Europees Economisch en Sociaal Comité vraagt grotere betrokkenheid van maatschappelijk middenveld in de nieuwe overeenkomst tussen de EU en Rusland (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Europese Commissie (EC) i, Europees Economisch en Sociaal Comité (EESC) i, gepubliceerd op woensdag 21 oktober 2009.

CES/09/136

21 October 2009

The EESC and the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation call for greater involvement of civil society in the new EU-Russia agreement

During the Second Joint Seminar between the EESC and the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation (CCRF) on Involving civil society in EU-Russia relations, members of both institutions discussed the negotiations for a new agreement between the EU and the Russian Federation, the role of civil society, the economic crisis, its social consequences and the exit strategies adopted in the EU and Russia.

As result of the seminar, the EESC President Mario Sepi and the CCRF President Evgeniy Velikhov signed a joint final declaration summarising the recommendations of the participants. Mr Sepi and Mr Velikhov both underlined that the negotiating parties should ensure that civil society representatives are better informed about developments in the negotiations.

In addition, they ask ed the negotiating parties to include in the forthcoming agreement provisions on promoting civil society involvement and, in particular, specific provisions on the establishment of a joint EU-Russia civil society consultative body as part of the institutional framework of the agreement.

Regarding the current economic crisis, the participants insisted that organised civil society in the EU and Russia be duly consulted when it comes to preparing measures for recovery plans, crisis resolution and for the establishment of a new social and economic model. The participants also underlined that the crisis had significant social consequences in terms of unemployment and a negative impact on small and medium sized enterprises both in the EU and in Russia. Therefore, they urged that the recovery strategies and the removal of temporary measures to protect certain sectors and support demand should not lead to additional job losses.

For more information please contact: enp-rus@eesc.europa.eu