Advocacy
EPD fundamentally contributes to advancing the policy debate in Europe. The last few years have witnessed the opening of an important debate on the role of the EU in worldwide democracy support. EPD has been involved in this debate as a proactive partner, working in close cooperation with the EU institutions and Member States, as well as with other stakeholders. Through its EU office, EPD channels contributions and expertise from EU Member States and its own projects in the field, disseminating the outcomes of the debates in Brussels, participating in various forums and platforms, as well as organising and supporting conferences and knowledge-sharing events, where the fundamental issues surrounding the EU's engagement in democracy support can be further debated.
The following selection of activities gives an indication of EPD's work under its advocacy function. More detailed information can be found in the EPD Annual Report 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Zimbabwe delegation visit to The Hague and Brussels
A
delegation from Zimbabwe visited the EPD Offices in connection with the UN
International Day of Democracy celebrations as well as the third anniversary of
the Global Political Agreement in Zimbabwe. Events took place and meetings were organised both at the EPD
Office in The Hague and at the EPD headquarters in Brussels in order to create
a constructive dialogue with policy makers. Read More
Roundtable: "Europe and its Neighbourhood: Towards a
Renewed Partnership for Democracy"
On
May 25 - 26, 2011, the Community of Democracies, together with EPD, celebrated
a roundtable on "Europe and its Neighbourhood: Towards a Renewed
Partnership for Democracy" which was hosted by the Polish Permanent
Representation to the European Union in Brussels.
After the ground-breaking events in the Arab world, the two-day roundtable aimed at facilitating the dialogue between civil society representatives and policy makers at EU and national levels, contributing to building bridges for enhanced cooperation and coherence in supporting the neighbouring countries' democratic evolution. It represented a unique opportunity to bring together high-level policy makers and civil society representatives to discuss the political, social, economic and institutional implications of recent developments in the European neighbourhood. Read More
Policy Debriefing: Where is Moldova heading?
On
December 9, 2010, EPD, in partnership with the Open Society Institute-Brussels
and the EU Moldova Forum, with the support of UNDP Moldova, organised a post
-elections policy debriefing entitled "Where is Moldova heading?" The
discussions were held by leading political analysts Arcadie Barbarosie from the
Institute for Public Policy (IPP), Elena Prohnitchi from the Association for Participatory
Democracy (ADEPT), and Nicu Popescu from the European Council for Foreign
Relations (ECFR). Discussants included Monica Macovei, head of the European Parliament's
Delegation for relations with the Republic of Moldova and Remi Duflot, desk officer
for the Republic of Moldova, DG External Relations, European Commission.
Conference: Strengthening cooperation between Europe and
Africa on democratic reform
While
the development of democracy in African states has been facing challenges, the
African Union and the European Union have developed frameworks and policies
supporting these complex processes. The aim of the conference "Strengthening
cooperation between Europe and Africa on Democratic Reform" was to take stock
of practices and policies, review cooperation instruments in support of
democratisation in Africa and assess the political challenges and opportunities
in a policy area in constant flux. The two-day conference was organized by EPD
on October 11-12, 2010, in partnership with the Belgian Presidency of the European
Union, the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), the Egmont
Institute, the Institute for Security Studies (iSS) and the Observatoire de
l'Afrique. It brought together African and European policy makers, analysts and
stakeholders to share their knowledge and enable advocacy work within European
institutions.
Some of the recommendations and conclusions drawn from the conference advanced the debate on democracy support in Africa, and served EU institutions, member states, and other stakeholders to understand that cooperation between donors and beneficiaries is a necessity; coordination and coherence among donors is crucial for the effectiveness and legitimacy of the democratic consolidation process; local ownership and capacities should be strengthened; and more work needs to be done with regards to the entire election process, extending instances of dialogue at national, regional and international level.
