European partnership for democracy, EPD

Constitutional Referendum in Moldova : What to expect now?

Moldova's constitutional referendum, held on September 5, has failed due to lacking a quorum of 33,33%, with only 30,29% of voter turnout. As a consequence of the non valid referendum, the Moldovan Parliament is about to be dissolved and snap parliamentary elections should take place most likely in November 2010. The result of the constitutional referendum has exposed the limits of constitutional reform as a mechanism to overcome a political deadlock. Indeed, the failure of the constitutional referendum in Moldova proves that in a functioning democracy there is not such a thing as partisan constitution-making (never mind how good the proposal might be). Read the article

Please see also the article about the EPD co-funding of 7 projects in Moldova. Link.

Seven projects selected in Moldova

Through the initiative launched in June 2010 by EPD and EEF under the European Partnership Fair for Civil Society Organizations in Moldova came to a successful conclusion this week. From the 139 projects that were submitted 7 projects were selected to be funded by the Basket Fund. These projects underlined the EU-Moldova sustainable partnership to allow for the exchange of ideas and the support and strengthening of Moldova's transition to democracy.

The Partnership Fair that took place in Moldova on the 15 and 16 of June, organized by the European Partnership for Democracy, the East European Foundation and "Promolex" organization, had the positive outcome that 7 of the most original and innovative projects were selected for funding under the Basket Fund. These projects ranged from a cleaner environment to more transparency to social youth activism. This could not have been possible without the Basket Fund's financial supporters : the EEF, National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Czech Republic. More information on www.partnershipfair.eu

Partnership Fair Moldova

The European Partnership for Democracy (EPD), the East Europe Foundation (EEF) and Promo-LEX have the pleasure to announce the organization of European Partnership Fair for Civil Society Organizations in Moldova which will take place in Chisinau, Moldova on June 15 and 16, 2010. The three organizations joined their efforts with the goal of bringing more European organizations and donors to Moldova to work with local partner organizations in strengthening the country's fledgling democracy, show support for its pro-European agenda and share valuable experience gained from other European transitions to democracy. More info.

Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) Civil Society Forum is a gathering of representatives of civil society from EaP countries and EU Member States which will follow the agenda of the EaP and will prepare its comments, input to discussion, recommendations and will also oversee the implementation of EaP agreements. The Civil Society Forum (CSF) is a great opportunity for NGOs from target countries but also from the EU to participate in this process and to become a partner to the governments and institutions. Link to article.

ARMENIA MONTHLY APRIL 2010

Following on from the EPD's Moldova Weekly newsletter, we are launching a monthly briefing on the situation in Armenia. Click here to read.

20 years of democratic renewal in Eastern Europe

The EPD's partner organisation, the Policy Association for an Open Society (PASOS), is organising a gathering of young civic leaders from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the Slovak Republic, and democracy and human rights campaigners from EU Eastern Partnership countries, with representatives of the European Commission, European Council, European Parliament, and EU member governments to be held in Prague on 10 December on the occasion of International Human Rights Day and to mark 20 years since the end of the Cold War and the end of communist rule in Central Europe. Read more here.

EPD to represent Civil Society Organizations on Eastern Partnership forum

The EU's new Eastern Partnership (EaP) Civil Society Forum held its first conference on Nov 16-17. The EPD's programme manager for the post-Soviet and Asia region, Kristina Prunerova, was elected by delegates from civil society organisations to become the coordinator of the first working group on democracy, good governance and stability on behalf of those CSOs participating in the EaP Civil Society Forum that are based in the EU. Kristina will support Mr Siarhej Mackievic in his role as principal coordinator. Click here to read Kristina's report on what happened in the forum. 

Outcomes of preparatory meeting for Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum

The first meeting of the Civil Society Forum is being held on November 16 and 17 in Brussels with the participation of over 220 CSO representatives from Eastern Partnership countries and the EU. In preparation for that meeting, a number of the invited civil society organisations got together to discuss the key issues. Read a full report of the preparatory meeting here, or jump to the meeting's key recommendations for the Civil Society Forum here.

New Moldovan PM visits Brussels

Vlad Filat, the newly elected Prime Minister of Moldova, visited the European Parliament in Brussels yesterday (29 Sept). He held a meeting with Jerzy Buzek, President of the new European Parliament, and took questions from the Parliament's External Affairs Committee. The EPD  has been following events in Moldova closely this year, monitoring elections, reporting back to Brussels decision makers on events taking place in the country and helping to strengthen EU support for Moldova's transition. Read more about the PM's visit.

REPORT - Armenia on the Threshold of Change

As part of the European Partnership for Democracy's series of Working Papers on democracy assistance, Richard Giragosian and Marine Manucharyan report on the state of political affairs in the Republic of Armenia after the local elections for the city of Yerevan held in May 2009. The report shows that the Armenian society remains polarised after contested parliamentary elections of last year which were followed by demonstrations and violently suppressed leaving at least 10 people dead. The Armenian government handles the political and economic crisis with even more oppression and intimidation of anyone in disagreement. The last part of the report explains the current development in Turkey-Armenia relations which are going through unprecedented period of thawing. Read the report here.

