Euronest Parliamentary Assembly Remarks by Ana Otilia Nutu, Steering Committee Member of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum

Dear Members of the European Parliament, 

Dear members of the EaP countries’ parliaments, 

Dear Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, 

Distinguished representatives of EU institutions and member states, 

I am honoured to address you today on behalf of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, on how we view the future of the EaP region and our role as civil society. 

We are now at a critical political juncture: European elections are coming up in June and it’s almost time to take stock of what was done – almost. There are still a few months left before wrapping up this mandate. 

EU leaders will assemble again for the Summit here in Brussels tomorrow for important decisions. They should not shy away from discussing enlargement and adopt as soon as possible the relevant negotiating framework. We call on you: ask for this to take place now. Do not push the decision after the elections, when we don’t know what the new political constellation may be. 

There is an expectation among some that Poland, which will take over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU in 2025 and has announced it will host the EaP Summit, will start to lay the groundwork for enlargement. But time is of the essence. We ask you to sustain this political momentum and call onto the European Council to advance swiftly on the adoption of negotiating frameworks.  

Beyond this immediate matter, we call on you to continue working closely on the EU approximation and democratic reform processes across the entire EaP region.   

Enlargement and neighbourhood are complementary to each other – and not in competition. Since 2009, the EaP policy has been and continues to be a training ground for the EaP countries with EU aspirations.  

. It was precisely the EaP policy, with its flexible approach adapted to each country’s needs, which kicked off the reforms on democracy, rule of law, and functioning market economy that allow us to hope today for EU accession for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. It was the achievement of the European Neighbourhood Policy that the three countries signed Association Agreements, including DCFTAs since 2014. And it is precisely the EaP framework that supports today Armenia’s renewed ambition and political will to build a stronger partnership with the EU, beyond the existing CEPA. Both the civil society and the Armenian government desire closer ties with the EU: it is now high time to fully commit to the hard, frustrating yet rewarding work, in both Yerevan and Brussels, to make it happen. The EaP thus supports, not undermines, the European aspirations of individual countries. 

But EaP is not only for countries who plan to join the EU sooner or later. It is for all the countries in the region where the citizens, sometimes despite repression from their governments, have aspirations and values matching those of the EU: respect for freedom, equality before the law, the final say in governing their country and politicians who understand they are there to serve the public, and not the other way around. For these countries, EaP policy is sometimes the only instrument to empower civil society. It is a crucial safeguard for activists in Belarus and Azerbaijan. 

These people need now more than ever supporters in the EU to hear their voice, and EaP gives them the platform and hope for change. In Belarus, repression against independent civil society and regular citizens continues. All opposition political parties have been deprived of legal status during the forced re-registration; virtually all independent civil society lives in exile or is behind bars; independent trade unions have been wiped out. More than 1500 men and women are currently recognised as political prisoners; their children left without parents; their families held hostage. We do welcome the updated Conclusion of the Council from 19 February and we appreciate the ongoing support of the EU for Belarusian civil society and democratic forces. But we must do more. It’s time to have a comprehensive, coherent EU strategy for Belarus. A clear plan of joint actions to stop repression; release political prisoners; and support the country’s progression to democracy. On this, the EaP CSF can work with you. 

We are alarmed by the ongoing repression of civil society and media in Azerbaijan. Since 2022, repression and intimidation against local journalists, trade union activists, environmental defenders, and opposition figures has ramped up. The number of political prisoners doubled in the past 12 months. 200 people are currently held in jail on political grounds, including three of our EaP CSF colleagues, Gubad Ibadoghlu, Bakhtyar Hagiyev and Aziz Orujov. Gubad Ibadoghlu, a renowned political economist, prominent opposition figure and a founding member of our organisation, has been in prison since last July and his life hangs by a thread as vital medications are denied to him. 

We said it last year and I repeat it here today: the EU and all its member states must stop compromising on rule of law and human rights for the sake of the EU-Azerbaijan cooperation on energy. One million cubic meters of gas are not equal to one dissident. We cannot “switch suppliers” from one tyrant to another. If we learned something from our previous dependence on Russian gas, it’s that it’s below us as Europeans to pay with our money for a dictator’s internal repression and external aggression. 

