Webinar: Beyond ‘the winner takes all’ – Supporting a shared vision for democratic reform in EaP countries

Amidst continuous geopolitical tensions, the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries are witnessing strong polarization, exemplified by regular protests, and deeply divided election results. EU support for democratic reform in EaP countries can offer solutions to such tensions and support resilience against destabilizing hybrid threats. However, the EU’s geopolitical actions (sanctions, statements) and EaP support (capacity building, CSO support) are also a source of tensions.

The Knowledge Platform Security & Rule of Law (KPSRL), Team Europe Democracy (TED) and researcher Amy Eaglestone previously led a learning trajectory that brought together civil society, researchers and politicians from the EU, Moldova and Georgia. The trajectory is part of TED's Working Group Rule of Law and Accountability. 

This session builds on recommendations in a policy memo resulting from that trajectory, advising the international community to go beyond technocratic support , aim for the inclusion of supporters ánd critiques, and support democratic reform through the facilitation of a shared vision. KPSRL is a TED member in the Working Group Rule of Law and Accountability. 

Objectives and outcomes

• Encourage uptake of the policy memo’s findings and recommendations.
• Apply the recommendations from the policy memo to the country context, mostly focusing on the case of Moldova.

‘Supporting a shared vision for democratic reform’ and ‘including a diversity of voices’ sounds great, but what does it mean to put this to practice? For policy makers from the EU and its Member States or practitioners at INGOs, this conversation is aimed at discussing the content of the policy memo, to  identify the sources of its urgency and concretize implications for moving forward in the case of Moldova. Discussing questions such as, who would this approach target, which  instruments and what level of flexibility is needed,  what trade-offs are being balanced, and what are the realities of  the financial and civic space in Moldova.

Speakers

The organizers intend this to be an interactive session with plenty of room for questions, comments and thoughts from the audience. The speakers that confirmed their contribution (with one more tbc) are:

1. Anastasia Pociumban: Research Fellow, German Council of Foreign Relations, Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum (EaP CSF).
2. Viorel Furdui: Director Congress of Local Authorities from Moldova (CALM) and part of the Network of Associations of Local Authorities of South East Europe (NALAS)
3. Solène Genty: Programme Coordinator Eastern Neighbourhood, The European Endowment for Democracy (EED)
4. Amy Eaglestone: Doctoral researcher at the University of Birmingham, and visiting lecturer at the University of Leiden. Her research focuses on political reforms and democratization processes in the Eastern European Neighbourhood.

Agenda