The European Partnership for Democracy (EPD) delivers a civil society blueprint for shaping the Stakeholder Platform of the new European Centre for Democratic Resilience, a key part of the European Democracy Shield. Recognising civil society as an integral part of democratic infrastructure and resilience, the blueprint calls for the Platform to be an advisory body connected to, but independent from, the Centre, enabling meaningful exchanges with policy- and decision-makers and ensuring its recommendations feed into the Centre’s work. It recommends balanced and diverse membership, different levels of participation, regular engagement, adequate funding and multidirectional feedback. Importantly, candidate countries should be included both rhetorically and operationally, with at least two seats reserved for their representatives, recognising their valuable expertise on challenges to democratic resilience. Read more here.
Source: European Partnership for Democracy