More effective EU democracy and reform support with greater V4 engagement in the Eastern Partnership
More effective EU democracy and reform support with greater V4 engagement in the Eastern Partnership
The project seeks to ensure that EU foreign policy instruments exert a greater impact over democratic reforms in the EaP region while utilising transition sharing potential of the V4 countries. In cooperation with the V4 Presidencies, structures & stakeholders it will use the opportunity the current EU revision of its EaP policies and instruments provide and ensure a process of reflection and engagement of civil society experts in the process.
Pro-democratic reforms are pre-condition for stability, security and prosperity. The project aims to step up the achievements of the IVF supported project: A V4 (and Slovak Presidency) agenda for reforming EU democracy funding in Eastern Partnership states, that resulted in a study with concrete suggestions to ensure that EU foreign policy instruments achieve a greater impact over democratic reforms in the EaP: http://europeum.org/en/articles/detail/794/more-effective-eu-democracy-support-in-the-eastern-partnership This project shall exert the possibility for the proposed reforms’ implementation during the EU Neighbourhood Instruments’ review starting in early 2017 and provide space for an expert exchange and coordination of the EU/V4 civil society actors in this respect.
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The project seeks to ensure that EU foreign policy instruments exert a greater impact over democratic reforms in the EaP region while utilising transition sharing potential of the V4 countries. In cooperation with the V4 Presidencies, structures & stakeholders it will use the opportunity the current EU revision of its EaP policies and instruments provide and ensure a process of reflection and engagement of civil society experts in the process.
The project will address democracy support in the EaP countries in a complex way using all possible means to achieve a more efficient EU instruments to pursue pro-democratic reforms in this region whose stability and prosperity is vital for the V4 countries. To this end it aims to use both analytical and public policy methods, prepare a high quality Tutorial for NGOs and build upon the great number of stakeholders that were part of the 6 round tables in the previous project, providing space for coordination. Furthermore it aims to assess current strengths and weaknesses in V4 democracy funding in the EaP states vis-a-vis the proposed trends within the ENI review. EaP CSF will track reactions to current trends within the changing EU policies with various CS partners in the EaP region itself.
Both, the V4 and the EaP regions will benefit from this project. Currently only about 3.6 per cent of the total value of all grants and contracts aimed at democracy promotion in the EaP are being implemented by the EU new member states. This project aims to increase this percentage, by coming up with effective reforms of the EU schemes as well as creating space for greater exchange and coordination among V4 implementers and increase their outreach to EU decision makers. The EaP region will inevitably profit from the following increase of transition sharing and general exchange between the CSs of the V4 and of the EaP and overall from a better targeted and more effective EU programs after the EU Neighborhood Instruments‘ revision.
Target groups: Reform oriented part of civil society and political leaders from EaP, key decision makers on EU policies vis-à-vis the EaP from various EU institutions and the V4 countries, NGOs, think tanks and implementors of EU democracy support schemes in the EaP, V4 NGOs and think tanks current and potential new implementors of EU democracy and reform support schemes in the EaP
The tutorial will collect recommendations for the developmental NGOs from the V4 countries and of the EU to better engage in pro-democracy activities in the EaP countries. It will also include the perspective of the EaP stakeholders in the pro-democratic processes
Round Table in Warsaw as a part of the peer review of the Tutorial. It will also serve as a preparation for gathering support and further ideas for the later consultations with EU officials in an attempt to contribute to the EU instruments review.
The Annual SFPA conference on EaP will take place in Bratislava in the autumn of 2017. It will serve, among others, for presentation of the Tutorial’s outputs prepared during the project implementation to wider audience and discuss it. It will also open other issues of interests and finalize the debate started during the Warsaw event and potentially prepare future plans and ways for further engagement with the EU institutions after its policy and instruments review.
The aim of the conference is to review the actual state of affairs of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) ahead of its Fifth 2017 Summit in Brussels. The one-day conference will, first, examine the strategic framework for the EaP, including its up-to-date achievements and prospects for and/or need in its further upgrade; second, evaluate implementation of Association Agreements and respective reforms in EaP countries; and third, assess a role of the V4 countries in the Eastern Partnership, including their capacity to support implementation of Association Agreements and reforms in partner countries.
EaP CS Conference will offer a space for consultation of the main findings and recommendations of the Tutorial and for gathering of a feedback from the potential EaP recipients of the reform EU instruments. At the same time the event will provide space for the project leaders and its stakeholders to engage with EU officials and political leaders and consult them about the findings and suggestions of the Tutorial and thus influence the EU policy and instruments review.
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