News and updates from BCSDN and the region
The Press Advertising Agency canceled the right of independent Turkish newspaper Evrensel to publish advertisements from state and public authorities. According to the outlet’s managing editor, this was a politically motivated decision targeting one of the few remaining independent media outlets in the country. He added that the state ad revenues are vital for the
Read more →During the 79th session of the Government of North Macedonia, an Advisory Body was decided to be formed to provide opinions on the use of the name of a historian and other famous persons on behalf of the associations and other legal entity. Previously, the Government adopted information for the needs by initiating an interdepartmental
Read more →The research analyzes hate discourses and good practices of European and national standards, targets, actors, definitions, and anti-discrimination policies. It studies the emergence and embodiments of Euroscepticism in predominantly Eurooptimistic and Eurorealistic countries. The study also examines civic activism in countering hate discourses and practices and promoting European values of respect for difference, liberty, equality,
Read more →The European Handbook for SDG Voluntary Local Reviews – 2022 edition provides policymakers, urban practitioners, and experts with a consolidated method and examples of indicators that European local and regional governments can use to monitor the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) are processes that encompass both the monitoring
Read more →Major online platforms, emerging and specialized platforms, players in the advertising industry, fact-checkers, research, and civil society organizations delivered a strengthened Code of Practice on Disinformation following the Commission’s Guidance of May 2021. The Code is a first-of-its-kind tool through which relevant players in the industry agreed – for the first time in 2018 –
Read more →The Minister of Justice of North Macedonia initiated the proposal for establishing an expert body that will define the criteria for registering CSOs at a government session after the storm of reactions in public about the established associations in the country that bear disputed historical names, including Hitler’s collaborators. According to the minister, the expert
Read more →War, emergencies, the pandemic, and political turbulence significantly affected the environment for CSOs in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region in 2021. Their space to operate and possibilities for activism faced restrictions, both in law and in practice. The report analyses 11 key areas of civil society operation, such as freedom of association, participation, or access
Read more →The Regional Anti-corruption Initiative (RAI) has published a few user-friendly documents produced for the Higher Education sector and the Public Enterprises sector, intending to outline the sector-specific risks with selected examples of how the most prevalent risks can be successfully targeted and equip beneficiaries with the right tools and building their capacities on using them. The documents
Read more →In 2021, the European Commission tabled a proposal for a regulation on the transparency and targeting of political advertising, while some EU member states also try to incorporate their solutions into ongoing reforms of national electoral laws. In the proposed EU regulation, “political advertising” is defined to encompass electoral advertising or advertising coming from political
Read more →The report produced by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in cooperation with the Ministry of Information Society and the Administration of North Macedonia, determines the current situation with digital skills in the country. The report aims to assess the current supply and demand of digital skills in the country and develop a digital skills strategy
Read more →The Parliamentary Assembly of BiH missed the opportunity, especially with the obstruction of representatives/delegates from the Croatian National Assembly and Alliance of Independent Social Democrats to pass amendments to the Election Law on improving the integrity of the election process, as stated in the public address of the Declaration for the Constitutional Change of BiH.
Read more →North Macedonia’s Justice Ministry is proposing to criminalize the violation of freedom of opinion and expression as part of planned changes to the country’s criminal code. The proposed changes have been part of the new version of the criminal code, published on the National Electronic Register of Regulations, and now subjected to public consultation. For
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