JOINT REPORT TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Implementation of the Agenda for Action on Democracy Support in the EU’s External Relations
Date: 2012-10-11
Institutions: European Commission, High Representative of the Union
Subjects: Belarus, Lebanon, Nigeria, Tunisia, democratisation, fact-finding mission, the EU's international role

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

HIGH REPRESENTATIVE OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION FOR 
FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND 
SECURITY POLICY

Brussels, 11.10.2012  
JOIN(2012) 28 final 

JOINT REPORT TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE 
EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE 
OF THE REGIONS 

Implementation of the Agenda for Action on Democracy Support in the EU’s External 
Relations 

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JOINT REPORT TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE 
EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE 
OF THE REGIONS 

Implementation of the Agenda for Action on Democracy Support in the EU’s External 
Relations 

1. 

INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT 

This Joint Report, prepared by the High Representative and the Commission, responds to a 10 
December 20101 Council request for regular updates on democracy support initiatives in the 
pilot countries. This report examines: 

• 

implementation of the Agenda for Action in pilot countries and all regions; 

•  policy responses between December 2010 and early 2012; and 

•  coherence and effectiveness in the EU’s democracy support.  

The  universal  desire  people  have  to  govern  themselves  was  evident  throughout  2011. 
Developments  in  Burma,  North  Africa  and  the  Middle  East  (the  “Arab  Spring”),  and  the 
united position of the international community to the stand-off in the Ivory Coast underlined 
the yearning people have to determine the course of their own lives.  

The  EU’s  swift  reaction  to  these  events  highlighted  the  principles  adopted  in  the  Council 
conclusions on Democracy Support in the EU’s External Relations 20092, namely: 

•  a consistent and efficient use of all instruments at the EU’s disposal; 

•  a differentiated, country-based approach; and  

•  the  importance  of  dialogue,  partnership,  and  inclusion  of  all  stakeholders  with  a  view  to 

true country ownership. 

As  a  result,  new  policy  developments  were  initiated,  starting  in  the  Neighbourhood.  These 
policy developments strengthen the EU’s comprehensive approach to democracy support; add 
new  elements  to  the  principles  laid  down  in  the  2009  Council  conclusions,  and  increase 
funding.  

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Council conclusions on Democracy Support in the EU’s External Relations – 2010 Progress Report and 
list of proposed pilot countries, Brussels, 10 December 2010. 
Council  conclusions  on  Democracy  Support  in  the  EU’s  External  Relations,  Brussels,  17  November 
2009. 

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2. 

IMPLEMENTATION IN PILOT COUNTRIES  

2.1. 

Background 

The pilot exercise explored new and revised working modalities in order to deepen the EU’s 
ability to support democratic developments, and to develop a methodology to implement the 
Agenda for Action. 

The pilot implementation in 9 (out of the initial 12) countries3 provided a panoramic snapshot 
of  the  EU’s  democracy  support.  The  group  encompasses  countries  in  transition  from 
autocratic regimes and/or from conflict, Small Island Nations, big land-locked countries, and 
the biggest archipelago in the world. These countries represent a sample of the extraordinary 
variety  of  democratic  systems,  each  unique  in  its  reflection  of  the  historic  and  cultural 
heritage of the country. 

2.2. 

Intermediary process results 

to 

EU  Delegations  were  asked 
identify  democracy  support  activities,  stakeholders 
(government, democratic institutions and civil and political society), donors active in the field 
of democracy support, and ongoing cooperation and its impact. This mapping exercise was to 
establish  a  democracy  profile  including  a  gap  analysis  of  areas  in  need  of  improvement.  A 
multi-stakeholder  dialogue  was  to  be  initiated  with  all  relevant  players  to  establish  a 
democracy  profile.  The  gap  analysis  was  to  indicate  which  gaps  government  and/or  civil 
society  were  interested  in  filling  as  well  as  which  donor  would  be  best  suited  to  provide 
assistance. 

By February 2012, all 9 pilot Delegations had reported back. The pilot implementation proved 
that both the approach and the Council conclusions on democracy support of 2009 and 2010 
add clear value and substance to the EU’s efforts in the field of democracy support. 

The current state of pilot implementation produced the following results:  

•  Increased coherence: between various financial instruments and other tools, between staff 
with  different  mandates  inside  the  Delegations,  between  each  Delegation  and  the  EU 
Member States;  

•  Increased  legitimacy  to  the  coordinating  function  of  each  Delegation  in  a  politically 

sensitive area; 

•  Value added in terms of a comprehensive focus on democracy in the reports; 

•  Value  added  in  terms  of  additional  information,  complementarity  and  synergies  with  the 
EU’s  work  on  the  human  rights  strategies.  Important  additional  information  has  been 
compiled on political systems, structures and processes; 

•  Value  added  for  dialogues  and  programming,  including  joint  programming  between  the 

EU and the member states. 

