European Commission Call for Proposals
Strengthening partnerships to advance social services provision and inclusive employment and skills in Albania/IPA 2019/ Phase II
Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance for Rural Development
The global objective of this Call for Proposals is: to contribute at strengthening municipal and central level capacities to establish and deliver social care services, inclusive employment and vocational education.
Priorities for this call for proposals are structured into two main lots:
LOT 1: Local level partnerships for strengthening the delivery of social care services
The main aim is to establish new or extend existing models of social care services, inclusive education and employability of groups at risk prioritized in the Local Social Plan of the municipality.
The grant scheme under Lot 1 will target the following municipalities: Gjirokaster, Vore, Cerrik, Librazhd, Kavaje, Kurbin, Kukes, Kruje, Pogradec, Korce, Kamez, Vlore, Elbasan, Durres.
LOT 2: Strengthen inclusive and active employment and skills models
The grant under this lot will focus on supporting inclusive employment and skills development for vulnerable groups with a special focus on: young people not in employment and not in education, young mothers not in employment, people with disabilities, and beneficiaries of the cash assistance scheme.
This Lot aims to provide support to 19 targeted municipalities and regional employment offices and vocational education schools/ centres operating: Prrenjas, Gjirokaster, Vore, Mallakaster, Cerrik, Librazhd, Shijak, Kavaje, Kurbin, Kukes, Kruje, Pogradec, Korce, Kamez, Vlore, Shkoder, Elbasan, Durres and Tirane.
The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 5,500,000
Open till 31/03/2023
Read more on the call HERE
Exchange of experience with organizations from the region on the establishment and development of self-regulatory and accountable mechanisms for the non-profit sector
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The work of the Center for the Promotion of the Code of Standards in the region continues as a self-regulatory mechanism for increasing the transparency, accountability and good governance of the non-profit sector in order to increase the effectiveness of CSOs activities and the trust of stakeholders. Under the coordination of the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation – MCIC, a peer to peer virtual event was held on May 20 with the participation of 30 organizations from Northern Macedonia, part of the informal platform for transparency and accountability.
The purpose of the meeting was to share the Albanian experience in drafting the Code of Standards for CSOs, and to learn lessons in the framework of collecting suggestions and recommendations for drafting a document on the regulatory standards of CSO activities part of the platform informal. The National Resource Centre for Civil Society in Albania was represented by Ms. Arjola Agolli, Program Director at Partners Albania and Manager of the Center, who shared and informed the participants on the stages of the process of drafting and developing the Code of Standards, cooperation within the sector to establish a self-regulatory mechanism, selected forms for its implementation, structures as well as the tool designed to assess compliance with sector standards such as the Self-Assessment Questionnaire Framework of the Code of Standards. She also brought to the attention of the participants that the Code of Standards for CSOs in Albania is a good governance practice based on global and regional experience on best practices of social standards such as the Global Accountability Standard and the Balkan Civil Society Development Network.
During her speech Ms. Ariola Agolli, Manager at NRC highlighted the need for inclusiveness and cooperation within the sector to establish such self-regulatory mechanisms, and briefly presented the structure and content of the Code and the Self-Assessment Framework which contains a set of verifiable indicators for compliance with each of the standards.
Other meetings will be organized in order to strengthen regional cooperation in promoting self-regulatory and accountable mechanisms for the non-profit sector in both countries.
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For the second year in a row the CSW returns in Albania
Civil Society Week (CSW) is a national annual thematic activity, that includes a series of events and dedicated space to the work and promotion of the activity of civil society organizations and activists across the country.
With a series of events held by civil society organisations across the country, between 29 May-3 June 2023, Civil Society Week 2023 will provide opportunities for networking and inter-institutional dialogue on important issues for the sector and beyond.
This year theme is “Skills for all: to learn, work and engage” following the European Commission decision to make SKILLS as an overarching theme for the European Year 2023. We invite all organisations, networks of organisations, and civil society activists to participate in this event and make Civil Society Week a part of their activities all over the country.
For more, read here the Information Brochure of the Week.
For more on last year’s event, find here the Summary of Civil Society Week 2022!
HAVE YOUR SAY IN PREPARING IPA III!
