Civil Society, Human Rights and the Eastern Partnership: Can the EU make a Difference?

Abstract

Support for reforms aimed at improving respect for democracy and human rights and promoting the development of civil society constitute a key element of the EU’s Eastern Partnership (EaP) strategy, particularly in light of the adoption of the Integration and Cooperation (EaPIC) programme and the ‘more for more’ principle in June 2012. This principle seeks to provide ‘incentive-based financial assistance’ to those EaP countries that deliver on reforms for deep democracy and respect for human rights. This panel examines the impact this approach has had on governance, stability and institution-building in the region, and the extent to which the EU’s interest in promoting human rights and civil society development in the region must compete with more instrumental political and economic concerns. It also aims to explore whether or not the EU is using an implicit or explicit ‘conditionality approach’ in order to promote particular human rights norms and modes of civil society development.