“We acknowledge the enormously important and significant role of the civil society and media that you are playing in the country, and we want you to help us advance in the key reforms. We want to promote better democratization, adherence to fundamental rights, international standards, good governance, above all, rule of law and the fight against corruption” stated Steffen Hudolin, Head of Cooperation in the Delegation of the European Union at the online consultation held on 3rd April 2025. The event was attended by more than 80 representatives of civil society organisations (CSOs), who had the opportunity to discuss the priorities and other specifics of the next calls for proposals programmed under the IPA III Civil Society Facility and Media Programme 2024-2025.
Mr. Hudolin pointed out that significant results are expected from the current and future activities, and that it will be essential to monitor and strengthen partnerships – both with domestic CSOs and national institutions, as well as with regional and European partners. In this way, the Western Balkan countries that share the same reform agenda will be able to exchange experiences and good practices with each other.
“The EU remains a strong and reliable partner on this path,” stressed Mr. Hudolin, encouraging the participants to view the calls for proposals that will be announced in the coming weeks, and to actively engage with their own proposals and applications.
Irena Ivanova, Task Manager for civil society at the Delegation of the European Union in Skopje, provided more detailed information on the available financial resources for the next calls for proposals, as well as the results of the online questionnaire for determining the priorities and other specifics of the calls for proposals under the IPA III Civil Society Facility and Media Programme 2024-2025. The programming is based on two key documents: the Guidelines for EU Support to Civil Society in the Enlargement Region, 2021-2027; and the Government Strategy for Cooperation with the Civil Society 2022-2024.
In the area of support for CSOs for their systematic participation in the EU accession processes and negotiations, CSOs assessed the Reform Agenda and the Growth Plan as the highest priority, followed by EU accession and negotiations and good neighbourhood relations. It was emphasized that the successful implementation of activities should be based on networking and cooperation, including establishing partnerships with organisations and other relevant stakeholders from EU Member States. The area of rule of law and the fight against corruption was assessed as the highest priority for action grants, followed by freedom of expression and media, democracy, elections and good governance. Ms. Ivanova also emphasised the importance of transparency and accountability for increased legitimacy and credibility of civil society organisations.
In the second part of the consultations, CSOs had the opportunity to share their ideas and ask questions. The questions mainly were related to technical aspects of the calls for action and operating grants. The suggestions given for priority areas of the calls for proposals confirmed the results of the already conducted survey with CSOs.
The open call for action grants will be published in April, while the call for operating grants is expected to be published in May 2025.
The event was organised within the project “EU Support to the Civil Society Resource Centre – Phase 2”, funded by the European Union, and implemented by the National Civil Society Development Foundation Civic Resource Centre, the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation (MCIC), Media Plus, Shtip and the Association for Democratic Initiatives – ADI, Gostivar.
