Council of Europe EaP 2023-2027 - Council of Europe regional EaP 2023-2027 Europarådet regionalt ÖstP 2023-2027 Support to the CoE national action plans for democracy, rule of law and human rights in the Eastern Partnership region. Stöd till Europarådets handlingsplaner för demokrati, rättsstatens principer samt mänskliga rättigheter, i östliga partnerskapet. CoEs experts and influential standard-setting and monitoring bodies in Strasbourg will, by relying on co-operation via the External Offices in the respective country,  accelerate the realisation of Human rights, Democracy and Rule of Law by the respective State for the benefit of the inhabitants, by using a wide range of technical means to influence a wide range of actors in the thematic fields of thematic Action Plans. The intervention departs from the respective Action Plans (APs) agreed upon between the respective States and the Council of Europe, during the agreement period.

PLANNED IMPACT
To accelerate, in Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries, the realisation of Human rights, Democracy and Rule of Law. Log-frame definition of Impact: Member States (duty-bearers) fulfil their obligations under Council of Europes standards. This leads to: persons (rights-holders) enjoy their rights. This leads to: Human rights, the Rule of Law and Democracy for all. 

The Action Plans are organized from 3 areas (democracy, rule of law and human rights); specified into 8-12 thematic sub-areas identified for the country (judiciary, minorities; IDPs, freedom of expression; corruption; law enforcement; et al); these are then translated into 3-4 Expected Outcomes per sub-area; and these are expected to be realized via numbers of included Planned Action.

GENERAL PLANNED OUTCOMES
1: Performance of EaP countries institutions in terms of governance, quality of services and efficiency further consolidated in compliance with European standards.
2: Improved conditions and environment for the exercise of human rights by the rights-holders
3: The outcomes on which the Council of Europe will report (those of the Action Plans funded by the Framework Agreement).

The specific outcomes are identified and defined per respective AP.

KEY ACTORS
The CoE External Offices (field offices) are focusing on the third pillar of the Council of Europe, often seen as a triangle: 1) the standard setting work, 2)  the monitoring work (monitoring of States compliance of standards and judgements mainly in Strasbourg), and 3) technical co-operation/assistance (departing from the External Offices but relying on Strasbourg management and expertise) aiming at helping States to implement the standards. 

The External Offices mandate and resources are to a large extent but not entirely subordinated to the Strasbourg functions such as the thematic expert units, the country advisors, the Secretary General's office, and the Directorate for Programme Co-operation (DPC) which is responsible for the co-operation with Sida under the Framework Agreement.

The External Offices' mandate to act means that they are: Representing the Secretary General vis-à-vis the national authorities of the host country; promoting and supporting the policies and activities of national authorities, as well as those of the Council of Europe bodies, related to membership of the Council of Europe; providing advice, support and overall in situ co-ordination with national authorities in planning, negotiation and timely implementation of targeted Council of Europe co-operation activities, including Joint Programmes with the European Union and other donors; facilitating the identification of needs for capacity-building, in co-operation with national authorities; conducting fundraising activities for specific projects; and conducting a proactive media policy, in order to raise the visibility of the Organisation, its values and activities among the general public; and co-ordinating activities in the country with other international organisations and institutions (EU, OSCE, UN), as well as other international and local partners active in the country. (Appendix to Resolution CM/Res(2010)5.)

The technical means employed to enable the change, by the Council of Europe's experts and programme staff are the following: diplomacy, providing technical expertise, workshops, trainings and training development, conferences, seminars, round tables, working groups, publications, research, technical, assessment visits, study visits, needs assessments, peer to peer exchanges, campaign design and implementation, equipment (software/hardware), placement, (micro) grants and awareness-raising initiatives.
Action Plans address a wide range of actors in the field. The projects, which are part of the Action Plan, cover many areas, including the judiciary, prison system, education and health care. The stakeholders include the State authorities of all levels of government, lawmakers and relevant professionals, in the field of the judiciary and law enforcement notably judges, prosecutors, law enforcement, the police, medical staff in prisons and probation services, social workers, psychologists, community police officers, teachers, school administrators; in the field of education children, parents, teachers, school administration; in the field of social affairs, e.g. drugs: healthcare workers, social workers, psychologists, healthcare, social workers, psychologists, community police officers, teachers, school administrators; freedom of expression: journalists, media regulatory authorities; ombudsman offices and local authorities.