IRIS (Institut de Relations Internationales et Strategiques) developed a study on the ways in which EU provides support and cooperates with civil society in its neighborhood and provides a diagnosis of EU-civil society relations by paying specific attention to EU's assistance procedures for CSOs.
The study concludes that despite recent improvements in terms of developing better environment for civil society in partner countries, still a lot has to be done. Among others, it finds that
"The EU should pay more attention to the regulatory environment for civil society in ENP/EaP countries. This issue has received too little attention, whereas regulatory environment for CSOs - practically all EaP countries - has deteriorated in the past years. The EU should enhance its support to those projects which will help to build a better operating environment for CSOs."