EaP CSF Newsletter 

25 July 2016

For the newsletter in Russian, please click here

Participants Selected for the 8th Annual Assembly (28-29 November, Brussels)

Out of 538 applicants for the Annual Assembly 200 organisations have been selected in line with the eligibility guidelines to take part in the EaP CSF annual event to be held in Brussels on 28-29 November. The selection procedure included shortlisting by the Country Facilitators in conjunction with the National Platforms, Working Group Coordinators, and the European Union Delegations in the six Eastern Partnership countries. 22,5% of the selected delegates coming to Brussels have not attended the Annual Assembly in Kyiv in 2015. 31,5% of the attendees are new participants who never attended any of the previous Annual Assemblies.

List of Selected Organisations

Infographics

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Security against the Backdrop of the NATO Summit and Brexit, SMEs and Trade Addressed at the Informal EaP Ministerial

On 11 July, on behalf of the EaP CSF, Steering Committee member Iurii Vdovenko addressed security challenges following the Warsaw NATO summit, the Brexit vote, and the release of the EU Global Security Strategy, as well as development of SMEs and trade at the 7th Informal Ministerial Eastern Partnership Dialogue in Kyiv.

Text of the address

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Working Group 4 Meeting on Youth, Culture, Education and Senior Issues

The Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum Working Group 4 "Contacts between People" held its Annual Meeting on 15-16 June in Brussels. The event covered topics pertaining to youth, education and cultural policies, as well as development of seniors' organisations and pension reforms' monitoring in the EaP countries. The discussion with EU policy makers from DG NEAR (Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations), DG EAC (Education and Culture) and the European Parliament focused on Bologna process, the Creative Europe program, ERASMUS+ and the role of civil society in the reform processes.

The EaP CSF representatives Hovsep Khurshudyan and Andrei Yahorau attended 15th EaP Platform 4 "People-to-people contacts" meeting on 7 June in Brussels. The main points of discussion focused on tackling skills mismatch of graduates and skills and competences development in Eastern Partnership countries.

Report

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Working Group 5 Meeting on Strengthening Social Dialogue

The EaP CSF Working Group 5 “Social and Labour Policies and Social Dialogue” (WG5) convened on 4 July in Brussels. The focus of the meeting was on establishing a fifth Eastern Partnership (EaP) multilateral platform, enhancing cooperation with EU institutions, social reforms as well social dialogue reforms in the EaP countries, and the draft of the Labour Code of Ukraine. The participants also met with the representatives of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) to discuss, among other issues, improving cooperation between the Working Group and the EESC.

Report

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DG NEAR Consultation with Civil Society Representatives

The EaP CSF was invited as one of the main stakeholders to participate in the Directorate General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) meeting on existing challenges and constraints related to EU funding to CSOs in Neighbourhood and Enlargement countries, and to explore possibilities to mitigate those and draw practical conclusions and recommendations for possible improvements. Members of the EaP CSF Secretariat communicated, both orally and in writing, the recommendations sent by numerous CSOs; the comments were positively received by DG NEAR representatives who promised to incorporate the suggestions into their funding mechanisms.

Statements

EaP CSF Condemns the Murder of Pavel Sharamet

The Steering Committee condemns the murder of the prominent investigative journalist in Kyiv. We extend our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. We also express our deepest sympathies to the civil society and independent media community of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia who have suffered an irreparable loss. The Steering Committee calls on the Ukrainian authorities to identify the killers and instigators of the crime and to speedily bring them to justice.

Steering Committee Statement

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Steering Committee Open Letter to Pope Francis regarding Promotion of Peace in South Caucasus

Steering Committee Statement on on the Mass Shooting in Orlando, Florida

Ukrainian National Platform and Working Group 5 Statement on the Draft Labour Code of Ukraine

Recent Publications

Strategies for Strengthening Security in the EaP Countries Analysed in a New Policy Paper

The policy paper was produced within the framework of the re-granting project “Security Alert on the EU’s Doorstep” by Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development (Georgia), in partnership with the Foreign Policy Association (Moldova) and the NGO Promotion of Intercultural Cooperation (Ukraine). The aim of the project is to raise awareness about the EaP security challenges and to develop a comprehensive vision for the region. In the context of the new EU Global Strategy and the NATO Warsaw Summit, the study explores security challenges facing NATO, the EU, the EaP states as well as the need for balancing act between deterrence and engagement with Russia and, in particular, close cooperation between NATO and the EaP countries.

Policy Paper

Executive Summary

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Upcoming Meetings

28-29 July 2016: conference "Soft Power as a Challenge to National Security", Tbilisi

12-13 September 2016: Working Group 2 meeting, Brussels

14-15 September 2016: Working Group 3 Meeting, Brussels

19-20 September 2016: Human Rights Conference, Chisinau 

21 September 2016: 4th EaP CSF Steering Committee Meeting, Chisinau