Eastern Partnership News

6th CORLEAP Annual Meeting to be Held on 30 September

On 30 September 2016 the sixth annual meeting of the Conference of the Regional and Local Authorities for the Eastern Partnership (CORLEAP) will be held in Brussels at the Committee of the Regions.

Recruitment for the Election Observation Mission to the Republic of Belarus

Following an official invitation to observe the parliamentary elections in the Republic of Belarus, scheduled for 11 September 2016, and in accordance with its mandate, the OSCE/ODIHR is preparing to deploy an Election Observation Mission (EOM) for these elections.

New Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy

The new EU Global Strategy “Shared Vision, Common Action: Stronger Europe” outlines EU’s key interests and principles guiding EU’s external action.

Khadija Ismayilova Depicted on a Mural in Warsaw

Khadija Ismayilova is depicted on a mural by Dariusz Paczkowski, which was unveiled in Warsaw at the corner of Al. Prymasa Tysiąclecia and ul. Obozowa today. Khadija is a journalist and political prisoner currently serving a 7.5 year prison term in Azerbaijan. The mural is an initiative of the Warsaw-based Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (Helsińska Fundacja Praw Człowieka), Polish Green Network and Klamra Foundation (Fundacja KLAMRA).

Book Launch and Discussion on Consequences of EU Enlargement in 2004

The EaP CSF member EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy and Institute for European Studies and the Institute for European Studies at Université libre de Bruxelles would like to invite you to a book launch and discussion: “A Mixed Bag? Reflections on the Big Bang Enlargement 12 Years On”

European Commission Proposes Visa-Liberalisation for Ukrainian Citizens

Today the European Commission is submitting a proposal for the Council of European Union and the European Parliament concerning introduction of visa-free travel for Ukrainian citizens.

Georgia—Waiting for NATO, Waiting for the EU - Interview with Tinatin Khidasheli

The notion of a Europe whole and united hardly got a look-in at this year’s Globsec forum of foreign and security policy experts in Bratislava. Yet becoming part of the Euro-Atlantic structures of NATO and the EU is key to Georgia’s future direction and stability. Since 2012, reforms have lost their momentum, stagnation has set in, and corruption and nepotism have been on the rise. None of the above has made things easier for Tinatin Khidasheli, who was appointed Georgian defense minister nearly a year ago.

Ukrainian Parliament Appoints New Government Led by Volodymyr Groysman

Today Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada appointed a new cabinet led by Volodymyr Groysman. After more than two months of political deadlock, the former mayor of Vinnytsia and the speaker of Ukrainian Parliament Groysman, is replacing Arseniy Yatsenyuk as the new head of Government. 

The Swedish Institute Invites to Apply for Baltic Sea Region Funding Grants

The Swedish Institute has launched a call for applications for Baltic Sea Region funding grants. Applicants can apply for funding up to 500,000 SEK to develop project partnerships in the Baltic Sea Region which contribute to the aims in Baltic Sea Region policy documents, e.g. the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region.

Members of the European Parliament Signed a Letter Calling for a Savchenko Sanction List

As a result of concerns over Nadiya Savchenko, MEP Petras Auštrevičius (ALDE, LT) initiated a letter addressed to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Frederica Mogherini. The letter calls for adoption of personal sanctions on EU level against individuals who were involved in the kidnapping, unlawful detention, imprisonment, and fabrication of charges against Nadiya Savchenko.

The European Court for Human Rights Announces Two Decisions on Azerbaijani Activists

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) declared on 11 February two decisions on Azerbaijan: the ECHR upheld the joint complaint of Ilham Huseynli, Elchin Salimov and Ahmadzade Ibrahim, and also granted the appeal of youth activists – Agasif Ibragimov, Emin Farhadi and Jamil Hajiyev. The European Court found violations of their rights under Articles 11(freedom of association), 6(right to a fair hearing), and 5(right to liberty and security) and ruled that the government of Azerbaijan is obliged to pay them compensation.

Elections Observation NGOs Consider Adopted Constitution in Armenia Illegitimate due to Major Electoral Fraud in the Referendum

The Citizen Observer Initiative and the European Platform for Democratic Elections (EPDE) published the final report of their observation mission of the referendum on Constitutional Amendments that was conducted on 6 December 2015 in the Republic of Armenia. The report concludes that the constitutional referendum did not comply with the norms prescribed in the Code of Good Practice on Referendums of the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, its results do not reflect the will of the citizens of Armenia and, therefore, the document adopted based on such referendum is illegitimate.

New Foreign Minister of Poland Comments the Eastern Partnership Policy in his Recent Address to the Parliament on the Priorities of Polish Diplomacy

Poland wants to change the European Union’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) policy, Witold Waszczykowski, the new Foreign Minister has told the Polish Parliament in a recent foreign policy debate. Waszczykowski underscored that Eastern policy remained a priority for Poland but added his country wanted to „create a new instrument for the European Union capable of positively influencing the Eastern neighbourhood policy”.

New Anti-Corruption Protests Brought Together Divided Moldovans against the Newly-Formed Government

Protests in Moldovan capital of Chisinau continued over the weekend as thousands of people went to streets demanding the resignation of the newly-formed government and calling for early elections.

IPHR and OSEPI Roundtable and Report Presentation on Human Rights Defenders in Azerbaijan

International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) together with the Open Society European Policy Institute (OSEPI) co-organized on 19 January 2016 the expert discussion Justice Behind Bars: The Persecution of Civil Society in Azerbaijan that featured the presentation of the new report with the same title published by IPHR in December 2015.

EU-Ukraine DCFTA Comes into Effect with the Start of the New Year

On 1 January 2016 starts being applied the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) between the EU and Ukraine, which is part of the larger Association Agreement (AA) signed in June 2014. The political and cooperation association chapters and general provisions of the AA are already operational provisionally since November 2014 while the entire EU-Ukraine AA with its DCFTA will fully enter into force as soon as the ratification by all 28 Member States is finalised.

European Commission Publishes Progress Reports Confirming that Georgia and Ukraine Meet the Criteria for Visa Liberalisation

The European Commission adopted today the 4th progress reports on Georgia's implementation of the action plans on visa liberalisation (VLAP) and the 6th progress report on Ukraine's VLAP implementation. Both reports highlight the significant progress made by Georgia and Ukraine to meet the criteria for visa liberalisation.

Prominent Azerbaijani Human Rights Defender Leyla Yunus Released from Jail on Health Grounds

Following the ruling of Baku Court of Appeal to suspend the 8.5-year-sentence, prominent human rights activist Leyla Yunus was freed from prison due to her deteriorating health. Despite the release, the charges against her and her husband Arif Yunus, who was conditionally freed on 12 November, are still maintained and their rights not fully restored.

Europe’s Unstable Eastern Neighborhood: What Role for Civil Society?

European Partnership for Democracy co-organizes with the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF), Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic to the EU, Václav Havel Library and Czech Centre Brussels the conference “Europe’s Unstable Eastern Neighborhood: What Role for Civil Society?”. Václav Havel European Dialogue Conference is an annual event organised for the third year running.

In Azerbaijan the Ruling Party wins the Parliamentary Elections Boycotted by Opposition and International Observers

In the parliamentary elections of 1 November, the ruling New Azerbaijan party won at least 70 seats in the 125-seat parliament, with the rest taken by small parties and candidates loyal to President Ilham Aliyev as the opposition refused to participate in the elections after the pre-election period marked by massive violations.

Is there an East-West Divide in Ukraine after the Local Elections?

Last Sunday on 25 October Ukraine held its first nationwide local elections since the Euromaidan revolution of 2013-2014. According to the International Election Observation Mission (IEOM), these elections “were widely viewed as a barometer of the authorities’ intentions to maintain the positive standards achieved during the 2014 presidential and parliamentary elections”. While international observers and local NGO watchdogs overall agreed that the elections respected the democratic process, irregularities were identified.

Human Rights Defenders to Work with Documentary Filmmakers under Future Docs Initiative

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR) will co-organise a workshop in Warsaw designed to bring together human rights defenders and documentary filmmakers at Future Docs – a new European initiative of the Watch Docs International Film Festival, one of the oldest and largest human rights film festivals worldwide.

EU suspends sanctions against Belarus despite flawed presidential elections

In the Sunday election in Belarus boycotted by the opposition, Alexander Lukashenko retained power for his 5th consecutive mandate after winning 83.5% of the popular vote. This time, violent crackdowns on opposition candidates witnessed in previous elections did not take place, while political prisoners who challenged the president over his 21-year-long rule have also been released. Thus, the EU has the intention to lift some of the sanctions against Belarus.

Conference on Anti-discrimination Policies and Minority Rights Protection in EaP Countries and EU

EaP CSF members from the Eastern Partnership Minorities Network and Minority Rights Group Europe organize a conference “Towards Convergence? Anti-discrimination Policies and Minority Rights Protection in the Eastern Partnership Countries and the European Union” in Budapest, Hungary on 8-9 October 2015.

Parliament of Azerbaijan Reacts to the EP Resolution and Decides to Withdraw from the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly

In an extraordinary session held on 14 September, Azerbaijan’s Parliament (Milli Majlis) reacted to the European Parliament (EP) resolution on Azerbaijan adopted few days earlier, on 10 September. The EP resolution addresses the deteriorating human rights situation in Azerbaijan, by raising the question of sanctions against judges and politicians involved in the persecution of citizens for political reasons and by calling on the European External Action Service and the EU Member States to abstain from sending observers to the upcoming parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan.

EU Announces New €92.5 Million Support to EaP Countries

The European Union announced a new package of EUR 92.5 million funding for Eastern Partnership members intended to support environment initiatives in Belarus, employment and business development in rural areas of Azerbaijan and regional cooperation in the Eastern Partnership. The regional cooperation support package worth EUR 64.5 million aims at boosting regional cooperation in Eastern Partnership in four areas.

European Parliament Adopts Resolutions on ‪‎Azerbaijan and ‪Belarus‬‬

The resolutions of the European Parliament (EP) mostly focused on the human rights developments in both countries. There was a heated debate on the situation in Azerbaijan in the plenary. The EP called on Azerbaijan to respect and implement its commitments as a member of Council of Europe and comply with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) rulings. On a more positive note, the Parliament took into account recent developments in Belarus and its relations with the EU. A more active engagement of Belarus in ‪the EaP and the release of ‪political prisoners were welcomed by the MEPs.

Third Eastern Partnership Cultural Congress (Lviv, 4-6 September 2015)

Cultural issues are low on the list of priorities of the Eastern Partnership but cultural organisations from Lublin in Eastern Poland and Lviv are working to change this. Every two years they organise a congress devoted to culture in the EaP. The first two congresses were held in Lublin (2011 and 2013) and this year, the  third came to Lviv supported by the Polish Foreign Ministry and the Lviv city authorities. 

Unprecedented Number of Protesters Take to the Streets in Moldovan Anti-corruption Demonstration

On 6 September, a massive protest brought tens of thousands of people from all over Moldova to the central square in Chisinau demanding the resignation of Moldovan president Nicolae Timofti and calling for early elections to be held in March. Protesters also demand direct election of the president, who is now elected by a 2/3 majority in the parliament, as well as the dismissal of a number of senior officials at the attorney general’s office and the National Bank of Moldova. Judicial reform, greater media freedom and the cancellation of recent sharp increase of electricity and gas rates were mentioned among other demands.

EU to Extend Individual Sanctions in Response to Ukrainian Crisis

During the meeting of EU ambassadors on September 2 it was agreed to extend sanctions against Russian individuals and companies, as well as pro-Russian leadership in Ukraine, who contributed to the annexation of Crimea and the insurgency in Eastern Ukraine. The asset freeze and travel bans were supposed to expire on September 15 but will be prolonged for six months until 15 March 2016, the official decision is expected in mid-September. The main objective is to ensure that the conditions of Minsk agreements are met by Moscow.

Chatham House and Robert Bosch Stiftung Fellowship for EaP and Russia

Chatham House, in partnership with the Robert Bosch Stiftung, hosts fellows from the six countries of the Eastern Partnership and Russia. The fellowship offers an opportunity for the next generation of scholars from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine to advance their knowledge of post-Soviet politics, develop research skills, contribute to Chatham House research, and build links with policy and academic communities in the UK, Germany and the EU more broadly. 

