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2015

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Dear Readers, Here is the first issue of the Policy and Advocacy Bulletin in 2015. In this edition, attention will be paid to Scandinavia and the countries of Northern Europe. This region, which has been very active in the field of organised civil society and the promotion of human rights and civil freedoms, is, unfortunately, still rather underrepresented in the Forum’s structure. We hope policy trips undertaken by representatives of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum, will change this and reach out to new EU countries and territories. Special interest also goes to the Civil Society Сentre, which was opened in February 2015 in Prague. This Centre was

founded to offer solidarity and support to non-governmental organisations, civic initiatives, and individuals in the region of the former Soviet Union. As usual, the Bulletin will include updates on recent developments in the EU and Russia as well as the EU-Russia relations. Of course, this issue will also deal with policy and advocacy work, which has been implemented since the last issue in November 2014 and will provide interesting upcoming opportunities for advocacy work. And last but not least - We hope you will enjoy the new Bulletin layout. Yours, The Policy and Advocacy Team

CONTENT

Opinion – Lyudmila Alexeeva, Anna Sevortian, Peter Pomerantsev

& Svetlana Gannushkina

EU-Russia relations:

On the Russian Federation

On the European Union

Policy and Advocacy

Coming Up: Advocacy Opportunities

Contact info

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Welcome

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The Unthinkable Has Happened ‘Officially labelling the Sakharov Centre as a foreign agent will disgrace not only the Ministry of Justice but the entire country in the eyes of the whole world. It is impossible to be permitted, especially considering the current difficult times.’ - Letter by Liudmila Alexeeva, Chairperson of the Moscow Helsinki Group, to the President of the Russian Federation on the development around the Sakharov Centre

High Ranks for the General Assembly in Tallinn ‘We tried out new diverse formats at the General Assembly in Tallinn concerning share of ideas and experiences, cross-cutting discussions, new networking and presentation opportunities. One of the most important tangible results of this General Assembly was an ad-hoc foundation of the Solidarity Group – a vital sign of understanding and mutual support between civil society players under current crisis conditions in the EU-Russia relations.’ - Anna Sevortian, Executive Director of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum, on the 5

th General Assembly of

the Forum in Tallinn, Estonia (27-29 November 2014)

Between Propaganda and Counter-Propaganda ‘The Kremlin’s new political and media strategy cannot be described as an information war but rather as a “war on information” itself. While aiming to de-factualise public debate and destroy the liberal information space, the strategy also created the risk of self-destruction of Russian society through propaganda and lies.’ -Peter Pomerantsev, author of “The Menace of Unreality – How the Kremlin Weaponises Information, Culture and Money” ‘For a long time, Russian society has longed to believe Russia’s national potential; despite the fact that individual lives were rather difficult. Nowadays, Russian people are more prone to accept propaganda exalting the greatness of their country, due to the loss of Russian national values.’ Svetlana Gannushkina, Human Rights activist Quotes at the Round Table on quality journalism in Russia, organised by European Exchange and the EU-Russia CSF on 17 December 2014 at the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Berlin, Germany.

Opinion

New Prague Civil Society Centre Opened

In Prague, a new Civil Society Centre was opened to offer

solidarity and support to non-governmental organisations,

civic initiatives, and networks of individuals in Russia, the

countries of the Eastern Partnership, and Central Asia. The

Prague Civil Society Centre, which was officially launched

on 19 February 2015, was set up by a consortium of three

renowned NGOs - "People in Need" (Czech Republic), the

Institute of Public Affairs (Poland), and the Human Rights

House Foundation (Norway). At this point, the Prague Civil

Society Centre started a preparatory period and will

become fully operational over the next two years. Under

the support and mentorship of "People in Need" for the

transition phase, the Centre will be a fully independent

organisation.

According to Executive director Rostislav Valvoda, the

Centre’s mission is to empower civil society actors in the

post-Soviet countries (except Baltic EU member states)

with a flexible and innovative mix of tools to work towards

more open and democratic societies with respect for

human dignity and rights. The aim is to encourage and

support all sources of genuine non-profit civic activity and

to counter new trends to weaken and marginalise civil

society across the region. Initial donors include two private

foundations - Mott Foundation and Oak Foundation, the

U.S. Agency for International Development as well as the

Swedish and Czech governments.

