Joint Session of the EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly and Civil Society
Under the auspices of EURONEST PA Co-Chairs Heidi Hatala and Boris Tarasyuk, the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, the Open Society Foundations and the European Endowment for Democracy on the occasion of the Fourth EURONEST Parliamentary Assembly in Yerevan, Armenia, representatives of civil society from across the Eastern Partnership (EaP) region, Members of the European Parliament and parliamentarians from partner countries came together in the RA National Assembly On March 16, 2015 to take stock of the achievements and challenges of the EaP policy. A joint panel discussion entitled “The Eastern Partnership in a New Context: Keeping Reforms on Track” examined the new strategic context in the region, individual countries’ aspirations, the successes and failures of the EaP to promote reform and democratization, and the contribution that civil society, the European Parliament and national parliaments can make to drive and monitor the reform process. In the run up to the Riga Eastern Partnership Summit and the ongoing comprehensive review of the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), the event also aimed to propose ideas for the reconsideration of the EU’s regional policy, its underpinnings and tools. Opening remarks were made by Euronest Vice Chairs Heidi Hautala and Borys Tarasyuk. Speakers included Krzysztof Bobinski, Co-Chair of the EaP Civil Society Forum Steering Committee, Poland; Iryna Sushko, EaP Civil Society Forum National Platform, Ukraine; Vano Chkhikvadze, Open Society Georgia Foundation, Georgia; Nino Evgenidze; Economic Policy Research Centre, Georgia; Ion Manole, Association Promo-Lex, Moldova, member of EaP Civil Society Forum National Platform of Moldova; Hovsep Khurshudyan, EaP Civil Society Forum National Platform of Armenia, Armenia. Concluding remarks were made by Larisa Minasyan, Open Society Foundations, Armenia. The discussion was moderated by Richard Giragosian, Regional Studies Center, Armenia.