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Benin, Bolivia, Ghana, Lebanon, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Mongolia and the Solomon Islands. 
The Central African Republic, Moldova and Philippines have not participated. 

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The Lebanon case: open attitude to cooperation with the EU on democracy in a sound 
policy environment 

Lebanon  is  a  democracy  with  a  functioning  pluralistic  system.  However,  political  divisions 
along  sectarian  lines  together  with  a  volatile  regional  situation  have  created  a  situation  that 
has difficult consequences in a number of democracy/governance related areas. Lebanon is a 
country  that  is  receptive  to  European  cooperation  offers,  in  particular  in  the  areas  of 
democracy  and  governance.  EU  support  for  democracy  has  been  a  constant  theme  in  both 
dialogue and development cooperation with Lebanon. 

In  the  course  of  dialogue,  a  number  of  weaknesses  have  been  jointly  identified,  such  as: 
parliamentary  effectiveness;  the  need  for  electoral  reform  (as  identified  in  the  EU  election 
observation  mission  report  of  2009),  and  the  need  to  improve  the  effectiveness  and 
independence of the judiciary.  

Under the European Neighbourhood Policy, Lebanon has engaged with the EU in direct and 
comprehensive  dialogue  resulting  in  an  ambitious  ENP  Action  Plan  adopted  in  2007.  The 
second  generation  of  the  Action  Plan,  to  be  adopted  at  the  end  of  2012,  will  list  specific 
priorities, benchmarks and indicators to achieve progress in democracy/governance as well as 
in other sectors. The Action Plan covers the key elements of the Agenda for Action.  

2.3. 

Intermediary substantive results 

Although  the  pilot  produced  results  due  to  the  different  ways  in  which  the  material  is 
presented, it is difficult to draw overall conclusions. This indicates a need to revise guidelines. 
For example, some reports use a legalistic approach, while others pay more attention to power 
relations, political culture or individual institutions such as the party system, the judiciary or 
civil society.  

Traditional, parallel power structures (tribal elders, feudal families or clans, chieftains, chiefs) 
persist  in  many  democracies  together  with  elected  democratic  structures  and  government 
institutions like the judiciary. As part of the historic and cultural fabric of society, traditional 
leaders  play  an  important  role.  But  this  is  often  in  conflict  with  elected  democratic 
institutions.  Understanding  these  traditional  power  structures  is  a  prerequisite  to  improving 
the  EU’s  ability  to  integrate  democratic  systems  and  institutions.  The  same  is  true  for 
constitutional  arrangements  and  electoral  systems  and  their  sociological  and  historic  roots. 
These  can  greatly  contribute  to  distortions  and  imbalances  of  power  between  the  different 
institutions  of  the  state.  The  EU  can  only  contribute  to  constitutional  change  in  a  limited 
number  of  countries  and  therefore  relies  on  the  dissemination  of  best  practice  to  provide 
helpful examples to other countries. 

3. 

IMPLEMENTATION IN ALL REGIONS 

During  2011,  the  EU  placed  a  stronger  emphasis  on  offering  assistance  to  democracy  and 
human rights. The EU also strengthened political conditionality when offering direct budget 
support4 to partner countries worldwide. 

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Communication from the European Commission, The Future Approach to EU Budget Support to Third 
Countries, 13 October 2011. 

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The EU takes a holistic approach to democracy support, combining the European Instrument 
for  Democracy  and  Human  Rights  (EIDHR),  the  Instrument  for  Stability  (IfS),  thematic 
programmes  including  Non-state  Actors  and  Local  Authorities  in  Development  (NSA/LA), 
and, where relevant, the geographic instruments. Results in 2011 include: 

•  legislative changes (new election laws in Moldova and electoral reform in Afghanistan); 

•  increased participation of under-represented groups in political life (women in Azerbaijan 

and Ghana, youth in Kyrgyzstan and indigenous communities in Bolivia);  

•  safeguarding freedom of expression and a free press (Ivory Coast); 

•  building confidence in electoral processes (Bangladesh and Ivory Coast); and 

•  better information, monitoring, and transparency of political activity (the Philippines). 

