However, while last year BCSDN’s paper has criticized the insufficient focus on crucial areas for consolidating the enabling environment in which civil society functions and operates, this year’s Reports brings an increased attention on issues over financial viability and sustainability of the sector such as tax regime and state funding and support (e.g. Albania, BiH, Kosovo, Macedonia, Turkey). A shift in the methodology in assessing Political criteria for accession, including development and involvement of civil society can also be observed. Novelty is also the Commission’s intention to “increase focus on civil society” as a way to meet the key challenges in bringing about functioning democratic institutions. The analysis is set in the framework of the BCSDN Monitoring Matrix on enabling environment for civil society development (CSDev) developed in 2012, which provides a set of principles, standards and indicators for an optimum enabling environment for CSDev. You can read the full analysis here. The integral working documents that served as basis for the analysis are also available: Excel table with extracts from Progress Reports related to CSDev since 2006, and an integral text of extracts from Progress Reports for 2013.