Civil Society Leadership Awards for Master’s Degree Studies

The Civil Society Leadership Awards (CSLA) provide fully funded master’s degree study to individuals who clearly demonstrate academic and professional excellence and a deep commitment to leading positive social change in their communities.

Policy Advisers Course for Eastern Partners

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA), together with the School of Public Policy at Central European University will organize a three-day intensive training course for young policy advisers from the Eastern part of Europe - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. - See more at: http://spp.ceu.edu/events/2015-12-08/policy-advisers-course-eastern-partners#sthash.1tyKtRRx.dpuf

CSO Sustainability in EaP Countries: Impeded or Evolving?

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) issued its 18th edition of the CSO Sustainability Index for Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia, covering developments in 2014. The Sustainability Index reports on the strength and overall viability of CSO sectors in each of the 29 countries from the Baltics to Central Asia. The Index highlights both positive and negative developments in the civil society sector, and allows for comparisons across countries and sub-regions over time.

Call for Proposals from DFATD: Support SMEs in Ukraine

Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD) is launching a call for proposals to support the growth and competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ukraine.

This call is valued at as much as $30 million over a period of six years (2015–2021) and is open to Canadian organizations or Canadian-led consortia only, which could include partnership with Canadian provinces and/or Ukrainian-Canadian diaspora organizations.

DFATD intends to fund three to five high-quality proposals to support SMEs in Ukraine. DFATD may decide to fund any number, or none, of the proposals submitted for consideration.

MA Programme in Human Rights and Democratization - Apply by 30 June

Applications are now open for the Regional Master's Programme in Human Rights and Democratization in ‪‎Armenia‬ , ‎Belarus‬ , ‎Georgia‬ , ‎Ukraine‬ and ‪‎Moldova‬. Send in required documents before June 30th.

Study on Engagement with CSOs in Ukraine - Deadline Approaching

The ‘Civil Society Dialogue for Progress’ project has launched a call for proposals for the development of a baseline study for the Roadmap for engagement ‪CSOs in ‪Ukraine between 2014 and 2017, as well as measuring their progress for engagement in the region. Application deadline is 26 June 2015.

EIDHR Call for Proposals Aims to Strengthen Civil Society in Azerbaijan

The EU Delegation to Azerbaijan is accepting applications within the EIDHR (European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights) call for proposals aiming to strengthen the role and capacities of civil society in Azerbaijan in the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Riga Graduate School of Law: Call for Applications from Civil Society and Civil Servants

The Riga Graduate School is offering an advanced programme in law and economics mainly aimed at public officials from ENP countries and Central Asia.The programme will also be available for civil society representatives and academia.

Ukraine at War: Truth against Russian Propaganda

The EaP CSF member People in Need (Czech Republic) together with Centre for Civil Liberties (Ukraine) cordially invites you to the conference UKRAINE AT WAR: TRUTH AGAINST RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA organized under the auspices of the Member of the European Parliament Mr. Jaromír Štětina. Date and place: 16th of June 2015, 18:00, European Parliament, ASP A1G-2. The conference will be followed by a reception.

The OSCE without Russia – a Solution for Europe’s Security?

A new soft security organization ‘OSCE BIS’ that excludes Russia should be established because Russia is “blocking and manipulating the existing global and Pan-European security organisations”, and making use of violence and aggression, argues Jan Piekło in his paper.

If a Bear Approaches or Charges You, Do Not Run

Ahead of ‪‎the Riga Summit, Ian Bond from the Centre for European Reform suggests five steps the EU can take to save‪ Eastern Partnership (EaP).

Moldova’s Success Story: Visa-free Regime with the EU One Year on

On the eve of the Eastern Partnership Summit in Riga, the experts from Stefan Batory Foundation (Warsaw) and Instutute of World Policy (Kyiv) published a policy paper ‘Moldova’s success story: the visa-free regime with the EU one year on’.

European Commission to Support SMEs and Entrepreneurship in Ukraine

At the International Conference on Support for Ukraine the EU announced it will allocate €110 million to support SMEs and entrepreneurship in Ukraine. €70 million will represent the Special Measure for Private Sector Development and Approximation, and €40 million a loan guarantee facility from the Neighbourhood Investment Facility.

Engaging with the Eurasian Economic Union: Solution or Security Risk Too Great to Take?

Would dialogue between the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) be a solution to pacify Russian sensibilities? Has the EU forced Ukraine to choose between the EU and the Eurasian option? The European Policy Centre is raising these questions in its policy brief.

CLEEN Project: Applications for Mentoring Programme and CSO Consultant Vacancy in Armenia

CLEEN (Civil society Local Energy Efficiency Network) is a 3-year-project funded by the European Union and led by the international NGO “Women in Europe for a Common Future” (WECF) with its partners and co-applicants Ecoclub (Ukraine), Gutta-Club (Moldova) and SDC Akhaltsihke (Georgia). The overall objective is building a sectoral regional partnership of civil society organizations (CSOs) in four countries - Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia - and to strengthen CSOs capacities with a focus on energy efficiency.

Call for Proposals under Territorial Cooperation Programme Moldova - Ukraine

The 1st Call for Proposals under the Territorial Cooperation Programme Moldova - Ukraine has been launched. The overall objective of the territorial cooperation programme is to strengthen cross border contacts between local authorities, communities and civil society organizations to help develop joint solutions to common social and economic development challenges.

AMO Survey: Membership Perspective, Security, Mobility, SMEs and Development Programs are Keys to EaP Success

Association for International Affairs (AMO), a Prague-based think tank, undertook a survey to map the ideas, opinions and visions on the Eastern Partnership (EaP) project in the Visegrad Group and EaP countries.

EU Assessment of European Neighbourhood Policy Implementation in 2014

The EU released its annual implementation report of the European Neighbourhood Policy for 2014. According to the report, 2014 though not without major challenges such as the war in Ukraine, was marked with significant progress in the EaP, including the signature of the Association Agreements (and DCFTA) with Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine.

Czech MFA launches 2015 call for small CSO projects in EaP countries

The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched the 2015 call for projects targeting the priorities of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, especially related to Working Groups 1, 4 and 5. The call is open for projects led by civil society organisations in EaP countries.

EESC Research paper: “Eastern Partnership in a Changed Security Environment: New Incentives for Reform”

The Eastern Europe Studies Centre (EESC) published a paper on the “Eastern Partnership in a Changed Security Environment” and the “new incentives for Reform”. It argues that as the geopolitical landscape in the EaP region has been changing recently, especially with regards to security, the EU should change its approach towards its Eastern neighbours. The study proposes three scenarios for that approach. 

Applications open for Clima East Expert Facility support mechanism

Clima East Expert Facility (EF) is open for applications until 15 March 2015 for support from eligible organisations involved with climate actions, targeting both mitigation and adaptation. Through this expert facility, successful candidates will be able to request specific and dedicated short-term expert support in order to achieve results on the ground in climate change policy and action.

Seminars on benefits of Association Agreements taking place in Moldova

In the course of January and February, eight seminars aiming to explain the benefits of the Association Agreements are being organised in Moldova by the EU-funded project Civil Society for Progress.

FPC research paper: "Trouble in the Neighbourhood? The future of the EU's Eastern Partnership"

The London-based Foreign Policy Centre has published a research paper on the future of the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP). The paper examines how the EU is dealing with EaP countries, and what these countries are expecting from this partnership. It looks deep into the whole ENP process, from its creation to its transformation by the recent events and conflicts in the region.   

Committee of Ministers of Council of Europe approves 2015-2017 Action Plan for Ukraine

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe approved on 21 January an action plan for Ukraine for the period of 2015-2017. The action plan is a joint initiative of the Council of Europe and the Ukrainian authorities and aims to support “Ukraine in fulfilling its statutory and specific obligations as a Council of Europe member state”.

Ukraine’s political reforms: one year on from Euromaidan

Democracy Reporting International and the Institute of International Relations of the Taras Shevchenko National University have recently co-published a report entitled “Ukraine’s political reforms: one year on from Euromaidan.”

Public Administration in EU Eastern Partners: Comparative Report 2014

The Estonian Center of Eastern Partnership has published a comparative analysis of the state of Public Administration in the EU Eastern Partners in 2014. The report presents the level of compliance by public administration of the Eastern Partner countries with EU Principles over 2009-2014 period, along the following criteria: 

CEPS commentary: “Moldova in 2015: A decisive year for its future”

CEPS Senior Research Fellow Erwan Fouéré has recently published a commentary detailing the challenges facing Moldova in the upcoming year. The paper analyses the government vacuum following the most recent parliamentary elections in the country and issues policy-recommendations to remedy its impact. 

EU states back plans to combat Russian propaganda

According to a recent article published in the EU Observer, several EU states have supported plans to combat Russian propaganda, including a regulatory crackdown on media which “incite hatred”. 

European Commission plans €1.8 billion of further macro-financial assistance to Ukraine

The European Commission announced yesterday a further package of €1.8 billion in macro-financial assistance (MFA) to Ukraine in a bid to help the country’s balance-of-payments problems. The move is now pending approval from the European Parliament and Council of Ministers of the EU.

EaP CSF commissioned report “Taking Stock of EU Civil Society Funding” wins PASOS 2014 Best Publication of the Year Award

A EUROPEUM Report “Taking Stock of EU Civil Society Funding” commissioned by the EaP CSF earlier this year, has won the PASOS 2014 Best Publication of the Year Report.

EU and COE step up cooperation in Eastern Partnership region

The European Commission and the Council of Europe step up cooperation on human rights, democracy and the rule of law in the six Eastern Partnership countries following a new cooperation agreement signed jointly in late December.

Call for applications to participate in the Training of Trainers programme

Civil society leaders are welcome to apply for participation in an international Training of Trainer...

Law Programme is open for civil society representatives at Riga Graduate School of Law

Until January 30th, applications are open for the Advanced Programme in Law and Economics for t...

Jarabik: Revisiting Belarus: The Reality beyond the Rhetoric

Belarus is undergoing a transition, that affects lives of ordinary citizens and even though the political environment is closed, the country is open to foreign investments, argues Balazs Jarabik in his article published by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The author warns the EU to be more careful not to further isolate Belarus in the context of upcoming 2015 elections, as the influence of Russia in the country grows.

Statement of Federica Mogherini to mark Human Rights Day 2014

In a declaration to mark Human Rights Day, EU High Representative Federica Mogherini re-affirms the European Union’s commitment to upholding human rights and identifies the key challenges ahead.

Elena Tonkacheva: suspension of deportation and reflections on appeal process

Following deportation charges, Belarusian human rights activist of Russian origin, Elena Tonkacheva, reflects on the credibility of the offence leading to her expulsion and the appeal process in Belarus. 

Moldova: a narrow win for pro-Europeans

In his paper, Mr. Popescu presents an overview of the results of the recent parliamentary elections in Moldova, analyzing the decline in popularity of the pro-EU camp, which, although winning the elections, lost ground to the Socialist Party. The article further examines the prospects for the pro-EU coalition and the implications of these election results for Moldova’s European vector.

Opinion: Neighbourhood at the Crossroads: Implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy in 2013

The plenary of the Committee of Regions (CoR) adopted an opinion last week on the implementation of the European Neighbourhood Policy in 2013. Drafted by Marshal of the West Pomerania region, Olgierd Geblewicz (PL/EPP), the opinion calls for greater flexibility, regional funding and appropriate involvement of regional and local authorities towards the Eastern and Southern neighbourhoods. 

Armenian civil society after twenty years of transition: still post-communist?

A new study assessing the current state and post-Communist development of civil society in Armenia has recently been published by the Turpanjian Center for Policy Analysis and American University of Armenia. The book, entitled “Armenian Civil Society after Twenty Years of Transition: Still Post-Communist?”, was written by Valentina Gevgoryan and Yevgenya Paturyan. 

EaP CSF Monitoring Report: Moldovan Parliamentary Elections 2014

CSF monitors at the Moldovan parliamentary election have called on the country’s authorities to strengthen procedures to control election financing and to put into place transparent rules for the de-registration of candidates charged with breaking financing  rules.