Nigeria: 

Nigeria  is  a  good  example  of  the  EU’s  approach  to  democracy  support.  The  EU  decided  in 
2011 to launch a €20 million (10 th EDF) project to support the 2012-2015 Nigerian electoral 
cycle. The funds target the electoral reform process and some capacity-building areas which 
will emanate from post-election audits, evaluations and reviews. The key beneficiaries include 
the  Independent  National  Electoral  Commission  (INEC),  the  parliament,  the  judiciary, 
political parties, civil society organisations, the media and the security sector. 

Belarus: 

Despite  the  deteriorating  working  conditions  for  civil  society  in  Belarus,  particularly  for 
human rights  organisations, EU  financial assistance  to civil society has quintupled since the 
2010 post-electoral crackdown. Activities supported by the EU include promotion of human 
rights,  support  to  victims  of  repression,  freedom  of  the  media,  election  monitoring, 
scholarships  at  European  universities  and  promotion  of  social  inclusion.  This  assistance  is 
designed  to  protect  and  foster  civil  society  development  in  the  country,  with  a  view  to 
strengthening its role in advancing the pace of democracy in Belarus. 

Tunisia: 

In  Tunisia,  the  Agenda  for  Action  has  begun  to  be  implemented.  Political  support  has  been 
provided through regular visits (President Barroso, HR/VP Ashton, Commissioner Füle, other 
Commissioners and EP President), EU Council Conclusions and HR/VP declarations. 

Overall  support  under  the  European  Neighbourhood  and  Partnership  Instrument  (ENPI)  for 
Tunisia has doubled from €80 million to €160  million in 2011, and will reach €400 million 
during  2011-2013  (up  from  the  €240  initially  proj ected).  Immediate  support  for  democracy 
transition and to election preparations consisted of the swift deployment of experts under the 
EIDHR  and  a  subsequent  €2  million  package  under  the  IfS.  This  money  has  supported 
political  reform,  the  electoral  process,  independent  civil  society,  including  women’s 
organisations, and training programmes for journalists.  

A  further  €3.2  million  was  provided  for  an  EU   Electoral  Observation  Mission,  deployed 
during the elections (Constitutional Assembly, 23 October 2011). 

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A  March  2011  call  for  proposals  with  a  total  budget  of  €2  million,  funded  under  EIDHR, 
supported projects covering election observation by domestic observers; training for political 
parties;  freedom  of  expression  groups/movements;  and  the  promotion  of  democratic  values 
and  human  rights.  A  July  2011  call  for  proposals,  under  the  Non  State  Actors  and  Local 
Authorities in Development thematic programme (€2.5 million), promoted local development 
through civil society, focusing on creating jobs and generating income within the country.  

Activities to support democratic transition are embedded in a broad Action Plan covering the 
full spectrum of relations between Tunisia and the EU. 

4. 

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS 

4.1. 

A new European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) 

The Joint Communication, “A new response to a changing Neighbourhood” of 25 May 2011, 
outlined the new ENP vision. It is based on mutual accountability and a shared commitment 
to  the  universal  values  of  human  rights,  democracy  and  the  rule  of  law.  It  involves  a  much 
higher level of differentiation, in line with a “more for more” principle, allowing each partner 
country  to  develop  its  relationship  with  the  EU  as  far  as  its  own  aspirations,  needs  and 
capacities  allow,  with  increased  EU  financial  assistance  to  those  countries  engaged  in  bold 
reforms. “More for more” means that more support is offered to those partners that deliver on 
democratic reforms and sustainable and inclusive economic development.  

The new policy framework supports “deep democracy” and partnership with societies, assists 
their sustainable economic and social development, growth and job creation, strengthens trade 
ties, promotes further mobility and enhances regional partnerships. In September 2011, a Civil 
Society  Facility  was  launched  to  strengthen  the  capacity  of  civil  society  to  promote  reform 
and increase public accountability in the Neighbourhood. €26.4  million was allocated in 2011, 
and similar amounts should be made available in 2012 and 2013. More generally, the EU will 
develop its engagement with local civil society organisations in the Neighbourhood through a 
combination of structured dialogue and financial support. 

In response to the Arab Spring, the EU reacted rapidly and effectively to the challenges of the 
evolving  situation.  The  EU  provided  €160.5  million  humanitarian  and  civil  protection 
assistance to the region, as well as a range of support measures for democratic transition and 
assistance  to  impoverished  areas.  In  particular,  the  EU  provided  significant  support  for 
elections in Tunisia, Morocco, Libya and Egypt. 

The  EIDHR  provided  support  in  Tunisia,  Libya  and  Egypt  (alongside  two  IfS  Exceptional 
Assistance  Measures)  to  aid  local  election  observers,  including  the  media,  political  parties, 
and civil society groups. 

