What's New

News and updates from BCSDN and the region

EU CSOs Open letter: A Slide Away from Better Regulation, Not Progress Towards it

More than 100 CSOs have addressed an open letter to the European Commission, expressing concern that proposed changes to the Better Regulation framework risk weakening evidence-based policymaking, transparency and democratic participation. The signatories argue that the reforms would disproportionately prioritize business interests by expanding urgency procedures, narrowing impact assessments, increasing reliance on targeted consultations and

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BiH: Kaja Kallas Reaffirms EU Support While Urging Reform Momentum

During her visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kaja Kallas, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, reaffirmed that the country’s stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity are of strategic importance to the European Union. Meeting with members of the Presidency and political leaders, she stressed that sustained reforms remain the fastest path towards

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North Macedonia: Civil Society Calls for Stronger Role in Reform and Growth Facility Monitoring

During the second meeting of the Monitoring Committee for the Reform and Growth Facility (RGF), stakeholders reviewed progress in implementing North Macedonia’s Reform Agenda and discussed ways to strengthen oversight of the reform process. Contributing to the discussion, the European Policy Institute (EPI) highlighted the importance of ensuring structured, transparent, and meaningful participation of CSOs

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Serbia: SafeJournalists Warns Against Official and Media Targeting of Journalists and Researchers

The SafeJournalists Network has expressed concern over the targeting of researcher Getoarbe Mulliqi and journalist and academic Dinko Gruhonjić following the publication of their analysis on media reporting about dealing with the past in the Western Balkans. According to the Network, the authors were subjected to a smear campaign initiated by a Serbian tabloid, using

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Slovenia: Most Draft Legislation Still Bypasses Full Public Consultation

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

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New Report Highlights Collective Care as Key to Sustaining Feminist and LGBTQI+ Movements in the Western Balkans and South Caucasus

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

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Albania: Civil Society and Media Organisations Condemn Targeting of BIRN Albania Director

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

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Civil Society Leader to EU: ‘Stop the Witch Hunt on NGOs Before It’s Too Late for Democracy’

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

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Slovenia’s NGO Fund Abolition Debate Offers a Regional Lesson

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

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Türkiye: Proposed Judicial Package Raises Concerns over LGBTI+ Rights and Freedoms

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

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