Supporting civil society is not a charity, but an investment to protect Europe’s democratic future. This was said by Jon Erik Strömö, Director of the Central Europe and EEA Grants Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, during the official opening of the EEA Civil Society Fund in Bulgaria – the new civil society support program under the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism. The official start of the program was given on May 12 in Sofia and brought together representatives of donor countries, European institutions, civil society organizations and institutions from Bulgaria.
“As civil society weakens, so does democracy. Civil society acts as the first line of defence of democracy. When the laws are weakened and the institution is called into question. An independent civil society organization helps to protect the law, human rights and accountability,” Strömö said.
“This is not a program that simply supports the civil sector as such. It is a programme that supports the role of civil society organisations, the protection of democracy, the rule of law and human rights. These value characteristics will be leading in the work of the fund for the next 6 years,” said Georgi Stoychev, Executive Director of the Open Society Institute – Sofia. He added that during this period many changes are likely to happen, new risks will arise and new opportunities will emerge. “That is why we have designed the program so that there are funds to support civil society organizations throughout the period, so that they can adapt to possible changes in the environment and face risks,” Stoychev said.
What will the EEA Civil Society Fund look like in Bulgaria? This was the topic of the presentation and the detailed explanations made by the representatives of the Operator: Elitsa Markova from the Open Society Institute – Sofia, Iliana Nikolova, Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation, Sarah Perrin, Trust for Social Achievement and Guri Idsø Viken, Frivillighet Norge.
During the discussions, the topic of challenges and opportunities in the field of civic space and information integrity was seriously touched upon. It was attended by representatives of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, the Office of the Financial Mechanism of the EEA, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, as well as representatives of the Bulgarian civil sector. “The EU has taken a really big step in its domestic policy on civil society to make it very clear that civil society is a key factor for democracy, but also for democratic sustainability. So at EU level, there is a rethinking of the strategic importance of civil society,” said Waltrud Heller from the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights.
“What we have done and what we are trying to do in this new financial mechanism, where we hear more and more about the problems faced by civil society organisations in all beneficiary countries, is to foster partnerships between the different stakeholders that play an important role in supporting civil society organisations and civil space”, said Sotiris Laganopoulos from the EEA Financial Mechanism Office.