Other initiatives, notably the European Endowment for Democracy, have been launched and 
should be operational shortly. 

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4.2. 

The Agenda for Change 

Building  on  the  Agenda  for  Action  and  the  ENP  review,  the  new  development  cooperation 
policy  –  the  Agenda  for  Change5  --  introduces  an  EU  differentiated  approach  to  partner 
countries, and seeks to focus future cooperation in two priority areas: 

•  Human rights, democracy and other key elements of good governance; and 

•  Inclusive and sustainable growth for human development. 

Dialogue between partners and a focus on incentives for result-oriented reforms are the main 
principles of EU support for democratic governance.  

Based  on  the  principle  of  differentiation,  the  EU’s  approach  must  combine  the  right  mix  of 
instruments and aid modalities at country level. For instance, partner countries demonstrating 
a clear commitment and progress human rights and democratic reform may benefit from EU 
general budget support.  

4.3. 

New financial perspective 

On 29 June 2011, the Commission presented its proposal for the next Multiannual Financial 
Framework (MFF) 2014-2020. The budget proposal outlines the Commission’s new approach 
-- the “Agenda for Change”-- which focuses EU aid in fewer sectors: supporting democracy, 
human  rights  and  good  governance  and  creating  inclusive  and  sustainable  growth.  Together 
with  the  “more  for  more”  approach,  this  proposal  would  provide  additional  funding 
opportunities for democracy support, through all geographic instruments (ENI, DCI) as well 
as the EDF.  

Through rebalancing and reprioritisation, the new MFF proposal includes a new EIDHR with 
a  proposed  budget  increase  of  42%,  bringing  it  to  €1.578  billion  and  a  new  IfS  with  a 
proposed  increase  of  37%  bringing  it  to  €2.828  billion.  The  sc ope  of  the  EIDHR  has  been 
reviewed  and  simplified.  Democracy  support  will  be  one  of  the  four  objectives,  with  a 
targeted  approach  to  address  political  society;  pluralism;  media  freedom;  civil  society 
organisations  engaged  in  domestic  accountability;  and  electoral  processes.  More  emphasis 
will be put on the follow-up of EU electoral observation missions. EU Delegations receiving 
funding  from  the  4th  Objective  –  Country  Based  Support  Scheme  –  will  be  encouraged  to 
launch more Calls for Proposal. 

5. 

RECENT EVALUATIONS 

5.1. 

Governance Initiative evaluation 

The  “Governance  Initiative”  (GI),  (€2.3  billion  from  10 th  EDF)  launched  in  2006  was 
designed  to  give  a  higher  political  profile  to  governance  in  EU  cooperation,  to  provide 
incentives  for  partner  countries  to  carry  out  their  own  reform  agendas,  and  to  improve 
political dialogue on these matters.  

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Communication COM (2011) 637 final from the European Commission to the European Parliament, the 
Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, Increasing 
the impact of EU Development Policy: an Agenda for Change, 13 October 2011.  

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to  assess 

In  2011  a  support  study  was  conducted  jointly  by  the  Africa  Governance  Institute  and 
to  formulate 
ECDPM 
recommendations  to  improve  the  Commission  approach  to  supporting  governance  in  ACP 
countries.  It  concentrated  on  Africa  to  assess  the  links  between  this  initiative  and  evolving 
African instruments on governance, such as the African Peer Review Mechanism. 

the  “Governance  Incentive  Tranche”  process  and 

According  to  stakeholders,  although  the  GI  came  “at  the  right  moment”  it  quickly  lost 
momentum, political traction and leverage capacity in the majority of ACP countries.  

Based on this overall assessment, the following conclusions were reached: 

•  The GI served in many ways as a learning tool; 

•  A gap existed between GI discourse and practice. 

The  GI  did  not  achieve  expected  impact,  although  in  Benin  and  Rwanda,  the  GI  lead  to 
improved dialogue on governance and brought results in governance reforms. 

The  resulting  recommendation  is  that  while  the  EU  should  maintain  a  similar  level  of 
engagement  on  governance,  it  should  review  several  factors  that  underlie  its  support 
strategies, including:  

•  Taking context as a starting point; 

•  Ensuring greater internal coherence at EU level; 

•  Aligning instruments to ambition; and 

•  Assessing  suitable  engagement  approaches  (based  on  “best-fit”  solutions  for  a  given 

context).  

5.2. 

