From 30 June to 6 July 2023, a series of online Working Group (WG) meetings took place. This year the WG meetings were open to delegates and WG coordinators.
The principal topics of the discussions included updates from the EaP countries presented by all the WG coordinators; joint advocacy opportunities within the EaP CSF and fruitful conversations with stakeholders from the European Commission and the European External Action Service.
WG 1. Democracy, human rights, good governance and stability convened online on 30 June 2023.
The meeting, which was split into three online sessions, kicked up with individual nation briefings and a brainstorming session on shared policy priorities. The EaP CSF Secretariat staff members gave a thorough overview of the activities the Forum organised throughout the first half of 2023 during the second session, and they also discussed with the participants about potential opportunities for joint advocacy. During the third and final session, participants had the chance to speak with officials of the European External Action Service about issues involving the relationship between security and democratisation in the EaP region.
You can read the report
WG 2. Economic integration and convergence with the EU policy and WG 5. Social and labor policy and social dialogue
This year, Working Group 2 and Working Group 5 held a joint online meeting on 3 July. The groups focused on relevant policy needs in the EaP countries during the first session of the meeting. During the second session, the Policy and Advocacy Manager of the EaP CSF Secretariat reported to the delegates on the EaP CSF’s activities since the Annual Assembly and on internal updates related to two key decisions taken at the SC meeting in Brussels in April:
a) to extend the mandate of current EaP CSF delegates;
b) the announcement of a new call for delegates before the end of 2023.
At the third session, the delegates had an opportunity to discuss trade cooperation between the EU and the EaP countries with the representative of the DG TRADE at the European Commission.
You can read the report
WG 3. Environment, climate change and energy security met online on 6 July.
The meeting opened with individual country briefings and a brainstorming exercise on shared policy priorities. The meeting was split into three sessions. The EaP CSF Secretariat gave a thorough summary of the events planned for the Forum throughout the first half of 2023 and reminded attendees of the organisation’s prospects for cooperative advocacy. The third and final session gave the participants a chance to speak with a representative of the European Commission (DG Energy) on the current state of energy cooperation.
You can read the report
WG 4. Contacts between people met on 4 July 2023.
Spread over three online sessions, the meeting began with individual country updates. In the second session, EaP CSF Secretariat staff members discussed joint advocacy opportunities with the delegates. In the third and last session, delegates had the opportunity to discuss and exchange ideas with a representative from the European Commission (DG R&I) and Civil society platform EU-Ukraine.
You can read the report