Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle and Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk signed a new programme to support civil society in Ukraine. The new programme, worth €10 million, is designed to enhance the role of civil society in promoting and monitoring democratic reforms and inclusive socio-economic development in Ukraine.
"The Civil Society plays a key role in the reform process. This financing agreement will support it in monitoring the reforms and providing the feedback on them to the Government. The engagement of the Civil Society is essential if national reforms are to succeed,” Commissioner Š.Füle said after the signature.
The new program provides direct funding to the Civil Society organizations to build up their capacity to analyze the reforms and is directly linked to the State Building Contract worth 355m euro signed in May. The Civil Society organizations will monitor the reforms agreed under that Contract, including fight against corruption, constitutional reform and reform of the judiciary.
The action will be implemented through calls for proposals for civil society organisations. Training and advice will also be provided to support the establishment of a structured dialogue between the authorities and the civil society.
Background
The Special Measures 2014 for Ukraine, adopted on 29 April 2014, is composed of two actions: a State Building Contract (€355 million) and Support to Civil Society (€10 million).
The Civil Society Support Programme will accompany and complement the support provided to Ukraine under the State Building Contract, to ensure a credible and effective role of the civil society organisations in monitoring the stabilisation process and the implementation of key reforms in the country.