Brussels, 7-10 March 2022
Online Steering Committee Meeting
This Steering Committee meeting took place shorty after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Members of the EaP CSF Secretariat, SC members, as well as external stakeholders from EEAS and DG NEAR that were present at the meeting expressed their firm condemnation of horrific Russian invasion in Ukraine as well as their unwavering support.
This Steering Committee meeting took place shorty after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Members of the EaP CSF Secretariat, SC members, as well as external stakeholders from EEAS and DG NEAR were present. The opening session begun with highlighting the pressure and stress the EaP CSF and its members are under as a result of the awful situation in Ukraine.During the first session, participants discussed how civil society can be supported in the face of the war in Ukraine, particularly from the EU. The issue of disinformation was also highlighted.Representatives of the European Commission expressed their support and condemned the Russian invasion in the strongest possible terms. Questions and suggestions discussed during the meeting on contractual matters and further were sent to DG NEAR and EEAS so that they can be discussed internally during the upcoming meetings. The second session was dedicated to the situation in Ukraine and possible EaP CSF actions. Such issues as disinformation, collection of proof of violations of human rights, protection of women and children, or tackling the refugee crisis as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine were discussed.
The following session was dedicated to the discussion on National Platforms’ external assessment with the consultant, who summarised the findings of individual reports and reports on the National Platforms.
During the following sessions, the EaP CSF Secretariat suggested to reprogram the LOT2 and LOT3 calls for 2022 into a call for projects to support assistance to Ukrainian refugees in Moldova, Romania, Poland, Slovakia, as well as support to CSOs and support to Forum activities to mitigate the impact of the war.Furthermore, discussions on the impact of the war in Ukraine on the Forum’s internal processes and activities continued. After that, the EaP CSF Strategy 2022-2030 and its adjustments to the Ukraine crisis were discussed.Following, the SC meeting attendees talked about the Gender Mainstreaming Strategy, the Annual Assembly, Beehive project updates and the delegate selection.