Policy Brief: Security in the Eastern Partnership Region and Civil Society’s Role

A policy brief, commissioned by the EaP CSF, entitled “Security in the Eastern Partnership Region and Civil Society’s role” has recently been published on occasion of the 6^th annual assembly of the Forum. The report, written by Hennadiy Maksak and other Forum experts, analyses security in the political, economic, energy and societal spheres within the Eastern Partnership and issues some policy recommendations as well as an analysis of the role that civil society plays.

EaP CSF Annual Reports 2013-2014: Working Groups, Subgroups, National Platforms

To mark the end of the year, Working Groups, Subgroups and National Platforms of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum present annual reports on their activities, achievements and challenges in 2013-2014. 

EaP CSF annual highlights: National Platforms present reports and success Stories

Six Success Stories highlighting the main achievements of the National Platforms of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) over the last year have been presented at the 6th EaP CSF annual assembly of the Forum.

From Brussels to Batumi: Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum celebrates its 5th anniversary

This year, on the 20-21 of November, the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) is holding its 6th annual meeting in Batumi, Georgia. In the five years since its establishment,  the platform has been able to transform itself from a meeting of civil society representatives into an institutionalised policy forum, where an exchange of ideas and best practices brings together partners from six Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and the EU with the common goal of expanding the European integration processes towards the Eastern Neighbourhood.

FRIDE: Rethinking relationships in Europe’s East

FRIDE has published an article concerning the European Union’s policy towards the Eastern neighbourhood, which proposes that the neighbourhood policy should be set as a priority by the office of the new high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Federica Mogherini. 

FRIDE commentary: Will Ukraine’s new parliament speed up reforms?

Natalia Shapovalova, Associate Fellow at FRIDE, has recently published a commentary entitled “will Ukraine’s new parliament speed up reforms?”. The commentary addresses the results of the latest parliamentary elections, their impact on the reform agenda and the potential role of civil society activists.  

George Soros: “Wake Up, Europe”

George Soros has recently published an article for the New York Review of Books entitled “Wake-Up, Europe”, which covers EU policy towards Russia and Ukraine.            

Leyla Yunus wins 11th edition of Polish Prize of Sergio Vieira de Mello

Imprisoned Azeri social activist Leyla Yunus has been awarded the 11^th Edition of the Polish Prize of Sergio Vieira de Mello on 23 October 2014 in honour of her contribution to peaceful coexistence and cooperation between societies, religions and cultures.            

EU’s Neighbourhood Policy after Ukraine

Nicu Popescu, Senior Analyst at the EU Institute of Security Studies, has recently published an article for the EU observer entitled “EU’s neighbourhood policy after Ukraine”. The article evaluates the causes of the Ukraine crisis and examines how the EU can adapt its security and trade policies from the lessons learned.

NGO representatives are invited to follow OSCE Ministerial Council Meeting

Representatives of NGOs are invited to follow the proceedings of the 21st Ministerial Council Meeting of the OSCE, which will take place in Basel on 4-5 December 2014. 

EESC opinion on Ukraine’s civil society and its European aspirations

The European Economic and Social Committee has released an opinion statement this October on the situation of Ukrainian civil society in the context of European aspirations of Ukraine. 

Supporting Media: A Cornerstone of Freedom

The European Neighbourhood Info Centre (ENPI) has published a press pack on the subject of the media entitled “supporting media: a cornerstone of freedom”. Released in September 2014, the publication is an overview of instruments used by the European Union to promote democratic freedoms in the European Neighbourhood by supporting free and independent media. The pack includes information on media freedom, the regional communication programme and other support offered by the EU in the region.

Eastern Partnership Media Freedom Watch: October Newsletter

The Eastern Partnership Media Freedom Watch Project has released its October 2014 newsletter, highlighting relevant developments in the region during the period. The project is affiliated to the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum as an initiative of the Working Group 1 subgroup on media freedom and is funded by the European Union. 

European Parliament report on human rights situation in Azerbaijan

The European Parliamentary Research Centre has released a report in early October entitled “Azerbaijan: Human Rights Situation”. The brief covers the current state of human rights in Azerbaijan, including the status of ratification of UN conventions, the Council of Europe and the Human Rights House in Azerbaijan. It also includes a report on the country’s relations with the EU.

EaP CSF showcases a new report: taking stock on EU civil society funding in EaP countries

A new report commissioned by the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum has been published by Europeum, Institute for European Policy. The paper “Taking Stock of EU Civil Society Funding in EaP Countries” addresses issues of the CSO funding and gives recommendations to the EU on how to make it more effective.

PISM Report: Learning from Past Experiences: Ways to Improve EU Aid on Reforms in the Eastern Partnership

The Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) has published a new report on the EU aid in the Eastern Partnership. The report titled “Learning from Past Experiences: Ways to Improve EU Aid on Reforms in the Eastern Partnership” elaborates effectiveness of the EU aid and attempts to show how it is translated into the lives of ordinary citizens.

EU Neighbourhood Barometer: Eastern Partnership

A new report covering the results of the fifth wave of the EU Neighbourhood Barometer, carried out in spring 2014, has recently been published by EuropeAid.

New Study: Assessing the Impact of the EU-Georgia DCFTA

A study assessing the impact of the EU-Georgia DCFTA on agricultural trade has recently been published by the Economic Policy Research Centre with the support of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum.

Reporting the European Union: A Handbook for Journalists

The EU Media Neighbourhood project has recently published a handbook for journalists on reporting of the European Union.

The West is not prepared for the long haul over Ukraine

Carnegie Europe associate, Judy Dempsey, has recently published an article on the West's lack of preparedness to handle the situation in Ukraine. Ms. Dempsey identifies three main strands of competition with Russia, including Ukraine's sovereignty, the communication war and the security of the Baltic States, in which the West is lagging behind. 

European External Action Service Factsheet on EU-Ukraine Relations

The European Union is currently focusing its efforts on de-escalating the crisis in Ukraine. The EU calls on all sides to continue engaging in a meaningful and inclusive dialogue leading to a lasting solution; to protect the unity and territorial integrity of the country and to strive to ensure a stable, prosperous and democratic future for all Ukraine's citizens. The EU has also proposed to step-up its support for Ukraine's economic and political reforms.

The challenge to the West: Restoring European deterrence

Ian Bond has published an article entitled ‘ The Challenge to the West:  Restoring European Deterrence’ for the Centre for European Reform. The article is an analysis of political, military and economic forms of deterrence in relation to the current security climate, including relations between the West and Russia.

International IDEA Handbook on Political Finance

The latest publication from International IDEA investigates the relationship between political finance and election campaigns around the world. The authors address the problems of money in politics by analysing political finance regulations around the world and providing guidance for reform.

The Eastern Partnership Visa Liberalization Index has recently been updated to cover the period of May to July 2014

Key developments during this period include Moldova’s accession to the visa-free regime on 28 April 2014 after successful fulfilment of the EaP’s criteria for visa liberalization. Furthermore, the introduction of a visa-free regime in Ukraine and Georgia is forthcoming, possibly in 2015, if reforms continue at the same pace.

Caritas reports from Ukraine

Caritas Ukraine faces increasing challenges as the humanitarian situation in eastern oblasts of Ukraine continues to deteriorate, a report from Caritas informs.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that “As of 13 August the number of displaced increased to 155,800 while more than 188,000 people have fled eastern Ukraine to seek refuge in Russian Federation.” 

Full text of the article

The Russia-Ukraine conflict: lessons for Europeans

The current Russian-Ukrainian conflict is a game changer for European security. The entire European security architecture has trembled as the eastern flank of the continent has been destabilised. From a European perspective, four fundamental lessons-learned can already be drawn.

Understanding Russia’s role and aims in the Ukraine crisis

In spite of its official title, the so-called “Ukraine Crisis” has been, for the last four months, driven by Russian rather than Ukrainian domestic politics, writes Andreas Umland for the Harvard International Review. Not all, but some of the most critical roots of both the secession of Crimea from Ukraine and the armed uprising in Eastern Ukraine are to be found in Moscow and not in Kyiv. The Kremlin’s increasing involvement in Ukraine, to be sure, is not a proper aggression. It was also not a sufficient condition for the “Ukraine Crisis,” to emerge and escalate. Yet a glance on Crimea’s annexation as well as the apparently civil war in the Donets Basin, from a historic and comparative perspective, reveals Moscow’s deep immersion in these seemingly Ukrainian internal affairs. After annexing Crimea, the Kremlin’s active support, weaponization and stuffing of the Russophile separatist movement as well as its propaganda war were crucial additional and clearly necessary prerequisites for the previously already high, but peaceful tensions, in the Donbas, to turn violent.

Putin Appears to Be Angling for Invasion, Not De-Escalation

Europe’s announcement of sectorial sanctions against Russia is welcome news. Russian President...

Civic awakening: The impact of Euromaidan on Ukraine’s politics and society

This paper, published by FRIDE assesses the impact that the Euromaidan revolution has had to date on Ukrainian society and politics. It argues that although the longevity of the incipient democratic transition is far from assured, the changes to date are unprecedented and profound. The post-revolutionary phase brings with it new opportunities and challenges.

Full paper

Support package for Ukraine

This paper sets out the main concrete measures that the Commission is proposing for the short and medium term to help stabilise the economic and financial situation in Ukraine, assist with the transition, encourage political and economic reforms and support inclusive development for the benefit of all Ukrainians. These measures combined could bring overall support of at least €11 billion over the coming years from the EU budget and EU based international financial institutions (IFIs) in addition to the significant funding being provided by the IMF and World Bank. 

Full paper

EC memo: The EU's Association Agreements with Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine

European Commission has produced a memo on the EU's Association Agreements with Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, describing  objectives and contents of the Association Agreements, main areas of cooperation, signature and provisional application and implementation process, as well as immediate benefits to the partners. 

On 27 June 2014 the EU will sign Association Agreements with Georgia and the Republic of Moldova and complete the signature process with Ukraine, each providing for a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area.

This is an important moment both for the EU and for the countries concerned as the Agreements will significantly deepen political and economic ties between the signatories with a long-term perspective of closer political association and economic integration, as memo explains

Full memo

Ukraine’s competing elections: sorting fact from fiction

Ukraine’s new President Petro Poroshenko has the enormous tasks of rebuilding a battered economy and constructing a civil society – all while juggling relations with a giant, unpredictable and often hostile neighbour. A Security & Defence Agenda panel debated Ukraine and its future on 21 May, a few days before the presidential election, and presented scenarios for the country. On the one hand, the election could herald the start of a new, more successful era for Ukraine allowing the country more control over its destiny. On the other, Ukraine’s economic problems and corruption could lead to further instability.

“The country has to be brought together very quickly,” said Paul Quinn-Judge, Programme Director Europe and Central Asia at the International Crisis Group. “We have suggested it would be best to have a government of national unity – one which would be consciously formed from elements of all of Ukraine, linguistically, geographically and politically – with the exclusion of the Far Right.”

Full report available here

When is civil society a force for social transformation?

There are more civil society organizations in the world today than at any other time in history, so why isn't their impact growing? 

The Eastern Partnership Media Freedom Landscape - 2013

The publication constitutes an aggregate result of the first year of the Eastern Partnership Media Freedom Watch project. The aim of the project is to support media freedom in Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) by informing both the citizens of the mentioned countries and the international community on the state of journalists’ rights and freedoms. The project was inspired by the activities of the Media sub-group of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, initiated in 2009 by the European Commission. The Project was launched in March 2013 with the financial support of the European Union.

Full publication

Visa Revision. ‘Beautifying’ Visa Code of the European Union

Iryna Sushko, Head of the Civic Initiative ‘Europe without Barriers’, analyses the Visa Code innovations prepared by the EU for travellers who need a visa to enter its territory. 

The EU and International Conflicts

A debate has been gathering momentum during the last year on the EU’s approach to conflict resolution, says Richard Youngs in his article on The EU and International conflicts. This has occurred separately from events in Ukraine and relates to challenges in places like the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and the Levant. Yet now, that debate must be seen as relevant to the union’s Eastern neighborhood too.

