The findings presented here are the result of a comprehensive process of internal consultation, conducted in October 2019 in order to inform the EaP CSF’s response to DG NEAR’s structured consultation on the Eastern Partnership beyond 2020.  The report covers the following fields:

Economic and Human Capital Development: The results of the online survey of Armenian organisations suggest the most urgent and effective measure through which the EU should support sustainable economic development in the EaP region is to push for a fair business environment free of nepotism (30%).

Good Governance, Rule of Law, Security Cooperation: Some 44% of respondents of the survey in Armenia believe that in order to support good governance and rule of law reform in the EaP countries, the EU should focus on strengthening the role of civil society in policy formulation, through the participation of bona fide organisations.

EU-EaP and Intra-EaP Cooperation: Ensuring Inclusiveness and Differentiation: The results of the survey show that the option chosen by the greatest number of Armenian respondents (44%) is developing new and creative formats of cooperation for the three AA/DCFTA countries that might be open to Armenia.

Boosting EU Visibility in the EaP Region: The results of the online survey of Armenian organisations suggest that the most urgent and effective measure that the EU should support to enhance its visibility in the EaP region is prioritising funding for local projects raising awareness about the EU in small towns and regions and going beyond EU-minded cohorts (chosen by 37% of Armenian respondents), followed by using campaigns to inform citizens about the opportunities stemming from DCFTA/GSP+/CEPA implementation to raise awareness about their positive impact on the labour market (26%).

Strengthening the Role of Civil Society: Armenian respondents pointed to the following measure as the most effective in enhancing the role of civil society organisations in policy implementation: the establishment of permanent working groups involving civil society representatives and other non-governmental actors tasked with supporting implementation and monitoring of the cross-cutting deliverables (30%).

The EaP CSF prepared its response to DG NEAR’s structured consultation on the future of the Eastern Partnership by launching a comprehensive process of internal consultation of its membership base. The internal consultation was based on three pillars: six in-country focus groups, four online focus groups and one online questionnaire combining qualitative and qualitative elements. Over 200 civil society organisations participated in at least one pillar of the consultation. The results presented below offer a detailed overview of the input received from Armenia. A total of 38 Armenian civil society organisations participated in the consultation process (1 or more pillars): 27 organisations took part in the online survey, 11 took part in the in-country focus group and 3 in the online focus groups.