STAKEHOLDER INVOLVEMENT IN NATIONAL POLICIES FOR NON-DISCRIMINATION, EQUALITY AND PROTECTION OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

The entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon made the Charter of Fundamental Rights mandatory and raised the issue of non-discrimination, equality and protection of fundamental rights when formulating policies at an entirely new level, resulting in their transformation from a list of human values into specific subjective rights, whose protection has become an integral part of the efforts for better regulation and better governance. According to the Fundamental Rights Agency of the European Union, established as a monitoring and evaluation body for Union policies, this new culture of embracing basic human rights is linked to the transfer of human rights from law books to people's everyday lives, which requires the availability of effective institutions and determination at all levels of governance, operating in openness and transparency, guaranteed by an inclusive approach ensuring civic participation. In 2016, new legislation in the field of gender equality was introduced in Bulgaria, the legal framework dealing with protection against discrimination was changed, regulatory reform was launched, related to the introduction of mandatory impact assessment and obligatory public consultations in structured form for draft legislation and check for compliance of the draft legislation initiated by the Council of Ministers, with the ECHR and the practice of the ECtHR. There is a gap existing, related to the ambiguity of the extent to which Bulgarian citizens and society have the opportunity to participate in decision-making. The project will explore whether and how these European approaches to enhanced civil participation in those processes are reflected at national level, what are the effects from the introduced legal changes and will offer a completely new mechanism encouraging active involvement of stakeholders and citizens in the processes of formulating, monitoring and evaluating policies on non-discrimination, equality and the protection of fundamental rights.

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