The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has officially welcomed civil society representatives from the nine EU candidate countries to participate in the Enlargement Candidate Members’ (ECM) Initiative, marking their first involvement in EESC Plenary debates.
We are delighted to announce that four BCSDN representatives, including Ms. Biljana Spasovska, BCSDN’s Executive Director, Ms. Juliana Hoxha, the Executive Director of Partners Albania, Ms. Aida Daguda, the Executive Director of CPCD (BiH), and Ms. Güneş Engin Karamanci, Project Coordinator from TUSEV (Türkiye), have been chosen to join this group. This recognition underscores BCSDN’s crucial role in civil society development and advancing civil society’s voice and overall democracy, both within each individual country of the Western Balkans and Türkiye, as well as across the region.
EESC has been instrumental in the enlargement process, supporting CSOs in candidate countries to align with EU standards of the Single Market, the Green Deal, and the European Pillar of Social Rights. The Enlargement Candidate Members’ (ECM) Initiative is a pilot project enabling representatives from CSOs in EU candidate countries, including employers, trade unions, and other organizations, to contribute to the advisory work of the EESC. This involvement entails participating in drafting selected EESC opinions, engaging in relevant study groups, section meetings, and Plenary Sessions. The initiative, political priority of EESC President Oliver Röpke, is a crucial step towards integrating candidate countries into the European Union and supporting their journey towards freedom, democracy, and socio-economic prosperity.
The ECM Initiative aims to enhance the democratic process within the EU enlargement framework by incorporating diverse perspectives and expertise from candidate countries’ CSOs into EESC’s decision-making processes. The CSOs representatives from the candidate countries will offer invaluable insights, in opinions related to enlargement, pan-European issues, and flagship EESC initiatives.
“As BCSDN, we are honored to be recognized by the EESC and to contribute to this initiative. This underscores our role in strengthening civil society and protecting citizens’ freedoms in the Western Balkans and Türkiye. It provides a chance to be directly involved in participatory and policy-making processes concerning EU enlargement and continue our commitment to supporting candidate countries’ integration into the EU while promoting democracy and prosperity in the region”. – Biljana Spasovska, BCSDN ED