Dear colleagues, if you end up deciding to travel to Baku this year for COP29, make it a point to first meet with Azeri activists and human rights defenders, both in diaspora and in Azerbaijan. Just ask about the human rights situation in the country. If you sign another contract, strategic partnership or energy memorandum, which Azerbaijan needs more than Europe does, you have the leverage to call for the release of all political prisoners. Before we boast on how our cooperation to buy Azeri green energy would help achieve EU’s environment and climate goals, ask questions about the village of Soyudlu and the environmental protests that took place there in 2023 against the construction of a wastewater reservoir for a gold mine. Ask about the violent repression of the protestors by enforcement forces. The human rights crisis in Azerbaijan is no less important than the environment crisis. We in the EU made global commitments to care for both. 

Last but not least, I want to raise a point about security. If there’s one lesson we learned since 2022, it’s that the EU will never be secure until its entire neighborhood is secure, and that Russia is and will remain a threat to all of us. No country knows this better than countries in the EaP, the Baltics, and Poland, and the rest of the EU has a lot to learn from the region’s experience. Russia has waged or continues to wage war against almost all of our countries: from military aggression and occupation in Ukraine, to ongoing occupation and hybrid warfare in Moldova and Georgia, to political occupation in Belarus, and, again, hybrid warfare against (the democratically elected government of) Armenia. With the West, Russia weaponizes everything: from energy, migration, sports, food, to the widespread use of disinformation and corruption of decision-makers. To this, we have only one response. Arm Ukraine to the teeth with Russia’s own money. Use now the more than 300 bn USD in frozen Russian assets to give Ukraine everything it needs. Speed up negotiations for EU accession, now, before elections. Fight dictatorship in Belarus and Azerbaijan. Defend our own values and arm against aggression. Step up the fight with disinformation: pre-bunk Russian narratives, tell the truth before the lie spreads. Fight for our European values and turn the table. 

None of us can do it alone. Neither individual EU member states, nor the EaP countries individually, neither governments nor civil society by itself. We, the civil society from EaP and EU, are and will continue to be your partners in this fight. 

Thank you. 

Available for download

Speech by Ana Otilia Nutu, Steering Committee Member of the EaP CSF, 20 March 2024

Eastern Partnership Senior Official Meeting Remarks by Tania Marocchi, Director of the Secretariat of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum

Dear representatives of EU institutions and member states,

Dear EaP partners,

Dear colleagues,

I am happy to speak to you today on behalf of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum and share our perspective on how to advance regional cooperation under the EaP policy.

2024 marks 15 years since the launch of the Eastern Partnership initiative: a symbolic anniversary to trigger important reflections ahead of the Summit next year.

What we wish for the region is clear: democracy, stability, prosperity and most of all, peace. As we always advocate, civil society is a key actor in progressing towards these goals. And it bears repeating that EU Institutions, Member states’ and EaP countries’ governments and institutions are both partners and gatekeepers of civil society in this path.

The past year has seen ups and downs in the region’s reform process and patchy or problematic civil society involvement as well at times. To ensure sustainable reforms, we need increased civil society engagement in decision-making processes. This is particularly crucial for the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, in the context of which we would like to see civil society’s involvement with the Ukraine Facility and the Ukraine Plan, as well as, going forward, in the enlargement process.

This is relevant for Moldova as well of course, but also crucial for Georgia, where we have been appalled to see government representatives actively starting smear campaigns against civil society representatives or draft laws – later withdrawn – that would have stifled independent voices. This is unacceptable and we call on Georgian institutions to ensure the wide and comprehensive involvement of civil society in the recently formed working groups and in any relevant discussions.

We have seen Armenian authorities articulating more clearly the country’s European aspirations and look forward to them and European institutions delivering on those expectations. We have also seen Azerbaijani civil society facing deeper and further challenges and are extremely concerned about the state of the third sector 10 years since the infamous 2014 law. We call urgently on a coordinated approach to support Azerbaijani civil society.

Last but not least, a point on Belarus, the only EaP country not represented in this room but of whose civil society we channel the voice.

We welcome the Council Conclusions on Belarus of February this year reaffirming the EU’s continue to support Belarusian civil society and recognising its European choice and acknowledging it as an important partner in the framework of the Eastern Partnership. Therefore, we of course welcome the dedicated attention to the continued involvement of Belarusian civil society representatives in EaP meetings and have a few suggestions how to support Belarusian civil society further.

Belarusian civil society is currently undergoing what we could call a stabilisation phase. As you know, many civil society organisations have relocated and reoriented their work abroad. Some of the grassroot initiatives that emerged from the socio-political mobilisation of 2020 transformed and began to institutionalise leading to the emergence of new actors. This testifies to the dynamism and adaptability of Belarusian civil society under changing conditions. Although it is not possible to have a clear picture, this statement is valid for civil society inside Belarus. Many activists remain active within the country but conceal their activities for security reasons, rendering them invisible to the outside world and maybe giving the impression that nothing is happening within Belarus itself. This is not the case: both activity – and repression– are still ongoing and civil society should continue to be considered a key actor of change inside and outside the country, and a key player in the wider democratisation of the region.

This makes it all the more crucial to provide Belarusian civil society with steady, stable, predictable and coordinated international support to be able to transition fully from being in survival mode to a phase of active promotion of systemic changes.

In this respect, priority should be given to supporting initiatives that aim at building the resilience and capacity of Belarusian civil society, particularly in the areas of organisational development, advocacy, transparency, and security in repressive conditions. When it comes to focus themes, human rights, gender equality, youth empowerment, civic education, digital literacy, and ecological sustainability should be integrated in all support to Belarusian civil society and their integration and strengthening in EaP multilateral meetings and workplan can only benefit them as well.

And speaking of the workplan – we have a few comments for your consideration.

Starting from the experience of the 2023 workplan:
– We welcome the creation of the gender working group, in which we actively participated and look forward to the continuation of its activities. The group started a practice of joint follow-up among participants, which we found very valuable and recommend continuing and replicating in other contexts.
– On the other hand, as formal civil society representatives in the EaP multilateral architecture, we saw that the practice of steady and regular involvement of civil society in all EaP architecture meetings was somewhat discontinued. We urge you all to ensure that EaP CSF representatives are regularly invited to meetings in 2024 and to be the champions of civil society involvement.

Moving on to the 2024 workplan, we are happy to see the continued inclusion of human security and a strong focus on digital transformation. On the latter, we strongly encourage all parties here to use EaP channels to share best practices and actively support educational programmes and initiatives that focus on enhancing digital literacy. These efforts should be comprehensive, and cover areas like media literacy, critical thinking, and digital security, to equip citizens with the necessary tools to effectively identify, navigate, and counter misinformation and disinformation, but also to foster a well-informed and digitally savvy citizenry – a key pre-condition for democratisation.

We also have two additional suggestions for your consideration:

The first is to include a working group on environmental security. Ensuring environmental security is not just about protecting nature but also about safeguarding human health and promoting economic prosperity. This is key to the effective implementation of the European Green Deal and the sustainable economic transformation of the EaP countries and Ukraine’s reconstruction, so a key area for stronger regional cooperation.

The second suggestion is to create a working group on civic space, addressing questions related to civil society’s meaningful participation in decision making, access to funding, and the regulatory environment and legal frameworks for a thriving civic space. The sharing of best practices and challenges in this area can be an excellent way to simultaneously raise the bar on civic engagement and support democratic reform at the same time.

Lastly, we have a very practical but meaningful recommendation to improve and maximise the transparency and accountability of this and other meetings – and it is to simply but crucially making minutes of meetings available as a standard practice, sending summary notes, and inviting corrections after the meetings. The relatively simple act of sharing the main conclusions and recommendations of the discussion systematically with all attendees, including with EaP CSF civil society representatives, and make them open for comments, would ensure:
o First, continuity, because new representatives at meetings could more easily catch up easily on previous work and duplication or scattered conclusions would be avoided. This is particularly relevant given the more shared ownership of the Annual Workplan.
o Second, transparency, because the expert community of stakeholders could follow the works even if not physically present at the meetings;
o Third, accountability, because it would allow parties to check that their input is properly reflected, integrated and followed up in the work ahead.

I will stop here. Thank you very much for your attention. I wish you a productive continuation of the meeting and traditionally I remain optimistic that civil society will be a full participant in the next Senior Officials Meeting.

Available for download

Speech by Tania Marocchi, Director of the Secretariat of the EaP CSF, 14 March 2024