The Prague Centre is set to nurture and support

established and new civil organisations, initiatives and

movements in the region as well as bringing together

active citizens of different backgrounds. Special efforts will

be made to address younger generations and individuals,

e.g., initiatives based outside capital cities, Valvoda

underlined. The Centre will reach out to wider sections of

society vital for promoting innovation and change -

journalists, bloggers, independent lawyers, film-makers,

artists, etc. At the same time, the Centre will stand by

established rights organisations that have demonstrated

impressive resilience over the past decades.

‘The Centre aims to become a modern, dynamic and

flexible hub for civil society activists from all over Eastern

Europe, Russia, and Central Asia,’ Valvoda noted. It wants

to facilitate competence, professional contacts,

knowledge-sharing, exchange and research, including

activists from other regions and areas. The Centre will

unfold new multi-faceted and specifically tailored capacity-

building programmes. It will also stage matching

workshops and cross-sector meetings - in both national

and cross-border formats, to enhance contacts among

target groups with an untapped potential for cooperation.

Special emphasis will be put on an active use of Internet-

based communication tools, e-learning modules, and

digital libraries. ‘Our aim is to promote reflexes of synergy

and cooperation while contributing to solidarity, trust-

building, and better networking within the civic community

across the whole region’, said Valvoda.

The Prague Centre will also establish a programme of

internships, fellowships, and study stays of various types

and length. In cooperation with Czech universities and

other academic institutions of Central and Eastern Europe,

the Centre also seeks to set up a programme of transition

studies. Over time, Valvoda said, the Centre would also

unfold multiple grant-making schemes to specifically

target regions, countries, sectors of civil society and their

needs.

The Current State of the EU-Russia Relations

On 24 February 2015, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the

European Parliament (AFET) met to discuss the State of

EU-Russia relations. During the session, the current

relations between Russia and the EU in the wake of the

Ukraine crisis were discussed as well as the way future

relations should be shaped.

The Chair of the Committee, Mr Elmar Brok (EPP,

Germany), stated that one of the key problems in current

EU-Russia relations, and the Ukraine crisis in particular, is

that both sides have different definitions of international

law. Yet, Mr Brok stressed that that could not be the crux

of the conflict, since Russia had not turned to existing

dispute settling institutes as the Council of Europe, to

address those violations in Ukraine it said it sought to

correct.

Following the opening, one of the main issues of the

debate was the choice between action and dialogue, and

on which principles this dialogue should be based on.

EU-Russia Relations: What’s Going On?

5

Speaker Maria Mendas (Sciences Po, Paris) voiced this

problem stating that ‘there is a preference in this [Putin’s]

leadership for confrontation over negotiations. This is the

biggest challenge for us, as we are better equipped for

negotiation than for confrontation and armed

intervention.’ Ms Mendas continued with an overview of

what went well and what should have gone better, and

concluded with several future recommendations. These

include that Ukraine can and must not be a bridge between

Russia and the EU and that the EU must formulate both a

short- and long-term strategy for dealing with Russia,

including preparation for a post-Putin Russia.

Following this, Mr Arkady Moshes (Helsinki Finnish

Institute of International Affairs) criticised the EU policy

that prioritised engagement with Russia. He criticised the

policy both as a strategy to see engagement as a goal in

itself rather than a means; and as a narrative, he portrayed

the EU as more invested in improving bilateral relations.

This is not the right way to deal with engagement, he

stated, for Russia has greater resolve and skills to play

these geopolitical games than the EU. In the light of this,

he criticised EU compromises made for the economy’s

sake.

Mr Joerg Forbrig (German Marshall Fund, Berlin) continued

with an analysis of the shift in Russia’s power politics. He

stressed that, in order to survive, the regime had been

internally remodelled for a permanent external conflict.

For the EU, this means that it both needs to maximise its

defences, not just militarily, on the one hand, and minimise

its vulnerabilities to Russian meddling, on the other hand.

For this, the EU needs to consolidate and invest in the EU

members from Eastern Europe.

In the discussion ensued, different opinions and ideas were

heard. Importantly, as Mr Carver (EFD, UK) stressed,

whether it were pleasant or nor, Putin is the

democratically elected Russian president and diplomatic

channels must therefore continue to be used.

