Center for Democratic Transition
Budget
€560,000
EP Access
0
accredited persons
Staff
3
2.25 FTE
EU Grants
€92,000
Mission & Goals
CDT is one of the most prominent good governance advocacy NGOs in Montenegro. It has been established in 2000, as an election monitoring organization. Subsequently, the CDT extended its programs to the good governance area – seeking for better transparency and accountability of institutions and decision makers. Nowadays, CDT works in two program areas: Democratic Institutions and Democratic Society. Through activities in the program area Democratic institutions, we contribute to the construction of legal state based on integrity. Our goal is to build independent institutions that guarantee democracy, i.e. the balance between branches of government and fair election process. We advocate policies and mechanisms that guarantee democratic control of institutions and the responsibility of all participants in public life. We are committed to the construction and preservation of democratic institutions based on responsibilities, impartiality, independence and openness. We fight for (...)
EU Legislative Interests
In its work, the CDT advocates for numerous practices and solutions adopted at the EU level, as examples of good practice and initiatives to strengthen democracy in our country, including the obligations that Montenegro has within the framework of the European integration process. The latest initiatives that are inspired by the EU policies that we propose and/or implement in line with EU policies are: -Advocating for the establishment of a special parliamentary committee tasked with addressing foreign interference in democratic processes, modeled after the Special Committee on Foreign Interference in all Democratic Processes in the EU, including disinformation (INGE), which operates within the European Parliament. The establishment of this committee would mark the beginning of a more serious engagement by Montenegrin institutions in addressing the resilience of democratic processes. This committee, within its constitutional and legal competencies, would initiate the creation of political consensus for the development of serious policies in this area, while also monitoring the effects of the executive branch and scrutinizing its decisions and outcomes. -Organizing Citizens' Assemblies - CDT organized Citizens' Assemblies in 2021 and 2022 with the support of the European Parliament, and in 2023 with the support of the EU Delegation to Montenegro. Citizen participation in the process of shaping public policies represents a long-standing challenge faced by institutions in Montenegro without adequate solutions. Since the purpose of public policies is to provide answers to questions of general interest, active citizen participation in their creation is of great importance. The formation of Citizens' Assemblies should enable citizens to engage in political issues in a professional, constructive, and equitable manner, with their views ultimately influencing decision-making. Currently, with the support of the European Union through the European Delegation in Montenegro, the CDT is implementing a project aimed at contributing to the implementation of electoral reform in our country and a project aimed at intensifying the work of the Montenegrin Parliament in achieving the necessary criteria for EU membership. CDT is also a partner on the regional project that deals with fight against disinformation supported by the European Commission.
Communication Activities
Within its advocacy campaign, CDT employs various strategies, including initiating proposals, fostering cooperation with institutions, organising events and conducting campaigns through media and our social networks. Details about the aforementioned initiative regarding the formation of a special committee within the Montenegrin Parliament in 2021 are available here: https://en.cdtmn.org/2021/03/18/proposal-to-form-a-committee-for-monitoring-foreign-influences/, https://en.cdtmn.org/2021/10/20/foreign-influence-shows-no-sign-of-waning-the-parliament-keeps-silent-on-committee-set-up/. CDT reiterated this initiative in 2022 and towards the end of 2023, and a public advocacy campaign is currently underway. All other materials produced within EU-supported projects are available on our website ( https://www.cdtmn.org/) and social media networks (Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CentarZaDemokratskuTranzicijuCDT, Twitter- https://twitter.com/CDT_CrnaGora, YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@CDTCrnaGora, Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/cdt_montenegro/?hl=en).
Interests Represented
Does not represent commercial interests
Member Of
Throughout years of work, CDT has developed cooperation and partnerships with many regional and international organizations and networks. Regional cooperation is one of CDT’s strategic priorities, and CDT implements many projects that include partnerships with CSOs of similar profile from the Western Balkans and the EU. CDT is widely recognized for its elections related work and is a founding member of ENEMO (http://www.enemo.eu/en/home) and GNDEM (https://gndem.org/https:/gndem.org/). CDT is a member of anticorruption network SELDI (https://seldi.net/). As one of the leading organizations in Eastern Europe in the area of transparency, we are founding member of ACTION SEE (https://actionsee.org/). In 2018 CDT has started a Fact-Checking platform Raskrinkavanje.me, focused on the debunking of the fake news and today is verified member of the International Fact-Checking Network. CDT is also a member of the SEECheck network (https://seecheck.org/), which supports quality journalism and professional media as pillars of democracy, a free and fair society, and through its work contributes to citizens critically observing and consuming media content, and distinguishing credible media sources from those that are not.
Organisation Members
CDT is very well established in the local community. Throughout 25 years of our work, we developed cooperation with national and local governments, business and academic community, CSOs and media. CDT has a network of representatives in all Montenegrin municipalities, and several thousands of volunteers participated in our election monitoring programs.
Commissioner Meetings
No recorded meetings with EU commissioners.