News and updates from BCSDN and the region
The position of human rights defenders (HRDs) in the Western Balkans is increasingly precarious. Across the region, HRDs and organizations, as well as independent media outlets, are prone to intimidation, threats, smear campaigns, digital and physical attacks, and an overall disregard by national authorities. While the region shares several common features (sluggish integration, weak rule
Read more →An increasing number of EU officials and institutions is posing questions in regard to the effectiveness of regional organizations and initiatives in the WB in times when EU member states are engaging in something that might end in major overhaul of the accession process. The authors of the paper contribute to the overall debate by
Read more →The policy brief zooms precisely on this “executive bias” – the focus of the region’s EU integration process based largely on dialogue between elected governments, with insufficient involvement of parliaments and wider society. It contends that meeting membership criteria and securing the irreversibility of reforms post-accession is only possible if the ownership of reforms in
Read more →The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) published the 22nd edition of their Civil Society Organization Sustainability Index (CSOSI) for Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia, covering developments in 24 countries in the region during calendar year 2018. BCSDN has partnered with USAID and FHI 360 to produce the CSOSI for Macedonia, examining the
Read more →The report, based on the Global State of Democracy (GSoD) Indices, an index produced by International IDEA aims to inform the global democracy debate with evidence and data and provide a nuanced analysis of how opportunities and challenges to democracy play out in different ways around the world, shaped by regional and country contexts. The
Read more →The CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE) and the Task Team on CSO Development Effectiveness and Enabling Environment held a joint session on Inclusive Development Partnerships amid Shrinking Civic Spaces: Can CSOs be both watchdogs and partners of governments? on inclusive development partnerships at the Stockholm Civil Society Days 2019, happening on November 19, 2019.
Read more →The new BiEPAG brief offers recommendations on Overcoming the enlargement deadlock: An action plan for the incoming EU enlargement policy appears to have reached a deadlock. Following years of stagnation and relative neglect, the EU Commission’s attempts in 2018 to reinvigorate the EU’s engagement with the Western Balkans and to provide a credible enlargement perspective
Read more →People and countries across the globe have unequal access to political decision-making, often resulting in discriminatory laws, symbols or policies and shrinking civil society space. Reducing inequalities is a complex issue that demands a systemic that looks beyond traditional development cooperation to address the other EU and Member States’ policies that have a significant impact
Read more →Based on the framework of the Monitoring Matrix for Enabling Environment for Civil Society Development, BCSDN published a Regional Report on the trends in the enabling environment for civil society development in enlargement countries. With updates from the BCSDN members, the report aims to fill the information gap regarding the developments in the civil society
Read more →USAID, FHI 360 and ICNL have published the 2018 edition of the Civil Society Organization Sustainability Index (CSOSI) for Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia. The twenty-second edition of the CSO Sustainability Index covers developments in what regards civic space throughout the year 2018 in 24 countries in the region. BCSDN has implemented the Index
Read more →Ahead of Croatia’s presidency of the Council of the European Union, GONG issued recommendations for effective advocacy for the priorities identified by CSOs from Croatia gathered in the informal Network Forum 2020. The EU Council Presidency opens up several opportunities to enhance the dialogue between the Croatian public administration and CSOs on European public policies.
Read more →Due to the fact that the EESC considers it essential to monitor the development of fundamental rights and the rule of law in Europe in a comprehensive way, the FRRL Group decided from the very outset to visit all the EU Member States. Five country visits took place in Romania, Poland, Hungary, Austria and France.
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