EU Extends Sanctions Against Russia At an extraordinary meeting in Brussels on 29 January

2015, EU Foreign Ministers agreed to extend existing

sanctions against Russia until September 20151

. The

ministers also agreed to discuss names to be added to the

list of individuals facing sanctions from the EU, including

travel bans and the freezing of assets. The ministers did

not, however, agree to impose new sanctions.

1 http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2015/01/council-conclusions-ukraine

The published conclusions state that the Council ‘strongly

condemns the indiscriminate shelling of residential areas,

especially in Mariupol and the recent escalation of fighting

in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine’ and says

that the Council ‘expects Russia to exert its influence and

to induce the separatists… to stop their hostile actions.’

The extraordinary session was called after the port city of

Mariupol was shelled killing over 30 people in the process.

Credentials of the Russian Delegation to the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of

Europe (PACE) Challenged On 26 January 2015, the still unratified credentials of the

Russian delegation were challenged on the basis of Articles

8.1 and 8.2 of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliamentary

Assembly on the grounds that the role and participation of

the Russian Federation in the conflict in Eastern Ukraine as

well as its continued illegal annexation of Crimea, was in

violation of the Statute of the Council of Europe (ETS No.

1) as well as its accession commitments to the Council of

Europe. This, in general, brought into question the

commitment of the Russian delegation to the principles

and membership obligations of the Council of Europe.

(COE Resolution 2034 [2015])

The Assembly decided not to annul the credentials of the

Russian delegation but to suspend its voting rights as well

as its right to be represented in the Bureau, Presidential

Committee, and Standing Committee of the Assembly and

its right to participate in election observation missions. In

addition, in this resolution, the Assembly reserved the right

to annul the credentials of the Russian delegation if the

Russian Federation did not de-escalate the situation and

reverse the annexation of Crimea.

Prior to this, on 21 March 2014, two motions for a

resolution with regard to the previously ratified credentials

of the Russian Federation were submitted to the

Parliamentary Assembly. The first one, signed by 74

members, called for the reconsideration, on the basis of

Rule 9.1.a of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly, of the

(Doc. 13457) ratified credentials of the Russian delegation

on substantive grounds. The second motion on the

suspension of the voting rights of the Russian delegation

(Rule 9 of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly) (Doc.

13459) was signed by 53 members. The resolution is

published on the website of the Council of Europe2.

2http://assembly.coe.int/ASP/Doc/XrefViewPDF.asp?FileID=21456&Language=EN

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‘We Continue to Regard the Situation As

Encouraging’

In an interview

3 with the Russian newspaper

“Kommersant”, Vygaudas Ušackas, Head of the EU

delegation to Moscow, called the situation with regards to

the peace talks in Minsk and the relations with Moscow still

encouraging.

To the question how he would assess the Minsk agreement

and the truce in Donbas, Ušackas responded by saying:

‘Being a sober realist, I will say this: We are, of course,

encouraged that we reached an agreement at such a high

level. I expect this to also be a signal to all the parties to

facilitate the implementation of the agreements. The

coming days (…) will show how effective and sustainable

our joint efforts are and whether we can stop the spiral of

war and give a new dynamic to the restoration of peace

and harmony in Ukraine.’

Further in the interview, Mr Ušackas also commented on

the new EU sanctions against Russia, which were agreed

upon after the shelling of Mariupol. ‘We work hard to apply

the two-way approach,’ Ušackas said. ‘That means, on the

one hand, to do everything for a further dialogue and, on

the other hand, to apply pressure through restrictive

measures. All our actions are aimed at maintaining

diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict.’

The entire interview can be read on the website of the

Kommersant newspaper (in Russian).

3 http://kommersant.ru/doc/2670073

Statement "Russian Government Should Repeal the "Foreign Agents" Law and Restart a Dialogue with Independent Russian NGOs" On 20 January 2015, the Steering Committee of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum published a statement expressing its concern regarding the significant deterioration of the situation of independent non-governmental organisations in Russia in 2014. Especially Law No. 121-FZ (the so-called “foreign agents” law) plays a dramatic role in this persecution of non-governmental organisations and their members. The Russian state authorities continue to perform unannounced inspections of NGOs, expanding the “foreign agents” list. A number of court appeals on past decisions have resulted in negative verdicts for NGOs; some are still on-going. These actions by the Russian authorities have already caused discontinuation of the activities or even a complete shutdown of several leading NGOs and have had dramatic negative impact on activities of dozens of other organisations and the overall ability of independent civil society to operate freely and without fear of persecution. The complete list with all NGOs registered as “foreign agents” is published on the site of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.