CONSULTATION OF CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS IN THE PREPARATION OF THE INSTRUMENT FOR PRE-ACCESSION ASSISTANCE (IPA III)
Important notice for non-profit organizations – Registration of beneficiary owners!!!
Pursuant to Law no. 112/2020 and DCM no. 1088, dated 24.12.2020 , we bring to your attention that any existing reporting entity, non-profit organization, registered with the Court and tax authorities and identified with the NIPT, must register the beneficiary owner/owners in the Register of Beneficiary Owners (RPP).
According to Article 15 of the Law, the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the National Agency for the Information Society will establish the Register of Beneficiary Owners no later than 31.1.2021.
According to this Article, existing reporting entities must register the data required by this law for their beneficiary owners no later than 60 calendar days from the creation of the register.
The registration will have to be done with an application by the authorized person (legal representative) to represent your subject, through the service “registration of the beneficial owner”, in the unique portal of government services e-albania.
https://e-albania.al/eAlbaniaServices/UseService.aspx?service_code=14519.
For more information about registering in the RPP, process steps and required documents as follows:
How is the owner/beneficiary registered in the Register of Beneficiary Owners (RPP)?
– The authorized person after being electronically identified in e-Albania must choose the type of registration he will do (initial registration and/or updating or changing the data for the beneficiary owners) and then the relevant application form will be displayed and completed.
– In the application, the necessary accompanying documentation must be attached, such as: the identification document of the individual registered as beneficial owner and the extract of your subject; the extract of the legal entity that is owned by the registered individual and is the founder of your entity, the statute / internal acts of the non-profit organization; contract or any other document proving that the registered individual is the beneficial owner of your entity.
– The documentation deposited in the Register must be drafted no later than 30 calendar days from the date of initial registration of the beneficial owner and translated into Albanian. Private acts and official documents of foreign jurisdictions must be legalized.
– The application and accompanying documentation is confirmed to be accurate by electronic means that guarantee the authenticity of the origin and the inviolability of the content of the documents in electronic form, at least through the advanced electronic signature of the application form. NBC, reviews the application within two working days, according to the requirements of the DCM, after verification of which decides its approval or rejection, a decision which is published in the RPP and also notified via e-mail declared by each non-profit organization, in e -albania.
– The application will be reviewed by the NBC no later than 2 working days from the receipt of the application by the reporting entities. The decision to approve or reject the application will be notified through publication in the Register and will be sent to the authorized person via email.
What information should be recorded?
– The information to be recorded consists of (i) data on the reporting entity (NUIS; name), (ii) mandatory data on the beneficial owner (identification data; date of designation of the individual as beneficial owner; type and percentage of ownership). For beneficial owners who are Albanian citizens the required data are name, surname, identification number, date of birth, citizenship, address of permanent residence. In addition to the above information, foreign nationals must also declare their passport number, date of issue and date of passport expiration.
How should the beneficial owner / s be identified?
You should keep in mind that the beneficial owner of non-profit organizations, which includes foundations, associations, centers, as well as branches of non-profit organizations, is:
– The founder or
– legal representative or
– the individual who exercises the ultimate effective control over the administration and control of non-profit organizations.
The last effective control is the relationship in which a person:
– determines the decisions taken by the non-profit organization;
– controls in any way the election, appointment and removal of most of the decision-making bodies and/or executive bodies of the non-profit organization.
By control, meanwhile, is meant, control or ownership in a legal person, trust or other legal arrangements.
In the event that control is exercised through a trust, you must identify and register as a beneficial owner:
– The Creator;
– supervisor/trustee;
– counsel, if any, and
– beneficiaries or when the persons benefiting from the legal agreement or entity have not yet been identified, the class of persons for whose main interest the legal agreement or entity is established or operates;
– or any other individual exercising ultimate control over the trust through direct or indirect ownership or other means.
CAREFUL! Failure to register the data for the beneficiary owner within the deadline specified in Article 15 of this law mentioned above, is punishable by a fine in the amount of 500,000 (five hundred thousand) ALL.
For further clarifications you can write to us at info@resourcecentre.al
Information and Assistance Sessions on the procedure of registration of NPOs according to the law “On the register of beneficiary owners”
From January 2021, the law “On the register of beneficiary owners” came into force. The National Resource Centre published and widely distributed the notice in the sector, along with some guidelines for the registration procedure. Based on numerous requests for information addressed to the Center, from organizations across the country, the Center prepared and shared specific information on a number of issues on which there was uncertainty.