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Putin's Attack On East Ukraine Began Today: What This Means For Europe And The US

Vladimir Putin had to act before the Ukrainian presidential election of May 25, at which time his narrative of neo-Nazis and nationalist extremists in charge of Ukraine would vanish into thin air.  

After Crimea: Putin’s Balance Sheet

When it comes to foreign policy, Russia is good at sprinting, while the West – and especially the EU – is better at marathons. The use of kinetic military force by Moscow is to a large extent a sign that other, long-term foreign policy means failed in Ukraine: Russian coercive diplomacy – based on sticks (embargoes and sanctions) and carrots (offers of cheaper gas and greater market access) – did not have the desired effect.

Štefan Füle: EU will consult with Russia over Ukraine’s association

The signing of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement is to take place in two stages, because of the need for the EU to continue consultations with Russia, Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Commissioner Štefan Füle told EurActiv Czech Republic in an exclusive interview.

Full interview

Declaration condemning the Russian Federation’s actions of forced intervention in Crimea and security measures for the Republic of Moldova

We consider that the aggressive act committed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which resulted in the annexation of Crimea conforming with the darkest precedents of the past decades, severely damaging the entire international security system, especially the security of those states which have willingly given up their nuclear weapons in return for international guarantees.   

The consequences of the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity leads to serious risks for maintaining peace and stability in Eastern Europe, by undermining the guarantees awarded to Ukraine through the 1994 Budapest Agreement; moreover, trade and investment will be seriously affected in times of a very difficult economic crisis in Europe. 

Full document

Political and security association of Ukraine to the EU

In a sober ceremony in Brussels, leaders of the EU and its member states, on the one hand, and the interim Prime Minister of Ukraine, on the other, signed the political provisions of the Association Agreement (AA). Steven Blockmans in his article argues that 'whereas these provisions represent only a fraction of the agreement when compared to the bulk of deep and comprehensive free trade arrangements that remain to be signed off, the event on March 21st was nevertheless highly symbolic, committing Ukraine to political and security association to the EU, a move likely to further incense the Kremlin'.

Full article

Fact-sheet: EU-Ukraine relations

The European Union is currently focusing its efforts on de-escalating the crisis in Ukraine. The EU calls on all sides to continue engaging in a meaningful and inclusive dialogue leading to a lasting solution; to protect the unity and territorial integrity of the country and to strive to ensure a stable, prosperous and democratic future for all Ukraine's citizens. The EU has also proposed to step-up its support for Ukraine's economic and political reforms.

Full factsheet

EU-EaP Visa Liberalisation: Summary of recent developments

The Eastern Partnership Visa Liberalisation Index has recently been updated with the latest version covering the period October 2013 – January 2014. 

Full summery

What Russia has violated in Crimea

02.03.2014

Associate Professor of the Kyiv Institute of International Relations (KIMO) Mykola Gnatovsky explains which legal norms have been violated by Russia in Ukraine.

The basis for the Russian Black Sea Fleet (BSF) stationing in Ukraine is regulated by several agreements. Locations  are defined in Art. 2 and 3 of the Ukraine-Russia Agreement on the Parameters of the Black Sea Fleet Division of 1997 and are further detailed in the Annexes 2 and 3 of this Agreement.

Articles 6, 8 and 12 of the Agreement on the Status and Conditions of Stationing of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation in Ukraine define the order of movement of vehicles outside the BSF stations and  organisation of exercises. These Articles envisage a need for obtaining an agreement of Ukraine for these actions. However, the order of obtaining an agreement has not been regulated properly which has already led to conflict situations several times.

Original in Russian

Post-Yanukovych Ukraine seeks financial aid from EU and US

The EU and US are preparing financial aid to help prevent state bankruptcy in Ukraine, amid belligerent rhetoric by Russia. The US embassy in Kiev has said deputy secretary of state William Burns will travel to Ukraine on Tuesday (25 February) with US treasury officials to “work in concert with partners such as the EU and the IMF [International Monetary Fund] to discuss needed financial support.” EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton alreadt met with Ukraine’s acting finance minister Yuriy Kolobov in Kiev on Monday.

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What the West Must Do for Ukraine

Thanks in part to the coordinated efforts of Germany, Poland, France and the United States, irrevocable change has finally come to Ukraine, with President Viktor F. Yanukovych’s flight from Kiev and Parliament’s vote to call for new elections in May, according to Ulrich Speck, a foreign policy expert, is a visiting scholar at Carnegie Europe, the European center of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

But the powers still have urgent work to do. Ukraine could either descend into chaos or right itself on a path toward a new democratic stability. The European powers and the United States must offer the country all possible support to move toward the latter.

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Multi-speed Europe? Differentiated integration in the external relations of the European Union

Differentiated integration is not a new phenomenon in European integration. It has taken various forms over a wide range of policy areas in the past. Importantly, differentiated integration is not merely an internal question for the EU as the Union’s organization and internal dynamics also shape its external actorness. Consequently, various forms of differentiation are present in the EU’s external relations and policies.

The objective of this report is to take a closer look at differentiated integration in the EU’s external relations and, in so doing, to discuss its implications for the EU’s aspirations to forge more unitary and effective external policies. To this end, the contributors to this report will examine the different features of differentiated integration that currently exist in various fields of the EU’s external relations. Relat­edly, they will analyze whether the level of differentiation is increas­ing and, if so, what the key drivers of the current trends are.

Thus far there is rather limited evidence that the level of differentiation is increasing in the EU’s external relations due to the ongoing developments related to the EU’s financial and economic crisis. Depending on the level and duration of differentiation embedded in the current reforms of the EMU, some consequences might occur in due course.

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Shooting in the dark? EU Sanctions policies

Over the last two decades, the EU has engaged in a surprisingly active policy of use of sanctions. In particular, it sanctions countries in response to particularly egregious human rights violations or democratic backsliding or to deter countries from actions that have negative security consequences for the EU. However, although such sanctions seem to be applied with increasing frequency, it is extremely hard to tell how effective they are. Inadequate monitoring means we do not know how far member states implement EU sanctions. Nor do we know whether sanctions contribute to reaching the desired objectives. In short, it is like shooting in the dark.

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Ukraine in deadlock – What next?

Some two months since Ukrainians took to the streets, a political solution to the standoff between the EuroMaidan protestors and the Ukrainian authorities remains out of reach, with the situation on the ground remaining volatile, according to Vasyl Filipchuk and Amanda Paul. In their article, published by EPC they argue as the clock ticks there is fear that further violence and instability could be on the horizon. Further turmoil risks Ukraine’s territorial integrity, with talk of division and calls for Moscow to intervene coming from a number of Party of Regions speakers. It also increases the likelihood of new security threats going beyond Ukraine’s border including refugees and asylum seekers. Furthermore, as the political crisis deepens, Ukraine’s economic situation becomes more perilous with the chances of default on its debts rising.

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EU ministers look to salvage Georgia and Moldova pacts

The EU is considering hiring lobbyists to counter Russian “disinformation” and giving more money to Georgia and Moldova in reaction to the Ukraine crisis. The ideas are put forward in two internal papers - according to EU observer - to be discussed by EU foreign ministers at a lunch in Brussels on Monday (10 February).

Article

Euromaidan: Russia and the European Choice of the Ukrainians

The history of EU-Ukraine relations is a tale of missed opportunities, paradoxes, and misunderstandings, according to Jan Pieklo, director of the Polish-Ukrainian Cooperation Foundation. Pieklo argues that the situation is compounded by Russia’s unwillingness to recognize Ukraine as a truly sovereign nation, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s successful diplomatic maneuvers in the region. “The EU has a rather limited capacity to respond properly to this challenge, but, in cooperation with NATO, should prepare a plan in case of a black scenario of possible conflicts and deepening chaos spreading through the region,” Pieklo writes. “The strengthening of transatlantic relations and a rapprochement between the Old Continent and the United States could be the only long-term option for reversing this negative trend. It will take time and it needs a political will on both sides, as well as consensus among the EU member states”.

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EU commissioner calls for Ukraine accession promise

“If we are serious about helping this part of Europe to transform, the association agreement is only the first step. The next one should be the light at the end of the tunnel. You can’t transform this part of Europe without using this most powerful instrument [enlargement],” former Czech diplomat Stefan Fuele told a congress of European and US security chiefs in Munich on Saturday (2 February).

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Euromaidan: Russian and the European Choice of the Ukrainians

The history of EU-Ukraine relations is a tale of missed opportunities, paradoxes, and misunderstandings, argues JAN PIEKŁO, Director of the Polish-Ukrainian Cooperation Foundation (PAUCI Foundation) and concluding the EU Needs a Common Eastern European Policy.

Almost a decade ago, just after the Orange Revolution, the EU and the Western political leadership missed a chance to involve Ukraine in the European integration process. At that time a wave of enthusiasm swept the world and expectations were high. The last months Ukrainians impressed the international community again, proving that they are an important and proud nation, which deserves to be treated as a valuable partner by the democratic West.

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Can Moldova stay on the road to Europe?

Moldova is considered a success story of the European Union’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) initiative. In the four years since a pro-European coalition came to power in 2009, Moldova has become more pluralist and has experienced robust economic growth. The government has introduced reforms and has deepened Moldova’s relations with the EU, completing a visa-free action plan and initialling an Association Agreement (AA) with provisions for a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA). At the start of 2014, Moldova is one step away from progressing into a more complex, more rewarding phase of relations with the EU. Implementing the association agenda will spur economic growth and will multiply linkages with Moldova’s biggest trading partner, the EU. However, Moldova’s progress down the European path promises to be one of the main focuses for intrigue in the region in 2014. Armenia and Ukraine have caved in to Russia’s coercive diplomacy, which means that the vitality of the EU’s eastern neighbourhood policy hinges more than ever on Moldova’s success. Russia’s diplomatic victories in its own “near abroad” will likely encourage it to increase its pressure on Moldova. And Moldova’s fragile governing pro-European coalition faces domestic challenges ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for November 2014.  

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EU-Russia: facing stagnation

'The EU is confronted with a difficult situation', arques Nicu Popescu in his article. It is not well placed to play ‘geopolitical’ games: its decision-making process is consensual and thus slow, rules-based and not equipped for quick tactical twists and turns. By contrast, Russia shines when it pulls off quick, highly visible diplomatic offensives – but what it actually offers is often neither attractive nor credible.

The EU-Russia relationship is by its very nature bound to be cooperative in some areas and competitive in others. The EU may thus need to continue pushing for deeper cooperation where possible – primarily on trade and visa liberalisation. Re-energising the creation of a Common Economic Space with Russia, even if this implies dealing with the Customs/Eurasian Union, may be one option – but only if it leads to mutual trade liberalisation, not just the creation of another talking shop.

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Challenges for European Foreign Policy in 2014

The leadership of the institutions of the European Union (EU) will change during 2014. Whether that will coincide with a change of gear in EU politics and EU foreign policy remains to be seen. The elections for the European Parliament in May 2014 will be a stress test for Europe’s political system. The results may show growing frustration and discontent with the slow progress out of the crisis and enduring social and economic hardship in many member states. The vote might strengthen anti-European forces across the Union.
The new presidents of the European Council and of the Commission, as well as the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, will take office in a difficult political context. They will also have the opportunity to work with EU member states to change it. Now more than ever, the status quo is not an option for Europe. Not advancing in strengthening the Union’s economic governance and political cohesion, fostering growth and delivering jobs means running the risk of sapping the legitimacy of the European project and fostering nationalism. That would deal a serious blow to the very values at the core of the European project.

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EU Can Help Ukraine After Yanukovych’s Crackdown

The new wave of civic protest in Kyiv, including violent clashes with the riot police, marks the second month of massive popular opposition to President Viktor Yanukovych. The new laws passed in the parliament last week represent the latest challenge to democracy, which the EU could prevent by putting more pressure on Yanukovych and oligarchic backers of his political regime.

Most Ukrainians are outraged at the latest effort by Yanukovych to tighten his grip over freedom of assembly, media and civil society. The laws aim to curb the enduring demonstrations in which his opponents have demanded the government’s resignation, investigation of the use of violence against peaceful protesters, and early presidential and parliamentary elections. Yanukovych's opponents also insist on returning Ukraine to the democratic and European path of development.

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Ukraine: protests without leadership

In her article, Associate Fellow From Fride, Natalia Shapovalova provides an overview of the current Euromaidan and political situation in Ukraine, under the colncluding quote: ‘When there is a leader, the riot will become a revolution’, explaining the lack of leadership amoung the current opposition in the country.

'None of them hid their ambitions with a view to presidential elections in early 2015', she outlines in the commentary.  This contrasted with the hopes of protesters of different political colours for a unified leader and a joint action plan from the political opposition. So far action plans have been changing in response to the unfolding situation but opposition parties have refused to stand behind one leader that could defeat Yanukovych.

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Brief legal analysis: Violation of human rights in recent bills signed by the President of Ukraine

The article is describing how the procedures for the consideration of draft laws (bills) and adoption of laws and  were violated by the Verkovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament) at the Plenary Meeting on January 16, 2014, as well as violations of International Treaties and Domestic Legislation.

Procedural violations consist of: order of hearings, voting and signing in violation of the established Parliamentary Procedure of the documents in question, that shows unprecedented fact of adoption of volumetric laws directly influencing numerous areas of social life in just three days.

Violations of International Treaties and Domestic Legislation consist of: severe violation of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, severe violations of freedom of expression and freedom of information, severe violation of the Right to a fair trial.

The right to freedom of peaceful assembly has been previously established by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the Constitution of Ukraine.

For example, the proposed amendments to Article 185-1 of the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offences provides for more strict administrative liability for:

·                Both organizers and participants of peaceful assemblies for, among others, organizing of peaceful protests which do not comply with requirements of the established procedure.  However, no such established procedure that is applicable to the peaceful assembly currently exists. Liability allows for up to 15 days jail time. This lays grounds for potential mass arrests of participants of peaceful protests based on subjective and unclear grounds.

·                Participants of peaceful assemblies may be jailed for 15 days for wearing a mask or a helmet that prevents identification of a person, or for wearing clothing “which resembles uniform of law enforcement agencies”. The arrest may take place without the person having any harmful intentions or participating in such activities. This new restriction prevents peaceful protesters from anonymous participation in peaceful assemblies.

Subject to a lofty level of corrupt practice in Ukraine (especially – in investigating bodies, public prosecution and courts), introduction of criminal proceeding in absentia creates substantial and real menace, massive breach of human rights stated above, and in the first place – concerning protesters. Considering the high level of corrupt practices, it is expected the decisions on criminal punishment (including imprisonment) may be pronounced in short terms without informing about the availability of the crime.

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Sweden opens EU debate on Ukraine sanctions

Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt has broken the EU’s silence on potential sanctions on Ukraine.

Going into an EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels on Monday (20 January), he told press: “I wouldn’t exclude it … We’ll have to see what happens.”

Half-way through the talks, he tweeted: “EU must start looking at effective instruments against corrupt actors manoeuvering also in the dark corners of the politics of Ukraine.”

He told press after the meeting: “I think we should look towards various instruments targeted against corrupt money [in Ukraine].”

Swedish diplomats declined to give more details.

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EU should confront Russia on Ukraine

‘Precious time and opportunities have already been lost by the EU because of its inconsistent dealings with Russia and Ukraine’, argues Andreas Umland, a senior lecturer in German and European studies at the National University of "Kyiv-Mohyla Academy" in Ukraine in his article for EU observer.

EU capitals must now decide if they really want to be “partners” for Ukraine and for the other EU aspirants in the region, above all Georgia and Moldova, or not. The EU itself must make the “European choice” it is so fond of lecturing its neighbours about.

If the decision is Yes, then EU leaders and EU institutions need a coherent policy, a robust diplomacy and, ultimately, the political will to confront Russia in order to succeed.

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Free Anar Mammadli!

Free Anar Mammadli!

By Krzysztof Bobinski

The Azerbaijan authorities are continuing to hold Anar Mammadli, the head of the Election Monitoring and Democratic Studies Centre (EMDS) who was arrested on December 16 2013 as part of an investigation into alleged tax evasion by the organization. Anar Mammadli, a former member of the Civil Society Forum steering committee, is a widely respected election observer and civil rights activist. He is being held under a three month detention order. The case arises from grants which EMDS received from abroad to conduct its monitoring activities including most recently the presidential election in Azerbaijan on October 9 2013. According to the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s Office the criminal case arises from ‘a great profit and tax evasion’ allegedly made by EMDS and the International Cooperation of the Volunteers Public Union (ICV), its partner organization. Bashir Suleymanli from EMDS and Elnur Mammadov, the head of ICV are also being investigated on the same charges but have not been detained.

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Citizens’ Participation at the Local Level: Possible action for change in Belarus

Antonella Valmorbida, the Director of ALDA (www.alda-europe.eu) and coordinator of the Subgroup on Local Government and Public Administration Reform of the Civil Society Forum for the Eastern Partnership is her article says that Belarus ‘is so much a European country and yet so much a different game’,  representing a challenge for Europe as a whole. It is the only European country fully engaged in the Customs Union with Russia and not a member of the Council of Europe.

Citizens’ participation in decision making at the local level as an action for change, towards development, democracy and better life for citizens is a challenge not only for Belarus but also for other Eastern Partnership countries which experiencing enduring effects from the Soviet system, such as centralised bureaucracy and a passive citizenry, she argues.

Any possible European orientation would focus on the role of regions and the decentralisation of power (and request a minimum standard of consultation with citizens) is highly perceived as a breach in the monolithic and centralised way of power and, therefore, seen as potential threat.

Among the more effective instruments in capacity building, policy making and awareness raising for civil society in the Eastern Partnership countries, we can refer to the work of the Civil Society Forum for Eastern Partnership, the article continues.

Its Subgroup on Local Government and Public Administration Reform has worked intensively in studying and identifying priorities in 2012 and produced a comparative approach to the citizens’ participation possibilities in the region. The primary references include: European Charter on Local Self Government; Additional protocol to the European Charter of Local Self Government on the right to participate in the affairs of local authority; the strategy for innovation and good governance at the local level; and the Code of Good Practices of Citizens participation. It studied in particular the access to public information, the direct democracy mechanisms and consultative democracy.

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Ukraine, and a Europe-Russia crack

The conflict in Ukraine is part of a wider tussle over eastern Europe's political orientation. The European Union remains pivotal to progress, says Krzysztof Bobinski in his article.

In the good old cold-war days when divisions in Europe were clearer, popular upheavals in Soviet-run eastern Europe were met with a measure of consternation in western capitals and some sympathy among western populations. At that time, everyone knew that freedom was at stake - and also that the demand for freedom couldn’t be fulfilled.

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EU battle for Ukraine ends in truncheons and tear gas

The EU this year lost a battle for Ukraine, but nobody is laughing at its soft power any more. Ever since the Orange Revolution in 2004, the EU and Russia have been pulling the former Soviet republic in opposite directions. The EU incentive was a "deep and comprehensive" free trade agreement, or DCFTA, described by the people who drafted it as a "blueprint for future accession."

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The Eastern Partnership: The road from Vilnius leads to ...?

The EU’s Eastern Partnership has run out of steam. It was launched in 2009 with the stated goal of creating "the necessary conditions to accelerate political association and further economic integration” between the EU and its partners. But of the six partners, one (Belarus) was already under EU sanctions in 2009; and one (Azerbaijan) has shown little interest in the partnership – particularly those aspects which would require it to improve its governance and human rights record. -

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The Post-Vilnius Challenges of the Eastern Partnership

Collection of papers presented at the Panel ‘Russia, EU`s Eastern Partnership and Vilnus Summit’ of the 13th Annual  Aleksanteri Conference ‘Russia and the World’. Aleksanteri Institute of the University of Helsinki. October 23-25, 2013, Helsinki, Finland.

Full paper

Reality Check: Eastern Partnership Policy Review

The Reality Check project helps satisfy the demand for a more effective Western policy towards the EU’s Eastern Partnership countries. Its objective is to provide a framework for a rigorous review process engaging top domestic and international analysts, practitioners, diplomats and policy-makers to gather inputs and discuss Western policy options behind closed doors. 

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Reacting to Ukraine’s protests

The protests in Kyev are now almost two weeks old. They began after the Ukrainian government first decided to suspend negotiations with the EU on 21 November, but have gained new intensity after President Yanukovych left the Vilnius Summit on 28-29 November empty-handed, without signing the key Agreements. 

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The Eastern Partnership after Vilnius: stay the course and engage the people

The Vilnius summit was overshadowed by Russia’s zero-sum policies and disappointment over Ukrainian President Yanukovich’s unwillingness to sign an Association Agreement with the EU, resulting in mass protests in Kyiv. Nonetheless, there was some good news, such as the initiation of Association Agreements and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Agreements with Georgia and Moldova. Now it is necessary to shape a more consistent EU approach to its Eastern neighbours; advance with association and deep and comprehensive trade agreements, based on genuine democratic reform; and broaden Eastern citizens’ mobility and civil society engagement.

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Reporting on elections: Civil Society Handbook for Civil Society organisations

A post-mortem of the Vilnius Summit: Not yet a ‘Thessaloniki moment’ for the Eastern Partnership

In assessing the third Eastern Partnership (EaP) Summit at Vilnius on November 28-29th, this CEPS Commentary concludes that the event fell far short of its initial ambition to define the geopolitical finalité of EU-EaP relations by projecting a path towards future accession to the EU for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

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Vilnius Summit: Keeping the Association Agreement on the Table

Despite the Ukrainian government’s decision to “suspend” its signature of the Association Agreement with the EU, it should remain on the table during the upcoming Vilnius summit. Ukraine had achieved partial progress on the three conditions set by the EU for signing an Association Agreement. However, Ukraine’s government used Russian pressure as an excuse to dodge signing the agreement. The EU should seize the opportunity and use the Vilnius summit to do what it does best: start a mediation process between the authorities and the country’s pro-EU civil society.

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Kiev’s Decision Gives EU More Time and Lays a Trap for Russia

The Ukrainian government's decision to suspend preparation for an Association Agreement with the European Union, which will now not be signed in Vilnius this week, has come as a bombshell to many. People in Brussels and various EU capitals were profoundly disappointed, people in Washington were greatly annoyed. At a meeting in New York over the weekend, I heard from American friends that President Putin was now leading the West by 2-0, with this recent Ukraine coup coming on top of the earlier Syria one.

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European integration of Ukraine: experience of yesterday for development of tomorrow

New issue of "Public Opinion", especially important in the light of approaching Vilnius summit. What should we understand from the past in order to buid successful future of the European integration of Ukraine? What aspects of public opinion about European integration are the most important for EU-Ukraine relations after the Vilnius summit? How do people percieve the European integration? What are positive and negative expactations from integration into the EU? What prevents Ukraine from further integration? And "after Vilnius" issue: what will be after the summit?

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EU Needs to Rethink its Eastern Partnership Policy

The EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP), unveiled four years ago to build better neighbourly relations with six former Soviet republics, is in crisis. The EaP was launched by EU members such as Sweden and Poland (with the backing of Britain) keen to promote enlargement into the former USSR. Although with this not possible due to widespread opposition in western Europe to further enlargement, a new form of Association Agreement (AA) was launched that did not include membership. The “carrot” of the AA was the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFA), which would permit EaP members to integrate with the world’s biggest market. EaP supporters, who have often stressed the geopolitical importance of EaP members such as Ukraine, at the same time hoped successful states would eventually join the EU one day.

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The Moscow riots, Russian nationalism and the Eurasian Union

It is a sad but quintessentially European story. A rich capital attracts migrants, in turn creating tensions between the local population and the newly arrived immigrants. At some point, a trigger – in this case, the killing of a local man – causes these social and ethnic tensions to escalate into violence, with looted shops and burned cars. Such a scenario has unfolded before in Paris, London and Stockholm. But a few weeks ago Moscow joined the ranks when, in the district of Biryulyovo, hundreds of people rampaged through shops and the city’s biggest wholesale fruit and vegetable market.

The recent Moscow riots highlight several parallels between Russia and the rest of Europe in terms of societal politics, starting with social tensions in large urban centres and the growth of anti-immigrant sentiment. The riots are just one manifestation of a significant mutation in Russian nationalism – which has evolved from an expansionist, imperialistic and ethnically inclusive type towards an ethnically exclusive one. The Biryulyovo riots – alas, neither the first nor the last of their kind – constitute a serious challenge for a Kremlin in search of a new modus operandi in domestic politics as well as foreign policy.

Full article

The EU’s Post-Vilnius Strategy on Belarus: Time for Changes

Due to the freeze in political relations between Belarus and the EU, the country has since the end of 2010 become a secondary player in the Eastern Partnership. The EaP summit in Vilnius is not expected to bring a breakthrough in relations with Belarus; however, it should be used to change EU policy towards neighbours that are not interested in any form of integration. The EU not only has other tools to strengthen the structures of civil society in these countries but also the opportunity to develop technical cooperation with them.

Full article

Freedom of Association: Ukraine Decides Its Fate. And Europe's. And Russia's.

When German Chancellor Angela Merkel stood before the Bundestag on November 18, she warned that the shadows of the Cold War are still with us. Nowhere are they darker, she continued, than over those countries situated between the European Union and Russia. Cold War or not, Moscow’s pressure on them would be unrelenting. So, she concluded, Germany and the European Union would have to wage a campaign of their own -- “lived solidarity,” she called it -- to help the countries pick their partners wisely.

Full article

The effectiveness of EU sanctions - An analysis of Iran, Belarus, Syria and Myanmar (Burma)

Over the last two decades, the European Union (EU) has increasingly relied on the use of restrictive measures in its external action; however, this has not been accompanied by an attentive evaluation of their effectiveness. In this Issue Paper, Francesco Giumelli and Paul Ivan focus on the case studies of Iran, Belarus, Syria and Myanmar (Burma) and explore ways of understanding the effectiveness of EU restrictive measures by providing a framework for assessment which looks at: the role of sanctions in an overall foreign policy strategy; the purpose and goals of the policy in terms of coercing, constraining and signalling; the impact of sanctions and the costs incurred by the EU; and the sanctions’ comparative utility.

Full article

U-turns and Ways Forward: Armenia, the EU and Russia Beyond Vilnius

In the run-up to the Vilnius Summit on the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) on 28-29 November, one impression is that a huge opportunity might have been missed: attracting Armenia, an important South Caucasus partner, into closer trade and institutional cooperation with the European Union. The 3 September U-turn by Yerevan towards Moscow and its Customs Union happened for various reasons: Armenia’s miscalculation and unsuccessful balancing act, Russia’s reinvigorated real politik towards the shared neighbourhood with the EU, and an inactive EU  policy towards Armenia, failing to read important signs. Nevertheless, now that the damage has been done, and regardless if it had been avoidable or not, the EU should not abandon the  Armenian cause and push for even stronger cooperation in areas other than trade, not least  because the EaP is generally a successful policy and its integrity should not be ruined. Another way to ensure more success for the EaP is to ‘harden’ the unproductive soft approach to Russia.

Policy brief for International and Regional Studies

Smart Geostrategy for the Eastern Partnership

Richard Youngs, Kateryna Pishchikova

The European Union’s (EU’s) relationship with Eastern Europe and the Caucasus is at a turning point. Russia’s increasingly assertive tactics have chipped away at the ties that bind the six Eastern Partnership countries to the EU, and the entire Eastern Partnership is on the verge of unraveling. To rescue its association with its Eastern partners, the EU must deliver more tangible results. Europe can be both geopolitical and committed to reform—but to strike the right balance, the EU must be more strategic.

Full text

In Vilnius, a Rare Match of Europe’s Values and Interests

The EU’s special summit that will take place later this month in Vilnius is fueling a fierce competition between Europe and Russia, the likes of which haven’t been seen since the ebbing days of the Cold War. Amid that competition, there is a rare convergence of EU values and interests.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is doing everything possible to intimidate the countries in the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP)—Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine—to keep them from signing new trade, economic, and political accords with Brussels.

Full article

EU gives up hope on Ukraine deal at Vilnius summit

BRUSSELS - EU diplomats have given up hope Ukraine will sign an association and free trade treaty at the Vilnius summit later this month. The rupture comes after Ukrainian authorities on Monday (11 November) charged Serhiy Vlasenko, the lawyer of jailed former PM Yulia Tymoshenko, with domestic violence in a case which could see him also jailed for three years.

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Eastern Partnership after Vilnius: Mission accomplished, mounting tasks

Disregard what will happen at the EU`s Eastern Partner ship Summit at the end of November, Vilnius is about to bring both an achievement and important lessons to learn. The Vilnius Summit will accomplish the original mission - to give a European perspective to the region. Part of this achievement is due to the rapidly changed paradigm of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP): the South, one time priority of the French Presidency of the EU, is now burning in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. But there is too much hype instead of the hope that Vilnius should bring.

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Disgraced Azerbaijan and the end of the election monitoring as we know it

Report by European Stability Initiative

According to the Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan, there were nearly 1,300 international observers from 50 different organisations in Azerbaijan for the October 2013 presidential elections. Forty-nine monitoring groups praised the elections as free and fair, meeting European standards. One group of international election monitors refused to go along with the praise: the election monitoring mission of ODIHR, the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

Full report

Freedom on the Net 2013

Freedom on the Net 2013 is the fourth report in a series of comprehensive studies of internet freedom around the globe and covers developments in 60 countries that occurred between May 2012 and April 2013. Over 60 researchers, nearly all based in the countries they analyzed, contributed to the project by researching laws and practices relevant to the digital media, testing the accessibility of select websites, and interviewing a wide range of sources, among other research activities. This edition's findings indicate that internet freedom worldwide is in decline, with 34 out of 60 countries assessed in the report experiencing a negative trajectory during the coverage period. Broad surveillance, new laws controlling web content, and growing arrests of social-media users drove this overall decline in internet freedom in the past year. Nonetheless, Freedom on the Net 2013 also found that activists are becoming more effective at raising awareness of emerging threats and, in several cases, have helped forestall new repressive measures.

• Press Release
• Overview: Despite Pushback, Internet Freedom Deteriorates
• Methodologyand Checklist of Questions
• Contributors
• Acknowledgments

Visa-free travel for EU’s Eastern Partners: time to act

One of the biggest carrots of the European Union’s (EU) Eastern Partnership (EaP) offer is visa-free travel. Although some EaP countries already benefit from visa facilitation agreements with the EU, their key goal is to abolish “the visa wall” altogether. To achieve this, however, EaP countries first have to carry out comprehensive domestic reforms and convince the EU that they are not a source of unwanted migration.

Full publication

A more pluralist approach to European Democracy support

by Richard Youngs and Kateryna Pishchikova. European support for democracy is at a crucial juncture. Just as the eurozone crisis complicates the European Union’s (EU’s) efforts to support democratic reform around the world, new forms of political transition are confounding the EU’s traditional approach to democracy building. The EU must embrace a wider variety of tactics, models, actors, and strategies, or it risks losing credibility and traction in the field of democracy support.

Full publication

Beyond the Vilnius Summit: challenges for deeper EU integration with Eastern Europe

The 2009 Eastern Partnership (EaP) represented a turning point in the European Union's (EU) engagement with post- Soviet states. The EaP extended the integration path initially only to Ukraine – the regional 'frontrunner' to other eastern EU neighbours. This path includes 'political cooperation and economic integration' through Association Agreements (AA) with Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas (DCFTA), progressive visa liberalisation and sectoral cooperation.

Full article

EU External Action Factsheet on Belarus

EU External Action has published a Factsheet with annex listing all EU restrictive measures against Belarus since 2004

“Georgia’s path to Vilnius & Beyond”: Getting fit to fit into the EU fitness club

Out of the blue or “in the blue”, Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan decided to swap Europe for Eurasia. This sudden revision of foreign policy track by one of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries has since become a discussion topic. Peculiarly enough, Georgia found itself on the ‘center stage’ next to Armenia in these discussions, even if the former is unfavourable of sharing the spotlight thrown on the latter.

Full article

EIB financing in the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood - Factsheet

By mid-October 2013, EIB lending in the Eastern Neighbourhood had reached a total of EUR 4.0 bn, financing 48 investment projects or providing credit lines to support SMEs in all five Eastern Neighbourhood countries that have signed a Framework Agreement with the Bank.

In line with its EU mandate providing for EIB financing of up to EUR 3.85 bn for the period 2007-2013, EIB activity focuses on the development of economic and social infrastructure (including transport, energy, environmental infrastructure, information and communication technology, and the social sector) and support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in all sectors. In 2009, the EIB approved its first loans for SMEs via partner financing institutions in the region, and in March 2013, it extended its first loan for SMEs in Russia, in support of the EU Russia Partnership for Modernisation. By mid-October 2013, the amount of loans for SMEs in the region had reached EUR 1.4 bn.

Factsheet

European Parliament goes soft on flawed Azerbaijan election

OSCE found significant problems with the election but Parliament observers concluded that the election was 'free, fair and transparent.

Full article

Strengthening civil society platforms in Eastern Partnership and Russia

This piece focuses on two fora that exist in the East – the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF) and the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum (EU-Russia CSF). In early October, the EaP CSF gathered for the fifth time and the EU-Russia CSF held its fourth meeting. After attending the annual assemblies of both fora, it is time to take stock.

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EU Integration Issues - Visegrad Countries and the South Caucasus

The work compiles analyses of the social and economic aspects of the European integration. The analytical articles analyse on-going reforms in the South Caucasus, as well as reform experience of the Visegrad countries on the way to the European integration. The book also includes the best articles identified on the bases of the competitions for students.

Publication

A summary of resolutions adopted by the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum

At the plenary session of the Fifth Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum more than 250 delegates of civil society organisations have agreed on the following priority issues for the Forum by drawing resolutions.

Summary

Interview with Krzysztof Bobiński - Eastern Partnership Forum: where voices of civil society sound loud and clear

The Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum is facing a major challenge – to define its role in a fast changing and diverse political landscape, as the EaP countries move in so many different directions, says Co-Chair of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum Steering Committee Krzysztof Bobiński in an exclusive interview for he EU Neighbourhood Info Centre.

Interview

(RU)

'Voices from the Forum' Series - Sorin Mereacre: Civil Society Encourages the European Union to Sign the Association Agreement with the Republic of Moldova

Civil society encourages the European Union to initial and sign the Association Agreement with the Republic of Moldova which will  provide  the country and its people the opportunity to live in dignity and have a better life, said Sorin Mereacre, President of the East-European Foundation at the Civil Society Forum  in Chisinau.

Carrying on the success from Vilnius will not be an easy task for the Republic of Moldova, as the internal situation is very volatile in the country. Initialing the Association Agreement doesn’t mean that European processes will be irreversible, said Sorin Mereacre.

President of the East-European Foundation pointed out that the singing of the Association Agreement with the EU means that the authorities will have to enhance the quality of reforms– in justice, business environment, education or medicine. „We are waiting for important changes in daily life. The civil society encourages the politicians to ratify and sign the Association Agreement. This will encourage people‘s trust for a better life, through fostering internal reforms aimed at improving people’s daily life”, states Sorin Mereacre.

According to him, politicians should provide a chance to this country- a chance to its people to have a better life here in Moldova without having to leave the country.

“On the other hand, the signing of the Association Agreement with EU will provide an impetus to the civil society to demand  more reforms from authorities and to create together with the business environment and state institutions a critical mass for the European reforms to become irreversible in the Republic of Moldova”, said Sorin Mereacre.

To be successful on its European path, the Government should be active in implementing reforms and combating corruption in the Republic of Moldova. The civil society should monitor these processes and foster them while the media should become a genuine watchdog of the society, without manipulating the public opinion.  In general, the Republic of Moldova should cope with the attempts to reverse its European agenda which come both from inside and outside the country, said Sorin Mereacre, President of the East- European Foundation.

The 5th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum is organized with the support of the European Commission / the European External Action Service, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Government of Sweden, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Transparency International Moldova and East- European Foundation. 

A few steps to the Association Agreement: will the voice of civil society be heard?

This conference was particularly significant because  of approximation of the  decisive time in the relationship between Ukraine and the European Union. That was emphasized  in his opening remarks  by the Coordinator  of the  Ukrainian National Platform of Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum and the scientific director of the Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Oleksandr Sushko.

