Civil society has an extremely important role in achieving sustainable social and democratic change, but CSOs and civil movements in the Balkans, and even around Europe, still lack enough space in order to achieve this change. The debated Law on Freedom of Association in NGOs in Kosovo and the regressive legislation changes in Montenegro, GONGOs rising in Serbia and Poland, smear campaigns by media and politicians against civil society leaders and activists in Slovakia and Romania and elsewhere… All these phenomena contribute to what we call a ‘shrinking civic space’. Instead of securing the democratic checks and balances and letting citizens express their views through CSOs and spontaneous groups, many governments take the other direction – limiting the freedoms in public spheres. While regressive forces are trying to consolidate their partnerships and are identifying common “enemies”, CSOs and activists lack spaces for their work. However, by limiting the freedoms and spaces, governments face a growing resistance in Europe. Again, civil society activists and organizations are at the forefront to resist these dangerous restrictions of liberties and growing tensions within societies. Citizens keep mobilizing and fighting for the freedom of expression, the right to peacefully gather and to join forces through associations, movements and so on.

It is with these challenges in mind that this Balkan Civic Practices edition brings together professionals, academics and activists from the BCSDN and its partners in the region, to debate what can be done to promote civic space in the Western Balkan countries and further. The second Balkan Civic Practices edition shares stories of CSOs actions in times of shrinking civic space in the Balkans and the wider Europe. From joint action by building national and transnational, thematic and cross-sector alliances, to creating synergies between traditional civil society organizations and non-formal social movements, the contributions of this edition give valuable practical examples of successful actions towards promoting civic space and preventing its further shrinking, while also discussing innovative organizational development approaches centered around resilience, accountability and powerful narratives to empower civil society in this struggle. The aim is to inspire and learn from each other, to reaffirm the collective voice in the joint struggles and to encourage coalition-building across regions.

For more information, please visit: http://bcp.balkancsd.net/our-stories-of-resilience/

Gregor Virant, Former Minister of Public Administration of Slovenia, WeBER Advisory Council Member

During the accession process, WeBER can effectively complement the EU and particularly SIGMA work with a unique insight into the developments and improve public awareness of the importance of PAR. Also, it should to knock on the doors of the ministers and draw their attention to shortcomings. After the WB countries obtain membership in the EU and the external pressure and scrutiny over PAR will weaken, WeBER could become even more relevant as regards assessment of national public administrations.

Western Balkan countries appear to advance slowly towards the EU membership. What do you think are the main reasons for this? Do you believe this slow pace is a shared responsibility of the EU and the Western Balkans?

Yes, it is a shared responsibility. On one hand, there is still a lot of work for the WB countries to meet the standards for membership. On the other hand, the EU is overwhelmed with internal problems (illegal migration, the rise of populism, threats of trade wars) which has a demotivating effect to candidate countries and shifts the EU’s focus from enlargement to troublesome internal issues.

What are the biggest challenges for the Western Balkan countries in the public administration reform process and what are the common issues among the countries of the region?

 The main challenge is the lack of political will and commitment. If the prime minister and ministers are interested in a particular area of public administration reform, things advance very fast. Look at the administrative services and e-government in Macedonia 5-10 years ago, or at the same area currently in Serbia. On the other hand, ministers in some countries are still not interested in having highly competent senior civil servants, they value loyalty higher. There is a serious lack of government strategic planning and evidence-based policymaking. The political commitment would help to set up the basics, all the rest is easier. If there is no political commitment, copy-pasting perfect legislative solutions or sophisticated methodologies is to no avail.

How can civil society efficiently “fight” for more participation in the policymaking and EU accession processes?

By exercising positive pressure, showing the governments the mirror image, reaching out to the media with critical observations and above all by raising awareness of the general public that the fate of their countries is in their hands and that they have the right to demand good governance.

Could you share with us your experiences with the public administration reform process in Slovenia? What were the biggest obstacles during the process of reforms and what can Western Balkan countries learn from Slovenia’s experience?

There’s a good practice in the recruitment of top-managerial civil servants where we have found a good combination of neutral assessment of competences on one hand and political discretion to enable “chemistry” between the ministers and their top-level team in the ministry. We have also established a good and sustainable system of filtering administrative burden as a part of impact assessment in the process of government decision making.  We are also an example of how fast bureaucracy can rust if there is a lack of political commitment. In recent years things have deteriorated and people have noticed it.

In your view, what would be the greatest benefit of the WeBER project?

During the accession process, WeBER can effectively complement the EU and particularly SIGMA work with a unique insight into the developments and improve public awareness of the importance of PAR. Also, it should to knock on the doors of the ministers and draw their attention to shortcomings. After the WB countries obtain membership in the EU and the external pressure and scrutiny over PAR will weaken, WeBER could become even more relevant as regards assessment of national public administrations.

*This interview has been made as a part of the ninth issue of TEN Newsletter.

The biggest contribution and impact of the WeBER project relates to the fact that it has intensified the cooperation among a group of think tanks and civil society organisations in the Western Balkans. This cooperation has allowed the participating organisations to exchange experiences, especially through the WeBER Platform established during the project. The Platform has increased their role in the public administration reform area, both in their respective countries and in the region.

What are your impressions of the speed of the EU enlargement process in the Western Balkans, particularly after the EU Strategy for the WB and the Sofia and London Summits, as the WB governments still often feel a bit discouraged by the overall progress of the process?

The speed of the EU enlargement process in the Western Balkans has clearly slowed down in the last decade. Following the last rounds of EU widening and many years of internal crises since 2008, most national governments and public opinions have become more critical towards increasing the number of member states. However, in the course of the past year one can witness a new momentum. Whether this will actually lead to an acceleration of the accession process will depend on two key developments. First, on the willingness and ability of the accession countries to further advance political and economic reforms to meet the accession criteria. Second, on the political will and ability of the EU27 to reform the Union in key areas in order to sustainably overcome the so-called poly-crisis the EU and its members have witnessed. In other words, the Union’s internal attractiveness and effectiveness will to a large extent determine the readiness of governments and citizens to further expand towards the countries of the Western Balkans.

What are the biggest challenges that civil society in the EU faces today and what obstacles has the EPC been forced to overcome?

The biggest challenge that today’s civil societies are facing relate to the surge in authoritarian populism that is testing the basic foundations of our liberal democracies. The influence of political forces and movements advocating simplistic solutions to complex problems is expanding, with their political rhetoric and ideology framing or even dominating public discourse. Europe is at the risk of becoming more introverted, backward-looking, protectionist, intolerant, xenophobic, and discriminatory as well as more inclined to oppose globalisation, open trade, migration, heterogeneity, cultural diversity, and the principles of an open society. Albeit not confined to Europe, this threat is more fundamental for the European Union given that the EU is still much more vulnerable than its constituent parts. The EPC has early on acknowledged this worrisome development and has over the past years tried its best to raise awareness in Brussels and in the member states for this fundamental challenge. It has also worked on ideas how to move Europe forward through a set of concrete proposals reflecting the different interests and concerns of different member states and citizens.

Janis A. Emmanouilidis, Director of Studies of the European Policy Centre (EPC), Brussels

Your organisation closely cooperates with the Think for Europe Network (TEN), mostly by giving mentor support of a think tank with great experience. How do you see the future of the TEN network and how can the Network be further enhanced?

The Think for Europe Network (TEN) of think tanks and research centres in South East Europe is already a very successful initiative. It has managed to intensify regional cooperation in EU related policy research and intensified the links between think tanks and research centres in the Western Balkans with their counterparts in other parts of Europe. This has fostered the exchange of information between the members of the TEN network, enhanced their individual and collective expertise, allowed an exchange of best practices among themselves and with their peers in the EU, improved the quality and outreach of policy research, helped to develop and implement joint projects, and promoted national and transnational dialogues on different issues of common concern. These efforts are a strong basis to further intensify the capacity of civil society actors to have an impact on policy making at home as well as in Brussels and other EU capitals. The TEN network should use its combined strength to further enhance the presence of think tanks and research centres at the European level. This would not only enhance their individual and collective influence in the EU, it would also in return increase their ability to foster debates and improve policy-making processes at home, if actors on the ground are aware of their influence beyond national borders.

What would you single out to be the biggest contribution and impact of the WeBER project in the Western Balkan states? 

The biggest contribution and impact of the WeBER project relates to the fact that it has intensified the cooperation among a group of think tanks and civil society organisations (CSOs) in the Western Balkans. This cooperation has allowed the participating organisations to exchange experiences, especially through the WeBER Platform established during the project. The Platform has increased their role in the public administration reform (PAR)  area, both in their respective countries and in the region. WeBER Platform has allowed the participating partners to enhance their impact when it comes to PAR, as it gathers more than 180 CSOs from the region and serves as the venue for evidence-based dialogue between them, the government representatives, and international and regional organisations. Finally, the project has enabled think tanks from the TEN to collaborate and profit from the Brussels experience of the European Policy Centre. Likewise, the EPC also profited from the WeBER project given that it has allowed it to intensify its ties with peers in the Western Balkans and to further enhance its understanding of the situation in the applicant countries in South East Europe, which is important for the success of future rounds of EU enlargement.