More financial support for democracy assistance in neighbour countries

There has been talk about it for some time, now it has been founded: The European Endowment for Democracy (EED). More information about the endowment, its goals, structure and the people involved follows:

According to Art. 2 of the Lisbon Treaty, the European Union is founded on the values of freedom democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights. The protection of democracy and stability in neighbouring countries is in the particular interest of each EU member state.

The European Endowment for Democracy (EED) is a joint project between the EU and its member states initiated in December 2011. Events such as the clamp down on the demonstration following the rigged 2010 presidential elections in Belarus and the so-called "Arab spring" did have an impact in motivating the EU Foreign Ministers to develop the endowment as a new financial instrument during the Polish EU presidency.

The EED takes the form of a private foundation (under Belgian law) established in Brussels. It will be autonomous from any EU institutions, but complements the existing EU cooperation instruments. In particular, it will cooperate with the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) and with the Civil Society Facility. All the competences and tasks of the European Endowment for Democracy are governed by its own statutes [link].

Two German EU representatives, Elmar Brok MEP (European People's Party) und Alexander Graf Lambsdorff MEP (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe), were named Co-chairmen of the Board of the Executive Committee, launched on 9 January 2013.

The work of the endowment will be supervised by its Board of Governors and Executive Committee. The Executive Committee, composed of seven members, will manage and coordinate all EED activities, oversee and develop grant programs and build partnerships with relevant stakeholders and institutions. The Board of Governors consists of representatives of EU countries, nine Members of the European Parliament, two board members nominated by the European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) and three people active in civil society organizations with experience in democracy support. The representative of the Greens/EFA group is Franziska Brantner MEP from Germany.

Though the endowment is not intended to solve all democracy related problems, it will institutionally promote "pro-democratic" forces that are suffering from arbitrary rule and repression in their home countries. The aim is to promote deep and sustainable democracy and respect for human rights and the rule of law in the European Neighbourhood region. That means that the new instrument can be useful for movements in Algeria, Armenia, Palestine, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Moldova, Syria and Ukraine.

The EED will make support available in a coordinated fashion to political parties, non-registered NGOs, trade unions and other social partners which would not otherwise have access to EU funding. In addition to providing financial support, the endowment will share expertise, technologies and experience. It will support conferences, seminars, publications, network events, trainings and other activities. The target audience consists of journalists, bloggers, political movements (also movements in diasporas) and individual activists.

According to its statutes, the endowment is to be funded through voluntary contributions from EU member states or other stakeholders, such as private foundations. With an allocated €6.2 million from the European Commission and pledges for a total of €8 million from certain EU members and Switzerland, its starting budget amounts to about €14 million.

The endowment will start its work in the second half of 2013.

More information about the European Endowment for Democracy is available under:

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-12-1199_en.htm

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/pdf/oppd/Page_1/newsletterDEc2012_WEB.pdf

http://www.welt.de/politik/article112663613/Geld-fuer-mehr-Demokratie-am-Rand-der-EU.html (German)