It is related to the scheduled for November 2013 signing of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU . "But all of you know well that it would not be Ukraine, if everything was easy. Currently there is no guarantee and assurance that this agreement will  be signed.  Maybe, this country is not for routine events. Therefore everything  around the topic of European integration is filled with such passion, intrigue and conflict stories" - said the expert.

At the same time, all these things make "boring discussion of rather bureaucratic document"  more interesting. However, such a special  tone of this topic has defined a "trend" and fullness of relations between Ukraine and the EU (regardless of the results of the Eastern Partnership Summit) in the coming months or even years.

"Our conference is evidence of presence of a strong civil segment in Ukraine, which works for the European future of its country. And we see  the consolidation of this segment in recent years.  There have become more of us, and our voice sounds louder", - says Sushko .

Full article

Tightening the Screws - Azerbaijan’s Crackdown on Civil Society and Dissent

The authorities have arrested dozens of political activists on bogus charges, imprisoned critical journalists, broken up peaceful public demonstrations, and adopted legislation imposing new restrictions on fundamental freedoms. This 100-page report documents the dramatic deterioration of the government’s record on freedom of expression, assembly, and association in the past 18 months.

Armenia and Azerbaijan: A Season of Risks by International Crisis Group

Confrontation, low-intensity but volatile, between Azerbaijan and Armenia has entered a period of heightened sensitivity. Peace talks on Nagorno-Karabakh bogged down in 2011, accelerating an arms race and intensifying strident rhetoric. Terms like “Blitzkrieg’’, “pre-emptive strike’’ and ‘‘total war” have gained currency with both sides’ planners. An immediate concern is military miscalculation, with implications that could far exceed those of a localised post-Soviet frozen conflict, as the South Caucasus, a region where big powers meet and compete, is now also a major energy corridor.

Full report

A solidarity package for the eastern partners by Iana Dreyer and Nicu Popescu

The year ahead will be a crucial one for the success of the Eastern Partnership (EaP). While Ukraine and  the EU work towards the eventual signature of an  Association Agreement at the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius in November, Moldova and  Georgia will only initial the Agreement, and are not due to sign it until autumn 2014. Since the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) will only become a legal reality for them towards the end of 2014, between now and then they will be vulnerable to external pressures – diplomatic, commercial or energy-related – aimed at disrupting the signing of the agreement.

Putin’s grand design to destroy the EU’s Eastern Partnership and replace it with a disastrous neighbourhood policy of his own

This new Commentary by Michael Emerson and Hrant Kostanyan shows how the pressure exerted by President Putin on Armenia to withdraw from the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement it had negotiated with the EU and to join the Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia customs union is but the most recent in a long series of ongoing moves by Russia to destroy the Eastern Partnership.

Full article

Visegrad 4 the Eastern Partnership: Towards the Vilnius Summit

'Visegrad 4 the Eastern Partnership: Towards the Vilnius Summit' by Alexander Duleba, András Rácz, Věra Řiháčková, Rafał Sadowski examines prospects for the further development of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) in the context of the forthcoming third EaP summit that will be held in Vilnius during Lithuania’s presidency of the EU Council in November 2013.

Legal opinion on constitutional changes concerning presidential elections in Azerbaijan by Prof. Sadurski

In his opinion Prof. Sadurski summarizes 2009 constitutional amendments in Azerbaijan removing presidential limits. He analyses transparency of constitutional changes and their compliance with modern standards of democracy and constitutionalism. He claims that the process of constitutional changes violated the principle of openness and transparency, because the respective change was opaque and hidden between more than 20 other provisions.

Push for Customs Union Turns Friends to Foes by Anders Aslund

In his article for The Moscow times  - 'Push for Customs Union Turns Friends to Foes' -  Anders Aslund discusses Russia's  Eurasian battlefront, making a short analysis of the main political tensions between Ruassia and  Armenia, Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus.

Keeping the Eastern Partnership on track by Nicu Popescu

‘For now, none of the bilateral dialogues between the EU and its Eastern partners are immune to the vagaries of post-Soviet politics.’ - highlights Nicu Popescu in his recent article on relations between EU and its Eastern Partners. 

New edition of CSO Sustainability Index for Central & Eastern Europe and Eurasia is out

Members of the EaP CSF contributed to the development of the new edition of the recently released CS...

EU policy in Moldova examined by David Rinnert

Friedrich Ebert Foundation published the short paper written by David Rinnert of Moldova's role in the EaP in light of the political crisis in the country and the upcoming Vilnius Summit in November 2013.

Screwed up: hammers, nails and the Eastern Partnership

Edward Lucas, a senior associate of the Central European Policy Institute and the international section editor of “The Economist” published an article analysing why the Eastern Partnership (EaP) policy of the EU is not and cannot produce the desired results.

Renewed EU-Russia competition to change Eastern Partnership?

Dmitri Trenin, Director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, analyses the impact of the new phase of EU-Russia relations, which is characterised by putting aside the ideas of a broad EU-Russia association, on the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries.

Positive and negative consequences of Azerbaijan’s WTO accession process assessed

The WTO accession process of Azerbaijan, which applied to become a member of the organisation in 1997, but since then has more or less shelved the process in the hope of more favourable terms of accession, is assessed in this policy paper.

"Nations in Transit 2013" report available

The "Nations in Transit 2013" report from Freedom House - a comprehensive and comparative study of democratic development in 29 countries from Europe and Central Asia, including all Eastern Partnership countries - is available.

Silent or public diplomacy concerning the EU's approach to Azerbaijan?

Anar Mammadli, chairman of the Election Monitoring and Democracy Studies Centre in Azerbaijan and member of the EaP CSF Steering Committee, discusses the upcoming visit of the Azerbaijani president to Brussels on 21 June 2013 in a comment on European Voice.

Gender Equality Index published

The European Institute for Gender Equality from Lithuania has published the gender equality index, which provides a comprehensive view of gender equality among EU member states.

Assessment of the Environmental Component of the EU-Ukraine Bilateral Cooperation

An "Assessment of the Environmental Component of the EU-Ukraine Bilateral Cooperation" was prepared within the project of the same name within the activities of Working Group 3 on "Environment, Climate Change and Energy Security" of the Ukrainian National Platform of the EaP CSF.

How to increase the efficiency of the European Dialogue on Modernisation?

Andrei Yahorau, the Director of the Centre for European Transformation, has written a policy paper on the current status and development problems of the European Dialogue on Modernisation with Belarusian society.

Press articles on the Eastern Partnership region from week 29.04-06.05

Please find below a selection of recent interesting press articles on the Eastern Partnership region.

"[I]f anybody has achieved anything in practice by means of the Eastern Partnership, it is just the civil society in the EU’s Eastern vicinity."

"[I]f anybody has achieved anything in practice by means of the Eastern Partnership, it is just the civil society in the EU’s Eastern vicinity."

Moldova to follow the ‘example’ of Ukraine?

Leonid Litra from the Institute of World Policy in Ukraine discusses the consequences of the recent ...

Prospects of the EU’s approach towards Belarus during upcoming Lithuanian Presidency

Kinga Dudzińska and Anna Maria Dyner from the Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM) analyses expectations of the upcoming Lithuanian Presidency concerning relations between the EU and Belarus.

Press articles on the Eastern Partnership region from week 12.04-29.04

Please find below a selection of recent interesting press articles on the Eastern Partnership region:

Press articles on the Eastern Partnership region from week 15.04-22.04

Please find here a selection of recent interesting press articles on the Eastern Partnership region.

Press articles on the Eastern Partnership region from week 08.04-14.04

The release of the former Ukrainian interior minister Yuriy Lutsenko on 7 April sparked a huge media echo in the last week. Please find more information on this case and a selection of other recent interesting press articles on the Eastern Partnership region here.

Policy Brief on French-German Cooperation in Transnistrian Conflict published

An interesting and informative policy brief on French-German cooperation in the Transnistrian conflict has been published by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) “Viitorul” – a former Forum participant – from Moldova and the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation from Germany.

Press articles on the Eastern Partnership region from week 18.03-24.03

Please find here a selection of recent interesting press articles from last week on the Eastern Partnership region.

Policy paper "EU-Ukraine: What now?"

Susan Stewart from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, SWP) and Wilfried Jilge from the University of Leipzig wrote a very good insight into the challenges the EU is facing concerning its relations with Ukraine.

EU Neighbourhood "Funding Handbook"

The EU Neighbourhood Info Centre published a handbook on "European Union Funding for the Neighbourhood and Russia".

Eastern Partnership Visa Liberalization Index

The newest edition of the Eastern Partnership Visa Liberalisation Index is available online.

New Policy Brief on European Endowment for Democracy

Věra Řiháčková, Member of the Steering Committee of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum and Senior Research Fellow at the EUROPEUM Institute for European Policy, has written a policy brief with the title Great Expectations, The launch of the European Endowment for Democracy should mark the beginning of a new ear of EU democracy assistance for the Policy Association for an Open Society (PASOS) outlining the next steps needed for the EED and proposing a set of recommendations.

Policy Paper on the EU in the East by Notre Europe

The Think Tank "Notre Europe - Jaques Delors Institute" has published an article worth reading on th...

New tool to track status of Open Government Partnership Programme

A new online platform to track the whole process of the development of the Open Government Partnership Programme has been created.

Can the Eastern Partnership work?

Please find an interessting article on the Eastern Partnership by Jana Kobzova from the European Cou...

IPA's recommendations on increasing women's participation in politics

In December 2012, the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), a member of the Civil Society Forum, has co...

Statement of AZ NP protesting against violence and increase of repression

STATEMENT of the Azerbaijan National Platform of Civil Society Forum of Eastern Partnership prote...

CSF Steering Committee statement on current situation in Azerbaijan

CSF Steering Committee statement on current situation in Azerbaijan      ...

STATEMENT of Ukrainian National Platform of Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum Concerning Reforms of Public Administration in Ukraine

Proper public administration is the basis for economic development and human rights defense. That is...

The Statement of the Ukrainian Platform of Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum Regarding the Implementation of State Anti-Corruption Policy in Ukraine

The members of Ukrainian National Platform of Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum are deeply concerned about the critical situation regarding the scale of corruption in Ukraine and its impact on social processes. Thus, in 2011 68 % of Ukrainian citizens were involved into corruption-related activities, though they admitted corruption is one of three most important problems of the state.  

Reforms of the Border Management System: Implementation of Action Plan on EU Visa Regime Liberalization for Ukraine

State Border Guard Service of Ukraine is the most proactive agency in comparison to other defense and law enforcement structures and it resolves from the military structure into law enforcement (police-type) body.

Assessment of Conformity of Organizational and Operational Aspects of Municipalities in Azerbaijan With Principles and Requirements of European Charter

It is already 10th anniversary of the country’s membership to European Charter of Local Self- Government. By joining the Charter in December 2001, Azerbaijan undertook various commitments regarding better self-governance in the country (signing 25 out of 30 articles of the 1st chapter of the Charter). Over the past period, a number of laws and other normative acts have been enacted establishing the legislative basis of forming and developing local self-governance in the country, three municipal elections held, as well as, some measures taken to establish and develop municipalities in practice.

This report is based on the monitoring which tried to determine the extent to which the legislative basis of local self-governance and municipalities already established in the country are in line with the principles and requirements of the Charter.

Comparative Report on Public Administration in EU Eastern Partner Countries

This report attempts a systematic presentation of the public administration reforms (PAR) in the EU Eastern Partnership countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. Its objective is to create a meaningful measurement tool for PAR in the ENP/EaP policy framework, specifically the Public Administration Reform Panel under the EaP thematic Platform 1 “Democracy, Good Governance and Stability”.

Can the European Endowment for Democracy conduce to democratization?

The suggestion to create the European Endowment for Democracy (EED) of the European Union is the EU’s obvious reaction to the challenges of the “Arabian Spring”, the crisis of democratic transformations in the majority of the Eastern Partnership countries, and, which is important, the comprehension of the inefficiency (and insufficiency) of the actual democracy supporting tools in the structure of the EU foreign policy. It is necessary to welcome the EU’s steps in the direction of the creation of more effective and flexible financial tools, but, at the same time, the introduction of such mechanisms demands a discussion of some sensitive questions and generalized problems of the influence of the European policy on democratic changes in the Neighborhood countries.

