The EU Guidelines for support to civil society in enlargement countries 2014 – 2020, and introduction of their monitoring in BiH were in focus of the conference hosted by the EU project for technical assistance to civil society organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina (TACSO BIH) in Sarajevo on 28 October 2015.

More than 60 participants, EU officials, representatives of state, entity and Brcko District governments, as well as international organizations and civil society in BiH commended the monitoring process of the EU Guidelines, and highlighted the importance of the reference standard measure of the national objectives addressed in the document.

Welcoming the participants of the Conference, the Secretary of the BiH Ministry of Justice, Željko Bogut said: ”With the adoption of the Reform Agenda, all levels of governments clearly confirm the path of Bosnia and Herzegovina towards the European Union. On this path civil society has a very important role, particularly through the promotion of EU values. As a constructive participant in civil dialogue in BiH, civil society can and should play a significant role in addressing the challenges we face on the way to the European Union.”

Massimo Mina, Head of Section for Social Development, Civil Society and Cross-Border Cooperation at the EU Delegation to BiH, said: ”Although not explicitly specified, a functional dialogue with civil society and involvement of citizens in the public policies making process, have de facto become one of the political criteria for a full membership in EU. Article 10 of the Treaty of Lisbon states that EU shall be based on the representative democracy and participative democracy, while Article 11 of the Treaty obliges the EU institutions to maintain a dialogue with the citizens and civil society.’’

The Conference participants assessed the changes in the environment and defined indicators of the EU Guidelines that can be monitored in the next two years in BiH. Based on the results of the Conference, the implementing partner TACSO VESTA will in future monitor changes in the environment, gather data and prepare adequate input for the annual EU Progress report.

Project TACSO 2 is part of the Instrument for the Civil Society Facility (CSF) which aims to strengthen civil society in the framework of participatory democracy and encourage the development of an enabling environment for civil society in the beneficiary countries of the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA).