October 27, 2025 – The Regional Civil Society Conference, “Resilient Voices: Western Balkans Civil Society in a Changing World,” organized by the Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN) and Partners Albania for Change and Development, issued a unified call for action to protect civic space and ensure long-term resilience across the region.
Bringing together over 150 leaders, policymakers, and donors, the conference confirmed that the essential contribution of civil society to democracy is being threatened by key challenges:
Shrinking Civic Space: Restrictive legislation, including “foreign-agent” initiatives and expansive anti-terrorism definitions, is increasingly used to constrain civic activity. This contributes to an atmosphere of constraint and self-censorship.
Funding Fragility: Abrupt donor withdrawal, such as the halt of USAID support, has created significant financial gaps. Public funding remains scarce or politicized.
New Legal Burdens: Future EU regulations, like the Anti-Money-Laundering (AML/CFT) package, risk imposing heavy compliance requirements on CSOs, potentially hindering fundraising and access to banking.
Speakers, including EU Ambassador H.E. Silvio Gonzato, reaffirmed that EU accession is a whole-of-society project—it requires active involvement from civil society, not just governments.
For civil society, this means:
Structured Dialogue: Utilizing mechanisms like the EESC’s Joint Consultative Committees to amplify the Western Balkan voice in shaping EU policies.
Policy Safeguards: Seizing the opportunity of the forthcoming EU Civil Society Strategy (2025) to position CSOs as genuine actors in democracy, rule of law, and human rights.
Financial Stability: Ensuring that domestic public funding acts as a stable resource , and that the new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-2034 ensures long-term financing mechanisms.
The message from Tirana is clear: Democratic reforms and integration processes cannot be sustainable without a protected civic space. BCSDN is committed to fostering the collaboration needed to translate this shared vision into resilient action on the ground. Participants were encouraged to contribute to a joint declaration guiding the next steps for the region’s CSOs.
An electronic version of the conference proceedings is available here.