4 Several Forum members are

currently included on this list, amongst others “Citizens’ Watch”, “Man and Law” and the “All-Russian Movement for Human Rights”. The Steering Committee draws special attention to the inclusion of the organization in the name of Academician Andrei Sakharov. “ Andrei Sakharov, an outstanding Soviet dissident and a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate has played an invaluable role in the establishment of a free and democratic country. It is deplorable that twenty-five years after his death the organisation, founded to commemorate and continue his legacy of civil rights and the preservation of memory of resistance to Soviet oppression, has been blacklisted as a “foreign agent”.” – according to the Steering committee. In the statement, the Steering Committee repeats its call on the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation and other relevant authorities to “stop the crackdown on independent NGOs, repeal the “foreign agents” law, create favourable conditions for the implementation of freedom of association, and restart a dialogue with independent Russian civil society organisations.” The statement was published in full at the CSF website.

4 http://unro.minjust.ru/NKOForeignAgent.aspx

How to Be Excluded from the “Foreign Agents” Register President Vladimir Putin submitted a bill to the State Duma, which described how NGOs could be excluded from the so-called “foreign agents” register. The drafted bill was registered in the Lower House of Parliament’s electronic database and approved by the Russian Parliament later on. The memo to the draft indicated that albeit current laws, specifically “On Public Associations” and “On Non-governmental Organisations” had stipulated procedures for organisations to be included in that register, they lacked procedures and guidelines for them to get excluded again. According to the memo, the purpose of the drafted bill was ‘to fill this gap’. This bill stipulates that for an NGO to be removed from the register, it should file a relevant application with an authorised federal body according to a form approved by this authorised body. The law states that an NGO which is included in the “foreign agents” register can be excluded from that, if it can prove not to have received foreign funding over the period of one year and to have not engaged in political activities. In addition to this, the NGO has to prove it has returned funds and means received from abroad for that period. Since the first edition of the law of 2012, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Federal Tax Service have been inspecting non-governmental organisations. Particularly after the amendment on the “foreign agents” law on 23 May 2014, the Ministry of Justice has the authority to register independent groups as “foreign agents” without their consent. Recently, there has been some positive developments on the matter. After receiving a collective complaint from numerous NGOs concerning the frequency and the negative impact on the regular workflow of the unannounced inspections done by the Prosecutor’s Office; on 17 February 2015, the Constitutional Court of Russian Federation declared a provision of the Federal Law on the Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation unconstitutional. The ground for declaring it unconstitutional is the absence of time limits for the implementation of inspector’s requests.

On the Russian Federation

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The law was signed by President Vladimir Putin on 9 March 2015.

5

Written by Ece Demiralp, intern at Netherlands Helsinki Committe

Call for Independent Investigation into the Murder of Boris Nemtsov On 4 March 2015, the Steering Committee published a statement

6 on the occasion of the murder of Boris

Nemtsov, a prominent leader of the democratic movement in Russia. Nemtsov was shot dead in the night of 27 February 2015 in the heart of Moscow on a bridge just meters from the Kremlin. The Steering Committee called upon the Russian authorities to conduct a prompt, thorough, and independent investigation. ‘Boris Nemtsov is another name in the tragic list of those who lost lives in their struggle for fundamental rights and freedoms in Russia,’ says Katarzyna Batko-Tołuc, member of the Forum’s Steering Committee. ‘There needs to be an efficient and impartial investigation into these killings. Every day of delay adds to the atmosphere of intimidation of independent critical voices and impunity for perpetrators of politically motivated crimes in Russia.’ The Steering Committee expressed its deepest condolences to the family of Boris Nemtsov and mourned the loss of a politician who was one of the leaders of the democratisation efforts in Russia.

