IDDC

EU Consultation on collaboration with civil society in international cooperation
Deadline for submissions: 7 May 2012

The European Commission welcomes input from civil society organisations (CSOs) in preparation of a new policy on support to- and relations with civil society in its international cooperation. This is a great opportunity to ensure that persons with disabilities are included in all processes and decision-making. 

Key would be to highlight the importance of including persons with disabilities in the public policy process and in the budgetary process as well as to outline what difficulties CSOs have in your country to participate in decision-making process (both internal capacity and external constraints or lack of access).

The full text of the consultation paper and the questionnaire can be found here

The deadline for responses is 7 May 2012. Contributions can be sent in English, French or Spanish to DEVCO-CSO-CONSULTATION@ec.europa.eu   

The analysis of the results of the consultation can be expected in July 2012 and the new policy towards civil society should be announced in late 2012.

The key themes of the consultation are the following:
>CSOs and development effectiveness principles
>Challenges related to a shrinking legal and regulatory space for CSO action
>Promoting the participation of CSOs in public policy processes and in domestic accountability
>Enhancing CSO internal capacity
>CSO internal governance and accountability
>Towards a consistent EU engagement with local CSOs at country level
>'New areas for reflection'

The Commission usually publishes each submission it receives on its website, but organisations can submit anonymously if preferred.

The Commission has informed that it is looking especially for responses from civil society organisations in developing countries, and expects its delegations locally to do some outreach. Organisations can contact their local EC delegations or the disability contact person in delegations to find out if, when, and how local consultations are taking place.