Tag: South East Europe

EU 2018 Enlargement Strategy Paper and Country Reports

Posted on by Milutin

The European Commission adopted and published its annual Enlargement Package for the West Balkans and Turkey, including seven country reports , assessing the implementation of the European Union’s enlargement policy.

The Commission also published the Strategy Paper, which indicates that addressing reforms in the area of the rule of law, fundamental rights and good governance remains the most pressing issue for the enlargement countries and includes conclusions and recommendations for each of the country.

The Commission recommended that the negotiations be opened with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Albania, in light of the progress achieved, maintaining and deepening the current reform momentum. These are great news for the two SEE countries and their people.

The current enlargement agenda covers the partners of the Western Balkans and Turkey. Accession negotiations have been opened with candidate countries Montenegro (2012), Serbia (2014), Turkey (2005). Bosnia and Herzegovina (application to join the EU submitted in February 2016) and Kosovo* (Stabilisation and Association Agreement entered into force in April 2016) are potential candidates.

We have extracted segments related to drugs from each of the country reports and packed them in one document. It is a pity to see that almost exclusively, except some references to drug abuse prevention and harm reduction in Chapter 28: Consumer and health protection, the reports deal only with law enforcement related to drugs.

The document we prepared is downloadable following this link>>>

Full versions of the Commission’s documents are available following this link>>>

Developing a multi-country application for the Global Fund

Posted on by Milutin

The South East Europe Regional Coordinating Mechanism (RCM) held the third meeting on 27 February 2018 in Skopje, Macedonia. The aim of the meeting was to agree on elements of the project for the Global Fund’s Multi-country Grant Request for Proposals – HIV: Sustainability of Services for Key Populations in Eastern Europe and Central Asia Region.

The eight countries of South East Europe that are transitioning from Global Fund support to national sources of financing services (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia) welcome Moldova to the RCM.

Participants of the meeting were welcomed by Dr Venko Filipče, Macedonian Minister of Health and Aida Kurtović, Chairperson of the Global Fund Board.

To ensure meaningful consultations within key population, community organizations representatives coming from the key population which RCM would like to cover in the application were invited to a consultative meeting a day before the RCM meeting. Asocijacija Duga from Serbia (working with MSM and Roma community), LGBT Youth Organization DEYSTVIE from Bulgaria (MSM community organization, STAR-STAR from Macedonia (sex workers community) and Asocijacija Doverba from Macedonia (community based organizations of people using drugs) joined the meeting. Two regional networks DPNSEE and ERA participated to. Representatives of our member organisations Margina, Cazas, Juventas and HOPS were among participants.

Specific Objectives of this meeting included:
1. Identify key regional advocacy priorities for 2018 for increasing domestic funds towards sustainability of HIV and tuberculosis programs.
2. Review resource availability and needs, including possibilities for donor-funded initiatives.
3. Map out a regional advocacy plan, for further finalization and adoption by the RCM.

RCM opened discussion if community organisations and networks would take over some of the activities of the project proposed to the Global Fund.

SEE civil society organisations consultations

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Preparing for the regional dialogue with donors, civil society organisations from South East Europe met in Belgrade, Serbia on 17 January 2018. The aim of the meeting is to discuss current developments regarding the work of the South East Europe Regional Coordinating Mechanism (RCM) and preparation process of the multi-country application, possible cooperation with EECA regional networks as well as opportunities for advocacy funding initiatives sustaining HIV prevention services in South East Europe. Around 30 representatives of the civil society organisations (CSOs) from all SEE countries participated.

Ana Filipovska, the RCM Coordinator and Milutin Milošević, DPNSEE Executive Director, presented recent work of the RCM and the call for multi-country application to the Global Fund to fight HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. The presentations and discussions following then helped to clarify some misunderstandings. Two regional initiatives for the project to the Global Fund were presented – Alliance and EHRA, ECOM, SWAN.

Milutin Milošević, DPNSEE Executive Director, delivering presentation

CSOs were invited to actively contribute to the work of Country Coordinating Mechanisms in expressing the country needs and designing a regional project.

The meeting was organised by HERA and Zaedno Posilni, supported by the Open Society Foundations.

