Our Structures - Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum

The Annual Assembly is the highest decision-making body of the Forum at which all 19 members of the Steering Committee are elected for a one-year term. The Forum brings together about 200 representatives of civil society organisations from the EaP region and the EU, government representatives and European officials. It is a leading civil society event that has become a solid platform of interaction over the last five years, providing networking as well as experience-sharing opportunities. This year the 7th Annual Assembly will be taking place in Kyiv, Ukraine on 20-21 November. The Assembly has up to now been one of the most successful regional initiatives organised for civil society in the Eastern Partnership.

The meeting serves as a platform, which focuses on the achievements and challenges of the Eastern Partnership and aims to facilitate a debate on how civil society can further develop and contribute to the development of the programme. It is also a platform where regional challenges are discussed and the future of European integration processes in the Eastern Partnership region are brought into focus with concrete projects initiatives and ideas for collaboration.

The annual Forum approves the by-laws, resolutions and statutes of the Forum. Between annual Forum events, the delegates of the previous Forum act as the highest decision-making body and can make decisions by majority vote through email voting.

The Steering Committee

The Steering Committee is the representative body of the Civil Society Forum (CSF) with a mandate from civil society in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries and EU member states. It serves as the governing board of the CSF and consists of 19 members elected for a one-year term by the Forum at its annual assembly and meets four times per year to develop strategies for future development and guide the activities of the Forum. The Steering Committee elects two co-chairs on a yearly basis, who chair the meetings of the Steering Committee.

The minutes of the Steering Committee meetings are noted by the Secretariat, which is also present at the meetings. The minutes of each meeting are made available to the public.

Steering Committee members act on a voluntary basis. The Committee has a number of responsibilities, which include:

Representing the Forum at the highest levels both in the EaP countries and the EU
Developing concepts for further CSF development and priorities for its activities
Promoting the values, goals, and activities of the EaP CSF
Advocating on behalf of the Forum for the matters of importance to the Forum
Participating at EaP events including thematic platforms and panels
Nominating CSF representatives for EaP meetings and events
Engaging representatives of National Platforms, Working Groups, and Sub-groups
Developing procedures and guidelines for the operation of the Forum
Taking part in the selection of the next Forum’s delegates
Sharing information with CSF representatives and with broader stakeholder community

The Working Groups

Five Working Groups (WGs) have been established within the CSF. Four of them are organized along the topics of the thematic multilateral Platforms of the EaP, while the fifth WG on Social Dialogue, set up in 2012, has no parallel thematic platform. The five WGs are:

The Working Groups meet once a year in Brussels to discuss the common goals and activities that have been put forward through the respective working group structures in the EaP countries. Representatives of the WGs implement their own projects, regularly take part in EaP expert panels and multilateral platform meetings, where they provide expertise and gain valuable insight and contribute to achieving the main goals of the Forum. Networking and communication and joint projects continue throughout the year within national and regional setting between the members of the Working Group.

The linkage between the Steering Committee and the participants of each WG are provided by the WG Coordinators, two per working group – one from an EaP country civil society organisation and one from the EU. The Coordinators are elected by members of the WG at the annual Forum and are tasked with the coordination of activities of the members of the WG.

EU Coordinators

EU Coordinators are the representatives of EU civil society in the Steering Committee and are elected by the whole annual Forum. Their tasks include strengthening advocacy and relations towards EU institutions and member governments, fostering greater engagement of EU civil society organizations and networks in the EaP process as well as advocating for effective and sustainable support for civil society in the Partner countries through EU funding mechanisms.

The National Platforms

National Platforms are valuable tools, which facilitate the achievement of the goals of the Eastern Partnership in each of the EaP countries. They were created for the purpose of ensuring active involvement of each partner-country’s civil society in the reform process. The NPs are stakeholders in the policy dialogue within their respective countries.

NPs function in all six EaP countries since 2011. Membership in National Platforms is open to all eligible civil society organisations. Within each National Platform, Working Groups are organized to reflect the Working Group structure of the whole Forum in order to better follow and influence developments within each Working Group at the national level. The National Platforms hold regular meetings and annual conferences, where they analyze the role of the Platform and its activities as well as look ahead to future activities.

The linkage between the Steering Committee and the National Platforms is provided by the Country Facilitators, who are elected to this function for a period of one year by the delegation of the respective country at the annual Forum. The major tasks of the Country Facilitators are to coordinate the activities of the members of the country delegation within the framework of the Forum and to represent them in the Steering Committee.

Links to the National Platforms

The Secretariat

The Secretariat was set up at the end of 2012 in Brussels and has been fully operational since the beginning of 2013. It is an executive body that reports to the Steering Committee.

On a daily basis the Secretariat works to support the activities of the Steering Committee and Forum in general and serves as a CSF information, coordination and expertise hub for stakeholders in the EU and in the EaP countries. The Secretariat ensures greater visibility of the activities of the Forum, its National Platforms and Working Groups and increased contribution of civil society to the reform process in the EaP region. It liaises with the European Commission, the European External Action Service, other EU institutions and Brussels-based organisations on behalf of the Forum. Together with the Steering Committee the Secretariat is developing advocacy campaigns on matters of importance to the Forum and takes stock of the policy developments, while ensuring its further communication to the Steering Committee members, Forum participants and the general public.