News and updates from BCSDN and the region
A summit between the leaders of the European Union and the Western Balkans partners in Sofia on 17 May confirmed the European perspective of the region and set out a number of concrete actions to strengthen cooperation in the areas of connectivity, security and the rule of law. The summit and the resulting Sofia Declaration
Read more →Citizenship, Democracy and Culture in a digitalised Europe was the motto of the 2018 Civil Society Days, organised by the Liaison Group at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on 24 and 25 May in Brussels. In six workshops, participants discussed living together in a digital Europe in the future and concluded with the
Read more →This first thematic study of the Peace and Security series focuses on EU peacebuilding efforts in the Western Balkans. The study assesses the extent to which the Union has been able to transform and strengthen the region’s governance, economy and resilience. It is organised around three key inter-connected phases in EU post-conflict peacebuilding − stabilisation,
Read more →On 15 May, the Open Society Foundations (OSF), the international network founded by Hungarian-born financier George Soros to support civil society around the world, has officially announced the closure of its operations in the Hungarian capital. Faced with what it describes as an increasingly repressive political and legal environment in Hungary, the Open Society Foundations
Read more →Regional cooperation in the Western Balkans has demonstrated its viability in the last two decades. In the initial phase, international support was the key factor inducing the re-establishment of regional connections. Since the transfer of ownership from internationally-led structures towards the regionally owned ones began in 2008, the flourishing of regional initiatives, networks, task forces,
Read more →We live in a world of major geopolitical shifts and life-changing technological innovations. It’s fair to wonder, then, what our biggest hopes are for society in the coming decades. It’s certain that the world has become a better place, according to nearly every measure of human well-being, and yet there is a need to acknowledge
Read more →The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — the most comprehensive regulation on the protection of personal data that currently exists — is scheduled to take effect on May 25. While companies who serve customers in the EU have to adhere, there are numerous applications for civil society, journalists, academia, philanthropy, and the private
Read more →For the 9th consecutive year, BCSDN has analyzed how the European Commission (EC) has treated the issue of civil society development and assessed the progress made in the Enlargement countries within the Enlargement Strategy and Country Reports 2018 that have been published recently, setting the analysis against BCSDN’s Monitoring Matrix. With clear language and a
Read more →On 24 April in Skopje, the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC) presented the 2017 Report on Enabling Environment for Civil Society Development in Macedonia, based on the Monitoring Matrix for Civil Society Development. The 2017 report analyzes the legislation and its practice by looking closely into the basic legally guaranteed freedoms, the framework for
Read more →On 16 April, the European Fund for the Balkans marked its 10th anniversary by publishing this Declaration which calls both EU and WB to use the positive momentum regained in 2018 and build an alliance for the future of Europe by setting the ground for more credible, open and sincere relationship that would result in
Read more →Some of the most influential CSOs from Montenegro suggested to the European Commission to “seriously consider” the activation of the balance clause, that is, to freeze negotiations on Montenegro’s membership with the EU. A paper prepared by Institut Alternativa, Center for Civic Education, the Center for development of NGOs (CRNVO) and the Center for Monitoring
Read more →Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party signaled it could push on with legislation to crack down on organizations promoting migrant rights as soon as parliament reconvenes after Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s sweeping election victory on the 8th of April. A bill of the so-called “Stop Soros” package, submitted to parliament before the election, would impose a 25
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