5 Sources used: http://www.bbc.co.uk/russian/rolling_news/2015/02/150204_rn_putin_ngos_bil; http://www.russianlawonline.com/content/ngos; http://www.icnl.org/research/monitor/russia.html; http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/02/16/russia-government-against-rights-groups; http://russialist.org/interfax-putin-proposes-bill-on-removing-ngos-from-foreign-agents-list 6 http://eu-russia-csf.org/fileadmin/Statements/StatementNemtsov04.03.2015.pdf

Statement of the Steering Committee "’Je Suis Charlie’ - Condemning Terrorist Attacks in France and Urging Against Rise of Anti-Islamic Ideas" On 14 January 2015, the Steering committee published a statement expressing their deepest condolences to the relatives and friends of the victims of the hideous events that took place in France between 7 and 9 January 2015. In the words of the Steering Committee, the journalists who worked at the Magazine “Charlie Hebdo” ‘fell victim to fanatics, who called into question essential democratic freedoms – the freedom of expression and the freedom of media’. In a series of terrorist attacks, 17 people were murdered, including journalists, police officers and supermarket customers. These were not just attacks against these people, but also against the very rights and values that the world community adopted in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Steering Committee also stressed that, even though the attacks were carried out by Islamist fundamentalists, this fact serves as no justification for the harassment of Muslims or limitation of immigration from the Islamic states. Unfortunately, after 7 January several mosques in France and other European countries have been vandalised, and polarisation in the society seems to have increased.This is a dangerous development that plays right into the hands of those people as the attackers of “Charlie Hebdo”. Finally, the Steering Committee reminded the reader of the urgent need for an intensified migration and integration policy in the EU as well as extension of civic education programmes across the world. Simultaneously, urgent steps should be taken by the EU to counter both terrorism and fanaticism, such as better investigation into terrorists’ networks and by ensuring responsibility of the perpetrators that endanger peace and the rule of law in Europe. The statement has been published on the EU-Russia CSF website.

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7 http://eu-russia-csf.org/news/statement-of-the-steering-committee-je-suis-charlie-condemning-terrorist-attacks-in-france

Civil society Under Pressure in Hungary ‘The Hungarian authorities’ ongoing assault on NGOs has all the hallmarks of a witch-hunt. EU leaders should be extremely alarmed that practices coined in Russia are gaining currency in an EU member state’, says an appeal by Amnesty International published to coincide with a visit by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to Hungary in the beginning of February.

8

As addressed in previous issues and discussions, civil society in Hungary is under an increasing threat and pressure from the government. Starting in May 2014, government officials started accusing a number of Hungarian NGOs of being “paid political activists” who were “attempting to enforce foreign interests”. These accusations of course echo the rhetoric from Russia, where CSOs are continuously labelled “foreign agents”. Beside this campaign of negative information and discrediting, the government ordered audits of 59 Hungarian NGOs who had received and distributed foreign grants. John Dalhuisen, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International, called these audits ‘[…] politically motivated (…) preceded by statements by the Prime Minister and other government officials asserting the ‘guilt’ of the implicated organisations without any substantial evidence of criminal wrong-doing or financial irregularities.’ ‘The Hungarian government’s NGO witch-hunt has sent a chilling message to everyone who speaks out against human rights abuses, corruption, and homophobia. The Hungarian authorities must stop this campaign against independent critical voices and Angela Merkel and other EU leaders must urgently insist that they do so,’ said John Dalhuisen.

8 http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/hungary-authorities-must-end-unprecedented-crackdown-ngos-2015-02-02?linkId=12098116

On the European Union

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Danish Parliamentary Hearing Debates Whether EU Founding Values are Under Pressure In an address to a Danish Parliamentary hearing on how to safeguard fundamental rights in the EU, Morten Kjaerum, Director at the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), said that the EU and its Member States could be more focused and proactive in the use of the tools at their disposal. He was speaking at a hearing of the Danish Parliament’s European Affairs Committee that took place on 12 March 2015 in Copenhagen. The debate questioned whether the fundamental values of the EU were under pressure and asked what the EU could do

9.

