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“HAVE YOUR SAY IN PREPARING IPA III”Consultation with civil society organizations in Albania on IPA III preparation

Following the call of European Commission for participation of civil society organizations in the process of preparation of IPA III, National Resource Centre for Civil Society in Albania widely promoted the call and organized a consultation process with CSOs on the IPA III programming framework and process. CSOs provided suggestions in relation to thematic priorities as well as on the process of preparation and implementation of IPA III.

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“Strengthening accountability, transparency and sustainability of civil society organizations People2People Event – Code of Standards for CSOs”

On September 26, 2019, Partners Albania for Change and Development and The National Resource Centre for Civil Society in Albania organized in Tirana a People2People Event on “Strengthening accountability, transparency and sustainability of civil society organizations – Code of Standards for CSOs”. Guest speakers from organizations in the Western Balkans region, as well as representatives from international organizations, shared their experience at the regional and global level, on practices and mechanisms which improve civil society functioning standard.

Creating path of a self-regulating mechanism and increasing the CSOs functioning standard and their transparency were the focus of this event that brought together about 55 representatives of CSOs, international agencies and donors in Albania.

Ms. Juli Hoxha, Director of Partners Albania, Ms. Rocio Moreno Lopez, Director of Accountable Now, Ms. Ilina Neshikj, Executive Director of #BCSDN Network and Ms. Aleksandra Savevska, Project Manager at MCIC were the main speakers at this event, bringing a variety of experiences, mechanism used and local, regional and international perspectives to this regard.

This event was the first of a various of meetings and other activities that National Resource Centre will organize in the forthcoming period aiming to contribute to the increase of accountability and transparency of civil society sector.

2023 Report on Albania

The European Commission adopted its 2023 Enlargement Package, that provides a detailed assessment of the state of play and the progress made by Albania on their respective paths towards the EU, with a particular focus on implementing fundamental reforms, as well as clear guidance on the reform priorities ahead.

In the 2023 Report on Albania it is mentioned that the role of civil society, including in the EU accession negotiation process, should be further strengthened. The structures in place for consulting civil society need to be reinforced and become fully operational. The report also states that there has been no progress in implementing the roadmap on an enabling environment for civil society, as well as the amendments made to the 2014 VAT Law that allow for tax exemptions instead of tax refunds have not been implemented yet.

Read here the full report.

8th Western Balkans Civil Society Forum

Addressing issues on the draft Law “On the Registration of Non-Profit Organizations”

Following the facilitation of the consultation process with the sector on the Draft Law “On the Registration of Non-Profit Organizations”, the National Resource Centre for Civil Society in Albania organized an online meeting with donors and representatives of international institutions in the country. The meeting was held also in response to the high interest of these institutions to know more on the draft law, the concerns of civil society organizations and recommendations with this regard. They expressed their support to CSOs to address further this issue, considering the impact it may have on the enabling environment of civil society in Albania. The Draft Law is in procedure at the Parliament.

Despite that, as part of the consultation process with the Ministry of Justice, many issues of concerns were raised by civil society organizations, unfortunately, only a small part of the suggestions (15% of them) were taken into consideration, in this second draft published in the parliament website. In this situation and following the meeting, the group of NPOs addressed to the representatives of the Albanian Parliament a request to organize a hearing session with representatives of civil society organizations on the draft law.

This session will serve to present all the identified issues, their reserves and suggestions of the sector as well as to create opportunities for the establishment of continuous communication bridges in order for all these problems and suggestions to be subject of a legitimate parliamentary debate, giving of reciprocal arguments and based on international standards and good practices. The request was accepted by the Assembly and in the following days we expect the organization of the hearing.

Announcement – The deadline for registration of the beneficiary owner is extended until June 30

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Announcement! The deadline for registration of the beneficiary owner is extended until June 30

Yesterday, the Council of Ministers approved the normative draft law “On some additions and amendments to the Law No. 112/2020” On the register of beneficial owner “.

In order to fulfill the legal obligations provided in the law on the register of beneficiary owner, the deadline for fulfilling this obligation has been extended from March 31 to June 30, 2021.

Another change brought by the normative act is the extension of the deadline in case of changes in the data of the beneficial owners of reporting entities, registration which can already be done within 90 days from the date of the actual change and not 30 days as provided by law.

The Resource Center in the last two months has organized a series of information sessions and has assisted through its offices in Tirana, Shkodra and Vlora over 80 organizations for the registration process.

For more: https://kryeministria.al/newsroom/vendime-te-miratuara-ne-mbledhjen-e-keshillit-te-ministrave-date-25-mars-2021/[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

BCSDN Annual Background Analysis: WBT Civil Society in the New Geopolitical Reality

For the 13th consecutive time, Balkan Civil Society Development Network has prepared an analysis of the annual European Commission Enlargement Package 2022, assessing the progress made in the area of civil society development and dialogue with public institutions in Enlargement countries against the Monitoring Matrix on Enabling Environment for Civil Society Development. Read more

BCSDN Background Analysis of the European Commission Enlargement Package 2021

BCSDN has prepared an analysis of the annual European Commission Enlargement Package, assessing the progress made in the area of civil society development and dialogue with public institutions in Enlargement countries. The background analysis is set against BCSDN’s Monitoring Matrix on Enabling Environment for Civil Society Development.

