On 17-18 July, the EaP CSF Steering Committee reconvened in Brussels, Belgium. The main points on the agenda were strategic updates – findings of the recent audit, internal reform and selection of participants for the 2018 Annual Assembly.

The meeting coincided with the Disinformation Resilience Index Brussels Launch Event – held the day before (16 July) at the Permanent Representation of the Republic of Latvia to the European Union.

The first day was spent on updates and discussing recent developments – not only within the organisation, but also in the realm of Eastern Partnership and the wider region. We were honoured to host Hanna Jahn from the Cabinet of Commissioner Johannes Hahn, DG NEAR who offered the Commission’s point of view on this subject. The discussion on internal reform was opened up by Sinziana Poiana, Civil Society Policy Officer, DG NEAR. This gave the Steering Committee a chance to exchange views and raise their concerns about the submitted proposals, something that was carried over to the next day.

The second day culminated in making important decisions for the upcoming 10th Annual Assembly (6-7 December 2018 in Tbilisi, Georgia). The Steering Committee followed the selection procedure and voted on shortlisted organisations, according to set guidelines and minimum participation quotas. Aside from selecting the attendees, the Steering Committee debated on key themes and sessions for this year. In further discussions, internal reform was taken up again, as was the re-granting procedure for National Platforms.

The Steering Committee was also addressed by Lawrence Meredith, Neighbourhood East, DG NEAR and Audrone Perskauskiene, Eastern Partnership, Regional Cooperation and OSCE Division, EEAS. Both of them were keen to stress the importance of EaP CSF in the Eastern Partnership initiative.

The next Steering Committee meeting will take place in Chisinau, Moldova in 3-4 October 2018.

DOWNLOAD – Minutes: Steering Committee Meeting in Brussels, 17-18 July

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