Good governance

Croatian civil society organizations, gathered in the informal network Forum 2020, through in-person consultations in five cities (Rijeka, Varaždin, Split, Osijek and Zagreb) as well as online consultations, have come to an agreement on the priorities for the Presidency of the Council of the European Union from January to June 2020.

The election campaign for the European Parliament in 2019 was the first election campaign in which we have had a somewhat better insight into a political advertisement on social media, especially on Facebook. In accordance to the promise of increasing transparency in advertising which Facebook has given to the European Union, the campaign has provided the public several tools for better understanding of targeted political ads. However, these tools are new, some of the policies are practised inconsistently and it is not quite clear what are the consequences for those who don't follow the advertising rules.

This analysis presents 8 key topics relevant for the upcoming Croatian Presidency of the EU in 2020. It is intended for all European citizens, and civil and political actors who critically fight against the fascization of Europe.

In order to better understand the process of enlargement of the European Union and to intensify discussion on the experiences of the most recent EU member states, GONG, in cooperation with partner organizations, is implementing the EnlargEUrope project.

In light of the shocking news that Jan Kuciak was likely killed as a result of his work as an investigative journalist and whose freedom of information requests may have been passed to the subject of his inquiry, we the undersigned, are calling on the EU for immediate action to safeguard journalists exercising the right of access to information.

On the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day, observed on December 9, the nongovernmental election-monitoring organisation GONG on Friday warned that after it joined the European Union, a lack of a true political will for fighting corruption at all levels was evident in Croatia.

This paper is based on the research Croatia’s Captured Places conducted in three local and one regional government unit in Croatia (Dubrovnik, Slavonski Brod, Zagreb and the County of Istria). It was focused on actors and mechanisms of governance in which a system or parts of a system are appropriated by powerful individuals, groups or networks to favour their own interests. Furthermore, it explored the extent to which citizens of these communities were aware of such practices and citizens’ attitudes towards these practices.

Access Info Europe and 53 requesters from across Europe appealed to the European Ombudsman about the European Commissions’ failure to register, process, and respond to requests for the 2016 travel expenses of EU Commissioners.

Are you a full-stack digital agency, preferably in Croatia? Are you really good at your job? Do you have a passion for crafting software with a social purpose? Awesome. Read on.

GONG is looking for a technical partner for an ambitious project called “Mosaic of Influence” — funded by Google’s Digital News Initiative, the Mosaic is creating an online database of Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) in Croatia. This is a long-term project: we aim to launch the beta by end of 2017, and intensely test it in 2018, to launch the final version by mid-2018.

Mr Frans Timmermans
First Vice-President of the European Commission
Rue de la Loi 200
1049 Brussels
Brussels, 22 March 2017

Dear First Vice-President Timmermans,

Ahead of the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, we the undersigned organisations urge the European Commission not to abandon its leadership role in fighting the scourge of corruption in the EU.