EU Neighbourhood Info Centre An ENPI project Talking about the Neighbourhood
The European way of fostering democracy Recent political turbulence in Ukraine and Egypt has underscored the need for a flexible rapid reaction mechanism for supporting civil and political society in the EU Neighbourhood, one that would be independent and complementary to the EU democracy support toolkit. The European Endowment for Democracy (EED) was set up precisely with this in mind: it is at arm’s length from EU member states and institutions, and can step in to support a radio station, a blogger or an NGO within days or even hours of receiving a request, explains the Endowment’s Executive Director Jerzy Pomianowski in an exclusive interview to the European Neighbourhood Info Centre. Interview with Jerzy Pomianowski What is the EED and what is it trying to achieve?
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The idea behind creating the EED was very simple: it’s a manifestation of solidarity. It reflects the drive of Europeans to help people who cannot enjoy fully their rights. Especially those who live in the immediate Neighbourhood and see that in Europe citizens enjoy a peaceful dignified life; and notably a life where they can seek justice and claim their rights, where they can look at Europe with the hope that it can help transform their societies. The Endowment is a Brussels-based international foundation relying on a small team of experts with a serious professional background in the region. The EED’s work is overseen by its Board of Governors and Executive Committee, which is made up of civil society experts on democracy support, as well as representatives of the EU and its member states. The Endowment seeks to support groups and activists that cannot be assisted by existing EU instruments or other programmes. The EED Secretariat assesses all requests for support and makes funding proposals to the Executive Committee, which takes funding decisions at its regular meetings. What is special about the EED? The EED is an experiment in trying to fill the gaps in the existing system of democracy support to societies in the European neighbourhood, which includes the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) and the Instrument for Stability This is a series of interviews with people involved in the (IfS). The former focuses on human rights and fundamental freedoms, the Neighbourhood, prepared latter aims to provide assistance in conflict prevention, crisis management by the EU Neighbourhood Info Centre © 2014 and peace building.
Interview with Jerzy Pomianowski EU Neighbourhood Info Centre - An ENPI project
“The EED is an experiment in trying to fill the gaps in the existing system of democracy support to societies in the European neighbourhood”
Under such instruments, support is mainly provided to registered groups, but when people face a transition from an oppressive regime to a more democratic system, they organize themselves spontaneously. They simply have no time to register as an NGO and then wait, sometimes for years, like in Egypt or Belarus. They want to act here and now, which is what happened in Ukraine. Maidan started as a naturally born protest, which became increasingly organized and eventually established itself as a political force and an institution in its own right. This is where the EED can step in, because our mandate allows us to provide the necessary help without delay, irrespective of whether the group of like-minded people is registered or not. The traditional system of NGO support is project-based and involves time-consuming bureaucratic procedures, notably a call for proposal, a tendering procedure etc. But new NGOs often need time to consolidate their capacity, to strengthen their administrative resources. They may not be running or even conceiving a formal project yet. All they need is help in covering their administrative costs. That’s where we can step in to help at the stage of consolidation, which would normally last for 6-12 months. The projects will come later, once the NGO has set up a secretariat, gained management experience and proved its credibility. Then it can apply for EU funds or go to other donors. Another gap that we identified in democracy support was the ability to intervene in cases of high political sensitivity. The EU and its member states would at times refrain from supporting political civil society movements or political campaigns in the media to avoid criticism of interference in the political life of other countries. Imagine a dilemma that a new political movement is facing in Ukraine in terms of funding. You either have to go to an oligarch, but this would create dependency, or struggle to cover basic management costs - rent a place for an office and hire a few experts who would help run a political campaign. Of course we cannot claim that what we do is unique in Europe. There are political foundations, especially in Germany, that provide this kind of support. But they only target like-minded organizations – Christian Democrats, Socialists etc. We are much more flexible. To sum up, we try to help new NGOs and other organizations to tackle three problems, namely bureaucratic barriers, time constraints and legal hurdles. How would you describe the European model of democracy support?
