News and updates from BCSDN and the region
‘Shrinking civil space’ was one of the new terms we all had to learn in the past half-decade. Threats to the free, independent and autonomous operation and indeed to the sheer existence of CSOs is by now not something that only happens in faraway, exotic countries with little or no democratic traditions, but occurs within
Read more →The highlights of the document include clustering the negotiating chapters in thematic areas, the possibility for rewarding the reforms with more funding and phasing-in of candidates to individual policies, but also sanctioning lack of progress by putting the negotiations on hold in certain areas, or in the most serious cases, their overall suspension. The Commission
Read more →Seven of the leading Serbian think tanks and CSOs have joined the discussion on how to best reform the EU enlargement process in anticipation of the European Commission’s proposal this week by publishing their own set of recommendations to EU institutions in a document titled: “Integrating the Western Balkans: Completing Future Europe”. The organizations have
Read more →The Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) is a financing instrument of the European Union, through which the EU supports reforms in the Enlargement region. Currently, the European Commission is working on the preparation of IPA III based on the lessons-learned during IPA and IPA II implementation and is consulting the relevant stakeholders, including CSOs. Participating
Read more →The second draft blueprint for the Conference advocates both a strong citizens’ and representative dimension and aims to closely link the two at the national and transnational level. The blueprint includes: Transnational Citizens’ Panels, which will prepare thematic questionnaires that will function as a starting point for the thematic discussions at both the national and transnational
Read more →The Guidelines for EU support to civil society in enlargement countries, 2014- 2020, have aimed to support and encourage enlargement countries to create legislation conducive for civil society, promote the involvement of civil society in the pre-accession process, and provide a framework for monitoring and evaluation of the results achieved with the EU assistance. Providing
Read more →Ahead of the commencement of the announced Conference on the Future of Europe, BCSDN provides its opinion and offers a proposal on the role and participation of the Western Balkan citizens and civil society in the forthcoming discussions. Considering the critical and uncertain momentum for the EU, enabling a space for citizens to deliberate and
Read more →European Parliament believes that Conference on the Future of Europe should seeks ways of involving representatives of the EU candidate countries in discussions. This is stated in a resolution setting out the vision of this institution for the upcoming Conference. The resolution was adopted with 494 votes for, 147 against and 49 abstentions. People of
Read more →Croatian CSOs, gathered in the informal network Forum 2021, through in-person consultations in five cities, as well as online consultations, to come to an agreement on the priorities for the Presidency of the Council of the EU from January to June 2020. They are cognizant that the Presidency of the Council of the EU presents
Read more →Three decades since the beginning of democratization processes, the Western Balkan countries have built a democratic façade by holding elections, by promulgating legal acts guaranteeing freedom of expression, or by constitutionally declaring a strict system of checks and balances. In reality, however, political elites rely on informal structures, clientelism, and control of the media to
Read more →Rendir APP is a self-assessment tool designed to improve CSO accountability. The Аpp helps CSOs identify their current strengths and it provides recommendations that the organizations can implement to improve the areas identified as weakest. The Global Standard for CSO Accountability includes 12 aspirational commitments: they focus not only in what organizations currently do, but
Read more →12 European CSOs unveiled their set of recommendations for a successful Conference on the Future of Europe. The recommendations emerged as outcome of a series of brainstorming sessions between European CSOs held in autumn 2019. The CSOs’ common key recommendations for the Conference on the Future of Europe are: an open mandate for the Conference;
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