PASOS Public Policy Centres 2005/6 (PDF, 870Kb) available below
Conference agenda below
The limits of EU enlargement and an assessment of the EU s commitment to support democratisation and institutional reforms in Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia were among the themes debated by leading voices from think-tanks from Central and Eastern Europe today. The debate also looked at EU policies towards Russia and Belarus, and at EU foreign policy in a wider perspective.
A panel, including representatives of Brussels think-tanks, the Council of the European Union, and policy specialists from Poland, Slovakia and Moldova, sought answers to the question Where is the Eastern Thinking in EU Policymaking? The debate was organised by PASOS (Policy Association for an Open Society), a network of 24 independent think-tanks from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
"The time is ripe for the EU to adopt a proactive foreign policy to support human rights, democracy and civil liberties in its neighbours and near neighbours, from Belarus and Russia to Central Asia," said the interim Chair of PASOS, Jacek Kucharczyk, who moderated today s debate, held at the Residence Palace in Brussels.
"With EU enlargement last year, eight of the new EU member-states have been through a decade-and-a-half of transition to democracy and a market economy, and have a wealth of policy insights pertinent to countries in an earlier phase of transition," he said. "These insights are also highly valuable as a contribution to shaping the EU s foreign policy towards the former Soviet space." The lessons of transition "must be learned to support economic development, but also to strengthen security and stability in Europe and Eurasia," said Kucharczyk, who is Director of Programming at the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) in Warsaw. IPA is a member of PASOS.
On 4 November, more than 50 representatives of civil society from Central and Eastern Europe, and Central Asia, including think-tanks from more than 22 transition countries, gather in Brussels for New Thinking for an Enlarged EU and the Neighbourhood - A Policy Centres Meeting, organised by PASOS. The event includes sessions with Brussels-based advocacy groups and representatives of the European Commission on "Influencing the Policy Process at the EU Level", and an examination of the European Neighbourhood Policy. A debate will take place on "Policy Challenges Facing New Governments", in particular anti-corruption strategies and public administration reform, with case studies on Ukraine, Georgia, Romania and Kyrgyzstan.
The conference is followed in Brussels on 5 November by the second annual Assembly of PASOS, the first PASOS gathering since the PASOS Secretariat was established in Prague, Czech Republic, in March this year. PASOS works to strengthen policy centres to make "open society" work, and today published PASOS Public Policy Centres 2005/6, a directory of think-tanks in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
The publication "sets out the main projects and areas of expertise of PASOS members, and also looks at the impact of their work, enabling others to draw lessons from their experience the lessons of transition," said Jeff Lovitt, Executive Director of PASOS. "The book also includes a section on other policy centres from the region and in Brussels, as PASOS is determined to reach out to other partners to strengthen policymaking throughout the region."