“Local drive, mobilization and ownership are absolutely crucial in securing sustainable change”
There is a range of democracy support programmes in the world, including the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which has been very successful during the transformation period in Central European countries that are now members of the EU, like mine (Poland). Some people even ask why it took so long for the EU to establish something similar to NED. Well, we did in the end. However Europeans go about things in a different way. Our approach to democracy support is grounded in the experience of transformation from oppressive regimes to democracy in countries like Greece, Spain, Poland or Hungary. In Europe, the whole discourse and the instruments we deploy are the legacy of these transitions, the result of serious reflection. This experience - both personal and professional - is passed on from individuals like myself and others to activists in the neighbourhood, from one country that has been through societal transformation to another one. This European way is reflected in the organizational structure of the EED where all EU member states are represented, as well as Switzerland. What do you consider as your most important achievements? Let me give you a few examples, starting with Ukraine, where the EED has provided quick and flexible funds for unregistered initiatives that grew out of Euromaidan, such as students groups, and an online radio broadcaster Hromadske Radio. Its team has since demonstrated high quality reporting, so now they already have a 3-hour slot every day on one of the national radio channels. Emergency funding was provided to Kyiv Post newspaper, within 3 days of the request, to allow uninterrupted coverage of public protests. EED also provided support for civic initiatives (blogs, newsletters) aimed at spreading true information about Euromaidan in Russian, Ukrainian and English. At the outbreak of violence in February, €150,000 in rapid emergency relief was given within 48 hours to civic activists injured, affected or in need of support.
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Interview with Jerzy Pomianowski
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EU Neighbourhood Info Centre - An ENPI project
In Egypt, EED maintained constant links in Cairo with Egyptian pro-democracy activists, including youth groups directly involved in the 2011 revolution. Support was granted to initiatives aimed at increasing the visibility, communication and campaigning skills of these groups. EED stepped up its efforts following the crackdown on activists and human rights groups at the end of 2013. Legal assistance to political prisoners is among top priorities, as well as support to independent media and initiatives that encourage critical thinking and public debate. In Azerbaijan, EED saved the independent newspaper Azadliq from closure through a grant at a time when its bank accounts were frozen following a controversial fine. It provided start-up funding to Meydan TV, which helped to expose the rigged nature of the Azeri election process by breaking the story that became known as the «AppGate» scandal. In Syria, EED has kept in close touch with Syrian pro-democracy groups and supported dialogue on key aspects of the country’s transition (constitutional reform, security sector reform, etc.). Independent media have been supported to print and distribute materials in areas that are no longer under regime control. Following the raid against the offices of the Kafranbel Media Centre, the EED took an urgent decision (processed and approved in a week) to provide support to the Centre, to help it keep functioning and to upgrade its security. What is the expected long-term impact of EED? Our role is to bridge the existing gaps without pretending that we can make a sizeable long-term impact. However, we step in to support individuals and organizations which themselves are capable of making a difference through their honest activism and passion. We help them survive in difficult circumstances and build the capacities of their NGOs. These people and their initiatives, in turn, have an enormous multiplying impact as they show others that there is a way forward if you are prepared to take the lead. So, local drive, mobilization and Centre ownership are absolutely crucial in securing sustainable change. We are eighbourhood Info convinced that democracy cannot be exported or imposed from the outside.
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An ENPI project
“We are convinced that democracy cannot be exported or imposed from the outside”
In focus… EED website www.democracyendowment.eu EED Facebook page Info Centre EU Neighbourhood www.facebook.com/EuropeanEndowmentForDemocracy
An ENPI project EU Neighbourhood Info Centre - Support to the European Endowment for Democracy fiche www.enpi-info.eu/mainmed.php?id=463&id_type=10
EU Neighbourhood Info Centre An ENPI project The EU Neighbourhood Info Centre is an EU-funded Regional Information and Communication project highlighting the partnership between the EU and Neighbouring countries. The project is managed by Action Global Communications.
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