Brussels, 15/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - The European Endowment for Democracy (EED) will be ready for summer and the initial funds in autumn at the latest, its executive director, Jerzy Pomianowski, stated on 14 May. “We hope to begin in July or the beginning of August”, he said, adding that looking further ahead, “in the autumn, the future beneficiaries should begin to receive some funding”. He said that the EED is in its last phase of training - be it from the institutional, operational, budgetary or political point of view. The recruitment of the secretariat, which will comprise twelve people, is currently taking place. The budget of €25 million for 2012-2015 is financed by the European Commission and the member states, but there are still some “setbacks and challenges” regarding the contributions, Pomianowski said. Some of the big member states, like Germany or the United Kingdom, are not currently participating in the budget.
Stating that the operational model is due to receive its final approval on 6 June, Pomianowski stressed that the EED should be less bureaucratic, and be flexible and organised differently from other similar European financial instruments.
The EED's thematic priorities are the support and registration of organisations (particularly in countries where they cannot be registered, like Belarus), and the financial aid of organisations between two big projects which have to be financed, so that the organisations might keep their capacity for operation. The EED also wants to support innovative initiatives for promoting democratic values such as art and culture. In addition, it would like to provide a dialogue between groups of activists or political leaders - a dialogue to tackle the need of interparty dialogue.
Pomianowski said that replies about financing will be made quickly, and as the requests are received - and not on call for tenders. He said that if the EED rejects a project, it will not necessarily be a definitive rejection. Although it may consider that the project is too big or does not specifically respond to its priorities, the EED will be able to help the organisation from a technical point of view, so that it may find another source of funding. The EED can also look for “co-financiers” if the project is too big or too risky for the EED alone.
The EED's objective is to grant subsidies directly to actors who fight for democracy on the ground, particularly in the neighbourhood of the EU (see EUROPE 10761). (CG/transl.fl)