At the hearing, Mr Kjaerum acknowledged fundamental rights challenges that existed in Europe that day, including threats to social and economic rights, the rise of extremism and populism, and the erosion of the rule of law in some Member States Yet, Mr Kjaerum also stressed the need not to forget that many fundamental rights achievements had been made by the EU and its member states over the past decades. Several examples were mentioned - such as the legally-binding EU Charter of Fundamental Rights that underpins EU work and the work by the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Court of Justice to safeguard fundamental rights. Mr Kjaerum offered four different tools through which the EU and its Member States could ensure that EU values are promoted, respected, and fulfilled. The first one is the promotion of fundamental rights as a horizontal issue and thus as integral part of everything the EU does. The second tool entails cooperation between the EU, national, regional, and local levels to work together and develop joint efforts to tackle the complex challenges Europe faces in the area of fundamental rights. The third tool focuses on greater practical guidance to practitioners on fundamental rights issues to convert commitments on paper into specific actions on the ground. The fourth tool promotes the substantial exchange of promising and best practices to help pool knowledge and expertise from different member states. In his conclusion, Mr Kjaerum stressed that the EU toolbox was extensive: ‘If we were to use all these tools, we would not need to reinvent the wheel. Instead we would demonstrate beyond all doubt to the European citizens that the EU and its Member States are prepared to protect the fundamental values that are such an integral part of living in Europe.’

9 http://fra.europa.eu/en/news/2015/danish-parliamentary-hearing-debates-whether-eu-founding-values-are-under-pressure?_cldee=aGh1bW1lbEBuaGMubmw%3d&urlid=3

Anna Sevortian on a Policy Trip to Denmark On 1-3 December 2014, Anna Sevortian, Executive Director of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum, paid a visit to Copenhagen. She was invited by the Baltic Sea NGO Network Denmark

10 to talk on the situation of the Russian

NGO sector and to promote the work of the Forum. She also attended meetings at the Copenhagen City Hall and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As a special event, she gave a lecture at the University of Copenhagen. During her meetings, she stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation between the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum and Danish NGOs, with special mention of the Danish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights

11, which

was confirmed as a new Forum member. 'This time in Copenhagen was important for building a “bridge” to Scandinavia,' says Anna Sevortian. 'EU-Russia Civil Society Forum today has only few links to the Northern European states, and for some time it was our wish to closer cooperate with this region, so the Danish colleagues’ initiative was very timely. It was encouraging to learn about re-socialisation programmes for the underprivileged and migrants run by Kofoeds School in Copenhagen, to know about the work on minority issues in Denmark... I hope this wealth of experience will soon be presented within the Forum.' The Danish Baltic Sea NGO Network is a platform of 40 organisations. These NGOs are engaged in the development of the Baltic Sea states in the field of human rights, civil society, social issues, culture, and environment. For more information, check out their official website http://bs-ngo.dk

13.

Human Rights Activists are Looking for Ways of Direct Interaction with Citizens On December 9 2014, the Working Group "Human Rights and the Rule of Law", together with experts, journalists and documentary cinematographers gathered in Warsaw to launch the video project aimed at improving the image

10 http://bs-ngo.dk 11 http://helsinkicommittee.dk 12 http://www.bs-ngo.dk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57&Itemid=73 13 http://www.bs-ngo.dk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57&Itemid=73

of the work of human rights organisations in Russia, and their work. At the meeting, the lack of human rights values in the Russian media space have been raised, as well as the issue of creating a common language understood by the society. The use of manipulative techniques in state propaganda and addressing this through telling the true story in a way understood and accepted by society, was formulated as a goal of the project. 'The participants were unanimous in the opinion that under today’s circumstances the authorities ceased to be the audience of human rights defenders,' said Elena Shakhova, Chairwoman of the Human Rights NGO "Citizens Watch" (St. Petersburg). 'We must appeal directly to the society for which we work.' As first steps on the way to implementation of the new communications policy, human rights non-profit organisations have planned to create several videos about their activities and their ideals, and to distribute via online channels and other non-conventional outlets.

CSF Policy Team and the EESC Following the successful joint seminar of the CSF with the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), where the civil society perspective in the discussion on EU-Russia relations was deemed fundamental, an official Opinion on Civil Society in Russia was adopted. The Opinion follows the point made at the seminar that ‘to support civil society, the EU should recognise it and support civil society organisations.’ Maintaining people-to-people contacts, e.g., through academic and cultural exchanges, was also deemed fundamental. The opinion piece was officially adopted on 10 December 2014 during the 503

rd Plenary Session of the Economic and

Social Committee - with 118 votes to 6, with 5 abstentions. The complete piece is publishedin 23 languages on the EESC website

14.

