| New Report on “Turkey: Openness and Transparency in Turkish Parliament and Civic Participation in Legislative Process” |
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| Coordinated by CLS-Sofia and financed by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation Bulgaria Office, Openness, Transparency and Civic Participation Project was implemented in Serbia, Albania, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey. Turkish partner of the project, the Association of Committees for Monitoring Parliament and Elected Officials (TUMIKOM), released a report entitled “Turkey: Openness and Transparency in Turkish Parliament and Civic Participation in Legislative Process”. The report focuses on the legal and institutional framework for an open parliamentary system, current practices and transparency in the Parliament, participation in legislative process. The report also includes a stakeholder analysis and recommendations. To read the report... |
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| The Survey on the Freedom of Association is Closed |
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Funded by the European Union’s European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), the project called Preparation of Methodology for the Monitoring of Freedom of Association in Turkey Project was launched in January 2009. The project is implemented by TUSEV in partnership with the Civil Society Development Centre (STGM) and resulted in an online survey as a pilot methodology to capture the realities of freedom of association in Turkey. The first phase of the Survey on the Freedom of Association closed on December 7th, culminating the common concerns of different stakeholders regarding freedom of association in Turkey. 200 associations from 40 cities participated in the survey which covered issues such as registration procedures, initiation of members, documentation, general assembly, auditing, international relations, membership, fines, taxes and activities related to the Press Law, Meeting and Demonstration Law and Aid Collection Law. An executive summary on the outcomes of the survey will be published soon and the online survey will re-launch in mid-2010. TUSEV would like to thank all survey respondents for their participation. 11/12/2009 |
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| Highlights on Civil Society in Europeans Union’s 2009 Progress Report |
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| The Turkey 2009 Progress Report (referred here as the report) was published on 14 October 2009. The report monitors the reform efforts of the previous year and outlines the current status of Turkey in the EU accession process. The following lines highlight the parts of the report that is of concern to the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in which CSOs are recognized as critical stakeholders both in social development and in the accession process. The following article will also provide a brief comparative look between the previous year’s report and the current one to underline any significant progress or lack of during the reported period. |
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| New TUSEV Publication: Barriers to Freedom of Association of Associations in Turkey |
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Freedom of association is one of the most important issues of civil society. Recently completed, the European Union’s European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) funded and supported Preparation of Methodology for the Monitoring of Freedom of Association in Turkey Project, studies the limitations to freedom of association created by deficiencies in the law, in the application of the law, and by any other factors. The project was implemented by the Third Sector Foundation of Turkey (TUSEV) in cooperation with the Civil Society Development Center Association (STGM). |
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| An Analysis of the Public Benefit Status in Europe by ICNL |
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| The article “A Comparative Overview of Public Benefit Status in Europe” elaborates on the different practices concerning public benefit status in Europe. The article discusses the remarkable differences between the regulation of the Public Benefit Status in England and Wales (common law countries) and Central and Eastern European countries and emphasizes that local factors should not be overlooked since they greatly influence the implementation of the regulation. The article is available at http://www.icnl.org/knowledge/ijnl/vol11iss1/special_1.htm |
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| The Minimum Amounth of Assets Required to Start a Foundation |
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The new Law on Foundations adopted in February 2008 stipulated that the minimum amount of assets required to start a foundation would be determined each year by the Council of Foundations, a decision-making body of General Directorate of Foundations. Thereby, a new regulation of the Council of Foundations determined the minimum amount of assets needed to establish a foundation for the year 2009 as at least 50.000 TL (approximately 23.000 Euros).
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| February - June Updates: Preparation of Methodology for the Monitoring of Freedom of Association in Turkey Project |
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Funded by the European Union’s European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), Preparation of Methodology for the Monitoring of Freedom of Association in Turkey Project was launched in January 2009 by TUSEV in partnership with the Civil Society Development Centre (STGM). As a first step, a detailed report on the legislation regarding freedom of association was drafted by Lawyer Orhan Kemal Cengiz. A series of workshops with civil society representatives was held in seven regions of Turkey. The workshops aim to share information on implementation and to get input and feedback on the eventual methodology. The first workshop was organized in Istanbul with the participation of Nilda Bullain, Director of European Centre for Not-For-Profit Law (ECNL). During the event, Nilda Bullain presented different types of monitoring methodologies and shared her experiences on monitoring. A national methodology workshop to draft methodology was held in Ankara in June 24th following the seven regional workshops. The next steps will be the creation of a network and database, trainings and the testing of the pilot monitoring methodology. |
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| Regulation of Law on Foundations is in effect |
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After the adoption of new Law on Foundations on 20.02.2008, a new Regulation regarding establishment, management procedures and auditing of foundations was published on 27.09.2008 and is now in effect. Some major innovations brought with the new regulations are,
- Establishment of a Council of Foundations as the highest decision-making body of General Directorate of Foundations (GDF). The new Council assures the democratic participation of new foundations* and old foundations** in decisions concerning themselves for the first time in history. The election process for the Council members will commence on 10th of November.
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| Highlights on Civil Society in European Union’s 2008 Progress Report of Turkey |
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The European Union’s (EU) annual progress report for Turkey was launched on November 2008 and aimed to monitor the reforms that have been carried out in the previous year in the name of EU accession. The below article aims to highlight issues from the report that concern civil society, where civil society organizations (CSOs) are portrayed both as objects and subjects of the EU accession process. Civil society emerged as an important actor under topics such as freedom of association, right to property, participation in policy making processes, human rights and gender equality. |
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| Preparation of Methodology for the Monitoring of Freedom of Association in Turkey Project |
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Recognizing that no comprehensive monitoring on the implementation of the New Associations Law (adopted in 2004) has been done in Turkey, TUSEV has launched a new project for “Creating a methodology for monitoring the freedom of association”. Funded by the European Union’s European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), the Project will be implemented in partnership with the Association of Civil Society Development Centre (STGM). More information will be available at the TUSEV website soon. |
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