliamentary elections, parties involved in coalition negotiations, particularly the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), have renewed narratives portraying CSOs as politically biased and misusing public funds. Proposed parliamentary inquiries into
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