Brussels, 29 May 2019

Maintain Civil Society «High on the Agenda»

There is a need to keep civil society involved in shaping the future policy agenda – heard heads of states and government leaders, gathered at the high-level conference, celebrating 10 years of Eastern Partnership.

Hennadiy Maksak (EaP CSF Ukraine Country Facilitator and Steering Committee member) took stock of the last 10 years of EaP policy and shared his recommendations – stressing the importance of investing in democratic reforms and opportunities for youth. They will be the “game-changes” in the long-term, who will replace the current corrupt elites, bringing about a new mentality and ways of doing things.

Sharing the floor with Mamuka Bakchtadze, Prime Minister of Georgia and Pavel Filip, Prime Minister of Moldova, as well as other ministers and EU stakeholders, Maksak called the EU and EaP decision-makers to keep EaP CSF high on the agenda – with an emphasis on further engagement in policy formulation, implementation and assessment. The crowning event of the official EaP 10th anniversary celebrations, the conference was hosted by the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker on 14 May in Brussels – and saw interventions from numerous heads of states and foreign ministers, including those of Lithuania, Poland and Sweden.