"Maatschappelijk middenveld belangrijk voor Oostelijk Partnerschap" (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Europees Economisch en Sociaal Comité (EESC), gepubliceerd op woensdag 6 mei 2009.

PRESS RELEASE No 055/2009

6 May 2009

Eastern partnership:

EESC calls for active involvement of Civil Society

On the eve of the Eastern Partnership Summit on 7 May 2009 in Prague, the Section for External relations of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) calls for a leading role of the Committee in the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum.

The EESC's Section of External Relations has adopted an opinion on the involvement of the civil society in the Eastern Partnership. Filip Hamro-Drotz, President of the EESC's External Relations Section and Ivan Voles, rapporteur and President of the EESC's Eastern Neighbours Contact Group will represent the Committee at the Summit.

While welcoming the proposal to create the Eastern Partnership as an upgraded form of cooperation with the countries of the European neighbourhood policy to the east, the opinion insists that the partnership must be based on sharing common democratic values and respect for human rights, which includes social dialogue and a functioning civil society.

The opinion considers that the new initiative should draw on the lessons learned from five years of the European Neighbourhood Policy. In particular, cooperation between the EU and partner countries in drafting measures to implement the Action plans at national level should be improved and the civil society should be more involved in the elaboration and monitoring of the Action plans. It insists that the Eastern Partnership should not give rise to new dividing lines in Eastern Europe and suggests involving the civil society of Russia, Turkey and perhaps other countries in discussions on issues of common interest within the civil society forum and thematic platforms.

The opinion includes important recommendations regarding the establishment of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum. It sees this Forum as a flexible and open network of EU and Eastern Partnership civil society, meeting once a year and operating via working groups and teams which would address specific topics and issue proposals for programmes and projects to secure the partnership's objectives. Therefore, the opinion calls for a key role to be given to the European Economic and Social Committee in the setting up of an Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum.