A step towards the European Endowment for Democracy
(BRUSSELS2) And one more step for the European Endowment for Democracy. High Representative Cathy Ashton and Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on behalf of the EU Presidency. Letter which specifies - important point - as reported by Gazeta Wyborcza, that this fund will be able to benefit from Community financing. Objective: to support democratic transition in neighboring countries, from Algeria to Belarus, via Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, Georgia and Azerbaijan. This creation could be approved by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs on December 1.
This proposal was included in the Commission communication on the neighborhood policy, published last May. And the ministers had endorsed this idea in June. But only in principle. The idea of the European Democracy Fund is supported by the Polish presidency of the European Union – supported by Prague and Stockholm – which spares no effort in this direction. It starts from the principle that the Instrument “for the promotion of democracy and human rights in the world” is too heavy to be able to adapt to all situations. This fund would benefit from a contribution from the Community budget but also from other contributions, from the Member States as well as from other States outside the EU. In Warsaw, we hope for contributions from neighboring countries such as Norway.
Download the letter in: B2 docs
