1. Grup Seminer Programı 27. Eylül. 04 09. 30-11. 00 Proje uygulama,izleme değerlendirme
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IV. Civil Society Organizations dealings with the European Institutions4.1. Main existing consultation processesThere are no general consultation mechanisms; each department has its own.
DG Development
CONCORD says it appreciates its relation with the DG although it is concerned about the lack of clarity on how the results of these encounters are being taken up in the relevant units within the Commission. DG External Relations
No real impact of these fora on DG External Relations work and the follow-up of the conclusions and results of the meetings remain unclear. DG Trade
CONCORD remarks that meetings usually take the form of information briefings and that it remains unclear what happens with the input given by the civil society representatives General Directorates for Employment and Social Affairs Bi-annual meetings between the General Directorates for Employment and Social Affairs and the European Social Platform ACP-EU Joint institutions 4 civil society observers from the EU and 4 from the ACP countries attend the Joint Parliamentary Assembly
No entry point for formalised discussion on cross cutting issues such as gender and children. Only ad hoc meetings take place from time to time.
Meetings between CONCORD (CONCORD Funding Group) with EC officials from EuropAid to discuss the EC co-financing scheme (in blue in the diagram) 4.2. The European Economic and Social Committee role in debate“The house of organised civil society”? The Commission favours a more proactive role for the EESC, seeing it as an intermediary between the EU institutions and the CSOs. This function was reinforced by the 2001 Protocols concluded between the Commission and the EESC. They entail that the EESC is in charge of organizing consultations on behalf of the Commission: requests for exploratory opinions on cross-cutting issues in the framework of the strategic priorities of the Commission and systematic consultation on Green and White papers. It also implies an increase in ad hoc co-operation: hearings, joint conferences, other events. The EESC has set eligibility criteria for its consultation processes: a European organization (i) must exist permanently at Community level, (ii) provide direct access to its members expertise and hence rapid and constructive consultation, (iii) represent general concerns that tally with the interests of European society, (iv) have member organisations in most of the EU member states, (v) comprise bodies that are recognised at Member state level, (vi) be independent and mandatory, not bound by instructions of outside bodies, (vii) be transparent, especially financially and in its decision making structure. Hence only major international NGOs, NGOs European Networks and CONCORD are eligible. The NGOs discard the EESC aspiration to represent civil society and ask for its reform to ensure it does have sufficient civil society representation in its group III: at most a quarter of its about sixty members can be considered to represent directly or indirectly NGOs and only certain types of NGOs. Fear of one more institutional layer between them and the relevant DG. They consider that the EESC should rather act as a facilitator, promoting the dialogue with other European institutions than pretend to be the principal interlocutor for NGOs. 4.3. Consultation general principles and minimum standards set by the Commission:The document issued in December 2002, was welcomed by the NGOs as a first step in the regulation process of the EU consultation practices General principles They correspond to the commonly accepted consultation good practices. Participation: The Commission is committed to an inclusive approach when developing and implementing EU policies, which means consulting as widely as possible on major policy initiatives. Openness and accountability: the process of administration and policy making must be visible to the outside world. It must be clear what issues are being developed, what mechanisms are being used to consult, who is being consulted and why, what has influenced decisions in the formulation of policy. Effectiveness: the consultation must start as early as possible. Interested parties should therefore be involved in the development of a policy at a stage where they can still have an impact on the formulation of the main aims, methods of delivery, performance indicators and where appropriate the initial outlines of the policy. Coherence: The Commission will ensure that there is consistency and transparency in the way its department operate their consultation process. The Commission will include in its consultation processes mechanisms for feedback, evaluation and review. Minimum standards Clear content of the consultation process: (All communication relating to consultation should be clear and concise and should include all necessary information to facilitate responses.) Consultation target groups: When defining the target group(s) in a consultation process the Commission should ensure that relevant parties have an opportunity to express their opinions. For consultation to be equitable the Commission should ensure adequate coverage of the following parties in a consultation process:
In determining the relevant parties for consultation, the Commission should take into account the following elements as well:
Where appropriate the Commission encourages contributions from interested parties organised at European level. The target group(s) definition clearly favours European level CSOs, although it doesn’t exclude national level organization or even “non organised interests” as the EESC does. The conditions of the consultation of the smaller CSOs remain unknown. Time limit for participation The Commission should strive to allow at least 8 weeks for reception of responses to written public consultations and 20 working days for meetings. The Commission recognises that consultation period longer than eight weeks may be required in order to take account of the need for European or national organizations to consult their members. Acknowledgment and feedback Results of contribution should be acknowledged. Results of open public consultation should be displayed on websites linked to a single access point on the internet. Explanatory memoranda accompanying legislative proposals by the Commission or Commission communications following a consultation process will include the results of these consultations and an explanation as to how these were conducted and how the results were taken into account in the proposal.
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