Tsjechisch voorzitterschap organiseert conferentie over Europese ondersteuning bij opbouw democratie (en)

The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Commission are organizing a conference on March 9th and 10th, 2009, in Prague about the European approach to democracy assistance.

The event is organized under the auspices of Karel Schwarzenberg, Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Václav Havel, Former President of the Czech Republic. It will bring to Prague over one hundred democracy experts from EU institutions, Member States and Non-State Actors.

Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin wall, the Czech Republic is hosting a conference on European democracy assistance, in order to discuss possibilities to strengthen Europe’s contribution in this field.

The Czech Republic has its own experience with democratic transition after the fall of the iron curtain; it learned that to achieve such a transition, the endeavours of democratic forces need to be supported from outside. The Czech Republic is known for being committed to supporting democracy in third countries, one of its foreign policy priorities. The Czech Republic would also like to contribute to strengthening the position of the EU in this regard.

Democracy assistance is among the EU’s foreign policy priorities. The aim of the EU is not to impose a certain type of democracy in third countries, but to assist them in finding and realizing their own democratic vision. The purpose of the conference is to look into ways of making EU’s democracy assistance more effective.

On the first day, March 9th, the participants will brainstorm about the possible contours of a future European consensus on democracy. On the following day, the EU external policies and assistance programmes relevant for democracy promotion will be discussed, together with the Member States activities in this field.

The conference is organized in collaboration with European Partnership for Democracy (EDP) and Czech Association for Democracy Assistance and Human Rights (DEMAS). It will be opened by Karel Schwarzenberg, Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Václav Havel, Former President of the Czech Republic.

Journalists are invited to the opening session for the speeches of President Havel and Minister Schwarzenberg on March 9th from 14h to 14h30 at the Czernin Palace on Loretanske square.

Contact for journalists: Marianka Mackova, European Partnership for Democracy; www.eupd.eu GSM: +420 736 115 910; e-mail: mariankamackova@eupd.eu