Policy paper " Institution-Building Instruments in the Eastern Partnership: Still Drawing on Enlargement?"

This policy paper reviews the instruments of institution-building – of support to the administrative capacity to implement policies – in the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Eastern Partnership in particular. Among the key instruments, one can identify TAIEX, Twinning, SIGMA, and the Comprehensive Institution Building (CIB) Programmes. The paper argues that these instruments keep on drawing on the logic of enlargement, where they originate, and that they have become central in the implementation of EU policy in the Eastern neighbourhood in order to show the EU’s capacity to deliver results. After a short assessment of the instruments available for the East, some recommendations are made in regard to the necessity to improve coordination between the various EU instruments and donors as well as between the bilateral and multilateral aspects of the Eastern Partnership, and the need for the ENP to stick to its principles of differentiation and ownership.

Policy paper "From Attraction to Europeanisation - Moldova's Slow Movement Towards the EU"

Policy paper, written by Dr. Kristi Raik, discuss shortly the concepts of model power and external governance that are helpful for understanding the relationship between the EU and Moldova. Then authorhave a look back at the events of spring 2009 in which the EU played an ambivalent role, and which nevertheless became a positive turning point in EU-Moldova relations, exposing the strength and uncontrolled nature of EU model power. The rest of the paper will examine the strengthening EU governance in Moldova as well as the limits and obstacles to the country’s European integration process

Research papers on various aspects of the Eastern Partnership implementation in Armenia

Eurasia Partnership Foundation has presented several research papers on various aspects of the Eastern Partnership implementation in Armenia. They cover areas of external trade in Armenia, alternative energy resources and possibilities for sectoral reforms in the country.

Perception of the Eastern Partnership amongst the Partner Countries’ Political Elites

EaP remains relatively unknown amongst the political elites (top governmental officials and members of parliaments) in the partner countries. Unsurprisingly perhaps, few members of the national elites are aware of the Partnership’s specific content and instruments. Yet, despite its importance, even broad brush discussions about, and implementation of, the EaP in the partner countries take place in relatively narrow governmental circles, often without parliamentary scrutiny or public discussion. At the same time, each country’s national elite seem to speak with ‘one voice’, i.e. tend to be quite consistent and unified in its assessment of the Partnership. How can this paradox be explained?

Europe’s neglected east: forging partnership

The programme’s Civil Society Forum is meeting in Poznan on 28 November - 1 December 2011 - an appropriate location, both because Poland currently (from July-December 2011) holds the presidency of the European Union and because the European Partnership (EaP) was a joint initiative of Poland and Sweden.

This gathering is of great importance to many people working to advance democracy and civil society in these six states. But its relevance goes wider, and this article - written by a citizen of Armenia - suggests that the states and concerned citizens of the European Union also need to take more account of the world to the union’s east and far southeast. To this end, the article outlines the context of the Poznan meeting and makes some substantive proposals about how the EaP might develop constructively in the period ahead.

A strategic roadmap for civil society in the eastern partnership

This paper is a collection of perspectives on the Eastern Partnership and the role of the civil society forum and its future directions. It has been put together as food for thought for the participants at the Poznan forum meeting on 28-30 November, and to add some context to the debates around the future structures, priorities and overall strategy of the Forum.
It is not designed to be a consistent set of contributions, nor is it a document that the Forum will be asked to endorse, nor to adopt. Its purpose is to provide context for the debate and deliberations of the EaP Civil Socity Forum participants and all interested actors.

Belarusian National Platform of the EaP Civil Society Forum: moving forward in contradictive process

Eastern Partnership as a strategic program of the European Union has been developing for the past two and a half years. The second EaP Summit in Warsaw in September 2011 might become important culmination of EaP development but it didn’t happen there. Among other things, Belarus, being very specific EaP participant, demonstrated its unwillingness to improve its relations with the EU and regulate the unacceptable socio-political situation that has emerged in the country after the events of December 2010. Political ‘Indian Summer’ did not happen in Warsaw late September. The current external and internal situation once again shows how much work still remains undone, not only in the official Belarusian-European relations, but also at the level of internal Belarusian reality. Not the last role in carrying out this work belongs to the Civil Society Forum and its Belarusian National Platform.

Policy brief "A European foundation for democracy: what is needed"

The extraordinary political developments in North Africa and the Middle East have triggered many changes in EU policies. Ministers ritually promise firmer support for democrats in Arab states and more broadly across other regions too. A range of European initiatives for enhancing the effectiveness of democracy support is now taking shape. One of these proposals is for a neworganisation to deliver democracy assistance, a so-called European Endowment for Democracy.

From Funder to Partner? Prospects for the European Neighbourhood Policy's Civil Society Facility

The Open Society Institute–Brussels has assessed current proposals, identified challenges, drawn lessons from experience, and identified six areas that will be integral to an effective Civil Society Facility within the European Neighbourhood Policy

Policy paper "The Institutional Functioning of the Eastern Partnership: An Early Assessment"

This working paper provides an early assessment of the Eastern Partnership’s institutional functioning. It focuses on the multilateral track (thematic platforms and panels, participatory initiatives, flagship initiatives) which for the first time gathers all six Eastern partners and the EU at various levels of representation and in different arenas. The EaP’s multilateral track is thus an attempt to develop a multilayered and participative institutional framework based upon a logic of socialisation.

How to deal with an unfriendly neighbour? Belarus in the Eastern Partnership: five steps for a paradigm shift

The good thing about diplomatic fiascos is that they help sort things out. If anyone ever doubted what the geopolitical underpinning of the Eastern Partnership initiative was, after the Warsaw Summit the EU’s intentions seem clearer: Cold War-type considerations prevail over stated democracy promotion objectives. What should it imply for Belarus, the EU’s long-time unmanageable neighbour?

Eastern partnership conference debates

On 29 September, Polish Institute of International Affairs, Centre for Eastern Studies and EaP Civil Society Forum organized the international conference entitled “The Eastern Partnership Conference: Towards a European Community of Democracy, Prosperity and a Stronger Civil Society”. Our guests debated a numerous issues of partner states and its relations with EU, like empowering civil society, development of democratic values and liberalising visa regime. Now, we are glad to present the abbreviated transcripts with the most interesting fragments of three discussing panels.

From Warsaw to Copenhagen

The EU’s Eastern partnership will move from Warsaw to Copenhagen, when Denmark takes over the EU Presidency from Poland on 1 January 2012. What are the prospects for the Partnership in the coming years and how will the Danish Presidency take on the Partnership?

How Could a European Endowment for Democracy Add Value?

The European Union has asked for proposals from the Commission and High Representative to establish a European Endowment for Democracy (EED). Various options are being discussed in Brussels; from potential recipients, to geographic scope, to thematic focus. The debate surrounding the EED provides an opportunity for EU support to civil society to become more extensive and flexible than allowed under current funding rules.

Media landscape of Eastern Partnership countries

In the course of the preparation of “Media Landscapes” unified structure and approaches were adopted for all six countries. Working on the publication, the Yerevan Press Club and its partners, the authors, held regular consultations that enabled them to outline the general picture of the media domain in the region. The study deals with the most diverse issues - ranging from media legislation to journalistic education, from the press market to social networks, etc. The general challenges faced by free media in the countries of the Eastern Partnership - attempts to control the Internet, to use the digitization of broadcasting to further monopolize the TV air, resorting to implicit, sophisticated forms of censorship; as well as the threats to free expression that have “national character” - political repressions against opposition journalists, use of defamation laws to exert economic pressure on critical media are reflected in the overview.

Is the EU's Eastern Partnership promoting Europeanisation?

The Eastern Partnership (EaP) was a timely and important initiative to strengthen the EU’s relations with in its Eastern neighbours. However, despite the many achievements in terms of setting up new institutions and sectoral integration frameworks, the EaP has failed to produce tangible reform on the ground. As new global actors emerge and the EU rethinks its role on the international stage, Europe should not forget that its main strategic power lies in its immediate neighbourhood.

Republic of Moldova and the future of Eastern Partnership: Warsaw summit perspectives

Between 29 and 30 September Poland will host the second summit of Eastern Partnership, which will bring together leaders of 27 EU member states and of EU Eastern neighbors, European Council President, European Commission President, European Parliament President, EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, representatives of civil society and business environment. Plenary session will conclude with the adoption of a Joint Declaration.

Also, within the summit there will be a conference on civil society, which will be held in Warsaw, as well as the first Business Forum of Eastern Partnership, which will be held in Sopot. Two years after the launch of Eastern Partnership, these events represent an opportunity for rethinking European Union commitments in eastern neighborhood, in terms of efficiency of this new European project and reformulation of clearer European perspectives for the states included in the partnership.

Getting on the Right Track: The EU Eastern Partnership

The EU’s Eastern Partnership with the Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Belarus and Azerbaijan has now been in place for two years. But the EU is not looking eastwards much these days – it is looking inwards to tackle the aftermath of the financial crisis, and south to the Arab Spring. At the same time, the enthusiasm of the Eastern partners seems to be fading. The EU Commission’s recent review of the European Neighborhood Policy points in the right direction but if the partnership is to make any sense, it is necessary to make it more attractive.

The Eastern Partnership two years on: Success or failure for the diversified ENP?

The Eastern Partnership is a relatively new initiative of the EU towards its Eastern neighbours. Two years after it was launched is not a significant period for such a big political project. Nevertheless, the Eastern Partnership’s project idea that emerged more than ten years ago, has already some tangible accomplishments, and is looking forward to the future. In this paper, the author starts with a short introduction of the origins of the Eastern Partnership, and then proceeds with the presentation of the main accomplishments made by the Eastern Partnership in the framework of the bilateral and multilateral levels of cooperation. In the conclusive part, the author looks at the upcoming events that might influence its further development.

Research Paper "Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum & How to Improve It"

The aim of the present paper is to reflect on the experience of the functioning of the EaP Civil Society Forum to date. Perhaps more importantly, the authors would like to propose a number of recommendations, which (in our view) would make the Forum an even more effective instrument for civil society to contribute and shape the agenda of the Eastern Partnership.

The Civil Society Forum as an innovation within the Eastern Partnership: the experience of the first two years

If someone had told me back in 2007 that the European Union would soon extend a special political initiative directly towards the new Eastern European countries bordering Russia, I certainly wouldn't have taken the news seriously. There was not enough reason to believe that the European Union would have any particular vision of how to develop relations with those countries at all.

In The Shadows Of Successes

The second Civil Society Forum of the Eastern Partnership in Berlin was marked again by successes of the Belarusian delegation which, just like at the first Forum, looked a more prepared, substantially provided, and harmonious team.

Civil society in the Eastern Partnership

The second annual conference of the Civil Society Forum of the Eastern Partnership (EaP) took place in Berlin on 18-19 November, hosted by the German Foreign Office, and with the active participation of Commissioner Stefan Fuele, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, and Czech and Polish state secretaries.

Georgia’s elections: Win-win?

Elections in Georgia used to be everything but boring: clashes, contestations and conflicts were as ...

Civil Society Dialogue for Progress: Call for Proposals

The ‘Civil Society Dialogue for Progress’ project has launched a call for proposals for the development of a baseline study for the Roadmap for engagement ‪CSOs in ‪Ukraine between 2014 and 2017, as well as measuring their progress for engagement in the region. Send in your application by 26th of June 2015.

Chatham House and Robert Bosch Stiftung Fellowship

Chatham House, in partnership with the Robert Bosch Stiftung, hosts fellows from the six countries of the Eastern Partnership and Russia. The fellowship offers an opportunity for the next generation of scholars from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine to advance their knowledge of post-Soviet politics, develop research skills, contribute to Chatham House research, and build links with policy and academic communities in the UK, Germany and the EU more broadly. 

Khadija Ismayilova’s Spirit is not Broken by Prison Sentence of 7.5 Years

Khadija Ismayilova,  a prominent Azerbaijani investigative journalist was found guilty of tax evasion, illegal business activity, and abuse of power, and was sentenced to7.5 years in prison.  She publicly spoke out in court against the accusations she was facing and stated that her trial has failed to bring her down or keep her from working.