EU-Arab relations at the Crossroads: Responding to challenges with a new narrative by the South

For the fourth successive year, a delegation of human rights and development civil society organizations from the Arab region will be visiting the European institutions in Brussels between the 8th and the 12th  of December 2014. The Arab delegation includes civil society representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and Lebanon.

This visit seeks to provide a platform for dialogue and exchange between civil society organizations from the Arab region and European policy makers at the Parliament and Commission around the EU’s support and involvement in the region.

During the Advocacy Week, the delegation will meet with EU officials from the Commission and Parliament in organized roundtable meetings.

The Round Table at AFET Committee on December 10th, 2014 entitled "Designing a new neighborhood policy".

The Roundtable at INTA Committee on December 10th, 2014 entitled "EU Trade and Investment policy: Between development goals and access to developing markets draft programme".

In addition, on December 11th, 2014 civil society representatives from the Arab region and Europe will come together in a Civil Society Forum organized at European Endowment for Democracy. 

The delegation issued a statementhighlighting concerns on key issues including addressing socio-economic inequalities at the heart of the new development agenda; binding the Private Sector with Human Rights standards and aligning trade and investment policies with development priorities: A CSO Enabling Environment; Enhancing Peace and Security in the region.

Read here the statement.

Further information is available here.

Source: Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND).