The Future of EU Support to Civil Society – BCSDN Position on IPA III

The EU supports the reforms in the enlargement countries with financial and technical assistance, mainly through the framework of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA). As IPA II expires on 31 December 2020, in continuation of the accession support, a proposal for a new Regulation on IPA III for the period 2021-2027 is currently in preparation. BCSDN published its opinion on the IPA III, discussing how to make EU support to civil society more effective. The IPA III does not seem to acknowledge sufficiently that an enabling environment and free civic space is crucial for civil society. Therefore, an effective response to the shrinking of civic space could be provided through applying the newly introduced principle of performance to support civil society action. Read more here.

Source: BCSDN