European Economic and Social Committee
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.
The 10th meeting of the EU-Ukraine Civil Society Platform took place on 27 September 2021 remotely by videoconference. During the meeting, a debate was held to assess the state of play of the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement with special focus on rural youth, and on digital and green skills.
The seventh meeting of the EU-Georgia Civil Society Platform (CSP) was convened on 30 June 2021 in Tbilisi and it was held via a videoconference.
The 7th meeting of the EU-Georgia Domestic Advisory Group took place on 21 May 2021 via a video conference. Please click on the programme tab to consult the topics on the agenda.
The 10th meeting of the EU Domestic Advisory Group under the EU-Ukraine DCFTA took place via a videoconference on 15 March 2021.
The 7th meeting of the EU-Moldova Civil Society Platform took place on 30-31 March 2021 in the format of a videoconference. During the meeting, a debate focused on assessing the state of play of the implementation of the EU-Moldova Association Agreement. The impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on the socio-economic development of Moldova was also discussed as well as the aspect of digitalisation in health care in Moldova.
The 9th meeting of the EU-Ukraine Civil Society Platform took place on 16 December 2020 remotely by videoconference. During the meeting, a debate was held to assess the state of play of the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.
Representatives of the two Domestic Advisory Groups (DAG) from the EU and Moldova held the fifth joint meeting via video conference on 15 October 2020.
The 9th meeting of the EU Domestic Advisory Group under the EU-Ukraine DCFTA took place via a video conference on 22 October 2020. Please click on the programme tab to consult the topics on the agenda.
The representatives of the two Domestic Advisory Groups (DAGs) from the EU and Ukraine held their fourth joint meeting via a video conference on 28 October 2020.
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.
The 6th meeting of the EU-Georgia Civil Society Platform took place place on 26 February 2020 Brussels. During the meeting, a debate was held assessing the state of play of the implementation of the EU-Georgia Association Agreement. Constitutional reform in Georgia and occupational safety and health at workplace were also discussed.
