The event was a seminar on "Transatlantic Cooperation to Support EU Enlargement: Strengthening Civil Society in the Southeastern Europe." The seminar was hosted by the Transatlantic Center of the German Marshall Fund of the United States on Tuesday, December 7, 2004, followed by a reception.
The strengthening of civil society in Southeastern Europe is critical to the overall social, political and economic development of the region. The new EU member states benefited tremendously from civil society development assistance, resulting in increased public participation and some of the most progressive, enabling civil society legislation in Europe. Both the European Union and the United States have already demonstrated their commitment to civil society development throughout Central and Eastern Europe - and remain committed to ongoing civil society strengthening in Southeastern Europe.
The aim of the event was to review progress made in the past 15 years on the development of civil society in the new EU member states and to consider how to apply the lessons learned in promoting law and policy reform in current and potential candidate countries. Speakers of this high level event included
- Ray Kirkland, Mission Director of the Regional Service Center of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID);
- Richard Fries, Chairman, International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL);
- Katalin Levai, Member of the European Parliament; and
- Ivan Vejvoda, Director of the Balkan Trust for Democracy, among others.