News and updates from BCSDN and the region
The key for achieving the desired accountability during the implementation of the EU Economic and Investment Plan (EIP) might lay in the prospect of giving the right space and opportunity to specialized CSOs to concretely contribute to EIP’s good governance mechanism. The recommendation for inclusion of the civil sector in this process is stated in the
Read more →The new CIVICUS Monitor update on Slovenia alerts the worrisome circumstances and disabling environment in the country. The latest concerns include attempts to decrease access to funding for NGOs and the continuing obstruction of funds to Slovenia’s public press agency, STA, endangering its survival. Media and CSOs are found in a difficult situation after the
Read more →In addition to the pressures on the opposition, media, and civil activists after the 2016 coup in Turkey, the trend of targeting lawyers – defending the activists – increased. Since this period, the attacks on lawyers have become institutionalized and systematic. Lawyers are investigated, detained, and they no longer feel safe and free when defending
Read more →The new Twitter feature marks the profiles of the Serbian media houses that are connected and perform their activity in line with the politics of the Serbian government. The feature labels several Serbian media outlets, among which: Srpski Telegraf, Kurir, Informer, Politika, and three free-to-air channels – Happy, Prva TV and B92, RTV Pink’s online
Read more →The enthronement of the new Patriarch in Cetinje has led to interethnic tensions in Montenegro, resulting in days of mass, violent protests. On several occasions, fierce clashes broke out between protesters and police, followed by excessive use of force by police officers. Following the weekend filled with tensions and violent protests, multiple international community representatives
Read more →Monitoring and advocating against the global trend of increasing restriction of CSO activities in response to security and counter-terrorism and its burdens on civil society operations, ECNL and its partners have convened a global Expert Hub of different countries and activists on Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT). The Hub members build their coalitions,
Read more →Two surveys have been launched, calling for CSOs’ response on the Covid- 19 implications on civil society. One of them is part of a research conducted by Civil Society Europe, European Civic Forum, European Center for Not-for-Profit Law, and Institute for Public Affairs and commissioned by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). It aims
Read more →The report published by the International Press Institute (IPI) and several other organizations points to the media deterioration under the Slovenian Prime Minister during the country’s rotating presidency of the European Union. The report presents the progressive campaign of the ruling Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) to restructure the media landscape, and by the use of “new
Read more →In a special report, Reuters discovers that in some countries worldwide, including Serbia, the authorities’ legislation to satisfy FATF standards was used as a mechanism to investigate journalists, NGOs, and lawyers. In July 2020, Serbia’s financial intelligence unit sent a letter to local banks requesting private data on 50 NGOs and media outlets recognized for
Read more →The report published by the Center for Independent Journalism in Romania discusses the price of journalism and society when lacking credible sources of information. From the silence of the surveyed sources, intimidated to disclose information, to the lack of transparency of the public institutions and politicians attacking journalists for publishing the “inconvenient truth”, the report highlights the challenging
Read more →A report delivered by the Turkish freedom of expression campaign group presents the country’s complex internet censorship mechanism. It explains that Internet and social media censorship has increased over the past 15 years in Turkey, with authorities’ restraints of approximately 60,000 websites throughout the last year. The report asserts that more than 467,000 websites have
Read more →Following the release of worrying video footage from July 2020, the Bulgarian prosecution is investing the political violence during last year’s protest besides denying these cases in the first place. Before its official release on the media and YouTube, the video was presented in the Bulgarian Parliament, and four of the police officers that committed
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