Agnieszka Lada: "Towards a stronger role for civil society in the Eastern Partnership"

Towards a stronger role for civil society in the Eastern Partnership

Agnieszka Lada,
Head of the European Programme at the Institute of Public Affairs in Warsaw 

Background

Launched two years ago, the Eastern Partnership (EaP) introduced civil society as a new actor in EU relations with Eastern Europe through the creation of the Civil Society Forum (CSF) – an annual meeting platform for EU and EaP civil society as well as non-governmental organisations (CSOs and NGOs) financed by the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). Yet policies supporting the development of civil society in Eastern Europe and the Southern Caucasus are still perceived by the EU and EaP governments as less important than 'serious politics', and are extremely underfinanced compared to the funds given to EaP governments.

Recent events in Africa and the brutal steps taken by the Lukashenka regime against the opposition in Belarus since the December 2010 elections have prompted the EU to reconsider the role of civil society. The 2011 ENP Review published last May lays a renewed emphasis on civil society as a crucial component for change and democratisation.

Its main innovations include establishing a Civil Society Facility and the European Endowment for Democracy, as well as promoting media freedom by supporting civil society organisations' use of electronic communications. This shift in the EU's approach is welcome, but a lot still needs to be done. A clear plan for how such support could be used effectively is needed, and the role of the Civil Society Forum should be better defined as a representative body of CSOs.

Designing a strategy to support democracy through civil society requires a partnership with the relevant actors. Non-governmental organisations should be treated as institutional partners of the EU, Member States and the EaP countries when planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating EaP programmes, at bilateral and multilateral level. A bottom-up approach would also strengthen a grassroots European vocation, creating a push for reform in some EaP countries through social pressure on governments. Achieving this will not be possible without establishing a visa-free regime for EaP citizens.

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