Luncheon seminar: Assessment of the ongoing Constitutional
reform process with representatives of Zimbabwean civil society organisations
(CSOs)
On
September 14, 2010, EPD organized a Luncheon Seminar in Brussels eliciting the second
anniversary of the Zimbabwean Global Political Agreement. During this event,
testimonies of the Constitutional reform process consultation phase were shared
by involved Zimbabweans with representatives of the European Parliament,
European Commission, the Belgian EU Presidency and European civil society
organizations working in Zimbabwe. The seminar was organized in conjunction
with the meeting of Zimbabwean civil society representatives in the European
Parliament, also co-organized by EPD and the Zimbabwe Europe Network (ZEN).
The
latter gave the opportunity to Zimbabwean civil society leaders, members of the
European Commission, staff from Member States Permanent Representations and
other decision makers, such as from the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
European NGO representatives, ZEN members and partners, and Zimbabweans living
in The Netherlands and Belgium to exchange ideas on the ongoing constitutional
reform process and possible scenarios for the future of the country.
Transatlantic Dialogue: Strengthening EU-US cooperation
on democracy support
EPD
has provided assistance in implementing the two-year transatlantic dialogue
programme on "Strengthening EU-US Cooperation on Democracy Support." On June
27-29, 2010 the dialogue started with an opening conference organized in Washington
DC. The National Democratic Institute (NDI) carried out the programme, funded
by the European Commission, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the
German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF).
Bringing together current and former US and EU administration officials, Members of Congress, Members of the European Parliament, experts from think thanks, academia and the broader democracy and transatlantic policy community, the conference included a series of panel discussions on selected areas where opportunities exist to strengthen transatlantic cooperation on democracy and human rights.
A set of specific, actionable policy recommendations to strengthen transatlantic cooperation on democracy support were developed and signed by the dialogue participants. EPD positioned itself as a central civil society actor within the European Union, and gained the necessary visibility to become a focal point in the transatlantic dialogue on democracy support.
Presentation/debate on the project report: "Assessing
international democracy assistance"
On
February 16, 2010, EPD in partnership with FRIDE and supported by UNDEF,
organized a presentation and debate on the report on the project "Assessing
International Democracy Assistance." The event assembled a select group of key policy
makers and NGO practitioners to discuss the central findings of the project.
The project evaluated democracy assistance programmes, following several failures of democratic transitions. Its aim was to assess a range of core questions across a large number of different target states for democracy promotion strategies. These included best practices and less effective approaches and programmes, possible reasons for their success or failure, and most importantly, the best way forward given the changing political landscape.
The project report launched on February 16, gave the opportunity to the participants to contribute to the preliminary conclusions with their views and experience, share their knowledge and advance the debate on aid effectiveness within the European Union.
Visit
of Moldovan Civil Society representatives
A delegation of Civil Society
representatives from Moldova visited Brussels between June 15 and 19 2009 on
behalf of the Moldovan Civil Society Organizations (CSO)s as a result of the
political crisis in the aftermath of the elections that had taken place
previously in April. They addressed the EU institutions and called for more observation
and support in the next parliamentary elections.
Moldova is part of the European
Neighbourhood Policy and the Eastern
Partnership in which the participating countries commit themselves to a
cooperation based on principles of international law and fundamental values,
including democracy, the rule of law and the respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms. The crises on EU's border should not be perceived as an
internal matters of the neighbouring states. These meetings are
therefore held to address the EU institutions in the call for more attention
and support.
EPD and Europe-Zimbabwe Network
Meeting between Zimbabwean Civil Society Representatives and European and
Political Society
In June 2009, EPD organised a meeting with Zimbabwean Civil
Society leaders for Brussels policy-makers and NGOs. At the meeting the
progress of implementation of the Global Political Agreement was presented and
discussed. EPD co-organised this event with Zimbabwe-Europe Network (ZEN).
Following the establishment of functional working relations in the course of
2009.
This cooperation is still active. The two year celebration
of the GPA was celebrated in Brussels in 2010 with EPD partners ZEN. A luncheon
was co-organised to review the developments achieved and to discuss possible
further cooperation to fulfil the agreement.
Democracy Awards Ceremony
In cooperation with the Dutch organisations Forum For
Democratic Development and the Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy,
EPD co-organised awards ceremonies in recognition of individual contributions
to democracy, held in the Hague in November 2009 and in September 2010 to mark
the International Day of Democracy.