Eurochild – the European network of more than 190 organizations and individuals from 33 countries – alerts that the European Commission review and question the future financing with EU funds for non-governmental networks.
At the moment European Commission is conducting a mid-term evaluation of the The Programme for Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) – the EU programme under which Eurochild’s core grant is funded. There is a public consultation opened until 11 January. It aims to assess the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and the EU added-value of the programme, and looks at its future development.
EaSI is the only EU funding that helps civil society and other stakeholders meaningfully engage in influencing the design and implementation of EU policies in the social field. The strategic partnership model – under which Eurochild is funded – is crucial for strengthening capacity of civil society networks and increasing ownership and engagement of the programme’s target groups. This funding also enables members of Eurochild to connect with other national actors, share knowledge, best practice and build advocacy capacity, and influence EU policy making.
National Network for Children, a member of Eurochild, supports the organization in lobbying for increasing funding for NGO’s activities.
‘’There are very high expectations to national networks and coalitions in EU advocacy and changing policies, but funding is insufficient for this type of activities’’, says George Bogdanov, Executive Director of the Natioanal Network for Children and member of the Board of Directors of Eurochild. “At the same time national governments in several European countries underestimate this activity and even deliberately not providing financial support to these organizations and particularly networks”, he added.
We encourage you to respond to the consultation in English, German or French latest by 11 January 2017.
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