site.btaPresident of EESC's Civil Society Organisations' Group Seamus Boland Discusses EU Civil Society in BTA Interview

The President of the Civil Society Organizations (CSO) group at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), Seamus Boland, told BTA that dialogue between civil society and the European institutions is a basic prerequisite for maintaining a healthy democracy.  He gave the interview on the occasion of an open letter published on Wednesday, January 24, at the initiative of the group he heads, one of three in the EESC, along with those of employers and workers, as well as the Civil Society Europe organization.

The letter, sent to the heads of the European Commission and the European Parliament, as well as to the Belgian rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, was signed by a large number of European networks, national organizations and civil society associations, including ones from Bulgaria. It expresses dissatisfaction with the state of civil dialogue at the EU level.

The open letter proposes concrete measures to maintain a structured dialogue between the European institutions and civil society organizations in all policy areas, as provided for in Article 11 of the Treaty on European Union. The over 150 signatory organizations from 26 EU Member States call in particular for the initiation of an inter-institutional agreement on civil dialogue, the creation of high-level posts in each institution responsible for relations with civil society and the promotion of enhanced cooperation between civil and social actors based on the recommendations made by the Conference on the Future of Europe.

The initiators of the open letter, the EESC Civil Society Organizations group together with Civil Society Europe, are very pleased with the wide support it has receives, said Boland. It is clear that many civil society organizations feel that they are currently being completely neglected by politicians, he noted.

The CSO group and its partners will present this letter to a number of institutions at European and national level, Boland said. In addition, the group will hold a conference on March 25 on "Strengthening civil society and participatory democracy in the EU: the way forward". After the European elections they will aim to continue this campaign.