Eastern Neighbours

This page is also available in:

The EESC's activities concerning Eastern Neighbours involve Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The main objective of the EESC with regard to the European Eastern Neighbours is to enhance relations with civil society organisations in the region and to involve them in a dialogue with both their national policy makers and the EU organised civil society.

The main cooperation mechanisms with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine are the Civil Society Platforms which complement the political bodies existing within the framework of the EU Association Agreements with these countries. The Platforms allow civil society organisations from both the EU and the partner country side to monitor the implementation process and prepare their recommendations to the relevant authorities.

On the EU side, these Platforms comprise members of the EESC as well as representatives from large European civil society networks. On the partner country side, they represent a broad spectrum of civil society organizations. The membership of the Platforms is based on balanced representation of all interest groups (employers' organizations, trade unions and various interests' groups).

Within the EESC, the Eastern Neighbours Follow-up Committee was established in 2004 as a dedicated body responsible for relations with civil society in the Eastern Neighbourhood countries. The Follow-up Committee usually meets four times a year and its members take active part in the Eastern Partnership activities such as EaP multilateral platforms and the EaP Civil Society Forum.

  • Representatives of the two Domestic Advisory Groups (DAG) from the EU and Moldova, established under Chapter 13 on Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union, held a joint meeting in Chisinau, Moldova, on 17 October 2017.

  • The 3rd meeting of the EU Domestic Advisory Group under the EU-Ukraine DCFTA took place on 6 April 2018 in Brussels. Please click on the programme tab to consult the topics on the agenda.

  • The 4th meeting of the EU Domestic Advisory Group under the EU-Ukraine DCFTA took place on 27 June 2018 in Brussels. Please click on the programme tab to consult the topics on the agenda.

  • The 5th meeting of the EU Domestic Advisory Group under the EU-Ukraine DCFTA took place on 29 October 2018 in Brussels. Please click on the programme tab to consult the topics on the agenda.

  • The 6th meeting of the EU Domestic Advisory Group under the EU-Ukraine DCFTA took place on 27 Jun 2019 in Brussels. Please click on the programme tab to consult the topics on the agenda.

  • The 5th meeting of the EU-Moldova Civil Society Platform took place on 23 May 2019 in Brussels. During the meeting, a debate was held assessing the state of play of the implementation of the EU-Moldova Association Agreement. Reports on public integrity framework in Moldova were discussed. Platform members also had a look at the update of past declarations adopted by the CSP, more specifically through a progress report on the implementation status of the DCFTA with Moldova and a debate on Dniester Water Management.

  • -

    The 7th meeting of the EU-Ukraine Civil Society Platform took place on 3-5 April 2019 in Lviv in Ukraine. During the meeting, a debate was held assessing the state of play of the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. And two reports, prepared by both sides, on the rights of trade unions and employees and on ensuring food security were discussed.

  • Representatives of the European and Georgian Domestic Advisory Groups (DAGs), set up under the Trade and Sustainable Development Chapter of the Association Agreement between the European Union and Georgia, held their fourth joint meeting in Brussels on 26 March 2019. The participants followed-up on the implementation of the Trade and Sustainable Development Chapter of the Association Agreement.

  • The 5th meeting of the EU-Georgia Domestic Advisory Group took place on 18 March 2019 in Brussels. Please click on the programme tab to consult the topics on the agenda.

  • 9.30-17.30

    The Civil Society Platform complements the political bodies existing within the framework of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement, and it allows civil society organisations from both sides to monitor the implementation process and prepare their recommendations to the relevant authorities both in Georgia as well as in the European Union. At the fourth meeting, the Members of the Platform discussed the state of play of the implementation of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement and adopted reports on energy efficiency in Georgia and on climate change in Georgia.