EU monitoring for support to civil society organizations

BELGRADE - A three-day regional conference on the monitoring of EU guidelines for the support to civil society organizations (CSOs), which started in Belgrade on Tuesday, aims to promote increased citizen involvement in policy making and the participation of CSOs in the EU accession process.

Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Oskar Benedikt opened the conference stressing that CSOs need to be more energetic in bringing the key issues for the citizens into the political focus of the government.

Nicola Bertolini, Head of Regional Programs and Cooperation Unit at the EC Directorate General for Enlargement, pointed to the transformative role of CSOs as the initiator of changes, and underlined the importance of regional and theme-based networks and sharing experiences with other CSOs.

Srdjan Majstorovic, Deputy Head of the Serbian government's EU Integration Office said that CSOs are an important partner to the government in maintaining public support to Serbia's European path.

The conference is organized by Technical Assistance for Civil Society Organizations (TACSO), an EU-funded project worth EUR 10.5 million, whose aim is to strengthen civil society in countries of the Western Balkans and Turkey.

Photo/Video TANJUG