Beside offering an in-depth analysis and overview of the civil society in Russia, several recommendations were accepted relating to the EU-Russia dialogue and strategy. In the adopted opinion, the EESC stresses that Civil Society and Human Rights issues should be part of a bi- and multilateral dialogue with Russia. Following this, the opinion states that ‘human rights dialogue should be

14 http://www.eesc.europa.eu/?i=portal.en.rex-opinions.30768

Policy and Advocacy

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maintained and civil society stakeholders with relevant expertise should be brought to the table whenever possible. The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy should meet with civil society and CSOs whenever visiting Russia.’ Other recommendations include continuous monitoring of the civil society situation in Russia by the European Union by continuing and strengthening several cooperation instruments - such as the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), and opening the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) for Russian participants. For the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum, an explicit mentioning of the Forum as a platform for dialogue and cooperation is of utmost importance. The recommendation states: ‘New platforms and formats of cooperation between civil society organisations from the EU and Russia should thrive. The EU-Russia Civil Society Forum (similar to the Eastern Partnership CSF) might be considered as one of the existing development platforms that are well suited for this purpose. Involvement of the social partners also merits attention within this or a similar platform.’ Following the successful seminar and the adoption of this relevant opinion piece, the CSF Policy and Advocacy Team has been currently exploring the possibilities of a follow-up seminar with the EESC and other relevant bodies and persons in Brussels later this year. All interested parties are encouraged to contact the PA team with their views on EU-Relations, the opinion adopted, and other recommendations regarding policy and advocacy.

Staying Open – Promoting the EU-Russia CSF in Sweden Representatives of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum - Anna Sevortian and Barbara von Ow-Freytag - used a special meeting with Swedish NGOs working with Russia at the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) on 12 February 2015 in Stockholm to present the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum and to consult on new strategies with the Swedish Foreign Ministry and SIDA. Opening the Partners' Meeting with some 40 Swedish NGOs, Mirja Peterson, head of SIDA 's Eastern Europe division, noted that the visit of CSF representatives came at a perfect time as the agency was beginning consultations on its operational policy to implement the new Russia strategy of the Swedish government. Passed last August, the ‘result strategy for Sweden's support to democracy, human rights and environment in Russia 2014-2018’ foresees a budget of 360 million Swedish Crowns (around €37.8 million), of which 320 million Crowns go to SIDA and 40 million Crowns to the Swedish Institute, a

public institute which promotes Swedish culture and issues around the world. Presented in detail for participants of the meeting, the government strategy aims at supporting the ‘democratic development in Russia, contribute to a wider respect for human rights and a better environment in the Baltic Sea region and North West Russia.’ The government strategy defines two desired "result areas". The first - human rights, democratic development and civil participation - would be given priority ‘in view of recent developments in Russia’. Prescribed aims would be boosting transparency in public administration, the fight against corruption and strengthening "actors for change", as well as transparent and open media. The second "result area" - better environment in the described areas - aims at achieving emission cuts, energy efficiency and raising awareness among civil and local actors. Inviting NGO representatives to discuss the expected efficiency of both priorities, Elsa Hastad, Head of SIDA department for Europe and Latin America, spoke of a roll-back in Russian developments that felt as if everything was back to early 1990s. ‘But nothing is as it was 25 years ago, she said. ‘We were full of hope then and the world has become much more complex.’ The wish to cooperate remained the core focus for work with Russia, the task being ‘to look forward, to build new contacts and to think outside the box’. In small working groups, NGO representatives discussed two themes - which of the government aims were realistic and what new forms of cooperation should be invented. In the lively debate, issues ranged from "survival strategies" to new communication forms, calls for new security structures to protect Russian NGO partners to emigration threatening much of what had been built since the 1990s. The central challenge, most participants agreed, was to find a new balance between pragmatism (‘do what is still possible’) and defending principal European values and issues. ‘In difficult times, at least everyone moves together,’ Mirja Peterson summed up the day's substantial debate. Like the Swedish NGOs, SIDAs principle was to stay open and continue working with Russian partners wherever possible. Presenting the EU-Russia CSF as special guest, Anna Sevortian invited Swedish NGOs to join the Forum and use it to share Swedish "best practices" with CSF members, both from Russia and other EU countries. In challenging times, joint strategy debates on civil society cooperation with Russia were needed between governments and NGOs, and also between individual EU countries, underlined Barbara von Ow-Freytag. "Staying open" also meant including NGO partners from Ukraine and other Eastern partnership countries in projects, where possible, she said, speaking for the Contact Group with the EaP CSF. In times of war and conflict, civil society had to show that understanding and cooperation were possible on the people-to-people level.

