News and updates from BCSDN and the region
At the London Summit of the Berlin Process that took place from 9-10 July 2018, representatives of the Civil Society Forum of the Western Balkans (CSF) presented 4 recommendations for the future of the Berlin Process: “additional progress” in rule of law to be included on top of the existing four goals of the Berlin
Read more →The Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC) together with BCSDN organized a conference on July 5th in Skopje “The United Nation Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), the integrity, transparency and the anticorruption preventive policies”. The conference was aimed to raise awareness and build capacities and knowledge among CSOs (but also institutions) to ensure better CSO involvement
Read more →Publish What You Fund has published the 2018 Aid Transparency Index, the only independent measure of aid transparency among the world’s major development agencies, which this year assessing 45 agencies. The 2018 results show overall positive improvements, with 93% of the Index organisations now publishing in the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) Standard, but still,
Read more →The survey, based on interviews and comments from organisations and activists, shows a general confidence of CSOs in the European Economic Area in the freedom of association, assembly and of expression which is particularly striking if compared to candidate countries in the European neighborhood. However, there is a widespread perception of lack of progress and
Read more →On 12 June, at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, Ambassador Miroslav Papa, Permanent Representative of Croatia to the Council of Europe, deposited the instrument of ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, by Croatia. The Croatian Parliament ratified the Convention on April 13, despite
Read more →Montenegrin journalists and civil rights activists have gathered in the capital, Podgorica, to protest against the proposed dismissal of the national public broadcaster’s director and editorial team. About 100 people gathered on 7 June in front of the RTCG’s headquarters, where the managing council was expected to vote on the proposal that critics say is
Read more →Between 29 May and 1 June, 40 AGNA members, including BCSDN’s Executive Director Ilina Neshikj, met in Georgia for the annual AGNA AGM. Members reviewed AGNA’s work over the past year and discussed upcoming opportunities. The AGNA network’s terms of reference were also revised, and three main topics were addressed: Network Engagement, Peer Capacity Strengthening
Read more →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,
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