According to the analyse, the detailed reports aim to present “a factual and fair assessment as well as a clear roadmap to accelerate and deepen reforms”. However, at times, the EC has presented a bleak assessment or omitted developments that are vital for civil society and its development. Even in cases where local CSOs have been vigorous in their advocacy efforts and public reactions on both national and international level, their concerns seem to have not been heard by the EU Commission.” Read the full analyses

BCSDN reaction to the DG NEAR consultations on the IPA CSF Regional Call

In relation to the consultations on the first regional call of the IPA Civil Society Facility (CSF) and Media Programme 2021-2023, published on 4 January 2022 on the TACSO website on behalf of the DG NEAR, Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN) has submitted its input in the online form provided. However, acknowledging the limited space for contribution both in terms of time available and structure of the survey itself, with this reaction, we hope to give additional feedback on the regional Call for Proposals. Moreover, we would like to express serious concerns over the effectiveness and credibility of these consultations.

In times of declining freedoms, growing constraints to civil society operations in the enlargement countries, and continuous shrinking of the civic space for several years, confirmed by the most influential reports on the state of democracy, as well as the EC reports themselves, the highest priority of the regional call should have been supporting CSOs in protecting civic space and countering back democratic relapse. Unfortunately – and unexpectedly – this regional call does not address this priority at all, nor focuses on a democracy agenda. The IPA CSF should firmly support a more enabling environment for civil society development – which encompasses not only the basic freedoms but also CSOs’ financial viability and sustainability, as well as cooperation with the public institutions – as a precondition for the existence of a strong civil society able to contribute in the promotion of the rule of law and democratic principles, fighting back the negative trends.

The EU should put a stronger focus on core and long-term support for CSOs rather than short-term project support. For years, CSOs have been advocating for the need to consider long-term investments in civil society through more operational grants and more flexible support for enhancing regional cooperation. Support to regional networks would enable the creation and sustainability of regional platforms for solidarity and collaboration among CSOs while bringing new momentum to the post-pandemic cooperation in the region and going hand in hand with the efforts for regional integration. This way, instead of engaging costly international consultancies or intermediaries, the EU would support the work of CSOs grounded in knowledge of the local needs and challenges, committed to the long-term positive development of their societies. Core/operational support will allow CSOs to more efficiently pursue their core missions, instead of responding to calls for proposals with predetermined priorities.

Finally, we want to remind the EU and its implementing partners of the good practices of public consultations. The policy dialogue between the EU and the civil society needs to be a structured process with clear rules and procedures for regular and inclusive consultations, for which there is proper preparation and representation, as well as timely feedback and exchange of inputs. Unfortunately, civil society in the region has noted a worrying lack of opportunities to participate in timely consultations both on national and regional levels, as well as limited access to information throughout the process. Likewise, CSOs have noted the lack of effectiveness of these consultations, considering the lack of reflection of our recurrent opinions and feedback on the IPA programming. At this stage, when the priorities and the budgets are already set, these consultations – open for only ten days in the middle of national holidays throughout the region – seem far from being genuine and are contrary to what an inclusive dialogue with civil society should look like.

We hope the EU will show better recognition and consideration of the needs, positions, and – even more so – the value of CSOs in the region, and start setting an example to the Western Balkan governments on what enabling meaningful participation of CSOs means. CSOs are the EUs strongest partner in promoting the EU values and the accession process. Highlighting the most recent ECA findings, it seems the EU’s best chance not to lose its credibility is to start relying more on CSOs as partners in the socio-economic development of the enlargement countries, boosting its support to independent civil society through the IPA funding.

Call for applications for the “NPO ACADEMY 2023”

NPOs Academy is an annual program, implemented by the Partners Albania, which contributes to enhancement of capacities of NPO executives and managers regarding organizational development and management, financial sustainability, advocacy for common interest issues, strengthening of inter-sector cooperation etc. Since 2015, year in which the program was first launched, over 150 representatives of Albanian NPOs, with a wide geographic, sectorial and gender representation coverage, gained knowledge and skills regarding effective management of their organizations in order to assist their stakeholders and wide public.

The purpose of the NPO Academy is to create the next generations of professional and committed NPOs executives who will become change actors to contribute in the development of Albanian society.

The NPOs Academy 2023 is organized by the National Resource Centre for Civil Society in Albania, a project financed by European Union, implemented by Partners Albania for Change and Development in partnership with Albanian Centre for Population and Development and European Movement in Albania under the component of building and strengthening NPOs capacities in Albania.

We encourage applying in the Academy executives of Albanian NPOs in the position of the Director, Program Manager and Chairpersons of the Board/Assembly, who aim the enhancement of capacities and their professional development in the sector, to build effective organizations serving the public and interest groups.

Please read the Brochure to know more about the program, criteria and application process.

The deadline for submission of the Application is 8^th February 2023!

In case of question or further information, please contact us at info@resourcecentre.al