Catherine Ashton: I want to work with civil society

Last week, fifty Euclid Network members were in Brussels at the Euclid Network’s Annual General Assembly to speak with Catherine Ashton, the EU’s new High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security, and second most senior person in the EU. It was a rare public appearance and the first time she specifically addressed civil society since taking office in December 2009.

One hundred delegates from Spain, France, Italy and the UK, but also Hungary, Macedonia and Albania, attended the event. They were joined by Brussels-based policy makers and representatives from some of the most well-known civil society organisations and think-tanks.

Ms Ashton spoke of her long held commitment to working with civil society. “Wherever I’ve worked” said Ms Ashton, “in a health authority, as governor in a school, as education minister, justice minister, cabinet minister, I have always wanted to work as creatively as possibly with civil society”.

But what about the challenges of her new role? “One of my main tasks is coordinating how the 27 EU countries coordinate their policies on issues like human rights, justice, democracy, and the rule of law. Civil society counts a great deal”.

After almost ten months spent travelling around the world, Catherine Ashton speaks from her own experience. “Everywhere we go, civil society helps us drive the agenda and keep moving forward on issues that matter to people”. It’s easy when working with governments to lose sight of what matters to the people and civil society helps keep that top of the agenda”.

She also said there are three clear priorities for her role: Promoting the EU as a whole; working on better “neighbourhood” relations in Europe, such as between Kosovo and Serbia; finally, develop relations with “strategic partners” as China, Russia, India, Brazil and… United States.

“In all this she wants to ensure a better role for civil society” says Stephen Bubb, chief executive of Acevo, “not through bureaucracy”. But there is one obstacle. “Governments think of us just as volunteers and forget the key role we play in delivering services. Also Euclid is a network of leaders, and if Ashton wants to develop civil society she needs to invest in the capacity and infrastructure of that leadership, as we’ve done in the Balkans. To do this we need leadership development and access to capital”. In other words, “we need to find more effective ways to develop relations”.

Could Euclid be a key partner for Ashton on her civil society “strategy”? For Filippo Addarii, Executive Director of Euclid Network, there is no doubt. “She asked our help on three specific issues. The economic role of civil society across the world, through social enterprise and innovation. Reviewing the impact on civil society of the anti-terrorism legislation in the Stockholm Programme and looking at the UN civil society process (i.e. ECOSOC) as a potential model for civil society engagement”.