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IN THE SPOTLIGHT
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EaP Platform I briefed on activities of the CSFThe EaP CSF was represented at the meeting of the EaP Platform I on "Democracy, Good Governance and Stability" by its Co-Chairs Krzysztof Bobinski and Boris Navasardian as well as by the Director of the Brussels-based Secretariat of the Steering Committee of the EaP CSF Natalia Yerashevich. During the meeting representatives of the European Commission, the European External Action Service, the EU member states, the six partner countries, the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, the Committee of the Regions and the CSF discussed past activities of the platform and the future work programme. Special attention was dedicated to the implementation of the EaP multilateral Roadmap ahead of the Vilnius Summit. The Co-Chairs of the EaP CSF Krszysztof Bobinski and Boris Navasardian thanked the European institutions in their joint speech for the continued support to the CSF. They also informed on a conference on fiscal decentralisation organised on 14 May in cooperation with the Committee of the Regions and CORLEAP and thanked both for the excellent cooperation. Mr Bobinski and Mr Navasardian briefed participants on the three flagship areas - elections, fighting corruption and media - which were selected last year by the EaP Steering Committee as priorities. On free and fair elections they informed about the recent monitoring of the Armenian presidential elections conducted by the CSF National Platform, which raised doubts concerning the results of the elections. Furthermore, they expressed their hope for an honest presidential election in Georgia in October 2013 and stressed their concerns about the ongoing crackdown in Azerbaijan on civil rights and the imprisonment of opposition activists. Concerning the media flagship they informed Platform participants on the "Media Freedom Watch" project and the project on an annual "Media Freedom Index for the EaP countries". The first edition of this index is envisaged for autumn this year. On the fight against corruption, Mr Bobinski and Mr Navasardian referred to a project on "Conflict of Interest" which is launched by the respective sub-group of the EaP CSF. They further informed participants on the monitoring exercise of the "EaP Roadmap to the autumn 2013 Summit", which has been started by the Forum and will be providing an independent analysis of the process with clear, concise conclusions and recommendations targeted at a variety of audiences including national governments, EU institutions and EU member states. An emphasis of the monitoring exercise will be on inclusiveness and transparency of policymaking and implementation. As the monitoring will actively involve the National Platforms and Working Groups of the EaP CSF, it will also help in strengthening their capacities. The full speech of Mr Bobinski and Mr Navasardian is available here. Agenda of the Platform I meeting Council of Europe EaP Facility presentation Presentation Good Governance and Fight against Corruption project |
Project funded by the European Union
