The guidelines explain how the EU will support civil society in the region during 2021-2027, especially through the Civil Society Facility. Guides are aimed at three different target audiences:
- EU staff: For the preparation and implementation of EU support towards the civil society in Turkey and Western Balkans; in monitoring the effectiveness of the support provided; and assisting IPA beneficiaries in analyzing developments in the situation of civil society;
- Western Balkans and policymakers and administrators in Turkey: the Directorate General of the European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) IPA beneficiaries to understand the standards they want to achieve in terms of their support for civil society in the context of EU enlargement - particularly for developing participatory democracy and to provide an enabling environment for civil society to make public policy, to encourage participation in the creation and integration process of the EU;
- Civil society in the region: To know the standards that the General Directorate of European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR) is trying to achieve in terms of capacity, effectiveness, endurance, independence, and accountability.
The guidelines, and in particular the results framework, provide concrete targets, indicators, and reference points to support these efforts.
The revision of the guides is carried out by adopting a participatory method. The previous version of the Guidelines and the first draft of the conclusion framework of the revised Guidelines are available to all relevant stakeholders at www.tacso.eu. In December 2020, TACSO published an open call to receive written contributions and recommendations from civil society organizations within the framework of updating the Guidelines. Before this, a regional consultation meeting was held in Skopje in January 2020 with the participation of civil society organizations and public institutions. Consultation meetings are currently held in each IPA beneficiary country with civil society organizations, public institutions, funders, and other stakeholders to receive their feedback to finalize the Guidelines.
The consultation meeting will be held online due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The official language of the meeting is English. Simultaneous translation in Turkish will be provided during the meeting.
You can submit your application to participate in the meeting from here until 18 February 2021, Thursday, 17:00.
You can visit the EU TACSO 3 website (www.tacso.eu) to learn more about the guides and the consultation process.