REPORT - Moldova's Early Elections: A Transition in Need of Support

The Brussels-based democracy assistance organization European Partnership for Democracy (EPD) has the pleasure of introducing its report on the current developments in Moldova entitled “Moldova’s Early Elections: A Transition in Need of Support”. As part of the EPD series of Working Papers on Democracy Assistance, Kristina Prunerova, Programme Manager responsible for the Post-soviet region, reports on the state of political affairs in the Republic of Moldova after the two parliamentary elections held in 2009. The first elections, held in April, were followed by demonstrations and a violent crackdown by the authorities, which resulted in a political stalemate and fresh elections in July. These saw opposition parties together win more than 50% of the vote and, at the time of writing, were negotiating to create a coalition government that would drive forward Moldova’s transition to democracy. In this study Ms. Prunerova analyses the situation between the regular and early elections in spring this year, outlines the main challenges in the post-election period and proposes what more the international community needs to do to assist Moldova at this fragile stage in its democratic evolution. Read the full report here.

MOLDOVA REPORTS

As part of the EPD's close monitoring of the current situation in the Republic of Moldova we produce a weekly round-up of the most important news stories to help keep decision makers and interested parties informed. Click here to catch up on past editions.

A transition that is just getting started

There may be new people in power but there is still plenty of work to be done in Moldova. In a letter to the European Voice, the EPD's Kristina Prunerova outlines the challenges that lie ahead of the Republic of Moldova after two bouts of parliamentary elections this year. Click here to read Kristina's article.

EPD project: Results of Early Parliamentary Elections in Moldova

On July 29 the Republic of Moldova held early parliamentary elections. The Communist Party of the Republic of Moldova has gained the largest share of votes of 44.69%, followed by the Liberal Democratic Party with 16.7%; the Liberal Party with 14.68% and the Democratic Party with 12.54%. The fifth party to overcome the threshold of 5 percent is Moldova Noastra Alliance with 7.35% and these 5 forces will be present in the new Parliament. Full report.

Event: DEMOCRACY IN MOLDOVA: A SECOND CHANCE!

On Monday Jul 20th, 2009 ALDE group of the European Parliament organized an event, into which EPD took part, on the situation in Moldova in the light of upcoming early elections to be held on July 29th 2009. Over 80 people gathered on this occasion to hear some of the voices coming from Moldova commenting on the current political situation in Moldova which is part of both the European Neighborhood Policy and Eastern Partnership - two significant policies of the EU towards its neighboring countries. More...

Armenian Political Prisoners Released In Amnesty

Armenian authorities have begun releasing dozens of political prisoners more than 15 months after suppressing massive opposition demonstrations against the official results of a disputed presidential election. They have ensured, however, that not all jailed supporters of the top opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian are set free under a general amnesty declared on June 19. President Serzh Sarksyan's intention to keep more than a dozen of them behind bars is a measure of his self-confidence, resulting from opposition setbacks and Western support for his foreign policy.

Moldova CSO delegation calls for more EU presence in their country before elections in July

Four representatives of Moldovan civil society organizations visited Brussel between June 16 and 18 and held meetings with various European institutions' representatives about the current political crisis in Moldova. The EPD has supported their initiative and organized their meetings in Brussels. Please see memorandum from their visit here.

EPD Events

The EPD has the honour of presenting you with the final report from the conference entitled “Building Consensus about EU Policies on Democracy Support”, which was organized by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Commission on March 9th and 10th, 2009, in Prague in collaboration with the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD) and the Czech Association for Democracy Assistance and Human Rights (DEMAS). On the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Czech Republic hosted this international gathering in order to address the issue of the European approach to democracy assistance. The event was held under the auspices of Karel Schwarzenberg, Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Václav Havel, former President of the Czech Republic. Discover the report.

The New Way of Transition in Moldova: Which Path Would it Take?

Results of Moldova's parliamentary elections on 5 April 2009 led to the confrontation between the governing authorities in Moldova, represented solely by the Communist Party of Moldova, and the population of the country. The first protests in Moldova, which took place on 7 April 2009 were, according to the opposition leaders and civil society, spontaneous and violent, and were not organized or led by the opposition. By the end of the day on 7 April 2009, 295 people were arrested, among which one person died allegedly due to severe beating by the police.  On 8 April 2009 the civil society of Moldova issued a declaration on the 2009 Coalition of NGOs, which was promptly signed and sent out to civil society organizations in the European Union and neighbouring countries. The opposition leaders called for conciliatory forms of protests and the Leader of Liberal Party and Mayor of Moldova signed the permission to hold peaceful demonstrations in Chisinau between April 10 through April 29, which were supposed to keep demonstrators in designed areas and only until 9 pm. Read the full report.

The New Way of Transition in Moldova: Which Path Would it Take?

Results of Moldova's parliamentary elections on 5 April 2009 led to the confrontation between the governing authorities in Moldova, represented solely by the Communist Party of Moldova, and the population of the country. The first protests in Moldova, which took place on 7 April 2009 were, according to the opposition leaders and civil society, spontaneous and violent, and were not organized or led by the opposition. By the end of the day on 7 April 2009, 295 people were arrested, among which one person died allegedly due to severe beating by the police.  On 8 April 2009 the civil society of Moldova issued a declaration on the 2009 Coalition of NGOs, which was promptly signed and sent out to civil society organizations in the European Union and neighbouring countries. The opposition leaders called for conciliatory forms of protests and the Leader of Liberal Party and Mayor of Moldova signed the permission to hold peaceful demonstrations in Chisinau between April 10 through April 29, which were supposed to keep demonstrators in designed areas and only until 9 pm.

EPD exploratory working visit to Moldova 02-07 February, 2009