Amman, 18/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - European Economic and Social Committees (ECSs) and those from the Mediterranean basin met up on Wednesday 17 October in Amman (Jordan) for their annual session. At the event, they highlighted the role that civil society should play in the process of promoting Euro-Mediterranean rapprochement. ECSs are made up of social partners, employers' groups and unions representing workers and employees. ECSs are regarded as important civil society representatives whose significance became more obvious following the upheaval in the region over the past two years. They are not, however, alone, explained the president of the European ECS, Staffan Nilsson. In his speech, he welcomed the participation of NGOs for the first time in the framework of the economic and social “summits”.
At a more general level, the ECSs consider that the period of “political realism”, in which the EU accepted that it had to deal with dictatorships, is over. Now is the time for support and action on the side of democratic forces in these countries and in the fight against corruption.
In a “non-binding charter” submitted to the discussions over the two days of the meeting, the ECSs made a commitment to, “represent civil society in as broad a way as possible” within all relevant institutions. It also said that the composition of these institutions should be adapted to ensure that a clear majority of their members come from a comprehensive range of civil society organisations which are independent of the governments. The charter currently being developed also suggests to its national members and the authorities in different countries, including the EU, to strengthen the autonomy of social partners and civil society in general. According to the report submitted to the debate, “a concrete programme is proposed to support democratic civil society in the Euro-Mediterranean area, through, for example, neutral dialogue and a discussion platform based on themes established between the institutions, civil society and the local authorities”.
At the opening of the session and following a word of welcome given by the Jordanian prime minister, Abdullah Nsour, the president of the EU ECS (which organises the “Euro-Mediterranean summit” every year) underlined the challenges and role that this kind of dialogue would play. He also welcomed the delegates from Libya, who were attending for the first time. (FB/trans/fl)