Ensuring domestic accountability by strengthening parliaments 

A comprehensive review of how the EU supported parliaments in Asia, Latin America and the 
Neighbourhood  over  the  past  decade  was  completed  in  2011.  The  study  showed  that  since 
2000 the EU has spent nearly €150 million to stre ngthen parliaments worldwide. Successful 
projects  were  based  on  careful  groundwork  –  particularly  an  understanding  of  the  overall 
governance environment and of the key political actors’ motives. Such projects tended to take 
a longer-term approach and occurred where there was a positive environment for democratic 
development.  The  study  further  underlined  the  need  to  share  best  practices  and  to  develop 
parliamentary  support  programmes  in  conjunction  with  other  democracy  support  activities 
(e.g., support to civil society, political parties and the media). 

This review process resulted in the publication of the EU Reference Document “Engaging and 
Supporting  Parliaments  Worldwide:  EC  strategies  and  methodologies  for  action  to  support 
parliaments”, which serves as a practical tool for EU staff and other stakeholders. 

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6. 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

6.1. 

Continuation of pilot process 

The  pilot  process  now  needs  to  be  completed  by  finalising  the  democracy  profile  and  gap 
analysis  in  the  9  pilot  countries  and  agreeing  on  areas  for  mutual  cooperation  with 
stakeholders. A progress report is planned for the relevant Council formations in early 2013. 

6.2. 

Follow-up Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) recommendations 

The EU is now looking at the full electoral cycle, beyond Election Day and possible EU EOM 
or  Election  Expert  Missions  (EEM).  Increasingly,  democracy  support  programmes  are 
designed  according  to  the  principles  of  the  Council  conclusions  on  democracy  support.  The 
key feature of the EOM/EEM final reports is the detailed and constructive recommendations 
on how to improve the framework and conduct of future elections and strengthen democratic 
institutions.  Since  these  recommendations  cover  a  broad  range  of  aspects  relevant  to 
democracy  in  a  given  country,  they  constitute  an  excellent  basis  for  discussion  and  provide 
both  the  main  parts  of  a  democracy  profile  and  a  gap  analysis.  They  also  serve  to  identify 
possible areas for EU-supported technical advice and assistance. 

Unfortunately,  there  is  still  no  systematic  follow-up  of  the  recommendations.  The  EU  is 
therefore  taking  steps  to  ensure  that  the  follow-up  to  the  EU  EOMs  is  coherent, 
comprehensive  and  result-oriented  at  both 
level.  The 
recommendations  at  the  political  level  are  key  to  encouraging  authorities  to  implement 
necessary reforms. Reflecting the EOMs’ findings in EU statements, ENP action plans or joint 
programming documents increases their strength and visibility.  

the  political  and 

technical 

The  EEAS  recently  launched  an  initiative  to  request  EU  Heads  of  Missions  in  the  relevant 
countries to report on their own follow-up to EOMs and EEMs. Mission Heads are to assess 
how thoroughly the  country  authorities implemented the recommendations. Similarly,  a few 
follow-up  missions  will  be  deployed  to  assess  progress  in  the  implementation  of  the 
recommendations. 

6.3. 

Projection beyond pilots 

The  pilot  exercise  shows  the  need  to  develop  further  methodologies  to  understand  better 
transition  and  other  political  processes.  This  needs  to  be  underpinned  by  training  and  more 
standardised deliverables, preferably incorporated or linked to existing work cycles. 

6.4. 

Short- to medium-term suggestions 

For the short- to medium term, the following is recommended: 

•  A training package with guidelines, process manuals and training components. 

•  Development of democracy models: While the basic principles should be the same (and can 
be  found  in  the  human  rights  conventions)  the  practical  solutions  vary  greatly  between 
countries. The EU needs to know more about constitutions, electoral systems, parties and 
what support/hinders their functioning, impact of traditional practices and traditional law, 
etc. 

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•  A  standard  democracy  profile  for  each  partner  country,  containing  certain  standard  and 
measurable  elements,  making  it  easy  to  assess  the  state  of  democracy  uniformly  in  all 
countries. 

•  More  systematic  use  of  local  EIDHR  calls  for  proposals  to  support  local  actors  and 
domestically  owned  processes  of  democratisation  that  complement  political  dialogue  and 
institutional capacity building. 

•  Regular communications with EU Delegations, Headquarters and Member States regarding 
the performance of democracy support activities between operational and political actors. 

•  Comprehensive democracy support Action Plans for pilot countries with clear benchmarks 
and  timelines.  Ensure  that  one  of  the  three  concentration  sectors  pertains  to  democratic 
governance. 

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