Senior Level Policy Dialogue

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The Senior Level Policy Dialogue “Addressing HIV and TB Challenges: from Donor Support to Sustainable Health Systems” was organised in Tallinn, Estonia on 12 and 13 December 2017 as an official event in the programme of the Estonian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The event, organised by the Ministry of Social Affairs and National Institute for Health Development from Estonia, WHO European Region, UNAIDS, and the Global Fund, brought together representatives of the health and financial ministries of Europe, the Balkan and Eastern Partnership countries, representatives of the European Commission, international organisations, as well as community representatives and institutions involved in funding programmes and offering services to tackle HIV and TB.

In Eastern Europe the fight against HIV and tuberculosis has largely been funded through international organisations (such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria). However, this kind of funding is not sustainable in the long term.

The participants searched for ways to smoothly transition from funding through foreign aid programmes to sustainable state funding. They outlined the best practices, challenges, opportunities and risks related to integrating HIV and TB programmes into a national health system. The discussions included the role and responsibility of various institutions and organisations in stopping the HIV and TB epidemics.

DPNSEE and 4 participating member organisations representatives (Cazas, Juventas, Margina and Viktorija) actively contributed to the meeting, including two panellists who gave a specific insight in the situation of the region. Both the experiences from South East Europe and challenges we face were presented, emphasized and mentioned by many participants. The meeting was also a good opportunity to establish contacts and generate ideas for future cooperation.

Participation of the SEE representatives was made possible by generous support from the Open Society Foundation.

Multi-stakeholder workshop on UN Convention against Corruption in Southeast Europe

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UNODC hosted the first multi-stakeholder workshop on the United Nations Convention against Corruption and its Review Mechanism in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 25 to 29 September 2017. As the first such workshop held in Southeast Europe, the event aimed to develop capacities of around 60 participants across the region to contribute to the implementation of the Convention and its Review Mechanism.

The UN Convention against Corruption, ratified by 182 States, is the only legally binding, universal, anti-corruption instrument. Its far-reaching approach and the mandatory character of provisions make it a unique tool for developing a comprehensive response to global corruption issues.

The Convention covers five main areas: preventive measures, criminalization and law enforcement, international cooperation, asset recovery, and technical assistance and information exchange. The Convention covers many different forms of corruption, such as bribery, trading in influence, abuse of functions, and various acts of corruption in the private sector.

At the first review cycle, approximately 85 per cent of Governments involved civil society organizations in their country visits, building momentum to uphold their treaty obligations. The workshop, in this regard, reiterated the importance of this practice during the second review cycle, especially in the Southeast Europe region. It also aimed to promote collaboration between all relevant stakeholders.

Supported by the Austrian Development Agency through the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative, and by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the training informed participants about the methodology and tools for country reviews and build their capacity to reproduce workshop sessions at the national and regional levels. Participants engaged in a constructive dialogue by sharing their experiences, lessons learned and good practices, as well as undertaking practical exercises.

Milutin Milošević, the DPNSEE Executive Director, and Sanja Šišović CAZAS, Montenegro, participated in the workshop. That allowed them to gain a good insight in the Convention and opportunities to join the review process.

Treatment Systems in Prisons in Eastern and Southeastern Europe

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Pompidou Group – Council of Europe Co-operation Group to Combat Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Drugs, published a new publication “Drug Treatment Systems in Prisons in Eastern and Southeastern Europe”. The publication sheds light into the situation of drug users among criminal justice populations and corresponding health care responses in ten countries in Eastern and Southeastern Europe: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo*, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine.

Prisons differ across different countries, as do prisoner populations. In some of the countries in the study there is an almost complete unavailability of effective drug dependence treatment (e.g. Opiate Agonist Treatment), or the potential of these treatment has not been exploited yet to its full. But also models of good practice exist in a few of the researched countries.

The publication is a product of the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe project “Improving Drug Treatment Systems in prisons” which was financed by Luxembourg.

DPNSEE Chairperson Tijana Žegura and Secretary of the Board Denis Dedajić contributed to the publication.

Those interested in downloading the publication should follow this LINK>>>

Move. Link. Engage.

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The Belgrade Open School, together with the Office for Cooperation with Civil Society of Government of Serbia, organized the Third Annual Regional Conference ’’Move. Link. Engage – Rethinking Europe and Western Balkans’, on 18th and 19th of September in Belgrade. The Conference was supported by ’Europe for Citizens’ Program and Kingdom of Sweden. The goal of the Conference was to promote and encourage regional approach in solving shared problems and better cooperation among citizens and civil society in the European Integration Process.

At the main panel of the Conference, titled ’Western Balkans in Motion: Berlin Process Aftermath’, prominent speakers and participants stressed out the importance of the Berlin Process, which is recognized through shifting focus towards economic and social questions and contribution to European Integration Process of all states in the region. Participants of the session dedicated to the Civil Society Participation in European Integration Process came to the conclusion that civil society is the bridge between decision makers and the citizens, and that it is important to build alliances founded in European values and closely watch and follow the decisions that authorities make on behalf of citizens. Civil society organizations agreed that there would be no progress in the European Integration process without strong institutions and common values, and pointed out that European Integration Process should be founded in citizens’ participation in developing public policies, transparency and accountability.

During the conference, a regional workshop was organized, dedicated to project preparation within ’Europe for Citizens’ Program, as well as official diploma awarding ceremony for 24th generation of students of the ’Future studies’ Program of Belgrade Open School.

The Conference gathered more than 200 participants, numerous representatives of organizations from Serbia and the region, representatives of institutions and foundations, as well as representatives of the media, researches, activists and students. Milutin Milošević, the Executive Director, represented DPNSEE at the conference. That was a good opportunity to meet with peers from the civil society sector and representatives of authorities.

A potential for regional project

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Representatives of Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, FYRO Macedonia, Kosovo*, Montenegro, Romania and
Serbia, which constitute the South East Europe Regional Coordinating Mechanism (RCM), are meeting in
Skopje on 25 and 26 May 2017. The aim of the meeting is to determine key activities and stakeholders that
will implement a multi-country grant and opportunities for the RCM to develop its work through the end of
2017.

The RCM would like to develop a joint understanding of scope and limitations of Global Fund multi-country
grants, as they apply to South East Europe and to achieve consensus on a working project design for a
potential multi-country grant from the Global Fund. Also, complementary steps for the RCM for the coming
year should be determined.

DPNSEE member organisations are present in many national country coordinating mechanisms. As the
network, we expect involvement in regional projects and see them as a good potential to maximise results.

DPNSEE joined the International Drug Policy Consortium

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A great news – Drug Policy Network South East Europe was formally recognised as the member organisation of the Member of The International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC)!

The IDPC membership opens opportunities for participating in a variety of projects. We have already been discussing assisting the IDPC to coordinate the “Support.Don’t Punish” campaign in South East Europe, having a training supported by the IDPC and working together on documenting the situation in the region related to transition from the Global Fund funded projects to local funding of the services. We hope that in the future there will be a lot of new chances for collaboration.

Good visit at the right time

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Delegation of the Drug Policy Network South East Europe visited Serbia from 31 August to 2 September 2016. It was one of the visits in the region in an attempt to understand the situation and meet with a variety of stakeholders in drug policy in the country.

During the first day of the visit the delegation spent in the northern province of Vojvodina, meeting with the Secretary for Health and the Clinic for Addiction in the Clinical Centre of Vojvodina. Visit to Prevent, DPNSEE member organisation was both an opportunity to meet good friends and learn about their committed work, including shelter for sexual workers. The most interesting part of the whole visit was welcome in the Kovilj monastery and later their therapeutic community “The Land of Living” where we had the opportunity to hear true stories of people who fight with their addiction supported by their peers.

The expert view on the situation in Serbia was gained in meetings with doctors in the Special hospital „Drajzerova“ and Institute for public Health „Dr Milаn Јоvаnоvić Bаtut”. We explored opportunities for regional projects in the office of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. A good surprise was meeting with SUPRAM – Association of Lawyers for Medical and Health Law Serbia, with whom we discussed different way of legal protection of rights of drug users. DPNSEE representatives held the press conference in the EU Info Centre.

The key governmental structures dealing with the drug issue are Ministry of Health and newly established Office for combating drugs which is supposed to coordinate the whole system. The Office is open for ideas and contributions from the civil society organisations. Finally, meeting with the Serbian youth umbrella organisation generated good ideas for cooperation, also on the regional level.

The delegation was satisfied with the visit. The main result of the meetings with the officials was good presentation of the new regional organisation which was new for most of them and promises for future cooperation. It was a good moment for the visit, with governmental bodies just being established after the election and other existing institutions needing a new impetus for their work.

Some challenges were also identified, especially weakening of the NGO scene and lack of resources to implement the policies and strategies.

 Honest confessions of the addicts in the therapeutic community “The land of Living”

Featured image: Meeting with the Office for combating drugs