Please note that to streamline CSF Policy and Advocacy work and improve coordination and reach out to Forum members, the Policy and Advocacy Team has been currently setting up a Policy and Advocacy Calendar. When finished, it will be published and updated on the CSF website. From now on, please feel free to share your upcoming opportunities with the policy team, in order to

include them on the list. In case you are very active in advocacy, please feel free to ask for the calendar details, to fill out your dates yourself, or connect it with your own calendar. For more info, please do not hesitate to contact us at tvandermaarel@nhc.nl

20–24 April: PACE Second Part of the 2015 Session (Strasbourg, France) The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will convene for the second part of the 2015 Session. For Forum members, it is good to know that Russia and Ukraine are on the agenda for the second session. For more information, please check the upcoming events at http://assembly.coe.int/ASP/Calendar/PACEMeetingCalDate_E.asp?ComID=All. 14-15 May: ERDB Civil Society Programme at the Annual Meeting (Tbilisi, Georgia) This year, the Civil Society Programme will take place on 14-15 May 2015 and will be held in parallel with the Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors and Business Forum of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The EBRD Civil Society Programme is an opportunity for civil society stakeholders to learn more and exchange views and perspectives regarding the EBRD’s own work as well as other major developments of interest and concern to CSOs in the countries where the Bank invests. The Programme will also feature a special discussion panel open to all Business Forum participants entitled Youth Employment: ‘Lost in Translation’ between Skills and Employers’ Needs. For more information, please check: http://www.ebrd.com/ebrd-2015-annual-meeting-and-business-forum.html 2 June: FRA “How to Address Severe Forms of Labour Exploitation” The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) will launch the report from its Project ‘Severe Labour Exploitation of Migrant Workers in the European Union’ at a high-level event at the Council of the EU on 2 June 2015 in Brussels.

The event is jointly organised by FRA as well as the General Secretariat and Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU. The project looks at criminal exploitation of the work of EU and non-EU migrants. High-level policy makers and practitioners will discuss the research findings with a view to explore what can be done by the EU and Member States to tackle the various criminal forms of labour exploitation that takes place in the EU today. For more information, please go to http://fra.europa.eu/en. 10-11 June 2015: 13th Baltic Sea NGO Forum (Tallinn, Estonia) In June, the Annual Baltic Sea NGO Forum will take place in Tallinn, Estonia. To stay up to date with the programme and other practical issues, make sure to check out the official web site at http://www.bsngoforum.net/xiii-baltic-sea-ngo-forum-2015

Coming Up: Advocacy Opportunities

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Contact: Tim van der Maarel, Project Manager, Sergei Tereshenkov, PR Coordinator, Netherlands Helsinki Committee, The Hague Secretariat of the EU-Russia CSF, Berlin Tel. +31 (0)70 392 67 00 Tel. +49 (0)30 44 66 80 14 e-mail: tvandermaarel@nhc.nl e-mail: tereshenkov@eu-russia-csf.org

Disclaimer: This document has been produced with the financial assistance of our donors. The

contents of this publication are sole responsibility of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum and can in no

way be taken to reflect the views of our donors.

EU-RUSSIA CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM / ГРАЖДАНСКИЙ ФОРУМ ЕС-РОССИЯ Address (Secretariat): Deutsch-Russischer Austausch e.V. (German-Russian Exchange) – 44, Bad St., 13357 Berlin, Germany, Tel. + 49 (0)30 44 66 80 0 Адрес (Секретариат): Немецко-Русский Обмен –Бадштрассе 44, 13357 Берлин, Германия, тел. + 49 30 44 66 80 0 Website: www.eu-russia-csf.org E-mail: info@eu-russia-csf.org Facebook: EU-Russia Civil Society Forum Twitter: @EU_Russia_CSF YouTube: EU-Russia Civil Society Forum

The EU-Russia Civil Society Forum was established in 2011 by non-governmental organisations as a permanent common platform. At the moment 146 NGOs from Russia and the European

Union are member of the Forum. It aims at development of cooperation between civil society organisations from Russia and EU and greater participation of NGOs in the EU-Russia dialogue. The Forum has been actively involved, inter alia, in the questions of facilitation of visa regime,

development of civic participation, protection of the environment and human rights, dealing with history, and civic education.