Subsequently, in response to the high interest from civil society organizations, the Resource Centre and Partners Albania organized an information session on the procedure of registration of beneficial owners. The identification of the owner, the application procedure for registration, the necessary documents, the electronic signature and the deadlines were the main issues addressed during the information session. For more, follow the session HERE!
About 140 CSO representatives have received information and answers to questions in real-time, and have been individually assisted so far on specific issues related to the registration procedure. Read more
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Introductory and informative meeting between civil society representatives and the new Chair of the Committee on Legal Affairs, Public Administration and Civil Human Rights
On October 1st, Ms. Klotilda Bushka, in the capacity of Chairwoman of the Committee on Legal Affairs, Public Administration and Human Rights, in the framework of cooperation with civil society, organized an informative meeting with organizations that cooperate with the Committee on Legal Affairs, Public Administration and Human Rights, part of the electronic register of civil society in the premises of the Assembly.
In addition to acquainting and introducing the participants to the spaces that the Assembly provides to civil society, the concrete mechanisms of their involvement in this process and the innovations that this legislature will bring, the Chairperson of the Committee requested closer cooperation between the parties seeking CSO commitment in improving legislation. On behalf of the commission, Ms. Bushka expressed his commitment for continuous and comprehensive cooperation with civil society. For more
Introductory meeting for the annual report of the Monitoring Matrix on the Enabling Environment for Civil Society Development, Country Report for Albania 2020
on the findings and recommendations, read the full Report here
Joint Declaration of the participants in the EU Civil Society Forum for Western Balkans and Turkey
We, the representatives of civil society organizations and activists from the Western Balkans and Turkey, gathered at the EU Civil Society Forum held on 11-13 June 2024, in Belgrade, Serbia, […]
Launching of the National Resource Centre for Civil Society in Albania
On April 5th, 2019, Partners Albania launched the National Resource Centre for Civil Society in Albania, a platform for civil society at the national level to support its capacity building, policy dialogue and advocacy efforts for an enabling environment.National Resource Centre for Civil Society in Albania is an initiative of Partners Albania, funded by the European Union, and implemented in partnership with the Albanian Center for Population and Development (ACPD) and the European Movement in Albania (EMA).
The ultimate goal of NRC is to have a civil society sector, which is an effective, accountable and independent actor in the democratization and integration processes of Albania towards European Union.
The event was organized with the special participation of His Excellency Mr. Luigi Soreca, Ambassador of the European Union to Albania and Ms. Genoveva Ruiz-Calavera, Director of DG NEAR for the Western Balkans.
In her speech Ms. Calavera emphasized that “good governance is a key political requirement for a country aspiring to join the EU family and good governance is also about the level of civil society engagement and structured participation in dialogues on reforms”.
Moreover, Ms. Calavera highlighted the crucial role played by civil society in Albania during the last 3 decades generating changes specifically to pushing forward the justice reform. Ms. Calavera stressed the importance that the involved of all interested partners in policy-making has for the European Union and the strengthening of civil society as a valuable asset in the protection of democracy, emphasizing the importance of the establishment of the National Resource Centre for Civil Society and the its provision of services in this framework.
In her greeting speech, Ms.Juliana Hoxha, PA Director, provided a brief overview of the current situation of the civil society sector, highlighting a number of issues on the legal and fiscal framework, lack of dialogue and cooperation between representative structures of the civil society and the governing institutions, etc.
Presentation of the main services and activities of the National Resource Centre for Civil Society in Albania was made by Mrs. Arjola Agolli, PA Director of Programs and Manager of the Resource Centre.
The activity was attended by representatives of the civil society from all over the country, diplomatic bodies in Albania, donor and media.
Conceived as a World Café, the event provided a forum for discussion among all participating stakeholders, on the challenges of creating an enabling environment for CSOs. Issues and challenges of the civil society sector inclusion in policy and decision-making, the enabling legal environment and the provision of services to citizens and public institutions by the civil society sector as a social partner, were at the focus of the discussion. The recommendations and suggestions provided by this Forum, will be shared through the National Resource Center for Civil Society at national, regional and wider level with all actors involved in creating an enabling environment for CSOs.
