EaP CSF Newsletter 

13 November 2015

For the newsletter in Russian, please click here

7th Annual Assembly in Kyiv Will Gather More Than 250 Attendees for 3 Days of Interactive Sessions

On 19-21 November 2015 in Kyiv, the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) is holding its key annual event gathering more than 250 representatives of civil society from the six EaP partner countries and the EU, government representatives, European institutions and donor agencies to discuss the priorities of civil society and its contribution to the reform process within the EaP. This year the event is falling on the anniversary of the Euromaidan movement.

Opening addresses giving start to the discussions held under the title Moving Reforms Forward in Testing Times will be delivered by Mikayel Hovhannisyan, Steering Committee of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Prime Minister of Ukraine and Heidi Hautala, Co-chair to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly.

This time the format of the event will be different allowing for more interactive discussions in smaller groups initiated by the attendees of the event themselves.

Welcome Letter from the Director of the EaP CSF Secretariat

Draft Agenda

Event Webpage

Media Accreditation

EaP CSF Held a Debate on EU-Belarus Relations in the European Parliament

On 14 October, in the wake of the Belarusian presidential ‪election, ‪the panel discussion on the state of ‪EU-‪Belarus relations was organised by the EaP CSF and hosted by MEP Bogdan Zdrojewski at the European Parliament. The panellists, Dirk Schübel (European External Action Service), EaP CSF Co-Chair Andrei Yahorau,Anna Gerasimova (Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House) and Vladimir Dunaev (Belarusian Independent Bologna Committee) deliberated on the future of the EU-Belarus relations. The fruitful discussion covered a number of topical issues affecting EU engagement with Belarus, and the role of the civil society in pushing forward reforms in the country.

More

Event Agenda

EaP CSF Recommendations

EaP CSF Members Reactions to the Elections and the Suspension of EU Sanctions

Workshop on Energy Union and Energy Security in EaP Countries Held as Part of the EaP CSF Re-granted Project

On 20 October 2015, the Workshop on Energy Union and Energy Security in EaP Countries was organised as part of a joint project within the new EaP CSF re-granting scheme. During the workshop led by the EaP CSF member World Experience for Georgia (WEG), energy experts from EaP countries presented their policy papers and discussed the main findings of the joint project with the EU representatives: Marion Schiller-Probst (DG ENER, European Commission), Natalja Miolato (DG NEAR, European Commission) and Camelia Suică (EEAS). The main goal of the joint project is to increase the capacity of EaP CSOs in promoting an enhanced cooperation between the EU and EaP countries in energy security under the new EU initiative – Energy Union.

More

Workshop Agenda

Policy Papers Presentations: Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Georgia Moldova Ukraine

Ukraine Does Not Pose a “Migration Threat” to the EU

In an article published on the news portal EurActiv, Iryna Sushko and Kateryna Kulchytska from ‪EaP CSF member organization, the Ukrainian think tank “Europe without Barriers”, show that despite political unrest and internal conflict, ‪‎Ukraine does not pose any “‪‎migration threat” to the EU. Given Ukraine’s considerable progress in implementing the Visa Liberalisation Action Plan (VLAP), the effective measures in tackling cross-border trafficking and other important arguments based on verified data presented in the article, the authors conclude that the EU member states should support the visa-free regime after the Visa Liberalisation Action Plan (‪‎VLAP) is fully implemented.

EurActiv

Krzysztof Bobiński Analyses the Report on EU-Ukraine DCFTA Effects for Russia

In his opinion piece Krzysztof Bobiński analyses the report prepared in 2014 by a research institute working under the aegis of the Russian Academy of Sciences has concluded. He suggests that Russia has little to fear from the introduction of the DCFTA (Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area), a free trade deal between Ukraine and the European Union on 1 January. The report belies concerns in Moscow that the DCFTA will harm Russia’s economic interests. These concerns gave rise to a series of trilateral meetings since last year between the EU, Ukraine and Russia, which were designed to reassure Moscow that it will not suffer as a result of the trade deal. 

More